Chapter 281: Reunion with the Missing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 281: Reunion with the Missing
"Un-gyeong!"
Un-hye sprinted toward Un-gyeong, her tears scattering in the wind.
"Un-hye!"
Un-gyeong, also weeping, opened her arms wide to welcome her.
Thud.
The two women collapsed into a tight embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Are you alright? Why are you so thin? Have you been eating? I was so worried! Waaaaah!"
Un-hye poured out her words in a frantic rush before breaking down into fresh wails.
When her closest friend and fellow disciple had gone missing, Un-hye felt as if her world had ended. They were both abandoned at the temple as children and had relied on each other like sisters ever since. They were family. How could she be expected to remain sane after hearing her family had vanished?
And now, seeing her friend so gaunt, Un-hye could no longer suppress her grief.
Before leaving for the North Sea, Un-gyeong had cute, chubby cheeks, still holding onto her baby fat. Now, her face was nothing but bone. Her once-radiant, peach-blossom skin was visibly dry and lackluster.
The sight allowed Un-hye to guess the sheer scale of the hardships Un-gyeong had endured, and that realization struck her heart like a physical blow. Un-hye sobbed like a broken child.
It was painful. It was too painful.
Thinking of the suffering her friend must have faced in this distant, foreign land, a wave of sorrow crashed over her, keeping her tear ducts working without pause.
"I'm okay... I'm really okay... I'm just... so happy to see you alive..."
As if sensing Un-hye’s heart, Un-gyeong wept with joy. She felt a surge of overwhelming happiness. She had truly believed she would never see her friend again.
While suffering every kind of shame and insult at the hands of the Evil Demon and the monsters of the Demon Troops, she had prayed for death. She had lived in despair, fearing that when the Evil Demon returned, she would be subjected to indelible disgrace and end her life as a plaything for the troops.
To such a woman, the appearance of a friend who was no different from family brought unparalleled happiness and hope—the hope that she might actually return alive to the Emei Sect, where her loved ones waited.
"What do you mean, 'okay'?! Your chubby cheeks are completely gone!"
Un-hye snapped at her friend’s reassurance. How could she be okay? After being reduced to such a miserable state, how could those words even leave her mouth?
"I'm okay... I really am... hic..."
Hearing Un-hye’s anger, Un-gyeong wept out of gratitude. The mere fact that Un-hye was getting angry on her behalf was a profound comfort. The two held each other tightly, offering solace until their tears finally began to dry.
They weren't the only ones finding comfort in a reunion.
"Could it... be... Cheonggang?"
Cheongsong shouted as he stared at the emaciated man standing before him.
".........Sihyeong Cheongsong?"
At Cheongsong’s call, Cheonggang opened his mouth, his expression dazed. He was utterly bewildered. The senior brother he respected most after his master had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Cheongsong silently observed his confused junior brother. Soon, his eyes began to redden. Even at a glance, it was clear that Cheonggang was not in his right mind or body.
His face was so thin that his cheekbones protruded sharply, and his lips were cracked and parched as if he hadn't tasted water in days. Furthermore, his once-sturdy, large frame had vanished, likely due to his muscles wasting away under extreme duress. All that remained was a pitiful, withered shell of a man.
But the most devastating change was his right arm. It was gone.
Cheonggang was missing his arm—his right arm, specifically.
"How did this happen to you?! How?!"
Seeing Cheonggang’s state, Cheongsong let out a cry that was more of a scream than a shout.
A one-armed man. The right arm of his favorite junior brother, the one who followed him most faithfully, was nowhere to be found. Cheongsong wailed in agony.
Cheonggang was a swordsman who used his right hand. For him to lose that arm was synonymous with losing the martial arts he had spent his entire life cultivating.
Cheongsong couldn't help but howl. This was the junior brother who had volunteered for the grueling journey to the North Sea for the sake of their impoverished sect. This kind-hearted man, this steadfast and upright disciple, had lost his arm.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Cheongsong’s scream echoed through the air.
"I... I am... alright."
Perhaps worried about Cheongsong, Cheonggang tried to reassure him.
"How can you say you're alright?! You... you lost your arm!"
However, his attempt at comfort backfired, only causing Cheongsong to raise his voice in further anguish.
".....It is already in the past."
Cheonggang gazed at him with resigned eyes. He had already reached the very edge of despair. Now, he was content simply with the hope that he might continue to live.
"Ugh... hic... waaaaah..."
Seeing that look of resignation, Cheongsong wept. He felt utterly powerless, knowing there was nothing he could do for him. Sensing his senior's heart, Cheonggang used his remaining arm to warmly embrace the man crying for him.
"Uwaaaaaah..."
Feeling Cheonggang’s warmth, Cheongsong’s tears flowed even more fiercely.
The area quickly turned into a sea of tears.
The missing persons were the search party's colleagues, friends, and family. Seeing their horrific conditions, the searchers could not hide their grief. The younger disciples, in particular, threw away the dignity of their prestigious sects and burst into loud sobs, unable to control their emotions.
Unlike them, the older disciples were consumed by rage first—rage toward the Evil Demon and the Demon Troops who had done this to their precious people.
Vroooooom.
In the case of Daoist Un-jeok-ja, his fury had reached such a peak that a murderous aura shimmered around him with every breath he took. The disciples who were the hope of the Qingcheng Sect had been reduced to this. Some had lost arms; others had lost entire limbs. How could he not be enraged?
He was furious. So furious he could barely contain himself.
"Palace Master."
Un-jeok-ja called out to Bukgung Yeon in a low, quiet voice.
"What is it?" Bukgung Yeon replied calmly.
"Thank you."
Un-jeok-ja bowed his head deeply, expressing his gratitude. It was a gesture of thanks for pulling his disciples out of that pit of hell.
"There is no need for thanks. I didn't kill those demons with the intention of saving anyone in the first place," she said flatly.
She was telling the truth. She hadn't even known the Alliance warriors were being held captive. Their rescue was merely an incidental byproduct of her hunt for the Evil Demon and his lackeys.
"Even so, the fact remains that the Palace Master saved the warriors of the Alliance. I shall consider you my benefactor for the rest of my life."
Despite her dismissive tone, Un-jeok-ja spoke with even greater politeness. Regardless of her intent, the result was that the Alliance disciples were saved by her hand. No one would find it unjust to call her a benefactor of the Alliance.
"Do as you wish," Bukgung Yeon replied indifferently. Whether he considered her a benefactor or not didn't matter to her. Her only goal was revenge.
"However, Palace Master," Un-jeok-ja called her again.
"What now?"
"Where is the Evil Demon?"
"What do you plan to do?"
"I intend to kill him, of course. So horribly that he will regret ever being born."
Un-jeok-ja spoke as a terrifying murderous aura exploded from his body.
"No," Bukgung Yeon said firmly.
"Why not?!" Un-jeok-ja protested. Why would she oppose his death?
"That bastard belongs to me."
Bukgung Yeon released a dense, heavy bloodlust. Its concentration was so thick that it easily overwhelmed the aura Un-jeok-ja had been projecting.
"..........."
Exposed to her killing intent, Un-jeok-ja was rendered speechless. He realized then that the depth of her martial arts and her grudge far exceeded his own.
".....Then at least let me help. I wish to repay the favor."
Un-jeok-ja took a step back and made his request. These were monsters who deserved to be torn into a thousand pieces. He couldn't just stand by and watch.
"No."
But Bukgung Yeon rejected even his earnest plea.
"I will kill them all myself. Every single one of them."
Her eyes gleamed with a cold light.
"Urgh..."
Un-jeok-ja groaned at her stubbornness. It didn't seem like she would give in easily.
"If you touch them, you become my enemy as well."
Sensing Un-jeok-ja’s dissatisfaction, Bukgung Yeon issued a final warning.
".....Understood."
Hearing that, Un-jeok-ja reluctantly opened his mouth, his face darkened. Only then did Bukgung Yeon show a small, satisfied smile.
*
"Sigh."
Sun-woo let out a heavy breath. The condition of the missing persons was worse than he had imagined. It seemed the Demon Troops' hobby was torture, as it was hard to find anyone with an intact body.
Many had lost limbs, had their eyes gouged out, or their teeth pulled. He heard that while the nuns hadn't been raped due to the Evil Demon’s orders, they had been subjected to all sorts of other sexual harassment.
'Those absolute pieces of shit.'
Sun-woo cursed inwardly. Fury surged within him toward the Evil Demon and the Demon Troops, who had committed such inhumane acts simply because they were bored. These were the people who were supposed to be the pillars of the Alliance. Seeing them in such a wretched state, how could he not be livid?
Vroooooom.
Sun-woo began to radiate a murderous aura. A frantic urge to kill bubbled up inside him. He had never met these victims before. The perpetrators had never laid a finger on him. And yet, he wanted to kill them. Desperately.
His bloodlust began to take physical form. Sun-woo’s eyes started to turn wild and bloodshot.
Smack!
Suddenly, a sharp impact hit the back of his head.
"Ow!"
Sun-woo cried out involuntarily from the shock.
"Senior! What was that for?!"
Sun-woo raised his voice, glaring at Sword Man, who had just struck him.
"Heh heh, calm down."
Sword Man chuckled at Sun-woo’s outburst.
"You were in a very dangerous state just now."
"Dangerous?" Sun-woo asked, confused.
"I mean you were about to be consumed by your own bloodlust."
"By my bloodlust?"
"Indeed."
Gulp.
Sword Man took a swig of liquor from a bottle he had produced from somewhere.
"You are currently standing at a crossroads of a very important choice. For someone in your position, being swallowed by bloodlust is something to be avoided."
"What does that mean?"
Sun-woo pressed him. A crossroads of an important choice? What was he talking about?
"Kekeke."
Sword Man laughed as if Sun-woo’s question was amusing.
"It seems the Yin-Yang Demon aren't very good teachers. To leave out such an important fact..."
"Senior! This is frustrating. Please, just speak plainly!"
Sun-woo pounded his chest in exasperation. It was maddening when someone acted like they knew something but refused to explain it.
Gulp, gulp.
Sword Man tilted the bottle back again, wetting his throat.
"Do you know what the Transcendent Realm truly is?" he asked, looking at Sun-woo.
"Is it not the supreme realm reached when the physical concepts of Mind, Skill, and Body, as well as the spiritual concepts of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, achieve harmony and reach their absolute peak?"
"Tsk tsk, why such a long-winded explanation?"
Sword Man clicked his tongue.
"The Transcendent Realm is the limit of what a human can achieve."
"The limit?"
"That's right. The highest realm reachable as a human—that is what we call the Transcendent Realm."
"That makes no sense," Sun-woo countered.
"Why not?"
"While rare, there are clearly those who have reached the Profound Realm. How can you call the Transcendent Realm the human limit?"
Sun-woo shook his head. He thought Sword Man’s opinion was absurd. The Profound Realm was rare, yes, but people had certainly reached it.
There was the Absolute Martial God Lee Jae-won, the hero who saved the Central Plains twenty years ago and hogged every kind of protagonist buff.
There was the Yin-Yang Demon Lee Ho-seon, the greatest demon under heaven, who treated even that Lee Jae-won like a child.
There was the Heavenly Demon Emperor, the king of the demons who invaded the Central Plains twenty years ago and the final boss of the novel, whose peerless martial arts pushed even the buffed Lee Jae-won into a corner.
There was the Master of the North Sea Ice Palace, who displayed unbelievable divine power by controlling the freezing Snow Wind at will.
And finally, there was Sword Man himself, who had cut through that very Snow Wind in a single stroke.
All of them were individuals who had surpassed the Transcendent Realm and reached the Profound Realm. So how could he claim the Transcendent Realm was the limit for humans? It was nonsense.
"Heh heh heh... You don't believe me."
Sword Man chuckled at Sun-woo’s reaction.
"Of course not! How can I believe you when the evidence is standing right in front of me?" Sun-woo raised his voice.
"I am not human," Sword Man said calmly.
"What?!"
Sun-woo asked back, stunned. Seeing his reaction, Sword Man wore a mischievous, amused smile.