Chapter 32 : The Last Words of the Dead (2)

It was a lie that you couldn’t get drunk no matter how much you drank. Even a person who could drink a lot of liquor would get drunk if they drank. They would definitely get drunk. Their body couldn’t handle it.

The old man drank until he couldn’t even control his body.

He didn’t worry that the Living Sword Sect disciples would rush in. They couldn’t rush in.

Wolves aiming for their prey!

But if the wolves were afraid of their prey, they couldn’t easily approach even after it had completely stopped breathing.

That was how they were now.

The Tiger Claw Ripping Sword? No, it wasn’t. The Single-Instant Blade… they were afraid of the Single-Instant Blade that Ah Geol had executed.

If the body that had been delivered to the Living Sword Sect Master had been struck by the Tiger Claw Ripping Sword instead of the Single-Instant Blade, he wouldn’t have had the mind to sit here leisurely and drink.

Countless martial artists would have rushed in like a swarm of bees, and he would have had to fight and fight, covered in blood. He would have slowly grown tired in the midst of the endless attacks, even if he killed and killed.

“Hey! Bring more liquor!”

“Yes, yes!”

The owner of the tavern brought the strong liquor without a word.

The tavern owner was also quick witted. Pigeons had suddenly gathered around, dogs were barking as if they would rush in at any moment, and the Living Sword Sect disciples were watching with wide eyes.

If he couldn’t notice anything even in this situation, he wasn’t a person.

The tavern owner knew the Living Sword Sect disciples well. He had also come to know who they were aiming for.

The drinking old man!

He wore shabby clothes, his hands were rough, and his face was full of wrinkles. He was an old man who would have been fine to kick if he had been holding a begging bowl instead of a sword.

This person had killed the Living Sword Sect’s Ghost Slaughter Sword.

He had killed a martial artist from a prestigious orthodox sect in an instant. So if he didn’t like him, he would blow away the tavern owner like a booger.

If only the old man didn’t go crazy.

The tavern owner’s face was filled with fear.

On the other hand, the old man didn’t care about the people around him at all. When the liquor was brought, he hugged the jar and drank. He drank as if he were possessed by a ghost.

If he drank like that, his head would spin.

Honestly, he couldn’t even hold a sword now. If the Living Sword Sect disciples attacked, he would have no choice but to die.

He was that drunk. And yet, they couldn’t attack.

‘The world is truly… there was a time when I was like that.’

The old man looked at the sky and laughed.

On the day the Single-Instant Sect Master died, he had trembled and couldn’t move. Even though he had just watched from a distance, his body had frozen. And he had watched the Single-Instant Sect Master die like that.

The opponent was too strong.

He was too scary. He was afraid.

Although he had put on a calm expression on the outside, he had been terrified when he had seen the Single-Instant Sect Master fall.

The shock he had received then still remained. Even now, his body trembled when he heard the name Heo Dogi.

“Huhu!”

The old man laughed, recalling that time.

What was the difference between himself then, and them now… they couldn’t move because they didn’t want to die.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps was heard.

‘He’s coming straight to me… Huhu! The one who will kill me has come. What kind of person is he?’

He opened his eyes drowsily and saw a child.

No, it wasn’t a child. His body was as small as a child’s, but his face was full of wrinkles. There were no wrinkles on his cheeks and chin, but his forehead was full of them, so he looked much older than his age.

‘Dongbak? Hahaha! You’ve come. It’s been a long time. A long time… a lot of time has passed, but your face is still the same. Yes, you were this old looking back then too. Kikik!’

The old man laughed.

He recognized Dongbak.

When the Single-Instant Sect Master had died, Dongbak had been a child.

At that time, Dongbak had just passed his boyhood… so he would have been around sixteen to eighteen. So he couldn’t be called a child. But to the old man, he was always a child. Just as he was a secret line, Dongbak was also a servant boy.

Dongbak had not received the Seori surname.

Since the Single-Instant Sect Master had only taken naturally born fighters as his disciples, he might have obtained the Single-Instant Blade later. But if he had not completed the Single-Instant Blade even when the Single-Instant Sect Master was alive, it was very likely that he was still in the same state now.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Dongbak walked over and sat opposite him.

“The Tiger Claw Ripping Sword, is that your sword?”

Dongbak said without hesitation.

“A brat who hasn’t even dried the blood on his head is speaking informally to an adult. Don’t you have a mother and father?”

“I don’t.”

“What?”

“I said I don’t. I don’t have a mother and father, so it’s okay to speak informally, right?”

“Kukuku! I told you to become a martial artist, but you’ve become a murderer.”

“But you’ve been looking at me as if you know me since a while ago? Do you know me?”

“I do.”

In that instant, a gleam of light flashed in Dongbak’s eyes.

Dongbak scanned the old man from head to toe, as if trying to find out who he was.

“What are you?”

He asked with a frown.

There was no one like the old man in his memory. He was a complete stranger.

But the old man knew him. He definitely knew him. A feeling that could not be shown to a stranger was transmitted from the old man’s tone of voice. Confidence, the comfort of meeting someone you knew, was transmitted.

“Me? I’m called Ah Sam. Did you come without knowing?”

“How do you know me?”

“A child doesn’t need to know. It’s an adult’s business.”

“What? Puhahaha!”

Dongbak laughed.

The smell of liquor wafted from the old man’s mouth. The words he spewed were also a mess. His speech was slurred.

Dongbak accurately assessed the old man’s condition.

If he used his blade now, the old man would die. He would die even if he used his blade later, but now he couldn’t even resist.

“Just go to sleep.”

“…What did you say?”

“Just go to sleep. I was thinking of killing you when the day broke. Ah. What is it. I don’t like to use my blade at night…”

Dongbak lay down on the flat bench where the drinking table was set. And he asked as if it were a passing remark, “Another one, did you say his name was Ah Geol? What’s his surname?”

“Kukuku!”

The old man laughed again.

He was one of the few people who understood what Dongbak was saying.

What was the use of knowing Ah Geol’s surname? He was a guy who would unleash his killing blade anyway. But it was human nature to want to know.

Whether Ah Geol was a formal disciple or not. Whether he had his own blade or not. These were things that could not be figured out just by looking at the body.

“I told you that a young brat doesn’t need to know. You’re annoying.”

“Is his surname perhaps Seori?”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Kukuk! Is it even appropriate for a guy who’s just a stable boy to have a surname?”

Dongbak looked at the old man from his lying position.

He got the feeling from the old man’s words that he knew the meaning behind the surname ‘Seori’.

‘…This guy, he knows!’

He was sure. He knew. What on earth was the identity of this old man?

A deep curiosity flickered in Dongbak’s eyes.

“Kukuku! Anyway, it seems it’s not my time to die yet.”

“Alright. Go to sleep. Let’s see later. You should at least try to use the Tiger Claw Ripping Sword, shouldn’t you?”

“Kukuk! You don’t want to kick a dead dog even if you die soon?”

Dongbak did not answer. He did not drink with him either. He lay down and looked up at the sky. As if nothing was wrong.

The old man continued to drink.

He emptied one jar and then another. And he collapsed, unable to overcome his drunkenness.

If he collapsed, the Living Sword Sect disciples would attack.

He knew. But his drunkenness had risen so much that he could no longer hold on with his reason.

‘This guy… he’s gotten stronger. He’s gotten stronger.’

He hadn’t just been drinking. He had been carefully observing the lying Dongbak. Since Dongbak had said he wouldn’t use his hand, it would be fine to observe him without worry, wouldn’t it? So he had observed him blatantly.

Dongbak had become a very strong murderer.

Ah Geol was right. If he clashed with such a person, he would die. There was no way to live. Ah Geol couldn’t clash with such a person yet, and he even felt a little bit that he had started a fight for no reason.

Ssssss! Sssst!

When the old man collapsed, unable to overcome his drunkenness, the Living Sword Sect disciples moved without a sound.

At that moment, Dongbak said, “I’ll kill this one. No one come. Anyone who comes close will be cut down unconditionally.”

His voice was very low. But it was filled with a strong true energy, so it resounded around him.

The Living Sword Sect disciples flinched.

They looked at the Clear and Elegant Sword, Wang Wei.

“Hmm…!”

Wang Wei just let out a groan.

The child lying on the flat bench… no, he did not know who the small man was. But a very strong killing intent was emanating from him. The killing intent was so strong that he couldn’t even speak to him.

Was there such a person with such a strong killing intent in the current martial world?

‘It’s hard to handle.’

He usually didn’t get this feeling, but the moment he saw the small man, a sense of pressure washed over him.

More than that… he recalled the last secret message he had received from the Sect Master.

-A small man will appear. Whoever he is, do not interfere. He will cut down Ah Sam and Ah Geol, but do not interfere and do not get involved. Just watch.

He did not know what was happening in the martial world. But he knew that something that the Clear and Elegant Sword could not interfere with, something that had been decided between the sect masters, was happening.

It was a decision made at a much higher level.

“Retreat!”

Wang Wei said.

The disciples who had been stealthily approaching the drunk old man all retreated.

* * *

The old man woke up from his sleep.

Dongbak’s prediction was right. He had thought he would sleep until the sun was high in the sky because he was so drunk… but he had woken up after only one or two two hour periods.

He couldn’t even sleep comfortably because of the killing intent that Dongbak was emitting.

Although it was a killing intent he had felt while drunk, it was enough to stimulate his body and senses.

The day had already darkened, and it was pitch black all around.

It had been a cloudy day since the daytime. There was no moon or stars. But it was not dark.

Torches were brightly lit all over the inn.

The area around the flat bench was also cleared, so that the two could fight well. A fairly large space had been created.

Dongbak had prepared it.

This was… also a training method of the Single-Instant Sect.

It was called fire cutting, or Hwacham.

They did not cut things that had a form, like cutting straw bales or bamboo.

They cut the light.

They would light a torch and use their blade. They would only cut the torch.

After using the blade, nothing changed. The torch still burned. Only the person who had used the blade knew that the blade had grazed past. So it was also called the Heart Blade.

‘He’s reached this level.’

The old man smacked his lips bitterly.

“I’m going to die today.”

“How many sword strikes should I examine?”

When the old man stretched and stood up, Dongbak opened his mouth.

“Just use your hand. Even if you examine it, you’re going to kill me anyway.”

“You really know our blade well, don’t you? Why did you pick a fight when you know it so well? If you hadn’t left a blade mark, we wouldn’t have gotten involved. It seems you left the blade mark on purpose, right?”

“Kukukuk! For a martial artist, you talk a lot.”

Sreureung!

The old man drew his sword.

(End of Chapter)