Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Dark Clouds (4)
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On the way back to the Mount Hua Sect, the two warriors remained silent, as if by unspoken agreement.
A sense of unease hung between them, a tension so thick it felt as though it would shatter if either spoke first.
Yet, beneath it all, a fragile trust existed between Ouyang Jue and Jeok Sa-goeng.
Unspoken.
Jeok Sa-goeng did not ask how Ouyang Jue had found him, and Ouyang Jue realized that Jeok Sa-goeng was not allied with the Eight Evils.
Though curiosity lingered, that was enough.
The two warriors kept their difficult questions to themselves, their lips sealed.
With every step Ouyang Jue took, a pained groan would occasionally escape Jeok Sa-goeng’s lips.
Each time, Ouyang Jue felt the strain as well.
The weight of Jeok Sa-goeng, along with his severed right arm and the fragments of his spear, was far heavier than imagined.
Walking while suppressing any jarring movements required a considerable amount of internal energy.
“……”
“……”
Finally, it was Jeok Sa-goeng’s patience that wore thin first.
“Are you not going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“About my connection to Gyo Gang-cheon… why we were fighting there.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue let out a dry laugh.
“Let’s not. You’re heavy enough as it is.”
“…Is that so.”
While Ouyang Jue’s words were a relief to Jeok Sa-goeng, they also instilled a sense of fear.
To let things pass in silence meant that Ouyang Jue, too, had something he did not wish to reveal.
Wondering if Ouyang Jue’s timely appearance was somehow connected to Gyo Gang-cheon, a venomous glint appeared in Jeok Sa-goeng’s eyes.
The sense of loss from his right arm and his spear gnawed at his mind.
The feeling of having the martial arts he had dedicated his entire life to honing ripped out like a weed was indescribably devastating and miserable.
Above all, Gyo Gang-cheon’s final words rang piercingly in his ears.
“Now, that man can no longer live as a warrior.”
The words of Gyo Gang-cheon, who had stolen his martial prowess, became an inescapable curse that consumed his spirit.
Like a ferry sinking under a weight it cannot bear, Jeok Sa-goeng could no longer maintain his reason.
*Grip!*
As Jeok Sa-goeng’s hands tightened around his neck, Ouyang Jue asked in a surprisingly calm voice.
“What is this?”
“Isn’t this something you and Gyo Gang-cheon plotted together?”
*Dig!*
The tips of his nails, concentrated with what little internal energy he had left, dug into the skin, grazing the surface of a vein.
If Jeok Sa-goeng were just a little more vicious, he could tear the vein and kill him instantly.
“Hah, please let go.”
Ouyang Jue was extremely alarmed by Jeok Sa-goeng’s actions. But contrary to his inner turmoil, his voice remained perfectly calm.
“I suppose you could think that. I understand.”
“You bastard!”
“But what will change if you kill me?”
Stopping in his tracks, Ouyang Jue lifted his head and looked at the rising sun.
The cold late-spring air settled, replaced by a gentle warmth. His body temperature, once as cold as a snake’s, gradually warmed under the sunlight.
A diligent warrior would be starting their training now.
Ouyang Jue hoped that Jeok Sa-goeng was sharing the same thought.
“If you just want to vent your anger, then it means I have misjudged you.”
“……”
Jeok Sa-goeng fell silent. But Ouyang Jue, carrying him on his back, could not see this.
He spoke only with the hope that Jeok Sa-goeng would understand, that he wouldn’t give up on his own life.
Perhaps that was why a note of desperation crept into Ouyang Jue’s voice.
“Now that you’ve been attacked by the Eight Evils, I have much to say as well. I’m staying quiet because I can’t yet distinguish friend from foe.”
*Drip.*
Blood trickled down Ouyang Jue’s throat. The stream of blood from the wound Jeok Sa-goeng had inflicted was gradually widening.
“So let’s calm down now.”
“You still have a silver tongue.”
Jeok Sa-goeng’s voice trembled as if in utter disbelief. He had lost too much blood and expended too much internal energy; his face had long since turned deathly pale.
Above all, his necrotic muscles were screaming in agony.
The hand gripping Ouyang Jue’s neck lost its strength and fell away.
“Guuh…”
It became difficult to even cling to Ouyang Jue’s back, and Jeok Sa-goeng’s body slumped to the right.
…*Thud!*
Seeing Jeok Sa-goeng fall to the ground, Ouyang Jue quickly staunched the bleeding from his own neck.
Anyone else might have questioned why he was tending to himself with a severely injured man before him, but it was necessary in order to examine Jeok Sa-goeng’s condition.
If his senses were dulled by blood loss, he wouldn’t be able to properly check his pulse.
Ouyang Jue’s index and ring fingers touched Jeok Sa-goeng’s wrist.
“…Hmph!”
His expression turned grave at the internal injuries, which were more severe than he had expected.
Unlike the almost nonexistent external wounds, his internal injuries were extensive, from his muscles to his meridians.
For a master of his caliber to have muscles turning necrotic, just what level of spearmanship had he displayed?
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue realized that Jeok Sa-goeng had reached an even higher realm.
*‘Which must be why his sense of loss is so much greater…'*
But what could be done?
Forcing Jeok Sa-goeng into a sitting position, Ouyang Jue regulated his breathing.
His own preserved internal energy was several times greater than Jeok Sa-goeng’s, so he planned to treat the internal injuries with an Acupoint Meridian Transference technique.
Of the twelve methods, the one Ouyang Jue chose involved a sequence of striking, pushing, and rubbing.
*Vwoom—!*
First, the Strike: striking the afflicted area with his palm to allow his internal energy to seep in without resistance.
Second, the Push: pushing the area with the back of his hand, not forcefully, but to gently soothe the target’s qi and blood.
Third, the Rub: curling his fingers and rubbing to invigorate the blocked qi and blood.
He had to move with meticulous care, ensuring the strike and push were not wasted, and that their internal energies did not clash and cause even greater injury.
*Thump.*
Placing his palm on Jeok Sa-goeng’s back, Ouyang Jue felt his internal energy permeate perfectly.
With the final step, Regulation, he would set the man’s qi and blood right.
Not even fifteen minutes had passed, yet Ouyang Jue’s face was beaded with sweat.
He hadn’t felt any difficulty when performing it on Jo Hun, but Jeok Sa-goeng was a master who had few rivals in the martial world.
Attempting such a technique on a master of that level was absurd in itself. Had the situation not been critical, he would never have even tried, which was why he had to concentrate all the more.
How much time had passed?
“…Hoo.”
Once his qi and blood seemed to have stabilized, Ouyang Jue’s gaze turned to the necrotic muscles.
*‘By the time we reach the Mount Hua Sect, they’ll be completely swollen and useless.’*
Ouyang Jue stared blankly at Jeok Sa-goeng’s back for a moment before finally infusing his fingers with Purple Mist True Energy.
*Papapak!*
In an instant, Ouyang Jue’s finger technique struck points all over Jeok Sa-goeng’s body.
***
The next day.
Jeok Sa-goeng awoke in the Plum Blossom Clinic, staring at the ceiling with a vacant expression.
He hadn't the slightest intention of getting up.
The sense of loss from having his martial arts—something he had hoped to perfect his entire life, and even beyond death—taken from him had left him like a man who had lost his soul.
But for some reason, Jeok Sa-goeng found himself frowning.
“…Hk.”
He glanced unconsciously at his right arm and saw that it had been neatly bandaged.
A flicker of despair—that it was all for naught—passed through him, but he felt a sense of gratitude toward the Mount Hua Sect.
*‘At least I won’t die with the dishonor of being a one-armed man.’*
Jeok Sa-goeng tried to force a smile, his lips twitching.
Just as he was about to let out another deep sigh, the door slid open with a soft rustle.
“You’re awake.”
He had the impression of a scholar, but his eyes dripped with coldness.
Jeok Sa-goeng realized it was Cheong Ho-won.
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m still alive.”
“I didn’t do much.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Cheong Ho-won’s gaze shifted, and Jeok Sa-goeng reflexively sat up and pulled back the sheet.
“!”
The muscles that had turned purple and necrotic, though still deeply bruised, were regaining their color, and the internal injuries had subsided.
His abdomen throbbed from sitting up so suddenly, but it wasn't the same pain he had felt before losing consciousness.
Then…
Tears welled in Jeok Sa-goeng’s eyes.
*Twitch.*
It was the slightest of movements, but his right index finger had twitched.
If Cheong Ho-won hadn’t been there, he might have broken down in sobs.
The despair that had felt like the sky falling had turned to relief, and he felt a profound sense of apology toward Ouyang Jue.
“By any chance… is Jue—no, is Young Master Ouyang here?”
Cheong Ho-won frowned for a moment, but a faint smile touched his lips when Jeok Sa-goeng corrected the title.
“His injuries aren’t as severe as yours, Great Warrior Jeok, but he’s not in good condition, so he is resting in his quarters.”
“I see.”
As the despair cleared and he grasped the situation, Jeok Sa-goeng fell into deep thought.
Why did this happen?
Why did Gyo Gang-cheon ambush me? What reason was there for me to die?
No matter how he thought about it, there was only one answer.
But it was an answer that would shatter all the connections and relationships he had built throughout his life.
To be honest, he was afraid.
It meant that even in his old age, he had only managed to form connections steeped in falsehood.
But things having come to this, he could not deny it. No, for the sake of Ouyang Jue, who had saved him, he had to be brave.
Above all, he could not forget the sensation of his right arm being severed.
He had to take revenge on the one who delivered that despair, the one who had made his world shatter and everything go black.
As a fiery heat kindled in Jeok Sa-goeng’s eyes, Cheong Ho-won gave a small cough.
“Ahem. I advise you not to get agitated until your arm has fully reattached.”
Those words solidified Jeok Sa-goeng’s resolve.
“May I ask you something?”
“Please, go ahead.”
“The news that I was attacked hasn’t spread yet, has it?”
“…We couldn’t allow Great Warrior Jeok’s honor to be tarnished. We were waiting to ask you once you awoke.”
“Please reveal it through the Beggars’ Sect.”
Jeok Sa-goeng clenched his left fist, emitting a chilling killing intent.
“That I, Jeok Sa-goeng of the Muyeonchang Spear, was ambushed under the cover of night.”
“!”
Cheong Ho-won was thoroughly stunned by his words.
Meanwhile, Ouyang Jue, who heard the news later, clicked his tongue lightly.
“He must be more than just a little furious.”
He had hoped Jeok Sa-goeng would feign illness for a few days to sort out his emotions, but he had revealed his fury in less than a day.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. But that decision was bound to invite an even greater crisis.
Dark clouds.
It was clear that chaos would ensue as warriors connected to the Eight Evils were eliminated one by one.
“They might even come today.”
Muttering this, Ouyang Jue recalled an event from the past.
Even when Ha Jin-ak had been bedridden, assassins had infiltrated to kill him. But the current situation was beyond comparison.
Ha Jin-ak was a righteous sect warrior involved with the Black Dragon Gang, whereas Jeok Sa-goeng was a neutral warrior who had been with the Martial Alliance since its inception.
He belonged to no clan or sect, so there would be few warriors desperate to protect him.
Besides, once it was known that his arm had been severed, he would be seen as little more than a future instructor.
Ouyang Jue quietly contemplated his task.
“I will not let anyone die. I will save them.”
It was too grand a dream for someone facing the enemy known as the Eight Evils and the vast organization of the Martial Alliance.
To have no sacrifices at all—did that even make sense?
Even a passing child would scoff at the idea.
But Ouyang Jue was dead serious.
All the mistakes he had made until now had brought regret and left scars.
“…No more.”
I will live proudly, swayed by no one.
Ouyang Jue gripped Severing Manifestation tightly, making a vow.