When the name Seo Bok was mentioned, the golden eyes behind the fog sharpened.
The middle-aged man who saw this felt elated.
He thought that what he had been thinking might be true. The middle-aged man was Du Gong.
He was one of the Eight Great Warriors of the Central Plains and was known to be a tremendously wise man.
Proficient in defensive formations, he was given a befitting title. Now, he had prepared a trap and drew this man into the Eight Way Defense circle.
As he could not outright subdue the man, he had been holding him for the past four days using the Eight Way Defense formation.
“I thought maybe you were called Gun Bang, but it seems true.”
“What are you saying?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know.”
“… Seo Bok is such an odd name.”
“I have encountered countless individuals, yet you are the first to have evaded the heavenly movements and elude existence in this realm. Not even the deceased possess such capabilities.”
Upon hearing Du Gong’s words, the golden-eyed man couldn’t help but stick out his tongue.
“You haven’t truly immersed yourself in the arts of heaven, and yet you possess such profound comprehension. You truly are a wise man.”
“I am simply adapting to it, Seo Bok.”
In response to the confident tone, the person with golden eyes said,
“…there are still people who remember that name.”
In fact, it was merely a coincidence to discover the alternate name of Gun Bang.
A succession of battles had ensued between those yearning for freedom and those determined to cling to one another, their silence stretching until the next day. And when exhaustion set in, they started to show mercy at times.
Curious, Du Gong inquired.
“It is truly an honor to encounter the renowned individual known only for his deceitful schemes.”
“Deceitful schemes?”
Upon hearing those words, his expression faltered.
“Do you realize the extent of your fame among the practitioners of the heavenly qi?”
“I have no idea.”
“If I ever had the chance to meet you, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“If you’ve managed to find ‘it’ and are still alive, why…”
Du Gong couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Enough. I was lost for four whole days, and I almost believed your words.”
Do Gung’s mouth watered at those words. He attempted to carry on the conversation casually, but the other individual was perceptive.
“You’re not fond of discussing it, are you?”
“It’s a memory I don’t currently recall. What do you hope to achieve by bringing up the past and the deceased?”
Those are truly disingenuous words. However, the tone of their voice revealed the person’s utter lack of emotion over time.
Do Gong let out a sigh.
He crossed to the opposite side and added another block, but the person on the other side inquired,
“How about surrendering?”
“If you reveal what you know about him, I will set you free.”
“You are incredibly obstinate.”
“I could say the exact same thing about you.”
“There is no advantage for either of us to prolong our presence here.”
Hearing those words, Du Gong burst into laughter.
“Even you were apprehended in this camp. Why are you so afraid of him? You are not the sole individual among humans who have attained what mankind aspires for.”
“Such exceptionalism…”
A disdainful snort emanated from within the circle.
“You don’t think it could be a prison?”
“Prison?”
“Even if you are a wise man, how can you know?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t experienced every era, so I can only grasp a fraction of it.”
“They say not knowing is a blessing. You and your friend are barking up the wrong tree.”
Upon hearing this, Du Gong, who had placed a stone on the tower, stepped forward and locked eyes with the man with golden eyes.
“I will ask again without cutting this time. If you are such a coward, face the world openly instead of secretly scheming. But no, instead, you create chaos and observe from the shadows.”
“…”
“Is it too difficult for you to speak about him?”
“Why are you so curious?”
“Because of that one-eyed, gold-eyed man, our friend lost his wife, was expelled from his family, and became an enemy of the martial arts world.”
“So you seek revenge?”
“It can be called revenge if you want, but more importantly, I want to restore my friend’s honor. He was a person much greater than the label of Wicked and Evil.”
“You certainly have some impressive friends.”
Du Gong sighed in response to the sarcastic tone. Despite his efforts to reason with the man, his opponent remained stubborn.
Getting him to open up was no simple task.
Even with the imminent arrival of the dreaded Wicked Moon Sword, things were going to be tough. Du Gong, who had been fixated on the man, spoke up, saying,
“If you refuse to speak up, I suppose I’ll have to reveal what I know?”
“…”
“Could it be that this formidable individual is lurking in the shadows of the martial world instead of taking center stage because he is actually afraid of something?”
“….”
“Otherwise, there’s no logical explanation for why he would disappear to such an extent that he’s nearly impossible to track down.”
At Du Gong’s words, the man frowned. Du Gong noticed something peculiar and said,
“I believe it’s not you he fears.”
Upon hearing those words, laughter echoed from within.
“Hahahah!”
“…no?”
“You’re correct. He doesn’t fear me.”
“Then why search for it? Perhaps it’s related to the golden eyes…”
Mid-sentence, Du Gong stopped speaking and turned, extending his hand.
Pak!
At that moment, a long arrow was caught in his vision. His body would have been pierced if he had been a little late.
Prrr!
The arrow trembled slightly and bent due to the internal qi.
‘What kind of arrow is that?’
It was much longer and thicker than a normal arrow. And the arrow wasn’t meant for catching tigers or hunting.
At this length, it seemed like it was fired from a much greater distance than this.
‘I need to spread a circle around here too.’
Du Gong glanced toward the source of the arrow, and the man inside the circle spoke.
“It seems like you’ve done enough. But open the circle and run immediately.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you don’t want to get involved with him….”
Swish!
Pak!
Du Gong swiftly redirected his body and deflected another arrow. However, it wasn’t just a single arrow.
The arrows flew one after another, targeting one of the stone pillars instead of him.
Grrr!
The stone tower crumbled to the ground.
‘The tower!’
The stone tower served as the gateway to the circle. Even if the other stone towers crumbled, the circle could still be completed, but not without the Gate.
Once the Gate stone tower toppled, the dense fog would vanish.
“NO!”
A loud smack echoed.
Startled, the person inside became indistinct.
“This!”
Du Gong grew anxious and attempted to locate the man, but amidst the chaotic flurry and the onslaught of arrows, he couldn’t discern their whereabouts.
Whack!
The speed and the onslaught of arrows demanded attention, and their numbers only grew.
There was no denying the swift barrage of arrows forced Du Gong to abandon his pursuit and rely on footwork.
Papapak!
With each step, the arrows impaled the ground, one after the other. The sheer power of the arrows was astonishing, penetrating the ground and leaving only their tail ends in sight.
‘I never imagined archers of this caliber existed.’
With a large arrow, his opponent had attacked swiftly, closing in on the arrows while concentrating intensely.
There was no exaggeration in saying that he had reached the state of a formidable warrior.
While dodging the arrows, Du Gong was certain.
“Am I trying to endure this?” he wondered.
It was as if the archer was attempting to buy time for the person inside the circle to escape. At first glance, it seemed like they were assisting the man in the circle, but their true intention was…
“They are aiming for him!”
It wasn’t a situation where he could get hit. At that moment, an arrow shot toward his chest at a speed unrivaled by previous arrows.
But that was not all.
Five additional arrows were aimed at critical points on his body.
‘I can’t dodge them all.’
If he were to block or evade this deadly arrow, the others flying at him would eventually take their toll.
However, since the chest wasn’t a place he could get hurt, he prepared a little. But someone blocked the arrow that was coming towards him with their bare body.
Pak!
‘Seo Bok!’
The one he thought had run away.
Thanks to this, Du Gong managed to avoid getting hit in the chest and cut down the others.
“Why?”
When he seemed puzzled, Seo Bok pulled out the arrows that pierced his hand and spoke.
“It is wrong to go out alone.”
It was hard to deny it.
More and more qi signs seemed to be approaching this place, causing Du Gong to gulp and increase his qi.
‘Look at this. Maybe we need to hurry now.’
Half an hour passed.
He was literally half dead.
I learned about it after absorbing the will of the Revolting Mother. It seemed that this state was discovered while practicing the sorcery of making Gangshi on living humans.
If this state lasted for too long, these half-alive beings would be no different from Gangshi.
They were almost like corpses.
“Ah Song….”
I severed the thread that sealed Ah Song’s eyes shut.
Cheol Su-ryun’s actions towards people and Ah Song were horrifying, even if it was meant to control the five senses. Although the stitching marks remained on him, at least the threads were removed.
“I recall our initial encounter,” I reminisced.
Short Sword also held this memory. Despite being a mere memento of my mother, that day marked the first occasion we conversed.
I forcefully raised Ah Song’s eyelids.
And his pupil appeared vacant.
Besides, the color was dull, reminiscent of a corpse’s lifeless gaze.
- What is it?
If we leave them in this state for too long, they could transform into Gangshi. Thankfully, Ah Song hadn’t been in this state for very long, so there may be hope.
- What will you do then?
I will synchronize my internal Qi and attempt to utilize secret arts to reverse this.
In the memories of Cheol Su-ryun, there was a case of turning people into Gangshi, but releasing them had only occurred once. Fortunately, I had that one memory of hers.
However, the issue was that I had damaged Cheol Su-ryun’s dantian. And I feared that things wouldn’t return to normal.
-Try it. It should be…
It had never happened before.
If I made a mistake, Ah Song could become a Gangshi permanently, unable to speak properly.
I helped him up and seated him.
And with my right hand, I placed all five fingers on the blood points on his head and pressed my palm against the points on his back.
‘I will definitely save you.’
He was the one who took care of my mother and me until the very end. Now I had a grandfather, a father, and a wife, but before all that, he and Yong-yong were the only ones who felt like family to me.
At the same time, I infused internal qi into the surrounding points. The key was to infuse it uniformly and connect the body’s meridians to enhance blood circulation.
My effort lasted well into dawn.
To prevent any damage to his meridians and maintain continuous connection, finely connecting the meridians was challenging.
With the bright day, his face was now clear.
“Now he looks like a person.”
It was worth the hard work I went through during the night.
The paleness of his face was now transformed into vitality.
His face glowed under the sunlight filtering through the bushes.
“Phew.”
I had exerted all my efforts, and now it was time to escort him home and wait for him to regain consciousness.
As I prepared to lift him onto my shoulder.
“Ackkkk!”
Out of nowhere, Ah Song screamed and began to struggle, forcing me to release my hold on him.
At that moment, Ah Song stepped back with both arms wide and a scared face. When he looked at my face, his eyes were wide.
“Ha!”
Unknowingly, a sigh came out.
This man was secretly timid and made that face whenever he was surprised.
“Ah Song.”
“Y-Young master?”
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