Book 27 Chapter 11

Mastery (Secret Art)!

—Break!

The first move is speed, the second is slowness, so what about the third move: formlessness, and after formlessness, is it formless?

Simply waiting in this spot for Muryeong’s sword technique was extremely dangerous. Even if his sword was a rusty old relic, it was doubtful whether the sharpness or dullness mattered to someone like Muryeong. A peak master could kill an enemy with a single blade of grass. Even a simple stick would turn into an incomparably powerful sword in the hands of a master. Furthermore, there was sword energy. Sword energy that could turn even the dullest sword into the strongest blade. For Muryeong, the only question was how many waves of sword energy he could unleash, not whether he could unleash it or not.

“Ah, I’ll make you a promise. I have no intention of using sword energy. It’s been about a hundred years since I last used it. It would be rather embarrassing if I tried to use it and forgot how, so I won’t.”

Do people usually forget something like that?

That was the thought that flashed through everyone’s mind at that moment.

“We couldn’t ask for more, even if we wanted to.”

Bilyeon was not one to refuse such an offer. He also remembered to reciprocate.

“Then, in return, this time I will go first!”

Bilyeon moved, not giving Muryeong any more time to focus. With his Dragon Seal removed, Bilyeon lunged forward, and five bolts of lightning erupted from his fluttering sleeves, along with countless golden threads.

At the same time, Bilyeon’s fingers danced over the faintly shimmering lightning strings, beginning a symphony of thunder.

Flying Thunder Blade Sword Qi

Mastery

Chapter of Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning

Flowing River of Lightning

Waves of golden, shimmering strings spread out like a net, engulfing Muryeong like a tsunami. The performance, initially gentle, had now turned into a fierce torrent. Each and every thread of light crisscrossing the sky contained sharp energy, capable of cutting through even metal as if sliced by a sharp blade.

“This… this is…”

Muryeong’s eyes flickered for the first time as he witnessed Bilyeon’s technique. His eyes, which seemed unshakeable by anything, trembled for the first time.

For a moment, Muryeong’s movements paused.

It wasn’t because he was overwhelmed by Bilyeon’s technique.

Suddenly, a sharp headache struck him.

But the pause was brief. His body moved again.

Third Move

Formless Sword

Screech!

With an incredibly clear sound, a single flash of light split the heavens and earth in two. At the same time, it severed the net that had been enveloping and attacking from all directions.

“……!”

Even Bilyeon couldn’t help but be astonished as his mastery was broken by a single strike from the rusty sword. Flowing River of Lightning was the technique he had practiced for the longest time, and one of the first masteries he had acquired. How delighted he had been when he mastered this technique. He had never neglected to hone this mastery since then.

“How can this be……”

Yet, his mastery, which had never been broken before, was now shattered. The most emblematic mastery of the Flying Thunder Sect was broken by a nameless, rusty sword. Even the bold Bilyeon was dumbfounded. Perhaps due to carelessness or a lapse in concentration, a complete opening was revealed for a moment. It wouldn’t have been impossible for a master like Muryeong to exploit that opening and bring Bilyeon to his knees. However, it was Muryeong who ended up on his knees.

“Kuuuugh!”

Muryeong, having shattered Bilyeon’s Flowing River of Lightning with a single strike, knelt on the ground, clutching his head in agony. A headache so intense it felt like his skull was cracking struck him. He had never experienced such pain before. Like a lightning bolt illuminating scenery in black darkness before his eyes, various images flashed and disappeared in his mind.

The wind blew. Bilyeon’s bangs fluttered in the wind, revealing his golden eyes beneath. In that brief moment, Muryeong’s gaze met those eyes.

“Kuaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

Muryeong suddenly let out a mad howl.

“Are you… are you alright, Captain?”

Jang So-ok, startled, called out to him with a pale face. But Muryeong only screamed and didn’t answer. Then he slumped over.

He had fainted.

“What in the world is going on?”

Bilyeon muttered in a daze, looking down at the fallen Muryeong.

He was the one who had been in danger just moments ago. Caught off guard by the shock of one of his natural Flying Thunder Blade masteries being broken, he had become completely defenseless. Muryeong could have easily exploited that opening. Despite his severe forgetfulness, his skills were undeniable. He wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

But instead, he collapsed…

There was only one thing to say at a time like this.

“Jackpot!”

***

Yeongryeong blankly watched Muryeong being carried in.

Muryeong’s words from earlier lingered in her ears like tinnitus.

“A tree without roots is not a tree in the end. Such a tree cannot bear fruit because it has already forgotten what it is supposed to bear.”

‘A tree without roots…’

Muryeong’s words weren’t just applicable to him. Yeongryeong also acutely felt her own incompleteness.

There were holes in various parts of her memory, and now she was even harboring doubts about whether those memories were fabricated. A tree with false roots—that was an even more baseless existence than a tree without roots.

False memories meant living a false life. No, not even living it. Because it was just manipulated.

‘False memories… false goals… false life…’

Muryeong had said.

Something within him was telling him to find ‘himself.’ Torturing him to reclaim his incomplete self.

“Only after I know who I am, what I am, can I move forward. To define what I want to do, what I want to become.”

Every word Muryeong spoke struck Yeongryeong’s heart like a sharp arrow. His lingering words were shaking her mind. She couldn’t deny it. She was afraid of her own truth being revealed. She had been ignoring the fact that something was wrong with her.

—She had been afraid of finding her true self!

She knew that negating everything she remembered now meant negating her very existence as Yeongryeong. The memory of Yeongryeong refused to allow her to doubt herself any further.

She refused to seek her true self!

Whether she was Dokko-ryeong in the past or something else, she intended to live as Yeongryeong from now on. Believing that her body and mind belonged to ‘that person,’ dedicating her entire being to them.

‘Is that all also false memories?’

But there was something strange. The look in his eyes when she was receiving applications, hiding her identity at Dongjeong Lake, when she revealed her name as ‘Eunmyeong’ (Hidden Name), and again when he revealed himself as her master. And the sensation she felt when she saw those eyes.

‘Is that feeling also a lie?’

That feeling was not her memory. A sharp, aching, and somehow soul-piercing sadness, yet also a faint longing.

‘What is that feeling…?’

It was clear that this feeling was not called loyalty. Therefore, it was her own unique feeling. If she had met him for the first time then, why would she feel such longing? Could that feeling be based on an experience from another memory, not her current one?

‘I want to confirm it!’

She wanted to confirm what that feeling was. No, she had to. That feeling was too painful to keep hidden.

She had felt something when she saw the child Naye-rin. The opposite of the unfamiliarity she should have felt upon seeing her for the first time. She had reacted sharply when she heard she was from Geomgak (Sword Pavilion), her enemy, but now that she couldn’t trust her memories, that story could all be a lie.

Truly, not a single word of Muryeong’s earlier words was wrong. She couldn’t help but realize.

“I was broken too…”

And she realized. It was better to have amnesia than to have false memories.

Yeongryeong had no choice but to sadly accept the fact that she was a precarious and unstable being.

To find her true self, she needed the courage to break her current self. Only by breaking free from the shackles of memories implanted by others could she move one step further.

“Can I do it… do I have the courage to break my current self?”

At that moment, a slender hand was placed on her shoulder.

“Of course you can. You’re not broken, unnie. You’ve just forgotten.”

As she turned her head to look, Na Ye-rin stood there, smiling faintly. Her Unfettered Step technique seemed truly extraordinary, as she was already able to get up.

“Ye-rin-ah…”

Yeongryeong was surprised by the name that had slipped out of her mouth unintentionally. She had just called Na Ye-rin’s name so naturally.

“Yes, unnie. It’s me, Ye-rin.”

Na Ye-rin’s eyes welled up as Yeongryeong called her so affectionately. Seeing that, Yeongryeong felt a twinge in her heart. This child’s crying face… her heart seemed to say that.

The feeling she felt when thinking of Eunmyeong, and the feeling she felt when thinking of Na Ye-rin. Though different in nature, they were pure emotions not dependent on memories. Even if everything else was a lie, those feelings were unwavering truths.

Who am I really? Which version of me is real? And what kind of person is that person to me?

She looked directly at Na Ye-rin and said,

“I still can’t be sure who I am. My memories are unreliable, so everything is jumbled. But from now on, I’m going to try to find out. Using the feelings in this heart as my guide… Can you help me?”

Na Ye-rin clasped Yeongryeong’s outstretched hand with both of hers and nodded.

“Of course. I will definitely help you. I’ll make sure you find yourself.”

She didn’t know what awaited her in the next step, whether Dokko-ryeong or Yeongryeong would be waiting, but she resolved to take a step forward.

“A reunion of sisters… it suits you two to be together. Though not as much as Ye-rin and I, of course.”

Na Ye-rin’s head turned towards the direction of the voice. Bilyeon stood there.

Na Ye-rin didn’t ask how he got there. She didn’t wonder why Bilyeon, who wasn’t part of the delegation, was here.

Yes. She vaguely realized that Bilyeon had always been by her side. Ever since leaving Cheonmu Academy, she had never felt his absence. Therefore, she didn’t question the fact that he was here to save her.

Bilyeon and Na Ye-rin’s gazes met.

“……”

But no words came from Bilyeon’s mouth.

No words came from Na Ye-rin’s mouth either.

The two simply stared at each other for a long time.

It wasn’t because they had nothing to say. They had too much to say, so they didn’t know where to begin.

What should they say?

What should he say to her? He wasn’t the type to seek advice from anyone, but at this moment, he wished someone would teach him.

Should he start by saying he was sorry for being late, or ask how she escaped from Seocheon first, or offer congratulations?

Rescuing her, who had been abducted without warning, was his duty. He thought he had to save her from the abyss of despair before she suffered more. With that thought, he returned to the island and fought his way through.

However, it seemed she had climbed out of that despair on her own.

Bilyeon’s heart was a complex tangle of pride in her, curiosity, and regret for not having saved her sooner.

But ultimately, what filled his heart was the overwhelming joy of her return to his side.

She had finally returned.

It felt like a part that had broken off had returned to him. It felt like his incompleteness was finally being made whole. The feeling of something missing, the constant anxiety and restlessness from that unfulfilled void, began to fade.

Bilyeon forgot all words and quietly looked into her eyes.

He looked at her eyes, which held the shining night sky, black eyes that no one who saw them could ever forget, like black jewels that seemed to pull you in, and above them, the finely drawn, beautiful eyebrows. As if drawn by the hand of a master, no, a god. He stared at her eyelashes, scrutinizing them with wide eyes, as if not allowing a single strand to be lost.

His gaze gradually moved up to her hair, as black as obsidian, feeling like luxurious black silk, hair that always carried a faint fragrance, hair that made him want to bury his face in it, hair that felt unbearably wonderful as it cascaded like a waterfall through his fingers when he brushed it aside, as if checking if it had become drier than when they parted.

Then, Bilyeon’s brow twitched slightly.

His gaze, which had moved downwards, past her prominent nose and red lips, to her cheeks, discovered that her cheeks were slightly hollowed and her red, full lips had lost some of their color. This was evidence that she had suffered greatly and had consumed a tremendous amount of energy.

As Bilyeon looked at her with an intensity that suggested he would find and make those who had harmed her pay if even a single strand of downy hair was damaged, Na Ye-rin became slightly flustered. Under his persistent gaze, Na Ye-rin’s cheeks flushed subtly. However, there was no sense of unpleasantness. Rather, her heart fluttered slightly.

After meticulously examining every part of Na Ye-rin for a considerable time, Bilyeon finally let out a long sigh of relief after confirming that everything was safe, apart from being slightly pale.

“Phew, thankfully it seems nothing has been lost.”

He patted his chest. His anxious heart finally began to settle.

“Of course, only a day has passed.”

At her words, Bilyeon shook his head sharply.

“It may have been only a day for others, but not for me. I don’t want to experience the saying ‘a day feels like a thousand years’ for something like this, never again!”

A significant portion of the events of the past day, and how he had acted, was missing from his memory. He was clearly not in his right mind.

“Bilyeon, it was a long time for me too. But I believed. I believed you would definitely come.”

If she hadn’t been confident that Bilyeon would come to save her, she wouldn’t have been able to face that terrible despair and fear head-on.

“I couldn’t save Ye-rin. I was a bit late, wasn’t I?”

Bilyeon said with a slight smile. While he was relieved that Ye-rin was safe, and proud that she had escaped on her own, he lamented how much she must have suffered alone. It was truly regrettable that he couldn’t be by her side to protect and watch over her during those wonderful moments as she navigated her past nightmares.

“I should have found Ye-rin sooner. I’ve always been bad at hide-and-seek. Hahaha.”

Bilyeon scratched the back of his head and let out a hearty laugh. Na Ye-rin gently shook her head.

“You weren’t late, Bilyeon. You came exactly on time!”

“Is that so? Even though I couldn’t rescue Ye-rin when she was captured? I should have been by your side when you were suffering, I’m sorry for making you go through hardship.”

“No, you saved my heart. And we haven’t fully escaped yet, have we?”

As she said, rescue was not complete as long as they were still on this island, Jajukdo. In a way, it was just the beginning.

“Then I’ll have to perform properly from now on to make up for my lateness.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Bilyeon.”

Na Ye-rin smiled faintly. It might have seemed like a very weak smile, but Bilyeon knew it was a smile of complete trust.

“You’ve become strong, Ye-rin.”

Bilyeon slowly approached Na Ye-rin. Finally reaching her within arm’s reach, Bilyeon gently wrapped an arm around Na Ye-rin’s shoulders as she smiled faintly. Na Ye-rin silently wrapped her arms around Bilyeon’s body.

She must have been scared. She must have been afraid. She must have wanted to run away. But she didn’t. Though afraid, she fought against her past nightmares. And she rose on her own. Before he could even extend a helping hand.

“You’ve been through a lot, Ye-rin. Welcome back.”

The words, “To my side,” were swallowed silently.

Na Ye-rin clutched Bilyeon’s clothes tightly. Her hands holding the fabric behind his back trembled. It felt as if she was weeping silently.

“I’m back, Bilyeon.”

Drip, drop. A teardrop like a clear crystal fell onto Na Ye-rin’s flawless white cheeks. Holding the trembling Na Ye-rin, Bilyeon thought.

It’s a relief. It’s truly a relief.

And he thought again.

‘Did she notice?’

That the hand of the man embracing her was trembling.

Was it due to the release of tension? No matter how much he tried to stop it, the trembling wouldn’t cease. His hands hadn’t trembled even when she was kidnapped, so why were they trembling now?

He didn’t know fear. He didn’t know dread.

He had buried fear and dread along with his parents in their tomb ‘that day.’ Since then, he hadn’t felt fear or dread. Amidst the villagers falling one by one, his father’s body burning like lava and then chilling like ice, his mother’s corpse, in that vortex of death that lasted for who knows how long, he had exhausted all fear.

But now his hands were trembling.

At the fact that he might have lost her…

It was clear proof that his body and his mind had genuinely felt fear and dread.

The person who would make his incomplete self whole.

His precious one…

Only then did it feel like something that had been lost had finally returned perfectly.

He had finally regained his ‘precious one.’