Chapter 177
Chapter 177
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Namgung Myeong realized Yu Jingwang's backpack had vanished and immediately raised both hands in defense as he spoke.
"It wasn't me!"
"Who said it was?"
Hong Geolgae cut off Namgung Myeong's nonsense, and Dang Mujin addressed Yu Jingwang.
"No wonder the rattling stopped. Hero Yu, did you not notice your backpack was gone?"
Yu Jingwang replied with a look as if the sky itself had fallen.
"Of course I noticed. How could I not, with the blade grazing my shoulder..."
"Then you should have stopped right away and grabbed it!"
"I would have if I were alone. I would have fought tooth and nail to get it back. But not now..."
"Why not?"
"If I stopped, you all would have too."
Dang Mujin's group let out a deep sigh upon hearing Yu Jingwang's words. His judgment in that brief moment had been all too precise.
Yu Jingwang smiled with a look of resignation.
"No, it was actually the wise choice. Money can be earned back with a couple more years of hardship—it's not worth trading for my life."
Yet Yu Jingwang's eyes held a subtle glint. The gaze of one who had seen what he shouldn't have.
Dang Mujin's group inwardly guessed the source of Yu Jingwang's turmoil. It stemmed from the sword the mysterious figure had displayed. That was the issue.
Namgung Myeong caught his breath and then mimicked the sword path the stranger had shown. It wasn't as fast as the stranger's, but confusion deepened on Yu Jingwang's face.
"Hold on. Namgung Myeong, where did you learn the sword path of the Spectral Sword Technique?"
"I didn't learn it. I'm just imitating the path that stranger showed earlier."
"You can replicate it after seeing it just once?"
Yu Jingwang was saying the old man's swordsmanship was the Pointing Sword Sect's Spectral Sword Technique. The situation grew even clearer.
Dang Mujin asked.
"Hero Yu, that old man... wasn't he Senior Flash Sword Yu Gwan-il?"
"I can't say for sure. All I could see was his eyes... But that stranger seemed a bit smaller in build than my father."
There was no confidence in Yu Jingwang's voice.
Parents seem to shrink as their children grow, so the stranger's smaller stature didn't prove he wasn't Flash Sword Yu Gwan-il.
Dang Mujin asked again.
"But shouldn't we go back to confirm, at least?"
"Give me a moment."
Yu Jingwang sat on a rock, gazing quietly at the sky as he recalled memories from his childhood.
The days living as the sect leader's son. The days living as the son of the escaped former sect leader.
Resentment toward his father, and finally facing the old man.
The conclusion had been there from the start. Money was secondary; to confirm the stranger's identity, Yu Jingwang had to go back.
"Alright. I'll go alone if I have to."
But going alone might mean certain death. Yu Jingwang asked Dang Mujin.
"Young Hero Dang, could you lend me that sand-like stuff from earlier?"
"No. It's dangerous for anyone but me to handle the Five Poisons Divine Sand."
"My attainment isn't that low."
"That's exactly why I'm saying this, knowing your level. A normal person would die the instant they touched it."
"Then come with— No, forget I said that."
Yu Jingwang thought to himself. Better to go alone and die alone, even if risky.
Dragging these young men who'd come all the way from the north into mortal danger for his sake would be far too shameless.
Conversely, Dang Mujin's group hesitated to offer help outright. They knew how heavily Yu Jingwang bore the burden of obligation.
Instead, Hyeon-gong, who had been watching from the side, assessed the situation.
'From my experience, Dang Mujin's group will follow Yu Jingwang anyway.'
Dang Mujin, Namgung Myeong, Hong Geolgae—they shared one trait. Once they formed a bond, they didn't abandon people easily.
And to Hyeon-gong's eyes, Yu Jingwang was no mere passing acquaintance. Hadn't they come all the way to the distant north searching for him?
'Moreover, with the Pointing Sword Sect's Wi Young and Wi Hwan brothers dead, doesn't that make Yu Jingwang the likely next sect leader? Right age, solid skills. Far better qualified than Hong Geolgae or Namgung Myeong.'
In such situations, the first to speak claims the goodwill.
Hyeon-gong spoke with a calm expression.
"Hero Yu plans to go see that stranger, and we have no intention of letting him go alone, right?"
"That's true."
"Then what's there to agonize over? Get up and move."
Yu Jingwang looked at Hyeon-gong with eyes full of admiration. He hadn't expected the man he'd met just last night to be the most proactive.
Hyeon-gong maintained his calm demeanor, savoring Yu Jingwang's gaze with satisfaction.
Today, too, Hyeon-gong had taken a step closer to becoming sect leader.
*
The group stealthily made their way back near the rocky mountain.
If the stranger somehow sensed their presence, it could spell serious trouble, so they didn't approach rashly and instead observed him carefully from a distance.
The stranger stood motionless, rooted to the spot where the fight had taken place earlier.
Namgung Myeong whispered.
"He didn't die from the Five Poisons Divine Sand I sprinkled, did he?"
Dang Mujin shook his head. The five poisons in the Five Poisons Divine Sand were vicious, but not enough to kill a master of that caliber in one go.
"No. Look at his chest rising and falling slowly. He's alive."
"Then why's he just standing there?"
"Who knows."
How long had they watched like that? The stranger, who had been standing still, shook his head and suddenly looked around.
Dang Mujin's group crouched low, hiding to avoid detection. Fortunately, the stranger didn't seem to notice them.
And in the next instant, the stranger let out a scream.
"Uaaah, aaaahhh!"
It was a scream of excruciating agony, as if his innards were being torn apart. His voice, hoarse from disuse, sounded less like a human's and more like a beast's howl.
Hong Geolgae muttered.
"The pain from the Five Poisons Divine Sand must be immense..."
"It's not that. He's already expelled the poison qi. That's madness from heart demon."
"You're sure?"
"Not entirely... probably."
Dang Mujin had never used the Five Poisons Divine Sand on a person before, so he couldn't be completely certain.
Thus, Hyeon-gong stayed vigilant and pondered the aftermath.
'From the circumstances, the stranger is surely Yu Jingwang's father, Flash Sword Yu Gwan-il.'
'If Yu Gwan-il dies from the Five Poisons Divine Sand's effects, will Yu Jingwang hold a grudge against Dang Mujin?'
'Hard to say. It was an unavoidable counter, but father-son bonds aren't taken lightly. He might react irrationally.'
'If worst comes to worst and Yu Jingwang fights Dang Mujin, whose side do I take?'
It was a tough question, but Hyeon-gong eventually found his answer.
'I side with Dang Mujin. The distance between Wudang Sect and Pointing Sword Sect is vast, no real ties. But Elder Youngbo holds Dang Mujin in high regard. Falling out of his favor would ruin my future.'
Plus, being an incident in the far north, he could embellish details and twist the facts. Unlike the previous Taiyi Sword Sect Lord case, less chance of exposure.
And unlike his naive past self, Hyeon-gong was now prepared to conceal the truth more thoroughly.
As Hyeon-gong imagined a life-or-death clash between Yu Jingwang and Dang Mujin's group in his mind, a dry desert wind blew, parting the stranger's hair and beard.
Yu Jingwang stared at the stranger's face and spoke with a deep sigh.
"It looks like Father. He's aged a lot, but traces of his old face remain."
"Shall we approach and speak to him?"
"I should. I have to..."
The problem was, even to Yu Jingwang, who knew nothing of medicine, Yu Gwan-il didn't seem sane.
"Young Hero Dang, you said you know how to treat martial artists gripped by heart demon."
"Yes. Not all cases, though."
Dang Mujin had experienced heart demon himself, learned from Yi Chung, and received some instruction at Emei Sect. He had credentials to claim expertise.
"Could you... treat Father too?"
"...I'm not sure. But the odds seem extremely low."
To resolve heart demon, communication with the afflicted was essential. Only then could one teach demonic arts or whatever was needed.
But Yu Gwan-il's state was beyond that. He seemed more beast wielding a sword than man.
Yet Yu Jingwang smiled faintly. He sensed Dang Mujin wouldn't dismiss even a slim chance.
Yu Jingwang said.
"For now, I'll approach Father alone and try talking. Even if danger arises, don't come near."
"Alone? Will you be alright?"
"I'm going despite the risk. I'll calm Father, so stay back until I call—no matter what. Even if I die. Understood?"
Yu Jingwang stared straight at Dang Mujin.
It was the face of a warrior embracing death, and the face of a son who had wandered long in search of his father. Dang Mujin could only nod.
Yu Jingwang grinned and approached Yu Gwan-il.
When the distance between Yu Gwan-il and Yu Jingwang was about fifty paces, Yu Jingwang raised his voice.
"Father! Your son, Yu Jingwang, has come!"
Yu Jingwang looked into Yu Gwan-il's eyes. No pride at greeting his grown son—only the madness of a starving beast.
His heart twisted in pain.
Yu Jingwang had dreamed of this reunion for so long, but never imagined his father looking at him this way. Not even as he shouted his father's name.
Only Yu Jingwang harbored regret. Yu Gwan-il lowered his stance, poised to spring forward at any moment.
In the very next instant, Yu Gwan-il lunged at Yu Jingwang with the Spectral Shadow Step of the Pointing Sword Sect.
Like the sect's sword that pierced without withdrawing until it struck true, it was a lightness skill solely for closing on the foe.
'Father, you've forgotten your son, but not the Pointing Sword Sect's martial arts.'
Yu Jingwang thrust his sword to meet his father. If Father greeted Son with martial arts, what reason for Son not to greet Father the same?
As Yu Gwan-il and Yu Jingwang's swords clashed, a deep sword wound appeared on Yu Jingwang's left thigh.
For the first time, Yu Jingwang resented the Pointing Sword Sect's concise, swift martial arts.
How sorrowful that father and son, reuniting after so long, met with swords—and that this reunion ended so swiftly.
Yu Jingwang thrust again.
"Here I come this time!"
But Yu Gwan-il, as if not understanding, didn't wait and charged once more, leaving deep wounds on his son—shoulder, arm, leg, etched with gashes.
For a reunion after decades, mere exchanges of blows, it was a terribly high price.
Yet Yu Jingwang sensed something odd at his father's sword tip.
'Not full power.'
Yu Gwan-il's sword brimmed with killing intent. The aura of one who had killed repeatedly for decades. Yet paradoxically, the sword tip felt strangely blunt.
Yu Gwan-il, who hadn't forgotten his martial arts, couldn't have dulled naturally. The blunting came from his paternal instinct desperately suppressing the madness.
Somehow, Yu Jingwang felt joy.
"Father, you must have missed your son after all!"
Shouting this, Yu Jingwang swung at his father. This time, flesh tore from the side of his chest.
Yu Gwan-il's sword drew ever closer to vitals. Thus, Yu Jingwang felt it. The next clash might claim his life.
Staring at Yu Gwan-il, Yu Jingwang prepared his sharpest thrust. Victory seemed impossible. Still, no regrets.
'Good.'
Just as the next clash was about to unfold, thick veins bulged on Yu Gwan-il's forehead and temples.
Blood vessels burst in his eyes, the whites turning blood-red. Unmistakably different from before.
Yu Gwan-il swung at Yu Jingwang but faltered, tangling his own legs and dropping to one knee. He then smashed his right arm against a nearby rock with bone-crushing force.
Crack. The sound of bone shattering echoed.
Only then did reason return to Yu Gwan-il's eyes.
Suppressing madness with pain, Yu Gwan-il gasped.
"Son."
His voice was hoarse, but clear joy surged through Yu Jingwang. How long since he'd heard his father's true voice?
Yu Jingwang, covered in blood, replied with incongruously bright tones.
"Yes, Father."
"Follow me. But don't come too close."
Yu Jingwang couldn't grasp the meaning. But Yu Gwan-il had no strength left to explain.
Suppressing his madness, Yu Gwan-il staggered forward, with Yu Jingwang and Dang Mujin's group following behind.