The Scripted Tale and the Path of Saekgong
Seong-il nodded in agreement with Saekma's explanation. "Indeed. If it's a sorcery significant enough to have caused the Righteous-Demonic War, anyone paying even the slightest attention to the event would have known about it."
"That's right. Most people who have spent any time in the murim would have background knowledge about the blood incident from twenty years ago, you see."
"While listening to you talk about the heavenly secrets, Young Leader, I combined what you said with my own knowledge, and suddenly all the murim mysteries that had seemed so confusing before unraveled like a loose thread. I was quite shocked, you see."
The young leader, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Seong-il and Saekma, asked, "But, Young Master. If you had such important information, why didn't you discuss it with Cheongmyeong Jin'in...?"
So we've reached this point.
Seong-il reviewed the story in his mind. Even before starting the game, he had already decided to recruit the young leader. The young leader, who had been the main villain in the early to middle parts without any particular events, didn't even appear in the latter half. The ability of the young leader written in the Chief Guardian's diary—which seemed like something the developers had intentionally added to resolve players' questions and improve the plausibility of the game's latter half—was simply too attractive.
Originally, I was planning to recruit Handan as well...
Pushing aside his bitter feelings, Seong-il began to unfold the scenario he had prepared.
"I already told Cheongmyeong Jin'in everything. And I have no memories of the past."
Having set the stage like that, Seong-il continued speaking.
"My connection with Cheongmyeong Jin'in began four months ago. I was found collapsed in the mountains near the Sodang Sect with all my meridians twisted. Handan discovered me and brought me to the sect."
"The two masters treated me with utmost care, and thanks to them, I was able to survive."
"Shortly after I woke up, I told Cheongmyeong Jin'in that I had no idea who I was or where I came from. The only thing I remembered were dreams related to various murim secrets that I told you about."
As Seong-il's explanation continued, both Eun-wol and Saekma held their breath and listened intently.
"Upon hearing my words, Cheongmyeong Jin'in was suspicious at first. But when someone who didn't even look twenty knew not only secrets known to very few people but even things no one knew about, he was extremely surprised and intrigued."
"And through our question-and-answer sessions, he noticed that I didn't know any of the simple, basic common sense that anyone would know. He called people like me, who had forgotten common knowledge and memories of the past but remembered only specific facts, 'those who have read the heavenly secrets and committed the taboo of spreading them.'"
"After my body recovered, Cheongmyeong Jin'in took me in since I had nowhere to go, and I became a disciple of the Sodang Sect."
"By the way, the age of eighteen isn't my real age. No one knows exactly how old I am. Living as a rootless person would make life difficult, so it's just fake information that Cheongmyeong Jin'in created to give me an identity. He also matched it to be two years younger than Handan, who had just turned twenty, to make it easier for me to call him my senior brother."
Note that the 'one who read the heavenly secrets and spread the forbidden knowledge' isn't entirely a lie. Well... to be precise, it is a lie, but it's an adaptation of an actual setting that exists in this game.
As a classic game released a full thirty years ago, Pokso Muhyopjeon was rampant with illegal copies using CDs and even floppy disks. The developer had implemented a very primitive lock on the game. What was it? It was the existence of a character called 'the Man of Secrets' that appeared in the game.
The Man of Secrets would appear at random points when the player moved maps three times—early game, mid game, and late game. He would say that he had lost his memories after committing the taboo of reading the heavenly secrets and distributing them. To atone for his sin, he was on a mission to find the 'right gamer.'
If the gamer gave the correct password without ever getting it wrong, he would give rewards three times. If wrong, he would curse at the player and crash the game. Seong-il had adapted this into his story.
Saekma, who had been listening to Seong-il's story with interest, asked, "Then why did Cheongmyeong Jin'in throw himself into a deadly situation without knowing he would die?"
Seong-il recited the answer he had prepared once again. "Because he didn't want to hear about the future. To be exact, when it came to the middle and latter parts of the memories, he refused to listen."
"Why...?" Eun-wol asked.
"He said that as a Taoist who reveres the flow of heaven and earth, yin and yang, and causality, he didn't want to commit the taboo of reading the heavenly secrets."
Even after Seong-il's explanation, Eun-wol still looked unconvinced. Seeing her expression, Seong-il continued.
"That's why I also urged Cheongmyeong Jin'in to listen. Parts of my memories included him, and there were dangerous situations, so I thought it would help if he knew. Do you know what the Jin'in said?"
"...What did he say?"
"He told me to let things flow as they would. That the heavenly secrets, and by extension life itself, were like that. Everyone is destined to die, and that is the true natural order. As a Taoist, he didn't want to live by defying the predetermined order."
"So I respected Cheongmyeong Jin'in's opinion and decided to let things flow according to the natural order. Although it was a short answer, his words felt profoundly mysterious and wise..."
After finishing, Seong-il glanced at the expressions of Saekma and Eun-wol before continuing.
Oh. It seems to be working pretty well?
Gaining confidence, Seong-il unraveled the scenario he had thought of.
"I intended to go to Pokso Temple according to the natural order and accept the flow of causality as it was. But an unexpected problem occurred."
"What was it... Young Master?" Eun-wol asked, completely absorbed in Seong-il's words.
"Handan was not someone who drank alcohol, nor was he the type to be poisoned by it. And he wasn't supposed to die."
"Originally, Handan was supposed to steal the poisoned wine and offer it to me. I would drink it, get poisoned, and die. However, I valued my life too much and refused to drink."
"Of course, I did my absolute best to prevent Handan from drinking it instead. That way, I could save my own life and let things flow according to the natural order without any issues."
"But then... when I wouldn't drink it, Handan took a sip despite my dissuasion... That's when everything started to go wrong."
"In the future I saw, Handan, who originally wouldn't have drunk, would feel guilty seeing his master and fellow disciple dying from the poisoned alcohol. He would then devote himself to martial arts and defeat the Blood God... But it got twisted from the very beginning."
"So when Handan drank the wine in my place and died trying to stop the Demon Sect, I made a resolution. Since things had already gone this wrong, even though I'm powerless, I would inherit their will and stop the Blood Sect and the Chief Guardian's ambitions, even if it meant committing the taboo of twisting the heavenly secrets."
Seong-il looked at Eun-wol with a solemn expression and continued in a low voice.
"When pushed to the edge of a cliff with my life hanging by a thread, my brain spun incredibly fast in that short time."
"In that brief moment, I came up with one plan. To turn the twisted heavenly secrets to my advantage. The person who had tremendous talent but was destined to be sacrificed by the Chief Guardian. In other words, I decided to capture you, Young Leader, with the Divine Artifact of the Demon God. And I actually succeeded, which is how we ended up here."
Seong-il's words seemed to deliver a tremendous shock, as both Eun-wol and Saekma maintained an uncomfortable silence for a long time.
How much time had passed? After a while, when the shock seemed to have somewhat subsided, Eun-wol asked Seong-il, "Young Master. I understand the preceding and following circumstances now. However, what exactly is that Divine Artifact of the Demon God, and how does it wield such a vicious power...?"
Seong-il, feeling a pang of guilt, hurriedly began making excuses.
"I absolutely cannot reveal that! For some reason, I can sense details about that object. No one taught me, yet I just 'understood' it as if it had been mine from the beginning. I also knew that the object was a gift given to me by an ancient demon god whose name I don't know."
"Perhaps the Demon God was pleased that I committed the taboo and gave it to me as a kind of reward and gift."
"What is certain is that I must not delve into the details or explain it to others. I don't know the reason, but... from my feeling, if many people learn about the secret of that demon god and it spreads, a new terrible problem will arise in the world. I only told you because you are the person involved with this orb. Of course, I never imagined that Saekma would hear this content based on the circumstances."
Then Saekma nodded as if in agreement and concurred with Seong-il's opinion. "That's correct. It's a fairly well-known fact that when divine beings, whether good or evil, take root in the hearts of us mortals, they can gradually interfere with this world. The Blood God's case with the Blood Sect is an example."
"If the number of people who learn about that nameless Demon God increases, followers will appear. And if the followers gradually increase, someday they will form a force and create a second or third Blood Sect."
"As Young Master said, it seems best for the world if we keep this fact among ourselves and bury it, you see."
When Saekma explained it that way, Eun-wol also nodded in agreement and said, "Then the past cannot be helped. What do you plan to do from now on, Young Master?"
"First, I need to become stronger. And protect you, Eun-wol, so that the Chief Guardian cannot become stronger."
At Seong-il's words, Eun-wol's face turned slightly red as she said, "Hmph. I may not look it, but I'm quite strong and talented. I'll protect my own body from the Blood God."
She's saying that, but her expression doesn't look like she dislikes it at all. She's really easy to read.
Then Saekma, who seemed to have read Seong-il's thoughts like a ghost, said quietly, "...It's just that the young leader usually wore a mask, so it was hard for me to notice."
Seong-il, feeling awkward at his excuse, said, "What nonsense are you talking about... By the way, Eun-wol. What do you think of the martial arts manual I gave you earlier?"
At Seong-il's question, Eun-wol examined the manual for a long time before answering, "It seems like an extremely excellent and profound martial art, Young Master."
"Oh! Then if I learn this martial art, can I become a master?"
At Seong-il's words, Eun-wol smiled brightly and replied, "Of course! With a manual of this level, even if it takes twenty years... No, if you have the talent, you could become a considerable master with just ten years of training!"
"What...?! How many years?!"
Then, with an expression as if asking what was strange, Eun-wol said to Seong-il, "Isn't it natural that martial arts require that much training to be effective? Moreover, the Taoist martial arts you gave me revere the natural cycle and are created based on that philosophy. It's common knowledge that while the inner energy reaches the pinnacle of purity, it has the drawback of requiring a long training period."
At her words, Seong-il fell into despair.
Fuck... In martial arts novels and games, you get a fortuitous encounter and become strong in no time with just a little training... Ten to twenty years? I can't do that!!
Seeing Seong-il's dejected expression, Saekma seemed to feel pity for him and said, "You don't seem to have learned any martial arts since your solar plexus doesn't protrude... But since you have a past where you could read the heavenly secrets, perhaps you were born as a once-in-a-millennium genius?"
"!"
At those words, Seong-il's mind snapped to attention as he asked, "Is... is there a way to check that?"
Eun-wol intercepted Seong-il's question and answered, "It's easy. Just take your pulse and examine your meridians."
At her words, Seong-il's face brightened, and he immediately asked her to check his talent.
"..."
"How is it?"
"Um... well..."
Feeling anxious at her hesitant reaction, Seong-il pressed her. "Why? What is it? Tell me quickly."
Then Eun-wol avoided Seong-il's eyes and said, "You... you have no talent. It's not just that you have none; it seems you're almost at the level of a wooden block..."
At her words, Seong-il asked with an expression as if he had lost his country, "Did you perhaps check wrong? Do I really have no talent?!"
"..."
In response to Seong-il's question, Eun-wol turned her head to avoid his gaze and answered with silence.
"Ahem! Shall I check once as well?"
At Saekma's words, Seong-il quickly offered his wrist and said, "Check it! Right now!"
Saekma examined Seong-il's pulse with a serious expression, sometimes feeling his bones, evaluating his aptitude.
"You have no talent. It's not just a lack of talent; your constitution is completely unsuited for martial arts."
"...."
While Seong-il was stunned and dazed by their firm answers, Eun-wol comforted him.
"Still, if you steadily train in the Sodang Sect's Taiji Mind Method and Taiji Sword Art, after about twenty years you should be able to hear people call you an ordinary murim practitioner."
Is this woman messing with me right now?
When Seong-il unconsciously glared at Eun-wol with an irritated expression, Eun-wol suddenly recalled how Seong-il had mercilessly tortured her before their intercourse.
Eek!
Eun-wol quickly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze, and pretended to be calm by humming a tune. "Hm~ hm~ hm~ hm~"
Fuck... Is my grand ambition to learn martial arts and get revenge on Go Yeong-tae going down the drain like this...
While Seong-il was in shock and despair, contemplating whether to quit Pokso Muhyopjeon or not, Saekma spoke.
"It's... not that there's no method, you see."
At his words, Seong-il looked at him in surprise and asked, "Wh-what is that method?!"
Seeing Seong-il unconsciously using polite speech, Saekma grinned and said, "You just need to learn the Saekgong!"