Chapter 428
Chapter 428
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 111
>Chapter Title: Soul and Spirit (5)
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"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go. You're already my life."
'!!!!!'
The moment Mok Kyung-un spoke those words, Cheong-ryeong's sword-blackened eyes flickered back to normal for just an instant.
But it didn't last long.
When their bond was connected, she often synced with Mok Kyung-un's emotions.
It was partly because they'd been together for so long, but the influence of that connection was impossible to ignore.
However, since Cheong-ryeong's very existence was made of resentment, the moment the bond broke, her inherent nature as a vengeful spirit would inevitably strengthen, even if she wavered emotionally for a time.
'No.'
Cheong-ryeong gripped her momentarily shaken heart and gritted her teeth.
Then, she shook off Mok Kyung-un's hand on her wrist with all her might.
-Pak!
'!?'
Mok Kyung-un's eyes trembled faintly at her ruthless shove.
Seeing that, words from the Leader flashed through Cheong-ryeong's mind.
* * *
[The northern edge of Seomseo Province. The place with the ruined fortress walls.]
-······Are you certain there's a ritual there to unite soul and spirit?
[Cough, cough······. Ghost Sword, you've come seeking traces of ancient alchemy from the old martial world. Who would've thought it was right under our noses, like the darkest spot under the lamp. But it's definite.]
-······.
Without alchemy, Bi Yong-heon couldn't achieve his goal.
So naturally, she could use this as bait to draw him out without needing to hunt him down.
Finally, she could settle things with him.
The end of this long grudge was near.
That's when the Leader spoke.
[You'd best hurry. They've dug in close to those traces too.]
-I'd do that even without your nagging.
[Cough, cough······. Haah······. And one more thing to watch out for.]
-What should I watch for?
[Ryu So-wol······. I know your grudge runs deeper than anything, but this fight is absolutely against you.]
-No. Not anymore.
She was furious, but she wasn't alone.
She'd tried to fight solo, but now she had a reliable ally at her side.
'Jung-saeng.'
With him, she was confident they could overcome anything.
His potential had surpassed her expectations, and he'd triumphed over countless adversities.
And,
-It's not disadvantageous at all. Even if he obtains a body containing a soul, without the other two conditions, he can't get what he wants either.
Cheong-ryeong believed that if they played this situation right, they could seize the higher ground.
However,
[······That's not what the Leader means.]
The Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul, trapped in blood, interjected cautiously.
Puzzled, she asked.
-What do you mean?
At her question, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul hesitated before speaking.
[······Wi So-yeon—no, the body holding your soul—may be your last lifetime.]
-What nonsense is that?
The body holding her soul was her last lifetime?
She couldn't make sense of it.
[As I said earlier, the soul ascends to heaven, passes through the Heavenly Gate, and undergoes purification.]
-So?
[But your soul has been forcibly implanted into a fetus for a hundred years without that process, enduring reincarnation.]
-What of it? Beyond being born imperfectly, is there something else?
[It's not just the body that decays.]
-What?
[The soul decays too if not purified, and eventually perishes.]
Cheong-ryeong's expression hardened at Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul's ominous words.
What did it mean for the soul to perish?
Wasn't the soul originally one with the spirit?
If the soul vanished, would something happen to her as the spirit?
At a loss for words, Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul spoke pityingly.
[If the soul doesn't ascend but completely perishes, you as the spirit will perish too. Soul and spirit share a single fate.]
'!!!!!!'
Shocked, Cheong-ryeong froze, unsure what to do.
If the soul perished, she would too?
That meant no afterlife, nothing.
It was the true end of existence.
'If the soul perishes······. The spirit dies. If the soul perishes······.'
Cheong-ryeong's mind grew chaotic.
She'd thought resolving a century of grudges and stopping his madness and obsession would end it all.
But this······.
-Drip, drip!
Blood tears streamed from her eyes.
'······Too cruel.'
Beyond rage, frustration choked her, bringing only blood tears and sighs.
Even though he'd taken everything precious, she'd believed repaying the grudge would free her from this cycle. Yet he was driving her to the edge until the very end.
If Bi Yong-heon went all-in at the last moment and killed Wi So-yeon, who held her soul, it would all be for naught.
She stared at her trembling palm.
In that instant, his image and Mok Kyung-un's overlapped.
[She was beautiful······. So beautiful, like a single red peony.]
[Can't help it if I've already fallen for you.]
-Grip!
Cheong-ryeong bit her lip hard.
If she resolved her grudge and left this world, could she meet him again?
Would it be better to abandon everything and stay with Jung-saeng?
She'd pondered countless options.
But they were all futile.
If he failed to get what he wanted and thought his plan had gone awry, he'd make an extreme choice.
And if that happened······.
'······Jung-saeng.'
She'd perish before him.
She wasn't afraid of death or oblivion.
She'd transcended such things long ago.
But what would happen to Mok Kyung-un after she vanished?
-Drip, drip!
Would she never see him again?
That terrified and saddened her.
Cheong-ryeong clutched her chest and doubled over.
It hurt too much.
'······Is it a tragedy set in stone no matter what?'
In the end, he'd make that choice, and she'd perish.
No matter what paths she envisioned, no clear answer emerged.
The conclusion was always the same.
Now she understood why he'd gone to such lengths with diversions to take Wi So-yeon.
If Wi So-yeon was in their hands, maybe, but in his, he held the final trump card.
'Bi······Yong······heon!'
His madness and obsession left her speechless.
What should she do?
If every path led to the worst outcome, her only choice was the lesser evil.
The sole plan in her mind was one.
Only she alone could tie up her own knots—conclude as she began.
'Lure him in with alchemy and end it all together.'
That was the answer.
Essentially, mutual destruction.
-Grip!
'Jung-saeng······.'
She couldn't drag Mok Kyung-un into this slaughter.
If he stayed with her, it'd provoke him more, and in the worst case, she might perish before Jung-saeng even repaid the grudge.
Showing him that sight would be utter tragedy.
'I have to sever it.'
That way, at least it would end as her tragedy alone.
She couldn't bear seeing him grieve over losing someone again.
Cheong-ryeong turned to Great Sorcerer Myeong-ryul and the Leader.
'He'll try to help no matter what.'
She had to block that in advance.
If she killed them—the only ones who knew Ghost Sword's whereabouts and this secret—even Jung-saeng would be powerless.
Cheong-ryeong approached them, murder in her eyes.
* * *
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go. You're already my life."
Those sincere words shook her briefly, but she severed all her emotions, leaving only grudge and rage.
-······I'm not.
"Don't lie. You're wavering."
-It's no lie. If not for the bond holding you, I'd have left you long ago.
"······."
-To me, you were just a tool for revenge.
"That's not······."
-No, it is. The man I loved is gone from this world. You can never replace him.
Mok Kyung-un's eyes shook at her cold words.
Reading his emotional shift for the first time, Cheong-ryeong's chest ached.
But she had no choice.
She had to detach him emotionally to conclude it alone.
'I'm sorry, Jung-saeng.'
Swallowing her bitterness, Cheong-ryeong focused all the energy of her Ghost Domain Bloodline, unleashing a barrage of blood-forged swords at Mok Kyung-un.
-Shwaa, shwaa, shwaa, shwaa, shwaa!
"Cheong-ryeong!"
Mok Kyung-un slashed the oncoming swords with his Formless Sword to grab her, but,
-Shrriiik!
The blood vortex enveloping her shrank in an instant and vanished.
With Cheong-ryeong's Purple Spirit exceeding its limits in earnest flight, she blended into the surroundings, making her hard to track.
-Slither...
Soon, the blood filling the area disappeared.
The Blood Domain was released.
Mok Kyung-un, about to open his qi sense and full ocular power, stopped.
Rationally, he should pursue, but he couldn't bring himself to at her persistent rejection.
Why?
What was forcing her to push him away?
Something was there.
But with them all dead, piecing it together was hard.
If any had lived, perhaps,
-Flinch!
Mok Kyung-un turned his head somewhere.
In a corner lay two men and women.
They were Na Yul-ryang, the Leader's eldest disciple and young master, and his confidante, the woman he cherished most, Mo-yak.
Mok Kyung-un's eyes narrowed as he looked at them,
-Swish!
And reached out to one.
It was Mo-yak.
As Mok Kyung-un pulled, her body rose on its own and flew into his hand.
-Pak!
Grabbing her throat, he whispered in her ear.
"You······. Your acupoints are released, so why pretend to be unconscious?"
-Gulp!
Startled, Mo-yak swallowed dryly without thinking.
* * *
In a deep valley thirty-some li east of the Heaven-Earth Society's main base.
A group of masked figures was catching their breath.
One masked figure shouldered a yoke with what looked like a coffin strapped to it.
A masked man tapped the coffin and muttered.
"She won't wake up, right?"
The one carrying the yoke replied.
"They said false death state for half a month, so no waking for a while. If worried, just periodically re-seal the acupoints. No issue."
"Fair enough."
Their apparent leader approached.
"Enough chatter. Time to move."
The masked figures rose reluctantly.
As they did, somewhere, someone pondering this situation watched.
That somewhere was inside the coffin.
-Thud!
The being who should be in false death state snapped her eyes open.
It was Wi So-yeon—no, precisely, Go Chan, the bodyguard possessing Wi So-yeon.
Go Chan smacked his lips in dismay.
'Made it into possession despite the false death state, but now what?'