The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 083. Crimson Traces (1)

“In the end, it was the young lord who stepped forward and resolved it.”
Gwang An, who had been away from the Dongbang Family Estate, returned after some time and heard the account before speaking to Cheon Mujgyeol.
“More pressing — what of the Salyeong Cult?”
Cheon Mujgyeol’s question darkened Gwang An’s expression.
“I find it impossible to locate any trace of them. The intelligence networks of Bohyeon Temple and the Jandung Association seem insufficient for this task.”
“Now that the Family’s circumstances appear to be stabilizing, we’ll mobilize our own intelligence capacity to the fullest.”
Dongbang Jinhyeok, who had been present for some time, spoke up in support.
“How much of the Dongbang Family’s current intelligence network can you deploy?”
Dongbang Jinhyeok’s expression grew dark at Gwang An’s question.
“To speak frankly, it’s scarcely fifty percent of what it once was.”
With the Dongbang Family’s standing fallen as a result of the matter with Cheon Mujgyeol, their capacity for action in the Martial World would undoubtedly be constrained.
That meant their intelligence capabilities had likewise diminished from their former strength.
“Well… we’ll have to mobilize every scrap of intelligence we can muster, regardless.”
Gwang An spoke with a note of regret in his voice.
He bore no regret for what had been done in the past.
It was what had needed doing, and no matter how many times he turned it over, he would never have dissuaded Cheon Mujgyeol.
Still, given the present circumstances, a certain degree of regret was undeniably present.
At that moment, Cheon Mujgyeol, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“I’m thinking of traveling for a while.”
“Yes? Traveling where…?”
“To the place where the Salyeong Cult stood three hundred years ago. I thought I might pay it a visit.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, Gwang An and Dongbang Jinhyeok exchanged a glance.
“Do you think there might be clues there worth finding?”
“I cannot say. But if I can uncover even some small trace, the journey will be worthwhile. And if I move, the Salyeong Cult may well show their hand.”
Gwang An nodded at Cheon Mujgyeol’s words.
“Then we need only watch for any suspicious movements centered around you, young lord.”
Cheon Mujgyeol nodded in agreement with Gwang An’s remark.
“If it’s any concern, wouldn’t it be wise for one of our people to accompany you? Combat may very well ensue.”
Dongbang Jinhyeok ventured the question carefully.
Cheon Mujgyeol shook his head.
“No. The Protectors must focus on restoring order to the Family. Only the young lord of Bukgung and I shall go.”
“I understand.”
Inwardly, Dongbang Jinhyeok felt disappointed.
He would have welcomed it if at least one of the Protectors accompanied Cheon Mujgyeol, even if not himself.
This wish stemmed from something he had heard from Dongbang Cheonglyu.
That the Dongbang Family’s Mugong had been perfected by the Celestial Sword Emperor.
And that Cheon Mujgyeol had said the Mugong of each Protector was but a fragment — not advancement, but decline.
He believed that if anyone accompanied Cheon Mujgyeol, there would surely be much to gain.
Though he desperately wished to go himself, his current position — leading relations with the Council of Elders and taking charge of the Family’s restoration — made such a thing impossible.
“The location where the Salyeong Cult once stood is well known, certainly, but the surrounding area has been strictly cut off from human traffic for three hundred years. Or rather, it’s more accurate to say people simply chose not to visit. So there’s a strong possibility that little remains but the bare ground.”
At Gwang An’s words, Cheon Mujgyeol thought of the Cheongeomjang.
Twenty years since the Cheongeomjang had fallen.
The sight that had met his eyes upon emerging twenty years later remained vivid in his mind.
The Cheongeomjang, reduced to ruins and overgrown with wild vegetation over those two decades of abandonment.
If three hundred years had passed without anyone visiting, then as Gwang An said, only the foundations might remain.
Moreover, whatever had remained there might already have been entirely recovered by the Salyeong Cult as they exist now.
Still, Cheon Mujgyeol believed he had to go.
“When do you plan to depart?”
“Soon. Before I leave, however — might I see Dongbang Gyuheon for a moment?”
Dongbang Gyuheon, the architect of the strife that had torn the Family in two, remained silent on all matters.
It would have been welcome to learn something, anything, through him, but so far nothing had come to light.
“Of course. The Council of Elders won’t object.”
Though there had been disagreements on minor points, the Five Great Dharma Protectors and the Council of Elders had maintained good cooperation since that day.
The Five Great Dharma Protectors handled all matters in thorough consultation with the Council, without acting unilaterally.
“Since we’re on the subject, let’s go now.”
Dongbang Jinhyeok and Cheon Mujgyeol rose from their seats.

* * *

Dongbang Gyuheon was imprisoned in a cell deep within the Dongbang Family Estate, his frame reduced to skin and bone.
Bound hand and foot in the dark, damp confines, having scarcely eaten, he was a pitiful sight.
“I don’t wish to alarm you, but should anything occur, please signal us.”
Dongbang Jinhyeok spoke as he opened the door to the solitary cell where Dongbang Gyuheon was held.
Cheon Mujgyeol, stepping into the narrow cell, regarded Dongbang Gyuheon slumped there in his bonds, utterly drained.
[There is no trace of Phantom Spirit influence on him.]
Cheonsingeom’s voice reached him.
And it was something Cheon Mujgyeol himself had sensed the moment he laid eyes on Dongbang Gyuheon.
‘Does it fade with time? Or has the Illusion Magic worn off?’
Either way, it seemed far more likely that Dongbang Gyuheon knew nothing of what had transpired.
“Can you hear me?”
At the sound of Cheon Mujgyeol’s voice, Dongbang Gyuheon’s head rose slowly, with difficulty.
In the glazed, unfocused eyes that turned toward him, there was not a trace of his former self.
To Cheon Mujgyeol’s question, Dongbang Gyuheon offered no response.
It seemed he could not respond, rather than would not.
Instead, Cheon Mujgyeol began to steady his breathing.
Then he invoked the Taesung Gwanjeebeop.
To set aside all judgment and simply observe the figure before him with clarity.
Cheon Mujgyeol sought to peer into Dongbang Gyuheon’s inner self.
He gazed directly into Dongbang Gyuheon’s clouded eyes.
Dongbang Gyuheon did not avert his gaze from Cheon Mujgyeol.
Could not would be the more accurate phrase.
‘He is like a man bereft of soul.’
[No—more precisely, his soul is fractured, hollowed out with gaps.]
‘The aftermath of the Illusion Magic, surely.’
[That must be it. The Phantom Spirit’s Illusion Magic is devastatingly potent.]
Having exchanged these brief words with Cheonsingeom while still channeling the Taesung Gwanjeebeop, Cheon Mujgyeol posed a question to Dongbang Gyuheon.
“Do you remember anything from these past events?”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s question, Dongbang Gyuheon stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head.
“The Phantom Spirit—Dongbang Yeonhui. Anything at all about either of them. If you know something, tell me.”
But again, Dongbang Gyuheon shook his head.
He responded to the questions—his mind was not shattered entirely—yet he could offer no answers.
[There is nothing to gain. The Phantom Spirit has left voids in his mind, his emotions, his consciousness. It is like a document with all the vital passages erased.]
Cheon Mujgyeol nodded in agreement with Cheonsingeom’s assessment.
‘The damage to his soul troubles me.’
[That is the nature of Illusion Magic. It fractures the soul, leaving the victim pliant to another’s will.]
Cheonsingeom dismissed it as natural, but Cheon Mujgyeol could not shake the unease it kindled.
At last, he withdrew the Taesung Gwanjeebeop.
Dongbang Gyuheon’s head dropped once more.
Cheon Mujgyeol regarded him a moment longer, then turned to leave.
Stepping outside, he found Dongbang Jinhyeok waiting.
“What did you find?”
“His soul is badly damaged. There is nothing to be gained, it seems.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, the hope that had kindled in Dongbang Jinhyeok’s face withered into disappointment.
“I see.”
“However, I have learned how the Phantom Spirit’s Illusion Magic operates, so it is not entirely without profit.”
“At least there is that.”
“Still, there is one thing that troubles me.”
“What is it?”
“Dongbang Gyuheon’s soul is fractured, yes—but there is something wrong about it. It is as though there are numerous holes bored through it.”
“Why would that be……?”
“I cannot say with certainty. It may be nothing more than the lingering effect of the Illusion Magic, but it troubles me nonetheless.”
“I see.”
“To be safe, continue to watch Dongbang Gyuheon closely.”
“Of course.”
The two stepped out of the Prison together, their conversation trailing behind them.
“You’ll be departing at once, then?”
“I need to make preparations, so I’m planning to leave tomorrow.”
“Of course. Since you’re going anyway, it’s better to set out quickly.”
“Very well.”
After exchanging these brief words with Dongbang Jinhyeok, Cheon Mujgyeol returned to his quarters.
And the next day.
Cheon Mujgyeol departed from the Dongbang Family Estate with Bukgung Danya.

* * *

After Cheon Mujgyeol left, Dongbang Jinhyeok had ordered the Prison’s guards reinforced.
Though Dongbang Gyuheon was said to be incapable of causing trouble, the fact that Cheon Mujgyeol had bothered to give that additional warning meant it was wise to prepare for any contingency.
But that night.
An uninvited guest found his way to Dongbang Gyuheon.
It was Hyunryeong.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’ve suffered quite a bit. Poor thing.”
Hyunryeong crouched before Dongbang Gyuheon and gazed at him with an expression of pity.
Though someone stood directly in front of him speaking, Dongbang Gyuheon showed no sign of recognition.
“And yet, you did well. Very well indeed. You’ve exceeded your role by more than a hundredfold. That, I must praise.”
This was the same Hyunryeong who had deemed the Dongbang Family affair half-success and half-failure.
Yet now he lavished praise on Dongbang Gyuheon for having done more than his utmost.
“Lift your head.”
At Hyunryeong’s command, Dongbang Gyuheon’s chin, which had seemed unable to rise, slowly lifted.
As though enchanted by Hyunryeong’s words, he raised his eyes and their gazes locked.
“Yes. Yes. How pleasing. It’s far more successful than I’d imagined.”
Joy radiated from Hyunryeong’s face.
First the praise for work well done, and now this word that it had been successful.
Hyunryeong spoke in a way that seemed strangely at odds with the facts.
“The others proved inadequate, so I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands. Is there anyone else who thinks of the Salyeong Cult and our Master the way I do? The Master will surely come to understand my efforts someday.”
Hyunryeong’s lips curved into a smile, and he brought his face closer to Dongbang Gyuheon’s ear.
He seemed utterly indifferent to the reek emanating from the man’s body.
“Now comes the final test. Let us see whether you are a being capable of accepting a Soul Mark.”
With that, Hyunryeong withdrew a bead smaller than a fingernail from within his sleeve.
After studying it briefly, he seized Dongbang Gyuheon’s jaw and let the bead slip into his mouth.
Only after confirming that the bead had traveled down Dongbang Gyuheon’s throat did Hyunryeong release his grip and speak again.
“Just as you’ve acquitted yourself well until now, I hope you will not disappoint me this time. I am not one to discard a tool so easily once it has been employed.”
With those words, Hyunryeong rose from his crouch.
Dongbang Gyuheon’s head dropped back down with a dull thud.
Then Hyunryeong faded from that place like a ghost, leaving no trace behind.
It happened on the very day that Cheon Mujgyeol—the only one who could sense Hyunryeong’s presence—departed from the Dongbang Family Estate.
It was an act no one else would ever know had occurred.
The solitary cell, now containing only Dongbang Gyuheon, fell silent once more, as though nothing had happened at all.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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