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Chapter 255: I Dug My Own Grave (5)
Chapter 255: I Dug My Own Grave (5)
The door opened, but no one dared to step inside.
The feelings of tension, anxiety, and excitement were all running wild within them.
Everyone just stared at the opened door with mixed emotions. And the first one to come back to his senses was Hyun Young.
“Sect Leader.”
“…right.”
“Shouldn’t you be going in?”
“Hm. I should.”
Hyun Jong looked at the door with sullen eyes.
He was scared.
He was wondering if there was anything at all on the inside. But since he had come all the way here, he couldn’t just go back.
“Huh!”
Taking a deep breath, he immediately tightened his stomach and stepped into the opened corridor.
He was closely followed by the elders and the Un disciples.
Hyun Young went to help Chung Myung.
“Chung Myung.”
“Ugh.”
“You did so well. To cut down this huge door, I am really proud of you.”
“Well, it was nothing. Hehe.”
Even though Chung Myung was good at many things, he didn’t get praised a lot. So whenever someone praised him, his lips would curve into a smile.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung followed Hyun Young into the basement.
Hyun Jong, who was the first to enter, was looking around with shocked eyes.
“This is…”
Empty.
There was nothing there other than bookshelves.
Three bookshelves…
It looked simple, and with that, a feeling of misery visited the elders and the Un disciples.
However, this scene seemed to convey a different meaning in the mind of the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
Gulping, he walked to one of the bookshelves.
And…
“Ahh….”
He stopped and covered his face.
“Ancestor… ancestors of Mount Hua! Just… just how much did you care about us?”
Unable to control his emotions, his body trembled. It was because he was reminded of all the hardships they had gone through.
“S-Sect Leader this…!”
“Oh my god!”
Hyun Sang and Hyun Young looked shocked.
“S-Sect Leader! This is the Dark Fragrance!”
“Plum Blossom Art! The Plum Blossom Art!!”
“Eik! This is the Gugung Sword, Sect Leader!”
They were all losing their minds.
One bookshelf was full of the forgotten martial arts of Mount Hua, and a few of the books were things Mount Hua was already practicing presently.
Certain martial arts manuals that they thought were lost forever were on the shelf too.
Hyun Sang, who was the head of Mount Hua, was almost on the verge of passing out.
“…t-this is.”
He kept mumbling the same thing with a blank look.
How long had they wished for this?
How long had they been looking for this?
Everything they had longed for had been buried here. Hyun Jong and Hyun Sang, who were shocked, looked at Hyun Young, who was pulling a book out.
“Oh, oh! This was kept so clean! Like a new book! Sect Leader!”
Chung Myung watched it, flinching at those words.
‘Ah… I forgot to make it dirty.’
Cold sweat ran down Chung Myung’s back.
“Ah! Ah! How well kept, I can even smell the scent of ink, Sect Leader!”
‘Ah… I forgot to dry it too.’
“Even the letters… uh… they… don’t look dried?”
Hyun Young tilted his head in confusion. Chung Myung began to desperately search for a way to handle this situation as he continued to sweat.
“H-how can… can that even be?”
“Hahahaha.”
Suddenly, Hyun Jong began to laugh.
“I wondered why such a warehouse was made out of cold iron… I guess this is what they were intending. They made this huge place out of cold iron to regulate the environment and make sure things do not rot.”
“Ah! Come to think of it, I did hear about such a thing.”
“Isn’t that the reason the books are so clean?”
‘Uh… No.’
‘No! No! This isn’t right!’
‘Sect Leader!’
‘This is why you are the Sect Leader!’
Hearing Hyun Jong saying stuff that stopped people from doubting the whole situation, Chung Myung smiled.
‘He can play the role of making things easy for me.’
‘Ah, these cute beings!’
It was then.
“S-Sect Leader! H-here!”
“W-what is it?”
“L-Look here!”
“Where?”
“Here!”
Hyun Young pointed to one side. Hyun Jong moved and then looked at where he was pointing to, and immediately went stiff.
There were twenty-five neatly stacked books on the bottom of the bookshelf.
“N-No…”
The size of the titles of the books was large.
‘24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique.’
“Uh… Uh…”
Hyun Jong’s face looked as though he had seen a ghost.
The 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique. And it wasn’t just that; it had systematic information along with it as well.
“T-that-that is….”
“S-sect Leader!’
“technique… um!”
Finally, Hyun Jong’s eyes rolled over.
“Ack! Sect leader!”
“Calm down! How horrible would it be if you die here! Get up, Sect Leader!”
Hyun Young, who looked cold-hearted now, grabbed Hyun Jong by the collar and shook the man, screaming loudly into his ears. After being shaken for a while, Hyun Jong opened his eyes.
“hehehehe!”
“Calm down…”
“Get out of my way!”
Hyun Jong jumped up and grabbed Hyun Young. He then whisked him to the side and crawled to the shelf.
“Techniques! The techniques! The illustration of the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique!”
It was the same momentum as a person who had starved for ten days. Hyun Jong, who was standing right in front of the shelf, stared at the book like he would eat it at any moment and kept trembling.
“T-this… such a thing… huh!”
It felt like a scam.
This book had illustrations in it which would make it easier to understand the technique.
Explaining and understanding martial arts through words alone was known to be very difficult, so they couldn’t be passed down with just books.
But now, for people who had learned martial arts without a proper master until now, did they need anything more than the illustrated book?
“S-Sect leader! Check this!”
Hyun Jong pulled out one book and held it with his trembling eyes.
Shhh!
The first page was turned with a shivering hand.
Chung Myung, the 13__th generation disciple of the Great Mount Hua Sect, hands this down to his future generation.
“C-Chung Myung?”
“Yes!”
“Not you, brat!”
“….”
‘It is me, though!’
Chung Myung rolled his eyes, but Hyun Jong didn’t pay much attention to it.
‘Chung Myung.’
How many times had he heard this name?
How many times had he longed for this name to be said?
The moment he saw the name, Hyun Jong couldn’t stand the intense emotions rushing at him. In the end, he mumbled the title with a trembling voice.
“The Plum Blossom Sword Saint”
The forgotten legend of Mount Hua.
Here was the name that made it possible for Hyun Jong to hold onto Mount Hua despite suffering for a long time.
“P-Plum Blossom Sword Saint! So, does this mean that the Plum Blossom Sword Saint has left us the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique?”
Hyun Young leaned closer to Hyun Jong.
“C-Chung Myung!”
His body trembled as if he had been hit by lightning.
Who among the disciples of Mount Hua didn’t admire the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?
Hyun Jong tried to calm his trembling heart and continued to read on.
The 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique is the root and the core of Mount Hua. This book leaves an illustration of each form in it so later generations can have a better understanding of the technique.
Future generations should refer to this and devote themselves to it again. If one can master the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique, there is no need to fear any other sword in the world.
Keep this in mind.
You aren’t a successor of this Sword Technique, but the will of Mount Hua itself. I will put in Mount Hua’s will into the 24 Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
As long as this continues, the name of Mount Hua will never disappear.
“T-the real Plum Blossom Sword Saint’s guidance! It really is his!”
“Uaahhhhhh! Oh my! This is crazy! Hahahaha!”
Hyun Young was going crazy.
Just obtaining the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique was amazing, but now they had the remains and illustrations passed on to them by the Plum Blossom Sword Saint himself.
It had now become a treasure that could not be exchanged for gold!
“This is something that is a hundred years old! Hahaha! How lucky we are! Oh my!”
Hyun Young rushed to Hyun Jong and snatched the book he was holding.
“W-what…”
Hyun Young, who was about to turn the page, stopped and then frowned as if something was strange.
“Sect Leader.”
“Hm?”
“…the front and the back sheets are stuck together…?”
“….”
Hyun Jong and Hyun Young looked at the book with strange eyes.
Chung Myung was heavily sweating behind them.
‘Why are they so meticulous?’
‘Just skip over a couple things! Skip it! Why are you looking at it so closely! Since when have you been so careful!’
“Um. It seems like the Plum Blossom Sword Saint did it to put the illustrations down. Isn’t that why the paper has been preserved for so long?”
“Right?”
“Hahahaha. Of course, it is. You are speaking as if someone would be able to enter this cold iron room and rewrite the entire thing.”
“Is that even possible? Hahaha!”
Sweat began to drip down Chung Myung’s face. Baek Cheon, who was watching this, narrowed his eyes.
‘Why is he sweating so much?’
‘Did he really suffer from an internal wound?’
‘Could that have happened?’
It was then.
“Sect Leader!’
“What is it?”
“All the writing looks the same!”
“Uh!?”
“I just checked, and all the technique books have the same writing. It seems like they were all written by one person.”
Flinch.
Chung Myung looked at Hyun Sang with wide eyes.
‘What good will knowing that do?’
‘No, why are you acting like such experienced investigators!’
“Is that so…?”
“Yes! All the techniques seem to have been written by Plum Blossom Sword Saint himself!”
“Ohh! Sword Saint! All of these are such precious things, then!”
Hyun Jong was overflowing with emotions.
“Sword Saint… Sword Saint. I don’t need anything more…”
Hyun Jong’s face softened, and his body began to lose strength. Hyun Young ran like a dog and grabbed him by the collar, and shook him.
“No! This man is ready to jump into heaven each chance he gets! If you are going to do that, then spit out the pill!”
“I-I won’t die, you brat!”
Hyun Jong regained consciousness. But he really felt like he had almost seen the end.
‘I need to be careful.’
“Huhuhu. Mount Hua is flourishing!”
The three Hyun disciples weren’t sure what to do. They were all smiling widely, and they couldn’t stop their legs from moving.
“Sect Leader. We too…”
“Ah, yes! Right!’
Hyun Jong looked back and went out. Not everyone was able to enter the room at the same time, so the Un disciples and the others were still waiting outside.
As soon as they walked out, the other disciples entered the place.
“…Plum Blossom Full Body…!”
“S-sasuk! We have the Taiho Long sword technique as well.”
“Moon Maiden Harmony Sword!”
Just reading the names of the techniques brought tears to their eyes.
Baek Cheon, who had become a bit dizzy from all this, put the book he had taken back into the shelf and took a deep breath.
But!
Kkk!
Baek Cheon looked down.
“Uh?”
And Chung Myung, who saw it as well, was shocked.
‘Ah, no! tha-that?’
“S-sect Leader! There is a gap here! There seems to be something else here!”
‘You sasuk bastard?’
“Ooh? Right?”
Hyun Jong rushed inside once again.
“Oh, it looks like it!”
“Let’s fully open it!”
“Right! Do it!”
The shelves were moved without Chung Myung’s help, and the door below it was opened.
“Let’s go down!”
“Go down! Let’s get in quickly!”
The Hyun disciples were already ready. But unfortunately, the inside was empty, and nothing could be seen.
“…I thought something would be here.”
“Umm. It looks like the space was created but never used.”
“Well, we cannot help it.”
“Right. We already got what… uh?”
Hyun Jong, speaking calmly, looked around and found something.
“This…?”
“Uh?”
All the Hyun disciples turned around to see where Hyun Jong was looking at.
“What is this circle…”
“It is round.”
“…and big.”
“…”
Hyun Young mumbled, looking at it.
“It looks like someone cut it and pasted it back again?”
“Hahahah!”
At that moment, all the Hyun disciples burst into laughter. Chung Myung also had an awkward smile on his face.
“W-who can do this? Hahaha. Even the Plum Blossom Sword Saint cannot do this!”
“Right?”
“Y-yes!”
“Right. True. Then why are you sweating so much? Is your internal wound not healed yet?”
“I-it is the door cutting…”
“That, tch.”
Hyun Young was worried about Chung Myung, but Hyun Jong just looked at the circle with a serious face and then nodded as if he had finally realized.
“I get it.”
“Uh?”
Chung Myung was shocked.
‘Get it? get what?’
“A secret space and a large circle. Don’t you get it? These are the noble teachings our ancestors have left for us.”
“teachings of what…?”
“An empty room and an empty circle inside it. When you get enough, you need to be content with it and don’t get greedy.”
“Ah! Right!”
“Our ancestors were trying to convey that to us. The greats path of Tao.”
“They must have meant for us to not forget the duty a disciple has to Mount Hua and also follow the path of Tao. We learn something nice like this.”
“The meaning our ancestors have tried to teach us is infinitely deep.”
Seeing the Hyun disciples try to make sense of this, Chung Myung lay flat on the ground.
‘Just kill me, all of you.’
‘My heart will fail at this pace.’
‘Oh my, my life!’