Chapter 125
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: A Place to Breathe (4)
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“Young Master?”
“What is it.”
“Oh, you’re up ahead. This path is wide, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“But why is it so dark in here?”
“Because it was made that way.”
“I see… Ouch! Hey, Mr. Ma! Don’t step on my foot!”
“My apologies.”
“Damn it, why is this path so dark? Even using my internal energy, it’s just a blur. And the airflow is just…”
“No need to make a fuss.”
“I’d love not to, but what am I supposed to do when I can’t see a thing?”
“If you can't see, use your ears. If you can't hear, use your nose. If you can't smell, rely on your sense of touch. For the Commander of the Berserk Demon Unit, your senses are surprisingly dull.”
“Easier said than done. My style is to smash and shatter, not to handle things with a delicate touch.”
“A rather crude excuse for neglecting your training, don't you think?”
“I bet Mr. Ma is the same. Right, Mr. Ma? You stepped on my foot earlier.”
“…”
“I’ll kill him.”
Though they spoke as if joking, the two were inwardly startled.
Just as Seo Ryang had implied, they hadn't trained so poorly that they couldn't walk a path just because they couldn't see. And yet, the two of them couldn't even get a feel for how to navigate this path.
If Seo Ryang hadn't been leading the way, they would have surely gotten lost. Not knowing if there was one path or two, they might have been trapped for life.
‘It’s only natural.’
The Dark Scent Formation, set up from the cave's entrance, drastically dulls the senses of anyone who enters it.
It wasn't a formation that could be overcome by the amount of one's internal energy or the level of their enlightenment. Without Seo Ryang's supersensory perception, even someone with an exceptional sixth sense couldn't easily break through.
“We're here now.”
“It was a long walk.”
“Not that long. We've only been walking for about half a quarter-hour.”
“What?! It felt like we walked for nearly half an hour!”
That, too, was an effect of the Dark Scent Formation. By amplifying sensory errors, it also made the discrepancy in time feel greater.
“How on earth did you know about a place like this?”
Seo Ryang didn't answer.
A moment later, a *click!* echoed.
*Rumble!*
The sound of stone grinding against stone was incredibly heavy. As slivers of light seeped through, the two squeezed their eyes shut.
“We're here.”
Seo Ryang calmly stepped inside the stone door.
The other two opened their eyes.
“…!!”
Wi Hongryeon’s jaw dropped. Ma Dongpil, though faring better than her, couldn't hide his astonishment either.
“What in the world is this place?!”
The countless luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling numbered over fifty.
And that wasn't all. The rectangular interior of the cave was furnished with a dozen bookshelves, two dozen small shelves, and five wooden barrels larger than a man's torso.
*Drip, drip.*
The water trickling down from the ceiling was remarkably clear even at a glance. For some reason, despite the structure, the small puddle formed by the thin stream of water never overflowed, constantly shimmering.
A wistful look crossed Seo Ryang's face.
‘How long has it been?’
This secret hideout in Mount Heng's Soyang Valley, the largest safe house in Hunan, was one of the ten best-made safe houses he knew.
It stored not only a vast collection of medical texts and elixirs but also three or four divine weapons. Thanks to the moisture-repelling pearls embedded throughout, the humidity was always perfectly maintained, making it an optimal place for storage.
The clear puddle meant no worries about drinking water, and the grain-abstinence pills filling the barrels solved the food problem.
It wasn't a comfortable environment, but if one put their mind to it, they could live here for years.
*Swoosh.*
As he brushed his hand against the wall, a bit of stone dust scattered down.
Considering the amount of dripping water, there shouldn't have been any loose dust. It seemed the moisture-repelling pearls were still functioning properly.
Clenching the stone dust in his hand, Seo Ryang squeezed his fist tight.
‘There’s nothing for me to take here. But…’
He glanced at the other two.
“Whoa! What is this place?!”
“Good heavens.”
“Is that… could that be a secret manual?!”
“It looks like a medical text.”
“Damn it.”
“More than that, the environment itself is astonishing…”
“Aaaah! Look at those luminous pearls! Just selling one of those would fetch two thousand silver coins!”
The two of them couldn't stop exclaiming in awe. Though they belonged to the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, a place most people called a den of devils, their surprised faces were more vibrant than anyone's.
After a while, Wi Hongryeon turned to Seo Ryang with a look of disbelief.
An uncomfortable expression appeared on Seo Ryang's face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“How on earth did you know about a place like this?”
“I just knew.”
“There’s no way! You can tell just by looking that this place was made with incredible effort. Not even assassins’ safe houses are this elaborate.”
…I nearly flinched for no reason.
“The stuff in those barrels, those are grain-abstinence pills, right?”
“That's right.”
“With that much in one barrel… my god, that’s enough to last a good five years.”
“You have a sharp eye.”
Wi Hongryeon clicked her tongue.
“What kind of overly cautious person built a place like this? If those bookshelves were filled with secret manuals instead of medical texts, this would literally be a place of fateful encounters! Of course, it’s already amazing as it is.”
“A fateful encounter…”
Seo Ryang’s eyes deepened.
“Less of a fateful encounter and more of an escape route.”
“An escape route? Not a place of opportunity created by a past master for future generations?”
If that were the case, why would they stock it with medical texts?
Though he was well-versed in medicine, he wasn't skilled enough to be called a renowned physician. Those books were collected just in case, and they were masterpieces that were hard to find even in famous medical halls.
For an assassin, at least, they were treasures more valuable than any martial arts manual.
Ma Dongpil asked subtly.
“Is this, perhaps, a safe house that the Cult's high command can access?”
“Something like that.”
Though his words were evasive, the two nodded.
The Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon had many enemies. Things were quiet now, but if a battle were to break out in the Central Plains, situations requiring emergency measures were bound to arise.
Usually, they would resolve things at a nearby branch, but when that wasn't possible, they would need a separate shelter. That was what the two of them thought.
It was a complete misunderstanding.
Regardless, Seo Ryang was lost in his memories.
‘I really went through a lot.’
Half of the safe houses scattered across the Central Plains were built by the Righteous Heaven Alliance, but the other half were built by him. Thinking of the effort he poured into creating these safe houses still brought tears to his eyes.
During his countless years of assassination, after killing important figures, he would pocket a few of their treasures. Most of those treasures were brought to his safe houses.
One might ask why the world's greatest assassin would go to such lengths, but for Seo Ryang, it had been a matter of life and death. Despite his exceptional skills, he had faced death dozens of times.
‘A person really needs to be prepared.’
Though I never thought I’d end up using it like this.
“Young Master.”
“Hm?”
Wi Hongryeon gulped.
Having moved behind a bookshelf at some point, she was now holding a sword. It was wrapped in a dirty cloth, but the divine energy slumbering within could not be concealed.
“What is this?”
Even though she fully believed this was a hideout made by the Cult, she sure touched things freely.
Seo Ryang said casually, as if it were nothing.
“The Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow.”
“Gasp! Th-This is the legendary Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow?”
“Yeah.”
The Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow was the favored weapon of the Sword Venerate, who was considered one of the three greatest swordsmen a century ago.
There had been many masters in the martial world called Sword Venerate, but the one from a hundred years ago was famous because he came from a line of wanderers. With no school and no fateful encounters, he was a self-made man who had earned the title of the strongest swordsman purely through his own efforts.
“To think I’d see the Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow in my lifetime…”
“It’s called a divine sword, but it’s nothing special once you see it. The Dark King Sword that Dongpil has is probably ten thousand times better.”
“Still!”
“Just stick it back where you found it. It’s not a sword that suits you anyway.”
With a disappointed expression, Wi Hongryeon placed the sword back behind the bookshelf. As Seo Ryang said, the Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow was too delicate for her, a practitioner of a direct and destructive style of powerful swordsmanship.
“Huh? Then what about this one?”
Looking around in her disappointment, she picked up another sword.
Without even looking, Seo Ryang answered.
“That’s the Clear Sky Sword.”
“Wow.”
“What’s so ‘wow’ about it? It’s a level below the Divine Sword of the Moon’s Shadow.”
“The sword might be, but the man who wielded it was as famous as the Sword Venerate, wasn’t he?”
There was a flaw in that statement, too. The Great Hero of the Bright Sword was certainly a transcendent master, but he was no match for the Sword Venerate.
However, as a person, not just a warrior, he was one of the most famous figures in the martial world. The reason was the incredible number of good deeds he had performed after entering the world of martial arts.
“A disciple of the Divine Cult, admiring a righteous faction bastard?”
“Is there something wrong with admiring him? A fact is a fact. It’s not easy for a person to live so much for others.”
Seo Ryang snorted derisively.
“Lived for others, my ass. I’m not sure about ‘unprecedented in the future,’ but the term ‘unprecedented in the past’ would fit that piece of human trash quite well.”
“What?”
“Thousands of families were ruined because of that bastard. He was a murderer who would remember anyone he disliked and secretly dismember them, a monster who raped women as if it were a daily meal, and the worst kind of madman who enjoyed burning children alive.”
“…!”
“Said their screams were just so thrilling, or something.”
Wi Hongryeon and Ma Dongpil’s mouths fell open.
“I-Is that really true?”
“It is. In a way, he was a truly admirable bastard. It’s not easy to hide your true nature for decades. That difficult feat, he accomplished.”
Wi Hongryeon scowled and threw the Clear Sky Sword to the ground.
Seo Ryang frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“It just feels dirty. I never imagined he was that kind of madman.”
“You get called a madwoman a lot too, don’t you? What’s the big deal?”
“Don’t compare me to a bastard like that!”
“Fine, so pick it up. The one who wielded the sword was the killer, what crime did the sword commit?”
“Tch.”
Muttering, she picked up the sword, roughly tied the disheveled cloth, and placed it back in its original spot.
“Thinking about it, it’s really pathetic.”
“Who?”
“The King of Slaughter.”
For a moment, Seo Ryang’s eyes deepened.
“Why?”
“He took all the blame for assassinating the Great Hero of the Bright Sword. Turns out he was a hero who made a world-saving decision for the good of all.”
“…”
“Then again, he killed a whole lot of other people besides the Great Hero of the Bright Sword, so I guess he deserved the criticism.”
When a mission was given, the Berserk Demon Unit was known for not even sparing the enemy's pet dog. She, at least, had no right to criticize the King of Slaughter.
But Seo Ryang thought she was right.
‘I deserved the criticism.’
In the past, he had thought he was just following orders. He had tried to console himself by saying his circumstances were unavoidable.
All of it was just pointless excuses.
There might be extenuating circumstances, but the sins he committed do not disappear. He had killed plenty of scum like the Great Hero of the Bright Sword, but he had also assassinated innocent people.
Since the Clear Sky Sword was blameless, was he, who was merely a sword, also blameless?
No. He had one great sin.
The sin of not trying to seize his own life, even if it meant risking everything.
‘I did risk my life, but my resolve was half-hearted. If I had been truly determined, I might not have died back then.’
Yes, that was it.
I'm just a slow turtle who has finally realized what I want, far later than everyone else. I'm nothing more than a child with an old soul.
“...So at the very least, even if I can't live a good life, I'm trying to live a proper one.”
“Pardon?”
Seo Ryang picked up the best elixir from the shelf. It was the one he had originally intended to take to recover his martial arts.
He sat down on a moderately-sized rock.
“Wi Hongryeon.”
He suddenly called her by name.
He had called her ‘this wench’ or ‘that wench,’ and at other times ‘Commander Wi’ or ‘Commander of the Berserk Demon Unit.’ But he had never once called her by her full name.
Perhaps she read the seriousness in that small change.
Wi Hongryeon’s excited face hardened slightly.
“Yes, please speak.”
“I won’t beat around the bush.”
“…”
“You, be my person.”