Chapter 514: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (21)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 514: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (21)
You truly have your mother's blood.
My heart plummeted the moment the words left my father’s lips.
“What did you say?”
I had to ask again, unsure if I’d heard him correctly.
I had no choice.
The words I had just heard were too momentous to let slide.
He said I have my mother’s blood?
It was a statement of the obvious. I was my mother’s son, after all.
No.
It doesn’t matter even if I’m not.
Honestly, it didn’t.
I had even entertained the possibility that I might not be her biological child.
I’d heard that my mother was the calamity that befell the previous generation.
That meant she wasn’t human.
She was something other, like the Blood Demon or the Heavenly Demon.
So, I had considered the chance that I wasn’t of her blood.
But still, it didn’t matter.
Even if I don’t share my mother’s blood.
I was still her son.
That winter path we walked together, her hand holding mine while I carried my little sister.
Even in the bitter cold, the warmth of her hand made those days bearable. I had never forgotten that time.
So it truly didn’t matter.
It was an irrelevant fact.
But why would he say that now…?
If it turned out I wasn’t my mother’s biological son, things would get complicated, as I’d have to figure out whose son I actually was.
But saying I wasn’t my father’s son was unthinkable; the resemblance was undeniable to anyone.
Whatever the truth was, it was fine.
That’s why having it confirmed that I was my mother’s son should have been a relief.
The important thing was his timing.
And of all times, why say it while looking at my changed appearance?
“What… what do you mean by that?”
“...”
He looked at my obviously altered state and thought of my mother.
To speak with such longing, at a moment like this, was dissonant no matter how I considered it.
The meaning behind his words was clear.
He had seen this same appearance in my mother.
The thought was somewhat stunning.
What did it mean that my mother also had this side to her?
Beyond my father’s nostalgia, his words sent a chill down my spine.
I knew of one person who exuded the same aura as I did now.
No, two, to be exact.
I wasn’t sure about one of them, so I’d set that thought aside.
But the other, the one I was certain of, was…
The Blood Demon.
I hated to admit it, but it was the truth.
That damned sensation I felt from him when he smiled at me.
That arrogant, detestable gaze—I could feel it in my own reflection.
I had thought it was an issue with the Blood Qi.
That because I had fully absorbed the Blood Qi he had planted in my body and undergone a transformation, I had started to develop an aura similar to his.
That’s what I’d believed.
But if my mother also gave off this kind of feeling…
That was a problem.
The reason being…
The Blood Demon was a calamity. And my mother was also a calamity.
So what did that make me, who gave off the same feeling as them both?
[Kid.]
As my thoughts deepened, Elder Shin urgently cut in.
It was a warning that any further contemplation was dangerous.
But that didn’t stop my mind.
Yeon Il-Cheon’s words surfaced in my memory.
—You are a calamity.
Words I had forced myself to dismiss as nonsense.
No, words I had tried to dismiss, but which had lodged themselves deep in my heart.
They were gradually becoming clearer.
Am I truly a calamity?
That goddamned thought began to saturate my mind.
And in the midst of it all.
Do you know what was even more fucked up?
It was the fact that I was also starting to think that even if I were a calamity, it wouldn’t really matter.
Fuck… Am I insane?
It hadn’t even been a year since I’d resolved that, at the very least, I wouldn’t become a calamity.
But what was this?
To think that it wouldn’t really matter if I were a calamity… it was nothing short of horrifying.
Was this also an effect of the transformation?
This is fucked up.
How could it be okay? What the fuck is okay about this?
I wanted to slap my own cheek to snap out of it, but I held back because my father was right in front of me.
Get a grip. If I keep this up, I’m really screwed. Or… am I already screwed?
“Third Son.”
“...!”
My father’s voice barely managed to pull my focus back.
This was not the time to be lost in thought.
The important thing was that my father had brought up my mother.
I was about to ask him about it again when—
“I will go up first.”
“...Pardon?”
I could only stare blankly at his sudden declaration.
Go up…?
“All of a sudden?”
At my incredulous question, my father looked up toward the ceiling.
“It seems the Lord of the Tang Clan has arrived.”
He meant the Poison King had arrived outside.
Hearing this, I also extended my senses, but I couldn’t feel a thing.
All I perceived was the same emptiness.
Is it because of that thing outside?
The Fire Wheel Star, was it?
The power that had changed the color of the sky and erased all presence.
Did its influence mean I couldn’t detect the presence of others either?
What kind of principle allowed such a phenomenon to manifest?
Just as a flicker of curiosity crossed my mind, my father walked past me.
Was he really going to go up just like that?
“Wait, Father. We haven’t finished talking…”
I tried to move to stop him, but his gaze turned to me.
“You are not yet qualified.”
I scowled deeply at his words.
A condition?
“...What qualification? What kind of qualification do I need to hear about my mother?”
Was he telling me to accept the position of Young Lord? If that was the case, it was something I’d have to do eventually, so he could at least tell me a little.
Annoyance welled up, and I was about to snap at him.
“Have you forgotten what we discussed before?”
My father cut me off.
“I told you to reach the ninth realm.”
“...!”
“You have not yet reached it.”
The condition he had set—that if I wanted to know where my mother was, I had to raise the Gu Flame Wheel Art to the Ninth Star.
Did that condition also apply to hearing her story?
Fucking hell.
It was ridiculously hard just to hear a single story.
I had only just reached the seventh realm; how long would it take to reach the ninth?
It was too far.
I tried not to feel impatient, but that goal felt impossibly distant.
…It’s a realm I barely reached even in my past life.
Given the volatile nature of the flame arts, mastering them and building one’s foundation was exceptionally difficult.
Even after pouring so much Qi into it, I had hit a limit. How long would it take following the proper path?
This is driving me crazy.
It was hard to say.
A few years? I’d be lucky if it only took a few years. The realm I had now was built on the experience of my past life and all sorts of fortuitous encounters.
But I can’t just throw it all away and go back to how I did it before.
The solid foundation I had built up until now.
If I abandoned it and went back to building my realm based solely on Qi like in my past life, everything would return to nothing.
I knew from past experience that simply raising one’s realm without a proper foundation was a meaningless act, so I couldn’t do that.
So, I wondered if I should just throw a tantrum and demand he tell me.
That… won’t work either.
I could tell just by looking at my father’s eyes.
They were resolute, promising he would never tell me unless I reached the ninth realm.
I had no choice.
It wasn’t as if I could ignore that and pester him to tell me.
You can only defy someone when you can handle the consequences.
How could I possibly defy him, knowing he had just obliterated the Heavenly Venerable?
I held it in.
As I was desperately suppressing my urge to ask, my father’s gaze shifted again.
Watching him, I decided to ask something else.
“...But, sir.”
I gestured vaguely behind me with my hand.
“That… no, that man. What are you going to do about him? Are you just leaving…?”
My father glanced back at my words. Where my hand pointed…
Fwoooosh…
…was the Heavenly Venerable, still engulfed in flames.
“...”
My father’s expression changed as he looked at him.
I saw it clearly.
I saw my father’s expression flicker with an ‘ah, right’ moment.
…Don’t tell me he forgot?
After setting him on fire himself?
No… surely not.
It couldn’t be. There was no way my father would forget.
After looking at the Heavenly Venerable for a moment, my father quickly turned his head, as if erasing his brief hesitation.
“...Just leave him be. The flames won’t take long to die out.”
At his words, I examined the Heavenly Venerable’s flames.
He’s not putting it out, which means there must be a reason to leave him like that.
He had definitely said earlier that it was to burn something.
What was he trying to burn?
To burn something other than the physical body.
I didn’t understand what that meant. Did the secret art my father used have some other purpose?
Thud.
As I was thinking about this, my father started walking toward the entrance.
Should I follow him?
What should I do? The thought crossed my mind.
Just then.
“Wait here. I will bring the Poison King.”
“Pardon…? Me?”
He wanted me to wait here, watching the burning Heavenly Venerable and the First Elder?
My father’s words felt a little strange.
If the Poison King was coming, couldn’t we just wait?
From what I could see, the formation that had been blocking this entrance…
…I think my father tore it apart.
He had crushed and pulverized it. As long as one knew the location, it seemed they could find this place easily.
So I thought we could just wait together.
“Weren’t you the one who had something to investigate here?”
“...!”
The words hit me like a punch, and I had to swallow hard.
My father had known all along.
That I had business in this space.
…Oh, dear.
Along with what Tang Jaemoon had told me…
This space was likely related to the Celestial Martial Body Plan.
No, it had to be.
Otherwise, there was no reason to hide something in a place this deep, let alone conceal it with such a thick layer of formations.
Moreover…
Something about the atmosphere is different.
The poisonous Qi I had felt since I arrived.
And beyond that, the faint sight of a demon’s corpse.
Right now, the space was filled with the Qi and combat aura from the battle, but there was something else.
Does that mean…?
My father’s words, that he would go out and meet the Poison King himself.
I thought I understood the hidden intention.
He would buy me some time.
Figure out what you need to figure out?
Realizing my father’s intent, I broke out in a cold sweat.
I wondered just how much he had figured out. Feeling a chill in my chest, I first bowed my head in respect.
“...Thank you.”
“...”
Fwoosh-!
I heard the sound of a spark.
When I lifted my head, my father was already gone.
As I stared blankly at the empty space, Elder Shin spoke to me.
[He’s figured you out completely.]
“...So it seems.”
I should have just waited quietly for him to come back.
I made a useless move and only caused more trouble.
“...Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue once and started walking.
What’s done is done. Since he said he’d buy me time, I had to find out what I could.
I headed toward the First Elder, who was still trembling.
“Huu… th-that… th-th…”
The First Elder was shivering uncontrollably, looking half-mad.
His condition was clearly not good.
“Heuk… th-th-th… hu…”
The already old man looked even more frail.
I let out a small sigh as I looked at him.
“A shame.”
It was a shame.
Now that he was like this, there was nothing more for me to do.
I had wanted to be the one to put him in this state.
“It’s a real shame, isn’t it?”
I lowered my gaze and asked, but the First Elder only looked at me as if he were seeing something terrifying.
“Mon…ster… monster…”
“Monster?”
Was he talking to me? Or was he talking about my father?
Either way, it was probably similar.
Though the meaning would be different.
Will I be able to find anything out?
The First Elder’s mind was already shattered. I wondered if it was an act, but that seemed unlikely.
What in the world had happened to him to break him like this?
In this state, even torture would be useless.
Then, should I catch the others who conspired with him and question them?
The First Elder couldn’t have been the only one involved.
No matter how influential he was, he didn’t seem like the type of man who could pull this off alone.
It seemed things were about to get a little more troublesome.
“Hm?”
I noticed something strange about the trembling First Elder.
I could see he was clutching something tightly in both hands.
What is it?
It looked like he was holding something.
When I reached out to check.
“N-no…! This… not this…!”
The First Elder, realizing I was trying to take it, began to resist.
How annoying.
“Should I just rip your arm off?”
“...!”
At the words I spat out in annoyance, the First Elder’s struggling body froze.
“Rip… off… rip off? N-nooo…”
Did he react to the words about ripping his arm off?
Why?
Whatever. It didn’t matter.
The fact that he reacted was what was important.
“That’s right. If you don’t hand it over, I’ll rip your arm right off.”
Ah, but of course, this wasn’t a threat.
If he really didn’t give it to me, I was planning to tear it off.
I didn’t have time to waste on a verbal squabble.
The First Elder seemed to realize I was serious.
With a face crushed by terror, he extended his hands toward me.
What was he holding that made him react like this?
And yet, he didn’t unclench his fist.
So.
CRUNCH-!
“Kuaaaaaaaack!”
I grabbed the First Elder’s wrist and crushed it.
A scream erupted, piercing my ears.
I considered smashing his mouth too.
But his hand went limp, and I could see the object he was holding, so I decided to let it go.
“What is this?”
I tilted my head as I looked at the object that had fallen.
It was a jewel. A small one at that.
Why was he holding onto something like this?
I casually picked up the jewel from the floor and examined it more closely.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything else to it.”
Just as I thought it was a simple jewel…
Vrooom-!
“...!”
The jewel in my hand suddenly began to vibrate.
Moreover, the Qi within it began to boil and spread in all directions.
As the energy brushed past me, my body reacted on its own.
It was vile.
Not only the poisonous Qi contained within, but the sheer amount of energy thrashing about was immense.
“...Ha.”
Seeing this, I was certain.
There was something in this jewel.
I immediately thrust the jewel at the First Elder.
“What is this?”
I asked, but the First Elder just continued to stammer, showing he was still not in his right mind.
And yet, his eyes were fixed on the jewel.
“Hmm.”
This meant I wouldn’t be able to get any proper information.
While a broken body could be dealt with, a broken mind was another matter.
Do I really have to catch someone else?
As that thought crossed my mind, another idea came to me.
There was one method.
It was just… not a very pleasant one.
“...Still, I have to check.”
I wondered if it could affect a broken mind.
But it was better than not trying.
This wasn’t the time to be picky.
Grip—.
“Kurgk…!”
I abruptly grabbed the First Elder by the neck.
Thump-!
My heart pounded heavily.
My energy spread out.
I felt my eyes grow hot.
The energy bound to my heart traveled down my arm and seeped into the First Elder.
“Guuuuhhh-huuuuh!”
The sudden influx of energy made the First Elder’s body convulse violently.
I continued to push my energy into him without stopping.
The First Elder’s body greedily devoured my Qi.
Feeling this, I infused my will into the energy.
[From now on.]
This was similar to a method that, once upon a time…
[I am your heaven.]
…the Heavenly Demon had used.
* * *
Henan.
Deep beneath it, in the underground.
In a place where a cold so intense it could freeze the air itself raged.
A young man lay there with his eyes closed.
The young man, who lay as if dead…
Vmmm….
“...Hm.”
…opened his eyes at a sudden, alien sensation.
The woman standing guard beside him flinched.
It was not yet time for her master to awaken.
The woman cautiously observed the young man, as if testing the waters.
The young man’s characteristic red eyes were flashing, but amidst it all, the woman could see something else.
For some reason, her master wore a smile.
“Kekeke…”
Not stopping there, the young man—the Blood Demon—even let out a laugh.
How could he not?
“How amusing.”
The Blood Demon swept a hand over his chest.
As he did, he could feel it more clearly.
It had been severed.
A connection he had tied so deeply. Snap! It was gone.
He had considered it quite precious and had tied it with care, so for it to be cut like this…
“Whose doing could this be?”
He pondered for a moment, but the Blood Demon already knew the answer.
The thread had led to Sichuan. That was the Tang Clan’s territory.
Was it the Tang Clan’s doing? No, they didn’t possess such power. They weren’t even worth suspecting.
The value of the current Tang Clan was something else entirely.
“That was the place that child headed to.”
The place the one he was watching had gone. That was all.
Could this truly be a coincidence?
The Blood Demon thought not.
Furthermore.
“I hope it wasn’t.”
He also hoped it wasn’t a coincidence.
If that child had grown powerful enough to sever his thread, it was something he desired more than anything.
For the sake of the paradise he dreamed of.
“Sword Dancer.”
“Yes.”
The Sword Dancer answered the Blood Demon’s call. The Blood Demon was not looking at her.
He was looking much farther away.
At a place very, very distant.
“Send a message to Wudang.”
He said this, and then he smiled.
The Blood Demon could feel it.
The day his paradise would truly arrive was not far off.
“Tell them it seems we can proceed with our work a little sooner.”