Book 13 Chapter 1

The unfinished story

- Story Continued

Jonghyun's story isn't over yet.

Once the plan to exterminate the Heavenly Demon Spirit itself, the Heavenly Demon Blood God Wei Tianmu, from Kang Ho was unanimously approved by the Joint Alliance Martial Forest Council, Kang Ho began to get busy.

Once the plan was approved, there was no room for failure. At this time, the Heavenly Swordsman Gal Zhonghyeok and the Tai Ping God Army's Hyuk Yue Lin had not yet made their appearance.

A large force was concentrated to the point of overcrowding in one place, and the work of digging traps to stop him was soon undertaken. It had already been discovered at great cost and suffering that none of the current mechanisms in place could stop him. It had to be a man-made, man-driven trap. Even the deadly Hundred Eighty-Linked Demon Exorcism, which contained the entire life force of the Heavenly Qi Master Thief (the father of the Heavenly Qi Master Thief), who was said to be the greatest master of tracheal exorcism at the time, had been sneeringly destroyed without a single fatal wound, as if he had only paid for it by playing with it. Despairing at the limits of his own skill and prowess, after that incident, he never again held the hammer and chisel, which were like extensions of his four limbs, in his trembling hands. And it meant that there was no longer any mechanized technology that could have stopped him, or at least hoped to.

Sacrifice was somehow inevitable, and everyone was prepared for it. It was neither shameless nor unrealistic to hope for a miraculous turnaround without any sacrifices. Everyone was well aware that even if they made countless sacrifices in exchange for their bony hearts, the chances of success were slim. Thus, the three gateways were finally completed. The people put their wishes and hopes into these three gates and called them the Three Gates of Destruction.

A single scroll, written by dozens of scribes racking their brains, had been sent to the Heavenly Demon's headquarters. It was a challenge and a gambling hall.

I dare not measure how many people's hard work was dissolved and absorbed in this one letter. It was probably the first time since the dawn of Wulin's history that the black and white and the righteous were united in such unity, regardless of affiliation, ideology, and thought.

And then…, the fateful day dawned, with anxiety ruling the people.

The place that fate chose was Nakan Peak, the southernmost of the five peaks of a volcano called Xiak in the Zhongyuan Mountains.

From early in the day, the hundreds of elders of the Order gathered in the volcanic sect waited with burning thirst and impatience for "him." And…….

As promised, "he" is here.

All of the members of the Order who received the report had to blush with shame and humiliation. Either he didn't care about them, or he thought they were nothing more than grime on his claws, for he appeared alone, without a single attendant.

"Nobu was the one who was in charge of the first gateway back then."

These words, mixed with the self-help of an unexpected end, lifted the delegates from the past to the shores of reality in an instant. But no one spoke up. No one here had ever heard the entire story that was now flowing from Zongqing's lips. Not even Ice Sword and Salt.

With shaky eyes, Zongqing continued his story. The old man remembered it as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

"I volunteered, actually. Honestly, I wasn't confident in my ability to use force, but I believed I was second to none in terms of foot speed. Overconfidence…whoops……."

A sigh, thick with the shadow of regret, escaped the old man's wrinkled lips. Zhongqing continued his story.

"It wasn't a mission with much of a chance of survival, but I was still young enough to not know a naira from a naira, so it was a matter of honor. Of course, 'he' was frightening enough with his name, but as I said before, I prided myself on my two fast legs. These two legs alone would never be able to keep up with him. 'No matter how good his martial arts are, I'm the best in the world,' I said. It was an absurd thought, but that's what I was thinking at the time."

"So, to make a long story short, you had the confidence to run away without getting caught!"

Suddenly, the eyes in the room turned to one place: the author of the scathing summary, Bi Ryuyeon.

Here and there, there were shouts of rebuke from people who didn't know his true identity, but Bi Ryuyeon was more than a little proud of himself.

That wasn't all.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong? Or am I supposed to do what everyone else does, which is to look for the right thing to say and go with it?"

He was rather unable to understand the behavior of others, and while Zhu Zhaodan and his friends, who were immune to him, could get away with it, the rest of them could not.

While everyone was fidgeting and panicking about the thoughtless rudeness of Bi Ryuyeon, a cool voice broke through to defuse the situation. It was Jonghyun who laughed heartily and coolly.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, my young friend, that's a cool thing to say. You're right, you're right, you're right, you're right, you don't have to huff and puff like a coward to say the right thing. Cancer, no!"

While everyone else was dumbfounded by Zhongqing's blush, only Bi Ryuyeon shrugged. "See! There's no problem, so what's all the fuss?" She seemed to say.

After laughing for a while, Jonghyun continued his story with a slightly brighter voice, as if some of the turbidity that had been deposited at the bottom of his chest had been released through laughter.

"But he was very good at running away back then. No one else on the river was fast enough to keep up with his shadow, so they gave him a star sign that meant he flew through the sky and played with the clouds, and it was his pride and honor. But it didn't take long for him to realize that it was a false title!"

By now, his eyes had hardened to a grim look, the remnants of his laughter gone without a trace. The grim veil, briefly lifted by a pleasant breeze, once again cast a shadow over the old man's face.

A hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and yet the horror etched into his retinas remained unblemished by the sands of time and oblivion.

The old man could never forget the wind that day, or the sky that was red as blood.

A hundred years ago!

He looked very comfortable.

The God of Heavenly Fear, Wei Tianmu, strolling leisurely on the wide plains in front of the volcanic Nakan Peak, and the one hundred and eighty leaders of the official coalition, showing the same tension as if they were engaged in a war for national honor.

It was a stark contrast.

To maintain secrecy, no one brought an entourage. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

It was one person versus one hundred and eighty people, separated by a hundred sheets of paper, but it wasn't one person who was afraid and anxious, it was a group of one hundred and eighty people.

No one had the courage to look him in the eye, for example, and it was rather cute to pretend to make eye contact with 'him' and then stare at his nose or mouth. Some of them were outright staring at the dry ground where nothing existed, or at the rocks lying in the dust, or at the nameless tree behind them.

Ambassador Hui Yuan, the elected representative of the one hundred and eighty, stepped forward with a large box that looked very strong and solid. He opened the box in front of him without any hesitation. The box was made entirely of wrought iron, which seemed strong enough to withstand any impact. There were eighteen locks on the box. All of them looked as large and strong as if they had been made of barbed wire, showing how strictly the chest had been kept under guard. And out of the chest walked an elderly man of the Volcanic and Shamanic sects, escorted by a man who could not be guaranteed to be of any use in case of emergency.

A carefully sealed tin box was opened and 'he''s gaze fell upon its contents. He nodded as the contents were inspected for authenticity.

"I'll be right back!"

A short but decisive declaration! A tone that seemed to confirm a future that had already been decided. It's a low, eerie voice that sounds like it could have come from a married woman.

"Ah-mee-ta-bull, I won't let that happen!"

Ambassador Hye-won, barely able to muster up the courage to recite the incantation as if to banish the dark shadows that clung and wriggled like leeches. It took a lot of energy to say those few words. The opponent's intimidation was overwhelming.

Fortunately, he didn't show any sudden malice and rob the chest in question, but long after the shaman and the volcano's two elders had returned to their companions' side, they couldn't remove their hands from the hilts of their swords and scabbards. The goosebumps that had sprouted like wild spring grass on their backs and forearms still showed no sign of abating.

Upon its return, the iron box was again fitted with eighteen locks, the keys to which were again divided among eighteen people. Three of the locks, in particular, were directly connected to the box (a.k.a. the barrel), and the iron box was equipped with a secret special detonator that, if opened without a key, would explode, burning and melting the contents.

The black box containing the fate of the mighty Wulin was again sealed tightly and escorted to the summit of Nak'an Peak, escorted by dozens of political leaders. Perhaps there has never been a more grandiose, colorful, and high-value lure in the history of the Wulin.

…and the promised noon.

After standing still like an abandoned statue in stagnant time, "he" finally began to move.

"And finally, as a young man serving as the first of the Heavenly Frightening Triad, I came face to face with him. Until then, I had only heard rumors of him, but never faced him directly. Do you think that Old Man's actions at that time were courageous?"

The sudden question took Namgungsang by surprise.

"You mean me, me?"

People get flustered when they don't know what to say.

Zhongqing nodded.

"You are quite skilled with a sword, but you are indecisive at times, infinitely weak with women, coy even when you have a confession to make, unable to stand up to your superiors, and prefer to blindly follow the decisions of others rather than make your own."

Pow!

Every word was like a blow to the heart of the Namgung Sang.

"Oooh! Sharp!

Sporadic exclamations of admiration came from all around them. There was not a single place in that long list of points where a correction could be made, and so no one was there to make a counterargument. Despairing at the fleeting nature of his friendship, Namgungsang blushed. Then he said.

"Yes…yes, of course. I think it was a very brave and bold decision to think about Kang Ho's future."

Holding his heart in his throat, Namgungsang barely answered, and then Zongqing slowly shook his head, propping himself up on his two crutches, and said firmly, without any hesitation.

"No! That was a very reckless detour."

"'Is this the first one?

When he asked, I said in a voice that trembled like an aspen tree.

'That's right, this is the place, the first gateway.'

It took all the latent courage that lurked in every nook and cranny of my chest, along with all the aura produced by my young blood, before I could barely answer his question. I was too ashamed to say, "I am the gatekeeper of this first gateway."

The moment she saw him in person, she began to regret her decision. He had thought his rumors were exaggerated until he met him face-to-face, but they tended to shrink when he saw them in person. Even though he hadn't done anything threatening, he felt death lurking around him, his heart pounding and his breath catching in his throat.

A cool breeze brushed the back of his neck.

"For the first time in my life, I was able to experience the true horror of death. I will never forget the horror of that day, even as I grow old and demented and senile.

He said in a relaxed voice.

"What will you entertain me with?

He was nonchalant, as if out for a walk. But his voice had the power to awaken primal fears within people, and all who heard it trembled with anxiety and fear. Some bowed their heads in oaths of obedience to his authority, hoping to rid themselves of that anxiety and fear.

"The Council of State has asked you to prove that you have what it takes to bring the entire realm to heel. This gateway is a testament to your divine law.

For a moment, a sneer crossed his lips, then it was gone. It was a fleeting moment, but Nobu remembers it vividly.

"That's a long introduction. What's the point?

He was so furious that nothing in the world seemed to threaten him, and Nobu was forced to admit that he was a god of such magnitude that even the heavens were not afraid of him. Still, I did my part.

"Grab me and jump over that cliff before all the sand in this hourglass runs out.

What Nobu pulled out was a tiny hourglass, the size of his thumb. He did his math, and as you might have guessed, that cliff is the one you see before you!"

The delegates' gazes followed Zongqian's fingertips to the cliffside canyon, its black gaping maw like the entrance to hell. The cold wind mingled with the sound of water rushing down from the dark depths, sounding like a hideous wail from the gates of hell.

It was then.

"That's boring! "

Another off-color remark came out of Bi Ryuyeon's mouth. She wasn't trying to make fun of Jonghyun, but she seemed to really think so. Everyone was stunned. We were at a loss as to how to handle this rude situation.

In fact, since the fight in the Lightning Song, Bi Ryuyeon's position among them had subtly changed. As much as they tried to deny it, it was clear that what they had seen (though they hadn't really seen it), heard (though they hadn't really heard it), and felt (though they couldn't be sure) had been real, not a dream. This made it very uncomfortable for them to treat her lightly (though not without some trepidation).

Zongqing, who had expected to be fiery and furious this time, stared at the ground, trembling like a man struck by lightning.

His hands gripped the crutches in a crushing grip. A faint voice, like a squeeze, barely escaped the old man's lips. At first, it was so muffled that it was hard to make out unless you listened closely.

"Yes…, it was lame. It was a lame plan indeed. But no one expected it to be so ignored……. He said so himself!"

The sneer of a hundred years ago still rang in his ears like a bell.

"'Boring! I'll wait for the sand in that hourglass to fall in half. Try your tricks. You'd better run as fast as you can run!'

He didn't care about me. I was nothing more than a plaything. I was mad as hell, but I didn't have the power or the right to argue with him.

As the fateful sands began to fall, I drew on all my nursing strength and began to run. It was still a long way to the cliff, and he hadn't moved as promised. Of course, the hourglass was small, so he had even less time to wait.

But I had something to believe in, and I leapt with all my might to jump over the ravine. Of course, I had no intention of killing myself. I was confident that I could get over that ravine because I had a special trick up my sleeve. Only I could do it.

The sand in my hourglass was halfway down when I leapt off the edge of the canyon. I used a trick of the trade and made it to the other side without falling, and then I looked back. My eyeballs popped out of my head, and I realized that he was on the other side of the canyon.

And he leaped across a canyon that seemed to stretch to the end of the world, with the gates of hell gaping open at his feet in a 'welcome to Opshow' gesture."

In just one leap!

"That's not possible, how could a flesh and blood human do that!"

The words 'absolutely impossible' were barely out of their mouths, but apparently the story of Zongqing's past that the delegation from the Heavenly Martial Academy had heard was not of a nature that could be easily believed. It was an alien story that was beyond the horizon of their common sense.

A self-deprecating smile tugged at his lips.

"Do you still think of him as a human being like you?"

Zongqing shook his head in a way that meant he was denying everything.

"No, no. He's not human, and if you've been thinking of him in the same human category, you're about to find out how wrong you've been, and how wrong you've been tremendously wrong!"

His words were filled with conviction.

"If he was just one extraordinary human being, we wouldn't have gone to the trouble of hiding that story for a hundred years!"

The old man paused for a moment, then spoke in a firm voice to all who were listening.

"It's not like we were on the other side of the room clapping, cheering, and cheering for his leap. Of course, time constraints prevented us from casting a curse of failure. You see, a proper curse takes a lot of time. Instead, we unleashed a barrage of arrows from the steel bows we already had at the ready, dozens of steel arrows slicing through the wind toward him.

Once you're off the ground, you're very limited in what you can do. That's the loophole we were looking for.

But none of that mattered to him, for with an improbable, humanly impossible maneuver, he deftly dodged the iron bars and struck them down with his hands, landing safely and gracefully at the foot of the opposite cliff. And he said.

"This is so boring!

His voice was full of boredom. I stopped making eye contact with him."

Zhongqing paused and looked around the room.

"What do you think Nobu would have done then?"

The delegates from the Heavenly Martial Academy were all silent, and no one spoke up. Then Zhong Xuan spoke up with a sneer. He sounded like he was mocking himself.

"I should have let my feet sweat like a horse with its ass on fire and run away. It would have been the most normal, the most sensible thing to do! But I didn't. Or, more accurately, I couldn't, for I simply stood there, wide-eyed, like a statue, like a doll, until he slowly approached and grabbed me by the shoulders. I didn't dare to run away. To my shame, I was already frozen in place."

Zhong Qian's voice was deeply emotional, as if he were reliving that day a hundred years ago, and his eyes seemed to be more stuck in the past than the present.

"He put his hand on my shoulder and the last grain of sand fell and I fell to the ground. I knew it because the signal was supposed to go up when the last grain of sand fell. It was a shameful display, but I had neither the strength nor the courage to stand any longer. But my instincts had not yet been extinguished. It was the instinct of survival. Subconsciously, I knew I had to get away from him."

Zhong Xuan said with a stern expression.

"I stumbled backward, dragging my ass on the ground with my hands as feet. It was a disgusting sight, but I was not in a position to entertain such luxuries. Think of it, a man who had been shouting loudly that he could not be beaten by any of the strongest if he had the swiftness of his legs, dragging himself backward, like a dog in a fight, with his hands as his feet, like a worm in fear, for fear of his life! What a sight it must have been, and what a spectacle it must have been to the population!"

He was still not completely free of the horrors of that day. Fragments of memories more than a century old had become invisible shackles, binding his mind and body.

Perhaps the old man was hoping for someone to point a finger at him and have a good laugh, but in the last hundred years, no one has dared to laugh at his indecency.

"What do you think Nobu was thinking when he approached?"

Silence again……. Who would have guessed it, what they were hearing now was a myth, or a legend, or a tale from their point of view.

"Nothing came to mind. I simply watched his approach like a spectator at a light show. I didn't resist, or even think to run. Not only my legs, but also my hands, which were cut and bleeding. The terror of his presence was immense. When he finally stood in front of me, he looked down at me and said in a very bored and tired voice, 'Is this it, a useless leg!"

For a moment, a pain that transcended a hundred years of time swept across Zhongqing's aged face like the wind. Perhaps this was the most painful part of his recollection.

"No sooner had the judgment been pronounced than the punishment was carried out, when a black flash flashed before my watch. Then a searing pain, like that of a fire, and a pain so terrible that it shattered my soul, struck my whole body like a thunderbolt, and…, and…, and…, I opened my eyes, and helplessly offered my legs to him."

Boom!

The sound of the dry spit echoed louder than thunder. The delegates from the Heavenly Martial Academy were all listening to Zhong Qian's tale with fists balled into fists, their faces all serious. The gentle but sincere terror in the old man's voice brought the story to life, dragging them back to this place a hundred years ago.

Zongqing spoke again.

"To Nobu, who had lost both his legs and was lying in a pool of blood, screaming and writhing, he cast an indifferent glance, and said: 'I take this leg as the price of your pride! You will never again boast of your swiftness before men.'……."

Zongqing's voice trembled even more violently, as if the icepick of fear still embedded in his heart had not yet melted. That made the despair, terror, and fear he felt back then even more vivid.

"Nobu had never heard a voice so cold, so terrible, so terrifying. And on that day, the dwarf died. All that was left of him was a shell of himself, for how could a legless dragon be a dragon, and how dare he be called the Greatest of the Greatest, even if he had two legs, for he was a defeated man who could never again claim to be the Greatest of the Greatest. And so my fate came to an end with the last grain of sand in the little hourglass, and so ends the old man's fond tale."

In a bitter voice, Zhongqing concluded his tale of regret and pain. Even this simple task of looking back seemed to be very difficult and painful for him.

"……."

Silence swallowed all words.

When the story ended, the delegates, still caught up in the story and unable to escape, were deep in thought and no one spoke.

"Whoa……."

A deep sigh erupted from Zongqian's lungs.

"I have yet to awaken from that terrible nightmare. Perhaps until his death is confirmed, I will not be able to escape my imprisonment in this nightmare tower of black stone monoliths of despair."

How many long years of lamentation had he spent with Ingo?

No one but you will ever be able to answer that question.