< Episode 565 > Why is This Old Man Here?
The sky is visible. A sight I had grown accustomed to by now.
I had been beaten and laid out on the ground hundreds of times. By now, something like this was nothing.
[Disciple.]
I raised my head at the voice.
Lifting my aching neck to look, Paejon was staring at me with a strange expression.
He seemed to have something he wanted to ask. I didn’t know what.
[Why do you ask?]
[Something has suddenly piqued my curiosity, that is all.]
[Yes.]
[What do you plan to do from here on?]
[Pardon?]
It was a truly out-of-the-blue question.
After being thoroughly beaten and finally getting a moment to rest, why would he ask something like that?
[Why do you suddenly ask such a thing? Are you planning to lay out the course of my life or something?]
[Why would I bother with such a tedious thing?]
He really did look annoyed.
That’s too much, and he calls himself my master...
[But why then?]
When I asked with a dumbfounded expression, Paejon looked at me and spoke.
[Did I not tell you before?]
[Tell me what?]
He had said countless things.
I couldn’t remember and asked back, prompting Paejon to let out a sigh and speak.
[Did I not say that this much was enough, and that it was about time you moved as you pleased?]
[Ah.]
Only then did I recall.
He had indeed said something like that. About three months ago, I believe.
It was when I had mastered the Fourth Form of the Tuapacheonmu. When I succeeded at the Fourth Form, Paejon said to me:
[This much should suffice.]
His face showed satisfaction.
[You won’t go around getting beaten up anymore.]
Two and a half years since I began training in earnest under Paejon. Only then was I barely acknowledged by him.
[You are ready.]
[Now, flip the Central Plains upside down as you desire.]
Paejon said this to me with an air of great anticipation.
And another three months passed since then, leading to now.
[I told you that, so why aren’t you going out and instead still training here, is what I’m asking.]
Paejon was asking me with an incredulous expression.
...No, if anyone should be incredulous, shouldn’t it be me?
[...Are you scolding me for training hard right now?]
Instead of cheering me on, why ask why I’m training? What kind of situation is this?
I found myself utterly baffled by Paejon’s attitude.
[Weren’t you the one who told me to do nothing but train until I achieved greatness?]
[So I said. But how can a person live doing nothing but training?]
[...Bull.]
[What?]
[Nothing. It was a cough.]
Whoosh-!
I turned my head and dodged the fist.
It was a close call. Any later and my head would have been hit.
The funny thing was, for this evasion, a look of satisfaction appeared in Paejon’s eyes.
[Oh? Look at this brat?]
In the past, far from dodging, I would have just taken it head-on.
Now I had reached the point where I could barely dodge a few times.
However.
[Hey, don’t just try to hit me out of nowhere like that, okay?]
Unlike having become able to dodge thanks to my awakened eye.
At the same time, my thoughts on just how tremendous a figure Paejon was grew deeper.
The Mind’s Eye awakened by the Tuapacheonmu.
It was an eye that allowed me to see in advance the direction of the martial artist’s inner qi, the movements containing that qi, how and in what manner they would move, by observing the inner qi itself.
Because it allowed me to see the inner qi itself, not the movements.
Since I could know in advance what movements the opponent would make, it seemed like an incredible power, but—
if there was one problem.
[...Ugh...]
I groaned, clutching my forehead even though I hadn’t been hit.
This was the problem with the Mind’s Eye.
If I used the Mind’s Eye for more than a certain amount of time, tremendous fatigue and headaches would rush into my eyes.
Inner qi was like countless branches. Even if I could see beforehand where the inner qi was heading—
moving to match it was another story.
I hadn’t even used it for a few minutes, yet my head hurt this much...
[Just how do you endure this, Elder?]
Paejon had said that he kept the Mind’s Eye active not only during all duels but also during most of his daily life.
He had said he’d grown so used to it now that it was nothing.
Not to mention the pain from using the Tuapacheonmu itself.
Every martial art this old man had created was incredibly savage.
Gaining power in exchange for pain.
In a way, it seemed like a power more demonic than demonic energy itself.
[Stop beating around the bush and answer.]
[Answer what?]
[I’m asking what you’re trying to do moving forward, acting like this.]
While barely suppressing my headache, Paejon asked me with a slight furrow of his brow.
[The brat who wanted to go out and flip everything upside down immediately. The reason he’s now cooped up here. That is what I am curious about.]
[I’m just not going out because training is fun.]
[I suppose that must be true.]
A master should be happy when his disciple trains hard, but why that man was acting like this, I truly couldn’t understand.
[Could it also be because training is fun, this scheming you’ve been doing with your little lackeys of late?]
[...When did you see that?]
[In your household, there are only three places beyond the reach of my eyes and ears. Knowing that, did you think I could truly be unaware?]
Three places... If so.
One would be my father’s patriarch chamber.
If I were to guess, one would be the lodgings where Cheonjon is staying.
And the remaining one would be...
probably the Gu Family’s underground.
Thinking up to this point, I swallowed dryly.
And I tried hard to change the subject.
[Didn’t you tell me to do as I please, to flip things over or whatever...]
That once his permission was given, I should handle the rest myself.
That as long as I didn’t neglect my Tuapacheonmu training, I could do anything.
[So I did. I definitely said that.]
Paejon added with a sigh.
[Seeing the way you act, I worry, that is why.]
[Me?]
[No, I’m saying I’m worried for the Central Plains, wondering how great a disaster you’re planning to unleash after holding back and enduring all this time.]
[...]
What the hell kind of nonsense was that?
I had to furrow my brows deeply upon hearing it.
[What have I done to deserve that?]
[Even if not now, aren’t you planning something?]
[...Ahem.]
To this, I couldn’t honestly say no.
Because I was indeed trying to do something.
For that, I was training this hard and also building a foundation separately.
Paejon said it was fine to move now, but in my opinion, it was still insufficient.
I was still far from reaching my goal.
But to at least put on an 'act,' this was not enough.
Just a little more.
I had to fill it up just a little more.
Only then would it meet the conditions I was thinking of.
[...It’s not like I’m trying to do anything grand. Just.]
I spoke while looking into Paejon’s eyes.
[There are two bastards I need to screw over.]
There were two men I had to stop somehow.
[I’ve thought of a way to screw them both over at the same time, you see.]
A way to stop the disaster Cheonma would bring and simultaneously deal with Hyeolma.
Something only I could do. There was something perfectly suited for this.
Thinking about it, it was a truly simple method.
Steal the position and influence Cheonma would gain. Stop the Bloodbath that Cheonma would cause.
Even if I couldn’t stop the Bloodbath, disrupt what Cheonma was trying to do, and at the same time—
remind the Central Plains of the danger of the Bloodbath, laying the groundwork to prepare for the future.
What’s more.
'I build the power to oppose both Cheonma and Hyeolma.'
That was the plan I had come up with.
It sounded absurd just hearing it. It seemed to have more risks than gains, but—
I judged it worth trying.
The problem was.
'To remind the Alliance of the future danger of the Bloodbath, an incident is needed.'
Although I had subtly spread methods to deal with the red demonic creatures through my information network.
Changing perceptions about a Bloodbath that hadn’t even happened was impossible with information alone.
Because humans are beasts of apathy.
They tend to think about the future easily, to the point of foolishness.
Therefore.
I had to find a way.
And I found the easiest method.
Perhaps it was a simple principle.
If they were so indifferent to something that hadn’t happened.
I simply had to create danger to remind them.
Someone hostile to the Martial Alliance and seeking to destroy it.
Furthermore, a being possessing overwhelming might and influence, the sole target of the Central Plains' vigilance.
The master of the Demonic Cult, Cheonma.
With his existence alone, he made the Martial Alliance—whose righteousness and cooperation were rotting and collapsing—unite its strength for a time.
He even made them gather unprecedented forces and wage war.
That was precisely the phenomenon created by the crisis called Cheonma.
[...Therefore.]
If a crisis could play such a useful role.
I simply had to willingly create that crisis.
I could easily do that much.
In other words.
In this world where a 'crisis' had not yet appeared—
[I thought I’d put on a bit of a play.]
Meaning, I had decided to become the crisis first.
**************
My body sways.
"...Pa."
A voice also reached my ears.
My eyelids were heavy, and I couldn’t open my eyes well.
"Wake up...!"
An urgent voice. Is it Guryeonghwa?
Confirming this, I opened my eyes slightly.
'Wrists.'
At the same time, I tried moving my arms slightly.
Clank.
There was a feeling of something bound around my wrists.
Fortunately, it seemed the shackles were properly worn again.
Right after vomiting a lot of blood, wrapping clothes around myself and composing my body, I had returned to the prison.
Having unleashed the aftereffects, I had bought time so people couldn’t come to the prison immediately.
I came back and quietly returned to the cell.
I left no traces.
Even if I had, I believed Nahi would have cleaned up.
Having returned to my original state like that and sat in the prison.
After that.
'Did I fall asleep?'
It seemed I had lost consciousness for a moment.
That was a mistake.
'I was far more exhausted than I thought.'
I absolutely must not lose consciousness no matter what.
To think I lost consciousness because I couldn’t endure the physical burden.
Ung.
I circulated my inner qi slightly and checked my condition.
I could feel my insides were still a mess.
'Tch...'
On the other hand, I could feel things slowly regenerating, but having suffered internal injuries was still having suffered internal injuries.
I would probably have to suffer for at least a couple of months.
'...At least Hwaryunseong is unusable.'
When I tried to create a sun in the air, half the energy in my heart drained away.
Because I tried to forcibly use power that didn’t match my realm, my energy took the burden instead.
'Not easy.'
I thought I had somehow met the conditions.
To think just this once brought me to this state.
If I were to do this again next time, I thought I’d have to use a slightly different method.
'I need a more efficient method.'
This alone wouldn’t do.
I was trying to think of another method when—
"...Oppa... wake up."
I turned my gaze toward the voice.
Ah, now that I thought about it, Guryeonghwa had been calling me. I immediately spat out words.
"Ah, I fell asleep for a moment. I didn’t sleep well last night."
I had hidden my internal injuries with my qi.
As long as it didn’t show on the outside, it would be fine. Just as Guryeonghwa was about to say something to me—
"You must have been very tired."
Another voice cut in.
I turned my head and the Sword Empress was standing there. She too looked quite haggard from fatigue.
It must be because of the situation just before.
I smiled as if I didn’t know.
"For the Sword Empress to come here... does it mean everything is finished?"
Ssk.
I subtly showed her my tightly bound wrists.
"It’s getting rather stifling... I hope the misunderstanding is cleared up. I really didn’t steal anything."
I had to maintain an attitude as if I knew nothing of what had just happened.
My face was hidden by a mask.
I had changed my body and voice as well, so it shouldn’t show, but—
even so, I had to be extremely careful.
Hearing my words, the Sword Empress put on a somewhat shadowed expression and spoke to me in a calm voice.
"I would like to untie you, but for now...."
"It is fine."
Cutting off the Sword Empress, another voice interjected this time.
And with that, someone appeared from behind.
Seeing that, I had to click my tongue inwardly.
'I didn’t sense any presence.'
Perhaps because of my internal injuries, my senses weren’t properly extending.
Because of that, I couldn’t properly sense even someone this close.
Otherwise, there’d be no way I couldn’t sense a presence right in front of my nose.
Moreover, such a tremendous presence at that.
The figure who had suddenly interrupted and appeared smiled at the Sword Empress and spoke.
"Rather, it is I who should apologize for the main sect’s discourtesy, Sword Empress."
Flutter.
Wind blew from somewhere, making the old man’s dao robe flutter.
As the pure white dao robe fluttered, the large character emblazoned on it also swayed.
Jeong (正).
That is what was written on the dao robe.
What it meant was none other than this:
At the same time as expressing the firmness that righteousness is oneself—
it meant the highest person of the Martial Alliance, the heart of the Righteous Faction.
The Alliance Leader.
That was precisely the identity of that old man.
Sharp features with hair gone completely white.
A well-groomed beard and muscles that felt trained, rare for an old man.
Moreover, the sharp senses felt from the old man’s body were making my body tense up on its own.
A presence on a completely different dimension from Ubaek, who had been called the Biseonggeom.
'...He really came.'
The first-ever sect-born head disciple, and a figure belonging to the Chilcheolsamgwon among the Ten Great Experts of the Central Plains.
The head disciple of Wudang.
Wudang Jianxian.
He had come here to see the incident that had erupted at Wudang...
"Huh?"
A strange sound popped out of my mouth.
Because of this, everyone around looked at me.
It was a situation where such a sound should absolutely not have come out.
Even I had to swallow dry after letting it out. This was not intentional at all.
I had truly let it out without thinking.
'No.'
There was no helping it.
'Why is that old man here?'
Upon discovering another old man standing quietly beside the Wudang Jianxian, this sound had come out.
How could I not be surprised?
While everyone’s gaze gathered on me.
"Hoho."
I felt a gaze laced with interest fix upon me.
"Fascinating. Very fascinating."
It was an old man bent over at the waist. His back looked extremely hunched like a hunchback.
The old man held a walking stick, perhaps because walking was somewhat difficult.
His unkempt eyebrows even covered his eyes.
Tap.
He approaches close.
Perhaps because he didn’t wash often, a foul odor was subtly felt.
However, none of those around the old man frowned at him.
That included me.
If one knew the old man’s identity, no one could do such a thing.
The old man who approached me spoke while looking at me.
"Nice to meet you, child."
Yes, I knew the old man’s identity.
I had recalled it not long ago. How could I forget?
"Do you know who I am?"
The old man asked delightedly.
"...I know...."
I answered that I knew.
"Hoho. Then, take a guess."
"..."
At the old man’s second question.
I opened my mouth, which had hesitated for a moment, and spoke to the old man.
"...I greet the Bangju of the Gaebang."
At those words, the old man’s eyebrows lowered slightly.
The old man’s identity was precisely the Gaebang, called the ears of the Martial Alliance.
And the Bangju of such a Gaebang.
Ubongchwigae Dobong.
Furthermore.
'Pungun Guido.'
He was the true Pungun Guido that Wudang had tried to make use of.