Book 10 Chapter 11

Yoon Jun-ho's Sword Dance

"Ryu Yeo-eo-eon!"

"Hyo-ryo-o-o-ng!"

"Jang-ho-o-o-ng!"

Yoon Jun-ho walked through the darkness, continuously calling out his friends' names. Otherwise, he felt a terrible sense of being swallowed by the darkness. He hadn't imagined that darkness without a single ray of light could be so terrifying.

Among these fears, the one that particularly tormented him was the possibility that a hidden weapon launcher might suddenly activate from somewhere and shoot arrows or poison darts at him. The problem was that he had no skill to evade surprise attacks. It didn't matter whether such a thing actually happened or not. In this darkness, the mere possibility was enough to drain a person's life.

He passed the third fork and was entering the fourth. However, he could feel no trace of anyone else. He could only walk forward slowly, relying on his sense of touch along the walls. The horrifying thought that he might be trapped in this darkness forever gnawed at him.

He was afraid. It might be a primal fear. He called out his friends' names one by one, but there was no answer. Only a directionless, rumbling echo returned to him emptily.

"Aaaaah!"

Yoon Jun-ho suddenly let out a scream and rolled on the floor. Rolling fearlessly on the uneven stone floor hurt him in various places. He had stumbled and fallen over a rock while walking carelessly in the dark.

'Why am I always like this….'

He hated his clumsy self. He wanted to live with a strong will and stand tall like others. But no matter how much he tried to steel himself, he couldn't easily put his resolve into action. He found this unspeakably frustrating.

Yoon Jun-ho quickly got back on his feet, brushed off the dust, and tidied his disheveled hair. Then, he took a step forward again. There was no going back now. Only forward.

But it was at that moment.

In the darkness where he couldn't see an inch ahead, a faint light returned, and a person appeared. But the moment he saw the figure, Yoon Jun-ho's heart sank. It was the four elder brothers who always tormented him at the volcano. They approached him, all of them chuckling sinisterly.

Yoon Jun-ho's body trembled with fear.

"Aaaah!"

A tearing scream echoed within the Huanma Cave and then disappeared into the darkness.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

"You fool! You idiot! You moron! You pathetic loser! You cripple!"

"Someone like you should die! You're useless!"

Yoon Jun-ho covered his ears and writhed on the floor. The four elder brothers, his senior disciples, and junior disciples who always mocked him at the volcano were laughing at him. Pointing fingers and ridicule were endless. And then came the relentless punches and kicks.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Yoon Jun-ho had to struggle in agony.

"Ugh! Ugh! Eugh! Cough!"

Screams escaped his mouth. Even if it was an illusion, if he perceived it as real, it became real.

It was then.

'Stop!'

A voice of salvation rang in his ears. For a moment, the ridicule and baseless kicks stopped abruptly. A person walked towards him, who was writhing on the floor. Yoon Jun-ho's body trembled. The one who stopped their actions was none other than his respected Grandmaster, Mae Hwa Geom Seon Yu Hwan-kwon.

"Gra- Grandmaster!"

He called out to him, his expression brightening. Yu Hwan-kwon looked at him with a gentle smile. And then…

Thwack!

A deafening, chilling sound! Although it was at close range, it sounded distant, lacking reality.

"Why… why?"

Blood flowed down his heart.

"……."

No matter how desperately he called, his respected Grandmaster did not answer. He merely looked at him with indifferent eyes, completely different from the affectionate gaze of yesterday, as if looking at an inanimate object. Like looking at a cow or a chicken…

What Yoon Jun-ho feared most! It was to be abandoned by his Grandmaster, Mae Hwa Shin Geom Yoon Hwan-kwon.

"How can this be… this… Hahaha… Haha… Hahahahaha!"

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

Yoon Jun-ho threw his head back and let out a wild, manic laugh. Endless tears streamed down his cheeks.

Twitch! Twitch!

Sway! Sway!

Suddenly, his right hand, holding a sword, began to sway and dance. His mind was blank; no thoughts arose. Therefore, he couldn't recognize what he was doing now.

That his sword was now creating myriad changes in the air, drawing thousands of plum blossoms, and filling the Huanma Cave with the scent of plum blossoms…

"Huh? A good scent…"

Lee Jin-seol, walking through the dark corridor of the Huanma Cave not far from Yoon Jun-ho, smelled the scent of plum blossoms tickling her nose. It was a scent that somehow made her heart ache with a vague longing.

"What happened to my sisters? Where are they, anyway?"

She felt so anxious being trapped alone in the darkness. Suddenly, the faces of Na Ye-rin and Dok-go Ryeong came to mind. Then, the face of Hyo-ryong came to mind.

"Hmph! Someone like that… if I ever meet him again, I'll stomp on him with my feet!"

With a prim expression, she started walking again.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

With the intensifying sword energy, the illusions were disappearing one by one. However, Yoon Jun-ho was still completely unaware that he was throwing his body and mind into the mad sword dance.

"Snap out of it. Hey. Young Master Hyo! Young Master Hyo!"

Lee Jin-seol desperately called out to Hyo-ryong. But Hyo-ryong, lying at her knees, had no intention of waking up.

It was an incredible coincidence that Lee Jin-seol found Hyo-ryong lying there. Drawn by the strange scent of plum blossoms, she happened to stumble over something. At first, it was too dark to tell, but she thought it was a rock. However, with a "thud" and a squishy feeling, it didn't seem like a stone.

So she looked down closely and faintly saw a silhouette. She was startled. The thing she had stepped on and tripped over was a person. She had a very precious necklace given to her by her father, which uniquely had a luminous gem called a night pearl that glowed even in the dark. She held her necklace to the person's face to confirm.

"Gasp!"

She almost dropped her necklace. It was Hyo-ryong. From then on, she kept calling Hyo-ryong's name, trying to wake him up, but he remained unconscious. Furthermore, his breathing was very long, and his pulse was very faint. She felt like he might stop breathing at any moment. Tears welled up in her big eyes.

"Young Master Hyo! Hyo-ryong! Hyo-ryong! Please wake up. I'm sorry for ignoring you all this time. I'll forgive everything, so please wake up."

The tears falling from her eyes dripped onto his face.

'Where am I?'

Hyo-ryong looked around. His consciousness was not clear. It was dark. No matter how much he looked around, there was only pitch blackness. It was as if this place was the bottom of an abyss.

'What am I doing now?'

He heard no sound. He could see no light. And he felt nothing. A strange sensation, as if his body itself didn't exist. It felt as though only his mind was floating aimlessly in this dark space.

'Why am I here?'

Then, suddenly, the face of his elder brother, Hyo-bong, came to mind again. The terrifying nightmare that he was afraid to even think about reappeared before his eyes. It was such a horrific memory that he was afraid to even replay it! Inside Hyo-bong's unbuttoned robe lay hell.

Yes, it was no different from hell for Hyo-ryong. A clear mark of his sin, clearly showing his guilt!

On Hyo-bong's unbuttoned upper body, long, diagonal sword marks were horrifyingly etched, and red blood continuously flowed from between them. The wound was as terrifying as a hellish valley. The blood flowing from the wound eventually fell to the ground, creating a sea of blood. The constantly flowing river of blood gradually swelled and reached Hyo-ryong's feet. Hyo-bong stood on the sea of blood, smiling wickedly, audibly, at Hyo-ryong. The sea of blood, dyeing his vision red, gradually rose higher and slowly consumed his body. Hyo-ryong screamed with all his might. But any help was impossible. His body sank deeper and deeper into the sea of blood. It was like a swamp; the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. When the blood finally reached his face, darkness suddenly enveloped him.

It was darkness.

When he regained consciousness in a daze, he existed in the darkness, stripped of his five senses. Moreover, his perfect reason was not functioning. He felt as if he were in a dream.

He wanted to shake his head violently. But he doubted if he even had a head to do so.

'I lost!'

He muttered in a self-deprecating voice. But it was the truth. He still couldn't shake off his brother's shadow.

'Was this it? To see the most terrifying and dreadful thing in this world…'

Indeed, it was the most dreadful thing in the world.

'I might die like this. No, it would be better for someone like me to die!'

As he thought this, his body sank deeper into the swamp of darkness. Hyo-ryong's body was sinking deeper into the abyss. His vision grew darker.

'Am I going to be at peace now?'

Then, suddenly, he felt coldness on his face. Even though it wasn't raining. It was the first sensation his deprived five senses felt.

"Hyo-ryong! Hyo-ryong! Hyo-ryong!"

The moment he heard that voice, Hyo-ryong felt like he was bathed in a ray of light piercing the darkness. It was a very sweet and melodious sound that soothed his wounds.

His vision filled with light.

"Are you okay? Hyo-ryong! Hyo-ryong!"

Lee Jin-seol's face brightened like a blooming flower. Finally, Hyo-ryong opened his eyes. However, he still seemed unable to grasp his condition.

"Ughhhh…"

Hyo-ryong blinked a few more times. Then, the blurry images on his retina sharpened, and shapes formed. His lips moved.

"Mis- Miss Lee?"

The one who pulled him up from the bottom of the darkness was Lee Jin-seol. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying with his head on Lee Jin-seol's lap.

"Ouch!"

As he tried to sit up suddenly, extreme pain shot through him. Although he had fought illusions, the pain he felt now was not an illusion.

"Young Master Hyo! You're awake."

Tears welled up in her big eyes, as if she might cry at any moment.

"Are you okay? Your complexion is very pale. For a moment, I thought you were going to die because you weren't breathing."

She seemed to have overcome the ordeal safely. Hyo-ryong was afraid that tears might fall at any moment. He was still clumsy at stopping women from crying.

'Am I really okay now?'

Hyo-ryong, with his head on her lap, examined his body. With his eyes, he could clearly see her cute face, and through his ears, he could vividly hear her voice. And through the back of his head, he could vividly feel the softness of her thighs.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat was also slightly faster, but otherwise, there were no problems. He looked around, but his brother's figure was nowhere to be seen.

'Just a moment ago, I was trapped in pitch-black darkness… Could I have escaped that darkness without her?'

He couldn't be sure. Just moments ago, his mental state had been severely damaged, and he had tried to shut out everything from the outside. If it weren't for Lee Jin-seol's voice, he would have imprisoned himself in a mental prison forever.

"You seem normal. I apologize for the trouble. Thanks to you, I'm alive."

He thanked her. If it weren't for Lee Jin-seol, he might have become a shut-in. And that's a minimum assumption; he could have become an imbecile or a madman in severe cases. She was no different from a lifesaver. Suddenly, her face looked dazzling.

Lee Jin-seol hesitated for a moment at Hyo-ryong's words and then cautiously said.

"Uh… then…"

"Yes! Please tell me anything without hesitation."

Suddenly, her cheeks flushed.

'…?'

"Then, could you please get up now?"

Lee Jin-seol managed to say what she intended. At that moment, Hyo-ryong, now perfectly lucid, realized he was shamelessly lying with her soft lap as a pillow and was startled. He sprang up as if pushed.

"Kya!"

He stood up so quickly that he almost collided with her face.

"So- Sorry! Sorry! I'm truly ashamed."

Hyo-ryong bowed his head repeatedly and apologized. His face, like hers, had turned red as a persimmon. But apologies were apologies, and feelings were feelings. At this moment, he felt a sense of great, great, great regret.

'Am I this kind of pervert…'

He discovered a new side of himself, but he wasn't happy at all.

"But what kind of dream were you having to have such a sad expression? You were even shedding tears."

When Hyo-ryong touched his face, he felt the dry traces of tears leading from the corners of his eyes through his touch. Hyo-ryong's face darkened again. He could have said he didn't want to talk about it because it was unpleasant. But somehow, he didn't want to hide it from Lee Jin-seol.

"…I saw the irreversible sin I committed. The blood on my hands will never be erased."

Regret flowed across Hyo-ryong's face as he looked at his hands.

"Waaaaaah!"

Hyo-ryong was startled by the sudden crying.

Huh? Huh? Huh?

"Hey, Miss Lee, why are you suddenly crying like this?"

He was almost in a state of confusion as she suddenly sat down and started crying loudly.

"But… but… you're sad because of me, Young Master Hyo. You're remembering memories you wanted to forget. Waaaaaah!"

Lee Jin-seol said intermittently in a sobbing voice. It seemed like she couldn't speak properly because her throat was choked up. But Hyo-ryong found her appearance very cute.

"Puhahahaha! But that doesn't mean you have to cry, Miss Lee. Hurry and stop crying. You're ruining your pretty face?"

Her crying suddenly subsided. Hyo-ryong's words seemed to have worked.

"Really?"

"Yes? What?"

"Is my face really pretty?"

She looked at him intently, her eyes like lakes still full of tears. It seemed that such things were truly important to women. Hyo-ryong found it difficult to answer. But what could he do?

"Of course! Miss Lee is truly beautiful! Truly. I can swear on my honor!"

"Really? Really? Truly? Not fake, really?"

"Ah! Of course."

"Really, really, really?"

"I said so."

Cold sweat started to run down Hyo-ryong's back. But she still didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.

Hyo-ryong had to sweat profusely to calm Lee Jin-seol down.

"Ugh…"

It was a long time before Yoon Jun-ho regained consciousness. He looked around and saw no one. So he thought all the nightmares were over, but that wasn't the case. One remained.

"Sob sob sob! Sob sob sob!"

Before his eyes, a child was huddled on the ground, trembling pitifully. He knew well who that child was. That child was himself, who had been bullied and ignored.

'That… is that pitiable human myself?'

At that moment, an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.

'The fear that freezes your heart and binds your body is yourself. Your fear is within you! Always remember that!'

This was what Bi Ryu-yeon always told him.

The fear he was looking at now had a very pitiable appearance. His eyes suddenly welled up. His heart had always been hurt by his own weakness and timidity. Always trembling with fear in constant tension and anxiety…

'It was all my fault!'

Yoon Jun-ho took a step forward and extended his hand towards his fear. And he resolved deeply in his heart.

'From now on, I will never turn away from the truth again. No matter what terrible things happen to me.'

Fear does not find those who have eyes to see the truth. Such people can embrace even their own fear. Those who turn away from fear were truly weak. And also pitiful. Yoon Jun-ho smiled brightly and extended his hand to his inner self, who was imprisoning himself in fear.

The child took his hand.

He thought the child smiled at that moment. Suddenly, the child disappeared, and he stood alone. Tears flowed down his cheeks.