“Haaa.”
A middle-aged man with small eyes let out a long sigh. He was the Lord of the Green Forest and the Eun Jarim as well as the Lord of Snow Line of Kunlun Mountains.
Although he looked young, he was more than three hundred and sixty years old. There were three elders sitting in front of him and they all had expressions of regret, as a lot had happened in the past few hours.
The Golden Gumiho that had been imprisoned by the ancestors was released and part of Eun Jarim was sacrificed. Both internal and external matters were breaking the man’s heart.
“Did you find that kid?”
At the question from the Lord, Elder Seong and Elder Gyeong shook their heads. They were trying to find out the whereabouts of his daughter, Ha Baek-ryeong, as she was his only blood, but she seemed to have disappeared.
Since the peak collapsed, there should have been some bodies or corpses, but none could be found.
‘Probably dead.’
The red candle in the Lord’s room was out. It was the candle that displayed her condition.
‘Is this retribution?’
He sighed. He regretted what had happened. As the leader of extremists, Mak Wei-gang and his influence were bad, and the Lord knew that his daughter was changing because of that. However, he left it alone because he thought that a person should be rational enough to understand the consequences and results, but they were disastrous.
‘Baek-ryeong. Baek-ryeong… ahhh.’
It was the heart of a father who wept for his daughter who was lost. Seeing him in full sorrow, the elders bowed their heads.
“It is our fault.”
“Please punish us.”
The Lord shook his head.
“… No. It all happened because of me, so how can I dare blame you all?”
The air in the room grew heavier. Ark Young felt the most burdened. It was the first time since the Snow Line was established that such blood was shed.
“And where is he?”
Ark Young answered the Lord’s question.
“He is on the other peak.”
“That one?”
“… He said that he would wait for Lord.”
The Lord asked for the details surrounding Chun Yeowun. Having heard what happened, he even wanted to meet the man.
The Sleeping Heavenly Peak, the new peak which had not only risen but destroyed as well. Chun Yeowun was there trying out the Demonic Sealing Whip.
Papapak!
Hu Bong’s eyes widened at it.
“Wow! Lord, what kind of whip can stretch out like that?”
The whip swung by Chun Yeowun stretched out for more than 10 meters. It seemed like it could stretch out as far as the user wanted it to go.
Papapak!
‘I’ve got the whip, but I’m just not used to this.’
Whips were used in the cult as well, but they weren’t that great for battles so there was not much focus on their usage.
‘Hmm, should I take this chance to try it out?’
It was worthwhile to use this.
Snore!
A small snore could be heard. It was the little fox with golden fur that had been asleep on his shoulder. This was, indeed, the Gumiho.
She wasn’t just able to change her form into a human, but also change her forms within the fox into a cub.
“Hmm.”
Despite telling her not to stay, she insisted on being with him. At first, Chun Yeowun prevented it, but then he gave in and let her attach herself on his shoulder.
Chachacha!
When Chun Yeowun infused the whip with the Sky Demon Energy, it turned into a guard on the leg. However, unlike an actual guard, it looked more like a snake rolling around. Did it have its own personality? Chun Yeowun kept thinking about it.
‘Is it better to try and get the other ones too?’
In addition to this, he knew the locations of two other weapons. One was on Olkhon Island in Russia, where the Dan family stayed.
The other was in Mount Oji, which was the place that the man Mino had talked about.
‘I wonder what it’ll turn into when all of them are put together.’
While Chun Yeowun immersed in his thoughts, a group of four arrived. They were the Lord, Ark Young and the other two elders.
The Lord approached Chun Yeowun and looked at the golden fox that was sleeping on his shoulder. At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a cute pet.
‘Is this the one?’
Who would guess that this little fox was the yokai that could bring doom to the world? However, after learning how to distinguish between energies, the Lord could see its true energy.
It was well taken care of now, but if this fox blew up again, it would be difficult to keep up with it.
“You are the Lord.”
At Chun Yeowun’s arrogant tone, Elder Gyeong frowned. He was accustomed to the man’s tone, but he couldn’t stay still when his Lord was addressed with the same tone.
However, he said nothing because Ark Young and Elder Seong confirmed that this man was Chun Yeowun of the past, the Demon God.
[Lord. That person…]
Elder Gyeong tried to inform the Lord.
‘Lord?’
The man was looking at Chun Yeowun with wide eyes. Just looking at it, it seemed like he was surprised.
‘No way…’
The Lord couldn’t believe what he saw. Having learned to feel the true nature of each energies for more than 350 years, he was skilled. He even knew how to feel fate and prophecies.
‘Just who is he…’
A person’s fate sometimes showed in the colors surrounding them. In the Lord’s eyes, Chun Yeowun was chaotic. The space around was badly shaking and numerous colors were moving, creating a haze-like feel.
‘Is he human? I can’t read him at all.’
He couldn’t see Heaven’s Will.
He was the kind to know what kind of person the other was by looking at their flow of fate, but it was proving to be difficult.
“How long are you going to look at me for? I’m guessing your eyes are special.”
At Chun Yeowun’s question, the Lord was taken aback.
‘Did he realize it?’
When he tried to read the fate, the other person wouldn’t notice the difference in it. However, if one was aware of this, they could figure out by looking at the white tinge in the eyes.
“What are you trying to do with those eyes?”
The Lord, who was shocked, answered Chun Yeowun’s question.
“… I was trying to see who you were.”
He couldn’t tell it despite trying to see. As if guessing that much, Chun Yeowun asked.
“Really? And how did it look?”
“I haven’t gotten a clue. It seems like this old man cannot read yours.”
Chun Yeowun sighed.
“Well, your body seems to have recovered.”
At that, the Lord expressed his gratitude.
“I heard from the elders that you saved this old man. I’m very thankful for it.”
“Is that all you can do?”
It sounded like Chun Yeowun was dissatisfied. The Lord spoke in a bitter tone.
“Many sacrifices have been made today. I was not present, but I lost my one and only blood. I know it isn’t your fault, but it still hurts my heart.”
He was in a mess. However, Chun Yeowun had no intention of considering his words.
In the first place, it was because he, the Lord who was responsible for this place, didn’t rule it properly that such a thing happened.
“But…”
The Lord brought about the main point, but Chun Yeowun asked.
“Heavenly Killing Star. I want to hear about that.”
“Heavenly Killing Star”
The Lord frowned at it. He didn’t think that the person would be curious about that. In fact, before the Lord woke up, Chun Yeowun had asked the other 2 elders about a Heavenly Killing Star. But they knew nothing.
‘He was the person who held the position of 1st elder, overpowering the Gyeong family that protected the Lord, and was the person who had been there the longest along with the Lord.’
Despite that, the moment they found out he was the Heavenly Killing Star, they kicked him out.
Strictly speaking, the man left on his own.
“I need to know what was being discussed before he left this place.”
“… and why would you need that?”
The Lord asked.
“I have some work with him.”
“Work?”
“Since when was he here?”
At Chun Yeowun’s question, the Lord looked at the elders. If they hadn’t informed him to some extent, he wouldn’t have gotten used to this man.
“May I ask why?”
“It is said that the Eun Jarim settled here about 300 years back or something like that. But no matter how I look at it, it seems like he is a person whom I heard of during my days.”
In the original time of Chun Yeowun there was a Heavenly Body possessed man who was called a genius in the Forces of Evil. And Chun Yeowun thought that maybe the true identity of that Heavenly Body person was Heavenly Killing Star.
However, that meant that the person would have lived for a long time, and no elder knew for sure how long the man lived. Even Ark Young, who knew Mr. Cho, didn’t know how long he had lived for.
‘Ahh… now that I see, wasn’t he known to be famous a thousand years back?’
The Lord was surprised to hear that from Ark Young and Elder Seong. He knew that Murim people who practiced cultivation and internal energy for a long time live longer, but living past a thousand years was impossible.
‘Who could even guess that this man lived past a thousand?’
Chun Yeowun looked like he was in his twenties. Of course, that was his true age. But he didn’t say it as he knew people wouldn’t believe that he had skipped through time.
At that time, the Lord swung his fingers.
Shush!
Red letters engraved in the air formed around Chun Yeowun in a circle, and created a barrier from the outside.
“Lord!”
“My Lord!”
Hu Bong and the elders were shocked.
“What are you doing!”
Wheik!
Hu Bong fired a flame sphere to destroy the barrier. Ark Young tried to stop him.
“Stop. Mr. Hu.. it seems like they two are talking alone.”
“What?”
The Lord was saying something inside the curtain like Ark Young had told, but the words couldn’t be heard from outside.
As expected, the Lord had opened a place only for just the two of them to talk.
“Is it okay if the two of us talk?”
At that moment, the golden fox sleeping on Chun Yeowun’s shoulder woke up, and its tails stood up as she looked at the man.
-You are his successor!
Both of her eyes became dyed with yokai energy.
“You run rampant, and I will kill you this time.”
At Chun Yeowun’s warning, the fox snorted.
-This is unfair!
She then tried to enter Chun Yeowun’s suit, as she was desperate not to stray too far from him. At that, the Lord stuck his tongue.
‘The Golden Gumiho is acting according to him.’
He thought it was weird, wondering if such a thing could even be controlled, but this man seemed like he could.
“Is this fine?”
Chun Yeowun asked, pointing to the fox that stayed attached to him. To that, the Lord nodded as if he didn’t care.
‘Hmm.’
Cun Yeowun thought it was strange, but he didn’t care.
“If it is you, I think you must have known something about Mr. Cho.”
At the Lord’s words, Chun Yeowun’s eyes shone knowing that he was right.
“He is defying his entire destiny. His fixed lifespan and even his missions aren’t the same, and I was very afraid of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you are the answer that Mr. Cho is searching for.”
“What?”
“Mr. Cho came here to become youthful.”
This was something no elders knew. It was because he, too, only knew it after Mr. Cho asked for poison.
“At first I didn’t realize. I just thought that he was trying to control his life.”
“… but that wasn’t it.”
“Exactly. That wasn’t his goal.”
On the day that he was teaching Mr. Cho his family’s technique, the man asked.
[Isn’t there a way to learn the technique without suppressing the blood flow within?]
He was asking for the malice intent to overflow, but learning something while letting that rage happen would be impossible.
Recognizing that, each time that the technique was taught, his blood pressure points were sealed, Mr. Cho asked him to bypass it.
“I said it was impossible.”
At that, he said something unexpected.
[Then this doesn’t work.]
[What do you mean?]
[… even if I learn this, I cannot stop aging.]
The very old man was able to suppress death and shape his own fate. But the moment the Lord heard those words, he knew that he had misunderstood Mr. Cho.
“What he wanted to learn was how to gain youth.”
The secret to living long without martial arts. That was what he wanted.
And despite not learning martial arts, the Lord was getting stronger slowly and so was his daughter. And the moment he saw through the true intention of the man, he felt the need to respond to him.
“But then he himself said he would leave.”
Eun Jarim had one rule.
Once outsiders come in, they live and die here, not leaving into the world on their own accord but only for mission. And if they want to leave of their own volition, they have to lose their martial arts.
“He looked fine to me.”
Seeing the Time Rewind ability, the man was fine. The Lord who went silent as he turned back, opened his shirt and showed his chest.
A scar on it.
“About 50 years ago, he asked to leave as he was. And he left this scar.”
Chun Yeowun thought this was intriguing.
“You were threatened.”
“… I tried to subdue him, but I was defeated.”
The Lord thought he could subdue him, but then became scared for his life.
“He said that if I tried to stop him, he would annihilate all who were here.”
“Ha!”
Only then did Chun Yeowun find out why this man had blocked the sound. It was because the truth was different from what the other people outside knew. The people here thought that the man was sent out because of the Lord, but not because the Lord was threatened.
“It was an inevitable choice to save everyone.”
Chun Yeowun spoke with a smile.
“So funny.”
“What is?”
“You could kill him and your life was threatened, so wouldn’t it be funny to think you decided to save your face after letting him go?”
The Lord thought of crying at those words. Because it was an undeniable fact.
Despite having been through it, he concealed the truth.
“In the end, despite knowing he was dangerous, you just let him go.”
At Chun Yeowun’s words, the man sighed. But Chun Yeowun knew that if the others knew the truth they wouldn’t have been this loyal to the Lord.
The Lord bit his lip.
“… You are right. It all happened due to my fault. When I saw a man with Heavenly energy who was trying to change fate, I shouldn’t have let him.”
“Heavenly energy?”
To Chun Yeowun who was puzzled, the man continued.
“Mr. Cho, no, Cho Yushin, after that man, this is the second time I have seen it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I heard from Elder Seong that you are called Chun Ma (Heavenly Demon).”
With that, the Lord stretched out his hand and pointed to the floor. And the whole ground was filled with red letters.
Chhh!
The space around the ground shook and showed strange things. The energy inside that place seemed to explode at any moment, and even the fox seemed startled a bit.
-Yah! What are you trying to do?
“Our Ha family, and the descendants of the Ha family, have collected information in preparation for the moment the seal is broken.”
When the Lord took off the black robe he had on, a white robe with gold letters was revealed under it and an overwhelming energy broke out. This was something that the ancestors of the Ha family have passed down from generation to generation.
The Lord looked at Chun Yeowun and the fox with eyes full of determination.
“This old man doesn’t want the same thing to repeat again. I cannot send a dangerous person like you and that Golden Gumiho into the world.”
The Lord opened his eyes wide. He was sacrificing himself to destroy the fox and Chun Yeowun. At that, Chun Yeowun shook his head.
“And I even saved your life…”
“I am sorry. But since this has already been triggered, you won’t be able to escape it. The sin I committed…”
Thud!
Chun Yeowun’s feet dug into the floor and the moment the floor cracked. With that, the red letters on the floor began to lose the light.
‘How!’
It meant that something was stopping it, flustered the Lord tried to use everything he could to overpower it.
Pak!
With the speed of lightning, he tore off the robe and, when he lifted it up, the space shook as it sucked in the robe.
Swosh!
The energy that was about to destroy him disappeared.
“W-what did you do…”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
‘!?’
When he was puzzled, Chun Yeowun spoke in a cold voice.
“You wanted to talk between just the two of us, but didn’t mind letting the fox stay? You only learned to use the technique but you are innately stupid.”
“W-wait…”
“Like father, like daughter I guess.”
“What?”
As soon as he said that, Chun Yeowun’s hand was nailed into the Lord’s forehead.
