Chapter 81
What Is It That Binds a Person?
It can be a single simple word, or a small trivial action.
A person’s heart is so simple and fragile that even insignificant things can shake it deeply.
And what had been binding Chunhwa Sword Yoo Daeseung was—
‘That one sentence.’
The Chunhwa Hundred-Flow Sword Art consists of eleven forms.
That one line.
If a missing technique truly existed somewhere, then Yoo Daeseung’s sword art would forever remain incomplete.
The young man who once boasted he would place the world beneath his feet had his wings broken the moment he realized his sword art could never reach perfection.
So it went on for decades.
His long-held wish was something he intended to pass on to his son, stepping back in resignation.
But then—
“The 11th form of the Chunhwa Hundred-Flow Sword Art, Chunhwa Snow-Flow…!”
If only the secret manual containing the formula for that final and elusive technique hadn’t suddenly appeared!
The master of Chunhwa Mountain Villa, Chunhwa Sword Yoo Daeseung, felt his heart pound violently once again.
The fire he believed had long been extinguished as a martial artist roared back to life inside the eighty-seven-year-old man’s chest.
***
After hearing the villa master’s story, I carefully held the Yonglin Armor in my arms.
It was closer to precious ceremonial attire than armor.
Thin and tough—one might not even notice if someone wore it.
“Thank you, Villa Master. For giving me something so precious. I’ll take good care of it.”
“If you ever want something more, just say the word.”
“This is more than enough!”
“Then I’ll take my leave. I must learn the formula of this 11th form at once. I can hardly wait to finally complete the Chunhwa Hundred-Flow Sword Art—”
At that moment—
BOOM! RRRUMBLE!
KUUUUNG!
A tremendous explosion echoed from somewhere.
Sub-master Yoo Pyeonghyeok instinctively pulled Yu Jaheon and Paeng Simyeong close to protect them.
Yoo Daeseung pulled me into his arms as if shielding me.
Held tightly against him, I looked around the underground chamber as it trembled like it might collapse.
Rrrrumble!
“What’s happening?”
“Is there trouble outside?”
“Father! We should get out first!”
With each thunderous vibration, dust and small debris rained down from the ceiling.
‘Ah—my eyes!’
I bowed my head quickly to shake off the dust that had fallen into my eyes.
But then—
‘Huh? This sound…’
It wasn’t coming from above.
It was coming from below…
When I lifted my head to look at the villa master, he had sensed it too.
“Villa Master! The sound—!”
“Yes, something seems to be happening beneath us.”
Jaheon’s face drained of color.
“B-below this chamber is where Cheonyeong’s cave is!”
He screamed it in panic.
Did something happen to Chunhwa Mountain Villa’s guardian creature, the poison-horned serpent?
Jaheon struggled to run down there immediately, but Yoo Pyeonghyeok barely held him back.
The villa master and sub-master took me, Jaheon, and Simyeong and hurried us out of the secret chamber.
The earth-shaking rumbling made it feel like the underground might collapse at any moment.
Which made me suddenly remember the things we left behind.
‘No—it mustn’t collapse!’
That place housed the villa’s greatest treasures!
Thankfully, we had taken the secret manual and the Yonglin Armor—but everything else was still there.
Clutching tightly to the villa master, I prayed the chamber wouldn’t crumble as we ran through the pitch-black passage.
“Villa Master!”
Upon reaching the entrance, my father—waiting with the Tang Family warriors—took me into his arms.
“The villa’s disciples said something happened underground and rushed down!”
The villa master nodded sharply.
“I will check it immediately. For vibrations of this magnitude… Cheonyeong has never rampaged like this!”
And with that, he headed straight toward the serpent’s chamber.
Jaheon followed close behind.
Yoo Pyeonghyeok and Paeng Simyeong stayed behind to calm the terrified disciples.
“Father!”
“Biya, are you unharmed?”
“Yes, I’m fine! Please let me down!”
“What—?”
In the commotion, my father set me on the ground.
I immediately slipped out of his arms and ran after the villa master.
“Biya!”
“I need to check if Cheonyeong is safe!”
“Ah—good grief…”
My father reluctantly followed. He must have realized he couldn’t let me go alone.
I ran alongside Jaheon.
Jaheon spoke between gasps:
“C-Cheonyeong… nothing happened to him, right?”
“No. I removed the key from his neck, remember?”
“R-right…”
“Yes. So don’t imagine the worst until we see him.”
Only then did he clamp his mouth shut.
But his face was still ghostly pale.
Seeing him like that made me uneasy as well.
Of course.
‘If the tremors are this strong, something definitely happened.’
These tremors were so violent that one might believe the mythical serpent was transforming into a dragon to ascend.
There was a reason the villa master had run straight to Cheonyeong’s cavern.
We followed the path we had visited once before, running toward the underground lake.
But then—
“You bastard!!!”
A thunderous voice boomed from the cavern entrance.
It was the villa master, who had arrived before us.
“Grandfather!”
“Villa Master!”
His voice was furious—cold and terrifying.
Without hesitation, Jaheon and I sprinted toward him.
But—
‘Blood…!’
A heavy metallic scent hit us even from the entrance.
It clearly signaled that something terrible had happened here.
I rushed toward the lake where Cheonyeong resided.
The villa master roared:
“You crawled into this place of your own accord—then you will NOT leave here alive!”
“Tch. Things got troublesome…”
A middle-aged man stood tall opposite the villa master, right before the lake.
Both his hands were stained with blood.
In his left hand was a massive serrated guandao, its jagged blade like a row of saw teeth.
One side of his face bore a huge cross-shaped scar—an intimidating sight.
“I heard the villa master was away. Why are you here?”
He rested the giant blade casually on his shoulder as he spoke.
The villa master shouted, face flushed with rage:
“You cur!”
“Tsk. Looks like that brat fed me false info…”
At that moment, my father—having caught up—grabbed Jaheon and me, pulling us behind him.
“Great Dark Ghost!”
My father shouted in a voice I had never heard before.
‘Great Dark Ghost?’
I mouthed the name silently.
I had heard vague rumors in my past life.
The Great Dark Ghost of Hubei—a master who once unified half of the Hubei underworld.
‘A massive cross-shaped scar on his face—!’
I recalled the memory and swallowed sharply.
He really was the Great Dark Ghost?
He had come here?
He wasn’t some petty thug.
He was the man who, within a few years, would rule half the martial underworld of Hubei.
So why was he here?
I glanced past him toward the lake.
The water was stained red.
“Don’t tell me…”
Had it already happened?
The Poison-Horned Serpent, king of the Yunnan jungles.
But with someone like the Great Dark Ghost as the enemy, it wouldn’t be strange if the serpent had already fallen.
Blood was splattered everywhere.
Was it all Cheonyeong’s?
“J-Joyun! W-what happened? Wake up! Please!”
Jaheon cried, hugging a collapsed disciple.
The disciple’s uniform was soaked with blood.
It seemed the villa’s disciples had fought the Great Dark Ghost before we arrived.
Several more disciples lay nearby, seriously injured.
They must have been the ones who rushed ahead to check on Cheonyeong when the tremors began.
I forced myself to focus and checked the pulse of one of the injured.
The wound was deep; the pulse faint. I pressed acupoints to stop the bleeding, but it was only a temporary measure.
I looked toward my father.
“Father, we must move the injured first!”
The Great Dark Ghost might be a top underworld expert, but standing before him was Chunhwa Sword Yoo Daeseung, one of the Ten Great Swords of the World.
There was no way the villa master would lose.
Hearing me, the villa master looked back and shouted to my father:
“Shameless as I am, I must ask—take the injured away!
As for this insolent rat who dared crawl into my villa—I shall personally tear him apart!”
