Chapter 98

The Qingcheng Sect was in a dilemma.

To seek revenge would invite the condemnation of the Jianghu, but to do nothing would invite its ridicule.

Having suffered such great losses, dispatching a large force was difficult, and there was no guarantee they could even deal with Pyo Wol.

As he had shown in their previous battle, Pyo Wol did not consider escape a disgrace.

Pyo Wol’s fighting style—escaping when at a disadvantage and reversing the tide of battle with surprise attacks—was the polar opposite of a Taoist sect like Qingcheng.

With the situation as it was, the Qingcheng Sect couldn’t even dream of making a move, which was why Goyeop Jin-in had ultimately stepped forward.

Until he arrived here, Goyeop Jin-in had thought of Pyo Wol as nothing more than an unforgivable demon. So he had intended to cut him down in a single stroke.

But the Pyo Wol he saw in person was not such an easy opponent, and he possessed a strange aura that couldn’t be simply dismissed as demonic.

The prayer-like energy he felt from Pyo Wol was somehow dark yet sharp. But he did not sense any evil qi from it.

He had no justification to fight, nor did the will to fight arise.

It was the first time he had ever faced such an opponent, and Goyeop Jin-in was quite flustered.

“Wu ting zhi yi er, er ting zhi yi xin.”

It was an old Taoist maxim: Do not listen with your ears, but listen with your heart.

Goyeop Jin-in blamed himself for acting solely on the grievances of the Qingcheng Sect’s martial artists. He should have looked at the situation with his heart, with a broader perspective.

In the end, all of this had happened because the Qingcheng Sect, unbecoming of a Taoist sect, had failed to maintain its purity.

By listening with his ears instead of his heart, he had heard the noise of others instead of the truth.

“Hah! How shameful. I’ve shown you an unsightly side of myself.”

“……”

“That the Qingcheng Sect has come to this is also the will of heaven, so please forgive my narrow-mindedness in trying to place the blame on you. But I am only human, so I cannot completely let go of my resentment toward you. Therefore, promise me just this one thing. From now on, please refrain from killing without reason. If you do, the Qingcheng Sect will not be an obstacle in your path.”

“I cannot make such a promise.”

“The Qingcheng Sect and I have yielded this much, and you can’t even make a single promise like that?”

“They say there’s a reason when a person kills another, but I’ve seen many who kill for no reason at all. The Jianghu I live in is not some deep mountain valley like the Qingcheng Sect, nor is it a place where people are so magnanimous that they can forget their grudges with a single laugh. There will be times when I must kill for no reason. That is the kind of place I live in. So if you cannot accept this part of me, then you should kill me.”

“Hoo!”

At Pyo Wol’s resolute words, Goyeop Jin-in slowly closed his eyes.

In an instant, countless thoughts rushed in like a tidal wave.

Should I retreat like this?

Or would it be better to face Pyo Wol right here and now, no matter the sacrifice?

Countless other thoughts filled his mind, throwing him into confusion.

‘Why on earth did heaven send down such a person?’

The thought suddenly occurred to him.

Goyeop Jin-in looked at Pyo Wol with his eyes closed.

He tried to see Pyo Wol not with his eyes, but with his heart. As he did, he felt a certain solid qi.

A qi as hard as a rock, as dark as pitch-blackness, and as strong as thunder and lightning.

These three seemingly incompatible types of qi combined to form the shape of the man called Pyo Wol.

Goyeop Jin-in thought that the sight he was witnessing was Pyo Wol’s true nature.

Nowhere in Pyo Wol’s essence could he see any evil.

He knew all too well that not all that is dark is evil, and not all that is bright is just.

‘Just as nothing in creation is useless, heaven must have sent this man down because he is needed somewhere. Yes! Let’s stop here.’

Goyeop Jin-in opened his eyes.

In that brief moment, his gaze had grown deeper.

“This old man has been too meddlesome. I apologize!”

“……”

“However, I want to say just one thing to you. The Heavenly Opportunity has a tendency to maintain balance. The same goes for Sichuan Province. But with Qingcheng and Emei, the two great pillars of Sichuan, having ceased their activities at the same time, others will try to take their place. If those who pursue the righteous path take their place, peace will be maintained, but if those who are not so inclined establish themselves, a great disaster will befall not only Sichuan Province but all under heaven. If you possess even a shred of compassion, I beg you to prevent such a situation.”

“……”

“I’m sorry for interrupting your pleasant time. If our paths are fated to cross again, let us meet then.”

Goyeop Jin-in rose from his seat.

He vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

Pyo Wol stared blankly at the spot where Goyeop Jin-in had disappeared.

“Mmm!”

Just then, Cho-hyang regained consciousness.

Staring blankly around for a moment, Cho-hyang muttered.

“Oh my! What in the world happened? How strange. For me to doze off in the middle of the day.”

She thought she had lost consciousness because she had briefly fallen asleep, never imagining that someone else had visited.

Pyo Wol reached out and wrapped his arm around Cho-hyang’s waist.

“Ah!”

The moment Pyo Wol’s hand touched her, Cho-hyang let out an involuntary moan.

Her body was now perfectly tamed by Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol brought his lips to the nape of Cho-hyang’s white neck and thought.

‘There’s no way I have something like compassion.’

At his deep breath, Cho-hyang’s body trembled.

＊＊＊

“Hah!”

Tang Sochu let out a sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

His entire body was soaked in sweat from the long hours of work.

Working near the furnace, which always spewed intense flames, meant there was never a moment for his sweat to dry.

At first, the suffocating heat was difficult, but he had now grown quite used to it.

Although his whole body was drenched in sweat, the fact that he could do what he loved to his heart’s content made him forget even his fatigue.

Tang Sochu suddenly looked behind him. He saw a boy squatting in the corner of the workshop, watching him.

It was the same boy who had appeared out of the blue a few days ago.

There was still a distance between them. Still, they were much closer than they had been at first.

The boy’s condition was better than before. He had been nothing but skin and bones, but now he had put on some weight and looked more human.

It was thanks to Tang Sochu taking care of his meals.

They had yet to exchange a single word, but the distance between them no longer felt as vast as it once had.

Tang Sochu said to the boy.

“Let’s go eat dinner. I bought an old hen, so we should be able to eat our fill tonight.”

Tang Sochu had splurged and bought an old chicken.

Although the meat would be tough, it would be more than enough for the two of them.

At the mention of an old hen, the boy showed a reaction for the first time.

“Chicken?”

“Yeah! Chicken. You know how to eat it, right?”

The boy nodded.

Tang Sochu headed to the kitchen.

The chicken, already prepared, was in the kitchen.

Tang Sochu skillfully began to butcher and cook the chicken.

Having lived alone for a long time, he was adept at most simple dishes.

The spicy, smoky aroma of fire spread through the kitchen.

In an instant, a spicy braised chicken dish was complete.

It was incredibly spicy, packed with spices.

Tang Sochu served the spicy braised chicken with rice.

“Let’s eat!”

At Tang Sochu’s words, the boy approached as if mesmerized and sat down.

After sniffing the air for a moment, the boy began to eat ravenously. Tang Sochu watched him for a moment before starting to move his own chopsticks.

The boy devoured the food Tang Sochu had made as if he were possessed by a hungry ghost.

In a flash, the bowl was empty.

A smile appeared on Tang Sochu’s lips.

Although he hadn’t been able to eat much because of the boy, he was satisfied nonetheless.

This strange cohabitation with the nameless boy had already continued for several days. During that time, Tang Sochu had never once asked about the boy’s past, and the boy had never spoken about himself.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, the boy threw up everything he had just eaten.

The chicken he had eaten so deliciously was now a thick mess soaking the floor.

“Are you okay?”

Tang Sochu asked, patting the boy’s back.

The boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve and nodded. His complexion was incredibly pale.

“Are you sick? Should we go to a physician?”

The boy shook his head without a word.

Tang Sochu looked at the boy with a worried expression.

He was a strange child.

He had appeared out of nowhere one day and settled in his workshop.

Judging by his appearance, he was clearly being chased by someone.

After sneaking into the workshop, the boy had not once stepped outside. It was as if he was afraid of someone.

“Hoo! I don’t know if letting you in was the right thing to do.”

Tang Sochu sighed.

The reason he hadn’t kicked the boy out was that he saw a reflection of his past self.

He hadn’t been chased like the boy, but he had spent his entire life living at the mercy of others, being mistreated.

Because of that, even though he had learned the Tang Clan’s secret transmissions, he had to live hiding his achievements.

If he hadn’t met Pyo Wol, his life would still be arduous.

Perhaps he would have been on the run from those who coveted the Tang Clan’s secret transmissions.

That was why the boy who had suddenly hidden in his workshop one day didn’t feel like a stranger.

As he cleaned up the mess the boy had made on the floor, Tang Sochu said.

“Are you hungry? Should I make you something else?”

“I’m… not hungry.”

“Really? You threw everything up.”

“I’m fine!”

The boy shook his head.

Tang Sochu wore a puzzled expression.

On the day he first came here, the boy had been pitifully thin.

He was just skin stretched over bones, hardly looking like a living person. That was why he had paid special attention to the food the boy ate.

As much as Tang Sochu cared for him, the boy ate the food and steadily recovered his strength. But at some point, he started to show signs of rejecting food.

It wasn’t that the boy was intentionally not eating; it seemed his body just couldn’t accept it, like now.

Until now, he had waited for the boy to open up on his own. But he couldn’t wait any longer.

It was time to talk to him and discuss his situation.

Tang Sochu asked cautiously.

“What’s your name?”

“Nam… Shin… woo.”

The boy spoke his name after searching his memory for a long time.

“Nam Shin-woo? That’s a good name. Where are you from?”

“Hef… ei.”

“Hefei? Isn’t that in Anhui Province? How did you get here from there? The distance must be over thousands of li.”

“I don’t know!”

Nam Shin-woo shook his head.

“Are you perhaps being chased by someone? Did you escape from somewhere?”

“People in black clothes.”

“Huh? They were wearing black clothes? Tell me more.”

“I don’t know!”

Nam Shin-woo shook his head again.

He furrowed his brow, trying to remember, but his mind was as foggy as if it were shrouded in mist.

“Ugh!”

Nam Shin-woo let out a pained groan.

The way his eyes rolled back and his body trembled like someone having a seizure was anything but ordinary.

“It’s okay! You don’t have to force yourself to remember.”

Tang Sochu quickly hugged the boy to calm him down.

‘He’s cold.’

The boy’s body temperature was so low it felt like he was hugging a block of ice.

Being held by Tang Sochu, the boy calmed down to some extent. But his body temperature did not easily return to normal.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll get a blanket.”

Tang Sochu patted the boy’s shoulder and stood up.

He was walking toward the chair where he had placed a blanket.

CRASH!

Suddenly, the workshop’s ceiling shattered and someone burst in.

“Found you.”

The intruder bared his yellow teeth and grinned.

“Who are you?”

Tang Sochu shouted in surprise, but the man ignored him.

“So you were hiding here. And to think I was searching all the wrong places.”

The man, grumbling as he revealed his killing intent, was none other than the youngest of the Seven Stars Hall, Raging Wind Blood Scatter Blade Jo Samcheok.

Jo Samcheok strode toward Nam Shin-woo.

“Stop!”

Tang Sochu hurriedly tried to stop Jo Samcheok.

“Annoying…”

Jo Samcheok swung his log-thick arm at Tang Sochu as if swatting a fly.

Thwack!

Tang Sochu flew and collapsed without even a scream.

Seeing this, a light of fury ignited in Nam Shin-woo’s eyes.

“Aaaargh!”

Nam Shin-woo let out a monstrous scream and charged at Jo Samcheok.

“What the?”

Jo Samcheok subconsciously swung his blade at Nam Shin-woo, who was charging ferociously like a wild beast.

Slice!

His blade cut precisely across Nam Shin-woo’s chest.

The sensation of the blade slicing through muscle and bone was vividly transmitted to his hand.

Nam Shin-woo’s chest was split wide open, revealing raw red flesh and white breastbone, and blood poured from the wound like a waterfall.

It was a fatal wound that not even the Great Golden Immortals could heal.

“Ah! They said to bring him back alive…”

Jo Samcheok scratched his head vigorously.

The request they had received was to bring the target back alive, no matter what. But since he had carelessly killed the target, he was unlikely to get the full price.

“Well, I’ll probably get half price if I bring back the corpse.”

Jo Samcheok wrinkled his nose and walked toward Nam Shin-woo’s body.

Just then, something unbelievable happened.

“Heok!”

Nam Shin-woo, who he thought was dead, let out a bizarre breath and stood up.

“What the?”