Chapter 687

SLICE. THUD!

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

“Grrrk.”

The massive White Tiger lay panting where it had fallen, like a rotten log. Jin Taekyung was completely unconscious.

In Yohi’s eyes, one man held him in his arms and went on speaking calmly.

“I told you. I should have hidden myself first.”

“……!”

Enlightenment and shock flashed through Yohi’s mind like lightning. Her eyes, usually calm and deep, widened.

“Heugung, you—”

“You don’t call me big brother anymore. I rather liked hearing it.”

She had called him that until just a few shichen¹ ago. But she could never call him that again.

The kindly, heavyset middle-aged man before her was not the Heugung she knew.

“Why?”

Heugung shrugged at the question in her voice. “It’s simple. Just as you used me, I used you.”

“……So you were working with Baeksang after all. You too.”

“That’s a strange way to put it. Weren’t we all working together?”

“……!”

Yohi went rigid. Heugung gave a short laugh.

“Don’t deny it. No one watched you and Baeksang more closely than I did.”

“Then your sudden visit to the Western Yao Estate…”

“All part of the plan. You, Jin Taekyung, the Beast Miao King—even Baeksang. Of course, none of you knew who I really was… Come to think of it, saying we were all working together is rather funny.”

Yohi swallowed a groan. She could understand why she had not known. Though she had sided with Baeksang, her part in it had gone no further than looking the other way.

But the fact that he had hidden his identity even from Baeksang meant…

“You’ve been watching us all this time. Baeksang and me.”

“Congratulations. One step closer to the answer. Two more to go.”

“On the Demon Empress’s orders?”

“Good. One last step.”

“You were the knife she kept hidden up her sleeve in case something went wrong.”

Clap. Clap.

Heugung slowly clapped his hands and smiled.

“Clever. That’s right. Though even I never dreamed things would go this far.”

Heugung slowly looked around. The entire area had been reduced to ruins. His gaze passed over the two dead old monsters before finally coming to rest on one person.

“Jin Taekyung, the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon. The Third Young Master of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, and the heir of the Fire King who will one day inherit the orthodox lineage of the Fire Gate Clan.”

His voice was low. A strange glint crossed his eyes as he stared at Jin, who lay unconscious in his arms.

“When I found him here, I knew something had gone wrong. If everything had gone according to plan, he’d have been locked in the underground prison, or the Demon Empress would already have taken him. But…”

Jin Taekyung had followed the tracking scent to the Poisonblood Grounds. There, he had killed the two Supreme Peak masters the Demon Empress had stationed to await the Beast Miao King—and survived.

“Fools. She told them to be careful.”

Heugung muttered under his breath and spat out a wad of phlegm. Then he turned back to Yohi with his usual friendly smile, as if nothing had happened.

“I don’t know if capturing him alive is still the right choice, given how things have turned out… Still, I’m glad I can set things right. Ah, but first I should tell you our destination has changed.”

“……The Inner Palace. You’re taking us to the Inner Palace.”

Heugung nodded at her strained whisper.

“If I return, things should get interesting. The testimony of a Great Chieftain who survived a Han Chinese plot will throw Nanman into turmoil. Every warrior and beast in this land will gather at the Inner Palace, ready to fight the Central Plains.”

“But people aren’t fools. They’ll wonder how a man who’s only at the Peak realm escaped a deadly place like this on his own.”

“Not bad. But what if I were a Supreme Peak master?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“A Supreme Peak master believed to be strong enough to subdue Jin Taekyung. A man with the goodwill and standing to win over even those who would never side with Baeksang. Wouldn’t everyone believe him?”

Yohi froze.

“You… Don’t tell me—”

“That’s right.”

Heugung smiled and summoned his internal energy. From the Western Yao Estate until now, it had never once been sealed. It shifted his bones and flesh and twisted his muscles.

CRACK. CRACK.

The eerie sounds of flesh being torn apart pierced Yohi’s ears.

Faint moonlight broke through the clouds. Beneath it, Heugung’s shadow changed, growing taller and more powerfully built.

“Ghk.”

With one last pained groan, the changes ended. A short title slipped from Yohi’s frozen lips.

“……Palace Lord?”

She stared at the man before her in disbelief.

He was Heugung, yet he was the Beast Miao King. The Beast Miao King, yet unmistakably Heugung. He studied his enlarged shadow with a satisfied smile.

“People think the Bone-Shrinking Technique can only make a person smaller. But master it to Great Completion, and you can become someone else entirely.”

“……!”

“Now, here’s what we’ll do. I—or rather, the Beast Miao King—came here and subdued Jin Taekyung. You survived his wicked plot and returned to the Inner Palace to tell everyone this.”

He went on slowly as Yohi stared at him, stunned.

“That everything that has happened recently was a conspiracy by Jin Taekyung and the Murim Alliance to swallow Nanman whole. That we must mobilize every human and beast in this land, regardless of age or sex, and invade the Central Plains. What do you think?”

Yohi did not answer. She could not. Fear and rage seemed to squeeze the breath from her body, and the world swam before her eyes.

“H-How could you…”

“Ah. I forgot to mention one thing. Refuse, and Boshan will run red with blood. The four great tribes that rule Nanman will become three.”

CRUNCH.

A thin line of blood trickled between Yohi’s red lips as she struggled to contain her rage. She glared at Heugung, her eyes blazing, and spat out the words.

“You son of a bitch.”

“You wound me. Is that any way to speak to your future husband?”

“Shut your mouth. Who said I was going to marry you?”

“You probably will, once you’ve watched more than five thousand Yao people lose their heads, one after another, before your eyes.”

“……!”

“You’re a stubborn woman, and I’m a patient man. So I’ll wait until all five thousand heads have hit the ground.”

Heugung spoke without a hint of hurry. Then he beamed at Yohi as brightly as he always had, as though nothing had happened.

“I love you, Yohi.”

A chill swept through her, making every hair stand on end. She squeezed her eyes shut.

She could scarcely believe it: a plan that had been unfolding for who knew how long, and the true face of the wastrel everyone had dismissed.

The dark shadow of Dark Heaven hanging over her head.

Haa.

She breathed out, thoughts racing through her mind. Then she opened her eyes, drew the flexible sword at her waist, and spoke.

“You filthy traitor.”

“Filthy traitor? Please don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I won’t deny it. I became a traitor too. But do you think Dark Heaven—the Southern Heaven Demon Empress—will let you live? What about the Yi people you lead?”

Her words rang out sharp and clear. Heugung blinked, then burst into hearty laughter.

“That has nothing to do with me.”

“What?”

“Some forty years ago, the former chieftain of the Yi people died in the Great Faction War. His only legitimate son left in Nanman was six years old. The able-bodied men and women had gone to war. His mother died before she ever saw his face. All he had beside him was an old nurse whose sight and hearing were failing.”

“……!”

“Yohi.”

Heugung—or rather, the man who had become Heugung—continued with a faint smile.

“I was never a traitor. Not for a single moment.”

CLANG.

The flexible sword slipped from Yohi’s grasp and struck the ground with a clatter.

Breathing hard, she tried to pick it up, but her body would not obey.

What is this?

Her eyelids trembled. Was the shock of everything she had learned making her freeze?

No. She could not move because a sinister, clinging qi had already spread through her entire body.

“Y-You…”

Her voice weakened, and her vision began to fade. Heugung’s approaching figure wavered like a heat haze. His voice seemed to come from far away.

“This is why I can’t help loving you. So breathtakingly beautiful, and so innocent too.”

“That… wasn’t an antidote…”

“Unfortunately, I’m not the Beast Miao King. Even crossing swords with you would be more than I could manage. Please forgive this sorry husband of yours, my dear wife. When you wake, I hope you’ll make the choice that’s best for everyone.”

Yohi wanted to scream for someone to come and kill this horrible man. To pull them out of this dark pit and stop the vast scheme that threatened to swallow Nanman.

But the scream that rose in her throat never escaped her lips. And Jin Taekyung, seized by the monster known as the sleep demon, did not open his eyes until the very end.

Then—

SWISH. THUD.

Yohi collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Heugung caught her gently in his arms.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, which now wore the face of the Beast Miao King.

“Even asleep, you’re beautiful.”

Heugung truly loved Yohi. It did not matter that she did not want him.

She would make the right choice eventually. In time, she would come to love him.

Dark Heaven—the Southern Heaven Demon Empress—would keep her promise. After all the years he had spent hiding who he was, his reward would be tenfold, twentyfold.

But first…

I need to finish this.

He kissed Yohi on the forehead and slowly turned.

He walked toward the culprit who had dared to jeopardize the grand plan.

Jin Taekyung.

No one had anticipated him. His appearance had dealt a severe blow to a plan on the verge of success. Two Supreme Peak masters, either of whom could turn the tide of a battle, had been lost.

But nothing had changed.

The grand plan will succeed. There are still others to take their place.

Jin Taekyung would not wake for at least several days. Once Heugung brought him and Yohi back to the Inner Palace, it would all be over.

Yes. Over.

He smiled in satisfaction, passed the panting White Tiger, and grabbed Jin Taekyung by the nape to lift him up.

He was about to lift him when—

Whoooooosh.

A chill wind blew in from somewhere. Heugung looked up.

In the pale moonlight, he saw the shape of something.

“What is that…?”

Before he could finish the question—

SHWAAAASH!

The bleak wind turned into a blade and engulfed his entire body.