Chapter 30: Matters Beyond Memory
When Yul Han confirmed that the opponent’s charge had come to a halt and slowly stepped back, the Heavenly Flower Sword King shook off his discomposed state and rose to his feet.
Then, at the sight that entered his eyes, his gaze sank.
Among the corpses strewn everywhere, a Taoist of the Kongtong Sect lay bleeding.
“Why…… did you attack the warriors of the Kongtong Sect?”
At the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s question, Yul Han slowly swept his eyes over the Seven-Aspect True Personn glaring fiercely at him from afar, the corpses sprawled lifelessly on the ground, and the warriors holding broad Nine-Ring Blades who had charged forward only to stop midway.
Then Yul Han looked back at the Heavenly Flower Sword King and answered.
“It was not something we did.”
“What is plainly visible cannot be concealed by denial.”
“If we intended to hide it, there were far easier methods. Why insist on such a roundabout way? Would it not be better to reconsider?”
From Yul Han’s perspective, it was a calm statement, but because he spoke while glaring with eyes filled with killing intent, it sounded like a threat to the listener.
That was why. The phrase ‘far easier methods’ cut especially sharply.
The easier method Yul Han spoke of would have been to slaughter everyone.
If someone else had said such a thing, it would have earned nothing more than a scoff, but when the speaker was the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult known as the Butcher of the Hundred Paths, it was no empty bravado.
Though he disliked it, it instead served to cool the agitated heart of the Heavenly Flower Sword King.
Only then did his gaze, now keenly focused, sweep over the surroundings.
Within his sight, unlike the bleeding Taoist of the Kongtong Sect, he saw the Seven-Aspect True Personn who had not even drawn his sword, as well as another Taoist of the Kongtong Sect.
An ally had been attacked, yet he had not even drawn his sword?
‘Could it be…!’
Now that he thought about it, the warriors who had rushed ahead of them only to stop midway, holding broad Nine-Ring Blades, were members of the Peng Clan.
The red armbands on their shoulders bore the character ‘Peng’ clearly. It was baffling why such a conspicuous mark had only now caught his eye.
The Kongtong Sect and the Peng Clan.
Both were victims(?) of incidents labeled as ‘accidents.’ By contrast, they of Mount Hua, dragged in unwittingly, were effectively the perpetrators.
Only after his thoughts reached that point did the corpses truly register in his eyes…… their clothing was disorderly, and they held no weapons at all.
The stench of traps was so thick everywhere that it assaulted the nose.
The Heavenly Flower Sword King was almost angry at himself for failing to notice such a thing before charging in.
That said, there was also no proof that it was a fabricated trap. If the Kongtong Sect and the Peng Clan had coordinated their stories, Mount Hua alone would end up looking like fools.
As expected, from among the halted Peng Clan warriors, a familiar face stepped forward.
“I am the Nine-Ring Blade of the Peng Clan. I heard that our brothers of the Kongtong Sect were in danger and rushed here, but why is the Vice Cult Leader present here?”
Having no intention of playing along with such a clumsy farce, Yul Han gave no answer and instead looked at the Heavenly Flower Sword King.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“No. I, we, Mount Hua…… made a mistake.”
Yul Han quietly watched as the Heavenly Flower Sword King forced his reluctant mouth to move and offer an apology, then turned his body without hesitation.
As they watched Yul Han grow distant, the Nine-Ring Blade wearing an openly regretful expression, and the Heavenly Flower Sword King with his face deeply twisted, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood soon turned their bodies as well and followed after the Vice Cult Leader, who was already far ahead.
Beside Yul Han, whom Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood hurried to catch up with, the Blood Wolf trotted along, wagging its tail incessantly.
As the Heavenly Flower Sword King turned his gaze away from them, the Seven-Aspect True Personn approached him.
“We were suddenly ambushed and a bloody battle broke out, so we had no choice but to request aid. Fortunately, the message hawks we had were headed toward Mount Hua and the Peng Clan.”
“So you’re saying that the Peng Clan of Hebei arrived together with us, even though we’re right nearby?”
At the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s tightly knotted question, the Nine-Ring Blade merely shrugged his shoulders.
“If that were the case, it would have been impossible to arrive by this time. We received it midway while heading toward a secular disciple who opened an escort agency in Shaanxi. Fortunately, we possess a special incense capable of guiding message hawks.”
At the Nine-Ring Blade’s shameless reply as he held up a small incense pouch, the Heavenly Flower Sword King no longer wished to exchange words.
He did not want to respond point by point to such an obvious lie, and he also sensed that there was no way to clearly expose the truth of the situation.
Because of that, he could roughly guess the reason they had staged this affair as well.
‘Petty revenge.’
Whether it could truly be deemed petty even from their perspective was uncertain, but one thing was clear.
Mount Hua could no longer be toyed with.
The Heavenly Flower Sword King selected only those fellow masters who had grasped the situation and chose to withdraw quietly.
“Fortunately, it seems the situation has been settled, and it has been made clear that it was a misunderstanding with the Vice Cult Leader, so we will be taking our leave.”
“Thank you for rushing here.”
At the Seven-Aspect True Personn’s greeting, given with a clasped-fist salute, the Heavenly Flower Sword King calmly bowed his head in reply, offered a brief nod to the Nine-Ring Blade as well, and then departed.
Behind the departing Heavenly Flower Sword King, the masters of Mount Hua followed in succession.
Once the Mount Hua masters, their displeasure evident on their faces, had left, the Nine-Ring Blade approached the Seven-Aspect True Personn.
“What a pity.”
“I never thought the Vice Cult Leader would stop there.”
The Seven-Aspect True Personn’s words were true. The Nine-Ring Blade, too, had never expected Yul Han to spare the Heavenly Flower Sword King who had attacked him.
Even so, it was not feasible to stir up further trouble over that lingering regret. It seemed that Mount Hua, who should have served as the sacrificial lamb, had caught on as well.
“You went through much trouble, and yet things turned out this way. I can only apologize, as I was the one who devised the plan.”
At the Nine-Ring Blade’s words, the Seven-Aspect True Personn shook his head.
“It could not be helped. Still, would it not be a gain that this affair has deepened the bond between us and the Peng Clan?”
Because they each ended up holding one of the other’s secrets in their grasp. The Nine-Ring Blade understood the implication and smiled faintly.
“Let’s grow closer.”
In the eyes of the two men as they smiled like that, there was not the slightest sense of responsibility toward those who, for no reason at all, had been dragged into their scheme and forced to die.
After returning to the campsite, Cold Blade Blood cautiously asked Yul Han.
“Vice Cult Leader. May this subordinate ask one thing?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
With the Vice Cult Leader’s ready permission, Cold Blade Blood asked.
“Why did you just leave?”
“What do you mean?”
“You knew they lured us into a trap, did you not?”
“That is true, but surely you are not saying that just because of that we should have killed them all?”
At Yul Han’s counterquestion, Cold Blade Blood could not answer with “Of course.”
For some reason, he felt that answering that way would put him out of favor with the Vice Cult Leader.
“Th-that…… would have been too extreme, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s right. Even if they were in the wrong, the damage we suffered was minor, so taking their lives for that reason would have been excessive.”
“Still, they intended to harm us. I thought perhaps you should have imposed at least a light punishment.”
“Why do you think that is necessary?”
At the Vice Cult Leader’s question, Cold Blade Blood replied with an awkward expression.
“Well, obviously, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…… not that far, but at least enough to make sure they never try it again.”
As Cold Blade Blood changed his words midway while watching his tone, Yul Han drew a smile.
“I did not want to become the same kind of person as them.”
To the speaker it was an explanation, but to the listener it sounded more like, ‘I didn’t want to become the same kind of despicable bastards as them, so why are you even questioning it?’
It was because of Yul Han’s fierce gaze.
For that reason, when the now-cowed Cold Blade Blood retreated while repeatedly apologizing, Flashing Light Blood, who had been watching from the side, smiled bitterly and offered Yul Han a cup of tea.
“The night air is rather cold. Please have a warm cup of tea, Vice Cult Leader.”
“Thank you.”
At Yul Han’s reply, Flashing Light Blood formed a pleased smile.
The Vice Cult Leader’s fierce eyes and icy voice were no different from when he dealt with Cold Blade Blood, but Flashing Light Blood recognized the gratitude contained within.
It had been that way since the Martial Alliance. The Vice Cult Leader’s murderous gaze, expressionless face, and voice so cold it seemed to scatter ice shards had not changed, yet for some reason Flashing Light Blood was able to read the Vice Cult Leader’s emotional undercurrents within them.
Cold Blade Blood would scold Flashing Light Blood, saying it was because he had followed after the Vice Cult Leader’s backside since childhood, but the look in his eyes was clearly one of envy.
As if intending to test this newly gained ability, Flashing Light Blood asked Yul Han, who was tilting his teacup.
“Did you feel sorry?”
At Flashing Light Blood’s question, Cold Blade Blood, who was nearby, looked at him as if wondering what kind of absurd nonsense this was.
But then—
“Because I wiped them out…….”
In truth, he had intended to answer, ‘Because I heard you wiped them out.’ But if he had done that, it would have been tantamount to confessing that he was not the real Vice Cult Leader, so he changed the latter part of his words.
At Yul Han’s reply, Flashing Light Blood shook his head.
“At that time, it was understandable. They slaughtered their own disciple simply because that person was involved with the Vice Cult Leader.”
In that instant, Yul Han was taken aback.
It was shocking enough that the Vice Cult Leader had someone he was involved with, but even more so that the other party was a disciple of the Kongtong Sect.
It was not because the Vice Cult Leader of the Bright Cult, the progenitor of the Demonic Path, had loved a disciple of the Hundred Paths.
Since ancient times, Taoist sects have not accepted women as disciples. The only exception is Mount Hua, and even they have no precedent of accepting outside women as disciples.
Only when the daughter of a secular disciple wished to learn Mount Hua’s martial arts would they provide instruction.
Aside from that, the Taoist sects of the Central Plains had not once taken a woman as a disciple.
Therefore……
‘The Vice Cult Leader loved a man!’
It was not an era in which male homosexuality was condemned, but neither was it one in which it was welcomed. Nor were such people numerous.
In particular, Gwak Yi-han, who had been Yul Han’s previous life, was among those who could not understand such inclinations.
Because of that, Flashing Light Blood continued speaking to Yul Han, who had stiffened completely.
“I still remember it. When that person smiled, it was as if peonies bloomed in full splendor…… such a beautiful and kind person. Those bastards deserved to die.”
“Peonies in full bloom…….”
Thinking it an unnatural expression to use toward a man, the Vice Cult Leader repeated it under his breath, and Flashing Light Blood nodded.
“At the time, all the Blood Sword Unit members who followed the Vice Cult Leader thought the same. That person was simply too beautiful. That’s why we all understood the Vice Cult Leader. That filthy Hundred Paths wench— I, I’m sorry.”
At Flashing Light Blood’s hurried apology as he bowed his head mid-sentence, Yul Han shook his head.
“No. Please continue what you were saying.”
At Yul Han’s urging, Flashing Light Blood continued cautiously.
“She was beautiful and such a good person that one could understand falling in love with a woman who was a disciple of the Hundred Paths.”
Rather than words like beautiful or good person, the word ‘woman’ struck Yul Han’s ears as if lodging itself firmly within them, and his eyes flashed.
“Kongtong had a woman…….”
“Ah! At first, both the Vice Cult Leader and we were truly shocked as well. She was dressed as a man. Those Hundred Paths bastards really are experts at doing things behind people’s backs. Taking in a female disciple and disguising her as a man to hide her— outrageous. Then again, who would have thought that the Kongtong Sect Master, who babbled about being a pure sanctuary, would secretly sire a child…… I, I’m sorry, Vice Cult Leader.”
Yul Han’s gaze grew complicated as he looked at Flashing Light Blood, who once again bowed deeply.
In short, it meant that the Kongtong Sect Master had violated the sect’s rules, taken a woman, and had a daughter with her.
The realization that even the Nine Sects, which he had firmly believed in his previous life to uphold righteousness and chivalry, were different from his expectations in reality struck Yul Han with considerable shock.
In contrast to that shock, he found himself able to understand why they had condemned the daughter or disciple who had been involved with the Vice Cult Leader of the Bright Cult.
From the perspective of the Hundred Paths, they could not possibly tolerate such a disgrace.
Yet even as his head understood, his heart felt as though it were being seared by fire—painful and resentful.
‘Why, why?’
When Yul Han looked deeply within himself, he was flustered.