Unrivaled Spear Demon
63 Act of Retribution (3)
The sky was entirely dyed in ink-wash.
The boy held a black staff.
It looked as if a single stroke of ink, used to paint the very heavens, had been drawn straight down to the earth.
Chui stood in the way of Bi Mugeuk, clutching the Ink Bamboo Staff.
"The one who tied the knot must untie it."
Chui spoke briefly to the Plum Blossom Swordsman, who stood leaning on his sword.
"If you intend to untie it to the end, I shall let you be, but if you intend to run away without doing so, I have no choice but to stop you."
"……."
Bi Mugeuk glared at Chui, gritting his teeth.
At first, he had thought some green, ignorant brat was overstepping his bounds to block his path.
He had intended to ignore him or strike him dead with a single blow, but now that he stood facing him with a blade in hand, he realized the opponent’s spirit was extraordinary.
An overwhelming pressure, as if he were standing before a massive Black Mountain, was bearing down on him.
Before long, a strained groan leaked from Bi Mugeuk’s lips.
"I see. You are the one they call the Three Calls to the Yellow Springs or whatever. You’re the one who caused trouble at the Namgung Family, aren't you?"
"Whether it was a matter that could be dismissed as mere 'trouble' is something you should ask that woman later."
It was obvious who the 'that woman' of the Namgung Family referred to.
Bi Mugeuk held his sword horizontally and spoke.
"Namgung Yul, what did you do to that child?"
Chui did not answer, moving his staff instead.
A long strip of clothing, caught in the grass on the ground, was snagged by the staff.
Flap-
The blood-stained fabric fluttered like a flag in the wind and rain.
It was a piece of the light armor Namgung Yul had been wearing until recently.
Bi Mugeuk nodded.
"Was the writing on the rock also your handiwork?"
"It was."
"Where are my subordinates?"
"They are likely lying in the same place as the woman."
"I see."
Bi Mugeuk closed his eyes for a moment.
Then, he opened his mouth in a low voice.
"Each of my subordinates was a formidable warrior."
"……."
"If you killed them all, your own body surely cannot be in one piece."
"……."
Chui remained silent.
Bi Mugeuk made a proposal to him.
"If you and I fight, one of us will die. And the one who remains will hardly be able to descend the mountain with an intact body."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Why don't we each go our own way from here?"
Bi Mugeuk did not know Chui.
He only had a vague guess.
'It hasn't been long since that fellow met O Ja-un. At most, two demonic scoundrels just joined forces temporarily to break through a siege. What kind of loyalty would they have to sacrifice their lives for each other?'
That was why he was misjudging the situation.
Naturally, Chui did not step aside.
"Enough with the nonsense."
Chui swung his staff, shaking off Namgung Yul’s garment.
He then took a step toward Bi Mugeuk and continued.
"Tell me the weaknesses of your sword art, right now."
"……Are you insane? Why should I tell you my weaknesses?"
"I am trying to help you."
Chui stared at Bi Mugeuk with an expression devoid of even a hint of a smile.
"That way, I can kill you a little faster and with less pain."
"……."
Bi Mugeuk could not laugh.
It was because of the sincerity he felt in Chui’s words.
Bi Mugeuk spoke, still holding his sword.
"It is no wonder you associate with a public enemy of the martial world. Are you also heading to the Demonic Cult?"
"No. I am not going."
"I don't believe you."
"Believe it or not, it makes no difference to me."
Chui’s answer remained brief.
Standing in the pouring rain, Bi Mugeuk unleashed his sword.
Blood sprayed from his waist and right foot, staining the tip of his blade crimson.
The trajectory of red plum blossoms filled Chui’s vision in a dazzling display.
Plum Blossoms by the Roadside, Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance, Plum Blossoms Exhaling Fragrance, Plum Blossoms Opening the Way, Plum Blossoms Falling in the Sun, Plum Blossoms Falling and Falling, Plum Blossoms Scattering Frequently, Plum Blossom Blood Rain, Plum Blossom Nine Transformations, Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom, Plum Blossoms Enduring Winter, Plum Blossoms Gradually Opening…….
And following them, the next forms extended outward.
The thirteenth form, Plum Blossoms Gradually Spreading.
The blooming plum blossoms multiplied, creating a wave of color.
They surged forward fiercely, as if to dye even Chui’s black staff.
The fourteenth form, Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom.
The plum blossoms scattered and drifted in a dizzying dance.
Bi Mugeuk’s sword blocked not only Chui’s retreat but every path forward.
The fifteenth form, Falling Plum Blossoms Scattering.
The dizzying plum blossoms covered the entire world.
They chipped away at Chui’s body, standing still, bit by bit, as they scattered in red.
The sixteenth form, Falling Plum Blossoms Becoming Rain.
The plum petals turned into rain.
Even the countless raindrops falling from the sky were deeply dyed in the color of these plum blossoms.
The seventeenth form, Plum Blossom Shadows Creating a River.
The rainwater, dyed in the color of plum blossoms, fell to the ground, forming a river of petals.
It, too, rose in a violent wave, as if to engulf Chui’s entire body.
The eighteenth form, Plum Blossoms Enduring the Snowy Cold.
Chui swung his staff, but the plum petals did not split.
The petals, having endured the cold winter and grown even redder, clung to Chui’s staff, fluttering in the air and biting into his flesh.
Bi Mugeuk shouted.
"I shall cut off your head while I'm at it and take it to the Namgung Family!"
The highly skilled Plum Blossom Sword Art, displayed by the Plum Blossom Swordsman, drove Chui into a corner.
Even then, Chui showed no particular reaction.
Only.
He slowly lifted his staff.
Whoosh-
He simply swept it sideways with great force.
"……!"
Bi Mugeuk’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-CRASH!
With a single swing of the club, which could hardly be called a technique, countless petals vanished.
Bi Mugeuk was startled by the violent blow that struck the back of his sword and stumbled backward.
Throb- throb- throb-
His wrist ached madly, even though the blade had only grazed the tip of the staff.
If he had made the slightest mistake, he would have dropped his sword right there.
Crash-! Thud-! Whoosh!
Chui silently swung his club.
There were only three ways the black staff moved.
Lan, turning the staff to push outward.
Na, pulling the staff inward to press down.
Zha, thrusting the staff forward.
With just these three movements, Chui dismantled most of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art.
"……! ……! ……!"
Bi Mugeuk’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
It was impossible not to be shocked.
His own ultimate techniques, the plum blossoms he had painstakingly cultivated petal by petal, were being brutally shredded by the violent, barbaric club-swinging of some madman.
And through the gap exposed for a brief moment by that shock, Chui’s staff pushed in with ruthless, brute force.
Thwack!
The end of the swung club struck Bi Mugeuk’s cheek.
Chunks of flesh were torn away, leaving Bi Mugeuk’s left molars clearly exposed.
"……!"
Even as he felt his facial skin being pushed aside, Bi Mugeuk thrust his final sword strike, but it was blocked by Chui’s staff, and could not advance any further.
Clang!
Amidst a shower of sparks, Chui lifted his staff and deflected Bi Mugeuk’s sword.
And then.
Thwack!
He drove the other end of the staff into Bi Mugeuk’s stomach, lifted him upward, and threw him to the ground.
…Splat! Crash!
Bi Mugeuk was dragged around by his clothes, caught on the staff, without being able to put up any real resistance.
"Gahk!?"
Bi Mugeuk, face-down in a puddle of rainwater, lifted his blood-soaked face.
Chui’s staff descended toward him once more.
Crash!
The ground caved in, and a wave of muddy water rose.
Bi Mugeuk hurriedly rolled across the ground, escaping Chui’s range.
"Haa… haa… haa…."
He watched Chui’s movements with a wary gaze.
However, Chui only blocked or countered Bi Mugeuk’s attacks; he did not press the advantage.
He simply stood there with a relaxed attitude, blocking all of Bi Mugeuk’s escape routes.
Chui was toying with Bi Mugeuk, much like a cat tormenting a mouse.
Bi Mugeuk spat out his words.
"You bastard… what are you plotting? Why are you just standing there instead of finishing me off?"
"I'm curious."
"What?"
When Bi Mugeuk asked, Chui answered briefly.
"In any case, the only ones alive here are you and me."
"……."
At those words, Bi Mugeuk glanced to the side.
O Ja-un, leaning against the ancient tree, was still not moving at all.
Seeing that not even the sound of breathing could be heard, he must have died some time ago.
Chui said.
"It means this place is the grave for both you and O Ja-un."
"……."
"If you have anything hidden, confess it before you go. From now on, you and O Ja-un will have to stay together until your bones turn to dust. It wouldn't be a problem to open your hearts and share your final thoughts."
Bi Mugeuk let out a hollow laugh at Chui’s words.
"What do you want me to confess? What is your relationship with O Ja-un?"
"Just fellow travelers. I heard the situation roughly on the way here. I was curious, too. Who the real culprit might be…"
Chui’s expression, as he wiped the blood from his staff, remained as calm as ever.
It truly seemed like nothing more than light curiosity.
"What happened that night? Who killed the two women?"
"……."
It was a question based on the premise that O Ja-un was not the culprit.
Unlike usual, Bi Mugeuk did not answer this question immediately.
Whoooooosh-
The rain grew heavier.
It poured down madly, as if trying to erase everything and wash it all away.
Before long, Bi Mugeuk, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
"……Fine. Everything is over anyway, so it doesn't matter."
Perhaps to recover even a little of his exhausted stamina, his voice dragged on as long as the rain.
"I will tell you what a wretched life that fellow lived."
Bi Mugeuk said, glancing at the dead O Ja-un.
Was it mockery?
Or was it self-loathing?
His mouth, soaked in blood and rainwater, was twisted into a grotesque shape, with only the right side remaining.
"The one who killed that man's wife was not his junior sister. And the one who killed his junior sister was not him, either."
The long-buried truth spilled from his lips.
Chui’s reaction was light.
"Oh, I see. Then who was it?"
His response was as if it were merely a passing curiosity.
Bi Mugeuk’s torn left cheek twitched.
Then, as if exhaling a long-held, stagnant breath, he answered.
"It was me."
It was the very answer O Ja-un had spent his entire life chasing.
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