Chapter 19

Donhwang spat out blood.

"Kuaaaaak!"

With a wretched scream, Donhwang crashed through the wall.

Thump! Rumble!

Dust billowed up.

Jeok Leegeon slowly walked towards him. Donhwang, covered in blood, was still breathing.

Jeok Leegeon's cold eyes, looking down at Donhwang, held no mercy or sympathy.

Jeok Leegeon stretched out one hand.

Kwaaaang!

In the distance, Donhwang's massive Grand Preceptor's Chair shattered.

Rumble!

Gold bars hidden beneath the chair spilled out. The wealth he had accumulated throughout his life.

"My sister, who turned against you at the end, told me through Telepathic Transmission. She said she'd leave a gift under the Grand Preceptor's Chair."

Donhwang's face twisted as he stared at the yellow gold. Even as he died, he couldn't let go of his greed.

A mouthful of blood gushed from Donhwang's mouth. He asked with difficulty.

"...Why did you do this? You could have taken him away silently. If you had just done that..."

Jeok Leegeon smiled faintly.

"I needed a reason to kill you."

"What?"

At that moment, Donhwang realized for sure.

"...From the beginning, you intended to kill me. You're worse than I am."

"Maybe. But good people never fall for my temptations."

"...Don't talk nonsense."

Donhwang spat out the words with difficulty, filled with injustice.

"In this Jianghu... there's no such thing as a good person..."

Jeok Leegeon's eyes deepened.

"I'll create it. A Jianghu teeming with such people."

Donhwang used his last strength to sneer at Jeok Leegeon.

"...What about the smell of blood on your hands?"

Jeok Leegeon didn't answer.

Donhwang's eyes slowly lost their light. He uttered his last words.

"...Don't be ridiculous... kid."

With those words, Donhwang's massive body trembled greatly, then fell still.

Jeok Leegeon was silent for a moment.

He silently looked down at his own hands.

"...That's why I need good adults. I can't do it alone."

Clap--

Jeok Leegeon clapped his hands. And turned away without regret.

Now, only Jeok Leegeon and the hunchbacked man remained in the hall.

The hunchback stood there like a man possessed.

Jeok Leegeon called out to him.

"Manor Lord Hwa."

Twitch.

The hunchbacked man reacted. Jeok Leegeon called out again.

"Hwa Mucheol."

After a long silence, the hunchbacked man finally opened his mouth.

"...That's a nostalgic name."

It wasn't the voice of a fool laughing.

Jeok Leegeon spoke again.

"Sixth Generation Manor Lord of Demon Iron Mountain Manor."

Demon Iron Mountain Manor.

Demon Iron Mountain Manor, which had been famous until ten years ago, was renowned for its Array Formations and mechanical contraptions. The previous Manor Lord, Hwa Youngjin, had greatly contributed to the Orthodox-Demonic War with his unparalleled mechanical skills.

Demon Iron Mountain Manor, which had rendered distinguished service in the Orthodox-Demonic War, became even more famous after the war. Many people commissioned Demon Iron Mountain Manor for mechanisms and Array Formations, and they accumulated enormous wealth.

Then, ten years ago, they suddenly disappeared from the Jianghu. There were many rumors about it, but no one knew the exact details.

No one could believe that the current Manor Lord of that Demon Iron Mountain Manor was here as such a hunchback.

Hwa Mucheol opened his mouth quietly.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I've been looking for a long time. It was hard to find you."

His dim eyes had already returned to normal.

"Why?"

"To buy you."

"Who are you?"

"If you accept, I'll be your new master."

"And if I refuse?"

"You don't need to know. We're strangers anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"I won't look for you again. Ever. Even I, who desperately searched for you, had such a hard time finding you, so probably no one will ever find you. You can finally live in peace."

Hwa Mucheol's eyes wavered.

"Do you know why I left the Jianghu? Do you know why I was suffering under that bastard?"

Jeok Leegeon nodded calmly.

"There are no secrets in the Jianghu."

Hwa Mucheol let out a long sigh. It was a past he himself wanted to forget.

Hwa Mucheol was said to have been the most talented of the descendants of Demon Iron Mountain Manor over the Sixth Generation. A genius, he further developed the technological prowess of Demon Iron Mountain Manor by developing various new mechanisms.

He married a beautiful woman and had a lovely daughter.

Everyone in the manor respected and followed him, and Demon Iron Mountain Manor's reputation in the Jianghu was comparable to that of the Four Great Clans in their prime.

In short, he was a man who had everything.

Then one day...

Hwa Mucheol clutched his head as if in pain.

He remembered that day ten years ago.

Kwaaaang!

The sound of an explosion that hadn't faded from his ears even after ten years. That explosion, engraved in his brain, would never be forgotten.

A mechanical device he had created caused an explosion, and his wife and daughter, who were watching, died before his eyes. It was a gruesome death he couldn't bear to witness. He was covered in his wife and daughter's blood and flesh.

A painful groan escaped from Hwa Mucheol's mouth.

Showing off an unfinished mechanism.

Arrogance.

Yes, it was arrogance.

Arrogance as a genius.

No, it wasn't arrogance. It was foolishness. The price and punishment for treating life and existence carelessly.

Hwa Mucheol clutched his chest. He felt suffocated and about to collapse.

After the funeral, he left the manor without a word.

Wandering aimlessly through the Jianghu, he became a complete wreck. He endlessly abused himself. He didn't think suicide was enough to atone for his sins. He had to torment himself.

He thought he would return after some wandering, but he didn't.

The members of the manor searched for him in every way. But they couldn't find Hwa Mucheol, who was determined to hide.

Instead of choosing a new Manor Lord, Demon Iron Mountain Manor closed its doors and disappeared from the Jianghu. They were family, not disciples.

The abuse he received from Donhwang was something Hwa Mucheol had chosen.

"Kueueueueu."

Hwa Mucheol groaned painfully, clutching his chest.

He thought he had forgotten, but he hadn't.

The past ten years had been too painful. No matter how much he abused himself to forget the pain, the scars didn't disappear.

How much more would he have to abuse himself to forget that pain?

Jeok Leegeon sighed.

"Escaping reality to forget the pain."

Jeok Leegeon continued weakly.

"...That's the worst way."

Hwa Mucheol stared at Jeok Leegeon.

Jeok Leegeon saw a small flame that hadn't died out in his eyes. It was a flame that could die out soon or blaze brightly. It was also the last flame left in his life.

Staring into Hwa Mucheol's eyes, which seemed to say, 'How could you possibly understand my feelings?', Jeok Leegeon said calmly.

"Yes, you're right. It's something you can never understand unless you're the one who experienced it. But it's been ten years. Isn't that enough?"

Hwa Mucheol didn't answer.

Tears streamed down his face.

"If you live like this and die, they..."

Jeok Leegeon hesitated for a moment. But in the end, cruel and cold words followed.

"...It's no different than dying like dogs."

In an instant, Hwa Mucheol's eyes flipped.

"Shut up!"

Hwa Mucheol lunged like an angry beast. He was a wounded beast.

He shook Jeok Leegeon by the collar and slapped him across the cheek. Jeok Leegeon didn't dodge.

"Uaaaaaaaaaa!"

Hwa Mucheol raged like a madman.

At least at this moment, Jeok Leegeon was being an adult. He no longer provoked Hwa Mucheol and silently accepted his sorrow and anger. His hunched back looked even more pitiful.

Eventually, Hwa Mucheol collapsed to the floor.

He panted and stared blankly at the ceiling.

A long time passed. After a bout of rage, the knot in his heart seemed to have loosened a little.

Hwa Mucheol, who had calmed down, asked quietly.

"What are you going to use me for after you buy me?"

Then came an unimaginable answer.

"Conquering the Jianghu."

Hwa Mucheol, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Khahahahahahaha!"

He hadn't laughed once in the past ten years.

The laughter he had been holding back erupted all at once.

In contrast, Jeok Leegeon spoke with the most serious expression he had shown since entering.

"Give me your life."

Hwa Mucheol slowly rose from his seat.

"Why me of all people? With that money, you could get anyone in the Jianghu."

Jeok Leegeon, who had been silent, said quietly.

"Because you're a good adult."

"......!"

"Because you're a good adult who couldn't forget the sorrow of losing your family and has been suffering for ten years, no, for your whole life."

Hwa Mucheol closed his eyes.

Long ago, the events of that day came back to him as if they had happened yesterday. His wife and young daughter were waving and smiling in the distance. They were smiling.

Hwa Mucheol slowly opened his eyes.

The guy who had come to him like fate was standing before him.

He was a truly strange guy.

Hwa Mucheol looked up at the ceiling. Through the hole in the ceiling that Donhwang had made, he could see the stars in the night sky. And Hwa Mucheol made up his mind. He decided to accept this new fate.

Hwa Mucheol slowly and respectfully knelt down.

"Hwa Mucheol greets his lord. I dedicate the rest of my life to you."

A resolute will could be felt in his eyes.

Jeok Leegeon's expression brightened. Jeok Leegeon reached out his hand and helped him up.

"From today on, don't kneel before anyone."

Hwa Mucheol smiled and stood up.

"And from now on, just call me Young Master. That's what everyone calls me."

"Understood, Young Master."

Hwa Mucheol's attitude was very respectful.

Jeok Leegeon looked at his hunched back and said.

"You deliberately ruined your body."

"How did you know?"

Becoming a hunchback was Hwa Mucheol's will, akin to self-harm.

There were people who performed the Great Art of changing bodies and faces for murderers and fugitives in the Jianghu. He had received the Great Art from them, even changing the bones and muscles of his body.

"It was a long time ago."

"I can restore you to your original state."

"What?"

Hwa Mucheol's eyes widened.

It was something he hadn't even imagined, returning to normal.

"Is, is that possible?"

"It's possible. But it'll be a little painful. Are you okay with that?"

Hwa Mucheol was choked with emotion.

"Enduring... is what I'm best at."

Jeok Leegeon slowly placed his hand on his back. A majestic inner force poured in.

Taktaktaktaktak!

With his other hand, he quickly tapped on the Blood Points on his back.

How much time had passed?

Eudeudeudeudeuk.

Like a lie, his hunched spine slowly began to straighten.

"Gaaaaaaaaak!"

Hwa Mucheol screamed in excruciating pain.

At that moment, he remembered the faces of his wife and daughter.

'I'm sorry.'

The tears flowing from his eyes were not tears of pain.

The two people in his heart were smiling even more brightly. He would now remember them in a different way.

Soon, Hwa Mucheol's back was completely straightened. The hunchbacked man who had been abused by Donhwang had now disappeared forever.

"I am truly grateful."

"Don't thank me, I'm going to be using you a lot from now on. I should be the one thanking you."

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

It hadn't even been an hour since they had met Jeok Leegeon. But he felt like someone he had known for a very long time.

"For now, start preparing slowly and take care of your body. Someone will come to you soon with the work you need to do."

"Understood."

Hwa Mucheol, who was going out, turned around and asked.

"Do you really think it's possible?"

"What?"

"That Jianghu conquest... no, I mean Dominion over the World."

"I've never thought that those who rule this Jianghu are outstanding. If they could do it, I believe I can too. And I'm... not alone, am I?"

Hwa Mucheol smiled.

With that, Hwa Mucheol went outside.

As he disappeared, someone walked in from behind the broken wall.

It was Muyeong.

"You did it."

"Fortunately."

"I believed you would."

"Then why were you hiding and watching me? Were you worried I might make a mistake?"

Then Muyeong scratched his head.

Jeok Leegeon stared intently at Muyeong.

"Is there something on my face?"

Words as serious as his gaze followed.

"If it were Muyeong, I would have prepared ten times more than the price you paid today."

Looking into Jeok Leegeon's sincere eyes, Muyeong became serious.

"Of course. You should have received not ten times, but twenty times more. But..."

Muyeong smiled brightly, relaxing his expression.

"You can always use me for free. Because I am Young Master's Muyeong."

Jeok Leegeon smiled pleasantly.

"Support Manor Lord Hwa fully for the time being."

"Understood. But are you really planning to participate in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering?"

"Yeah."

Muyeong gave him a slightly suggestive look.

Jeok Leegeon smiled slyly.

"I have a feeling I'll find a good woman."

Muyeong's gaze was still meaningful, urging him to tell the truth.

"...Maybe I've already found one. But you never know what will happen."

"That's what womanizers say. 'You never know what will happen.'"

"......"

"Of course, that's a positive silence, right?"

"You're jealous of my popularity."

"Having many women doesn't mean you're lucky with women. That's a woman's misfortune. Ultimately, marrying a good woman is true luck with women."

"You're really... jealously terrifying."

"Hahaha!"

The two men looked at each other and laughed brightly. The faint starlight of dawn streamed in through the hole in the ceiling that Donhwang had made by rolling around.