/
Chapter 136 - Old Moon (2)
The jade plaque I took out was of the Flying Moon Order. And as soon as he saw it the face changed beyond just shock.
His huge eyes didn’t move from the plaque.
“You know this?”
Wolno (Old Moon) opened his eyes with confusion as he heard my question.
“How… how do you have this plaque?”
As I thought, he recognized this. As Iron Sword said, this man was the true Ha Seong-wun, the leader of the Flying Crane Moon Family. At this revelation, I was shocked.
“My mother had this.”
“Mother?”
At my words his eyes trembled as if this was a shock he couldn’t handle. He mumbled not looking away from me.
“Ryong… Ryong had a child?”
‘…?!’
What was this man saying? While I was wondering, he said.
“Young master. Did your mother have a mole on the right side of her nose and on her forehead?”
‘Ah!!’
He was talking about my mother’s appearance. I too decided to speak about my mother, at least those I could remember.
“My mother’s ring and middle finger were on the same length and the left eye…”
“Had double eyelids.”
Right.
The words of this man made my heart beat insanely. His eyes were already red and he reached out with difficulty to grab my hand.
And burst into tears.
“You… are my grandson.”
As soon as the words emerged my eyes turned blurry. Tears covered my eyes. However the more we talked the stronger I felt my emotions grow.
“Wolno…”
“To meet my blood in such a place.”
“Heavens have helped me. The heaven…”
“Damn it. It must be raining. My eyes are so wet.”
The men guarding his side were also moved to tears. They all seemed to be moved by the fact that their leader had met with his blood on his deathbed.
It seemed like they really understood how mysterious life worked. Even when I was kidnapped by Sima Chak I thought that every plan I had was messed up but who would have thought that I would meet my maternal grandfather in such a place?
“My grandson, my grandson.”
Wolno cried, no, Han Seong-wun cried and I grabbed his hand which was trembling, the hand which felt weak was the hand of the only blood left of my family.
Ha Seong-wun said in a crying voice.
“Heavens helped this old man and allowed me to meet you, a child of mine”
The words which came from my mouth were hesitant.
“Grandfather…”
The way I called him made his mouth twitch. The bond between blood was really strong and despite not knowing the man for long, I felt heartbroken.
But his face soon darkened.
“Ahh… I thought that the heavens were nice and it helped me, but it wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just how did you get stuck in such a place? How cruel can the heavens be to send you down here?”
The man was worried about me being trapped here. Seeing how sad he was I felt like I had to reveal the truth.
“Do not worry about….”
Right then before I could speak, the man got up and spoke to me like he was energized or something.
“Your mother… Is your mother alright?”
I too had a lot to ask, but this man was my grandfather and seeing him with this expectant face made me sad.
I could see how much he was longing to meet my mother but I couldn’t help but say she passed away and his expression darkened as I hesitated to answer.
“How… just how did…”
“Grandfather…”
Tears poured down the cheeks of Ha Seong-wun.
The happy tears he had now turned to sadness and pain.
“How can my child die before me? A child dying before the parent? Ryong! My Ryong!”
But something unexpected happened as he called my mother. I could see his face and body get weaker.
“Grandfather!”
Ha Seong-wun grabbed his chest with his right hand.
“Huk… Huk…”
His pale face was turning purple because he couldn’t breath and this could not happen. I just met a true kin of my family.
And I have to send him away right then?
“Wolno!”
“Lay down! Lay him down fast!”
The men around hurriedly moved to my grandfather and seeing their quick actions it felt like this hadn’t happened before and they were panicking.
They made him tilt back to get his airway open and the bearded man climbed up as he put his hands on the chest and pressed it at regular intervals.
“One… two… three!”
It seemed like he was trying to make the heart beat but the man pressing down on the chest, his face began to darken.
“H-heart isn’t beating!”
“Wolno!”
“Wolno!”
The men cried out while sobbing.
“Get out!”
Regardless of what they said, I pushed the bearded man aside and climbed onto my grandfather and pressed on the chest.
I thought about and pressed but with the innate qi shut down, I used the qi in the upper dantian, but I felt no chance in his heart.
‘Damn it!’
If only I could use the internal qi or innate qi it would have worked fine. I tried to force the innate qi out but with so many needles stuck, I could not use it, nothing happened.
At that moment, Blood Demon Sword uttered.
-Human. Place me on the chest of the old man.
‘What?’
-Did you not hear? Hurry!
Hearing those words I got down from his body and drew my sword out.
“W-what are you doing?”
Everyone around him were shocked at my actions but I pushed them away and placed the Blood Demon Sword on the chest.
While they were all dumbfounded, I could see the area around the chest of grandfather where the sword got placed with blood veins fluctuating.
-What is he trying to do?
-Is he trying to control the blood vessels?
‘…?!’
Iron Sword’s words brought me to sense.
Like he said it was possible for Blood Demon Sword to mess with the body and cause veins to overdrive. He wanted to use it here?
It was then–
“Cough!”
Ha Seong-wun coughed up blood.
“Wolno!”
Wolno who got up, straightened up in the place and breathed again.
“You can breathe?”
Seeing that I put my hand on the chest of Ha Seong-wun.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Its happening”
“Uh?”
“The heart is beating!”
Everyone was surprised at my words.
“H-How can this happen?”
Even when everyone saw it, they couldn’t believe it. Ha Seong-wun who was dying was now back to life.
I, was too happy that I felt like I would cry again and right then Blood Demon sword added.
-Human. This is just a temporary measure. I made the blood circulate in the body by force and someone made the heartbeat but he dies if I fall.
‘…!!’
Dead?
I looked at the face of my grandfather and he was breathing but the face was purple and the bearded man asked.
“Young Lord So. How did you do that? All you did was place the sword, how could he be back?”
I spoke in a weak voice.
“This is just a temporary relief. Nothing has changed.”
The condition of my grandfather was that of a man on his deathbed. And the man without one arm yelled.
“Damn it! Even if the heavens have abandoned us! How can it take away his life as soon as he sees his grandson!”
At his words, the bearded man shouted.
“Do not say that. Didn’t he at least meet the child now?”
“It is a pity. If only we saved that grass then, Wolno wouldn’t have taken such a hit!”
What was this?
What grass was he saying?
“Grass? What is this?”
In response to his question, the one armed man said in a heavy voice.
“A herb that can save Wolno.”
“Herb? Medicinal herb? There cannot be one in such a place…”
“It is there! We can get it if we move underground… Damn it!”
The one armed man cursed. And I looked at where he pointed. In addition to the passage leading to common dwelling, there was a passage leading to another cave.
“It exists in there?”
At my question, the man nodded but the man with beard tried to dissuade him.
“No. It is like a suicide mission down there!”
“Why?”
The man with a beard pointed to himself.
“Why do you think we are all so badly injured? It ended up like this when we went there to get herbs.”
“What do you mean?”
Since I entered here, the place was strange and the situation too.
The traces of injuries were quite different from the wounds caused by fighting people. And the man spoke with fearful eyes.
“There is a weird being in there.”
“Weird being?”
I couldn’t understand what was being told.. Could there be another beast like the snake down there?
The one armed man shouted.
“So you want to let Wolno die?”
“Seven people went in and only 3 survived. It was because they barely blocked the place and the other managed to survive, so you think anyone can go against that monster.”
Blocked the place?
This was different from what I came to hear till now. I heard from the one called Gap Chan that while making an escape route from here, they touched a wrong waterway and it burst open.
“What do you mean by blocking the place?”
The man with bears replied.
“That was the only way to stop that monster.”
I wasn’t sure what it was but they had to burst down on the path to stop something? And it felt frustrating because no one was getting right to the point.
And I asked.
“Just speak of it. Are you sure there are herbs in there?”
“I heard that… You are his grandson. Even Wolno will stop you from going into that place.”
“Phew.”
I got up. And looked at the Blood Demon Sword placed on the chest of my grandfather. The moment the sword moved he would die.
The only herb that could save him was within the passage they were talking about. Then there was only one thing I should do.
“You people should be here. I will go there!”
“Young Lord So!”
“Didn’t you hear the rumors? I can use martial arts.”
“It isn’t that kind of a problem!”
The man with a beard grabbed but I said.
“If it were you, would you give up when you barely met a drying bloodline?”
“That…”
At my words, the man was speechless and I pointed the sword on my grandfather.
“Make sure the sword never falls off the chest of my grandfather. And just in case, you shouldn’t touch it either.”
“What is it?”
“If you don’t want to die, please listen to it. I warned you.”
When I said this, without giving reason, they felt shocked. But I couldn’t speak in detail. And the one armed man came close.
“I will go with you.”
“Uh?”
The man said while packing something. A torch made from tree roots, something crudely joined like leather.
“It is fine, I can go alone.”
“You think you can find out where the herbs are on your first attempt inside?”
“If you can stay–”
“That will be too much. There is no time so let’s move together.”
The one armed guy seemed like he had to come to a conclusion.
“How can you go with that body! If you do, then I will go and guide the Young Lord!”
At the words of the man with beard, the one armed guy shook his head.
“Wouldn’t even one person who is in good shape be here to protect Wolno?”
The one armed man pulled his ragged robe and then there were four sharp scars on the stomach with rotting wounds.
“Y-You?”
The one armed man said with a firm determination.
“This is something I need to complete.”
The one armed man and I were running through the dark passage. And I asked.
“Are you really fine?”
I saw the wound rotting but it was unknown if it would be better with him resting so I wasn’t sure why he wanted to throw away his life?
As if to answer it he said.
“Wolno is like a father to me. If it hadn’t been for him I would have died 8 years back.”
“…”
“If I can use the life he gave me to save him, then I would willingly give myself up..
I felt a strong sense of remorse from him. And I knew why he held such strong determination to come along.
Even in such a place, they had strong loyalty and my grandfather was respected.
The guy took something out of the chest and passed it to me. A small green marble.
But strangely, it was giving up light.
“Have this.”
“What is this?”
“Luminating stone.”
“Luminating stone?”
“It shines brightly in dark places.”
How could he possess such a precious thing? I was puzzled when he replied.
“Wolno and we found a passage close to a waterway to get out. I was sure that there would be an exit where the water flows.”
It made sense.
Even now, by the passage of the cave and the sound of water, it felt like a canal would open up.
“So we went down the passage and reached a dead end. The opening was blocked with a wall.”
“Is that where the place is?”
“No. It was an unexpected place for both Wolno and us.”
“What do you mean?”
“The wall was blocked artificially.”
“What?”
Shh!
The one armed man touched the wall with his hand.
“It wasn’t the walls of the cave which were made with natural process for a long time, but it looked like hardened mud.”
“So someone made it on purpose?”
“It has to be. Because the glow from the dark stones were in the passage we passed through.”
It was surprising.
If what he said was true then it means that someone other than those here had touched this place and the voice of Iron Sword rang in my head.
-Didn’t Sima Chak say it? It was said that this place was a sacred locality for a forgotten clan.
‘Ah…’
Then, there was a chance. What they found could be traces of this old clan. However there was one problem. The wall blocked the way.
Blocking meant to block someone from entering too.
“We went inside and found traces of movements from a distant past and everyone felt excited at it.”
Felt like a coincidence.
“There were dozens of holes in the caves like rooms. And they were all blocked by these artificial walls. We took our time and broke them down to inspect them. In one of them, there was a cave which held herbs that grow without sunlight.”
“Is there such a thing here?”
“Yes”
“And it will heal the wounds?”
“I hope so.”
Although he risked his life he didn’t hide the desire to live. Who would give up on life?
As I moved down the path, I could see water filling the place.
“Is it here?”
“Yes, if we swim right through the stagnant water then we enter that cave where there are so many cavities. But from here we need to be quiet.”
“Is there a human- like being here?”
“Yes.”
I noticed the fear in his voice. It took courage to proceed all the way here despite being afraid of the existence.
“We found an old trace and in our excitement to get something we broke down the wall which we shouldn’t have and that is where the monster came from.”
“Is it a ghost or a beast?”
“No. It wasn’t like that. It was a human but it looked dead.”
“Dead?”
-What is with him trying to scare us.
It was hard to understand what he was talking about.
“And there is no way to deal with that being?”
“If it was possible we wouldn’t have chosen to break down a canal wall.”
The man carried the baggage on the body and set the torch on the wall.
“Do not be careless just because you can use martial arts. Unless it is unavoidable, choose to run. That is the best way to deal with it.”
Plop!
He took the lead and went into the water so I jumped back too. A soft green light could be seen ahead like the Luminous stone I had.
After swimming there for a long time I could see a cloudy surface and it was giving up a green light. As I was following I heard something like a noise within water.
Pung!
Something green and subtle came up to the surface and I continued to kick the water climbing and moving wondering what it was but then something red spread around and the moment I passed it, I saw the one armed guy screaming.
“Kuaaak!”
The hideous, long sharp nails of a hand violently grabbed and pulled the man’s shoulder, thigh and waist, like his body would be torn.
“Kuaaak! Run!”
“Damn it!”
I immediately moved out of the water and raised the Heavenly Authority before stabbing the sword at the being which was trying to tear the man down.
“Kuaaal!”
A terrifying scream sounded and it dropped the one armed man. And I held out the stone in the hand which shone.
The presence that had been in darkness moved ahead.
‘Human?’
It was none other than a human.
‘Is this really a human?’
The whole body was naked, the skinny bones displaying pale skin with blue veins beneath and sharp nails growing on hands and feet made it look like an animal.
“Rumble.”
The cry of a beast emerged from the mouth. And its mouth slightly open but the teeth were sharp enough to remind me of a saw and his eyes were yellow.
-That is gross?
Same here.
It felt like a being out of touch with civilization and it looked strange. The smell of corpse rotting was thick to the nose.
‘This is a human being far from being a human.’
I meant it. And this was literal.
It was then.
“Kuaaalk!”
The monster ran toward me with agile movements.
In response, all I did was him evading it and stabbing the guy in the ribs with Iron Sword, the sword went through the skin.
‘Did it.’
I thought the sword had dug in properly but the monster continued to swing the sharp nails at the face like it didn’t feel any pain.
“Kuak!”
I dodged it by moving the back and I pushed the sword to the ribs to make it more painful. The monster swung the hands in succession and cut me with the claws.
In response, I had to pull the sword and split its nails.
Chang!
‘Strong.’
It wasn’t just sharp but hard too and he could block it. I spread the direction of the sword and stabbed him between the eyes.
Puak!
This should kill it for real now.
And it was then.
‘…?!’
Chak!
Sharp nails grazed my chest.
The upper part of the clothes were dyed in red. I pierced the forehead but the monster didn’t care at all, it kept brandishing the nails at me.
‘Damn it… What is this?’
This made no sense.
It wasn’t dying.