Return of the Cloud Dragon — Episode 45

In the early hours before dawn, in the front courtyard of the Demonic Physician Hall, the night's snowfall lay piled in soft drifts, and the whole world shimmered a stark silver-white.

Clank.

The heavy sound of metal broke the stillness. Yun Cheon picked up the black steel cuffs lying on the ground — the Black Steel Cold Iron.

Half a year ago, these were nothing more than instruments of torture.

Back in the days when he had endured them with raw muscle strength alone, not a wisp of internal energy to spare him, even walking had been an ordeal. But now, things were different.

Click.

The cold sensation wrapped around his wrists and ankles. The weight was precisely the same as before, and yet the burden he felt was light as a feather.

...Light, is it.

He closed and opened his fist with ease, and instead of his muscles screaming in protest, a pleasant tension coiled up through them. The blocked great meridians had opened, and his twisted qi and blood had found their proper places once more. It had been a restructuring of the body bordering on total rebirth — a veritable shedding of bones and seizing of new flesh.

"So you are leaving."

The calm voice came from behind him. It was Seol Yeong. Her skin was as white as a snow-covered mountain, and deep within her glacier-blue eyes, a faint gleam of healthy vitality now glowed where sickness had once lurked.

She drew a thick volume from her robes and held it out.

"The yang energy within your body is still asleep. I'm certain this will help you."

"Such a precious thing... I thank you."

As Yun Cheon tucked the research record into his robes, Seol Yeong smiled faintly. "Don't thank me — I didn't make it alone. It is the fruit of our work together."

A warm silence flowed between the two of them for a brief moment.

Ahem! AHEM!

A great show of throat-clearing broke the quiet from deep inside the Demonic Physician Hall. Saeng Sa Jon came walking out with his hands clasped behind his back, and the reluctance in his eyes was plain to see.

"Venerable one. I owe you a great debt for all this time."

"Hmph. Debt, nothing. I merely repaid what I owed. Here — take it."

Saeng Sa Jon brusquely tossed a bundle his way. Tup. A solid weight settled into the fingertips of Yun Cheon's lightly raised hand.

"I couldn't be bothered to throw it all away, so I kept it. Use it or toss it — your business."

A quick peek inside the bundle revealed Saeng Sa Jon's personally crafted top-grade golden wound salves, internal injury medicines, and antidotes, packed tight in every variety. Beneath them lay a thick stack of silver banknotes as well. These were things far too precious to have been kept merely because disposal was a bother.

"...I will use them with gratitude."

"Hmph. I only felt uneasy because I'd gone and made myself your guardian yet did nothing for you."

Saeng Sa Jon stroked his beard as he studied Yun Cheon. Their beginning had been a transaction, but the half year since had been a time of shared life and death. This was the man who had pulled his granddaughter back from the very threshold of the grave, straight through the punishment of Heaven itself.

"The rules of my family's lineage forbid me from passing on our secrets... but my poison-arts martial techniques should be another matter entirely. When Yeong-ah's procedure succeeds, I will call for you. Until then, do not go and die on me."

It was, in effect, a declaration that he would take Yun Cheon as his disciple. Knowing the full weight of those words, Yun Cheon straightened his garments and bowed deeply at the waist.

"The kindness you both have shown me — I will never forget it."

With that deepest of bows, Yun Cheon turned away without lingering.

Crunch. Crunch.

Leaving crisp footprints across the white snowfield, Yun Cheon walked on toward the heart of the Demonic Cult.

Office of the Pavilion Lord of the Mad Path Pavilion.

As Yun Cheon entered, Gal Mu-heun set down his teacup in greeting. "So you've come."

Gal Mu-heun's gaze swept over him. A composed and deepened bearing — a subtle, commanding presence like a famed sword resting hidden within its scabbard. The frail boy of half a year ago was nowhere to be found.

"Your presence has changed. To call it remarkable would hardly do it justice."

"It is thanks to your consideration, Pavilion Lord."

"Thanks? You earned it yourself."

Just as Gal Mu-heun broke into a satisfied smile, a man who had been waiting at his side stepped forward. "It has been some time, Sir Yun Cheon."

Sa Do-myeong. The man whose life Yun Cheon had saved, and who had made a triumphant return to the Inspection Bureau because of it, offered a crisp, formal bow.

"I was waiting to deliver a report," Sa Do-myeong said, lowering his voice. "Muk Yeong-gi, who was imprisoned in the dungeons... has taken his own life."

"...Suicide?"

Yun Cheon's brow twitched ever so slightly.

As if that were possible.

The corner of Yun Cheon's mouth curled into a cold smile. "What was the cause of death?"

Sa Do-myeong dropped his voice even lower. "Officially, suicide... but poisoning and assassination are the strong likelihood."

"Just as expected. They're cutting off the tail."

Yun Cheon was unmoved. Had the Muk Family actually let Muk Yeong-gi live, that would have been the surprise.

"To silence a man inside our own dungeons is to mock the authority of the Inspection Bureau itself. The Director has no intention of overlooking the Muk Family's outrages."

"Oh...?"

"Regarding that matter... the Deputy Director sends you a message. He intends to arrange a formal position for you before long, and requests a meeting."

That Sa Do-myeong spoke so freely even in front of Gal Mu-heun, the Pavilion Lord himself, suggested the arrangement had been made in advance.

"Understood... however." Yun Cheon nodded along, yet declined to commit himself. The one who wanted something was on their side; he had no reason to hurry.

"I have duties assigned to me at the Inner Library under the Mad Path Pavilion's authority. Send word to me there."

There was still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something Yun Cheon needed to verify. Absorbed as he had been in his treatment, he had never confirmed whether the martial arts of Kunlun — plundered from his slaughtered sect — lay within the Inner Library's collection.

"Very well. Then next time..."

Having received his answer, Sa Do-myeong withdrew, and Gal Mu-heun spoke. "So the Inspection Bureau has come asking to borrow a blade."

"You mean they're asking to borrow me?"

"That's right. Last time, it was your stratagem that drove the Poison Fang Hall out. Those fools are now in our debt — so this time, they're asking me to lend them the sword instead."

Yun Cheon's eyes narrowed.

The stratagem of killing with a borrowed knife.

They had struck their enemy with another's blade — which meant it was now his turn to become the blade that got lent out.

"Those Inspection Bureau men — nothing in this world comes free from them. You stalled using the Inner Library duty as your pretext, but sooner or later, you'll have to lend them a hand. Once, at least."

"...Understood."

"Stay at the Inner Library for the time being. You've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only just mastered internal energy — you'll need time to explore the martial learning that truly suits you."

It was a proposal perfectly tailored to Yun Cheon's situation — a man now wielding cold, yin-natured energy through the Limitless Ice Heart Canon, who needed time to restructure his existing martial arts around internal energy whose very character had changed.

"I shall do so."

"And... you'd grow bored all alone, so I'll attach a traveling companion to you."

An intriguing smile played at the corners of Gal Mu-heun's mouth. "While you were recuperating, another interesting one joined us."

"Who would that be?"

"Someone you already know."

Creeeak.

At Gal Mu-heun's gesture, a door at the far end of the office opened. A figure emerged from the darkness — a woman clad not in ornate silk combat robes but in practical black light garb, a plain, sharp-edged saber hanging unadorned at her waist.

"It's been a while, Yun Cheon."

Yayul Hui — the daughter of the Wild Wind Yayul Family. But she was no longer the girl Yun Cheon remembered.

Her whole presence... has changed.

She seemed to have grown taller, and above all, the aura pouring off her entire body was extraordinary.

It isn't just her appearance. Something deeper has shifted.

The haughty young heiress who had once preened on her family's reflected glory was gone without a trace. In its place was a gaze gone calm and still — and coiled within it, a hungry wolf.

Her eyes have grown sharp. Good.

Yun Cheon smiled back at her. "You've changed a great deal."

"I spent the whole time rolling myself half to death under Instructor Jeok Mu-gwang."

Yayul Hui's gaze swept over Yun Cheon from head to toe. The sickness was gone, and she could feel a firmly ripened strength about him.

"Look who's talking... you've become a completely different person. You used to look like a twig that would snap if you so much as poked it."

Sliide.

Her hand drifted slowly toward her saber's hilt. "Enough talk. We both know the fastest way to find out — let our bodies do the checking, no?"

Gal Mu-heun made no move to stop them. He simply folded his arms, wearing the expression of a man about to enjoy a fine show.

"That Jeok Mu-gwang has crafted something quite good, it seems. Still, this is no place for it — savor your reunion's joy outside."

The Mad Path Pavilion's training grounds. Yun Cheon and Yayul Hui stood facing each other, and taut tension hung over the arena.

"Don't you dare hold back. I'm coming at you with everything."

With Yayul Hui's declaration —

Crack—!

Her footwork vanished in an instant. A headlong charge, a direct assault. The flashy posturing of her past was gone; only a swift, wasteless blade remained.

Shwiik!

A razor-sharp slash flew in for his throat. To Yun Cheon's eyes, the movement was perfectly clear — his senses, sharpened further still by the Defying Heaven Secret Art, read the blade's every trajectory.

Sliide.

Yayul Hui's eyes went wide. In the very instant she was certain she had cut him, Yun Cheon's figure scattered like a mirage.

The Shadowless Step? But it's different from before!

The evasion was so natural it was as though he had never stood there at all. Yun Cheon's footwork, now backed by internal energy, belonged to an entirely different dimension.

Fast...! But—!

Gritting her teeth, Yayul Hui twisted her blade's momentum. Wheeling through empty air, she unleashed a cascade of linked saber strikes. Yun Cheon threaded through the rain of blades pouring in from every side and drove straight into her guard.

BAM—!

"Ugh?!"

Yayul Hui staggered under an impact that felt as though her wrist had been severed clean through. At some point, the saber had left her hand and come to rest in Yun Cheon's grip.

...When did he even learn the saber?

Without granting her a moment to recover her shock, his counterattack began. Against her — a woman who had trained the saber all her life — he gave no ground whatsoever in weapon techniques.

This man truly is... a monster...!

Yun Cheon, for his part, was quietly impressed as well. Having shattered the mold of her family, Yayul Hui had grown far faster than he had anticipated.

At this level... she'll hold her own just fine in the Inner Library.

Yun Cheon decided it was time to bring the duel to a close.

Vmmmm—.

The Limitless Ice Heart Canon began to rotate within his dantian, and a chill aura wrapped itself around him.

This energy... internal power?!

Yayul Hui's pupils wavered. A heavy, cold force radiating from the man who had supposedly possessed no internal energy at all.

BOOM!

Her saber was knocked flying and her body driven backward. But far from falling apart, she lit up like a spark and hurled herself at him again.

His body's healed!

Yayul Hui suppressed her strength no longer, pouring out her full power without restraint. Against saber strikes crashing down like a gale, Yun Cheon answered with a storm of his own.

Clang! Clang! KRANG—!

Sparks flew and steel rang through the air. After dozens of exchanges, a fatal blind spot began to show itself in Yayul Hui's saber art.

Her footwork... still falls short.

A critical weakness. The absence of the Wind Soul Step — the secret art of the Wild Wind Yayul Family. For all her brilliant talent, her growth stalled precisely there.

Tsk... to let a talent like this rot away for no reason but being born a woman.

Pressing Yayul Hui hard, Yun Cheon drove into the gap. While her wild wind guttered and died, his saber knew no fatigue. At last, feeling the cold steel kiss the tip of her throat, Yayul Hui let her blade fall.

"I lost."

Only then did Yun Cheon step back and sheathe his saber.

"I trained myself half to death for half a year, and the gap only widened... You really are a monster, just like they say."

"You surprised me too. It seems Instructor Jeok Mu-gwang truly taught you properly."

"Even so... I won't be staring at your back forever. I've at least earned the right to stand beside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you now, haven't I?"

"You had that right long ago — and then some."

Yun Cheon extended a hand, and the exhausted Yayul Hui took it and rose to her feet. "Hmph... just you watch. I'll catch up soon enough."

At that moment, Gal Mu-heun, who had been watching the two from a distance, smiled and turned away.

Yayul Hui... that girl is no ordinary talent either. No wonder Jeok Mu-gwang took to her.

With skill like that, she could grow even further within the Inner Library.

If it were those two, even Elder Cheon Gyeon would be satisfied.

Deep within the Inner Library, in the martial arts section.

A scriptorium where the secret manuals plundered by the Demonic Cult from every corner of the Central Plains lay slumbering. The air was thick with the scent of aged paper and old ink, and a nameless, crushing pressure.

"So this is the martial arts section. The upkeep is... worse than I expected, isn't it?"

Yayul Hui wrinkled her nose and brushed off the dust. From the darkness atop the highest bookshelf, a pair of gleaming eyes looked down upon them.

Oh ho...?

On a great beam shrouded in deep shadow hung an old man, upside-down like a bat — wild white hair in total disarray, sunken eyes alone burning strange and bright. The watcher of the Inner Library: Cheon Gyeon, He Who Sees a Thousand Things.

The boy... mastered internal energy while I wasn't watching?

Cheon Gyeon's gaze swept over Yun Cheon.

But... his bearing is a curious thing.

There was none of the demonic aura or madness particular to the Demonic Cult. In its place, a cold, clear, yin-natured energy.

Hm... it doesn't feel like the internal energy of an orthodox sect either. What in the world is this strange sensation?

Curiosity stoked, Cheon Gyeon dropped without a sound behind Yun Cheon's back.

Sliide.

In that instant, Yun Cheon and Yayul Hui ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both spun around, hands closing on their saber hilts in perfect unison.

"Oh ho, both of you reacted? Impressive. Very impressive indeed."

The presence of the old man walking out of the darkness washed over the two of them.

"Now then — let's see what you're made of."

The trial of the Inner Library's strange recluse, Cheon Gyeon, was about to begin.