A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 319

The figure standing before Son Bin and Geomhee was peculiar, to say the least.

He was dressed in the attire of a high-ranking eunuch, but he wore no hat, and the bizarrely shaped staff in his hand only amplified the strangeness.

His white hair was swept back and loosely tied, falling down his back, as if he’d only made a cursory attempt to tidy it. A typical eunuch would never be so unkempt.

But the most striking feature was his eyes, shimmering with an eerie green light. The unsettling energy emanating from his fingertips was more than enough to label him a ‘freak.’

“Hmph.”

The white-haired freak in eunuch’s clothing snorted, his sharp, green eyes glaring at Geomhee and Son Bin from beneath his white eyebrows.

“Impressive, indeed.”

He didn’t try to hide his admiration, his voice grating like metal scraping against metal.

“In the past, neither our Demonic Sect nor the Blood Sect possessed anyone of your caliber. No wonder the Emperor was so cautious, enough to send me out of the prison to stop you. But…”

He paused, as if showing off, then frowned, his gaze shifting to Son Bin, his displeasure evident.

“To bring along such a… bizarre thing. What is it? A hobby? Or a contingency plan?”

Just looking at Son Bin was uncomfortable for Hwanma. It felt like being covered in filth, but the unpleasant sensation faded quickly, soon disappearing altogether.

Regardless of Hwanma’s feelings, Son Bin couldn’t ignore the freak’s rudeness in referring to Geomhee as a ‘bizarre thing.’

“I am Hwanma,” the freak announced, turning his head to look at Geomhee before Son Bin could speak.

“I was the Supreme Protector of the Demonic Sect, and I am the one who awaits the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon.”

Though called the Supreme Protector, he had effectively led the Demonic Sect, which had hidden itself from the world, waiting for the Heavenly Demon to reappear.

Clack.

Hwanma slammed his staff against the ground.

“Are you the one walking the path of the Martial Emperor?”

Geomhee and Hwanma’s gazes locked. His gaze, as if looking down on her, met Geomhee’s cold eyes in a fierce, unyielding confrontation.

“Ahem.”

Son Bin cleared his throat.

It was clear that Hwanma was misunderstanding something.

Well, with Geomhee and him standing together, it was understandable that anyone would focus on Geomhee.

Once again, Son Bin cleared his throat, but the two of them ignored him, locked in their staring contest.

Watching Geomhee and Hwanma, neither willing to yield, Son Bin offered an awkward smile.

But that smile quickly vanished.

Buzz.

The sharp cry of Baekro [Son Bin’s sword]. Instantly, Son Bin drew Baekro and shouted, “Miss Geomhee!”

Geomhee’s Ice Sword was already materializing.

But even faster, the beautiful form of the divine sword Baekro shone under the moonlight, and Son Bin struck down from above without hesitation.

Swoosh.

A sensation like cutting through water.

Nothing was visible, but something reacted beneath Baekro’s blade.

It was the eerie, sticky energy that Son Bin had felt earlier.

“Kugh.”

Hwanma groaned, stumbling backward. Geomhee, holding the Ice Sword, staggered, as if about to fall.

“Miss!”

Son Bin wrapped his arm around Geomhee, examining her face.

‘Already…’

Son Bin’s expression hardened. The pupils of Geomhee’s eyes were bloodshot, and her eyelids twitched as she fought against the shock.

“Kuh-heuk.”

Hwanma’s groan came from behind. He, too, seemed to have suffered a significant shock, holding his head and barely staying upright with his staff.

Ignoring Hwanma, Son Bin placed the hand holding Baekro on Geomhee’s forehead.

Extending his index and middle fingers, he placed them on her forehead, composing his breathing. The energy of the Hyeoncheon Daeganggyeol [a powerful martial art technique] gathered at his fingertips.

“Are you alright?”

Geomhee blinked, her bloodshot pupils gradually returning to normal.

“I’m… alright.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but it was definitely her usual tone. Son Bin sighed in relief and withdrew his hand, but suddenly, Geomhee’s cold hand grabbed his wrist.

She looked straight into his eyes and said, “…Blood’s power.”

The moment she made eye contact with Hwanma, Geomhee had felt a dark energy engulfing her.

It wasn’t literally blood, but like the power wielded by the previous Jade Dragon, it was an unavoidable, incomprehensible force that took hold the moment it entered her field of vision.

Clench.

Geomhee bit her lip.

If she had known in advance, she might have found a way to counter it. But by the time she realized Hwanma’s power and drew the Ice Sword, it was already too late.

If Son Bin’s rescue had been delayed even a moment longer, she didn’t know what would have happened.

“Be careful.”

Geomhee’s voice trembled slightly. Son Bin understood her warning.

“I understand,” he said, smiling and nodding.

“You, you…” Hwanma rasped, and Son Bin turned his head. Hwanma was staring at Baekro with astonishment.

“How… how do you possess that sword?”

Buzz.

The divine sword Baekro.

Its beautiful form shone under the moonlight.

Hwanma swallowed, captivated by the enchanting sight.

Fear and longing, dread and greed, anger and fascination, and an unconcealable awe warred within him.

Hwanma couldn’t tear his eyes away from Baekro, his hands trembling.

All sorts of emotions flickered across his face, but the most blatant was the intense desire to seize the divine sword.

Rustle.

Geomhee stood up, and Son Bin released his arm, standing with her.

Hwanma swallowed hard, looked at Baekro, then raised his eyes to meet Son Bin’s gaze.

He now understood why Son Bin, whom he had initially dismissed, had been able to react. The divine sword Baekro had protected him.

“Heh heh heh, this is truly an unexpected opportunity.”

He no longer cared why Son Bin, and not Geomhee, wielded the divine sword. In the presence of Baekro, everything else was irrelevant.

Swish.

Hwanma didn’t hesitate, extending his staff towards Son Bin, his green eyes gleaming with greed.

“Get lost. That sword is too good for the likes of you.”

Whoosh.

Nothing was visible, but Son Bin could sense it: an eerie, thick energy, far greater than before, crashing towards him like a wave.

“Be careful!” Geomhee shouted, her expression changing.

‘Indeed,’ Son Bin thought, watching the energy rush towards him.

‘This energy is similar to the blood power that the previous Jade Dragon displayed. No wonder it overwhelmed Geomhee so quickly.’

The energy emanating from Hwanma was more turbid, darker, and greedier than anything the Jade Dragon had shown.

But…

‘Lacking.’

It fell far short of the Jade Dragon’s power.

It was so different from the Jade Dragon’s ability, which was as clear as an ice blade and as overwhelming as the grasp of a giant dragon.

No, the more he looked at it, the more he realized that it couldn’t be compared in the first place.

With a cold gaze, Son Bin raised his sword. Baekro seemed to share his feelings, conveying a cold contempt for Hwanma through his hand.

Swish.

The blade of Baekro, shining under the moonlight, glowed enchantingly like a seductive beauty. Son Bin struck down with the beautiful sword without hesitation.

Thud.

Hwanma’s energy, which had surged like a black wave, scattered like mist before the path of the divine sword.

Son Bin drew Baekro from bottom to top, cleaving through the dissipating energy.

“Cough.”

Instantly, Hwanma vomited blood.

Blood spread from the chest area of his eunuch’s clothing.

Hwanma’s eyes, fixed on his bleeding chest, shook violently.

Baekro’s blade hadn’t touched him. Neither Son Bin nor Geomhee had launched any projectiles.

Baekro had simply scattered the energy that Hwanma had emitted.

But beneath the eunuch’s clothing, on his chest, a crimson stain was spreading, as if he had been directly attacked by Baekro.

Thud.

Hwanma covered his bleeding chest, stepping back.

“No matter how divine a sword is, it can’t do this to me…”

He could understand that Baekro had blocked his ability, and that the backlash had shocked his body.

But it couldn’t possibly make him bleed like this.

“You, you…” Hwanma looked at Son Bin in disbelief.

If it wasn’t the power of the divine sword, there was only one other explanation.

But Hwanma couldn’t accept that conclusion.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice trembling. Son Bin replied calmly,

“I am the one who walks the path of the Martial Emperor.”

Hwanma frowned.

“The path of the Martial Emperor? You?”

He didn’t hide his ridicule.

“It seems you’re trying to protect your master with improvisation, but that won’t work on me.”

“If you still think so,” Son Bin said, equally calm, “then your discernment is limited.”

Son Bin’s gaze was as clear as the autumn sky. He seemed to have forgotten for a moment that he shouldn’t make eye contact with Hwanma.

But the same situation as with Geomhee didn’t occur. Instead, Hwanma’s eyes widened, filling with astonishment.

“H, how…”

His hand holding the staff trembled, his agitation evident.

“I, it can’t be. You are clearly, clearly human, but how…”

Son Bin gave a bitter smile. He understood what Hwanma was implying.

It probably wasn’t much different from what the Blood Demon had said before.

“Could it be that you… are an Avatar?” [In Hinduism, an Avatar is the incarnation of a deity in human form.]

Son Bin’s smile deepened.

“No. I’m just a person.”

“That can’t be, it can’t be. You, you…”

Hwanma knew that Son Bin was telling the truth. Son Bin was definitely human. That’s why he couldn’t comprehend it.

But if so, what was the trace of that immense power visible beyond Son Bin’s eyes?

At that moment, Hwanma knew that he couldn’t handle this being.

“Y, you… will you let me go?” he asked, unable to hide his trembling. The arrogance was gone. He had never imagined he would beg a human.

Demonic arts were fundamentally different from ordinary martial arts. Unless one had mastered the orthodox martial arts of Buddhism or Taoism, ordinary martial artists were no match for Hwanma.

How many imperial soldiers had died trying to capture him alive? Even now, the imperial family could only imprison him after imposing countless restrictions.

But the being before him was different.

Only now did Hwanma understand why the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon had never conquered the world.

“Did you create the Hocheonsamsinwi [a powerful formation]?” Son Bin asked. Hwanma nodded quickly.

“Y, yes. I created it at the Emperor’s request.”

The imperial family thoroughly suppressed the Demonic Sect and the Blood Sect, yet they persistently tried to capture Hwanma alive. The Emperor wanted the Hocheonsamsinwi.

“Why did you agree? I don’t think you value your life that much.”

Hwanma laughed.

“I thought it was the will of the Heavenly Demon. This place, keh heh heh, was the darkest of all.”

Only after being imprisoned did Hwanma realize that there was a place darker than the Demonic Sect. Nowhere were human’s ugly emotions and intense fear more concentrated than in the imperial palace.

“Is that all? To create the Hocheonsamsinwi, I was given free rein to use all sorts of spiritual objects, and more. How could I not believe it was the will of the Heavenly Demon?”

Hwanma mocked the imperial family and human greed, but his hand pressed down on the wound on his chest.

Blood flowed continuously. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t withstand such blood loss.

‘I need to return to the prison quickly.’

Now, his only chance was to return to the prison that had been restricting him.

But Son Bin asked leisurely, as if unconcerned with Hwanma’s anxiety, “What did you do to the Emperor?”

Hwanma bit his lip.

This might be an opportunity. If he could turn this being against the imperial family, the world might face unprecedented chaos.

But he had to tell the truth. The faint afterglow emanating from Son Bin, which could never be erased, compelled him.

“The Emperor never met me directly. He always sent someone with a letter, and he killed them as soon as they left the prison. So I couldn’t do anything.”

Son Bin laughed.

“It’s not like you didn’t do anything.”

Hwanma said, his voice trembling, “I, I don’t know. I answered everything. So let me go.”

Son Bin didn’t answer. Hwanma felt an eerie pressure.

He had to leave, but his feet were rooted to the spot. His plea was not humility.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why? Aren’t you an enemy of the imperial family!” Hwanma said urgently. He had to change Son Bin’s mind.

“I can weaken the imperial family. I’ll make them your puppet!”

That was no lie. Hwanma spoke with conviction.

“Now, the Emperor relies only on me. If you let me go, I will seize the imperial family as you wish. I will make them make foolish decisions and waste their energy on futile things. Then the imperial family will no longer be your enemy.”

Hwanma held out his blood-stained hand, his eyes gleaming with a subtle heat.

“You will be the one to take the world into your hands.”

Silence fell. Hwanma realized that the eerie pressure remained.

“W, why…” He staggered back, trying to retreat, but he couldn’t move.

If he were an ordinary martial artist, he could have resisted, tried to escape, even if it failed.

But he was Hwanma, and his very existence was bound before Son Bin.

Step.

“I am not an enemy of the imperial family,” Son Bin said, stepping forward. Baekro’s blade aimed for Hwanma’s life.

“B, but the Emperor is after you…”

“Just because he is hostile doesn’t mean I have to become his enemy. It’s unfair, but they are different issues.”

“W, what?”

Hwanma didn’t understand. Why was it a separate issue that the other party was hostile and trying to kill him?

Son Bin laughed.

“That was never a problem for the loyal subjects who shine in history. Just because the lord is a tyrant doesn’t mean I have to become a traitor. If you don’t know that, you can’t see the past.”

Clench.

Hwanma gritted his teeth.

“No matter what you say, the Emperor will never trust you! He will always try to kill you!”

“Maybe so.”

Step.

Again, Son Bin stepped towards Hwanma. One more step, and his sword would reach him.

“That’s why I came here.”

Swish.

Baekro’s tip pointed to the sky. Even now, the enchanting blade captivated Hwanma.

“Because those who sit on the throne always need sharp advice.”

Son Bin’s eyes were cold. Hwanma sensed his end.

Flash.