novelraw Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
It seemed like a hard thing to say, but eventually, Pyo Inhaeng opened his mouth.
"During a mission, I once encountered a guy like Un Jongak. He wasn't as meticulous or clever as Un Jongak. But he succeeded. The person who was falsely accused because of him was strong and had considerable influence. Under the premise that he was an enemy of the Divine Martial Sect, dealing with him was a very difficult situation. At that time, I focused solely on that. Whether I could take care of him—that was all I thought about."
Seo Mugyeom quietly listened to his words.
He could sense the slight tremble in Pyo Inhaeng's usually confident voice.
If he said this, neither Won Jirim nor Ho Jo-yeong would believe it.
"All the evidence was accurate and pointed to him. Even after multiple checks, it was the same. Since what we prepared was a complete annihilation, we ensured thorough verification. But all that evidence and the witnesses were fabricated. What do you think I did?"
"...."
He had succeeded in annihilation.
He had killed an innocent person based on forged evidence and eradicated their family and influence completely.
Pyo Inhaeng's words paused there, but Seo Mugyeom thought he knew why he had brought up the story.
It seemed like he believed that if he hadn’t been so strong, the sacrifice wouldn’t have been so great.
"What happened to that person?"
"He died. I tore his flesh while he was still conscious. He screamed in agony, begging to be spared. I killed him even as I heard that. When I asked him why, he said he was wrong. When I slapped him so hard his cheek ripped apart and asked again, he said he didn’t want to serve under me. That if he didn’t take care of me first, he’d have to watch me continue to succeed and obey my orders. He didn’t want to risk his life following my misguided commands. That was his reason."
Seo Mugyeom became dazed.
Not because he felt pity for Pyo Inhaeng, but because he thought the same thing could happen to him.
The problem wasn’t that someone might set a trap targeting him.
He imagined the time when he would become as strong as a Division Leader and could destroy an entire clan.
If he wielded that power against someone who didn’t deserve to die...
Suddenly, he understood many things.
Even the Division Leader must have felt cursed by it.
If he had been just a little weaker, if his strength had been just a bit lacking, he wouldn't have succeeded in that wrongful mission so perfectly.
Seo Mugyeom couldn't say anything.
For some, that might have been a punishment worse than destroying their Dantian.
For someone like the Division Leader, who could do anything with enough will, that might have been the only effective punishment.
With that one mistake, the Division Leader must have questioned every time he charged forward whether the person before him was truly an enemy.
He must have thought that it was better to do nothing than to kill someone innocent.
Seo Mugyeom could now understand how many things he must have ruined with that mindset.
And he could imagine how much ridicule he must have endured during that time.
Seo Mugyeom felt frustrated and suffocated, unable to do anything for a long while.
He felt sorry for the Division Leader, but this wasn’t something that could end with mere consolation.
It could easily become his own problem at any time.
Pyo Inhaeng seemed to like that Seo Mugyeom didn’t try to awkwardly console him.
"Shouldn’t you be asking things like whether I compensated the victim, or if I apologized to them?"
Pyo Inhaeng asked, but Seo Mugyeom didn’t hear him.
Seo Mugyeom had a grand plan.
He intended to receive Gwei’s great technique and become a Blood Demon.
In addition to that plan, he also possessed internal energy and martial arts of unknown origin.
So if he received Gwei’s technique, he would become far stronger than the Division Leader.
What if he used that power and ran full-speed in the wrong direction?
What would happen then?
Seo Mugyeom finally looked at Pyo Inhaeng.
"What did you do, Division Leader?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you overcome it?"
Pyo Inhaeng laughed at those words.
His expression seemed to say, "Do I look like someone who has overcome it?"
But he couldn’t say that out loud.
Seo Mugyeom’s face looked too desperate as he waited for an answer.
That was the truly ridiculous part.
When he looked at Seo Mugyeom’s face, it seemed like Seo Mugyeom himself wasn’t entirely sure he could avoid the same fate.
No matter how great Seo Mugyeom was, he still wouldn’t be able to match Pyo Inhaeng at his peak.
But Seo Mugyeom didn’t seem to think that way.
Pyo Inhaeng stared blankly for a moment, then thought of a response.
It seemed that to Seo Mugyeom, this answer really mattered.
So he felt he had to find a serious answer somehow.
And in doing so, Pyo Inhaeng realized that it was an important issue for himself too.
He needed that answer just as much.
"Even so... I suppose we must continue forward. The path I’m taking might not be the right one, but still. Hoping it’s the right path. I guess that’s how we have to go on."
Seo Mugyeom slowly nodded.
He had never seen the Division Leader show such a lack of confidence.
He had never seen him struggle to string words together.
Watching the Division Leader speak so cautiously, Seo Mugyeom realized just how serious he was.
So he carved each of the Division Leader’s words into his heart.
We must go on. Even if the path isn't right, we must still go on. Hoping it is the right path. That’s how we must proceed.
Those words from the Division Leader seemed to give him direction too.
What someone with power must accept wasn’t just the outcome of battles.
Those who fell and died from their misguided judgments—their lingering spirits.
Even that became their responsibility.
"Talking with you is interesting, Seo Mugyeom. This is the first time I’ve had this thought. I never believed I could find an answer. But now that I’ve said it, I guess that’s the way. If I was going to seek power and pursue strength, I should have also considered the scope of my influence. Just like how grass and trees break from my sword qi, someone's entire life could be shaken, uprooted, and innocent lives could be lost."
Though Pyo Inhaeng was speaking to Seo Mugyeom, it was also a message to himself.
A heavy silence lingered between them for quite some time.
But neither of them found that silence boring or uncomfortable.
Both were gaining profound understanding through that silence.
After a long pause, Seo Mugyeom spoke.
"By the way, Division Leader, why did you believe so easily what I told you about Vice Leader Un?"
"Right now, we’re trying to verify things. We’re not trying to kill Un Jongak right away but planning to approach someone close to him to find out if it’s true. At least at this stage, it’s not about taking risks, so we can handle it comfortably."
Seo Mugyeom eventually understood what he meant and nodded.
"But even if that’s not the case, I feel like I can finally be brave. I want to grow strong again, and I feel like it’s okay to become strong now."
Pyo Inhaeng spoke and smiled.
Seo Mugyeom thought it must have taken him a long time to reach the point where he could smile like that.
He was beginning to realize that something insignificant to one person could be unbearably difficult for another.
Because it wasn't something easily earned, he would likely endure agonizing hardship to protect it going forward.
"Division Leader. I’ll do the same."
"What do you mean?"
"I’ll try to be brave like you. I’ll steady my heart without being bound by the mistakes I make."
Pyo Inhaeng let out a small laugh.
He wanted to tell him not to be arrogant, but if it was Seo Mugyeom, he just might pull it off.
"You're a strange one."
"I'm glad to be in your Tenth Division, Division Leader. If I had ended up in a different division, it could have been a disaster. I’m truly fortunate that my talent bloomed late."
Pyo Inhaeng finally burst into loud laughter.
"Anyone can act like they’ve achieved everything while sitting in a room. There's no time to sit around, so come along. Once Lady Ak’s escort mission begins, you won’t be able to train even if you want to, so you’d better use the time wisely."
"Yes, Division Leader."
In truth, that wasn’t what Pyo Inhaeng had called Seo Mugyeom to say.
But the conversation had naturally taken that turn.
While they walked to the training hall together, the warriors of the Tenth Division greeted Pyo Inhaeng.
They must have noticed that Seo Mugyeom had recently been spending more time with the Division Leader.
Pyo Inhaeng thought there was nothing good to gain from Seo Mugyeom becoming the target of envy, but now he had made up his mind to train him hard.
Seo Mugyeom also realized that Pyo Inhaeng’s attitude had changed.
It wasn’t something that could be hidden anyway.
Seo Mugyeom greeted those passing by politely and maintained a humble demeanor.
Pyo Inhaeng glanced at that and smirked.
He smiled quietly, seeing that Seo Mugyeom didn’t flaunt the favor he received.
He thought Seo Mugyeom was unusually good at avoiding traps that lay right before his feet.
Most young men his age would get intoxicated by the favor of a Division Leader and make all sorts of mistakes, but Seo Mugyeom didn’t show signs of that.
It didn’t seem like he was especially virtuous, but whenever he showed this kind of behavior, Pyo Inhaeng always found it fascinating.
Their steps stopped at the Small Training Hall.
To be precise, they stopped when they saw the collapsed wall after entering the Small Training Hall.
"Why is that like that…"
Seo Mugyeom spoke in greater surprise, and Pyo Inhaeng looked at him.
"What exactly did you do?"
Then his gaze shifted to Seo Mugyeom’s hand.
Until then, Pyo Inhaeng hadn’t noticed the bandage wrapped around it.
"What happened to your hand?"
"That is…"
Seo Mugyeom explained that he thought it would be good to train in martial arts barehanded in case he couldn’t carry weapons in the Imperial City.
"You thought it’d be good to train in martial arts, and it turned out like that?"
"I didn’t mean for it to happen…"
His voice grew weaker as he continued.
Pyo Inhaeng found it amusing and let out a short laugh.
Then he changed his mind and spoke seriously to Seo Mugyeom.
"Seo Mugyeom, would you like to duel me using martial arts?"
"With you, Division Leader? If you're willing to instruct me, I’d be honored to accept."
"What’s there to instruct? Lately, it looks like you’re doing just fine even without my help."
Then he naturally took his stance first.