Chapter 1062

No matter how easy a life someone leads, they’re bound to meet a certain kind of madman at least once.

As for me, my life had been objectively rough—extremely rough—so that went without saying.

But I could say this with certainty:

Even I had never met anyone as purely insane as the oddball they called Great Sir.

…At this rate, should I start an encyclopedia of madmen?

I muttered to myself as I watched Great Sir’s back slowly recede into the distance.

Unable to find his true identity as Gaettong, he’d moved on to Sottong (Cow Poop) and Malttong (Horse Poop), completing a trilogy of poop names. Then he’d tried switching genders and becoming Jeomsuni. Jeok Cheongang had threatened to kill him, and now the horse-caravan riders were dragging him away to keep him apart from everyone else.

“I swear on everything I have…”

Standing shoulder to shoulder with me, Jeok Cheongang watched Great Sir go. His voice was grave.

“That man is one of two things: a highly trained Dark Heaven spy, or completely and utterly insane.”

Anyone who knew the circumstances would have nodded without thinking. I answered without hesitation.

“I doubt he’s a spy.”

“It’s true that he led the horse caravans of Ningxia Province to help our side. But we mustn’t trust him completely. You know that as well as I do, don’t you?”

Of course I did. I’d been stabbed in the back often enough to be sick of it.

First the Head Elder of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, then even the Murong Family, one of the Five Great Families, had joined forces with Dark Heaven. Blindly trusting some unidentified Supreme Peak master who’d crawled out of who-knows-where would be stupid.

But…

“There’s no reason we can’t trust him if we have enough evidence.”

“Evidence?”

At Jeok Cheongang’s question, I barely moved my lips.

“System.”

The brief Sound Transmission reached his ear, and his eyes widened.

I’d already told Jeok Cheongang what the System was, though the word meant nothing in this world. He lowered his voice.

“So what has that marvelous ability of yours told you?”

“He’s mad. Thoroughly mad.”

“Meaning he isn’t a spy?”

“Yes. I can’t say it with absolute certainty, though.”

“If you had to put a number on it?”

“Ninety-nine point nine percent. That’s the chance the madman—no, Great Sir—isn’t a spy.”

“Great Sir, my ass. He’s a lunatic.”

Jeok Cheongang frowned slightly and smacked his lips.

“You’re suspicious of everything, though it doesn’t suit you. If you’re saying this, you must be all but certain… So you think he truly suffers from madness?”

I hesitated, then nodded.

Even I, who thought I had a pretty good grasp of most of the System, had never encountered anything like this. I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure, but otherwise, there was no explaining why Great Sir’s name kept changing from one moment to the next.

At least he isn’t lying. Fooling the System is practically impossible, no matter what you try.

That left only one answer.

Gaettong, Sottong, Malttong, Jeomsuni—whatever the name, Great Sir firmly believed it was his, and the System reflected that belief.

In the purest sense of the word, he was mad.

“He’s dressed so badly that Myriad-Mile Pursuit, that head beggar, would weep. But he doesn’t look old enough to be suffering from the infirmities of old age… I haven’t the faintest idea where that stray cur came from.”

Jeok Cheongang had casually reduced the Beggars’ Sect Leader to “that head beggar.” He frowned, but even he had little chance of working out Great Sir’s identity on the spot.

Too many people remained hidden across the vast Nine Provinces and Eight Wastes, the Four Seas and Five Lakes.

Eccentrics in remote mountain valleys, far from the rest of the world. Heirs of secret sects who had chosen to be forgotten.

Fugitives and killers living quietly out of sight somewhere.

Jeok Cheongang himself had stayed shut away on Mount Jiuhua until he was nearly sixty, devoting himself entirely to martial arts. Great Sir might well be someone like him.

In fact, quite a few reclusive masters had joined the Murim Alliance since it was newly founded at the Mount Song Resolution.

Unlike Great Sir, of course, they must have been thoroughly vetted. The Murim Alliance wasn’t a college club. This was wartime, with betrayal and intrigue everywhere.

But how should I put it?

A sudden conviction came over me, and before I knew it, I’d spoken aloud.

“Let’s take him in as an ally.”

“What?”

“Like I said, I don’t think Great Sir is a Dark Heaven spy. No—I’m sure he isn’t.”

Jeok Cheongang looked at me in surprise. I sounded more certain than usual.

“Well, that’s strange. What makes you trust that suspicious madman so much?”

“That’s…”

I let the words trail off.

Honestly, I didn’t know.

The System didn’t tell me who was friend or foe. But alongside my curiosity about Great Sir, I felt a strangely strong conviction that this unidentified Supreme Peak master was not our enemy.

I couldn’t give a reason for it, even to myself.

…Maybe I’m just exhausted.

As soon as I remembered how tired I was, my vision wavered. I looked around.

After half a day of fighting, the snowfield was covered in blood and bodies.

People were clearing the battlefield, the brief joy of victory already forgotten. Birds had gathered in a black mass overhead, circling in the air.

Dark clouds hid the sky. The ground beneath them was red.

Through my wavering vision, it looked like a future that would repeat forever.

“Did we… really win?”

My voice came out faint. Jeok Cheongang answered.

“Yes. At least for today.”

But why?

Why, after defeating more enemies than I could count, saving so many lives, and finally winning a great victory that had kept Gansu Province safe—

Why, when I was still alive and breathing—

It didn’t feel like we’d won.

I wasn’t happy at all.

Not even when a clear chime rang in my ears.

Ding, ding, ding.

System Quest conditions have been met.

Mission: Eliminate all enemies in the Gansu Province area (Complete).

Quest Path of Blood successfully completed.

You have acquired a massive amount of EXP and Fame.

A new chain Quest has been created.

Would you like to check the updated information?

Y / N

I suddenly lifted my head.

Beyond the translucent holographic window, pitch-black clouds still hid the sky. I took a deep breath, and the air that sank deep into my body reeked of blood.

When would I finally be free of this sight?

How much more would I have to suffer, how many more deaths would I have to watch, before I could escape this horrible cycle?

But as always, I had no choice but to answer.

Accept.

It had been a cruel fucking day.

Crack. Crunch.

Beyond the faintly flickering candlelight, a pair of eyes watched a writhing shadow in silence as the gruesome sounds of tearing flesh filled the room.

At first glance, the eyes seemed so deeply sunk that it was impossible to guess what lay behind them. Even so, they held a trace of contempt and disgust—and that look remained even after the tearing sounds stopped.

The shadow’s convulsions gradually subsided. At last, it rose and immediately voiced its displeasure.

“You bitch. What’s with that look?”

It was a rough greeting after so long apart, but the woman paid it little mind.

She had always prided herself on being rational. She knew better than to expect a mere beast to show human courtesy.

That didn’t mean she had anything kind to say to it.

“Wipe yourself off. And stop stinking up the place.”

“What? I stink?”

At the woman’s sharp words, the shadow started to reply, then gave a quiet laugh.

“Fine. I’ll do as I’m told. You’re already in a bad mood, aren’t you?”

“…What nonsense are you talking about now?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know when it doesn’t suit you. Don’t. It makes you look pathetic.”

Swish.

Cloth slid over smooth muscle and skin.

In the darkness beyond the candlelight, the shadow wiped the blood from its body and spoke.

“Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung.”

“……!”

“I heard you nearly failed… So, how was it, you miserable bitch? You mocked me last time, but it wasn’t so easy when you had to face him yourself, was it?”

The Grand Sorceress silently bit her lip.

She had little room to argue. It was the truth.

When her silence dragged on, the shadow laughed aloud and continued.

“You should’ve been much more careful. I don’t care if you die, but you nearly caused a serious setback to the grand plan.”

The Grand Sorceress frowned at the continuing taunts and shot back.

“The same goes for you.”

“Isn’t it embarrassing to compare this with what happened then? I caused a bloodbath in the heart of the Central Plains with just a handful of idiots. Even squinting, you can see these are different matters.”

Step.

The shadow—no, the Blood Lord—chuckled as if to mock her, then stepped into the faint light.

“And I had an important item to secure on top of that.”

He had not shown himself since the Shaolin Bloodshed that shook the whole world. Now he crossed the spacious room with a jaunty stride.

He sat in a grand chair that bore the marks of centuries and gave off an inexplicable air of authority. Propping his chin on one hand, he gazed at the Grand Sorceress.

As if he were the ruler of a kingdom.

“Well, enough about the past. What matters is the present and the future. Don’t you agree?”

This time, the Grand Sorceress gave a quiet laugh.

She shook her head and stared at the Blood Lord sitting in the grand chair.

“Stop talking as if you’re someone important. You’re a stupid beast. No—a monster.”

“A monster, huh? To the people of the Central Plains, aren’t we as bad as each other?”

“No. Serving that person is the only thing we have in common. None of us is like you.”

Despite the contempt in her voice, the Blood Lord merely shrugged.

“True. That’s the first thing you’ve got right.”

“…What?”

The Grand Sorceress was taken aback by the response, which was nothing like what she’d expected. A smile, deep as blood, spread across the Blood Lord’s lips.

“Of course none of you is like me. No one—not even you—has ever achieved as much as I have.”

He laughed gleefully and stroked the grand chair.

More precisely, he stroked the two characters carved into part of it in a bold, vigorous hand.

Kunlun.

A whirling snowstorm swept past the jagged mountain peaks and crept into the Taiqing Hall, where the two of them faced each other.