Chapter 479

The world collapsed, then rebuilt itself once more.

The ferocious red pupil, the surging river, and the beautifully crafted silver hairpin all vanished. In their place came reality beyond the memory.

Whoooooosh.

I slowly blinked. The curtain of water surrounding my body scattered, and my changed surroundings came into focus.

At the same time, time itself—frozen as though someone had pressed pause—began moving again.

Then, in the next instant, the chill in the air and a flood of System notifications crashed over me like a dam bursting all at once.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

Memory Fragment has ended!

The Quest information has been updated because the Mutated Water God Dragon has regained its reason!

In accordance with the updated Quest information, the mission has been recognized as successful!

Surprise Quest, Corrupted Spirit Beast, has been successfully completed!

You have gained a tremendous amount of EXP and Fame!

Level Up!

Level Up!

With the Level Up notifications, a mysterious power breathed new vitality into my exhausted body and replenished my depleted internal energy.

And yet, for some reason, I could barely breathe.

Honglan. It was Honglan.

Yes. It had been her.

The Lower District Sect member who had survived the tragedy at Dongting Lake alongside Ju Wongong. A breathtaking beauty capable of swaying an entire nation.

The owner of the hairpin in my hair was the one who had corrupted a benevolent imugi¹ and stained Dongting Lake and the Yangtze with blood—the culprit behind every incident that had occurred in Hubei Province.

Why hadn’t I realized it? Where had the lies begun, and where had the truth ended?

Gate. Magical power. Honglan. Dark Heaven.

Countless questions and thoughts flashed through my mind in a single instant. My overloaded brain felt ready to burst.

As I trembled at the unbelievable reality, I spotted three figures shooting toward me.

Jeok Cheongang was in the lead, his face contorted with fury.

“You bastard, how dare you—!”

Thinking about it, the scene was easy to misread.

My conversation with the Water God Dragon and the time I had spent inside the Memory Fragment had both taken place within an incredibly brief instant. To everyone else, I had been standing there perfectly fine before suddenly starting to act strangely.

Jeok Cheongang’s furious bellow snapped me back to reality, and I shouted like a bolt of lightning.

“Old Master!”

“……!”

We could understand each other’s intentions with nothing more than a glance.

The moment Jeok Cheongang recognized the emotion in my shout, an exclamation mark appeared in his eyes. At the same time, the fist he had been driving forward forcefully changed direction.

Whoom, kwaaaaaang!

It missed by no more than a hair.

The Fist Force narrowly avoided the Water God Dragon and slammed into the surface of the now-calm lake.

The heat carried by the Scorching Yang Qi was so intense that every trace of moisture within a radius of several jang² evaporated in an instant.

The Water God Dragon was already at death’s door.

If that attack had struck it, there would not even have been time for a final conversation.

“You bastard, why—!”

—Were you worried about your Disciple? A fine master indeed.

“Gasp!”

It was obvious that the mental intent the Water God Dragon had sent out had not reached me alone.

Jeok Cheongang sucked in a short breath and stepped back. Mungyeong and Cheongpung arrived immediately afterward, both looking as though they had seen a ghost.

“What in the world was that just now?”

“Uh, even Mimi can’t do anything like that.”

……Shlick.

Our reflections appeared in the Water God Dragon’s deep, clear eyes. Jeok Cheongang asked in a trembling voice,

“What… What in the world are you?”

—Some call me a divine spirit. Others call me a monster. You must find the answer to that question for yourself.

Grrr.

The Water God Dragon exhaled with difficulty and continued sending its mental intent.

—Before the end, I should thank you. Had you not intervened, I would have remained a hideous evil beast until my final breath…

The mental intent that had rung clearly inside our minds gradually faded.

The light was already draining from the Water God Dragon’s clear eyes.

It’s dying? Just like this?

I looked at Mungyeong with the last of my hope, but the man who also bore the sobriquet Divine Physician merely shook his head, his expression grim.

“It’s already too late. Even a Great Firmament Immortal couldn’t stop it now.”

—You speak the truth, one who walks between life and death.

One who walks between life and death.

Mungyeong’s neatly shaped brows twitched at the words that had seen straight through his identity.

“You… know me?”

—Though I failed to ascend to the heavens, I cultivated for many long years. I saw every one of you here in my dreams.

What exactly had been happening in the dreams the Water God Dragon claimed to have?

It was an imugi¹ that had lived for five hundred years. Even now, with all its strength exhausted and death close at hand, it possessed a depth and mystery beyond anything I could fathom.

As though gazing at something beyond human understanding, the Water God Dragon stared into the empty air over our shoulders and sent out its mental intent.

—Unfortunately, this is as far as I am permitted to go. Though I cannot speak of the heavenly patterns³… yes, I suppose I may leave one gift behind before I depart.

A gift?

None of us had time to voice the question.

In the next instant, my eyes widened at the faint cluster of light emerging from the blood-soaked corner of the Water God Dragon’s mouth.

Shhhhhhh.

It was a pearl, glowing softly.

As though lifted by an invisible hand, it slipped free of the Water God Dragon’s mouth and floated into the air. Then it began to tremble.

Whoom.

A vibration traveled through the air.

At the same time, the black stain covering much of the pearl melted away. Each time part of it vanished, the pearl visibly shrank.

This is…

What I could see was only part of it.

I could feel the sheer magnitude and depth of the qi contained within the pearl, and the sight unfolding before me brought a single word to mind.

Purification.

At last, when the transformation was complete, an irrepressible gasp escaped someone’s lips.

“Ah.”

Shhhhhhh.

The pearl now shone with a radiance far brighter than before.

Although it had shrunk to roughly the size of an ordinary pill, the crystal of qi, cleansed of every impurity, contained power of immeasurable clarity and depth.

So pure.

It was an incredibly powerful crystal of qi.

As all of us stared at it in awe—

Slither.

The crystal of energy slowly drifted through the air and stopped in front of me. At the same time, the Water God Dragon’s mental intent rang out.

—This is my Origin Essence. Humans call it an inner core.

“……!”

—Though it is insignificant compared to what it once was, it will surely become a great source of strength. Please use it where it is needed.

I had no reason to refuse.

I stared at the crystal with trembling eyes, then reached out and took it.

Ding.

System

Water God Dragon’s Origin Essence acquired!

The System notification rang in my ears.

Having given me everything it possessed, the Water God Dragon slowly blinked.

A faint smile lingered in its eyes as it gazed up at the clear sky.

—So this is where it ends…

Grrr.

Along with the fading mental intent, the final breath of the imugi¹ that had failed to become a dragon escaped from its blood-soaked mouth.

Then everything stopped, and silence descended.

I reached out and closed the Water God Dragon’s eyes, which had grown cold and stiff.

You’ve worked hard.

I had witnessed the Water God Dragon’s life through the Memory Fragment.

It had been a mysterious being far beyond any ordinary spiritual creature, and a benevolent one that had sacrificed itself to prevent an even greater disaster.

So at least in its final moment, it deserved the right to meet death on its own terms.

Not as a sacrifice for someone else’s Level Up, but as a natural death.

But there was one person—no, one bitch—who was the exception, no matter what.

…Honglan.

I pulled the silver hairpin from my hair.

It gave off a scent so faint that even my keen sense of smell could barely detect it. I stared at it in silence, then turned to the still-confused Jeok Cheongang.

“Want to go catch a snake?”

“First tell me what the hell is going on… What? A snake?”

“Yes. A flower snake.”⁴

A clear peal of laughter rang across the deck of the military vessel, drawing everyone’s attention.

Though the laughter was not the only reason they were looking.

Every man with eyes had been stealing glances at her since before they boarded the vessel. She was that beautiful.

“Good heavens. Even her laughter is beautiful.”

When a middle-aged man in a military uniform muttered wistfully, the colleague beside him scolded him.

“Your wife should have seen you just now.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things. I’d rather lock eyes with Yama.”⁵

“You’re old enough to know better, and you have five children as cute as rabbits. Are you seriously acting like this?”

“What about you?”

“I don’t have any children yet.”

“You have a wife.”

His fellow soldier solemnly declared,

“Not for much longer.”

“……You’ve completely lost your mind. Are you serious?”

“What’s wrong with me? A man ought to try his luck at least once.”

“I guarantee you won’t get the chance.”

“Are you trying to jinx me before I’ve even started?”

“No. Someone much younger, better-looking, and more capable than you has already made the first move.”

He was telling the truth. A military officer with striking, handsome features was already striding confidently toward the woman.

“Young Lady. I assume something pleasant has happened?”

Officer Song, who was in charge of the military vessel, flashed his white teeth in a broad grin.

He came from a wealthy family and was handsome to boot. The woman before him might be a breathtaking beauty the likes of whom he would see only once or twice in his life, but he still had confidence in himself.

She isn’t some young lady from a prestigious household. She’s only a singing courtesan.

The very next moment, that confidence crumbled without a trace.

“Yes. Something very pleasant.”

Her voice was so pure it seemed to cleanse the soul, and her smile was like hydrangeas in full bloom.

Her beauty was seductive yet pristine, pristine yet so lofty that no one dared approach.

Officer Song began to stammer without realizing it.

“I-is, is that so?”

At his flustered appearance, the woman—Honglan—covered her mouth and laughed.

Her eyes curved like half-moons, drawing anguished groans from the officers who had been stealing glances at her.

How dare those bastards.

Officer Song glared at his subordinates, then spoke over the pounding of his heart.

“What a shame. If only I could share that pleasure with you, Young Lady…”

Honglan smiled faintly at his deliberately trailing words.

“I’m not sure. I’m hesitant to say anything careless in case I unsettle our Officer Song’s heart.”

Our dear Officer Song?

There was no doubt about it. This was the green light that supposedly appeared between a man and a woman who had feelings for each other.

Emboldened, Officer Song bellowed,

“On my ancestors’ honor, that will absolutely never happen!”

“Oh my, how brave. Then I’ll let only you in on it, Officer Song. Bring your ear a little closer…”

“Yes, yes!”

Officer Song leaned his ear toward Honglan, his heart pounding.

Then her sweet, warm breath tickled his ear.

“The truth is, I used the imugi¹ living in Dongting Lake to kill a great many people.”

“What?”

“But that imugi¹ just died. I’m sorry to see it go, but at the same time, I’m delighted.”

Officer Song slowly lifted his head and stared blankly at Honglan.

He had no idea what the woman before him was talking about, or what he had just heard.

“Young Lady, what does that—”

“It’s exactly what you heard. I believe you’ll understand me, Officer Song.”

For some reason, Honglan’s languid voice made Officer Song’s expression go hazy.

This was no mere infatuation. It was an irresistible pull, a chain that seized a person’s emotions and soul.

“Isn’t that right, Officer Song?”

“……Of course. Naturally.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Honglan watched with satisfaction as Officer Song nodded like a man under a spell, then turned her gaze toward the broad river.

And to the man who had become her captive, she made a request—or rather, issued her first command.

“Shall we change our destination?”