One of the Thousand Buddhas
Then…
Branch Leader Baek Cho-gong, who had been lost in thought, turned his head to one side.
“Patrol So! Come here at once!”
At Branch Leader Baek Cho-gong’s summons, Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa came running.
“Yes, Branch Leader.”
“You will guide Instructor Dan to Mun Mountain.”
Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa glanced at the branch leader and Dan Yeop before nodding.
“Understood. Instructor Dan, when would you like to depart?”
“Right now.”
“Do you know how to ride?”
“I haven’t learned that yet.”
“Then we’ll take a carriage. It will be faster than traveling by light-body technique.”
“Let’s do that.”
Dan Yeop nodded without hesitation. He intended to conserve his strength on the way to Mun Mountain.
“I’ll fetch a carriage right away.”
Having spoken, Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa dashed outside.
Vice Branch Leader Mok Un-saeng, along with the various leaders and heads, gathered around Baek Cho-gong and Dan Yeop.
His voice hoarse from shouting so fiercely back at the Xuanwu Hall, Mok Un-saeng spoke.
“Instructor Dan, save Warrior Baek. If that proves impossible, at least bring her body back intact.”
The words made Dan Yeop feel as if his heart were shriveling.
He had never once considered the possibility of Baek Yu-hwa’s death.
Only now did the reality sink in—that she had been taken by the Blood Emperor, the infamous demonic overlord of the previous generation.
Junior Sister Baek, you must not die before I reach you.
A short while later, Dan Yeop left Jipdanhyang together with Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa.
The carriage bound for Mun Mountain.
Dan Yeop sat not inside but on the bench beside the driver. He had something he needed to tell So Wol-hwa.
“Patrol Leader So.”
“Yes?”
“Once we reach Mun Mountain, I may ask you about the current situation again.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
So Wol-hwa stared at him in bewilderment. His expression was too serious for a joke, and the mood was hardly light enough for one.
“I once suffered qi deviation in Byeongmachong. Afterward, shock sometimes causes my memories to become… jumbled. I’m telling you in advance so you won’t be startled.”
“Ah… I see.”
So Wol-hwa found it hard to believe, yet she simply accepted it. The Murim was full of people far stranger than Dan Yeop.
The Thousand Buddhas of the Present Kalpa
Lishan, Imdong County.
Late at night.
An elderly man who appeared well past seventy and a young woman in her late teens were making their way along the mountain foothills.
They were the Blood Emperor Ak Mu-gun and Baek Yu-hwa.
The old man’s face was flushed with healthy color.
In contrast, the young Baek Yu-hwa was deathly pale from cold and terror.
The Blood Emperor strode briskly across the frozen mountain path.
When Baek Yu-hwa slipped and staggered, on the verge of falling, he swiftly seized her by the nape.
“Can’t even a martial artist walk properly?”
“The path is slippery…”
“You slipped because your training is lacking. Why blame the road?”
“I’m sorry.”
Now that the mood had struck him, the Blood Emperor simply lifted Baek Yu-hwa and began to run.
Swish, swish, swish—
Even carrying a person, he was faster than a horse at full gallop.
After running for some time, the Blood Emperor set her down.
Baek Yu-hwa hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
Not far away stood a magnificent building.
Bathed in moonlight, it was every bit as splendid as the grandest structures in Chang’an Castle.
“Hwacheong Palace?”
“Indeed. Far too extravagant a tomb for you.”
“Is this the destination?”
Baek Yu-hwa studied the Blood Emperor’s expression.
A little farther and they would reach Mun Mountain. She had naturally assumed he was heading there.
Hwacheong Palace was the emperor’s private villa and had no connection to the Murim whatsoever.
“Yes. There is someone here I must kill.”
“Who?”
Baek Yu-hwa was far calmer than before. After witnessing Warrior Yang Hoe’s death, she had been too terrified to speak. Having grown somewhat accustomed to the Blood Emperor, she now dared to ask questions.
“You wouldn’t know even if I told you.”
“There is nothing Haomun does not know.”
When Baek Yu-hwa answered boldly, the Blood Emperor gave her a sidelong glance.
“Vice Protector Lee Deok-myeong of the Anxi Protectorate.”
Baek Yu-hwa’s bravado vanished at once.
“Who is Lee Deok-myeong?”
“Weren’t you the one claiming Haomun knows everything? He is a member of the imperial clan. He has just finished patrolling the Western Regions and is resting.”
“Why do you wish to kill him?”
“Hmph! Facing death and still curious?”
Only then did reality strike Baek Yu-hwa. She asked in a small voice.
“…Are you going to kill me as well?”
“Of course. That is only fair.”
Two people had followed him; he had killed one. Killing the other would at least keep the first from feeling too aggrieved.
That was the Blood Emperor’s notion of fairness.
Baek Yu-hwa was stunned into silence by his resolute expression.
“While patrolling the Western Regions, Lee Deok-myeong slaughtered many innocent civilians. I intend to punish him in heaven’s stead.”
At the unexpected words, Baek Yu-hwa glanced at him again. She had never imagined such a statement could come from the Blood Emperor’s mouth.
“You have been living in Gangnam, sir. How did you learn of Western Region affairs, and why do you seek to kill him?”
“Because I am one of the Thousand Buddhas of the Present Kalpa.”
“Could it be… sir, that you belong to Cheonlyeon?”
“You even know that much. You’re not entirely brainless, then.”
“I was told the heroes of Cheonlyeon only kill corrupt officials. Must you really kill someone as insignificant as me…”
The Blood Emperor cut her off.
“Before I am of Cheonlyeon, I am the Blood Emperor. If I do not kill those who deserve death, who would fear me?”
Baek Yu-hwa closed her mouth. The slender thread of hope she had clung to at the mention of Cheonlyeon snapped.
Then the Blood Emperor spoke again.
“Tell me why you must live.”
“I…”
Baek Yu-hwa could not continue. There was no reason she absolutely had to live.
Born into a Haomun family, she had lived as a Haomun member. Ten Blades Unification? Given her place within Haomun, the very idea was laughable.
“No reason, I see. You simply lived because you were born.”
Baek Yu-hwa flared up.
“That’s not true! I have lived with all my strength!”
Having trained for ten years in Byeongmachong, she could not accept his words.
“Puhahaha! A Haomun wench claiming she lived diligently! Even a dog would laugh. Still, you made me laugh at the end, so I shall grant you a painless death.”
“If you’re going to kill me anyway, why drag me all the way here!”
“So the Five Great Sword Factions chasing me will head to Mun Mountain. Consider it an honor to be used for Cheonlyeon’s great undertaking.”
Baek Yu-hwa stared at the Blood Emperor in utter disbelief.
She had thought him nothing more than a powerful demonic head of the previous generation, but she had been wrong.
As she stood there, dazed, a thin red line appeared across her throat.
Huh?
At the strange sensation, Baek Yu-hwa tilted her head—then her head tumbled cleanly to the ground.
The Blood Emperor looked down at her severed head for a moment before soaring into the air like a wild kite.
Deep in the night.
A carriage halted at the entrance to Mun Mountain.
Soon Dan Yeop and Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa descended from the driver’s bench.
The pair moved toward the valley that held the entrance to Byeongmachong.
In front of the valley, So Wol-hwa muttered.
“This is strange.”
“Why?”
“There are no footprints near the valley. At the very least, Warrior Baek’s tracks should remain…”
“Perhaps they went elsewhere?”
“It is certain they were heading toward Mun Mountain with Warrior Baek.”
“But you said there are no footprints. Then they never came?”
“That is why I find it strange. They definitely went in this direction, yet there are no traces. If they were dragging her here to execute her, they should have come this way.”
“There was no one on the road, correct?”
“No one. You saw it yourself, Instructor.”
“Could they have taken another route to avoid the Five Great Sword Factions?”
“Possible. But considering they brought Warrior Baek along…”
So Wol-hwa could think of no other destination besides Byeongmachong in Mun Mountain.
Impatient, Dan Yeop sprinted to the cave entrance.
The cave was sealed with earth and stone. It appeared the authorities had completely blocked it to prevent looting.
So Wol-hwa approached the despairing Dan Yeop from behind.
“The government sealed it. They couldn’t have entered Byeongmachong.”
Dan Yeop turned around weakly. Not knowing whether Baek Yu-hwa was alive or dead left him unbearably frustrated.
Could Simma find her?
But he soon shook his head. No matter how clever Simma was, this seemed beyond him. Even Haomun, with the finest intelligence network, had failed to locate them. What could Simma possibly do?
“I must search the mountain.”
With those words, Dan Yeop climbed using his light-body technique.
He scoured every inch of Mun Mountain like a madman—one lap, then another.
He searched until dawn but found not even the shadow of the Blood Emperor.
So Wol-hwa had lit a fire in the valley and waited for his return. She had wanted to join the search, but the cold was unbearable after only a short time. Fearing she would freeze to death, she returned to the original spot and kept the fire going.
From time to time Dan Yeop would return to warm himself before setting out again.
Finally the sky grew completely bright.
After an entire night, Dan Yeop reappeared, his face gaunt and exhausted.
Seeing him, So Wol-hwa stoked the fire higher.
Looking as if he might collapse at any moment, Dan Yeop approached.
“Instructor, rest. Since he has not appeared by now, it seems he went elsewhere.”
“Where could he have gone?”
Dan Yeop had finally accepted that the Blood Emperor had changed his destination.
“I don’t know. He was originally active in Gangnam. His appearance here in the first place makes no sense.”
“Why would someone like him come all the way to Guannei Circuit? And in the middle of winter?”
“Haa… I have no idea.”
So Wol-hwa took some dry rations from her pouch and offered them to him. If he meant to keep searching for the Blood Emperor, he needed to eat.
Dan Yeop accepted the rations and began to chew.
Just as he finished eating, a group of martial artists appeared in the distance.
Cheon Gi-ja Gongson Chan, leading the Cheondohoe subjugation force, asked their guide—the Lightning Sword Jin Ha-cheong, manager of the Xuanwu Hall.
“Do you know who they are?”
“The woman is Patrol Leader So Wol-hwa of Haomun. I do not recognize the man.”
“Hmm. So Wol-hwa, is it?”
A low groan escaped Gongson Chan’s lips. He was astonished that only two people had dared to pursue the Blood Emperor.
I must not underestimate Haomun.
A short while later, Gongson Chan, Gongson Ji, and Jin Ha-cheong approached the pair.
So Wol-hwa shot to her feet and offered a polite greeting to Manager Jin Ha-cheong.
“This junior, So Wol-hwa, greets the Lightning Sword.”
“Patrol So, I did not expect to meet you here. Are you chasing the Blood Emperor?”
“Yes. One of our juniors was taken.”
Jin Ha-cheong looked around.
“It does not appear the Blood Emperor came this way. When did you arrive?”
“Around midnight last night. As you said, the Blood Emperor never appeared.”
“Did you not say he was heading for Mun Mountain?”
“We definitely confirmed he was traveling in this direction. It seems he changed course midway.”
Having finished speaking with her, Jin Ha-cheong turned to Gongson Chan.
“Chief Strategist, it appears the Blood Emperor has gone elsewhere.”
“I heard. You are Patrol So? Do you know the last place the Blood Emperor was seen?”
“Hanyu Village. It is not far from here.”
“Very well. This place is dangerous, so the two of you should return.”
“Thank you for your concern, but we must search for our junior…”
Gongson Chan’s gaze, which had been fixed on So Wol-hwa, shifted to the side.