Eun Jin-ho, Gone Missing (5)
It all happened in an instant.
Eun Jin-ho reached out toward Eun Seo-ho plummeting down the cliff, but his hand merely sliced through empty air.
"Seo-ho! No! Seo-ho!"
Eun Jin-ho screamed in anguish.
The earthquake had stopped, but no one noticed. Of all people, Eun Seo-ho...
To think it had come to this.
Eun Jin-ho slammed his fist into the ground.
"I have to go down there."
He rose to his feet, only to stumble immediately.
Jeong Chung, the squad leader, caught him as he fell. In a flash, Jeong Chung had sealed Eun Jin-ho's blood points, putting him to sleep.
Watching this, Yeo Eung-am Warrior and Lee Pil Warrior spoke to Palgap.
"We'll stay here and search for the young master."
Palgap quickly raised his hand.
"I'll stay and look for the young master too!"
Seo-u Warrior stepped forward as well.
"This Seo-u still hasn't repaid his debt to the young lord. Please don't take away my chance to do so."
Mak Chung sighed at their words.
The situation was tricky.
He had to return to Hubei Province with the goods, but leaving them behind felt wrong.
Moreover, heading back without knowing whether Eun Seo-ho—whom they'd come here with for the search—was alive or dead gnawed at him.
That was when it happened.
"I'll stay."
The one who stepped forward was the escort leader who had guided the missing group.
"I've shown nothing but shame this time. If I return to the escort agency like this, that shame will keep me from ever leading again. Please allow me to stay and wash it away."
Mak Chung made his decision.
"Very well. You four, him, and four volunteering warriors—stay here."
"Thank you."
Meanwhile.
Something wondrous happened to Eun Seo-ho as he tumbled down the cliff.
Woooong.
A silver glow began to emanate softly from his body.
As if in response, the thick fog at the base of the cliff stirred.
The mist enveloped him in layer upon layer.
Thanks to it, when Eun Seo-ho finally hit the ground, he felt no impact at all.
Shaaa.
The fog soon dispersed, and the silver glow withdrew back into his body.
A certain being hiding at the bottom of the valley watched all this.
"Kkwi?"
* * *
I opened my eyes.
"Ugh..."
Where am I?
I recalled what I remembered.
There had definitely been an earthquake, and because of it, Jin-ho hyung had nearly tumbled off while protecting the escort leader.
So I...
I looked at my hand.
I remembered letting go of the hand that had been gripping Jin-ho hyung's arm at the end.
Because at that moment, the image of Jin-ho hyung's severed head had flashed before my eyes for some reason.
If I hadn't let go then, the one falling off the cliff would have been Jin-ho hyung.
It was a split-second judgment, but if it meant saving him at the cost of my life, I had no regrets.
My vow of revenge against the Murim Alliance and Baekcheon Merchant Group was for my family's sake.
Revenge after Jin-ho hyung died? That'd be ridiculous.
Having survived a fall from such a great height unscathed, it seemed my revenge truly was heaven's will.
But why was I completely fine?
My bones should have shattered into pieces, killing me on impact.
I sat there and began circulating my qi. Nothing seemed poised to interrupt me.
"Hoo..."
After finishing, I opened my eyes and checked my belongings for anything missing. The most important was my pouch.
Good, the pouch was fine.
The bracelet too.
That was when it happened.
"Huh?"
Something tiny enough to fit in my palm had appeared out of nowhere and was sitting on my knee, staring at me.
"Ah! You scared me!"
I jumped at the creature that had approached without a sound.
But it just gazed at me with sparkling eyes.
So I slowly examined it.
Its appearance was...
A pig?
Yes, a pig.
A very small, pale pink pig, with a curly tail and four golden-furred legs.
Its face and body were rounder than any pig I knew.
The overall round shape made it look like a ball of pale pink yarn.
So...
"Ahem. It's, uh, cute."
It really was.
I studied it for a while, but it didn't seem like something that would harm me.
Then the pig-like thing waddled across my knee and tapped my pouch with its tiny hand.
Then it stared at me intently.
Like it's begging for pocket money.
I couldn't ignore those eyes.
I pulled a single silver coin from my pouch. Half out of curiosity about why it had touched the pouch.
I held it out to the little guy.
"This what you want?"
"Kkwi?"
It seemed to ask if I really meant it, so I nodded.
"Yeah. Take it."
No sooner had I spoken than it snatched the silver coin from my hand with its teeth.
And then.
Gulp.
It swallowed it.
"...!"
Startled, I grabbed it and shook.
"Hey! That's not food! Spit it out! Now!"
"Kkwi! Kkwi! Kkwi!"
But it just laughed happily and slipped from my grasp into my sleeve.
"Haa..."
I sighed.
"Fine, whatever. Plenty of people swallow thousands of silver coins and come out fine. What's one coin gonna do?"
I stood up.
Because of me, Jin-ho hyung and everyone else would be grieving. Anyone would think I was dead.
And I'd promised Mother I'd return safely...
Now, where's the path?
Then, the creature in my sleeve hopped lightly to the ground and wagged its tail.
The curly tail somehow conveyed meaning clearly.
"Follow you?"
"Kkwi!"
It scampered ahead, and I followed.
About half an hour of walking later.
A cave appeared before me.
And its tail pointed inside.
"Go in?"
"Kkwi!"
There had to be a reason, so I followed it into the cave.
Fog filled the cave too.
I proceeded cautiously, then stopped.
"This is..."
Before me was a massive sword embedded in a huge rock.
Everything about the sword was silver.
From the blade to the hilt, even the tassel at the pommel's end.
I approached and read the inscription on the blade.
Silver Mist Sword.
The sword of silver mist.
And I knew this sword.
In my previous life, its owner had been the Murim Alliance Leader.
The leader, who had aided the Emperor back then, had received this sword as a gift.
If I took it, the Alliance Leader wouldn't receive it from the Emperor.
The question was whether I was worthy to claim it.
This Silver Mist Sword was special.
If an unworthy person tried to draw it, a backlash occurred.
The wielder would go mad.
Even if forced to submit, the sword wouldn't unleash its full power.
It was finicky in every way.
And one of those backlashes was mist...
"Kkwiit!"
Suddenly, the creature startled and dove into my sleeve.
A fierce killing intent toward me.
I whipped around.
Behind me, a warrior approached, sword in hand.
"That sword... is mine... my sword... is mine."
His eyes and speech were anything but normal.
"I-I have no desire for this sword... Eek!"
But my words did nothing to dispel his hostility.
His sword kept coming at me relentlessly.
This was insane.
Where had this guy even come from?
I got a clue from his constant mutter of "my sword."
Could this warrior have tried to claim the sword and ended up like this?
Since the unworthy who grasp the Silver Mist Sword go mad.
Boom!
Kwaa!
Slash-!
I dodged his attacks continuously, circling the cave, but this couldn't go on forever.
I had to end it somehow.
I drew the sword at my waist.
Shring.
Then I unleashed the Jin Family's Twelve Form Swordsmanship I'd learned.
In my eyes, this madman's skill was at least peak level.
I was still lingering at first-rate.
My inner energy had grown a bit, but not enough to breach peak.
So the technique I could use now was the second form: Snow on Branches.
Woooong.
I gathered my qi and raised my sword.
Then thrust it at the mad warrior attacking me.
Usually, when first learning the sword, one hesitates unconsciously to use a killing move on a person.
I had been the same.
But once you realize not swinging means your death, you have no choice.
Like me now.
Good thing Master wasn't here.
With his sharp insight, he'd have sensed something off in my lack of hesitation to use a killing blow.
The mad warrior easily dodged my sword and counterattacked.
Clang-!
Chaaeng-!
I parried his blade and struck back simultaneously.
But honestly, how could a first-rate warrior stand against a peak one?
Wounds just kept accumulating on my body.
Suddenly, memories from my previous life's final moments resurfaced. My qi was depleted now, just like then.
But I couldn't die here.
I had goals I must achieve.
That desperation kept my sword swinging.
Gradually, my thoughts faded.
And wondrously, I began seeing our movements objectively.
Is this the 'contemplation' I'd only heard rumors of?
My sword felt more precise, a touch faster.
That was when white frost settled on my body.
Chaaeng-!
The blade shattered and flew apart, unable to endure any longer.
I snapped back to reality.
"Hup!"
The mad warrior showed no mercy, halting for my broken sword.
I rolled aside to dodge.
Like a lazy donkey rolling on the ground—a donkey roll—but who cared?
I was about to get stabbed.
Backing away, I bumped into the massive rock with the sword.
Thud.
My retreat was blocked.
Ah, damn it.
If only I had a sword.
Just a sword...
As I thought that, the entire rock began to hum.
And then.
Crack-!
The rock exploded into fragments and crumbled.
Suddenly, the Silver Mist Sword was in my hand.
"Huh? Why's this in my hand?"
But there was no time to ponder.
Seeing the Silver Mist Sword in my grip, the mad warrior's aura grew even fiercer.
His killing intent felt like it was shredding my body.
Well, in for a penny...
I gripped the sword and steadied my breath.
I recalled the eighth form I was currently practicing.
One Point Hanging Ice.
Target: the mad warrior's heart.
For some reason, I felt I could grasp its essence now.
I took a calm deep breath.
My depleted dantian was inexplicably full of qi again.
I remembered what had just happened.
Now!
The Silver Mist Sword in my hand shot toward the mad warrior's heart with blinding speed.
Puk-!
It pierced flesh without resistance. Effortlessly.
The mad warrior's eyes cleared.
"I'm sorry..."
Sorry to me? Why?
"In my arms... you rested... atonement for my sin..."
Atonement for his sin?
The mad warrior breathed his last, and I withdrew the Silver Mist Sword.
Thud.
He collapsed to the ground.
"Ha!"
I slumped down right there. I was utterly spent.
I looked at the Silver Mist Sword in my hand.
The silver glow on the blade was unmistakable sword aura.
I'd reached peak.
That trance-like state earlier, swinging without thought—that must have been the legendary no-mind state.
Lucky.
If I hadn't broken through to peak, I'd be the one dead on the ground.
And even fresh at peak, I'd only beaten the mad warrior thanks to this sword.
As expected of a famed blade.
I spotted a silver scabbard on the ground and sheathed the sword.
Click.
In that instant.
Woooong-!
The surrounding mist stirred and was wholly sucked into the sword in my hand.
As if it had never existed.
What?
Was the Silver Mist Sword the culprit behind the no-out no-in phenomenon?