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Chapter 524 – Just Let It Happen Once.

[What are you?]

The moment when Gwaeseon, Baek Cheon-gyeom, and Nangong Bi-ah stepped outside from the residence.

Shin Noya spoke while observing the Thunder Fang.

When he heard that Nangong Bi-ah was heading to the North Sea, he half-lost his mind and turned to Nangong Ming for an explanation.

But there was no answer from him.

As the silence dragged on, my anger was gradually rising.

At that moment, I was already half out of my senses.

My boiling blood and heat surged to the top of my head.

It was an uncontrollable anger that was filling me up.

Looking back now, it only seems strange. Even if it was an unexpected situation, it shouldn’t have been something to be so furious over.

The emotions I struggle to control have always been a hassle.

The problem lies in the fact that I know that, yet I can’t control them.

‘What do you mean?’

Just before I shouted with a voice heated by anger, Shin Noya interrupted my thoughts, allowing me to cool down a bit.

What are you?

I recall what Shin Noya told Nangong Ming.

Was it yesterday or the day before? Noya had said the same thing to Nangong Ming.

– You’re not Ming.

Shin Noya, who had quietly observed Nangong Ming raising his voice at Noya, concluded with a firm tone toward the end.

The author is not Nangong Ming.

‘Then who the hell are you?’

If that is not Nangong Ming’s thoughts, then what on earth is it?

[… Tsk tsk….]

After Shin Noya’s question, a shallow laugh echoed from the Thunder Fang.

[… What do you mean by “What am I,” Shin Cheol? It’s quite amusing, don’t you think?]

[Does it look like a joke to you?]

Woo Hyeok.

I felt heat rising from my heart. It wasn’t my own.

The Plum Blossom Fragrance began to subtly flow through the Blood Qi.

Light yet deep. Dense yet somewhat transparent Taoist Qi.

This was undoubtedly Shin Noya’s energy.

[You’re not Ming. Isn’t that right?]

[… Ha….]

Nangong Ming laughed at the firm statement.

[Then who am I? I am Nangong Ming.]

Though Nangong Ming spoke coldly, as if to say not to make ridiculous statements, Shin Noya’s reaction remained the same.

[Even if your descendants may have deceived us, do you truly believe you can deceive us?]

[Shin Cheol…!]

[You are not Ming.]

Woo-oo-oo-!

At Shin Noya’s words, the Thunder Fang in my hand began to tremble violently.

[Shut your mouth. I am Nangong Ming. If I am not Nangong Ming, then who the hell am I?]

Thud-thud-thud—! A vibration strong enough to shake my hand.

Tick tick! Sparks flew into the air. It was due to the shallow Thunder Qi emanating from the Thunder Fang.

[After all these years, you show up to humiliate me? You?]

[Yes, it must have been a very long time.]

Noya’s memories are empty.

For some reason, there was a fullness of dissonance. The empty memories seemed to have split like shards.

What did he say?

He said he woke up sealed in a treasure.

It was a story a bit different from history.

In the recorded history of Hwasan, it stated that the Hwasan Sword God concluded his life right after fulfilling his role as the Sect Leader.

However, in the actual dialogue with the thoughts I encountered, it became clear that something about that history was wrong.

Somewhere along the line, the truth had been twisted.

Whether those related to Yeon Ilcheon did something, or if the Blood Demon side did something, I didn’t know.

But there was definitely a problem.

Perhaps Noya is the one most concerned about it.

[Indeed. It must have been quite long. How could someone who hasn’t experienced that long reflect on it?]

Nangong Ming’s voice was filled with anger.

He had felt the same way last time.

Nangong Ming had been angry at Shin Noya, who had not lived through the same long years.

[You still know nothing.]

The anger was justified.

If I were in his shoes, I might have gone half insane waiting for something uncertain while remaining merely a thought for such a long time.

However.

[You are right. I do not know anything.]

Shin Noya seemed to think differently.

[But at least, I know that you are not Ming.]

[You damned…!]

[It must have been a very long time. The Tai Shan crumbled. On top of it, countless streets and people came to be.]

Shaolin’s Yellow Flame was in a state of exhaustion, barely holding onto sanity under the weight of the years.

Tang Je-mun had endured his entire life solely for the sake of Noya.

But the Tang Clan he wanted to protect had decayed away.

It had truly been an unreasonably long time.

To withstand that time was to face a change mixed with regression and corruption.

For those who bore the intention to save the world, could this world have been right?

Just not having gone crazy by now was quite remarkable.

And yet.

‘There’s no way Noya doesn’t know that.’

Why does Noya not recognize that voice isn’t Nangong Ming?

I still couldn’t understand.

Then, Noya began to continue speaking.

[Time is fundamentally such, so even if you lose the form you once had, it can’t be helped.]

[You mean to say that? You are insulting me, knowing that?]

[Even that once solid Cheol-Yeong has lost hope, so it’s understandable.]

[Then at least…!]

[But you see.]

What’s this.

‘… This.’

While the two were having a conversation, for some reason, I felt cold sweat running down my back.

The air was heavy. It wasn’t Nangong Ming’s problem. This was.

‘Is this the sensation of Shin Noya?’

The atmosphere was changing according to Noya’s emotions.

‘Huh.’

Realizing that, I suddenly understood how remarkable this old man was.

A person who only has thoughts left behind, yet commands such presence simply by grasping emotions.

Though he seemed like an angry old man, at times he would show a different side.

Amidst the heavy pressure in the air, Shin Noya spoke to Nangong Ming.

[At least that guy hasn’t lost his beliefs.]

[…!]

[I do not sense such beliefs within you. Yet you claim to be Nangong Ming?]

Within the casual tone of his words lay something undeniably profound.

To a point where I could hardly even recognize the trust.

Something deep enough to assert the term belief adamantly.

[…]

Was it the words of Noya that became problematic?

After a moment of silence, Nangong Ming, somewhere, opened his mouth with a dry voice.

[… Do you truly ask such questions, even while knowing how many years have passed?]

Even if there was belief, it was well past the time to crumble.

Such years have passed.

It was strange to think that there should still be beliefs remaining.

[What seems wrong?]

[What can a whelp like you say about that? At least… at least you shouldn’t be able to say that.]

Unlike the others who remained, Shin Noya, possessing a youth that hadn’t experienced that long of time, should not dare say such things.

I could understand Nangong Ming’s argument.

It was enough to get angry when someone who had just awakened after several hundred years questioned why everything had changed when he himself had suffered so much.

The problem is…

‘But why does it seem like he has an underlying worry?’

In Nangong Ming’s tone, there was something unsettling that I sensed.

It seemed that Shin Noya also picked up on that.

[… Belief, yes. It can be lost. I have no right to scold that fall.]

[…]

[But if he were to do so, he should have done it properly.]

[What do you mean by that….]

For some reason, Noya’s voice began to lower.

[If you are to lose your belief, then you should have just done that. Isn’t the void left by belief filled with desire?]

[…!]

[Are you now going to deny this?]

With each heavy word, the air grew heavy once more.

The phrase that the void left by lost belief was filled with desire. What did that mean?

I couldn’t grasp it, but it seemed like Nangong Ming had some intuition.

[Around you, I sense only desire. A longing to restore the clan’s glory. An impatience to fix broken swordsmanship. That’s it.]

[What’s… wrong with that? Are you telling me that I should have left Nangong behind while seeking only peace? What kind of selfish nonsense is that!]

It was a world that had already decayed.

Instead of waiting foolishly for peace to come, I might as well save my own bloodline.

In some ways, it was the most rational thought.

It was something I had said last time as well.

Noya was unable to understand Nangong Ming because he had never lost anything in the Hwasan.

That was true, but hearing these words, Noya’s voice only became clearer.

[You are right. It is selfish to say so, to be honest. It wouldn’t be strange for anyone to think that way.]

[But how…!]

[If he were not Nangong Ming, it would be different.]

There was strength in his tone.

[He used to say this habitually. You would know this if you truly are Nangong Ming.]

[…]

[Do you remember? Even when covered in blood, he said this.]

Nangong Ming fell silent.

Was it out of ignorance? No, was it because he couldn’t say it?

Once again, I didn’t grasp it.

[In a crumbling world, the remaining Nangong is of no use.]

[…!]

[The sword of the Nangong Clan claimed to be a sword that protects someone. But what use is such a sword if there is no one to protect? That was his habitual saying.]

A lord without a people is meaningless.

It was an arrogant and annoying statement, yet the heart behind that statement resonated somewhere deep within.

[If Ming lost his beliefs, he would have cut his own throat right then and there. Filling the void with desire? What a laughable notion.]

I finally understood.

The reason Noya’s voice was growing darker and chillier was not due to emotions drying up.

On the contrary.

‘He’s truly angry.’

He was getting calmer precisely because he was so furious.

[Therefore, stop insulting my friend any further.]

Was it the intent contained in his voice that made my breath almost stop?

I wanted to intervene, but the overwhelming atmosphere from Noya kept me silent.

I couldn’t shake off the awe at that unwavering belief.

‘How can that be?’

Even if his friend had fallen, the certainty that he couldn’t have turned into something like that.

This trust built upon the foundations of shared life and relationships.

What kind of life did he lead, and what kind of relationships did he cultivate to have such transparent faith?

I, who could not live like that, found it an incomprehensible bond.

[Let me ask again. Who are you?]

[… Shin Cheol.]

Nangong Ming’s voice calling out to Shin Noya sounded as if it was trembling. Or perhaps it appeared resigned.

After a long pause, Nangong Ming began to speak again.

[I am… I am Nangong Ming.]

It was the same as before.

[This truth will never change, no matter the circumstance.]

[Is he truly… the one….]

[Just…]

[Not the main body.]

At the last words Nangong Ming uttered, Shin Noya, who had been ready to unleash his frustration, fell silent.

[… What? What did you just say?]

The main body? What kind of nonsense is this?

With this sudden absurdity spilling out, my eyes widened.

As I rolled my eyes in confusion, Nangong Ming continued.

[The remnants left behind by the main body for Nangong. That is who I am.]

[… What? Remnants? Then where did the real Ming go?]

Setting aside the discussion of main bodies for a moment.

If the thing being spoken of now was merely a husk, then where exactly was the true Nangong Ming?

As Noya asked in an alarmed tone, Nangong Ming answered.

[… In the North Sea. He is in the North Sea.]

And just like that, that cursed land’s name popped up again.

 

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