Chapter 443
Joyous Pleasure Powder.
This was a potent aphrodisiac with no ordinary antidote—its effects could only be neutralized through intercourse.
Bu Eun-seol, with his formidable internal energy and mastery of both the Glacier Thousand Streams Art and the Hot River Great Essence True Qi, could easily suppress or burn away the effects of such a poison with little effort.
But So-yo was not capable of the same.
"Sorry..."
Her face flushed red as she lowered her head.
"I just need to rest for a little while."
"So-yo."
"It's fine. I just have to endure until the effects wear off."
Though she said that—
Her silver eyes, usually frozen like a still lake, now rippled with waves, and her small, glossy pink lips trembled faintly.
Despite her composed voice, it was clear she was suffering excruciating torment.
"So-yo."
When Bu Eun-seol called her name, she turned her head toward him with unfocused eyes.
So-yo wasn't the epitome of classical beauty, but she had a slender figure and an ethereal charm that harmonized with her mysterious eyes.
Moreover, there was something tragically fragile about her—an aching beauty that made one want to protect her.
'It would take at least ten hours for the Joyous Pleasure Powder to leave her system.'
Throughout the turning of night into day, So-yo would writhe in agony as if her body were melting.
Bu Eun-seol could never stand by and watch that happen.
'If I use the Hot River Great Essence True Qi, I can burn away the poison's energy in an instant.'
—"Especially that Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang. Avoid using those two forces if possible."
For a moment, Ak Mu-ryeong's warning flashed through Bu Eun-seol's mind.
He had cautioned that if Bu Eun-seol continued to wield the Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang Martial Arts, his body might break down again.
But faced with So-yo's suffering, Bu Eun-seol didn't hesitate for even a second before deciding to use it.
"There's no need to forcibly endure the pain for so long. I can neutralize the poison for you."
"Neut...ralize?"
"That's right."
When Bu Eun-seol nodded firmly, So-yo's face turned crimson, and she averted her gaze, muttering—
"...Pervert."
"No! Wait, let me explain!"
His eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost.
"If I infuse you with the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace's Hot River Great Essence True Qi, I can burn away the poison's energy in one go. That's what I meant by neutralizing it."
He had probably never spoken so quickly in his entire life.
"Got it."
So-yo smiled faintly, nodded, then closed her eyes and spread her arms.
"Do as you will."
"...Did you not hear what I just said?"
"I heard."
"Then there's no need to spread your arms. I just need to transfer my True Qi."
"Got it."
Bu Eun-seol grasped her Pulse Gate and channeled the Hot River Great Essence True Qi into her.
Kwawooong—
As a torrent of scorching energy surged through her meridians, every trace of the Joyous Pleasure Powder absorbed into her body was completely eradicated.
"Sorry..."
So-yo opened her mouth, sounding apologetic.
"I won't act recklessly from now on."
"Good."
Bu Eun-seol replied flatly.
"I'll handle things here. And... did you find the manor?"
"Ah, yeah."
So-yo spoke in a low voice.
"Out of all the manors with the character 'Ha' in their names that have mysteriously vanished in the past thirty years, the only one is Saha Manor in Jian."
"Jian..."
"Yeah. Of course, there might still be places we haven't found yet... but based on what we've investigated so far, that's it."
'I have to go there first.'
Bu Eun-seol's heart grew restless at So-yo's words.
Never before had he rushed or acted impatiently.
But now that he had found a manor that might hold the key to his origins, he felt an urgency he had never experienced before.
"So-yo, I have to go there."
"But your current identity is as the Martial Alliance's Chief?"
"No matter what my identity is, it doesn't matter. I just need to check quickly."
"Alright."
So-yo nodded, sensing the desperation and urgency mixed into Bu Eun-seol's voice.
She could already guess that he was about to unleash his Lightness Art to its utmost limits and head straight for Jian.
"Come back safely."
"There's no need for you to follow."
Paaang!
With those final words, Bu Eun-seol shot into the sky like a streaking meteor.
He was determined to reach Jian in Jiangxi immediately and see Saha Manor with his own eyes.
Jian, Beautiful Water Village.
Now in ruins, it was once home to over three hundred households and a thousand people.
And near the Myriad Waters River, there had been a beautiful manor named Saha Manor.
The manor's owner, though young, was highly learned and constantly received invitations from nearby scholars.
The lady of the manor was known for her benevolent nature, always helping those in hardship or dire straits.
But then, something bizarre occurred.
Saha Manor burned to the ground overnight.
All the dependents inside the manor perished horribly in the flames, while the master's family vanished without a trace.
The government office launched an investigation but could find neither the cause of the fire nor any clue as to the whereabouts of the vanished master's family.
The real problem began after Saha Manor disappeared.
Suddenly, the villagers began falling ill one after another, and a vicious plague spread.
In the end, over a thousand people either died or scattered in all directions, and eventually, Misu Village became a desolate ruin where no one lived.
Bu Eun-seol, disguised as Seon-u Jin, stood tall in the clearing where Saha Manor had once stood.
Haaah...
He let out a deep sigh.
Though Misu Village had become a ghost town, faint traces of its former inhabitants could still be found here and there.
Yet the site where the manor had once stood was as if nothing had ever existed—no remnants, no lingering signs.
Moreover, even after over twenty years had passed, no one had returned to settle and live in this village again.
The plague...
When a plague strikes, a village turns to ruins, and its people scatter to the winds.
Even the once-beautiful Wansu River had dried up, making it impossible for boats to pass.
With merchant ships no longer able to navigate, the marketplace vanished, and all the shops closed their doors.
Since everything that sustained life had disappeared, no one had returned to rebuild Misu Village.
Someone with immense power must have intervened.
It's not uncommon for a perfectly intact manor to be annihilated by a raid from bandits.
A plague sweeping through and turning a village into a wasteland is also a plausible occurrence.
Changes in the surrounding terrain and the collapse of commerce are things that could naturally happen.
But the probability of all these events occurring simultaneously? That borders on impossible.
"No memories..."
Bu Eun-seol carefully surveyed the ruined manor grounds, but nothing surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps it was because the scenery before him was so starkly different from the serene and beautiful manor he had seen in his dreams.
Surely this isn't the wrong place...?
When his spirit had briefly synchronized with the master of Langya Pavilion, he had caught only a fleeting glimpse—just the character Ha.
Perhaps this was merely another manor with a coincidentally similar name.
There's one way to confirm.
If this truly was the manor from Mumu's dream...
Then there had to be a secret passage.
Zzzing.
Bu Eun-seol raised his Empty Mind Spirit Perception, meticulously scanning every inch of the ground.
If only that passage exists...
Then this would indeed be the manor where he had lived with his parents, and it would provide crucial clues in tracing their whereabouts.
Nothing.
But there was no secret passage.
Even after thoroughly combing the entire site of the former manor with his heightened perception—not only was there no secret passage,
he couldn't even detect the faintest trace of any hidden mechanism.
"Must be the wrong place."
A desolate gleam flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
He had finally thought he'd found a lead to track down his parents,
but it seemed this wasn't the manor from his dreams after all.
Time to leave.
If Saha Manor wasn't where he had lived, there was no point lingering and wasting time here.
Yet, perhaps out of reluctance—
his feet refused to move easily.
Thud. Thud.
But then, light footsteps approached, accompanied by a tall, striking shadow walking toward him.
Turning his head, he saw a man clad in white robes, exuding an air of rugged elegance.
The man, laden with bundles like a peddler, glanced briefly at Bu Eun-seol before slowly making his way into the manor grounds.
"Ah, we have a guest."
The white-robed man smiled faintly as he studied Bu Eun-seol with an inscrutable expression.
His gaze was clear and profound, and his voice and demeanor carried no malice.
With well-defined features and a handsome face, he had the kind of presence that naturally inspired goodwill in anyone who saw him.
"You don't seem like an ordinary man, friend. What brings you to a place like this?"
At the white-robed man's casual question, Bu Eun-seol replied flatly,
"Just passing through."
Right now, he was disguised as Seon-u Jin—
yet, without realizing it, he answered in his usual stiff tone.
"I thought there was supposed to be a grand manor here, but there's nothing..."
"Ah, I see."
The white-robed man nodded, then plopped down casually on the ruined ground.
"Well, what does it matter? A traveler like you only needs a place to rest for a while."
He set down the bundle he had been carrying.
The bundle was filled to the brim with liquor bottles. It seemed the man intended to throw quite the drinking party here.
"Care for a drink?"
The white-robed man gestured toward the stacked glass bottles as he spoke.
"As you can see, there's more than enough to get thoroughly drunk on."
Bu Eun-seol allowed a faint smile to linger on his lips.
He might not know tea, but he had no reason to refuse liquor. Besides, something about the white-robed man's warm and easygoing demeanor made him inexplicably likable.
'I'm changing. Even me.'
Was it because he maintained a state where Orthodox, Unorthodox, Demonic, and Buddhist martial arts coexisted within him?
Or was it that the longer he wandered the Rivers and Lakes, the more he himself transformed?
He had never experienced this before.
Lately, he had begun feeling an odd sense of kinship with people he had just met—So-yo had been one, and Baekri Mu-jo, leader of the Star Guard Corps, another.
And now, even toward this nameless man, he felt that same inexplicable closeness.
"Frankly, the bundle was giving off such a rich, enticing aroma of liquor..."
Bu Eun-seol spoke in his usual blunt manner.
"...I was beginning to resent you for not even offering me a single cup."
"Hahaha!"
The white-robed man burst into hearty laughter.
"Seems I've stumbled upon a fine drinking companion."
His clear, ringing laughter seemed to echo into the sky, as if scattering even the last wisp of cloud.
"Here, catch."
Thud.
As the white-robed man tossed a glass bottle, Bu Eun-seol caught it effortlessly.
For a brief moment, his gaze deepened.
Though it was merely the motion of throwing a liquor bottle, there was an unfathomable principle and discipline of martial arts embedded within it.
Without a doubt, this man was a renowned young Grandmaster of the Murim.
Pop.
Yet Bu Eun-seol opened the bottle with an indifferent expression.
He didn't even have the mental space to spare curiosity about who the man might be.
He had come here hoping to find traces of his past, yet... he had discovered nothing. The bitterness of not even knowing his parents' faces weighed on him, leaving only frustration and resentment.
Gulp, gulp.
Bu Eun-seol drowned that anguish and suffocation in one long swig of liquor.
"Good liquor."
After draining the bottle in a single breath, he nodded approvingly.
The liquor the man had brought was as refined and mellow as those served at the Murim Alliance's banquets—worthy of being placed on an ancestral altar.
"You know how to drink, my friend."
The white-robed man nodded in surprise as Bu Eun-seol emptied the bottle in one go.
Gulp, gulp.
The white-robed man followed suit, downing his own bottle before nodding in satisfaction.
"A true man ought to drink with such boldness... Yet these days, the young ones in Murim sip their liquor one finger's width at a time."
Then, with a genial gesture, he pointed at the bundle.
"Drink your fill. There's plenty more where that came from."
Beneath the moonlight in the abandoned manor, the two men drank, passing bottles back and forth.
A mutual fondness grew between them.
Strangely, even without much conversation, they felt no discomfort—as if they were old friends.
"This is the last bottle already."
Bu Eun-seol picked up the final remaining glass bottle.
After drinking half, he tossed it back to the white-robed man.
"Not only do you drink well, but you also understand the Way of Wine."
The man finished the remaining liquor before speaking again.
"But tell me, friend—what's your name? You carry yourself like a scion of a noble house."
"Though I drift through the Rivers and Lakes like a vagrant, my knowledge is lacking. I can't quite place you."
"A life adrift like duckweed."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the distant sky as he murmured indifferently.
"Our lives are but a cycle of meetings and partings. What's the point in knowing each other's names?"
The white-robed man, who had been wearing a dazed expression, suddenly burst into clear laughter, as if enlightened.
"Hahaha. I suppose you're right."
As he grinned, Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together.
"That was good liquor."
His tone was blunt, but his eyes held warmth as he spoke.
"Next time, I'll treat you properly."
Even though they didn't know each other's names,
Bu Eun-seol was making a promise—that they would meet again, and that he would be the one to buy the drinks.
"Now that's something to look forward to."
The white-robed man flashed a bright smile, baring his white teeth, before suddenly adopting a solemn expression.
"Keep that promise. Without fail."
Bu Eun-seol pressed his palms together.
In response, the man also smiled faintly and mirrored the gesture.
"Then."
As Bu Eun-seol slowly turned to leave, the white-robed man exhaled deeply and muttered under his breath.
"Outwardly soft as a blade of grass, yet inside—hard as forged steel."
The white-robed man took a deep breath and pulled a slender glass bottle from his robes.
This was an exceptionally refined and potent liquor, incomparable to any he'd drunk before.
"If you were still alive... we'd be sharing a drink like this right now."
His head drooped with a pained expression as he uncorked the bottle in his hand.
"No matter how many years I come here, burdened by guilt... my heart never finds peace."
Memories of his childhood surfaced in his mind.
And those were—
Secrets that must never, ever be spilled.
"Today will be the last time I let this guilt weigh on me."
Splaaash.
Pouring every last drop onto the ground, the white-robed man lifted his gaze to the distant sky.
"It's about time I set out."
After a deep breath, he unleashed his Movement Technique in a single motion.
Lotus-like radiance bloomed around him—then, like an immortal, he soared into the heavens.
Nine Grades of the Lotus Platform.
A supreme Buddhist movement art, requiring not only immense Internal Energy but also the ability to split one's Internal Energy into nine distinct streams.
So rare that even Shaolin had scarcely any records of its mastery—said to be wielded only by the Buddha Venerable—yet here it was, unfolding from the white-robed man.
As the two men departed, a desolate wind swept across the manor grounds...
Whoooosh—
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and raindrops began to fall.
Before long, an unrelenting downpour drenched the earth, as if threatening to swallow the world whole.
Almost as though—
It were a premonition of the fate awaiting those two men in the days to come.
So Ja-myeong returned to the Death Shadow War Unit.
Bu Eun-seol and Yeop Hyo-cheon's negotiation had concluded successfully.
The Hell Blood Citadel had conspired with the Infinite Realm, supplying both poison and troops to the Great Cloud Forest.
Bu Eun-seol had intended to convene a Demon Governance Council, hold the Hell Blood Citadel accountable for its crimes, and deliver punishment—
But through Yeop Hyo-cheon's mediation, the matter was settled with Gongya Geuk, the Lord of the Hell Blood Citadel, stepping down from his position.
And in exchange for accepting the proposal, Yeop Hyo-cheon returned So Ja-myeong, the leader of the Kill-Seeking Unit, to Bu Eun-seol.
From Bu Eun-seol's perspective, Hell-Blood Citadel had now become a place he could crush at any time.
But a talent like So Ja-myeong wasn't someone you could easily find, even if you scoured the entire Murim. That was why he gladly accepted Yeop Hyo-cheon's offer.
And that choice had been the right one.
"Myo Cheon-u... You're certain it's him?"
Inside a hidden chamber within the Hidden Demon Pavilion—
This was a secret room Yu Un-ryong had prepared at Bu Eun-seol's request, after he'd detected a spy among the Death Shadow War Unit's lords.
And seated there now were not Bu Eun-seol, but Yu Un-ryong and So Ja-myeong.
"Yes."
Upon recalling So Ja-myeong, Bu Eun-seol had given him a new mission:
To uncover the spy who had infiltrated the Death Shadow War Unit.
After a long investigation, So Ja-myeong had found the culprit.
And that person was—
None other than Myo Cheon-u.
"But why are you telling me this?"
Yu Un-ryong spoke with a grave expression.
"Shouldn't you report this to the Lord immediately?"
"I already did."
So Ja-myeong exhaled a quiet sigh.
"Three months ago."
Thud.
Yu Un-ryong's vision darkened.
Bu Eun-seol had known all along that Myo Cheon-u was a spy. Yet he had shown no sign of it, carrying on with perfect composure.
"The Lord is truly... a master of strategy."
After a moment of shock, Yu Un-ryong steadied himself and continued.
"He must be planning to use his Mystic Calculation Strategy to wipe out everyone behind this in one sweep—"
"Lord Yu."
So Ja-myeong cut him off firmly.
"Don't you know the Lord's personality better than that?"
Yu Un-ryong lowered his head.
Bu Eun-seol did not trust others easily.
But once he placed his faith in someone, he would never betray that trust.
Even if that person was a spy holding a blade to his throat...
'Bu Eun-seol...'
Yu Un-ryong bit his lip.
Bu Eun-seol was silently waiting.
Waiting for Myo Cheon-u to abandon his role as a spy and return to the fold of the Death Shadow War Unit. His patience was far deeper, far greater than anyone else's.
He might wait... for a very long time.
He might wait—even until the moment a blade was thrust at him.
So Ja-myeong, too, knew this all too well. That was why he had sought out Yu Un-ryong in the end.
Because he was both Bu Eun-seol's most trusted subordinate—and his close friend.
"So you came to me first... because of the agenda for this meeting."
Soon, the Death Shadow War Unit would convene its Lord's Meeting.
And Yu Un-ryong would have to deliver grave news—about someone connected to Bu Eun-seol.
It would likely bring Bu Eun-seol another trial, another danger.
So Ja-myeong, knowing this well, had secretly summoned Yu Un-ryong here.
"I understand."
Yu Un-ryong nodded as if resolved.
"If this once again puts the Lord in peril... if it exposes his movements..."
Swallowing back the anguish threatening to burst forth, Yu Un-ryong gritted his teeth and spoke.
"I will take responsibility for dealing with Myo Cheon-u myself."