Book 20 Chapter 5

Statements from the Dead

-I don't remember

"Ehhhhh."

Namgung Sang trudged through the night alleyways with a sigh of frustration. Hoping to make himself look just a little more vulnerable and ripe for the picking. How porous was his back now? Is it the kind of back that makes you want to stab yourself in the back?

'Well, that's a good thing……. Is that a good thing?'

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

"What does this look like……. Argh……!"

What kind of twist of fate is this, that I'm the one who has to do this dangerous work at night?

'And what's with this stinking pink outfit! And the plum……. Disgusting!

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

"Aren't the Volcanoes ashamed of themselves? How did they get the idea to wear something so outrageous?

Some people saw it and said it was as colorful and stunning as a winter plum, but he was tempted to question the aesthetics of those who made such comments.

"I would have been excommunicated, and I would never have worn this!

But the fact that he was now wearing the shameful garment in question made him feel even more embarrassed.

"Oh, borrow Jun-ho's clothes and put them on!"

"Why?"

"That way they get raided better."

"Well, is that so?"

"Yeah, well, maybe they won't attack you if they know you're a human, so that's not a problem, is it?"

"Am I in trouble if I don't get raided?"

"Of course, you idiot!"

"Well, I see."

"Hmm, are you finally admitting that you're an idiot? It's a little later than I thought."

"I didn't mean that, I meant that I understood what you were saying, but that……."

"Why, no?"

"It's not that I wouldn't do it, it's just that wearing something like that is a little……."

"Isn't that ugly?"

"Yes……."

"I can't. Why would I want to cover up when I'm digging a trap? Why don't I pack you a midnight snack while I'm at it, so you don't forget when you're hungry?"

"Oh, no, I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll die, I'll die……."

"Hey, why aren't you talking?"

Yoo Eun-sung's voice shook the pensive Namgung statue awake.

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

Namgungsang, sobered, asked.

"Tsk, what if you ask me that?"

But he was kind enough to let me know where he left off.

"Look.at.me.or.luck.of.a.volcano.sect.disciple. Borrowing clothes and walking down a dark alleyway, I think?"

"Oh, you recognize it?"

Namgungsang asked with a twinkle in his eye. Yoo Eun-sung crossed her arms and nodded emphatically.

"Well, of course! I've always disliked those sissy-type clothes of the Volcanoes myself. A man's supposed to be tough as nails, but those flowery light pink robes, don't you think?"

"That's right! That's right! You get it!"

tsk-.

Uplifted by the fact that he had found someone who shared his aesthetic, Namgungsang almost burst into tears of joy. In fact, despite belonging to the same old school, the Jumchang and Huashan schools did not get along very well. To be more precise, it was their proximity that caused the problem. The Volcanoes had always considered themselves to be the top of the Five Elements, and they always looked down their noses at Jumchang and Chengsheng, who were not part of the Five Elements. Of course, I recognize their centuries of accomplishments, but as a member of the Jumchang School, I don't like the arrogance of the Volcano School. For him, the volcano had always been a mountain to be climbed and a sun to be shot down.

"The…?"

The words were as cold as an icicle breaking into pieces, cutting off the intergenerational spiritual connection between Namgung Sang and Yue Yunsheng. Yue Eun-sung was stunned by the eerie coldness of Qin Shaolin's voice, and she quickly hurried to the Southern Palace.

"Come on, let's save that for later and keep talking. We haven't even gotten past the introduction yet, have we?"

"Uh, sure."

He was so eager to join in that he suddenly withdrew his hand. Namgung-sang had to resist the urge to shout, "Do you clap with one hand?

In his haste, Namgungsang decided to move the story past the introduction and into the development phase so as not to bore his audience.

"After the second raid, there were strict instructions that patrols must be done by two or more people, but I went out on my own, because I wanted to make sure I was well covered, and then he showed up."

Raising his left arm, which was bound by a thick leather strap, the Southern Palace Lord said. Qin Shaolin, Yue Eunsung, and Zhang Wuyang's gazes automatically turned to Gong Gonghui, the unspoken pressure of not interrupting the story weighing on Gong Gonghui's mind and shoulders. He finally surrendered.

"I wanted to test myself, and I thought that night would be the night to take down the golden armband in a single second."

"A second?"

"I've never heard of this before," said Namgungsang, incredulous at his tale of being one shot away from him. This was a story he had never heard before.

"Because it looked weak."

The politeness of the reply made him stop beating his chest. There was no one but a pervert who would be pleased to hear that he seemed so primitive.

"Why am I obsessed with seconds?"

"Mo Yong-hui, because he did."

A spark flashed in the polite man's eyes as he uttered the name.

"Mo Yonghui? You mean Mo Yongsega's Sevenfold Divine Sword Mo Yonghui, one of the most outstanding late-stage exponents in the powerhouse?"

Yoo had heard the name before, too.

He nodded, not really wanting to admit it, but the politeness was there.

"I wanted to use the rules to challenge him, so if he could do it, I had to be able to do it too, so I had to make sure my sword was sharp enough to take him down in the first second - and that meant I had to play!"

"Why are you so obsessed with modifiers?"

Yoo Eun-sung asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Because I have to beat him!"

Without hesitation, the polite man replied.

"The peony blossom will be plucked by my own hand, which is why I only challenged the Golden Armband, because Mo Yonghui was also a Golden Armband."

"Wait, so you're not responsible for the recent serial murders of cadets?"

Liu Yunfei's question caused the polite man to throw up his hands in dismay, as if he were an ass.

"Oh, no, no, definitely not! Why would I do anything to dishonor such a family name? I may have wounded my opponent, but I didn't kill him."

"So?"

"I was thinking that night was the last time I'd ever do that… but then I fell into the trap."

"Call it a ploy. You.are.a.book!"

Next to him, Namgungsang corrected him. It was always the victor's prerogative to rewrite history, and he seemed determined to wield that power to the fullest.

"After that, I'll tell you, we needed to bait them somehow, because at that point, when they might have already accomplished what they set out to do, they were threatened that if something similar happened again, the ball they'd built up could come crashing down."

"Their purpose?"

"Yes, it's about framing one very bad guy and putting him in jail."

Namgungsang said in a firm tone.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Qin Xiaoling replied in a ridiculous tone.

"Uh, is that how it works? But those heinous villains were innocent, so their actions were wrong."

"That's some strange logic."

"Well, is that so?"

Namgungsang realized that his story was becoming less and less convincing.

'But it's true…….'

I just couldn't explain it very well.

"Whatever their ends, it is unacceptable that they chose murder as a means to an end, and that too against innocent, if cheeky, sunbathers."

"That's right."

Luckily, the two seemed to be convinced.

"On top of that, they were being accused of trying to disrupt the Ascension."

"So you needed a decoy to serve your purpose and draw out the perps who might have gone underground?"

"Yes, you're right on the money, and for that to happen, things needed to be a little bigger, because what he did wasn't enough to rekindle the flames of the disturbance once they were extinguished."

"Where did you get this bait?"

Eunsung asked, pointing her finger at the polite phrase.

"Gotcha."

"With what?"

Namgungsang flicked the sword at his waist once, and that was enough.

"Great! I understand. Then let me ask you one last thing."

"Yes, please."

"Can you tell me about that time?"

"Yes?"

For the first time, Namgungsang, who had been answering questions with aplomb, spoke up.

"I want you to tell me the story of how you beat him."

"That's……."

Namgungsang, who looked like he was about to brag about his exploits, trailed off.

"What is that?"

Yoo Eun-sung pressed for an answer. Namgungsang sighed and decided to be honest before the world. So he told the truth, honestly.

"I don't remember!"

"What?"

Jin So-ryung and Yoo Eun-sung simultaneously responded to the absurdity of the answer.

"I won, but I don't remember it?"

"Yes……."

After thinking about it for a while, Eunseong wanted to confirm his conclusion.

"Are you an idiot?"

"No!"

Namgungsang replied in a firm voice.

"Yeah……?"

Even though he didn't get an answer, he still sounded suspicious, and that was true of Qin Xiaoling as well.

"I don't understand your argument, and I don't find it convincing. It's very unconvincing. So why don't you just tell me what happened, as you remember it. I'll let the two of us decide if you're telling the truth or not."

I'm not the scariest person in the world, but I'm about the third scariest person in the world, so I couldn't say no anymore.

"So that's what……."

Namgungsang began to recount a series of events that took place that night under the moon.

"I said, 'Hey!' and he said, 'Hey!"