HDCLSSRS Ch 171
by berry
Chapter 171 Reunion (1)
Seong Muyon opened and closed his mouth, but his vocal cords felt as rigid as stone. All that escaped him was the faint whisper of air.
Then his eyes caught sight of a familiar emblem embroidered across the young swordsman’s chest.
His heart instantly turned cold.
Mount Hua!
The proud plum blossom insignia of the Mount Hua Sect was clearly displayed on the young swordsman’s robes.
“…Badgers cannot speak.”
The Owl stepped to Seong Muyon’s side as he helplessly touched his throat.
Only then did Seong Muyon realize that the Owl had sealed the acupoints around his throat to suppress his voice and conceal his identity.
“Ah… my apologies.”
The young Mount Hua swordsman looked momentarily embarrassed but quickly regained his composure.
Unable to meet his eyes, Seong Muyon lowered his gaze.
“I’ve seen the two of you before. You’re attendants serving Lord Yakseon, aren’t you?”
Only after the swordsman turned toward the fallen enemy did Seong Muyon dare steal a glance at his back.
The first thing that stood out was his remarkable height.
He appeared to be a young man who had only recently come of age—or was just about to.
“Ugh…”
While Seong Muyon had been tumbling across the ground, the enemy had already been defeated.
The young disciple of Mount Hua had pierced the man’s shoulder with a single clean strike.
Ignoring the Demonic Cultist’s agonized groans, he planted a foot firmly on the man’s chest before mercilessly pulling his sword free.
Thankfully… he doesn’t seem to be someone I know.
Seong Muyon had spent only a few months at Mount Hua.
There was no way he knew every one of its thousands of disciples.
Still, if he had ever met someone so strikingly tall who wielded a killing sword without the slightest hesitation…
He would surely have remembered.
“What happened here…?”
The Owl asked as the enemy writhed in pain.
“We were tracking Dokgoe, commander of the Ox-Horse Unit of the New Demonic Cult. We followed reports of Jeungseo Poison appearing nearby, which led us to this village. Unfortunately, it seemed the Demonic Cult had already plundered the place, so we were rescuing any survivors and searching the surrounding area.”
We…?
So he isn’t alone.
The young swordsman then crouched beside the unconscious villager lying spread-eagle on the ground.
“I’ve never seen this gentleman before. Judging by the circumstances, I believe he became separated from the others and encountered the Demonic Cultists in the forest.”
“Other than a few scrapes from falling… he’s unharmed. It appears he simply fainted from fright….”
The Owl carefully examined the young villager before speaking.
Hearing those words from the attendant of none other than the renowned physician Yakseon, the swordsman nodded without question.
There was an old saying:
Even the dog at a village school could recite poetry after three years.
The Owl, however, hadn’t studied at just any village school.
He had spent three years beside the finest physician in all the Central Plains.
“We… have come to escort Lord Yakseon home. Is she here…?”
The Owl asked cautiously.
The swordsman paused and looked up.
Seong Muyon instinctively lowered his eyes once more.
Although they had never been particularly close, Seong Muyon had always been at the center of controversy during his stay at Mount Hua.
Anyone who had been there at the time could potentially recognize him.
He could not afford to relax.
“Lord Yakseon is here? No… I haven’t seen her.”
The young swordsman seemed slightly surprised.
Muttering something under his breath, he effortlessly hoisted the unconscious villager onto one shoulder.
Despite carrying a man who appeared at least twice his own weight, his posture remained perfectly steady.
His slender frame concealed astonishing strength.
Afterward, he grabbed the unconscious Demonic Cultist by the scruff of the neck.
“The villagers may know something. Would you care to come with me? I’ll take you to where they’re hiding.”
“…Please.”
The Owl glanced briefly at Seong Muyon before giving a reluctant nod.
Whatever happened, they had to find some clue regarding Yakseon’s whereabouts.
The two followed the Mount Hua disciple.
Will this really be all right…?
Of all people…
It had to be someone from Mount Hua.
Seong Muyon let out a quiet sigh.
After hiding safely for three whole years, he had barely stepped back into the outside world before encountering the very people he most wanted to avoid.
It only proved how chaotic the world had become.
Looking over the devastated village, Seong Muyon’s heart grew heavy.
The shadow that had slowly crept closer over the years had finally reached even a tiny settlement like this.
Even Seong Muyon, who had secluded himself deep within the mountains, had noticed the gradual changes.
Every rumor that reached his ears was filled with ominous news.
Even simple villagers who once slept with their doors unlocked no longer traveled alone, always wary of dangers that might appear without warning.
“The moment we find Lord Yakseon… we’ll leave immediately….”
The Owl whispered so softly that the Mount Hua disciple walking ahead could not possibly hear.
Seong Muyon nodded.
Yet the unease inside him refused to fade.
For some reason…
He had a terrible feeling that finding Yakseon would not be so simple.
The villagers had gathered inside a dilapidated storage barn.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, they tensed in fear.
Only after recognizing the Mount Hua disciple did they finally release the breaths they had been holding.
The sudden disaster had clearly taken its toll.
The villagers all looked exhausted.
The inside of the warehouse was equally chaotic and disordered.
“Have you seen Lord Yakseon…?”
Unable to wait, the Owl hurried past the disciple and asked first.
His gloomy appearance startled the villagers for a moment, but once they realized he was Yakseon’s attendant, they visibly relaxed.
“Yes! Lord Yakseon was here with us.”
One villager nodded brightly.
But Yakseon herself was nowhere to be seen.
She was the sort of person who stood out anywhere she went.
If she had been here, Seong Muyon would have spotted her immediately.
“Where is she now…?”
“Lord Yakseon said the situation looked serious and left with several of the village’s young men to seek help from a larger town. Shortly after they departed, those monsters attacked us… Fortunately, this Daoist here arrived and saved us. Lord Yakseon should be back soon with reinforcements.”
Seong Muyon finally released the breath he had been holding.
At least…
Yakseon seemed to be safe.
But his relief lasted only a moment.
“Mandeuk!”
As soon as the disciple lowered the unconscious villager from his shoulder, several villagers rushed over, their faces turning deathly pale.
“M-Mandeuk! What happened to him? He left together with Lord Yakseon!”
“……”
An icy silence settled over the warehouse.
“…He was being pursued by a Demonic Cultist.”
The disciple spoke with a heavy sigh.
The atmosphere grew even colder.
“T-Then what about everyone else? What about Lord Yakseon? Mandeuk! Wake up and tell us what happened!”
No matter how desperately they shook him or slapped his cheeks, the unconscious young man refused to wake.
Seong Muyon exchanged a glance with the Owl.
Neither of them could hide their anxiety.
Everything suggested that the group seeking help had been attacked.
At present…
There was no way to know whether Yakseon was safe.
“Which direction did they go…? When did they leave…?”
The Owl immediately began questioning the villagers.
Meanwhile, the Mount Hua disciple stood nearby, shoulders slumped beneath the weight of obvious guilt.
“I’m sorry. I’d like to search the forest myself… but I can’t leave until my master returns….”
Even while speaking apologetically, his hands worked swiftly and skillfully as he tightly bound the unconscious Demonic Cultist’s arms and legs.
“N-No… please don’t apologize. If Swordsman Kang hadn’t helped us, we’d all be dead already.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
Almost absentmindedly, Seong Muyon turned his head.
His eyes settled on the disciple’s slumped shoulders.
The warehouse was dim, with little sunlight filtering inside.
Only now, hidden in the shadows, could he study the young Mount Hua disciple properly.
What…?
A strange sense of familiarity washed over him.
He was certain…
This face was unfamiliar.
Yet somehow…
It also wasn’t.
Before his mind could understand…
His heart had already begun pounding.
No way…
“The moment my master returns, I’ll inform him immediately. He’ll definitely find her.”
“I don’t even know how to thank you…”
“It’s only natural.”
Realization spread through him like ink diffusing through water.
The young man’s handsome profile.
The way he spoke.
His voice.
The moment every scattered piece finally came together—
Seong Muyon’s eyes flew wide open, his jaw falling slack.
Kang Ung?! S-Swordsman Kang?!
The very first person he had encountered after returning to the outside world…
Was none other than Kang Ung of Mount Hua.
Seong Muyon could hardly believe his own eyes.
Little Kang Ung… grew this much?
No wonder he hadn’t recognized him.
Only three years had passed.
Yet the little boy who had barely reached Seong Muyon’s chest had grown into a tall, broad-shouldered young man who now stood well above him.
Some things, however, had never changed.
“If anyone is injured or feeling unwell, please tell me immediately.”
His calm demeanor.
His warm smile.
Looking closely, traces of the boy he had once known still lingered—in the faint softness remaining in his cheeks and even in the deeper voice that had matured after adolescence.
As the initial shock faded, Seong Muyon’s eyes stung.
Only then did the true weight of three years settle upon him.
It had been long enough…
For a little boy to become a dependable young man.
He also remembered the sword Kang Ung had wielded.
Cold.
Merciless.
A blade capable of taking a life in a single strike without hesitation.
Just imagining what Kang Ung must have experienced to become someone capable of wielding such a sword made Seong Muyon’s heart ache.
Wait…
If Swordsman Kang is here…
The tears vanished instantly.
His entire body stiffened as though struck by lightning.
If such a young disciple was here…
Then that could only mean—
His master…
Was somewhere nearby.