Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Hongmeng
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Song Myeong-cheon jumped in surprise and turned toward the source of the voice. It had been ages since he'd last spoken with another person.
Not even with the disciple who brought him his daily portion of Wall-Grain Pill.
"Who's there?"
"Hahaha. Is that really the most important thing right now?"
Song Myeong-cheon grimaced unnaturally.
"State your identity. How did you get in here?"
"How did I get in? If I want to enter, I enter. If I want to leave, I leave. There's no place under heaven I can't go."
Song Myeong-cheon replied calmly.
"Leave now. Or I'll call for the guards."
The man chuckled wickedly.
"What? You mean you'll shout for help? How amusing. Let's hear it, then."
Song Myeong-cheon glared at him with sharp eyes.
The man spoke.
"Isn't it you, the one who crawled up alone from the depths of hell? Hahaha. You, once hailed as the greatest prodigy of Qingcheng... what a sight you are now."
Song Myeong-cheon furrowed his brow again.
"That's all in the past. This isn't for my sake, but for Qingcheng's. I've lost my martial arts, but... I don't fear death. The only reason I live is to... ah... to stay clear-minded and punish myself."
The man snickered mockingly once more.
"What a hero. What a saintly gentleman. Why don't you ask yourself if you can truly live up to those words?"
He took a step forward. His shadow shifted slightly, dimly revealing his face.
He looked middle-aged, dressed in black lightweight robes. A large scar crossed his face, leaving his left eye completely closed.
"Do you know... how Bok Yeon-hwa is living?"
Song Myeong-cheon's eyes flashed open, his face struck as if by lightning.
"You... how do you know her?"
"Heh heh heh. See? You talk like an enlightened Taoist, but you haven't escaped worldly attachments one bit."
"Yeon-hwa... why do you know about her..."
"Hahaha. Dying of curiosity, aren't you? Fine, I'll tell you. That woman is now the wife of the Wudang Sect Leader. Quite the rise, eh?"
Song Myeong-cheon's face hardened.
"I see. So that's how it is. Then the current Wudang Sect Leader is..."
"Right. Someone you know all too well, isn't he? Hahaha."
"Tak Bu-yong..."
"Of course. The most influential prodigy of the righteous path in the current martial world. A wise sage of justice. The monumental figure who elevated Wudang's martial arts to new heights. Even a stray dog could tell you who leads Wudang."
Song Myeong-cheon looked dazed.
"She's... done well."
"Exactly. For a daughter of some backwater sect, it's a real success story. Though she probably owed it to her pretty face."
Song Myeong-cheon looked up at the man.
"But why come to me with this? I... I'm just..."
The man widened his eyes and cut in.
"A sinner?"
"...Yes."
"Hahahaha!"
The one-eyed man burst into manic laughter before speaking.
"Right. A sinner indeed. Ignorance is a sin, after all. Stupidity, that is."
"What nonsense is this?"
"Hey. That day."
Song Myeong-cheon's eyes flashed again.
The man said with a smug expression.
"That day... Do you really think you caused that incident?"
Song Myeong-cheon stared at him for a long moment before answering.
"...I don't know. I was too... drunk."
"Hmm. Drunk, you say... Even drunk, people have their true nature. Right? Do you really believe you did it?"
Suddenly, realization dawned on Song Myeong-cheon's face, and he shouted.
"I see now. You're surely the one she sent! You didn't have to go this far. A single word would have sufficed. I've repented enough. If she wanted, I would have taken my own life. But if that's not enough to quench her anger... don't worry. I can die anytime. Cut off my head and take it to her!"
The man sneered.
"Whoa, whoa. Don't get ahead of yourself. The world isn't that simple. I'm no lowly assassin dancing to some woman's tune. Truth is, she doesn't even think of a worm like you—she's living great. Heh heh heh. No, wait. Actually, your suffering is all because of her."
"Because of Yeon-hwa?"
The man chuckled again.
"Yes. The reason you're buried alive like this, suffering... it's all because she showed you mercy. Whether it's mercy or cruelty, who knows."
Song Myeong-cheon gasped in shock.
"What? What do you mean?"
"You didn't know? Did you think Bok Yeong-jeon was some magnanimous man? Nonsense. That guy's heart is pitch black. Why else would he send his innocent little girl to Wudang from childhood? Everything went his way. His daughter became Wudang's lady of the house, and Qingcheng basked in the glory, avoiding destruction. You know how Qingcheng was on the brink of annihilation."
"...What do you mean she showed mercy?"
"Hahaha. Even now, your focus is solely on that woman. Fine, before you burst. She saw right through you. She knelt and begged her father to spare your life. Can you believe it? Kneeling for the fiend who violated her."
Song Myeong-cheon's face showed deep shock.
"Yeon-hwa... for my sake... Ah! And I never knew..."
For a while, Song Myeong-cheon bowed his head, shedding hot tears.
The man said,
"Do you really think it was you?"
Song Myeong-cheon slowly shook his head.
"I don't know. I... Ah. I truly don't know."
At that moment, the black-clad man swiftly swung his hand.
Song Myeong-cheon instinctively raised his arms to defend.
With a clang, an object fell before his eyes.
It was unmistakably a fragment of the jade plaque Bok Yeon-hwa had split into three.
Song Myeong-cheon looked up at the man with bloodshot eyes.
"This should have been kept by the Elder Council..."
"Nonsense. This is the very fragment you had."
Song Myeong-cheon's eyes widened.
"What? How..."
"Heh heh heh heh. I thought you were smart, but you're hopelessly dull. Idiot. There were two pieces from the start."
Thud!
Song Myeong-cheon felt utterly confused.
He lifted his now fierce eyes toward the man.
"But... how do you know these internal Qingcheng matters?"
The man smiled meaningfully.
"Good. Your eyes are finally alive again. That's a positive sign. Wondering how I know?"
Their gazes clashed violently. The man said,
"Simple. I was there."
Song Myeong-cheon cried out in unparalleled shock.
"What? You... you were there?"
"Yes. I was right there."
"Why were you..."
"Do I have to explain that too? Heh heh heh. But I'm generous, so I'll tell you. I was hiding there. The perfect spot for it. That day's incident was quite entertaining. I stayed long after, but nothing matched that day's thrill."
Song Myeong-cheon said with a savage expression.
"Entertaining? Thrilling? How..."
The man cut him off.
"How could it not be? The rapist and murderer slips away free, while the fool who only got drunk takes all the blame."
"Wh-what...?"
The man began explaining the truth of that day to Song Myeong-cheon, whose mind had frozen in shock.
It matched almost everything Han Ibi had seen and heard.
And finally... the tale concluded.
Song Myeong-cheon trembled with uncontainable rage.
"That's... all?"
"Heh heh heh. Yes. That's the end. But there's one more interesting bit. Someone else knew about this incident."
Song Myeong-cheon snapped his head up.
"What?"
"After that pathetic Bok Yeong-jeon kicked the bucket... do you know who took over as Sect Leader?"
"No. I've cut off all ties to the world."
"Ji Seung-rip."
"Elder Ji Seung-rip?"
"You'd think it's odd, right? He lacks the martial prowess or prestige to draw attention. But he... he's the one who investigated that incident's truth. His skills may be lacking, but his mind is sharp as a tack. So if he didn't spot the hastily fabricated evidence... that'd be the real surprise."
In that instant, Song Myeong-cheon... and Han Ibi realized.
How everything had unfolded.
According to this mysterious figure, Ji Seung-rip knew it all.
Assuming that was true, he must have... blackmailed Tak Bu-yong of Wudang.
And the moment Tak Bu-yong seized full control of Wudang, he silenced him by...
"Uwaaaah—!"
Song Myeong-cheon sprang up and pummeled the stone wall with his fists. His skin split, blood pouring down.
Yet he didn't stop, pounding relentlessly.
Suddenly, he froze.
He turned to the man.
"Ji Seung-rip. I must go to him."
The man grinned.
"You can't."
"Help me escape. I'll repay you, no matter what."
"He's dead."
Song Myeong-cheon's pupils dilated. The man said,
"This very morning."
"Who did it?"
"Don't know. Officially, anyway. But you have a hunch, don't you?"
"He was killed to seal his lips."
"Just a guess. Makes today perfect."
"For what?"
"Your escape. Qingcheng is in chaos over their Sect Leader's sudden death."
The man suddenly grabbed Song Myeong-cheon's shoulder, hoisted him onto his back, and dashed out of the cave in a flash.
As the man said.
The cave was empty.
No one cared about an old sinner at that moment.
Fearsome lightness skill whipped wind past Song Myeong-cheon's ears.
And the man's voice too.
"Do you know why your master—and Qingcheng's former Sect Leader—chose you? Because you possess... a once-in-a-millennium martial talent. Or more precisely..."
At that instant, the running man's gaze met Han Ibi's.
Even though Han Ibi wasn't really there.
He stared straight at Han Ibi as if he were present and spoke.
Han Ibi's heart sank, chills running down his spine.
"...your body is the legendary Hunyuan Physique, one in a thousand years. You must learn my Hongmeng Great Law and Demon Sage Blade Art to become my hands and feet."
'What the... That guy's talking straight to me.'
The moment Han Ibi recoiled in shock.
His vision blacked out like a lie.
Song Myeong-cheon's eyes came back into view.
The surroundings brightened all at once.
Song Myeong-cheon's voice began to fill his ears.
"So I followed him and learned martial arts. It was seven years ago now."
Han Ibi's mind was blank.
So that whole 'Epic Quest' racket was just a visualization of Elder Song Myeong-cheon's story, nothing more.
But a question slipped in unbidden.
"Who the hell is he?"
Song Myeong-cheon shook his head.
"I don't know. He just said he'd come when the time was right."
"Ah! Come to think of it, Elder, wasn't your martial arts sealed?"
Song Myeong-cheon gazed steadily at Han Ibi.
"Precisely, my meridians were blocked to prevent channeling internal energy. But the world has many kinds of martial arts. I only realized recently... the Hongmeng Great Law I learned is one of them. Or rather, it was implanted in me."
Han Ibi said as if realizing something.
(To be continued in the next installment)