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Chapter 558: Wind and Cloud Ghost

In the cave where the cold air circulated.

Contrary to the barren and dry background, the sweet scent of plum blossoms filled the air.

It was a first.

Such a rich and beautiful fragrance of plum blossoms.

Even the Sect Leader had never felt a scent so dense and profound.

Days had passed, yet Yeongpung could still vividly recall that moment.

The energy of the plum blossom that felt both rough and warm.

[How delightful.]

Even the voice that whispered in his ears.

Yeongpung tried desperately to forget any trace of it.

[Though you may not see or hear me, if you hear my voice, you are surely the child of Hwasan.]

It was merely a voice that could be heard.

Yet, the moment Yeongpung heard it, he unconsciously straightened up.

He didn’t know who it was.

But somehow, he felt he should.

[How is Hwasan these days? Is the plum blossom still as beautiful?]

To this question, Yeongpung affirmed silently.

[Oh, I hope so.]

The voice, whether or not it heard Yeongpung’s reply, continued on its own.

In that voice resided faint nostalgia and belief.

[You, child of unknown Hwasan.]

[My name is Shin Cheol.]

At those words, Yeongpung had to widen his eyes.

Within the long history of Hwasan, many bore the name Shin Cheol.

But now, the only figure Yeongpung could think of was one.

Hwasan Sword God, Shin Cheol.

One of the heroes who stopped the Blood Demon’s calamity.

The revered figure who contributed to the splendor of today’s Hwasan.

And.

He was also the ideal Yeongpung dreamed of.

‘The greatest martial artist ever produced by Hwasan.’

Though he, the youngest Plum Blossom Sword Master, was referred to as such in the present day.

Before him, the one who held that title was Hwasan Sword God.

Until the day Yeon Ilcheon, the greatest of the world, appeared in the Central Plains.

He had never known defeat and was revered for blooming the plum blossoms.

That was Hwasan Sword God, Shin Cheol.

If Hwasan Sword God sought to bloom the plum, it was said that the sky turned scarlet during the night of darkness.

He wished to save the weak in the name of Hwasan.

A great being who delved into war, clutching onto the crumbling Hwasan.

Truly, a figure deserving of being called a hero, one revered by all Hwasan Sect practitioners.

He was said to be kind and gentle, never neglecting the suffering and weak.

How could one not dream of such an ideal while gazing upon someone like that?

The one Yeongpung wanted to surpass may be the son of the Gu Clan.

But the one he yearned to become was Hwasan Sword God.

As such.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Yeongpung could feel his heart racing furiously.

How could the Hwasan Sword God be here?

Is this really His voice?

No matter how much he tried to calm himself, Yeongpung couldn’t.

He had to believe.

How could he doubt feeling this thick fragrance of the plum blossom?

As he pondered, he glanced at the orb in front of him.

This warm energy and the lingering scent at the tip of his nose all originated from there.

[The fact that you and I meet here signifies that we have reached destiny.]

[Child. Child of Hwasan.]

The voice of Hwasan Sword God sounded strangely mournful and heavy.

When Yeongpung answered such questions.

After a brief silence, Hwasan Sword God said.

[Soon, a calamity will descend upon the world.]

Before Yeongpung could react to those sudden words, Hwasan Sword God continued.

[For me to speak such words to you, it must mean that in the end, we… No, I have failed.]

Yeongpung couldn’t understand the current conversation.

Failed? What could Hwasan Sword God have possibly failed at?

The Blood Calamity back then was certainly something not just Shin Cheol, but those before him had managed to thwart.

[I’m sorry to have left behind an unsatisfactory legacy.]

That can’t be true.

It absolutely couldn’t be, Yeongpung thought.

But it seemed that his voice did not reach Hwasan Sword God.

[Oh, child of unknown Hwasan.]

[I hope you can complete the story that I could not finish.]

He was merely stating his request.

Yet, it did not concern Yeongpung.

What mattered was.

[Follow my path….]

The one he had dreamed of.

That he entrusted to him what he could not finish.

For Yeongpung, that was more than enough.

Thus, he seized the unnamed orb in the cave without hesitation.

He allowed the pouring energy to fill his body.

Feeling the plum blossom arising within his lower dantian, Yeongpung could be certain.

This energy was undoubtedly connected to Him.

Therefore, accepting it was not difficult.

Though it felt rough and sharp, its roots were the same.

He merely had to accept.

No need to perform any special actions, the energy naturally found its place in Yeongpung’s body as if it belonged there.

After absorbing all the energy, by the time Yeongpung regained his senses, innumerable changes had already occurred in his physical body.

His bones had thickened.

In his blood, a completely different dense Taoist Qi flowed, and his realm had risen as well.

It was an opportunity.

Amidst the changed physique and elevated realm, Yeongpung exhaled.

From the heavy breath, the Taoist Qi mixed deeply emerged.

As he felt this, Yeongpung thought.

‘Have I truly become His successor?’

The thought that he needed to complete what He could not accomplish.

Choosing this naïvely felt like a heavy and chilling burden.

But it was enough to fuel him.

He could do it.

No, he had to achieve it.

If there was something He couldn’t do, he would see it through.

Just what calamity could befall the world that He would relay such intentions?

He would undoubtedly stand against it, following in the footsteps of Hwasan Sword God.

That said, in truth, he found himself thinking.

“What the heck is going on…! Why won’t it just go away!?”

As Yeongpung witnessed the scene unfolding before him, he felt a completely unknown emotion.

Something went wrong.

This was my first thought upon the situation unfolding.

‘This isn’t good….’

Suddenly thrust into chaos, I turned my gaze to my right arm.

Something was tightly bound to my forearm, which had been empty just moments ago.

‘…What the hell….’

I cursed inwardly at the sight.

The feeling of the object was incredibly familiar.

Of course, it would be. It was the item I had been carrying on my left arm for years.

The only difference was that this one exhibited a scarlet hue.

‘My left arm was a pale blue.’

But I couldn’t even say that there was a distinct difference.

The item on my left arm had also initially been that scarlet hue.

Biting my lip, I recalled the object.

‘Gui Jeong.’

The one that had jumped onto my right arm was undoubtedly Gui Jeong.

Seeing it firsthand filled me with certainty.

This was indeed the heirloom of Shin Noya.

Which meant.

‘Gui Jeong, times two?’

The being bound to my left arm and the one that leaped onto my right.

Both were related to Gui Jeong.

‘How did this happen?’

Questions filled my mind as I pondered the unusual circumstance, but now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

“…That thing.”

I lifted my head at the voice I heard.

The Sword Demoness, Gu Ryeonghwa, was there along with the others.

In addition to that.

‘Even that old man.’

At the back, Woo Baek observed this spectacle with an air of intrigue.

Immediately after assessing the situation, my expression changed.

I must have looked alarmed, for I felt utterly taken aback.

“What, what is this?”

Still stunned, my voice came out stiffly.

‘Damn it.’

I tried to put on a convincing performance, but it seemed I still blundered.

To my relief, even with the absurdity of my words, they didn’t seem to notice due to the sheer unexpectedness of the situation.

“Demoness… what is going on? What is this?”

As I pointed at her, she met my gaze with astonished eyes.

“…That’s… Gui Jeong….”

“Gui, Gui Jeong!?”

Hearing the words, my eyes transformed, and I exclaimed.

“Are you saying this is the legendary heirloom that belonged to Hwasan Sword God, Shin Cheol, who is said to have stopped the Blood Calamity and was a hero of the era!?”

“Uh… uh?”

“Though it appears ragged and tattered, it is said to be indestructible and can morph into the form desired by the wielder, the legendary treasure!?”

“…Oh… yes, it seems you know more than expected.”

“I can’t believe this! But how did it suddenly come to be in my hands…!!”

I labored to express shock, trying to react in a way that would redeem my reputation for frequent lying.

“…”

“Brother… Are you hurt?”

‘Tsk.’

Looks like my attempt fell flat as well.

‘Why is that?’

No matter how hard I seemed to try, it didn’t make sense.

I felt I was doing well enough, didn’t I?

‘Then what do I do about this?’

If it was clear that my lies weren’t working, then I might as well play dumb.

“Gu So-hyeob.”

“Yeah?”

Suddenly, I felt a grip on my right arm.

It was Yeongpung.

“This is the heirloom of our lineage.”

“A seal?”

I was surprised at his behavior and looked into Yeongpung’s eyes.

‘Hmm…?’

I was momentarily taken aback by what I saw in his eyes.

There was something swimming within them.

‘This guy.’

It was an emotion that felt familiar yet annoying to me.

“Please return it.”

With a solid grip.

I could feel the strength in his hand.

Ignoring it with a deliberate effort, I smiled and replied to Yeongpung.

“Look, I’d love to give it back, but…”

You think I would keep this from someone I want to hand it to?

‘Damn, I’m surprised too.’

Just how could this heirloom have flown into my arms? How could I not be startled?

“Could you please explain what’s going on first? I’m also a victim here.”

“…Return it, please.”

“Hmm.”

I casually attempted to explain the situation, but it seemed Yeongpung was not listening.

Especially, I could feel his grip tightening more and more.

I pondered what more I could say when a deep sigh escaped me.

‘Ah, this is annoying.’

As that thought crossed my mind, my hand moved on its own.

“Wait, just calm down….”

As if sensing Yeongpung’s strange aura, the Sword Demoness rushed over to intervene.

Bang—!

“…!”

But my hand was quicker.

“Crack….”

Yeongpung let out a brief gasp as he collapsed.

I grabbed him by the collar to prevent him from completely falling over and glanced at the Sword Demoness.

I had struck without hesitation, and shock was written all over her face.

I calmly asked while looking into her eyes.

“Could you explain again?”

“…”

“I didn’t quite catch that.”

I tried to say it with a smile, but the atmosphere had already turned icy.

After a struggle, I managed to bring the situation under control.

Though Yeongpung fainted, with the Sword Demoness and Gu Ryeonghwa present, there was no issue.

‘It was close to becoming a bit troublesome.’

I was able to handle it, of course, others suffered more than I did.

‘What can I do? This isn’t what I intended.’

In this instance, I felt a bit wronged.

I looked down at my right arm.

Before me was an empty hand, unlike earlier. As I recalled the previous situation, I took a deep breath.

‘Fortunately, he’s been listening well.’

While the one on my left arm ignored my pleas to let go, this time the intruder obliged and detached itself smoothly.

Thanks to that, I could safely navigate the situation.

Still, there was a lingering impression that it had unexpectedly snatched Gui Jeong.

The problem was.

‘Why did that happen?’

The mystery remained as to why this heirloom came to me.

I had heard that the moment the Sword Demoness brought the box and set it on the table, Gui Jeong had recklessly escaped and leapt toward me.

‘What kind of terrifying thing is that?’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

Hearing that a treasure could possess its own will was a new story for me.

‘Could it have heard my intentions?’

But I felt nothing from Gui Jeong.

Thus, I formed a few hypotheses.

‘The most likely explanation is that it was drawn by the energy of Noya within me.’

Given it was the heirloom of Shin Noya, this would be the only reason that could push Gui Jeong to act in such a way.

Only.

‘What about Yeongpung?’

That raised questions about Yeongpung.

Yeongpung had clearly stated he experienced an opportunity after discovering Shin Noya’s trace within the cave.

If that was the case, it should’ve been heading toward him instead of charging towards me.

‘But it didn’t.’

This leads me to ponder.

That trace Yeongpung possessed.

‘Was it truly Noya’s aura?’

Continuously turning this over in my mind, I couldn’t shake the thought.

Was Yeongpung indeed the successor to Shin Noya?

Then what about me?

What the heck is Gui Jeong? What does this situation mean?

Had Noya been present, things would have been simpler, but in its absence, I had to rack my brain more.

Yes, thinking.

I was convinced I was Noya’s successor while simultaneously pondering.

The reason was simple.

‘There’s no certainty.’

It’s not that I lacked conviction about being Noya’s heir.

‘It’s the certainty that the aura he had is false.’

I could not shake the notion that the power and traces possessed by Yeongpung were inauthentic.

It may have felt vague, but the energy belonging to Yeongpung was definitely Noya’s.

That was a conviction.

‘A few days has revealed that much.’

No doubt that they shared the same energy.

Thus, I was worried that our energies might resonate with one another.

Tsk.

‘It’s gotten really annoying.’

Gui Jeong or whatever else; it was clearly complicated.

It would’ve been easier if everything was fake, but because it all felt genuine, it made me furious.

‘Damn old man, why are you never available during times like this?’

I cursed that pompous old man internally, yet managed to contain my frustration.

It would be unjust to fault him for my mishaps, especially since he went out of his way to manage matters for me.

So.

While this situation was far from ideal.

‘I’ll deal with this later.’

First, I need to take care of what’s in front of me.

Thinking that way, I stepped forward.

“Grrr!”

As I pressed down, I heard a groan from the floor.

I glanced down at the owner of the sound.

Someone was lying on the ground with a pained expression under my foot.

I spoke to him.

“I’m the sort who keeps my word.”

Whatever means I used, I made sure to follow through on my promises.

Thus, I was doing so now.

“I mentioned it earlier.”

As I spoke, I could see fear take over his eyes.

Delighting in that gaze, I continued speaking.

“If you draw your sword, you die.”

 

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