Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 478

478. The Forgotten [The Dead]

Rustle, rustle.

Moyong Mi approached Yunhyun with a graceful demeanor.

Perhaps it was due to the cold mountain wind, but her slender shoulders seemed somewhat forlorn.

“Ah, Young Lady Moyong.”

“You’ve worked hard, Alliance Leader.”

Yunhyun smiled.

“Not at all. Young Lady Moyong, you’ve worked hard as well.”

“Oh, no. What have I done?”

Moyong Mi shook her head.

“It’s all thanks to the efforts of the Alliance Leader and the elders. Still, I’m relieved it ended without incident.”

Her voice held genuine sincerity.

It was this very sincerity of Moyong Mi that soothed the hearts of the fastidious elders and clan leaders.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Yunhyun nodded.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have to use the gunpowder.”

“Yes. Ah, the gunpowder was transported to the government office through Master Jo.”

Moyong Mi’s last resort had been gunpowder.

Although they couldn’t operate the military’s cannons, the gunpowder Jo Gwan had prepared possessed considerable destructive power on its own.

Considering that gunpowder and cannons were military secrets, it was an unconventional measure, a true last resort.

“Are you perhaps going to begin an inspection of the government offices in Gansu?”

“Not yet.”

Yunhyun slowly shook his head.

“Starting an inspection hastily and then having it fizzle out would only give them a free pass. The threat of the Demonic Sect still remains, so we must be more cautious…”

Swish.

Yunhyun, who was speaking, abruptly turned his head.

“Alliance Leader?”

Moyong Mi followed Yunhyun’s gaze.

Yunhyun was looking at the mountainside of Mount Kongtong.

There was nothing there but green trees and rocks, but Yunhyun’s eyes were shining sharply.

***

Dokyo could immediately tell that he was Changryong Sword Lord Yunhyun.

She had already seen his description, and among the Changryong Alliance members, the only young man besides the monk Hyecheon and the Royal Secret Agent Jo Gwan was Alliance Leader Yunhyun.

Although the distance was so great that ordinary people would have difficulty distinguishing faces, it was no problem for Dokyo.

“Hmph.”

Dokyo stared at Yunhyun with indifferent eyes.

Then, she muttered to herself.

“He looks ordinary.”

To her, “ordinary” was the lowest and worst evaluation.

It meant he was dispensable.

Dokyo slightly frowned.

‘The man who is called the Alliance Leader of the Changryong Alliance and the Changryong Sword Lord looks like that…’

If she didn’t know he was the Changryong Sword Lord, she wouldn’t have given him a second glance.

But that ordinary-looking man *is* Yunhyun, the Alliance Leader of the Changryong Alliance.

The man who beheaded Munwang, the man against whom Muje showed his fighting spirit, and the man against whom even Intaesang gritted his teeth.

Above all, isn’t he the only being that Il Dae-sang is interested in?

Dokyo licked her red lips with her tongue.

‘Shall I poke him once?’

Among the eccentric figures of the Kangho [martial arts world], there are those whose personalities suddenly change.

If given the right stimulus, the Changryong Sword Lord might shed his mask of ordinariness and reveal his true self.

Like launching a surprise attack or ruining something he holds dear.

‘And there happens to be a suitable target.’

Beautiful Moyong Mi came into her view.

What would happen if something happened to her, who showed goodwill and affection towards the Changryong Sword Lord?

Would he still look so… ordinary?

Dokyo felt a dizzying thrill just imagining it.

‘Yes, that’s enough…’

Perhaps she could see the Changryong Sword Lord’s true face.

The real face of the Changryong Sword Lord hidden behind the mask of ordinariness and gentleness.

It was at that very moment that Dokyo’s eyes flashed sharply.

Swish.

Yunhyun turned his head.

‘Huh!’

Dokyo’s expression instantly hardened.

That shouldn’t have been possible.

Yunhyun’s eyes, which should not have been able to see her, were staring directly at her as if she were right in front of him.

That chilling gaze, directed at her, was momentarily and intensely etched into her mind.

Whirr.

Dokyo immediately turned and fled.

She didn’t care about looking unsightly.

Right now, nothing was more important than avoiding that gaze, that chilling look.

Rustle.

Dokyo quickly disappeared into the bushes of Mount Kongtong.

“Was there something?”

At Moyong Mi’s voice, Yunhyun turned his gaze back.

Yunhyun smiled at Moyong Mi’s concerned expression.

“It’s nothing. Rather, would you like to take a walk? There are many sights to see here at the Kongtong Sect.”

Moyong Mi’s face lit up.

The secluded Kongtong Sect’s Taoist temples held many mysterious attractions compared to other places.

But what she was most happy about was the fact that Yunhyun had suggested a walk.

“Yes, Scholar Yun.”

Moyong Mi moved forward with a bright face.

Yunhyun started walking with her, his expression gentle.

Rustle, rustle.

The two slowly strolled through the grounds of the Kongtong Sect.

Moyong Mi told him that her younger sister, Moyong Sang-ah, had grown taller, and that Iron Sword Moyong Jin was doing an excellent job as the head of the outer sect.

Yunhyun smiled and nodded.

The cold wind of Mount Kongtong brushed past their clothes, but their hearts were warm.

Whirr.

Dokyo ran without stopping.

Her clothes were torn by branches and her hair was disheveled, but she didn’t care.

As if her only purpose was to get away from Yunhyun, or rather, from that gaze.

Thud.

Only after completely leaving Mount Kongtong did Dokyo stop.

“Haa, haa.”

Gasping for breath, Dokyo looked back.

She knew in her head that he wouldn’t follow, but her anxiety demanded clear confirmation.

Rustle.

Dokyo flinched.

But it was just a tree branch swaying in the wind.

‘Why am I doing this…’

Dokyo bit her lip.

When she thought about it, there was no reason for her to flee so hastily.

Since the distance was far, it would have been enough to just hide.

But she ran away.

From Yunhyun’s gaze, from that chilling look.

At that moment, Dokyo felt something rising from within her chest.

It was anger and hatred, an animosity that felt like her chest would burst.

“Ugh.”

Dokyo unknowingly covered her mouth with her hand.

But she couldn’t stop it from rising up her throat.

“Ugh!”

It was blood.

She had vomited blood.

The black blood soaked Dokyo’s hands and stained her red silk clothes.

Dokyo looked down at her blood-filled hands.

Her eyes were trembling.

‘What is it? Could it be…’

It was said that once one surpassed the realm of a supreme master, one could kill a person with mere thought.

Could it be that Yunhyun had reached such a realm?

And that she had been caught by that technique?

‘No way.’

Dokyo gritted her teeth.

Her blood-stained hand was trembling like an aspen.

It was by no means due to fear and terror.

The animosity that she couldn’t handle herself, the incomprehensible anger and hatred, were boiling within her chest.

It was like the instinctive hostility of a beast that had met its natural enemy.

“…Who the hell are you?”

Dokyo muttered, grinding her teeth.

“Why are these feelings rising up?”

But she remembered nothing.

Or perhaps that didn’t matter.

What was important was that the animosity towards him, and the fiery hatred, were completely engulfing Dokyo.

Crack.

A rough sound escaped from Dokyo’s lips.

Blood flowed from Dokyo’s red lips, stained with vomit, but Yunhyun’s eyes, vividly floating before her eyes, did not disappear.

***

Deep in the night, someone was climbing a mountain shrouded in darkness.

The middle-aged man in a black coat seemed unconcerned about the threats of beasts, walking through the rough mountains without a light.

He didn’t get lost, nor did he run out of breath or rest.

That was because he was Hwanma (幻魔) [Illusion Demon], a Protector of the Demonic Sect.

Thud, thud.

Hwanma moved his feet without hesitation.

And after a while, Hwanma arrived at a wide clearing near the summit.

Unlike other places, there were hardly any trees, and mounds of soil with sparse grass surrounded the area.

Thud.

Hwanma stopped.

This was once the site of a huge mountain fortress (山城) [a castle built on a mountain].

Once a military stronghold and fortress where numerous soldiers were stationed, this mountain fortress was now a ruin illuminated only by the blue moonlight.

Although it had been destroyed for a long time, grass and trees could not grow properly in these ruins.

People called it a curse.

It was said that the vengeful spirits of the countless people who died here still could not leave.

However, not only was there no common memorial service, but not even a tombstone could be erected.

The people who died in this mountain fortress were those who opposed the founding emperor in the early days of the current imperial family.

The imperial family completely burned and destroyed this mountain fortress.

They killed the living and burned even the dead, scattering ashes and lime to prevent anything from growing.

As a result, it has remained a ruin avoided by people and even wild animals to this day.

“Hehehe.”

Hwanma chuckled.

Indeed, the resentment and evil energy (邪氣) [malevolent energy] lingering here were tremendous.

But that only pleased Hwanma.

Rustle.

He lowered his body.

Then, he stretched out his skinny hand and placed it on the dirt floor.

Whooooong.

Hwanma’s eyes turned pitch black.

Along with it, an eerie energy spread out in all directions like a wave.

It soon became a black mist-like shape and covered the surroundings.

Whooooosh.

The energy emanating from Hwanma grew stronger.

The black mist swallowed the entire mountain fortress like a pitch-black swamp.

The next moment, Hwanma’s lips moved quietly.

“Awaken.”

Twitch.

The sticky mist surged.

And the surrounding soil began to stir.

Crackle, crackle.

Eerie sounds echoed from here and there.

The ones tearing through the ground and rising up were corpses.

It didn’t matter if their bones were broken and turned to powder.

Their intense resentment replaced their bones, and the black mist formed their flesh.

Those who had died and been forgotten long ago [亡者] were responding to Hwanma’s call and rising again.

Crumble, crumble.

The dead continued to rise.

Before he knew it, the ruins were filled with those who had risen from the dead.

Hwanma slowly raised his body.

Whooooong.

Thousands of them stood there, emitting an eerie energy.

The fact that they were in the shape of wearing armor and holding weapons was due to the manifestation of their resentment from their past lives.

But soon they would gain flesh and blood and wield real armor and weapons.

“I am Hwanma.”

Hwanma said, looking at those who had risen from the dead.

Eerie gazes turned to Hwanma all at once.

“In the name of the Heavenly Demon, I have raised you, so from now on you will chew the flesh of the living and drink their blood.”

That voice echoed all around.

Hwanma’s eyes were also emitting a strange light.

Swish.

Hwanma reached out his hand.

“I command you, spread death to the foolish people of this land who live in complacency, forgetting you.”

Crack.

The dead opened their mouths.

There was no sound or shout.

But Hwanma could clearly feel the raging resentment.

Whooooooooo.

The mountain held its breath and even the moonlight disappeared.

Amidst the storm of the dead’s resentment and evil energy, Hwanma smiled bitterly.

“Now it begins.”