Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 216
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C216. There Is No Such Sanctuary
Shim Tong, the Old Dao of the Nine Heavens, returned home with the rusted vajra, still fuming with indignation.
Perhaps he was angrier because he knew he would end up taking it with him.
That night, he threw the rusted vajra into a corner of the room and tried to sleep again.
The next morning.
Just as Lee Cheolsan and his group were finishing breakfast, the village chief appeared uninvited, sniffing around everywhere.
“Elder.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Shim Tong, who looked older than him, called out, the village chief approached him slowly.
“There is an old man dead in the sanctuary outside the village. You must prepare a funeral for him.”
“Sanctuary?”
The village chief tilted his head, confused.
There was no place near the village that could be called a sanctuary.
“Come on, about two li (approximately 800 meters) east of the village, there’s an old sanctuary. There is an old man dead who looks like me. He seemed to be from your village, so give him a proper funeral.”
The village chief looked at Shim Tong in surprise.
Shim Tong quickly clarified to avoid any misunderstanding.
“I didn’t kill him, so don’t look at me like that. He died of old age. If I had killed him, would I have asked for a funeral?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that there is no sanctuary to the east of the village.”
“I’m telling you there is one. It was old, but it was a sanctuary. Think carefully.”
“Ah, there’s a strange place in the forest that might have been a house. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“A house? No, I’m talking about a sanctuary. It had a proper gate, a large screen, statues, and many memorial tablets.”
“That’s strange. There is no such sanctuary in our village.”
“Come on. It’s a place about two li into the forest. Why would I lie?”
Seeing that the conversation was dragging on, Lee Cheolsan approached.
“Old Shim, what’s going on?”
“Last night, while I was walking, I took an old drunk man to a sanctuary. But the village chief says there’s no sanctuary. How can that be?”
Lee Cheolsan looked at the village chief.
“The Old Shim is not someone who would say nonsense. Tell the truth.”
The village chief pounded his chest, exasperated.
“Gentlemen! I know everything about this village. I even know how many dishes each house has. There is no sanctuary within a ten li (approximately 4 kilometers) radius.”
Lee Cheolsan shrugged at Shim Tong.
“That’s what he’s saying.”
Shim Tong looked alternately at the village chief and Lee Cheolsan, incredulous.
“Are you saying I’m lying? What would I gain from that?”
Lee Cheolsan couldn’t help but scratch his head, seeing that both were making sense.
“Is there really no sanctuary? I’m sure I saw it!”
Snorting, Shim Tong grabbed the village chief by the waist and used his lightness technique to disappear in an instant.
Surprised, Lee Cheolsan hurried to follow them.
Shim Tong arrived at the place where he had found the old man and headed east.
For him, two li was not a great distance.
Before the village chief could say “Eh? Eh?”, they had already covered two li.
‘I’m sure it’s around here.’
Shim Tong kept searching, moving about five li further and then coming back about three li.
In the end, he only found the remains of a house, just as the village chief had said.
The village chief, panting, spoke in a weak voice.
“I told you, there’s only the remains of a house here.”
When Lee Cheolsan arrived, he saw that the place Shim Tong mentioned matched what the village chief had said.
‘How can this be?’
The village chief tried to explain.
“It seems you had a dream, a celestial dream.”
Although he had mentioned death, he preferred not to say it was a nightmare.
Shim Tong, observing the remains of the house, disappeared like a ghost.
Shortly after, he reappeared in the house where they had spent the night.
He quickly entered the room and found the rusted vajra in the corner.
He picked it up and examined it closely.
“So, where did this come from?”
At the border between Buyang and Huinan.
Lake Chogang.
Banya Manor.
The head of Banya Manor, Il Wicheon, was an odd person.
He had fought to become one of the Demon Warriors. He wanted to dominate the world, of course.
But just as he achieved it, he suddenly felt empty. He handed his position over to his son and secretly retired to Lake Chogang.
Not only did he disobey the Yoomyung Cult’s summons, but only his family knew he was hiding at Lake Chogang.
The Banya Manor, by the lake, was bustling with people for the first time in a long while.
They were the members of the Wall Tiger Clan and the Great Axe Clan.
Upon hearing that Lee Cheolsan was on his way, the leaders of the Wall Tiger Clan, Il Muwon, and the Great Axe Clan, Kang Seongho, changed their destination and hid at Lake Chogang.
Though they claimed they did not fear Lee Cheolsan, in the moment of truth, they felt fear.
In the back of the house.
At noon, two men sat facing each other.
Il Wicheon, the head of Banya Manor, and his son, Il Muwon.
Il Muwon drank warm tea, watching his father cautiously.
When his father retired to Lake Chogang, he told them not to seek him for any clan matters.
But here he was, not only with the Wall Tiger Clan but also the Great Axe Clan.
He expected his father to get angry, but to his surprise, he remained calm.
It was as if his father had anticipated this would happen.
Remembering his father as the feared ‘Conqueror Saber,’ Il Muwon could hardly believe the change.
“Father. It is said that Lee Cheolsan is in Buyang. Why don’t we face him first and then go to Luoyang?”
Luoyang was the place where the Yoomyung Cult had ordered its members to gather.
Il Muwon felt uneasy about his father’s defiance of the Yoomyung Cult.
Il Wicheon smoothly changed the subject.
“The thirsty dig the well. If you stay here, he will come to you. But tell me, is Lee Cheolsan so formidable? I had never heard of him.”
“He’s strong enough to defeat the Seven Masters of Chill by himself.”
“The Seven Masters of Chill from the Song Clan?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. Impressive.”
With that level of skill, even for Il Wicheon before becoming a Demon Warrior, he would be a formidable opponent.
“But, do you really have no intention of going to Luoyang?”
Il Muwon’s real concern was the Yoomyung Cult’s summons order.
“If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have come to Lake Chogang.”
“Won’t the Yoomyung Cult do something about it?”
“They will probably curse me.”
Il Wicheon didn’t seem to care.
His father’s indifference exasperated Il Muwon.
“I don’t understand, father.”
“What?”
“You became a Demon Warrior to dominate the world, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why are you here at Lake Chogang? With your skill, you could dominate not just Buyang but all of Namjick.”
Il Wicheon looked at his son with impassive eyes.
He, too, had once had a time full of passion.
“Muwon.”
“Yes.”
“I have no connections or talents, just a strong body. When I entered the Yoomyung Cult, do you know what surprised me? Everyone who had made a name for themselves was competing to become Demon Warriors.”
“But you became a Demon Warrior before them.”
“Yes, thanks to my loyalty, I surpassed them and became a Demon Warrior. But then…”
Il Wicheon paused.
He still wasn’t sure if he had made the right decision.
Upon becoming a Demon Warrior, he had a revelation, which led to his retirement.
No one would understand his decision.
“I have no faith. And my loyalty has a limit. I have no one to back me in the Yoomyung Cult. Being there would only benefit others, so I left.”
“You not only left the Yoomyung Cult, but you also stopped acting outwardly.”
“I don’t want to attract the Yoomyung Cult’s attention. Do you think they would leave me alone if I made a name for myself?”
“Isn’t it better to maintain a convenient relationship with the Yoomyung Cult?”
“A convenient relationship? How can you do that in matters of life and death?”
“Anyway, we live a life on the edge.”
“That’s true. But we don’t walk on the edge to die.”
“You always said that risks bring rewards. Why now…?”
“Do you know what this place is called?”
“Banya Manor.”
“Yes. Banya, also known as Prajna, means wisdom. I discovered what wisdom was too late. In my youth, I had no wisdom. I did anything for power. Anything…”
A trace of regret crossed Il Wicheon’s eyes.
The fifteenth sacrifice was different.
He didn’t beg for his life.
He didn’t curse or blame anyone, and he recited something until his last breath.
It was the Heart Sutra.
At that moment, Il Wicheon knew.
The monk was genuine, and he would become a Demon Warrior.
And so it was. He received unimaginable power through the Sacred Artifact.
But he also received a curse, hearing the Heart Sutra without cease.
Even after the power of the Sacred Artifact settled, he couldn’t stop hearing the voice.
He had never crossed the threshold of a temple, but now he could recite the Heart Sutra.
And he had understood something.
How vain his desires were and what he had done to achieve them.
“…I regret becoming a Demon Warrior.”
Il Muwon shook his head, incredulous.
A Demon Warrior?
A normal warrior could never obtain the absolute power of a Demon Warrior, no matter how many times they were reborn.
Regret after obtaining something that everyone desires?
Il Muwon thought his father was just lamenting without reason.
Buyang.
Yongsang City.
At dusk.
Lee Cheolsan and twenty-five warriors from the Taepyeong Chamber of Commerce entered a bustling street.
Soon, the leader, Yak Daemong, stepped forward to find accommodation.
He pointed to a large inn as he looked around.
The others followed without a word.
Upon entering, the aroma of food from the first floor enveloped them.
The people dispersed, finding seats.
While Yak Daemong negotiated the accommodation price with the innkeeper, the waiters took orders.
Shim Tong, Lee Cheolsan, Han Chaeyeon, and Ha Sobaek sat together as usual.
“Old Shim, I’ve been wondering all day, what is that?”
Ha Sobaek pointed to the object on Shim Tong’s waist.
“This piece of metal? I don’t know its name.”
“It doesn’t seem like a dagger or a club. Where did you get it?”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
Ha Sobaek tilted her head, not remembering seeing such an object on the journey.
Lee Cheolsan chimed in.
“It seems he picked it up this morning at the sanctuary site in Jowon Village.”
“It wasn’t in the morning…”
Shim Tong muttered, unsure.
He had received the object from the old man ‘at night’. Why did everyone say ‘in the morning’?
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