Chapter 485 - Eccentric Immortal.
Thunder Sky Sword, Namgung Myeong.
One of the five heroes who stopped the Blood Demon.
The strongest martial artist in the history of the Namgung family.
It is said that with a single gesture, the heavens filled with dark clouds, and thunder spread at a light shout.
His other alias.
Wasn't it the Thunder God?
It was something passed down only through records.
Since I hadn't gone out of my way to look into it, I didn't know the details.
Of course, after learning that they remained in the present world and were entangled with my affairs, I did look into them a bit, but...
Judging solely by the remaining records.
Calling them all human would have been a stretch.
They were nothing but tales passed down as legends.
That the poisonous aura emitted by Dang Jemun was enough to fill an entire region.
That contrary to Cheollyeong's benevolent personality, a mountain was erased with a single punch.
That the heavens trembled at the Thunder God's anger, and so on.
The stories of Noya and Yeonilcheon were no less, if not more.
Each and every one of them was a story that made you wonder if such monsters could even exist.
I couldn't stand it anymore and got so annoyed that I didn't want to read the records any further.
Because I thought they were groundless rumors? If only that were the case, I would have felt more at ease.
The reason was none other than this.
Those people gathered, five of them at that. And all they managed to do was a seal?
The Blood Demon War that left such terrible scars.
People would think that the heroes had stopped it.
The truth was that they had barely managed to seal it, and even now, the Blood Demon was walking around brazenly.
The Blood Demon that even the Heavenly Demon struggled with; those five couldn't properly stop it.
Reading the legends of the heroes, the thought that I might have to clean up later what those people couldn't do even by working together pissed me off so much that I couldn't bear to look at them.
Anyway....
I could think about this later.
I had to focus on what Noya had just said.
Namgung Myeong?
I looked straight ahead.
Disheveled white hair covered in dust.
Lifting the bangs that had been covering his face, even the brilliant blue eyes now visible.
A handsome middle-aged man with looks that ranked among the best I had seen so far.
Even compared to Changcheon Sword King Namgung Jin, who ranked quite high when it came to good looks, he was far superior.
Looking at such a man, I thought.
...The Wudang Eccentric Immortal... was born into the Namgung family?
There was only one place in the Central Plains with such distinctive features.
The Great Namgung family.
Precisely because that was the only place, the Wudang Eccentric Immortal carried those features in abundance.
Far more intensely than the family head or Namgung Biya, who were called the bloodline, at that.
In this bewildering situation, I asked Noya.
Noya... what did you mean by what you said just now?
[...What do you mean, what did I mean? The literal meaning.]
The Wudang Eccentric Immortal looks exactly like the Thunder Sky Sword?
[Yes. He looks exactly alike, enough to give you chills. Though his dirty appearance is different.]
Hearing those words, I examined the Eccentric Immortal once more.
An exceedingly handsome appearance.
Though a chilly aura was evident, his eyes looked tired, and his face had an ill-fated look.
I could understand why Noya called him a hopeless good-for-nothing every time he brought up Namgung Myeong.
After pondering what to do for a moment, I first put my hands together in a martial salute.
At the very least, I had to greet him.
"...This descendant of the Gu family pays his respects to the senior of Wudang."
"The Gu family?"
A strange light entered the eyes of the Wudang Eccentric Immortal upon hearing my introduction.
"I see. So you're the one causing all the fuss these days."
"...Yes. I am called Gu Yangcheon."
I don't know in what sense he meant by fuss, but the person the Eccentric Immortal was talking about was most likely me.
Since the Martial Alliance was spreading rumors nonstop, it was bound to be noisy.
"Hmm."
The Eccentric Immortal's gaze swept up and down my body.
His eyes were clearly filled with interest.
After looking at me like that for a moment, the Eccentric Immortal smirked and spoke.
"When I first heard the rumors... I wondered if the Martial Alliance lunatics were up to their usual tricks."
"...!"
Taken aback by words sharper than expected.
I hadn't known there was another crazy bastard besides me who called the Martial Alliance lunatics in this day and age.
[So you knew you weren't in your right mind too.]
...It was surprising enough that the Eccentric Immortal had caught on to their schemes.
Just as I was surprised at the Eccentric Immortal.
He also seemed quite surprised at me.
"Rumors falling short was something I hadn't expected."
"I'm simply grateful that you think highly of me...."
Though I had been hiding my realm to some extent.
It seemed he had confirmed my level when I used my lightfoot skills earlier.
The Eccentric Immortal, having offered praise, stroked his chin several times.
"This is hopeless."
He muttered something strange while looking at Uhyeok.
"What do you mean?"
As if accustomed to the Eccentric Immortal's behavior, Uhyeok replied, and the Eccentric Immortal smirked.
"I had thought you would sweep through this era."
"Huh? Me?"
Uhyeok looked as if this was the first he'd heard of it.
"But with someone like him around, that seems impossible. Give it up."
"Haha, why are you doing this? I didn't have any expectations to begin with. Why would I do something so troublesome? Sleeping is more profitable than that."
"...You're still as lazy as ever. Come on, show some backbone for your master who's speaking to you."
"When it comes to lacking backbone, you aren't much better, Master. Why are you doing this to me?"
"Well, that's true."
Hahahaha-!
After talking earnestly, the two suddenly burst into giggles.
Watching them, I let out a bitter smile without realizing it.
So that's where Uhyeok's strange personality came from. There was his spitting image.
[Hmm.]
As if finding it strange as well, Noya let out a voice that sounded somehow exhausted.
[...The face is the same. But the personality is completely different.]
Is he very different from the Thunder Sky Sword?
He said their faces were the same.
Their personalities seemed very different.
[If it were him, he wouldn't use such speech. He wouldn't go around in such an unsightly state to begin with.]
Noya's voice was filled with an inexplicable firmness.
[He was a man who would throw a fit if even a speck of dust got on his body. I found his fastidiousness disgusting and dumped him in a mud puddle once.]
Huh?
[Do you know how terrifyingly he came at me, swearing to kill me? Keke. Anyway, he was a narrow-minded bastard. A martial artist should be able to get a little dirt on him. Tsk tsk.]
...
No matter how I heard it, was it my imagination that Noya seemed more like a thug than that the other was narrow-minded?
What was clearer was that the two of them didn't seem to have been on very good terms.
Just hearing about the personality, I can tell he's different from the Eccentric Immortal.
Conversely, it meant that his face looked exactly the same.
After waiting for the two who were giggling for a while, I spoke to the Eccentric Immortal when things had quieted down a bit.
"Excuse me... Senior."
"Yes?"
"If I may. Perhaps, Namgung..."
"Ah."
As I was about to ask, the Eccentric Immortal seemed to immediately realize what I was going to ask and waved his hand.
"I was, once upon a time. But not anymore, so don't worry about it."
I was, in the past, but not now....
It seemed something had happened.
So he is indeed from the Namgung family.
Ah.
So that's why he has the Noea...?
Knowing that much, I finally understood why the Wudang Eccentric Immortal was the current owner of the Noea.
The Thunder Sword Noea, called the symbol of the Namgung family and an important precious object.
I had wondered how it ended up in another's hands.
So it was because the Eccentric Immortal was from the Namgung family to begin with.
It was rare but not unheard of for someone born into a prestigious family to leave home and join another sect.
In the past too, there had been bloodline descendants from the Moyong family or the Paeng family who joined other sects and made a name for themselves.
However.
Why isn't the Eccentric Immortal's name known?
If he were a Wudang martial artist from the Namgung family, it would only be normal for his name to be known.
This was exactly the kind of thing that prestigious families would spread rumors about.
If it were Wudang, they would spread rumors about how great a bloodline descendant from one of the Four Great Families had become after joining Wudang.
If it were the Namgung family, they would spread rumors about how their bloodline descendant had become great.
That's just how politics and rumors work.
Packing themselves up and inflating their own greatness was the basic move, and there was no better spark than this, so of course they would use it.
But the Wudang Eccentric Immortal was only famous by his title. It wasn't known that he was from the Namgung family.
Even with that striking appearance.
It was an unmistakable characteristic.
Strangely, there were no rumors.
Moreover... even though he possesses the Noea. Why doesn't the Namgung family reclaim it?
This was the biggest question.
There were rumors, not large but definitely circulating, that the Wudang Eccentric Immortal possessed the Noea.
Since the Noea was the symbol of the Namgung family, it would be natural for them to reclaim it since the Eccentric Immortal belonged to Wudang and had become an outsider.
But for some reason, the Namgung family wasn't taking such action.
I don't know, why is that?
The family head and his daughter both looked like idiots. But as a prestigious family, they should have brains.
Seeing that they deliberately didn't do so, it seemed there was some circumstance here too.
While my thoughts were briefly submerged in various questions.
"Ah, even if I tell you not to worry."
The Eccentric Immortal seemed to realize something and addressed me.
"You might have a hard time."
"Huh?"
What was he talking about?
"I heard you got engaged. Is that not so?"
"Ah...."
I wondered what he meant; it seemed he was talking about Namgung Biya.
"It might be hard not to worry. Truly, with them now...."
"No, I don't really worry about it, so it's fine."
"Huh?"
I cut off the Eccentric Immortal before he could add more.
"I think it would be annoying to hear more. Since you told me not to worry about it, I won't."
"Ah, really?"
It was obviously an annoying story.
I already had plenty of things to worry about; I didn't want to hear the circumstances of the Namgung family here too.
Was my answer problematic because it contained such feelings?
The Eccentric Immortal made a subtle expression and spoke while looking at Uhyeok.
"Is it because he's your friend? This one also doesn't seem normal."
"Huh? He might not be, but I am normal."
"It's a relief that you're still as strange as ever even after several years, my disciple."
It was unfair to suddenly be treated like a weirdo.
What pissed me off more was that bastard Uhyeok proudly claiming he was normal.
He has eyes to see, so I can't even hit him. I'll have to beat him up on the way back.
I steeled myself.
"Master, I think that bastard is planning to beat me up."
As if having quickly figured that out, Uhyeok tattled to his master.
That bastard...?
"You grow by fighting."
"Haha. Damn it. I had no one on my side?"
[...Crazy bastards. They're definitely crazy bastards.]
For once, I agreed with Noya. Because no matter how I looked at it, they were crazy bastards.
But Noya, who said that, wasn't exactly normal either.
[What, punk...?]
How can you read my inner thoughts? Please respect my privacy.
[Ha. Now you're just saying it outright.]
Since I knew he read everything anyway, it was better to curse comfortably.
[...Forget that, think about what you're going to do about the purpose of your visit.]
Ah, right. There was that.
...
I didn't hear anything, but I felt like Noya had looked at me with contempt for a moment.
Indeed, there was a purpose for coming here. What should I do about this?
The reason I had sought out the Eccentric Immortal.
It was to find the Noea.
I had come with the intention of obtaining the Noea and giving it to Namgung Biya, but.
I can't exactly steal it.
Taking it by force was impossible.
The original method of using the Namgung family name to get the Noea had also become impossible.
If he was a bloodline descendant to begin with, and the Namgung family was deliberately not interfering, then I currently lacked justification.
I hadn't planned to take the Noea from the first meeting.
But I needed to come up with a method.
While I was pondering what to do.
[Shall I help?]
Noya spoke in an indifferent voice.
...You, Noya?
[Of course it's me, who else would help you?]
How?
A spiritual body, and one stuck inside my body at that, so he couldn't do anything.
How did he plan to help?
I had zero faith, but it was better than no help.
Is there some way?
[Well, it's nothing grand. But wouldn't it be fastest to call the person himself and talk?]
The person himself?
Wondering what this meant, I tilted my head slightly.
[I'm talking about when that bastard Myeong came at me to kill me earlier.]
Huh? Yes.
Noya suddenly started bringing up stories from the past.
[It wasn't just then; we fought like that countless times. He and I had completely incompatible personalities, so it couldn't be helped.]
I wondered why he was telling me this, but I didn't point it out for now.
Because there seemed to be a reason.
[We must have exchanged blows well over a hundred times.... Do you know what's important here?]
It was a very serious voice.
Was it the sense of pressure from it?
Without realizing it, I swallowed dryly and had to answer.
Gulp.
What...?
[Forty-nine to fifty-one.]
What is that...?
[The result of our wins and losses. And. Of course, I won fifty-one of them....]
[...What nonsense.]
...!
Someone interrupted, cutting off Noya's voice.
At that voice, my head turned.
I looked in the direction the voice came from.
Bzzzzzt-!-!
"...Hmm...?"
The Eccentric Immortal was there where my gaze fell.
He was looking at his suddenly vibrating chest in confusion.
Then he reached into his bosom and took something out.
Vreeee-vreeee-!
The object he took out was a sword vibrating like crazy. Yes.
The Noea?
It was the Noea, one of the Central Plains' Five Great Swords.
It looked exactly like the one the Demon Sword Empress had held, so I was sure.
[Tsk tsk.]
Noya let out a laugh upon seeing it.
Which meant....
Don't tell me, the voice I just heard was....
I was staring at the Noea with a hopeful heart.
[It seems your brain has finally rotted with the passage of time.]
An extremely cold voice continued to be heard from there.
It was questionable how a person's voice could be so cold.
[Forty-nine victories were yours. Fifty-one were mine. How dare you distort important history?]
Despite the cold voice, what was being said was somewhat crude.
I simply continued to look at the Noea with surprised eyes.
[It's been a while.]
Despite hearing that voice, Noya greeted him as if he were glad.
Seeing this, I could be certain.
That the owner of this cold voice currently heard was none other than.
[Have you been well all this time, Myeong.]
The Thunder Sky Sword, Namgung Myeong himself.
******************
Drip....
A dark and humid space. In that cold place, a small sound echoed.
Drip... drip....
It was the sound of water droplets falling.
Even this small sound spread widely, resonating throughout the entire space.
A space whose purpose was unknown.
Inside it, Nahi knelt on both knees with her head bowed.
A far more polite demeanor than she had shown the Poison King.
The one receiving Nahi's courtesy was examining the paper in his hands.
In the darkness, thin fingers that looked like only bones remained were visible.
Rustle.
The old man slowly flipping through the letter furrowed his brows as if he had found something.
"The Poison King found out.... Is this true?"
"...Yes... it is, Elder."
"Hmm.... This has become troublesome."
As the old man spat out those words.
Fsssss....
The letter he held began to rot and crumble in an instant.
"It's not... time yet....."
The old man was regretful.
The opportunity was gradually approaching.
He had been preparing for that time. But it seemed something had interfered with the matter.
"Did they say Gu Yangcheon?"
"Yes.... that's right."
Tsk.
The old man clicked his tongue briefly.
"As expected of the Gu family descendant, doing things that grate on the eyes... If only you had stayed still like a good lump of flesh."
The name of the one who had asked for useless information and delivered it to the Poison King.
They say he's a genius making a fuss in the Central Plains lately.
"Bringing information about the Poison Heaven Group was well done, but running wild without knowing your place is an unsightly thing to see."
And in the Tang Clan's territory, no less.
The old man really didn't like that.
"Before he causes more trouble.... it would be good to take care of him."
Saying so, the old man smiled slightly.
If it were another region, perhaps not, but this is the Tang Clan.
No matter how high the opponent's realm. No matter what his background.
It was a place with overflowing ways to dispose of someone without anyone knowing.
"Tell the others in advance too. Tell them we need to prepare a nice gift."
The old man was someone more confident than anyone in such matters.
Receiving the old man's order, Nahi bowed her head deeper and answered.
"I... understand."
There was no way to refuse such an order.
Originally, the curse binding Nahi would have forced her to do so.
...
But now, that was not the case.
Nahi slightly raised her head and observed the old man.
The curse that had bound her body was gone, so she could escape at any time.
That was all.
This is what he did.
It was something that happened when Gu Yangcheon pushed some energy into her.
It was the reason the curse she had wanted to escape for over a decade disappeared in an instant.
So, she wanted to immediately take a dagger and plunge it deep into that old monster's neck.
She wanted to sever his neck and pull out his heart and stab him repeatedly, but.
Nahi didn't. No, she couldn't.
Because the curse on her body had disappeared.
And an even greater curse had taken its place.
"If something happens, just do as you're told. It doesn't matter."
The command she had heard not long ago came to mind.
Because of those words, Nahi could not take any other action.
She hated that she was living like a slave no matter what.
She bit her lip and endured.
Because at least. One thing was different.
"I'll let you have your revenge. So just do as I say."
Those words.
Because of that single light remark, Nahi could endure.
Of course, even if she couldn't endure. She had no other choice.
"Ah. Also."
Just as Nahi was barely suppressing her emotions, the elder spoke to her again.
"Find out the whereabouts of the Young Lady. For I must go see her face after a long time."
"Understood."
With the old man's words, Nahi concealed her presence.
The old man left alone looked somewhere and let out an aged smile.
Tsk tsk.
Where the old man looked, the corpses of those slaughtered beyond recognition were piled up.
The blood flowing from there soaked the floor.
Despite the cruel sight, the old man smiled as if nothing was wrong.
"Everything is according to the Lord's will."
Even if unexpected things happened, it didn't matter.
If anyone went against this will, they need only be melted away.
It had always been so.
The Poison Lord.
If anyone opposed his will.
The old man would simply eliminate them.