Chapter 614: Biwegun (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 614: Biwegun (6)
Stagger!
A wave of dizziness crashed over me, and my legs gave way. I barely managed to steady myself, digging my heels in to keep from collapsing.
"Huuu..."
My breathing was ragged. It took every ounce of my concentration just to keep my lungs moving in a steady rhythm.
That wasn't the end of it.
Thump!
A heavy beat resonated from my heart. I tensed, bracing myself for the inevitable backlash.
Kuuuung!
"Guh...!"
Just as expected, a violent tremor racked my body, forcing a pained groan from my throat. I felt like I could crumble at any moment, but I gritted my teeth and endured. I couldn't afford to fall here.
"Huu... Huu...!"
The pain made my already exhausted limbs feel like lead, as if the very air was trying to crush me. A hollow lethargy washed over me, a sense of emptiness as if something vital had been drained from my soul.
I’d felt this once before. It was a truly wretched sensation.
Despite the agony, I carefully assessed my condition. How much damage had I taken? Could I still move after unleashing that technique? Even in my delirium, I tried to commit every detail to memory.
I clenched my fist, a grim thought crossing my mind. The backlash is too severe.
It was the same as last time. The recoil from using it was no joke. I could handle the pain, but...
It’s a heavy burden on my body.
I didn't know if it was straining my soul, as the Dishonored Venerable had suggested, or if my physical vessel simply couldn't contain the power. Either way, it was clear that using it consecutively was out of the question.
Of course, regardless of the cost...
...What matters is that I can use it.
Catching my breath, I lifted my head and looked forward.
The space that had been blocked by an invisible barrier just moments ago was now shattered, leaving a massive, jagged entrance in its wake.
Fwoosh!
Flickering blue flames clung to the edges of the breach—the lingering aftermath of the Mind Sword. Its destructive power was far weaker than when I had shattered the iceberg, but even at this output, it was a terrifying force.
I forced my upper body straight and surveyed the scene.
Three times at most.
If my body and mind were in peak condition, I could probably manifest it at this level three times. But at the intensity I used the first time... I’d likely collapse after a single strike.
And it’s not that difficult to trigger.
Perhaps because I’d done it once before, or maybe for some other reason, but manifesting the Mind Sword felt strangely intuitive. If I wanted to use it, I could. I just had to be prepared to pay the price.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Yuri stood frozen, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. The fact that there really was a hidden barrier, and the sheer, overwhelming power I’d unleashed to destroy it... from her perspective, it must have looked like a nightmare.
"Let's go."
I had no explanation to give her. I simply started walking, doing my best to mask the tremors of the backlash.
"Ah...! Wait...!"
As I stepped through the ruined entrance, Yuri scrambled to follow.
The interior wasn't much different from the outside. It was still a vast, desolate field of snow, with the blizzard continuing its relentless descent through the night. But amidst the white void, there was one distinct difference.
A garden?
Unlike the wild tundra outside, this place looked like an artificially crafted garden. However, it appeared to have been neglected for a very long time.
Woooong!
I snapped my head toward a sudden pulse of energy. It wasn't far. It felt much closer now that we were inside the perimeter. The barrier surrounding this area must have dampened the vibrations, but it couldn't block them entirely.
So you're there.
You're really there.
Just as I prepared to take a step forward, a sound stopped me.
"...Ah?"
I glanced back at the sound of Yuri’s voice. She was looking around with a look of pure shock.
"This place is..."
"What? Do you recognize it?"
"H-how..." Yuri stammered, her eyes darting around in disbelief. "This is impossible..."
"What's impossible?"
"There's no way this place still exists... I heard it was erased long ago."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "What do you mean?"
"...This is the residence where Biwegun used to stay."
"What?"
I looked around again. It was a graveyard of snow, barely recognizable as a garden. It was a stretch to even call it a residence anymore. And this was where that bastard Woo Hyuk used to live?
"It's been... over ten years. I heard the Blue Wolf clan had it destroyed. How on earth..."
"Maybe they just left it instead of clearing it out," I suggested.
"That can't be. I've been to this exact spot many times..."
"Hmm."
She had been here many times, yet she couldn't find it until now. What did it mean that it was suddenly visible?
Moreover...
It felt uncomfortable, yet familiar.
The barrier I had just shattered—it had a strangely unsettling yet nostalgic resonance to it.
Meanwhile, Yuri continued to scan the area, trying to reconcile her memories with the reality before her.
"...Does this mean the Blue Wolf clan’s main house is here? No, that’s impossible, the location is all wrong...?"
The Blue Wolf clan, the rebels who had turned against the Ice Palace. If this was Woo Hyuk's home, it would stand to reason their headquarters were nearby. But Yuri’s confusion suggested otherwise.
There's a chance I lost my bearings because I was only focused on the energy.
But I knew that wasn't it.
Whatever the case, the important thing is that this is Woo Hyuk’s territory.
Setting aside how a place that was supposed to be gone could still exist... in the end, this path led to Woo Hyuk. And the fact that I could feel the vibration of the Thunder Sword here meant...
Woo Hyuk is involved in Namgung Bi-ah's disappearance.
That was the only logical conclusion.
Fwoosh!
I released my Qi, spreading my senses wide. As the energy brushed past my damaged acupoints, a sharp sting shot through me, and my face twisted into a grimace. The backlash was a persistent bitch.
My body never gets a break.
Just when I think I’m healing, some new disaster strikes. Just when I think I’m okay, the world finds a new way to break me. It was a truly fucked up cycle.
Woooong!
My Qi expanded, enveloping the surroundings. My perception was shallower than usual, but it was enough to scout the immediate area.
But...
What is this?
The further my senses reached, the more questions I had.
Nothing.
I couldn't feel a single thing.
How can there be nothing?
It wasn't as if I had snuck in. I had smashed the front door down with a divine technique. If there were guards or residents, they should have been swarming us by now. But there wasn't a single presence.
Was there really no one else here? All I could sense was the skeletal remains of a garden and the mounting snow. There wasn't a single trace of human life.
Could Namgung Bi-ah really be in a place like this?
Just as doubt began to creep in—
Tuk.
"...!"
At the very edge of my perception.
Crunch.
Something moved in the distance.
Crunch.
The first thing my senses caught was the sound of footsteps. Someone was walking calmly toward us from the void where I had sensed nothing.
"...Well, well."
I felt a presence—the most familiar presence I’d encountered recently.
I was hoping it wouldn't be him.
It was also the one person I least wanted to see.
Crunch.
I stared straight ahead, listening to the approaching steps. He was coming.
How long did I wait? It probably wasn't more than a minute, but the silence made the seconds feel like hours.
And then.
Crunch.
The light steps treading through the snow...
Stop.
...came to a halt.
I stared at the figure that emerged from the white haze, my expression blank.
"Oh, dear."
The man looked at me and offered a troubled smile.
"...This is quite a predicament."
The young man unclasped his hands from behind his back and awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck. Years had passed, but he still had that same handsome face. Fucking annoying.
"I thought it was strange how quiet it had become."
However, while his face was the same...
"Why are you here..."
His aura was completely different. The relaxed, soft energy he used to carry was gone. A chill that mirrored the frozen wasteland around us swirled within him.
"Am I dreaming?" the young man, Woo Hyuk, asked with a faint smile.
"Biwegun...!"
Yuri flinched at his appearance, her entire body trembling. She took a hesitant step forward. "You...!"
"It's been a while."
"...!"
Woo Hyuk didn't even spare her a glance. He acted as if she didn't exist.
"I see."
To me, that cold indifference was the most jarring change of all.
"I heard there was an anomaly. So, it was you."
Crunch.
His steps, which had been sinking into the drifts, now seemed to tread firmly on top of the snow.
"When did you get here?"
"About two days ago. No, maybe three. Something like that," I answered.
Woo Hyuk let out a small, dry laugh. "So, not long at all."
"I was in a bit of a hurry."
"I see."
"..."
"..."
Silence stretched between us. We simply stood there, staring each other down.
Hmm.
What was I supposed to say? I’d had a thousand things to say to him when we finally met. But now that we were face to face, the words felt empty.
So, I decided to skip the pleasantries.
"Why did you do it?"
I went straight to the point.
"...Haha?"
Woo Hyuk laughed, clearly understanding the weight of the question.
"A guy who doesn't have a greedy bone in his body... why would you cause a mess this big?"
Woo Hyuk might have been a glutton for good food, but he had always been far removed from material ambition. He was the type of guy who just lived because he happened to be born. That was the Woo Hyuk I knew.
"What are you doing? Did you eat some rotten meat or something?"
"..."
For a Taoist, the guy had eaten nothing but meat every single day. Had he finally lost his mind? The thought was ridiculous, but it was all I had.
Woo Hyuk finally answered. "Maybe I developed a lust for power. You never truly know a person."
"What kind of bullshit is that? I'm not joking. Answer me properly."
I had told the Lord of the Ice Palace the same thing—that I would hear Woo Hyuk's side of the story before I passed judgment. I asked because I wanted to give him that chance, but...
"..."
Woo Hyuk remained silent.
I let out a long, weary sigh. "Haaah."
He didn't want to talk? Fine. That was his right. If he had his reasons, maybe they were too heavy for words.
Then I guess I'll have to beat it out of him.
If he was going to keep his mouth shut, I was more than willing to help loosen his jaw.
But.
"Alright, I get it."
Just not right now. Because right now, I had a priority higher than the man standing in front of me.
"Forget that for now. Just tell me where she is."
"Who?"
"Her. She's here, isn't she? Where is she?"
Namgung Bi-ah was somewhere in this place. By now, that suspicion had hardened into absolute certainty.
"I'm taking her with me."
Woo Hyuk had to be the one who took her. That was the catalyst for this entire disaster. It was time I took her back.
Woo Hyuk didn't answer. He just stared at me, his eyes unreadable.
I felt my temper rising and forced it down. "Listen," I said, my voice cold. "Whatever you're trying to pull here, I honestly don't care."
"..."
"The fact that you're suddenly some high-born from the North is absurd, but it's not important."
It was a shock, sure, but in this crazy world, it wasn't the strangest thing I'd seen.
"I don't get why you'd bother with something as tedious as treason, but we can settle that later."
I didn't mention the part where 'settling it' involved a fist to his face. None of it mattered. Not the politics of the North, not Woo Hyuk’s hidden past. None of it was important to me.
"So."
The only thing that mattered right now was...
"Tell me where she is."
Namgung Bi-ah. That was the beginning and the end of my business here. Once I found her, I was done. The Lord of the Ice Palace had already made it clear she wouldn't help. Fine. If she didn't want to treat her, then we were leaving.
Once I rescued Namgung Bi-ah, I could wash my hands of this frozen hellhole and return to the Central Plains. If Woo Hyuk just handed her over, this could all end simply.
It should have been that simple.
"Sorry."
But Woo Hyuk didn't give me the answer I needed.
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"What?"
Shing.
With a fluid motion, Woo Hyuk drew the sword from his waist.
"I can't return her. I still have business with her."
"..."
"So go back. This is no place for you."
Ssssss.
A sharp, biting Combat Qi began to bleed from Woo Hyuk's body. I could feel the cold edge of killing intent radiating from his blade. He was serious.
The pressure was immense. It was clear he hadn't been slacking on his training over the last few years.
Did the bastard reach the Fusion Realm?
I couldn't tell if he had truly broken through the wall or was just standing on the threshold. My internal injuries were making it impossible to get a clear read on his depth.
"Haaah."
I sighed again, rubbing my forehead. How the hell did things end up like this? I didn't know. I really didn't know, but...
Staring at the tip of Woo Hyuk's sword, my mind cleared.
"I was going to hold back until the count of three. But I can't."
I abandoned the count I’d been keeping in my head and looked him in the eye.
"First."
It seemed...
"You're going to get your ass kicked."
It seemed we 'friends' needed to have a little chat first.