It all happened in an instant.
Eun Jin-ho reached out toward Eun Seo-ho, who was falling off the cliff, but his hand only grasped empty air.
“Seo-ho! No! Seo-ho!”
Eun Jin-ho screamed.
The earthquake had stopped, but no one noticed it.
Because it was Eun Seo-ho… who had fallen.
Eun Jin-ho slammed his fist on the ground.
“I have to go down.”
As he tried to stand, he staggered.
It was Squad Leader Jeong Chung who caught him.
In a flash, Jeong Chung struck his pressure point and knocked him unconscious.
Watching that, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Lee Pil spoke to Mak Chung.
“We’ll stay here and search for the young master.”
At their words, Palgap quickly raised his hand.
“I’ll stay too. I must help find the young master.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu also stepped forward.
“I, Seo Wu, haven’t yet repaid the grace the young master showed me. Please don’t take away my chance to return that favor.”
Mak Chung sighed at their words.
The situation was tricky.
He had to escort the Pu-erh tea back to Hubei, but leaving them behind weighed heavily on his mind.
Above all, returning without knowing whether Eun Seo-ho was alive or dead felt terribly wrong.
Then it happened.
“I’ll stay behind.”
The one who stepped forward was the Escort Chief who had led the now-rescued party.
“I brought great shame that time. If I return to the escort bureau like this, I won’t be able to continue working as an Escort Chief. Please allow me to stay behind and redeem myself.”
Mak Chung made his decision.
“Alright. Then the four of you, plus you, and four more volunteers, will stay here.”
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
Meanwhile.
Something strange was happening to Eun Seo-ho, who was falling off the cliff.
Vwoooong.
A faint silver light began radiating from his body.
Responding to that light, the thick fog beneath the cliff started to move.
The fog wrapped around Eun Seo-ho layer after layer.
Because of that, when Eun Seo-ho finally hit the ground, there was no impact at all.
Swoooosh.
Soon the fog dispersed, and the silver light faded back into Seo-ho’s body.
A creature hiding in the valley below was watching it all.
“Kui?”
I opened my eyes.
“Ugh…”
Where… am I?
I tried recalling my last memory.
Yeah… the earthquake happened, and Jin-ho was trying to protect a Clerk and nearly fell.
So I…
I raised my hand.
I remembered clearly that I let go of Jin-ho’s arm at the last moment.
Because… for some reason, I kept seeing an image of Jin-ho’s severed head flashing before my eyes.
If I hadn’t let go of his arm, it would’ve been Jin-ho falling off that cliff.
It was an instinctive decision, but if it meant saving Jin-ho and me dying instead… I’ve got no regrets.
My vow of revenge against the Murim Alliance and Baekcheon was always for the family.
What’s the point of revenge if Jin-ho dies?
It’d be… ridiculous.
Judging by the fact that I survived a fall from a cliff this high, maybe my revenge really is Heaven’s will.
But still… why am I fine?
My whole body should’ve shattered into pieces.
I sat down and started circulating my Qi.
There didn’t seem to be anything stopping me from doing that.
“Hoo…”
Once I finished circulating my Qi, I checked my belongings to see if anything was missing.
The most important thing was my pouch.
Thankfully, it was still here.
The bracelet was intact too.
Then it happened.
“Huh?”
Something small enough to fit in my palm had quietly climbed onto my lap and was staring right at me.
“Ah! Damn!”
I flinched hard.
It had approached without a sound.
But the little thing just stared at me with its shiny eyes.
I slowly took a closer look at it.
It was…
A pig?
Yeah. A pig.
A tiny, light-pink pig with golden fur on the tip of its curled tail and on all four hooves.
Its face was rounder than any pig I knew, and its body was just as round.
Honestly, the whole thing looked like a pink ball of yarn.
I mean…
“Ahem… Cute. It’s… cute.”
It was seriously adorable.
I stared at it for a long while, but it didn’t seem like something that would hurt me.
Then the pig-like thing waddled over my knee and tapped my pouch with its tiny front hooves.
Then it stared straight at me.
‘…Is it… asking for money?’
I couldn’t bring myself to ignore that gaze.
Out of curiosity, wondering if that’s really what it wanted, I pulled a silver tael from my pouch.
I held it out to the creature.
“You want this?”
“Kui?”
It sounded like it was asking, ‘Is this really for me?’
I nodded.
“Yeah. You can have it.”
The moment the words left my mouth, it snatched the silver tael from my hand.
And then.
Gulp.
It swallowed it.
“…!”
Startled, I quickly grabbed it and shook it.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to eat that! Spit it out! Now!”
“Kui! Kui! Kui!”
But the thing just squealed happily, slipped out of my hands, and dove into my sleeve.
“Sigh…”
I let out a long sigh.
“Whatever. There are plenty of people out there who’ve swallowed thousands of silver taels and still walk around fine. What’s one little coin?”
I stood up.
Jin-ho and everyone else must be devastated because of me.
No doubt they all think I’m dead.
And…
I promised Mother I’d come back safe.
…By the way, where’s the road?
Just then, the creature in my sleeve hopped down to the ground and wagged its tail.
It was still curled like a little spring, but somehow, it looked like it was signaling something with it.
“You want me to follow?”
“Kui!”
It scurried ahead, and I followed it.
I walked for about one sikgyeong.
Then a cave appeared in front of me.
The creature’s tail pointed toward the cave entrance.
“You want me to go in there?”
“Kui!”
I figured there had to be a reason why it was acting like this.
So I followed it inside.
The cave was filled with thick fog as well.
Carefully, I stepped deeper inside.
And then stopped.
“This is…”
What I saw was a single sword embedded in a massive rock.
The entire sword was silver.
From the blade to the hilt, even the tassel hanging from the pommel.
I walked closer and read the characters engraved on the blade.
Silver Mist Sword (銀霧劍).
It means the sword of silver mist.
And I knew exactly what this sword was.
In my past life, this sword belonged to the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.
Back then, the Alliance Leader received this sword as a gift from the Emperor in return for his assistance.
If I take this sword now, then the Alliance Leader won’t be receiving it from the Emperor in the future.
The problem… is whether I’m qualified to claim it.
This sword isn’t just any sword.
It’s a special sword.
If someone without the proper qualification tries to pull it out, a rejection phenomenon occurs.
The one who grabs the sword goes insane.
Even if they somehow force the sword into submission, it won’t display its full power.
It’s a troublesome weapon in every sense.
Come to think of it… wasn’t one of the rejection phenomena related to mist?
“Kuiit!”
Suddenly, the little creature flinched in fear and dove straight into my sleeve.
A wave of murderous intent surged toward me.
I spun around immediately.
There was a warrior walking toward me with a sword in hand.
“That’s… my… sword… mine… my… sword…”
His eyes, his voice… it was clear he wasn’t sane.
“Uh… I… I have no intention of— Ack!”
It didn’t matter what I said. The hostility aimed at me wasn’t going anywhere.
His sword kept slashing at me relentlessly.
‘Seriously, what the hell…’
Where did this lunatic even come from?
Then it clicked.
The way he kept mumbling ‘my sword’…
Did this guy… turn like this trying to claim the Silver Mist Sword?
Right… if someone without qualification touches it, they go mad.
Boom!
Crash!
Slice—!
I kept dodging his attacks, running in circles around the cave, but this couldn’t go on forever.
I had to end this.
I drew the sword at my waist.
Sring—.
Then I started using the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
Judging by how he fought… this madman’s skill was at least Peak level.
I was still stuck at First-rate.
My Qi had grown slightly, but it wasn’t enough to surpass the wall of Peak.
Which meant… the only thing I could rely on was the second form, Accumulated Snow.
Vwoooong.
I gathered Qi into my blade.
Then swung it toward the crazed warrior charging at me.
Usually, when someone uses a sword against another person for the first time, their body instinctively hesitates to go for the kill.
I was the same.
But when you realize that not swinging means you die… there’s no room for hesitation.
Just like now.
Honestly… it was a good thing my master wasn’t here.
With how sharp-eyed he is, he’d definitely notice how I didn’t even flinch at using a killing move—and suspect something was off.
The crazed warrior easily dodged my sword and counterattacked immediately.
Clang!
Chaang!
I swung my sword to block his strikes while aiming back at him.
But let’s be honest—how’s a First-rate supposed to fight a Peak?
All that happened was me getting more and more cut up.
Suddenly, I remembered my final moments from my past life.
Just like back then… my Qi was almost empty.
But I couldn’t die here.
I had a goal I absolutely had to achieve.
That desperation kept my sword moving.
Soon, my mind went completely blank.
And then… something strange happened.
It was like I was watching both my own movements and his from a third-person view.
‘Is this… the Observation State (觀照) I’ve only heard about in rumors?’
My sword grew sharper. Faster.
I could feel it.
Frost began forming on my body.
Chaang—!
Then… my sword broke.
The blade shattered and flew off.
At the same time, I snapped out of that trance.
“Hah!”
Of course, the crazed warrior wasn’t so kind as to stop just because my sword broke.
I hurriedly rolled my body to dodge the next strike.
It wasn’t pretty. I looked like a lazy donkey rolling in the dirt.
But who cares about appearances?
I was about to get stabbed to death.
As I scrambled backward, I hit the massive rock where the Silver Mist Sword was embedded.
Thud.
No way out.
‘Damn it…’
If only I had a sword.
If only I had a sword…!
It was in that moment—the entire rock began vibrating.
And then—
BANG—!
The rock exploded into pieces.
A rain of stone shards fell everywhere.
And in my hand… was the Silver Mist Sword.
“Wait… why… why is this in my hand?”
But I didn’t have time to wonder.
The moment the crazed warrior saw the sword in my hand, his bloodlust exploded.
It felt like his killing intent was slicing my flesh without even touching me.
‘Well… screw it.’
I gripped the sword tightly and steadied my breathing.
Then recalled the eighth form I was training.
One Hanging Icicle (一點懸氷).
My target was his heart.
I didn’t know why… but for some reason, I felt like I could pull it off right now.
I took a deep breath.
Somehow, my Dantian, which had been completely empty… was full again.
I replayed the sensation from earlier in my mind.
‘Now.’
The Silver Mist Sword in my hand shot forward like lightning toward his heart.
Puk—!
I didn’t even feel the sensation of cutting flesh.
It pierced through so easily.
The crazed warrior’s eyes cleared.
“S-Sorry…”
Huh? Sorry?
“There’s… a letter… in my pocket… it’s… my… atonement… for my sin…”
Atonement…?
And with that… the crazed warrior collapsed, dead.
I pulled the Silver Mist Sword free.
Thud.
His body hit the ground.
“Haah…”
I dropped to the floor too.
I was completely spent.
I looked down at the sword in my hand.
A faint silver glow shimmered along the blade.
That was sword Qi. No doubt.
I had reached Peak.
When I was swinging earlier without thinking, that must’ve been the No-Self State (無我之境) everyone talks about.
Thank the heavens.
If I hadn’t hit Peak, the one lying dead here would’ve been me.
And… the reason I was able to defeat a Peak-level madman, even as someone who had just reached Peak, was thanks to this Silver Mist Sword.
A real treasure lives up to its name.
I spotted the silver scabbard lying on the ground and quickly sheathed the sword.
Clack.
At that moment—
Vwoooooong—!
The surrounding mist began swirling.
Then… it all got sucked into the Silver Mist Sword in my hand.
As if the mist had never existed.
‘Wait…’
‘Does that mean…’
‘The one behind the Fogbound Mountain incident… was the Silver Mist Sword?’
–TL Notes–
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