The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 89

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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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#089. Echoes (4)

Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya entered the village while the sun still hung above the horizon.
After finishing their meal, the descending sun quickly faded, casting the village into darkness.
Yet the village remained bright.
The villagers saw to that.
Women and the elderly held torches aloft, and beneath that flickering light, the men gripped sickles, mattocks, and other farm tools with white-knuckled intensity.
They had gathered in front of the house where Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya were staying.
“You’ve confirmed they’re asleep?”
“Yes. I peeked in earlier—both of them were sleeping soundly.”
The young man who had carried in their meal answered promptly to the Village Elder, the old man who had first greeted them.
“Good, good. Well done. Let us guide these sleeping souls into the arms of the Huksan God. This is how we save such wretched ones.”
The elder nodded at his own words, and two young men began creeping carefully toward the house.
The two opened the door without a sound.
The room where Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya lay was silent.
So the youths slipped inside, treading as lightly as shadows.
Outside, the torches blazed so brightly that it was difficult to make out details within the darkened room.
Then, moments later.
Two figures emerged from the darkness.
Each had a person tucked under his arm, and the Village Elder appeared certain these were Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya.
“Bring them out quickly. The Huksan God awaits.”
“You mean to offer people as sacrifices?”
A voice, tight with suppressed fury, cut through the night.
The Village Elder startled and peered into the darkness, only to see Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya emerge, each hauling a young man out through the door.
The elder’s eyes flickered for a moment upon seeing them, but then he smiled.
“Ah, you’ve awakened. It seems our preparation was lacking.”
Bukgung Danya glared at the Village Elder as though ready to kill him.
‘If not for the young prince.’
Bukgung Danya muttered to himself.

* * *

“There’s no poison.”
“Ah…”
Hearing Cheon Mujgyeol’s assessment, Bukgung Danya released a breath of relief and reached for his chopsticks.
That was when it came.
[The food contains nothing, but something is mixed into the rice.]
In an instant, Bukgung Danya’s chopsticks froze mid-reach.
His eyes wavered as he turned to look at Cheon Mujgyeol.
[It’s not poison, but to be safe, eat only a small amount. Or better yet, don’t eat it at all.]
[What did they put in it?]
[After eating a little rice, drowsiness washed over me briefly, then faded. Something like a sedative.]
[I think I understand their intent. What should we do?]
[For now, it’s best to play along with their scheme. We can determine whether this village has fallen under the Saryeong Cult’s influence once we see what happens.]
[Understood.]
After exchanging these rapid thoughts through telepathy, the two men feigned ignorance and continued their meal.
Bukgung Danya ate only a small portion of the rice.
What infuriated him most was how genuinely delicious the prepared food was.

* * *

“Since we, blessed by the Huksan God, have treated you with such sincerity, surely you must repay that kindness to the Huksan God with gratitude? Such is the way of the world, and your duty.”
At the Village Elder’s words, Bukgung Danya exhaled deeply, struggling to contain his rage.
“So you need only go peacefully to the Huksan God’s side. There is nothing to fear. The Huksan God welcomes all people with generosity.”
Bukgung Danya looked as though he could barely restrain his anger.
Then Cheon Mujgyeol opened his mouth.
“I think it’s best we subdue them first and sort things out afterward.”
“Yes, that would be wise.”
Bukgung Danya nodded in agreement.
Thud! Thud!
Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya set down the two limp youths they’d been carrying at their sides.
Then they moved forward slowly toward the others.
If things had come to this pass, surely these people should have realized that Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya were no ordinary fighters—that resistance was futile. Yet there was none of that awareness in them.
It was then that Bukgung Danya became half-certain of something.
These people were definitely being brainwashed and manipulated by someone.
If they were merely villagers steeped in folk religion, they would possess at least some sense of reason.
“Don’t hurt them too badly.”
With those words, the Village Elder turned and walked away.
Instead, the sturdy youths who had been standing behind him stepped forward.
“Please stay back, young master. I’ll handle this myself.”
As Bukgung Danya moved out, Cheon Mujgyeol nodded.
Bukgung Danya advanced, and the youths rushed toward him.
They wielded scythes, hoes, spades—every manner of farm tool in wild swings.
But their frenzied attacks had no chance of reaching Bukgung Danya.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bukgung Danya evaded their attacks with ease and subdued them one after another.
He struck the back of one’s neck, dropping him unconscious. He struck another’s abdomen, driving the wind from his lungs.
“Retch!”
The youth who’d taken the blow to his belly gasped and retched violently.
Bukgung Danya paid no mind and subdued all the youths in moments.
His breathing barely quickened, he turned his gaze to the Village Elder.
Even as the situation had escalated to this point, the Elder showed no panic, no shock whatsoever.
Rather, his smile—just as when they first met—was eerie enough to raise the hairs on one’s skin.
“Who has done this to you?”
Bukgung Danya asked the Village Elder.
Cheon Mujgyeol, who had been watching from behind, began walking forward slowly.
“We are servants of the Huksan God. We live according to his divine guidance.”
“Is it normal to offer people as sacrifices? What has possessed you?”
Bukgung Danya’s fists clenched, trembling with barely contained rage.
Cheon Mujgyeol, who had been approaching him, stopped and glanced downward.
There, a youth who had taken Bukgung Danya’s blow to the abdomen knelt with hands clutching his belly, his head bowed low as he retched repeatedly.
Cheon Mujgyeol looked down at the youth.
More precisely, he was looking at something small that had fallen beneath him.
It was a small orb, dark and difficult to see in the dim light, yet Cheon Mujgyeol’s eyes fixed upon it with precision.
[That orb is no ordinary thing.]
The voice of Cheonsingeom reached him.
Cheon Mujgyeol had sensed this, which is why he had been staring at it.
Rip!
Cheon Mujgyeol tore a small piece of the youth’s garment and picked up the orb.
After wiping away the filth, he moved closer to the torch to examine it more carefully.
Bukgung Danya still glared at the Village Elder.
Something was definitely wrong here.
The Elder might be that way, but what of the others?
Those holding torches were only women and the elderly.
Yet not a single one of them showed fear.
They didn’t flee, but stood entranced, still clutching their torches—it was almost absurd.
Cheon Mujgyeol stood beside Bukgung Danya.
But the villagers didn’t even look at them; their eyes remained fixed on the small orb in Cheon Mujgyeol’s hand.
“What is that?”
“I’m not certain. But one of them coughed it up.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, Bukgung Danya’s brow furrowed.
“You touched it?”
Despite the concern in Bukgung Danya’s tone, Cheon Mujgyeol continued to examine the orb closely.
Then it happened.
“Aaahhh!”
A groan sounded from behind.
It came from the young man whom Bukgung Danya had subdued.
Cheon Mujgyeol turned and approached the youth.
The groaning young man, who had been thrashing about, opened his eyes.
“Are you conscious?”
“W-who are…? Ah!”
The youth who had asked Cheon Mujgyeol who he was glanced around and gasped in horror.
“Don’t be alarmed.”
But the young man trembled, staring at Cheon Mujgyeol.
Cheon Mujgyeol supported the youth and helped him to his feet.
The young man gazed at the scene before him, his expression bewildered—as if he couldn’t fathom what was happening.
“Do you remember what’s happened until now?”
“W-what do you mean? What on earth is going on…?”
‘He has no memory.’
If he’d merely fallen into religious fervor, he should have retained his memories.
The young man’s state was precisely that of someone whose mind had been dominated by something, and who had only just regained consciousness.
“You remember nothing at all, then. The Village Elder told us this village serves the Huksan God.”
“The H-Huksan God? What’s that? Village Elder! What’s happening…?”
The youth, who had responded to Cheon Mujgyeol’s words as if hearing something entirely unfamiliar, turned toward the Village Elder but cut himself short.
Bukgung Danya, who had also been looking at the Village Elder, wore an expression of surprise.
The Village Elder’s face, which had been wreathed in smiles until now, twisted into something savage, and he glared at the newly conscious youth with eyes full of murderous intent.
Frightened by that expression, the young man trembled violently.
“The entire village has been brainwashed by someone.”
“W-what? What do you mean…?”
The youth asked in a quavering voice.
“I have my suspicions, but you likely won’t believe them. Won’t want to, either.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, the young man’s eyes widened, pupils trembling with confusion.
“Look at me for a moment, please.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s words, the youth reflexively met his gaze, and Cheon Mujgyeol immediately deployed the Taesanggwan Geombeop.
‘His spirit is wounded.’
Not quite as severely as those he’d seen in the previous village or as Dong Bang Gyu-heon, but this young man’s spirit was clearly damaged.
Having swiftly assessed his condition, Cheon Mujgyeol withdrew the Taesanggwan Geombeop and approached the youth who had just coughed up an orb.
‘He’s dead.’
The youth who had expelled the orb was already dead.
Bukgung Danya couldn’t have struck him hard enough to kill him.
Yet dead he was—which meant the orb he’d coughed up had something to do with it, surely.
“What do you think we should do?”
“Once we’ve subdued everyone, we should contact Bohyeonsa.”
“Understood.”
Hearing Bukgung Danya’s reply, Cheon Mujgyeol stepped in front of the youth.
The young man’s field of vision was completely blocked.
The youth was in a state of utter confusion.
In such a state of shock, witnessing the villagers being hurt would not serve him well.
That was why Cheon Mujgyeol had deliberately obscured his view.
And shortly after.
“Young master.”
At the sound of Bukgung Danya’s voice, Cheon Mujgyeol looked at the youth.
“He should feel better once he’s slept and woken.”
“Pardon?”
Even as the youth began to ask, he lost consciousness.
Cheon Mujgyeol had pressed a Pressure Point Technique to put him to sleep.
“The others I’ve knocked out for now, but I suppose putting them to sleep would be better, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes. I think that would be for the best.”
At Cheon Mujgyeol’s reply, Bukgung Danya went through the villagers one by one, pressing Pressure Point Techniques on each.
Then, together with Cheon Mujgyeol, he carried them one by one and laid them gently in one place.
The torches the villagers had been holding were gone, and the village lay swathed in thick darkness.
The two men stood beneath the pale moonlight, examining the orbs.
“Looking at them like this, I can’t make heads or tails of them.”
“The one who coughed up this orb is dead.”
“Hmm….”
Bukgung Danya’s brow furrowed at the word “dead.”
It unsettled him, as though he himself had struck the fatal blow.
“It does seem to be the Saryeong Cult’s handiwork, doesn’t it?”
Cheon Mujgyeol nodded at Bukgung Danya’s question.
“It appears to be Hwanryeong’s doing.”
“Hwanryeong.”
Bukgung Danya murmured the name under his breath.
Anger rose in him—that such a person would commit these atrocities against people wholly uninvolved.
“Let’s go.”
Cheon Mujgyeol spoke briefly.
“I’ll take the Orb with me.”
At Bukgung Danya’s words, Cheon Mujgyeol held out the Orb to him.
“Wait, one moment.”
Bukgung Danya glanced about his surroundings, then dashed off in some direction.
Rip!
He returned having torn a length of cloth from the sleeping youth’s garment, took the Orb that Cheon Mujgyeol offered, wrapped it carefully in several layers of fabric, and tucked it into his robes.
Then, looking at Cheon Mujgyeol, he offered a single quiet word.
“Wash your hands thoroughly.”

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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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