EP.55 Plum Blossom Sword Dragon (梅花劍龍). (5)
The first night arrived after starting our journey with the Huashan Sect.
It was an unexpected companionship, but realistically, traveling together didn't change much.
Since the Huashan Sect essentially took care of their own food and sleeping arrangements.
Rather, matching our pace would have been a disadvantage on their part.
'Because it's something they must secure, even while enduring such a disadvantage.'
Looking at the value the spiritual artifact held, that was entirely plausible.
I wouldn't know about impoverished clans or sects, but at least the Nine Great Sects and One Union, and the Four Great Clans, would possess at least one spiritual artifact each.
This ultimately meant it was a matter of symbolism.
'The fact that they bet such a thing on a drinking game... seriously.'
How bad must it have been that the ghostly old man, who would flare up at the mere mention of the Huashan Sect, wouldn't say a single word about this part?
[Cough...]
"...Betting it was a problem, but the guy who took it after winning is also problematic."
Does it make sense to accept it when they just shoved it at him?
It was obvious Elder Li must have bared his pearly whites and gladly accepted it.
'...Because of that, I even got caught by a vengeful ghost.'
[Vengeful ghost...!]
"Anyway, that's enough about that. You said you had something to ask."
Using training as an excuse in the middle of the night, I had walked out to a place a little far away.
Despite my audacity, having increased my inner energy, I was able to deploy a qi barrier, albeit very faintly.
With the preparations complete, the ghost...
Ah, what should I even call him?
[Call me Hwaseon Seongeom Daehyeop.]
"I'll simply call you Old Man Shin."
[...You really don't listen at all. If nothing else, why not Shin Cheol, why 'Old Man Shin'? Who calls a Daoist title like that?]
"Would you prefer I call you Ghost Old Man?"
[Just call me whatever...]
Old Man Shin let out a sigh as if giving up.
Whether he truly was the hero of the past, the Huashan Immortal Sword, or not, that wasn't what was important.
'Whether it brings harm to me or not.'
That was the important part.
The feeling of having one body but two minds attached was grating, and I didn't want to feel the anxiety of potentially having my body stolen in the process.
If possible, I wanted to break free, but a method wasn't going to just pop out of nowhere.
'Right away, the fact that he controlled the qi inside my body earlier, it seems like a dangerous situation.'
Is there a way to deal with such things?
It was a headache-inducing situation.
As I was chewing on my tongue inside my mouth, Old Man Shin's voice interrupted.
[You seem to have a lot on your mind.]
"Yes, it's a headache-inducing situation, isn't it?"
If he could read even a little bit of my thoughts anyway, he would know what I was worried about.
There was no need to deliberately hide it.
"How are you going to get out of my body?"
[If I knew that, would I be stuck to you, especially when the children of Huashan are swarming around right now?]
Old Man Shin snorted as if annoyed and continued speaking.
[Don't worry needlessly, I have no interest in your measly body.]
"That's not something easily believed, you know."
[What will you do if you can't believe it? Do you have another method?]
"...Wouldn't it turn up if I look for it?"
[Don't take it lightly. It seems you're worried about me moving your inner qi, but hiding it was my limit, so don't worry.]
"...Then how did you knock me unconscious?"
If the old man's words were true, how could he explain the excruciating pain from the moment I faced the Sword Dragon?
The inner qi roaming through my body as it pleased was a sickeningly nauseating sensation.
At my question, Old Man Shin spoke as if dumbfounded.
[I didn't do that, you greenhorn punk.]
"Pardon?"
[Whether you believe it or not is your freedom, but isn't it strange to hope to be fine while harboring such a damned thing inside your body in the first place?]
Harboring?
"What do you mean I'm harboring something?"
At my question, Old Man Shin answered as if surprised.
[...Oh ho, I see. So you were in a state where you didn't even know you were harboring it.]
"You have to explain what you mean..."
[I feel like I've answered enough, so now it's my turn. We should both be getting something out of this, shouldn't we?]
Tsk...
Going by the vibe, it seemed he had no intention of telling me.
An old fox of a man; no matter how I looked at it, there seemed to be many issues for him to be that famous Huashan Immortal Sword.
Especially, unlike what was passed down, his temperament was a total mess...
[Seems like you don't want to hear it.]
"...No, rather, having a broad and endless mind is truly fitting of the symbol of Daoism."
Rotten... for a Daoist, why is his belly so damn narrow?
[...I can feel your thoughts, so it's meaningless anyway.]
"...Just tell me what you wanted to ask."
It was useless small talk between us.
Unnecessary talk should end here, and we needed to slowly get to the main point.
[There is something I want to ask you.]
"Yes, please ask."
[Do you know which generation the current Sect Leader of the Huashan Sect is?]
If it's the current Sect Leader of the Huashan Sect... is he talking about Maehwasun (Plum Blossom Immortal)?
When it came to discussing the sword, he was one of the rare sword masters who could be compared to the Sword Sovereign, the Greatest Sword Under Heaven.
Although, inside me, he had become the guy who sold off a spiritual artifact in a drinking game.
Anyway, as for what generation Maehwasun is as Sect Leader...
"I wouldn't know."
[...?]
"...No, usually people don't care about what generation another sect's leader is. If it comes to it, I'll ask the Huashan disciples later."
[You rotten... No, never mind. Then I'll ask something else.]
"Yes."
Old Man Shin asked me in a much more serious voice, unlike his flustered tone just a moment ago.
[What became of the Blood Demon?]
"Pardon?"
Blood Demon?
At Old Man Shin's words, I had no choice but to pause my thoughts for a moment.
The Blood Demon suddenly? I had to think for a while about the meaning of these abruptly spoken words.
"What do you mean?"
[Exactly what it means. Do you not know of the Blood Demon?]
"How could I not? The story I've heard until my ears developed calluses is about the Great War against the Blood Demon."
[...Fortunately, it seems the story has survived to the later generations. What I'm asking is that. What happened to the Blood Demon in the end?]
"If you are the Huashan Immortal Sword, isn't it stranger for you not to know?"
The hero who blocked the Blood Demon and brought light back to the Central Plains.
The very person who made Huashan even more powerful afterward is asking about the Blood Demon?
[Answer me first. What became of the Blood Demon?]
"If I speak according to the records, the Blood Demon died. It was none other than you all who stopped him, wasn't it?"
[You all?]
If one were to ask who, it was five supreme masters including the Huashan Immortal Sword.
As I named them one by one, Old Man Shin spoke in a relieved voice.
[...Fortunately, it seems I was also there.]
"At this point, I'm more curious. Why are you asking me this? Are you really the Huashan Immortal Sword?"
[I am indeed the Huashan Immortal Sword Shin Cheol, however.]
Old Man Shin started to speak, hesitated briefly, and then continued.
[The final battle with the Blood Demon... only that, I cannot remember.]
"...What do you mean?"
He can't remember?
[Seeing the Daoist title of the child named Shin Hyeon, I can tell that quite a lot of time has passed, and looking at your thoughts, I could tell that I was alive even after blocking the Blood Demon.]
"Yes."
[But... why is there no memory after that?]
"Then do you not know the reason you were possessed in the spiritual artifact either?"
[If I knew that, would I be throwing such a fit to you?]
"You do realize you're doing something... similar to that, right?"
I couldn't bring myself to say 'throwing a fit', so I softened my words.
Listening to Old Man Shin's words, it seemed like there was a gap in his memory.
Was it a side effect caused by being possessed in the spiritual artifact?
Why is there always something missing with everything I get involved with?
'...Is it karma?'
If it was karma, I had nothing to say.
If it pissed you off, you shouldn't have lived such a damn life.
It felt like someone was saying that to me.
[I cannot figure it out....]
"Anyway, the Blood Demon died and the Huashan Sect is still standing, so isn't that a good thing?"
[Your simple logic makes you seem lacking as a person, but seeing it like this, I'm almost envious.]
"Why are you insulting me in such a fancy way?"
[...You're quick on the uptake, though.]
...Damn old man.
"Now please satisfy my curiosity."
[What are you talking about?]
"This thing you said I'm harboring, what do you mean by that?"
What Old Man Shin had said kept bothering me.
What could I be harboring?
As if my worry was amusing, the old man chuckled, clicking his tongue.
"Why are you laughing?"
[Do you think it will change anything if a guy who doesn't even trust me hears it?]
"Still, shouldn't I at least hear it first?"
[Shameless brat, you don't even deny it.]
"You're going to know anyway, so why hide it?"
It felt convenient, if anything, not having to put on a troublesome facade.
As I was wearing a tired expression, Old Man Shin spoke.
[What is in your body, I don't know well either.]
...What?
Didn't he speak earlier as if he knew very well?
As expected, a fraud....
[Ah, wait a moment, aren't I still talking?]
"Ah, yes."
[From my standpoint, you who can't feel anything at all is rather more mystifying.]
"What do you mean by that?"
[I mean, are you saying you truly feel nothing while harboring such a violent bastard in your dantian?]
Violent? Is he talking about the Gu Yeom Hwa Ryun Gong?
It was such a domineering mental method that there wouldn't be a problem calling it that, but...
Old Man Shin's words felt more like describing a beast rather than a mental method.
[It seems it didn't like me entering the body, so it was trying to run wild recklessly, so I was the one who subdued it from my side. Be grateful, you greenhorn.]
"...Subdued it?"
[Even now, if I take off its leash, it will run amok, biting and tearing everywhere. Do you want to test it?]
As soon as Old Man Shin finished speaking, the same excruciating pain as before suddenly rushed in.
A bone-chilling sensation of excruciating pain, as if sharp inner qi was piercing and roaming all over my body.
"Keugh...!?"
Unable to even breathe properly, one knee automatically buckled from the pain.
When I couldn't control my staggering body and was about to lose my mind.
[Do you understand now?]
Along with Old Man Shin's words, the excruciating pain vanished in an instant.
Only then could I breathe heavily.
"Hah, hah... What... is this."
I could feel my startled heart beating much faster.
[Looking at your condition, it seems the energy contained within the spiritual artifact stimulated the fellow. Didn't I tell you to consume it in moderation?]
"I told you I didn't consume it on purpose..."
No matter how unaccustomed my body was to pain, how could I almost lose my mind after experiencing it for just a few seconds?
'It seems I've been caught up in something wrong.'
Is it a problem with the mental method? Or is demonic arts the problem? Or is it something else entirely?
Or perhaps Old Man Shin might be lying.
The road ahead was already long, and it felt like my ankle was caught by something strange.
Accidents happening at every turn to this extent, might it not be my fault?
[I can feel you doubting. To still do so even after coming this far, you're remarkable in many ways.]
"Please stop reading my thoughts."
[Blame yourself for thinking so easily readable. And at this point, shouldn't you be able to tell?]
Half-listening, I dispelled the qi barrier I had spread around me.
If I was any later, the guards would come looking for me.
[The fact that I am attached to you right now isn't entirely a bad thing. I too dislike it, but I will endure it, so stop grumbling and quickly find a way to resolve this situation.]
"How exactly?"
[Didn't you say you were going to Huashan? It's the same for me, and the spiritual artifact was originally Huashan's, so the answer might be there.]
It was a vibe of 'so stop whining now'. Would there be a method if I went to Huashan?
I sincerely hoped so.
....Because I didn't want to keep staying with this bad-tempered old man.
[You rotten brat, who are you calling who...!]
Ignoring Old Man Shin's words, I first turned my steps back to the campsite.
The something trying to run wild in my dantian was like that too.
Old Man Shin claiming to be subduing it was also a question mark, but.
...Ultimately, there was no part I could solve in the current situation, so it meant I had to go to Huashan first.