I was possessed by the “Cursed Face Art.”
The subject of the possession was my younger self.
However, it was only in name possession. I was in a state where I couldn’t move or speak.
All I was permitted to do was to watch. And even that was only possible when my past self had my eyes open.
Naturally, it was suffocating. The fact that I was deprived of physical freedom was something even I, who had experienced living with my limbs severed, couldn’t easily adjust to.
But, what could I do?
As I just said, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I could only lament my own helplessness.
Then, why was I possessed by my younger self?
Initially, I thought something significant must have occurred, but no matter how much I raked my brain, there was no such major event in my memory.
Think about it. My father was a warm and generous hero, and my mother was a paragon of wifely support among women. Even with that betrayer, Namgung Bin… back then, our relationship was quite smooth.
We had a harmonious household, we did.
“Master, what are you doing?”
One of the maid-servants asked me a question.
Against my will, my mouth opened to reply.
“I am drawing.”
As I said this, I put down the brush I was holding and showed her the paper turned towards her.
A faint look of surprise flickered in the servant’s eyes.
“The curves and lines are indeed deep…! Might I ask what you were trying to depict?”
“The rapids of the Yangtze River.”
“Yangtze River? Still, I’ve heard that the water of the Yangtze is so clear that the fish below can be seen… but this is quite dark.”
“I’ve heard that long ago, a great battle called the Red Cliffs Battle took place here at the Yangtze River. Many people were said to have spilled their blood and died here. Even after hundreds of years, how could a river that holds their blood ever be clean?”
“Ah…!”
The servant let out a gasp of admiration.
Pleased by this, my younger self boasted even more enthusiastically, describing and praising my own drawing.
It was all vaguely familiar.
After this, I recall the maid going back to work and I heading out to practice martial arts…
Clack-clack!
“Hmm…?”
The door suddenly opened. Both the servant and I turned our widened eyes towards it, where a middle-aged man was standing.
His forehead was veined with red.
From the slight flush on his cheeks, I could tell he was drunk.
Cangtian Jianwang Namgung Danhyuk.
My father, and the head of the Namgung family before me.
Still, why had he come into my room?
In my memory, he wasn’t supposed to be here at this moment…?
“That brat isn’t practicing martial arts as he should be…!”
A voice of anger seeped from my father’s rough lips.
He was clearly furious.
“Ah, father? Um, when did you return? If I had known, I would have gone to greet you…”
“Save your excuses, you little bastard, sitting here leisurely drawing pictures without a care in the world.”
An aggressive torrent of words spewed from my father’s mouth.
Words I had never heard before.
But… this strange sense of déja vu, where does it come from?
“Tch, what is this supposed to depict?”
“That’s my attempt to capture the waves of the Yangtze River…”
“Yangtze River? This looks like something a stray dog in the village has carelessly scribbled. You concentrate on these useless things, that’s why you can’t even sense internal energy yet!”
With a roar, he tore my drawing into shreds.
Rustle-rustle!
Torn paper fluttered down between his thick fingers.
My chest tightened. The heart of my younger self was scattered as well at the violent sight before my eyes.
“You should be practicing martial arts during this time, you damn brat. The second son, who is two years younger than you, has already felt his internal energy, but why not you… tsk.”
With a demonstrative sigh, my father wiped his hands. He didn’t care about the dazed expression I showed as I slumped to the floor.
“And who might you be?”
“Ahhh, I… I’m Maehyang, one of the master’s handmaidens…”
“A handmaiden? Hmm…”
My father’s inebriated gaze swept over the trembling handmaiden.
I, the younger me, could not miss the dirty greed and repulsive desire hidden within that gaze.
It was truly a disgusting look. It still is, even now.
“Come to the back courtyard later.”
“Excuse me? Master, what precisely do you mean by….”
“Hmmph, you should figure it out. I can’t find the time because of the main wife during the night, so come in the evening. You must understand what I mean.”
“…!”
Father took a step forward and roughly grabbed the servant’s behind.
“Not bad.”
After saying that, he walked out of my quarters.
Just before leaving, he also left a rebuke for me.
“Get to the training ground immediately and practice your martial arts. What kind of painter do you think you are when you can’t even recite the basic sword techniques properly?”
“….”
Having heard those words, my younger self got up from the room with a dead look in his eyes and headed weakly towards the training ground.
As for the handmaiden named “Maehyang”, I do not know what came of her. Since the day, I have no memory of seeing that handmaiden again.
Namgong Bin and I have different mothers.
I am the child of a concubine, while Namgong Bin is the child of the official wife.
The reason I wanted to hand over the leader position to Namgong Bin as quickly as possible after the war ended was because of that.
Originally, I didn’t have the qualifications to be the leader. If it hadn’t been for the special circumstances of the ‘war’ and the ‘Sword Sage’, the person who was supposed to become the leader was indeed Namgong Bin.
The official wife, Namgong Bin’s mother, was a person who could not bear children.
Facing the crisis of our family line breaking, my father took my mother as a concubine. Soon thereafter, I was born.
At the time, since I was the only eldest son, my mother had high standing in the family. That started to decline two years later, when my younger brother, Namgong Bin, was born.
The authority of the main wife was reaffirmed, and my father’s affection shifted back to her.
Naturally, my mother and I could not help but be neglected.
However, this was only to a certain degree less than before. The Namgung family was harmonious, and the relationship between my mother and the main wife was peaceful.
…that’s what I clearly remember, right?
“Are you also here to see the pond?”
“Here I am.”
“Enjoy it while you can. These days, it seems like it’s not being taken care of properly. You should console yourself by appreciating it while it lasts, hehe.”
Why is the main wife smiling with such a cunning smirk?
My mother, who is bowing her head deeply and quietly listening to her, and an even younger me who is gently holding onto her mother’s hand.
Isn’t it almost mocking? Isn’t it almost a show of disdain, towards me and my mother who have been distanced from Father’s affection?
“…Thank you for your kind words. I shall take my leave.”
My mother uttered the words through clenched lips.
Her slightly hunched back was trembling slightly.
“Leaving already? After being cooped up inside all day?”
“I’m not feeling well. I feel a chill, and I think I might have a fever.”
“Is that so? You can’t help it if you’re sick. Go take care of yourself.”
With that, my mother tightly grabbed my small hand and bowed her head to leave.
My tender hand screamed in pain as if it would break, but I, who was not allowed even speech, could not request any help.
The younger me simply kept my mouth shut, troubled by the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Even though my hand hurt from my mother’s grip, I suffered through it silently.
…
Why?
Why on earth did I start learning how to ‘endure’ at such a young age? Especially when I’ll eventually come to ‘endure’ for a very long time as time passes and I return to the past.
It’s an incomprehensible matter.
Pata-pata.
As we passed a shallow pond, the main wife and my mother crossed paths.
The main wife’s sinister gaze was directed at my mother.
Right before their shoulders brushed against each other.
Tuck.
“Huh?”
Plop!
Right then, I witnessed it clearly.
The main wife’s shoulder slightly pushing my mother.
As a result, my mother lost her balance, her feet became tangled, and she fell into the pond.
“Mother! What’s wrong with you!”
“Ughhhh! Cough! Cough!”
I was between my mother and the pond. If the position were correct, I should have been the one who fell in.
However, I ended up on the side, sprawled out on the rocks instead. This was because my mother nudged me aside as she lost her balance and threw herself into the pond.
Splash!
“Really now… You should have been more careful! What would’ve happened if you tripped?”
The main wife falsely consoled my mother. The corners of her mouth rose right up to her ears.
My mother didn’t say a word, emerging from the pond to wring out her soaked clothes and grabbed my hand.
Only then did I notice that blood was dripping from my palm. It had been scraped on the fall.
But the younger me had no mind for that.
I had seen, distinctly, the main wife push my mother.
“Are you leaving like this? Should I help you up? Ah, would that make you trip even more?”
Even in the middle of the situation, the main wife kept mocking the two of us.
“Please… stop it.”
Ultimately, unable to bear it, I interjected, raising my eyes.
“What? What did you just say? How about you repeat that?”
“Stop! What wrong has our mother done to deserve this… Even if there were any fault, it’s far too harsh.”
I didn’t overstep my bounds. I knew even at that young age that I shouldn’t antagonize the main wife.
Still, it seems she could not tolerate even this much of a rebellion.
“You insolent brat! Who gave you the right to glare at an adult?”
Crack!
The slap struck my cheek.
The numb pain came through vividly.
Stunned by the unexpected beating, I froze on the spot.
“Hmph, if you’re of low birth, act like it. Stop getting ideas above your station…”
My mother didn’t say a word, just stood and took it all.
The main wife continued her insults for some time, clearly infuriated that I dared to talk back. Finally, after a long wait, we were let go.
Such memories should not exist in my head.
Why does this unfamiliar situation make me so uneasy?
It’s really incomprehensible.
Clang!
“Cough!”
Retreating one step back in response to the oncoming sword strike was Jade Flower.
All had seemed going well till the moment she drew her sword confidently.
But, the number of enemies she had to face was far too many.
She simply couldn’t handle it with her two arms alone.
And these were not the kind of weak attacks she could easily manage.
In the end, Jade Flower blocked the attack from her right but paid the price of a nasty graze on her left knee.
The searing pain coursed through her. Even in that moment, the hailstorm of attacks around her dampened her fighting spirit.
“Beelzebub… What scheme fell you so?!”
But Jade Flower didn’t take a single step back. Not even after receiving injuries all over her body.
Her legs were trembling but stood firmly against the ground.
“Hmph… Anyway, no time to dwell. First, I need to ensure they don’t touch even a hair on your head.”
She was determined; no one could force her away.
That’s why the bodies of Byul Rak remained unblemished. The fact that the ghosts had not directly attacked him because they intended to seize his body helped too.
“Be on the side, girl! You don’t belong here!”
Paradise Smashing Demon General dashed towards her, raising his sword.
Blood Wolf Treading Step, a movement resembling a wolf drenched in blood, indeed.
Jade Flower let out a startled groan. That wasn’t all. Along with Paradise Smashing Demon General, other Demon Generals except the fallen Great Strength Demon General and insatiable ghosts increasing in number charged at her.
Clang-Clang!
“Hmm, so the side was left open now?”
Taking advantage of the sword being positioned high while guarding from Heaven Sundering Demon General’s attack, Bloodsucking Demon General’s blow pierced through toward Jade Flower’s flank.
Jade Flower could only watch helplessly, powerless to react since she had only one sword.
Right when she thought she’d have no option but to take the strike,
BOOM!
“Grrk!”
A sudden palm wind struck Bloodsucking Demon General’s abdomen hard, launching him flying like a weed in the wind.
Jade Flower swiftly turned her gaze toward the source of the palm wind, and familiar face appeared.
“It’s been a while, disciple.”
Though weathered with deep wrinkles, his face was clean-cut and tidy.
He was the former Sect Leader of Mount Kunlun, one of the twelve sages of the Central Plains martial world who died during the Holy Blood War, Elder Taehyo of the True Order.
“That you came to the Infinite Valley, it must be important.”
It wasn’t only him.
“You…!”
“I heard the news that the Hero of the Martial Forest, Sword Sage, is under attack and promptly came from the netherworld. Fortunately, it seems I arrived just in time.”
Another who had died during the Holy Blood War, the previous leader of the Martial Alliance and one of the Five Great Masters before Sword Sage: Sword Emperor.
“You bastards! Where the hell did you pop up from? Can’t you just step aside?!”
“I owe my family to Sword Sage. The gratitude that’s engraved in my bones, I’m glad I can repay it even after death.”
“Upon hearing that my benefactor was in danger, I rushed here before being trapped in the cycle of rebirth! Where might the benefactor be?”
“Once, Sword Sage alone entered the Blood Cult’s camp and saved our captured disciples. Now, it’s time to repay that favor.”
“Helping the powerless is an obligation, a true act of chivalry!”
“Undying righteousness will continue to be practiced, even after death.”
There were many such people in the martial world saved by Beel Rak.
“Protecting the innocent is a responsibility. This is true chivalry!”
“Righteousness unfulfilled in life continues on through death.”
And even more – geniuses of the righteous sects from decades ago, each being a steadfast practitioner of justice, the Thirteen Chivalrous Heroes, and so on.
All gathered to protect Beel Rak and Jade Flower, each with their own reasons.
In the underworld, where the flow of information among the dead was active, the fact that Beel Rak was wrongly accused was a well-known fact, making them even more motivated.
