Book 24 Chapter 23

Dreams

-A waking nightmare!

"Death penalty, let's have a showdown."

The boy in the red robes held out two shawls and said gruffly. The young man smirked.

"Haha, you're a long way off, a long way off, a decade off!"

Even with that, the boy had no intention of backing down.

Bam!

The young man's machete struck the boy in the head. The red-robed boy fell backwards into a heap. A large bump quickly formed on the boy's head, but he didn't cry, though his eyes filled with tears. It was his brother, who had been watching the duel anxiously.

The young man scratched his head. He felt a little sorry for himself. He wondered if he had been too hard on the young priest.

But this little guy was a genius. He was a thoroughbred with genius blood in his veins. I'd never seen one develop so rapidly, so I didn't know when I'd be overtaken if I let him get away with it. He was still a cute little junior with his head in his hands and his mouth pouting, but a lion's offspring is a lion, and you never know when it's going to show its teeth and eat you. Still, it was a shame to feel sorry for him.

"Are you okay, Bong? Stop crying like a baby dragon. If anyone sees you, won't they think that big brother Yi hit you?"

From his point of view, it was harder to deal with his stubborn brother than with his crybaby sister, who was so meek you wouldn't think she was a descendant of Shinma.

"Ah Long, stop!"

His older brother, the Little Red Riding Hood, called out, and to his surprise, the younger one stopped crying.

"We're Grandpa Shinma's grandsons, so we shouldn't cry!"

He looked at the young man with an imposing gaze and stretched out a finger.

"What's that, five more games?"

"Aren't you tired of it?" the young man asked. The battle was clear as day.

"Five years, just five years, death penalty, in five years I'm going to surpass the death penalty!"

With his boundless confidence, slight recklessness, and unwillingness to lose, Oggy really was a lot like his master. It was a good thing he didn't share his eccentricities. The young man scratched his head and replied.

"Do it."

Then his vision went dark again, and only then did he realize that the young man was him.

His vision cleared and he saw the boy in red standing before him again, but he was much taller, much wiser, and the corners of his mouth were curled in a different way. Five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the boy was now a young man.

The boy had grown into a man, and he no longer cried at the blow to his neck. What they held in their hands now was a real sword, with a different blade than that day five years ago.

We'd been back and forth a few times already, and we were both exhausted.

"What do you think?"

The enemy youth said with a smug grin.

"Hyo-bong, you've improved a lot!"

The enemy boy, nay, Hyo-bong, now a young man, said.

"I told you then, I'd beat you in five years."

"Did you still remember that, your boy?"

Hyobong nodded. He really was a sourpuss who hated losing more than he hated dying.

"Haha, you've certainly improved, but you're still a long way off. You still have a long way to go to beat me. Now, go and cook thirteen degrees and come back."

It was a joke between them. It was also a joke between them that they could never defeat him with the twelve herbs they had now.

"Death penalty, why are you doing this? Twelve is enough. We should save the thirteenth."

"Why?"

"That's for beating Grandpa!"

"Poohahahahahaha!"

He was telling jokes with a serious face, so I felt like I had to laugh at times like this. His grandfather was none other than Gal Joong-hyuk, a martial artist who was revered as a god horse in the entire martial kingdom. To be defeated by such a grandfather, he really couldn't help it.

"Maybe if your boys learn the thirteen degrees."

It was then that they heard a gravelly voice behind them. Startled, they turned around. Sure enough, there was an old man standing right next to them. An ordinary-looking man, but never one to be judged by appearances alone. This old man was the reigning god of the Black Sword.

"Greetings, Master!"

"So-and-so sees his grandfather."

The two men hastily dropped to one knee in greeting. He was as high as the sky, and even after all these years, it still felt overwhelming. The only one who was more relaxed was Hyo-bong.

"Hehe, did you hear that?"

"Well, then, wretch, did you think you could talk so loud and not be heard? You can't even dream!"

Tsk, tsk, tsk, the old man clicked his tongue. But his eyes were kind as he watched his grandson's tricks.

"Hehe, are you mad?"

The old man laughed and said, "Foot!

"I'd like you to do that, please, and I'd like to see you say the word 'youthful'. Can you do it?"

"Of course, just trust me on this one!"

Hyo-bong ranted, pounding his chest with his fist.

"Hahahahahaha, that's my grandson. How's yours, Wallahan?"

The old man's gaze turned to him as he laughed heartily.

"Nothing, of course you can trust me."

But the truth is, he wasn't sure; the mountain he had to climb was too high.

"Really?"

The old man looked at him uncertainly. Of course, it was nearly impossible to win someone's trust with a voice that lacked confidence. The old man read his hesitation and distrust in a single glance.

"Tsk, tsk, should a disciple of Shinma be so lackadaisical?"

The old man was the only one who could rebuke him as everyone else looked on in awe. His heart was full of ambition, ambition, and goals. It's just that the walls between them were too high.

"You see, Nobu, my goal in life is to make a comfortable living by being beholden to a student who is greater than me. So please, look beyond him and share some of his burdens. What's the point of having a disciple and a grandson? Let's see some virtue in Nobu's later years."

"I will do my best, Master."

His greatest fear was to disappoint his heavenly master.

"Just trust me. I'll guarantee your grandfather's old age!"

There was still one loud one, the one that rumbled. Certainly the size of the bowl was worthy of emulation, as no flesh and blood would cower in the presence of a god.

"Please do so. I want you to show me a sight that the old man has not seen, Thirteenth Dao. But if you can, please do it before this old man dies, before he becomes a crooked old man."

"Leave it to me!"

Galhyo Feng, his breath rising in his throat, exclaimed.

"You're going to see it, Grandpa, because I'm going to show you, and the greatest enemy of your old age is going to be free, I guarantee it."

"Uh-huh, priest, what are you talking about, with this death penalty beside you, don't mess with me!"

He shouted, determined not to lose.

"No, I'm first."

"You say I'm first. You're too young."

"So, do you want to make a bet?"

"Good. What's the deadline?"

"Ten years!"

It was an absurd notion, to say the least, to think that a man called Shinma could achieve in ten years what he had not achieved in a hundred. But in my younger days, I believed it was possible.

"Okay, I promise."

However, that promise was never fulfilled.

Until then, he had never dreamed that he, or his priest, would ever taste the endless hopelessness of a being other than the Master. The experience, an abject sense of defeat and terror, was still a nightmare that haunted him at night.

If he hadn't met him, if he hadn't seen it… his life wouldn't have been so twisted.

"But what does he look like?

An image of a man comes to mind. But the face didn't seem to have been erased. I couldn't recall what face was inside that blank face. I can't remember, like it's been cut out of my memory. I don't know if he can't or won't. He kept opening his mouth to say something.

He tried once more to see its face.

Darkness! Darkness of immeasurable depth was there, immeasurable by his standards, a vastness like the night sky. Why, looking at it aroused in him a certain respect and despair at the same time.

"I know the interest!

But now I couldn't see it. I couldn't see it.

"Who is it? Who is it?

A sense of mission lingered in the back of my mind, as if I had to remember.

Eek!

The man with his back turned. His face was blank. His throat was hollow. He let out a scream. An unknown terror was eating away at his nerves. I wanted to get away from him as fast as I could, but my body was frozen like an insect in a spider's web.

Slowly he approached, his shapeless face pressed against mine. All I could see now were his lips, moving, saying something.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He let out another frantic scream, and struggled to get away from the horror. Then his eyes flashed open with a scream that didn't seem to end.

"@Where am I……?

His eyes stung from the light, and his body was drenched in a cold sweat. The familiar ceiling came into view, and he finally realized where he was. This was his waiting room.

"Who is it?

Someone was looking down at him. It wasn't a single gaze. He hadn't fully regained his senses yet, but he could count to three.

The first face he saw was a woman named Yan Bi, who had beaten him with incredible strength in a woman's body, sending shockwaves through both his mind and body. He wondered why the one who had defeated him was looking down at him. But his surprise at seeing Yan Bi was nothing compared to what came next. Qi Shanghui, half-conscious, was as angry as if he had been scalded by a fire.

"Why? Why? Why?

He couldn't figure out what had happened to him while he was stunned, and as his gaze shifted to the third person, a tear rolled down his cheek. A familiar face was there. The man who had always been sorry was there. The white hair and white beard were the same as they had been that day. The old man asked.

"Do you remember me?"

Tears poured unceasingly from his scarred eyes, which were covered with seven deep scars. Feng Daqi was unable to control his emotions. He tried to open his mouth to apologize, but his body couldn't move properly yet, so all he could say was, "Ah, ah, sin, sin." He couldn't control his emotions.

The old man sighed lowly. This Black Sword Legend was also swirling with emotions.

"Oh, how… how dare I forget!"

Now his tears were falling like a waterfall. It was embarrassing to watch.

"And you're going to lie there like that?"

Only then did he realize his true situation, and he forced himself to sit up.

"I can't get up yet."

But against all odds, Chil-sang-hyeon forced himself to his feet. He was still off-center and staggering, but no one thought to help him up. They knew they would be hurting his pride by helping him now. Chil-sang-hyeon's body crumbled toward the elder Hyuk-jung.

"Bu, bulcho-je, disciple sees master."

The old man remained silent and accepted the bow.

"……."

He looked down at Chil-sang-hyeon, who lay motionless and shivering on the ground.

"Am I really your master, and are you really my disciple?"

"Blah blah blah!"

Tears like chicken shit poured out of the seven scarred eyes that seemed to have no blood or tears in them.

"I haven't heard from you in nine years, so you let your master find a disciple, you heartless bastard!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm guilty of death, please kill this unruly disciple, I'm not worth living!"

The old man stopped moving. Then he spoke in a calm voice.

"Wake up."

The Seven Deadly Sins did not dare to rise.

"Come on!"

The old man shouted, and Chil-sang-hyun immediately rose from his seat, but he was too embarrassed to look the old man in the face.

"Shut up, you pathetic bastard!"

Boom, boom, boom!

With great force, an angry fist slammed into Qixiang's cheek. The wounded Qixiang was sent flying a long distance and crashed into a wall.

Boom!

The roar was so loud, he squeezed his eyes shut. I'm going to get one invoice out of here today, he thought, and it wasn't unreasonable to think so.

"Formation, I'm going to catch you."

It was a blow to the heart, and it was a blow to the goal, so it was no wonder Bai Xiaochun was worried as he turned to the already tattered wounded.

"Hey, I'm not going to die, I've managed to control the force."

He stared at the old man dumbfoundedly, his cheeks tinged with color.

"Sa, Master……."

The old man's anger had not yet subsided.

"You pathetic bastard, do you think I've been looking for you all this time just to see you dead? I've gone through so much trouble to find you alive, and now you're talking about dying without even realizing it? Do you want to die at my hands, or do you want me to rub your legs together?"

Nabakchun tore into the squirming old man.

"Big guy, you're getting a little cranky, calm down."

"I'm sorry, Master. I won't say that again."

"That's all you need to know. I assume you know why Nobu sought you out?"

"……Yes."

In a weak voice, Qi Shanghui replied, knowing enough to know that his master had sought him out because of his runaway past.

"Then I ask you, what happened on that day, the 'night of blood'?"

Chilsangheon didn't have a straight answer.

"Hey, what's this 'night of blood' thing?"

Yun Bi whispered to Na Baichen, who was next to him.

"You don't know that, do you? Nine years ago, Galhyo Fong, the eldest grandson of King Hui, went on a mad rampage. Many died on his blade, and much blood was shed again to capture him alive. You know the rest of the story, don't you?"

Afterward, Gal Hyo Bong was placed in a dungeon, where he escaped due to a mysterious event, and attacked the students of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy on Mount Wudang, and we know how it ends.

"Wait, can you two talk a little further away from each other?"

That's when Ye Qing interjected. The other woman didn't look too happy about being so close.

"Can you still not speak?"

"……."

"So you're going to run away again, from now on?"

Qi Shanghui's body stiffened. Then he remembered. He remembered not to run anymore. With difficulty, he opened his mouth, which had been sealed for the past nine years as he recalled his memories.

"My, pupil, ended up meeting with…… him, him, him."

The scarred face that stuttered open revealed a fear that could not be hidden. He was truly terrified. The past nine years had not dulled that fear.

"Who the hell is he?"

Who could have brought such horror to the first disciple of the martial spirit Galjoonghyuk, driving his grandson, who had been called a genius, to madness?

"He's…… He's a monster. No, those words don't describe him."

Just thinking about it again made him break out in a cold sweat.

"He was horror itself, a shapeless, faceless monster, but one that could grab a man's heart at any moment and tear it out."

"Who is he?"

The old man asked again.

"He is……."

The old man, Hyuk-jung, who was watching the scene, was frustrated. The clue he had been looking for was right in front of him. He wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes, and he had been persistently searching for his disciple's whereabouts for the past nine years.

"Boom!"

As he was talking, Qi Shanghui suddenly grabbed his throat and let out a scream. He looked up in surprise and saw that his complexion had turned bluish.

"Poison?!"

Judging by the rapid deterioration of his condition, there was no doubt about it. While the others were unaffected by the poison due to their high cavities and resistance to it, it was fatal to Qi Shanghui, who was now so injured that he had no resistance left. The cavities that circled his body and protected him were now stagnant and immobile in the pond. The flowing water was helpless against the poison invading him.

"No way, I didn't mean to be popular!"

Still, the first to make a move was old man Hyukjoong, a veteran of the war who had seen it all.

He hurriedly checked Qi Shanghui's blood vessels to prevent the poison from spreading to his four limbs, then sat down on the patriarchal throne and placed both hands on Qi Shanghui's back to force the poison to gather together.

"Ew!"

He coughed up black blood, and his once bluish face began to regain some color.

Yun Bi, Nie Bai Tian, and Ye Qing had stretched their senses as far as they could for fear of being spied on. If it was a sound within a dozen zhang, they could detect even a hair's breadth. But who could deceive the attention of a Martial God Horse and a Martial Lord Nabaxian into spraying poison? That was impossible.

"But it's also something that's already happened. It's already a reality, whether you want to admit it or not."

Yunbi stopped breathing and flew. The door he ran toward wasn't a door at all. They were tiny vents in the ceiling and walls, barely big enough to fit a fist through. With a quick flurry of hands and feet, he broke the bricks around the vent and used the pieces to plug the holes. Seven holes were plugged in an instant, and he landed on his feet.

"You've been caught off guard."

The enemy was quite high-minded. I don't know who they were, but I could never ignore their skill.

The enemy has chosen the most effective method. It was a long-range attack from a distance where they couldn't get close and couldn't feel you. Luckily, they were quick enough to recognize it and react quickly enough that the key witness, Chil-san, wasn't killed, but he was already in a coma and wasn't in a position to say anything. The old man's quick first aid saved his life, but it would be a long time before he woke up.

"What's going on, I thought it was impossible to get past me and the big guy?"

But they had to admit, they had gotten their man, and what they needed to hear the most was that the now scarred man could no longer speak.

"Yeah, so they didn't approach, they just dumped a bunch of 'poison mist' from a distance, through the vents, colorless poison. Not enough to affect the average adept, but just enough to be lethal to the one currently injured."

It's a trick that's impossible to pull off unless you know exactly what you're doing.

"I don't know who the enemy is, but it's someone who knows the ins and outs of this arena.

It was impossible for someone unfamiliar with the area to use such a sneaky trick. He needed to investigate further.

'If this entire arena is the enemy's front yard…….'

Suddenly, Yeonbi's body jerked.

Boom!

With a loud crash, the door to the waiting room flew open. Driven out of the waiting room at breakneck speed, he ran as fast as his body could carry him to his waiting room on the other side of the building. His heart was pounding like a madman, his energy was running like a mad horse, but he didn't care.

If only it wasn't just the waiting room at the Seven Sigils! A chill ran down my spine.

"Yerin!

He ran and ran and ran, not thinking about the damage he was doing to his body, and when he saw how fast he was going, he thought it was just a fierce gust of wind.

Woozy!

Arriving at his waiting room in the shortest amount of time with the fastest speed, Yunbi yanked the door open and rushed inside without hesitation.

Boom!

The door slammed into the wall behind him with a thunderous crash, and it stayed there, embedded in the stone wall.

"Ugh!"

Yunbi quickly covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve. The waiting room was filled with a thick haze of smoke that made it difficult to see. She pulled her sleeve away slightly and took a half-sip of the fog through her nose and mouth. It was a risky method of discrimination, but she didn't have time to sit around and think about it.

'Fortunately, it's not poisonous.'

Unlike the fog used on Chil-sang-hwan, this one was scented with sleep, but it was still too early for comfort. Yun Fei had not yet confirmed the safety of the two. She kept her senses sharp and her steps slow, ready for any lurkers.

Bam!

Then something sticky stepped on his foot. Yunbi's eyes widened. What she had just stepped on was blood. He had his hand over his nose, so it was too late to see. The blood was coming from the wall about a foot and a half away. Someone had fallen down the wall. The red blood was coming from the person's abdomen. The pink silk robe that resembled a plum blossom was now stained a scarlet red, like a pomegranate.

"Junho!"

A panicked cry erupted. Yunbi immediately rushed over and helped Yunjunho to his feet. Yun Junho still looked like Yun Mi.

A thin trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. His complexion was pale as a sheet from the blood loss. The bulk of the bleeding was on his side. I quickly checked his blood pressure and stopped the bleeding. He was still breathing. The enemy's sword had slashed through, leaving him bleeding profusely but with no internal injuries. However, his Yeonbi was far from reassuring. She looked around the room and saw no sign of anyone other than Yun Mi.

"Junho! Junho! Junho, wake up, Junho!"

In her desperation, she forgot who she was and called out to him in her normal voice. There was no answer, but Yeonbi needed to know what had happened here a moment ago.

"Junho!"

Pair!

"Wake up, Junho!"

Pair!

She slapped him hard across the cheeks, calling his name over and over again. After a dozen swats and a red mark on his cheek, he responded.

"Liu Yeon……?"

Yunmi asked, half-opening her closed eyes. But when she opened them, it wasn't Bi Ryuyeon, it was Yunbi. Yunmi was dumbfounded.

"I'm pretty sure I heard Ryuyeon's voice, but……?"

Only then did Yunbi realize that she had been acting like a normal person.

"Wake up, Yunmi! It's me, Yunbi! What happened? Come on, answer me, where's Lin?"

Back on the gas, he grabbed Yunmi by the shoulders and shook her vigorously.

"Where's me, me Sojae?"

Yoon Mi frowned and asked in a puzzled voice.

"I'm asking you, what the hell happened on my end?"

Yunmi's memory was jumbled, perhaps due to the lingering effects of the sleeping incense.

"Gah, all of a sudden, there was this weird mist coming out of everywhere…… and I felt like I was going to black out. I tried to breathe into my ears, but it was too late. That's when the goons showed up. I fought them off desperately, but…… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect me Sojae, I'm sorry, they took me Sojae!"

"What!"

He shouted in a raspy voice. His body shot out the door like a bouncing ball, and he quickly looked both ways down the hall, but there was no sign of him.

Boom!

Diligence's fist dug into the stone wall.

"……."

Boom, boom, boom!

With each punch, the gold in the wall became finer and denser.

The unthinkable had happened. Yunbi was devastated. Na Yerin had indeed been kidnapped. Yan Bi felt like she was going crazy. No matter how hard she tried to calm herself down, she couldn't. Just then, from the other side of the hall, she saw the old man and Nie Baiqian rushing toward her, carrying the Seven Deadly Sins.

"What's going on?"

Bai Chen asked in an urgent voice.

"……."

Yun Fei didn't know what to say, and his complexion showed that even Bai Chen felt the ominousness in his expression.

"What's going on? What happened to our little Yerin?"

Bai Xiaochun shouted in urgency and rushed into the waiting room. However, even if he was a martial artist, he couldn't find the missing Na Yerin. Nie Tian's eyes were shaking as he turned around and looked at Yan Bi. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't bear to look into those eyes.

The heavily closed mouth slowly opened.

"Rin has been kidnapped by……."

Bai Xiaochun's body shook.

"You!"

Bai Xiaochun raised his hand and tried to slap Yun Fei's cheek. Yun Fei remained still. He could have dodged, but he didn't. Bai Chen stopped his slap. A cool slap on the cheek didn't solve anything. It was the old man who calmed them both down.

"Calm down, both of you. This is not the time for this. Na Yerin, we need to find out where she is and who took her. We've only got a short time left. We'll be able to catch up."

He was right.

The dazed fueler snapped out of it. It was so uncharacteristic of him to lose his cool in a momentary burst of emotion. The rush of excitement and emotion blinds you to what you can see in a calm state of mind. It makes it harder to react immediately. Mopping the walls might be a good outlet, but it won't solve the problem. I didn't care if I was called a ghost or a man without blood or tears, as long as I could find Na Yerin again.

"Which way did they go?"

Yunbi screamed as she approached Yunmi again. She felt like she was going to go crazy. A searing thirst washed over him, as if he were swallowing lava. My molars grinded together. The color of Yeonbi was like a ghost now.

"I… I was disoriented, I was dizzy, and NaSojae seemed to be in a little bit of pain, and something was wrong, and then NaSojae yelled at me that it was dangerous, to get away, and then the door opened, and he came in, and he was dressed in red, and he had some kind of mask on his face. He was very skilled, and one look at him was enough to make your heart skip a beat. He was accompanied by another man in black, but he stopped me. I fought, but I couldn't swing my sword properly because I was dazed. I… I tried to stop him… I tried to stop him, but……. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Yunmi burst into tears and apologized for the delay.

Then the Yeonbi shouted in a strong voice.

"I don't have time to cry right now, I have to do what I can right now, think of something, anything that will give me a clue as to who he is!"

He wasn't just talking to Yunmi, he was talking to himself. First, she had to calm her turbulent mind. What was needed now was not an angry mind, but the mirror-clear mind of a master. She couldn't continue to search around without finding any clues.

"Come on, try to remember, you can do it!"

Yunmi pondered, then exclaimed.

"That's right, one of them was wearing red, red like blood, and… and he had a mask on his face."

"Masks? What were they? What did they look like?"

"Umm……. I don't remember."

"What else?"

Yunmi frowned and tried to recall what she had seen. She couldn't concentrate, but she didn't give up and desperately searched through her muddled memory. Then a scene flashed into her mind.

"Oh, yeah, that's right, I remembered one."

"What is it?"

Yeonbi asked in an urgent voice.

"That one in red was…… that one…… was a 'one-armed man' with no arms!"

At Yun Mi's words, Elder Zhong, Nie Bai Tian, and Ye Qing looked at each other at the same time, dumbfounded. Right now, the two of them were thinking about the same thing.

"Out, one-armed…… stand, no way……."

The blood drained from Bai Xiaochun and Ye Qing's faces in an instant. If what they were thinking about now were to become reality, it would be a nightmare of the most terrible kind. Such a thing shouldn't happen under the heavens, and that went for fuel as well.

"Which side of his arm was empty?"

Bai Xiaochun grabbed both of Yun Mi's shoulders and asked, his reasoning almost paralyzed. If he was one-armed, which side was very important right now. If he didn't have a left arm, then at least he would be spared the worst of the worst.

"Oh, right, it was definitely right!"

Shake!

Hearing that, Ye Qing was stunned. Both couples looked devastated. Yan Bi called out the name of the missing Na Yerin in a pained voice.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

No answer came back.

At this very moment, a vicious nightmare that you thought was gone was about to awaken from a deep sleep.

<Continued from "Reliability" Volume 25