Chapter 51 - Dan Ri-ye
Jin Muhon slowly opened his eyes.
“......?”
The pitch-black stone chamber, which had been shrouded in darkness, now glowed with its own light, everything sharp and clear. At first, he thought it might be due to the Ten Thousand Blood Ghost Flower, but that had already withered away completely.
And then a foul stench assaulted his nostrils.
“Ugh!”
Rotten blood and aged poison.
It wasn't just a simple stink—it was as vicious as the breath of vengeful spirits trapped for ages.
Jin Muhon slapped the floor in a sitting position.
Boom!
“......?”
His body suddenly launched upward, slamming straight into the stone wall.
The solid wall caved in, and chunks of rock rained down from the ceiling.
Yet there was no impact, no shock at all.
“......”
Jin Muhon slowly lowered his gaze to inspect his body.
The source of the stench was the martial robe he was wearing. He quickly stripped it off and tossed it away. But the smell clung so fiercely that it wouldn't leave his skin.
It might be better if he could just block out his sense of smell entirely...
“...This works?”
For a martial artist, the senses were as vital as inner energy or techniques.
Someone of Jin Muhon's caliber could naturally adjust them to a certain degree at will.
But only to a certain degree.
Right now, however, he had completely erased his sense of smell.
“No way... this is...”
The foul stench, perfect control over his body.
Something flashed into Jin Muhon's mind.
Without a mirror, he couldn't check his appearance, but he turned his awareness inward to examine his body's state.
Tightly woven muscles, a steel-like skeleton, meridians threading endlessly between them. He could feel every detail vividly.
And even...
“......”
His shattered lower dantian was intact.
His body, ruined when he left the cult, had been fully regenerated.
And not just that—in a state even more perfect than during his days as the Sword Demon.
Wooong— Wooong— Wooong— Wooong—
The inner energy settled in his lower dantian asserted its heavy presence.
A mix of the Ten Thousand Blood Ghost Flower, the Poison Dragon, and the energy from his upper dantian.
Jin Muhon stood in place and lightly began circulating his energy.
Normally, energy circulation required a cross-legged posture with full mental focus to avoid qi deviation, but somehow, he felt this would work just fine.
Whoosh!
In an instant, his inner energy completed a full circuit, vitality surging through his entire body.
The sheer volume of his inner energy had increased beyond even his Sword Demon days.
“Heh. Muheo, that old coot's gonna flip when he sees this.”
Jin Muhon scratched his head, still naked.
He'd unintentionally undergone shedding bones and exchanging tendons.
***
“Wh-what the hell is that? They said Poison Dragon Valley, but is that really a dragon?”
Go Seokchu gaped, unable to tear his eyes from the bizarre phenomenon rising from Poison Dragon Valley.
The others were the same.
“Something's happened to the lord...”
“I'll go check!”
As Yeon Jeokhwa moved to dash off, Go Seokchu spread his arms wide to block her.
Yeon Jeokhwa furrowed her brow.
“What?”
“No way! Where do you think you're going in your condition? Let's wait here! He'll handle it just fine on his own.”
“Something might've happened to the lord! How can we just stand by?”
“You think he would go down easy? Just trust him and wait. If anything happens to you because of this, I'll be the one dead!”
“You little shit.”
Cold killing intent rose from Yeon Jeokhwa's eyes.
Go Seokchu broke out in cold sweat and stepped back unsteadily.
“C-calm down...”
“Go Seokchu. Lost your inner energy and think I'm easy pickings now?”
“No, that's not what I—”
Whoosh—
“Huh?”
“Mmph!”
A sudden sandstorm swept in, carrying a putrid stench that engulfed the group.
Yeon Jeokhwa pinched her nose and retreated, while Go Seokchu immediately bent over and dry-heaved.
“Urp—blegh!”
Jin Muhon, naked with only the Four Emperors Sword in hand, looked down pitifully at the retching Go Seokchu.
“I told you to watch the kids, and here you are puking your guts out. What'd you eat?”
“L-Lord?”
Go Seokchu turned, his face drained of color.
The smell was bad enough, but the man's filthy appearance—skin caked with shed layers—made Go Seokchu's eyes bulge.
“N-No way...!”
Jin Muhon nodded lightly.
“Yeah. It just kinda happened.”
“A grown-ass man shitting himself! Urp—blegh!”
“......”
Go Seokchu began vomiting up everything inside him.
Jin Muhon grimaced and gave him a light kick.
“Aaaagh!”
That alone sent Go Seokchu tumbling far away across the ground.
“Filthy bastard.”
Having dealt with Go Seokchu, Jin Muhon turned and grinned.
“You lot coming around yet?”
“......”
Yeon Jeokhwa, Jin Baek, and Jin Jaryeong all nodded with pale faces.
“Urp—blegh!”
Jin Jaryeong vomited while lying down.
“......”
Jin Muhon frowned.
***
That night.
After washing up at a distant stream, Jin Muhon changed into a spare martial robe and sat by the campfire.
Yeon Jeokhwa and even the other men stared at his face in the firelight with dazed eyes.
“What's with you all?”
Jin Muhon, lost in thought while gazing at the flames, lifted his gaze.
Go Seokchu flushed and bowed his head.
“W-well...”
Jin Muhon scowled deeply.
“You. Blush one more time, and I'll rip your head off.”
“Eek! S-sorry, Lord! It's just the fire making me hot!”
“Crazy bastard.”
Yeon Jeokhwa chuckled and spoke up.
“You look ten years younger. Suits you. Shedding bones and exchanging tendons, right?”
“Suits me? It's just uncomfortable.”
His body had once been covered in scars big and small.
They were the marks of his life, his memories, his history.
Now, it was flawless, without a single blemish.
Not womanly smooth, but his rugged masculine features were enough to unsettle any woman.
“Heh heh heh. Congratulations, my lord. Shedding bones and exchanging tendons. Heaven hasn't abandoned you after all.”
“Congratu···lations···.”
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong offered their sincere felicitations.
Jin Muhon felt a pang of guilt at their heartfelt words.
“If there'd been more miracle medicine, that would've been better. I didn't eat it because I wanted to.”
Having gained a fortune alone while his subordinates lay in ruins.
Uncharacteristically, Jin Muhon offered an excuse that wasn't quite one.
Understanding his intent, the three unit leaders smiled warmly.
“Of course it should go to you, my lord.”
“Right. What good would it do us? Just turn to shit.”
“Of course···.”
At that moment, Jin Muhon turned his head.
Far off.
From a distance he wouldn't have sensed before, a presence approached.
“What is it, my lord?”
“Someone's coming.”
“Enemies?”
The unit leaders' eyes flashed murderously.
Go Seokchu, the most recovered, flinched in surprise.
“Doesn't seem like it. Rest easy.”
“Yes.”
“You should rest too, my lord.”
Jin Muhon nodded, meeting their eyes.
“From now on, don't call me lord.”
Jin Baek's eyes widened.
“Then what should we call you?”
“Call me family head.”
“Oh. That pepper prick's been calling you family head. Some kinda alias?”
Jin Muhon smirked.
“Told you. The house is short on hands.”
“Y-you were serious...?”
“Yeah. You three are now loyal retainers of the Yunbong Jin family. Work hard. Pay's generous.”
“......”
“......”
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong just blinked.
“Hohoho!”
Yeon Jeokhwa laughed merrily as she watched.
He had no intention of forcing anyone who didn't want in.
Jin Muhon kindly checked their resolve once more.
“Any complaints?”
“N-no way! Loyalty!”
“···Loyal···ty···.”
From Demonic Cult unit leaders to servants of a minor family.
Anyone hearing it might scoff in humiliation, but the three felt relieved.
“Excellent choice.”
Jin Muhon nodded in satisfaction.
***
The night deepened.
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong had fallen into deep sleep. Yeon Jeokhwa groaned in her sleep, perhaps having nightmares.
They'd all acted nonchalant, but their conditions were dire.
No way they could travel far like this.
Thus, Jin Muhon decided to delay their journey a few days until the three recovered more.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Finally.
The presence he'd detected early on arrived nearby.
About ten people.
Jin Muhon rose slowly and nudged Go Seokchu, who was dozing by the fire.
“Hngh! Wh-who's there?”
“Quiet. Stop sleeping on watch.”
“Ugh. Family head. You know I've been on watch for four days straight?”
“Be right back.”
“Really quick? My eyelids weigh a ton.”
Jin Muhon looked down impassively.
“Better than keeping your eyes open to avoid getting your head cut off.”
“Heh heh. Family head, was that a joke... or serious?”
“I don't joke.”
Go Seokchu swallowed hard and grabbed his sword from beside him.
“G-go ahead. I'll keep my eyes wide open.”
“You better.”
Jin Muhon vanished with a whoosh.
Go Seokchu's still-sleepy eyes flew wide in shock.
“Fuck. How's that guy getting stronger every damn day?”
Shing—
Ignoring Go Seokchu's grumbling, Jin Muhon cleaved through the night sky with lightness skill to intercept the intruders.
Hot night air brushed his face, roadside bushes whipping past.
In just a few breaths, he closed nearly thirty zhang.
Tap.
“Who are you?”
Jin Muhon appeared on the road as if rising from the shadows.
“Eek!”
“Whoa!”
“G-ghost!”
The dozen or so people yelped and fell back.
Some screamed and turned to flee.
Jin Muhon quickly scanned them.
No inner energy. No weapons.
Men of all ages, from young to old, in worn, soiled clothes—except for the old woman carried on one man's back.
'Villagers from nearby.'
Go Seokchu had mentioned a white dragon ascending from Poison Dragon Valley.
Likely, the vengeful spirits within the Ten Thousand Blood Ghost Flower had risen to the heavens as he absorbed it.
Unintended, but by breaking the flower, Jin Muhon had freed the bound souls.
“Put her down.”
Even amid the panic, the old woman calmly patted the back of the man carrying her.
He respectfully set her on the ground.
Step. Step. Step.
She approached, leaning on her cane.
The men swallowed, eyeing Jin Muhon warily.
“We've come late at night with one question for you, sir.”
Petite and hunched, her hair snow-white, her face etched with countless wrinkles that hid her age.
Her grayish pupils suggested blindness, yet her gaze held a strange clarity.
She didn't seem born and bred in some backwater Yun-Nam village.
“Ask.”
No hostility apparent, Jin Muhon answered.
The old woman raised her gray pupils toward the sound of his voice.
“Did you perhaps take the flower?”
“......”
Surprisingly, she knew of the Ten Thousand Blood Ghost Flower.
“The young ones said they saw a white dragon ascend from Seong-ae Valley. Sixty years ago, he spoke of this very phenomenon, so we hurried here. Sir, did you take the flower?”
Several questions arose from her words.
One was Seong-ae Valley, the other “he.”
Seong-ae seemed to mean Poison Dragon Valley, but who was “he”?
The cavern's master? Or the disciple who killed him and left the inscription?
As Jin Muhon stood silent, the old woman continued.
“Ah, forgive me. Outsiders call it Poison Dragon Valley. Such a grim name. In my childhood, Seong-ae Valley was full of flowers, bees, and butterflies.”
“Who is this 'he'?”
“He is the Heavenly General.”
“Heavenly General?”
An unexpected answer made Jin Muhon tilt his head.
“Yes. The great warrior who descended from the heavens to slay the evil dragon that devoured our villagers.”
Her words sparked a memory.
“Is the Heavenly General's name Dan Ri-ye, by chance?”
“Sadly, I don't know his name. However...”
“......?”
The old woman pulled something from her bosom and offered it to Jin Muhon.
Curious, he looked down: a frayed silk pouch on her wrinkled palm.
“It's the treasure he entrusted to our village.”
“Treasure?”
“When a white dragon rises in the skies over Seong-ae Valley, it means the bound souls are returning to heaven. He said the one who frees those souls that day would claim the flower.”
“Hmm.”
The old woman knelt and raised both hands.
“Please, take it. You've fulfilled his will. I can die without regrets now.”
Thud. Thud.
The watching men knelt one by one after her.
Apparently, the one who'd killed the cavern master had bestowed a favor on the village.
From the inscription, he'd seemed half-mad, but this was unexpected.
For now, Jin Muhon took the silk pouch and pulled out its contents.
“Ooh!”
“Blood jade!”
A translucent, red-glowing orb rested in Jin Muhon's palm.
Similar to the light from the Four Emperors Sword in the cavern.
Definitely connected to the cavern's master.
Jin Muhon held it up to the moonlight.
The men gazed dreamily, entranced by the red glow.
'No evil spirits...'
Yet something from the orb kept tickling his consciousness.
Jin Muhon channeled a bit of inner energy into it.
Wooong—
“Ooooh!”
“The blood jade sings! It's resonating!”
The orb trembled, red light bursting blindingly.
And then, at some point...
“......?”
The world stopped.
Without activating his upper dantian, a phenomenon appeared. Jin Muhon glanced around warily.
Then, an eerie voice came from behind.
Jin Muhon slowly turned.
Through the red light stood a grotesque man, leaning casually.
Age around twenty.
Disheveled hair like a ghost's, skin pale from years without sun. High nose suggesting nobility, thin lips giving a schemer's vibe.
One man, yet multiple faces seemed to overlap on his.
Especially those eyes.
'Not right in the head.'
He looked several times madder than the lunatics branded in the Demonic Cult.
Yet stroking his chin sternly was comically absurd.
Likely a lingering will in the orb. Just in case, Jin Muhon spoke.
“Dan Ri-ye?”
Surprisingly, the man widened his eyes and froze.
Jin Muhon narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him.
And voiced the question that had lingered since the cavern.
“Are you... the Four Emperors Leader?”