Chapter 382: Self-Immolation (3)
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For what purpose was I moving right now? I could not tell. I was simply moving wherever my heart led me. That was the only way I could explain it.
The only part I could explain rationally was setting my direction toward Beijing. The Emperor sought to kill me, and because of that, I too sought to kill the Emperor. There was no motivation more succinct and rational than that.
However, following Su Je-heon right now had an ambiguous motivation. Killing the Emperor and Su Je-heon were entirely unrelated, after all.
“We go to Luoyang.”
Su Je-heon led his martial artists and headed toward Luoyang. It was the most bustling city closest to Mount Song. I could not fathom even why he was heading to Luoyang. Was he simply going there to regroup? If so, there was no need for me to pursue him.
‘However…’
My transcendental senses were speaking to me. That Su Je-heon was not going merely to regroup.
It was a choice uncharacteristic of my usual self. I was someone who chose not to act if I could not explain the ‘why’ even to myself. That was because it minimized the probability of failure as much as possible.
Yet there was no way I could explain it. The transcendental senses themselves were inexplicable in nature.
‘Since some point in time, the things I cannot explain have been increasing.’
It was a memory from truly long ago, but Mother’s words came to mind.
―Hui-yeong. There are many things in this world that cannot be explained in words. That is why the heart is important. Cultivate the way to convey your heart before learning how to convey through words.
Back then, I could not understand it in the slightest. Because I thought words were the very expression of the heart. But only now did I come to feel it. Words could not be a complete expression of the heart. They were an imperfect catalyst.
Looking back on it now, Mother gave me so much wise advice. Even now, many of those words provided enlightenment.
If Mother were still alive, I wanted to ask her. What should one do with a heart that had grown so immature that it could not even be converted into words?
“What do you plan to do upon going to Luoyang?”
Just then, someone asked. It was the question I was most curious about. Seeing that question asked, even the masters following along seemed not to know Su Je-heon’s objective.
“You all only need to follow my orders. What need is there for you to know beforehand?”
Su Je-heon spoke coldly. However, the master who had spoken shook his head.
“To be honest, I did not expect you to wipe out the very roots of Shaolin. I followed along because you said we were going to save Shaolin, but had I known it would turn out like this, I would never have followed.”
Shaolin Temple was the symbol of the orthodox martial world. Therefore, that martial artist’s objection was entirely understandable.
Though they had clashed with Shaolin, the cause of that clash lay with Su Je-heon, and in truth, killing all of Shaolin’s monks was an excessive measure. What I felt, the masters of the Palace of Heavenly Worship who followed him were also feeling in the exact same way.
“I did not utter a single wrong word. That was the method to save Shaolin.”
Su Je-heon spoke brazenly. The masters let out hollow laughs. Having slaughtered all the masters who were the pillars of Shaolin, what on earth was he talking about?
Yet Su Je-heon sincerely believed so. When viewed with the Heavenly Eye, his words were brimming with absolute sincerity. Though I had known it from before, he was truly and genuinely a madman.
Of course, I was the only one capable of discerning that sincerity. Naturally, the masters following him could not help but feel that he was mocking and deceiving them.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Vice Palace Lord. You truly seem to have lost your mind. I can no longer follow the Vice Palace Lord.”
It was a situation where it became clear that the trust Su Je-heon was supposed to possess as a leader was completely shattered. Su Je-heon had wanted to become the leader of a new orthodox martial world. Yet far from a new orthodox martial world, he was not even recognized as the standard-bearer within his own faction.
Su Je-heon was not a foolish person, so he surely knew. That his lifelong dream had gone down the drain. Having the tower he built over an entire lifetime crumble, it would be normal to waver a little, yet Su Je-heon did not bat an eyelid.
“Are you saying you will not follow me?”
“That is correct. It would be better to throw ourselves into the New Justice Association instead.”
The masters reacted sharply as well. At those words, Su Je-heon’s expression hardened. Since I had not expected the New Justice Association to be mentioned among them so suddenly, I too pricked up my ears.
“Throwing yourselves into the New Justice Association, is it? Why not wash your hands in a golden basin instead?”
“We are still in our prime. Would we retire already? Since the Vice Palace Lord is no longer our master, please do not concern yourself any further.”
The master spoke coldly. Su Je-heon shook his head.
“That is not it. It is simply that I cannot bear to watch you all go over to the New Justice Association.”
“What ugly jealousy. Thinking about it now, it seems far more right for the New Justice Association Leader, who has consistently carried out his conviction, to become the leader of the orthodox faction. The caliber of the vessel is entirely different.”
Now, the masters were speaking recklessly without filter. A severing of ties with Su Je-heon was practically certain.
“Haha. Is that so?”
Su Je-heon let out a hearty laugh. And immediately, a blue light flashed in his eyes as he swung his sword downward diagonally. Even my eyes momentarily failed to follow it, so there was no way the master could react even if he wanted to.
“…Keugh.”
The upper torso, cleanly severed at a diagonal cross-section, slipped off and tumbled to the ground.
“A-Are you insane! Vice Palace Lord!”
The masters were utterly shocked. No matter what, they seemed not to have expected him to slaughter a subordinate who had followed him until now in such a manner.
“Have you truly been stricken with madness!”
The masters drew their blades in an instant. Though fewer in number than Shaolin’s monks, these men were masters Su Je-heon had handpicked himself from across the Central Plains. The average level of each individual’s martial arts was overwhelmingly high.
“Even for the Vice Palace Lord, this will not be easy!”
“Since when did martial artists fight with their mouths?”
A frosty light entered Su Je-heon’s eyes. However, looking at it myself, because the martial proficiency of each person Su Je-heon had to face was high, it truly seemed that this time it would not be easy even for Su Je-heon.
Of course, I had no reason to help Su Je-heon here. If I were to help anyone, I should have helped when Shaolin Temple was being destroyed.
“Crazy bastard!”
Su Je-heon immediately kicked off the ground and rushed at the nearest master. Earlier, the man had suffered helplessly because he had never dreamed Su Je-heon would strike, but once mentally prepared, none of them were weak enough to be taken down in a single blow.
“Deploy the sword formation!”
The masters all began to move in perfect order. As seasoned veterans with deep experience in the jianghu, they formed a square battle formation on their own.
Su Je-heon and the sword formation of the Palace of Heavenly Worship’s masters collided. I had watched the process leading up to their fight, yet I still could not understand.
Unless, just as the masters said, Su Je-heon had truly fallen into madness. Madness did not necessarily require frothing at the mouth in convulsions. There was such a thing as quiet madness like this.
Kugugugwang!
One side of the hill they were standing on was sheared clean through and collapsed. Giant trees were severed and fell, raising dust storms of earth, and through the dust, sword light danced wildly.
The masters and Su Je-heon fought as if they truly wanted to tear each other apart. They radiated a ferocious killing intent that made it unbelievable they were on the same side just moments ago.
Su Je-heon’s Ink Sword vibrated, releasing Sword Force. Su Je-heon’s Sword Force was too powerful for a single master to block. Three people rushed in at once to block the Sword Force sweeping across the ground.
“He cannot use astral qi all day long. If we hold out, we win.”
One of the masters muttered in a low voice.
The fundamental strategy for lesser experts when facing a superior master was a battle of attrition. It was draining his strength. In truth, recklessly expending astral qi like that weakened one’s stamina, so it was a sufficiently valid strategy.
“It is precisely because you are so foolish and think only of self-preservation that you die.”
Su Je-heon sneered. In the blink of an eye, Su Je-heon appeared hovering right above the head of the martial artist guarding the core of the sword formation.
Everyone was shocked. In every formation, there were Life Gates and Death Gates. A person inside a formation always had to move toward the Life Gate. That was because entering a Death Gate invited unblockable attacks from all directions.
Yet right now, Su Je-heon had charged straight into the core of the sword formation, the Death Gate where attacks could strike from all eight directions.
From the perspective of the masters, it was an unpredictable move, but it remained a self-destructive maneuver nonetheless.
“You are hastening your own demise!”
The blades of the masters all converged upon Su Je-heon. It was not called a Death Gate for nothing. No matter how Su Je-heon attempted to dodge, there were swords that could not be evaded. Su Je-heon was slashed and impaled by numerous blades.
Despite those fatal wounds, Su Je-heon did not let out a single groan. He simply struck the head of the person stationed at the core with his sword hilt, smashing it to pieces.
“Hehehe.”
Su Je-heon let out a chuckle. The conquering of the Death Gate meant the formation was broken. Toward the masters whose battle line was thrown into disarray in an instant, Su Je-heon swung his sword.
Su Je-heon’s Sword Force radiated outward toward the enemies on all sides, glowing in a hemispherical shape.
“Crazy!”
It was truly severing the flesh to break the bone. No, with fatal wounds of that degree, it was severing the bone to break the bone. It was effectively mutual destruction. Because Su Je-heon’s internal organs were also pierced and slashed by sword qi loaded with immense internal energy.
The masters were swept away by Su Je-heon’s Sword Force. Caught off guard by Su Je-heon’s unpredictable strike, the upper halves of the masters were all severed clean off.
Su Je-heon was right. Had they been even slightly cautious of the Death Gate, they would never have been wiped out all at once like that. Having had no inkling that Su Je-heon would cast his own body away and charge, they were struck completely unawares.
“Haha, hahaha!”
Looking at his former subordinates who were spurting blood, Su Je-heon laughed out loud.
There was neither respect nor regret for his former subordinates. Leaving their corpses behind in the mountainous terrain, Su Je-heon continued his steps toward Luoyang. Seeing blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, his internal injuries were clear.
Even so, Su Je-heon kept walking toward Luoyang. The reason for going to Luoyang seemed not to have disappeared yet. Just what did he intend to do in Luoyang? I continued to track him silently.
Su Je-heon led his steps without even using lightness arts. He appeared to be conserving his strength. Suffering internal injuries, channeling internal energy would also be difficult for him.
To be honest, I truly wanted to have what one might call a conversation with that lunatic. It was the first time I encountered someone I could not understand despite possessing the Heavenly Eye. Normally, if someone were an immortal, they could not be seen with the Heavenly Eye at all, but for mortals, emotions were visible through the Heavenly Eye.
Right now, Su Je-heon’s emotions were visible with utmost clarity, yet what the cause was and what his ulterior motive was remained completely incomprehensible. This was entirely separate from my diminished empathy for human beings.
Thus, in an accompaniment that was not quite an accompaniment, I headed toward Luoyang alongside Su Je-heon. Of course, it was an accompaniment that only I was aware of.
Upon entering Luoyang, Su Je-heon recuperated. Having suffered internal injuries, nursing them was only natural. It seemed to have taken several days.
Even during that time, I had to keep watching to see what mischief Su Je-heon might commit. When Su Je-heon appeared to have recovered his physical condition, he immediately marched out into Luoyang’s busy downtown area. I followed him. And right away, Su Je-heon spouted insane nonsense.
“Commoners of Luoyang, listen! By order of the imperial palace, I have come to eradicate the sprouts of civil rebellion! If you do not wish to die, cooperate with me at once!”
In the end, he intended to conduct an ideological screening and search. Usually, such things were carried out in cooperation with the government army. Yet right now, Su Je-heon was trying to do it all by himself. I could not understand what he planned to accomplish alone.
“Hmm. You look like you might be guilty.”
And grabbing one of the commoners in Luoyang, Su Je-heon uttered those words and severed the man’s neck. Even groundless accusations had their limits; Su Je-heon was unmistakably insane.
“Aaaaargh!”
“A madman!”
At Su Je-heon’s sudden murder in broad daylight, the commoners panicked in chaos.
Was this martial deviation? Long ago, it was said there was a madman who succumbed to deviation and slaughtered an entire village. While I did not know what had happened to Su Je-heon, right now, he was a madman.
Now, no matter how detached I was, I could no longer just stand by and watch. Just as Su Je-heon’s blade was about to cut down another innocent commoner, I appeared before him.
“Oh.”
Seeing me, Su Je-heon surprisingly wore an overjoyed expression, as if having reunited with an old friend after a long separation.
“You arrived earlier than expected.”
And even when viewed with the Heavenly Eye, Su Je-heon was genuinely happy to see me.