A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 304

304. Nightmare

Seorin’s Hongjin Manri [a powerful Buddhist technique] descended upon Wiga Jin of Cheongrang Sword without the slightest wavering.

Although it was Hongjin Manri containing tremendous power, Wiga Jin of Cheongrang Sword did not avoid it. No, he couldn’t avoid it.

“Taha!” [a martial arts exclamation]

With the shout of Cheongrang Sword Wiga Jin, his sword emitted a blue aura. And Seorin’s Buljin [Seorin’s staff], rushing in, collided head-on with his sword.

Clang, clash.

Seorin’s Buljin and Cheongrang Sword’s blade clashed, sparks flying. It was hard to believe it was a collision between a Buddhist staff and a sword.

“I’m here too!”

Tat [sound of movement].

Hwasa moved immediately. Since Seorin had started the attack, the conversation had already broken down. In the current situation, the only way was to seize the Hwatong [a signaling device] from the Gyeonghui Monarch as quickly as possible.

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

It wasn’t just Hwasa. Old Master, Sasu Yeon, Dang Wora, and Sword Hee immediately rushed towards the Gyeonghui Monarch. They aimed to quickly neutralize Cheongrang Sword Wiga Jin and Hang Ah, and snatch the Hwatong held by the Gyeonghui Monarch.

“I knew it.”

Sabeok, sabeok [sound of footsteps].

Slowly retreating inside the pavilion, the Gyeonghui Monarch spoke with a look of exhaustion.

“It’s coming to this.”

Amidst the explosions and impacts, the Gyeonghui Monarch approached the railing of the pavilion, as if not caring at all about the fierce battle unfolding behind her.

Sabeok.

The Gyeonghui Monarch placed her hand on a thick pillar and climbed onto the railing. The magnificent scenery of Huangshan [a mountain range in China], submerged in a sea of clouds, unfolded beneath her eyes.

Coo-oong [onomatopoeia for a tremor].

Just then, the pavilion trembled subtly from a large impact. The Gyeonghui Monarch slowly turned around.

The sight of Cheongrang Sword Wiga Jin and the maid Hang Ah, collapsed, came into her view. They were each slumped against the pavilion pillars, unable to move.

Judging by their faint groans, they didn’t seem to be dead, but that was it. Their swords were broken and lay scattered far away.

“Your little game is over now.”

Old Master said, grinding his teeth. His sword, Soryeong, echoed softly as if responding to its master’s anger.

“So hand over that Hwatong.”

“Hehehe.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch laughed, and she stretched out the hand holding the Hwatong towards the outside of the pavilion.

Whooooosh [sound of wind].

A strong wind fluttered her sleeves, and the Hwatong swayed precariously. Unlike the inside, where Cheonindanae [a protective formation] blocked the wind, the outside of the pavilion was swept by a fierce gale.

The wind shaking her sleeves even made the Gyeonghui Monarch stagger. She looked as if she would fall off the cliff at any moment.

“Do you think I’ll hand it over?”

The Gyeonghui Monarch’s voice, as she spoke with her hair fluttering in the wind, was quite provocative.

Gritting.

“You still…”

Old Master gritted his teeth.

“Stop it now, Sajae [martial arts brother].”

Cheonghye Satae said quietly. She sheathed her sword and spoke.

“There’s nothing more Sajae can do. So please, hand over the Hwatong willingly. Then these people won’t harm you.”

Her words were correct. With Cheongrang Sword Wiga Jin and the maid Hang Ah neutralized, there was no one who could protect the Gyeonghui Monarch.

Eventually, the Gyeonghui Monarch would also be neutralized, and the Hwatong would be taken away. Anyone here had the ability to do so.

It was only because the lives of the children were at stake that they were being cautious.

However, the Gyeonghui Monarch sneered.

“Really? But they look like they’re ready to tear me apart with just their eyes.”

“That’s not true.”

Sasu Yeon said.

“No one will harm you.”

“Hehe.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch laughed again.

“Can you say that? That man…”

With a glance, the Gyeonghui Monarch pointed her chin at Son Bin.

“He hasn’t said anything yet, has he?”

Son Bin was still standing there. With his mouth tightly shut, Son Bin quietly walked towards the pavilion at the Gyeonghui Monarch’s words.

Thud, thud [sound of footsteps].

He stopped in front of Seorin. Son Bin looked down at Seorin with angry eyes. Seorin hesitated and said.

“Hyung… [older brother/term of respect]”

Slap.

Seorin’s head turned. Son Bin had slapped him.

“Going with the children? What does that mean!”

Son Bin said to Seorin in an angry voice. Tears were streaming down Son Bin’s eyes.

He didn’t need to ask what Seorin’s words meant. It meant that if the children died, he would die too. It meant that Seorin would bear all the responsibility alone.

“Do you think I’ll be happy if you cover it up like that? Don’t try to sacrifice yourself as you please. Never again, never again…”

Son Bin couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

Seorin, with his hand on his cheek, smiled at Son Bin with a tearful expression. Tears were also streaming down his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, Hyung.”

Whack.

Son Bin couldn’t continue speaking and hugged Seorin as he was.

Seorin placed his hand on his burning cheek and quietly leaned his head against Son Bin’s chest. A warmer and softer fragrance than his flushed cheek enveloped Seorin.

“How touching.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch’s mocking voice awakened Son Bin.

“But this isn’t the time to be doing that, is it?”

Rustle [sound of movement].

Son Bin released Seorin. After smiling at Seorin’s tear-stained eyes, Son Bin lightly wiped away his tears and turned to look at the Gyeonghui Monarch.

Flutter [sound of fabric].

A strong wind shook the Gyeonghui Monarch’s sleeves. Son Bin turned his head and whispered something small to Dang Wora next to him.

Dang Wora stepped back, and Sasu Yeon also moved aside. Son Bin stepped forward.

“Monarch.”

Son Bin said quietly.

“It’s over now.”

Son Bin’s words that it was over were true. The Gyeonghui Monarch couldn’t hold out for long alone. The only way was to hand over the Hwatong now and beg for mercy.

“Hmph. Yes, that’s right. It’s all over.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch agreed, but it was a slightly different meaning from what Son Bin had said.

The things she had done in Huangshan had failed. The Outer History [group of martial artists] was still intact, and she had neither defeated nor obtained Son Bin.

Of course, the Beoncheonji Scheme [a grand plan] would continue to be implemented.

But the Emperor would no longer give her a chance.

It was all over.

Flapping [sound of fabric].

A strong wind shook the Gyeonghui Monarch’s hair and clothes.

“So come down here and hand over the Hwatong. It’s dangerous there.”

Son Bin said, reaching out his hand towards the Gyeonghui Monarch. There was not a single point of falsehood or hypocrisy in his eyes and voice.

“Dangerous?”

Son Bin nodded at the Gyeonghui Monarch’s words.

“Yes.”

“Hehe. You still don’t know me.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch laughed.

This man would not know what kind of fate awaited the Gyeonghui Monarch after she went down from here.

“I’ve always been in danger. Even when wearing good clothes, even when in the splendid Imperial Palace, it was always the same. Because the person who held my fate was not me.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch said, grinding her teeth.

With someone’s one word, with just a light whim, her fate could be shaken.

Being sent to a distant northern tribe, or dying in vain, isolated in the depths of the Imperial Palace.

“It wasn’t my will to be born into this world.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch continued in a low voice. She looked straight at Son Bin.

“Then at least my end…”

The Gyeonghui Monarch said with shining eyes.

“I will choose it.”

“Monarch!”

Rustle.

The Gyeonghui Monarch’s white hand released the pavilion pillar. Son Bin’s surprised eyes, watching the Gyeonghui Monarch slowly falling backward, and his hand reaching out towards her.

Engraving all of that one by one in her eyes, the Gyeonghui Monarch threw herself into the air.

Flapping.

A fierce gale instantly swallowed her. The crimson Hwatong slipped from her hand and flew somewhere. It would probably soon collide with something and shatter.

The Gyeonghui Monarch closed her eyes and waited for the fate that would greet her. A merciful death that would end everything in an instant.

“Sajae!”

At the sound of a woman’s voice shouting, the Gyeonghui Monarch opened her eyes. And she saw Cheonghye Satae, wearing the uniform of the Ami [a Buddhist sect], throwing herself into the air without hesitation.

‘Why?’

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

Even amidst the fierce wind brushing past her ears, the Gyeonghui Monarch was confused.

Because Cheonghye Satae was falling straight towards the Gyeonghui Monarch.

Not towards the Hwatong that the Gyeonghui Monarch had released, but towards the Gyeonghui Monarch herself.

Whoosh [sound of wind].

Cheonghye Satae approached the falling Gyeonghui Monarch at an incredible speed.

Flapping.

‘Ugh.’

It was not easy to grab the Gyeonghui Monarch in the fierce gale. She almost missed her several times, but eventually, Cheonghye Satae barely managed to grab the Gyeonghui Monarch.

Thud.

Cheonghye Satae hugged the Gyeonghui Monarch as if colliding with her in the air. The two people’s bodies collided, and their posture was disheveled.

“What are you doing now…!”

Even in the midst of that, the Gyeonghui Monarch shouted in a sharp voice.

“Shut up!”

Cheonghye Satae shouted.

“Who said you could die! You must live and…”

Flapping.

‘Keuk [gasp].’

In the fierce gale, Cheonghye Satae desperately tried to maintain her balance. The lives of herself and the Gyeonghui Monarch were at stake in this one moment.

“You have to realize what you did wrong!”

At the same time as she shouted that, a quiet voice was heard in Cheonghye Satae’s ear.

“Sanghyo, Ijeol [ice sword techniques].”

Woo-oong [humming sound].

Several illusions of Ice Swords appeared below Cheonghye Satae. Unlike before, there were very few, but that was enough.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh [sound of swords].

The Ice Swords rushed towards Cheonghye Satae. Cheonghye Satae held the Gyeonghui Monarch firmly with one hand and drew her sword with the other.

“Taha!”

Swoosh, Kwaaaang [sound of explosion].

The sword that Cheonghye Satae unleashed collided head-on with the Ice Swords. And with the recoil from that impact, Cheonghye Satae was able to throw herself towards the cliff.

Tak [sound of impact].

Cheonghye Satae’s hand firmly gripped the protruding rock edge. The sword had already returned to its place.

“Haa, haa.”

Cheonghye Satae gasped for breath. The dizzying height of the cliff was revealed beneath her feet.

‘I almost…’

If it hadn’t been for Son Bin’s words, she would have had no choice but to watch her Sajae’s death.

Cheonghye Satae glanced at the Gyeonghui Monarch. She was limp and showed no movement. She seemed to have lost consciousness from the impact just now.

Flick [sound of movement].

Holding the Gyeonghui Monarch tightly, Cheonghye Satae threw herself towards the top of the rocky peak.

Cheonghye Satae quickly reached the top. But instead of welcoming her, the others were huddled together at the pavilion railing, looking down.

“Ah, there. That way, that way!”

Hwasa shouted, leaning half her body out of the railing. The others were also leaning close to the railing, looking down the cliff, similar to her.

“Ah! Be gentle. What if it breaks!”

“Then you do it.”

Dang Wora said in a low voice. Hwasa quickly backed down.

“Sorry. But please be gentle. My heart is pounding.”

Dang Wora didn’t respond, but her every gesture was extremely cautious.

Thump, thump [sound of heartbeat].

In the strong wind, the crimson Hwatong was moving back and forth. Iron needles rotating in place surrounded the Hwatong on all sides, as if embracing it.

Woo-oong.

Every time Dang Wora’s white hand moved, the Hwatong bounced back and forth in the air. The way it was colliding with the iron needles and slowly rising was as precarious as a circus act.

“Be careful. Please be careful.”

Listening to Hwasa muttering anxiously, Cheonghye Satae walked towards the pavilion.

Cheonghye Satae carefully leaned the Gyeonghui Monarch against one side of the pavilion. The Gyeonghui Monarch’s complexion, who had lost consciousness, was pale, and her hair was disheveled, but fortunately, there was nothing wrong with her.

Cheonghye Satae, who was getting up, found Sword Hee and bowed her head. If she hadn’t helped, she wouldn’t have been able to save the Gyeonghui Monarch.

However, Sword Hee only looked at Cheonghye Satae quietly before turning her head indifferently.

Cheonghye Satae smiled bitterly, and she looked up at Son Bin. Son Bin, like the others, was completely distracted by the Hwatong.

‘If he hadn’t warned me…’

Son Bin had said to Dang Wora, ‘The Gyeonghui Monarch might make an extreme choice.’

Dang Wora immediately conveyed those words to everyone via telepathy. While Son Bin was talking with the Gyeonghui Monarch, the group discussed countermeasures via telepathy.

The conclusion came quickly.

The Hwatong would be recovered using the iron needles that Dang Wora had already placed around it, and Cheonghye Satae willingly stepped forward to save the Gyeonghui Monarch.

―Wouldn’t it be better for me to grab the Hwatong and have Sword Hee’s technique or your iron needles help me? Let’s just leave her alone. Why should we save her when she says she’s going to die?

Hwasa raised an objection like that, but Dang Wora calmly replied.

―Do you think Son Gongja [young master] will like that?

At those words, Hwasa didn’t say anything. Moreover, considering the future, securing the Gyeonghui Monarch could be a very useful card.

Anyway, Cheonghye Satae was grateful just for being able to save the Gyeonghui Monarch.

―Then, everyone, get ready.

Immediately after Dang Wora said that, the Gyeonghui Monarch indeed threw herself.

However, in front of the prepared masters of the Outer History, her extreme choice was already meaningless.

“Just a little more, just a little more…”

While Hwasa was anxiously muttering while looking down, Seorin suddenly shone his eyes.

“Now!”

Whirr [sound of spinning].

Seorin shouted and swung his Buljin. Hwasa was startled, but the energy raised by the Buljin grabbed the crimson Hwatong and soared upwards.

Tak.

“I got it!”

Sasu Yeon, who had almost leaned her body out of the railing, held the Hwatong in her hand, and then immediately handed it to Dang Wora.

Dang Wora released the control of the iron needles and grabbed the Hwatong, and she examined it closely.

“How is it?”

Hwasa asks.

“It looks like you can shoot it by pulling this string.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry, hurry.”

Next to Hwasa, who was urging her, Dang Wora looked at Son Bin. When Son Bin nodded, Dang Wora pointed the Hwatong to the sky and pulled the string without hesitation.

Bang [sound of explosion].

With an explosion, flames soared into the sky. A huge amount of smoke spread around, but even through that, the bright flames were clearly visible.

Peeeeeeee― [sound of a flute].

The flames shot from the Hwatong soared into the sky with a long tail, accompanied by a flute sound, and after a while, a red smoke like a flower bloomed in the blue sky.

Fwoosh [sound of flames].

The red flower that bloomed in the blue sky seemed to flow with the wind for a while, then soon scattered and disappeared. But even until the red color completely faded, there was no other signal.

“What happened?”

Hwasa said in an anxious voice.

“Why isn’t there a response? There was before.”

“Wait.”

Dang Wora said that, but she was just as anxious. There was clearly a response quickly before.

Seorin and Sasu Yeon, who have good eyes, are focusing on that direction, and the others are looking around just in case, but there is no sign of responding to the red signal anywhere.

Son Bin also looks at the sky with a stiff expression, but there is no change.

“Hehehehe.”

The laughter of a woman was heard in the ears of the anxious group. The Gyeonghui Monarch, leaning against the pavilion railing, was laughing with her head down.

“Why are you laughing?”

Sasu Yeon says in a sharp voice. The Gyeonghui Monarch raised her head.

“Because it’s funny.”

“What is?”

The Gyeonghui Monarch smiled.

“The way you’re doing futile struggles.”

Sasu Yeon’s eyes shone sharply. She walked towards the Gyeonghui Monarch.

Sabeok, sabeok.

Clang [sound of metal].

Sasu Yeon’s sword, the blade of Myeongmi, sparkled. Sasu Yeon, who walked straight to the Gyeonghui Monarch, brought the tip of the sword to the Gyeonghui Monarch’s eyes.

Swish [sound of sword].

“Speak.”

Sasu Yeon said with a cold look.

“What does that mean, what you just said?”

The Gyeonghui Monarch, who looked at the blade sparkling in front of her eyes once, raised her head.

“It’s just as I said. You’re doing futile struggles.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch smiled.

“And threatening a woman who just tried to kill herself, aren’t you mistaken about something?”

“Death is easy, and life is difficult.”

Sasu Yeon’s cold voice fell on the Gyeonghui Monarch.

“If you don’t answer my words, you will directly experience what a terrible life is like.”

Sasu Yeon’s eyes looking down at the Gyeonghui Monarch were truly those of an absolute being. The eyes of someone who reigns over countless people, whom no one can object to.

“Okay. There’s nothing I can’t tell you.”

The Gyeonghui Monarch said, glaring at Sasu Yeon as if provoking her.

“Do you know why there’s no response? Because that Hwatong was just a spare.”

“A spare?”

“Yes. A spare in case the Hwatong to send the first signal doesn’t work properly or breaks. So…”

The Gyeonghui Monarch wore a bitter sneer. She looked at Sasu Yeon and said.

“There was no way to cancel it from the beginning.”