Chapter : 188
Dokgo Ryong looked at the five demon disciples rushing toward him.
He didn’t have the luxury to deal with each one individually. If he didn’t reduce their numbers, their demonic energy would immediately reach the children!
Kwa kwa gwa gwak!
“From here on, no one gets through.”
Dokgo Ryong unleashed a terrifying sword strike between himself and his enemies, his eyes flashing with intensity.
The demon disciples swallowed nervously, but they couldn’t back down either. Covered in demonic energy, they charged at him.
The remaining energy within Dokgo Ryong’s body writhed, but he forced it down, facing the attackers.
I won’t let anything be taken from me anymore.
Dokgo Ryong’s life had been one of constant loss.
When he was born, he lost his mother.
To the Dokgo family, he lost his family.
To the demonic sect, he lost his future.
To his master, he lost his trust.
He had resolved that if anything else was to be taken from him, he would trust no one.
Yet one day, a nephew fell from the sky.
Not only did the boy effortlessly break down the walls of Dokgo Ryong’s heart, he eventually became a part of his life.
And now… he had almost lost that child forever.
Every time something was taken from him, he blamed himself.
He thought he had done wrong, that he had sinned, that the heavens were punishing him.
But now, it was different.
If the heavens tried to take what was his through trials and hardships… he would defy them and tear them apart!
Clenching his teeth, Dokgo Ryong wrapped his Black Moon Blade in blood-red aura and swung it with the intent to slaughter the demon disciples.
Reverse Heaven, Destructive Light!
A demon disciple was split in half, and the clouds above him were also sliced, scattering in all directions.
At the same time, Dokgo Ryong felt the wall that had been blocking him shatter into pieces.
Now, he was an ultimate master.
“Ka, Kwangma! Kwangma! This guy’s Kwangma!”
One surviving demon disciple, terrified at the gruesome scene, shouted the word Kwangma and tried to flee, only for Dokgo Ryong to chase him and sever his shouting throat.
As he prepared to chase another fleeing disciple, a flash of light descended from the sky.
Shwack! Ku-gu-gung!
The surrounding area was bathed in white as lightning struck.
Squinting, Dokgo Ryong headed toward the source of the lightning and saw Baekwoon standing proudly over a demon disciple reduced to black ash.
“You’re clearly not an ordinary weasel… Are you Neusoo?”
Kyu-rung!
Baekwoon snorted, as if to say, Took you long enough to realize that.
Dokgo Ryong shook his head and hurried with Baekwoon toward the rocks where the children were.
“Little ones, let’s go.”
Just as he tried to use light-step movement while holding Eun Sowol in his arms, he felt her gaze fix on him.
“Why?”
“U-uncle… Kwangma? What about Kwangryong?”
“…Well, that’s what they’ve been calling me lately.”
Dokgo Ryong didn’t care whether they called him Kwangryong or Kwangma—it was still their uncle.
Uncle really became Kwangma!
Seeing Dokgo Ryong as Kwangma was quite a shock to Eun Sowol.
After fleeing for about half a day, the sky had turned to dusk, and no pursuers followed.
They found a village at the foot of a nearby mountainside and decided to stay there for the day.
After securing a room at an inn and gathering information through the innkeeper, Dokgo Ryong spoke.
“We’re now in a cooperative region of Gansu Province. We must have left Qinghai Province in our frantic escape.”
The Chilhyoldong cave where the children had been was near the border of Gansu and Sichuan.
“Where do we go now?”
“We’ll head to the Sichuan Hall. We agreed to meet there even if we got separated. And the blue-eyed boy…”
“Huh? Me…?”
Eun Baekhyun blinked.
“How’s your body? We’ve been using light-step all day. Are you exhausted?”
Blushing from the attention, Eun Baekhyun turned his head.
“I-I’m fine. This is nothing compared to our training.”
“Good. From tomorrow, we have to move diligently again. If we go straight to the Sichuan Hall, they might chase us, so we’ll take a detour.”
Dokgo Ryong explained in detail the route they would take and how long it would take to reach their destination.
“Don’t leave the room today. I’ll get food and clothes. So, what’s your name?”
“Baekhyun… Eun Baekhyun.”
“Eun…?”
Dokgo Ryong glanced at Eun Sowol, who linked arms with Eun Baekhyun.
“We have the same surname. Isn’t that interesting?”
Eun Baekhyun froze, looking at her.
“…Come to think of it, you lied about your name?”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to lie… It just ended up that I had to pose as Sister Rim. I’m not originally from Chilhyoldong.”
“Then why were you in that hole?”
“That… was complicated. And I wasn’t in the hole; I was finding the exit when the elders and demonic sect members were there. I didn’t expect to encounter them.”
Eun Sowol explained as much as she could.
“Let me introduce myself again! I’m Eun Sowol. Hehe, same surname as you, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Maybe because of that, every time my brother took care of me, I felt like I really had an older brother. Your brother was kidnapped by the demonic sect too, right? Are you from the North Sea if your surname is Eun?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
Seeing Eun Baekhyun’s bitter expression, Eun Sowol guessed he had a painful past.
“Anyway, uncle! My brother helped me, so I could rest comfortably. Even the instructor who hit me was stopped by my brother, so I didn’t get hit as much.”
Frowning, Dokgo Ryong silently watched Eun Baekhyun. Having seen his cruel side, Eun Baekhyun instinctively tensed.
But when Dokgo Ryong’s warm hand stroked his head, his eyes widened.
“…Thank you. You must not have had time to look after the others.”
“Ah, I…”
“It’s okay, brother. I was trapped in Chilhyoldong for four years too, so I know what it’s like.”
“You too…?”
“…Thanks to someone, I escaped and live freely now. You’ll be able to do the same.”
“Freedom…”
Eun Baekhyun muttered the word as if hearing it for the first time.
Dokgo Ryong got up to buy food. Just before stepping outside, Eun Sowol grabbed his sleeve.
“Uncle… do you hold a grudge against Master…?”
Mentioning Muhyeol made Dokgo Ryong stiffen.
“My master kidnapped me… but he had his reasons!”
Eun Sowol told him about what happened with Muhyeol. The longer she spoke, the darker Dokgo Ryong’s expression grew.
“I was supposed to meet Master at the exit, but I couldn’t. Uncle, do you know what happened to Master?”
“….”
When Dokgo Ryong couldn’t answer, Eun Sowol’s heart sank. Her hand on his sleeve went limp.
“I see… I hope Master is at peace.”
“He looked peaceful.”
“Then that’s good. Uncle… forgive Master… he’s a poor man.”
“…Rest. I’ll be back soon.”
Avoiding her gaze, Dokgo Ryong went outside.
Thud.
Leaning against the closed door, he exhaled shakily.
Muhyeol… had been buried in a sunny spot with his daughter, Jang Yonghwi had said.
Anger, resentment, pity—conflicting emotions kept clashing inside him.
Someday, if my heart is settled…
Would he be able to go see him? For now, he didn’t know. Dokgo Ryong let out a frustrated breath and went out.
“Heh heh heh… it’s been a while since I had such a fun hunt. How about you, little one? Looks like there are some people from our hometown too.”
The white-haired woman still had her eyes covered with white bandages and remained silent.
Kwangcheonmasoo laughed, drinking Yahongju.
“It’s better if you refrain from drinking for a while, Kwangcheonmasoo. It won’t help your wounds.”
“Don’t do this, don’t do that. You talk too much.”
“My heart was torn like this. If the wound had been any deeper, my organs would have been damaged.”
“The ones who killed my master were strong. I was ready to give my bones and die, but in the end, I couldn’t kill them…”
But he had marked something deeper on them than his own wound, so they were probably at the edge of life and death by now.
Kwangcheonmasoo, who had been laughing, suddenly stopped and grew serious.
“So… did you find the child?”
“…I apologize. Kwangma took him, so all the pursuers were defeated.”
Kwangcheonmasoo’s eyes narrowed.
