A Debt Repaid
"Pant, pant... Ugh, I'm going to die...!"
Jang Bo-heum groaned despite himself.
His pale, bloodless face was a bonus.
Lifting his head with trembling eyes, he saw Geukrak Island in the far distance.
Jang Bo-heum collapsed spread-eagled onto the sand of the ferry dock.
River sand seeped through his martial robes, but he didn't care.
He had run at full speed without a single rest all the way from Mount Bang, where the fierce battle had taken place.
It was only natural that he was groaning in sheer exhaustion.
However, Jeok-un clicked his tongue in disapproval at the sight.
"Tsk. To think a squad leader of the Sipcheon Squad is panting like a dog just from a little running."
Unlike Jang Bo-heum, Jeok-un did not seem out of breath at all, and his appearance was not disheveled in the slightest.
We came all this way without pausing once to circulate our qi... How can he be so perfectly fine?
Jang Bo-heum stared at Jeok-un as if looking at an incomprehensible monster.
Is he even human?
I'm not the weird one, you are!
The words surged up his throat, reaching the very tip of his tongue.
But he managed to swallow them back down with superhuman patience.
If he spoke his mind, a brutal beating would surely await him.
"I-it's not that... It's just that the guy from the Moyong Clan... was really strong..."
"Tsk. In any case, Do Ye-cheon has completely ruined Sadocheon. Look at you, slacking off on your training just because you made squad leader."
"...I'm sorry."
Jang Bo-heum felt a surge of resentment at those words, but he swallowed it down once more.
He had no choice, especially when he looked at the bloodstains on Jeok-un's sleeves.
The source of that blood was none other than Dang Maeng, the second-in-command of the Sichuan Dang Family.
He must be at least ten years younger than me. How on earth is he this strong?
It still felt surreal.
To think he had killed Dang Maeng as easily as twisting a child's wrist.
It was a level of martial prowess Jang Bo-heum couldn't even fathom.
The Vice Lord was wrong. That strength... it's not because of some sacred relic. It's his own innate power.
The Vice Lord, Do Ye-cheon, had insisted that Jeok-un's achievements were merely a stroke of luck gained by relying on a sacred relic.
But having observed Jeok-un from up close, Jang Bo-heum knew better.
The relic was one thing, but the youth's own martial arts and cultivation were unfathomably deep.
Didn't they say he rejected the position of the Lord's disciple? Is he actually receiving secret tutoring from someone else?
As Jang Bo-heum stole glances at Jeok-un with these thoughts in mind—
"What are you rolling your eyes for? You want to die?"
"N-no! I'm sorry!"
"Once we return, I'll have to put you through hellish training. You won't be of any help with this pathetic level of skill."
"Hieek...!"
Leaving the terrified Jang Bo-heum behind, Jeok-un searched the area around the ferry dock.
A small, half-rotted rowboat was hidden among the reeds.
It was the boat he had ordered Jang Bo-heum to prepare beforehand to reach Geukrak Island.
Seeing that its condition was far worse than expected, Jeok-un furrowed his brows.
"I told you to prepare a boat, and you brought this piece of junk?"
"W-well... If we got a larger boat, the Black Hegemony Castle bastards would notice immediately. Besides, a larger vessel is much easier to spot when approaching the island... I-I'm sorry."
"Hmm."
Jeok-un tilted his head at Jang Bo-heum's explanation.
He had thought the man was just slacking off because he didn't want to work.
But hearing it now, there was a reasonable logic to it.
"Well, that makes sense."
"Yes, yes! It really does..."
Just as Jang Bo-heum let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest—
"Alright, get in."
Jeok-un delivered an unexpected command.
"Huh? I-I'm going too?"
"Who else is going to row, you idiot?"
"...Ugh."
Am I really going to cross the line of death again?
As Jang Bo-heum lamented his tragic fate—
Huh?
Jeok-un's gaze suddenly snapped to one side.
A strange gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Well, he certainly has a nose like a hound."
"Pardon?"
Before the bewildered Jang Bo-heum could even ask—
Whoosh!
A sudden gust of wind swept through, shaking the reeds and river weeds.
From between the swaying reeds, a figure stepped forward with measured strides.
Upon seeing the man dressed in a white robe, Jang Bo-heum's eyes shook violently.
"You're persistent."
Jeok-un asked dryly at the unexpected guest.
"Are you here to avenge your branch leader? Universe Sword Dragon?"
The familiar martial artist clad in white.
Moyong Geon, the Universe Sword Dragon, glared at Jeok-un in silence.
Still as troublesome as ever.
Looking at Moyong Geon, Jeok-un recalled the past before his regression.
The young master of the Moyong Clan.
The sole direct disciple of the current leader of the Murim Alliance, the Sword Emperor Namgung Jang-cheon.
And.
The future Twin Heaven Sword Venerable.
Just like the title of 'Venerable' attached to his name.
Before the regression, Moyong Geon had been a supreme master who rose to the rank of the Four Sovereigns and Six Venerables.
At the same time, he was one of the few individuals Jeok-un respected, even while waging a bloody war of life and death against the orthodox Murim Alliance.
Amidst the ruined Murim Alliance controlled by the Sichuan Dang Family and Jegal Wi-yeon, he was the only one who remained a righteous warrior of justice.
If not for the small group of righteous reformists led by Moyong Geon, the Murim Alliance would have degenerated so hideously that they would have had to tear down their banner of the Orthodox faction.
His opposition to the war against Sadocheon—or rather, the unorthodox forces that Jeok-un later renamed the Evil Hegemony Alliance—was proof of that.
Well, a war broke out in the end anyway, and we still crossed blades.
But those were ties that had vanished with his regression.
Thus, the current Moyong Geon was merely an enemy blocking his path.
Jeok-un released a faint trace of his aura as he spoke.
"It seems you've left your lackeys behind. What business do you have with me?"
"...Aren't you being far too nonchalant after causing such a massacre?"
"Hmm, I don't know what you're talking about."
Jeok-un shrugged.
As if he were entirely innocent.
"I clearly gave you all a chance. A chance to leave in peace. Yet it was your side that spurned my generous mercy, and wasn't it your side that attacked first?"
"Do you honestly call that an excuse?"
Moyong Geon asked in genuine disbelief.
To this, Jeok-un replied with equal sincerity.
"Of course. Is there anything incorrect in what I said?"
"Hah. You even hid an entire force in the mountains where you lured us."
"Hid them? Those men weren't my subordinates. They were dogs of the Geumhwang Merchant Group, conspiring with Do Ye-cheon to kill me."
"!!"
Jeok-un subtly slipped the information about the Geumhwang Merchant Group's involvement to Moyong Geon.
As Moyong Geon fell into thought at the unexpected news, Jeok-un added another word.
"And in the first place..."
"...?"
"You never had any intention of truly stopping me, did you?"
"...!"
At Jeok-un's words, Moyong Geon's eyes trembled slightly.
"...What are you talking about?"
"Did you even use thirty percent of your real strength? I highly doubt it."
Moyong Geon shut his mouth tight at Jeok-un's sharp observation.
Hearing this, Jang Bo-heum's jaw dropped in sheer shock.
H-he only used thirty percent?
It was utterly unbelievable.
During the battle of Mount Bang, it was Jang Bo-heum who had faced Moyong Geon.
Jang Bo-heum had fought with everything he had, yet he had nearly ended up like Dang Maeng several times.
And yet, that overwhelming power had only been thirty percent of Moyong Geon's true strength.
He is far stronger than what the rumors in the Jianghu say...!
Jang Bo-heum shivered involuntarily.
First the monster beside him, and now this. Why on earth were there so many monstrous freaks in the Jianghu?
While Jang Bo-heum despaired over his own limitations, the silent Moyong Geon finally spoke.
"When did you realize?"
"What do you mean when? From the very beginning, of course."
Aura, posture, reactions.
There were countless ways to gauge one's martial prowess.
Having once stood at the absolute peak, it was not difficult for Jeok-un to notice that Moyong Geon was holding back.
Though it was a bit surprising that he is already stronger than Dang Maeng at this point.
If Moyong Geon had actively assisted Dang Maeng to stop him, things might have gone awry or become incredibly troublesome.
Yet Moyong Geon had hidden his strength until the end, showing no real desire to stop Jeok-un.
From the moment he broke into the Tongseong County branch to the battle of Mount Bang.
It had been a lingering question.
Now I understand.
That must be the reason he went through the trouble of tracking him all the way here to show himself.
"As you can see, I'm busy. If you have something to say, spit it out and get lost."
"..."
Moyong Geon hesitated for a moment at Jeok-un's words.
Whoosh!
Having reached a decision, he pulled something from his robes and tossed it to Jeok-un.
This is?
What Moyong Geon had thrown was a scroll.
The moment Jeok-un caught it, he could tell it had been meticulously treated with oil for waterproofing and preservation.
As Jeok-un looked at him with questioning eyes, Moyong Geon explained with an indifferent expression.
"It's a sea chart compiled by the Alliance. The destination is Geukrak Island."
"Oh?"
"...!!"
Jeok-un's eyes gleamed, while Jang Bo-heum's jaw dropped once more.
It was completely beyond comprehension.
Jang Bo-heum stared at Moyong Geon in bewilderment.
Why would the Universe Sword Dragon do this? Has he suddenly gone mad?
If this reached the ears of the Murim Alliance, it was an act of treason that even the direct disciple of the Alliance Leader could not escape severe punishment for.
Moyong Geon continued.
"This is payment for avenging my disgraced younger sister."
"...!"
The reason Moyong Geon revealed was entirely unexpected.
Ah, so that was it.
The Night Lord, Ji Jung-yeong.
The lecherous demon Jeok-un had beaten to death a while ago.
Right, I remember now. They said a daughter of the Moyong Clan was almost violated by Ji Jung-yeong.
The reason Ji Jung-yeong had sought refuge under Do Ye-cheon was due to a kill order issued by the Murim Alliance, which had been spearheaded by the Moyong Clan.
After foolishly attempting to violate the precious daughter of the Moyong Clan and failing, he had barely escaped with his life to the territory of Sadocheon.
The Vice Lord, Do Ye-cheon, had laundered Ji Jung-yeong's identity and employed him as a subordinate.
Because Do Ye-cheon had provided him with a new face and identity, the Moyong Clan had been unable to exact their revenge.
But when the news spread to the Orthodox factions that Jeok-un had killed the Night Lord and earned the moniker of the Ring-Shattering Mad Wolf, they had finally learned the truth.
Hah. They say the Moyong Clan carves favors in steel and grudges in stone. It seems the rumors were true.
Moyong Geon spoke, his face still cold and dry as a desert.
"With this, my family no longer owes you any debt. Therefore, the next time we meet, I will make sure you pay for your crimes."
"With that pathetic level of skill?"
Jeok-un let out a dry chuckle, finding it absurd.
But regardless of Jeok-un's mockery, Moyong Geon turned around without a care.
That lack of manners is exactly the same as it was in the past.
Jeok-un watched Moyong Geon's retreating figure before tossing the sea chart in his hand to Jang Bo-heum.
Jang Bo-heum caught the chart, scanned it briefly, and scurried over to Jeok-un.
"According to this map, we should be able to easily approach the island while completely avoiding the eyes of the Black Hegemony Castle. B-but... can we really trust this?"
"You can trust it."
"But what if it's a trap...?"
"It won't be a trap."
Jeok-un spoke firmly.
At the look in Jang Bo-heum's eyes, which asked how he could be so sure, Jeok-un smirked.
"That guy isn't the type to act so dishonorably."
Saying so, Jeok-un quietly reflected on this unexpected connection.
And he felt it like an instinct.
That they would meet again before long.
Jeok-un stared in the direction Moyong Geon had disappeared for a brief moment.
"Well then, shall we go retrieve the sacred relic?"
Following his clash with the Murim Alliance, he boarded the rowboat to crush the Black Hegemony Castle.