Book 13 Chapter 12

Reunion with the Sword Demon

The murderous aura that had surged like a tide receded like the tide pulled by the moon.

The fifteen shadows that had been hiding never revealed themselves.

"Is the greeting over? Or is this the end of the first part? Are they telling me to come inside for now?"

Biryu-yeon muttered quietly. He had been invited, so he couldn't refuse to enter.

"Let's go!"

At his words, people began to move their feet.

The boy looked very short, but his face was incredibly cute. His skin was soft like down, and the two black jewels embedded in his cute face looked very large and clear. He was wrapped in a sea-blue robe adorned with ornate gold and silver decorations. Of course, no weapons like swords or sabers that would be inappropriate for the boy's body were visible. He looked like he would be perfectly suited to playing with a ball made of colorful silk threads.

The boy was gazing endlessly at a plum tree near the entrance of Hongmae Valley.

"Oh, how cute!"

Jin-ryeong shrieked. Hwaseol-ok chimed in with a very, very enthusiastic agreement. "I want to adopt him as my little brother!" exclaimed Namgung Sansan. If she could have that child as her brother, she felt she could trade it even for Namgung Sangyeol. Of course, Namgung Sang would not have found such a situation particularly pleasing.

Therefore, he did not have the natural thought of, 'Why is there a boy here?' Namgung Sang approached the boy and asked,

"Little one! Do you know where the chief steward of Hongmae Valley is?"

Only then did the boy turn around. He had looked cute from a distance, but up close, he was exuding even more 'cuteness.'

'This kid is incredibly cute!'

It wasn't hard to understand the women's reaction. Namgung Sang asked again. He wondered if the boy might have misheard the question.

"Little one, so…"

Flash!

Namgung Sang's second question didn't finish. Instead, he recoiled in terror from a cold gleam aimed at his heart and quickly had to pull back. It was a sudden surprise attack.

"What are you doing!"

Namgung Sang, who had leaped back a full zhang, shouted. The front of his chest had been sharply cut. If he had been a moment slower in dodging, his heart might have been hit. In the boy's right hand, which had been empty moments before, was a cold, silver object. It was as thin as wire and as supple as a willow branch, and the cold gleam and sharpness it held were extraordinary. It seemed to be a specially made sword. Furthermore, it was as fast as it was thin and sharp.

With a sulky, puffed-up face, the boy shouted,

"I'm not a little kid!"

The boy's throbbing cheeks were a ripe red like a ripe apple. He must have really disliked being called a child.

"Kyaaak! So cuteee!"

A chorus of women's voices came from behind. They seemed completely unconcerned with the trivial fact that Namgung Sang had just narrowly escaped death. What made Namgung Sang even more displeased was the fact that Jin-ryeong's voice was among the chorus.

"Sigh…"

It was when Namgung Sang let out a despairing sigh.

"Soyu! What's going on?"

Several warriors appeared behind the boy. Both men and women, they all possessed extraordinary spiritual energy. Most of them had the same kind of spiritual energy that had been felt moments ago. It was difficult to believe they had come out just to get acquainted with their faces.

'Are they trying to continue this?'

It wouldn't be a stretch to interpret it that way.

"Ah, Second Senior Brother!"

The boy, called Soyu, beamed as he looked at the young man walking at the front.

Soon, the man called the second senior brother and Namgung Sang stood facing each other. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, and upon closer inspection, he had a long, diagonal sword scar on his left cheek. His weapon appeared to be a slender, unusually shaped saber. The one who spoke first was the man with the saber.

"Who are you people?"

His tone was extremely arrogant. Namgung Sang's eyebrow twitched as if it had bothered him.

Asking when you already know? It felt like a deliberate provocation.

"Isn't it customary to reveal your own name before asking the other party? Are all the people of Macheon Pavilion so uniformly rude?"

Namgung Sang retorted.

"You may do so if you are qualified."

The man replied calmly. Namgung Sang did not back down.

"If Senior Brother is so rude, then it's no wonder your junior brother is so rude. You should teach your junior brother properly."

"What happened?"

When the man with the saber asked, the boy explained the whole story. After hearing it, the man clenched his fist and lightly flicked the boy's forehead. Then he berated him.

"You foolish brat!"

"S-sorry."

Only then did Namgung Sang's face relax a little. However, his face crumpled even more at the man's subsequent words.

"How many times do I have to tell you! I told you not to be timid. When you strike, be ruthless, without an ounce of sympathy! Why did you aim for the chest instead of the neck? And because your heart hesitated for just one breath, you even failed to cut!"

"Sorry, First Senior Brother!"

Namgung Sang's mood could not have been good watching the man scold his junior brother for failing to properly take a life. His insides were bubbling like lava in an erupting volcano. The man and the few who had followed him were also on edge, as if expecting an explosion at any moment.

"Tsk tsk, falling for such a simple provocation!"

Biryu-yeon, watching from the side, clicked his tongue with pity. Beside him, Yeom-do let out a grotesque grin. They had deliberately ignored Yeom-do, the leader, and Binggeom since they appeared. Binggeom watched the unfolding situation with a cold gaze, but Yeom-do did not. His temperament made that impossible.

"Heh heh, these brats! Their arrogance pierces the sky!"

Yeom-do ground his teeth. He wasn't the only one who had fallen for the provocation.

"Sigh!"

Biryu-yeon let out a soft sigh from the side.

"Stop!"

As the representatives of Cheonmu Academy and Macheon Pavilion stood facing each other with heightened nerves and proud postures, a roar and the figure of an old swordsman and a man who appeared to be his attendant rushed forward.

"Can't you stop? I told you not to cause trouble!"

The roar of the old swordsman was filled with dignity. An extraordinary aura, an oppressive spirit, flowed from the old swordsman's entire body.

Indeed, the young men seemed unable to disobey the old swordsman's words, and several of them lowered their aggressive stances. They knew there would be no good in defying this old man.

However, the old swordsman was quite familiar.

"Huh? Grandpa!"

The one who recognized him first was from Biryu-yeon's side. He had seen the old man once before. He was undoubtedly the old man who had called himself Sword Demon Choeol.

For a moment, the old swordsman's face contorted like a piece of love letter thrown into the trash can with a failed sentence.

"Wha-what? You, you are!"

The Sword Demon's face instantly turned red like iron heated by hundreds of bellows. This was a phenomenon caused by the qi that boiled up inside him, unable to find an outlet.

"Master? Do you know him?"

A young man who approached Sword Demon Choeol asked in a small voice, and the Sword Demon shouted as if he had been waiting.

"That guy! I don't know him!"

"???"

Everyone was bewildered by the reaction that exceeded expectations.

However, there was another familiar face Biryu-yeon recognized. It was quite remarkable for Biryu-yeon, who was known (?) for his extremely narrow social circle, to know not one but two people.

Biryu-yeon's gaze turned to a middle-aged man who had followed the Sword Demon. He was an impressive person, so he remembered him clearly.

And he wasn't the only one who remembered him.

At first, he wore simple attire like a servant and half-covered his face with a large straw hat, so even those who directly encountered him did not recognize him. Although everyone except Biryu-yeon had only seen him from afar, he had a strong impression, so everyone remembered him.

This man had joined the journey at the request of someone he respected more than anyone else.

"Did we perhaps meet before?"

To Moyong Hwi's question, the man waved his hand. Then he replied in a calm voice.

"Hahaha! That's impossible. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

In fact, he had never met Moyong Hwi before. This time, Biryu-yeon asked.

"Huh? Didn't we meet somewhere before, somehow?"

"Hahaha! Well, mistaking me for someone else…"

As the man turned his head and his eyes met Biryu-yeon's, his eyes widened. Standing before him was an unbelievable person, but one who had etched a resolve to meet again and confirm with his own eyes. He stood there with a smile that resembled that chilling smile from back then.

The man had to spend a considerable amount of time and effort to control his tumultuous emotions.

'Yes, it's natural. This was something I expected. It's impossible for someone with that level of skill not to appear here…'

Suddenly, his heart began to race. He had something he had to do here. For that, his identity must not be revealed yet. None of the Macheon Pavilion disciples knew his true identity. The man regretted not having disguised himself better.

"This is strange. I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before…"

Although he had a lingering suspicion, Biryu-yeon did not press the matter further. Then, he soon forgot about it. However, Moyong Hwi still held a suspicious gaze. His eyes were sharp, as if he could discern the man's hidden intentions.

"Hoo…"

The man let out a sigh of relief. The representatives of Cheonmu Academy, who had been looking at him with suspicion, had already entered the lodging.

'That was dangerous…!'

His heart still felt like it was pounding.

'Surely I haven't been found out?'

Because of that person's instructions, his identity should not be revealed yet. He was merely an observer hiding in the bushes and peeking out. His identity was of no help to his current role, even if it might hinder it.

"I need to be more careful!"

The man muttered to himself as if making a quiet resolution. As he did, the setting sun quietly descended upon his shadow.

Behind the sharp shadows of the rugged mountains, which stood tall like the swords and spears of an inspected army, the twilight of the setting sun was as beautiful as golden flames.

"Beautiful!"

A man with a cold, emotionless demeanor, who seemed to carry an icy wind, looked down. A smile like frozen crescent moon appeared on his lips. However, his cold eyes remained silent, as if incapable of smiling.

The man thought that the twilight sky was a beautiful blood-red color.

"Didn't they say that the phoenix throws itself into flames once every three hundred years and is reborn from the ashes?"

Regeneration and rebirth!

"The immortal phoenix of eternal life. The divine bird of flames also does the same… but the current martial world is too old!"

The old must be replaced with the new. At that moment, a strong light flashed in the man's eyes.

"Now I will make you reborn in the flames of regeneration."

His voice was filled with firm resolve. The man continued to shout.

"The old past will crumble here in the gray ashes, and a new history will be born in the dawn of the morning. The story of the past ends here, and a new story will begin!"

Flap! With the sound of wings, a large hawk folded its wings and landed on his shoulder. Its demeanor was quite dignified. The hawk's feathers were red, as if painted with ink in the setting sun reflecting in the man's eyes.

A red hawk… The hawk's name was Jeokroe (Red Thunder).