Childhood Friend of the Zenith -
Chapter 353: The Dark King (3)
When I thought of white-haired people, the Namgung Clan immediately came to mind.
Their white hair carried a faint hint of blue.
That color was influenced by their Mind Arts.
It’s pure white.
But the person in front of me had even whiter hair.
This wasn’t the white hair that came with age.
The man appeared to be in his thirties or forties, yet his white hair seemed unique.
His white pupils that had a similar color to his hair, gazed my way.
What the.
He was clearly looking at me, yet it didn’t feel like we were truly making eye contact.
How do I explain this sensation?
He was right in front of me, but I sensed no presence from him.
It wasn’t like the usual absence of presence that came from a vast difference in levels.
This instead just felt very strange.
Just as my confusion began to make me uncomfortable,
Swish.
The man seemed to notice my gaze, as he suddenly pulled something out and placed it over his head.
It was a face cover.
It looked ordinary, like any other mask.
However, it wasn’t a full mask, as there was only half of it.
I wondered why he’d suddenly put it on, but I understood the moment he did.
Ssss…
“…!”
As soon as he wore the mask, a transformation began.
His bright white hair instantly began turning black.
The transformation happened in an instant.
It only took a few seconds.
But that wasn’t the only change.
…I see it.
The faint sensation I’d felt from him vanished.
Now, I could sense his presence clearly.
His eyes, nose, and entire face became clear in my vision.
What was that?
Is that the power of that mask?
Treasure…?
No matter how much I looked at it, that seemed like a treasure.
Not only that,
It seems somewhat familiar.
Where had I seen it before?
I wondered where I’d seen that mask before. Just looking at it filled me with unease.
Where did I feel such a sensation?
Ah…!
I remembered where I saw that mask.
That was,
The one Zhuge Hyuk wore.
Zhuge Hyuk who was called the brain of the Demonic Cult.
The mask that bastard wore to cover his face looked identical to the one I was seeing right now.
…But how does this man have it?
It was possible it wasn’t the same mask, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the exact one Zhuge Hyuk wore.
Did that mask really have such an ability…?
“Child.”
As I was staring at the man, the man spoke to me.
“Are you going to continue staring?”
“…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“It’s fine. I’m just not used to being stared at.”
With that, the man raised a cup to his mouth.
A cup?
Was the man holding a cup before?
I didn’t even see that.
If he hadn’t put that mask on, I might not have noticed him at all.
The thought of it gave me the chills.
It was terrifying for a martial artist to be so unaware of someone’s presence.
It meant they could be killed in an instant.
“…”
I’d reached Fusion Realm, yet I still felt this way.
Who is this man?
“That’s an amusing expression you have.”
“…!”
“It’s a good habit. Keep it up.”
“…”
He’d noticed I was sizing him up.
Yet, he remained calm.
“…Who are you?”
Just who was this man?
He made me feel so tense, yet this was my first time seeing him.
I didn’t know every powerful martial artist in the Central Plains, but I thought I knew most of them.
Yet, I knew nothing about this man.
The man tilted his head slightly and looked at me after hearing my question.
I hadn’t noticed his white pupils before, but now that they were black, the difference was stark.
His eyes held neither light nor shadow.
Those who were empty of life and death often had eyes like these.
Such people had eyes like these, indifferent to the meaning of life.
Or,
He killed way too many people.
Those who killed a countless number of people also had those eyes.
It made me more curious.
What was his identity?
“Who am I, you ask? It’s been a while since I’ve heard that question.”
“…Is that so?”
“That’s right. Most don’t live long enough to ask.”
What a horrifying reason.
“Introduction, hmm… It’s been some time since I’ve introduced myself.”
The man’s gaze shifted toward me..
Holding his gaze was difficult.
It felt as though he was searching my entire being as we locked eyes.
“However.”
Then his voice broke through my thoughts.
Something felt different. His tone and volume hadn’t changed, but there was a heaviness to it. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed involuntarily.
“Child, you seem to know already, yet you want me to say it with my own mouth.”
“…”
I frowned at his words.
Yes, it was as he said.
I’d already begun to assume his identity.
You may ask when I started to.
…Since I looked into his eyes.
Since I’d stared into his eyes, I’d been piecing together the puzzle.
Eyes like those and such a faint presence were common traits of assassins.
I’d met many assassins in my past life, and they had all perished in my flames.
That’s what it means to run into assassins.
Either I kill them, or I get killed.
But this man.
I could say with certainty, if I fought him without his mask on, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Pride aside, my survival instincts told me so.
Just how did he do that?
How could he conceal his presence so completely at that level?
It was different from the wall I felt from the Heavenly Demon, where I could feel its presence because of it.
The man concealed his presence so thoroughly, I could barely register he was there.
It was to the point where, despite looking right at him and speaking with him, I could hardly believe he was real.
Is such a thing even possible*?*
I guess it is.
I could probably do the same thing to an average person without Qi.
However, I was a Fusion Realm martial artist.
I went over the huge wall of Peak Realm, and in the entire world, there were likely fewer than a thousand Fusion Realm martial artists.
Thinking about it made me a bit embarrassed…
I could feel my ears heating up.
Anyway,
And yet he’s doing this to me, someone who reached Fusion Realm,
Was that even possible? But I already knew the answer as the Central Plains was too big.
Plus,
There was ‘one’ assassin who was capable of doing such a thing.
They were way too famous.
Though an assassin, their identity was known throughout the world due to their skill.
Well, it wasn’t exactly one person, but more of a representative group.
The most famous group of assassins known in the Central Plains.
Night Reapers.
They were reputed to be the greatest assassin group in the Central Plains.
The leader of the group was known as the King of Assassins, the King of Night.
“…Dark King.”
He seemed pleased with my response, as a small smile appeared on his face.
Why was the King of Night, of all people, here with the Sword Queen?
******************
Just before the ambush reached its peak,
“We are out of cloth…!”
The medical team was the busiest.
“Fuck… Their bleeding won’t stop.”
“Senior…!”
The scent of blood and screams filled the air.
The medics continued to work hard, but there were way too many injured people.
Moreover,
“Where is the new guy who joined last time…! We’re already short-staffed!”
“…They died trying to protect another student earlier.”
“…Fuck… Did they think that they were a martial artist or something!? We are people who heal and treat others, and I told them that so many times.”
“…”
They screamed, but they felt horrible inside.
“Senior… we’re going to need more cloth.”
They were running out of cloth to wipe away the blood.
Several people had already stopped breathing by now.
Not even their master could have saved them in this condition.
This was no different from hell.
The medic bit his lip as he worked frantically.
He ran away from the Murim Alliance medical team so that he didn’t need to face anything like this, but the Young Prodigies died every minute right in front of him.
The medic hid his shaky hands and kept working. Blood continued to pour.
Their cuts were deep.
It was meant to kill them, so of course it was deep.
Some wounds were so severe they couldn’t be healed.
The medic counted ten students who had died from such injuries.
“Bring me another dagger. And make sure the fire doesn’t—”
Then, someone suddenly walked past the medic and a white hand reached out.
Without hesitation, they touched the blood-covered martial artist.
Seeing this, the medic started to shout.
“Who are you! What do you think you are…!”
He then stopped midway.
He’d stopped because he saw her blue eyes, deep and endless like the sky.
He felt a chill radiating from her.
She was a cold-looking girl, perfectly suited to the icy aura around her.
The medic recognized her immediately.
She was the blood relative of one of the Four Noble Clans, Moyong Clan.
She was also one of the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
This was the Snow Phoenix herself, Moyong Hi-ah.
Ssss.
Cold Qi began to emanate from her hand.
The chill was unmistakably her Qi. Her presence seemed to calm the bloodshed and the screams.
“…What are you…”
“What are you doing?”
Just as the medic was about to question her, Moyong Hi-ah’s cold, sharp voice cut him off.
“You should be working right now. Are you going to just watch?”
“…!”
At her words, the medic quickly returned to work.
There was no time for him to think.
Time continued to pass.
Moyong Hi-ah seamlessly joined the medical team, using her unique cold Qi to treat the injured students.
After some time, when they finally had a moment to rest, the medic sought her out.
“…Thank you.”
Moyong Hi-ah gave a slight nod in response to his thanks.
Both sides were struggling.
Her obviously expensive outfit was drenched in blood, and her once-neat hair was now a mess.
The blood on her pale skin gave her a strangely seductive appearance…
“Stop staring.”
The medic quickly looked away at her words.
“I’m sorry.”
“I feel a bit uncomfortable when you stare like that as I am already taken by someone.”
“Huh?”
When he looked puzzled, Moyong Hi-ah responded calmly.
“People who stare at me like that usually end up falling for me.”
“…”
“I’d rather avoid unnecessary trouble, so please be careful.”
She sounded incredibly full of herself, but the medic couldn’t help but believe her, after all, it was the Snow Phoenix speaking.
Even the medic felt it was dangerous to stare at her for too long.
“Seems I still have it…”
“Pardon…?”
“But why doesn’t it work against that man…”
I am not fond of him.
That was what Moyong Hi-ah murmured to herself.
A woman who knew her own beauty also knew how to wield it.
In that regard, Moyong Hi-ah possessed an overwhelming amount of charm.
Even in this situation, the medic fell for her after all.
Was she engaged with someone?
He didn’t know, but for a moment, he felt a pang of jealousy.
Pushing that thought aside,
“Thank you again for your help.”
The medic expressed his gratitude once more.
It was unexpected for a blood relative of a noble clan to help while she also turned into a mess herself.
The Snow Phoenix, Moyong Hi-ah, was known for being cold and calculating, but perhaps she had a warm side after all?
“No need to thank me. It would be problematic for my clients to die, and this way, they’ll be in my debt.”
“…”
The medic smiled bitterly after hearing her response.
“Even so, you helped a ton.”
“Of course it did. My Dantian became empty thanks to it.”
Her Qi, infused with Ice Qi, was immensely helpful in treating others.
It also seemed Moyong Hi-ah had some medical knowledge herself, as she did more than just stop the bleeding.
Whatever her skillset, the medic was grateful they’d been able to save students from death.
Then, Moyong Hi-ah suddenly asked the medic.
“It’s you, right?”
“…Huh?”
“The disciple of the Immortal Healer.”
“…”
The medic’s eyes widened at her words.
…How did she know?
No one was supposed to know he was the direct disciple of the Immortal Healer.
“…I.”
“I trust you’ll repay me for the assistance I provided.”
Watching Moyong Hi-ah leave with a slight smile, the medic let out a hollow laugh.
So even that was calculated, huh.
It would be frightening if true, yet he couldn’t deny the charm he felt from her.
He ended up feeling this way in their short meeting.
He felt like it would take a long time for him to forget about her.
Because of this, he felt even more envious of the man who had claimed her heart.
Step.
As Moyong Hi-ah was making her way back after moving all day in a crouched position,
“Haah.”
She could finally take a moment to breathe.
…That was more exhausting than I expected.
Only now did she realize how tired and worn out her body felt.
Is this the price I have to pay for neglecting my training?
She’d sacrificed training time to focus on healing others.
Furthermore, using her Ice Qi, something she preferred to avoid, left her feeling even more drained.
It’s not as if I’m seeking honor here*.*
Moyong Hi-ah forced a smile as she kept walking.
She wondered what all this effort was for.
So unfair. You came back but you didn’t come to see me?
On top of that, she thought of the man who hadn’t bothered to show his face, and it irritated her.
Here she was, working tirelessly, while he went off to see the other girls, which made her feel more than a little angry.
“I should’ve just gotten hurt too then.”
She half-jokingly wondered if she should resent herself for staying unharmed.
Moyong Hi-ah sighed, feeling a bit silly for even thinking that.
It would’ve been very immature for her to do such a thing.
She then murmured to herself.
“…He didn’t get hurt, right?”
She felt worried for the man she was cursing to.
Rumors of his actions had already spread everywhere; everyone knew by now.
How did something like this happen?
The more Moyong Hi-ah thought about it, the more it gave her a headache.
…This isn’t good.
And it wasn’t just about the ambush.
Of course, the ambush was part of it, but it was over now, so she put that aside.
It was the future that was the problem.
The Heavenly Dragon Academy that gathered descendants of many noble clans and Sects.
Due to the ambush, dozens of students had lost their lives.
Yet, whether they knew it or not, the Murim Alliance had yet to act.
They probably don’t know yet; that’s why they’re not doing anything.
Once they found out, it would be a problem for them.
For the Murim Alliance, that is.
Because of the future that she imagined in her mind, she brushed her hair back.
She frowned at the feeling of dried blood tangled in her hair.
Then, she thought to herself,
About the very first thing that would come after all of this.
She was more concerned about that than her current disheveled state.
It was obvious, though.
“At this rate,”
She could mostly guess what the Murim Alliance would do and how things would unfold for Heavenly Dragon Academy, but there was something more pressing for her.
That was,
“Father will come…”
The Lord of the Moyong Clan, the White Heavenly Sword.
The time for him to take action himself has come.
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