Chapter 488

The Water God Dragon had unquestionably been a spiritual being.

In the broadest sense, it could be called a spiritual creature. But it possessed power far beyond that of an ordinary spiritual creature, which was probably why it had been able to absorb all the magical power from the Gate.

You could tell just by looking at the weather.

As expected of an imugi¹ that had lived for five hundred years, there was something different about it.

When the mutated Water God Dragon had gone on a rampage, thunderbolts and towering waves had nearly turned Dongting Lake upside down. Now, however, the lake was calm, as though nothing had ever happened.

But unlike the peaceful waters of Dongting Lake, a raging storm churned inside me.

…Is this what they call the calm before the storm?

I glanced at Mungyeong’s back as he walked ahead of me.

He was a head shorter than me, with a slender frame. But beneath the hide of a harmless herbivore lurked a predator.

Why did he suddenly call me out here? What could he possibly want to say?

I suddenly felt wronged.

Could he still be pissed because I’d spoken casually to him during the battle?

He hadn’t called me out here just so we could have a little physical conversation, had he?

My unease continued to grow as Mungyeong led me deeper into increasingly secluded territory.

That was when—

“Stop.”

Whoosh!

There was only one voice, but seven figures surrounded us.

They were all Peak masters who had accumulated considerable internal energy, and each wore a sword engraved with a pine pattern at his waist.

Pine-Pattern Ancient Swords.

Sure enough, a middle-aged Daoist dressed in Wudang robes emerged from the deep darkness.

Judging by his age, the middle-aged Daoist was clearly their presiding chair. He opened his mouth toward us.

“This area is closed after the Hour of the Dog.² Please turn back—No, wait. Could that be the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon?”

“What?”

The middle-aged Daoist spotted me over Mungyeong’s shoulder and asked with wide eyes,

“Young Hero Jin Taekyung? No, Great Hero Jin Taekyung?”

“I’m no Great Hero, but my name is Jin Taekyung.”

“Oh! My guess was correct after all. I thought your face looked familiar.”

You may recognize me, but you’re a complete stranger to me.

The middle-aged Daoist greeted me as warmly as if I were his son fresh out of the army. Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “But what brings you here at this late hour? You must have already been assigned temporary lodgings.”

“…Uh. Well.”

I was being dragged away by the Slaughter Saint.

I swallowed the words rising to my throat and was about to offer some vague excuse when a flash of insight struck me.

Come to think of it, this was my last God-given chance to escape.

“Is this where the restricted area begins?”

“That’s right. We take turns standing watch in case of an emergency. But who is this young-looking man with you?”

“Slaugh—”

“Hm?”

—Instant execution.

“—The breeze is blowing softly.”

“Oh, ha ha. I see.”

Slaughter Saint! Mister! That bastard is the Slaughter Saint!

I finally understood how the barber who shouted that the king had donkey ears must have felt.

But when I met the beast’s dark, sunken gaze, I forced a smile and answered, “We just happened to get to know each other.”

“If you know each other, then precisely what kind of—”

“We met in Sichuan and have been traveling together ever since. He isn’t a martial artist. He’s a medical apprentice.”

“Ah, now I remember. I heard there was a young medical apprentice with the skills of a renowned physician. So this is him.”

“Yes. He’s the one.”

“But why have you come all the way out here at such a late hour?”

“Uh, we have something important to discuss.”

“You must be quite close.”

I could let everything else slide, but not that.

I answered with a straight face.

“No. We’re not close.”

“Hm. In that case, I’m afraid this may be difficult. My apologies, Great Hero Jin, but regulations prohibit us from allowing anyone through without firm assurance—”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for your hard work. Mungyeong, let’s go!”

—Instant execution.

“…”

—Back in position.

The icy Sound Transmission stabbed into me.

I had already turned halfway around, but I helplessly turned back.

—Say we’re close.

“I was joking. We’re actually very close.”

The middle-aged Daoist looked back and forth between Mungyeong and me, then muttered, “For two people who are supposedly close, you were walking apart without saying a word…”

—Answer properly.

“We’re so close that we can understand each other just by looking into each other’s eyes.”

“But your head was turned away. How could you see his eyes…?”

“We used to understand each other just by looking into each other’s eyes. These days, I can tell what he’s thinking just by looking at the back of his head.”

“…”

—I’m asking this out of genuine curiosity. Does the Fire Gate Clan have a rule saying it should recruit only fucking idiots?

For fuck’s sake. What do you want me to do?

As the middle-aged Daoist stared at me with lukewarm eyes, Mungyeong’s Sound Transmission continued.

—Come closer.

“…?”

—Put your arm around my shoulder.

“…!”

What am I, some kind of avatar?

But what could I do? In the Murim, the strong were the law—and the gods.

I trudged over, draped an arm around Mungyeong’s shoulders, and pulled a miserable face.

“Whew. We’re really close.”

—Smile.

“Ha ha ha! We’re really close!”

—Louder.

“Wahahahahaha!”

—I can see you signaling with the corner of your eye. Do that one more time, and I’ll make you see the world with your heart instead of your eyes.

He had found a remarkably elegant way to say he would gouge out my eyes.

I gave up my desperate attempts to signal with sidelong glances and muttered, “Anyway, we’re close.”

Throughout this entire exchange, the Wudang martial artists—including the middle-aged Daoist—stared at us as though they were watching the best horror movie of the summer.

I had gone from looking miserable to laughing like a lunatic, all while frantically shooting Mungyeong sidelong glances. If they couldn’t tell something was wrong, they needed to put down their Pine-Pattern Ancient Swords and leave Wudang.

At last, the middle-aged Daoist seemed to make up his mind. His lips moved.

—Perhaps I’m worrying over nothing, but if something is happening to you without your realizing it, blink three times. If nothing is wrong, blink twice.

—I heard everything. Blink three times, and your body will be cut into three pieces.

Mister! You bastard! This bastard is the Slaughter Saint! This bastard has a wiretap in his ear!

But my shout never escaped, and I quietly blinked twice.

No matter how suspicious they became, they would never guess that the young medical apprentice before them was a Supreme Peak master who had Returned to Youth.

And objectively speaking, the Slaughter Saint was clearly an ally.

—Are you sure?

Even if he asked, my answer had already been decided.

Even among Supreme Peak masters, Jeok Cheongang and the Slaughter Saint had reached a different depth of enlightenment. They were biological wiretaps capable of eavesdropping on other people’s Sound Transmissions.

—Yes. Why would I lie about something like this? We’re just friends who became close while traveling together.

Though one of us seemed to have built up murderous intent instead of friendship.

Still, something had been built.

The middle-aged Daoist let out a quiet snort of laughter after hearing my Sound Transmission.

—Indeed. How could anything happen to the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon of all people? Great Hero Jin, please forgive me for being so suspicious. I suppose the recent events have made me more sensitive than usual.

No, you’re insensitive. Please get just a little more sensitive.

But contrary to my hopes, the middle-aged Daoist spoke with a warm smile.

“In that case, very well. If it’s Great Hero Jin and no one else, I can trust you. You may pass!”

“W-Wait a moment.”

“Ha ha. I wondered why you had come all the way out here, but it seems you truly do have something important to discuss. Very well. Regulations prohibit this, but… I’ll give you some privacy.”

“What?”

“About half an hour. Will that be enough?”

Of course it won’t, you idiot. Enough for what?

But before I could answer, Mungyeong bowed politely with a bright smile.

“That will be sufficient.”

“…!”

Why did that brief answer sound like a death threat to me?

The middle-aged Daoist failed to notice my twitching eyelids. He stroked his beard and smiled approvingly.

“What a polite young man. You should examine me sometime as well.”

“Of course, Daoist.”

“Ha ha. Then I’ll return in half an hour.”

Whoosh!

The seven Peak masters—including the middle-aged Daoist—or rather, the seven witnesses, shot away.

I stared blankly at their backs as they vanished into the distance. Then I slowly turned around, feeling a curtain of qi close around us from every direction.

Sound and impact.

Everything was now sealed off from the outside world by the qi barrier surrounding us.

And within that space, a pair of eyes gleamed with an icy light even in the darkness.

“Master and Disciple are exactly alike when it comes to wearing people out.”

“…!”

The voice alone sent a chill through my chest.

The young man who had seemed like an innocent medical apprentice had transformed into the greatest assassin of all time. He leaned against a large rock.

He gave off no ripple of qi, but I could still feel them—the countless blades concealed throughout his body.

The Slaughter Saint.

This was Mungyeong’s hidden name and his true nature.

I didn’t know what he had been like in the past. But I would stake Hyuk Mujin’s balls on this: even after some forty years away from the Murim, Mungyeong’s blades had not dulled in the slightest.

No. If anything, they had undoubtedly grown even sharper.

Ah. I miss Mom.

I knew Mungyeong wouldn’t actually harm me.

But the head and the heart often thought differently.

Even if you knew the beast before you wasn’t about to sink its teeth into your throat, that didn’t mean you wanted to approach it.

Gulp.

I swallowed dryly and cautiously opened my mouth.

“Why did you suddenly…?”

Mungyeong stared at me with icy eyes.

“You sound as though you resent being called out here.”

“Gasp. No, I don’t.”

“You certainly seem to.”

“How could I? I’m simply bad at expressing my emotions. The truth is, I’m so happy I could die.”

“Die?”

“…I’ll carefully take those two words back. I should’ve watched my mouth. I really don’t learn until there’s a coffin in front of me.”

“See a coffin?”

“…Please spare me.”

“Spare you?”

Goddamn it.

I’d read online that repeating the last thing a woman said was the kind of conversational technique that made her heart flutter.

This was the kind of conversation that would make the Grim Reaper’s heart flutter.

I could almost see Yama, who had just clocked out on time, excitedly rushing back with the Book of Life and Death in hand.

Seriously, what the hell is this? Why did he call me out here?

Had he really called me here again because I had spoken casually to him last time?

If I knew what this was about, I could at least put my mind at ease. But I couldn’t think of any other reason, and the frustration was driving me insane.

Mungyeong regarded me with displeasure, then suddenly furrowed his brow.

“What is this?”

“What?”

“Have you perhaps not heard yet?”

“Heard what?”

“The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang. Your Master.”

“…?”

“The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang.”

So what am I supposed to do with that?

I had no idea what he meant, so I didn’t even know how to respond.

After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously ventured a guess.

“Ganggangsullae?”³

“Jeok Cheongang didn’t tell you any—What?”

“Oh, isn’t this a word-chain game?”

“…What kind of lunatic are you?”

“Or is there a character limit? But ‘Fire King Jeok Cheongang’ is five characters in Korean too, so it should be fine…”

The atmosphere turned ominous.

Mungyeong stared at me with eyes full of anger and regret, then looked up at the heavens and sighed.

“I can’t believe I have to pass down my secret martial arts to a fucking blockhead like this.”

“…”

For fuck’s sake. Even so, calling someone a blockhead right to his face was too much. That was going too far…

Huh?

What did I just hear?

Secret martial arts?