A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 42

Whish.

The wind blew. Cold snowflakes swept across the snowfield. And a man’s knees touched that cold snowfield.

Thud.

Black hair billowed greatly before falling onto his shoulders.

“That was…”

A frail voice leaked from between Okryong’s kneeling, red lips.

There was no hint of mockery or arrogance in that voice. It was a faint voice, as if it would break at any moment.

“What was it?”

Red blood trickled from his trembling lips.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Saja Hyuk replied in a calm voice.

He still stood firmly on the snowfield, but even his voice lacked its usual imposing presence.

“The Way is hidden and has no name. It is the third form of the Dismembering Moon, ‘Nameless’.”

“The Way is hidden and nameless. That’s the third form of the Dismembering Moon?”

Okryong let out a light, hollow laugh.

“I’ve never even imagined such a form. No, in the first place, is that even martial arts? It’s like…”

He couldn’t continue. How should he describe what he had seen? It was less like martial arts and more like experiencing some religious state.

“When you stand at the end of the road,” Saja Hyuk said, as if to complete Okryong’s sentence,

“The boundaries of everything become blurred.”

“Is that so?” Okryong repeated in a faint voice.

“Then you too… did you see it?”

An abyss of emptiness and meaninglessness. Okryong deliberately avoided the words.

He feared that the endless emptiness and meaninglessness would engulf him again, and he was afraid even to mention it.

But what he truly feared was that it was still lurking in the deepest depths of his being.

“Yes. I saw it too,” Saja Hyuk said in a calm voice.

Okryong’s red lips smiled thinly. Blood flowed from between his lips.

“You are like me after all. That’s why I was drawn to you from the start.”

“But,” Saja Hyuk said.

“It didn’t end with that.”

“It didn’t end?”

A poignant pain flashed across Saja Hyuk’s face.

“If she could have shown you everything she showed me, the Dismembering Moon wouldn’t have ended like this. That’s why Nameless is still an incomplete form.”

The moment Okryong saw the sorrowful look in Saja Hyuk’s eyes, he understood.

Why he hated her so much, and why he had wanted to deny Saja Hyuk’s Dismembering Moon so desperately.

“Ha.”

His quiet sigh was filled with self-mockery.

‘In the end, I was no different from them.’

He had ridiculed Hwanghak and Maengho. But his fundamental motive was no different from theirs.

Saja Hyuk had gone to a completely different world from him. He knew that better than anyone, which was why he had gnashed his teeth so much.

At her who had taken him away. And at Saja Hyuk, who had left with her.

Rustle.

Okryong raised his head.

“It’s fortunate that it’s incomplete,” Okryong said, looking at Saja Hyuk.

His eyes were gradually losing focus, and his voice was barely audible.

“Because I never want to see what that woman showed you.”

Swoosh.

Okryong’s body slowly began to tilt forward.

Thud.

The soft snow quietly cushioned his body.

Long, black hair scattered across the white snowfield. And so, Okryong fell.

Whish.

The wind blew. Okryong’s fallen hair fluttered lightly.

Saja Hyuk, who had been looking down at him with a calm gaze, slowly sheathed the Dismembering Moon.

Clang.

The Dismembering Moon quietly disappeared, and Saja Hyuk turned towards Son Bin.

Step, step.

Son Bin finally came to his senses and stood up as Saja Hyuk approached.

But the aftermath of Saja Hyuk’s Dismembering Moon was so great that his feet still felt like they were floating in the air.

Step.

Very slowly, Saja Hyuk moved his feet. And he stood before Son Bin.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m alright,” Saja Hyuk replied quietly.

But Son Bin could tell that he was not alright at all. His body was covered in wounds, and his voice had no strength at all.

“But, I would appreciate it if you could lend me your shoulder.”

Son Bin was a little surprised. This was the first time he had said such a thing.

Not only the first time, but perhaps he would never have the chance to hear such words again in his life. Because the person speaking was Saja Hyuk.

“I’m not in good shape either, but…”

Son Bin smiled.

“I can’t miss this opportunity.”

Saja Hyuk also gave a bitter smile.

“Ah, but before that, Baekro…”

Son Bin looked around and found Baekro’s scabbard, which he had put down.

He pulled out Baekro, which was still half-stuck in the snowfield, and sheathed it.

Clang.

Baekro disappeared into the scabbard without a sound.

Then suddenly, Okryong came into Son Bin’s view. Okryong’s long hair, lying sideways, fluttered occasionally in the wind.

“Is he dead?”

Perhaps it was because he couldn’t believe that someone who had exuded such tremendous energy was now lying there like that. Son Bin looked back at Saja Hyuk and asked without realizing it.

And the answer came from somewhere other than Saja Hyuk.

“No.”

It was Okryong’s voice.

“Gasp.”

Son Bin took a step back without realizing it, gasping for air.

The thought that Okryong, who had fallen, had risen again flashed through his mind. And Son Bin saw it.

Whish.

There was someone else where Okryong had fallen.

Clearly, there had been no one there just a moment ago, but now a rather tall boy was standing there with his hands behind his back.

As if looking at something interesting, the boy leaned forward and stared down at Okryong.

“Not yet.”

It was a slightly girlish voice, but it was so similar to Okryong’s voice that it was as if the fallen Okryong was speaking.

Rustle.

“So I am still just Soryong, and still just one of the Three Monarchs bound by the Geumje [a type of magical restriction or seal].”

The wind shook the boy’s clothes.

The boy, dressed like a noble son of a high-ranking official, still fixed his gaze on the fallen Okryong.

“This person… could have become like this.”

“The Three Monarchs…”

“Yes,” the boy replied to Son Bin’s small voice, which he repeated without realizing it.

“Iron Blood, Sword Dancer, and me. The three prisoners trapped in this Snow Mountain.”

The boy raised his head. The shining eyes of the beautiful boy, so beautiful that it made one exclaim in admiration, watched Son Bin and Saja Hyuk.

“You must be Saja Hyuk.”

Saja Hyuk did not answer. The boy smiled slightly.

“Iron Blood waited for you to break the Geumje. Sword Dancer was indifferent to the Geumje from the start. In fact, the Geumje is just one of this person’s games anyway.”

The boy glanced down at the fallen Okryong.

“It’s a foolish thing to do. To end up like this himself.”

The boy who was looking down at Okryong snickered. It was a light chuckle, but it was such an elegant and beautiful sight that it was as if a bright light was shining from his face.

“I am grateful to you.”

The boy raised his head. Looking straight at Saja Hyuk, he said,

“If I am to inherit Okryong, this person must die. So it might be right to let you go like this, but…”

Whooong.

The boy began to exude tremendous energy. The boy smiled.

“I’m starting to feel like it might be a good idea to bury you here? I somehow feel like I can do it now.”

Whooooong.

Feeling the boy’s increasing energy, Son Bin gritted his teeth. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way.

But he couldn’t give up like this.

Swish.

Pulling himself together from being swallowed by despair, Son Bin grabbed the hilt of Baekro. And the next moment, Okryong’s voice flowed out.

“Noisy.”

It was the real Okryong’s voice. The moment that voice was heard, the boy’s figure disappeared like a candle being extinguished, and reappeared a little further away.

Fuss.

In front of Son Bin’s eyes, the fallen Okryong was slowly getting up.

As he raised his head, the black hair that had been scattered on the floor slowly gathered and rose, giving a strangely eerie feeling.

“Hoo.”

Okryong, who had raised his upper body, could no longer stand up.

When Son Bin met Okryong’s eyes through his disheveled hair, a chill ran down his spine.

“Strange. Why is your voice coming into my ears so clearly? I was thinking it would be okay to just lie here, but the moment I heard you ask if I was dead, I suddenly got annoyed. Besides, that guy too…”

Okryong’s gaze turned to the boy.

“Too noisy.”

The boy smiled mockingly. But he couldn’t hide the tension on his face.

“Does my voice sometimes reach your ears?”

“There’s no way your words could reach my ears,” Okryong said with a pathetic expression.

“But even if it’s just buzzing in my ears, it’s annoying, even for me.”

The boy’s face contorted. Okryong said to such a boy,

“Hey, Soryong.”

Okryong said with a cold face,

“Just because people are praising you as Soryong, you seem to think you’ve really become a dragon? But as long as I’m alive, you’re not a dragon yet. So…”

Swish.

Okryong raised his white hand.

“Disappear.”

At that moment, the boy felt a tremendous force pressing down on him. The power of blood that he could never possess, that only Okryong could, was overwhelming the boy.

Stomp.

The boy took a step back.

“I understand.”

The boy bowed politely.

His skin was tingling. The invisible claws of the giant dragon’s grip seemed as if they would grab him at any moment.

“I will disappear as you command. And…”

A faint sneer appeared on the boy’s face.

“On your last journey, may you rest in peace.”

“Humph.”

At the same time as Okryong’s sneer flowed out, the boy’s figure disappeared.

Okryong, who had been watching the side where the boy had disappeared for a while, slowly turned his head. Son Bin, who met his gaze, tightened his grip on Baekro.

“Heh.”

Okryong let out a snicker.

“Why? Are you trying to protect him? It’s impossible. And… Cough.”

Okryong stopped talking, frowning. Red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

“It’s also unnecessary.”

Son Bin realized. He was no longer in a state to harm Son Bin or Saja Hyuk.

Son Bin let out a slight sigh of relief and released the hand that had been holding Baekro.

“Why did you help us?”

Son Bin asked.

“Help? I didn’t do that,” Okryong replied in a cold voice.

“But just now…”

“I just couldn’t leave a rude bastard who was trying to touch my things alone. And you better be careful? That guy isn’t going to back down easily.”

Son Bin bit his lip. It seemed that getting down this mountain wouldn’t be easy either.

Besides, Son Bin had one more thing to do. That was to save Sasu Yeon.

“Thank you.”

Son Bin respectfully put his hands together and bowed. But Okryong once again let out a snicker.

“Gratitude to me, you’re out of your mind.”

Okryong, shaking his head as if he was dumbfounded, looked straight at Son Bin and said,

“There are only two times when you express gratitude to an enemy. After killing them, you say, ‘Thank you,’ or you say, ‘Thank you’ while killing them. Like that guy just now.”

Okryong’s eyes flashed provocatively for a moment as he looked at Son Bin.

“How about it? Don’t you want to take my head with that sword? If it’s now, you can do it too?”

Son Bin frowned. Before Okryong could finish speaking, Son Bin replied,

“No, thank you.”

“Is that so? That’s too bad.”

Okryong’s eyes were still provocative.

“If you say you beheaded Okryong of Unnam, there are quite a few people who wouldn’t spare you even ten million gold [a large sum of money]. Whether it’s power or beauty, there are those who will give you whatever you want.”

Son Bin’s eyebrows were still furrowed.

“The sages also said that unearned wealth is rather a disaster. Besides, after that, people will line up to apply for a martial arts contest with me.”

“Heh heh.”

Okryong laughed.

“That’s right. Everyone in Murim Oesa [a term for the martial arts world] will be looking for you. Isn’t that a good thing? At least you won’t be bored for a while.”

Son Bin gave a bitter smile. Then suddenly, he noticed that Okryong’s gaze was passing him by.

Son Bin turned around. Saja Hyuk was silently meeting Okryong’s gaze with a calm expression.

“Go,” Okryong was the one who opened his mouth.

“With the little time left, it would be good to go and reminisce about that woman and say goodbye. Anyway, even if we die…”

Okryong smiled quietly.

“We won’t be able to go where that woman is.”

Saja Hyuk did not answer. Okryong did not seem to expect an answer either, and raised his head to look at the sky.

“Haa.”

His white breath rose into the blue sky.

“Why can’t people be alone? Even in moments like this, only solitude is so…”

His voice slowly faded.

“Clear…”

No one said anything. No one could answer. After a while, Saja Hyuk said to Son Bin,

“Let’s go.”

It was the very moment Son Bin was about to nod.

Thump!

A heavy explosion echoed through the snowfield. Before Son Bin could even be surprised, another explosion followed in succession.

Thump, thump, ku-thump.

At that moment, what flashed through Son Bin’s mind was the figure of the boy who had disappeared a little while ago.

The voice of the one who called himself Soryong, who was smiling faintly, was vivid in his ears.

‘On your last journey, may you rest in peace.’

Kuku-thump.

The explosions continued to be heard. And finally, an even more eerie sound began to echo from deep beneath his feet.

“T, this is…”

Son Bin’s face turned white in an instant. And at that moment, the snowfield began to split apart.

Crackle.

With a sound that was not of this world, the snowfield was literally breaking into pieces. The snowfield, which had barely been holding on, was finally beginning its final collapse.

Kurururung.

The ground beneath his feet opened up, and a bottomless abyss of unknown depth opened its mouth.