Chapter 344
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 344
Chapter Title: It Was a Person
Even deep in the Southern Frontier's jungle, there was a village where people gathered and lived.
The village that Myo Gu-ung discovered first.
It took less than a moment for that village to melt away into a handful of poisonous liquid.
The reason he melted them into poison wasn't anything special.
He had come looking for suitable clothes, but nothing caught his eye.
It was only natural.
Myo Gu-ung.
He wasn't from the Central Plains, but he lived there and preferred Central Plains attire.
But this was Southern Frontier territory.
They naturally had their own style of clothing, and only those were available.
Nothing pleased him.
"Eh. Tch. No helping it. I'll wear this until I reach Sichuan."
He grabbed a somewhat decent-looking garment.
"Wah! Wah!"
A baby's cry echoed from somewhere.
They had left it sleeping soundly in its cradle while they worked in the village, only to meet their end at Myo Gu-ung's hands.
It must have been around a hundred days old.
That's why Myo Gu-ung had hesitated, unsure if it was a human presence or something like a dog or cat.
"It was a person after all."
Myo Gu-ung headed toward the house where the crying came from.
The baby's parents had already dissolved into a puddle of poison.
In the cradle, the infant wriggled and wailed, catching Myo Gu-ung's eye.
It was a tiny, adorable baby.
"Yeah. Looking for your parents, huh? Then I'll send you to join them. Be quiet over there. Eh."
As Myo Gu-ung turned away after saying that.
The baby's cries stopped as if by magic.
And.
The baby vanished.
All that remained where it had been was pitch-black poisonous liquid.
Myo Gu-ung's senses swept over the village once more.
This time, with full focus.
No human presences remained.
"Thousand Poison Valley. This will be your fate. And now, to find the last one. Heh heh heh."
Myo Gu-ung departed the village.
The humid wind of the Southern Frontier blew in.
The poison spread slowly with the muggy breeze.
A faint aura of death began to settle over the surroundings.
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul stared blankly at the official document before him.
It was a list of new instructors being dispatched from the Dorim Sect.
An unexpected name was on it.
Un Gyo-tak.
The very man currently residing in the Dragon Training Pavilion's main hall.
He was coming as an instructor for the Wa Dragon Corps.
It gave Pang Do-yul a headache.
A man already crushed by Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek—what lingering attachment made him insist on becoming an instructor here?
He'd just get thrashed by Ha Mu-baek again.
But Pang Do-yul had no grounds to refuse.
Dispatches from sects like Dorim to the Dragon Training Pavilion were all goodwill efforts to nurture the next generation of martial artists.
The instructors from other sects were the same.
It might be an honor to some.
But most warriors weren't thrilled about the position.
In that sense, the current Hidden Dragon Corps Leader and Wa Dragon Corps Leader were remarkable.
They hadn't returned to their sects in years, steadfastly guarding the pavilion.
"No helping it."
Pang Do-yul gazed at the document a moment longer before stamping his approval and moving on.
He still had piles of paperwork left.
He wasn't the only one drowning in a sea of documents.
Yeon Baek-jin was in the same boat.
The difference was that he had an assistant.
Yeon Ha-min.
Ever since her last visit, she occasionally came to help with the work.
It was a tremendous help.
However.
"It's not a rest day, and the pavilion isn't on break. The second semester has started—sure it's okay to be here like this? I'm grateful for the help, of course."
"Just taking a short break."
Yeon Baek-jin smirked at Yeon Ha-min's reply, eyes still on his papers.
He knew that wasn't true.
Once she came, she helped for at least half a shichen.
She'd be better off meditating in that time.
"Training too tough?"
"It's always tough. Instructor Ha isn't exactly ordinary."
Yeon Baek-jin gave a wry smile at her response.
Indeed.
Ha Mu-baek.
Was he ever ordinary?
And moreover.
"Not much time left now."
Now it was Yeon Ha-min's turn to smile wryly.
She knew exactly what he meant.
"Yeah. Once this semester ends... I have to go."
No need to specify where.
They both knew all too well.
Plus, Yeon Ha-min had already been there once.
And there, she'd severed that tiresome chain of ill fate.
Yeon Baek-jin, who had been staring at his papers, looked up at her.
"Uncle?"
Yeon Ha-min sensed his gaze and met his eyes.
They brimmed only with concern for her.
Yeon Baek-jin opened a small drawer on his desk.
He pulled out a sealed letter.
"Payment for your help so far. Take this and go. Focus on your training from now on—no need to help like this anymore."
Yeon Baek-jin smiled gently but firmly.
Reading his expression, Yeon Ha-min accepted the letter without protest.
"Yes. Thank you, Uncle."
She bowed and left the vice pavilion lord's office.
While Yeon Ha-min was there, Yeon Baek-jin had barred everyone from approaching.
Thanks to that, strange rumors had started circulating lately.
Sensing it, he'd blocked her visits.
He hesitated to reveal himself as her uncle.
Not for any other reason.
Her father.
He had spread rumors using her as a political marriage pawn.
Yeon Ha-min, the Ice Lotus Flower, one of the Five Flowers of the Martial World.
The moment he revealed their relation, everyone would know she was the Ice Lotus Flower.
Yeon Ha-min knew this too.
She'd planned to say she'd stay away for a while, but Yeon Baek-jin had cut her off first.
For her sake.
Pat. Pat.
She left the Pavilion Lord's quarters and headed for Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
The maids in the Pavilion Lord's quarters glanced at her.
And whispered among themselves.
Beneath her veil, her face hardened.
She could guess what they were murmuring about.
"Ha-min!"
A voice called out then.
Ha Seol-ran.
Ha Seol-ran, who had been nearby the Pavilion Lord's quarters, hurried over and stood by her side.
"What brings you here?"
"Just taking a stroll to rest a bit."
Ha Seol-ran smiled in reply.
Seeing her smile eased the hurt from the maids' glances.
"What's that?"
Ha Seol-ran's eyes went to the letter in Yeon Ha-min's hand.
"No idea..."
She didn't know either.
It felt quite thick in her hand.
What could it be?
Something her youngest uncle would give her like this.
The two walked side by side toward Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
They were roommates again this time.
While Ha Seol-ran went to bathe first.
Yeon Ha-min opened the seal.
Another envelope inside.
She carefully opened it.
A thick stack of folded papers.
The moment she unfolded them.
"Hic..."
Yeon Ha-min's eyes reddened.
Drip.
A tear fell.
Startled, she hurriedly set the paper aside; the tear landed on her knee.
Fortunately, the paper stayed dry.
It absolutely could not get wet.
No matter what, the ink couldn't smudge from her tears.
"M-M-Mother..."
Yeon Ha-min murmured softly.
Yes.
The stack of papers.
Was a letter from her mother.
All the words piled up during their time apart, written down until it formed this thick bundle.
Just a year and a half.
But the instant she saw the first character.
Recognizing her mother's handwriting, Yeon Ha-min wept.
"Hic. Hic-hic. Hic-hic-hic."
She couldn't read the letter at all.
Yeon Ha-min just sobbed endlessly.
Ha Seol-ran, finished bathing.
Sensed Yeon Ha-min's state through her senses.
"Hm. Guess I'll take a longer walk."
She murmured calmly, tossed her wet hair back, and left Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
She wandered aimlessly.
"What're you doing?"
Her brother's voice rang out.
"Ah."
"Wandering around with wet hair after bathing will give you a cold. Nights are getting chilly now."
Ha Mu-baek's gaze lingered on Ha Seol-ran's damp locks.
He reached out and grabbed her hair.
The moment heat emanated from his hand.
Her hair dried in an instant.
The moisture left on her body evaporated, replaced by a warm energy.
An application of the fire energy he'd recently acquired.
"Wha? Whoa..."
Ha Seol-ran blinked in surprise.
"Get back and rest. You've got training tomorrow."
He turned and vanished.
"Hm. Now even I could have dried it..."
She had planned to circulate her qi while walking and dry it—not full meditative trance, but enough.
A mix of warmth and a touch of disappointment.
Watching her brother walk away, Ha Seol-ran suddenly startled.
"Come to think of it... I lost track of Brother's presence."
Her senses were still extended.
Yet Ha Mu-baek wasn't detected.
He had reached a level where he could erase his presence completely, fooling her senses.
"Just... what are you up to, Brother?"
How did he grow so strong without rest?
The back she watched grew ever more immense.
"Hm."
Even as night deepened.
Un Gyo-tak couldn't easily fall asleep.
Still.
Pondering that realm just out of reach.
"Something taken for granted might not be so obvious? Damn it. What the hell does that..."
Frustration finally boiled over.
This impatience.
His brother, the Hall Leader, had pointed it out countless times, yet he hadn't fixed it.
Dorim's strongest.
Excluding So Hwi-woong, of course.
That was Un Gyo-tak's pride and confidence.
But losing to Ha Mu-baek here and agonizing over that elusive realm.
Perhaps Dorim's true strongest was his brother, the Hall Leader.
It had always felt that way.
That knowing look he gave, as if he understood everything.
Because it had been so obvious that Un Gyo-tak was the strongest, his brother never questioned it.
"Huh? Wait..."
Thinking of his brother suddenly made something click a bit more.
Something obvious, yet not.
That koan-like phrase.
It was becoming a clue.
'Obvious, but not obvious...'
Come to think of it.
He had taken it for granted: to train, swing the sword; to do that, circulate inner energy.
Did recreating a sword form's trajectory truly require inner energy?
The question arose suddenly.
That training must use inner energy.
Perhaps it wasn't so obvious.
Once it dawned on him.
He had to try it.
True to his hasty nature.
He grabbed his sword and burst from the hall.
'Move the sword without inner energy.'
When was the last time he'd done that?
Early childhood.
Before inner energy training.
When learning basic sword forms.
Probably the only time.
Un Gyo-tak focused.
Just like when he unleashed Soaring Heaven Demon Extermination at Ha Mu-baek.
All his mind on the sword tip, he swung.
Muscles tensed taut, a dull ache spread.
Sweat poured down.
And Soaring Heaven Demon Extermination was a technique impossible without inner energy.
Using inner energy was, in fact, obvious.
Yet.
"Ha, haha. Hahaha."
An absurd laugh escaped Un Gyo-tak.
In that process, he had seen something.
A wall.
A wall blocking his path.
Even after mastering Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade to its peak.
He saw the steadfast wall.
And moreover.
He even grasped how to surpass it.
"Ha, haha. Kuhahaha! Wait for me, Ha Mu-baek! This time it'll be different!"
His internal injuries still needed at least twenty days to fully heal.
In that time.
With diligent training and meditation, once his energy recovered, he could shatter that wall in one go.
If so.
Ha Mu-baek, that bastard...
Just thinking about it brought laughter.