Chapter 404: Hi?! (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: Hi?! (1)
My vision was still dark, my senses faint and slow to return. How long had it been? It was impossible to tell; my perception of time had been shattered along with everything else. But one thing was crystal clear.
Stab-!
“Ugh!”
That was the ninth time. Exactly nine. Nine deaths at the hands of the Dark King. My legs buckled and I dropped to my knees.
I felt blood gush from the hole in my neck, darkness swallowing me as consciousness fled. It lasted only a few seconds.
“Gasp…!”
I snapped back to awareness and scrambled to my feet.
What was that? Something had definitely pierced my neck. My fingers flew to the spot, probing carefully. No wound. Not even a hint of pain.
…Shit.
The ninth time I’d felt that exact sensation. The ninth time the Dark King had killed me.
Frowning, I scanned my surroundings. I was still on the same plains where the Dishonored Venerable had left me.
What the hell is this?
It felt like a hallucination, but the sensation of a blade sliding into my neck or my heart was terrifyingly real. Just a moment ago, I’d felt it—the ninth death.
Which raised the obvious question.
How am I still alive?
It made no sense.
Fucking hell.
The curse slipped out. No matter how I turned it over in my head, I couldn’t figure out how he was doing this.
Dishonored Venerable, you damned old man… Is this what you meant by ‘endure it’?
Ever since he’d uttered those words and vanished, I’d been stuck in a relentless cycle of being murdered by the Dark King. It was insulting. Whether this was some elaborate Formation or a potent illusion, I hated being toyed with like this.
“I just want to quit.”
Maybe I should say screw the Heavenly Demon and go hide in the mountains for the rest of my life. The thought actually crossed my mind.
Crack.
I ground my teeth. I knew I could never actually do it—it was just a bitter fantasy. Taking a steadying breath, I forced myself to observe the area.
The oppressive darkness made me increasingly nervous. But understanding my predicament was secondary now. I had a more immediate task.
Where is he?
I sharpened my senses, pushing through the lingering recoil that made everything feel fuzzy. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing.
Where are you?
I expanded my awareness as far as I could, focusing intently. This was the training the Dishonored Venerable had spoken of. To complete it, I had to catch the Dark King just once.
I still had no idea what the point of this torture was. But understanding wasn't a requirement. The only way out was through.
“Whew…”
I exhaled, my breath misting in the cool air. I’d been trying to find an opening every time he attacked, but it was futile.
Rustle-
“…!”
My head whipped toward the sound. My hand shot out instinctively, but there was nothing there. A feint—?
Stab-!
“Ugh!?”
A scream was torn from my throat as searing pain exploded in my thigh. The attack came from behind. The sound had been a distraction.
It was just a stab to the leg, but the pain was unnaturally intense, far beyond what I was used to. Was it a property of the Dark King’s martial art? I’d thought myself numb to pain after training the Heaven Destruction Art, but this was on another level.
Where is he?!
I shoved the agony aside. I had to find him. Ignoring the fire in my thigh, I spun around, searching.
Stab-!
“…!”
But his blade found my abdomen first. Blood rushed up my throat. My vision darkened, but I still thrust my hand out blindly. I couldn’t let this chance slip away.
My fingers stretched, hoping to make contact, but I saw something else moving toward me first.
The tip of a blade. I started to twist my head to avoid it…
Pause.
The blade froze, hovering a hair's breadth from my face.
Why did it stop?
As I wondered,
“It’s over.”
The Dark King withdrew his blade and stepped back. I wanted to demand an explanation,
Swoosh-!
But the world answered for him. Light flooded the plains in an instant. The dark sky vanished, replaced by the bright sun rising in the distance.
A thought surfaced.
…Daylight?
Then what was all that?
The darkness had been absolute, and now it was gone in a blink… I was left speechless.
A chilling realization dawned. That impenetrable night… it had been the Dark King’s doing.
What a monster.
The rumors said no one could beat him at night. But this was different; he didn’t just use the night, he created it. While other assassins waited for the perfect conditions, he simply manufactured them. How was that fair?
…And my thigh was perfectly fine. All the deaths, all the pain—gone without a trace. The phenomenon was baffling.
Is this even a martial art?
It felt more like a powerful Formation. Too real to be a simple illusion. How was this training? It felt like pure torture.
Though it’s too clean to be called torture.
The instant, painless deaths made the label feel inaccurate. I swallowed nervously and glanced at the Dark King.
“We’ll end it here for today.”
With those words, he dissolved into mist and vanished. No further explanation. I finally exhaled, the tension draining from my body.
“…It’s really over?”
The Dishonored Venerable said this would only happen at night. Was that why the Dark King left?
Did that mean… “I have to go through this shit every single night?”
Get killed repeatedly by the Dark King from dusk till dawn?
“…”
The question hung in my mind.
Should I seriously just say screw it all and run away?
For a moment, I genuinely considered it.
As Gu Yangcheon seriously contemplated desertion, the Dark King moved deep into the forest.
He emerged from the shadows to find the Dishonored Venerable sitting on a rock, drinking alone. Two cups sat beside him; he’d been expecting company.
“You came.”
The Dishonored Venerable flicked one of the cups toward him. As it flew, its trajectory curved, slowing until it landed softly in the Dark King’s palm.
The Dishonored Venerable laughed incredulously. “Why waste energy on a trick like that? You could have just caught it.”
“This is more comfortable.”
“Tsk, tsk.”
The Dark King walked over and sat down beside him.
Dribble-
The Dishonored Venerable silently filled his cup, then posed a question. “How was he?”
The Dark King didn’t need clarification. He took a sip before answering. “He was a strange guy.”
“Oh?”
The Dishonored Venerable’s interest was piqued. A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was the norm; this was different. “Strange, you say?”
“He was strangely silent.”
The Dark King’s thoughts turned to Gu Yangcheon. Unbeknownst to the Dishonored Venerable, the young man had captured his attention. It wasn’t about legendary talent. Gu Yangcheon possessed something similar, yet different, to himself—a potential key to breaking the curse that bound the Dark King and the Golden Nature Clan.
Moreover… The Heavenly Abyss is interested in him. The entity he’d been chasing had its eyes on Gu Yangcheon, too.
But there was another reason for the ‘strange’ label.
He doesn’t change one bit.
On his third death, Gu Yangcheon had shockingly tried to counterattack. Understandable, given the goal was to catch him. But… He tried until the end. Through nearly ten deaths, from nightfall to sunrise, he never stopped. No fear. No exhaustion. The Dark King could feel his relentless focus, his endless attempts to grasp his presence.
An ordinary person would have been broken, begging for mercy even in a simulated death. Even a seasoned assassin would find such resilience remarkable. It was strange. Martial artists endure more, yes, but Gu Yangcheon’s utter lack of reaction to death and pain was abnormal.
Also…
The Dark King gazed at the Dishonored Venerable. “You probably knew this already, correct?”
“Hmm?”
The Dishonored Venerable looked back, puzzled, but the Dark King was already certain. He was sure the old man was fully aware of his disciple’s peculiar nature.
Is that why he made this request? Did he deem this brutal training suitable precisely because he knew what Gu Yangcheon was?
If so. Then you are still nasty as ever. Both master and disciple were monstrous in their own ways. One who would assign such training, the other who would endure it without complaint, constantly seeking a path forward.
With that thought, the Dark King looked down at his drink.
It doesn’t matter. Their relationship was their business. He had his own goal. This was merely a task. “Just don’t forget about my request.”
“Jeez, I won’t forget so don’t worry.”
The Dishonored Venerable responded lazily and stood up. The liquor was almost gone, and he had his own training to attend to. “Oh, right.” He turned back. “How long do you think it’ll take? The child’s training.”
“…”
The Dark King gave him a strange look. How long for Gu Yangcheon to make contact? He considered it briefly, then answered firmly. “It’s impossible as of now.”
“How cold.”
“It’ll be faster for him to find a different path.” It might be early to judge after one day, but the Dark King believed Gu Yangcheon, as he was now, would never reach him.
The Dishonored Venerable, however, simply smiled. The Dark King disliked that smile. It always preceded trouble.
“Well, whatever you want to say. Anyway, I hope you take good care of him.”
“…”
The Dark King ignored him and vanished.
Watching him leave, the Dishonored Venerable began walking away, a thought in his mind.
Impossible, you say.
He saw it differently.
I don’t think it’s going to take that long. He hadn’t known Gu Yangcheon for long, but the young man had a habit of exceeding expectations.
The time was somewhere between morning and noon.
I was training after a quick breakfast, during the brief window before the carriages started moving again. Exhaustion from the previous night’s bullshit clung to me, but skipping training wasn’t an option.
Thud.
I took a break when Pe Woocheol brought news. Dropping the giant boulder I’d been lifting, I asked him, “Someone came?”
“The Moyong Clan has arrived.”
“Oh, they’re finally here.”
I nodded. Moyong Hi-ah had caught up. She’d said it would take a few days, but she’d made it in one.
As I turned to go see her,
“Ughhh…”
I noticed Cheol Jiseon flat on his back, gasping for air. Pe Woocheol saw him too and asked, “Uh… how did brother Jiseon end up like that…?”
“I tried training that weakling a bit. This is the result. Tsk, tsk. I can’t believe a man could be so pathetic.”
“Oh, I see…”
“You should train here if you were planning to. You might as well join that guy over there.”
Pe Woocheol looked in the direction I indicated.
Over there…
Huff-! Huff!
Woo Hyuk was training relentlessly, lifting a boulder only slightly smaller than mine. His handsome face even made that look cool. Meanwhile, I was drenched, looking like a drowned rat. What an unfair world.
And he trained hard, too. Aside from being a meat-eating Taoist with a shitty personality, he had no flaws. Well, those two are pretty big flaws. Still, I heard he’s engaged, so I guess it works out. The world just excuses everything because of his face.
“Fucking hell.”
“Pardon?”
“Wasn’t talking to you. Anyway, I can go now, right?”
“Ah, yes… but, um…” Pe Woocheol hesitated, his expression odd. “It seemed like another person came, other than Young Lady Moyong.”
“Another person? Who?”
I tilted my head. Someone else besides Moyong Hi-ah? From his tone, it didn’t sound like a servant.
Could it be the White Heavenly Sword?
No, even that old man wouldn’t come all the way here… A clan lord wouldn’t chase his daughter this far. Probably. Though with his personality, I couldn’t be sure.
I stared at Pe Woocheol, who was watching me with concern. He finally revealed the identity of the newcomer. Thankfully, it wasn’t the White Heavenly Sword.
It was someone far more unexpected.
“The White Ripple Sword has come.”
“Wha…?”
I was dumbstruck.
…Why is that woman here?