A Visit from Old Friends
The conversation between Yeop Pung and Maeng Chang-haeng wrapped up without incident. The tale Yeop Pung had fabricated — the Founder's Dream Visitation — had been nothing more than a plausible explanation for his cultivation of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture.
Maeng Chang-haeng and Lee Sujol had meant to steer Yeop Pung toward this divine art from the beginning. Yeop Pung's ability to travel through time had forced a slight detour, but in the end both sides had gotten what they wanted. How Lee Sujol would go about verifying Yeop Pung's story was a question for another day.
There was, however, one matter that had left Maeng Chang-haeng thoroughly put out. At the drinking table, Yeop Pung had claimed he couldn't hold his liquor — and in doing so, he had thoroughly wounded the old man's pride.
In the end, Bone took matters into its own paws and gulped down the remaining half-jar of Seven-Day Drunk. The dog then clamped its teeth around the already thoroughly soused Maeng Chang-haeng's pant leg, dragged him into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut with a bang. It was the practiced, effortless technique of a creature that had done this many times before.
A moment later Bone emerged, flopped down in front of the door, and settled in to sleep, pointedly ignoring Yeop Pung. But when it caught sight of him standing there alone and forlorn, the dog finally pursed its muzzle and pointed its snout toward the empty room next door.
"You. Get in that room. Don't you dare disturb this one's sleep."
Bone's expression remained as cold as ever. To the dog, the quality of its own rest seemed to be the most important thing in the world.
Yeop Pung nodded quietly. He had no interest in getting into a pointless standoff with a dog, so he made his way into the small room.
The room was a complete shambles, and there wasn't even a bed. None of that mattered to Yeop Pung. After eight years of brutal training, he paid no mind to such trivial things. He tidied the space with a few efficient motions, sat down on the floor in the lotus position, and let out a long breath.
Hoo.... That first day on Nagun Peak had been unforgettable — thrilling enough to last a lifetime. Even Yeop Pung, whose temperament was forged of iron, found the cascade of events — traveling through time, the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture, deceiving his martial grand-uncles with a string of lies — so surreal it felt like a dream. And yet every last bit of it had, today, been unmistakably real.
He had now, in the truest sense, learned a portion of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture's mental method. The greatest obstacle to his cultivation had been overcome. Three important tasks lay ahead of him.
The first and most important was cultivation itself. He now possessed the complete mental method of the Thunder Roaring Palm. Once he opened his second profound meridian, he would be able to use the divine body art contained within it — Thunder Shadow Steps. Once he opened his third, he could unleash its most devastating killing technique — Thunder Roaring Sweep of Heaven. Yeop Pung swelled with anticipation at the enormous leap in strength each stage promised.
The second was preparing for the next journey through time. Geumban hadn't told him when that next jump would come, but Yeop Pung had a feeling it wouldn't be far off.
This time, he intended to prepare for every contingency and wring every last second out of that limited window. He would learn more of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture, of course — but he also meant to find out whether there was anything else he could accomplish while he was there.
He wasn't joking. Time travel.... To spend a miraculous power like that on nothing more than growing herbs and practicing martial arts would be a terrible waste.
The third was watching Maeng Chang-haeng's attitude and keeping an eye on the movements of Cheonun Sect's upper ranks. The truth was, Yeop Pung had felt a lingering disappointment toward the sect ever since the Gi Beonjin incident. That was precisely why he hadn't allowed himself to grow too close to Maeng Chang-haeng today. He still couldn't be certain how this sect — cold and worldly as it had shown itself to be — would treat him. The unease only drove him to whip himself harder, to become stronger still.
Yeop Pung didn't even have the luxury of catching his breath. Having laid out his tasks, he immediately gathered his Profound Qi and began cultivating the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture. The room filled with glittering starlight, and that light fell across a face that had shed its boyish softness and grown hard.
While Yeop Pung immersed himself in cultivation, Maeng Chang-haeng — who had been snoring like thunder in the next room — quietly opened his eyes. Sensing the presence of Yeop Pung at training, he broke into a wide, gap-toothed grin.
"Gotta say, I like that diligence of his. Hahaha! Koff...."
The special night on Nagun Peak drew to a close. Across the vast expanse of Mount Tianyun, there were those besides the two titans of Cheonun who had not forgotten the banished Yeop Pung.
Four shadows who had once sat together over tea and idle conversation gathered once more, chatting with evident pleasure.
"Haha!"
One of them laughed merrily.
"This whole affair was thanks to Brother Un Dae's brilliant scheme. Without it, we really might've handed that bastard Yeop Pung a chance to turn the tables. Where the hell did he learn that monstrous strength? He even smashed Gi Beonjin to pieces."
"Heheh."
Another chimed in with a matching laugh.
"And so what if he did? Un Dae's plan this time was designed to hurt Yeop Pung no matter how it played out. Either Yeop Pung ends up a cripple, or he inflicts a serious injury on Gi Beonjin. If it was the latter, the Gi clan would take care of Yeop Pung themselves. Absolutely brilliant!"
"Isn't that the truth!"
A third raised his thumb in approval.
"Everything's worked out perfectly. That bastard's been exiled to Nagun Peak — he won't be able to move a muscle for a whole year. By the time he comes out, he'll be a complete wreck. That's when we go settle the score. Hahaha!"
"Settle the score? Oh Gang, haven't you already gotten plenty of payback against Yeop Pung over the last eight years?"
"Hahaha!"
They all burst into laughter. Every one of them harbored a hatred for Yeop Pung that ran down to the bone; they could not, it seemed, bear the thought of him ever making a comeback in Cheonun Sect.
But as they were laughing, the cold-faced youth sitting in the center wore a chilly smile. Crimson flame flickered in his long, narrow eyes.
"You don't actually think this is over, do you?"
"Huh?"
The other three turned to look at him as one.
"Un Dae, what are you talking about?"
"Heh."
The cold-faced youth chuckled.
"For eight years, everyone thought Yeop Pung was completely finished. And then this time, he beat Gi Beonjin — a 2-Vein Profound Realm. Who knows what a guy like that might pull after another year?"
"Un Dae, you're not thinking of personally... No. This is Cheonun Sect. Fellow disciples killing each other is absolutely forbidden!"
"Who said anything about doing it myself?"
The cold-faced youth smiled with sly malice.
"The Gi clan is probably grinding their teeth in hatred for Yeop Pung right about now. And Nagun Peak is far from the main peaks where we are — supposedly guarded by just one old man.... What if someone were to quietly pass Yeop Pung's location and a portrait along to the Gi clan...?"
"Haha! Then the Gi clan would send people to take Yeop Pung out immediately! That's Un Dae for you. What a stroke of genius!"
The three of them gave the cold-faced youth a thumbs-up. Camaraderie among fellow disciples and the regulations of Cheonun Sect, it seemed, meant nothing to them.
"We'll take care of that tomorrow. If things move quickly, the Gi clan's assassins will be slipping into Nagun Peak within a few days."
The cold-faced youth smiled with satisfaction, as if already watching the gruesome scene of Yeop Pung's head being severed.
"We should prepare as well."
"Prepare for what?"
"To go settle the score one last time while Yeop Pung is still alive, of course. We won't get to have this kind of fun again."
"That's right, Un Dae. I'm training under Peak Master Gu Jeoryang of Maun Peak, and Maun Peak handles logistics for the entire sect. Three days from now is when we send drinking water and supplies to Nagun Peak, so I'll arrange things on my end. Three days from now, let's all go pay Yeop Pung a visit and have ourselves a good time."
"Good!"
"I'm already itching just thinking about seeing Yeop Pung. Haha!"
The four of them were of one mind, wearing smiles so cruel they were nauseating.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Yeop Pung spent that time in ordinary, monotonous routine. Just as he had when he first arrived at Cheonun Sect, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation from dawn until late into the night.
But when evening mealtime came, that stillness was invariably shattered by Maeng Chang-haeng and Bone in the cottage.
Living alongside them, Yeop Pung discovered, somewhat unexpectedly, that Maeng Chang-haeng kept a remarkably regular schedule. He would sleep until the afternoon, then wake and lounge in the courtyard, basking in the sun and horsing around with Bone. Come evening, he would bring out wine and dried snacks and pass a lively time with the dog.
Yeop Pung couldn't make sense of their relationship. Bone always treated Yeop Pung with an air of dismissive contempt.
And yet, though the dog looked thoroughly displeased with the reek of alcohol coming off Maeng Chang-haeng, it never dodged the old man's groping hands — it simply endured them. At times, that forbearance carried a grim, almost death-defying solemnity.
Once they'd emptied half a jar of wine, the real festivities began. Maeng Chang-haeng would belt out some bizarre song Yeop Pung couldn't understand at the top of his lungs. Beside him, Bone would sway its head in time with the beat. Maeng Chang-haeng would sing a verse and take a swig; Bone would nod its head once and receive a mouthful of wine in return.
Now and then, Maeng Chang-haeng would burst into tears mid-drink, and Bone — who had been wearing a face full of distaste — would wipe the old man's tears away with a front paw.
And when Maeng Chang-haeng occasionally hurled curses at the world, Bone would wait quietly until he settled down, then tug him by the hem of his robe, lead him to his room, and put him to bed. Only then would Bone flop down in front of the door with a look of thorough dissatisfaction and fall asleep.
Yeop Pung found himself envious of them. Bone was no ordinary dog, and yet it kept such loyal watch at Maeng Chang-haeng's side. There was surely some story between them that no one else knew. Without quite realizing it, Yeop Pung began to feel a warmth toward them.
It was on the morning of the third day of this peaceful stretch that a familiar voice shattered the calm.
Inside the cottage, Yeop Pung's eyes flashed wide open. The name Beom Undae was carved into his very bones.
Has that bastard actually tracked me all the way out here?