Chapter 481: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (116)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 481: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (116)
Lost and wandering on the treacherous mountain paths of Sichuan Province, Jin Myeong-woo and Wi Dan-wol were aided by a man they met by chance. He introduced himself as Cheong-un, and as luck would have it, he was also heading to Kunlun Mountain.
“It was a real relief. If it weren't for Young Master Cheong, we'd probably still be wandering in the mountains.”
Jin Myeong-woo expressed his sincere gratitude. After being stuck wandering in circles for half a month, they were exhausted, and Cheong-un's appearance felt like a godsend.
“Haha, not at all. I've enjoyed traveling with you, Young Master Myeong and Miss Wi.”
Cheong-un replied with a gentle smile. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and wore a simple blue Daoist robe, yet he exuded an air of uncommon dignity. His eyes held a certain depth, as if he had seen much of the world, and every word he spoke was laced with culture and grace.
“Young Master Cheong, if you don't mind my asking, what business do you have with the Kunlun Sect?”
Jin Myeong-woo asked, his eyes full of curiosity. They had walked together for the past three days, sharing various stories, but Cheong-un had been vague about his purpose.
“Let’s just say I’m searching for traces of a certain group.”
Cheong-un’s expression darkened slightly. His eyes held a profound meaning, a weight that seemed to stem not from a personal grudge, but from a greater sense of duty.
“Traces…?”
Wi Dan-wol spoke for the first time. Jin Myeong-woo had led most of their conversations while she had listened in silence.
“I am trying to identify those who are said to have recently destroyed the Kunlun Sect.”
At Cheong-un's words, Wi Dan-wol's gaze turned cold for a moment before she quickly reverted to her usual expressionless face. Only Jin Myeong-woo noticed her fist clench ever so slightly.
“Do you also… think the Demonic Cult was behind it?”
“No, I don’t suspect the Demonic Cult.”
Cheong-un shook his head firmly.
“There must be people disguising themselves as the Demonic Cult. If it were the real Demonic Cult… they have their own beliefs and pride. This incident seems far removed from that. I'm simply searching for the true culprits behind the masks.”
Hearing this, Wi Dan-wol’s expression softened noticeably. She gave a quiet nod and seemed to lose interest again, but she thought to herself,
‘A man from the Central Plains with a good head on his shoulders.’
After a few more days of walking, they finally reached the foot of Kunlun Mountain. The magnificent mountain range soared as if to pierce the heavens, its mid-slopes shrouded in clouds. This was once the home of the Kunlun Sect, a prestigious name in the martial world.
But just as they were about to start their ascent, Wi Dan-wol suddenly stopped. Her eyes grew cold as she stared up the mountain.
“Someone… is coming down from the Kunlun Sect’s grounds… And… two of them are Transformation Realm masters…”
Jin Myeong-woo looked up the mountain with a tense expression.
“Could they be… other martial artists who came to investigate the Kunlun Sect?”
“That’s highly likely.”
“No… one of them reeks of blood… Everyone, fall back… Just as I sensed them, they must have noticed us too.”
At Wi Dan-wol’s words, the two men tensed and drew their swords.
In the distance, three figures could be seen descending. As they drew closer, their forms became clearer.
There was a young man with black hair, flanked by two women who walked as if guarding him. One was a warrior with sharp eyes and red hair, while the other was a woman with deep silver hair who carried herself with a noble air.
Wi Dan-wol’s eyes narrowed. The aura emanating from the descending man was anything but ordinary. He looked to be about her age, yet the pressure he exuded was on par with that of the greatest masters who could shake the Central Plains.
‘…This feeling is similar to my father's.’
A power so overwhelming it could crush you with its mere presence. Wi Dan-wol instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.
Meanwhile, Jin Seo-yun, who was coming down the mountain, also spotted the three people coming up. His gaze locked onto one of them.
A strange smile played on Jin Seo-yun’s lips.
“Myeong-woo, it's been a while, hasn't it?”
His calm voice drifted down the mountain path. Jin Myeong-woo’s eyes shot open, and Wi Dan-wol glanced sideways to observe his reaction. And on the face of Jin Seo-yun, who met their gazes, was a familiar yet chilling smile.
The sight of it sent a shiver down Jin Myeong-woo’s spine.
‘Dammit… Of all people, it had to be him…’
On top of that, the way he looked at Wi Dan-wol was familiar. That insidious gaze, as if he were appraising her.
It was then that Ju Yeon-hwa, who was beside Jin Seo-yun, stepped forward cautiously, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Brother…?”
At her voice, Cheong-un’s face hardened. His eyes trembled as he looked at her.
“Yeon-hwa…? You… how are you here…?”
Cheong-un’s gaze shifted briefly to Hong Seo-rin, then instantly turned cold.
“Guardian Commander… no, Hong Seo-rin. What is the meaning of this? Why is Yeon-hwa, who should be in the Imperial Palace, here?!”
Cheong-un’s voice rang out sharply. Ju Yeon-hwa quietly stepped forward.
“I came all the way to the Central Plains to find you, brother.”
“What…?”
Cheong-un was at a loss for words. His brow furrowed deeply.
“Why on earth would you come to such a dangerous place…?”
“You know what the Imperial Palace is like right now. I… I had to find someone I could trust myself.”
Cheong-un couldn't speak, simply staring at her. Finally, he let out a soft sigh.
“Even so… this was reckless. The martial world is not a place to be taken lightly.”
“I know. But Seo-rin is helping me, and also…”
Ju Yeon-hwa blushed and glanced at Jin Seo-yun. At that moment, Cheong-un’s expression froze at her reaction, and he glared at Jin Seo-yun.
The thought that some scoundrel had seduced his little sister flashed through his mind like lightning.
“Hold on.”
Cheong-un’s voice became as cold as ice. His hand moved naturally toward the hilt of his sword.
“Yeon-hwa, is there something… between you and him?”
“N-Nothing at all!”
Ju Yeon-hwa waved her hands in a panic, but her cheeks were already burning as red as an apple. Her reaction was all Cheong-un needed to guess the truth.
‘Some nobody dares to touch the precious Yeon-hwa I doted on…’
Jin Seo-yun smiled leisurely and opened his mouth.
“I understand why the Prince is concerned, but…”
“Shut your mouth. I don't know who the hell you are, but how dare you… lay a hand on Yeon-hwa? Do you have a death wish?!”
Watching the situation unfold, Jin Myeong-woo was inwardly cheering.
From what he’d heard, Cheong-un was of a much higher status than he had thought. He smiled as he looked at Jin Seo-yun, who had clearly made a move on the man’s sister.
But Jin Seo-yun was not intimidated in the slightest. In fact, his smile grew even more provocative.
“‘Laid a hand on her’? What a crude way to put it.”
“What did you say?”
“The princess and I care for each other deeply. To describe that as merely ‘laying a hand on her’…”
Jin Seo-yun’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.
“You are quite rude, Your Highness.”
“You bastard!”
Cheong-un exploded. Just as he was about to draw his sword, Ju Yeon-hwa stepped in front of him.
“Brother!”
“Yeon-hwa, move!”
“No!”
Cheong-un was stunned into silence by Ju Yeon-hwa’s firm cry. He couldn't believe the reality before him: his most cherished sister was standing against him for a man like that.
“Yeon-hwa… have you truly lost your mind?”
“I haven't lost my mind! I love Seo-yun!”
Her words silenced the surroundings. Cheong-un, in particular, looked as if the sky had just fallen on him. His usually calm eyes wavered violently.
Hong Seo-rin looked away, troubled. It seemed even she hadn't expected things to get so twisted.
“…Hah. Both of you, please calm down for now.”
*
A short while later, everyone was seated at a respectable distance from one another.
I looked at Ju Yeon-hwa, who was sitting a short distance away. She seemed hurt by Cheong-un's words, sitting with her back to him in silence.
“Yeon-hwa… I’m sorry. Your brother was too sensitive and spoke too harshly.”
Cheong-un apologized cautiously, but Ju Yeon-hwa, still pouting, didn't even deign to reply.
“Hmph.”
Faced with her cute tantrum, Cheong-un eventually let out a deep sigh. He quietly approached me and spoke in a low voice.
“My apologies… I lost my composure in a moment of emotion and acted rudely. I hope you can find it in you to understand.”
Cheong-un’s tone was still stiff, but it clearly held sincerity.
“It’s quite all right. For the Prince to apologize himself, I am the one who feels more apologetic.”
As I bowed my head and replied respectfully, Cheong-un fell silent for a moment before glancing at Jin Myeong-woo, who was sitting far off.
“…I hear you are quite close with Master Myeong. You share the same surname… Are you perhaps related by blood?”
I nodded at his question and said.
“Myeong-woo is my younger brother.”
At that moment, Jin Myeong-woo shot to his feet and shouted.
“Who said I was your damn brother?!”
His voice was filled with rage, and his eyes flashed as if he were about to charge at any second.
I took his reaction in stride, deliberately playing the part of the kind older brother.
“Myeong-woo, running away from home has made you quite ill-tempered.”
At my words, Jin Myeong-woo gritted his teeth, his fists trembling.
“Shut your mouth, Jin Seo-yun. It’s disgusting to even hear a demon like you say my name.”
Cheong-un frowned as he listened to their exchange.
“Wait… you said you were brothers, so why is your relationship so bad?”
I put on a sorrowful expression and answered with a deliberate sigh.
“Myeong-woo has had a sensitive personality since we were young. Perhaps because he felt he didn't receive the family's expectations, he was always jealous of me.”
“Don’t lie…! Me, jealous of the likes of you? If I think about all the things you stole from me… I still—!”
“Stole? What are you talking about?”
I feigned an innocent expression and asked back.
“What exactly did I steal from you?”
At that, Jin Myeong-woo looked as if he was about to speak, but he couldn't finish his sentence. His lips trembled, but not a single proper word came out.
‘Idiot. In the end, he can't reveal his own shame.’
His mother, Jang Seo-young; his older sister, Jin So-hee; his crush, Seol-hee; and even his respected master, Seo Ryeo-hwa. Every single one of them had become my cocksleeve. Could he really say that out loud? That his mother and sister were in an incestuous relationship with me? That all the women he liked had writhed beneath me? Even his master?
The moment he said it, he would have to expose his family’s shame as well as his own.
‘I don't know what he's been getting into since I last saw him, but he's gotten stronger. His brain is still the same, though.’
Jin Myeong-woo’s face was so red it looked like it would burst. Finally, unable to suppress his rage, he yelled.
“Yes! Did you think I wouldn't know… that you used your lust arts to seduce and claim those women?!”
He gritted his teeth and shouted at Cheong-un.
“Your Highness! You must get the princess away from him! That man… is a lecher who uses lust arts!”
It was an accusation no one had expected. But I remained composed, smiling with an air of confidence.