Book 25 Chapter 13

A Nightmare Reborn

-Squeaky wounds

She was afraid.

She hadn't been this afraid since that night nine years ago. The old wound she thought had healed was gaping open, and through the gaping chasm, a maddening terror leaked out and contaminated her mind. It was as if thousands, tens of thousands of centipedes were invading her soul.

My hands and feet froze, my tongue stiffened. I can't even get the words out.

I've been practicing so hard for so long…… and it's all for nothing?

The mere fact that it was there filled her with terror.

She tried paroxysmally to summon her ki, but it wouldn't budge. A sense of helplessness washed over her, as if she were hollow inside. Hadn't she been trying so hard to shake off those nightmares?

"Are you afraid?"

Na Yerin shook her head vigorously, as if to deny the statement. But she couldn't hide her hands, which had turned blue from clenching so tightly, and her pale complexion. Despite her efforts to restrain, control, and hold it together, her body trembled faintly as if she hadn't forgotten the hurt and terror of the past. The man in red smiled with satisfaction at the sight.

"Good, very good!"

Pleasure and excitement sparkled in his eyes as he watched Na Yerin shiver like a small bird in the rain.

'What a sweet pleasure…….'

The pure white beauty that bloomed nine years ago in unparalleled splendor, the black horror that grows within.

"Cackle, cackle, it is very pleasant to see one's opponent in terror and fear of oneself, for it confirms one's own strength, and most certainly confirms that this body stands in a position of dominance. Drop that little white parish and please this body a little more, don't you think, my little bird? I can't wait to hear your desperate, fearful song. Squirm more, squirm more, in front of this body."

Na Yerin snapped out of her reverie.

Boom!

Her trembling suddenly stopped. She realized that the more she was afraid, the more he was pleased. He was mocking her to the fullest. He wanted her to tremble with fear. He wanted her to howl in despair, as she had that stormy night so many years ago.

Na Yerin looked at him, her eyes fierce, her gaze filled with anger. The gaze she had so fearfully avoided a moment ago was now met head-on, and her body was no longer trembling.

Jurrrrrrr.

Drops of red carnelian blood trickled down the corners of Na Yerin's mouth. She bit her own tongue to drive the trembling and fear from her body.

"Tsk tsk. What are you doing, girl?"

The look in Na Yerin's eyes was clear. She was screaming at him that she would bite his tongue right now if he tried to make a fool of himself.

Xu Chen clicked his tongue lightly.

"Well, good. Watching desperate rebellion is another pastime. But there's no need to be so vigilant. It hasn't even started yet, cackle."

"What does that mean?"

Na Yerin was the first to speak. Na Yerin was the first to speak, as her continued silence could be seen as a sign of her fear of him.

He chuckled lightly.

"Eek, what does that mean? I'll do you a favor and teach you. It means that what you think is going to happen is not going to happen right now."

Na Yerin's face flushed slightly. But she quickly recovered her complexion.

"How can I believe you?"

Then, a cruel, fishy smile slowly spread across the corners of Xu Tian's mouth like venom. Black flames of cruel and twisted desire burned within his eyes. The mere sensation of such immense, twisted desire up close made Na Yerin's stomach churn and her body stiffen. Even with her inner cavity sealed, her dragon eye was still functioning normally. But in this case, that fact was a deadly poison to her. To feel the author's malice was the same as being bitten by a venomous snake. To her untainted mind, it was too deadly.

"Kkkkkk. I'll make a prophecy."

He seemed to take great pleasure in teasing this frightened woman.

"You will strip yourself naked before the throne, and you will pledge yourself to be my servant and submit to me."

Na Yerin's face flushed with shame for a split second, then exploded.

"You're harassing me, that would never happen, never, not even if it cost me my life, that would never happen."

He was unperturbed by Na Yerin's vehement denials.

"Cckkkkkk. I wonder what will happen to him later, if he's still as cocky and arrogant as he is now? It's always fun to see someone's resolve crumble."

"You will never be able to break my will; my soul will never yield to you."

Cackle, Xu Tian laughed. The black flames in his eyes became more intense.

"Well, what will it be like? This body will bring you despair. Your companions and siblings will die one after another, and your mother will be attacked in front of you. And your father, that hateful hypocrite, will be torn into a thousand pieces at my hands and die a horrible death. Kahahahahahahaha! Will you be as arrogant and pompous then as you are now? I can't wait to see how much despair your fragile soul can endure. Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Na Yerin's complexion turned as pale as wax when she heard his insane declaration. Her heart seemed to freeze. A chill ran through her body.

'He's crazy. This guy is crazy.

So he meant what he just said. He really does intend to do it, and he probably has the power to do it. For the past decade, he had been a vengeful ghost, bent on revenge. A cruel specter that had been preparing for a decade to take down the man he hated and who had cast him out. Surely it would not be a task to be taken lightly. Especially not now, when he was so far removed from the realm of the Essence Blind.

'This guy is serious. I mean it!

The twisted black madness materialized all too clearly in her eyes. It was already one giant monster. Now it was trying to devour and destroy everything she held dear.

"We have to stop this somehow!

I was getting nervous.

"But how?

What could he do with his captive body? He was now a hostage. Rather than halting the progress of the situation, I was a trigger that could make it worse.

Na Yerin stuck her tongue between her teeth in silence.

"If I'm there, I'm holding everyone back.

Her most dangerous weapon right now was herself. If she became a fatal weakness and something irreversible happened, she wasn't sure she could handle it.

'If I die as I am…….'

At least she wouldn't be a weapon. She slowly forced her teeth together.

"……."

But she didn't make it to the end. The last thing she could think of was Bi Ryuyeon's face, which told her to never give up.

"I still want to live!

I wanted to be alive to see her again.

"I still have work to do. I still have things I want to do. I can't fall apart here! Ryuyeon always said, "Don't give up! Don't throw away all the possibilities in your world. Reach down and grab hold of those possibilities. The impossible exists to become the possible. So don't give up. Believe in him. Believe in my proud parents. Believe in my proud parents, and believe in my friend, Yeonbi.

Yunbi and Bi Ryuyeon's faces flashed through her mind at the same time, and she felt a surge of strength. She began to refocus her waning will.

'I can't lose here, I can't show weakness here. If you do, you'll only make the author happier, and you can't do that!

Na Yerin's bowed head snapped up.

"Then let me make a prediction."

"That's interesting, let's hear it."

"He'll come to my rescue, and he'll never lose to someone like you, and he'll save me, just like he saved me in my panic in Hwanmadong, and your insignificant prophecy will be shattered by his hand."

A fiendish grin spread across his lips as he heard her prophecy, his eyes glowing with madness.

"Who is he? Is he that little brat called Bi Ryuyeon that I've heard rumors about? I heard he had an accident and couldn't even make it to the Heavenly Pavilion? Is he going to come all the way from the Heavenly Martial Academy, hundreds of miles away, to rescue you? It'll be at least a month, and do you really think you'll be okay by then? Kahahahahaha! What a funny joke."

"No, you don't know Ryuyeon! Breaking common sense is his specialty, and this time he's going to break your common sense and show up. And he's not the only one. There's Yan Bi, there's Qin Xue, there's many others, and your colleagues at the Heavenly Martial Academy won't let you get away with it."

All she could do now was trust her colleagues.

"If you want to defeat me, you'll have to bring a thousand and three, not just a few, and then we'll talk."

"And then there's your father and mother, and they'll never forgive you!"

When Nie Bai Tian spoke, his eyes flashed with horror.

"C'mon, you pompous hypocrite, you're no longer my enemy."

In a very arrogant voice, he assured me.

"My father would never lose to a rascal like you."

Iron!

He slapped her cheek. Na Yerin's head snapped around. Her white skin, like molten pearls, flushed bright red. He slowly turned her head back to face him and began to gently stroke her cheek with his left hand. Then he spoke in a very gentle voice.

"I wish you were a little more careful with your words, my dear nephew, and a little more considerate of your situation. You don't want to be dragged around like a dog, do you? My patience is as wide as the sea, but don't test it too much. That's the last thing I need. Do you understand?"

Every time his touch passed over her cheeks, goosebumps crawled up her spine, as if a snake were licking her cheeks. But she couldn't do anything about it now. She was furious with herself. Her teeth chattered. Anger welled up in her.

"I will give you my child. You should rejoice, for you will be raising my heir, and later, the mother of the next ruler of the realm. Consider it an honor. Kahahahahaha. Kahahahaha!"

He looked up and grunted.

"It's never going to be your way!"

Undeterred, Na Yerin exclaimed.

"We'll see which one of us is right, yours or mine, for that would be a fun diversion. But first, I think you should be punished for being so rude to your master."

Slowly, his hand stroked Na Yerin's pale cheek once more, then moved past her chin and down her bare neck. Just as it was about to move further down past her collarbone, a loud bell rang in the distance. Xu Tian's movements came to a screeching halt.

"This sound is……."

It was an emergency bell, an emergency of the highest order. There was no mistaking it.

"That's faster than I thought."

He hesitated for a moment, then released his hand.

"Alas, there is still plenty of time, for I, too, do not intend to taste everything in a hurry, for that would be such a waste. There's a whole world of delicacies in front of you, and if you eat them all in one go, you may be pleased for a moment, but the sweetness and the ecstasy are so extremely short, it's a shame."

That was unacceptable to him. It was an opportunity he hadn't had in nine years. It had to be used. He decided not to touch it right away to increase its value.

"Slowly, slowly, piece by piece, I'll peel back the layers, savoring everything about you, from the tips of your toes to the ends of your hair. So I'm not impatient, I'm not impatient, I'm not impatient, because there's still plenty of time. I'm not impatient. I'm not impatient. I'm not impatient. I'm not impatient. It will be a sight to behold as despair fills your heart and tears well up in those jeweled eyes."

A shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought of it. Alas, I wanted to see it as soon as possible.

"One by one, I will remove the things you hold dear. I can't wait to see you writhe in agony, to see you look at me with hateful eyes as you tremble in anger at that parish. I can't wait to see your pride and will crumble like a sandcastle when it comes to the end, when you kneel before me and hold your head in your hands. And at the end of it all, your body and mind will be mine and mine alone! Kahahahahaha, kahahahahahaha, kahahahahahaha!"

His laughter rumbled through the room, echoing in his ears. He gently soothed the dark desires that burned within him, and decided to wait for the ultimate taste. He was more than willing to endure it, though, because the best things in life require patience.

"I can't wait for that, so let's start the hunt, shall we?"

It wasn't until a moment later, when his figure had disappeared from the doorway, that Na Yerin released the breath she'd barely been holding. Strength drained from her legs and body. Her throat was dry and her body heavy, as if she were thirsty after expending so much energy in a single moment. I felt like I was going to vomit from the viciousness of it all. I felt like I was going to collapse. I felt like my resolve would crumble like a sandcastle in an instant.

'It's dark and scary and scary…….'

The grim, cruel smile on his lips and the viper's eyes that glowed in his form were sharp and crushing, as if he were trying to tear her apart.

A beast named Fear was slowly choking the life out of her, gnawing away at Na Yerin's infinite soul, piece by piece, like a carnivore tearing off the meat of a body. Could she endure this nightmarish horror? She could not stand. Na Yerin curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around herself to keep her mind from collapsing.

"Ryu Yeon……."

I called his name, but he didn't answer.

This place was hell.

* * *

"Looks like you're not going to let him go after all."

Jang Hong's hunch was quickly confirmed. Those two couldn't be the only ones guarding the main gate. More than thirty guards stood in their way, but Bi Ryuyeon had no intention of letting them take the gate.

"Let's get organized and go."

"Oh!"

Outnumbered by a little more than twice as many, they were unable to stop them. Bi Ryuyeon didn't even take the initiative, just nodded, and with that small gesture, the cast knew what they had to do.

Excluding Namgungsang and Qinling, who were still wounded, four of the main crew stepped forward. Namgung Sansan and Hyun-woon led the way, followed by Noh and Dangsam. They were confident that they didn't have to go all out.

In the hands of Nangong Shanshan, the Thunder Sword, in the hands of Shen Yun, the Shaman's String Sword, in the hands of Luo Hua, the Opening Strike, and in the hands of Tang Shan, the Tang Family Arm Technique. The techniques further honed by Bi Ryuyeon contained tremendous power.

A garrison of modest skill was no match for them. The absence of a single fatality was proof of that. This was impossible without an overwhelming skill differential.

"Oh, my……. A garrison wiped out by just four men……."

It seemed hard to believe that a garrison of nearly thirty men had been reduced to just four in the blink of an eye. But in the meantime, one of the guards had accomplished his mission. It was to alert the entire castle to the presence of an intruder.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

The loud ringing of the emergency bell echoed through the air, echoing through the entire palace. They weren't going to let him go quietly.

How long has it been since an emergency bell rang in this place? Today, after decades of not experiencing anything that could be called an emergency, the Temple of Heaven rang a special emergency bell for the first time in decades. The fact that the bell rang at all was already humiliating for the Temple of Heaven. The dormant powerhouse with the greatest potential in the Black Sea had been awakened from its slumber, and the giant would now consider its response. But as Bi Ryuyeon walked ahead, there was no hint of agitation on his face. It was different from boldness. That was…….

"Ryuyeon, wait!"

Jang Hong called out to Bi Ryuyeon. Without stopping walking, Bi Ryuyeon replied.

"Why?"

If you have something to say, say it without stopping.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"On purpose, what?"

"Cut the crap. This whole commotion, it's weird. It's not like you to just stand there and let the emergency bell go off when you know it's going to go off. And your expression right now. That's not boldness. You don't change your expression because you're being bold."

"So?"

"You're being impassive because you led the situation as you intended, which means everything was according to your calculations. Am I wrong?"

"Right."

Bi Ryuyeon readily admits.

"Why did you make such a big deal about it, why did you make such a big deal about it? I mean, there's got to be a way to get in quietly, right?"

"To protect Yerin."

Her words were short, but they carried a heavy meaning.

"Protecting me Sojae? From what?"

Again, this time in a sharper tone, Bi Ryuyeon replied.

"You're not really taking it for granted that the killer isn't going to do anything to her, are you?"

"Well, that's……."

Na Yerin had already fallen into enemy hands. And she was beautiful.

"I know what he is, a man capable of the most despicable acts. He is harmful to Yerin by his very existence. He deserves to be removed from this world. The mere fact that he is near her now drives me mad. I must somehow separate him from her. I must not allow him to be near her. I can't let him make her look bad!"

"What does that have to do with all this commotion, Ryuyeon?"

Hyorong still didn't seem to understand, but Jang Hong seemed to have gotten it.

'No way, you thought that far…….'

Ryuyeon Bi continued.

"He must be a high-ranking official of the Heavenly Palace!"

Bi Ryuyeon said in a stern voice.

"What's that……."

Jang Hong interrupts the dumbfounded Hyo-ryong.

"And then I'll explain, which is this. How many years have we seen this much commotion?"

"Well, it won't happen in a decade, at least."

Except for one incident, and that was an internal problem, not an external intrusion.

"Yeah. That means it's a state of emergency. It's not a state of play for the highest officials."

It's starting to make sense to Hyo-Ryong.

"So what you're saying is that it's just to keep those higher-ups busy?"

"That's right, I think he's at least a captain, and with his age and martial prowess, it's hard to imagine him being anything less, otherwise he'd have less authority and less to do. I think he's either one of the Thirteen Captains of the Thirteen Thousand, or one of the Thirteen Lords."

"No way……."

Hyo-ryong didn't seem to believe Bi Ryuyeon's reasoning at first.

"But I haven't heard of any changes in the last hundred years, and that's because……."

Jang Hong was told.

"He must be one of the captains of the Thousand and Thirty-three!"

"How can you be so sure? Sure, the Captain of the Thousand and Thirteenth is powerful, but he's not the only one in a position of authority. There are tutelaries and councils."

"No, I think I'm one of the thirteen captains."

"Why?"

"Because only the leader is allowed to cultivate his own power within the Heavenly Pavilion, and he is always seeking revenge against the Martial Lord Nie Bai Tian. It's hard to imagine that such a person would have spent the last nine years without cultivating his own power."

"But what if it's not?"

"And then we'll have to deal with the rest of the Senate and the Favorites and all that."

"Is this going too far?"

"Well, there's another reliable metric."

"What is that?"

"Sense."

"Gam?"

"Yeah, my gut tells me he's one of them, the damn one-armed bastard."

"One-armed?"

"Yeah, he's a one-armed man, so we'll know when we see him, whether he's the captain of the Thirteen or the Senate. He's wiped out the garrison, and with all this commotion, I'm sure they'll call an emergency meeting. If any of them aren't there, they'll be the most suspicious."

Once you've shaken up the board in a big way, you'll have a much wider range of possibilities. The enemy must not be allowed to do anything else. To keep its eyes on this place, on themselves, that was what Bi Ryuyeon was aiming for. She had to buy time.

"But Ryuyeon, that's a little weird."

"What?"

"None of the fourteen hundred and thirty captains is a one-armed man."

Jang Hong looked very surprised. On second thought, he had never heard of a one-armed master in his twenty-third year, and neither had the Council of Elders. However, Bi Ryuyeon was not the least bit agitated.

"Of course, because he's a one-armed man and he's not a one-armed man."

"What does that even mean?"

Jang Hong felt that Bi Ryuyeon's words were like a riddle, not easily understood.

"I'll know it when I see it."