Chapter 219

Strangely, there was nothing frightening about his cold question.

I simply felt that the moment I'd been expecting had finally arrived.

I met Grandfather's gaze without flinching.

This was something we would have to confront sooner or later. I might as well tell him everything now.

"Neither, Grandfather. The reason I've been thinking about joining the Demon Extermination Corps is... there's someone I want to find."

"Who?"

"My brother."

Grandfather simply looked at me, his expression unchanged. He didn't ask me to explain who I meant.

His reaction made it clear that he already knew about Yeon Ryang, so I continued calmly.

"When I was left alone outside Chengdu... I nearly died."

My memories went back to the day I'd taken refuge in a collapsing hut.

The wanderer Cane had brought to me.

The benefactor who had saved me when I was on the verge of qi deviation.

The strange man who had accompanied me all the way to Wuhan for a mere two silver coins.

The guardian who had searched the lakeshore for three days and nights, turning the place upside down in his efforts to find me after I'd disappeared into the secluded cave.

The foolish member of the Demonic Sect who had risked his life to accompany me to the Martial Alliance so that I could clear my name.

The longer the list of things I could say about Yeon Ryang grew, the clearer the answer became.

He had tried to protect me at every turn.

And I owed him the same.

By the time I finished telling Grandfather everything, he was wearing an expression I couldn't quite describe.

His lips moved soundlessly for a long while before he finally gripped my shoulders.

"...Sohae. Look at your grandfather."

"Yes."

"You cannot join the Demon Extermination Corps."

"I won't do anything dangerous. I only want access to their information—"

"Joining the Demon Extermination Corps is dangerous in itself."

Grandfather cut me off with a shake of his head.

"Everyone knows you're this old man's disciple, Sohae. You'll become a target for demonic practitioners who bear a grudge against me."

"Then please, just let me find my brother. Let me find Yeon Ryang."

"No. With your current martial prowess, you'll be a cold corpse long before you find that boy. You've already... Haa."

Grandfather stopped himself, but I didn't need to hear the rest.

He was probably thinking that even after risking my life, all I'd managed to do was cut off the Bishop's arm.

Yet I couldn't resent him for it.

It was true.

"I still want to find him."

When I refused to yield, Grandfather softened his voice.

"Little one... I know you aren't in any state to listen to your grandfather right now. Your heart must be breaking."

"..."

"But your desperation has blinded you. As your teacher, I have no choice but to stand in your way."

"Am I being so stupid that you can't bear to watch?"

I asked quietly.

Grandfather chose silence over an answer.

A bitter smile escaped me at his wordless agreement.

And judging by the fact that my immediate reaction was to wonder what was so wrong with being stupid, I supposed I really wasn't in my right mind anymore.

But wasn't it better to be a fool than to spend the rest of my life polishing the spirit tablet of someone I'd lost, making excuses about how there had been nothing I could do?

Better a fool than a coward who never even tried, who simply accepted reality and gave up.

I clenched my teeth.

Grandfather bit down on his lip before pleading with me.

"Please, little one. Don't force your grandfather to restrain you..."

He meant that if I refused to obey him, he would lock me in the dungeon if that was what it took to stop me.

"Then lock me up."

"Little one. Please...!"

"How could I possibly defy you, Grandfather? Everything I have was given to me by you. If you tell me to sever my tendons, I'll sever them. If you tell me to destroy my core, then that's what I'll have to do."

"How can you say such terrible things...! That's not what your grandfather means. You... You're telling me you're going to walk straight into hell... How... How am I supposed to stand by and watch you do that...?"

I blinked, stunned by the faint tremor in his voice.

Grandfather was crying.

Tears streamed down his face, his expression one of utter heartbreak.

"You poor child. My poor little one... Must you truly go? Is that the only way you can ever put your pain to rest?"

In the end, I'd driven a nail straight through Grandfather's heart.

I'd plunged a dagger into his chest.

Guilt churned in my stomach, but even then, I couldn't bring myself to abandon my decision.

"I'm sorry... But if I run away like this, I'll spend the rest of my life running away."

"Little one, this isn't running away. It's simply the reality of—"

"If I use that reality as an excuse to abandon my brother, then next time, I'll abandon my clan and my teacher and run away from them, too."

"I still cannot allow it. Your grandfather will not give you permission."

"Please let me go, Grandfather. I'd rather die as a martial artist than spend my life running away forever."

At that, Grandfather's dark blue eyes wavered uncontrollably.

He covered his face with both hands.

Was it my imagination, or did his shoulders look as though they might collapse under the weight of his grief?

He spent a long while trying to steady his breathing before finally dismissing me in a weary voice.

"Go back and get some rest. Your grandfather needs time to think. Don't come to see me until I call for you."

"...Yes."

I bowed my head and slowly rose to my feet.

*****

Even after Tang Sohae left, Tang Jung remained exactly where he was.

Only after the sunset had faded and darkness had settled over the room did he finally raise his head and rub his aching eyes.

If only it had been revenge she wanted...

What was he supposed to do with a child who spoke of a martial artist's pride and declared that she would rather die?

"Geunmyeong."

"Yes, sir."

"Send word to the Demon Extermination Corps Commander. Tell him I'd like to meet."

"Understood."

Tang Geunmyeong bowed respectfully.

Tang Jung rose and turned away from him, slipping his hands into his long sleeves.

He couldn't rule out the possibility that the child had been deceived, but it seemed true enough that a demonic practitioner had protected her for a very long time.

Yet from what he had heard, there was a considerable chance that the boy she called her brother was already dead.

Even if he was alive, he had been designated as an offering to the Heavenly Demon. He was unlikely to live much longer.

And even if they were fortunate enough to rescue him, that would present another problem.

Those devils were not so accommodating that they would allow an apostate to live.

They would undoubtedly pursue him in the name of punishing his betrayal. The moment a group of demonic practitioners appeared in the Central Plains, members of the orthodox faction would also mobilize to determine why the Demonic Sect had emerged.

And once the Martial Alliance learned that the child had helped a member of the Demonic Sect escape, what would happen to her was all too obvious.

Tang Jung had spent more than a hundred years in the Martial Alliance.

He knew its methods well enough without having to witness them again.

The Alliance would pressure the Tang Clan into surrendering the fugitive, then brand anyone who had been close to him as a collaborator with the Demonic Sect and throw them into the dungeon.

Left isolated, the child would be declared an enemy of the martial world.

She would be hunted relentlessly until she was finally trapped in a dragnet and met her end.

Tang Jung rubbed his face with both hands, his expression stricken.

He couldn't bring himself to tell her what he believed was the inevitable outcome.

Nor could he bear the thought of watching the child fall apart after losing all hope.

He wandered in anguish until he found himself standing before Tang Sohae's residence.

Swallowing a sigh, Tang Jung opened the door to her quarters.

Songji hurried out at the sound and bowed deeply.

"Is Sohae asleep?"

"Yes. She went to bed early."

Tang Jung nodded at Songji's answer, stepped quietly inside, and opened the bedroom door.

Tang Sohae lay curled up on her bed, her lips pressed tightly together.

It was perfectly obvious that the child was pretending to be asleep, but he made no mention of it as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

His gaze fell upon her hands.

The skin had been torn from her fingers, leaving them in a terrible state.

Suppressing a groan, he took out a jar of medicinal salve.

He knew it wouldn't do any good, but he couldn't simply leave her like that.

...I suppose it's the same for her.

Sometimes, there were things one had to do even knowing they would accomplish nothing.

Tang Jung silently applied the salve to all ten of her fingers and wrapped them in cotton cloth.

Tang Sohae kept her eyes tightly shut, pretending not to notice.

Tang Jung's lips twisted in anguish.

What kind of teacher should he be to his one and only disciple?

As the night deepened, so did his troubled thoughts.

******

After that late-night visit, Grandfather shut himself away for several days without showing his face.

Apparently, he'd even locked the door to keep Uncle Geunmyeong out.

He must have been terribly upset.

"He won't even let us bring him his meals. All we see is smoke rising from that long pipe of his, hour after hour... Sohae, wouldn't it be better if you went to see him?"

"I want to, but he told me not to come until he called for me."

"Haa... I understand. This is troubling. He's never been like this before..."

Uncle Geunmyeong left with a dejected look on his face.

His mood rubbed off on me.

After all, I was the one who had caused Grandfather so much distress.

Remembering how he'd secretly applied salve to my fingers before leaving made a bitter taste rise in my throat.

...Maybe I should go see him, even if I get scolded.

"Kik."

I lowered my head, still hesitating, and Cane tugged at my clothes as though asking what I was waiting for.

"All right. Let's go."

I let the little creature lead me toward Grandfather's residence.

But even from a distance, I could sense the poisonous energy emanating from the place, and I couldn't bring myself to go any closer.

His displeasure was so palpable that I immediately understood why Uncle Geunmyeong had been worried.

I lingered near the entrance, unsure what to do.

Then the firmly shut door slowly swung open.

"Come in."

There was no anger in the voice granting me permission to enter.

I stepped inside cautiously and found Grandfather sitting in a willow tree, puffing away at his long pipe.

"Grandfather..."

I called to him tentatively, but he didn't answer.

I stood with my hands respectfully clasped in front of me and waited for him to speak.

Grandfather set down his pipe and asked in a flat voice.

"Do you still intend to go?"

"Yes."

"Even if your grandfather tries to stop you?"

"Yes."

At my answer, given without the slightest hesitation, pain flashed across his face.

It lasted only a moment before his expression went blank again.

"Follow me."

With that brief command, he leaped over the wall before I had a chance to respond.

I hurried after him, glancing up at the darkening sky.

Grandfather kept moving ahead of me, maintaining a distance that seemed close enough to bridge yet remained just beyond my reach.

Only after we had traveled a considerable distance beyond the Tang Clan estate did he finally stop in an open field.

He let his sleeves hang loosely at his sides.

Then, without a word of explanation, he began to move.

Each step was a marvel in itself, and with every movement, concealed weapons shot forth, slicing silently through the air.

The weapons scattered across the sky multiplied with every blink.

Eight became twenty.

Twenty became forty.

Mysterious blue flames drifted like flower petals, spreading across the heavens in an overwhelming spectacle.

My mouth fell open.

The dazzling display held me spellbound, filling me with such awe that I felt utterly insignificant.

A rain of flowers.

A rain of blue flames.

Brilliant flames that proclaimed their presence as they burned the very breath from an opponent's lungs.

They shattered every conventional notion of concealed weapons being launched in secret.

The flames poured down like a meteor shower, trailing long tails of light before transforming into hundreds of concealed weapons that plunged toward the earth.

My heart pounded beneath the crushing pressure of their presence, leaving me unable to move so much as a finger.

The supreme technique every martial artist of the Tang Clan dreamed of mastering.

The Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky was unfolding before my very eyes.