Chapter 48
His smile was so captivating that even a passing waiter nearly dropped a bottle of bamboo-leaf wine while staring blankly at him.
The other patrons at nearby tables were no different. They all glanced over, whispering among themselves, calling him Mi Gongja — the “Beautiful Young Master.”
But Je Galhaesu didn’t care about the attention. Her eyes were fixed solely on the boy sitting before her.
“Child, do you know how to write?”
The boy nodded.
“Waiter, could you bring us brush, paper, and ink? Sorry for the trouble.”
“I—I’ll bring it right away!”
It seemed even her charm worked on the male waiter, who blushed as he hurried to set up the writing tools.
“Child, calling you just ‘boy’ feels a bit strange. Won’t you tell me your name?”
Of course, it was unlikely this young child already had a do-myeong — a Taoist name given by one’s sect master.
Even within the Wudang Sect, not all disciples received one; only those formally accepted as direct disciples did.
But if she could learn his name, it might help her gauge who he really was.
Je Galhaesu watched closely as the boy held the brush — surprisingly well for such small hands.
Elegant handwriting flowed smoothly across the white paper.
It was a graceful hand, far beyond what a child’s writing should be — the script of someone clearly raised with proper education.
「My name is Mumyeong (無明).」
No Light.
What a cruel name.
Because he was blind, because he could not perceive light, they had named him Mumyeong — “Without Illumination.”
“Do you have a Taoist name from Wudang?”
The boy put down the brush completely and shook his head.
As expected, he hadn’t been formally accepted as a disciple yet.
Je Galhaesu asked again the same questions that others before had asked him.
Where were his parents?
Why had he been in that forest?
Where was he headed?
Mumyeong’s answers were vague and evasive.
He had no parents.
He had simply lost his way in that forest.
As for his destination…
「Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s not Wudang.」
“What happened with Wudang?”
「Forgive me, elder. I cannot speak of what happened with that sect.」
Je Galhaesu asked one last question.
“Did you approach us intentionally?”
「I mean no harm. If I make you uneasy, I will leave right now.」
Je Galhaesu hesitated.
The boy had ties to Wudang, yet refused to speak of them.
Had he been expelled?
Could she really keep him with them?
She wasn’t sure if it was the right choice.
“Let’s stop the questioning for now,” said Namgung Jin. “Even if we decide to send him away, doing so in the middle of the night would be cruel.”
Je Galhaesu nodded.
Though she hadn’t gotten any satisfying answers — and still couldn’t bring herself to trust the boy — she couldn’t abandon him to the dark.
Better to keep him close, where they could watch him.
“Can I call you Myeong?” asked So So.
The boy’s face suddenly lit up.
He nodded again and again, clearly overjoyed by her attention.
“Myeong really likes Sami (Third Sister), doesn’t he? I was the one who bought you food, though.”
“I was the one who saved him,” Namgung Jin interjected dryly.
“So, Myeong,” So So said cheerfully, “the one who just grumbled is Je Galhaesu, and the one who saved you is Namgung Jin. And I’m Baek Sam.”
Mumyeong nodded again, seeming to memorize each of their names.
Then, picking up his brush once more, he wrote a single line.
「Sami-nuna, I’m so happy to meet you.」
Mumyeong turned toward So So and beamed, his face bright with childlike innocence.
Unable to resist, So So wrapped the boy in a tight hug.
“I think I’m starting to like you already. How can you be this cute and sweet?”
Je Galhaesu and Namgung Jin both watched with barely concealed envy — smiling wistfully, each secretly wishing they could be in Mumyeong’s place, embraced by So So.
Meanwhile, at the Wulin Alliance Headquarters in Wuhan, Hubei, the high council had gathered in the Lord’s Hall.
They were there to discuss a recent catastrophe.
The first to speak was the leader of the Wulin Alliance — the abbot of Shaolin Temple, the Divine Monk Fah Eum (法音大師).
He was one of the Seven Emperors of the Martial World — and reputedly the strongest among them.
“Amitabha. The tragedy that befell the Peng Clan of Hebei… it is truly hard to believe.”
The one who replied was Dok Go Ran, the captain of the Alliance’s elite martial corps, Cheonpungdae (Heavenly Wind Unit).
“Even if Master Peng had weakened, how could the Demon Sect have defeated him so easily? We cannot sit idle — the next target might be one of us!”
Seething with anger, Dok Go Ran glared around the room, meeting each leader’s eyes in turn.
His gaze lingered longest on one person — Namgung Seonyul, head of the Namgung Clan, who had personally come to the meeting this time.
“Surely you agree with me, Clan Lord Namgung?”
Namgung Seonyul had already reported the recent incident at his own manor — though he carefully omitted all mention of Namgung Hyuk, framing it merely as “a deceitful infiltration by demonic forces.”
“You’re right,” Namgung Seonyul said gravely. “Our clan, too, was attacked by madmen. I even came face-to-face with Peng Seojin, who had turned into one of them. We managed to recover his body, and I had hoped to deliver the sad news to his master today…”
He fell silent, his expression darkening.
He had never imagined that the Peng Clan — or its master, Doje Peng Jiryang — would be annihilated so easily.
‘If only he hadn’t been so consumed by grief… I told him to focus on healing first.’
Ever since losing his beloved disciple Peng Seojin, the master had neglected his health.
Even after annihilating the Demon Sect’s branch, Yimakak, he’d fallen into deep despair when Seojin’s body couldn’t be found.
Namgung Seonyul couldn’t blame him.
If he himself were to lose Namgung Jin, he too would crumble.
But the Peng Clan’s fall wasn’t like Namgung’s attack.
This time, the Demon Sect hadn’t sent just their crazed minions.
They had unleashed the new Heavenly Demon himself, along with the Left Guardian So Magi — and even the mysterious Right Guardian, whose identity remained unknown.
‘They threw their full power into destroying the Peng Clan.’
If that same force had been directed at the Namgung Clan…
Would they have been annihilated too?
A dark thrill rippled through Namgung Seonyul’s chest.
He wanted — secretly, dangerously — to cross swords with this new Heavenly Demon.
It wasn’t that he didn’t feel fear.
He remembered vividly the Heavenly Demon of fifty years ago — the divine, terrifying power that had shaken heaven and earth.
The burning red eyes.
The monstrous Asura spirit looming behind him — six twisted arms of pure malice.
Every martial artist who had witnessed that sight had trembled in terror.
But the current Heavenly Demon was said to have failed to master the Asura Blood Heaven Sword (阿修羅血天劍).
That was why, during the Peng Clan’s fall, he hadn’t led the charge personally — only sent his forces to ambush them.
‘Then perhaps… he’s not as strong as the last Heavenly Demon.’
A thought flickered across Namgung Seonyul’s mind.
Perhaps I could behead this one.
Fifty years ago, he’d been a mere insect before that power.
Now, he had reached the realm of Flowering Energy — a grandmaster in his own right.
But his musing was interrupted by a sharp voice among the mourners.
“Perhaps the Heavenly Demon wasn’t strong — perhaps Master Peng was simply weak! My clan would never fall as his did.”
The speaker was a huge man, as large as Peng Jiryang himself — Hwangbo Doung, patriarch of the Hwangbo Clan and one of the Seven Emperors, known by the epithet God Fist Invincible.
Many argued that only the Fist King Myeong Heo could match his prowess in bare-handed combat.
Dok Go Ran bristled at Hwangbo Doung’s words.
“That’s not for you to say. Even weakened, the Peng Clan was still one of the Five Great Clans. Remember how utterly they were crushed — their entire martial corps wiped out!”
“Your concern is noted, but don’t underestimate the strength of the Hwangbo Clan.”
“I’m not underestimating it! I’m warning you!”
The two men’s tempers flared, tension rising fast — until Fah Eum’s calm voice cut through the air.
“Enough. This is not the time for us to quarrel among ourselves.”
“…”
“What matters now,” the abbot continued, “is assessing how far the Demon Sect’s power has grown. We must learn the true extent of the Heavenly Demon’s abilities — and what kind of man this Right Guardian, the lord of the Extreme Demon Pavilion, truly is.”
Fah Eum paused briefly, his voice lowering.
“And whether this Heavenly Demon… has succeeded in taming the madness born from the Asura Blood Heaven Sword.”
Then his gaze shifted — and fell upon Namgung Seonyul.
“By the way, I’ve heard… that a Golden Divine Maiden has appeared in your Namgung Clan. Is that true?”
