Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
Chapter 15 - A Certain Guy Keeps Coming to Mind
He prided himself on having gone through all sorts of trials and tribulations.
Just because he knew how to make elixirs, he had to deal with all sorts of idiots, and sometimes his life was in danger.
He even had the experience of a sect, where his closest friend was the sect leader, being ruined.
But even for Hyeokri Chong, who prided himself on his numerous experiences, the boy before him was full of incomprehensible things.
‘What in the world is this kid?’
Looking at Biyoung, who was greeting him with the most delighted face in the world, Hyeokri Chong felt perplexed for the first time in a while.
It was definitely a face he was seeing for the first time.
In the first place, he rarely went outside of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and he had never seen such a gallantly handsome boy.
If he had, he was a handsome figure that would have remained in his memory for a long time.
‘First, I need to confirm his identity.’
The face smiling at him was as handsome as a painting, but Hyeokri Chong did not let down his guard.
“I should start by saying thank you.”
Hyeokri Chong politely clasped his fist towards Biyoung.
“Thank you for going easy on her. If you hadn’t, our Hong-ah(Hyeokri Hong’s Nickname) would have been seriously injured.”
“What are you talking about?! Me, getting hurt by that gigolo-like pretty boy!”
Hyeokri Hong shouted in a fit of anger, and Biyoung smirked.
“You’ve gotten old too, old man. In the past, you would have thrown acid at me, asking what I was doing to your granddaughter.”
That’s right.
He definitely would have.
That’s exactly why it was strange.
That kid was acting as if he had known me for a long time.
A mere blue-nosed brat at that.
“This presumptuous brat? Can’t you use polite language towards your grandfather?”
“When it comes to speech, I don’t think you’re in a position to talk.”
“Keung.”
She didn’t like Biyoung’s attitude towards her grandfather, but when it came to having a foul mouth, Hyeokri Hong wasn’t in a position to point fingers either.
‘Still, I should probably play along to some extent.’
Biyoung’s gaze towards Hyeokri Chong was the same as before, but compared to his past life, his body was more than twenty years younger.
It would be unreasonable to expect the same treatment as in his past life.
‘Well… it’s not like there was any special treatment to begin with.’
Biyoung gave a barely perceptible smile, then clasped his fist in return and introduced himself.
“I am Biyoung from Yiliang County.”
“……And?”
Hyeokri Chong scanned Biyoung’s entire body with his narrowed eyes.
The blatant gaze of exploration could be felt in every pore.
It was evident that he was trying to dig up what was being hidden, what was known.
‘Find out if you can, old man.’
Biyoung gave a crooked smile internally.
If he had his way, he would have hugged Hyeokri Chong long ago and asked how he had been.
But he had no confidence in explaining the mysterious event that even he couldn’t understand.
“I am a surviving descendant of the Diancang Sect, and I happened to absorb the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill.”
“Nonsense! The Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill is not something you can eat by chance.”
Just a moment ago he was clasping his fist saying thank you, and now he was shouting as if that had never happened.
That’s right.
Now he was acting like the Hyeokri Chong he used to know.
“The fact that there is no lie in my words has already been proven.”
“Proven?”
Biyoung looked at Hyeokri Chong and Hyeokri Hong once before continuing.
“The formation set up outside was made by the Diancang Sect, wasn't it? If I weren't a descendant of the Diancang Sect, I wouldn’t have been able to break the formation and come this far.”
“Ha! Formations are bound to be broken someday. Or you could have just wandered in by chance like a mad stray dog.”
Even while thinking it was a stretch himself, Hyeokri Chong did not accept Biyoung’s words.
On the other hand, he also had a desire to hear more of the ‘proof’ this boy mentioned.
‘This old man…’
Did he read Hyeokri Chong’s mind?
Biyoung’s lips twisted slightly.
But he didn’t feel bad.
No, in fact, he even felt a sense of nostalgia.
It felt like he had returned to the old days of bickering all the time.
As Hyeokri Chong wished, Biyoung brought out other evidence.
“Beak Striking Palm Fist, Flying Eagle Steps.”
“!!!”
At those two words, Hyeokri Chong’s eyelids trembled.
The meaning contained within them was all too clear.
“How… how did you know that!!”
“This should be enough to prove that I am a descendant of the Diancang Sect, right?”
Eyes filled with astonishment turned towards the boy.
How long had it been since he had been this surprised?
No.
Perhaps this was the first time in his life he had been this surprised.
It was rare enough to even mention the name Diancang Sect, but he saw through martial arts that were as good as lost?
‘And that, just by seeing the half-assed forms Hong-ah showed him?’
For an evaluation of his granddaughter, it was quite harsh, but it was the truth.
Hyeokri Chong was a man famous as a Medical Saint and an elixirist.
But he was also once a martial artist.
He hadn’t learned the martial arts of the Diancang Sect himself, but since he had watched from the side for years, he could recognize the general framework.
That was why he was able to teach Hong-ah with the secret manuals of the Diancang Sect.
Raising Hong-ah’s internal energy by feeding her only good things was a grandfather’s love.
But teaching her the martial arts of the Diancang Sect was a kind of lingering attachment.
A lingering attachment for a sect that was now gone from the world, a sect he was close to but could no longer go back to.
‘But…’
There was someone who recognized the martial arts he thought no one would recognize anymore, just by clashing for a moment.
He didn’t like the insolent face that seemed to ask, ‘Are you satisfied now?’, but the ‘proof’ the boy spoke of was not nonsense.
“You said you are a descendant of the Diancang Sect, what is the name of your ancestor?”
“I cannot tell you that right now.”
“Ha! You expect to gain trust when you can’t even reveal something like that straightforwardly?”
“Trust can be earned in other ways.”
“…….”
An impudent expression.
An attitude that prioritized action over words.
A uniquely crooked way of speaking.
The more he looked, the more he was reminded of someone.
“Could it be……”
Hyeokri Chong almost mentioned the name of the World's Fastest Sword.
Could this boy be his son?
“No. That’s not it.”
Hyeokri Chong withdrew the question himself and shook his head.
The World's Fastest Sword was a man who hadn’t even had a proper relationship, let alone a child.
Far from going out and meeting women, he would often go into closed-door training for over a year when he was bored.
Literally.
A guy obsessed with the sword.
‘Most importantly…’
Look at that child’s face.
Fair skin and firm eyes.
A proudly raised nose bridge and a jawline that looked like it could cut.
He had an appearance that perfectly matched the expression ‘jade face’.
The World's Fastest Sword didn't have a bad face, but there was no resemblance to be considered his son.
“Alright. How do you plan to earn my trust?”
Biyoung’s answer came immediately.
“Do you have a sword?”
At that, Hyeokri Hong’s eyes lit up with twin flames.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“Young lady, please don't interfere.”
His tone was polite, but Biyoung’s expression was cold and serious.
Because of that, Hyeokri Hong had to flinch her shoulders.
‘But why does that bastard only make that face when it’s convenient for him?’
But for some reason, she couldn’t talk back anymore.
It was quite a different appearance from the usual Hyeokri Hong, who would pounce more fiercely if anyone said anything to her.
Hyeokri Chong, who had been watching the two for a moment, soon opened his mouth.
“I have a sword. A wooden one for practice, though.”
“That will be enough.”
Biyoung smiled as fresh as a spring breeze.
A warm wind briefly blew through the hearts of the grandfather and granddaughter, but they soon re-sharpened their loosened guard.
“Hong-ah. Bring the wooden sword.”
“……Tch. Okay.”
Hong-ah once again disappeared behind the earthen hut with the technique of the Flying Eagle Steps.
Biyoung stared blankly at her footwork.
‘Inexperienced.’
It wasn’t a matter of adding internal energy to the Flying Eagle Steps, but of the internal energy carrying the Flying Eagle Steps on its back.
But didn't they say all roads lead to Luoyang?
Her squirrel-like movements were at a level that would be difficult for the third-generation disciples of other sects to handle.
“I was completely fooled. I never dreamed you’d make a fake grave.”
“It’s perfect for idiots who only focus on what they see. Weren’t you one of them just a moment ago?”
“That’s true. Were most of the intruders who came here idiots like me?”
“No. Since the Diancang Sect made the formation, you are the first to set foot on this land.”
“Oh… was the formation that useful?”
“A misunderstanding played a big part.”
“A misunderstanding?”
A blatant sneer appeared on Hyeokri Chong’s lips.
“Most of the idiots in Jianghu probably think I’m dead. Since I was also on Diancang Mountain the day the Diancang Sect suffered its disastrous destruction.”
“!”
At the words ‘disastrous destruction,’ sparks flew from Biyoung’s eyes.
But Hyeokri Chong’s gaze was fixed on the hazy fog beyond the mountain, so he failed to read Biyoung’s intense emotions.
“But no one can guarantee what happens in a person’s life, can they? Even the emperor who is above all people doesn’t know when he might eat poisoned food and die. So I just put a double measure in place.”
“You’re meticulous.”
“That’s the only way to protect my one and only blood relative.”
The gazes of the two men simultaneously turned to one side.
Just then, Hyeokri Hong was running fiercely with a wooden sword.
Looking at the rising dust, Hyeokri Chong let out a low sigh.
“As you can see, she has a fiery temper like that.”
“She’s your blood relative, you should know when to give up. That will never be fixed.”
“This punk?”
Hyeokri Chong’s eyes widened as he looked at Biyoung.
Then he smirked.
“When I talk to you, a certain guy keeps coming to mind.”
“Was that guy as ill-mannered as me?”
“Yes. He was a patricide in his own right.”
Biyoung also gave a similar smile to Hyeokri Chong.
In the meantime, Hyeokri Hong arrived before them, panting.
“Hah. Hah. I’m back. Grandfather.”
“Why did you come back in such a hurry? It looks like all your guts are about to spill out.”
“In case that person did something to you, Grandfather.”
Biyoung, who was being openly treated like a ruffian, gave a rotten smile.
Hyeokri Hong carelessly threw the wooden sword towards him.
“Catch. I don’t know what you’re trying to do with this.”
Although it was a carelessly thrown wooden sword, Biyoung skillfully caught it and tucked it under his arm.
Hyeokri Chong carefully watched the process.
‘Even though it’s a wooden sword, his skill in handling a sword is proficient. But…’
There were no traces of training on the kid’s palm.
He hadn’t expected something like a demon’s face, but it was so soft and fair that it was impossible to see him as someone who had trained with a sword.
Truly.
An unknowable kid.
In some ways, he seemed easy, but in other ways, he was a kid who was difficult to even guess.
“I need to break something, what would be good?”
As Biyoung muttered while looking around, Hyeokri Hong was startled and raised her voice.
“What are you talking about now? Break what?”
“Right. That spot looks good.”
Biyoung, regardless of what Hyeokri Hong said, nodded and closed his eyes.
Ssssk…….
“Grandfather. Are you going to just let that person be?”
“………….”
Although Hyeokri Hong was nagging from the side, Hyeokri Chong for some reason remained still.
He had felt the unusual energy rising from around Biyoung.
“That is……”
Although he had learned martial arts at one time, he had no way of knowing what Biyoung was circulating.
But the intuition of the old veteran who had gone through all sorts of trials was whispering to him.
That soon, something unbelievable was about to happen.
‘Done.’
Biyoung, who had circulated the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art for a brief moment, opened his closed eyes.
By infusing the energy of the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill into his clear and pure Dantian, his entire body temporarily boiled with energy.
Biyoung slowly prepared the ‘proof’ he had mentioned.
Holding the wooden sword behind him with both hands, he drew his entire body taut like a bowstring.
“That is…!!”
Hyeokri Chong, who had been watching with his mouth firmly shut, couldn't hold back and let out a gasp of admiration.
A scene he thought he would never see again in his lifetime was unfolding before his eyes once more……!!
Nine-Shooting One Flash!
Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwang!!!
Flash, and with a single streak of light, Biyoung’s form disappeared.
At the same time, the rock that was three zhang away was shattered into pieces without a trace.
How could such a thing be possible with just a wooden sword, not a real sword?
A sword that broke through a long distance in an instant and delivered a powerful blow.
Literally, A quick sword.
“How… can this be……”
Looking at Biyoung standing on the remains of the rock, Hyeokri Chong’s body trembled.