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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Tragedy of Eight Years Past
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Swish—
Seolhwa’s sword cut down the last of the ape monsters.
In truth, from the very beginning, this battle was destined for the apes to lose.
Seolhwa’s power, born of both 'wish' and 'resentment', was never something mere ape monsters could contend with.
“...This is the last of them.”
Namgung Cheongun exhaled a long breath, shaking the ape monster’s blood from his sword.
Both his and Seolhwa’s bodies were already drenched in the ape monsters’ blood.
“To have gone through all this, I’m truly curious what kind of object this Cheongunggwidu could possibly be.”
What kind of item would warrant such monsters guarding its path?
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
The two ventured deeper into the forest, in the direction from which the apes had poured out.
The deeper parts of the forest seemed far more dangerous than what they had just faced, but having come this far, turning back was not an option.
Cheongun did not sheathe his sword. His aura remained keenly heightened.
As they advanced in tense silence, the two halted their steps at a certain spot.
Namgung Cheongun’s expression stiffened.
“This is...”
“...”
Corpses. No, bleached bones.
Hundreds of bleached bones were piled high, filling a pit.
Each skull was shattered as if struck by a blunt weapon, and rusty, dented bells were tied to the arms and legs of the skeletons.
These were simply the corpses of those who had encountered ape monsters while passing through the mountain paths.
“How could this be... How could mere beasts...”
How could they be so malicious?
How could they be so cruel? How...
Namgung Cheongun could not bring himself to continue speaking.
Because all of it, all these atrocities, had been committed by *humans* against those wretched, lowly beasts.
Namgung Cheongun slowly closed his eyes.
To whom should this sin be attributed?
He had always prided himself on distinguishing good from evil more clearly than anyone, but now, he was simply bewildered.
“We must bring people to collect these remains.”
Seolhwa simply nodded.
“Let’s go, Father.”
“...Yes.”
The two stepped over the pit of bones and continued deeper, higher, into the terrain.
Unbeknownst to them, the sun, which had been nearing its zenith, was now beginning its descent.
As they pressed on, the two stopped upon a wide mountain peak.
“Hoo...”
Though not a particularly tall peak, the wide summit was so densely shrouded in clouds that the ground was invisible.
It felt as if they were standing on clouds.
“Is the Cheongunggwidu here?”
Beyond the clouds, past the precipice, the lower peaks of Mount Huang were visible.
There were towering peaks, barren mountains devoid of trees, and mountains lush with greenery.
Seolhwa, who had been gazing down at the diverse mountains, turned her eyes to Namgung Cheongun.
Although a magnificent view unfolded before them, Cheongun’s expression remained utterly grim.
“What are you thinking about?”
Cheongun turned to Seolhwa. A forced smile appeared in the shadows.
“I was thinking it was a magnificent view.”
Gazing at his sorrowful smile, Seolhwa spoke softly.
“Grandfather told me. How you lost me, Father, eight years ago.”
The forced smile quickly vanished.
“I’ve been curious. About the circumstances that led to me leaving the Namgung.”
Had someone kidnapped her?
Had she wandered off on her own and gotten lost?
Had those who bore grudges against them attacked her?
Had she been separated from her parents due to an accident?
Had she been abandoned?
“...Seolhwa. Back then...”
“Please tell me. I want to hear it from your own lips, Father.”
The child spoke.
The child he had failed to protect eight years ago was asking him.
She asked him with eyes holding pure curiosity, not blame or resentment.
“What happened eight years ago?”
His fingertips trembled.
Cheongun recalled that day, eight years ago.
***
Clang— Clang-clang!
“Aargh!”
“S-save me!”
The clash of weapons and the screams of people.
Soon, Hwangryongdaeju, who had gone ahead to assess the situation, returned.
“A battle is underway up ahead. It seems bandits are attacking a merchant caravan... What are your orders, Young Master?”
Cheongun slightly lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked towards the source of the sounds.
“Aaaaaargh!”
A scream, as if life itself was being torn away, reached his ears.
Cheongun frowned.
“Go on.”
Cheongun turned his gaze from beyond the window to his wife, who was sitting with him inside the carriage.
In the arms of the delicate and beautiful woman, like a lotus flower, a child as white as snow lay sleeping.
“Mmmph...”
The child whimpered, rubbing her face against her mother’s embrace.
The loud commotion seemed to have disturbed the child’s sleep.
The woman hugged the child to her, her eyes filled with love, and said,
“Since Seolhwa is asleep, there’s no one to stop you. You want to help, don’t you? Go on, quickly.”
“There might be more to this bandit group than just them.”
“Since they attacked the group ahead, any remaining ones would just be stragglers. Hwangryongdaeju is here, so we’ll be fine.”
“But...”
“Go on.”
The woman urged Cheongun with a smile as beautiful as a flower.
Knowing her husband’s nature, unable to tolerate injustice, the woman pushed his back.
“Then, I will go. I will return as quickly as possible.”
“Return safely.”
Cheongun left the carriage, leaving his wife and daughter behind.
Entrusting his family to Hwangryongdaeju, who was accompanying them, he hurried towards the source of the screams.
Swish—
“Urgh!”
“Ugh!”
The bandits, mostly second-rate fighters, were no match for Cheongun.
Cheongun swiftly subdued the bandits and rescued the merchant caravan.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“We will never forget the Namgung’s kindness!”
The caravan members, whose lives had been saved, shed tears and expressed their gratitude to Cheongun.
Firmly refusing their attempts to reward him with their belongings, Cheongun turned his steps.
He hurried back to where his wife and daughter were.
It was a swift return, just as he had promised. But.
Thump.
“...!”
What unfolded before Cheongun’s eyes upon his return was a chaotic scene: a shattered carriage, broken into countless pieces, and a bloody mess.
The Hwangryongdaewon who had been guarding the party were already corpses, rolling on the ground, and the broken debris was staining crimson in their pools of blood.
Nowhere was there any sign of his wife or daughter.
“Hwangryongdaeju!”
The only one still clinging to life was Hwangryongdaeju.
Even he was barely holding onto his last breath.
“Y-Young Master... Quickly...”
Hwangryongdaeju pointed in one direction.
With that last gesture, his hand fell limp.
He had saved and cherished his very last breath, just to deliver that message.
Cheongun had no time to mourn Hwangryongdaeju’s death; he ran in the direction his hand had pointed.
Past trees, through bushes.
He sprinted relentlessly in that single direction.
‘Please... please...’
Please, let it not be too late. Please, let them be alive.
If only they were alive, he would do anything to save them. Please...
And finally, the edge of the forest came into view.
Through the trees, several figures were visible. Masked figures dressed in black.
Cheongun’s grip tightened on his sword.
The distance between Cheongun and the masked figures rapidly closed.
Three *jang*.
Two *jang*.
One *jang*—
Just as Cheongun was about to unleash his sword upon them.
“Kyaaaah!”
At the sound of a lotus flower shattering, Cheongun’s heart plummeted.
Swish—
“Argh!”
Fresh blood splattered, and one of the masked figures fell. They all turned towards Cheongun at once.
In that instant, Cheongun saw.
The smile of one of the masked figures.
The hem of a lotus petal disappearing down the precipice.
“Daddy! Daddy! Waaahhhhhh—!”
The cry of his child, rapidly falling.
Swish— Swish-swish—!
His gaze fixed solely on that, Cheongun swung his sword.
“Retreat!”
One masked figure shouted to his comrades.
But that voice did not register in Cheongun’s ears.
A sharp ringing echoed in his mind.
While the masked figures ceased their attack and fled, even taking their fallen comrades, Cheongun pressed forward.
Swinging his sword, cutting down anything that blocked his path.
Finally, when nothing remained at the edge of the precipice.
Clang—
Cheongun dropped his sword and collapsed to his knees.
Eeeeeeee—
The entire world converged into a single line. All sounds faded into the distant.
A single drop of blood-tinged sweat gathered at the tip of Cheongun’s chin and silently fell.
The red droplet fell endlessly.
Before that droplet could be swept away by the raging currents, Cheongun’s body collapsed.
It was the scream of Cheongun’s world crumbling.
***
“If only I hadn’t left the carriage back then, I wouldn’t have lost your mother and you in that place.”
His tears flowed, disappearing into the clouds.
“If only I hadn’t indulged in that petty chivalry... You wouldn’t have suffered for eight years...”
The Namgung mobilized all their internal and external security forces to thoroughly search the area below the precipice and where the river flowed.
Days later, they found the woman’s corpse.
But nowhere was the child’s body to be found.
“What happened then was solely my fault. My oversight, my arrogance. Because I was lacking...”
Shing—
The sound of a sword being drawn was heard.
Cheongun turned his trembling gaze to where the sound had come from.
Seolhwa was holding a sword.
That sword was pointed at him.
