Light Novel: Volume 6 Episode 4
Manhwa: N/A
Heukam ran into Namling Forest without looking back.
The thick mist swallowed up Heukam in an instant.
The distance between Heukam and Pyo-wol was only about ten steps. It was a meaningless distance for masters like them. It’s a distance which they could narrow even before they could take a breath.
In fact, Pyo-wol jumped into Namling Forest almost at the same time as Heukam. But it was an unfamiliar landscape, not the back of Heukam that greeted him.
Huge trees and bushes that had grown densely without an inch of gap blocked him like a wall.
Pyo-wol looked around.
Heukam was nowhere to be seen. Not only had he disappeared from his sight, there were no signs of life, such as breathing or body temperature.
“Is this… an array?”
Pyo-wol muttered casually.
There are a lot of arrays in Jianghu, and among them there are maze arrays and illusion arrays. Even if two people enter through the same entrance, they would be separated and led to a completely different place.
He thought that perhaps a similar array was unfolding in Namling Forest.
Although he lost Heukam right under his nose, Pyo-wol was not disappointed nor frustrated. The fact that an unknown array was triggered was proof that the Xiaoleiyin Temple was here.
Without Heukam, he would have had to spend several times more effort and time to find the Xiaoleiyin Temple anyway.
Heukam will enter Xiaoleiyin Temple and talk about itself. He didn’t like it when his information was exposed, but he thought he didn’t care.
Because the power he showed to Heukam was only a small part.
They will prepare for his arrival, but Pyo-wol will also have enough time to prepare.
Pyo-wol walked through the Namling Forest. After walking for a while, he found himself standing on the outskirts of the forest.
‘Is it a combination of a labyrinth array1, illusion array2 and auxiliary array3?’
As many as three arrays were spread out across the outskirts of the forest.
Just by looking at the vast scale of the arrays implemented, which is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, one could guess how powerful the Xiaoleiyin Temple was.
It was the Xiaoleiyin Temple that exerted enormous influence over the entire Xizang. It was not known at this time how many masters would have gathered in their headquarters.
Pyo-wol looked at Namling Forest, who had pushed him away, silently. It was as if the whole forest was staring at him with hostility.
It was the first time he felt this way.
Now that the enemy’s headquarters were confirmed, it was time for him to make his preparations as well.
Pyo-wol measured the size of the forest as he walked around the Namling Forest. He couldn’t even see how vast the forest was.
Finding the Xiaoleiyin Temple seemed as impossible as finding a needle in the sand. However, Pyo-wol was neither disappointed nor discouraged.
No matter how large the forest is, he is bound to reach the end by following the traces.
Pyo-wol was very accustomed to such work, and above all, he had strong patience and stamina to never give up until his goal was achieved.
Pyo-wol was never in a hurry.
As he slowly walked around Namling Forest, he gathered a lot of information one by one. He didn’t miss out even the things that others inadvertently skipped over.
He looked at everything from the distribution of plants to the stream flowing out of the Namling Forest.
Namling Forest was really vast, and there were many streams connected to the outside. Pyo-wol tasted and analyzed the water in the stream.
As he spent time gathering information like that, the sun was already setting down before he knew it. Pyo-wol found a faint light on the outskirts of the Namling Forest.
As he walked along the light, a shabby village appeared.
However, the atmosphere in the village was very strange.
It was quiet, as if no one was there. But he could definitely feel people’s breathing and eyes everywhere. Yet no one appeared to be walking outside.
Even though Pyo-wol entered the village, no one came out and talked to him.
No matter how vigilant they may be with strangers, this has gone too far.
That was then.
Suddenly, a stone flew out of nowhere.
The stone hit Pyo-wol’s chest before landing on the floor.
Pyo-wol silently looked at the stones rolling at his feet. Although it hit him in the chest, it didn’t hurt at all. Because it didn’t carry any strength. .
Pyo-wol looked in the direction where the stone came flying from.
A boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old was staring at Pyo-wol. Another stone was in his hand.
“Get out of our village!”
The boy threw a stone at Pyo-wol again.
This time however, Pyo-wol had no intention of being hit by stone for no reason. So he simply caught the stone thrown by the boy.
Seeing that the stone he had thrown was caught by Pyo-wol, the boy did not run away. Rather he stared at him with bloodshot eyes. The boy’s eyes looking at Pyo-wol were filled with feelings of resentment and anger.
That was then.
“Aigoo! Please forgive my son. This guy did it because he didn’t know anything.”
“Please forgive Ah Myung.”
People rushed out of the houses that had been quiet before and blocked the view of the boy. The eyes of those who created a barrier around the boy to protect him, were filled with fear.
Pyo-wol looked at the middle-aged man who was beside the boy who threw the stones. It was because he was the only one in the village who lacked one arm.
The one-armed man hugged the boy and pleaded.
“Please forgive us, sir!”
Despite his father’s pleas, the boy named Ah Myung did not take his eyes off Pyo-wol.
“Fathe, I’m not afraid of anything!”
“You little brat! Are you trying to be like your brother? Be quiet!”
“They turned my brother into a monster of the Xiaoleiyin Temple, but I’m not—”
“This guy is still—”
The father covered his son’s mouth with his big hand. Even then, he did it to protect his son.
Pyo-wol asked Ah Myung.
“Who are the men who took your brother?”
“Don’t you know? It’s you guys. The Xiaoleiyin Temple!”
“Xiaoleiyin Temple?”
The emotion in Pyo-wol’s eyes disappeared. In an instant, Ah Myung and the rest of the villagers felt the chills at the same time. They suddenly felt a sense of danger.
“Hck!”
The villagers looked at Pyo-wol with fearful eyes. They realized that the man in front of them with a non-human appearance was in fact an unimaginable expert.
Everyone had a frightened expression on their faces, but only one of them shouted without breaking down.
“You have already taken my brother and all the village children, didn’t you? Are they still not enough?”
“…………”
“Yeah! Go ahead, take me too! Take me!”
Ah Myung shouted at Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol looked at Ah Myung with interest and said,
“I’m not taking you.”
“Lies!”
“I’d rather kill someone casually than take someone needlessly.”
“Hick!”
“So there is no reason for me to take you.”
“Are you from the Xiaoleiyin Temple?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“No matter what I say, you won’t believe it. So you decide for yourself. But I swear, if you push me any further, I’ll stop you from breathing.”
“Heuk!”
At Pyo-wol’s words, which did not contain any emotion, Ah Myung closed his lips tightly.
All the people who went to their village had emotions when they spoke. Whether it be positive or negative. However, there was no such thing in Pyo-wol.
It was like looking at a large snake with no emotions.
Ah Myung’s father asked cautiously.
“Are you saying that you’re really not from the Xiaoleiyin Temple?”
“I told you not to ask me again.”
“I’m sorry, but our hatred and fear of the Xiaoleiyin Temple is too great. I can’t help it. We lost everything to the Xiaoleiyin Temple. So we have no choice but to confirm your identity again.”
“Is it related to children?”
“Yes. They took all the village children!”
The one-armed man lowered his head. Tears were dripping like beads from his eyes. It was the same with other people.
A few years ago, the villagers lived happily ever after.
Although they were suffering from poverty, they still lived without starving by cultivating fields and hunting.
They knew that the Xiaoleiyin Temple was nearby, but they didn’t worry too much about it because nothing would happen as long as they didn’t go inside the Namling Forest.
On the contrary, their safety was ensured since bandits could not attack carelessly because of the presence of the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
The Xiaoleiyin Temple didn’t even care if the villagers lived nearby. So with that, the vigilance of the villagers had faded.
But an incident happened then.
The monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple suddenly stormed into the village.
They took all the children.
At that time, Ah Myung was able to avoid being taken because he went into the forest alone to collect mushrooms.
“We begged for them to return the children. But we couldn’t get into the woods, and they didn’t even pretend to listen to us.”
At that moment, Ah Myung stepped forward and said,
“And they turned my kidnapped brother and friends into monsters.”
“Monsters?”
Years have passed since the children were kidnapped.
The monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple appeared again in front of the villagers who were spending their days in despair. But they brought the children who had once been kidnapped by their side.
The parents naturally recognized their children. So they approached their children in tears, thinking that the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple were finally returning the children.
But the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple suddenly gave an order to the children.
“Fight amongst yourselves.”
The children hesitated.
Although they were kidnapped by the Xiaoleiyin Temple and subjected to severe brainwashing, they did not want to point a sword against their friends who they had been with since birth.
The monks then brutally killed the parents of the hesitant children.
The monks said,
“If you don’t fight against your peers, your parents will die instead. The parents of the defeated will be slaughtered. So, fight for your parents’ lives.”
The children eventually had no choice but to swing their swords at each other.
Not only to save themselves, but also to save their parents.
So the children fought fiercely.
Winners and losers were divided.
The losers died, and even their parents were brutally murdered.
That’s how half of the villagers lost their lives.
Those who survived were also deeply wounded.
Time passed again.
And the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple came in the village again with the kidnapped children. The same thing was repeated.
The surviving children fought. The losers will both lose their lives together with their parents.
So the villagers were reduced to a quarter in an instant. They do not know whether the same thing will happen again in the future.
Still, people did not leave the village.
The children who were kidnapped by the Xiaoleiyin Temple lost their humanity and were reborn as human butchers.
“I don’t know what they did, but now the kids don’t even recognize their own parents.”
Just a few months ago, the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple reappeared with the children. The monks instructed the children to hurt their parents. The children attacked their parents without hesitation.
Ah Myung’s father showed his severed arm to Pyo-wol.
“This arm was also cut off by my son.”
He could tolerate the amputation of his arm. But he couldn’t stand seeing his son lose his rationally and become a beast that harmed even his parents.
Jurreuk!
The villagers wept.
What parent can comfortably watch their children become something other than a human being?
Their hearts had long been rotted. Still, the reason they couldn’t leave the village was because they feared they would be harmed if they left.
Pyo-wol looked at the villagers.
There were only about fifteen people left. There were couples who were still together, but in most cases only one of the couple remained.
If so, the number of remaining children would be around ten. The situation is serious if there were only about ten people.
They were so dehumanized that they even hurt their parents without hesitation. Pyo-wol wasn’t sure if it’s a skill, but if the Xiaoleiyin Temple nurtured the children to this extent, it would be safe to say that they managed to make the perfect murder weapon.
Ah Myung’s father mustered up the courage to ask.
“Did you come to visit the Xiaoleiyin Temple?”
“That’s right,”
“Why are you looking for them?”
“To kill them.”
“All of them?”
“Until no one is left.”
At Pyo-wol’s answer, Ah Myung’s father stared at him as if he was about to devour him. The father’s eyes were fierce.
His insides were already rotten and bruised, and he was even stricken with a serious illness.
He instinctively felt that he had few days left to live.
And then one day, a man suddenly appeared.
The mere sight of his perfectly still eyes made him want to faint.
The father decided to stake everything on a man with a non-human appearance.
“I’ll tell you everything about the Xiaoleiyin Temple.”
SoundlessWind21’s Notes
Thank you for reading!
- Labyrinth array. Raws: 미로진(迷路陣)
- 迷 bewitch, charm
- 路 road, path
- 陣 column, row or file of troops
- Illusion array. Raws: 환영진(幻影陣)
- 幻 illusion, fantasy
- 影 shadow, image
- 陣 column, row or file of troops
- Auxiliary array. Raws: 교란진(提副陣)
- 提 hold in hand, lift in hand
- 副 assist, supplement
- 陣 column, row or file of troops
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