Heading to Song Mountain (4)
Hyeon Yucheon's goal was, of course, not tourism—but revenge.
The words about gaining much likely referred to severing Hongbulgeom Jonghun's neck and the success of his vengeance.
"Is that so? What a shame. I was hoping to introduce you to some scenic spots..."
Yeon Jinjin blushed slightly, twisting her hands together nervously.
She was so adorably endearing that even the young novice monks near Shaolin Temple couldn't help stealing glances.
But Hyeon Yucheon remained unmoved.
"No, thank you. I wouldn't want to impose when you need to return to the escort agency posthaste."
He refused her gently.
At the same time, he idly wondered what might have been—if that day of utter annihilation hadn't befallen them, would he and his fiancée Yeon Jinjin have lived happily together?
"Understood. If you ever feel like joining an escort mission or need the agency's help, don't hesitate to visit."
"Thank you. Then I'll be on my way..."
With that, Hyeon Yucheon's stint as a guest escort came to a close.
He parted ways with the Gold Amount Escort Agency crew and immediately made preparations.
He acquired dark night clothes from a fabric shop and genuinely toured various scenic spots for a time.
Once he'd passed the hours that way, he made contact with Hongbulgeom Jonghun once more.
By chance, Buloe Hall was hosting a grand event, welcoming throngs of visitors.
"If it's all right, I'd love to sightsee around Buloe Hall... Would that be okay?"
Hyeon Yucheon smiled warmly, his handsome features and pleasant demeanor putting Jonghun at ease—no suspicion whatsoever.
On the contrary.
Got Buddha Subdues Demon!
"Amitabha. You're the gentleman from the Gold Amount Escort Agency today, aren't you? Of course—Buloe Hall's doors are always open."
Jonghun greeted him with a benevolent smile, pressing his palms together in prayer.
But Hyeon Yucheon knew the man's true face all too well.
'Repulsive bastard.'
It had been years since they'd last met, and Hongbulgeom Jonghun had grown plump—not just in face, but all over.
The sight reignited Hyeon Yucheon's fury.
His beloved parents lay as cold bones underground, their bodies not even properly recovered—yet here was this bloodsucker, fattened on others' suffering, bloated with high status. Unbearable.
"Thank you."
Fearing his true feelings might show, Hyeon Yucheon returned the clasped-hands gesture and bowed politely.
A deliberate mask to hide the rage twisting his heart.
"Oh, Hall Lord. The Gold Amount Escort Agency's leader mentioned something he forgot to pass on..."
Suddenly, Hyeon Yucheon feigned realization, luring Jonghun along.
Just then, Buloe Hall's members were swamped with guests and visitors, leaving only the hall lord with any leisure.
"From the leader himself?"
"Yes, he must've been too busy and overlooked it. Is there a quiet, secluded spot?"
"Hmmm. Very well."
Fortuitously, Jonghun led him unquestioningly to his private quarters—deep within Buloe Hall, isolated and discreet.
Perched on vast Mount Song, his residence wasn't a mere room but an entire building.
"This should do. So, what did the leader forget to mention?"
Jonghun asked with his usual kindly air.
"Oh, nothing major—just that the Buloe Hall Lord left an item behind unclaimed."
Hyeon Yucheon smiled back at him.
This time, no pretense. Pure sincerity.
How could he not smile, on the verge of avenging his parents after so long?
"Left something behind? I don't recall..."
Jonghun tilted his head in genuine confusion.
Hyeon Yucheon seized the moment, unleashing his inner power to seal all sound from escaping, then replied in a chilling tone.
"Yes. Don't you remember? Think carefully."
"I truly don't..."
The darkening mood unsettled Jonghun; bewilderment clouded his kindly face as he puzzled over Hyeon Yucheon's intent.
"Downstream on the Haeha Stream—you let a child's corpse slip away, didn't you?"
The words barely left Hyeon Yucheon's lips before Jonghun's face twisted, revealing his true self.
Evasion flawless by over a handspan—he slipped behind in an instant.
And then Jonghun unleashed the pinnacle strike of the Great Buddha Sword Technique, a Shaolin lay disciple's art.
Age and girth hadn't dulled his first-rate prowess.
If anything, years later, he teetered on super first-rate.
Impressive for a lay disciple—but no match for Hyeon Yucheon.
"Stay still, or I'll cave your skull in right here."
Each syllable dripped with killing intent.
Jonghun recoiled at the aura—and the youth's overwhelming superiority.
'This young, and already at this level?'
Scarcely past his early twenties, yet peak—no, verging on super peak.
Unbelievable, even seeing it.
Such skill was rare even in Shaolin's main temple, let alone Buloe Hall.
In truth, Hyeon Yucheon's power ranked among Shaolin's top ten—far beyond a lay disciple like Jonghun.
"Who the hell are you...? No—could it be?!"
Mid-question, memory struck: that child's face. The one he'd thought slain, only for his sword to glance off and send the body tumbling into the Haeha Stream's lower reaches.
"That day... that child?"
He trembled violently as he spoke.
Not a fond memory for him either.
A lay disciple, he'd joined tearfully under duress from the Heaven's Five Venerables' disciples—hoping for stronger sword arts, higher status.
"You said if I survived, it must be heaven's will, didn't you?"
Hyeon Yucheon gazed at him with eerie calm.
Within those serene eyes swirled killing intent, rage, and a vortex of long-pent emotions.
"Gasp!"
Jonghun recalled his own words from back then.
If you survive that strike... then perhaps it is heaven's will.
Uttered as the boy flew into the downstream river.
"In the end, heaven chose me."
With that, Hyeon Yucheon acted.
Formless sword energy coalesced vividly in his palms—clear even to elite masters.
A low hiss as formless sword qi filled his hands.
Invisible to most experts usually, yet now starkly visible.
"I-Impossible! That unique sword style—don't tell me..."
Jonghun could only think of one man.
The former world's greatest, a legend among legends.
Slain only by the exalted Heaven's Five Venerables uniting against him.
Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang's Formless Flash Quick Sword!
"You know it well. I crawled from the Haeha Stream's lower reaches as my master died in the upper. A dying elder met a dying child. And then..."
Tears traced Hyeon Yucheon's cheeks.
No sobs, no grimace.
Just silent rivulets, like falling rain.
"I am his legacy—and vengeance's blade!"
He held back no longer.
After years of waiting, he swung the formless sword mercilessly.
"Argh!"
Jonghun was no slouch—a skilled swordsman, and the Great Buddha Sword Technique an underrated upper-tier art in the jianghu. He endured several clashes through sheer tenacity.
But not for long.
Slash!
The formless blade sheared his right shoulder, sending his sword clattering away.
"Hongbulgeom Jonghun. You're a hypocrite."
"Urk, what do you...?"
"Rumors swirled that the Gold Amount Escort Agency's cargo was a Shaolin martial arts manual. Coincidence?"
Jonghun flinched involuntarily.
Hyeon Yucheon's accusation struck too true.
"All your scheme, no doubt. The real manual escorted separately—you used the agency as bait. And you spread the rumor yourself."
"..."
Speechless, though guilty.
It was no act of goodwill hiring them.
Without Hyeon Yucheon, many would've died at Great Ridge Mountain Stronghold, or the mission failed outright.
Jonghun had long shouldered Shaolin's dirty work—a fixer of sorts.
That elevated him to youngest Buloe Hall Lord.
"How did you know?"
"No secrets last forever in the martial world. Your atrocities—and those of the Heaven's Five Venerables and Seok Family—will spread far and wide."
Even if not, Hyeon Yucheon would force it so.
"I demand blood price for my parents and Mangeum Clan."
He advanced slowly.
"N-No... please..."
Terror shook Jonghun, but disarmed, he was helpless.
Just quaking in dread.
"Filthy hypocrite—you'll find no Buddha in death, but hellfire devouring your karma."
Crunch!
The formless sword qi engulfed him.
"Gack! Hack!"
Jonghun writhed, vomiting blood as his chest was pierced.
Hyeon Yucheon didn't kill instantly.
For his parents' killer, he savored it—slow, deliberate agony.
"M-Monster... invisible sword... y-you're... that old man's... disciple!"
Jonghun gasped through moans.
Hyeon Yucheon merely gazed down calmly.
"Even so... you can never... beat the Heaven's Five Venerables..."
Dying curses poured out.
No matter your strength, you can't topple them—or their Murim Alliance and Seok Family backing.
Not wrong—Hyeon Yucheon backed only by Jeong Se-in, no faction to speak of.
"What nonsense."
Far from despair or rage, Hyeon Yucheon smirked.
Producing a rare artifact before Jonghun's eyes: black ironwood, symbol of the Demon Sword Sect Lord.
"Recognize this?"
He mocked the man on hell's doorstep, ushering him the final step.
"With this, I'll revive the Demon Sword Sect and shatter this cursed martial world."
What Jonghun never foresaw:
Hyeon Yucheon's revenge wasn't ending—it was beginning. Truly unfolding once he claimed the Demon Sword Sect.
'Watch from hell. See the Heaven's Five Venerables, Murim Alliance, and Seok Family's end.'
And so Jonghun met a pathetic death.
Whoosh!
Hyeon Yucheon incinerated the corpse, battle traces—everything.
Clean flames via samadhi true fire left no evidence.
'And no one saw me contact Jonghun.'
Now, slip away before Buloe Hall folk or Shaolin noticed the blaze.