The feeling of walking in a dream.
That’s exactly how I feel right now.
Since the day Mother was taken by the righteous army, my life has been anything but smooth.
Though I memorized the secret manual given to me by Master without making a single mistake, the world was never an easy place.
Moreover, the martial arts I learned were solely for survival—meant to efficiently end others’ lives.
Even with formidable martial skills, I couldn’t recklessly enter the martial world. After all, my mother bore the infamous title of Blood Sea Tai Tai.
Until the day people forgot that name, I had to lie low and wait.
Even worse, it was an era of war. The innocent suffered as well due to the Righteous-Blood War, and despair tainted people’s hearts.
Food disappeared as if devoured by unseen mouths, and nameless corpses filled the streets.
All I had after completing my training was the skill to kill.
I never learned how to deceive others or make money.
I knew this better than anyone.
So, before I got hurt unnecessarily, I sought out a place to belong.
The Pavilion of Death. A place where I could fully use my one and only skill.
Besides, the Pavilion of Death was one of the few powers in the martial world that didn’t involve itself in the war. It was the perfect place for me.
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. As I began taking killing as my profession, my ability to relate with others only dwindled.
I often danced on the brink of life and death.
The targets we were sent to eliminate were all exceptional people who would sometimes set traps for us.
If the skills Master taught me were common or if I hadn’t been born with a rare martial predisposition, I would’ve died dozens of times over.
There was no time for hobbies. Life wasn’t fun.
Still, I dragged myself through the harrowing days because this was the life Mother had left me.
This was the life Sword Sage had knelt down and begged me to take upon myself.
That alone was reason enough to live.
Even after the war ended and I became the Master of the Pavilion by besting the Heaven-Killing Sword King, my life wasn’t exactly enjoyable.
Yes, I was a backward person, someone who never learned how to socialize or relate to others, and thus socially stunted.
I had great martial skills.
I had the power to kill anyone.
But I never learned how to make friends or companions. Around me were only those who desired my position or admired my martial prowess enough to be my subordinates.
This is how three years passed as if wasted.
Then came the incident where Master was expelled from the Nan Gong family.
He had also become estranged from his wife and was completely alone.
That’s when I had my first purpose in life.
To stand proudly by his side.
Later, now here I am:
“…until this was my life.”
I’ve achieved my goal.
I’m happy.
I’m truly, deeply happy.
That someone is by my side.
That someone is the person I admired so deeply.
That the person I love is sharing body heat, locked arm in arm with me.
“You’ve worked hard.”
He looks at me with kind eyes.
Warm eyes. Eyes I’ve never received during my lifetime.
Well, I did as a child. From my mother, whose face I can barely recall now.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Uwah…!”
My face feels like it’s burning.
He’s proud of me.
This dim-witted brain of mine that’s forgotten even my mother’s face couldn’t forget one thing: the broad back of the man before me.
The man I once respected deeply is proud of me.
“What…?”
I never expected to hear such words.
“Can you… say it again?”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Uwah…!”
“And…”
“Uwah… huh?”
“You’ve worked hard.”
I lived all this time to hear these words.
For the first time, I realize it.
Throughout my life, I’ve achieved countless profound insights into martial arts.
But experiencing this kind of insight into the meaning of life, it’s a first.
“Thank you.”
Following Tang Sobaek, we reached a place and understood why we had been lost with Jade Flower.
The location of the secret chamber was another layer between the basement and the upper level.
Of course, having only explored the above and below levels repeatedly, we had no way of knowing this.
Now, having met Tang Sobaek, everything has been resolved.
“We’re here. This is it.”
“Thank you, Miss Tang.”
“Not at all, this was a favor, after all.”
“…Favor? You’ve been mentioning being asked as a favor, but who exactly asked you?”
“Once you enter, you’ll naturally find out. Also, can you relax your speech a little? You’re someone of at least one level higher than me, right? Why do you keep using formal language?”
We stood in front of what was presumably the secret chamber’s iron gate while Tang Sobaek spoke.
She wasn’t wrong. Considering I already treated Hong Ryun casually, treating Tang Sobaek, who is of similar age, differently did seem contradictory.
“…Understood.”
“Much better. Ah, and…”
Tang Sobaek glanced at Hong Ryun still holding onto my arm.
It’s hard to find a good time to remove her grip since Hong Ryun obviously likes me.
“Apparently, you are the Pavilion Master, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“To whoever is inside here, do not treat them carelessly.”
“Are you issuing commands to me now?”
“I’m asking, please.”
Hong Ryun let out a snigger while rubbing her cheek against my arm.
She’s stubborn. But I couldn’t dismiss her after knowing her tragic past.
“And Jade Flower, you too.”
“Why are you speaking like this, Poisonous Flower?”
“You know how stubborn your senior is, right? Try to calm down a bit.”
“…Don’t worry. I’m not the same as before.”
“It’s fortunate if that’s true.”
Who was Tang Sobaek worried about to warn Jade Flower and Hong Ryun so thoroughly? I was just about to wonder this when she turned the handle.
It wasn’t a regular door knob.
Creak…
Clunk…
The heavy iron door opened with a metallic sound, revealing a glaringly bright glow that hurt the eyes.
The source of the light was luminous pearls. These rare luminous pearls were embedded generously in the walls throughout the chamber.
“Is this the Secret Chamber of the Divine Stele?”
“Great heavens, are all those luminous pearls? What were you saying earlier? About the Divine Stele?”
“Byul Rak, there’s someone inside.”
“Everyone, please come in. Lay aside any wariness.”
Without paying any attention to the opulence, Tang Sobaek stepped confidently inside.
We followed her obediently.
Clomp, clomp.
At the end of the chamber, as Jade Flower had said, there was something sitting in the posture of meditation.
It was an odd-looking elder with a beard that extended down to his waist. He didn’t seem to have any life force.
“Like you were asked, I’ve brought them.”
Looking more closely at the elder, I noticed things that weren’t clear before.
Jiangshi.
He was neither fully dead nor fully alive, a jiangshi.
However, he was unlike ordinary jiangshis.
His aura, bearing, and presence were…
Substantially different.
“Finally, you’ve come.”
The elder croaked with his chapped lips and weary eyes.
Though his lips and eyes showed signs of decay, the wisdom they held was far from ordinary.
“Sword Sage, step forward. You’re the protagonist, after all.”
Tang Sobaek pulled me forward as she spoke.
This elder seemed to be the one who Tang Sobaek mentioned had summoned me here, and for some reason, I had an intuition that this was indeed the case.
Hong Ryun boldly stepped forward, following me closely despite Tang Sobaek signaling to her to move aside.
Click.
I stood firmly in front of the elder.
And asked.
“Who are you, honored elder?”
I used respectful language, though I’ve never spoken with a jiangshi before. This elder carried an aura that seemed to command such respect.
“Call me Anyname. For I’ve been waiting for you.”
“…”
“Or, I’m also your distant predecessor, in a way.”
“…”
“And I might as well be your distant ancestor, too.”
“…?”
The elder’s eyes bore into me.
I locked eyes with him.
His eyes were worn out, showing a pale tinge of blue.
“My ancestor.”
“Not surprised?”
“I’ve experienced quite a few bizarre things in my life.”
“Hmm? I too have encountered many strange events, but could this just be a coincidence?”
“How should I know? Perhaps it’s an accident born from fortune or…”
Resonance.
That was the emotion I felt as we conversed briefly.
“There might be a clear reason for the resemblance between us.”
Although it was only intuition, my instincts have never been wrong.
This elder is my kin.
By “predecessor,” he might just mean he is an elder in the world of martial arts.
Yet, the intuition that there is more than that strikes me again.
“What should I call you?”
“Just call me ancestor informally.”
“Are you related to my mother’s family?”
“I bear the surname Nan Gong.”
“Ah… the Nan Gong name doesn’t hold good memories for me.”
“I know you do. When you’re in the afterlife, you hear every bit of news from this life.”
“So the afterlife is better than this world, I assume.”
“Hmm, I thought so too when I was alive, but after death, it isn’t so great. Clinging is surprisingly tenacious.”
Despite his words, the elder’s eyes held no trace of yearning.
Transcendence. Detachment.
His level seemed to peek through momentarily.
“Sit down for now. I have a lot to say.”
“I have much to ask as well.”
“Of course, I imagine you do.”
First, I wanted to talk about the Elixir of Reincarnation. Then about the Divine Stele, and finally, perhaps his true identity.
After organizing my thoughts, I was about to kneel and ask when…
Clatter!
A strange metallic noise came from beside me.
I quickly turned my head and saw a vial on the cupboard shaking by itself.
The elder chuckled.
“Ah, it seems whatever is inside wants to meet you soon.”
“To meet me…?”
“Go ahead and open it. I imagine it will be a pleasant meeting for you.”
Following his words, I straightened my knee and walked toward the cupboard.
Hong Ryun, still clinging to my left arm, dragged along behind me.
Doesn’t this girl care about the inappropriate timing of her actions?
Considering her personality, it wasn’t unusual, though.
Clatter, Clatter!
The vial continued to shake, seemingly pleading for attention.
I responded to its call.
Click.
