By Zephyria 
At this moment, he was the only one here who had the right to feel such emotions. How could a man who had deceived and humiliated others with such a brazen face dare to show even a shred of agony before him? Could any human being possibly do that?
“I am sorry I could not reveal the truth sooner. However…”
Before Seong Mu-yeon could finish his sentence, his eyes widened, and he spun backward to distance himself.
Kwang-!
Peng Do-hwan’s greatsword struck exactly where he had been standing.
A crater roughly ten feet wide formed around the sword, sending clumps of earth flying in all directions. Had he failed to dodge in time, it was a strike powerful enough to cleave a man in two.
“Save your excuses for the afterlife and confess them directly to my brother.”
Peng Yuan-jin leaped from the ground.
Blood continued to flow from the wound on his face, but he paid it no mind.
Two men who had entrusted their backs to one another until a moment ago were now engaged in a life-and-death struggle.
Peng Do-hwan, who had claimed he would stay by his father’s deathbed, was nowhere to be found; his gaze was fixed solely on the enemy before him.
It could not be otherwise.
Not only had the enemy he spent three full years searching for been mocking him while hiding his identity by his side, but he, in his foolishness, had shamefully trusted him and opened his heart.
The sense of betrayal and shame was enough to paralyze Peng Do-hwan’s reason. The fleeting realization was shattered into countless pieces, leaving no trace, by Seong Mu-yeon’s appearance.
Seong Mu-yeon evaded the trajectory of the greatsword as skillfully as a loach. Only innocent corpses were crushed underfoot, and trees were sliced in two by the stray Sword Energy.
“I did not kill Young Master Peng.”
As the tree that had been behind him a moment ago split with a crack and collapsed, Seong Mu-yeon let out a faint sigh and spoke in a small but firm voice.
“Young Master Peng Yuan-jin stabbed his own heart.”
“Are you telling me to believe such absurd nonsense right now!”
One chased, and the other fled.
As the one-sided situation continued, with Seong Mu-yeon only dodging as if he had no intention of fighting, Peng Do-hwan became even more infuriated.
“Draw your sword, Seong Mu-yeon! If you are a martial artist, face me fairly!”
The veins in Peng Do-hwan’s neck bulged. However, Seong Mu-yeon did not even counterattack. At a glance, he even seemed composed.
‘I just have to make it so he has no choice but to draw his sword to survive!’
Peng Do-hwan unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks. Every single strike was a lethal killing move intended to force a counterattack from his opponent.
Meanwhile, Seong Mu-yeon felt conflicted.
‘Should I have listened to Il-gwang?’
It was too late for regrets. Thanks to that, he had saved Peng Do-hwan’s life, but…
“Seong Mu-yeon!”
He gave a bitter smile as he dodged the greatsword aiming for his flank.
…To think that he would be the one in danger instead.
Of all moments for his mask to be removed. It felt like a prank of fate. It was as if fate were cunningly informing him that no matter how much he ran, it was bound to end this way eventually.
Seong Mu-yeon scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. He felt a ripple of energy not far away. In a situation where enemies scattered nearby could strike at any moment, he could not afford to waste time.
Furthermore, if even Baek Ryeo-il arrived, then a real disaster would ensue.
“How long are you going to keep running!”
Vwoong-!
A chilling sound of slicing air brushed past his ear. It was an agile attack, but Seong Mu-yeon had already vacated the spot.
Landing lightly some distance away, Seong Mu-yeon immediately twisted his body to easily avoid the thrusting greatsword.
He could see Peng Do-hwan’s face flushing red with rage because Seong Mu-yeon kept slipping away.
In truth, Peng Do-hwan’s attacks were not a threat at all.
Unlike Peng Do-hwan, who had consumed a great deal of inner force during the fierce battle until just now, Seong Mu-yeon maintained the same swift movements as at the start. It was because he had been able to conserve his strength by stepping back from the front lines.
Completely enraged, Peng Do-hwan swung his sword recklessly, as if an old habit had resurfaced. Due to his inefficient movements, he was wasting a significant amount of inner force.
Moreover, the bleeding from the wound on Peng Do-hwan’s face continued. Since blood is as good as life, he would tire out even faster.
Sure enough, as the forms repeated, Peng Do-hwan’s sword rapidly lost its power, and before long, he became noticeably sluggish.
Subduing him would be no problem. The real problem was that he had already seen his face.
Unless he performed an Exterminate the Clan, Peng Do-hwan would hunt him until the day he died.
Now, not only could he no longer pretend to be Yak Seon’s servant, but he had also brought great harm to Yak Seon, who had hidden him.
In the end, only one choice remained.
“I shall tell you the truth of that day.”
“I don’t want to hear it!”
Peng Do-hwan let out a roar and continued his attack. However, he seemed to have reached his limit, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily.
“That day, I headed underground to stop a conspiracy to steal the Spirit Pills. But the mechanisms had already been deactivated. The person who deactivated them was Jegal Un.”
“Shut up! It is already common knowledge that you used evil sorcery on Young Master Jegal to manipulate him as you pleased!”
Despite Peng Do-hwan’s violent reaction, Seong Mu-yeon continued speaking without hesitation.
“No. Do you think Young Master Jegal would have given me an opening to use such evil sorcery? He did not trust me until the end. Rather, he was enchanted by the Flowering Bone and lost his reason, simply doing as he was told.”
“Flowering Bone? Is that the only card you’ve come up with? Are you trying to claim that the Flowering Bone, who were exterminated long ago, were there?”
Peng Do-hwan snorted loudly. He clearly did not believe it. It was understandable, as the name Flowering Bone had not been mentioned in the Martial world for a long time, and few even remembered them.
Seong Mu-yeon curled his lips into a bitter smile.
“That is correct. The Flowering Bone were there.”
If he said there were as many as two of them there, would he believe it?
“What nonsense are you talking about! I told you I don’t want to hear it! Shut up!”
Kwang-!
As if anticipating the next words to come out of Seong Mu-yeon’s mouth, Peng Do-hwan screamed and swung his sword. A fierce strike slammed into the ground at Seong Mu-yeon’s feet.
However, as if that were the attack that squeezed out the last of his strength, Peng Do-hwan could not even pull the sword out of the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.
“I don’t believe… a word you say…”
Eventually, Peng Do-hwan’s inner force ran dry.
The trembling of his arms was visible to the naked eye, as if he no longer had the strength to hold the greatsword, which boasted a massive weight. Sweat poured from his entire body like rain, and even his breathing was erratic.
Yet, the final attack, which poured in all his remaining inner force, could not silence Seong Mu-yeon.
“Did you know that Young Master Peng Yuan-jin was of the Flowering Bone?”
At the words that finally slipped out, Peng Do-hwan flared up.
“That’s impossible! He is the brother I lived with my entire life! If he were Flowering Bone, there is no way I wouldn’t know!”
An enchanting appearance that draws the gaze of everyone regardless of gender or age is the most prominent characteristic of the Flowering Bone. Because it is an advantageous survival strategy for a clan that lives by absorbing the Jin-gi of others, only those with beautiful appearances survived to carry on the lineage. However, Peng Yuan-jin did not show such characteristics. He was handsome, but nothing more.
Furthermore, it is impossible for those around them not to notice the enchantment that leaks out regardless of will. It is said that one can only control it once they have grown enough to read and write.
“It would be possible if the bloodline had grown diluted after the extermination.”
Not only Seong Mu-yeon, but even Seomun Yuha, who strongly inherited the Flowering Bone bloodline, had not guessed his identity. If he had kept the secret that thoroughly, it was not very strange that Peng Do-hwan did not know.
The two had different mothers. Everyone knew that the first wife of the Peng Family Head, who died before Peng Do-hwan was born, was an extraordinary beauty.
By this point, Peng Do-hwan himself seemed to no longer be certain. It seemed the thought had occurred to him that Peng Yuan-jin might truly be of the Flowering Bone bloodline.
But he did not back down.
“So what if he was! Does that give my brother a reason to commit suicide! My brother grew up in abundance without lack, and he had a guaranteed life as the next Family Head of the Habeok Peng Clan; there is no reason for him to make such a choice! A spy of the Demonic Cult… how ridiculous.”
“That is…”
Seong Mu-yeon could not bring himself to continue. When Peng Yuan-jin had told him this story, even he, as a third party, had doubted his own ears; he was worried about how great a shock this would be for Peng Do-hwan.
“It seems you’ve run out of excuses. What now? Since persuasion has failed, will you try to Exterminate the Clan?”
Peng Do-hwan mocked him. However, his face, distorted mercilessly by hatred and murderous intent, momentarily looked like that of a person writhing in agony.