Chapter 281

Chapter 281

A short while later. Not much time had passed.

“…Here?”

Clank, clank, clank—

The white-robed warrior standing with his legs crossed, searching around briefly to gauge the distance, mumbled while wrinkling his brow. Far from the Great Seal at the border of Xinjiang, Gang Ryung opened his mouth after confirming the village’s location. The distance was enormous.

“What are you?”

“Me? I’m Baek Riseon.”

“…Seriously. I wasn’t asking your name, you know? What do you do? You!”

“Well, I’m an ordinary human. I also do a bit of sorcery.”

“A bit? Ha.”

It can’t be just ‘a bit.’

At Baek Riseon’s words, Toehui unknowingly let out a hollow laugh, lightly shook her head, and looked at Baek Riseon’s face. Because if Baek Riseon’s level is ‘doing a bit of sorcery,’ her sorcery would be less than an insect’s.

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Avoiding Heukya’s gaze—how did you do it!”

Around the time they sensed Heukya coming.

Toehui knew she couldn’t escape from Heukya. Because neither the level of sorcery nor the magnitude of yokai power—not a single thing wasn’t superior to hers.

Even using teleportation technique, she couldn’t move many people together, and the possibility of being tracked was high. If she fought head-on, then considering the characteristics of yokai battles where superiority is almost decided by the magnitude of yokai power, it was safe to view it as certain defeat.

Fighting head-on means certain defeat. But she can’t flee either. A dilemma—no way out either way.

She can’t escape, so there’s no choice. She has to fight.

Having judged that, Toehui prepared for battle and waited for Heukya with her mind set. And.

The moment she finally faced Heukya, Toehui couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Because Heukya didn’t discover them.

“It’s a recognition obstruction technique that erases yourself from others’ recognition. Toehui-nim, since you have knowledge in sorcery, you’d know, wouldn’t you?”

“It’s not at that level!”

Toehui also knows what recognition obstruction technique is. She knows that weak ones start from leaving one’s sight, and among strong techniques, there are even ones that erase memories. 

“That’s a technique that only works on small fry!”

That’s a technique deployed against those with no resistance to sorcery. Anyone with even a bit of knowledge in sorcery can easily grasp that recognition obstruction technique is in effect.

Moreover, to make it work on Heukya, who has monstrous knowledge in sorcery to the point of reading Heavenly Energy in detail, that technique’s level would have to literally reach a divine realm. Perhaps if it were a fellow yokai or divine beast sharing similar lifespans, but it wouldn’t be easy for a human to deceive Heukya with their skill.

“What are you? Are you really human?”

“You’re really very suspicious.”

At Toehui’s wariness, Baek Riseon, who let out a sigh, shrugged his shoulders then waved his folding fan. A whirlwind sweeping around once.

“I swear it’s just a human. It’s also true that my sorcery level is shallow. Ah, of course my knowledge is deeper than Toehui-nim’s though.”

“What?”

“I have many things to tell you, but I’ll tell you after waking everyone up first. Because we don’t have much time.”

The whirlwind wraps around bodies.

“Umm.”

“Uh…”

At the sensation of internal power wrapping around her body, Toehui, who took a step back without realizing it, looked around. People beginning to wake up one by one, thanks to treatment in two rounds.

“…Where is this?”

“It’s the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.”

“Huh? Who… are you?”

“I’m a relative of the Sect Master you serve, Miss.”

“A relative? Ah…”

To Seohwa, who was grasping the situation as soon as she woke up, Baek Riseon, who answered lightly, grinned while fluttering his folding fan, and Seohwa, who found traces of Baek Riyun in that face, let out a small sigh. Because she remembered Baek Riyun had siblings.

“Baek Riseon-nim… is it?”

“You got it right. San-ah hates me so much she wouldn’t have mentioned me, so it seems Un-i talked about me often.”

“Yes. Whether in a good sense or bad sense, you’re an extremely smart person…”

“Hahaha. I’m smart only in a good sense. Being smart can’t be bad.”

“…I already understand what that bad sense means. More than that, why are we here?”

Didn’t they board Sanggwi’s shell and depart toward the Great Seal?

Looking at Seohwa frowning while recalling memories from a few days ago, Baek Riseon wore a bitter smile and shook his head. The words that follow.

“The situation is over.”

“What?”

“The Great Seal is already on the verge of breaking, and Sanggwi will soon be corrupted. That’s what it means.”

“…What? What does that even…”

“It would be a long story to explain, so I should show you directly.”

Paang!

“Uh? Ah…”

Simultaneously with the words, Seohwa, who was staring blankly at Baek Riseon waving his folding fan again, frowned. Unfamiliar memories suddenly emerging in her mind.

“This is…?”

Yokai rushing in, the search party responding, an unfamiliar yokai suddenly facing Heukya, Sipcheon flying up to oppose Heukya.

“Ah…?”

Seohwa, who witnessed a shocking scene among the various memories flashing through her mind like a panorama in an instant, suddenly sat down on the ground. And Seohwa looking at Baek Riseon with trembling eyes.

“Wh-where is the Sect Master?”

“This memory, it’s fake, right…? What do you mean the Sect Master died…!”

“He died, but he didn’t completely die.”

“…What?”

“I’m too lazy to explain it myself, so I’ll show you directly.”

Baek Riseon, who let out a chuckle, waved his folding fan once more.

At the scene where nothing happens, Seohwa, who sat on the ground, looked at Baek Riseon with blank eyes for a moment.

—Mm.

“…S-Sect Master?”

A semi-transparent form of Baek Riyun appeared in the air with a somewhat awkward expression.

“Is that really you, Sect Master? This isn’t a hallucination…!”

—It’s not a hallucination, so don’t worry. Seohwa.

“Why is your body semi-transparent!”

—…Because I’m a ghost?

“What does that mean! Then you did die! Hueueueng…”

At Seohwa’s appearance, tears streaming down, Baek Riyun scratched his head awkwardly and looked at Baek Riseon. And at that sight, Baek Riseon let out a chuckle.

“For the Sect Master’s disciple, she has many tears. Please calm down.”

“How can I calm down! The Sect Master d-died…”

“He did die, but strictly speaking, he didn’t really die, so don’t worry.”

“…What?”

“Because there’s a way to revive him.”

“Revive…?”

How can you revive someone who’s already dead?

“It’s complicated to explain…”

At Seohwa’s appearance, staring blankly at him, Baek Riseon lightly shrugged his shoulders and flapped his folding fan. The words that follow.

“People commonly express dying as the soul and spirit separating and flying away, but strictly speaking, that’s not true.”

“…Doesn’t a person die when soul and spirit separate?”

“In common perception, yes. Because a person can be expressed as alive when their soul and spirit are intact.”

The soul that governs the spirit and the spirit that governs the body.

These two have an inseparable relationship. Even if you have a soul without a spirit, you can’t be called alive, and even if you have a spirit without a soul, you can’t be called alive as a human.

“Soul and spirit attract each other, so originally, the moment soul and spirit separate, the soul wanders through the nine heavens looking for another spirit. It’s natural that all memories are erased during this process. However.”

“…However?”

“I can interfere with that process. It means I can deceive the soul and make it settle.”

A human whose soul and spirit aren’t intact can’t be called alive.

That statement means conversely that if only soul and spirit are intact, they can be judged as ‘alive.’

“The soul leaves to find another spirit only because it thinks its spirit has disappeared. But what if you deceive that soul into thinking its spirit is intact?”

“…You mean it won’t leave?”

“Correct. Right now, Un-i’s soul is mistaking my body for its spirit.”

Baek Riseon, who grinned, wiggled his finger.

“I’m deceiving it now, but ultimately, something called a soul must settle in a new spirit to stabilize.”

“…Settle in a new spirit.”

“Fortunately, since I can hold onto the soul, revival isn’t difficult if I just find a new spirit and put the soul in. Of course, finding a spirit that matches one’s soul is never an easy task…”

He has a method already thought out for that.

“What the…”

At Baek Riseon winking one eye as if implying that, Seohwa, who had been quietly listening, let out a sigh of relief.

“I thought something was strange. Because the Sect Master isn’t someone who would pass away so futilely.”

—That’s strange. You seemed to completely believe I was dead.

“Of course…! How could I not believe it when you appeared in front of me as a ghost!”

—It’s a joke.

Baek Riyun, who let out a chuckle while trying to ruffle her hair but cleared his throat awkwardly seeing his hand pass through, waved his head vigorously. Because now wasn’t the time to be throwing jokes around.

—I have much to say, but let’s start with the explanation first. Hyeong-nim.

“I was thinking that anyway. Those two over there haven’t woken up yet, is that okay?”

—If it’s Wangpal and Cheok… I or Seohwa will explain separately later.

“Then fine.”

Baek Riseon, who shrugged his shoulders, gestured to Sinui and Jeokyeol standing awkwardly far away to come over. And when everyone finally gathered, Baek Riseon opened his mouth.

“Everyone must have many questions. Who this one is, why Un-i died, and how the situation is unfolding.”

“…You know well. What are you really? And how is the situation unfolding now?”

“Who I am I’ll talk about later… The current situation is simple. Heukya is destroying the Great Seal.”

“The Great Seal?”

“That’s right.”

The battle between the Blood Cult and Sipcheon ended in the Blood Cult’s victory.

Dokgo Cheon and Songbyeok Jinin met death outright, and Daesageom received wounds that even Darashinseon couldn’t heal even if they came. What about the others?

Bulgoe and Taeak maintained relatively intact states since they didn’t fight Heukya, but Ilryun and Geomje suffered quite deep internal injuries from the battle’s aftermath, and Geomhu had one arm torn off. The Sado Alliance Leader’s body also wasn’t in good condition.

“It’s safe to say humanity’s forces have been greatly reduced. In this situation, protecting the Great Seal is absurd.”

At the tragic current situation, Seohwa, who couldn’t open her mouth, glanced at Baek Riseon and Baek Riyun. The expressions of the two, who don’t look serious at all.

“The situation… is very bad, right?”

“Mm, if you only consider the current situation, yes. Anyway, the Great Seal will be destroyed, and Heukya will try to achieve her next goal.”

“…Only if you consider the current situation?”

“It means there’s a way to break through this desperate situation. Seohwa Miss.”

Kwaaang!

Baek Riseon, who wore a grin, waved his folding fan, and at the sound that happened to reach them at that moment, looked toward where the Great Seal was. The storm of yokai power beginning to surge from beyond where it doesn’t even reach vision.

“The Great Seal will be destroyed, and people will meet death.”

“Yokai will overflow, and the Central Plains will become a wasteland overrun by swarming yokai. From now on, the distinction between the Imperial Court, Orthodox Path, Unorthodox Path, and Demonic Path will disappear, and only the classification of humanity will remain for survival. It’s a terribly dreadful situation.”

“Then…”

“But there’s an old saying. Even if the sky falls, there’s a hole to escape through.”

The current situation is no different from the sky falling. The Martial World’s masters all suffered injuries or died, and commoners will also be massacred from now on.

However, what if.

“What if there was someone who predicted the sky would fall from decades ago?”

“…What?”

“If they even guessed how that sky would fall.”

Finding a hole to escape through?

That’s boring. Even if you find a hole to escape through, the sky still falls, doesn’t it?

Looking long-term, people ultimately can’t survive after the sky falls.

“I will repair the sky.”

“…Repair the sky?”

“Yes. Though the finishing touches will be done by everyone.”

Baek Riseon, who grinned, quietly waved his folding fan. Far away, a tremendous explosion bursting out from the north.

“Everyone just needs to watch and remember.”

“Because that’s my role.”

Beyond Xinjiang, wind was blowing.

Wind containing yokai power, sealed for thousands of years.