Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Shadow Over the Stone Cave
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Han Ibi tried desperately to connect with Song Myeong-cheon somehow, hoping to help her.
That guy was clearly out of his mind right now.
His head felt like it was about to explode with urgency... but... there was no way he could help her.
Just then, footsteps echoed through the hall. When Han Ibi looked over, he was stunned to see Gu Gab-hwi.
Gu Gab-hwi held a large teapot-like vessel in one hand, apparently carrying some kind of tea good for hangovers.
He grinned broadly as he spoke.
"Hey, you lot. Don't push yourselves too hard. Drink this and sober up. You trying to get me beaten half to death by the Sect Leader?"
Gu Gab-hwi headed straight into the inner chamber where the drinking party had taken place.
"Huh? What's this? Why's this one passed out alone? Did everyone else get drunk and stumble home?"
He tried tirelessly to rouse Song Myeong-cheon. But she lay there limp as a corpse.
"What the hell, this bastard. He's completely gone. Where'd the junior sister and the Wudang Tak go?"
Gu Gab-hwi paced the corridor for a moment.
"Hm?"
He perked up his ears. He thought he'd heard something.
It was coming from the room where Tak Bu-yong had dragged Bok Yeon-hwa inside.
Gu Gab-hwi cracked the door open and peeked in.
"Gah!"
With a sharp yelp, Gu Gab-hwi stumbled back involuntarily.
"You... what the hell are you doing right now?"
But his voice quickly turned to rage.
"You... you filthy dog! How dare you... how dare you do this?! Get off our junior sister right now!"
'What? What's going on?'
Unfortunately, the system's view didn't show Han Ibi what was inside the room.
He could only see Gu Gab-hwi charging through the door.
Han Ibi held his breath, watching the scene unfold.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Bam!
A massive thud echoed as Gu Gab-hwi's body flew out of the room entirely, slamming into the corridor wall before sliding down in a heap.
Tak Bu-yong burst out right after.
His eyes were bloodshot red, and he was stark naked from the waist down.
Han Ibi thought,
'Ah... I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, he went and did it.'
Tak Bu-yong channeled the momentum of his charge into his knee, sharpening it like a spear, and drove it straight into Gu Gab-hwi's solar plexus.
"Gack!"
The force was so ferocious that Gu Gab-hwi retched, vomiting up everything he'd eaten.
Only then did Han Ibi truly grasp the caliber of the Wudang Sect's top prodigy.
Gu Gab-hwi gasped and sputtered,
"You... you bastard. You call yourself human after pulling this?"
Tak Bu-yong replied,
"Shut your mouth. Yeon-hwa's going to marry me anyway. What business is it of yours?"
Gu Gab-hwi squeezed out a shout,
"You mangy cur. Don't spout your bullshit. Do you think our junior sister... that Yeon-hwa is some brainless fool who'd marry you after knowing what you've done to her? I'll run out right now and expose your crimes..."
Crack!
A resounding crack rang out.
Tak Bu-yong had mercilessly smashed his fist into Gu Gab-hwi's jaw as he slumped against the wall. Blood and shattered teeth sprayed from his mouth.
Yet Gu Gab-hwi didn't back down. He bellowed,
"Over here! Come quick! He's right... mmpf! Mmpf!"
Tak Bu-yong panicked and clamped his hand over Gu Gab-hwi's mouth.
"Guh!"
Tak Bu-yong let out a low cry. Blood poured from his fingers.
Gu Gab-hwi had bitten clean through the flesh.
Seizing the moment, Gu Gab-hwi bolted toward the outside.
"Master! Master!"
Tak Bu-yong unleashed an astonishing movement technique, closing in on his back in an instant.
This wasn't even a mismatch—it was like an adult fighting a child.
Tak Bu-yong kicked out, striking Gu Gab-hwi square in the back. He crashed to the floor with a tremendous clatter.
Tak Bu-yong mounted his back and locked his arm around his neck.
Sweat glistened on Tak Bu-yong's taut muscles as he choked him silent.
Gu Gab-hwi flailed his arms and legs desperately, fighting to escape the chokehold.
But Tak Bu-yong tightened his grip even more.
Gu Gab-hwi's struggles slowed. From frantic thrashing to sporadic twitches... and then... his movements faded entirely.
Han Ibi felt a choking agony in his own throat.
Why... why show me something like this...
Still, the relentless Tak Bu-yong kept his arm around the neck for a while longer.
Only after confirming no movement did he finally release it.
Tak Bu-yong heaved ragged breaths, his upper body shuddering. Then he dropped to his knees.
He clutched his head and bowed low.
After a moment, he sprang up, hurried back to the room, dressed properly, and straightened his appearance.
Then he strode into the room where the drinking party had been.
'Whoa! What... what is he planning?'
Tak Bu-yong hoisted the sprawled Song Myeong-cheon and dragged her next to the fallen Gu Gab-hwi.
Thud.
He dumped her there and began savagely pummeling her face.
'That... that mad bastard.'
Han Ibi's rage boiled over.
Blood splattered, and her face swelled grotesquely. But Song Myeong-cheon, fully under the drug's influence, showed no sign of waking.
'Oh, old timer... what are we going to do about this.'
Not satisfied, Tak Bu-yong pummeled Song Myeong-cheon's fists and feet repeatedly.
Her knuckles swelled black and blue, and several toes looked broken.
Then he turned back to Gu Gab-hwi's corpse and battered its face and limbs.
It was a scene too horrific to witness.
Tak Bu-yong quickly searched Song Myeong-cheon's body, as if looking for something.
Unable to find it, he grimaced, thought for a moment, and pulled an item from his own bosom.
Han Ibi was shocked when he saw it.
'That's... the jade plaque Tak Bu-yong gave Bok Yeon-hwa. Why's it there...'
Then it hit him.
'Two. He bought two. Tak Bu-yong planned to buy a pair from the start—one to gift, one to keep.'
Tak Bu-yong snapped the jade plaque with a crack, breaking it into three pieces just like before.
He tossed the fragments into the room where Bok Yeon-hwa lay collapsed.
Everything was clear now. Tak Bu-yong was framing Song Myeong-cheon for all the crimes.
Footsteps approached from outside.
"What noise at this hour? This place has been empty for ages."
"I definitely heard something. You think I'm drunk like you? I didn't touch a drop."
"Well, we'll see when we go in... Huh? That's odd. Someone lit a lantern inside."
"What'd I tell you?"
Even Tak Bu-yong couldn't stay calm. He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, then vanished through the window with a leap.
"What in the world?! Gab-hwi!"
It was Elder Yun Seo-o. He grabbed and shook Gu Gab-hwi's body.
Ji Seung-rip, following behind, shouted in shock at the scene.
"Which bastard did this?!"
With a fierce glare, he stormed from room to room, hunting for traces of the culprit.
And then... he found the room where Bok Yeon-hwa lay, clothes disheveled...
"No! Yeon-hwa! Yeon-hwa!"
Han Ibi trembled with fury at the chain of events, but... the system was merciless... and the scenes shifted rapidly once more.
A familiar place. The very spot where the disciplinary committee had convened.
The pitch-black conference hall... that shadowy space for private trials...
In the center knelt Song Myeong-cheon, face covered in wounds.
At the judge's seat atop the dais sat Sect Leader Bok Yeong-jeon, expressionless.
Was it the peak of rage?
Han Ibi thought,
'Argh, this is infuriating! Damn sweet potato! From that look, old man Song must've lost his memory and believes he actually committed those crimes!'
Then Ji Seung-rip pounded his chest and declared,
"Taking that dog of a disciple was our sin to begin with. Oh... if only we could turn back time... if only..."
He glared at U An-mok with eyes full of fury. U An-mok rose and walked to the center.
He dropped to his knees beside Song Myeong-cheon.
Bok Yeong-jeon remained impassive, his gaze icy.
Yun Seo-o's white beard quivered as he spoke.
"Sect Leader, this elder dares say it must be punished by 'execution.' No... this crime can't be atoned even by death... Ah... How could such a monster emerge from our Qingcheng Sect, which holds righteousness as our core doctrine!"
The other elders murmured in agreement.
Song Myeong-cheon spoke through reddened eyes.
"Indeed. Death is the only way to atone for my sins. Kill me now."
U An-mok said,
"No. This is all my fault as the disloyal master. I taught martial arts before righteousness, so I am the one who..."
Bok Yeong-jeon barked,
"Absurd?"
The chamber fell deathly silent.
"I said, absurd!"
Bok Yeong-jeon leaned forward and continued.
"Do you find this sacred Qingcheng Sect meeting to uphold justice so laughable? Spouting executions and abolitions at your whim."
He stood and declared,
"I respect the elders' council opinions, but the final decision rests with the Sect Leader. Do not question my judgment!"
"Understood."
They replied in unison. Bok Yeong-jeon addressed Song Myeong-cheon.
"You, Song Myeong-cheon."
Song Myeong-cheon replied without daring to look up.
"Yes."
"You broke the precept against lust that Qingcheng's pure Taoists must uphold. Moreover, your methods were truly vile, and you even murdered a fellow disciple... As the head of Qingcheng Sect, who has devoted myself to upholding justice, this grieves me deeply. You have no grounds to complain whether I kill you or abolish your martial arts."
"Yes. I understand fully."
"Good. By the name of the 32nd Sect Leader of the Great Qingcheng, which practices righteousness and takes justice as its mirror, I declare: you are no longer our disciple."
Silence flowed.
Bok Yeong-jeon continued.
"Having stripped your disciple status, we will reclaim the corresponding martial arts."
Song Myeong-cheon answered calmly.
"Yes."
"Furthermore, releasing such a deviant into the world would betray Qingcheng's way... Thus, we abolish your martial arts and imprison you until death to uproot your evil."
At least execution was avoided.
Tears streamed down Song Myeong-cheon's face as she said,
"I accept gladly."
Bok Yeong-jeon's gaze shifted to U An-mok.
"U An-mok."
"Yes."
"Do you acknowledge failing to teach your disciple properly?"
"I do."
"Good. Elder U An-mok is stripped of all positions, demoted to regular disciple, and ordered to wall-gaze in meditation for ten years."
"Understood."
As Bok Yeong-jeon rose to leave, he said,
"Elders, carry it out without delay."
Scenes shifted before Han Ibi's eyes once more.
A pitch-black stone cave, darker than dark.
Song Myeong-cheon sat dazed on the floor. His beard had grown long, his face far more aged—decades must have passed.
How long had he endured in such a state?
Han Ibi's heart ached. Bearing false blame without even knowing it was false.
And in such a wretched way...
Then.
A low voice suddenly came from beside Song Myeong-cheon.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Eat, shit, sleep... eat, shit, sleep... A life not even fit for a butcher's dog."
(To be continued in the next chapter)