Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Shinryeongseong's Heir
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"Unhyang and I grew up together in Shinryeongseong."
The beginning was calm.
As if recalling old times brought her some joy, the corners of Cheongryang's mouth lifted slightly.
"I entered Shinryeongseong when I was young. At the time, they were taking in Murim orphans and teaching them martial arts."
"Sounds like a good deed."
"It was. Well, if you think about it, it was part of their welfare initiatives."
Taking in orphans and teaching them martial arts.
It was one of the best ways to polish the group's image.
Countless guilds were already doing it, and leading the pack was Murim.
And the place in that Murim world where Unhyang and Cheongryang had grown up was none other than...
'Shinryeongseong...'
Shinryeongseong.
In the vast world of Murim, it was the second-largest power after the Murim Alliance.
A place that symbolized the might of Murim.
That was Shinryeongseong.
'This is getting bigger than I thought.'
Lee Soo-hyuk had figured it wasn't some small outfit when he saw Unhyang's opponent in their fight.
But Shinryeongseong? Of all places.
'At least it's not the Murim Alliance. Small mercies.'
Such idle thoughts ran through Soo-hyuk's mind.
"Unhyang is the daughter of Uncheon Geuk."
"...Pardon?"
The sudden bombshell made Soo-hyuk's eyes widen in shock.
Daughter of who?
"Uncheon Geuk. You don't know him?"
"No way. How could I not?"
It was a name no one could possibly be unaware of. Even a three-year-old child in Murim would know it.
Uncheon Geuk.
He was the lord of Shinryeongseong.
And long ago...
'That lunatic's daughter?'
He was one of the countless Players Soo-hyuk had fleeced.
Uncheon Geuk's daughter.
Suddenly, most of what had happened made perfect sense.
If this was true, Unhyang was no mere company manager.
"Then why...?"
Many things clicked into place, but at the same time, new questions arose.
Why was someone of such noble birth here like this? And why were they so desperate to drag her back?
"Shinryeongseong was hell for her."
The faint smile vanished from Cheongryang's lips.
"No. It turned into hell at some point."
"Hell?"
"Yes. It was for everyone, but especially for Unhyang."
Grip-.
Cheongryang clenched her fist.
"Training, and more training. After she turned ten, she couldn't live like a normal person. Her face all swollen, bruises and cuts all over her body, constantly patching herself up. She couldn't even sleep properly..."
Her voice grew strained.
It was the tone of someone suppressing their anger.
Dozens of years ago.
In those distant days, Cheongryang recalled her childhood self and Unhyang.
"Why haven't I seen you around lately?"
"Ryang-ah."
Even back then, Unhyang was always bright and full of energy.
Despite her body covered in bruises and gashes that must have hurt terribly.
"Don't worry too much about me."
"She was mature beyond her years."
Unhyang was tough.
While young Cheongryang was scared just looking at the wounds, Unhyang never showed a hint of pain or weakness.
"She endured it all. Her body grew along with her prematurely adult heart, and she became an adult. She survived that hellish place."
Time passed.
Both of them grew into adults faster than most.
Then one day.
"I thought she was okay."
Cheongryang learned the truth.
"Until I saw her crying."
That it was too much for her.
"I couldn't believe it. How hard must it have been for her not to even notice I was there?"
Cheongryang had watched Unhyang sob uncontrollably for a long while before quietly slipping away.
A few days later.
Once again, covered in fresh bruises and bloodstains, she faced Cheongryang.
"Pretending like nothing happened. Whether she didn't know I'd seen or was just acting..."
"I've got money now. Let's go get some sweets!"
Recalling her smile, Cheongryang covered her face with both hands.
"Damn it..."
It was a curse directed at herself.
At her own pathetic helplessness.
"I couldn't do anything. No power, no background. I would've just been a liability."
Listening quietly, Soo-hyuk mulled over his words carefully before speaking.
Their past was that heavy.
"What made her choose to run away in the end?"
Unhyang had endured Shinryeongseong's training for so long. But ultimately, she abandoned everything and fled.
Perhaps she just couldn't take it anymore, but it didn't seem that simple.
"She could've been the next lord of Shinryeongseong if she'd held out."
Unhyang's training was almost certainly to groom her as the successor.
If she'd given up from the start, fine—but she'd excelled through it.
Yet she threw it all away in an instant.
"I don't think it was just the harsh training."
After the fight, Unhyang had ignored her own wounds to tend to Soo-hyuk first. She was that strong.
"She's not someone who breaks from that."
There had to be something else.
But.
"I don't know."
Unfortunately, even Cheongryang didn't know.
"You don't?"
"No. One day, she just told me."
The day before leaving Shinryeongseong.
For the first time, she broke down crying in front of Cheongryang.
"This isn't right..."
"..."
"That day, I left Shinryeongseong with Unhyang. We needed to eat, so we found jobs, and this is what it turned into."
Clap-.
As the story wrapped up, Cheongryang clapped her hands loudly.
"That's it. Everything I know."
"...Thank you."
For sharing such a painful tale, Soo-hyuk bowed his head briefly.
It was short, but it spanned a long history for them. Not easy to voice.
Still, not all questions were answered.
Why had Shinryeongseong pushed Unhyang so relentlessly?
And why had she abandoned it all at the end?
Those were stories for Unhyang herself.
'Shinryeongseong, Uncheon Geuk.'
New question marks popped up in Soo-hyuk's mind.
'Do they usually obsess over successors this much?'
Soo-hyuk knew Unhyang's skills well.
Given a bit more time, she could succeed Uncheon Geuk as lord of Shinryeongseong.
But chasing down a successor who'd bolted of her own accord? That was odd.
You couldn't seat someone who hated Shinryeongseong on its throne, after all.
With the story done, Soo-hyuk let his heavy eyelids droop.
What a long night.
In her dream, Unhyang stood in the heart of Shinryeongseong.
The castle linked by red silk banners, the vast compound. The clashing of spears and swords from all directions.
Even the suffocating air—it was all identical.
"I don't want to come back..."
She knew it was a dream.
One she'd had hundreds of times, always returning there.
Fooled at first, but not anymore.
Yet.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Even knowing, she faced the man before her again.
Shimmer-.
A handsome man appeared like a mirage.
The great star of Murim, revered by all like the heavens.
Her own father, Uncheon Geuk.
"I'm not falling for it."
"It's a dream?"
"Yeah. All of this is a dream."
She wouldn't be tricked. Dozens of times at the start were enough.
But despite her denial, Uncheon Geuk remained composed.
"True. It is a dream. But you know it too. That you'll end up back here."
Step-.
He took a step closer.
"That's why you keep having the same dream, isn't it?"
"...Stay back."
"You can't defy your fated path. And you accepted that fate."
"Never."
"My daughter—"
"No—!"
She yelled, unleashing her mana. Crack—the ground of Shinryeongseong split, triggering a brief quake around her.
But she knew.
If this was that recurring dream...
Rumble-.
Soon, he would appear.
The bright sky over Shinryeongseong darkened. The sun vanished, a black moon rose, and shadows fell.
The presence behind Uncheon Geuk dwarfed his by several dozen times.
"You've returned again."
It was different from facing Uncheon Geuk.
No denying it, no screaming or resisting.
She couldn't muster the courage against him.
"No matter if you flee dozens or hundreds of times, it's futile. You'll come here in the end."
'No.'
Shiver, tremble-.
Her body shook.
She remembered.
This dream always ended the same way—whether she realized it was a dream or not.
Once that man appeared, the conclusion was set.
'Same as always.'
She'd barely escaped reality, yet in dreams, she always returned.
Always to the same end.
Back to that horrific hell.
Living out the fate these two spoke of.
'Maybe...'
Unhyang's gaze drifted to her wrist.
Would it be easier that way?
As she pondered that thought, one she'd repeated as many times as her returns...
Rumble-!
Lightning flashed across the dark night sky.
It was new.
The darkness engulfing Unhyang lifted. The massive presence behind faded, and Uncheon Geuk wore a bewildered expression for the first time.
"Who...?"
"An intruder."
Shimmer-.
The two who had invaded her dream began to fade.
Rumble, roll-!
Thunder lit the sky. With it, Uncheon Geuk and the oppressive presence vanished completely.
The one who drove them out was another man.
Step-.
The stranger entering Shinryeongseong wore a familiar black mask over his dark hair.
Unhyang didn't know his face, but she knew him.
Lee Soo-hyuk.
The legendary figure of Blue Eyes, her hero.
"Why are you here...?"
It was strange.
Hundreds of times dreaming this, yet he'd never appeared before.
Why now, of all times?
The question answered itself soon enough.
"Manager."
Unhyang's eyes widened.
"Why are you here?"
"S-Soo-hyuk..."
The man who stormed Shinryeongseong amid thunder and lightning.
"Soo-hyuk-ssi?"
He wasn't Blue Eyes' legend—he was Baehae's streamer, Lee Soo-hyuk.
Was it because it was a dream?
She'd momentarily forgotten.
Why she'd been so obsessed with this Player.
He was her savior.
And.
"Let's go back."
Even if not the same person.
Being with him made her feel like she'd receive that same salvation.
"Uh...?"
Then, the Lee Soo-hyuk in her dream faltered.
Unhyang burst into tears.
Collapsing onto the hated ground of Shinryeongseong.
Sobbing freely, without a thought to stop.
When she woke, it felt like the best sleep she'd had in ages.