By Zephyria 
HF 48
===
* * *
The atmosphere at the Kunlun Sect was unusual. It was due to the news that the Haeun Express had completed a delivery to the Ice Palace.
“I am told that the purpose of the delivery was the Snow Lotus, a spirit medicine of the Ice Palace.”
Yu Yeol-mun, the eldest disciple and considered the next successor of the Kunlun Sect, reported his findings to his grandfather.
“The Ice Palace gave a Snow Lotus to the Haeun Express?”
Yu Cheong-pung, the Supreme True Human and Yu Yeol-mun’s grandfather, asked back in bewilderment.
“No, grandfather. I heard that the Haeun Express delivered a Snow Lotus to the Ice Palace.”
The Snow Lotus was a precious spirit medicine that grew only in the North Sea. Accordingly, it was managed under strict security, and its removal from the palace was forbidden. It was baffling where the Haeun Express had obtained a Snow Lotus to send to the Ice Palace.
“Do you know who the client was?”
Yu Cheong-pung’s appearance did not differ greatly from that of his grandson, Yu Yeol-mun. This was because he was a master who had achieved returning to youth.
“Seeing as the client’s identity was kept strictly secret, I suspect it is the Demon Sect, no matter how I think about it.”
Yu Yeol-mun gritted his teeth.
Because the Kunlun Sect was located geographically close to the Demon Sect among the orthodox sects, it had been the first to take a hit during the Great War of Righteous and Demonic over a decade ago.
To invade the Kunlun Sect, the Demon Sect had to cross the rugged Kunlun Mountains. Having let their guard down due to the topographical advantage, the Kunlun Sect suffered greatly from the Demon Sect’s onset.
If the Kunlun Sect had not fought desperately to block the Demon Sect’s preemptive strike back then, the Great War of Righteous and Demonic might have leaned toward a victory for the Demon Sect. The Kunlun Sect became heroes, but in exchange, they lost over seventy percent of their strength and had yet to recover their former momentum.
“Yeol-mun, have I not told you that hasty judgments always ruin you? Do not harass the Haeun Express based on mere suspicion.”
However, Yu Yeol-mun expressed his opinion to Yu Cheong-pung once more.
“Have I not said before that the Haeun Express is suspicious? They say the bureau chief is from Hebei, but even after sending people to Hebei to inquire, no one knows him. Is that not strange? For someone from Hebei to suddenly appear here in Qinghai and take over a dying express bureau.”
A year had passed since he planted a spy in the Haeun Express, yet Yu Yeol-mun had still not obtained any significant information.
“It seems certain that the Demon Sect has made some kind of deal with the Ice Palace. Since the Demon Lord suffers from the nine yang severed meridian, perhaps he threatened the Ice Palace or requested aid? It is certain that the Snow Lotus was obtained from somewhere and offered to win the Ice Palace’s favor.”
At that moment, Yu Cheong-pung burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, Cheon Mu-gyeong has the nine yang severed meridian?”
Yu Cheong-pung stood up, unable to wipe the smile from his face.
“That is nonsense, but even if it were true, demonic practitioners requesting aid from the Ice Palace and offering a Snow Lotus? That is simply absurd.”
The Supreme True Human’s hermitage was located at the edge of Mount Kunlun, appearing distant from the secular world, but the interior was filled with all sorts of antiques. In particular, because he enjoyed collecting ceramics, blue-and-white porcelain sat upon the tea table. Yu Yeol-mun thought that selling those alone would be a great help to Kunlun, but he did not speak it aloud.
“Yeol-mun, how can you, the eldest disciple, be swayed by such nonsense?”
Yu Cheong-pung scolded him somewhat sternly.
“It is not nonsense. It is a fact that the Cult Leader is searching for an extreme yin constitution.”
Yu Cheong-pung, with his hands behind his back like an old man, gave his grandson a faint smile. He looked like a clean and handsome scholar, but the experience dwelling within his clear eyes was heavy.
“If what you say is true, then the Cult Leader need only sit and wait for death.”
“If he finds an extreme yin constitution, he will overcome the nine yang severed meridian, so this is surely a grave problem.”
The one who started the Great War of Righteous and Demonic was the previous Cult Leader of the Demon Sect, but Yu Yeol-mun shuddered just as much at the current Cult Leader. This was because he had crossed swords with Cheon Mu-gyeong during the war.
“By the way, Yeol-mun, to whom do you owe it that your right arm is still intact?”
“I would have preferred it be cut off over receiving pity!”
No matter how much time passed, Yu Yeol-mun found the fact that he survived by Cheon Mu-gyeong’s mercy to be humiliating.
“If only grandfather had been there back then…”
Because words blaming Yu Cheong-pung slipped out unconsciously, Yu Yeol-mun could not bring himself to lift his head.
During the Great War of Righteous and Demonic, Yu Cheong-pung had been in seclusion, leaving the secular world to cross the wall of the Hwa-gyeong realm. By the time he heard the news and arrived at Kunlun, the Demon Sect had already returned to the hundred thousand great mountains.
Even they did not know the reason why the Demon Sect had suddenly abandoned the invasion of the Central Plains and returned. However, instead of chasing the Demon Sect, Yu Cheong-pung focused on reorganizing the heavily damaged Kunlun Sect.
“Yeol-mun, is the prestige of Kunlun so important?”
“…….”
Yeol-mun could not answer easily. Kunlun was originally one of the Nine Sects and One Gang, boasting powerful influence even among them.
Yet, despite risking their lives to stop the Demon Sect, all they received from the Nine Sects and One Gang were meaningless thanks and indifference. In particular, the Shaolin and Wudang sects had used the Great War of Righteous and Demonic as an opportunity to surpass Kunlun’s prestige. In truth, Yeol-mun’s anger toward his allies’ betrayal was greater than his anger toward the enemy.
“I believe it is important.”
At the unexpected answer from Yu Cheong-pung, Yeol-mun snapped his head up.
“Therefore, would it not be more appropriate to focus on nurturing the rising generation rather than being consumed by useless feelings of revenge?”
Only then did Yeol-mun look moved, as if he had finally understood his grandfather’s deep intentions. To do something more important than digging into the shady Haeun Express or hunting for hidden demonic bastards, Yeol-mun also stood up.
“This lacking grandson deeply thanks grandfather for his enlightenment.”
“Yeol-mun, I trust only in you, the future of Kunlun.”
“I shall ensure that I never betray that trust.”
After bowing with great solemnity, Yu Yeol-mun headed for the training grounds without further delay. There were still promising disciples remaining in Kunlun. Yu Cheong-pung, who had been smiling benevolently, wiped the smile from his face as soon as Yu Yeol-mun’s back disappeared from sight.
“Damn it.”
His composure vanished completely, and Yu Cheong-pung, with the face of a clean scholar, slumped sloppily into his chair.
“That bastard scares me too.”
Yu Cheong-pung only pretended to be refined because he had ascended to the unwanted position of Supreme True Human; his original temperament was closer to this.
“But wouldn’t it be worth a shot now?”
No way, no way. Yu Cheong-pung shook his head. The first time he saw Cheon Mu-gyeong was just before he became the Cult Leader. The image of him possessing an immense heat within his body was vivid, but it was definitely not the nine yang severed meridian. Someone suffering from a severed meridian condition could not operate internal energy in such a manner.
If Yu Cheong-pung had not engaged in a martial arts duel with Cheon Mu-gyeong that day, he would not have crossed the wall of Hwa-gyeong. He had even fled in the middle of a life-and-death duel with a green youth. As embarrassing as it was, his life was more important. And because he gained a deep realization there, he was able to reach the realm of Hwa-gyeong.
“The Demon Sect and the Ice Palace, huh.”
Though he had played dumb with Yeol-mun, Yu Cheong-pung also found the Haeun Express suspicious. Especially since they happened to visit the Ice Palace with a Snow Lotus.
The Cult Leader was a man who manifested such fire energy during a life-and-death duel that one wondered if he would burn himself to death. Currently, the situation might have worsened, and he might be searching for an extreme yin constitution to try something.
“Ho, this might be worth trying.”
Should I poke around the Haeun Express a bit? For the first time in a long while, Yu Cheong-pung’s eyes burned with a competitive spirit.
* * *
“You’ve been unable to see since birth?”
Ho-yeon’s eyebrows drooped deeply as he carefully touched Abok’s blindfold with his fingertips.
“Yes, young master.”
At Abok’s words that he had been blind since birth, Ho-yeon felt nothing but pity. He felt even more sorry for having felt a betrayal as large as a bowl of rice toward such a person. Abok was completely innocent. In fact, the people of the Demonic Shadow Martial House were the same. If there was any sin, it belonged solely to Cheon Mu-gyeong.
“Still, Abok, you are truly amazing to have eyes sharper than those who can see.”
“It is thanks to my other senses developing in place of sight.”
Abok was originally a man of few words, but he tended to open up a bit more when it was just the two of them. He didn’t know where the food was being sourced from, but Jangun would bring out a table whenever it was mealtime.
Ho-yeon shared the food, which was more than enough for him, with Abok. When Abok repeatedly refused, Ho-yeon threatened that he wouldn’t eat unless Abok did, and only then did Abok pick up his chopsticks.
After finishing the meal, Ho-yeon, who was out in the yard with Abok, patted his chest. Though his field of vision was wide open, the feeling of suffocation was indescribable.
Even a dog living in the North Sea wanders from neighborhood to neighborhood, yet he, staying in the hundred thousand great mountains, was confined only to the Shadowless Pavilion. To make matters worse, Cheon Mu-gyeong had not been seen for two days. He had asked Jangun, who was monitoring him, if he could tell Mu-gyeong to let him go out to the marketplace, but Jangun only told Ho-yeon to ask him directly.
Recently, Ho-yeon had tried hiding in every possible hiding spot within the Shadowless Pavilion. However, as if there were an invisible string attached to him, Mu-gyeong found him with ghostly precision. And only when Mu-gyeong himself needed him.
Sometimes Ho-yeon was dragged out from under the bed, and other times he was caught while hiding behind the silk quilts hung in the yard, only to faint after his yin energy was sucked dry.
When Mu-gyeong did not intend to take yin energy, he didn’t look for him until Ho-yeon came out exhausted on his own. The hardest place was atop the main beam. It was an absolute ordeal to be stretched out straight along the long wooden beam.
From that day on, Ho-yeon withdrew his plan to observe what the man would do after he disappeared.
If he truly set his mind to it, escaping while Mu-gyeong was away would not be difficult, but he was very concerned about the children of Eumbyeol Hall.
“That’s the only way to keep the Ice Palace from becoming a wasteland.”
“Because even if you flee elsewhere, if he’s the Cult Leader, he’ll smash the Ice Palace first.”
The words the man said while pretending to be the young master of the Demonic Shadow Martial House remained in his heart.
“Abok, you rest here for a while.”
Ho-yeon left Abok on the wooden platform and walked softly back into the house. Since he couldn’t stay like this forever, he intended to try a risky move for now.
Ho-yeon rolled up his white hair, secured it with a silk ribbon, and put on a bamboo hat. Then, he wrapped the seven-stringed zither he had borrowed from the Jade Pavilion in silk and slung it over his back.
When Ho-yeon stepped outside, Abok looked puzzled. It was because the sound of footsteps was heading outward, not approaching the platform. Abok stepped closer to Ho-yeon.
“Where are you going, young master?”
“I plan to stop by the Jade Pavilion; would you like to come along?”
“Yes, for I am the young master’s servant.”
Ho-yeon intentionally raised his voice when saying he was going to the Jade Pavilion. He did it so that Jangun, who was monitoring him, would hear. However, there was no reaction from Jangun. Ho-yeon walked out of the yard with Abok by his side as if to show off. Once he left the Shadowless Pavilion, a mountain path appeared immediately.
As he crossed the yard, Ho-yeon glanced back. He clearly thought he would be stopped, but surprisingly, Jangun remained standing in the same spot and did not particularly block him.
“I’m leaving, okay?”
Ho-yeon tentatively spoke to Jangun.