Episode 19. Hongmong (鴻濛)
Song Myeong-cheon was startled and looked in the direction where the sound came from. He hadn’t talked to anyone in a very long time.
Not even with a disciple who brought Byeokgokdan once a day.
“Who?”
“ha ha ha. “Does it really matter now?”
Song Myeong-cheon said while frowning unnaturally.
“Please identify yourself. “How did you get here?”
“How did you get in? If I want to go in, I go in, and if I want to go out, I go out. “There is no place in the world that I cannot go.”
Song Myeong-cheon said calmly.
“Get out now. Otherwise, I will send a message and make known.”
Then the man chuckled and said.
“what? Are you going to scream? It’s funny, it’s funny. “Let’s take a listen.”
Song Myeong-cheon glared at the man with sharp eyes.
The man said.
“Isn’t it you who climbed up alone from the bottom of hell? ha ha ha. “What is this to you, who was revered as the best technician in Qingcheng?”
Song Myeong-cheon frowned again and said.
“It’s all in the past now. This is not for me, but for Qingcheng. Even though I lost my martial arts skills… I am not afraid of death. “The reason I live is only… ah… only to wake up clearly and punish myself.”
The man chuckled again as if it was funny.
“You have emerged as a hero. A saint was born. “Why don’t you ask yourself if you can really take responsibility for those words?”
He took a step closer. Then the shadows cleared slightly and the man’s face was vaguely revealed.
He appears to be middle-aged and is wearing a black suit.
There was a large knife wound on his face, and his left eye, where the wound had passed, was completely closed.
“Do you know how that woman, Bok Yeon-hwa, lives?”
Song Myeong-cheon’s eyes brightened. He looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
“You… how do you know her?”
“Hehehe. it serves him right. “You talk like an enlightened Taoist, but you still haven’t been able to escape the world’s concerns even an inch.”
“Tell me about Yeonhwa… why did you…”
“Hahaha. Are you dying of curiosity? okay. I’ll tell you. That woman is now the wife of Jang Mun-in, a shaman. “He was very successful.”
Song Myeong-cheon’s face hardened somewhat.
“exactly. So that’s what happened. Then, Jang Mun-in of the Shaman faction is….”
“That’s right. Don’t you know someone very well? ha ha ha.”
“Takbuyong….”
“Of course. Isn’t this the most influential doctrine in the current martial arts world? A just and wise sage of martial arts. A man of great standing who raised the martial arts skills of the independent faction to the next level. “If you ask a passing dog, he will be able to tell you who the Shaman’s Jangmun is.”
Song Myeong-cheon had a blank expression.
“She’s… good.”
“that’s right. For a woman from a humble rural family, I can say she was really successful. Of course, I must have benefited from your pretty face.”
Song Myeong-cheon raised his head, looked at the man, and said.
“Then why are you coming to me and saying this? “I… I just…”
The man responded with his eyes widening.
“A sinner?”
“…exactly.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha.”
The man without one eye burst into laughter and spoke.
“yes. You are a sinner. Ignorance is also a sin. “That’s stupid.”
“What are you talking about?”
“hey. “It happened that day.”
Song Myeong-cheon’s eyes widened.
The man said with a sly expression.
“That day. That day… do you think you did it?”
Song Myeong-cheon glared at the man for a while before answering.
“…I don’t know. “I was so… drunk.”
“Hmm. I was drunk… No matter how drunk I was, it’s human nature. huh? “Do you really think you did that?”
Then Song Myeong-cheon shouted loudly with an expression as if he had realized something.
“I understand now. She must have sent you! It’s okay if you don’t have to do this. One word was enough. I am fully repentant. If she had wanted to, she would have volunteered. But if that doesn’t relieve your anger… don’t worry. I can die as much as I want. Cut off my head and bring it to her!”
The man said in a sarcastic voice.
“Oh dear. Don’t get too ahead of yourself. It would be a big mistake to think that the world would be that simple. Because I am not an assassin who is moved by the words of such an insignificant woman. In fact, she lives very well without even thinking about you guys. Tsk tsk tsk. No. no. In fact, you could say that the reason you are suffering is because of her.”
“It’s because of Yeonhwa…?”
The man said, chuckling again.
“okay. The reason you suffer like this because you can’t be buried under the ground. It’s all because she showed mercy. “I’m not sure if it’s mercy or cruelty.”
Song Myeong-cheon said in surprise.
“what? “What do you mean?”
“I guess you didn’t know. Did you think Bok Yeong-jeon was such a self-prepared man? huh? gibberish. That guy is a very dark guy on the inside. Why did I send my daughter to a shaman group from her childhood days? huh? Everything happened the way he wanted. As he wished, his daughter became the mistress of the Shaman faction, and thanks to her, the Cheongseong faction also received a halo and escaped extinction. You know that? “The Cheongseong faction was on the verge of collapse.”
“…What do you mean she showed mercy?”
“ha ha ha. In the meantime, your only interest is in that woman. okay. I’ll tell you before I get any more upset. She saw you very well. She knelt down and begged her father to save you. Does this make sense? “He said he knelt down for the evil that harmed him.”
Song Myeong-cheon looked deeply shocked.
“Yeonhwa… for me… ah! I don’t even know that…”
For a while, Song Myeong-cheon lowered his head, shedding hot tears.
The man said.
“Do you really think you did that?”
Song Myeong-cheon slowly shook his head.
“I don’t know. I… ah. “I really don’t know.”
At that time, the man in black quickly waved his hand.
Song Myeong-cheon instinctively raised his arms in defense.
An object that fell in front of me with a ‘clack’ sound.
It was clearly a piece of the jade tablet that Yeonhwa Bok had split into three.
Song Myeong-cheon raised his bloodshot eyes and looked at the man.
“This must have been kept by the Presbyterian Council…”
“Bullshit. ” “This is the piece of the jade tablet you had.”
Song Myeong-cheon’s eyes widened.
“what? How could that be…”
“Hehehehe. I thought he was smart, but his stupidity is endless. You stupid bastard. “There were two jade tablets from the beginning.”
thud!
Song Myeong-cheon felt very confused.
He raised his now fierce eyes and asked the man.
“But… how do you know the internal circumstances of the Qingcheng faction?”
The man said with a meaningful smile.
“good. It seems like your eyes have revived after a long time. It’s a good thing. “Did you ask me how I know?”
The gazes of the man and Song Myeong-cheon were violently intertwined. The man said.
“It’s so simple. “I was there.”
Then Song Myeong-cheon, who was shocked beyond comparison to before, cried out.
“what? “You…you were there?”
“Yes. “I was right there.”
“Why are you there…”
“Do I have to answer that? Hehehe. But since I am very generous, I will tell you. I was hiding there. It was the perfect place to hide. The events that day were very interesting. “I’ve been there a long time since then, but I’ve never had a more interesting day than that day.”
Song Myeong-cheon said with a fierce expression.
“interest? Interesting? “How…”
The man stopped speaking.
“How could it not be fun? “The rapist and murderer got away with it, and the stupid guy who only drank alcohol took all the blame.”
“What…?”
The man began to explain the truth of the day to Song Myeong-cheon, who seemed to have stopped the accident due to shock.
Most of the events were consistent with what Han Ibi saw and heard.
And finally… the whole story is over.
Song Myeong-cheon was shaking with uncontrollable anger.
“Is… everything?”
“Hehehe. okay. finished. But there is one more interesting story. “There were other people who knew about this incident.”
Song Myeong-cheon raised his head again.
“what?”
“After the old man Jang-mun ended his miserable life… do you know who took over the Jang-mun position now?”
“I don’t know. “I have lost all interest in worldly affairs.”
“Ji Seung-rip.”
“You mean Elder Ji Seung-rip?”
“Isn’t it strange to you? Because he did not have enough martial arts or virtue to attract the attention of the world. But he is… the one who investigated the truth of the incident that day. Although his physical abilities were insignificant, his brain power was extraordinary. So… if you didn’t know about the urgently fabricated evidence, you could say it’s even weirder.”
At that moment, Song Myeong-cheon… and Han Ibi realized.
How did things turn out?
According to that unidentified person, a man named Ji Seung-rip knew everything.
Assuming that is true, he most likely… threatened Tak Buyong of the Shaman faction.
And as soon as Takbu-yong was in his hand, he was scared of him ….
“Ahhhhhh!”
Song Myeong-cheon jumped up and pounded the stone wall with his fists. The skin was broken and blood was flowing out.
However, Song Myeong-cheon did not stop and continued to hit it.
Song Myeong-cheon suddenly stopped moving.
He looked back at the man and said.
“Ji Seung-rip. “I must go to him.”
The man said with a grin.
“I can’t go.”
“Please help me get out. “I will do whatever it takes to repay you.”
“He is dead.”
Song Myeong-cheon’s pupils dilated. The man said.
“That’s exactly what happened this morning.”
“Who did that?”
“I don’t know. Officially. But somehow I feel like I know. “Aren’t you like that too?”
“He… was trying to kill you and seal your mouth.”
“Well, it’s just a guess. So today is the perfect day.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you escaped. “Right now, the Cheongseong faction is in a daze due to Jang Mun-in’s sudden death.”
The man suddenly grabbed Song Myeong-cheon’s shoulder. Then, he picked him up, carried him on his back, and immediately started running outside the cave.
It was just as the man said.
The cave was empty.
At this moment, no one cared about past sinners.
Due to the impact of the formidable light attack, the sound of a rushing wind rose in Song Myeong-cheon’s ears.
And the man’s voice.
“Do you know why your master and the old man of Qingcheng chose you? That’s because you… have a martial talent that will never be seen again. no. To be precise…”
At that moment, the gaze of the man running towards me met Han Ibi’s gaze.
In reality, Ibiwa Han doesn’t even exist there.
He said while looking straight into Han Ibi’s eyes as if Han Ibi was there.
Han Ibi felt her heart sink and her spine shiver.
“…Your body is a mixed body that is born once every 1,000 years. “You must learn my Hongmong Great Law and the Demonic Sword Law and become my hands and feet.”
‘What are you doing now… that human… It feels like you’re talking to me.’
The moment Han Ibi was startled.
As if it was a lie, my vision suddenly went black.
* * *
I saw Song Myeong-cheon’s eyes again.
The surroundings became bright all at once.
A ringing sound.
[Epic Quest has been completed.]
[Reward 1: You can now use the Cheongseongpa Maehojangbeop, a skill acquired while playing the Epic Quest. The Art of Enchanting the Tiger has been raised to level 2.]
[Reward 2: Strength +30, Agility +20, Wisdom +20]
[Reward 3: Nanganjutsu has been upgraded to Mind’s Eye Access. Additional skills are created as the level increases.]
Song Myeong-cheon’s story began to reach my ears.
“So… I followed him and learned martial arts. “It was already 7 years ago.”
Han Ibi was completely distracted.
So, they made a lot of noise as if it was an ‘epic quest’ or something, but if you look at it closely, it was just a visualization of Song Myeong-cheon’s story.
But even without realizing it, I had that question.
“Who on earth is he?”
Song Myeong-cheon shook his head left and right.
“I do not know. “I just said that I would come visit you when the time was right.”
“ah! Now that I think about it, isn’t your martial arts skills already abolished?”
Song Myeong-cheon looked at Han Ibi and said.
“To be precise, the path was blocked so that internal power could not be demonstrated. However, there are various types of martial arts in the world. Only then did I realize… The Hongmong Dabeop that I learned was one of those things. Or, to be more precise, it would be better to say that I was instilled in it.”
Han Ibi said as if she realized something.
(Continued in the next part)
