Chapter 188: Mujin, Remembers

Lee Jaseung went down into the underground dungeon of the Black Way Alliance.

It was already a place guarded with the utmost strictness, and now that an emergency was in effect, not even an ant could have slipped inside.

He stepped into the cell that held only the most serious criminals.

Rain lay fast asleep on the cot, and Water sat beside him, tending to him.

Lee Jaseung had deliberately put the two of them in the same room. The woman was trying to save the man. He intended to make full use of that.

“You really were cruel there.”

At Water’s words, Lee Jaseung answered coldly.

“And killing children and women isn’t?”

At that one sentence, Water could not say anything back. It had been Mountain’s order, but Rain and Water had obeyed that order. Even if she had ten mouths, she had nothing to say.

However, Water was not an ordinary woman.

“Were you not pleased too? When you got to kill as much as you wanted.”

The corner of Lee Jaseung’s mouth curled in a strange way.

In the fight a while ago, he had felt a similar thrill. Because of that, he had even fallen into Qi deviation.

He thought that if he had not gone through that incident beforehand, he might not have been able to control his rage this time and would have fallen into true Qi deviation.

It was truly fortunate that he had experienced it in advance.

“I am not pleased. I am just regretful. I lost far too many people to the likes of you.”

“The likes of us? Are we not the same kind as you?”

“Not in the slightest. We may be from the Unorthodox side, but we don’t kill children or women.”

“Heh, you keep biting down on that one weak point huh.”

“Because that is everything needed to define you. It is also the reason you all need to be wiped out.”

“There are things you simply cannot help.”

“In this Jianghu, there is no such thing as something you cannot help. There is only what you refuse to give up because of your greed.”

Again, she could not give any answer.

“Where is your leader?”

“I cannot just tell you. If you guarantee that you will truly let us go once this is over…”

Lee Jaseung cut her off.

“There is a way to find out even without that.”

Lee Jaseung called Baek Yong, who was waiting outside.

“Use whatever means you must and drag out everything in this man’s head.”

The target was Rain.

Saying to use whatever means were necessary meant it was fine if the subject died. That opened up many methods. Even without resorting to torture, there were confession arts that forced the other side to spill everything.

It was a kind of dark arts. The results were certain, but the subject was almost always reduced to a husk or lost their life.

“Is that a threat?”

“Interpret it however you like.”

“This is disappointing huh. I thought you were quite a fine man.”

“If a man hears that from his enemy, then it probably means he isn’t that great of a person.”

“Damn it!”

As Baek Yong moved to lift Rain and carry him out, Water spoke up.

“Fine. I will guide you myself.”

“How am I supposed to trust that?”

Water answered calmly.

“If you cannot trust me, then kill us right now. But keep this in mind. If you use those confession arts, our brains will burst and we will just die.”

Lee Jaseung gazed at her in silence, then rose to his feet.

“You better be ready to pay if that is a lie. We will leave in an hour.”

* * *

“The fact that we have had no word so far means things have gone wrong. Lady Song is most likely dead, and so is our Lord. Now what you need to do is choose a new Alliance Leader.”

At Mujin’s words, Dan Woobin blinked dumbfoundedly.

“Is that the latest trend now? Throwing merciless jokes at a friend who is already having a hard time?”

“Does that sound like a joke to you?”

“No! It sounds like crap!”

Dan Woobin suddenly bent his index and middle fingers and jabbed toward Mujin’s eyes.

“Whoa!”

Mujin hurriedly leaped back, pretending to be startled.

“I am joking, I am joking!”

“You bastard! You call that a joke!”

“Bastard you say! I’m older than you, you know.”

Dan Woobin glanced around, then snatched up a decorative sword that was set to one side.

Mujin skittered backwards and shouted.

“Big brother! What are you doing?”

Dan Woobin swung the sword wildly and shouted.

“If something happens to our Lord, we’ll all doomed!”

At that moment Mujin suddenly spoke.

“Not Lady Song?”

“Get a grip! Our Lord is more important.”

“No, you get a grip! To you, Lady Song matters more.”

Dan Woobin glared at him. The mischief was already gone from Mujin’s face.

“Our Lord is more important!”

“I will say it again. To you, Lady Song is more important. Just like how our Lord is more important to our Lady.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“So you don’t get confused. You need to see your own heart clearly, and only then can we see clearly too. You need to see your own heart clearly so you can see the world clearly. Only then can we achieve the Alliance Leader’s dream and ours.”

In short, he was telling him to pull himself together properly. Mujin was certain. In a situation like this, sharp words would help Dan Woobin more than any comfort.

Dan Woobin let out a small sigh.

“Fine, you are right.”

He spoke in a worried tone.

“I am so worried about Lady Song.”

“She will be safe.”

“She will be, right?”

“Of course. Do you not know who went to save her?”

“That is true.”

Dan Woobin let out a small laugh. For him to laugh in a situation like this. If it were anyone other than Mujin, it would have been impossible.

Mujin spoke with a slightly more serious face.

“Do you know what our Lord said when he drew me in?”

“What did he say?”

Mujin thought back to that day long ago.

“Damn it! Damn! Fuck!”

Mujin lay on the ground, grimacing. His face was swollen in several places and his lip was split.

Lee Jaseung stood before him. They were both much younger than they were now.

“Do you know why you are this angry?”

“You beat me and now you are trying to act like some old master.”

Mujin snapped back sharply, but Lee Jaseung calmly continued.

“Because you know you are running away from your own life.”

In that instant, strength gathered in Mujin’s eyes.

“You know that your life is a wreck not because of a father who beat you when you were young, or a mother who took her own life and left you behind, or a master who fell into Qi deviation and tried to kill you, or because the woman you loved left you for another man. You know all of that is just an excuse. Deep down you know it is just you. That is why you are angry.”

“Shut up! Just kill me!”

Lee Jaseung was stabbing straight into the part of himself he most hated to admit.

“Do you know why I chose you?”

“Why?”

“Because I know you are strong enough to shake all of that off. Because I know you are wise enough to chew up that damned fate and use it as a stepping stone to grow.”

Mujin clenched his teeth. His eyes grew bloodshot.

“Quit talking nonsense!”

“Let go of that angry child who lives in your heart.”

Mujin bit his lip. Blood trickled from his split mouth.

“I told you to be quiet! Who do you think you are to say that? What do you know!”

“Because I am running away too.”

“What?”

“Because I am angry at my father. Because I am angry at my own fate.”

Lee Jaseung held out his hand to Mujin and spoke.

“I am not telling you to live for me. Live for yourself.”

“But you told me to become your subordinate?”

“Even if you live for yourself, I will become a great Lord under whom you can live as my subordinate. I will do my best to become that.”

“…!”

Mujin came out of his memory.

“That’s what he said to me.”

Dan Woobin looked at Mujin’s slightly damp eyes and complained as if it were unfair.

“Why did he not say something cool to me?”

“Because I was a hopeless case. He probably needed something like that to reel me in.”

“Not because I was just an easy catch?”

“Maybe that played a small part too.”

The two of them looked at each other, then burst out laughing at the same time.

“Hahaha.”

Just then, a martial artist of the Three Eyed Pavilion came running like the wind and reported.

“An urgent message has arrived from the main alliance.”

* * *

Late at night, Baek Seolyoung was absorbed in her martial training.

Her sword sliced through the air as fast, precise movements followed one after another.

When her heart was tangled, training was the best. If she sweated like this, stray thoughts disappeared and time passed quickly.

She might easily have overdone it compared to usual, but she kept her composure as much as she could.

Transcendence Life and Death.

These days, that was the thought with which she steadied herself whenever she looked at Lee Jaseung.

If she lived beside a man who aimed to unify the world and still fussed over matters of life and death, she did not think she would ever live out her natural span.

Most of the time, worrying did not remove what you worried about. Sometimes you need to stop resisting the current of fate and simply let yourself drift.

She set her heart that way and tried to live by that resolve. If she did not, she would not be able to swallow even a single spoonful of rice from worrying about Lee Jaseung, who had gone to the main alliance to rescue Songhwa and his subordinates.

It was not easy, but she tried her best to act wisely. She tried to find what truly was the path for his sake and for her own.

Swish, swish, swish!

The new sword she had obtained was much heavier than an ordinary blade. After she received it as if by fate, she had trained the Northern Sky Sword Art to suit that sword.

Today of all days, the sword felt lighter. The difference from usual made her tense inside.

She wondered if she should stop training.

But she chose to continue.

She believed there was no reason to be afraid of this change when she had been training properly all along.

In short, this was how she felt.

I am working this hard, so how could anything bad come of it!

Her body soared into the air. She was about to unleash Hundred Blossoms in Full Bloom, the most dazzling technique in the Northern Sky Sword Art.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

More than twenty strands of Sword Qi swept the space in front of her. It was a move that literally tore through everything in sight. Of course, she knew that even this seemingly perfect move still had blind spots someone could find and slip through.

She knew it because she had watched Lee Jaseung fight many times.

He evaded attacks that should have been unavoidable by finding their weak points.

Knowing that and using the move made a clear difference from when she had simply swung in ignorance.

Perhaps because the sword felt lighter and her movements were more lively and faster, she felt greedy for Hundred Blossoms in Full Bloom technique today.

How could she eliminate those blind spots?

In the next moment, one thought flashed across her mind.

What if I try it like this?

She pushed off from the ground again. This time she rose a little lower than before.

Originally, the move called for her to spring high and scatter the technique in a soaring arc.

Now she rose only half as high as usual and unleashed it.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

Twenty threads of Sword Qi flew out again.

Kwaaaa.

The space in front of her was swept once more. The lines carved into the ground were more intricate than before. The blind spots were gone, but the power had dropped.

Perhaps her leap had not been strong enough? The way the move fanned out in midair lacked the natural, exhilarating flow it had shown earlier.

Tap!

She kicked off the ground again. The moment she felt the drop in power, a new method came to her.

Hundred Blossoms in Full Bloom burst forth once more from Baek Seolyoung’s hands.

This time she did not rise into the air, but hurled her body forward.

She drove herself forward with more force than when she leapt up, and swung.

The space ahead was swept clean. The lines carved into the ground became even more complex and sank deeper. Compared to the first two attempts, the move now manifested with far greater force. There were no blind spots, and the power was stronger.

“Phew.”

Baek Seolyoung examined her body while still standing. She had altered the move, yet there was nothing wrong with her body.

With a slightly guilty look, she murmured to herself.

“I really must be a special woman. I don’t even know if you are dead or alive… but I am focusing better like this. I am even managing to pull something off.”

She let out a self mocking chuckle, then, standing alone under the moonlight, she felt like some madwoman and laughed a little louder.

“I wonder if it is really all right to change a move however I please like this?”

Fortunately, she had a clear answer to that question.

After she lowered her sword, she lifted her gaze to the moon and asked.

“I have something I want to ask that man. When are you going to send him to me?”

Right then, as if it had been planned, Dan Woobin came running from afar.

“My Lady!”

The bright joy on his face said everything.

Baek Seolyoung looked up at the moon and smiled brightly. Is that not a little too fast of an answer? And also…

“Thank you.”

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