Chapter 391: Love (4)

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We swept through each other’s souls as cautiously as a newlywed couple exploring on their wedding night. In that interval, I came to fully understand the human being named Peng Chae-hyang, and Peng Chae-hyang surely came to understand the person that was me.

Amidst all that, even our feelings toward each other. And now, I had become aware of it myself as well.

I was in love with Peng Chae-hyang.

What I had worried about until now was that I could not explain my love for Peng Chae-hyang. Thus, I had tried to trace its origin by attaching clues like why, how, and since when, but that was impossible even now.

However, the difference between then and now was that I no longer tried to search for a reason. The origin of love lay in a realm of secrets that no human could ever know. I felt that even a god might not comprehend everything about such magical love.

I loved Peng Chae-hyang.

Peng Chae-hyang loved me.

My love influenced Peng Chae-hyang’s love.

Peng Chae-hyang’s love influenced my love.

It was something that could not be explained even by knowledge before words or the laws of nature.

I slowly separated my forehead from Peng Chae-hyang’s.

“……Brother. Let me go. It is embarrassing. I have been crying, so my face must be a complete mess right now.”

Peng Chae-hyang whispered shyly. I chuckled at those words.

Of course, with tear stains and strands of hair clinging to her face, it could not be called neat, but that did not mean she was not lovely.

From the moment I became conscious that I loved her, every single part of her became endearing.

“No. It is fine.”

“It is not fine for me. I only want to show Brother my beautiful side.”

Because Peng Chae-hyang spoke unexpectedly firmly, I let her go. Peng Chae-hyang turned her back to me and lowered her head. All I could see of her turned-away figure was her reddened ears.

“Brother, you must have seen everything of the person that is me, right?”

“……That is right.”

“I am so embarrassed.”

Though I expressed it as having seen it, it actually felt halfway close to an experience. After all, as I swept through Peng Chae-hyang’s past, I had felt even all the emotions she experienced at those times.

“By the way, Brother. I also saw Brother’s past.”

“I suppose so.”

“However, beyond a certain point, I could not see anything. Brother certainly seemed to see from my very first memory. To be precise, the first memory was getting hit on the head with a wooden sword by an Immortal at Wudang Sect. There is no way that could be Brother’s first memory.”

I was slightly surprised, yet relieved. In fact, while revealing our souls to each other, what I had worried about most was the possibility that she might see the life before my regression.

Fortunately, however, Peng Chae-hyang could not see the life beyond the regression. As I guessed, because the regression itself was done by borrowing the power of a god, there was a high likelihood that even if it appeared before Peng Chae-hyang’s eyes, she could not interpret it. In that sense, she probably could not see anything regarding the Martial Talent Shop either.

“……Still, if I could not see it, there must be a good reason for it. In a way, it even feels like a blessing. Because from now on, there will be the joy of getting to know you.”

“I would be grateful if you think of it that way.”

The fact that Peng Chae-hyang could not see my memories to the very end posed no hindrance whatsoever to our love.

For love was fundamentally not mutual understanding, but mutual consideration. In showing consideration, knowing the past was merely a reference.

“By the way, did that not bother you? That my sense of kinship toward humans has currently diminished so much……”

“It does not matter at all. Whether Brother becomes an eagle or a single blade of grass, I will love you. The only person in this world who will receive my love is Brother.”

Even as Peng Chae-hyang spoke, her ears flushed even redder as if embarrassed.

“Rather, I was afraid of myself. Wondering if Brother would look deeply into the person that is me and become disappointed.”

“No. You were the exact same Chae-hyang I knew. To a wondrous degree.”

“Then may I hear your answer now?”

Peng Chae-hyang turned her head and looked at me. In truth, we had already confirmed our love for each other by now.

From then on, no expression or formality was necessary.

Even so, she wanted to hear those words from me.

“Of course. I, too, will love you for eternity.”

At my words, Peng Chae-hyang smiled brightly. At least at that moment, without any worries or anxieties.

“Thank you.”

Thinking about it, the world was not made up of mind alone. Superficial things were important as well. Frankly, just as I could not deny that her beautiful appearance played a role in my falling in love with Peng Chae-hyang.

Therefore, even though we had confirmed each other’s feelings like this, we still had to consciously express our love. Because that, too, was one of the pleasures of living.

“……This place will remain quite a famous spot.”

Peng Chae-hyang changed the subject. Having confirmed our love, it was time to face the tasks we had to do once again.

“When we restore the Peng Clan later, I should make this my father’s grave. Though there is nothing to bury, I will at least erect a small burial mound.”

“That is a good idea.”

Peng Chae-hyang gathered earth with her hands and built a burial mound at the spot where the spiritual qi was densest. Since it was merely raising a mound of earth, it did not take long.

“I will probably live my whole life with regret. For not having built a single memory with my father.”

Peng Chae-hyang spoke bitterly. I lightly embraced her with one hand.

She also knew how to separate public matters from private ones. Nor was she so foolish as to be unaware of the gravity of the current situation.

“So, what will Brother do now?”

“Now I must search for the Emperor. And the Heavenly Demon of the Blood Cult as well.”

“It will be dangerous for you.”

“You do not need to follow. For now, make the restoration of the clan your top priority.”

“Of course. Even if I begged, Brother would not take me along. Besides, I am in no situation to go either.”

Peng Chae-hyang spoke quietly. Peng Chae-hyang clearly seemed to want to go with me, but she had the remaining retainers of the Hebei Peng Clan. The duty to gather and look after them belonged to Peng Chae-hyang.

“Yeah. Then wait for me. Trust me.”

“Of course. Please return safely.”

Peng Chae-hyang embraced me. That meant a firm goal had now been established for me. Returning to Peng Chae-hyang.

Whether I was a godlike entity in a previous life did not matter. Thinking about it, from the perspective of a god, humans and animals were equal. Then from the standpoint of whatever primordial existence predated gods, would gods and humans not be largely indistinguishable?

Right now, I felt the emotions of a person named Muk Hui-yeong, and I held his experiences and memories. In that case, I was Muk Hui-yeong.

In that way, I determined the person that I was.

After embracing Peng Chae-hyang one last time, I intended to search for the Heavenly Demon of the Blood Cult again. However, I could sense it. The Heavenly Demon of the Blood Cult was undoubtedly watching from nearby.

And that expectation did not miss the mark.

As soon as I moved out of Peng Chae-hyang’s sight, the Heavenly Demon slowly stepped out from the dark forest.

“Ah. This is somewhat unexpected. And a bit disappointing.”

The Heavenly Demon emerged while clicking his tongue. Even while clicking his tongue, he did not withdraw his amused smile.

“What is? Are you regretful that the toy you made died?”

“A toy dying, what an amusing expression. Toys break; they do not die. Literally speaking, that fellow was a toy to me, and he was already practically dead.”

“What on earth did you do with Mae Su-il?”

I asked. The Heavenly Demon chuckled.

“Nothing much. He possessed tremendous potential, you see. I merely drew it out.”

“Potential?”

“You must have felt it as well, but the moment life burns most intensely is indeed when death draws closest. Then, paradoxically, one can say that a person right before death ultimately possesses the strongest vitality.”

“And so?”

“This fellow was mentally driven to death. Because he judged that he had no reason to live. Although he possessed such overwhelming despair, he could not suppress the instinctive desire to live that matched it in equal measure. How beautiful it is. The instinct of a human wishing to preserve life.”

“So, you egged that on and turned him into a monster.”

“It was merely a matter of transforming that power a little. Life truly holds infinite possibilities. The saying that a human is a small cosmos is not an empty phrase.”

I let out a sigh. In the end, was it not simply that Mae Su-il had been used? Amidst that despair.

I did not know well what kind of feelings he harbored, but it seemed he had not departed peacefully until the very end, which made my heart quite heavy.

“Why did you do that?”

I asked.

“What reason did you have to go that far? What was the reason for egging on even a person plunged into despair and turning him into such a monster?”

“I merely wished for you to read my intention. Because you are the only person in this world with whom I can communicate.”

The Heavenly Demon continued speaking.

“Love fundamentally cannot be eternal. Because it is impossible for two lovers to naturally die on the same day, at the same hour. Love is like a flame that suddenly blazes up, and from then on continues as cooling embers.”

I shook my head. I had also known it to be that way, but the emotion of love was an elusive entity that defied simple interpretation. Yet just because the Heavenly Demon made such an assertion, I had no obligation to correct him. For giving advice also required affection.

“That is why I say love is useless. Yet contrary to love, there is an emotion that burns eternally.”

“What is that?”

“Wrath. Humans fundamentally desire to seize what belongs to others and stand superior to others. For instance, suppose I harbor a grudge and wish to kill someone. Would that feeling vanish with the passage of time? No, rather, it will grow even greater. Therefore, the essence of humanity is wrath. The struggle stemming from wrath! Even if wrath is temporarily resolved, it is bound to well up again someday!”

I realized that the Heavenly Demon’s remarks right now were the very direction of the Blood Cult. In the end, the Blood Cult was survival of the fittest.

Until one became the Heavenly Demon, no formality, legitimacy, or methodology existed. The strongest person simply ascended to the top.

If that was based on the thoughts of that Heavenly Demon over there, it made sense.

“Look even now. How many people have split apart and are fighting? At any rate, my intention was for you to realize that the emotion called love was useless. But that foolish fellow failed to kill even the Peng Clan girl, yielding the opposite result. Of course, you were also faster than I anticipated.”

Ultimately, the Heavenly Demon’s intention was to draw out wrath from me by showing Peng Chae-hyang dying before my eyes.

I did not want to hear any more of the Heavenly Demon’s thoughts. He lived a life completely opposite to mine. There was no way I would be persuaded by him, nor was there any way he would be persuaded by me.

If so, there was ultimately no choice but to kill him. As I flared my momentum, the Heavenly Demon laughed.

“Ah, I also watched you fight. To be honest, it seemed I could not win right now. I figured I should come back after growing a bit stronger. I don’t think I can fight right away.”

“Who said I would let you leave?”

“There is no need to let me leave. I was never here in the first place.”

At that moment, something like smoke flowed from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth. Then the skin shriveled, discolored into black, and collapsed with a thud. Like a doll whose insides were completely hollowed out, he had fled leaving only a shell behind. This, too, appeared to be some kind of sorcery from the Blood Cult.

―We will meet soon. I promise it will not take long.

Leaving those final words to me via the Wisdom Light Mind Voice, the Heavenly Demon vanished.

I also knew it. That the duel with the Heavenly Demon was merely postponed for a brief moment.

However, the Heavenly Demon seemed to have made one mistake. During the time the Heavenly Demon went to become stronger, I could also grow stronger.

[ Martial God ― Grade 1 ]

[ Price : The Emperor’s Head ]

It was my turn to prepare for the end as well.