Chapter 226: What Is That (4)
Chapter 225 – What Is That (4)
Trickle, trickle.
The sound of clear tea pouring echoed inside the room.
The rich fragrance of Pu-erh tea, fermented for a long time and hard to obtain even with money, filled the room.
Outside the wide-open window, the chirping of grass insects could be heard faintly.
Taking a sip of tea, Martial Alliance Leader Mok Cheon-ak turned his head to look at the Chief Administrator standing at attention beside him.
“Sit down.”
When offered a seat, the Chief Administrator hesitated for a moment before bowing his head and replying.
“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
“By now, a chaotic battle might have broken out in Hebei.”
Mok Cheon-ak poured tea for the Chief Administrator while muttering as if to himself.
Bow politely, the Chief Administrator raised the teacup and drank.(Wait, let’s make it past tense: “Bowing politely, the Chief Administrator raised the teacup and drank.”)
Mok Cheon-ak, who was quietly watching that sight, asked searchingly.
“How many years has it been since you joined me?”
“It seems to be a little over thirty years.”
“Indeed. It has been a long time. In your view, do you think the Eon Clan will get through this crisis?”
At the sudden question, the Chief Administrator fell into thought for a moment before replying.
“It seems it will be difficult.”
“Indeed. That would be the natural answer.”
When the Alliance Leader quietly nodded, the Chief Administrator read his expression and asked searchingly.
“How do you view it, Alliance Leader?”
“It will be difficult. However…”
“…”
“If they overcome that obstacle, it will be a different matter.”
“If it is a different matter, is it something that would harm our Alliance?”
“Well… we will have to wait and see about that.”
Having finished speaking, the Alliance Leader closed his eyes gently as if lost in deep thought.
The Chief Administrator waited silently so as not to disturb him.
Only after a long time did the Alliance Leader gently open his eyes and mutter.
“Come to think of it, it seems it was around this time last year that the Great Killing Star Jin Cheon-rang died.”
“Indeed. It was a great achievement of yours, Alliance Leader.”
“Oh, you. Now you are openly flattering me.”
“Because it is the truth.”
The Chief Administrator smiled broadly.
Mok Cheon-ak turned his gaze outside the window.
He asked as if tossing it out casually.
“Do you believe the fact that Jin Cheon-rang was the Great Killing Star?”
The Chief Administrator flinched for a moment before replying as if he had organized his thoughts.
“At this point, I do not believe that is important.”
As if very satisfied with the Chief Administrator’s answer, Mok Cheon-ak smiled broadly and nodded.
“You are right. However, it is also an undeniable fact that Jin Cheon-rang was the Great Killing Star. Of course, I do not know how he was at first. People do not care about what he looked like decades ago. But at some point, Jin Cheon-rang became the true Great Killing Star. Do you remember the day he slaughtered hundreds of Martial Alliance members and died? On that day, Jin Cheon-rang was literally a death god. He was a heaven-sent Great Killing Star.”
“……!”
“Humans are sculptures shaped by their environment. The environment surrounding him over the past few decades made him a true Great Killing Star. How many people died by his hands? Even if he was not born with the Heavenly Killing Star, the environment made him the true Great Killing Star.”
“I see.”
Mok Cheon-ak nodded and continued speaking.
“In any case, since he died as the Great Killing Star, it would not be bad for his son to die as a hero. This is my small gift to Jin Cheon-rang.”
A faint smile floated at the corners of the Alliance Leader’s mouth.
* * *
Slash! Slash!
“Kuaaak!”
“Uaaak!”
Namgung Cheon became a blood demon.
Intoxicated by the scent of blood, Namgung Cheon swung the Emerald Silk Sword in a trance.
Every time the sensation of slicing flesh and bone was transmitted through the blade of the sword, a thrilling shiver ran through his entire body.
It was indeed a sensation he had not felt in a long time.
“Hahaha! You moths to a flame! Good spirit! Come at me, come at me!”
Before he knew it, Namgung Cheon seemed to have returned to his past life, forgetting even his current identity.
By this point, the unorthodox martial artists nearby turned pale, letting out groans as they retreated hesitantly.
“M-Monster-like bastard!”
“Is that… really a rising star of the orthodox factions?”
Wasn’t he far too domineering and cruel to be considered that?
Eyes glistening with madness, a wide grin stretching across his lips as he burst into laughter, and movements that rushed toward his prey like a wild beast without hesitation.
Even just making eye contact was enough to make one almost wet themselves.
It was then.
Swishhh!
A gust of wind squeezed through the unorthodox martial artists and flew straight toward Namgung Cheon.
Clanggg!
The sword and the judge’s pen collided, creating a noise that threatened to tear the eardrums.
Screeech!
Namgung Cheon slid back three or four zhang.
He reflexively tried to unleash a sword strike, but flinched and stopped.
‘Ryu Nan…?’
A middle-aged man with half-white hair.
In one hand, he held a steel brush-shaped judge’s pen, around the end of which a whip woven from leather was wound.
Seeing that face which wore a somewhat benevolent expression, his tension naturally dissolved, and his reason gradually returned.
Ryu Nan, who was wafting a haze-like energy from his entire body, showed a friendly smile as he looked at Namgung Cheon.
“Are you the son of Jin Cheon-rang?”
“So what if I am?”
Namgung Cheon chuckled and slung the Emerald Silk Sword over his shoulder.
Since that action closely resembled the Jin Cheon-rang of his past life, Ryu Nan could not help but chuckle.
“Like father, like son. A relationship connected by blood is truly fascinating.”
“Do you know my father?”
“I do. Your father was my friend.”
Well, since they were on terms where they shared drinks, laughed, and chatted together, they could be considered friends.
“So?”
“Haha! You are cheeky just like your father.”
“What is it you want to say?”
Namgung Cheon snapped directly.
He knew that nothing good would come from a long conversation with Ryu Nan.
Even if the Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance came, it would be difficult to win a verbal battle with Ryu Nan.
Ryu Nan quietly watched Namgung Cheon before speaking.
“As I said, your father was my friend. Yet, why are you belonging to the Martial Alliance, attempting to walk a path opposite to your father’s?”
“Because it is my choice.”
“What?”
“It is my life. My father had no choice but to walk a difficult path, but why should I walk a difficult path like him? The situation is different, and the environment is different.”
“…”
“My father also probably wished for me not to be hidden in his shadow, but to live my own life. Is that enough of an answer now?”
“Then what is your path?”
“Naturally, it is to live well.”
“With the Martial Alliance that killed your father?”
When Ryu Nan spoke provocatively, Namgung Cheon chuckled and walked forward step by step.
Since he walked right in front of Ryu Nan in a completely defenseless state, the onlookers were rather tense.
Reaching right under his nose, Namgung Cheon stared intently at Ryu Nan and said.
“As I said, I have my own life. How I get along with the Martial Alliance is up to me. The way of life is different for everyone. So do not preach to me what to do.”
At Namgung Cheon’s bold words, Ryu Nan wore a blank expression for a moment.
‘Perhaps he really has the exact same temperament as his father.’
For a brief moment, Ryu Nan was seized by a strange nostalgia.
Because it felt as if the person in front of him was not Namgung Cheon, but Jin Cheon-rang.
Of course, the situation was the exact opposite.
At that time, Jin Cheon-rang was pursued by the Martial Alliance, whereas now, Namgung Cheon was a member of the Martial Alliance.
Nevertheless, the person standing right in front of him, staring straight at him, felt like Jin Cheon-rang for some reason.
“Each person’s way of life.”
“If you understand, please get lost. Fold any thoughts of trying to win me over while pretending it is for my father’s sake.”
“Hahaha. It is not for your father’s sake.”
“…”
“Our coalition’s grand cause is for all martial artists. To set the justice of this Jianghu right.”
Ryu Nan’s pupils burned with fervor.
Namgung Cheon stared intently at those eyes and twisted his lips.
“If so, it suits me even less.”
“Then what do you fight for?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I fight for myself!”
In a split second, Namgung Cheon swung the Emerald Silk Sword horizontally.
It was a movement as fast as thunder, but Ryu Nan leisurely turned the judge’s pen upside down to block.
Clanggg!
As a metallic ring and sparks burst out, Ryu Nan quickly circulated his internal energy and cast the whip attached to the judge’s pen.
Swishhh!
The whip flew like a snake, wrapping around Namgung Cheon’s entire body.
He intended to capture him alive.
But as if Namgung Cheon had known that technique beforehand, he quickly rotated his body in the opposite direction, escaping the whip’s vortex.
Swishhh!
Since that sequence of events was so smooth, Ryu Nan also appeared surprised.
‘He evades as if he knows my technique!’
Of course, this was possible to counter because Namgung Cheon had enjoyed sparring with Ryu Nan like a game in the past.
Since it was a method Ryu Nan frequently used when capturing someone alive.
Having no way of knowing such inside stories, Ryu Nan could not help but be tongue-tied by Namgung Cheon’s adaptability.
Gathering the whip, Ryu Nan smiled broadly and praised.
“They call you the Jianghu Divine Dragon, and indeed it was not an empty reputation.”
“It is nothing.”
“You are far superior to your father.”
Where do you get off comparing me?
I am myself, you bastard.
When Namgung Cheon just smiled without a word, Ryu Nan curled his lips upward.
“Do you not hear that sound? The Eon Clan will fall now.”
“Do you really think so?”
When Namgung Cheon asked back with composure, Ryu Nan tilted his head and asked.
“Is your thought different?”
“It is different. A man of your standing should know.”
“What?”
“That the Eon Clan will not fall like this.”
“…”
“They say extreme circumstances bring a way out, don’t they? If the Eon Clan is cornered, they will not just quietly ruin themselves. Surely you do not think that cliff standing behind the Eon Clan is just a nice folding screen?”
“…!”
A peculiar light gleamed in Ryu Nan’s eyes.
Erasing his surprised look, he soon wore a faint smile.
“Did the Eon Clan tell you?”
“No. I am surprisingly a bookworm, so shall we say I have some degree of reasoning ability?”
“Haha! The more I see you, the more covetable you are. What a waste. What a real waste.”
“Even if it is a waste, it cannot be helped. I will walk my own path.”
“However, can the Eon Clan really do that?”
“They will. Because I left behind a red pouch in preparation for such a time.”
“A red pouch?”
“There is such a thing.”
Namgung Cheon chuckled and looked toward the Eon Clan in the distance. Loud shouts and screams rose even higher from the Eon Clan.
Flames were also rising in a few places.
The main gate was already breached, turning into a pandemonium.
Indeed, at this rate, it would not be strange for them to suffer the disaster of clan extermination before long.
However, he had taken measures beforehand to prevent that from happening.
‘I really wanted to try it at least once. Hehehe.’
Namgung Cheon let out a satisfied smile inwardly.
In his past life, whenever he became a fugitive and was pursued, the pursuers would open a red pouch or a blue pouch depending on the situation.
Once, he was so curious about what was inside those pouches that after killing them all, he opened it himself.
Surprisingly, the Chief Strategist’s strategy suitable for each situation was contained within.
Namgung Cheon had imitated that.
“Since I gave it to Eon Ho-ryang, soon a countermeasure… ah no, I gave it to Paeng Su-hyeok, not Eon Ho-ryang. I get confused because both are built large and look simple-minded, but anyway, they will soon go find the Eon Clan Leader and ask him. That is what is important, you see.”
Ryu Nan tilted his head at the incomprehensible words.
* * *
At that time, fortunately, Paeng Jeok-ho and Paeng Su-hyeok were going to find the Eon Clan Leader, just as Namgung Cheon had anticipated.
“If it is the Eon Clan Leader, he might know what it means! Let’s go!”
“Yes, Father. Because that fellow Namgung Cheon might have made a mistake in handing it to Eon Ho-ryang.”
“Since both of you are built large and are brave.”
It was Paeng Jeok-ho who made a similar yet different judgment.