Chapter 31 - The Puppet Flute
Return of the Murim was a super-long serialized novel. With over 1,000 chapters, countless characters made appearances.
Baek So-hyang, the Witch of the Small Marsh, was a villain.
At one point, a reader on a fan forum had counted the number of kills in Return of the Murim, and Baek So-hyang proudly took 10th place—despite having all but disappeared from the story by the midpoint.
‘Naturally, the number one was Sword Saint Maeng Wihak.’
Anyway, what made the Witch of the Small Marsh dangerous was the fact that she had no motive for killing. If someone was in front of her, she simply killed them.
A distinctive trait of her victims was that their corpses were all frozen solid.
It was the power of her martial art, the Small Marsh Demon Art. This technique turned her fingertips translucent like ice, and a mere touch would freeze anything. It was a terrifying martial art of the ice element.
Though she wasn't from the Demonic Cult, her technique had “demon” in its name due to its sheer cruelty. After all, it froze people alive.
Naturally, she became a public enemy in the Martial World. When she reappeared, people in the Jianghu accused the Demonic Cult of hiding her.
And so—
‘She really did defect to the Demonic Cult.’
The Demonic Cult pursued strength above all. If you possessed strength worthy of the name, it didn’t matter what atrocities you had committed in the Martial World. That’s why they accepted her without hesitation.
‘Into the Sado family, no less.’
The Sado Clan, Sado Hwan’s family, was in desperate need of martial experts.
Naturally, she clashed with Mujin, the protagonist of Return of the Murim.
‘And she even ended up entangled with the Heavenly Demon, didn’t she?’
At that point, the Heavenly Demon was injured. Baek So-hyang, unaware of this, provoked him and got her head smashed by his awakened self.
‘But now you're telling me this Baek So-hyang actually died and came back to life?’
In the novel, it was vaguely stated that “the Witch of the Small Marsh, who was thought to be dead, turned out to be alive.” Because of that, I thought this Baek So-hyang was merely someone with the same name.
“Is it even possible to come back to life in the first place?”
No matter how fantastical the world of Return of the Murim was, no one had ever returned from the dead. At most, a soul might appear in a dream.
Jo Yang pointed toward the altar in the ruins.
“If the soul exists, then all that's needed is the body. I found suitable seeds to become So-hyang’s body and cast a spell on them. After decades of waiting for the body to mature, I finally succeeded.”
In other words, this was all part of Jo Yang’s decades-long plan, and I had gotten caught up in it by coincidence when I came looking for the treasured artifact.
But one fundamental question arose.
Jo Yang never appeared anywhere in Return of the Murim.
Which meant...
‘Does Jo Yang die here, then?’
“Grrr...”
Baek So-hyang let out a low growl like a beast. Then she suddenly bit Jo Yang’s hand, the one holding her.
Blood gushed from his hand. Jo Yang’s expression turned somber upon seeing it.
“Yes, I suppose you’re still unstable. It’s fine. Once you consume more souls, you’ll stabilize. First, eat these ones, and then the next ones that come.”
As he coaxed Baek So-hyang, Jo Yang pulled something from his robes. A small, black flute, no thicker than an index finger.
When Jo Yang played the flute, Baek So-hyang stopped gnawing at his hand and calmed down. No, rather than “calmed down,” it was more accurate to say she simply froze in place.
‘That’s...!’
The treasured artifact I had been looking for—the Puppet Flute. Literally translated as “marionette flute,” it was named so because it could control the listener like a puppet.
Of course, it wasn’t particularly powerful or famous. To use the Puppet Flute, you first had to cast the special Puppet Technique, and the stronger someone was, the less likely they were to fall under the spell.
In the end, it was mostly used to torment powerless civilians or weaklings, but I wasn’t planning to use it for that.
I intended to use only its secondary effect, not its main purpose.
Even if someone wasn’t under the Puppet Technique, as long as they heard the flute once, they could hear the flute master's voice from afar. Even without playing the flute, mere thought could transmit sound.
In short, it allowed for voice transmission.
‘Jo Yang was its original owner?’
An overwhelming sense of incongruity gripped me.
In Return of the Murim, when the Puppet Flute first appeared, it was in the hands of Paeng Soso. It had even been described as something “easily obtained near the ruins in Taeryeong Prefecture.”
This... was easy?
Sure, Paeng Soso was strong compared to others in her generation, but even then she was only Peak level.
Considering all the traps, the statues guarding the Dimensional Gem, and now the Witch of the Small Marsh herself, could a Peak-level martial artist really retrieve it “easily”?
Jo Yang’s next words only deepened my unease.
“Now I understand... what Cheongi-ja meant by ‘dramatic.’”
“Heavenly Saint, Cheongi-ja?”
“I’ve spoken too much.”
Jo Yang raised the flute again. Baek So-hyang turned to face us.
“Now, die.”
Baek So-hyang staggered to her feet from Jo Yang’s arms. Her head hung low as if she were heavily drunk, but the pressure emanating from her was anything but sluggish.
Fffsshhh—
White energy visibly roiled around Baek So-hyang. Moisture in the air began to freeze in an instant, ice forming rapidly, especially around her razor-sharp nails.
“Kyaaak!”
When she raised her head, her face was twisted like a wrathful ghost. Yet Jo Yang gazed at her with affectionate eyes, as though she were the most beloved creature in the world.
Madness gleamed in his eyes.
“Now, go kill them! Kill and absorb their souls to heal!”
“Kyaaaagh!”
Rather than respond, Baek So-hyang let out an inhuman screech and charged at us.
In the blink of an eye, she was in front of us, and Paeng Soso quickly stepped in to block her.
“Hyaaap!”
As Paeng Soso slashed her broadsword horizontally, a great gust of wind followed the arc. Baek So-hyang calmly raised her delicate hand to block the blow. Her hand was now as translucent as ice.
Kkang—!
When metal met her hand, the sound that rang out was a cold, metallic clang, not the usual crack of impact.
Worse yet, Paeng Soso was the one forced to retreat.
“So cold—what the hell!”
“Small Marsh Demon Art is a freezing martial art that sends cold deep into the target’s body upon contact. You must block her energy from entering your system!”
“Then I can’t use my sword qi!”
“Ah.”
In my case, the meridians for external energy output were already blocked. So I couldn’t feel it, but for someone like Paeng Soso, who could project energy, having that blocked was akin to fighting with both hands tied.
“Or you could amplify the energy of Samrak Blade. Lightning carries the energy of yang, so the cold won’t penetrate.”
“That sounds like a good idea!”
Bzzzzt!
Red lightning began to flicker along Paeng Soso’s blade. The energy of the Samrak Blade surged. She threw herself forward like a tiger pouncing to crush a deer’s throat.
But—
Baek So-hyang’s counter was light and simple. She merely swung her right arm from left to right.
“Ugh!”
Paeng Soso was flung across the floor like a skipping stone, while Baek So-hyang didn’t budge an inch.
The gap in power was overwhelming.
“She’s so damn strong—and she’s not even using internal energy.”
Paeng Soso muttered as she got back up. A hint of despair was on her face.
“I’ve heard of the Witch of the Small Marsh from my grandfather. He said she committed so many heinous acts they tried to execute her, but barely managed to win. Even then, he had to recuperate for half a year. How the hell am I supposed to beat someone like that? And she’s not even using true energy right now.”
The Witch of the Small Marsh was a veteran who even remembered the Skybreaker Sword.
Unlike the fake Transcendent Peak I had been pretending to be, the real Transcendent Peak was truly overwhelming—even if she was only half-conscious.
“Saweol.”
“Yes.”
“Stop her.”
Saweol stepped forward. Perhaps sensing her killing intent, Baek So-hyang turned her gaze toward her.
“Kiieeek!”
She thrust out her hand, and chilling spikes shot from her fingernails, flying like spears toward Saweol.
Sssht—
Saweol moved. Despite the cave’s strong echo, her steps made no sound—evidence of supreme footwork mastery.
Pop!
She reappeared behind Baek So-hyang, striking downward at the back of her neck with a reverse-grip dagger.
But Baek So-hyang turned and smacked it away with her hand.
Though Saweol frowned slightly, she used the recoil to spin and thrust the dagger toward Baek So-hyang’s heart.
Baek So-hyang blocked again, but in that instant, Saweol dropped the dagger. It flipped once over the back of her hand and landed cleanly in her grip again—she slashed with it instantly.
Sssht—!
The dagger carved a long gash across Baek So-hyang’s left shoulder.
“Kieeaaagh!”
She shrieked sharply, then crossed her arms and swung them in an X. A terrifying wave of force erupted, knocking Saweol back.
Even then, she flipped midair and used a stalactite to launch herself safely to the ground.
‘She’s weak.’
[That’s weak to you?!]
‘Yeah. She’s weak.’
[Don’t be ridiculous. If the Witch of the Small Marsh used true energy, this would be over instantly.]
Even sword energy could shatter stone. But qi reinforcement—an advanced technique above that—was overwhelmingly powerful.
In Return of the Murim, a single Transcendent Peak master could handle twenty Peak-level masters with ease.
That’s why this didn’t make sense. Baek So-hyang in the novel was on a completely different level. Even if Saweol was among the strongest at Peak level, she shouldn’t have been able to wound Baek So-hyang in just a few exchanges.
Baek So-hyang could even stand up to the Heavenly Demon—she was one of the strongest Transcendent Peak fighters.
“Kieeeek!”
She still howled like a beast, more animal than human.
“There, there. You must be hungry after resisting so much, huh?”
Jo Yang consoled her like a whining child. His smile didn’t fade the whole time, and it made me want to punch him in the face.
But that smile gave me a sudden realization.
So that’s it.
My words caused a crack to form in Jo Yang’s smile.
“Baek So-hyang... can’t use true energy right now.”
The solution was clear.