Chronicles of the Silver Dragon
Episode 32
Thwack!
“Aaack!”
Iseolhye had been busy these days, working hard for the restoration of the Kunlun Sect. Today as well, as she was walking somewhere to spend another busy day, she ended up letting out a scream at the immense pain she felt from behind.
Was this what they meant by a bolt from the blue? Clutching her head and rolling on the ground, Iseolhye glared at the one who had fearlessly smacked her on the head and snapped back.
“Who the hell was that!”
“It’s me.”
“.......”
Iseolhye, who had been shouting with eyes blazing, turned around and flinched for a moment at Jehwa’s voice. And when he looked at her with those mysterious eyes, she felt her spirits shrivel.
“Y-you’re awake?”
Jehwa tilted his head, looking at Iseolhye as she laughed awkwardly.
“Why?”
“Because you slept for three whole days.”
“Huh?”
Jehwa looked surprised at Iseolhye’s words. He had never imagined that he would do nothing but sleep for three days.
“No wonder I was so hungry…….”
Jehwa grumbled irritably, then looked at Iseolhye and spoke.
“I’m hungry.”
Iseolhye examined Jehwa closely as he ate.
‘As expected, he’s different…….’
The Jehwa of the previous day and the Jehwa of now were very different. Back then, he had truly seemed like a different person.
‘Another personality, huh…….’
While Iseolhye was lost in deep thought, Jehwa too was lost in his own worries.
‘I need to eat more…….’
Before he knew it, all the food had disappeared. To him, that was an incredibly serious worry.
While the two were each lost in thought, someone appeared in the dining hall.
“Found you!”
It was Sawollin.
“Hi~”
Jehwa smiled and waved at Sawollin.
“You seem to be doing fine.”
“Well, as you can see.”
Sawollin smiled at Jehwa’s words but instead asked him back.
“Are you the one who’s okay?”
Jehwa nodded at Sawollin, who asked with a slightly worried expression.
“I’m fine.”
Only then did Sawollin let out a sigh of relief.
***
“So it was a failure?”
“.......”
A man clad in blood-red robes sat on a dais, looking at a boy with listless eyes.
The boy, Hyeol Ma-yeong, hung his head low at the man’s words.
“Hmm……. I put quite a lot of effort into it for a long time……. What a shame.”
He clicked his tongue and muttered in a regretful tone, but his expression showed no sign of regret whatsoever. He merely wore that same listless look of ‘So one plan fell through,’ with not a trace of anger or pity.
Though the man was his own father, Hyeol Ma-yeong was utterly terrified of him.
The man, the leader of the Blood Cult, Hyeol Gwang, asked with a puzzled expression after a moment.
“But……. how were you discovered? Unless they were former-generation experts, it should have been difficult to recognize you. Don’t tell me the Taiqing Great Sword, Un Wonnam appeared?”
“It is true that Un Wonnam appeared, but the plan was not ruined because of him.”
“If not because of him……. was it someone else?”
As Hyeol Gwang asked with an amused expression, Hyeol Ma-yeong nodded, looking at him.
“It was because of a boy.”
“A boy?”
At his son’s words, Hyeol Gwang narrowed his brow.
“A boy with unimaginable, tremendous power began killing us one by one, and eventually, because of that, we had no choice but to withdraw from the Kunlun Sect.”
“Hmm……. A boy……? Could it be?”
Hyeol Gwang, who had tilted his head with a puzzled expression, soon seemed to think of something. He opened his eyes wide and called out.
“Hyeol Yeong.”
With those words, a person silently appeared beside him and prostrated before him.
It was Hyeol Yeong, Hyeol Gwang’s closest confidant and one possessed of martial might ranked within the top five of the Blood Cult.
Even at Hyeol Yeong’s sudden appearance, Hyeol Ma-yeong did not show surprise and remained calm. Since this was something that happened all the time, there was no reason to be surprised, nor any need to pay it mind.
“Did you not say that a boy was also the one who annihilated the Blood Wolf Division and the Blood Hunter Division recently?”
“Yes. To be precise, it was a boy with silver hair and eyes.”
At those words, Hyeol Gwang looked at Hyeol Ma-yeong, who had stiffened, and asked with a smirk.
“Is it this boy?”
“It……. is.”
He was well aware that contact with the Blood Wolf Division and the Blood Hunter Division had suddenly been cut off. And he had also known full well that their corpses had been discovered in the territory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but never in his dreams had he imagined that the culprit of that incident was the same one who had ruined his mission.
“Lately, the cult’s affairs are being ruined one by one by that boy.”
Seeing Hyeol Gwang frowning with a displeased expression, Hyeol Yeong opened his mouth with a blank face.
“Shall I assassinate him?”
Hyeol Yeong was someone who thought that if his lord wore a displeased expression, and if the cause of that displeasure was a human being, then it was the duty of a subordinate to cut off that human’s throat and bring it before his lord.
To Hyeol Yeong’s question, Hyeol Gwang shook his head and spoke.
“No. Let’s watch a while longer……. Something feels uneasy. I have a strong feeling that we must not carelessly touch that boy. He may possess martial power far greater than we think. We can overlook the Blood Wolf Division, but the Blood Hunter Division is the elite among elites of the cult. To handle such elites single-handedly means he is by no means a possessor of trivial strength. If we make a wrong move, we may suffer an even greater blow.”
“……. Understood.”
At Hyeol Gwang’s words, Hyeol Yeong bowed his head deeply and immediately disappeared from that spot. Hyeol Gwang then called out to Hyeol Ma-yeong, who watched the scene without any particular emotion.
“Ma-yeong.”
“Yes.”
“Rest in the cult for the time being and clear your head. I have a strong premonition that if you become associated with him, something bad will happen.”
His father, who was frowning with a truly displeased expression…….
Hyeol Ma-yeong, seeing his father in such a state for the first time, stared blankly for a moment before lowering his head deeply and speaking.
“Understood.”
***
A few more days had passed since Diadelin’s attack.
The Kunlun Sect had more or less been brought under control.
Jehwa and Sawollin were also gradually preparing to leave the Kunlun Sect.
“Grandfather, we’re leaving today.”
At Jehwa’s words, Un Wonnam gave a faint smile.
“Is that so? Where do you plan to go?”
“Well…….”
Jehwa merely tilted his head, and it was Sawollin who answered Un Wonnam’s question.
“We are thinking of going to Sichuan.”
“Sichuan…….”
Un Wonnam pondered Sawollin’s words.
“Because there are four great martial factions there.”
In Sichuan were the Tang Family of the Righteous Five Great Families, and the Qingxian Sect and the Emei Sect among the Nine Sects and One School. At most, all three; at the very least, about one of them would have the Blood Cult’s touch.
The reason Jehwa and Sawollin had come out to the martial world of the Central Plains was the annihilation of the Blood Cult. If there was even the slightest connection to the Blood Cult, they had to thoroughly crush it.
“Indeed, they might have the Blood Cult’s touch, just like the Kunlun Sect.”
Un Wonnam, who had been nodding, smiled and spoke.
“Won’t you take Seolhye with you as well?”
“Huh?”
“That child……. I can tell she wants to follow you deep down. And she needs to experience the world now……. She can protect herself well enough, so I was hoping you would take her along…….”
Besides, with Jehwa by her side, she would be safe.
Sawollin fell into thought for a moment. In truth, she had become quite close with Iseolhye. Since they were the same age and had similar personalities, they had a lot in common.
Suddenly, Sawollin looked at Jehwa.
“I don’t mind.”
As Jehwa spoke with a smile, Un Wonnam also nodded in satisfaction.
“I’m so excited!”
Iseolhye muttered, her eyes sparkling.
It was her first time going out into the world. She had only ever wandered around the vicinity of the Kunlun Sect, so her curiosity about the world was immense. Un Wonnam had taken her in when she was very young and an orphan, and she had lived deep in the mountains of Kunlun all her life.
“There will be a lot of fun things, but also a lot of troublesome things.”
Sawollin burst into laughter as she spoke to Iseolhye.
“Huh? What kind of things?”
As Iseolhye tilted her head, Sawollin pointed ahead.
“Like that.”
“Halt! Hand over everything you have!”
“.......”
Bandits had appeared before them.
Iseolhye and Sawollin stared intently at the bandits.
Well then, let us pray for the bandits’ souls.
“You bastards are asking to die……. Die!”
In an instant, Jehwa lunged at the bandits.
The bandits who had the misfortune of attacking Jehwa all collapsed without even a squeak…….
“Squea…….”
They did squeak after all. Anyway, they were beaten in an instant.
The fortunate thing was that he hadn’t killed them, at least?
But Jehwa mercilessly dug into the ground and buried the bandits up to their necks.
Pat pat pat!
Jehwa dusted off his hands with a refreshing expression.
Sawollin and Iseolhye were pounding the ground, laughing at whatever was so funny.
As expected, they were clearly birds of a feather.
And let us pass over how the expressions of the Demon Spirit Squad members watching from afar had turned pale.
Jehwa, who had been wearing such a satisfied expression, narrowed his eyes.
At Jehwa’s suddenly changed momentum, Sawollin and Iseolhye looked at him with puzzled expressions.
“What’s wrong?”
“Shh!”
Jehwa brought his hand to Iseolhye’s lips and spoke with a smile. At the same time, he looked all around the surroundings.
“Was I mistaken?”
Something alien had stimulated his senses.
As he tilted his head, Jehwa’s eyes instantly darted toward a certain spot.
Seeing those eyes flashing coldly, Sawollin and Iseolhye felt chills run down their spines.
And in that state, Jehwa vanished from sight.