116. That Clothing
“He’s on the verge of death. Or rather, he’s just barely staving it off.”
Yu Il O muttered. I nodded in agreement.
The old man looked so frail it was a mystery how he was still alive.
And yet, he was holding a shovel.
The reason was obvious.
He must have been trying to bury the villagers’ corpses, at the very least.
“Hey, old timer.”
Yu Il O said.
“We’ll take care of burying these bodies here, so can you tell us what happened?”
The old man slowly nodded.
“Anyway…… I’m…… a dead man walking…… Thank you……”
“Hold on.”
Yu Il O approached the old man.
Then, without hesitation, he jabbed his fingers into various points on the old man’s body.
Sa Wol frowned at the sight.
“This is the secret technique of Latent Power Explosion passed down in my sect. How’s that? Can you talk now?”
“No way…… My body has strength……”
The old man’s face lit up with shock.
“No time to waste, so spill it quick. Looks like it’ll only last about an hour before you drop dead.”
“What?”
Yu Il O replied to the old man’s stunned question as if it were nothing.
“Latent Power Explosion gathers up your scattered innate essence and burns it like firewood.”
This was why the Divine Cult was called the Demonic Cult outside.
Yu Il O was casually toying with the man’s death.
“Such a……”
“So, you gonna talk or not? Time’s ticking.”
Under Yu Il O’s prodding, the old man finally gave in and spoke.
“I was living here in this outpost village with my grandson. This is the only house that didn’t collapse—mine.”
The old man was an herbalist.
“Lately, my grandson had been acting strange. About a month ago, he picked up some weird clothes by the riverbank, and it got worse after that. I told him to throw them away—they were cursed—but he wouldn’t. ‘The owner’s dead anyway, so what’s the big deal?’ he said.”
“Enough side stories. Get to the point.”
“I had to go gather herbs instead, but he threw a fit and refused. ‘Why should I have to pick weeds?’ he whined.”
“How old’s the grandson?”
“Fourteen.”
“That age, yeah, makes sense. So? When do we get to the point?”
The old man continued.
He’d gone to gather herbs in his grandson’s place and returned to find the village already ablaze.
“That man…… was a monster. He swung his sword once, and everyone here burned to death. The Divine Cult guy barely escaped.”
Probably one of the crew members who’d come ashore while on fire.
“How’d you survive, old timer?”
“Thanks to my grandson. The guy took him…… said he’d spare me for it.”
“And that arm?”
“Dared to touch the hem of his robe, so he chopped it off.”
“Hmph. Maeng Wi-hak, alright.”
Yu Il O snorted.
Did Yu Il O know something about Maeng Wi-hak’s true nature?
“Why take the grandson, then?”
“Said he’d make him his disciple. Thought it was a wasted trip, but got an unexpected gain.”
“……!”
That reminded me of the intel Tak Horak had brought from the martial world.
Rumors that Maeng Wi-hak was looking for a disciple.
The whole world was buzzing about it.
He’d come all the way to this backwater for that?
Well, a guy like Maeng Wi-hak could go anywhere outside the Cult if he wanted.
“What does Maeng Wi-hak know about the Divine Cult?”
“Didn’t seem too interested. Spoke like they were a nuisance when he saw the Cult guy.”
“Know where he went?”
“Said Muryang Village, next one over.”
“Where’s Muryang Village?”
“A day’s walk.”
At those words, Yu Il O’s hand trembled a bit more.
Tension? Excitement? Something like that.
Sure enough, Yu Il O had some history with Maeng Wi-hak.
“You gentlemen from the Divine Cult?”
The old man asked us. I nodded.
“Please save my Mu-gwang.”
“Of course, of course. We will.”
“I beg you—.”
Mid-sentence, the old man collapsed face-first. No movement.
He was dead.
“Less life in him than I thought. Couldn’t even last the hour.”
Yu Il O gently closed the old man’s eyes.
“Hey, Sado Ga-ju.”
“What.”
“You handle the burials like the old man asked.”
“And you?”
“Me—.”
Yu Il O tapped his sword and grinned.
“I’m off to kill Maeng Wi-hak.”
“Denied.”
“What?”
“I said denied.”
Yu Il O dropped his smile at my words. His face turned feral.
“Unless you’ve got a damn good reason, Sado Ga-ju, I’ll cut you down right now.”
“Maeng Wi-hak left in a hurry because he achieved his goal of finding a disciple.”
“So?”
“If you show up in front of him, it’s basically declaring this really is Divine Cult territory.”
“So?”
“You want war, Yu Il O?”
Pfft.
Yu Il O chuckled. And in that instant—
[!? Dodge, yokai!]
Before I could even register it, the Time Wheel Jade activated. And I could only reel in shock.
Yu Il O had already drawn his sword and was swinging it at my neck. His blade stopped just a handspan from my throat.
Without the Time Wheel Jade slowing time, my head would’ve been severed.
I leaped back.
But—
Roll.
In the extremely slowed time, Yu Il O’s eyes followed my retreat.
“?!”
His sword’s trajectory even accelerated sharply, aiming for my neck again.
I quickly used Blink to retreat further.
But—
[The power of the Time Wheel Jade has been disengaged, yokai.]
Using Blink canceled the Time Wheel Jade.
Can’t beat both time and space at once, huh.
Anyway.
After Blinking out, Sa Wol blocked my front. She was biting her lip. Probably mad she missed the move.
“What the hell was that.”
“Got some moves, huh, Sado Ga-ju. How’d you dodge?”
I wanted to ask the same.
I’d cranked the time dilation to the max. Even an arrow would crawl toward me.
In that slowed time, my movements gain insane relative speed.
Even Cheol So Pyeong or Chu Tae Su would miss it in a blink.
Yet he not only tracked it but accelerated further.
This is the power of the top 10 in the Cult, from Cheon Oe Cheon?
And Yu Il O hadn’t even fully unleashed his simsang.
Damn this power inflation. I thought Blink was an all-purpose evade, and with Time Wheel Jade, I’d be safe. No such luck.
Can’t let my guard down. They keep scaling with me.
“You know what, Sado Ga-ju?”
Yu Il O undid his robe.
A scarred, chiseled torso appeared. And crossing it in an X was a massive scar.
The left-to-right stroke was twisted like a burn. The right-to-left was so thin you’d miss it without looking close.
Yu Il O pointed to his chest.
“Everyone who scarred me is dead. Except two.”
He pointed to the right-to-left scar.
“This one’s from the Supreme One.”
Makes sense—with his personality, he’d have gone straight for Yi Se-ryeong otherwise.
“And this.”
Yu Il O pointed to the other half.
“Maeng Wi-hak’s handiwork.”
No wonder he was obsessed.
“The Supreme One’ll accept my challenge anytime. Not Maeng Wi-hak. This is my golden chance.”
Yu Il O retied his robe.
“And you’re still blocking my way, Sado Ga-ju?”
Honestly, at this point, maybe I should just let him go.
Whatever I said, I had no options. If he attacked again, I’d just have to evade and think.
All I could do was glare and hold firm.
But—
“Eyes full of conviction, huh. Tsk.”
Yu Il O suddenly sheathed his sword. His grin returned.
“Truth is, I wasn’t really gonna chase him.”
“……Then?”
“Just curious what our investigation leader would decide. Especially since you’re a candidate for the Supreme One’s spouse. If you weren’t up to snuff, I’d have cut you down.”
Grinning, but his words dripped menace.
“Eh, you’ve got guts. Dodging my sword’s a bonus point.”
Bonus point my ass—I’d be dead otherwise.
“Mu-gwang, right? The old man’s grandson. Can’t save him, but let’s bury these folks.”
Yu Il O picked up the old man’s shovel.
Impossible to pin him down. Serious? Playful? Merciful? Ruthless? Unclear.
[That’s why he’s scary.]
I nodded faintly at Pa Cheon’s words. Unpredictable.
‘Keep watching Yu Il O.’
[Of course.]
Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Yu Il O started digging.
“Sorry, Ga-ju-nim.”
“For what.”
“I missed the movement.”
Sa Wol said, her face heavy.
“I told you before. Super Peak isn’t the end—it’s the beginning.”
I patted her shoulder.
“Those powerhouses you saw? They’re just milestones on the path to the boundless realm.”
Sa Wol’s eyes widened, then she nodded.
“Talk…… good.”
Jin Yeong Ryeong blurted from the side. When I turned, she yelped “Eek!” and looked away.
“We’ll help too.”
“I’ll do it. Rest, Ga-ju-nim.”
“More hands make light work.”
Farm tools were scattered everywhere.
Hwang So Gun looked honored when I grabbed a shovel myself.
Well, the head of one of the Six Demonic Families doing manual labor? Yeah.
Though Rank 8 with a shovel was weird too.
It took a full two hours to bury everyone. Sa Wol’s digs were like an excavator, or it’d have been longer.
The sun was dipping low.
“Too late to head back now. Night brings thick fog on Baekhoe River—no way this boat punches through.”
“Guess I’ll hunt some rabbits. Can’t starve.”
I stared. Yu Il O squirmed.
“Not going after Maeng Wi-hak, not going.”
“Back before sundown.”
“Yes, yes. Will do.”
Yu Il O waved and headed into the woods.
Better out of sight.
“The old man’s house is intact—why not stay there?”
I nodded at Hwang So Gun.
Didn’t fancy camping where corpses lay.
“I’ll go clean it first.”
Sa Wol vanished with a pop. I walked with Hwang So Gun.
When we arrived—
“……”
Sa Wol held a torn scrap of cloth. Her aura was off.
I froze too.
That torn cloth was too familiar.
That clothing—
Sa Wol ground her teeth.
“It’s Sado Gwang’s clothes.”