Chapter 356

Ghhhh!

Despite the excruciating pain, Flame-Saber Divine Demon fought desperately to keep from losing consciousness.

“Demon, you’re doing well.”

Hu Gae’s voice reached him again.

“This is the last hurdle. Circulate the true qi I gave you through the acupoints of your entire body!”

The same Hu Gae who had been trying to beat him to death only moments ago was now cheering him on.

The absurdity of it was almost beyond belief, but Flame-Saber Divine Demon gave it everything he had.

As the saying went, even rolling through a field of dog shit was better than leaving this world.

Now that he had glimpsed that pitch-black abyss for himself, his attachment to life had only grown stronger.

And with that desperate desire to live, he managed not to surrender even as pain tore through every inch of his body.

At last, however faintly, true qi began circulating through him again.

“Your pulse is finally back! Demon, open your eyes.”

Flame-Saber Divine Demon struggled to lift his eyelids.

Ah...!

Above him stretched a blue sky he had thought he would never see again.

Then Taoist Cheongmu’s beaming face suddenly appeared against it.

“Ah! He really came back to life!”

Seeing Cheongmu genuinely rejoice only left Flame-Saber Divine Demon more confused.

“Taoist Cheongmu, are you relieved now?”

“Big Beggar, thank you so much! Now I can go see Master without worrying.”

...?

Flame-Saber Divine Demon stared blankly at their baffling exchange.

Apparently, the two of them had discussed something while his consciousness was fading.

“If this man had died, I would’ve become a sinner who disobeyed Master’s command. Then I wouldn’t have anywhere to go. Master told me that if I ever killed anyone, I must never cross Blue Cloud Bridge again.”

Only after hearing that did Flame-Saber Divine Demon begin to understand what had happened.

So Hu Gae saved me because this mad Taoist—no, this Taoist who’s clearly a little slow—was blaming himself.

Whatever the reason, he was alive.

His body had been ruined so thoroughly that he would probably never practice martial arts again, but what did that matter?

He had lost every last one of his men, so he could hardly return to the Gathering Demons Division anyway.

He had accumulated a fair amount of wealth over the years. Even crippled, he should be able to scrape by somehow.

Hu Gae’s voice came from beside him.

“Taoist Cheongmu, you’ve confirmed that this demon is alive now. That’s enough, right?”

Flame-Saber Divine Demon could not move his head even slightly, so he was unable to turn toward Hu Gae despite the man being only a few steps away.

“Yeah! That’s enough.”

“Then go on ahead.”

“What are you staying behind for, Big Beggar?”

“If we leave this demon in this condition, won’t he die?”

“Ah! You’re right.”

There was a rustle, followed by footsteps moving away.

Then the footsteps stopped, and Cheongmu called back.

“Big Beggar, thank you so much. I’ll dig up wild ginseng for you too from now on.”

With that, Cheongmu hurried away.

A moment later, Hu Gae sighed beside Flame-Saber Divine Demon.

“Whew! There can’t be another burden in this world as troublesome as that one. Damn it.”

Hu Gae’s filthy face entered Flame-Saber Divine Demon’s field of vision.

“Demon, hurts like hell, doesn’t it?”

The agony was so intense that Flame-Saber Divine Demon could not speak. He answered with a groan instead.

“Ghhhh....”

Hu Gae nodded.

“I figured. Just about every bone holding your body together is shattered. Worse, the broken bones are piercing your organs, so the pain is only going to get worse.”

Flame-Saber Divine Demon was stunned to learn just how grave his condition was.

“Ghh....”

Hu Gae looked down at him for a moment before continuing.

“Your body is so far gone that even Hua Tuo himself couldn’t save you. So choose. Do you still want to live a little longer like this, or would you rather die cleanly and put an end to the pain?”

“Ghhhh...?”

“You’re asking why I bothered saving you if I was only going to let you die?”

“Ghh....”

“I told you there was something you needed to do for us, didn’t I?”

“Ghh...?”

“And you just finished doing it.”

Only then did Flame-Saber Divine Demon understand everything.

Hu Gae had forced him back to life solely so that he would not have died by Taoist Cheongmu’s hand.

His entire purpose had been to come back to life for a moment—

and then die again.

You fucking bastard!

Who in the hell saved someone just so they could die twice?

“Ghhhhhhhh...!”

When Flame-Saber Divine Demon glared at him with naked resentment, Hu Gae shook his head.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t have much choice either. Anyway, I’ll take that as you saying you want to live a little longer. I’m leaving. I don’t have time to wait around anymore.”

Hu Gae brushed himself off and rose.

“Oh, and you should know that a flock of crows has already caught the scent of blood and is on its way.”

Seeing Hu Gae turn away, Flame-Saber Divine Demon groaned urgently.

“Ghhhh!”

“You don’t want me to just leave?”

Flame-Saber Divine Demon answered with a short groan.

“Ghh.”

The pain he already felt was unbearable enough. He had no desire to add having living flesh torn from his body by crows’ beaks until the moment he died.

“Good choice.”

Hu Gae nodded.

“At least die like a demon. Maybe then the vengeful spirits of all the people you killed will feel a little less cheated.”

******

A wooden coffin containing Uncheon Zhenren’s personal effects rested inside the funeral carriage.

Seokjangsan stood motionless before the carriage doors, keeping guard as though he were still protecting Uncheon Zhenren in life.

Through the doors, which stood wide open, Kwak Yeon gazed at the wooden coffin with an unexpectedly calm expression.

The moment he had heard that Wudang’s expedition force was being pursued by the demonic practitioners of the Gathering Demons Division, Kwak had known that Uncheon Zhenren was dead.

Had the Sword of Wudang still been with them, no demonic practitioners under heaven would have dared give chase.

His tears had not dried because enough time had passed for his grief to fade.

Nor had the deaths of two men he regarded in his heart as masters left him with no tears remaining.

It was simply that Uncheon Zhenren would have been disappointed to see him weep before his memorial coffin.

Kwak stared at the coffin in silence, recalling the teaching Uncheon Zhenren had left with him.

“...When you divide the mind into yin and yang and attain the Two-Intent Divided Sword, you can manifest the harmony of Taiji within a single sword. Only then can you be said to have laid the foundation for the Wisdom Sword of Taiji.”

Kwak wanted nothing more than to demonstrate the Two-Intent Divided Sword at once.

But this was a time for mourning, not a place to display his skill and seek praise.

Master Uncheon, one day I will manifest the harmony of the Wisdom Sword of Taiji that you passed down to me.

The moment he made that vow, it almost seemed as though Uncheon Zhenren’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Excellent! Now that I have accomplished what I came down from the mountain to do, this old man can finally feel at ease.”

For a moment, Kwak wondered whether Uncheon Zhenren might somehow have foreseen this fate.

Uncheon had said he had descended the mountain because there were two matters he had carried in his heart his entire life and wished to settle.

That was why he had joined the campaign against the Demonic Eight Divisions despite the opposition of Wudang’s council of Palace Lords.

One of those matters had been designating a successor to the Sword of Wudang.

What had the other been?

Looking at the coffin, Kwak silently asked,

Master Uncheon, did you accomplish it?

It was a question that could never receive an answer.

Kwak bowed his head in silent respect before the coffin.

He desperately wanted to perform nine full bows instead, but he could almost hear Uncheon Zhenren roaring at him for daring to do so.

“The transmission of the Sword of Wudang does not establish a master-disciple relationship!”

He could not go against the wishes of the man who had sternly refused Kwak’s bow of discipleship.

All Kwak could do was call him Master in his heart.

With a lonely expression, Kwak stepped away from the coffin.

Hu Gae, who had been waiting behind him, straightened the front of his clothes and moved forward.

After standing in silent mourning, Hu Gae turned away.

Taoist Hyeonam clasped his hands and bowed his head.

“Hu Gae, thank you for paying your respects before Martial Uncle Uncheon’s memorial coffin.”

“I would have come to pay my respects even if it required a special journey.”

With a solemnity rarely seen from him, Hu Gae returned the greeting with a formal clasped-hand salute.

“When the Ascension Rite for Uncheon Zhenren is held, I will tell Master so that he may come and pay his respects as well.”

“Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu must be burdened with countless affairs. How could we ask him to trouble himself so? Wudang is already grateful that you have paid your respects.”

“Master and Uncheon Zhenren shared a particularly close bond. Please don’t concern yourself over it, Taoist Hyeonam.”

Taoist Hyeonam knew well how close Uncheon Zhenren and Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu had been, so he nodded.

“Very well.”

When Hu Gae stepped away, Taoist Hyeonam looked toward Taoist Cheongmu, who sat some distance away.

He wanted to give Cheongmu, who had shared a special relationship with Uncheon Zhenren, the chance to say a final farewell.

Kwak understood what Hyeonam intended and spoke.

“Senior Brother Hyeonam, I think it would be better to leave Taoist Cheongmu alone.”

“...?”

“Taoist Cheongmu has a tender heart. He’s deliberately looking away.”

At Kwak’s words, Taoist Hyeonam looked toward Cheongmu with sympathy.

Then he nodded.

“That too is a way of mourning.”

Once the simple funeral rites were concluded, Taoist Hyeonam carefully closed the doors of the carriage bearing the wooden coffin.

CLACK!

After securing the doors firmly, he turned away.

Kwak spoke to him.

“Senior Brother Hyeonam, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to share the hardships our fellow disciples endured. And that I came so late....”

Taoist Hyeonam shook his head.

“Junior Brother Kwak, I know you had matters you needed to attend to. And if you hadn’t arrived when you did, none of us here would have escaped unharmed.”

Taoist Hyeonam bowed his head.

“Rather, I should be thanking you.”

Seeing his martial uncle bow to him made emotion surge through Kwak.

It only deepened his guilt, because everything felt as though it were his responsibility.

Had he never devised the plan to enter the Great Demon Prison in hopes of bringing stability to the martial world, perhaps the outcome would never have been this horrific.

His eyes, which he had thought had run dry, began to sting with tears.

Kwak lowered his head.

Taoist Hyeonam felt a deep ache at the sight.

This isn’t your fault.

He wanted to tell him that.

But Hyeonam held his tongue.

Kwak was no longer the boy who had been able to do nothing but rage in the face of Jeong Ichu’s death, his fellow trainee from the Hall of Heroic Martiality.

Hyeonam could see that Kwak’s heart had matured just as greatly as his martial cultivation.

A heavy atmosphere only darkened the heart further, so Hyeonam changed the subject.

“By the way, Junior Brother Kwak, how did you know to come here?”

Kwak raised his head.

“The Beggar Clan helped me.”

Taoist Hyeonam turned toward Hu Gae.

“Hu Gae, thanks to the Beggar Clan’s help, our Wudang Sect escaped a terrible crisis. You have my sincere gratitude.”

Hu Gae hurriedly waved both hands.

“Taoist Hyeonam, please don’t say that. The Beggar Clan hardly did anything. We merely passed along a message.”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone else was the one who informed the Beggar Clan that Wudang’s route was in danger.”

Taoist Hyeonam flinched in surprise.

Because of the threat of pursuit from the Gathering Demons Division, the expedition force’s route had been kept under the strictest secrecy.

Yet this person had not only known the route, but had even warned the Beggar Clan that danger awaited along it.

Hyeonam could hardly suppress his curiosity about the informant’s identity.

“Hu Gae, I know this is a difficult request, but could you tell me who that person was?”

Keeping an informant’s identity secret was an unwritten rule observed rigorously by every organization and sect.

That was why Hyeonam framed it as a request rather than simply asking outright.

Hu Gae answered readily.

“It isn’t particularly difficult, but....”

He drew out the last word and glanced toward Kwak.

“I think it would be better if you heard it directly from Brother Kwak rather than from me. I was only the intermediary myself.”

Taoist Hyeonam immediately turned his gaze to Kwak.

“Junior Brother Kwak, tell me. Who was it?”

Kwak briefly looked toward Seokjangsan, who still stood guard beside the funeral carriage.

Then he answered.

“Cheongsu, a second-generation disciple of Jaso Palace.”