Book 20 Chapter 5

The Statement of the Dead

—I don't remember.

"Sigh~"

Namgung Sang walked along the night alley, letting out a forlorn sigh. He hoped he looked as flawed and as easy a target as possible. How many openings were in his back right now? Was it a back that just screamed to be stabbed with a sword?

'If so, that would be fortunate… Is it fortunate?'

The more he walked, the more he thought, the more he sighed.

"What is this mess… Ahh…!"

What cruel twist of fate was this? Why did he have to take on such a dangerous task in the dead of night?

'And what's with these gaudy pink clothes! And plum blossoms… How unsightly!'

No matter how much time passed, he never got used to it.

'Aren't the people of the Huashan sect ashamed? How could they have thought of wearing such ridiculous clothes!'

Some might have called these clothes splendid and magnificent like winter plum blossoms, but he always doubted the aesthetic sense of those who made such comments.

'I'd rather be expelled than wear clothes like these!'

The fact that he was now wearing those shameful clothes made him even more dejected.

"Ah, go borrow Junho's clothes!"

"Why?"

"That way you'll be attacked more easily."

"R-really?"

"Yes, if they know you're from one of the Eight Great Families, they might not attack you. Wouldn't that be a problem?"

"Is it a problem if I'm not attacked?"

"Of course, you idiot!"

"I-I see."

"Hmm, are you admitting you're an idiot now? A bit later than I thought."

"That's not it, I meant I understood what you were saying. But…."

"What, you don't like it?"

"I'm not saying I won't do it. It's just… wearing something like that…."

"Is it unsightly?"

"Yes…"

"There's nothing else for it. Do you have to be so picky when setting a trap? Why? Should I pack you some late-night snacks too? To eat when you're hungry."

"Ah, no. I'll do it. I can do it. I'll just die, I'll just die…."

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

Yoo Eun-seong's voice jolted Namgung Sang out of his reverie.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Where was I?"

Namgung Sang asked, snapping back to attention.

"Tsk, why are you asking me that?"

Even so, he kindly told him where he had stopped.

"You were up to wearing the Huashan sect disciple's unsightly clothes and walking down a dark alley, weren't you?"

"Ah, you understand?"

Namgung Sang asked, his eyes shining brightly. Yoo Eun-seong crossed his arms and nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, of course! I've never liked those girlish clothes of the Huashan sect guys. A man should be strong, but what are these flowery, light pink robes! Aren't they a ridiculous sight?"

"Exactly! Exactly! You understand!"

*Zing*

Namgung Sang, elated to have met someone with the same aesthetic sense, nearly shed tears of emotion. In fact, despite being from the same Nine Great Sects, the Jeonchang and Huashan sects were not on particularly good terms. To be precise, the overly close proximity was the cause of the problem. Huashan always thought of themselves as the foremost of the Five Peaks and always looked down on Jeonchang and Qingcheng, which were not part of the Five Peaks. Of course, he acknowledged their centuries-long foundation, but as Yoo Eun-seong of the Jeonchang sect, he couldn't stand Huashan's stale arrogance. Huashan had always been a mountain to be climbed and a sun to be shot down for him and his sect.

"S-so?"

A cold statement, broken like icicles, shattered the spiritual connection that had transcended generations between Namgung Sang and Yoo Eun-seong. Yoo Eun-seong flinched at Jin So-ryeong's chillingly cold voice and quickly urged Namgung Sang on.

"Come on, let's talk about that later. We haven't even finished the introduction yet, have we?"

"Y-yes."

It was like eagerly agreeing with someone and then suddenly pushing their hand away. Namgung Sang had to suppress the urge to exclaim, 'Do you clap with one hand?'

Namgung Sang hurried to move the story from the introduction to the development stage so as not to bore the listeners.

"After the repeated attacks, strict guidelines were issued that patrols must always be done by at least two people, but I went out of the academy alone. That's so I would be attacked more easily. And then that friend appeared."

Namgung Sang said, raising his left arm, which was tied with a tough leather strap. Jin So-ryeong, Yoo Eun-seong, and Jang Woo-yang's gazes naturally turned to Gongson Jeol-hwi. An unspoken pressure not to interrupt the story weighed down on Gongson Jeol-hwi's heart and shoulders. He finally surrendered.

"I wanted to test myself. And I thought that night, I could defeat the Golden Armband in just one second."

"One second?"

Namgung Sang retorted incredulously at his story of seeing him as a one-hit kill. This was something he had never heard before.

"Because he looked weak."

At Gongson Jeol-hwi's unhesitating answer, Namgung Sang clutched his chest. No one other than a pervert would be happy to be seen as a one-second threat.

"Why were you fixated on one second?"

"Because Moyong Hwi did it."

A spark flashed in Gongson Jeol-hwi's eyes as he uttered the name.

"Moyong Hwi? Moyong Hwi, the Seven Sword of the Moyong family? One of the most outstanding younger generation fighters in the martial world today?"

Yoo Eun-seong had also heard that name quite often.

Although it was not something he wanted to admit, Gongson Jeol-hwi nodded silently.

"I wanted to challenge him using the rules. Therefore, if he could do it, I had to be able to do it too. So, I had to sharpen my sword energy to the point where I could defeat an opponent in one second. For that, practical combat was essential!"

"Why are you so fixated on Moyong Hwi?"

Yoo Eun-seong asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Because I have to defeat him!"

Gongson Jeol-hwi answered without hesitation.

"I will pluck the peony flower with my own hands. Therefore, I only challenged the Golden Armband. Moyong Hwi was also the Golden Armband."

"Wait! Then are you not responsible for the recent serial murder of the disciples eligible for admission?"

At Yoo Un-bi's question, Gongson Jeol-hwi flinched as if his backside had been burned and waved his hand.

"Ah, no! Absolutely not! Why would I do something that would bring shame to my sect? Even if I injured the opponent, I did not kill them."

"So?"

"I thought that night was the last… but I fell into a trap."

"Call it a stratagem, a LURE!"

Namgung Sang corrected from the side. It was always the victor's privilege to rewrite history, and he seemed determined to wield that power to the fullest.

"I'll tell you what happened next. We needed a bait somehow. At a point when they might have already achieved their objective, if a similar incident occurred again, they could be threatened that their hard-earned achievements would be ruined."

"Their objective?"

"Yes, framing a truly wicked villain and throwing them in jail."

Namgung Sang said in a firm tone.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Jin So-ryeong countered in disbelief.

"Oh, is that so? But that wicked villain was innocent. So their actions were wrong."

"That's a bit strange logic."

"I-is it?"

Namgung Sang realized his story was losing its persuasiveness.

'But it's the truth….'

He just couldn't explain it well.

"Whatever their objective, choosing murder as a means is unforgivable. And to top it off, they targeted innocent rookies."

"That's true."

Fortunately, the two seemed to understand.

"Besides, they were also accused of trying to interfere with the 'Ascension Without Defeat'."

"So they needed bait to draw out the criminals who might have disappeared after achieving their goal?"

"Yes, exactly as you stated. To do that, we needed to make a bigger commotion. What this friend did was far from enough to rekindle the extinguished flames of a disturbance."

"Where did you get this bait?"

Yoo Eun-seong asked, pointing at Gongson Jeol-hwi.

"I lured him."

"With what?"

Namgung Sang tapped the sword hanging from his waist. That was enough.

"I see! I understand. Then, one last thing."

"Yes, please ask."

"Can you tell me about the situation at that time?"

"Yes?"

Namgung Sang, who had answered every question without hesitation, asked a question for the first time.

"Tell us your heroic tale of how you defeated this child."

"That…"

Namgung Sang, who seemed about to boast of his heroic tale, trailed off.

"What is it?"

Yoo Eun-seong urged him to answer. Namgung Sang sighed and decided to be honest with the world. So, he told the truth, honestly.

"I don't remember!"

"What?"

Jin So-ryeong and Yoo Eun-seong both exclaimed in disbelief at the response.

"You won, but you don't remember?"

"Yes…"

After a long deliberation, Yoo Eun-seong wanted to confirm his conclusion.

"Are you an idiot?"

"No!"

Namgung Sang replied firmly.

"Really…?"

Although he didn't get a definitive answer, his tone still carried suspicion. Jin So-ryeong felt the same.

"Your claim is incomprehensible and unconvincing. It lacks a lot of credibility. So, just tell us what you remember about the situation at that time. We will judge whether your words are true or false after hearing everything."

He was not the scariest person in the world, but with the third-scariest person looking at him like this, he could no longer refuse.

"So, what happened was…"

Namgung Sang began to tell the story of the series of events that unfolded under the moon that night.

"When I said, 'Hey!' this friend replied like this."