Chapter: 587
“Ui-Hyeon is dead.”
The underground space in Hanam was filled with a damp smell.
In that place, a man was kneeling and reporting to someone.
In front of the person bowing his head, an old man sat upon a broken rock.
After hearing the report, the old man turned his gaze to the man.
“The body?”
“We haven’t found it yet, but based on the circumstances, we believe it is certain.”
“I see.”
A child is dead.
Upon hearing this, a bitter look appeared in the old man’s eyes.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
“Also…”
The man continued speaking.
“… It seems our formation has been dismantled.”
At those words, the old man’s brow furrowed finally.
Dun dun dunnn…
The formation has been lifted?
That was an interesting story.
“What time?”
“It was less than an hour after the formation was set up.”
“… Hoo…”
This was the most surprising thing the old man had heard in years.
Whose doing is this?
He thought it might be the Murim Alliance, but the old man knew better.
The Murim Alliance doesn’t have the ability to dismantle their own formation yet.
Well, that’s obvious.
After all, it was the Murim Alliance that had cut off their own growth in formations and magic.
Once they abandon themselves, there will be no growth.
So the old man rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
Tick tock…
‘One hour.’
Just one hour.
If it took so little time to dismantle their formation, this person must have considerable expertise.
So it was a question that lingered.
In this vast Central Plains, nobody could be as skilled in formations as they were.
The old man shifted his gaze.
“Could it be you?”
In response to this doubtful question, the figure against the wall raised his head.
If anyone were to be capable, it could only be one person.
An expert in formations, as skilled as a doctor.
“Divine.”
“….”
When the old man called out, the wrinkles on Shin-ui’s face deepened.
“… That can’t possibly be true.”
“That’s right. There’s no way you did that.”
The old man chuckled at Shin-ui’s response.
“If you have any conscience, you shouldn’t do that.”
“…”
“If it’s not you… then who could it possibly be…”
A question flickered in the old man’s eyes.
“If you’re curious, then why don’t you investigate?”
“… Yes, my lord.”
As the command was given, the kneeling man vanished.
And just like that, only two remained in the space.
It was only then that Shin-ui finally opened his mouth to the old man.
“Now please stop talking.”
After hearing this, the old man turned his gaze towards Shin-ui.
“What do you mean?”
“I’d like you to tell me why you called me here.”
“Hmm…”
The old man raised the corners of his mouth at Shin-ui’s words.
The reason for the summon…
“I wanted to see my kin wandering outside. How does that sound?”
“…”
Shin-ui responded with a blank expression.
He knew it was nonsensical.
The old man burst into laughter at the sight.
“You’re still so… grim.”
“Get to the point.”
“Right… I should get to the point.”
Thud.
The old man jumped down from the rock where he was seated and approached Shin-ui.
“How is it? Is life outside a bit better?”
“Let’s focus on what’s important…”
“The real questions are: How does it feel to betray your clan and become a lapdog of the ruling faction?”
“…!”
Shin-ui’s face twisted instantly at the old man’s words.
“Familial head…!”
“Do you have any excuses for your actions, God?”
There were plenty.
Many things could be said, explanations and pretexts aplenty, but Shin-ui could not speak any further.
For as the saying goes, it was no different than mere excuses.
“You see, I really don’t care what sort of life you’ve lived since abandoning us; it’s simply because you’re blood kin. Don’t you understand that?”
The sharpness in Shin-ui’s eyes intensified at the old man’s statement.
“So, after all these years, what is it that you want from me?”
“You’ve seen enough in your day; surely by now you realize that there’s no future for the ruling faction.”
He could not refute this point.
This was something even Shin-ui knew.
The ruling faction’s future was bleak.
As the Sword Master stepped back, numerous reforms played out over time.
There was nothing that could be deemed true growth.
It was a continuous cycle of pretending the world was peaceful.
Inside, it was already rotting further and further.
“Thus…”
Shin-ui said to the old man, recalling this.
“Are you suggesting I join your miserable plan?”
“Miserable, you say…”
The old man’s eyes turned icy upon hearing Shin-ui’s words.
“If this isn’t a dreadful plan, then what could it possibly be?”
Ignoring this, Shin-ui continued speaking.
“Blinded by revenge, you fail to see even an inch in front of you, and as a result, the few blood relatives you have left are being sacrificed…”
Bam!
The old man seized Shin-ui by the throat mid-sentence.
“Guh…!”
“Zhuge Liang.”
Shin-ui clenched his teeth.
That was a name he hadn’t heard in decades.
“Even if all my kin cursed me, you, at the very least, should not say that.”
“Ugh.”
“At the very least… you, who fled in ignorance of the family’s anger, should not be saying such things.”
Just as the air began to thin, the old man abruptly threw Shin-ui aside.
Thud! Shin-ui’s frail body crumpled to the ground.
“Gah…”
“Yes, you have always been like that.”
The old man observed Shin-ui, who was gasping for breath.
“I remember when the kin hid away, unable to forget the humiliation they suffered from the clan; you stood out as the most composed.”
It was a tale from a long-ago past.
A story from ancient times, now only remembered by a few.
“You shouldn’t live handcuffed by thoughts of revenge? You should seek another path even now? You even said that to the family head.”
That memory had lingered.
The old man chuckled as he recalled those days.
“What a ridiculous and selfish statement.”
“…”
“What exactly should I forget, or what should I view differently?”
Cluck, cluck, cluck.
The laughter deepens.
It shook the space around them.
“Did you want to live forgetting your karma, Zhuge Liang? That’s right; forgetting is genuinely convenient.”
“… Family head…”
“Don’t call me that.”
He was no longer the family head.
What is a family head when the clan itself has vanished?
He had once been called that, but those days were past.
Not only that, it had been long since he stepped down.
Now, he was simply the lord.
That was enough for now.
“Was it comfortable? Living those days while forgetting your clan’s resentment?”
“I have… never forgotten my family.”
“Isn’t that funny? Don’t you realize how pathetic your words sound right now?”
How could someone who had fled their homeland in pursuit of peace utter such things?
The old man found it utterly comical.
Zhuge Liang had once possessed the greatest talent for battle formations in history.
He was seen as the hope to revive the Zhuge clan.
“No one realized he would throw everything away to flee.”
The old man stood before such a being.
“… Are you implying you resent me?”
“Hmm, well… not currently, but perhaps in the past… although.”
Shin-ui pushed himself back up with difficulty. The old man regarded him as he spoke.
“Even if you hold resentment, you don’t truly have the right to complain.”
“…”
A man who had fled from his angered relatives to save the lives of dirty faction members.
What business would he have to voice anything?
“Hundreds of years have passed since the ruling faction framed us and cruelly abandoned us.”
The Zhuge clan revered the Blood Horse.
But under that false accusation, the Zhuge clan—one of the Five Great Houses—fell into ruin in an instant.
An execution order was issued, and countless blood relatives perished.
Those who managed to survive lived on, concealing their identities.
It had become such a life.
“So you say we shouldn’t live life with revenge on the mind… How could you say something like that? Back then, and even now, shouldn’t you be the very one to avoid those sentiments?”
“…”
He had a point.
At the very least, it was inappropriate for Shin-ui to voice such things.
“Family head.”
“Just say it.”
There was one issue to address.
“How… how can you be so sure?”
Shin-ui’s voice trembled.
Upon hearing this, the old man’s eyes glimmered with doubts.
“What do you mean?”
“… How can you be so certain that their decision was genuinely a false accusation?”
Shhaaa.
As soon as Shin-ui spoke, the old man’s expression turned devoid of emotion.
Seeing it, Shin-ui was left with a dreadful certainty.
“You… Do you already know?!”
“…”
Silence enveloped the scene.
It lingered for a heartbeat, yet within that fleeting stillness, Shin-ui sensed every emotion imaginable.
“Divine.”
The way the old man addressed him shifted.
“I see that your intentions differ from our own.”
His demeanor regained its previous intensity.
Feeling a chill run down his spine, Shin-ui couldn’t help but react.
“How unfortunate. Just a few blood relatives remain…”
The old man spoke as if he genuinely felt regretful.
Shin-ui sensed various meanings hidden within those words.
“Since our intentions diverge, I cannot help you. You should return.”
“… Family head.”
“Do not worry. Just because our thoughts differ does not mean I intend to harm you. After all, we are of the same blood.”
Shhhlurp.
“That must be why you deigned to appear in my letter.”
“…”
“It’s time we end our conversation here. You must be quite busy as well.”
The old man acted as though he had no lingering regrets.
Could it truly be the case? Shin-ui couldn’t fathom.
At that moment.
Creek…
A door in the wall swung open, revealing another space.
This was the exit Shin-ui used when he entered.
This was a definitive instance of an emergency summon.
“…”
Seeing this, Shin-ui turned without a word.
No further conversation followed.
The moment Shin-ui vanished, silence hung in the air.
With that, the old man returned to his seat and bowed his head.
At that moment.
“Are you all right?”
A voice emerged from the pitch darkness. The old man didn’t have a reply.
He had known from the start.
In response to the worried inquiry, he said, “What do you mean?”
“… I’m not sure if it’s okay to leave him like that.”
A traitor to the clan.
A disgrace to his kin, who sought solace while everyone else sharpened their swords.
The man could not fathom it.
“If you believe there is a misunderstanding, it would be better to just kill me…”
“Vice-captain.”
“… Yes, my lord…”
The old man turned to face the man.
“…!”
Upon locking gazes, the man flinched slightly.
Because the old man’s eyes were glaring intensely.
“Have you forgotten our oath? I know you would not do that.”
“… I apologize.”
The man bowed his head low.
“We do not kill our own kind. Wasn’t that the agreement we made?”
“…”
“Even if we lose everything and slowly fall apart, that one principle must be preserved.”
“… But…”
“Furthermore, this is something my friend is aware of as well.”
The reason Shin-ui had made the effort to seek out the old man.
The reason he was still alive, even after betraying his clan.
It was all the same.
“Perhaps if the gods go out and tell some tales…”
Hee hee hee!
The old man chuckled at the man’s concern.
There was an air of vague dismissiveness wrapped in that laughter.
“Even if you were to do that, it’s far too late.”
Even if Shin-ui spouted out the story to others.
The time had lapsed far beyond.
Knowing this, the old man had quietly sent Shin-ui away.
He turned his gaze from the man and toward the void.
The ceiling that offered no view.
Beyond it, the old man was looking at something unseen.
“The gears are already set in motion.”
Once set in motion, they could not be halted.
The grudge and fury he had never forgotten against the Murim.
It was time to settle.
The issue is…
“Vice-captain.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“For now, I think it wise to keep a low profile.”
“I shall convey the message to the troops.”
With the formation being dismantled, adjustments to their actions were necessary.
‘That they’ve undone it means…’
Issues could arise as news started to spread gradually throughout Hanam.
While it was not an immediate concern—
Caution would still be prudent.
Of course…
‘No matter what happens, it’s already too late.’
It was merely that the clock had been momentarily slowed down.
Having considered all this, the old man slowly closed his eyes.
‘Truly… there is not much time remaining.’
How long he had awaited this moment.
He had to make an effort to calm his racing heart.
Now all that remained was to watch the decay of the alliance.
No one could stop it now.
Unless there was a monumental upheaval to reverse it.
Cue dramatic music!
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