Chapter 1082

At the same time, Jin Taekyung wasn’t the only one watching the public executions from a pavilion overlooking the streets of Xining.

Shhk!

A dozen or so heads rolled from the flashing blades.

Fountains of blood erupted, the headless bodies slumped, and the crowds blanketing the streets roared.

“Waaaaah!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“The Marquis of Shangshan has punished the corrupt officials!”

“You fiends! Rot in hell!”

Some people threw up both hands in celebration. Others, their anger still unsated, kept cursing and jeering.

But the young man looking down at them wore a conflicted expression.

“…Hmm.”

A low groan slipped from his lips. Then someone’s voice suddenly pierced his ears.

“Oh, there you are.”

He spun around in alarm, then sighed in relief when he recognized the unexpected visitor.

“You startled me! When did you get here?”

“When did I get here? We all arrived yesterday. Are you an idiot?”

“Um, Uncle… I wasn’t asking when you came to Xining…”

“Then what?”

The shabby, middle-aged man—Great Sir—looked genuinely puzzled. The young man clicked his tongue.

“No, you’re right, Uncle Great Sir. We got here yesterday.”

“As I suspected. You are an idiot. Kang Pung, you’re far too naïve for your age.”

“It’s Cheongpung.”

“That’s exactly what I said. Kang Pung.”

For a moment, the young man—no, Cheongpung—was at a loss for words. He scratched his chin.

They’d only met a few days ago, and even Cheongpung, whose mind ranged far beyond the limits of ordinary people, sometimes found the man difficult to understand.

For most people, of course, it probably wouldn’t be sometimes. It would be all the time.

“…I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“The world is vast. You should broaden your horizons like this maiden.”

“Hmm. I’ve been meaning to say this since we first met, but I thought ‘this maiden’ was what women called themselves.”

“So?”

“Huh?”

“Judging people by appearances alone is a grave mistake. What matters is the essence. Only then can you understand the truth hidden within.”

For a moment, Great Sir almost seemed to possess some profound insight. Cheongpung stared at him blankly before he finally spoke.

“You sounded a little like an immortal just then.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah. But at the same time, you seemed a little… unimpressive.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? I don’t mind, being this maiden and all, but someone else might be hurt by that.”

“Oh! I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Being stupid isn’t a sin.”

“…Okaaay.”

Cheongpung answered without thinking. He was still wondering whether that had been the right response when the roar outside swelled. Great Sir came over to look out the window.

“How cruel.”

Cheongpung followed his gaze, and his face stiffened.

Some of the crowd were desecrating the bodies of the executed men.

“…It is. I shouldn’t have looked.”

“You seemed down when I saw you from behind a little while ago. Was that why?”

“I never get used to killing. If I were as strong-willed as my Benefactor, I’d be much better off.”

Muttering almost to himself, Cheongpung thought of Jin Taekyung.

No matter what waves of hardship and adversity rose before him, Taekyung always pressed on, never wavering.

People praised the two of them as the Two Dragons, but to Cheongpung, Jin Taekyung was someone to look up to. Not because of strength or talent in martial arts. He admired the way Taekyung lived.

Perhaps that was why Great Sir’s next words left him speechless.

“Did you know? This world calls someone who’s grown used to killing a Killing Ghost.”

“…!”

“The strong-willed ones simply don’t show it. They haven’t gotten used to it. They’re closer to being worn out and utterly exhausted. Someone I knew was like that, too.”

“Do you know someone like that, Uncle?”

“I told you. Broaden your horizons like this maiden.”

Great Sir let out an enormous yawn, then continued.

“But he chose to accept the reality and fate he was dealt. The person you want to be like probably feels the same way.”

“…Uncle Great Sir, is this really who you are?”

“What on earth do you mean, ‘is this who I am’?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Cheongpung blinked at how easily the words had come from Great Sir’s mouth, then let out a long sigh.

“You’re right. I was so stupid that I spoke without thinking.”

“I’ll say it again: being stupid isn’t a sin. And those men being desecrated even after death aren’t the real sinners, either.”

“They aren’t?”

“Oh, of course they’re sinners. They committed crimes worthy of death, so they deserved to die. But isn’t the real sinner the one who created this hell?”

Great Sir pointed toward the endless sky, gloomy and overcast even at midday.

“I don’t know if the Supreme Deity or whatever is up there, but I’ll bet my balls he’s not all that impressive.”

Cheongpung, who had been listening to Great Sir with a serious expression, tilted his head.

“Um, only men like me have those…”

“I told you, I have them too.”

“No, I mean, I have them too.”

“Then that settles it.”

Great Sir continued solemnly.

“You’re clearly a woman like me.”

The Cheongpung of the past might have wondered if that was true. But over the past two years or so, he had acquired at least a little common sense.

“My Second Grandfather said I’m a man.”

“Really? And did your Second Grandfather have them, too?”

“Yeah. I caught a glimpse while he was peeing. He caught me right away, though, and I nearly died.”

“I see.”

Great Sir considered this gravely, then gasped.

“Now I understand.”

“What?”

“He isn’t your grandfather. From now on, call him Second Grandmother.”

“…Be careful. If that gets back to him, he might really kill you.”

“Second Grandmother can’t kill this maiden. Even Slow Slicing,¹ that vicious great fiend, eventually knelt before me. Though he ended up in Baekdu Gangsan’s belly.”

“Are you talking about Taishan?”

“Well, same difference. How many times must I tell you? What matters is the essence.”

Cheongpung rubbed his temples. For some reason, his head was spinning.

“Whenever I talk to you, I get confused. This has never happened to me before.”

“I understand. Your Intelligence is low.”

“I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve called me stupid. Is that why you came to find me?”

“Of course not. Do I look like I have that much free time?”

Cheongpung answered with more certainty than ever.

“Yes.”

“Not at all. The reason I came to find you was…”

Great Sir had begun confidently, but his voice faltered.

“The, um, reason…”

“Uncle Great Sir.”

“Why do you keep interrupting me? I’m trying to tell you.”

“That was the first time I called you. Be honest—you don’t remember why you came, do you?”

“What nonsense!”

Great Sir snapped, then added hesitantly, “Truthfully, it’s a little hazy. But it can’t have been important, so let’s move on.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t important?”

“I’m sure. I think someone may have asked me to come get you, but if it had been terribly important, I’d remember.”

Just as Great Sir answered firmly, as if to allow no further argument, someone’s presence came rushing toward them from far away.

“Young Hero Cheongpung! Where are you? Damn it, Young Hero Cheongpung!”

A familiar voice. A familiar face.

Cheongpung raised a hand when he spotted Hyuk Mujin hurrying this way and that.

“Oh, Warrior Hyuk!”

“I’m going crazy. Why are you still here? And where’d that Great Sir go?”

“Huh? Uncle Great Sir is right here with me…”

Cheongpung trailed off and blinked.

Great Sir had been standing beside him a moment ago. Now he was crouched close behind Cheongpung, hiding.

“…Uncle?”

“Shh. Pretend you don’t know me. Is your Intelligence really that low?”

Cheongpung had no chance to answer.

Before he could even feel exasperated at Great Sir’s simple yet flawless concealment technique, Hyuk Mujin hurried over, panting, and said something that struck Cheongpung like a bolt of lightning.

“This is no time to stand around! The Potala Palace in Tibet has joined forces with Dark Heaven!”

“…!”

Cheongpung’s eyes widened.

But Hyuk Mujin wasn’t finished. What came next was an even greater shock.

“And that’s not all! Seafaring King Pa Ryun and Green Forest Battle King Tae Gunak…”

Ever since the conflict with Dark Heaven had begun in earnest, the Murim Alliance had feared the Murim forces of Tibet might join them.

Now Mujin had named the two giants who divided the dark-path Murim between them. Cheongpung knew what word would follow.

Betrayal.

And, as always, his ominous suspicion soon became certainty.

“The smell of manure carried a hundred li.² I knew it had to be you.”

The first to break the silence was a massive old man.

His blazing eyes were more intense than the sharp edge of the crescent-bladed guandao in his hand, and the aura pouring from his entire body was as vast as a surging wave.

As vast as his title: the Seafaring King.

“Better than the smell of fish. You’ve spent your whole life eating it raw. Your belly must be crawling with worms by now. How about you quit your life at sea and come work under this old man?”

But the other old man, standing a little over thirty meters³ away, was no pushover either.

He was remarkably small, his bones as thin as twigs. Though he looked too old to wring a chicken’s neck, he had every right to sneer at Pa Ryun.

If Seafaring King Pa Ryun was the king of the Yangtze, this man ruled the mountains.

The man who had built the Green Forest Alliance of today—the Green Forest Battle King, Tae Gunak.

“‘This old man,’ my ass. You’re a squirt, yet you run your mouth like that. Did you swallow some rotten sewage?”

“Funny, calling me a squirt over a mere one-year age difference. And even if we’re only counting our experience in Murim, I’m clearly your Senior.”

“Is that why you started calling yourself a king? Because no one would count you among the Ten Kings?”

Pa Ryun fired back as if he’d been waiting for the chance. Tae Gunak’s gaze darkened.

“Your tongue’s always been the problem.”

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

The two old men stared at each other in silence. Their auras had taken on visible form, billowing above their shoulders.

As if they might fight to the death at any moment.

But the next instant—

Whoosh.

The two giants of the dark-path Murim swiftly suppressed their auras and quietly clicked their tongues.

Both had spent their lives using any means necessary to get what they wanted. Neither knew when their long rivalry would end, but both knew it wouldn’t be today.

“How’s the plan?”

“Going smoothly. Just as we were told.”

Tae Gunak looked toward the dense forest behind him, his gaze darkening, then added to Pa Ryun:

“Don’t forget. Two days. Two days from now.”

His voice was deep and low.

“Take control of the Yangtze. That’s where it begins.”