Chapter 66
Chapter 66
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Why With Master?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Mas...ter...?"
-Trembling-
She clutched her stomach and reached out toward them.
Her energy had twisted from the recent clash, sending waves of pain through her body, but the situation unfolding before her eyes was far more pressing.
"Thank goodness... If anything had happened to you, I would have..."
Her master was holding Yuseong tightly in her arms.
It wasn't a trick of the eye.
Her master had already reached the realm of half-immortal transcendence. Even after ten years, her appearance hadn't changed a bit.
And even if it had shifted slightly, there was no way she wouldn't recognize her.
This was the woman she had followed like a parent, after all.
"Ah... truly, thank goodness..."
And now, that very master was hugging Yuseong close and stroking his back.
...Why?
Why was her master hugging Yuseong...?
Why were the two of them together...?
There was an age gap, sure, but they were still of opposite sexes, and there was no hint of revulsion in the embrace.
It was proof of an intimate bond between them.
'No... That can't be...'
This was her master.
Her upright, righteous master.
There was no way she would form such a relationship with the boy who had suffered greatly because of her own disciple.
Her master was the type tormented by immense guilt, barely able to even pat his head in comfort...
'Why...?'
The scene before her eyes utterly contradicted those thoughts.
Her master was embracing Yuseong tightly, and Yuseong showed no sign of resistance.
This was no reaction between mere acquaintances.
And yet... after what she had done to Yuseong.
Neither her master nor Yuseong could possibly have forgotten that.
For them to react like this?
'Ah, no. Calm down.'
Ten whole years had passed in that interim.
Time enough for mountains to change. It wouldn't be strange if some unknown event had led to reconciliation between them.
But...
'Hugging is a whole different issue!!!!!!'
How dare she! How dare she! How dare she!!
After killing me!! Separating me from Yuseong with that cold death!!!!
And hugging him in the meantime?!
-Grind-
No matter that it was her master.
Even if she was like a parent to her.
Any woman who laid so much as a fingertip on Yuseong's body besides herself was an enemy.
-Sching!
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!"
Rage, hatred, betrayal. She channeled every surging emotion into her sword and charged at her master.
She held no expectation of it landing.
Her lifetime peak had been supreme mastery.
Even if a hundred of her charged in, grazing her master's sword would be a miracle.
"...Who dares strike at one's back?!"
-Boom!
"Kuh!"
Her master didn't even need to draw her sword— a mere swing of her arm sent her flying back.
The gap in power was that overwhelming...
-Crack-
"...I can't forgive you."
Forcing strength into her limbs, she twisted her joint.
To an angle no ordinary human could achieve.
But this bought her one more chance to swing her sword.
"?!"
Surprise flickered across her master's face.
In that moment, she unleashed her strike toward her master.
The most powerful technique from her lifetime arsenal, the one she wielded best—
None other than the martial art her master had personally taught her, now unfolding right before her master's eyes.
"What?!"
-Clang!
Sword met sword, and the fragrance of plum blossoms scattered around them.
-Flutter-
The wind pressure tore away the Bloodstained Cloak that veiled her face, revealing it fully.
Her master's expression filled with horror.
She had scoured every location the fortune teller mentioned in her search for him, only to cause needless trouble for innocents—until the commotion at the tavern entrance drew her rushing over...
-Halt-
She approached, then her legs froze in place.
The reason for stopping flashed through her mind in that instant.
'I still haven't found him.'
Realizing she'd halted for that reason left her deeply unsettled.
No matter how rife with constant brawls the Central Plains were, leaving it alone could harm innocent bystanders.
That was why she'd always rushed toward any disturbance before—but hesitating now for his sake?
-Chill-
Fear gripped her at the thought of how much she'd changed, but this wasn't the time for self-reflection.
From the type of noise, it was clearly a clash between martial artists.
She needed to hurry and minimize harm to the innocent.
And perhaps... he might be there too.
Racing toward the noise, she found the tavern entrance filthy with signs of a recent uproar,
-Grind-
"...How dare you."
A cloaked fiend was clutching him.
That alone was enough to grasp the situation.
-Whish!
Imbuing her flying sword with the essence of Projected Force, she struck the fiend and sent it flying.
Its internal energy would be tangled for a while, immobilizing it.
"What is this commotion?!"
She spared a glance at the tavern keeper—who seemed to have been facing off against the fiend—before rushing straight to him.
-Wobble wobble-
"Are you alright?! That fiend didn't do anything to you, did it?!"
"Dizzy..."
Thankfully, he was conscious.
"Thank goodness... If anything had happened to you, I would have..."
She pulled him into her arms and stroked his back.
It was to check for injuries amid the chaos.
Fortunately, he seemed unharmed.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!"
As she examined him, the fiend's voice rang out.
It sounded vaguely familiar, but there was no time to dwell on it.
The fiend was swinging its sword right then.
"...Who dares strike at one's back?!"
-Boom!
She deflected the sword laced with intense emotion and pondered how to deal with this assailant.
But before she could decide—
-Crack!
An even darker wave of emotion erupted from the fiend, its joints twisting unnaturally.
An angle impossible for any normal human.
Through gaps in the Bloodstained Cloak, she glimpsed blazing heat and icy chill mingling in crimson eyes.
-Chill-
The difference in their realms was overwhelming, yet an eerie sensation prickled her skin.
Like the first time she'd seen live seafood writhing— that grotesque unfamiliarity.
The primal emotion of beholding something beyond rational comprehension.
'Is this truly human...?'
The fiend was twisted in a way that made it hard to believe it was human.
And this feeling wasn't new to her.
On the day she'd cut down Soyeon. Just before death, as Soyeon cackled in mad joy at the thought that he'd never forget her for life... she'd felt something similar.
But that dread lasted only a moment.
The shock of receiving the fiend's incoming strike shattered it instantly.
'My martial art...?'
The sword technique it wielded was hers.
No mistaking it for some similar style.
It was identical to the unique style she'd crafted through personal enlightenment.
-Clang!
Swords clashed, and a familiar plum blossom scent wafted through the air.
Mount Hua arts at a certain level scattered that fragrance, but clashing blades confirmed it beyond doubt.
This was her martial art.
One she'd never taught anyone.
No— the one person she'd taught was no longer in this world.
Of all who'd learned it, only she and one other remained— and now it unfolded before her eyes.
-Flutter!
The impact ripped away the fiend's Bloodstained Cloak, exposing her face.
Beautiful black hair streaked with blood-red hues midway down.
A face so stunning no one would stint on compliments.
And crimson eyes brimming with rage, hatred, resentment, betrayal, anticipation, despair.
"Y-You... how...?"
It had changed somewhat, but the face was achingly familiar.
The one and only disciple in the world.
The greatest sin she'd left in this world.
The child who'd inherited even her martial arts and moniker, like her own offspring.
Soyeon was there.
As she faltered, speechless in shock, Soyeon's lips parted.
"That's exactly what I want to ask you."
-Trembling-
[Ah... now that child will struggle through the outside world. Seducing other women just like he seduced me, exploiting their hearts and fortunes...]
[No matter what woman he meets from now on, he'll never forget me.]
Those scenes flashed through her mind like a lantern show.
The exact same voice. The exact same aura.
The image she'd dismissed as the ravings of a human ruined by twisted love now stood before her, unaltered.
[...Ahahat! Ahahahahat!!!]
For an instant, she thought it a nightmare.
Perhaps she'd unknowingly fallen asleep.
She couldn't accept how this was possible.
The disciple she'd slain with her own hand had returned to life.
"Ah... ah..."
Her mouth wouldn't close.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Emotions overflowed uncontrollably as her senses began denying reality.
Memories of the past clawed at her, binding her.
And then her voice rang out.
A voice like black formed from every color blended—
Every emotion tangled until it felt like nothing at all. An indifferent tone.
"Why are you with that child, Master?"