Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 79

‘Damn it!’

San-gun, having escaped from Guieom Najal, cursed. He had the Blood Collapse Water he so desired, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

‘Where is Cho-ah?’

He might have left if he hadn’t known her whereabouts, but now that he did, abandoning her was impossible.

His body was a wreck.

His abdomen was pierced, causing him to vomit blood, and internal injuries severely limited his movements.

KWAANG!!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion made San-gun crouch. A colossal snake, locked in aerial combat, plummeted to the ground.

The situation was dire.

San-gun retrieved Youngcho [a medicinal herb] from Gongjeonggang and chewed on it. But this only provided a temporary energy boost and did nothing to heal his wounds.

With injuries like these, he needed at least half a month of dedicated treatment.

But time was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

He had to find Cho-ah.

“Hoo….”

San-gun took a deep breath.

A whirlwind of thoughts raged in his mind.

He knew, with absolute certainty, that his only chance of survival was to flee. He knew it as a cold, hard fact.

In the sky above, the battle between the Taoists and the Six Soldiers raged on.

Explosions, like claps of thunder, echoed relentlessly.

Wandering around in this war zone with such grievous injuries was practically begging to be killed by a stray treasure or a random attack.

Besides, everyone around him was an enemy.

He had no allies.

To live, he had to run.

‘There’s no way I can do that.’

She must have been captured by Guieom Najal because of him.

How could he possibly abandon Cho-ah in such a state?

San-gun scanned his surroundings.

He had used the Cheollimayangbu [a teleportation technique] to travel a considerable distance.

The sky was dark, as if shrouded in night.

The ritual was still underway.

Soon, the Collapse Demons from the Collapse Realm would manifest.

‘I have to find Cho-ah before that happens.’

After the teleportation, he only had 20% of his spiritual power remaining.

He let out a hollow laugh.

Stepping into the heart of the battlefield in his condition was absurd, bordering on suicidal.

But what choice did he have?

Thud, thud.

San-gun, having stopped the bleeding with pressure points, summoned Tamhwa Ogong [a summoned creature].

The creature, who had been waiting underground, poked its head out.

“Find her.”

Ogong vanished in an instant, and three small hawks approached him.

Three hawks fluttering their glossy feathers.

They were the Three-Foot Goblin Magpies in disguise.

San-gun repeated his order and sat down heavily.

‘I’m going to die, really.’

Reckless actions only lead to death.

It was the right decision to use them.

If he utilized the eyes and ears of the Jiangshi [Chinese hopping vampire] and Bokchung [corpse soldiers], finding her would be much easier.

San-gun then took out the remaining elixirs. He intended to consume the Rising Elixir to heal himself, just as he had done before.

San-gun retrieved Goryun, set up a phantom formation for protection, and then ingested the elixir.

A moment later.

His eyes, which had been quietly closed, snapped open.

“I found her.”

* * *

Koo-roo-roong.

A space where visibility was reduced to nothing.

In the underground chamber, a pure white woman couldn’t even sob; she could only shed silent tears.

Strange demonic energies surged within the considerably shaking chamber. Those energies, previously only felt, now took shape, turning black and swirling everywhere.

Perhaps the ritual was nearing its completion.

Within that oppressive atmosphere.

The woman, Baekryeon, lowered her head.

Anger surged within her, but it quickly morphed into sorrow, and those passionate emotions transformed into concern for one man.

If she had ignored that woman…

If she hadn’t opened up to her…

If she hadn’t come to the palace with Bicheong… Only futile regrets surfaced and then faded away.

More than anything else.

She was consumed by worry for the man’s life or death.

Barely.

She had barely reunited with him.

But that reunion was fleeting.

She had witnessed San-gun being harmed right before her eyes. She felt this was her punishment.

It felt like her heart was collapsing.

She knew the depth of his love.

That’s why she couldn’t comprehend it.

She doubted her own eyes.

When his blood flowed down.

It felt as if she were bleeding as well.

She felt shattered and discarded like a broken sword.

It felt like all of this was her fault.

No, it *was* her fault.

If Yehu hadn’t known her, how could she have deceived him with her appearance?

If that hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t have been so helpless.

‘What’s different from before?’

Nothing was different from then.

When she thought he was dead.

And now.

What’s different?

Then or now, she was powerless.

She couldn’t do anything.

She hated that, even though she had become a Taoist.

Nothing had changed.

Tears didn’t dry.

They flowed endlessly.

There was no time for them to dry.

They flowed and flowed, mirroring her intense emotions.

But the emotions didn’t settle on top of them and solidify.

Even if she shed them.

They didn’t alleviate anything.

It was painful.

But she was accustomed to pain.

Ironically, her life was a series of painful experiences.

She had tasted the happiness that had settled like a petal amidst the pain, and when she tried to embrace it, it withered away in vain.

After that, she found hope.

And when she realized that happiness was still alive within hope, she was overjoyed.

She was happy.

‘But it’s like this again.’

A situation where she couldn’t even cry out loud.

She didn’t even desire anything grand.

She didn’t want such things.

She just…

She just wanted to meet him.

Like before.

Like those warm, cherished days.

Koo-goo-goong!

A pile of dirt cascaded down.

The chamber, groaning as if it could no longer withstand the pressure, began to collapse.

Even if she could use her divine powers, she doubted she could survive. But since she was under a restriction, death was certain.

‘Even before… in a place like this.’

She had been captured before.

What happened then?

Her eyes widened as she pondered for a moment. Her eyes, stained with blood, momentarily reflected a sense of peace.

‘My husband came.’

It was the same then as it is now.

When she thought she was going to die.

He suddenly appeared.

‘If it’s the same as then….’

Thinking that, she closed her eyes.

It was impossible.

Hadn’t she witnessed his condition?

It was futile.

It was then.

Something shot up from the ground.

‘What….’

She wondered what it was, but it turned out to be a golden centipede.

She felt more empty than scared.

She had hoped, just in case.

So she was going to die by a spirit insect.

Even a disgusting centipede.

At that moment.

The air rippled.

She sensed the change, but she didn’t open her eyes.

She didn’t know what it was, but it couldn’t be what she longed for. How could he come when he was likely teetering between life and death?

Cough.

A single cough.

It was not a pleasant sound.

Could it be…

Could it be…

Could it be…

How could she not recognize it?

Amidst the stench and the smell of blood, the refreshing scent of pine trees subtly permeated the air.

The approaching presence was particularly slow, as if burdened by injuries.

Unlike the slow footsteps, her heart pounded as if it would burst.

“Did it hurt?”

A comforting warmth enveloped her cheek.

It was the man’s hand.

The voice she had yearned to hear.

And the warm touch.

When she opened her eyes to it.

The scene before her flashed brightly.

In the collapsing space, beautiful streams of light circled around her.

The restrictions that had bound her were being released.

The restrictions dissolved into light and scattered.

Swoosh.

Her body tilted.

A warmth embraced her.

Tears welled up at the comforting embrace.

How could she not know?

It was what she had desperately wanted.

She buried her face in his chest and slowly raised her head.

In the streams of light spreading around.

He greeted her with a faint smile.

Words failed her.

She opened her mouth, but her jaw trembled.

Tears blurred her vision.

Even when she raised her hand to wipe away the tears, they welled up again, obstructing her sight.

“Hu… Husband. Husband, sob, Husband….”

He quietly patted her back as she sobbed.

Soon, his mouth opened.

“Even though you’ve grown up so much, you still cry.”

“Husband. Husband… Husband!!”

“I told you, I’m not your husband.”

It was a teasing remark.

But she smiled brightly at the obvious words.

The San-gun in her memories had always been like that.

* * *

When San-gun used Cheollimayangbu again.

What he saw was a white-haired woman covered in wounds.

It was Baekryeon, but no longer Baekryeon.

A woman with no intact parts.

He was shocked to see how emaciated she was, wondering if she was near death.

Cough.

Blood rose up due to the backlash of the teleportation.

He had performed emergency treatment with elixirs, but the wounds had not yet healed.

Haa.

San-gun, who took a deep breath, moved.

One step.

One step.

He stepped slowly, but the woman’s eyes remained closed. Only her eyelashes were faintly trembling.

Tear stains mingled with blood.

Blood trickled down her swollen lips.

Tangled hair.

It was so heartbreaking that he raised his hand.

It was different from before.

A human hand, not a tiger’s claw.

San-gun, after a moment of hesitation, reached out.

He stroked her wounded cheek.

‘It’s cold.’

Was it because she had lost a lot of blood?

Or was it because of the divine powers she had learned?

Her cheeks were cold.

He felt sorry for her.

And his heart grew heavier.

‘I wanted peace.’

This damn world.

Fate.

He had no intention of abandoning the little child.

At least, that’s how it seemed to him.

San-gun clicked his tongue inwardly and took out the Haebongseok [a magical artifact] to undo the restrictions.

The surroundings brightened momentarily due to the artifact’s effect.

Soon, the woman opened her eyes.

No, Cho-ah rushed into his arms.

More than 10 years had passed, but Cho-ah still cried easily.

She sobbed and repeated the same words.

Even though her appearance had changed, her inner self didn’t seem to have changed much.

“I told you, I’m not your husband.”

When he said that so bluntly.

She smiled like the light of dawn clearing the night sky, despite her wounded appearance.

Truly.

She was truly innocent.

Even after enduring such harsh treatment.

He didn’t understand what she found so good.

He didn’t understand what she found so happy.

He thought he couldn’t understand, but San-gun unknowingly curved his lips into a smile.

Many things had changed.

He was afraid that if he touched her, she would break.

He had been unable to touch the tiger for fear of being hurt by its sharp claws, but he could now touch the child who had become a woman.

But there were also things that hadn’t changed.

The title she used to address him.

That’s why he smiled without hesitation.

At that moment.

Cho-ah hugged his neck.

She then stood on tiptoe.

It was sudden.

It was a complete surprise.

Slightly.

Her lips pressed against his.

San-gun froze, unable to move.

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind, but when the overlapping lips parted.

He had to catch Cho-ah, who was losing consciousness and collapsing.

‘Her energy has weakened considerably.’

After placing an elixir in Cho-ah’s mouth.

San-gun looked around.

Koo-goo-goong!

This place was now collapsing.

It was amazing that it was still holding together.

San-gun took a deep breath and activated Cheollimayangbu. His expression tightened, but he entrusted himself to the teleportation.

Just before teleporting.

He wiped his lips with his hand.

Blood came out.

The blood of the White Blood Demon.

A sweet scent spread subtly.

San-gun unknowingly licked it.

Her blood was a panacea in itself.

Something coveted by all sorts of ghosts and spirits.

But more than that.

‘The taste of blood.’

He was more concerned that his first kiss tasted like blood.