Chapter 61
Reunion (1)
Eunryeong’s thoughts were wrong.
Although Ji-hyeon Yu-gun of Sunyang County and his daughter could not be saved, Kang Yongun at least managed to save his son, Yu Yeonghu.
“This way, sir.”
“Guaahhh—!”
“This is the young master’s quarters…”
“Move aside—!”
Bang!
Kang Yongun all but smashed through the door. Inside, a young man writhed in his bedding, coughing up blood. Kang Yongun pinned him down with force.
“Hold on—I’ll save you!”
He pressed both hands against the youth’s chest, recited an incantation, and drew up the power of the Great Celestial Art.
‘Jeong-ah—!’
He roused the Poison Spirit slumbering in his dantian.
‘Help me, won’t you? Please, Jeong-ah.’
Perhaps it was his warm and familiar will, like that of an elder brother.
Whooong—!
From Kang Yongun’s dantian surged a force utterly different from internal energy.
At that instant—
Clunk.
The poison gnawing at Yu Yeonghu’s heart froze.
No, it began to tremble violently.
As though facing an absolute being it dared not resist, it could not move.
‘Well done, my Jeong-ah.’
Yongun encouraged it.
Perhaps it liked that?
Whoom. Whoom. Whoooom—!
The Poison Spirit in his dantian released heavy waves.
The waves carried through his hands and into Yu Yeonghu’s body.
And then—
Crunch, crunch.
It devoured the vile poison and venom entirely, chewing it up without leaving a trace.
Soon after—
“Ugh—! Cough, cough!”
Yu Yeonghu vomited out what remained.
The blood clumps scattered across the floor had already lost their toxicity, unable to harm anyone.
“Haaa—!”
Yu Yeonghu barely opened his eyes.
He lived.
He had survived.
“Young master—!”
The soldier who had guided Kang Yongun jumped for joy.
“You’re awake! Thank heavens, you’re awake—!”
He ran outside, shouting loud enough to shake the annex, spreading the word.
“The young master lives! The great hero from Angang has saved him—!”
But at the same time—
“Aaahh, young miss—!”
“Young miss, please wake up! Please—sob…”
Grief struck as well.
In a nearby annex, Ji-hyeon Yu-gun’s daughter had already breathed her last.
‘Damn it. If only I had been a little faster!’
Yongun’s heart burned with regret and anger.
‘Why didn’t I think they might find me first and strike ahead of me?’
Because of the torches, the patrols, the many soldiers?
He should have considered it.
‘It’s my failing.’
He could have saved them all, but he failed.
He had lost to them.
Of course, not everyone saw it that way.
“My son—! Sob…”
The madam of the household came rushing in upon hearing that Yu Yeonghu had survived.
“Oh, thank you, heavens above—! Thank you…!”
Even if only her son had been saved, she was grateful.
“M-Mother…”
The barely conscious Yeonghu grasped her hand.
At once, he understood.
That his father and sister were gone.
“My son—!”
“Mother—sob!”
Hand in hand, they wept bitterly.
Kang Yongun, the adjutant, and Wang Jeongha, who had rushed in, all grew misty-eyed watching.
How much time passed like that?
“Madam, please take a look at this.”
Yongun pulled a secret letter from his robe.
It contained everything that had transpired in Angang. He handed it to Yu-gun’s wife.
“These vile villains—!”
After reading, her fury erupted.
“What is this, madam?”
“The commander has arrived, my lady—!”
The Sunyang county inspector and soldiers, arriving late, received the letter.
“Look at this—!”
The inspector and officer accepted it politely and read on the spot.
But then—
“Hmm. Pure nonsense, madam.”
“Well, we’ll investigate, of course, madam.”
The two exchanged glances, as if wordlessly agreeing to dismiss it, and began spouting excuses.
‘What nonsense?! Didn’t they just see me save the son?!’
Fuming, Yongun realized as he caught their subtle winks—
‘Unlike Angang, both inspector and officer here are corrupt to the core.’
Otherwise, this reaction was impossible.
“Now, the letter has been received, so you gentlemen from Angang may return.”
“This is Sunyang County. There’s trouble here, so go back—we have much to handle.”
They issued a dismissal order.
“Kang hero.”
“Ah, Lord Wang!”
Wang Jeongha approached, calling the trembling-with-rage Yongun.
“Let’s return, hero. This is no longer in our hands.”
“Ah—!”
With a sigh, Yongun had no choice but to accept.
Wang was right.
‘They are officials. I am but a mere martial wanderer.’
If even after their magistrate and daughter’s deaths they reacted like this, what more could he do?
“…Understood, lord.”
Bitterly, Yongun turned away.
He trudged out of the county office, shoulders drooping, then stopped upon reaching the main road.
‘Should I head to Pyeongri County?’
Reason told him to go, but his heart hesitated.
“You seem disappointed, hero,” Wang Jeongha comforted.
“N-no, lord.”
Though he denied it, he knew Wang was right.
‘Yes. I’m disappointed in people.’
He was disillusioned by how quickly the officers of Sunyang turned their faces and concealed their sins once Ji-hyeon died.
‘Damn it. But I can’t treat the Pyeongri magistrate’s life lightly too.’
At that moment—
[Un-ah.]
A voice entered his mind.
[The apostate sorcerer, knowing you were coming, has already killed the magistrate there to erase all traces. If you had been the sorcerer, what would you have done about Pyeongri?]
It was Elder Baekwoo Jegal Ryang.
‘Ah—!’
Hearing him, Yongun realized.
‘I’ll be too late for Pyeongri as well.’
That place too had already fallen.
‘I wasted too much time here.’
No matter how fast he traveled, the enemy was faster. He’d be like a dog staring at the roof after the rooster.
But still—
“Lord, will you accompany me to Pyeongri?”
Yongun refused to give up.
[Such a fool.]
Jegal Ryang mocked him, but Yongun would not change his mind.
“Even if I end up chasing shadows again, I must see for myself, lord.”
“Kang hero…”
“Who knows? Perhaps they see it as their final stronghold, or perhaps they won’t expect us to head there. Maybe, just maybe, we can save even one person.”
His face was filled with determination.
And perhaps it was contagious.
With a grin—
“Very well, hero. Since we’ve come this far, let’s go to Pyeongri.”
Smiling, Wang Jeongha nodded, then turned to his men.
“What about you all? Will you join us?”
“Wahaha! Of course, lord.”
“Why not? We’ve already come this far—what’s one more step?”
“Well said, brother.”
“Ha! I’m older than you, brat. Hahaha.”
“Hahaha! Lord, let’s head straight for Pyeongri.”
The constables laughed heartily as they agreed.
Yongun’s chest burned hot.
“Thank you.”
And so, they set off.
Toward Pyeongri.
[Still, fools never understand even when told outright. Tsk, tsk.]
Jegal Ryang sneered again.
But soon after—
[But that’s why I like you. Not giving up on even one life—that’s important.]
It was an unexpected word of praise.
‘Forgive me for being stubborn, elder.’
With a repentant heart, Yongun unleashed his movement art.
He sprinted toward Pyeongri.
Elder Jegal Ryang was right.
By noon the next day, they arrived in Pyeongri. But the county office was filled only with the sounds of mourning.
The magistrate, his wife, and even their son—three lives taken.
Yongun staggered.
‘You vile fiends—!’
He ground his teeth.
‘If you wanted to erase evidence, you could’ve just taken the poison back—why kill them all?!’
The apostates.
Defying Heaven itself, they were already no better than the dead.
Each time Yongun faced them, the words of the celestial elders weighed on him.
‘Fine. Someday we’ll meet. And when we do…’
For he was the sole rightful heir of Heaven’s destiny.
‘I’ll make you pay dearly.’
He swore it, just as he turned to head back to Angang—
[Un-ah. To know your enemy and know yourself is to never be defeated. Do you know why you failed?]
Jegal Ryang’s voice again.
Yongun whispered his reply.
“I underestimated them. I didn’t anticipate their actions, nor did I respond quickly enough.”
It was his reflection.
But—
[Tsk, tsk. Still not good enough. At this rate, you’ll fail again.]
Jegal Ryang’s judgment was harsh.
“Please teach me, elder. I beg you.”
After a pause, Jegal Ryang spoke again.
[Abandon the greed of predicting everything with your head. The world is ever-changing—you cannot foresee all with thought alone.]
“Then, what must I do?”
[First, you must be prepared yourself. Remember our first meeting? Your vessel—your body—was unready, and you nearly died. You must first strengthen your vessel.]
It was a fundamental answer, frustratingly so.
But then—
[However, had your spiritual sight been keener, as in Sunyang, things would have turned out differently. No matter how far, you’d have seen it. Instead of heading for the office, you’d have fought them first, would you not?]
That was true.
Yongun’s sight could only barely pierce clothing, with very short range.
‘If only I had spotted them first…’
His heart pounded, naturally recalling battle.
[Only by advancing your innate cultivation will your sight grow sharper. But since that may take time, you should learn to spread your acquired qi around to assist your vision.]
“Yes, elder. Please teach me. I will master it.”
[I’ll explain the basics. It’s called Yi-gi-chi-gi—using your qi to sense another’s. It begins with…]
All the way back to Angang, Jegal Ryang’s instructions resounded in Yongun’s mind.
