〈 Chapter 652 〉 Back to the Central Plains.
Nnngh….
Groaning moans echoed.
In a cell without a single torch, it was the sound Uhyeok made.
Less than half an hour had passed since Guyangcheon had begun ‘talking’ with Uhyeok, but what had occurred during that time was a continuous series of things hard to express in words.
“Hngh…. Hn….”
The guard watching the cell had collapsed from the cruel violence that had taken place earlier.
It couldn’t possibly be that rough if it were just a scuffle between acquaintances.
The space was filled with the sound of shattering bones and the smell of spilled blood.
The lamp that had barely illuminated the room was nowhere to be seen, having gone out at some point.
Though the scene was nothing but darkness, the one who had been standing guard couldn’t help but be terrified by the faintly visible sights.
Crack.
A rough sound pierced through the groans.
It was the sound of shattered bones setting back into place.
Interest flickered in Guyangcheon’s eyes as he watched.
It was an astonishing sight.
His bones were setting themselves without him doing anything.
‘I did break them to make them easy to set, though. The performance is pretty impressive.’
External injuries, of course, but even internal injuries healed quickly.
Regeneration. It was truly an authority befitting its name.
‘If I rip his arm out, would that regenerate too?’
It seemed possible for Yuseon or the Specter. He wondered if Uhyeok could do it too.
‘I’m curious.’
Shudder!
When Guyangcheon looked at him with interest, Uhyeok trembled as if sensing something.
“Nngh… *cough.*”
Uhyeok coughed up blood violently.
It wasn’t because he was injured further. It was something that happened during the process of his internal injuries healing.
‘It’d be troublesome if he didn’t get better, so exclude that one.’
He was curious, but it wasn’t something he needed to try.
‘If it were my body, I would have tried.’
Since the body belonged to Uhyeok, he decided to let it be. Guyangcheon thought so and nodded.
“…Huu… hu….”
Uhyeok, who had been trembling for a while, finally seemed to have gotten his body under control and looked at Guyangcheon with an exhausted expression.
“…I’m sorry.”
The first words Uhyeok spat out were an apology.
It wasn’t something you’d expect from someone who had been beaten to a pulp until now.
Seeing that, Guyangcheon let out a deep sigh.
‘I thought beating him would make me feel a bit better.’
Instead, he felt more suffocated and irritated.
Still, his emotions had calmed down somewhat.
Probably because he realized such actions were meaningless anyway.
He looked at Uhyeok and asked.
“Why did you do it.”
“…”
“No matter how crazy you are, I don’t think you would have done it without a reason. So explain it. So that I can accept it.”
More than a certainty that there was a reason.
It was closer to a wish that there had to be a reason. Uhyeok had to convince him here.
“The reason, huh….”
At the question, Uhyeok slowly closed his eyes. To recall the reason he had to do so, he had to look back into Uhyeok’s past—
“Ah, don’t go doing any reminiscing.”
However, at Guyangcheon’s words, Uhyeok had to carefully open his eyes.
“It’s a waste of time, so summarize it in three lines. I’m busy.”
“…”
When Guyangcheon spoke as if annoyed, Uhyeok looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.
At that gaze, Guyangcheon furrowed his brows.
“What, punk.”
“Don’t you usually wait at times like this?”
“Why the hell would I be curious about your life story? Just tell me why you did it. And keep it as short as possible.”
“…”
It sounded right, but strangely felt grating.
Even as he thought that, Uhyeok had already resigned himself.
Because he had long known that trying to understand that guy was absurd in itself.
No, perhaps that was precisely why it was comfortable.
Uhyeok laughed awkwardly and spoke to Guyangcheon.
“I don’t think three lines will be possible.”
“That’s just a saying; just keep it appropriately short—”
“When I was young, my father tried to kill me.”
“Starting right off with a crazy story. Fine, go ahead.”
He suppressed his irritation and straightened his posture slightly.
He plopped down on the floor. It was full of blood Uhyeok had spilled, but he didn’t care.
More than that.
“My mother shared her heart with another, hiding it from my father’s eyes. My older brother was gay.”
“…”
The words coming out now made Guyangcheon even more uncomfortable.
He coughed dryly under his breath.
It was a harder story than expected.
To the point where he wondered what he had just heard.
“Also, my father was one who dreamed of rebellion. I had caught on to these facts.”
“You must have been quick on the uptake.”
Rather than being perceptive, he had simply heard things he shouldn’t have.
Uhyeok didn’t particularly bring that up.
“When I was young, I didn’t know there were things I shouldn’t know. I flapped my lips lightly about the facts I had learned. And that became the root of the disaster.”
My mother’s adultery, too.
My brother’s secret, too.
And my father’s deep ambition as well.
He resented himself from that time. For not being able to endure, for not knowing he had to endure.
Uhyeok still resented himself.
“The one who shared her heart with my mother was killed by my father’s hand. My brother was imprisoned where people’s eyes couldn’t reach.”
It was a predetermined ending.
Had they not been found out, perhaps not, but once it entered his father’s ears, this was bound to happen.
His brother, being led away by the warriors’ hands, resented Uhyeok.
It was a secret he might have carried forever.
Seeing that, Uhyeok learned about the things that must not be uttered. But it was already too late.
“I, too, who had blurted out such secrets, had to live confined in a small residence separate from the main family.”
His father must have been frightened.
That he might learn of his secret as well.
He seemed to have feared that.
He had known about it all along, but by then, he had already kept his mouth shut.
A lonely life began.
Days that were quiet, yet noisy.
Probably.
[My name is Yuri.]
If there hadn’t been something he was barely holding onto, Uhyeok’s life would have ended then.
Because he had something to hold onto, he could endure somehow.
That he could somehow breathe. He had tried to live thinking so, but…
“A problem arose.”
“A problem?”
“Yeah. The last wall that let me barely endure even while confined in that residence crumbled.”
“What kind of nonsense is that—”
“It means I wasn’t my father’s blood.”
“Fuck.”
Guyangcheon cursed without realizing it.
So his mother had shared her heart with another, and this is how it led?
“My father, realizing that fact, immediately tried to kill me.”
The wall had crumbled.
With the sole reason he had barely endured calling him his son gone, his father sought to dispose of him without hesitation.
It was a very cold night, and an extremely noisy one.
Terrible noises continuously scratched at his ears, and Uhyeok ended up running away to escape them.
However, how fast could a child’s running be?
He couldn’t completely escape from the skilled warriors.
Yes, if someone hadn’t helped him. He surely would have.
Hit by an arrow, blood flowed from his shoulder.
Before the young Uhyeok, who had collapsed enduring the pain.
[Young lady, is this the young master?]
A white-haired man stood there, having knocked down all the warriors.
Hair of light blue-green receiving the moonlight.
And even blue pupils.
“Uh… that. Could it be.”
“That’s right. It was my master.”
Such was the first meeting between the Wudang Eccentric Namgung Hyeong and Uhyeok.
And, beside such a Namgung Hyeong was.
[…That’s right. It’s him.]
A young girl with white hair far whiter than Namgung Hyeong’s.
“…”
Guyangcheon, listening to the story, nodded slightly.
‘So this is how a North Sea person not only came to the Central Plains but also got into the Wudang Sect.’
Had the Eccentric brought him from the North Sea in the first place?
‘What did that guy go to the North Sea for?’
He tried to recall the question for a moment. But he already knew the answer.
‘Ah. Was it because of the Lei Ya?’
It was an easy story to understand when recalling what the Eccentric had possessed at the time.
At the time, the Eccentric had possessed the Lei Ya.
He was someone who could hear the voice of Namgung Myeong contained within the Lei Ya.
‘…Since Namgung Myeong in the Lei Ya had said his real body was in the North Sea.’
If he went to the North Sea because of that, it fit perfectly.
And.
That was how Uhyeok managed to keep his life?
He roughly understood the circumstances.
But.
“So you fled and lived in the Central Plains after that… So, why did you commit this act?”
He hadn’t heard the important part yet.
Uhyeok smiled bitterly at the question and continued.
“…It was for revenge….”
At Uhyeok’s explanation claiming it was the reason, Guyangcheon struck his head with a fist.
Bam!
“Gkh!”
“You were doing fine and now you’re lying. You want to die?”
He couldn’t stand such bullshit at this point.
Revenge? Ridiculous. He knew well that Uhyeok wasn’t someone who would obsess over such things.
‘Maybe if it were me. But this guy isn’t like that.’
Maybe if it were himself, who was completely consumed by spite. But Uhyeok wasn’t.
“Hey, you’re deliberately leaving out the important stuff while talking. Do you want to keep acting up while I’m holding back?”
Grind.
Guyangcheon gritted his teeth and spoke to Uhyeok.
“Yuri.”
“…!”
“Why do you keep leaving her out?”
At the mention of the Young Princess, Uhyeok’s eyes widened.
Guyangcheon knew Uhyeok was intentionally not talking about her.
He understood well that the guy’s life had been miserable and tragic.
Even as he explained it calmly, Uhyeok hid the essence.
Others might think he had hidden it well.
“That won’t work on me, punk.”
It was impossible against Guyangcheon.
The reason was simple.
‘Because I’ve done that the most.’
Because it was the action he had done the most and was best at.
“Revenge? You’re talking shit.”
Hiding one’s true feelings behind a trivial pretext and constantly degrading oneself.
It was what Guyangcheon had done his whole life.
And.
Probably, Guyangcheon would continue to live that way.
That Uhyeok was also doing such a pathetic thing infuriated him.
This was something only he himself should do.
“You said three lines aren’t enough to summarize? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t even need three lines, dumbass.”
“You….”
“Just be honest. You acted like a dog because of a woman. End of story. One line.”
“…”
At the words brought out, Uhyeok lost his speech.
Because it was a statement that pierced through everything.
“How did you….”
“How did I what? This is frustrating, Uhyeok. You really want to get hit?”
Should he hit him again? Before, there had only been a sense of wrongness.
Now, it felt like hitting him would definitely feel refreshing.
How did he know? How could he not know.
‘Because his actions resemble mine.’
More precisely, they subtly resembled what he had done in his previous life.
“You, that talk about having a fiancée. That girl… no, it’s the Young Princess, right?”
“…!!”
Uhyeok’s eyes widened to the size of lamp flames.
Damn, if he was going to react like that, what was he trying to hide?
“But looking at it, the Young Princess seemed unaware… Was it unrequited love?”
“…”
“Look at that creepy expression. So it’s true?”
The thought of his friend having a one-sided love gave him chills.
“It’s not like that.”
“The hell it isn’t. What crazy bastard would start a war to save a woman he doesn’t even like?”
He hadn’t known in his previous life, but looking now, that’s how it was.
Men were fundamentally the simplest creatures alive.
Expressing this exactly as it was.
“It means a reason like that is enough.”
Not some grand justification or life narrative.
It meant that even one simple, foolish reason was enough.
“So now I’ll ask again, Uhyeok.”
Guyangcheon leaned his upper body to meet Uhyeok’s eyes.
Guyangcheon spoke as if there would be no second chances.
“Why did you do it?”
The same question, but with a different meaning.
As if no more lies would be permitted. An intense force burst forth.
At words carrying such definite emotion—answer honestly—Uhyeok fell silent for a moment before finally,
“…The day the First Princess began to rampage. She spoke to me. She said she would kill the Second Princess if I didn’t comply.”
He could finally hear the belated truth.
“Kill her?”
“The bloodline of the Ice Palace. She said she could touch the disease afflicting them.”
Hearing that, he furrowed his brows.
‘That probably means she can tamper with the Ice Palace’s curse.’
That was probably because the Specter had interfered with her. Which meant…
‘Could it be that the curse afflicting the Palace Lord suddenly worsened too?’
It was a plausible guess.
The problem was why Yuseon had approached Uhyeok to carry out the deed.
‘Really, why him of all people?’
Why Uhyeok among so many people?
‘Did she think threatening him with her younger sister would work?’
It didn’t seem like a bad plan, but even so, there was no need for it to be Uhyeok specifically.
If she needed a puppet to string up in front, there were better candidates than Uhyeok.
‘Besides.’
The fact that the Eldest Young Master and the Second Young Master had been imprisoned was suspicious too.
The Palace Lord’s condition had worsened.
A rebellion had occurred, and her two sons were previously missing.
Among them, the only one by her side was Yuri, the Second Princess.
If so.
‘Since Yuri is the only one who can be sent to the Central Plains, sending her there would be the natural course of action.’
This was as if…
‘She had created a reason that forced Yuri to be sent far away.’
To somehow send Yuri outside the North Sea.
It looked like she had made such schemes.
But was there any reason Yuseon had to go that far?
Thinking up to that point, Guyangcheon asked Uhyeok.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You and the First Princess know each other too?”
It was a bit strange to call her the First Princess now that she was dead, but…
When asked about his relationship with Yuseon, Uhyeok tilted his head slightly and gave him an answer.
“A little when we were young?”
“A bit more specifically.”
“There’s nothing specific. I just saw her a few times together with the Second Princess.”
“Really? There wasn’t anything that happened or anything like that?”
“…I wonder?”
Uhyeok had an expression that said he really didn’t know. Seeing that, Guyangcheon couldn’t help but nod.
What could he do if he didn’t know?
“So, you couldn’t overcome that threat, started a rebellion, cut off your master’s arm, and stabbed that kid in the stomach?”
“…”
At the bluntly battering words, Uhyeok’s eyes trembled. Perhaps because his pathetic figure was visible.
“What are you acting pitiful for? Get a hold of yourself.”
He had no intention of viewing kindly the trouble Uhyeok had caused.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Cut the apologies. Explain the reason.”
It was what he had been asking since earlier.
Rather than useless apologies, why he had to do it. Hearing that was more important.
“…At the time, I thought that was the best move.”
“The reason being?”
“Master was caught in a combined attack while blocking the First Princess. The First Princess then brought up a deal with me using Master’s life and the Second Princess’s life as collateral.”
So at least it wasn’t Uhyeok who had brought down the Eccentric. That was a small relief.
“So, you had no choice in order to save them?”
“…It’s just an excuse, though.”
“Right, it’s an excuse.”
It was the same with Namgung Bia’s matter.
He was listening to the reasons, but this was something he already knew the reality of even without hearing it.
He had twisted the escape route to make it easy for Namgung Bia to flee.
He also knew that when the escape had ultimately nearly failed, Uhyeok had stepped forward to cause a scene.
However.
“You probably know that adding some grand reason here is meaningless anyway.”
“…”
“That’s why I’m even more angry. What? You’re going to stay here? Not returning to the Central Plains to pay for your sins?”
Grab! Guyangcheon swung his hand and seized Uhyeok’s collar. Uhyeok was pulled up helplessly.
“What price? Do the people who died in the North Sea haunt you?”
“…Yangcheon.”
“Uhyeok, stop throwing a damn fit. Rotting in prison for a lifetime isn’t repentance. That’s just running away, you moron.”
With growling eyes, Guyangcheon continued to lash out at Uhyeok.
“If you want to repent, cut your throat and die right now. Wouldn’t that be the right thing?”
“…”
“Why? Do you have lingering attachments? What haunts you so you can’t die? What could it be? Ah right, is it the Young Princess?”
At the mention of Yuri, strength entered Uhyeok’s eyes.
“Then, if I kill that Young Princess, will your lingering attachments end?”
“You—!”
For a moment Uhyeok’s energy grew stronger, so Guyangcheon swung his fist and struck his solar plexus.
Thwack!
“Gkh!”
“Is the woman that precious? Enough to forget your wrongs and get angry first?”
As if Uhyeok’s attitude was displeasing, Guyangcheon’s face contorted like an evil ghost.
“I was like that too. You fucking punk.”
Guyangcheon threw the Uhyeok he had been holding against the wall.
Bam! Uhyeok hit his back against the wall and slid down.
“Do you know who you’ve touched?”
He tried to suppress his emotions, but they kept threatening to leak out.
“You probably don’t know. You probably still don’t. I was like that before too. That’s why I want to let you know, but since I can’t, I’m holding back.”
Heat began to flow out and fill the cell.
Feeling that, Guyangcheon put strength into his heart.
It was to stop his energy from leaking out.
“I’m barely holding back. The only reason I’m not killing you right here and now is that shitty reason that you’re my friend. That’s why I’m keeping you alive.”
He suppressed his killing intent again and again.
“Then repent, reflect, and beg for forgiveness from me. Not from these North Sea people whose names you don’t even know.”
“…”
“You can’t even do that after hearing me say it? I suppose so. Because you’re not a bastard like me.”
He knew well.
That Uhyeok wasn’t that kind of guy. That was why he had to make it clearer.
“Then, just live like that. I’ll make it that way for you.”
“…What do you mean….”
“In the first place. If I were going to leave you behind because you said you didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t have bothered putting on a play with the Palace Lord.”
Step.
Guyangcheon slowly approached Uhyeok.
“Uhyeok. Your opinion means absolutely nothing to me. I can’t be bothered trying to change you now. I’m just going to take the easy way.”
After approaching, he knelt down to meet Uhyeok’s gaze.
“You have to help me and survive this time anyway. So just come quietly.”
“Yangcheon. I’m telling you again… I don’t want to leave here—”
“If you don’t come, I’ll kill Yuri.”
“What?”
Hearing the words, Uhyeok’s voice grew cold.
That gaze was extremely sharp, but Guyangcheon didn’t care in the slightest.
“There’s a condition attached to getting you out from the Palace Lord. Do you know what it is?”
It would be a lie to say he had intended this far. The situation had simply aligned.
“It’s taking the Young Princess to the Central Plains.”
“…!”
“And. Since I was asked, I really intend to take her.”
He couldn’t do such dog-like acts like playing at desperate friendship or sharing Uhyeok’s guilt.
Guyangcheon was more comfortable doing things his own way.
“If you still want to stay here even knowing that, fine. But keep thinking. If I take the Young Princess to the Central Plains like this, you never know what I’ll make her do.”
Or, he might eliminate her altogether.
Even as he spoke, self-loathing suddenly welled up.
Because what he was doing to Uhyeok now was the same as what the Heavenly Demon had done to him in his previous life.
Even so, he had to endure.
In any case, there was nowhere lower left to fall no matter how much uglier he became.
After delivering those words, Guyangcheon stood up once more.
“You have until tomorrow to think. Do as you wish.”
Finishing his words, Guyangcheon cut his gaze from Uhyeok, turned his back, and walked out of the prison.
As he walked, Guyangcheon thought.
‘It isn’t easy.’
No matter what it was.
Things were all equally difficult.