.jpeg){kind=tracking}
Chapter 122. Sword Master and Human Butcher
Finally, Shim Tong, the Old Dao of the Nine Heavens, spoke.
“Young Master, the Justice Alliance set aside Samjang and sent these three young ones with you because they have high expectations of you. The orthodox sects never do anything for nothing.”
“Hmph! Do we ever do anything for free? Life is the same everywhere. Don’t be so cynical.”
“That may be true. But, in any case, others think you’ve taken the lead in the fight against the Yoomyung Cult. Even the Yoomyung Cult will think that way.”
“It doesn’t matter. Brother Tak said that in Nokrim, we don’t worry about what others think. It only matters that I’m not the one in trouble.”
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“What should I do? I just have to clean out four more dens. Don’t you know?”
“If you do that job well, neither Nokrim nor the Justice Alliance may want to let you go.”
That was what worried Shim Tong. If he were the Great Chaeju or the Justice Alliance Leader, he would do the same.
“Why worry about things that haven’t happened yet? Problems are solved when they arise.”
“What? But you should prepare in advance...”
Shim Tong was concerned about Yeon Jeokha’s tendency to leave things for tomorrow.
“I don’t care. I’m going to sleep.”
With those words, Yeon Jeokha closed his eyes.
Shim Tong, who was half sitting up, lay back down again.
‘This is a dream.’
Yeon Jeokha knew he was dreaming.
In his dream, the people from the Yoomyung Cult he had killed came towards him with red eyes.
Although he knew it was a dream, he had to fight them.
In reality, he had defeated them with the True Classic of the Nine Heavens and the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, but in his dream, it wasn’t so easy.
The blood-covered faces always slipped slightly away from his sword.
Every time he missed an attack, they would come closer, shouting in unison.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m the son of the Moon-Splitting Swordsman Yeon Muryong! That’s the reason!”
Then they would retreat slightly, only to approach again, shouting.
“I don’t know who he is. Why are you doing this to me?”
“I...”
Yeon Jeokha tried to respond, but his tongue was stiff, and he couldn’t say anything.
‘I’m the son of Yeon Muryong! I don’t have a good relationship with the Yoomyung Cult! So don’t ask stupid questions!’
But those words wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
Then, the four people suddenly transformed into black monsters.
The monsters spewed fire from their hands and mouths as they charged towards him.
At such moments, he should use the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, but he couldn’t see his sword.
With no other choice, Yeon Jeokha started running.
He ran like a madman through the Five Peaks Mountain, the familiar inns, and brothels, but the monsters always blocked his way.
And they reached out their hands to grab him.
‘Ugh!’
Yeon Jeokha struggled to break free from the shadows and sat up abruptly.
“Hah! Hah! Hah!”
Yeon Jeokha was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling.
Warm drops of sweat ran down his forehead to his chin.
Shim Tong turned over and mumbled sleepily.
“Young Master, why aren’t you sleeping...?”
“I had a dream. Go back to sleep.”
“Yes...”
Yeon Jeokha turned his gaze to the darkness outside the window.
No matter how bad people are, killing a human being is never easy.
The consequences of murder returned in the form of nightmares without warning.
In reality, he wasn’t someone driven by justice or duty. He didn’t have the fervor of the Justice Alliance members to exterminate the Yoomyung Cult.
He also didn’t have a strong personal grudge against the Yoomyung Cult.
If his relationship with his father had been extraordinarily close, perhaps it would be different.
But he didn’t have good memories of his father, so what grudge could he hold?
If anything, only a slight annoyance at the fact that they were family. That wasn’t enough to justify murder.
Before Sama Dan, the people of the Yoomyung Cult he had killed were incidental.
Whether because he encountered them while wandering or because they came to kill him, and he had no choice but to fight.
Even those deaths weighed on him, but killing Sama Dan on purpose, just because he was from the Yoomyung Cult, was different.
So it was no wonder he felt uneasy about the idea of being the leader in the war against the Yoomyung Cult. That meant continuing to kill someone.
Even though he held the title of Grand Inspector of Nokrim, he was still a sensitive-hearted young man in his twenties.
The next morning.
Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong quietly went down to the inn's dining hall.
Namgung Cheon and his sister, along with Seol Chasu’s group, were already eating.
With no other options, Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong found empty seats and sat apart.
Breakfast at the inn was quite similar every day, especially in the same region. Fried pork, vegetables, rice, and fish soup were common, and occasionally there was chicken or duck.
People ate in a similar manner. In the morning, there was less conversation than at noon or night. Most were half-asleep and in a calm mood.
Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong were no different.
While mixing fried pork with rice and eating, Shim Tong remembered something and asked:
“Young Master, did you sleep poorly last night?”
“No, why?”
“It seemed like you woke up several times. Who disturbed your sleep this time? Last time it was Brothers Pung and Tak.”
“Do you remember the people you’ve killed?”
“No. I only remember those with whom I had really tough fights.”
“You’re selfish. If you have a conscience, you should at least remember the people you’ve killed.”
“I have a bad memory.”
Shim Tong laughed bitterly, without remorse. He had killed so many people that he only remembered the really terrible fights.
Yeon Jeokha, realizing the meaning of his words, shook his head.
“Did you kill that many people?”
“I lived among people who considered it an honor.”
“If you met in dreams all the people you’ve killed, what would you do?”
After thinking for a while, Shim Tong replied:
“I’d kill them again.”
“Kill them again?”
“Yes, I’d kill them over and over. Maybe that’s my fate. No matter how horrible it is, I must endure it.”
“I don’t know if that’s impressive or demon-like.”
“Hehe. But I’ve never dreamed of them. Maybe because I know I must be prepared for it. Did you have such a dream?”
Shim Tong looked at Yeon Jeokha with curiosity.
Thinking of what happened the previous night, Yeon Jeokha replied:
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. But if it ever happens to you, maybe you should take some medicine.”
“Why don’t you tell me to kill them again?”
“If you had that kind of mentality, you wouldn’t have those dreams. I hope you never change.”
“Are you mocking me for being weak?”
“Oh, no! Swordmasters, whether orthodox or evil, always end up killing many people. The more famous a master, the colder they are. The Swordmasters of the Evil Faction are feared because they don’t hesitate to kill. That sharpens their swords.”
“So do you need to be a human butcher to become a Swordmaster?”
“If you strip away all the unnecessary, yes.”
“Does being a human butcher make you feel better?”
“Yes, that’s how I see it.”
The quiet breakfast allowed Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong’s voices to be heard from afar.
But neither of them cared about the attention of others.
Namgung Cheon and his sister laughed and let the words pass in one ear and out the other.
Seol Chasu’s group, considering Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong as masters, tried to find meaning in their words.
But not all customers understood the same way.
From a corner, a cold voice was heard.
“Hmph! Calling orthodox heroes human butchers. That’s despicable.”
Shim Tong glanced back.
Four people, two elders and two young ones, all with swords, were clearly from the Murim.
He thought about how to handle the situation when he heard Yeon Jeokha’s voice.
“Yes, that was wrong of Shim Tong. What kind of person would call someone a human butcher?”
“Young Master, I didn’t say that.”
“Oh, you didn’t? You wouldn’t say something like that about me, would you? Of course not.”
Yeon Jeokha tried to console himself and resumed eating, but the elder spoke again.
“Disciple, killing an evil one saves ten innocents. So if you find a despicable person, don’t hesitate to kill them. Understood?”
The elder was Baekjeolgeom Lee Shinwoong of the Baekgeom Sect, speaking to his disciple Won Jacheong.
The young man nodded vigorously.
“Yes, Master.”
Lee Shinwoong’s master, Baekhwageom So Mujin, tried to calm him down.
“Disciple, don’t get upset. We have a mission to fulfill.”
The two elders of the Baekgeom Sect were traveling with their disciples to Hahyeopjeomchon, the hometown of the Baekgeom leader, Haseondong.
Recently, the bandits of Guseonsan Mountain had pillaged the village, and the Baekgeom Sect had sent the four to investigate.
“Master, this has to do with people like those. Maybe even with the bandits of Guseonsan.”
With those words, So Mujin looked at the men in the dining hall.
Hahyeopjeomchon was only two hours away, so the connection was possible.
So Mujin shook his head.
The men didn’t look like bandits.
No Guseonsan bandit would carry such fine swords.
“It doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“Bandits don’t wear signs that say they are. Despising orthodox heroes gives them away.”
Lee Shinwoong didn’t relent.
Calling orthodox heroes “human butchers” bothered him. Many in Shandong called Baekjeolgeom the “butcher of the sword.”
The atmosphere, which had been tense, calmed down a bit.
Then Yeon Jeokha suddenly asked:
“Do you really have to be a human butcher to become a Swordmaster? Isn’t there another way?”
“Young Master, you misunderstood me. It’s not about becoming a human butcher, but about the fact that all Swordmasters are human butchers.”
Lee Shinwoong, offended by the term “human butcher,” stood up abruptly.
“These barbarians!”
The dining hall, which had been quiet, was now filled with tension.
-
(Up to '50' more ch4pt3rs)
Publication of up to 5 weekly ch4pters, thanks.
---