10 – A Scholar Dies for the One Who Knows Him (1)

The bamboo leaves brushed against one another in the wind.

Crows burst into flight above the blood-red bamboo groves, as if soaked in blood.

“Where did you come from?”

An old man spoke in a languid tone.

But he was no ordinary old man.

A stiff, unyielding presence.

And beneath it all, a dense scent of blood.

Like bamboo that had grown red by feeding on blood, the presence of Zhao Xiangzi was alien and unnatural.

Thinking how damp gloom and rigid uprightness could coexist, Chui stepped forward one pace.

Watching this, Zhao Xiangzi stroked his beard with interest.

“Judging by the look of you, you’re not one who walks the orthodox path. Nalak Valley? Peidao Society? Or are you from the far side of Black Sand?”

Chui answered the question briefly.

“Hojungmun.”

“?”

For the first time, a strange light flickered in Zhao Xiangzi’s eyes.

“An offspring raised by the master of Hojungmun? Hard to believe. A dog cannot raise a tiger.”

“…”

“What is your connection to Hojungmun?”

To Zhao Xiangzi’s follow-up question, Chui again replied briefly.

“A porter.”

“??”

“Or a stable hand.”

“???”

Thinking Chui was joking, Zhao Xiangzi shook his head.

“Well then. What does it matter where you belong? If a guest has come to earn his living by the blade, then it is only right to send him off with steel.”

Zhao Xiangzi began to raise his momentum.

Chui, too, extended the spear in his hand forward.

Shrring—

At last, a long sword slid free from Zhao Xiangzi’s waist.

A bluish sword aura flowed along the blade, then began to spin fiercely.

Chui thought to himself.

“So this is what Zhao Xiangzi looks like alive. A strange feeling.”

Before his regression, Zhao Xiangzi had lived out his natural lifespan and died of old age.

Because he died of old age, the pursuers from the Zhao family stopped hunting Ho Yeyang and turned back, allowing her to survive and flee into the army.

Ho Yeyang suffered for the rest of her life because of it.

Because she had not been able to kill Zhao Xiangzi with her own hands.

And now, Chui stood before a living Zhao Xiangzi.

This was the place Ho Yeyang of his past life had yearned for until the moment of her death.

Crunch—

The black spear clenched in Chui’s hand trembled violently.

Then—

Clang!

Zhao Xiangzi’s sword collided with Chui’s spear.

As the two cold weapons met, sparks of heat slowly bloomed from the point of contact.

The internal energies transmitted through the weapons intertwined savagely, heating the metal to a glow.

“…!”

The one who retreated first was Zhao Xiangzi.

He frowned as he looked at his long sword, its edge now stained red.

“What kind of heretical art is this?”

“Why?”

“Why does your internal energy carry the aura of my Zhao family?”

Zhao Xiangzi’s doubt was well-founded.

At present, Chui was using internal energy cultivated through the Zhao family’s secret inner technique.

Strictly speaking, it was not Chui’s own energy, but that of the Zhao family warriors who had become vengeful spirits and submitted to him.

Tssssssss…

Dark red demonic energy rose like heat haze from Chui’s entire body.

The warriors of the Black Dao Gang and the Zhao family had become vengeful spirits, pouring their internal energy into Chui.

Having stepped through all nine levels of the Qu Pavilion, Chui’s cultivation had reached a depth capable of contending even with Zhao Xiangzi, who stood between first-rate and supreme mastery.

Boom!

Zhao Xiangzi stomped the ground.

The floor caved in, and cracks spread through the surrounding walls.

Zhao Xiangzi’s sword flew forward, carving a crescent-shaped arc that sliced through the air toward Chui.

Riiip!

The slashing strike bent like a whip, splitting the corridor in two.

Chui evaded sideways and thrust his spear forward three times.

Bang! Bang! Clang!

The first and second thrust pierced holes through Zhao Xiangzi’s collar and robe hem, while the third was blocked by the long sword.

Clackclackclackclack!

Zhao Xiangzi deflected Chui’s spear, and in the process sent a shower of sparks flying toward Chui’s eyes.

It was the split-second judgment of a veteran who had fought countless battles.

But—

“…!”

Zhao Xiangzi sucked in a hollow breath.

Chui did not close his eyes.

With eyes wide open, he took the sparks full on and pressed forward regardless.

If sparks fly into the eyes when weapons clash, even a master would instinctively blink.

But Chui ignored sparks bouncing off his eyeballs and thrust straight toward Zhao Xiangzi’s jaw.

Slice—

A chunk of Zhao Xiangzi’s white beard was severed, and a red dot appeared at his Adam’s apple.

Drip—

Blood flowed down from his throat, staining his collar crimson.

Yet Zhao Xiangzi’s expression remained calm.

“Heh. That was close. I almost ended up with three breathing holes.”

“…”

Chui frowned.

His side burned with heat.

He had aimed for the neck and gone in deep, but the attack had been shallow.

Because he had gone in deeply, it took time to withdraw, and he had exposed his side in the process.

[Zhao Xiang… zi…]

[His sword… too long…]

[Attack… range… wide…]

Gaining the upper hand was not easy.

Only because the Zhao family vengeful spirits were feeding him intimate knowledge of Zhao Xiangzi’s sword techniques and habits was Chui able to hold his ground.

Whoosh!

Chui hurled the awls hidden in his sleeve.

“Hm? Skilled in throwing weapons too?”

Zhao Xiangzi tilted his head aside, dodging the incoming awls.

At that moment, a hammer dropped toward his temple.

“Persistent, too.”

Zhao Xiangzi evaded the hammer and stabbed his sword toward Chui’s waist.

Chui grimaced and dodged.

Rip—

Through the torn martial robe, gray bear hide was revealed.

Chui’s side was already stained red.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiangzi smiled.

“I wonder what kind of extraordinary person raised you. Child, put down your spear even now. I will make good use of you.”

Despite his words, Zhao Xiangzi prepared his next form.

Sky-Dome Boundless Sword Technique.

True to a clan distantly related to the Namgung family, Zhao Xiangzi displayed orthodox, upright swordsmanship.

From below to above, then sweeping alternately left and right, a storm of slashes relentlessly targeted Chui’s side.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The more force Zhao Xiangzi poured into his sword, the more Chui’s spear was pushed back.

Before he knew it, Chui was gripping the spear just beneath the blade.

But he had no chance to readjust his grip.

Zhao Xiangzi was charging forward, slashing the air as if tearing it apart.

Before long, Chui was pressed tight against the wall, gripping the spear beneath its blade.

Zhao Xiangzi stood before him, holding the long sword horizontally.

“It’s over.”

“…”

Chui had been driven to a position where he could no longer block the sword.

The spear had become too short, and the shaft jutting backward was caught against the wall, leaving him unable to move properly.

In that situation—

“Farewell.”

Zhao Xiangzi thrust his sword toward Chui’s side.

Thud!

The long blade plunged into Chui’s body.

“…”

Chui clenched his mouth shut.

Bright red blood flowed from his lips and dripped beneath his chin, but no scream escaped.

“Not even a scream? Impressive.”

Zhao Xiangzi pushed the sword even deeper into Chui’s side.

“My son is nothing like you. Taebeom—he collapses for a whole day if he even cuts a finger on a blade.”

Bitterness colored Zhao Xiangzi’s voice.

He peered into Chui’s face and clicked his tongue.

“That’s why I wanted a bold, spirited daughter-in-law. That’s why I proposed a marriage to Hojungmun. I don’t know how much longer I’ll live, but shouldn’t I at least enjoy my grandchildren in my final years?”

At that moment—

Grab!

Chui seized the blade embedded in his side with his hand.

“You don’t know how long you’ll live?”

“…!”

Zhao Xiangzi’s expression changed at Chui’s words.

Crunch…

The blade lodged in Chui’s side would not come out.

“What is this…!?”

Zhao Xiangzi could not understand the situation.

He twisted the sword violently, but the blade did not budge.

How could a sword embedded in a human body refuse to come out?

No matter how strong one’s grip, it was impossible to clamp a blade this firmly.

Crack—

Chui twisted his body slightly to the side.

The blade became even more firmly fixed, completely unable to move.

Only then did Zhao Xiangzi realize what his sword was caught on.

Ribs.

The blade that had pierced between Chui’s ribs was now wedged tightly between bone and bone, unable to move in either direction.

“…Did he do this on purpose?”

Zhao Xiangzi’s expression shifted.

Chui had deliberately exposed his injured side, luring the sword there.

And the moment the blade pierced his body, he twisted himself so that two ribs trapped the blade, preventing its withdrawal.

Crush—

Blood poured from Chui’s left hand gripping the blade.

Yet without the slightest change in expression, Chui lowered his head.

Then he whispered to Zhao Xiangzi standing before him.

“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you. How long you’ll live.”

Chui’s blood-red eyes stared into Zhao Xiangzi’s face.

Then, Chui’s blood-stained lips moved.

“Zhao Xiangzi.”

At the moment he heard that call, a chill ran through Zhao Xiangzi’s entire body.

He didn’t know why, but he felt he had to run.

That thought alone echoed loudly in his mind.

“Zhao Xiangzi.”

At the second call, every hair on his body stood on end like needles.

Cold sweat drenched Zhao Xiangzi’s face, twisting his expression.

Then came the third call.

“Zhao Xiangzi.”

At that moment, Zhao Xiangzi saw them.

The countless faces behind Chui.

Countless people screaming and wailing at him through tears of blood.

[Come here too!]

[I can’t go alone!]

[Your swaggering days are over!]

[You’ll end up just like us!]

[Heehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!]

With that mind-numbing sight before him, Zhao Xiangzi momentarily loosened the strength in his hand.

Chui did not miss that fleeting opening.

Thud!

The shortened spear stabbed into Zhao Xiangzi’s abdomen.

“Guh!?”

Zhao Xiangzi’s small eyes widened as if they would tear.

Chui yanked the spear blade embedded in Zhao Xiangzi’s belly upward and then savagely twisted it once.

The blade did not pierce all the way through, but instead shredded every organ inside.

Hurk!

Zhao Xiangzi vomited blood.

Blood mixed thickly with fragments of organs.

“H-how… how… did… you…?”

Zhao Xiangzi looked down at Chui with an expression of disbelief.

Chui shrugged.

Zhao Xiangzi was a veteran who had fought many man-to-man battles—but those were contests bound by form and structure, duels or sparring matches.

But where Chui had lived was the battlefield.

A place overflowing with blind swords, spears, and arrows, where every imaginable horror a human could experience was commonplace.

The life-or-death struggle of a low-ranking soldier.

The desperate thrashing of one who disregards his own life.

To Chui, these were nothing new.

Clang—

The spear and sword fell to the floor at the same time.

The one still standing was Chui; the one fallen was Zhao Xiangzi.

Lying on the floor, Zhao Xiangzi looked up at Chui.

Chui stood straight, looking down at Zhao Xiangzi.

The dying spoke to the living.

“Only… kill me… spare… my son…”

The living replied to the dying.

“No.”

If he were the kind to indulge in hollow sentiment and grant mercy, he would not have come this far.

No—he would not even have been standing here.

Chui picked up the hammer that had fallen to the floor and smashed it down on Zhao Xiangzi’s face.

Thud! Thud! Crack!

Two blows to confirm the kill; the third struck little more than the floor.

Chui withdrew the hammer and wiped the blood splattered on his face with his sleeve.

“You didn’t get to see them. Your grandchildren.”

Chui then stepped past Zhao Xiangzi’s corpse and headed inside.

An empty inner chamber.

At first glance, it seemed there was nothing.

But—

[U-uuuuh…]

[Young… master…]

[That way… over there…]

[This way… thiiis waaaay…]

[There… below… jar…]

The Zhao family’s vengeful spirits wept tears of blood and pointed in one direction.

Chui walked toward where the ghosts indicated.

Tssssssss…

A penetrating wound through the side would heal quickly enough.

He only needed to wring out the internal energy of a few vengeful spirits.

Soon, Chui stood before a table inside the inner chamber.

Two teacups.

Tea that had not yet cooled.

Beside them stood a large jar.

Crash!

Chui kicked and shattered the bottom of the jar.

There was movement inside.

“Hk!?”

Zhao Taebeom.

Soaked in tears, he was crouched on the floor, trembling violently.

Seeing him, Chui frowned.

“…This thing dared to covet Ho Yeyang?”

Ho Yeyang, who burned her face and body with charcoal for her father’s revenge, swallowing the charcoal to change even her voice.

Zhao Taebeom, who trembled inside a jar to avoid the enemy, even as his father died before his eyes.

One fool, ignorant of his place, indulged his greed and wrung tears of blood from countless people.

Because of one such worthless creature, Ho Yeyang abandoned her gender and appearance, becoming a hideous revenant of vengeance, only to die on the battlefield against the frontier barbarians.

Grab—

Chui seized Zhao Taebeom by the hair.

And asked,

“Do you still hold your head so high?”

“Uuuugh…”

“Born to good parents, with some money and some power—did that make you feel like the protagonist of this world?”

Seeing Chui’s eyes burn crimson, Zhao Taebeom’s groin darkened as he wet himself.

“Fine. I’ll make you the center of this world.”

Then, from Chui’s throat, holding awl and hammer, came a voice hot as burning charcoal.

“Tonight, you’re the main character.”

Coincidentally, it was the first day of the winter solstice month—the longest night of the year.

 

[T/N: Read 30+ advanced chapters on https://www.patreon.com/c/Virion_Arvallost

This novel is at high risk of receiving strikes from publishers. The other group that started translating this novel has already removed it from their site. So, I suggest you all read the chapters quickly before they are removed again. Please support our Patreon and the original author if you can. Those of you who can, read from the original site to support the original author.]