How Long Is Life? (5)
"How long can a human life really last?"
While teaching Yu Seojin the Heaven’s Veins by guiding her hand, Jegal Yeona suddenly began murmuring lines of poetry as she read the flow of Cheongae Star and Usu.
"Hm?"
"Like morning dew, the days gone by are far too many."
Yu Seojin blinked in surprise, apparently not expecting Jegal Yeona to recite poetry so suddenly, and stared at her pale face.
"Yeona, why are you reciting poetry all of a sudden?"
"When I look at the fate of the stars, verse comes to me. Well? Not bad, is it?"
Smiling faintly, Jegal Yeona pointed at Usu.
"This star is looking back on the years it has lived. You could call it a life flashing before its eyes."
"I see."
Yu Seojin nodded at her words, then looked at her with her dim irises sparkling.
"Then is that star dying right now?"
"Oh? Why do you think that?"
"Well, people say they see their lives flash before their eyes before they die."
"Exactly. So wouldn’t I be reciting a death poem for this pitiable star?"
Yu Seojin stared at Jegal Yeona, who shrugged with a smile, and let out a small sound of admiration.
The blind girl’s gaze was especially pure and clear.
"Then you just thought up that poem on the spot? Yeona, that’s amazing."
"Puhahaha!"
At Yu Seojin’s innocent response, Jegal Yeona could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
She pinched the soft cheek of the bewildered girl and chuckled brightly.
"You silly fool, no I didn’t. That’s Short Song Ballad, written by Cao Cao."
"Cao Cao?"
"Seojin, if you want to become a great hero, you can’t just read scriptures on Wudang Mountain. You’ll need to build some culture too. What am I going to do with you?"
At the name of the conniving hero who had defined the age of the Three Kingdoms, Yu Seojin finally realized that Jegal Yeona had been teasing her.
"You said you thought of it after looking at the stars."
Her voice trembled with a hint of grievance, but Jegal Yeona remained as calm as ever.
"Heehee, I said I thought of it. I never said I wrote it myself."
Even though Yeona had teased her more than once already today, Yu Seojin did not pout or complain; instead, she simply puffed out her cheeks in silence to show her displeasure.
Yet even that reaction seemed adorable to Jegal Yeona, who rubbed the swollen cheek with her palm and smiled sweetly.
"Seojin, are you sulking?"
"I-I’m not sulking."
"Lies. This older sister can see right through you."
"Your age i-isn’t that different, so w-what do I do, unni?"
Jegal Yeona could no longer take it.
Her soft hands ran roughshod over Yu Seojin’s cheeks, squashing them until the poor girl’s tongue slipped into a slurry of mangled sounds.
As a result, Yu Seojin could only make a ridiculous "heuee!" noise while feeling her cheeks being shaken every which way.
They kept that up for several minutes.
At last, Jegal Yeona removed her hands from Yu Seojin’s face and, to comfort her, took her hand once more and began explaining the constellations again.
"Seojin, do you know what comes after this line? 'The moon is bright, the stars are sparse; crows and magpies fly south.'"
She pressed down on the center of Yu Seojin’s palm.
"Here, the middle of your palm is the moon hanging up there right now. And these little pulses circling around it are the stars."
Jegal Yeona’s purple Jami-an pierced sharply toward a single point in the night sky.
The fading Usu, and the dark blue Cheongae Star trying to swallow it whole.
But that was not all her eyes could see.
"Three times it circles the tree, yet no branch can it trust."
Her voice sank low, resonating through the still air of the garden.
In the depths of those violet eyes, the starlight of Usu could be seen tilting perilously from the northern sky toward the west.
It looked like an old crow stumbling along, unable to find a place to rest.
"Seojin, I can see an old crow in the sky right now. A very lonely, very tired crow."
"A crow?"
Worry crept across Yu Seojin’s face.
She fidgeted with the hand Jegal Yeona held and asked cautiously,
"Why doesn’t that crow have a branch to rest on? Is there no tree?"
"No, there is a tree. But it’s on fire. Some hunter with a giant axe is trying to burn down the whole forest, so there’s nowhere for it to land."
"Oh no... Then what will it do? Its wings will burn up."
Yu Seojin sighed in genuine sorrow.
At that innocent reaction, Jegal Yeona snorted with laughter.
Most people would have taken it as metaphor and moved on; this blind girl was worrying as if she were about to call the fire brigade at any moment.
"But here’s the interesting part."
Yeona pressed firmly on the center of Seojin’s palm.
"Can you feel it here?"
"Yes. It’s warm."
"There’s a mad star throwing itself into the burning forest right now. It’s the Reverse Heaven Star."
Jegal Yeona’s gaze locked onto a tiny star blazing fiercely beside Usu.
Crushed beneath the overwhelming aura of Cheongae Star, it seemed as though it might be snuffed out at any moment, yet the path it traced was chillingly straight, openly defying that star’s dominion.
Reverse Heaven.
A star that defied the heavens.
"It’s a fool who throws itself into the fire without even realizing it’s burning, just to save a crow. Just like someone I know."
"Like who?"
"There is one. A certain Mister Ryu Something, famous in the streets of Hubei Province as the 'Beggar Union Savings Bank.'"
"Beggar Union Savings Bank? The Beggar Union forbids private hoarding of wealth. Then how can there be savings?"
Honestly, what was she supposed to do with this girl?
Jegal Yeona tightened her grip on Yu Seojin’s hand, who was still responding with such guileless earnestness that she didn’t even realize she was being made fun of.
If she didn’t do that, she might laugh again and offend Seojin’s feelings.
Calming herself while fiddling with Seojin’s hand, Yeona spoke again and recited the final lines of Short Song Ballad.
"A mountain does not tire of being high, and a river does not tire of being deep. Lord Zhou spat out the food in his mouth to welcome the heroes of the realm..."
"He spat out food? Why would he do something gross like that?"
At Yu Seojin’s horrified voice, Jegal Yeona’s entire mood shattered.
"AHAHAHA! Ah, seriously! Seojin!"
Jegal Yeona doubled over, clutching her stomach in laughter.
She laughed so hard that Yu Seojin grew suspicious again, feeling as though she were being teased once more, and she stuck out her lower lip while her fingers fidgeted restlessly.
"It’s not gross. It means he was desperate. That tiny star over there is exactly like that. It’s heading out to welcome someone, even if it means spitting out its own life—no, its very lifeline."
"Spitting out its life?"
Yu Seojin’s expression turned serious again.
She tilted her head upward as though trying to stare into the night sky with her unseen eyes.
"If it does that, can the star save the crow?"
"Hmm..."
With a faint smile, Jegal Yeona pointed out the star’s position to Yu Seojin.
"The light of the Reverse Heaven Star is so fragile a single breath of wind could snuff it out. It’s in no position to protect even its own life. But..."
Her finger stopped at the very center of Yu Seojin’s palm, at the position of the moon.
"That star will receive the light of another star, just as the moon in the sky receives it, and shine even brighter."
"Then what happens?"
"Who knows?"
Jegal Yeona’s lips curled with interest.
"Perhaps it’ll blaze so brightly it blinds even Cheongae Star."
***
Not late.
"Hah, hah..."
My lungs felt as though they might burst from the strain of dragging in air.
Just blocking that one blow had sent a jarring vibration through my sword, as if the bones and muscles in my entire arm were shaking apart.
But I wasn’t late.
That alone was enough to give me some comfort.
"You..."
My master’s shocked expression came into view. Her pupils were shaking violently, as though an earthquake had struck them.
I spat a mouthful of blood and tightened my grip on the sword.
My whole body felt as though the capillaries had burst beneath my skin, leaving everything burning hot, but the last trace of internal energy I had dragged up from the depths of my dantian was surging all the way to my fingertips.
Bang Chunghyun. The monster called the Heavenly Path Demon King of the demonic cult.
The blood-red demonic aura billowing around him was far heavier and more oppressive than the murderous intent of the Ten-Point Formation I had just cut through.
Hell, seeing him in person is no joke.
Every breath felt like swallowing a lump of lead, the pressure crushing down on my chest.
"...Curious," Bang Chunghyun said slowly.
His gaze was fixed not on Mukjeok, but solely on me.
"So you crossed the Ten-Point Formation in reverse. Even half my subordinates couldn’t break through it."
How did he know I’d gone through the formation in reverse?
The thought flickered through me for an instant, but I had no time to indulge such curiosity in front of this monster.
Bang Chunghyun tilted his head slightly and spoke again.
"Who are you? What is your name?"
His tone was calm, yet it carried an irresistible weight.
Rather than answer, I leveled my sword horizontally.
In any case, I couldn’t have told him my name even if I wanted to. And even if I could speak, I had no intention of giving this monster any information.
"You need not tell him anything, disciple."
My master stepped in front of me and glared at Bang Chunghyun with bloodshot eyes.
"I have no name for some filthy beast with a human face and a beast’s heart. Do you truly need to speak with an animal?"
She deliberately lashed out with harsh, venomous words, as though trying to provoke me and, at the same time, shatter Bang Chunghyun’s composure.
But he didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.
Instead, he looked at me with a flat, emotionless stare and murmured,
"Of all people, you took on a disciple."
There was a trace of interest in Bang Chunghyun’s eyes, however slight.
"Indeed, even at a young age, you show rather remarkable attainment."
He took a step forward.
The ground beneath his foot split with a crack, and crimson demonic energy surged out like a tide.
"But I will only show restraint for your sake, Mukjeok. If it is your disciple, that is a different matter, as a third party."
Bang Chunghyun’s cold gaze swept over my limbs.
"Stand aside. Because I respect Mukjeok, I’ll let you keep your life. But if you resist until the end..."
Crack.
As he took another step, black demonic energy rose from the fractured earth.
"Even if all four of your limbs are severed and you are forced to crawl for the rest of your life, do not blame me."
His deep blue eyes seemed to writhe like flames.
"I won’t repeat myself."
His tone was so dry it did not even sound like a threat, as though he were discussing idle chatter in the marketplace.
That made it all the more vicious.
Instead of answering, I kicked off the ground and shot forward.
He was saying not to blame him even if I were left limbless and forced to crawl for the rest of my life.
From a modern ethical standpoint, it was absurd, but this was the martial world, where strength was law and the sword was language.
Answer?
That was something only people who could speak did.
Instead of words, I would argue with my sword.
That was the only answer a mute like me could give, the only struggle I could make to save my master from death.
I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth. My entire body was screaming.
The twisted blood and energy pathways left warped by my reverse traversal through the formation still hadn’t settled, and every moment they stabbed through me like needles.
But there was no place to retreat.
Behind me stood the old master who had burned away her whole life for my sake.
I poured every ounce of inner force in my body, black and ink-like as it was, into the blade.
My Mind's Eye trembled violently as it began reading the structure of the blood-red demonic aura surrounding Bang Chunghyun.
He was like a giant, immovable boulder, but I could see the instant where the flow bent, the fleeting joint in the current.
Only now—
Only now, while he was observing me and letting his guard slip at the same time, did I have a chance.
Taatt!
I kicked off the ground and sprang forward.
It was reckless.
To charge a monster who had long ago surpassed the Transformation Realm and was standing on the threshold of the Profound Realm was no different from suicide.
Even so, I couldn’t run. No—I had never even considered running in the first place.
The mystery of the circle, which I had learned through being beaten senseless by my master, had finally given me a chance to wield it in real combat.
Of course, I had never expected the opportunity to come like this.
The tip of my sword drew a curve toward Bang Chunghyun’s throat.
And when the sword reached the flow,
Break it!
A circle, with a slight twist, can become anything.
Turn a line into a point in an instant and compress all power into it.
Turn a defensive strike into an offensive one, and then into a killing blow.
Kiing—!
As sword and demonic energy collided, a metallic shriek burst forth as if it would rip my eardrums apart.
"...!"
I ground my teeth so hard blood welled from my gums.
Bang Chunghyun still hadn’t lifted a hand.
He had merely twisted his shoulder a little, and my sword lost all force, skidding helplessly as though it had plunged into a vast swamp.
But I didn’t stop.
Using the rebound as momentum, I spun my body and thrust again, this time aiming for his dantian.
Crackle.
Crackle!
The righteous qi of the Mo Sect stored in the blade cut through Bang Chunghyun’s red demonic aura and, by the width of a single sheet of paper, grazed the hem of his robe.
For the first time, Bang Chunghyun’s pupils trembled wide.
"Oh?"
He let out a short sound of surprise.
The Heavenly Path Demon King, who had deflected my sword so easily, looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes.
"You look barely past twenty at best, yet at your age you can pinpoint the joints of internal energy with such precision. Quite impressive."
Crackle.
Bang Chunghyun’s step, sheathed in demonic energy, slowly approached me.
There was a calmness to him that did not seem like calmness at all, even with such murderous energy wrapped around him.
In his eyes, I must have looked like some stray cat showing off tricks.
However clever a cat might be, could it kill a person?
Its scratches and bites might be annoying, even painful, but it was still too weak to be killed by a single kick.
Step.
The moment Bang Chunghyun took another step,
my master seized the back of my collar.
"Now, disciple! Hold on tight!"
At the same instant as her cry, she slammed her foot hard against a protrusion hidden beneath the cottage’s support pillar.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The ground around the cottage began to shake. Ordinary stones and trees planted in the courtyard lurched upward with eerie groans, while thick yellow-brown smoke burst up from all directions.
Whoooosh!
In an instant, our vision was cut off.
It was a poisonous fog that numbed the senses and scrambled one’s sense of direction: Confusing Soul Mist.
Bang Chunghyun stood quietly at the center of the fog, surveying his surroundings as though appreciating it.
"...A mechanism formation. And this poison is from the Tang Clan."
His low voice drifted through the mist.
─Beeeeeep!
At the same time, a shrill, ear-splitting high-pitched screech swept over the entire forest.
With the thunderous noise that felt as if it might burst the eardrums, screams rang out from the masked figures surrounding us.
"Agh! My ears!"
"W-what is that sound?! Aaaagh!"
The masked men stumbled in confusion, clutching their ears.
It was a wall of sound sufficient to completely wreck one’s balance.
But Bang Chunghyun, slowly walking out of the mist, showed no reaction whatsoever to the hellish noise.
He didn’t cover his ears, nor did he appear pained. He merely stared at the direction the fog was dispersing with that same flat expression.
For someone deaf to begin with, traps like this would mean nothing.
My master knew that as well.
"This way!"
Grabbing my sleeve, she immediately unleashed lightness skill and rushed deep into the forest.
***
Until the poison mist cleared, Bang Chunghyun stood there lofty and still.
In any case, they would not escape Zhangjiajie.
Once they realized what he was really after was the Three Strategems, the burden of that absurd family legacy and duty would drag them down.
While they flailed about like bees searching for their hive, all he had to do was quietly follow behind them, break the hive, and take the honey.
Once the seizures of the formation stopped, one of the masked men came to his senses and dropped to his knees.
"My lord, this subordinate is incompetent and has ruined the operation. Please, punish me."
Swish.
Bang Chunghyun granted the request.
With a dull thud, the masked man’s head rolled across the ground.
"Pursue them."
Bang Chunghyun’s voice echoed through the silent forest.
"Do not kill them. But..."
He paused for a moment, then added coldly,
"Do not care if some part of the body is lost. Bring them back no matter what. It can always be reattached."
"Yes, my lord!"
The black-clad figures, enduring the pain, melted into the fog like shadows.