Flower
In the pitch-black darkness, Im Yuguang stopped when a dry branch snapped beneath his foot.
"Hah..."
As though his strength had all at once given out, Im Yuguang collapsed onto the dirt and let out a bitter laugh tangled with pain, fury, and sorrow.
The blood he had not managed to spit out yet still seethed in his throat, and his limbs were covered with cuts large and small.
Cause and effect.
Those who committed sins were invariably punished in proportion to their crimes.
It was an order that ought to have been upheld, and yet this time it felt horribly wrong.
He and the Im Clan had clearly done nothing wrong.
So why did they have to bear such a cruel punishment?
Beyond Im Yuguang’s fading vision, memories of that day flickered into view.
The men who had slaughtered his household mercilessly and burned the clan to the ground.
Even now, it was hard to believe, but they had been martial artists of the orthodox sects who stood together beneath the banner of righteousness.
Qingcheng, Mount Hua, Zhongnan, Wudang, the Zhuge Clan, the Peng Clan.
He had known it because they had shouted their own names and affiliations as they condemned him.
And yet there had been one among them he had never once expected.
It was Namgung Cheon, the young master of the Namgung Clan, with whom he had once casually shared a cup of wine at the Murim Alliance.
He had hidden his identity beneath white robes and a face covering, but it was not hard to recognize him by those eyes that held humility and arrogance together.
"Ghk..."
At the thought of Namgung Cheon’s face, the wounds he had suffered from him throbbed again as though they were burning anew.
Unlike the others, he had not called him a demon and hurled hatred at him, nor had he insulted the Im Clan.
Then why?
What grudge did he bear that he could unleash such sword strikes soaked through with such dense, lingering killing intent?
-Drip.
Just as his thoughts were growing muddled, a cold raindrop fell across his rough cheek, where blood had crusted over.
His body could not move at all, but his eyes lifted toward the night sky.
...Are you telling me to stop holding out and die quickly?
Not only had they abandoned him, but now they were even urging him on toward death.
"Heh."
As the corner of his mouth lifted, bloodstained teeth showed beneath.
Then, enduring pain so fierce it felt as though his whole body might tear apart, he slowly pushed himself upright.
I will never, never do as you wish.
His body was such a wreck that it would not have been strange if his breath had failed him at any moment, but the light in his eyes, which had been guttering out, flared violently once more.
-That’s the spirit. You must avenge the resentment of your household, who became unjustly wandering souls.
-If you cannot kill them all, then it is right to take at least one more with you.
-So you’ve finally realized how futile righteousness and chivalry are.
At first, the voices he heard had been so faint he could not even make out what they were saying. Now, they rang clearly in his ears.
Had he perhaps gone mad?
With one hand pressed to his side, Im Yuguang set off once more down the dim mountain path.
Something like that no longer mattered.
If he could cut down even one more enemy, what did it matter if his mind was not entirely sound?
The rain, which had begun as a few scattered drops, soon turned into a downpour that washed the dust and blood from Im Yuguang’s body.
And yet the resentment that had soaked into the blood did not vanish; instead, it sank deep into the earth and became a seed.
He did not know when it would be, but he waited only for the day it would bloom.
For a flower born of revenge.
---
Hot tears spilled from Cheongwol’s eyes.
Only now did she dimly begin to understand why her grandfather had told her to abandon revenge and live an ordinary life.
He had been facing a force that amounted to half the orthodox martial world; surely he could not bring himself to thrust that burden onto his grandchild.
"...So that was it? Was that why the Namgung Clan head was kind to me?"
At Cheongwol’s question, Dang Hyeongeuk hurriedly shook his head.
"No. And though it may sound otherwise to you, he did everything in his power to prevent the destruction of the Im Clan."
"...Ha."
Cheongwol’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
"He said he tried to kill Grandfather. And you expect me to believe that?"
She looked as though she might leap out of the room at any second and charge at Namgung Cheon, so Dang Hyeongeuk carefully chose his words.
"Calm yourself. I will tell you everything, slowly—"
"Clan Head, it’s Dang Yeong."
Just as Dang Hyeongeuk was trying to continue in a steady voice, a hurried call came from beyond the door.
"I distinctly said not to be disturbed until I left the room."
At Dang Hyeongeuk’s stern voice, the shadow flinched but pressed on.
"I apologize. But the matter is far too urgent..."
Seeing that the shadow showed no sign of withdrawing, Dang Hyeongeuk let out a thin sigh.
The fact that someone who normally never disobeyed him was acting like this meant something serious must have happened.
"My apologies. Could you wait just a moment?"
When Dang Hyeongeuk asked awkwardly for understanding, Cheongwol reluctantly gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
Dang Hyeongeuk gave a faint smile and then silently looked to the shadow.
As though it had been waiting for that, the shadow spoke.
"The Qingcheng Sect’s leader has just entered the inner hall with his eldest disciple."
---
As Dang Hyeongeuk hurried out of the room, Cheongwol steadied her own heart and followed after him.
If it was the Qingcheng Sect, was that not one of the orthodox forces that divided Sichuan into three—and also the sect to which the black-clad men who had threatened the inn at Owae belonged?
They were also enemies who had helped bring about the destruction of the Im Clan.
Before long, Cheongwol found Hong Chilsong, Ak Seo-ah, and the Dang siblings gathered together.
"Seo-ah."
When her name was called, Ak Seo-ah naturally turned her head.
Then she whispered at once, eyes wide with surprise.
"...Have you been crying?"
Cheongwol answered only by lifting the corner of her mouth a little, silently.
"What’s going on? They say the Qingcheng Sect leader came with his eldest disciple."
Ak Seo-ah shrugged and told her everything she knew.
"This lowly one does not know either. But from what I overheard, it seems they are looking for some criminal."
"A criminal?"
Cheongwol tilted her head, but Ak Seo-ah had nothing more to offer.
"It has been a long time."
For a moment longer, Dang Hyeongeuk’s low voice rolled through the area.
"Indeed. Though we live beneath the same sky of Sichuan, it is hard enough to see your face."
As if answering him, the voice of the Qingcheng Sect leader, Ling Huayun, filled the space as well.
"We are not exactly close acquaintances, so is there any need for that?"
Though his expression remained calm, Dang Hyeongeuk’s eyes were ice-cold.
He had been so distracted by Cheongwol that he had not given it proper thought, but he still remembered that Qingcheng had harmed a martial artist from outside their own inner circle.
"You still have that habit of saying hurtful things. Have you no desire to correct it?"
When Ling Huayun gave a thin smile, Dang Hyeongeuk’s face hardened further.
"I’m well past forty. Do you think I can change it overnight? I’ll manage on my own. But why have you come? Surely not just to exchange useless pleasantries."
"Would I be so idle? Here."
Ling Huayun took a letter from his robes and tossed it to Dang Hyeongeuk.
Then, before anyone had even opened it, he bellowed with inner force in a voice meant for all to hear.
"Im Cheongwol, granddaughter of the righteous world’s enemy Im Yuguang and the last surviving heir of the Im Clan! Show yourself at once!"
After the thunderclap of his shout passed, Ling Huayun’s gaze landed squarely on Cheongwol.
"I needn’t have wasted my throat shouting. Isn’t that right?"
---
Of everyone gathered before the clan head’s hall, the one most shocked was none other than Ak Seo-ah.
"...Miss Cheongwol. What does this mean? You’re the heir of the Im Clan?"
The others had at least sensed part of the truth, but Ak Seo-ah knew nothing at all.
Leaving Ak Seo-ah’s bewildered gaze behind, Cheongwol stepped forward.
One step. Two steps.
With every pace Cheongwol took, all eyes gathered on her.
At last, when Cheongwol and Ling Huayun stood face to face.
"I heard there is someone searching for Im Cheongwol, the last surviving heir of the Im Clan and Im Yuguang’s grandson."
A voice sharp as winter frost flowed from Cheongwol’s lips.
So unlike the Cheongwol they had known until now that those watching had no words left.
"It’s amazing that you can be so brazen. Haven’t you heard that you’re a wanted criminal of the martial world?"
Even if Ling Huayun should have been rattled by Cheongwol’s unexpected reaction, he did not lose his composure.
"Just a baseless accusation you people slapped onto me as you pleased. This works out nicely. I was finding it troublesome to track each of you down one by one. I’m grateful you came to me instead."
But composure only mattered when there was still room for conversation.
As a sinister aura began to ripple around Cheongwol’s body, Ling Huayun and his eldest disciple hurriedly gathered their inner power to meet it.
"To be so eager to draw blood without cause—truly fitting for the bloodline of someone who practiced demonic arts."
Ling Huayun tried to provoke her, but it did not work on Cheongwol.
The reason her grandfather had drilled it into her ears until she was sick of hearing it was because the moment she met her enemy, she had to beware of letting her emotions run wild.
"Are you finished saying what you came to say?"
Cheongwol did not wait for an answer.
-Boom!
Before anyone could stop her, a thunderous impact exploded first, and through the shattered wall, Ling Huayun’s body could be seen, having been kicked through it.
It was a movement so swift it left no room even for a blink, so fast that the word instant itself felt inadequate.
"I was hoping you were. You won’t have any time left to keep talking."
-Boom!
A succession of violent crashes shook the clan head’s hall.
---