Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Heavenly Killing Star
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[This child was born under the Heavenly Killing Star.]
It was a declaration like a bolt from the blue.
[No matter what anyone says, his fate has already been decided.]
It was an inescapable verdict.
[This child's life will surely be one of piling up mountains of corpses and seas of blood.]
It was a tale too horrific to fathom.
The words spoken by the old woman who had acted as midwife tore at the heart of the new mother.
[You must make a decision.]
An inscrutable mysticism lingered in the old woman's eyes, impossible to conceal.
She was no ordinary person.
Her hands were covered in shamanistic tattoos inscribed in a foreign tongue.
'Not even Sanskrit. That's a language even I don't recognize.'
Yeon So-hyeon thought.
[...Do you believe this child must be killed?]
The mother was a beauty so radiant the moon would hide in shame.
It was hard to believe she had just given birth, her features so exquisitely refined.
Yet her face was shrouded in profound gloom.
Now, she was being urged to kill her own infant.
[...He must be killed.]
The old woman, observing the mother's pallor, hesitated at first but ultimately spoke in a resolute tone.
[For the sake of the world.]
This was no matter for personal sentiments.
[My baby...]
The mother gazed at her child.
Tears welled in eyes beautiful enough to be called phoenix eyes.
'Must I kill him...?'
So-hyeon asked.
'...Because I was born under the Heavenly Killing Star?'
But his words did not reach them.
After endless deliberation, the mother finally spoke.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, yet an awe-inspiring dignity emanated from her, one none dared approach.
[This is an order.]
Her stern gaze turned to the old woman.
[Find a way to save this child.]
The old woman bowed her head deeply, accepting the command.
She would accomplish anything her mistress desired.
A century's worth of shamanistic arts flashed through her mind.
[This child... I will raise him with my own hands into a righteous and kind soul, no matter what.]
'Those were the words my mother spoke, yet she left my side far too soon.'
So-hyeon said.
But they still could not hear his voice.
Because this was a dream.
A dream long dormant in his subconscious.
A memory he had forgotten until now.
* * *
The scene shifted, the background changing before flowing onward.
[Young master, you must never commit murder, no matter the circumstances.]
The old woman pleaded earnestly.
[If you do, every spell I have cast will shatter and scatter, and your fate will return to the dominion of the Heavenly Killing Star.]
The old woman, already etched with deep wrinkles, seemed to have aged decades in just a few short years.
It was a stark testament to the immense shamanic power required to deceive the Heavenly Killing Star.
[Have no fear.]
Yeon So-hyeon's mother smiled brightly.
[This child will become a scholar. He's only two years old, yet he already clutches books and refuses to let go. He's astonishingly bright.]
Through the crack in the door, a young Yeon So-hyeon could be seen lying on his stomach, reading.
The old woman gazed at him softly for a moment.
But soon, she could only look upon her mistress with pity.
[My lady... I am an old woman who has devoted everything to you. I am ready to die at any moment. To die for your wishes would be the greatest of blessings. I would gladly die a hundred times over.]
The old woman's voice trembled.
[But you...]
So-hyeon's mother smiled gently.
Yet for some reason, her face lacked any spark of vitality.
[How much time do I have left?]
Dew formed at the corners of the old woman's wrinkled eyes.
Her frail, hunched body shuddered.
[There was no need to use your own life as the price for such a great ritual.]
Anger crept into the old woman's voice.
[Those worthless scum, the vermin devouring the world—their lives could have sufficed instead, and then you...!]
Yeon So-hyeon's mother shook her head firmly.
[I cannot use others' lives as payment to save my child.]
[But taking the lives of those who trifle with human life—that is something even heaven could not condemn!]
[Even if heaven forgave it, I could not. It would be shameful.]
The old woman sighed and prostrated herself on the floor in reverence.
Her mistress was unyieldingly resolute, possessed of boundless benevolence.
That was why the old woman, who feared no one in life, had devoted her remaining years to serving her.
[...So, how much time do I have left?]
The old woman did not lift her head.
Her tears stained the marble floor.
[...It will be difficult to last beyond two more years.]
So-hyeon's mother slowly approached and embraced the old woman.
[That child will never harm another soul. Our So-hyeon's fate will be shielded by my life as its guarantee. No mere star can dominate his destiny.]
The old woman sobbed.
[The young master will grow into a truly remarkable man. Surely, he will become a great scholar.]
* * *
The child grew vigorously.
He learned to cherish life, to care for others, and to love nature.
His mind dwelled on righteousness, and his words were ever kind.
So brilliant was he that he even assisted his mother in saving countless lives.
But in the end, that day arrived.
[So-hyeon, my dear So-hyeon. Will you grant your mother's final request...?]
The young So-hyeon lay beside his mother, holding back his tears.
[...Of course, Mother.]
Though heaven's will was inexorable and she was not to survive beyond two years, Yeon So-hyeon's mother summoned superhuman resolve.
It was all for her child.
To ensure he grew up righteous, even if just a little more.
But even that had its clear limits.
Now, she prepared to meet her end.
[From now on...]
Could a mother tell the child destined to inherit the sword clan's legacy never to touch a blade?
Or command him never to kill, and to live only as she had taught him?
Would such words make a fitting last testament?
She fell silent.
Instead, she gazed at her one beloved child.
Her eyes brimmed with affection as she watched the young Yeon So-hyeon clutching her hand tightly in his small one.
The shape of his eyes mirrored her own perfectly.
Those large, sparkling eyes held only gentle warmth.
What final words did this child need?
Her son was growing exactly as she had wished.
He was pure and clear as morning dew on grass blades.
So-hyeon—bright and wise, just as his name implied.
Feeling her heart ache, she smiled as brightly as she could.
[...That's it. All I wanted to say to you is this.]
Squeezing out her final breath, she held So-hyeon tightly.
[Mother truly loves our So-hyeon.]
With that, she breathed her last.
Tears burst from the young So-hyeon's eyes.
Laments for her filled the household.
All of Luoyang mourned.
No one in Luoyang had not received her grace.
Everyone in the Central Plains who had even heard her name grieved.
Even those unaware of her name numbered beyond count among the lives she had saved, and none who knew her moniker were ignorant of it.
Pan Soyu.
Aged 27 in her prime.
Descendant of the Medicine Immortal, she graced the world.
She had crafted remedies for the three most horrific plagues ravaging the era and published their formulas openly.
Composed of common herbs from fields and mountains, her medicines were accessible even to the poorest.
In her lifetime, she compiled and published twenty-five volumes of medical texts, over a hundred books.
Disregarding wealth, status, or rank, she took only the talented and virtuous as disciples.
Thus, she taught legions of students, sending them forth to aid the starving and destitute.
Her renown reached the imperial palace, yet she repeatedly refused summons to serve as royal physician, choosing instead to remain among the common folk.
The lives she saved in her lifetime were beyond numbering.
The people hailed her as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, praising and worshiping her; some even called her the manifestation of the Medicine Buddha.
A peerless paragon departed the world.
All said heaven had called her early, needing her there.
The imperial court honored her with shrines across the Central Plains, so that her sanctuaries stood everywhere.
On the first day of every New Year, throngs lined up before them, praying for their families' health.
* * *
Watching from afar, Yeon So-hyeon resumed his journey.
Something caught his foot, and he looked down.
With a snap, what broke was none other than a human bone.
And the bones buried in the ground were not alone.
The entire path ahead was paved with bleached skeletons.
He looked up and surveyed his surroundings.
Fresh corpses piled into mountains, while rivers of blood flowed in the distance.
The sky was dyed red, yet no sun shone; only blade-sharp winds assailed him.
He glanced at his hands.
They were drenched in blood.
Not from one or two people.
Blood dripped and pooled at his feet.
The distant river of blood likely originated from these hands.
He began walking again.
There was no path back.
He could only press onward along the road he had started.
It was a road none trod.
A road none dared tread.
[This child... I will raise him with my own hands into a righteous and kind soul, no matter what.]
He had already died once.
And been revived by the Jade Amethyst True Heaven Scripture.
The great ritual his mother had enacted, pledging her own life as bond, had shattered in vain.
[Mother...]
The road's end lay beyond sight.
And his steps did not halt.
No one could stop his footsteps now.
[Mother, forgive me.]
He pushed through winds that flayed his flesh.
The howling gale mimicked the wails of ghosts.
His whispered apology, swept by the bitter north wind, soon vanished without trace.
Chapter 02.
Swordless One,
Opening
In order for the light to shine so brightly the darkness must be present.
"빛이 찬란히 빛나기 위해서는 어둠이 존재해야 한다."
-Francis Bacon [1561.1.22~1626.4.9]