Translator: Nox
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Ruins Beneath the Mountain
#1
Baek Ji-seol stood in the ruined pavilion, watching Hyeon-do carefully.
“You carry thunder in your blood,” she said.
“You’ve heard of me?”
“I’ve heard of the Peng Sect’s rebirth. And I’ve seen the signs.”
“What signs?”
She pointed upward.
The clouds above the Chilgak Mountains stirred unnaturally.
Qi fluctuations. Lightning aura.
“Your cultivation disturbs the natural flow.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s interesting.”
She stepped back and gestured.
“Follow me. If you want to know what’s left of the Baek Clan.”
#2
They descended into an underground chamber.
Dust. Rot. Old herbs and cracked jars.
But deeper still — a clean room.
Preserved by formations.
Inside were scrolls.
A few manuals.
And a single stone tablet.
Ji-seol spoke softly.
“My ancestors tried to fix what the Murim world broke.”
“They were healers.”
“Yes. And they were hunted for it.”
“Why?”
“Because healing reveals too much. If you can see into a man’s core... you can destroy him just as easily.”
Hyeon-do approached the tablet.
On it: diagrams of meridian reconnection.
Regeneration theory.
Techniques lost for a hundred years.
“This is what I came for.”
“I know.”
#3
He spent three days there.
Reading. Copying. Memorizing.
Baek Ji-seol watched him silently.
Occasionally, she offered correction.
Rarely did she smile.
But on the final day, as he packed to leave, she said:
“You’re reckless.”
“I prefer determined.”
“You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Maybe. But not yet.”
He stepped outside.
Then paused.
“You could come with me.”
A long silence.
Then:
“I’ll think about it.”
【End of Chapter 25】
