“Damn it…! This isn’t the time for us to be greedily fighting among ourselves! Let’s first sweep these things away!”
“Thirteen Heroes! You and I have been tied by ill fate since our mortal lives!”
The number of lost souls attempting to dominate Byul Rak’s body was by no means small.
The so-called martial artists among them mostly chase after great power, martial arts, and the authority that comes with it.
They have an unmatched competitive spirit, and an aggressive desire to conquer. Their greed for supreme martial arts is indeed profound.
To such lost souls, Byul Rak’s body appeared more alluring than even the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng or Jade Spring Oil.
However.
“What meaning is there in power without cause or righteousness!”
“Disciples of Wudang, form your array!”
In every age, there are always those who steadfastly guard ethics and chivalry without yielding to immediate gain.
These were the very ones called “heroes” in life.
Even though their missions in the mortal realm had ended and their bodies returned to dust, they couldn’t stand to see injustice and would always step forward.
“Senior Brother! Why are you aiding those scoundrels!”
“Ah…! It’s the body of the Sword Sage! If we can acquire this, not only can we become the best under heaven, but we can even aim to be the greatest through the ages!”
Countless lost souls, excluding those who had already been judged and fallen into hell, ascended to the higher realms, or entered the cycle of reincarnation, clashed in battle.
Senior Brother fought Junior Brother, disciple fought master, child fought parent.
In the eyes of these lost souls, consumed by ugly desires, there was nothing.
With the lives they had already lost, merely borrowing temporary life energy in Mucteon Valley, they charged forward without fear all the more.
Of course, there were also the spirits of heroes who couldn’t bear to witness injustice and fought with the spirit of no retreat.
“Huashan Seven Heroes! What a stroke of luck meeting you here!”
“Biting Sadness Three Swords! Do you wish to die again?”
“Hah! Who will die will only be known after we fight!”
Amidst the chaos, there were also those who, though unable to even dream of settling personal grudges in the netherworld, now had their chance due to the borrowed life energy in Mucteon Valley.
In the midst of this confused madness and chaotic turmoil,
‘Byul Rak…! No matter what, I will protect you somehow…!’
A white-haired, white-eyed woman remained within three paces of a man, putting forth her all.
‘I will protect! No matter what happens!’
The sword of a woman who once walked the path of the killing blade had long since become the perfect ‘sword of protection.’
This was an evident evolution and transformation. Though no one in the fierce battle noticed it.
Swoosh.
A bright light emitted from the sword of the woman who had already cut down dozens or hundreds in her effort to protect one man.
With its pure energy, it easily divided even the extremely powerful ghostly spirits.
However, the woman herself, fully focused on the battle, hadn’t sensed it at all.
Bit by bit, a long forgotten memory begins to rise.
A violent and domineering father who pursued women, and a crafty stepmother who mistreated us.
An strong mother, who as the main lady of the house, still endured scornful looks.
And little me caught in the middle of it all.
Very slowly but clearly, old memories are awakened, synchronized with the speed at which the Cursed Face Art allows me to look at my past.
“Gruuuaaaahhh…!”
The young me groans in pain.
Beads of sweat trickle down my weak neck.
I was prostrate, leaning on my fists. Though my hand bones ached endlessly, I couldn’t give up easily because of the one watching over me.
“Though it’s barely been half a season and you’re already pale, just how lazy have you been with your training?”
“I apologize….”
“Tsk, such a pathetic child. If only Bin could follow even half his example….”
Father.
Father who entered the house after things didn’t go well with the South Sea Consortium called me to the practice ground as soon as he arrived and has already subjected the young me to harsh training for half a season.
The blood flowing from my bruised and raw knuckles stained the stone floor, but all father saw was his outlet for frustration.
“Where did such an imbecile come from…? It’s your mother’s fault for marrying improperly.”
“I apologize…”
“No, it’s my fault for thoughtlessly and rashly bringing in that stupid mother of yours.”
“Uguuuk…!”
Though I could no longer feel any sensations in my arms, I gritted my teeth and endured.
Addressing me, father gets up and makes an ominous threat.
“Therefore, this father must now set you straight.”
There was a slight alcohol breath in father’s voice.
Because of the deal with the consortium not working out, he must have had a binge elsewhere.
“Bend your back straight. We don’t want any broken bones.”
“…! Father…!”
“Don’t try to run. The more you do, the harder I’ll hit.”
Even though the Southern Palace Clan was a school of swords, father had a club in his hand — a sturdy wooden club made from oak.
As soon as I saw it, I instinctively flinched. My young pupils trembled uncontrollably.
“First is training, second is repentance. Just repeat that. Not hard, right?”
“Yes, yes!”
Poom!
Pow!
Crack!
Contrary to his own words, with no fixed rhythm, father wildly swung the club, striking my prone rear.
It was nothing more than a case of father venting his frustrations. At least, in retrospect.
Poom!
Whack!
Bam!
‘It’s my fault… I didn’t focus enough on my training…’
Back then, the young me must have tried hard to find the cause within myself.
“Ughh…”
“Hmph, it’s been a while since I’ve worked up a sweat. I have faith that you’ve fully understood this father’s intention, my son.”
“…Yes, I shall withdraw now.”
“Hm, father shall continue practicing and then go back inside.”
After this education disguised as beating time was over, I dragged my torn body back to my quarters.
Since Elder Bin of the direct line exists, as a child from a concubine, I had to live separately in the outer wing with my mother.
Fortunately, the outer wing was thinly populated.
There, there was no one who would kindly care for me, who was disliked due to my father’s violent nature.
Thud.
I tidied my torn clothes when I reached the door.
I carefully folded the blood-stained parts of my clothing so they wouldn’t be seen.
I neatly sorted out my tousled hair and regulated my labored breathing.
In the end, I used my fingers to pull the corners of my mouth up to my ears, forming an artificial smile.
Creak.
I gathered what little strength I had left to open the door forcefully.
The room inside was dark, without a single candle lit.
“Mother! Your son has come!”
As if having completely forgotten the fact that I was beaten, I called out cheerfully.
I didn’t want my mother to know about being beaten by father.
In fact, I wasn’t even aware that my own unseen behind was bleeding.
When the young me took a few more steps inside the room,
“…Ah, my son. You’ve come.”
Mother’s weary voice echoed from inside.
When I entered cautiously, I saw my mother with her hair disheveled.
“Our son, what training did you do today with father?”
“Physical conditioning.”
“Is that so? Didn’t father teach you any supreme martial arts?”
“Um… he said he would when the time comes.”
“I see. That’s enough then. He’s someone who keeps his word once spoken…”
Mother looked haggard. As if she had gone through something terrible.
Shifting my gaze with a touch of bitterness, in front of her, I noticed the makeup table.
Lifting my head again, I saw the distinct palm print on her cheek, something that makeup couldn’t completely cover.
“…!”
The young me was shocked, but tried hard not to show it.
It’s the common mindset of all parents not to show shameful parts to their innocent children.
Understanding my thoughts or not, Mother pulled me tightly in her arms and whispered,
“Our Chulbin, you’re my only hope.”
“…”
“Do you understand? You must train hard in martial arts?”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll remember this.”
“That just won’t do. You shouldn’t just work hard. You have to be someone who doesn’t lose to anyone. You must even surpass the arrogant Bin… You can do this, right? Our son? I trust you, you know.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll take care of it.”
Though on the surface I pretend to be grown-up and answer bravely,
“It’s tough… I just want to rest soon…”
The heart of the young me wasn’t as strong as my outward appearance.
That’s normal.
Because at the time, I was just a child of barely eight or so.
Well… It’s not something that even the adult me who grew up far from normal can say, but…
“Alright, you’ve worked hard, so quickly go inside, clean up, and rest.”
With a clear smile, my mother patted my behind.
The moment the area father had beaten was stimulated, excruciating pain spread through my whole body, but once again, I gritted my teeth and suppressed it.
“Yes, yes! I will…!”
The quarters where my mother and I lived were dilapidated, but not small.
They were tall enough to have at least two floors and had several rooms.
I did not share a bed with my mother. That was because whenever she went through episodes of madness at night, they frightened me even more than father’s violence.
Creak.
After entering the room and lying down, I lay face down.
It was because my bottom hurt from being beaten earlier in the day.
Even though I applied some medicinal ointment to the wounds I found in my room, the wounds didn’t heal immediately.
“Hmm… It was another tough day today…”
The young me sighed with a sense of frustration.
The anguish and bitterness contained within it were certainly not slight.
Compared to the length of the life I had lived so far.
Somewhat… when I’m an adult…
‘I don’t want to be like that…’
‘When I grow up… and become someone’s husband and father…’
‘Damn it, absolutely no infidelity… No concubines either… I will never hit my child… And I will never force them into martial arts training…”
It was at that moment.
Bang!
Father forcefully opened the door and stormed in.
His face, unlike any other times, was flushed with anger. Prominent blood vessels pulsed on his forehead.
“You damn brat! You think you have time to sleep while neglecting your training? You should be holding your sword and striving for training even if it’s not enough!”
“A, Father? How did you…!”
“Get out here immediately! Today, I must completely straighten out your stubborn head!”
Father roughly grabbed my hair and dragged me outside.
This unexpected midnight surprise was nothing but an unexpected calamity.
“Come with me!”
“Please, just release me this once… aargh! Father!”
It turns out later that, at this time, father had reached the brink of a new level in his martial arts practice but fell back.
Why he took out his anger on his child is something I can never quite understand.
“Ah, ah ah…”
In the basement of the Namgung family, a sigh escapes from the lips of the woman intently watching a certain transparent longsword.
It was Yu Soeun, as ever, observing Byul Rak through the Celestial Light Treasure Sword.
“Such…past did he have…?”
The Celestial Light Treasure Sword, a sword reflecting its master, also covered the spiritual realm.
While it was impossible to instantly reveal every thought of Byul Rak,
“Sniff… Ah sniff…”
Yu Soeun’s round eyes shimmered with flickering light.
I didn’t know.
Not a single inch of it about her husband’s dark childhood.
Because until the regeneration, he had only shown her and the children a bright and cheerful face.
Of course, Yu Soeun had heard of the Sky Sword King.
That he was a drunkard, dishonorable, and irresponsible.
But she never imagined it to this extreme.
A man who repeatedly inflicted violence on his children, indulged in infidelity—a thoroughly dishonorable human being.
She had no idea.
Suddenly, Yu Soeun remembered words Dokgo Gupae had said in the past, when he opposed her marriage to Byul Rak.
“Children are the reflection of their parents. If you were raised under the Sky Sword King, the man you chose will inevitably transform into that kind of person!”
That was wrong.
Byul Rak never showed the slightest trace of violence.
He didn’t even once hit anyone.
Even when Namgung So-a defiantly used impolite speech, Byul Rak never reprimanded her.
Rather, believing that a close and warm father-daughter relationship was better than being overly strict, he treated her gently.
Not even one of the commitments he made as a child had been broken.
Even during the regression when his personality had worn thin, he never once raised his voice at his family.
He only restrained himself with apathy.
That was far different from the transformation Dokgo Gupae warned about.
“I, someone so deeply wounded… should have embraced him….”
As always, the ending was nothing but infinite guilt.
The anguish of never having embraced Byul Rak, who was like a sand castle, crumbling under his strong exterior.
And then, deep self-loathing followed.
“Uh, uh ah…”
Once again, tonight, transparent tears rolled down endlessly.
Grieving wails echoed in the basement.
