Chapter 402 – Those Who Protect, Those Who Take… (2)

Namgung Seon-hwi bit his lips hard. Flesh tore and blood flowed. With that, his dazed mind returned and his vision brightened.

In front of him, two horses were walking. One was Black Demon that Dam Ho was riding, and the other was the horse that Bang Jin-bo and Namgung Yeong-hwi were riding together.

For three days since joining Dam Ho, he had walked without rest. As a result, the flesh on the soles of his feet had been completely torn and blistered. Every step was an ordeal and a continuation of pain. Still, Namgung Seon-hwi stubbornly followed behind Dam Ho without saying a word about his hardship.

Bang Jin-bo and Namgung Yeong-hwi looked at such Namgung Seon-hwi with pitying eyes. They had already offered several times to let him ride a horse, but Namgung Seon-hwi refused.

"I'm fine. Just let Yeong-hwi ride."

Bang Jin-bo could read the sincerity and longing in his eyes, so he couldn't insist further. When the concerned Namgung Yeong-hwi said he would walk with his brother, Namgung Seon-hwi refused that too.

It was self-imposed hardship that Namgung Seon-hwi had chosen of his own will. There was no guarantee that doing this would necessarily yield good results, but he persevered, thinking that if he couldn't endure even this much difficulty, what could he possibly accomplish?

The descendants of fallen families truly had hard lives. This was even more so for families like the Namgung Family that had ruled over a region as overlords. When light is strong, the darkness is equally great. Because the glory they had enjoyed was great, the sense of loss and humiliation they had to bear was also great.

Namgung Seon-hwi struggled to suppress his desire to give up.

'Endure it, Namgung Seon-hwi. If you can't endure even this much, how can you protect your younger brother?'

Namgung Seon-hwi pulled together his weakening spirit. But as the walking time lengthened, his eyes became hazy and strength left his legs. His head had long since turned completely white.

What moved him now was neither firm will nor patience. It was just the instinct that he had to keep moving.

"Brother!"

He regained consciousness because of Namgung Yeong-hwi's voice.

"Huh?"

When he barely managed to lift his head and look around, he was by some nameless stream. And he was sitting on a flat rock by the stream.

"Are you okay? Brother!"

"Where is this?"

"They say this is where we'll sleep outdoors today."

"I see."

Namgung Seon-hwi shook his head with a deep sigh. Seeing this, tears welled up in Namgung Yeong-hwi's eyes.

"Brother, do you really have to do this? I can't bear to see you suffering because of me. You should ride the horse too. Please?"

"I can't do that."

"Brother?"

"To protect you, I need to become stronger."

Namgung Seon-hwi stroked Namgung Yeong-hwi's head with trembling hands.

"Brother!"

"All of our family's secret techniques are contained in your head. As long as you're safe, we can definitely restore our family again. If you die, our family ends too. You know that, right?"

"Yes!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi nodded with effort. Namgung Seon-hwi showed him a faint smile.

Namgung Yeong-hwi hadn't shown great distinction within the Namgung Family. This was because his talents weren't suitable for learning martial arts. However, his mind was no less than that of Young Family Head Namgung Mu-jin, who received all the family's expectations.

He was the possessor of an outstanding brain that never forgot anything he saw once. In such a mind of his were contained all the secret techniques of the Namgung Family. In other words, as long as he lived, restoring the Namgung Family was not a dream.

That was the reason Namgung Seon-hwi had to protect Namgung Yeong-hwi at all costs. That's why he had to become strong.

"Brother is fine! So don't worry about me either. Understand?"

"Yes!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi nodded with a helpless expression. Namgung Seon-hwi showed him a faint smile, then turned his head to look for Dam Ho.

Dam Ho was sitting on a nearby rock. He was silently watching only the flowing stream water.

Just sitting still, without saying a word, his strength could be felt.

The dignity of a strong person, one might say?

Namgung Seon-hwi was feeling through watching Dam Ho that those confident in their own martial power never needed to say much.

'I want to become strong like that person. I want to be like him.'

If he became strong like Dam Ho, protecting his younger brother and restoring the Namgung Family would not be a dream. But he knew very well how impossible it was for him to become like Dam Ho with his own abilities.

His martial talent wasn't particularly outstanding even within the Namgung Family. With that level of talent, becoming like Dam Ho was an unthinkable dream.

'Still, I have to do my best. I can't just sit down like this.'

Namgung Seon-hwi made such a resolution and clenched his teeth tightly.

"If you keep grinding your teeth like that, you won't have any teeth left."

At that moment, a gentle voice echoed in Namgung Seon-hwi's ears. It was Bang Jin-bo. He had approached nearby at some point.

"Ah, brother?"

"Try drinking this. It should relieve your fatigue a little."

Bang Jin-bo held out the bowl in his hand. Inside the bowl was tea water that had been brewed at some unknown time.

"Thank you."

"What's to thank? Rest while drinking this. I'll make food soon."

"I'll help too."

"If you want to help, recover your strength first. Helping me with that body would be too much."

Bang Jin-bo patted Namgung Seon-hwi's shoulder a couple of times, then returned to his place. He settled near the campfire and began making food.

Left alone, Namgung Seon-hwi had no choice but to sip the tea Bang Jin-bo had given him. As the warm tea went down, his body grew hot. The relaxation of his muscles was strangely comfortable.

Namgung Seon-hwi was amazed at the tea's efficacy and looked at Bang Jin-bo. Even at that moment, Bang Jin-bo was busily creating dishes.

Bang Jin-bo's face bore a smile. It was the expression of someone who couldn't contain their joy at making food. Such an appearance of Bang Jin-bo gave Namgung Seon-hwi a strange inspiration.

Seeing Bang Jin-bo cooking so joyfully, Namgung Seon-hwi couldn't just sit still. He gulped down all the remaining tea and sprang to his feet.

Swish!

Namgung Seon-hwi drew his sword and began practicing the Namgung Family's sword techniques.

Dam Ho turned his attention to Namgung Seon-hwi only after quite some time. Namgung Seon-hwi's entire body was already soaked with sweat.

His enthusiasm for learning martial arts after walking all day was certainly admirable. But that didn't mean Dam Ho thought Namgung Seon-hwi's achievements would rapidly improve in a short time.

Because Namgung Seon-hwi lacked something important. Until he realized what that was, it was just meaningless body movements. But enlightenment was not the kind that Dam Ho could teach him. He had to realize it himself.

Dam Ho closed his eyes.

To Namgung Seon-hwi it might look like he was just meaninglessly resting, but Dam Ho was practicing the Dark Soul Cultivation Technique.

As the Solitary Path developed, the Dark Soul Cultivation Technique developed too. The endlessly advanced Dark Soul Cultivation Technique had now surpassed the simple level of seated or walking meditation to become as natural as breathing. Therefore, whether riding a horse, resting, or breathing, cultivation happened naturally.

In other words, daily life was a continuous series of cultivation. Naturally, the speed at which internal energy accumulated in Dam Ho's body was also unparalleled.

No one else could ever know exactly what level his internal energy had reached. One thing was certain – divine medicines like the Plum Blossom Divine Pill were no longer greatly needed.

While Dam Ho was cultivating like this, Bang Jin-bo finished making all the food.

"Alright, it's all done."

"Wow!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi exclaimed in admiration seeing the food Bang Jin-bo had created. Bang Jin-bo, who had instantly made several dishes by a stream with nothing available, seemed like a god to him.

"Really amazing."

"What is?"

Bang Jin-bo scratched his head as if embarrassed. But his expression wasn't unpleasant. Though Namgung Yeong-hwi's admiring gaze was a bit burdensome.

"Come, everyone eat."

At Bang Jin-bo's call, Dam Ho and Namgung Seon-hwi gathered around the campfire. Bang Jin-bo distributed bowls of food to each of them.

Dam Ho ate the food Bang Jin-bo made little by little, chewing thoroughly. Namgung Seon-hwi, who had been hurriedly devouring food due to hunger, saw this scene and paused his chopsticks for a moment.

Namgung Seon-hwi, who had been carefully watching Dam Ho's behavior, began to move his chopsticks cautiously. He didn't know why Dam Ho ate food so slowly, but he thought there must be a reason.

He ate slowly like Dam Ho, chewing thoroughly dozens of times. His stomach complained of emptiness, but trying to eat slowly was too agonizing. Still, Namgung Seon-hwi suppressed his urge to eat hurriedly and imitated Dam Ho.

"Sigh!"

Bang Jin-bo, watching this, shook his head.

He understood Namgung Seon-hwi's heart, but Dam Ho's practice wasn't light enough that its secrets could be uncovered by blindly imitating.

"One step at a time, calmly!"

"What?"

At Bang Jin-bo's unexpected words, Namgung Seon-hwi looked puzzled. Bang Jin-bo showed such Namgung Seon-hwi a gentle smile.

"I understand your heart, but don't rush. If you try to run when you can't even walk properly, you're bound to fall. It's better to do what you can, one thing at a time, step by step."

It was sincere advice born from experience.

Though young in age, Bang Jin-bo was also a craftsman who had walked the path of cooking alone. Learning the martial art called Five Elements Gentleman Technique was, when considered, also a method to further improve his cooking skills.

Because of such experience, Bang Jin-bo could show warm eyes to Namgung Seon-hwi.

The moment he received Bang Jin-bo's gaze, Namgung Seon-hwi felt something welling up from deep in his chest.

"Sob!"

Suddenly tears came.

Namgung Seon-hwi wiped his tears with his sleeve while eating with chopsticks. The tears mixed with the rice. He couldn't tell if the food was originally salty or salty because of the tears.

His shoulders shook. Bang Jin-bo lightly patted such Namgung Seon-hwi's shoulder.

"It's okay! Everything will be alright. You don't need to carry all the burden alone."

In an instant, the tears he had been forcibly holding back poured out.

Namgung Seon-hwi could no longer eat and collapsed on the spot, wailing loudly. The sense of deprivation of being the last survivor of the Namgung Family, the duty to protect his younger brother, and the mission to somehow restore the Namgung Family again had become a huge rock pressing down on his small shoulders.

He was on the verge of suffocating under excessive burden. But Bang Jin-bo's warm words opened his airways.

"Brother!"

When Namgung Yeong-hwi tried to approach Namgung Seon-hwi, Dam Ho stopped him. To Namgung Yeong-hwi looking puzzled, Dam Ho shook his head.

Now clumsy comfort wasn't needed. What Namgung Seon-hwi needed was to release all the resentment built up in his chest.

Only after casting off everything that pressed on his shoulders and grabbed his ankles could he finally step forward toward the future.

Dam Ho's gaze turned toward Bang Jin-bo.

The boy who had been nothing but young had now become a fine adult capable of sincerely comforting another's sorrow. Dam Ho was simply pleased with such growth from Bang Jin-bo.

After crying face-down for a long while, Namgung Seon-hwi suddenly raised his body. Namgung Seon-hwi, who wiped the tears flowing down his face with his sleeve, resumed using chopsticks. His expression as he naturally chewed food was much brighter.

Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo's gazes met in midair. Then Bang Jin-bo stuck out his tongue as if embarrassed. Dam Ho silently nodded toward such Bang Jin-bo.

Only young Namgung Yeong-hwi couldn't adapt to his brother's sudden change and could only look back and forth between Namgung Seon-hwi and Bang Jin-bo alternately. Bang Jin-bo said to such Namgung Yeong-hwi:

"Let's eat too."

"What? Yes!"

Namgung Yeong-hwi used his chopsticks without understanding.

In the strange silence, the group finished their meal like that.

When everyone finished eating, Namgung Seon-hwi collected the bowls and said:

"I'll do the dishes."

He ran to the stream without even waiting for Bang Jin-bo's answer.

"Brother, let's go together."

Namgung Yeong-hwi hurriedly followed behind.

Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo sat in place watching the brothers wash dishes.

Now they had nothing left.

The protection of the massive family that had dominated Anhui Province for hundreds of years, the family warriors who had been reliable supporters, and the tremendous influence that had spread like a spider web throughout Anhui Province could no longer protect them.

In this harsh martial world, they could only rely on each other. For them who had to become independent at an early age, giving hasty comfort or help was forbidden.

Bang Jin-bo opened his mouth.

"It seems there's nothing eternal in this world. Neither wealth nor glory, and not even people…"

In the passing time, countless things appeared and disappeared.

Bang Jin-bo had long ago realized that eternity doesn't exist in the martial world. And those Namgung brothers would soon learn that fact too.

That the only eternal thing is one's own strength. ​

“This is bad!”

The injured old masters lying on the ground also realized something was wrong. But they didn’t survive long either.

Suddenly their bodies were pulled toward the walls.

“Groaahhh!”

The old masters tried to resist by greatly raising their internal energy, but their clothes and flesh began to tear as if bound.

Swish.

Bloodsucking leeches crawled out from the walls like a tide and scattered in all directions before escaping.

“Ughhhh!”

Several lines were drawn across the old masters’ faces and bodies.

Thud thud.

Their bodies were instantly sliced into pieces and collapsed.

And…

Plop. Roll roll.

A head rolled in front of Jin Ja-gang.

It wasn’t one of the old masters’ heads. It was the head of the servant who had guided Jin Ja-gang here earlier.

Jin Ja-gang brushed off the hidden weapons embedded in his body and said indifferently.

“I deliberately spared him to be a witness, but you had to kill him?”

Another voice came from above.

“Ah, was that it? I just thought you were soft-hearted. I misunderstood.”

Soul Seizing Hall Master Tang Sang-yul was walking through the air. No, to be precise, he was stepping on threads spread in the air.

Swish. The bloodstained threads that had been spread like spider webs in the air were sucked toward Tang Sang-yul. Then Tang Sang-yul extended his hands left and right in the air without a word.

“Die.”

For a moment, Jin Ja-gang’s spine went cold.

The original owner of Soul Seizing Thread.

The way Tang Sang-yul used Soul Seizing Thread was quite different from Jin Ja-gang’s method. Jin Ja-gang stepped back and lowered his body by placing his hand on the ground.

Whiii!

Two threads cut through space above Jin Ja-gang’s head, creating four cross-sections as they passed. His hair fluttered in the wind created by the two threads.

Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread was terribly stealthy and powerful.

Rumble… The walls on both sides belatedly collapsed after being cut.

Jin Ja-gang asked Tang Sang-yul while keeping his body low.

“Did you gather these people?”

“Yes.”

Tang Sang-yul’s fingers danced. It looked like he was plucking a zither.

“But they won’t resent me. They probably understood why they had to die at the moment of death.”

Simultaneously, Soul Seizing Thread slashed from above Jin Ja-gang’s head downward, and diagonally from below upward.

Whoosh! Jin Ja-gang kicked off the ground and rolled his body. He stepped on the collapsed wall and leaped up to avoid Soul Sezing Thread.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Tang Sang-yul at the same eye level and said.

“The dead people would feel wronged if they heard that.”

Tang Sang-yul moved his body while wrapping Soul Seizing Thread around his forearms and shoulders like throwing a meteor hammer.

Jin Ja-gang was about to descend to the ground but felt chilled and leaped into the air.

Swooosh!

Below Jin Ja-gang’s feet, Soul Seizing Threads from four directions tightened and overlapped each other, making the resonant sound of string instruments.

“That’s what family loyalty is. Some rabble without belonging could never understand. The joy of subordination, security, permanence. These people rushed here abandoning everything because they believe they cannot exist if the family disappears.”

Tang Sang-yul pulled his arms.

Swish swish snap!

As the overlapped Soul Seizing Threads released, countless cross-sections appeared in the air. Jin Ja-gang spun in the air to avoid the cross-sections and landed on the ground.

Swish.

A line of blood remained on Jin Ja-gang’s cheek. He had been cut by Soul Seizing Thread. It throbbed from poison, but now others’ poison was meaningless to Jin Ja-gang.

Tang Sang-yul moved both arms in complex motions to retrieve the Soul Seizing Thread tangled in the air.

“Don’t say you don’t know. You already used that to make King of Hell collapse on his own.”

“How could I not know?”

Tang Sang-yul smiled slightly.

“Right. Though you have no sense of belonging, you too reached here for your sect’s revenge.”

“My revenge is mine. You don’t need to speak of my revenge.”

This time Jin Ja-gang pointed at Tang Sang-yul with his finger.

“Come down.”

Tang Sang-yul watched what Jin Ja-gang was trying to do, then suddenly leaped up.

Swooosh!

All the walls on Tang Sang-yul’s left and right were cut and collapsing. Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread hung on the walls had been released, making it impossible for Tang Sang-yul to continue standing on threads in the air.

Tang Sang-yul rotated lightly and landed on the ground. Simultaneously, Jin Ja-gang quickly pulled both arms.

White Thread that had been spread on the ground, released at some unknown time, was pulled like a snare targeting Tang Sang-yul’s ankle. Tang Sang-yul immediately leaped again upon landing and somersaulted backward to avoid it.

Jin Ja-gang retrieved and stored White Thread.

“Did you come to die? You have less killing intent than when we met in the underground prison before.”

Tang Sang-yul laughed.

“I can see why King of Hell considered you his successor. You see through situations frighteningly well. But saying I came to die doesn’t suit me.”

Tang Sang-yul also retrieved all his Soul Seizing Thread and wound it around the ring. Then he separated the ring again.

Click.

Tang Sang-yul’s hair slowly rose up.

“If I kill you, it’s revenge for King of Hell, and if you kill me, there will no longer be anyone in the family with complaints against you.”

Tang Sang-yul threw rings to both sides.

Flash!

But the direction wasn’t toward where Jin Ja-gang was. The rings instantly burrowed into the walls on both sides and disappeared. No matter how fast Jin Ja-gang’s eyes were, he couldn’t watch both sides simultaneously.

Tang Sang-yul pulled his arms.

Whiiiiish!

Two threads poured down from above Jin Ja-gang’s head like falling rain. Jin Ja-gang leaped and twisted his body. The cross-section created by Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread narrowly sliced past Jin Ja-gang’s body. The rings crossed far behind Jin Ja-gang and burrowed into the wall before disappearing.

Jin Ja-gang lowered his body to the ground, then spun rapidly like a top while leaping up.

The rings that had passed returned while two long horizontal lines cut across from the lower part of both walls. The left and right walls collapsed after being cut from the bottom.

Now Jin Ja-gang clearly understood the Soul Seizing Thread technique Tang Sang-yul used.

The rings acted as weights, and the walls served as direction-changing pillars. Like swinging a long whip to strike a tree makes the whip spin around and wrap the tree, rings passing through walls get caught on walls and change direction, making the rings and Soul Seizing Thread return.

Through delicate internal energy control, passing through walls not once or twice but multiple times, dozens of times… Soul Seizing Thread would spread like spider webs on all sides of the walls.

Tang Sang-yul asked Jin Ja-gang.

“Did you see well?”

“I saw well. The original Soul Seizing Thread.”

“No, what you saw was only a fraction.”

Tang Sang-yul gathered and wound Soul Seizing Thread, then shook both arms.

Swish.

Not just one, but dozens of rings were released.

Tang Sang-yul hung rings on each finger.

“This is the real Soul Seizing Thread.”

Tang Sang-yul’s eyes flashed. Tang Sang-yul spread both arms left and right.

The complete Tang family hidden weapon technique, Flash Severance.

The rings spread radially and flew in all directions.

Whiiiiish! Countless rings traveled left and right, piercing walls like needles threading cloth, entangling with each other and changing trajectories while flying about chaotically.

In an instant, Soul Seizing Thread spider webs were spread in all directions around Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang didn’t move and looked at Tang Sang-yul.

Tang Sang-yul raised one hand to show it. Rings and Soul Seizing Thread were complexly entangled on his fingers.

“If I pull… you die. Any last words?”

Jin Ja-gang spoke as if telling an old story.

“There was a person named Wi Jong, the valley master of Yunnan’s Poison Valley.”

“White Pool Fragrance Wi Jong.”

“That’s right. He told me something. Never engage in long conversations with those who use their heads. Even when talking, do it only after breaking all their limbs and laying them flat on the ground.”

Tang Sang-yul’s eyes narrowed.

Jin Ja-gang put his finger in his mouth.

Whiiiiiiiiii!

Sharp whistle sound!

With internal energy now at its peak, Jin Ja-gang’s sound attack had different destructive power than before.

Pop!

Tang Sang-yul’s eardrum in one ear immediately burst.

“Ugh!”

Tang Sang-yul briefly lost his sense of balance and staggered. His eyes also had problems. Blood gradually seeped into his eyes.

Tang Sang-yul bit his molars tightly and clenched his fist with all his might. The Soul Seizing Thread rings entangled on his fingers were pulled taut.

The spider web covering Jin Ja-gang contracted in an instant.

Slash!

The walls, dead old masters’ corpses, and floor… all space was split as Soul Seizing Thread tightened to its limit.

Soul Seizing Thread even sliced through Jin Ja-gang’s body.

Jin Ja-gang inside didn’t seem like he could possibly avoid it.

But Jin Ja-gang flew toward Tang Sang-yul as if penetrating through even as Soul Seizing Thread was contracting. Soul Seizing Thread seemed to just pass by.

“What?”

Then Jin Ja-gang was already standing behind Tang Sang-yul. Afterimages of Jin Ja-gang that had appeared in the air disappeared one by one.

Reverse Afterimage Soul Technique!

Tang Sang-yul doubted his own eyes.

“How…”

He had blocked all of Jin Ja-gang’s directions. No matter what excellent movement technique he used, there was absolutely no way to escape.

Zing! Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread suddenly made a metallic sound.

Only then did Tang Sang-yul realize. It wasn’t normal for intact Soul Seizing Thread to make metallic sounds.

Not everything was pulled, part of it was caught somewhere!

Jin Ja-gang said quietly.

“You said you didn’t come to die, but it doesn’t seem like you came voluntarily. Is there a reason you must die?”

Tang Sang-yul answered.

“Will.”

“Will…?”

“The Tang clan’s will to accept you.”

“How does your death have such meaning?”

“Someone must take responsibility for King of Hell’s revenge. We cannot accept someone who harmed Tang clan blood relatives without any price.”

“Someone must die… and that’s you?”

“Either kill, or the one trying to kill disappears.”

“…”

“But we cannot take no action at all. That is our family’s pride.”

Even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t particularly argue against that.

“If one is a Tang family member, everyone’s heart that cherishes the family is the same. King of Hell, the dead blood relatives of the external thirty-six chambers, me… and the family head too… Only the methods differ.”

Jin Ja-gang sensed some melancholy in his voice.

“Do you feel wronged?”

“No. We are always prepared to die for the family. Only when you too understand that will you truly become one of us. I just… regret not being able to see our family that gained Poison Dragon commanding the future martial world.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway.”

Jin Ja-gang said.

“You say you die for the family, but I was thinking of killing you for a different reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just wanted you to know that our purposes are different before you die.”

Jin Ja-gang put strength into his arms.

Ziiiing! The metallic sound came again and Tang Sang-yul’s body swayed.

“Beon Woo. Do you remember?”

Tang Sang-yul answered immediately.

“How could I not remember? Master Craftsman Beon had the highest skills as an artisan. He made many divine weapons and each one was excellent. He also made the Soul Seizing Thread I used before.”

“He asked me to take revenge for cutting off his leg.”

Tang Sang-yul hesitated briefly, then surprisingly nodded obediently.

“I expected it from the moment I saw that Soul Seizing Thread. Did Master Craftsman Beon make it?”

“Yes.”

“He must have put his heart and soul into making the one he gave you. Even my current Soul Seizing Thread was made by our family’s finest artisan.”

Tang Sang-yul exhaled quietly and said.

“He knew too many of our family’s secrets to let him go as is. If you meet him later, please tell him I was sorry since there were no personal feelings involved.”

“I understand.”

Jin Ja-gang crossed both arms and brought them forward, then pulled with all his might.

Ting! Tiing! Ting!

Jin Ja-gang’s Soul Seizing Thread snapped Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread as it was pulled. Tang Sang-yul’s severed Soul Seizing Thread was released limply.

Ting! Tiing!

Dark Thread that had severed Tang Sang-yul’s Soul Seizing Thread finally passed through Tang Sang-yul’s body and emerged.

“Fa… mily… head…”

Tang Sang-yul spoke his last words and became fragmented pieces that scattered with thuds.