A Mother's Final Wish
One month had passed since they left the brain prison.
“My lady, you must eat something.”
Ok-yeon’s voice was low and gentle. She knelt beside Hong Mae, carefully offering a bowl of porridge. Her movements flowed like water. As her long sleeve slipped slightly, revealing a wrist as white as jade, the surrounding chill faintly illuminated her skin. It was proof that Hong Mae’s teachings had seeped into every part of her daily life.
“Yes, yes. I’m awake, my child.”
Hong Mae responded to Ok-yeon’s call, but there was no vitality left in her voice. Her skin had grown dry and flaky, making her look every bit the old woman she truly was.
“Here’s the porridge.”
Ok-yeon smiled as she brought the bowl closer.
“Thank you, dear.”
The vegetables they had harvested from the small garden in the brain prison had run out long ago. They had rationed their water carefully, so some remained, but there was almost nothing left that could be turned into food for Hong Mae. Though she had set out with such determination, Ok-yeon was beginning to wonder if they should turn back. Of course, returning was impossible. For Hong Mae’s sake, the hardship would have been nothing, but going back would not heal her.
“My child, your complexion grows worse by the day.”
While picking at the stubborn crust in the corners of her eyes, Hong Mae murmured. Her voice had grown so faint that Ok-yeon had to lean in constantly to hear her. For an entire month, aside from the brief moments when she snatched some sleep, Ok-yeon had never stopped circulating her energy. Even when trying to rest, she held Hong Mae close and spent the night blocking external qi as much as possible. Her condition was just as poor as Hong Mae’s.
“You should worry about your own body before mine, my lady.”
Since missing the approaching demonic beasts about ten days ago, Ok-yeon’s focus had not wavered once. Her mental strength was wearing away at the same rate.
“My child. I have been thinking of something.”
Hong Mae’s mind had grown as clouded as her physical state. That had been the change over this past month. Yet today, for some reason, she smiled at Ok-yeon with perfectly clear eyes.
“What is it, my lady?”
Ok-yeon smiled back and listened attentively. The fear engraved in her heart grew heavier with each passing moment. She hid it as best she could and focused on Hong Mae’s words.
“I never studied this field properly, so I don’t know the details. But I have experienced formations before.”
“Formations…”
Ok-yeon had known from the beginning that this environment resembled a natural formation. But because it was not artificially created, truly understanding the principles behind it was nearly impossible. Unlike human-made formations, there were no special objects or arrangements placed in specific spots.
“Every formation must have a way to be broken. I believe even a natural one is no exception.”
“Is that so…”
In the early days, Ok-yeon had also moved while keeping the possibility of breaking the formation in mind. But even after years of searching, she had found nothing special. Lately, she had simply wandered with the vague hope that if she visited every location, she would eventually reach the exit.
“The Reverse-Blood Fairy spread her senses and marked areas where the qi felt different. I think we should pay attention to those places.”
“Pay attention…?”
The Reverse-Blood Fairy Wi Cheong-ran had marked four locations in total. Ok-yeon had already visited all of them years ago and returned several times afterward to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Even if she went back now, she doubted she would find anything new.
“Every formation must have both an entrance and an exit. There is no such thing as a formation with an entrance but no exit. That is the law of nature. A formation without an exit cannot exist in the first place.”
“But this is a natural formation created by the cold poison. Couldn’t it be possible for it to have no exit?”
“I just told you. It is the law of nature. Where there is yin, there is yang. Where there is life, there is death. If the balance is broken, it is no longer natural. So if you can identify the special characteristics of those marked places, you will naturally come to understand the location of the exit.”
“Is that truly possible…”
Ok-yeon recalled her master’s map, which she had seen so many times she could draw it from memory. One location was presumed to be the center of this blood valley, where the brain prison had been. Another was a place filled with countless monsters despite the comfortable environment—a spot she never wanted to visit again. A third was so thick with poison that even her transformed body had barely been able to approach. The last was a strangely bright area, as if sunlight reached it, where her body grew strangely weak and movement became difficult.
“If that is the law of nature…”
The contrast was clear. The area near the brain prison that resembled the outside world, and the place where the poison was most severe. The location thick with yin energy and the one rich in yang energy.
“They balance each other. But if they are already in balance, doesn’t that mean these four places have nothing to do with the exit? They already exist as a natural pair.”
“That’s true. But there is no rule saying there can only be four such places, is there? Have you found any other special locations?”
“…Special locations.”
There was one. She didn’t need to look far. It was the very place where the remains of the Reverse-Blood Fairy Wi Cheong-ran had been. Nothing remained there now except the map, but it had been so difficult to find that only she, among all who had entered this blood valley, had discovered it. No demonic beasts had approached that spot either, so it was undoubtedly unique.
“Indeed, I didn’t examine that place as thoroughly as the others. I only focused on the map and the insights it contained.”
“Then you should go there. With your current state of mind, you may notice something different.”
“Yes, that sounds good. It’s better than wandering aimlessly.”
“I hope you find a clue.”
Had she forced herself to appear lucid just to say those words? Immediately afterward, Hong Mae fell into a deep sleep.
The place where the insights had been left was roughly three days’ travel from where they had been heading. Once again, Ok-yeon realized just how unnatural this environment truly was. No matter how vast the Jinling Mountain Range was, the Yeon-yeon Blood Valley itself was not supposed to be such an enormous chasm. What kind of power could distort space on this scale?
While walking for a long time, Hong Mae called out to Ok-yeon in a low voice. There was a hint of urgency in it.
“Do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“The location of the Maehyang Pavilion.”
“It’s in Yicheng County, Hubei Province.”
“Don’t forget it.”
“The moment we leave this place, I will go there first.”
“That’s a relief.”
But soon Hong Mae’s tone changed. It sounded as if she regretted what she had just said.
“There is somewhere else you must go before that.”
“Wungye County? We will naturally pass through there once we get out.”
Ok-yeon clenched her fists tightly at the sound of Hong Mae’s voice, which seemed beyond her own control. For three days, Hong Mae spoke to her constantly in a manner far more intense than before. Her face, which had grown increasingly haggard and aged, actually began to improve after that. However… the inside of her mouth, visible whenever she spoke, had turned pitch black.
She would sometimes act with the impatience of someone running out of time. Every time Ok-yeon looked at her face, her own eyes trembled. Hong Mae would simply smile kindly and stroke her cheek.
“Please hold on just a little longer. I’m certain there will be a clue here that leads to the exit.”
“I hope so, my child.”
Ok-yeon felt a crushing sense of self-reproach. If only she had come a little sooner. If only she had thought more clearly.
“It was a lie. You don’t have to remember. Forget about the Maehyang Pavilion.”
“What?”
“It has already been ten years. Everyone must have forgotten me by now. You should live your own life, Ok-yeon.”
Hong Mae smiled brightly. Sitting gracefully in the place where Wi Cheong-ran’s remains had once been scattered. Looking young once more.
“Please don’t say such things. All I have left now is you and my revenge, my lady. I will definitely fulfill your request.”
“You also plan to fulfill Elder Eun’s request. You will be very busy, my child.”
“I don’t believe revenge will be accomplished in a short time. So I will definitely stop by Hubei Province.”
“I see… If it’s on the way, then perhaps it’s fine.”
“And you must come with me— Ah… I think I’ve found it.”
Something had caught in the senses Ok-yeon had spread out. She had worried whether she would be able to find anything, since spreading her senses across such a vast area like Wi Cheong-ran had done was impossible for her.
“…A wall. The energy is blocked and cannot go any further. This is definitely a wall.”
“Could it be the cliff you fell from?”
“I’ve come here several times before and never noticed it. Even Master never found this wall.”
“Doesn’t a formation make you go in circles if you don’t take the correct path? Perhaps it can only be found when you discover the right direction. Or there may be another reason.”
“That’s true. Let’s go take a look first.”
Her heart was pounding. She remembered that the height of the cliff wasn’t that great. Seven years ago, right after becoming a woman, she would have found it impossible. But now it was possible.
Ok-yeon looked down at her own hands. Unfortunately, no matter how much she had trained, this body refused to develop muscles or grow firm. Because calluses never formed, her hands tore and healed again and again every single day. Hong Mae and Eun Baek-ho had said it was good for disguising herself as a woman who knew nothing of martial arts… In any case, she had completely adapted to this frail body. She had grown used to a form that, compared to when she had been a man, offered almost no advantages as a martial artist.
If she used her internal energy properly, even if her palms tore, she could climb a cliff of this height. Even while carrying Hong Mae on her back.
“Please endure just a little longer.”
Ok-yeon lifted Hong Mae onto her back. Once again, the heartbreaking lightness of her weight struck her deeply. With Hong Mae on her back, Ok-yeon closed her eyes. She concentrated so as not to miss even the slightest flow of qi.
Thirty steps to the right. Then a hundred steps straight ahead. The flow of qi changed. This time, ten steps to the left. Then moving forward again…
Thud.
She touched a wall. A wall she had never seen once during her visits over the past seven years. Ok-yeon opened her eyes, feeling a sense of futility.
“It was this easy all along…”
“Well, perhaps it was simply that the time had come. It is not your fault, so there is no need to blame yourself.”
“…Ugh. Please endure just a little longer. Just a little!”
Swallowing her impatience, Ok-yeon placed her hand on a protruding rock on the cliff face. Pain already shot through her palms, which remained soft and weak despite years of training. But she had long grown used to this kind of pain. Ignoring the way her nails broke and her flesh tore, Ok-yeon drove her hands into the cliff.
As she remembered, the height wasn’t that great. Roughly twenty zhang. Not particularly high within the Jinling Mountain Range. Except for the fact that it was nearly vertical.
Swish—
She felt something digging into the back of her head. Thinking it might be a demonic beast she had failed to detect, she looked back to see Hong Mae smiling weakly. Ok-yeon reached up to the spot where she had felt the touch.
“It’s a hairpin…”
When she pulled it out slightly to check, it was the one Hong Mae usually wore. Looking now, Hong Mae’s hair had come completely undone.
“It looked uncomfortable. Hehe.”
“You can’t even see it anyway…”
“I can see a little.”
She had long since lost the ability to open her eyes properly. At Hong Mae’s words, Ok-yeon felt another surge of tears.
“It suits you well.”
“Thank you…”
Forcing out words of gratitude, Ok-yeon pushed her fingers into a crevice above her. At that moment, a sickening crack sounded as something in her hand shifted out of place. Perhaps she hadn’t heard it. There was no reaction from Hong Mae hanging on her back. Gritting her teeth, Ok-yeon placed her hand on the next protruding rock. No matter how much internal energy she used, it was difficult with such a frail body.
“My child…”
“I’m listening. I’m sorry. Please endure just a little longer.”
“My dear child…”
“I’m listening…”
Halfway. Only half the distance remained. Her breathing grew ragged and her concentration on maintaining her internal energy began to scatter. It wasn’t simply the price of the strength she had exerted so far—her body itself was failing to adapt to the changing environment.
She had expected this. Inside the brain prison where vegetation existed. And the place where she had briefly experienced sunlight. She had felt her strength draining in environments similar to the outside world. Once might have been a coincidence, but twice made it inevitable. So Ok-yeon had predicted that her strength would fade in places where the cold poison grew thinner.
As expected, the energy in her body was rapidly draining away. The cold poison that had always surrounded her was no longer detectable. Moreover, she had maintained her heart technique almost without rest for over a month now. The enormous burden was finally catching up to her.
Her eyes kept closing. Her arms and legs trembled. The flow of energy broke, causing excruciating pain, and sensation in her hands and feet grew dull. Yet this was a joyous thing. The higher she climbed, the farther she moved from the Yeon-yeon Blood Valley. This terrible pain, this overwhelming urge to let go—every part of it was something she should rejoice over.
“One quarter… left.”
That was why Ok-yeon did not stop. If she rested now, it would all be over. For revenge. For her family. For Hong Mae. There wasn’t even five zhang left. If she didn’t climb today, when would she ever climb?
“Ugh…!”
The hand she had been driving into the crevice as emotionlessly as possible slipped. Even when she tried to raise it again, her fingers refused to bend as she wished. The muscles must have been damaged beyond what internal energy could sustain. If there were no teeth, one used the gums. Ok-yeon gave up trying to grip with her fingers and forced the edge of her hand into the crack instead. Even her unnaturally twisted wrist screamed in protest. Another dull crack. The sound of bones breaking as they caught the cliff in the wrong position.
That was fine too. It was almost over. Truly. Just a tiny bit more.
“Haaah!!”
The top of the cliff—perhaps the very place she had fallen from seven years ago. Ok-yeon’s hand finally reached it. After slipping and scraping several times, her fingers found a small crevice. She squeezed out the last of her internal energy, kicked off the cliff, and threw herself upward.
Thump.
Her body, having exhausted every ounce of strength, collapsed naturally. Even as she fell, Ok-yeon made sure Hong Mae’s body did not strike the ground.
“Haa… Haa…”
She had not felt sunlight in years. There was no time to savor the birdsong or the lush forest. Ok-yeon carried Hong Mae beneath the shade of a tree.
“My… lady…”
Without even taking time to steady her slurred tongue, she called out to Hong Mae. She crawled on her knees until she was directly in front of her. To tell her the good news. That they had reached the outside world she had longed for so much.
“My lady…”
Hong Mae’s eyes were gently closed. A soft smile rested on her face. A breeze flowed in, stirring the hair that had lost its hairpin. Hair that had turned pure white.
“Mother…”
Ok-yeon buried her face in Hong Mae’s chest. Using the title she had probably longed to hear all this time—the one Ok-yeon had never been able to give her.