The Price of a Stolen Eye
The rising moon was exceptionally brilliant.
Was it just my imagination, or was it shining brighter than usual, as if welcoming my return?
It's definitely my imagination. Why would the moon care that I'm back?
I was as hopelessly unromantic as ever. It was just a passing thought while looking at the moon, entirely meaningless. Besides, my current situation didn't exactly leave room for sentimentality.
...Damn it. What the hell is this Yongbong Association anyway?
Out of nowhere, the Yongbong Association. Since I belonged to Cheongwol Gate, I had assumed it was a place I would never have to set foot in. Yet here I was, suddenly ordered to go. And as the sect's representative, no less? It was absurd. But the real problem was the reason behind it.
Sinchang mentioned me?
Sinchang, Jeok Ho-myeong.
The current leader of the Murim Alliance, and practically the only active member among the absolute masters known as the Heavens Beyond Heaven. He was famous for wielding a spear longer than his own body.
His martial prowess goes without saying.
He was the one who had claimed the position of Alliance Leader over the current Moonmaster of Cheongwol Gate, Wolseongeom. Ever since Yoo Chun-gil's death, with no official consensus on who the new "World's Greatest" was...
Isn't he the closest to being the World's Greatest?
Sinchang was indeed the man nearest to that pinnacle. And for good reason.
The Sword Emperor has vanished from the public eye, and the Bow Demon, along with the other Heavens Beyond Heaven, has also withdrawn from active affairs. Sinchang is the most prominent figure remaining.
So why would a man like that want me?
Why he had specifically singled me out and summoned me to the Yongbong Association was completely beyond my comprehension. Frowning, I looked up into the empty air.
"What kind of person is Sinchang?"
I asked the ghost floating in the air, who likely knew him better than anyone else.
[Hmm? Sinchang?]
"Yes."
Since they had lived in the same era and fought in the same wars, I figured Yoo Chun-gil would know him well.
[Hmm... Let me think...]
Yoo Chun-gil stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
[A madman.]
"...Excuse me?"
I blurted out, taken aback by the bizarre response.
"A madman?"
[Aye, a madman. The fellow was stark raving mad.]
"Even more than you, Old Man?"
[Indeed. He was mad enough to—wait, what is that supposed to mean?]
"Ah."
My tongue had slipped. Yoo Chun-gil's brow furrowed deeply. That was the price of failing to filter my thoughts.
"...My apologies. My inner thoughts slipped out before I could stop them..."
[...At least put some effort into lying, you cheeky brat. You didn't even try to hold it back.]
"Oops!"
[Enough.]
"Yes, sir."
[...Anyway, Sinchang is a madman.]
"In what way is he mad?"
[For starters, he is mad about fighting.]
"Fighting?"
Wait, isn't that exactly like you, Old Man?
Even if my earlier comment had been half-joking, this was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
[Fix that look on your face.]
"Ahem..."
[Enjoying a fight and being mad for it are two entirely different things. That fellow is truly insane.]
"..."
I fell silent. Now I was genuinely curious. What kind of person could possibly drive the great Yoo Chun-gil to label them a madman?
[So, when I heard Sinchang had become the Alliance Leader, I was quite surprised. With his temperament, he is not the type to accept such a tedious title. I wonder what happened.]
"What was his temperament like?"
[He was an eccentric, taciturn fellow. He cared for nothing but battle and couldn't comprehend the concept of socializing with others...]
"..."
So... he was just a loner?
It sounded like his social skills were practically non-existent.
[Worse, once he lost his temper, he would charge forward without looking back. Stopping him was always a massive chore.]
"He sounds incredibly dangerous."
[I tell you, he was! He was so stubborn and refused to listen to reason that I eventually had to gouge out his left eye.]
"...Excuse me?"
Wait, what?
"You did what to his left eye?"
Had I misheard? I felt like I had just heard something that should never have been uttered.
[Hmm? What?]
"...You just said you gouged out his left eye."
[Ah, that?]
Yoo Chun-gil waved his hand dismissively, as if it were a trivial matter.
[He kept picking fights over nothing, so I lost my temper and gave him a bit of a thrashing.]
"A 'bit of a thrashing' involves gouging out someone's eyeball...?"
[Well, he was the one being annoying.]
"Normal people don't gouge out eyes just because someone is annoying... But why was he annoying you in the first place?"
I asked for an explanation, hoping there was some logical context to this madness. But...
[Ah. His fiancée kept chasing after me, saying she fancied me.]
"...What?"
[She wouldn't leave me alone, so I played along for a bit. When Sinchang found out, he came flying at me in a rage.]
"...So..."
[Was it my fault she liked me? He kept demanding answers, so I gave him a proper lesson. Hahaha!]
"..."
I was utterly speechless. What could I even say to this? So, let me get this straight...
Sinchang's fiancée chased after Yoo Chun-gil... and Yoo Chun-gil happily played along. When Sinchang found out and challenged him, Yoo Chun-gil not only beat him to a pulp but also gouged out his left eye?
Wow.
In short...
They are mortal enemies.
There was absolutely no love lost between them.
My fingertips tingled. My right arm, which I thought had fully healed, suddenly felt strangely numb. I ran a hand through my hair and looked at Yoo Chun-gil.
"...Hey, Old Man."
[Speak.]
"Doesn't that mean Sinchang summoning me is a terrible sign?"
[Hmm? Why?]
"...From his perspective, he's summoning the disciple of the man who stole his fiancée and took his eye. There's no way he did that out of the goodness of his heart."
[...]
Yoo Chun-gil fell silent, pondering my words.
Then, he clapped his hands together.
[Oh!]
"Oh, my ass."
This old man was going to drive me insane.
Ah, I'm screwed.
Not just a little, but monumentally screwed.
Shaking off the lingering dread, I kept walking. The moon was still high in the sky, and by my estimate, it was just past the hour of the Ox.
Splash.
I trudged through the damp, narrow passage, my brow furrowed in a deep scowl. Yoo Chun-gil floated behind me, wearing a slightly petulant expression.
[Good grief, wipe that look off your face. A grown man shouldn't be so narrow-minded.]
I gritted my teeth, my face contorting in irritation.
"And whose fault do you think this is?"
[Technically speaking, the one who picked the fight first is at fault.]
"Even if she liked you, why would you just accept a woman who was already taken? I'd be furious too if I were him."
[I didn't know she was engaged at the time, you brat! Besides, when a woman throws herself at you, accepting her is what makes a man a man.]
"Are you trying to make every man in the world look bad?"
[It all happened ages ago. He isn't as petty as you, so he's probably forgotten all about it by now.]
"...Forgotten?"
If it were me, I would have taken that grudge to the grave.
"If it were you, Old Man, would you forget something like that?"
[Of course I would.]
"Ha?"
[Anyone who dared do that to me would have been dead by my hand long ago. Why waste memory space on a corpse?]
"..."
I stared at him. It was a terrifyingly simple and convenient way of thinking.
"And what if the opponent was too strong for you to kill?"
[Well, then you keep fighting until they are dead.]
"And what if you couldn't kill them, they disappeared, and then their disciple suddenly showed up out of nowhere?"
[Then I'd jump at the chance to toy with the disciple—oh?]
"God damn it."
I wanted to take a piece of sandpaper to that smug, realization-filled face of his.
"...Ah, my blood pressure."
I felt dizzy. What was I supposed to do with this utterly useless old ghost? Groaning, I pressed my thumbs against my temples to soothe the throbbing headache.
Splash.
Even so, I didn't stop walking. The narrow, dark passage was unpleasant, but thanks to my Moon Eye, the darkness held no terror.
Right now, I was inside Yoo Chun-gil's snack vault—no, the Cheongwolgo—accompanied by the man himself. I was here to collect the reward we had agreed upon back in Sichuan.
The third chamber of Cheongwol Gate.
Dok-jon had told me that there was another hidden chamber within the Cheongwolgo. When I had confronted Yoo Chun-gil about it, his reaction had been: Tsk, that old bastard Dok-jon talks too much. He had looked exactly like a man caught hiding a secret.
Had he planned to keep it hidden forever? Honestly, I didn't care about that. The reward I had earned for fulfilling his request in Sichuan was directly tied to this place.
The third chamber of the Cheongwolgo.
Yoo Chun-gil had promised to give me the treasures stored inside. When I had skeptically asked if it was actual money, he had assured me it was something I would definitely love.
I don't trust him for a second.
Still, none of the things the old man had given me so far had been useless, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
...It better be good.
I was already stressed enough about the Sinchang situation. If the treasure turned out to be garbage, I was going to lose it.
Click.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The space was familiar; I had been here once before.
It's locked.
The secret vault was sealed tight, just as it had been during my last visit.
[Enter the second chamber the same way as before,]
Yoo Chun-gil instructed the moment we stepped inside. Hearing that, I drew my sword.
Screeech.
With a sharp ring, the Sacred Sword slid from its scabbard. Perhaps because it was forged from dark iron, it seemed to swallow the surrounding shadows, appearing even darker. The light in my Moon Eye flickered as I scanned the walls, locating the mechanism. Once I found it, I immediately twisted my hips.
The Moon Wave erupted, slicing through the wall.
Slash!
Rumble! Clang!
As the sword qi grazed the wall, the mechanism triggered, and the stone barrier slid open. It was exactly the same as last time. I stepped through the opening into the second chamber.
"...How many of these chambers are there in total?"
[Hmm... Let me think... One, two... Ah, there are five.]
"...Five?"
Five hidden chambers?
"What on earth did you have to hide that required so many rooms...?"
[A truly great man always has many secrets—]
"...How do I get to the next room?"
I cut him off before he could spout any more nonsense, getting straight to the point.
[Tsk.]
Yoo Chun-gil clicked his tongue, clearly displeased by my lack of appreciation for his wit. But a moment later, a smirk played on his lips.
[Find it yourself.]
Ah, damn it.
"Here we go again."
Could he not just tell me directly for once? I absolutely detested that mischievous look on his face.
[Where is the fun in just handing it to you?]
"What fun is there to be had here? If you promised to give it to me, just give it to me."
[Aye, I promised to give it to you. I never said I would tell you how to get there.]
"Wow. How petty."
[...What did you say, you punk?]
He wanted me to find the way to the third chamber on my own.
Just like last time.
He was pretending it was a game, but his intention to test me was glaringly obvious. It wasn't just a simple prank; he wanted to verify something about my progress. And Yoo Chun-gil wasn't even trying to hide it.
I clicked my tongue. Still...
The next method...
I prepared to figure it out. The funny thing about Yoo Chun-gil was that whenever he issued these challenges, it was always because he knew I was capable of solving them. Whatever the task, it was within my power to achieve. This time would be no different.
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting my mind work.
He was intentionally keeping the other chambers hidden.
No matter how many chambers there were, the fact that Yoo Chun-gil hadn't mentioned them wasn't because he was stingy.
There's only one reason.
Because I wasn't ready to open them yet. Even if I knew they existed, I wouldn't have been able to access them, so he had kept them hidden.
Then what about now?
Why mention the third chamber now when he hadn't before? The answer was equally obvious.
I couldn't do it then, but I can now.
If so...
What changed after my trip to Sichuan?
A lot of things, but there were two major changes. First, I had reached the Peak realm. Second...
It's this.
Whoosh!
Energy surged from my dantian. The energy of the Cheongwol Mind Method traveled up my meridians and permeated my skin, shimmering over my shoulders. It was a beautiful, radiant energy. Controlling its flow, I channeled it into my sword.
Instantly, a brilliant light flared.
Flash!
[Hahaha!]
Along with Yoo Chun-gil's laughter, the third power of the Blue Moon Sword Dance—the sword gang of Gwangwolseomgyeong—burst forth.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
The Gwangwolseomgyeong was a sword gang that emitted light. The sudden burst of brilliance illuminated the pitch-black chamber, revealing details that even the Moon Eye couldn't perceive on its own. I scanned the brightly lit room.
"...There it is."
I walked over to one of the walls. Holding the glowing Sacred Sword like a torch, I brought it closer to the stone surface.
Only then did it become clear.
A long, vertical line, completely invisible before, was etched into the wall. I took my stance before it.
I raised my sword toward the ceiling. The sword gang wavered, leaving a trail of light in the air. The moment the trail froze...
I unleashed my power.
Blue Moon Sword Dance. Second Form.
Night Moon.
I slashed down, bringing the darkness of night with my blade.
The glowing blade traced the etched line perfectly.
In that instant...
Click!
Rumble, rumble!
The sound of heavy machinery grinding echoed through the chamber. I turned my head toward the noise.
Right behind me, a new doorway had opened.
[Hahahahaha! You crazy bastard!]
Yoo Chun-gil roared with laughter.
Was that a compliment or an insult? I honestly couldn't tell.