Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Repayment (2)
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Numerous Blood Cultists melted away.
The formation that failed to shatter his mind simply crumbled into dust and vanished.
This time, Dang Yu-wol halted his steps as well.
What appeared before his eyes was no mere Blood Cultist.
"...My son."
"...Yu-wol."
"Young master... why did you do this..."
Beyond the illusions of the Blood Cultists stood his family, the members of the Tang Clan.
Those he had failed to save before his regression.
They bled and spat out their resentment.
"You regressed to save us?"
"Even if you do, the suffering we endured won't vanish..."
Dang Yu-wol closed his eyes.
As if he couldn't bear to face them directly.
Ye-ui knew.
How much Dang Yu-wol had longed for them before his regression.
And how deeply he regretted it.
"...I'm fine."
He took a deep breath.
And steadied his resolve.
Dang Yu-wol did not avert his gaze from them.
"That's why I'm doing what I can right now."
With those words, the illusions faded away.
Before he knew it, he had reached the other side of the cliff.
There sat a skeleton in the lotus position.
Before the skeleton clad in the Ami Sect's robes lay a single sword.
The Bohyeon Jade Sword.
The sacred treasure lost by the Ami Sect.
'Back then, during the Ami Sect's twelfth generation leader's time, the Demonic Cult invaded the Central Plains.'
'Yes. They attacked Sacheon first.'
And at that time, both the Orthodox Murim and the Unorthodox Murim had joined forces to repel them.
'One of those who stood at the vanguard was none other than the Ami Sect leader, Gu Seon.'
'She fought desperately for the Ami Sect and for justice.'
She was an admirable person.
But her end was tragic.
'In the end, she vanished in battle against the Demonic Cult's vice leader, the Black Demon Spirit Emperor, who ambushed her.'
'Yes. That's the Ami Sect leader, Gu Seon.'
'To evade those following the Black Demon Spirit Emperor, no doubt.'
'Yes. She was renowned not only for her martial arts but also for her formations. She used one to escape the crisis.'
Injured, she had set up the formation to slip through the heavenly net laid by his subordinates.
But her wounds weren't something that could be healed with mere meditation.
'She wouldn't have wanted to die like this either. Look here.'
'Exactly. Before my regression, I found records of the Demonic Cult in the Blood Cult's archives. In the end, the Demonic Cult never captured her.'
The Blood Cult had made not only the Central Plains Murim but the Demonic Cult itself a subject of their research.
Recalling the records the Blood Cult had collected back then, Dang Yu-wol picked up the Bohyeon Jade Sword from the ground.
The moment he grasped the Bohyeon Jade Sword, the fog lifted, and the sky turned clear and bright.
The formation had been dispelled.
'As expected, this was the core of the formation.'
Ye-ui was moved to admiration.
It hadn't been properly maintained for ages.
Yet its sharpness remained intact.
'Yes. It's the sword used by Monk Bo-eun, the founder of the Ami Sect.'
'They say it was the sword the first nun received from the Buddha himself...'
'Who knows.'
Dang Yu-wol merely shrugged.
'The important thing is that the Ami Sect lost this sword.'
And despite searching for so long, they never found it.
'The Murim Alliance and the Orthodox Murim believed the last place Gu Seon fought was somewhere else.'
'I don't know either.'
But if he had to guess, it was the Demonic Cult's doing.
Or perhaps those in the Ami Sect who were displeased at recovering the divine sword.
Dang Yu-wol examined the Bohyeon Jade Sword from every angle.
The truth was unknowable.
But this would more than repay the value of the Blood Ring Sword.
'It would've been nice if this were a Reverse Heaven artifact. What a shame.'
'A fine sword I can't use.'
Dang Yu-wol felt no regret whatsoever.
As he rose with the sword in hand, his gaze turned to the skeleton.
'Still, I should at least bury her properly.'
With Ye-ui in agreement, Dang Yu-wol immediately dug a hole in the ground, buried her, and offered a light prayer with hands clasped.
"May you find your way to a better place."
The Ami Sect's days began early.
They had to prepare not only the dawn prayers but also the communal meal for the nuns.
The disciples of the Ami Sect did not entrust this to others.
This, too, was an act of devotion.
"Please, Sect Leader, go ahead and rest."
"How could I refuse when this is work for the Buddha?"
Hye-won smiled as she ladled rice into a bowl.
"Serve the guests a different meal."
"Yes, understood, Nun."
For them, eating was both practice and devotion.
But the guests were different.
Guests must be properly hosted.
"Come now, everyone. Please eat."
In the dining hall where the Ami Sect disciples gathered, she was the first to pick up her chopsticks.
With that, the disciples began their meal.
In the Buddhist way, even eating was practice.
Thus, not a single grain of rice was ever wasted.
'We give thanks to the Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva for this gracious meal today...'
Having done this for decades, Hye-won slowly chewed and swallowed her food.
It was a delicious meal, as always.
'May today be as peaceful as yesterday...'
As she thought this, the dining hall door burst open.
"Th-this is bad!!"
Bad?
What could it be?
As everyone looked on puzzled, the disciple who opened the door shouted urgently.
"The Bohyeon... the Bohyeon Jade Sword has returned!!"
—Thud!!
For the first time in her life, Hye-won committed the grave sin of dropping her food to the ground.
Abandoning her meal, she rushed to the reception hall.
There sat Dang Yu-wol.
"Namo Amitabha! Namo Amitabha! Benefactor Dang...!!"
"Sorry to visit so early, Nun. I have a schedule as well."
"No, no!! Is it true?!"
Instead of answering, Dang Yu-wol pointed to the sword on the table.
She saw the warm smile of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva engraved on the weathered scabbard.
"Ah... Aaaah..."
Crafted from bronze and copper, its age was evident.
But above all, that noble smile made her legs give way.
"Truly... truly..."
She staggered forward and grasped it, then slowly drew the sword.
"I pay homage and make offerings to all Buddhas, praise the merits of all Buddhas, and widely offer devotion to all Buddhas..."
Reciting the Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra, she knelt.
The jade-green blade bore engravings of an elephant and Samantabhadra.
And the divinity emanating from the sword itself.
Everything proclaimed it.
"A blessing has come upon the Ami Sect..."
Her overwhelming emotion needed no words.
The twelfth generation leader, Gu Seon, had vanished while subduing the Demonic Cult's vile evildoers.
How desperately they had searched for her afterward.
They had even offered gold as a bounty, such was their desperation.
"We foolish disciples must have committed such grave sins..."
But it was impossible.
As if she had ascended to the heavens.
As if she had sunk into the earth—Gu Seon could not be found.
"Where... where did you find this?"
"There's a nameless mountain not far from Mount Ami."
"N-not far from Mount Ami?!"
"Yes. It lay there alongside Nun Gu Seon's remains."
The shock was even greater.
To think she had been so close.
Their sins were too great; she could not lift her head.
"Thank you. Thank you..."
"Let's go together."
As Dang Yu-wol rose, Hye-won followed immediately.
Not just her—the Ami Sect elders trailed behind him as well.
"What's all this commotion...?"
It was chaos since morning.
One half-asleep member of the Blue Dragon Squad looked baffled.
But undeterred, Dang Yu-wol led them onward.
Using lightness skill, they arrived swiftly. There, Dang Yu-wol pointed to a spot.
"Here it is."
With trembling hands, Hye-won dug into the earth.
Infused with qi, her hands parted the soil with ease.
Not deeply buried, the skeleton lay neatly arranged.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
The bones were worn and decayed, but unmistakably clad in the sect leader's robes.
"Namo Amitabha... Namo Amitabha..."
"At first, she was just lying there... but I thought it proper to arrange her like this."
"Thank you! Thank you!!"
Not only Hye-won but the Ami Sect elders could not raise their heads before Dang Yu-wol.
It wasn't just the Bohyeon Jade Sword.
They had the chance to honor their sect's elder.
"How can we ever repay this grace...?"
Tears welling in her eyes, Hye-won asked. Dang Yu-wol shook his head.
The payment was already made.
"This repays the debt for the Blood Ring Sword."
Dang Yu-wol spoke calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.