Chapter 44. Sword Demon Awakens Sleeping Children

After Baek Jong-woo’s death,
the battlefield was quickly cleared.
Some of Baekyak Mountain Villa’s martial artists tried to resist,
but they could not stand against the post-qi refinement disciples of the Baekga Sword Corps.

Only after three more hours did the investigation team dispatched from the Murong Clan arrive.
People worried that the Slaughter Veil (Salmak) might be provoked again,
but for some reason, the Slaughter Veil remained eerily quiet.

The investigation team secured testimony from the children rescued from the pill-refining basement,
and they were forced to announce the shocking truth:
Baekyak Mountain Villa, one of the Eight Lords of Liaoning, had been a branch of the Monstrous Child Pill Organization.

* * *

At the Medical Hall.

Now quiet after all the Baekyak Mountain Villa physicians had been taken away.

“Yawn. So tired.”
“Whew, tell me about it.”

As one man yawned under the bright moon,
another sighed in agreement.

“So many things happened like lightning striking dry tinder. They called him the Thunderbolt Young Lord, and it wasn’t an empty boast.”
“Yeah, was he only sixteen, they said? The Namgung Clan was raising a monster, it seems.”

The two post-qi refinement disciples thought of the strange young master who had summoned thunder in clear skies.
Despite his pretty face, his expression was sullen, and his hair was messy.
He looked full of openings,
yet his fangs were truly sharp.

Now, among the post-qi refinement disciples, he was the talk of the capital.

“The Iron Sword Squad was amazing too.”
“Right? Ten of them moved as one.”
“As expected of the Namgung Clan. Though the rivers and lakes may shake, they do not fall.”
“No wonder they are one of the Ten Great Clans. They’ve held their place because they have the strength to do so.”

Seeing Namgung Hoyeon and the Iron Sword Squad,
the disciples became certain that the rumors about the Namgung Clan’s decline were false.

“Still, it’s a shame we couldn’t capture that traitor, Murong Hak.”
“I heard he disappeared right after being defeated by Young Lord Namgung.”
“Tch, to abandon even his mother’s family and run… what a filthy man.”
“Truly.”

As the disciples exchanged quiet words while on guard duty,
a shadow quietly approached the Medical Hall.

“Hmm?”
“Huh?”

The figure carried a leather sack on his shoulder,
his pale face, red lips, thick eyebrows, and sharp nose clear even in the darkness.

“Young Lord Namgung!”
“Thunderbolt Young Lord!”

They brightened upon seeing Namgung Hoyeon and hurried toward him.

“Um…”
“Haha! I am Chu Wolhyo, eldest son of the Chu Clan!”
“I-I am Gong Bichang, second son of the Taegang Sword Sect!”

As Hoyeon scratched his cheek, the disciples smiled brightly as they introduced themselves.
Among the disciples, Namgung Hoyeon was known for not enjoying social interaction.
Even at Yeonun Pavilion, he hadn’t formed friendships, and at Geomun Pavilion, he had smashed Dan Lisanwol.
So, the two disciples considered it a stroke of luck to get a chance to interact with him.

“The spirit you showed today was as clear as the skies of the Namgung Clan!”
“Truly! You’re five years younger than me, yet your resolve and decisiveness made me feel so ashamed of myself!”

“Um…”
“If you tell us of your feats, my little sister would love it! Our Chu Clan is in Honam, so after the Baekga Sword Conference, if you have time…”
“Young Lord, please come with me to Guizhou! I will show you Huangguoshu Waterfall and the red waters of Red Water Gorge!”

“Hey, you fool! How can you mention Red Water Gorge when Dongting Lake in Honam is far superior!”
“What did you say? Are you insulting my hometown?”

As the two began arguing, Hoyeon’s lips twitched.

“Should I just greet them properly?”

—Don’t you dare!

“Just a joke.”

Hoyeon delivered the message “Go away” as politely as possible.

“I’m tired right now. Let’s talk later.”
“Ah, r-right. You must be far more exhausted than us.”
“After all, that was quite the battle. Haha…”

Thump!

As the two laughed awkwardly,
Hoyeon lowered the leather sack and pulled something out to hand to them.

“A gift.”
“Huh? Dangbu Candy?”
“Snowflake Candy?”

They were confused.
What Hoyeon handed them was street-market candy.

“There’s no need to stand guard here. Go back to your lodgings, eat that, and get some rest.”
“Uh… is that okay?”
“But we’re on guard duty…”

They hesitated while holding the candy,
but when Hoyeon frowned, they immediately nodded and laughed.

“Haha, you’re right. We were wondering ourselves, there’s no one coming here anyway.”
“Yes, the children… it’s sad, but there’s nothing more we can do…”

“We’ll see you later, then.”
“Thank you for the candy.”

Step, step, step.

The two, exhausted, gratefully withdrew,
and Hoyeon slung the leather sack over his shoulder again, entering the Medical Hall.

Clack, clack, clack.

Passing several sliding doors,
he entered a large room filled with the scent of herbs.

There, two rows of bedding were laid out,
and around fifty children lay with their eyes closed as if asleep.

Hoyeon looked around before pulling up the nearest blanket.

Whoosh!

“What are you doing?”
“…!”

Inside, Seo Cheongi was gripping a dagger, teeth clenched.

“Young Lord Namgung…”
“What are you planning to do with that?”

When Hoyeon asked, Seo Cheongi’s lips trembled as he spoke.

“To protect them.”
“Who?”
“Narin and the children.”
“From whom?”
“…”

After a moment of silence, Seo Cheongi choked out:

“All the physicians… they said there was no hope. That it would be kinder to let the children go without pain… sob!”

“…”

Watching the tears drip from Seo Cheongi’s eyes, Hoyeon dug into his leather sack.

“Want some candy?”
“…I don’t need it.”
“How many nights have you stayed up? You look like a raccoon. If you keep not sleeping, you won’t grow.”
“I don’t care. I don’t need anything anymore.”

Clench!

Seo Cheongi gripped the blanket and screamed:

“I don’t need money! I don’t need gods! I don’t need to live anymore! Someone like me has no use in this world…!”

Hoyeon silently watched his outburst before twisting his lips.

“Then die.”
“…!”
“If you don’t need to live, then just die. Simple.”

“You…!”

As Seo Cheongi glared with clenched teeth, Hoyeon murmured expressionlessly:

“I survived. Desperately. Sometimes pathetically. Believing life itself had meaning. Cutting, cutting, and cutting again to survive.”
“…?”
“Why was I born, why do I live, why do I wield the sword? I pushed aside those questions and rowed toward the harbor of life.”
“What are you… talking about?”
“Do you know where I arrived after all that?”

Looking up as if recalling the past, Hoyeon continued:

“It was a sea of meaninglessness. No one else was there. I was alone, lamenting, soaked in blood.”
“…”

“Let me give you some advice. If you don’t want to end up like that, die now.”

Seo Cheongi looked at the dagger in his hand.
Though he couldn’t understand everything, he knew that a future without Narin would be far more despairing than now.

“Uu, uuuu…!”

His hands trembled violently.
He brought the dagger to his neck.
His skin split, stinging.

‘Narin! I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you! If only I were stronger… if only I had power…!’

Seo Cheongi squeezed his eyes shut, pressing down with all his might.
Heat rose to the top of his head, and he felt as if the Grim Reaper was placing a hand gently on his crown.

At that moment—

“I wished someone would pull me out of that sea of meaninglessness. And somehow, miraculously, it actually happened.”

Snap!

As Hoyeon snapped his fingers, energy flew out, pressing on Seo Cheongi’s vital points.

Thud.

Seo Cheongi’s body collapsed,
the dagger falling from his grip and flying into Hoyeon’s hand.

Clack!

“Who knows, maybe a miracle will happen for you too.”

—What a twisted hobby you have.

“What? This is nothing.”

Shrugging, Hoyeon spoke as he walked:

“I just wanted to see if you were the type who could die.”

—You freak. Why would you want to see that?

“If someone can choose to die, then they can also choose to live.”

Stopping in the center of the room, Hoyeon closed his eyes and focused on his upper dantian.

Buzz!

His forehead grew hot, and an energy field spread across the room.
In that state, Hoyeon could see everything within as clearly as if he were an omniscient god.

‘Their baihui points are all open. They forcibly drew out the children’s spiritual energy through the points between their eyebrows.’

Spiritual energy is not only possessed by spiritualists; all living beings contain it.
Spiritualists merely use it to perform various feats.

‘Normally, they’d never sense it in their lifetime unless they’re a genius.’

The baihui, connected to the universe, closes as people age due to distractions and impurities,
but mainly because it’s dangerous.
The pure energy of the heavens can turn a person into a fool if taken in too much.

‘Only legendary figures like Bodhidharma or Zhang Sanfeng could handle it freely.’

Those figures had reached the realm of absolute harmony, but the children were not them.
Like cramming too much information into one’s head until nothing makes sense,
the children were not unconscious but overloaded with consciousness.

‘Let’s close those lids.’

Wooo…

Hoyeon used psychokinesis, focusing on the children’s baihui points.

“Huuuuuup…”

Closing the baihui points of fifty children was no easy task.
It was like repairing a burst levee.

While energy absorption techniques pull in the energy of all creation,
what Hoyeon was doing was hammering stakes of repulsion into the children’s baihui points, one by one.

“Uuuuugh…”

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

It felt like his forehead was being seared with a branding iron,
and warm blood dripped from his nose.

Yet Hoyeon continued without hesitation, carefully driving in each stake of repulsion.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

At last, the work was done, and he staggered out of the Medical Hall.

“Fuuu…”

Lying down in the backyard, breathing in the fresh air,
the headache finally began to ease.

At that moment, the Heavenly Thunder Sword spoke:

—I really don’t get you.

“What is it now?”

—Why do you help children so desperately? You were like this in Hefei too. The first thing you did with your money was build an orphanage.

“…”

**—Do you have a reason?”

Pausing, Hoyeon muttered:

“No reason. I just can’t stand seeing those orphan brats whining.”

**—What?”

“It pisses me off. Reminds me of the past. Makes me feel like shit.”

**—…”

“One Sword Demon in the world is enough.”

Hoyeon closed his eyes.
He needed a moment of rest.

* * *

“Nom nom nom!”
“Hey! That’s my candy!”
“Get back here!”
“Kyahaha!”

At the sound of the commotion, Seo Cheongi forced his heavy eyelids open.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Perhaps all the fatigue he had been holding back had burst at once; his body felt unbearably heavy.

“What… is this?”

Managing to lift his upper body, Cheongi was speechless at the sight before him.

In the bright morning sunlight, the children were making a racket in the room.

Some were sitting on the floor sucking on candy,
others were running around waving candy in the air.

“Huh? Huh huh?”

Cheongi’s eyes widened.
They were all children he knew well.

‘Did I die…? Did I come to paradise with the children?’

Seeing the previously unconscious children awake and playing could only be interpreted that way.

At that moment—

“Cheongi.”

“…!”

A familiar, dearly missed voice rang in his ears.

He quickly turned his head to see Narin, with her wrinkled little nose, smiling brightly.

“You’re up already? Why don’t you sleep a bit more? You look so tired.”
“Ah, ah, ah…”

“What’s wrong? More importantly, where are we? And where’s Jeokseo?”

As Narin tilted her head in confusion,
Cheongi became certain this was paradise.

“Ahhh! Thank you, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva! For sending a sinner like me to the same paradise as Narin!”

“Cheongi? Are you sick?”

Thump!

Narin touched his forehead, looking concerned.

“Ow! You’re burning up!”

“Hahaha! Narin!”

“Kyaah!”

As Cheongi hugged her in gratitude,
Narin, startled, smacked his chin upward.

Crack!

“Kugh…!”

“Ah! S-sorry! Are you okay?”

“Haha… so there’s pain even in paradise…”

“What? What are you even saying?”

As Narin looked genuinely worried,
the sliding door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.

Seeing the scene inside, a man stood in shock and shouted urgently:

“Th-the children are awake!”

A breeze carrying the fresh scent of earth drifted through the paper windows.