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EP.74 A Little Scratched. (3)

Flame Burst—

The tranquil forest was gradually consumed by the flames, vanishing into the breeze.

With a single gesture, the fire that devoured the bushes and trees was being drawn into my body.

The flames swirling around me were absorbed into my flesh, and I could feel the energy I had expended being replenished to some degree.

“…Hoo.”

As I finished gathering the energy, a deep breath escaped my lips, and I could see the heat wafting away from my mouth.

How much did I expend? It feels like I might have gone a bit overboard.

[You seem to know something.]

Shin Noya’s voice came out somewhat weary as he spoke.

[Do you understand how hard it is to calm a raging beast that seems ready to smash everything?]

“Was it very dangerous?”

[If you had pulled just a little more from there, it would have been impossible to stop it.]

“So it was quite a close call.”

Looking at the charred corpses around me, it was clear I had exerted quite a lot of energy.

With hardly any control over it, not a single intact body remained.

The forest, once filled with a refreshing scent, was now thick with the stench of ash.

As I carefully adjusted my disheveled clothes, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Is this the first time?’

I had killed someone for the first time after my return.

What a peculiar feeling it was.

I didn’t indulge in unnecessary sentimental thoughts.

Since I’ve returned, I’ve never thought about not killing! There’s no need for such noble thoughts.

They were lowly thugs from the Black Night Palace, a part of the Demonic Faction, and they were the ones targeting my younger sibling.

‘But why is my heart racing so?’

Placing my hand over my chest, I felt it faintly trembling.

Is this the disconnect between my mind and body?

‘What a foolish thought.’

I was like this in my previous life as well, and anyway, I would feel better after a brief period.

I should rather become dull quickly.

[What are you planning to do about the one who got away?]

At Shin Noya’s question, I looked toward the direction the apparent leader had fled.

Initially, I thought of capturing and killing him, but upon sensing the shallow demon energy within him, I changed my mind.

There was a necessity to torture him for information.

It was shallow and faint, but indeed, it was demon energy he possessed.

‘How could a Black Night Palace thug have demon energy?’

Had there already been contact with the Demonic Sect? That couldn’t be the case.

The appearances of the Demonic Sect and the Heavenly Demon were still years away.

‘Could it be possible that the demon energy was simply faint?’

Not being sure was simply due to how unclear it was, and something about it seemed too shallow to even call it demon energy.

That made it all the more painful to have let him escape.

“He was faster than I expected.”

I should have burned his legs, not his arms.

It had been so long since I had been in a real fight that my mind wasn’t functioning well.

Even knowing that a small mistake could cost me my life, I still made such a slip-up.

I had become too soft, indulging in peace.

“…When am I supposed to clean this up?”

Looking around at the scattered corpses made my head ache.

If my realm was higher, I could have turned them to ash and dust.

Especially seeing that one in the corner who had died with his neck twisted made my anger rise.

I should have burned his insides first; to him, a painless death was far too kind.

It was disgusting to think about a child barely tall enough to reach my waist.

And the fact that it was Gu Ryeonghwa made it even less pleasant.

[So you treat them like dung, but you care for your younger sibling.]

‘That’s not exactly the case.’

[No? Then at least hide that pathetic expression of yours.]

First and foremost, this was something I would need to discuss directly with Maehwa Seon.

What worried me was that since she was a martial artist before being a person, I wasn’t sure how she would take the matter of killing.

In that regard, Shin Noya’s indifferent comments felt oddly out of place.

[I just killed the one who needed to be killed; there’s no need to overthink it.]

Martial artist before human.

Human before martial artist.

Given that Shin Noya had experienced wars like the Blood Demon War directly, he seemed rather indifferent about these matters.

On the other hand, I couldn’t predict how she would perceive it in this relatively peaceful era.

[I already knew you had many secrets. I was a bit surprised just now, though.]

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at Shin Noya’s words, as I felt a kind of concern hidden within them.

The appearance of the Black Night Palace and the demon energy…

“Why were they loitering around here?”

Their primary target didn’t seem to be Gu Ryeonghwa…

I remember Shin Hyeon and Yeongpung said they were searching for the missing martial artists of Hwasan.

Could this incident somehow be related to that?

‘I feel like I’m getting tangled up in a troublesome situation.’

First, I shook off the heat and gathered the scattered corpses into one place.

I could easily foresee the problems that would arise if I carelessly disposed of them further away.

This was a matter to discuss with Maehwa Seon once I returned.

Having roughly sorted things out, I headed toward the hut.

From what I saw before, it seemed like I couldn’t get in because of the energy barrier, yet I passed through without issue.

Without feeling any obstruction, I glided through as I normally would.

What’s the difference?

A puzzling question was answered by Shin Noya’s words.

[It’s probably the difference between having the energy of the Hwasan Sect within you or not.]

‘…You mean it’s because I consumed the energy of a treasure?’

[That seems to be the case, yes.]

Could a mere energy barrier provide such a function?

Suddenly, I felt like the majesty of Maehwa Seon, who had plummeted down deep within me, was rising anew.

As I approached the hut, the delicious aroma wafted into my nose.

Was someone in the midst of preparing a meal?

As I stepped closer, making a crunching sound, I noticed Gu Ryeonghwa outside busily moving about.

“What are you doing?”

At my blunt question, she glanced over at me.

And then her expression crumpled immediately.

“Why are you here again?”

“The Sect Leader asked me to bring something.”

“Why you?”

“Because it had to be me.”

It seemed strange to her that I was running errands for the Sect Leader.

Right, I found it strange too.

Who would have thought it would come to me for one rice cake?

In the back, I caught a glimpse of Jiegal Hyeok diligently slicing something.

As our eyes met, he gave a slight nod, probably a greeting.

“…What’s he up to?”

“Can’t you tell? He’s cooking.”

“He cooks?”

I hesitated to ask, seeing the way he was slicing the onions so skillfully.

“…He’s surprisingly good at it.”

Gu Ryeonghwa seemed to be brimming with unspoken pride as she said this.

Why is she like this?

“Where’s Shin Yi?”

“Inside… checking on the master.”

“Got it.”

Hearing Gu Ryeonghwa’s reply, I was about to step into the hut when she suddenly grabbed my sleeve tightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh… why is your hand like that?”

My hand?

I looked down, finding a thin scratch on the back of my hand.

I thought I had avoided injury, but maybe I had brushed against something.

Even so, I thought it was something I could brush off.

Looking at Gu Ryeonghwa’s face, I considered.

What would have happened if I hadn’t shown up?

Likely, nothing significant would have occurred.

Given the level of those thugs, it seemed they could do nothing against the energy barrier.

I was just dissatisfied.

Out of a narrow mind and rotten nature, I burned them in a fit of rage.

That would be for the best.

Removing Gu Ryeonghwa’s grip on my sleeve, I said, “It’s just a little scratch.”

Gu Ryeonghwa looked at me with doubt, but there wasn’t anything she could press me about.

“Don’t worry, just carry on with what you’re doing.”

“Who’s worried…!”

Ignoring her outburst, I knocked on the hut.

Knock knock.

-Who is it?

I heard Shin Yi’s distinctive dry voice.

“It’s Gu Yangcheong, who you met last time.”

-You… Ah.

With a brief exclamation, the door of the hut opened.

Shin Yi was dressed as before when he saw me, and upon spotting me, he made a displeased expression that didn’t appear welcoming.

“What’s the matter?”

“Maehwa Seon asked me to deliver this.”

As I pulled out the letter Maehwa Seon had given me, the expression on Shin Yi’s face twisted further.

It was as if he was looking at water that was boiling over.

…Now that I think about it, she could have come herself, but sent me instead because she was afraid of seeing this?

‘…That could very well be it.’

Maybe she couldn’t bear to get mad at me.

With a tsk, Shin Yi clucked his tongue before taking the letter and putting it in his robes.

“Dohwa, that damn fool, will surely fall into hell.”

“…”

Did he just say hell about the Sect Leader?

In any case, I had properly delivered the letter and was about to turn to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Excuse me?”

Surprisingly, Shin Yi stopped me.

His face looked like he wanted to kick me out, but why was he grabbing me?

“Aren’t you just going to leave with your hand like that?”

Shin Yi’s words reminded me of the scratch Gu Ryeonghwa had mentioned.

Was he really stopping me over that?

“…No, it’s just a little scratch…”

“Just a little scratch? You’re not planning to pull that kind of bullshit in front of a physician, are you?”

“No, I swear it’s all good if I just put some saliva on it.”

“Who in their right mind uses saliva for a scratch! All martial artists with brain injuries never fail to irritate me…”

“W-Wait!”

“Don’t make an old man use his strength, just follow me when I’m telling you nicely.”

With Shin Yi’s words, I couldn’t just shake off his hand, fearing it might really break.

In the end, I was pulled into the hut, grabbing the back of my neck.

In the room of the Branch Leader of the Black Night Palace’s Shanxi Branch.

Thud—! Thud—!

Amidst the pools of blood everywhere, Bae Chong repeatedly smacked his forehead against the ground.

Across from him, Ya Hyeoljeok merely supported his chin, staring at Bae Chong.

All five subordinates he had sent out before were dead, and Bae Chong had returned barely able to use his left arm.

Ya Hyeoljeok asked Bae Chong, “So, who was it?”

“…I don’t know… it was someone I’ve never seen before.”

“Never seen? Oh, I see.”

Creak.

Thud thud thud!

“Urk!”

At Ya Hyeoljeok’s words, Bae Chong spat blood, and the cave echoed with the sound of dust falling.

“So you’re saying you survived against someone you don’t even know?”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“Damn it! Is that how you apologize!?”

With a swift movement, Ya Hyeoljeok’s blade severed Bae Chong’s arm.

“AAAAAH!”

“Hey, you punk! Did I send you out with others just so you could screw up like this?”

“Guhh…!”

“I thought maybe if I sent someone who looked a bit smart, they’d actually do their job, but instead, I’m left disappointed.”

“…I’m sorry… Branch Leader…”

Hah!

Ya Hyeoljeok spat beside Bae Chong.

As if our branch isn’t already skeleton crew, the majority of the ones we sent out all ended up dead.

And that too against an unknown kid?

According to Bae Chong, he used fire techniques.

It’s not common to find martial artists who could use fire techniques, and Ya Hyeoljeok knew that it took extensive training to even be able to spit fire.

Where did such a monstrous kid come from?

Moreover, the fact that he recognized them as part of the Black Night Palace right away had him on edge.

Ya Hyeoljeok spoke to the shivering Bae Chong, clutching his severed shoulder.

“Bae Chong.”

“Yes….”

“Don’t you want to live?”

“…Please… just once more, give me a chance, Branch Leader.”

“I deliberately cut off your injured arm; that was my consideration. Isn’t that nice?”

Bae Chong’s gaze fell upon his severed arm lying at a distance.

A shuddering fury churned within him, yet all he could do was force a smile.

“Of course… Thank you for your heavenly grace, Branch Leader.”

“Good, good.”

As Ya Hyeoljeok said this, he patted Bae Chong’s cheeks playfully.

Though he wanted to cut off his head and mount it on the wall, right now, nobody else in the branch could match Bae Chong’s wit.

Then perhaps cutting off both his legs to leave him unable to move wouldn’t be too bad of an idea.

However, he couldn’t just do that as Bae Chong was at least at a first-class martial artist level.

“How many days would it take for our Bae Chong to bring some information?”

At Ya Hyeoljeok’s question, Bae Chong answered with a trembling voice.

“…I’ll get the information within three days, at the latest.”

“Three days, huh? You’ll include information on Shin Yi too, of course.”

“…Yes! I’ll bring you everything.”

“I like your confidence; let’s do our best, shall we?”

As he stood up, Ya Hyeoljeok turned around and took something from a leather pouch.

He threw it at Bae Chong.

It was an inner altar, about the size of a thumb.

“Just enough for three days.”

Bae Chong trembled as he looked at it.

Except for those from the main palace, all the martial artists of the Black Night Palace had demon energy inside them.

If he didn’t take the medicine within the specified time, it would explode. And because of that, his insides would melt away and leave him dead.

‘…Damn it.’

Bae Chong clenched his teeth.

He had no choice but to obtain information within three days at all costs.

 

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