<Black Flame Dragon Amid the Chaos (3)>
After leaving the banquet hall, Hong Saryeon let out a long sigh.
She’d laughed so much inside that her jaw was aching.
As she tried to recall the last time she’d laughed like that, Saryeon quickly realized it was pointless.
Ever since she’d taken the enormous burden of Taeul Sect onto her shoulders, she’d always felt as if she were walking along the edge of a sharp blade.
‘From the start, I wasn’t suited to bear a burden like this.’
Even so, she’d had no choice. She knew that the moment she put it down, everyone would be plunged into suffering.
“Heh …”
She suddenly thought of her Eldest Senior Brother, who’d arrived late to the banquet and beaten Geumpyo to a pulp.
When she’d asked him what he was doing and tried to stop him, he’d said, “This is all to establish Taeul Sect’s traditions”—a statement she couldn’t make heads or tails of.
Honestly. Since when had Taeul Sect ever had traditions?
She’d chuckled to herself, but then she felt sorry for her Eldest Senior Brother.
She knew why her shoulders felt lighter.
She knew why her laughter came so freely.
It was because her Eldest Senior Brother had taken her burden onto his own shoulders.
“ …I’m hopeless.”
Instead of thinking about how to help the person who’d taken on her burden, she was simply relieved.
Even by her own standards, she was hopeless.
“What are you doing out here by yourself?”
At the familiar voice, she turned and saw a man approaching in a martial uniform embroidered with silver thread on black cloth.
Saryeon didn’t answer. She turned away again.
“Is something weighing on you?”
He was always like this.
Even as he bore the heaviest burdens and endured the most painful things,
he would look at the people around him and ask:
“If something’s troubling you, tell me.”
“ …”
And yet he was the one who had shed the most blood …
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”
“You silly girl.”
His rough hand came down on her head.
He ruffled her carefully styled hair, messing it up.
She’d told him she hated having her hair touched. She’d told him over and over.
But the calluses on his hand kept her from complaining.
As if he were brushing her hair with a branch,
or rubbing it with a rough stone,
the coarse, firm touch felt so good, so comforting.
She didn’t swat his hand away or pull her head aside.
“Little Sister Ryeon, you’re always worrying about the other children and forgetting to look after yourself.”
Who was he to say that?
“I’ll do my best to look after you, but your Eldest Senior Brother isn’t exactly reliable, is he? So if you need anything, tell me first, all right?”
Then who’s going to look after you, Senior Brother?
She desperately wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring herself to say it.
She already knew exactly what he would answer.
“I’m sorry I’m not someone you can rely on, Little Sister.”
And that answer would make her heart ache.
“Sniff … hic …”
Why did she always start crying at times like this?
Since growing up, she’d never cried in front of even her father, yet she’d cried in front of her Eldest Senior Brother so many times.
“W-wait. Are you crying? I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched your hair. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it.”
And why did her foolish Senior Brother never understand why she was crying?
No matter how much time passed, she couldn’t understand it.
“Th-there. Look. Your hair’s back to how it was. Is that better?”
As he said that, he ruffled her hair all over again.
The more he tried to fix it, the messier it became. But the more disheveled her hair got, the more her pent-up feelings began to settle.
“ …Stop it.”
“Just wait a little. I’m almost done …”
“Stop it!”
“ …Ah! Sorry.”
The Senior Brother who’d fearlessly bared his teeth even before the greatest experts stiffened at her shout and took a step back.
“Phew …”
“You’re not angry, are you?”
“I’m not angry.”
“You sound angry.”
“Just you wait!”
She raised her fist, and he lifted his hands and feet to shield his face as though terrified.
At the ridiculous sight, Saryeon burst out laughing again.
“Pfft. Honestly.”
Once again, she forgot all about the weight on her shoulders and laughed like a child.
“Don’t worry too much. Everything will work out.”
“ …”
What exactly did he mean would work out?
Saryeon couldn’t quite tell what Jin Sowoon was looking toward.
“What kind of future do you want, Senior Brother?”
She needed to know what future he hoped for so she could help make it happen.
“The future I want …”
Jin Sowoon didn’t answer. He gazed out at Dongting Lake, cloaked in darkness.
“To me, that dark lake looks just like the world.”
“ …”
“And I hope Taeul Sect will be one of the lights shining brightly out there.”
Jin Sowoon spoke with a look in his eyes as if he were reaching back through the years.
“That’s all I want.”
His words were hard to understand, yet somehow clear.
But when Saryeon saw his gaze sink into the depths, she couldn’t ask anything more.
She could only think that, whatever he wanted, she would do her best to make it happen.
After the incident in which someone had impersonated the Demonic Cult rocked Yueyang, all the sects and businesses connected to Diancang had gone quiet.
Starting with Yuwol Gate, the sects tied to it were being investigated by Diancang one after another. Those who had once ruled Yueyang like tigers in the mountains were now lowering their heads on their own, afraid someone might find fault with them.
Changseong Sect was no exception.
They were in a difficult position, faced with the unwelcome arrival of some visitors.
“Just a few days ago, didn’t you say we should join forces to protect Yueyang?!”
“Naseong Martial Hall and Hongjuk Gang have already fallen to the heretical faction’s attacks.”
“They won’t stop here. They’ll keep going until they’ve brought all of Yueyang under their control.”
They claimed to be young disciples from nearby righteous sects and their friends.
If that had been all they were, Changseong Sect wouldn’t have let them inside in the first place.
‘When he said academy students, I thought some impressive people had come …’
The sect leader of Changseong Sect shot a sharp glare at the Guardian Hall Master.
They were students at the Martial Academy, but most of them had no connection to the Righteous Path Association or the Twelve Peaks of the White Path Association.
It was certainly right to listen to them, considering that they might go on to rise through the ranks of the Martial Alliance.
But when their own sects were standing at the edge of a precipice, their futures didn’t look bright either.
“We’re already making plans. For now, return to your sects and wait.”
“Our sects are on the verge of falling to the heretical faction’s blades. Please, we beg you to help.”
He knew.
More than half of Yueyang would probably fall into the hands of the heretical martial world because of this incident.
But with suspicion toward Diancang running so high, Changseong Sect had no justification for moving against them.
Diancang was probably thinking of the future.
They were turning a blind eye for now, waiting until the dark faction’s abuses grew rampant and public outrage mounted. Then they would take Yueyang back.
“Didn’t I tell you? We’re making plans. Can’t you see that your interference is only making things harder?”
At the sect leader’s order to leave, the academy students, led by Jang Ujae, who’d been raising his voice in protest, left Changseong Sect as if they’d been driven out.
“Damn it. What are we supposed to do now …?”
Jang Ujae, the legitimate heir of Yujang Sect, which was based in Yueyang, was distraught at the sight of his sect’s future hanging by a thread.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like this …”
The academy students who’d visited Yujang Sect during the break at Jang Ujae’s invitation could only look at him sympathetically.
Like Jang Ujae, they’d all pulled up the foundations of their sects to attend the Martial Academy.
They had no way to help Yujang Sect.
“Instead of this, why don’t we ask someone else for help?”
“Didn’t you see? Everyone we’ve visited has turned us down.”
“I heard some members of the Righteous Path Association are meeting in Yueyang right now.”
“The Righteous Path Association?”
“That’s right. I heard that some adults from the Alliance are there, too—not just academy students. Shouldn’t we ask them for help?”
“Where are they?”
As if grasping at a rotten straw, Jang Ujae sprang to his feet.
“What are you thinking about?”
At the voice behind him, Ilgak abruptly came to his senses.
“ …”
He turned away from the large ship, the brightest one on Dongting Lake, and from the two people standing at its railing.
“Have you arrived, Venerable Monk?”
Hyeseong didn’t respond to Ilgak’s greeting. He went to the spot where Ilgak had been standing and looked toward the large ship.
Then he nodded as if he understood.
“You’ve been troubled by doubts.”
“ …”
At Hyeseong’s words, Ilgak was too ashamed to reply.
“That boy defeated you, I hear. Was it that much of a shock?”
Hyeseong shook his head at Ilgak’s troubled expression.
“Your training is lacking.”
“ …It’s not because I lost.”
“Then what is it?”
“I want to understand the source of existence.”
“Tsk. I thought you’d found enlightenment after studying the Tendon-Changing Scripture and practicing wall-gazing meditation …”
As Hyeseong clicked his tongue, Ilgak, who had been lost in thought, asked in a low voice:
“Venerable Monk, have I truly found enlightenment?”
“Doesn’t the Vajra Power you manifested prove it?”
“Venerable Monk, in my studies, I learned that Vajra Power, Taiji Power, and the Three Pure Power can only be manifested by those who have undergone deep training and patience, meditation and reflection, and the pain that comes at the end of life.”
“That’s right. They aren’t powers just anyone can use.”
Ilgak looked again at the man standing on the ship, then asked:
“What he manifested was clearly Jade Purity Heavenly Star Power. How was that possible?”
“ …”
Ilgak still hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing Jin Sowoon use Jade Purity Heavenly Star Power during their spar.
No. Ever since that day, he’d been lost in deep doubt.
“He’s vulgar, cowardly, dishonest, and a good liar. He’ll use any means necessary to achieve his goals. So how can someone like that use Jade Purity Heavenly Star Power? Is he really an evil person?”
“ …Tsk. You’re confused by the phenomenon unfolding before your eyes.”
Hyeseong slowly shook his head.
“Sometimes a demon appears before you wearing the face of a saint, and poison is always mixed into fragrant wine. Why let yourself be deceived by a mere phenomenon that clouds your vision?”
“ …”
Ilgak was confused.
Were all the things that had happened, all the sides of Jin Sowoon he’d seen, truly the actions of a man wearing the mask of a villain, just as Hyeseong said?
And, conversely, could Ilgak say that his own conduct had always been that of a saint?
“Cast aside your delusions. The countless delusions in your mind are what feed your doubt. Never forget that this is the first step on the path of cultivation.”
It was orthodox Buddhist doctrine.
A golden rule he’d never once questioned.
Ilgak forced his stiff lips to part.
“ …I’ll remember.”
Hyeseong nodded for a moment, then spoke.
“The association leader sent word.”
“ …You mean the leader of the Righteous Path Association?”
Ilgak had heard about what was happening in Yueyang.
Diancang must have been busy dealing with this latest blow. Why would the association leader contact them?
“That’s right. He wants us to go investigate what happened in Sichuan.”
“ …You mean an assignment outside the academy?”
“That’s right.”
“ …But the time to return to the Martial Academy is drawing near.”
He held back the words, “During the school term, academy students need the academy representative’s permission to take on outside assignments.”
He knew that would only stir up more doubts in Hyeseong.
“That’s why he wants us to go. Before the academy representative can stop us.”
“ …”
His intentions were obvious.
“His intentions are obvious.”
It was a deliberate move, meant to provoke Jin Sowoon.
“He’s deliberately making this move in response to what happened in Yueyang.”
He wanted to weaken Jin Sowoon’s influence and get something out of him.
“Perhaps this will give us a chance to establish a presence in Yueyang. Diancang would probably hand it over in its current state.”
“ …”
Ilgak had no answer. He brought his hands together in prayer.
“Amitabha.”
“Yes, yes. This truly couldn’t have been done without the Buddha’s blessing.”
Hyeseong burst into a smug laugh.
Ilgak was startled when, for a moment, Hyeseong’s face looked like a demon’s. He quickly tried to shake off the delusion.
‘Amitabha.’
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