Chapter 220: Omen (7)
The Murim Alliance of Hanam.
Deeper in lies the Shaolin Temple.
Winter, which had been unusually noisy, finally passed, making way for spring.
It was a season where flowers began to bloom, heralding new life.
The frozen river melted, and the thawed earth stirred back to life.
Such changes had also arrived at the Shaolin Temple.
Amid the vastness of ancient trees, the rich fragrance of plum blossoms delicately settled down.
Tukh-tukh.
The water wheel spun, producing a rhythmic tapping sound.
Behind the large lake that adorned the Shaolin Temple…
In a small dwelling, the Chief Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Heavenly Eye, sat with his eyes closed while gazing at the lake.
The breeze of spring wafted by.
After inhaling quietly, Heavenly Eye suddenly spoke.
“I’m relieved to see you in good health.”
His aged and dried voice carried through the wind to the woman standing behind him.
Gone were her brittle white locks, replaced by vibrant black hair.
The scent of plum blossoms wafted from her dantian, filling the surroundings.
She was the Sword Queen of Mount Hua, Plum Blossom Sword.
“Have you been well during this time?”
“Regrettably, I haven’t been in great health. Hehe…”
The old man’s dry, wizened voice revealed the diminishing time left in his life.
With each graceful step the woman took, the air around her filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms.
Noticing this, Heavenly Eye gently opened his eyes.
“I heard you faced some unfortunate events, but you seem to have weathered it well.”
“I had the support of many people.”
“Yes, yes. That too is your fortune.”
Crow’s feet crinkled at the corners of his eyes.
Heavenly Eye smiled as he looked at the Sword Queen.
“Is the Celestial Plum Blossom doing well?”
“He is healthy as always.”
“Fair enough… He has always been that way.”
Before Heavenly Eye stood a table on which a teacup, aside from his own, was already placed.
As if he had anticipated the Sword Queen’s visit.
The Sword Queen glanced around Heavenly Eye’s vicinity and then asked him.
“If I’m not mistaken, the Mighty Staff doesn’t seem to be around… Is he alright?”
The Mighty Staff.
He was one of the Hundred Masters of the World and had been escorting the current Heavenly Eye.
“I asked him to step away for a bit.”
“Is that permissible?”
“If it’s you, the illustrious Sword Queen, it’s more than fine.”
Heavenly Eye chuckled lightly and took a sip of his tea.
The Sword Queen followed suit, quenching her thirst.
“You may not realize it, but I’m quite surprised right now.”
The Sword Queen’s gaze reacted to Heavenly Eye’s words.
“Fate is something that inherently cannot be altered by humans like us. Yet, this eye that has been granted to me allows me to see just a glimpse of it.”
“Yes.”
He was called Heavenly Eye precisely because he could perceive what others could not even dare to glimpse.
With eyes that foresaw the calamities approaching, these were regarded as heavenly gifts.
“…The reason I am able to sit in the position of Chief Abbot with this fragile body and partake in unearned luxuries is all because of this eye.”
“Please, don’t refer to it as unearned luxuries. That’s not true.”
The Sword Queen shook her head at his words.
The only reason the world could prepare for the True Gate of Demons was due to the old man before her, who occupied the most daunting seat to relentlessly observe impending calamities.
“One day, while seeing and hearing numerous things, I realized one fundamental truth.”
“Please, continue.”
“What I see with this eye does not change, no matter what.”
The future seen through Heavenly Eye cannot be altered.
To the Chief Abbot, who had endured this reality for many years, it stood as an unyielding law.
If he sensed the Gate of Demons opening, it would indeed open one day.
Furthermore, if he saw a calamity coming, that calamity would inevitably manifest.
This was the essence of the Heavenly Eye.
“Thus, to me, this eye is somewhat akin to a calamity.”
He couldn’t prevent the calamities from occurring.
Knowing that countless individuals would perish yet being powerless to intervene made it a true calamity for him.
After silently listening to the Chief Abbot, the Sword Queen posed a question.
“Is there a specific reason for you to share this with me?”
“There is indeed. A very crucial reason.”
The empty teacup ceased to receive any tea.
Only a serene breeze flowed around them.
“When I heard you would visit me, it shocked me beyond words.”
“May I inquire why?”
As the Sword Queen asked, the Chief Abbot responded after a moment of contemplation.
“Because you… shouldn’t be alive here right now.”
“…”
The Sword Queen did not react to the Chief Abbot’s words.
It was as if she had anticipated such a statement.
“You’re not shocked.”
“You warned me before I set forth into the Abyss. You expressed a desire for me not to go.”
When the Sword Queen decided to venture into the Abyss to seek answers, during their last meeting, the Chief Abbot had pleaded with her not to proceed.
“It didn’t take me long to comprehend the meaning of your words.”
The Chief Abbot had foreseen her fate.
The Sword Queen knew it for certain.
“So the reason you were astonished upon seeing me is because of that?”
“I witnessed your final moments.”
The Sword Queen, who had transformed into an old woman on the verge of death, after being a beauty, stood before him.
The sight of her frail body crumbling, unable to endure, was indeed dismal even to the Chief Abbot.
And the time for her demise was not far off.
Or at least, it was supposed to be.
“Even your clan’s Lord was stunned into a rare blush.”
“…”
“You are aware that the Celestial Plum Blossom holds you in high regard.”
“Yes, I have felt regret for him.”
Why didn’t he utter it knowing this?
The Chief Abbot vividly remembered the anger the Celestial Plum Blossom expressed towards him.
Fate does not change.
He had learned this over decades through countless struggles.
Thus, he assumed that the Sword Queen would share a similar fate.
“…But you stand before me now. How is that possible?”
“Is it displeasing to you that I’m in perfect health?”
“Not at all… In fact, I find it quite relieving, to the extent that my heart trembles.”
He had thought this would never change.
That is why it was referred to as fate.
He understood inevitably that the calamity that would soon befall the world was unavoidable; yet, since the final outcome remained a mystery, he could pursue his efforts diligently.
Had the outcome of the calamity resulted in destruction, would the Chief Abbot still have worked tirelessly as he was now?
He already knew the answer.
Of course, he wouldn’t have.
“May I ask what occurred to you?”
When the Chief Abbot posed the question, the Sword Queen recalled someone.
The older brother of her beloved disciple, a fierce-looking boy who had saved her.
…If the Chief Abbot’s words are true.
If it were confirmed that death awaited her due to the toxic energy inside her, then the one who altered that fate was undoubtedly that boy.
How could this be possible?
Was it due to his lineage from the Gu Clan?
The reason the Sword Queen ventured into Hanam, without even sparing Chakra was…
“Yes, please tell me your reason for coming to me.”
“Earlier, you stated that you owe me a debt.”
“Indeed, thanks to you, many lives were spared.”
Alone, the Sword Queen had ventured into the True Gate of Demons, risking her life at the Chief Abbot’s behest when no one else dared to tread that path.
The Sword Queen did not consider this a burden for which the Chief Abbot should feel indebted.
After all, the Chief Abbot had solely wished to save others.
Yet, she found herself in the position of needing to grasp the implications of past events.
“…Then, I shamelessly ask for a favor.”
“Proceed.”
“Do you recall when the Heavenly Army and the former Alliance Leader journeyed to the Abyss?”
“…”
At the Sword Queen’s words, the Chief Abbot fell silent.
It was a statement that pierced his heart like a dagger.
While observing the Chief Abbot’s reaction, the Sword Queen gradually inquired.
“Are you aware of what transpired in the Heavenly Abyss of Birth?”
In the world, there are four principal types of Abysses recognized.
Among those, the Heavenly Abyss of Birth is shrouded in the least information and was the destination that the Sword Venerable and the Heavenly Army had once ventured to.
The Chief Abbot nodded in response to the Sword Queen’s question.
“I know.”
The Sword Queen slightly bit her lip at the Chief Abbot’s affirmation, praying it was not true.
“The reason I refrained from answering you last time was simply because you bore no need to shoulder this burden.”
“What do you mean…”
“I don’t know what you beheld during your journey into the Abyss. However, it’s likely that what you experienced is distinct from the vision held by the Sword Venerable.”
Upon hearing the Chief Abbot, the Sword Queen envisioned the enormous tree she had seen in the Abyss, obscuring the sky.
For some reason, her memory was unclear, but it was undeniably a tree.
A colossal, decaying, violet-hued tree.
So vast that its branches could obscure the sky; a tree devoid of leaves or any semblance of life.
That was the realm that the Sword Queen had witnessed.
A world on the brink of disintegration, rotting away.
The term “destruction” perfectly encapsulated the image.
However, did the Sword Venerable and the Heavenly Army experience something altogether different?
Then, what about the words the Captain shared with me…?
Gu Cheolun had spoken as though he had seen the same things that the Sword Queen had.
However, what the Chief Abbot was asserting now appeared to diverge greatly.
As the Sword Queen pondered her thoughts,
The Chief Abbot resumed speaking.
“I cannot divulge many details.”
“…”
“This is not a matter pertaining to my ties or a pledge I made with the Sword Venerable.”
Was it because of certain restraints?
Regardless, the Sword Queen sensed there was more to it than that.
“Do you know why the Sword Venerable journeyed into the Abyss?”
The Sword Queen nodded in response to the Chief Abbot.
The reason the Sword Venerable had entered the Abyss was to save his daughter.
However, many believed it was done for the sake of a greater cause.
Following this incident, the Heavenly Army that advanced into the Abyss faced near-total annihilation, with only a few returning alive, most choosing to take their own lives.
After this event, the Sword Venerable stepped down from his Alliance Leader position, and the Murim Alliance, which once sought to investigate the Abyss at that moment, ceased their inquiries.
In addition, they disbanded the Heavenly Army, which had been the Alliance’s primary combat force for centuries.
The Sword Queen wished to uncover the entirety of this matter.
“What you are curious about lies not only in the reason the Sword Venerable went to the Heavenly Abyss of Birth, but also in why the Murim Alliance halted their direct research…”
The Chief Abbot spoke in an exhausted tone to the Sword Queen.
“It’s because there exists a God within the Heavenly Abyss of Birth.”
The Sword Queen frowned at the Chief Abbot’s words.
“What do you mean…”
“Additionally, not just in the Heavenly Abyss of Birth. Other Abysses contain gods too.”
“Chief Abbot, what on earth are you saying?”
A god?
Was he referring to the supreme beings worshipped by other Taoist and Buddhist sects?
Considering that the individual uttering these words was the Chief Abbot of Shaolin, who did not worship anyone, made the conversation utterly bizarre.
“If calling it a God troubles you, you might refer to it as an owner instead.”
“Owner…? Chief Abbot, I find your statements quite challenging to comprehend.”
“Even if you struggle to grasp it, there’s simply no more suitable term. The owner of a world… Or an existence that embodies the world itself. If not a god, what else could it be called?”
The Chief Abbot’s countenance grew grave as he articulated these phrases.
Then, he coughed while covering his mouth, as if he could no longer discuss this topic.
Thhk!
Blood began to seep from the Chief Abbot’s thin fingers.
“Chief Abbot…!”
The Sword Queen rushed to support him upon seeing the blood, but the Chief Abbot halted her with a raised hand.
“I can only say this much.”
“…”
Seeing the Chief Abbot act as though nothing had happened while wiping away the blood, the Sword Queen could not press him further.
As her complicated thoughts roiled and she bit her lip in frustration…
“Sword Queen.”
“Yes.”
“Please don’t seek to know.”
“…”
“If by some miracle it finds you, please do not disregard it.”
“Are you implying that understanding this matter is exceedingly difficult?”
The Chief Abbot remained silent in response to the Sword Queen.
But from the Chief Abbot’s silence, she gleaned the answer.
In the ensuing stillness, both the Chief Abbot and the Sword Queen shared only silent gazes.
Time flowed.
It was a day before Gu Yangcheon would retreat into seclusion.
Gu Yangcheon concluded his training as usual and emerged outside.
“…What exactly do you wish for?”
He couldn’t help but furrow his brows upon witnessing Moyong Hi-ah’s sudden appearance after several days of absence.
It was understandable he reacted this way, given that Moyong Hi-ah had uttered absurd statements.
“Did you not hear me?”
“No, I’m questioning because it seems I misheard you.”
“Oh, I see.”
Moyong Hi-ah nodded and kindly reiterated to Gu Yangcheon once more.
“Please spend the night with me tonight.”
Gu Yangcheon’s brows knitted tightly as he processed her smile while making that request.
Then, he had to collect himself.
It wasn’t the first or second time that the crazies around him said peculiar things.
Not to mention, he wasn’t the same rude person he used to be, so he had to reply as courteously as possible.
‘I’m sorry, but what do you mean by that?’
“Shove off.”
“…?”
“Oh.”
The moment Gu Yangcheon blurted out those words, he promptly covered his mouth with a hand.
“…Looks like I spoke my true thoughts instead.”
It was a faux pas.
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