Episode 400

Tak. Tak.

Blood flowed down from the cut.

The sudden, chaotic situation ended swiftly with a single move of the man’s sword.

With no time to respond.

Heuk Bi’s hair had turned white, and she was frozen like a statue. Even though she was the guard, she could not protect her leader.

No, she was an escort in name alone. In the first place, she was not stronger than the leader; so, she clearly could do nothing.

So, she did not have many options left now.

“Hurry up. It is a nice day, so do not ruin the mood.”

Heuk Bi was shocked by the words. The other person seemed to understand what she wanted to do.

A dagger was pulled out without a sound. Usually, it was used to protect the leader, but it was different now.

She unconsciously took out a dagger, and the other person became aware of it.

If I attack, I die.

And so, the sword that the man had brought out a moment back was shocking to Heuk Bi.

A cold and clean sword, which was perfect, or perhaps even the word perfect was not enough.

A state which couldn’t even be reached…

She was a warrior too.

She worked really hard because she wanted to do something like that at least once. But martial arts did not only require effort but talent too.

Despite suffering for over ten years, she was ultimately unable to draw a perfect sword slash.

At some point, she gave up and lived with comfort, knowing there was no perfect swordsman.

And yet, she saw one in front of her eyes.

At the hands of a man, who, from what she knew, was a third-rate warrior, he had killed her leader in one swing.

“…”

Self-destruction and uncertainty of the future. Amid so many emotions, she lifted the dagger to her own neck.

“Do you have to do that though?”

However, the dagger was blocked right then. At some point, the man came and stopped her from doing it.

“…Why?”

“I know a little bit about that snake-eyed bastard, and he wasn’t one to look after his subordinates. Then why do you want to die? Are you his family? Or something? Someone being held hostage?”

“Family?”

Heuk Bi could not understand it.

There was no such thing as a family to begin with.

From a young age, she was only given orders about torture, killing, and training. And she came to protect this man with her own body.

“What, then you don’t have to? If you don’t die now, will you die some painful death by poison or something? Did that guy do that?”

Seol-Hwi shook his head as he looked at her.

As if it was natural for her to do what the master said.

Tak.

“Euk…!”

Suddenly, Heuk Bi clutched her head. It looked like she was in pain.

Tak!

Seol-Hwi had snapped his wrist, taking away the poisoned dagger.

“Brainwashing. They treated people like things. Well, that bastard is one who does such things. A guy who treats people like things…”

“What are you…”

“What am I saying? Your life is yours now. Not those idiots.”

When asked curiously, the answer came back pitifully.

“I don’t know if you took something strange… but, engrave it, your life is yours. Not that snake-eyed or cross-eyed bastards who died after just one stab. Your life belongs to you.”

“…”

“Don’t try to die, just live. Because the shackles are off now. Do you understand?”

Seol-Hwi said so and looked at her reaction.

Blink. Blink.

But the reaction was still subtle.

Heuk Bi blinked, but it was a stiff reaction.

Shackles

It seemed like she did not understand what he was saying, that such things were resolved and she had to live her own life.

A normal person would express joy or pride at times like this. There did not seem to be any sense of rebellion or sadness even at the death of her master.

A life made like an object. One with no emotions.

These bastards…

Seol-Hwi gritted his teeth as he saw the Supreme Pavilion Leader on the ground with a shattered skull.

To be honest, his ties with Heuk Bi were not great in the past.

When he tried to kill the man, she stopped him, and sometimes her actions were under the orders of the Supreme Pavilion Leader to kill Seol-Hwi.

But was it not too severe?

The reaction of this woman was clearly that of someone brainwashed for a long time, having lost her senses.

It was no different from a lost person. The kind of life she had lived so far was clear to him.

“Phew.”

Seol-Hwi sat down next to the table.

Supreme Pavilion.

He vowed to come back and kill him. And even when the revenge was complete, this problem arose. Heuk Bi.

A woman with a broken mind who could not think of anything other than orders, one who was made into a killing machine. What could he do with this woman?

“…Can we talk?”

“Talk…?”

Heuk Bi looked confused. As if wondering, why talk?

As if asking that.

“No, I am wondering if talking is even possible.”

That was when she spoke.

“I won’t answer if you are planning to use me to find out anything! You are my enemy! Since you killed my master!”

She was anxious and looked like before.

“…Yes, must be nice. Do whatever you want. Just don’t kill yourself in front of me.”

“Why? Why are you blocking my path? Is it to torture… right, that is it! I… kuak!”

Seol-Hwi, unable to handle her anger, just sealed the blood point.

Heuk Bi fell back and finally went silent.

“I am busy too, okay. There is nothing to find out from you. And I am not interested.”

Tuk. Tuk.

He went through the mess in the pavilion, took bedding, clothes, water, and some food, and then pressed the blood points of Heuk Bi a couple more times.

Kuak kuka.

It was a point method filled with internal energy, and when she woke up, she could barely move her neck. So she cannot kill herself.

If she stayed still for a few days, her head would cool down.

Tak. Tak.

It was too bothersome to handle, so he simply wrapped the blanket around himself, tucking some water and food to the side.

And Seol-Hwi sighed.

“This damn thing is… but I cannot kill it.”

If he left her behind, she would either die or report to her superiors. However, he did not want to kill a woman who was weak and broken.

If he killed anyone just because he was strong, how would he be any different from the others?

“Bastard making me feel bad till the end. Tsk!”

He had come here thinking it had been a long time, but Seol-Hwi felt his judgment distort for no reason. From now on, after seeing this side, he promised not to do this and went out.

“Hoo. This here…”

Seol-Hwi’s expression as he stood there was bright in front of the library.

At the Supreme Pavilion, he had felt dirty, but now he felt refreshed. Even though it was the same memory, life at the library felt nostalgic and vague to him.

“Haa, hahaha…”

Home.

If one had something like that, this was probably it. Everything was here.

The old people he had been wanting to see for a while. Even the competitors who growled and shouted.

His heart pounded at the thought of meeting a friend he had missed for a long time.

Seol-Hwi began to walk faster without realizing it.

“Wait!”

Stop

As he passed the entrance, there was this familiar person blocking him. Du Hong.

“What did you come here for?”

But, as soon as he saw him, he spoke informally, his eyes filled with contempt.

“…”

Seol-Hwi glanced at his clothes without realizing it. The clothes he now wore had no symbol or markings to indicate which pavilion he belonged to, just those of a low-ranking warrior.

No, even so.

Still, Seol-Hwi frowned slightly.

“Ho. Seems like the normal workers have no manners. To speak informally the moment you see someone.”

“…?”

Du Hong’s eyes brightened in an instant. It was expected. Seol-Hwi knew this man’s nature.

“That, you… where did you come from?”

As expected, the tone of speech changed, and Seol-Hwi spoke with overwhelming authority.

“Is the Earth Demon inside?”

“…!”

Wheik!

Du Hong was scared and fell to the ground. Unless he was out of his mind, there was no way a lone individual with no affiliations could dare to invoke the name of the Sect Leader’s disciple.

“Well, he went up a while ago… so, if possible, don’t go up.”

“Huh! Who do you think you are to be so arrogant?”

“Eik! I apologize!”

Thud!

Du Hong’s head hit the ground. It was a typical display of the strong dominating the weak.

Seeing this, Seol-Hwi felt somewhat satisfied.

Seol-Hwi then told him,

“You.”

“Yes, yes! Please, give your order!”

“If you judge people solely by their appearance, you’ll find yourself in unnecessary trouble.”

“…Yes.”

“If you’re a guard, get the basics right when dealing with people. Then, no matter if the person is a warrior or someone with a bad temper, you can avoid an untimely death.”

Seol-Hwi imparted these life-saving words and moved on.

Kiiik

Seol-Hwi reached the top floor and opened the door without hesitation.

The room was beautifully decorated, sunlight streaming in.

A young man was taking a nap, dressed in a calm and silky robe.

Earth Demon.

Fortunately, he could see the man right there.

Seol-Hwi looked at him sleeping and felt a surge of happiness.

“Hmm. Hmmm!”

And the Earth Demon slowly opened his eyes.

Perhaps it was the prospect of a life-changing encounter, but he seemed to think that nothing could shock him.

His slightly sleepy, dazed eyes matched his personality.

“Who are you?”

Seol-Hwi calmly replied,

“An old friend you don’t remember.”

“…Friend?”

“Well, just take a quick look… I’m here to negotiate. You might refuse, but the offer will be enticing.”

The Earth Demon’s eyes sharpened.

Here was a person he had never seen before, standing before him, and he could not simply refuse.

Speaking of conditions. It felt like a veiled threat.

“Tell me, I’m not one to shy away from negotiations.”

But due to his optimistic nature, the Earth Demon looked relaxed.

Without even asking who the man was or what the condition was.

As expected, it was a romantic attitude that did not care about status or conditions.

“Nice.”

Seol-Hwi laughed at those words.

He thought it would be easier to get to the starting point.

“Earth Demon, the Fourth Disciple of the Heavenly Demon. I will play your role.”

“…”

“How does it seem? My suggestion?”