Chapter 232 – Those Who Depart Must Return (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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To Myeong-yeop, the Muk Hui-yeong in front of him was completely unfamiliar. First of all, his very presence was foreign.

It was strange enough that a guy he firmly believed to be dead had nonchalantly returned alive, but the aura he exuded was also subtly different.

The hair that had once been neatly tied back was now a wild, long mane, and his eyes had grown deep and quiet, to the point where not a trace of his former lightheartedness could be found.

“Child. You possess some skill, indeed.”

Ghost Hawk Hand’s hands turned even blacker. It was a pitch-black color that seemed to absorb all light.

“I possess much more than just some skill.”

Muk Hui-yeong replied flatly. He appeared completely unfazed by the energy radiating from Ghost Hawk Hand’s hands.

“Are you not being too arrogant after landing a single blow while this old man let his guard down?”

“Of course. Because you won’t even be able to land a single blow on me.”

Lying on the ground behind him, Myeong-yeop looked up at Muk Hui-yeong. Although Muk Hui-yeong had occasionally mentioned his talent in a joking manner, he had always been reluctant to speak about his actual martial prowess.

Whatever had happened during the six months he was presumed dead, Muk Hui-yeong had definitely changed.

“That child recognized me, yet you do not seem to know this old man.”

“There is no need for me to know who you are.”

Muk Hui-yeong raised his sword and pointed it at Ghost Hawk Hand.

“Since you will be dead soon anyway.”

“Hahaha……”

Ghost Hawk Hand let out a hollow laugh. He was someone who had made a grand name for himself in Gansu. Whenever he traveled through Gansu, everyone would quietly slip away and tremble in fear.

Yet here in Hubei, a child who looked young enough to be his son was treating him with such contempt, which deeply wounded his pride.

“It seems this old man must teach a junior a harsh lesson.”

Ghost Hawk Hand stamped his foot and rushed forward. The stones shattered by his shock step flew toward Muk Hui-yeong like projectiles. Without moving a single step, Muk Hui-yeong swung his sword and deflected every single stone fragment.

By the time the dust and stones cleared, Ghost Hawk Hand was no longer in front of Muk Hui-yeong. Just as he had done when facing Myeong-yeop, he had used Shifting Shapes and Swapping Positions to slip behind him.

Stamping his foot to fling the stones was merely a distraction to conceal his transposition.

Staring at Muk Hui-yeong’s back, Ghost Hawk Hand unleashed his Black Shadow Palm. Muk Hui-yeong still had his back turned. Just when Ghost Hawk Hand thought the palm strike had landed, Muk Hui-yeong slowly turned his head to look at him.

The moment Ghost Hawk Hand saw those eyes, a chill ran down his spine. Not a single trace of urgency could be seen in that gaze. Only a freezing coldness devoid of any emotion resided there.

Without even twisting his body fully, Muk Hui-yeong angled his sword diagonally backward. It seemed like an extremely awkward posture to block the eight palm shadows pouring down.

Yet, simply by slightly shaking his elbow, Muk Hui-yeong blocked all eight palm shadows.

“……!”

Being a master himself, Ghost Hawk Hand could gauge his opponent’s martial prowess through the clues scattered on the battlefield.

Currently, there were no footsteps around Muk Hui-yeong. Ordinarily, when a weaker fighter faced a stronger master, their footwork would falter and their footprints would multiply. Their internal qi control would also be unstable, resulting in varying depths of footprints.

However, Muk Hui-yeong hadn’t even executed any complex footwork. It indicated that their levels were just that far apart.

“Urgh!”

Although Ghost Hawk Hand recognized those objective signs, he tried his best to ignore them.

The thought that Muk Hui-yeong was far too young to be his match completely devoured his objective judgment.

The massive sum of money he had received from Heaven’s Will Gate in exchange for crushing the Wudang Sect also played a part. Having accepted such payment, his reputation would be utterly ruined if he were defeated by a mere youth.

“Die!”

Ghost Hawk Hand began to make moves he wouldn’t have made had he remained calm. He stepped right into Muk Hui-yeong’s attack range.

A palm strike carrying a gargantuan amount of inner qi rained down on Muk Hui-yeong. Muk Hui-yeong, conversely, stepped straight into that storm of palm strikes. Both Myeong-yeop and the Heaven’s Will Gate onlookers gasped in shock.

Muk Hui-yeong dodged the torrential palm strikes purely with his movement art. It was a feat impossible to achieve unless one possessed both eyes that could perceive the gaps between strikes and a flexible body that could instantly slip through those openings.

“What on earth is that……!”

Not only the Heaven’s Will Gate disciples but even Myeong-yeop was dumbfounded. Myeong-yeop knew Muk Hui-yeong’s level from six months ago.

Of course, he had shown incredibly outstanding martial arts compared to the time he had invested, but he had never displayed such a perfected form. In particular, compared to his swordsmanship, his lightness art and hand-to-hand combat skills had been slightly lacking.

Yet what was with Muk Hui-yeong’s current movement art? Myeong-yeop watched the battle, completely forgetting his own pain.

Having dodged all the palm strikes, Muk Hui-yeong slipped into Ghost Hawk Hand’s immediate range. With both hands already fully extended, Ghost Hawk Hand had no choice but to expose his torso to the invading Muk Hui-yeong. Muk Hui-yeong spun his body and kicked Ghost Hawk Hand square in the chest.

“Keugh!”

With a harsh scream, Ghost Hawk Hand was sent flying toward the Heaven’s Will Gate disciples. The disciples scattered in a panic, not even daring to catch the old man who was flying toward them like a ball fired from a ballista.

That wasn’t the end. Muk Hui-yeong pursued the flying Ghost Hawk Hand. His lightness skill was even faster than the speed at which Ghost Hawk Hand was flying.

Although Myeong-yeop felt a subtle hint of Wudang Sect’s footwork in it, it was an entirely different lightness art. It seemed he had learned a brand new martial art from somewhere.

“I told you. You will die by my hand.”

Flying horizontally, Ghost Hawk Hand’s eyes bulged. Having caught up to him, Muk Hui-yeong descended from the air and drove his sword straight through Ghost Hawk Hand’s solar plexus.

“Ack!”

As Bright Elegance pierced through Ghost Hawk Hand and embedded itself in the ground, his flight came to an abrupt halt. It had been driven in so deeply that Ghost Hawk Hand’s body was skewered right up to the hilt.

Ghost Hawk Hand’s petite frame shuddered. Suspended in midair by the sword, his limbs hung loosely toward the ground.

Pushing Ghost Hawk Hand’s body off with his foot, Muk Hui-yeong drew Bright Elegance from the earth. Ghost Hawk Hand rolled and fell into a pool of blood.

With a bubbling sound of blood boiling in his lungs, Ghost Hawk Hand gasped for air. It was a shallow breath that clearly wouldn’t last long. Without being able to utter a single last word, Ghost Hawk Hand passed away with his eyes wide open. It was a futile death for an unorthodox master who had once shaken Gansu.

Wiping the blood splattered on his face with his shoulder and forearm, Muk Hui-yeong looked at the Heaven’s Will Gate disciples.

“Didn’t you say he was your Guardian? Aren’t you going to take this corpse?”

Muk Hui-yeong’s freezing voice pierced through the Heaven’s Will Gate members.

Still unable to comprehend the course and outcome of the battle, the Heaven’s Will Gate disciples could only tremble like aspen leaves.

Soon, one of them regained his senses and hastily gathered Ghost Hawk Hand’s corpse. He then shouted toward Muk Hui-yeong.

“Y-you just killed a Guardian of Heaven’s Will Gate!”

“You guys were the ones who tried to kill him first.”

At Muk Hui-yeong’s words, the Heaven’s Will Gate members couldn’t say a thing. After all, they too had witnessed Ghost Hawk Hand stepping on Myeong-yeop’s head to kill him.

Even so, they did not bend their pride. Even while trembling, they were still martial artists who said what they had to say.

“Heaven’s Will Gate will surely repay this debt.”

“Do you know why I’m not killing you all?”

Muk Hui-yeong approached them, dragging Bright Elegance, which was still dripping with blood, along the ground. The Heaven’s Will Gate members froze, unable to even think of drawing their weapons.

Since their strongest expert, Ghost Hawk Hand, had lost his life in a mere instant, they had no way to counter even if they drew their weapons.

“Go tell that Heaven’s Will Gate or whatever it’s called. Tell them that the Wudang Sect has killed their Guardian.”

Muk Hui-yeong walked right up to them, close enough to feel their trembling breath, and spoke. Every single syllable of his words carried immense weight and burning rage.

Having said his piece, Muk Hui-yeong turned around, and the Heaven’s Will Gate disciples immediately fled, carrying Ghost Hawk Hand’s corpse on their shoulders.

Watching them flee in a pathetic display, Muk Hui-yeong approached Myeong-yeop, who was still collapsed on the ground.

“Senior Brother, can you stand?”

“Y-yes. I can.”

Only then did Myeong-yeop realize he had shown a pathetic sight in front of his junior brother. He forced himself to stand, but staggered due to his severe internal injuries. Muk Hui-yeong immediately supported him by the arm.

“Don’t push yourself.”

“You, what on earth happened to you?”

“A lot of things happened.”

Muk Hui-yeong smiled.

“Let’s go up first and pay our respects.”

Myeong-yeop nodded head unconsciously. Currently, Muk Hui-yeong’s presence carried an overwhelming aura that made it impossible to refuse his words.

As they climbed the mountain path, Muk Hui-yeong and Myeong-yeop saw a group of people rushing down.

Although the mountain gate and Wudang Sect were at a distance, Wudang Mountain was naturally silent, meaning any major battle would be heard. They had heard the roaring gale force from the fight between Muk Hui-yeong and Ghost Hawk Hand and were rushing down.

And standing at the very front of that group was the current representative master of the Wudang Sect, the Boundless Divine Sword Cheong-hwa.

Cheong-hwa froze the moment he saw Muk Hui-yeong’s face. The disciples following behind him did the same.

“Just a moment, Senior Brother.”

Muk Hui-yeong gently let go of Myeong-yeop’s support.

“It has been a long time, Master.”

Cheong-hwa stared blankly as Muk Hui-yeong bowed before him. Muk Hui-yeong stood up and supported Myeong-yeop once again.

Unable to say a word, Cheong-hwa carefully stepped toward Muk Hui-yeong.

“……You.”

Muk Hui-yeong grinned. Cheong-hwa approached and touched Muk Hui-yeong’s cheeks with his rough hands. He then touched his hands, and massaged his shoulders and forearms. Yet, his eyes still showed utter disbelief.

“How, how……”

Cheong-hwa couldn’t finish his sentence. The disciples behind him were equally shocked, but they remained silent to allow Cheong-hwa and Muk Hui-yeong to share their moment.

“Your disciple has returned.”

The moment Muk Hui-yeong finished speaking, Cheong-hwa pulled Muk Hui-yeong into a tight embrace.

“My disciple. Is it truly you, my Hui-yeong?”

“Of course. Who else would it be?”

Muk Hui-yeong chuckled. He laughed partly because seeing him after six months felt a bit awkward.

Soon, Muk Hui-yeong felt a damp sensation on his shoulder. Buried in his disciple’s shoulder, the master was shedding tears. That sensation took Muk Hui-yeong by surprise.

“Why are you acting as though we haven’t met in ten years?”

Cheong-hwa wept silently. Muk Hui-yeong, who had been stiff, embraced Cheong-hwa back. It was his first time seeing his master cry.

Indeed, he was receiving so much love. Although he had known it deep down, it was a moment that made him realize it once again.

Of course, Cheong-hwa and Muk Hui-yeong had entirely different perspectives. Since Muk Hui-yeong knew he was alive, he had always known he would meet Cheong-hwa again someday. On the other hand, Cheong-hwa, believing Muk Hui-yeong to be dead, never expected to see him again.

“Welcome back. Welcome back, no matter what happened.”

Cheong-hwa spoke through his tears. Muk Hui-yeong gave an awkward smile.

Having shed all his tears, Cheong-hwa pulled back. From that point, a slightly awkward and embarrassing moment descended upon them.

“……Ahem.”

“Mmm.”

They both looked elsewhere. Muk Hui-yeong wanted to gloss it over with a joke, but the atmosphere simply didn’t allow it.

Cheong-hwa was embarrassed to have shown tears in front of his disciple and martial nephews, and Muk Hui-yeong was awkward about how to treat such a Cheong-hwa.

“……For now, let’s head up.”

Cheong-hwa, whose throat was still tight, spoke and turned around abruptly. He didn’t want to show his red eyes.

With that, the master and disciple’s tearful reunion came to an end.

Now, it was time to exchange greetings with all the people of Wudang.