Chapter 170: Approaching Shadows

Jianwen Mountain, said to be unrivaled throughout the Hunan region for its combination of scenic beauty and rugged terrain.

Seop Pyo was climbing the steep mountain ridge with light steps while carrying his disciple Cui Lan on his back – she had suffered quite deep wounds.

It was a place where no human footsteps had reached, so there wasn’t even a path, but he simply moved his feet skillfully onward.

“Lan-ah, hold on just a little longer.”

At Seop Pyo’s kindly voice, Cui Lan answered with a feeble nod instead of words.

Normally, they would have arrived home already.

But now, because of Cui Lan’s condition, he had reduced speed and instead focused all his attention on movements that minimized shaking.

Of course, even so, it was movement that would look plenty fast from any ordinary martial artist’s perspective.

Black Rope Wondrous Lady Na Rae-hyang, who had been following behind, suddenly spoke.

“Let me carry her now.”

Seop Pyo gave her a sidelong glance and laughed quietly.

“Haha, it’s fine. We’re almost there now.”

“But…”

“Why, does my movement look rather laborious?”

“No, it’s not that, but you’ve been displaying the wondrous movement technique of Treading Snow Without Trace while climbing uphill. That must also consume considerable internal energy…”

“I appreciate your concern, but this body is still serviceable, believe it or not. Haha. I just need to catch my breath once we get home.”

At that, a faint smile appeared on Na Rae-hyang’s lips.

‘Well, that’s true…’

Earlier, Seop Pyo had expended a large amount of internal energy while employing his terrifying ultimate technique to eliminate the enemies.

And yet he was comfortably and continuously displaying such exquisite movement techniques approaching Treading Snow Without Trace level.

It was tremendous internal energy cultivation befitting the owner of the alias Head-Severing Yama.

“Have you been steadily training?”

“I haven’t practiced as diligently as in my younger days. Since going into seclusion, I’ve just maintained my level.”

In that moment, Na Rae-hyang recalled the Six Directional Transmitted Voice she had heard earlier.

-This is killing swordsmanship deployed for the first time in thirty years.

Seop Pyo had killed the unorthodox culprit who had murdered her parents in the past, then secluded himself and never held a blade again – yet the skill she had seen today was at a level that would earn fame as the greatest assassin even if he went back out into the martial world.

If he had trained with determination over those long years, he would certainly have reached a supremely exalted level.

‘What an admirable person. And still worthy of respect…’

For his disciple Cui Lan, he had unhesitatingly deployed the killing swordsmanship he had sealed away for so many years – Seop Pyo’s resolute will and attitude had given her a deeply touching impression.

‘I too… When the time comes someday, want to stay by his side.’

Then she casually said to his back.

“You must live a long time.”

Seop Pyo slightly turned his head and replied with a smirk.

“Ha, I keep telling you this body is still serviceable.”

Na Rae-hyang didn’t bother to respond and simply smiled quietly in return.

After a while, a towering cliff surrounding the mountain peak on all sides appeared squarely before the group.

A pinnacle soaring proudly above the clouds displaying an extraordinary appearance, and below it the upright limestone precipice extending like a folding screen – the scenery was magnificent beyond description.

“Home is situated on the plateau above here.”

The moment Seop Pyo spoke those words, he leaped up the high cliff as lightly as a feather, kicking off it, and Na Rae-hyang also operated her internal energy and deployed leaping movement techniques.

WHOOSH, WHOOOOSH, WHOOSH-

Thus the group arrived at the plateau with movements as agile as birds.

Na Rae-hyang spotted the old house standing alone straight ahead.

‘Wow… What a truly wonderful place.’

Behind the house, a rock wall cave with the azure sky visible through it was cut wide open, evoking an unknown paradise filled with auspicious energy.

When she turned her body around, the ancient primeval forest that covered the earth in green below the plateau’s cliff filled her eyes.

A remote and precipitous place that didn’t easily permit human footsteps.

It was a natural paradise.

Just looking at it felt like she might achieve Feathered Ascension to Immortality.

She thought she understood why he had chosen a place in this mountain without even a path as his hermitage.

Suddenly, old memories came to mind.

From when she had last seen Seop Pyo’s face…

-Mister… Sob… What… Should I do now?

-Rae-hyang. Don’t worry too much. I’ve already found someone who will take care of raising you.

-Pardon…?

-She’s a very kind person. So she’ll look after you well until you become an adult, just like your mom and dad.

-Mmm… Sob… Thank you. But…

-Hmm?

-Can’t I just… Live with you, mister? Sob… I… Would like that better.

-Oh dear, this is… I’m sorry. This mister is planning to leave for far away soon, so I’m not in a position to look after anyone. But I won’t forget you. Please stay healthy.

‘Ha. That’s too much. You said that to me back then, and then while in seclusion, you took a disciple…’

She was newly envious of Cui Lan.

But that wasn’t resentment toward Seop Pyo – just adorable pouting from her inner feelings.

He probably hadn’t expected to teach someone while coming here either.

At that moment, Seop Pyo’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Well, let’s go inside.”

“Yes.”

After stepping inside the house, Seop Pyo laid Cui Lan on a bed to one side, then fed her new medicine, washed his hands clean, and stitched up her side wound first.

“Ughh…!”

Each time the needle moved bit by bit, Cui Lan flinched and let out pained sounds.

“Hmm, does it hurt a lot? I’ll finish quickly.”

“No, it’s fi… Fine. I can bear it.”

Meanwhile.

Na Rae-hyang, who had quietly taken a seat in the corner, gauged the tender emotions apparent in Seop Pyo’s eyes as he attentively tended to the wounds.

The look in his eyes right now was reminiscent of a parent whose daughter – more precious than anything in the world – had been injured and was burning with worry.

Just like Na Rae-hyang’s own mom and dad long ago in her childhood…

Finally, having finished the treatment, Seop Pyo covered her with a blanket and smiled gently.

“After sleeping soundly, you’ll feel a bit better.”

“Yes, Master…”

With that, Cui Lan, having buried her head in the pillow, slowly closed her eyes.

Immediately after, Na Rae-hyang and Seop Pyo faced each other and conversed.

“Only now am I asking about you. So, how have you been?”

“As you can see, I grew up safely and well thanks to Elder’s consideration.”

“I’m glad. But…”

“You’re curious about who I learned from to become a martial artist?”

“Haha. Yes. I’m quite curious.”

“Actually, around when I turned twelve, I happened to meet a master from the previous generation and formed a teacher-disciple bond. After that, I perfectly mastered supreme martial arts and came out into the martial world to be active.”

“A master from the previous generation?”

“Someone who was active in the same era as Elder. Though she’s older.”

“Who was it?”

“My master’s name is Song San, and her former alias was Ink Zither Aged Grandmother. You remember, right?”

“What? Ink Zither Aged Grandmother…!”

Seop Pyo’s reaction was one of considerable surprise.

Because Ink Zither Aged Grandmother Song San was an elderly woman ranked among the Thirteen Seats of the World alongside Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon during the era when he reigned as the hegemon.

“Ha, I knew Ink Zither Aged Grandmother was already past eighty years old thirty years ago…”

It was as he said.

When Seop Pyo himself secluded himself, Ink Zither Aged Grandmother Song San’s age was eighty-one – the oldest among the Thirteen Seats of the World.

“Ha, she’s still alive.”

“…!”

“She’s just living in reclusion like Elder.”

“Hmm, how remarkable.”

“Fate is truly mysterious, isn’t it?”

“Then… Did you learn Senior Song’s sound arts?”

“No. Master abandoned her existing sound arts and devised different new martial arts, but saying she herself was too old to learn them, she transmitted them to me instead.”

With those words, Na Rae-hyang revealed the black ultra-fine wire inside her sleeve.

“This, called Black Rope, is a divine weapon that Master used in the past as the strings of her seven-stringed zither.”

“Ah, so that’s what it was.”

“It’s not comparable to the Ten Heavenly Weapons, but as befitting a divine weapon, its sharpness and sturdiness are outstanding.”

“Yes, I saw earlier. How you blocked the axe with that wire. It was no ordinary power.”

“Ah, he was Tang Mu-gae, an unorthodox wandering master from Jiangxi region, commonly called by the alias Thousand-Man Foe Axe. His younger brother, Vigorous Sword Tang Ja-gae, is affiliated with Black Ox Hall here in Hunan Province. Being brothers, both are famous for having very bad character.”

“Have you earned an alias?”

“Black Rope Wondrous Lady is my alias.”

“I can tell your achievements must be tremendous.”

“It’s embarrassing to say with my own mouth, but… I’ve risen to the ranks of the powerhouses called Five Elegants of Jiangxi.”

“Five Elegants of Jiangxi. Haha. Then doesn’t that mean you’re one of five representing Jiangxi region? Like the Five Supreme Martial Experts of Hunan of this Hunan.”

“Yes. It’s a bit embarrassing. But gaining great fame wasn’t originally my goal.”

Suddenly, Seop Pyo recalled words he had heard earlier flashing through his mind.

-Out of respect for Elder, who only punished evildoers, I eventually became a martial artist, and now I’m making a name as a strange female master of the unorthodox faction while secretly judging bad groups like them.

“Wasn’t Senior Song from an orthodox faction? Yet you’re active as an unorthodox martial artist. Is there some story behind that?”

“Yes, that’s right. You could say the outside is unorthodox and the inside is orthodox. My activities are actually related to my master. I’m sorry. To tell you more…”

When Na Rae-hyang showed a hint of reluctance, Seop Pyo quickly waved his hand.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine. I won’t pry further either. Then may I ask about today’s events?”

“Yes, Elder. I’ll explain. Usually, I operate as an unorthodox martial artist to lure evil groups to approach me. It’s a very useful method. But recently I received a letter. Saying they needed people to move stealthily on a task to find someone, and if I responded, they would pay a lot of money… The reason such a letter came was because I had let information slip, suggesting that I needed a lump sum of money. Sure enough, someone I suspected to be from an evil group made contact like that, and so today’s meeting came about.”

“Hmm, so that’s how it happened. But who were they looking for?”

“They said an ordinary old man named Gam Tae who had lived in Wuj Village and suddenly disappeared.”

“Hmm? An ordinary old man…?”

“Yes.”

Na Rae-hyang nodded and informed him about today’s meeting.

After hearing the story, Seop Pyo tilted his head.

“That’s strange. To readily pay such a huge sum just to find one old person. Moreover, all the personnel were wandering masters from the unorthodox faction…”

“The black-robed person who led the gathering seems to have expected this kind of conflict from the start. And also… That only I would survive.”

“They intend to use you?”

“I’ll have to find out now. We agreed to gather at the courtyard of an abandoned temple on Mount Zhongmen, southwest of Baizhou, in a fortnight, but before that, I plan to search for the old man’s whereabouts.”

“Ha, just what is that person’s identity and purpose…”

“His appearance, seeming to be in his fifties, was ordinary. But the formless presence wrapping around his body was definitely not ordinary. I don’t know the purpose yet, but I’ve figured out his body’s true nature.”

“True nature?”

At Seop Pyo’s question, Na Rae-hyang’s eye light deepened.

“Yes. It took some time to read since it’s a hidden-attribute energy, but… He was definitely a demon from the foreign martial world. One who’s also hiding tremendous power within his body.”

“…!”