Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Ghost Dragon
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“Who was your former master?”
“The Golden Sword Martial Venerable.”
My knowledge of the martial world is almost nonexistent, so I don’t know much about the titles of old.
But the word “Venerable” in Golden Sword Martial Venerable caught my attention.
“Was the Golden Sword Martial Venerable one of the Fifteen Martial Venerables?”
“Yes, he was.”
“Is that so?”
But something about this was curious.
“Didn’t the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable kill your master? Doesn’t that make him your enemy? Yet you became his disciple?”
“I stayed by his side, waiting for an opportunity to kill him and avenge my master, but things did not go as planned.”
“I’m sure they didn’t. From what I can tell, the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable was no easy man to deal with.”
“You avenged my master for me.”
“That wasn’t my intention, but I’m glad it worked out.”
“Thank you.”
I pointed to the chair across from me.
“Sit.”
“I am fine standing.”
“It makes me uncomfortable. Sit.”
“There is something I must say before I sit.”
“Speak.”
Ghost Dragon unstrapped the sword from his back and held it out with both hands. It was the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable’s Blood Shadow Sword.
“May I keep this sword?”
“Isn’t that why you took it?”
Ghost Dragon flinched. The guy looked like he wouldn't flinch if you stabbed him, yet he reacted to my words. These little things are what make life interesting.
“Yes.”
“Keep it.”
“Thank you.”
“Is that sword any good?”
“The Blood Shadow Sword is one of the Ten Great Swords of the World.”
“Oh! Is it now?”
Even so, it couldn’t hold a candle to my Fire Dragon Sword.
Ghost Dragon sat ramrod straight in the chair opposite me.
“Is there anything I should know?”
“There are a few things.”
“Tell me.”
Ghost Dragon stood up again.
“There is a place you must come with me.”
“Oh? Let’s go.”
Ghost Dragon led the way.
* * *
The place Ghost Dragon took me was a tavern and inn within the county.
It was a tavern run by the Crouching Dragon Group.
“Please have a seat for a moment.”
Ghost Dragon went up to the second floor, where the inn was, and returned a short while later with two men following him.
He spoke to the two men standing side by side.
“Pay your respects.”
The two men prostrated themselves before me.
“We offer our greetings.”
I couldn’t quite grasp what was going on.
“Rise.”
I had them get up, conscious of the other patrons watching.
“Sit.”
“We are fine, sir.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What will it take to make you sit?”
“…”
The two men looked bewildered, but Ghost Dragon, who had at least a sliver of experience with me, guided them.
“Please, sit.”
The two were greatly flustered; sitting at the same table as the man who was soon to be their lord was an unimaginable act.
“If you do not sit, our lord will be displeased.”
Startled, the two men quickly sat down. Ghost Dragon then sat between them and me.
Seeing a waiter standing a short distance away, I beckoned him over.
“Bring us some food.”
“Right away.”
In a tavern owned by the Crouching Dragon Group, I was king.
“Who are these men?”
Ghost Dragon spoke to the two.
“Introduce yourselves.”
A slender man in his mid-forties spoke respectfully.
“I am U Mun-rak, the Grand Shadow Lord of the Blood Shadow Sect.”
A man in his late fifties with a benevolent face bowed his head.
“I am Jo Wi-yang, the High Altar Lord of the Golden Castle Group.”
“Hmm! Is that so?”
I knew from Jang Ung that the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable had been the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect, but I knew nothing about the Golden Castle Group.
Ghost Dragon had vanished on the night the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable died; it seemed he had gone to fetch these two.
If the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable was the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect, then the Golden Castle Group must have also been under his control.
U Mun-rak, the Grand Shadow Lord of the Blood Shadow Sect, explained.
“The Blood Shadow Sect was formerly the Sun Moon Sword Sect. Our sect leader lost a life-or-death duel against the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable.”
I had heard that the Sun Moon Sword Sect was a formidable orthodox sect.
“So the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable took over the Sun Moon Sword Sect and renamed it the Blood Shadow Sect?”
“That is correct.”
Having a hunch, I asked Jo Wi-yang, the High Altar Lord of the Golden Castle Group.
“Did someone from the Golden Castle Group also lose a life-or-death duel to the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable?”
“Yes. The strongest master of the Golden Castle Group, the Whirlwind Gallant, fought a life-or-death duel with the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable and was killed.”
“Then why not avoid the duel, or just fight a normal one? Why did it have to be a life-or-death duel?”
“The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable threatened to slaughter me and my family if we did not agree to a life-or-death duel. We had no choice.”
“The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable was a real bastard, wasn’t he!”
The faces of U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang brightened, and they broke into smiles.
Even Ghost Dragon’s eyes, visible above his veil, crinkled with a smile.
“Why are you smiling?”
U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang couldn’t hide their amusement as they spoke.
“Hearing you curse him is so refreshing.”
“You are the first person I’ve ever seen openly insult the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable.”
U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang smiled warmly.
I spoke to U Mun-rak as if it were nothing.
“From now on, you will discard the name Blood Shadow Sect and return to being the Sun Moon Sword Sect.”
“I will do so.”
“I won my life-or-death duel against the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable, but I have no desire to possess the Sun Moon Sword Sect.”
U Mun-rak was stunned.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m setting you free.”
U Mun-rak was so shocked he shot to his feet.
“Ah!”
“The same goes for the Golden Castle Group. You are not bound to me. Operate independently as you did before.”
While I was at it, I freed Ghost Dragon as well.
“Ghost Dragon, you too should go your own way.”
Ghost Dragon flinched.
Just then, the waiter brought over the dishes and set them on the table.
“Well then, let’s eat! The food at this tavern is quite good!”
I didn’t give the three of them a chance to speak.
* * *
After the meal, I returned to the Dong-ro Branch alone.
With nothing to do, I was lying on my bed, rolling around, and was just about to drift off into a nap when I heard a voice from outside my detached cottage’s window.
“May I come in?”
It was Ghost Dragon.
“Come in.”
A moment later, Ghost Dragon entered the room and stood with his hands clasped before him.
“You haven’t left?”
“I have something to say to you.”
“Go on.”
Ghost Dragon hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.
“I wish to become your subordinate.”
“Why?”
“I have nowhere else to go.”
“Is that so?”
A man with Ghost Dragon’s abilities could make a living for himself anywhere in the world.
But having abilities doesn’t mean one has a place to go. Every person needs somewhere to belong.
So, I figured Ghost Dragon wanted to attach himself to me. I decided to take it at face value.
I flopped onto the bed.
“I’m not interested in guys who hide their faces.”
Ghost Dragon stood there blankly for a moment, then silently reached for the veil covering his face, his hand trembling slightly.
I watched him with an ‘I knew it’ kind of feeling, but then my eyes widened in shock, and I shot up into a sitting position.
“You! What happened to your face?”
Ghost Dragon stood silently, his head bowed.
I sprang to my feet, walked over to him, and lifted his chin.
“Look up!”
Ghost Dragon looked at me with large, beautiful, yet sorrowful eyes.
If I had a face as hideous as his, I might not have killed myself, but I would have become extremely melancholic.
His nose was crooked and upturned, exposing his nostrils. Both his cheeks were a mangled mess, either burned by fire or slashed by a knife. His upper lip was mutilated, revealing his teeth, and his chin looked as if it had melted, dripped down, and then hardened.
In short, his visage was so horrific it was impossible to look at directly.
It could hardly be called a human face, and it was impossible to discern any expression he might be making.
Rather than feeling disgusted or repulsed, my heart ached thinking about how Ghost Dragon must have lived with such a face.
Tears welled up in Ghost Dragon’s eyes, threatening to spill over.
“You couldn’t have been born like this. What happened?”
“My lord…”
Ghost Dragon’s voice was choked with emotion, and he couldn’t speak, his shoulders trembling.
“Sit here.”
I guided him to a chair and sat opposite him.
“Tell me.”
Ghost Dragon hung his head low, tears streaming down his face, unable to speak easily.
My own suffering as a young beggar, even before I came of age, had been indescribably harsh.
Moreover, as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, I had come to death’s door more times than I could count on my fingers. I felt I could understand, at least a little, of what Ghost Dragon was feeling.
So, I waited in silence.
Ghost Dragon did not keep me waiting long.
“The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable originally had another disciple. He is the one who did this to me.”
“What was his reason?”
In a choked, trembling voice, Ghost Dragon said:
“He said he hated seeing my handsome face. He gave me a knockout drug, and while I was unconscious, he burned my face with fire and slashed it with a knife…”
*Thump!*
“Ugh!”
Enraged, I slammed my fist on the table, and Ghost Dragon flinched, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed.
“He was trying to completely destroy my face when the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable happened to enter the room. Seeing the scene, he fled.”
That was why, he explained, the area above his nose was relatively unharmed.
Suddenly, something occurred to me.
“Is that when you got the name Ghost Dragon?”
“Yes. The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable called me Ghost Dragon because my appearance was so hideous.”
“Son of a bitch! Like master, like disciple!”
I was so consumed with rage I was on the verge of losing my senses.
“Then what is your real name?”
Ghost Dragon hesitated for a moment before answering.
“It is Go Un-hyo.”
“That’s a fine name. From now on, I’ll call you Un-hyo.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, how old are you?”
“I am twenty.”
He was much younger than I had thought.
Seeing Ghost Dragon—no, Go Un-hyo’s tear-streaked, hideous face made my chest ache.
“What happened to that senior brother of yours?”
“After the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable caught him disfiguring my face, he fled and never returned.”
“What’s his name?”
“Gyu-wi.”
“Have you seen a physician?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
“That it cannot be fixed, that I must live with this face for the rest of my life…”
It was to be expected. A face like this couldn’t be fixed by medical arts.
I looked at Go Un-hyo, my heart heavy.
*No!*
In that instant, something flashed in my mind.
Suddenly, a certain passage from the *Medical Scripture of the Central Heaven* unfolded vividly in my head.
*Huh? What is this?*
According to that passage, there was a way to completely heal Go Un-hyo’s disfigured face. Of course, that was according to the scripture’s formula.
The fact that the entire text of the *Medical Scripture of the Central Heaven* appeared in my mind without a single misplaced word made one thing clear.
The foundation that summoned my martial arts and internal energy wasn’t just desperation and fighting spirit, but also rage.
I grabbed Go Un-hyo’s hand and dashed outside.
“Let’s go!”
“Ah! Where are we going?”
“Just follow me!”
* * *
Holding Go Un-hyo’s hand, I left the Dong-ro Branch and ran south without stopping.
As we ran along the main road, Go Un-hyo pulled his hand away.
“I will follow you.”
“Alright!”
He was probably embarrassed to be holding hands.
We reached a port, but the boat to cross the Qiantang River wasn't scheduled to depart for another two hours. I couldn’t wait.
“Let’s go!”
I ran toward the sandy shore, and Go Un-hyo was startled.
“My lord! There’s a river ahead!”
“It’s fine!”
I grabbed Go Un-hyo’s hand again and ran toward the river before leaping into the air.
*Swoosh!*
“Ah!”
We shot up diagonally. When we reached a height of about twenty yards above the ground, Go Un-hyo let out a cry of astonishment.
But when I soared even higher from there, he was so stunned he couldn’t make a sound.