Chapter 67: Neung Po's Memory

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As the breath of the evening glow seeped in, the waves of the vast Rainbow Lake, wide as a sea, blazed red.

As usual, the commercial district around the lake was crowded with pleasure-seekers intoxicated by the autumn scenery.

On the other hand.

A shop standing alone in a remote part of the nearby forest was quiet with not a single customer.

Was the exterior the problem?

The entire building was too shabby, and there wasn’t even a sign with a business name above the front door.

Even if pleasure-seekers discovered it, there was a high possibility they would just pass by, so it seemed to need renovation.

In such an idle atmosphere.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG-!

The sound of hammering that swept away the deep silence rang out regularly.

It was because the shop owner was climbing a ladder in front of the main entrance, installing a signboard made of planks.

Neung Po.

The former Alliance Master of the Nine Demon Alliance that had perished along with the Dragon Martial Gate, also a master who had achieved reverse aging, and furthermore, the owner of the Demon-Devouring Sword, a divine weapon of the Hungry Ghost Path.

No one knew.

That he, a mere dumpling shop owner, possessed such remarkable status and history…

Having finished installing the signboard, Neung Po climbed down the ladder and was tidying up the ground around him when he suddenly turned his head.

He had heard the footsteps of someone visiting the shop.

“Welco… Oh, you…?”

Neung Po’s eyes went wide as if unexpectedly while speaking to them.

A traveler standing in the yard.

It was a face that wasn’t unfamiliar.

That’s right.

It was a person who had visited this place once before.

“Haha, have you been well? I happened to be passing by this way, so I stopped by.”

A young man in his twenties greeting with a smile.

With handsome features and bright eyes that stood out, his identity was none other than Namgung Sang-rin, the legitimate son of the Namgung Family.

Neung Po smiled back and nodded.

“Good, well come. It’s nice to see you again.”

It wasn’t empty words.

As if meeting an old friend after a long time.

He had thought it would just end as a passing encounter.

Most customers were like that.

Whoever came to the shop would just exchange a few customary words of conversation and then part without any promise of reunion.

So there were virtually no people who remained impressively in his memory.

But.

Namgung Sang-rin was an exception.

Though they hadn’t had a long conversation when he first saw him, he was quite memorably remembered.

Setting aside his handsome appearance and fine sword sheath, he had felt as if he was carrying a burden on his shoulders too heavy to bear.

He hadn’t asked about it on purpose at the time.

If it was something that couldn’t be spoken of carelessly, the proper thing to do was to pretend not to know until they spoke first.

The same was true for himself.

He had circumstances that couldn’t easily be revealed to others.

Anyway, though he didn’t even know the name of this traveler, it felt good to meet again like this not many days later.

Namgung Sang-rin soon stared at the signboard and tilted his head.

“Hmm? Why is the signboard blank?”

There was no business name on the signboard that had been laboriously installed.

“Well, I’m thinking of considering it from now on. But isn’t it more charming to have no shop name?”

At Neung Po’s impish reply, Namgung Sang-rin snickered.

“Heh, there was another eccentric person here.”

“Another? Who might that be?”

At that, one person’s face flashed through Namgung Sang-rin’s mind.

Cheol Ryu-heun.

An eccentric person who, in addition to martial prowess transcending his age, had assured him that with his help, not only the reconstruction of the Namgung Family but also the restoration of the main sword arts would be possible…

“Haha, there’s someone like that.”

Thus glossing over it, Namgung Sang-rin rubbed his belly.

“I skipped lunch today, so one plate of dumplings won’t be enough.”

Neung Po quickly moved the ladder to one side and gestured.

“Come, come, come on in. Today I’ll treat you to especially delicious dumplings.”

Namgung Sang-rin smiled and followed, stepping inside the shop and taking a seat at a window table.

After a moment.

Neung Po placed a fairly large wooden steamer on the table.

Dumplings giving off white steam in curls, wafting a mouth-watering smell.

At a glance, there seemed to be at least thirty.

“Isn’t this too many? Two plates’ worth is enough for me…”

“I made a few extra as a bonus. Aren’t you a grateful customer who visited this humble shop again?”

“But…”

“Ho ho, it’s fine, so just eat. I’ve already guessed. That you visited again because it reminded you of the dumplings your mother used to make.”

“Ah, you remembered that.”

“I may look like this, but I have quite a good memory.”

“Heh. Yes, that’s right. I’ve tried many dumplings, but uniquely this shop’s dumplings made me reminisce about my mother. Then… I’ll eat gratefully.”

When Namgung Sang-rin moved his chopsticks and began eating the dumplings, Neung Po sat at the table beside him, maintaining silence, then suddenly asked.

“Hmm, it’s changed in the meantime?”

His gaze resting on the sword sheath engraved with a black dragon.

He had immediately noticed that the hilt of the sword stored inside was different from what he had seen before.

“You have remarkable observational skills.”

“Did I ask something unnecessary? I’m not the type with a wide meddlesome nature… But somehow feeling pleased makes me talk.”

“No. Actually… Not long ago I cut ties with a certain family and left my sword behind there.”

“So there were circumstances you couldn’t speak of.”

“It’s not particularly a secret, but it’s not something to go around blabbering about either. Ha ha.”

“Then currently you’ve taken the first step on a journey resolved to make a fresh start?”

“Yes. I plan to go to the Hunan region, live there, and begin tempering myself toward my martial goals.”

“I see, so you intend to join some martial sect.”

“That’s right.”

“Looking at your impression, you seem unrelated to the unorthodox side.”

“I’m a bit embarrassed that you see me so favorably. In truth, it’s an orthodox sword sect with considerable history and tradition. Recently, due to some circumstances, I happened to receive a great debt from someone I got to know by chance… I remembered him saying to come anytime I got tired of being treated like an outcast, so I set it as my top priority destination.”

“Oho, may I ask where it is?”

“Well… It’s White Peak Sword Sect.”

“Hmm? White Peak Sword Sect?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that place already a fallen power? I heard before that the Sect Master met an unfortunate end, and new disciples have long since stopped coming…”

When Neung Po showed an unexpected reaction, Namgung Sang-rin wore an awkward smile.

“Yes, it’s natural that you might find it somewhat puzzling… But I have something to rely on. I felt a kind of expectation, hard to explain.”

“Wait, has a new Sect Master perhaps been installed at White Peak Sword Sect?”

“Yes.”

The moment Namgung Sang-rin nodded, Neung Po finally grasped it.

“I see. The person who showed you kindness that you mentioned just now was the new Sect Master. Did you see some ability that exceeded your expectations?”

However, Namgung Sang-rin deliberately kept his words scarce.

“Ha ha… Something like that.”

He couldn’t carelessly reveal the major incident of annihilating that Mantis Martial Hall in one stroke without Cheol Ryu-heun’s permission, after all.

Meanwhile, Neung Po was seized by a strange curiosity.

‘I never thought it would be White Peak Sword Sect…’

Namgung Sang-rin was surely a martial talent of considerable caliber.

He could tell just from the look in his eyes.

Though he had become middle-aged after awakening reverse aging, his real age was over ninety, so he naturally had that level of discernment.

But.

He was curious what remarkable ability White Peak Sword Sect’s new Sect Master had shown to make a martial talent with such fine aura readily decide to join.

‘Hmm… Right, asking more would really be rude.’

With that thought, Neung Po gestured.

“I’ve rambled too much. Well, please finish eating comfortably.”

At that, Namgung Sang-rin smiled slightly as if to say it was okay and reduced the dumplings in the steamer one by one.

A little time passed.

Having finished his meal, Namgung Sang-rin placed coins on the table and bid farewell once more.

“Thank you for the meal. If I go there this time… I probably won’t be able to visit for quite a long time.”

“Ho ho. Yes, run hard for your dream.”

“Thank you.”

Namgung Sang-rin bowed politely and then headed out the shop door.

Right at that moment.

“Oh, wait.”

Neung Po caught his step with short words and continued speaking.

“Come to think of it, I still don’t know your name.”

“Ah, I’m… Namgung Sang-rin.”

Hearing the answer, Neung Po’s expression completely changed.

“Wait, if your surname is Namgung, then…?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m from the Namgung Family that was destroyed by a great calamity in the past.”

“My, is that so? I had guessed you were no ordinary talent… To think you’re the scion of such a famous martial noble family.”

“It’s merely past glory. But as long as I am alive, our family will someday definitely take a leap forward for revival.”

The light of aspiration gleamed in Namgung Sang-rin’s eyes.

Suddenly, Neung Po saw another person’s face overlapping transparently on that face.

He finally realized.

Why such pleased feelings had arisen the moment he saw Namgung Sang-rin earlier…

‘Right, the look in their eyes is similar. I still haven’t forgotten you.’

That face was his former disciple.

-There’s nothing more for me to learn from you, Master, so please stay obediently confined here. I will now become the new Alliance Master, destroy the Dragon Martial Gate, and plant the banner of demons on the Central Plains. And thus… I will wield power throughout the world forever!

That had been the last.

The disciple who had betrayed him at the time had gallantly led the Nine Demon Alliance’s full force and gone, only to be completely annihilated along with the Dragon Martial Gate without a single survivor.

‘Foolish fellow…’

Once, that disciple too had been a genius of martial arts with eyes full of brightness that stood out, just like Namgung Sang-rin now before him.

However, after being seized by excessive ambition, he had fallen deeply into demonic heart and lost his reason, and ultimately departed this world in futility due to his reckless invasion of the Dragon Martial Gate.

Neung Po, who had briefly recalled him, soon composed his face and wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Heh… Please don’t lose your original heart. Then you will surely achieve your great purpose.”

At that, Namgung Sang-rin nodded and asked.

“May I also ask your honorable name?”

“Neung Po, I’m living under such a name.”

“Those words just now…”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not my real name.”

“Ah… I see. Yes, understood. Everyone has inner circumstances difficult to speak of. Then if I have the chance later, I’ll definitely visit this place. I wish you good health.”

Namgung Sang-rin gave a courteous bow once more and then walked step by step toward outside.

Seated at the table, Neung Po gazed through the window at his receding back and muttered internally.

‘I don’t know what ability the White Peak Sword Sect Master used to win his heart, but I’ll naturally find out in time. That keeping such a talent by your side is truly a great windfall…’

Neung Po didn’t know.

That the reality was the exact opposite.

* * *

Currently, Seop Pyo was in the middle of explaining about Ximen Yue, whom he had spied on earlier.

“That fellow is most likely a genius of extraordinary martial prowess. Reading my hidden presence, even if only for a moment, is something not just anyone can do. So I followed him further and found that he had even prepared temporary lodging in an out-of-the-way area where people’s eyes don’t reach…”

“Enough.”

When Cheol Ryu-heun suddenly cut him off, Seop Pyo was slightly flustered.

“Pardon?”

“I said don’t worry about it.”

“But judging from his suspicious behavior, he’s scheming something targeting the Thousand Snake Gang…”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“…?”

“If that fellow thinks his work got disrupted, he’ll show himself at the scene somehow. We just need to wait.”

“Ah…”

“Flies always swarm.”

Cheol Ryu-heun followed those words by stroking the hilt of the Ganjiang Sword.

“Then I’ll swat them clean with this flyswatter.”

But then he suddenly glanced at Seop Pyo’s face.

“Hmm, is it because you’re a shit swordsman that flies swarm?”

“…”

Bubble, bubble.

Ah, the lava of bloodlust is boiling.