Seo Yong-chu, the Great Guardian, said,
[My guess is that he has to be at Datong.]
However, the exact location was unknown. Because of that, Mumu decided to find Hae Ha-rang on his own by narrowing the places down.
[If you saved the child then he would have come back to avenge his father. Then, in the end, you would have had to fight to stop him. After all, the child is bound to die one way or another. Please let go of this guilt. You did the right…]
The moment he heard it with his heightened senses, he realized that this was about him. And in an instant he jumped towards them.
Clench!
Grabbing the head of the man who said it, Mumu asked,
“I am destined to die either way?”
‘!?’
At the sudden appearance of Mumu, Hong Hwa-ryun immediately gripped his cane before he knew it.
What did this mean?
Just by hearing it he could tell that this boy had reached that level. But what the boy said couldn’t be ignored.
“Who are…”
It was before Hong Hwa-ryun had finished talking.
“L-let go!”
Commander Baek, who couldn’t bear the pain of being caught, tried to make Mumu let go of his head, and swung his sword at Mumu’s hand.
But—
Clack!
“Uh?”
The sword which hit the arm of Mumu was what broke. The sword was made by a famous warrior, and he had used internal energy.
“What the hell…”
“Don’t do anything stupid. What you said just now didn’t sit well with me, so my hands might be a little tight.”
Shh
It was then.
Goo
Mumu’s gaze turned to the back. There Hong Hwa-ryun was aiming at him with his cane.
Hong Hwa-ryun took the stance for it, and the extremely sharp energy began to exude pressure in all directions.
Pak!
The walls of the alley began to crack due to this.
‘A-as I thought.’
Commander Baek felt proud of this.
Seventeen years ago—
Seeing that Hong Hwa-ryun, the Southern Blade of the Emperor, had lost both his eyes and stayed away from his family, he began to worry.
No matter how strong the man was, losing his eyes was the same as losing half his stability in martial arts.
Even after that, Hong Hwa-ryun didn’t show himself during the practice of the young lady nor did he hold his cane.
‘I thought he had gotten weaker.’
Seeing the horrific energy spread around, all his concerns were overshadowed.
Actually, any warrior will end up weak if they neglect their training of blade or sword. When Hong Hwa-ryun let go of the sword because of his guilt, he had abandoned his attachment to everything.
The situation felt horrible.
-Novice. You come to life empty-handed and leave empty-handed. So do not be attached to anything.
These were the words the abbot of Shaolin had told Hong Hwa-ryun.
At the age of just 28, he had accepted what that meant. However, an amazing thing happened after he abandoned it all.
‘How…’
At some point, all senses besides his vision began to develop. It wasn’t like he forced himself to change either.
With the development of smell, touch, and hearing, Hong Hwa-ryun was able to think accordingly, and work perfectly.
Not just that, but the teachings he had when he was young had stabilized and grown over time, like how wine aged with time.
‘This is quite tricky.’
He tried to let go of martial arts, but it seeped into him.
Since 17 years ago, the Four Great Warriors were polishing their skills. But having done that as well Hong Hwa-ryun had reached a place no others could.
And he thought it was pointless. All he had was his life.
‘Ah?’
Mumu’s eyes shone.
The purple light from Hong Hwa-ryun was the most intense he had ever seen.
He was a lot stronger than the other Four Great Warriors he had seen so far.
At that time, Hong Hwa-ryun aimed with the tip of his cane and said to Mumu,
“Put the commander down right now.”
Then, before Mumu could say anything, Commander Baek spoke as if he was looking down on him.
“Little one, I will admit that you are pretty good at martial arts, but stop now. You are making a mistake that will never happen again in your life.”
“A mistake that will never happen again?”
“If you knew who the person in front of you was, you wouldn’t do this. If you want to save your life, then stop this now.”
“Save my life…”
Clench!
Mumu clenched his hand, and a scream erupted from the mouth of Commander Baek.
Crack!
And then there was the sound of bone cracking.
“Kuak!”
“If things continue then I will not be able to save myself?”
‘Commander Baek!’
Pang!
Hearing the scream, Hong Hwa-ryun moved the cane in his hand, and rushed for Mumu.
But it was blocked by Mumu’s palm.
Crack!
And the cane in his hand broke down and was pushed back. Hong Hwa-ryun, noticing that he had blocked his attack, realized that this young man was an unusual being.
Crack!
Mumu’s fingers dug into the head of Commander Bae before he knew it. And the guy’s eyes had turned over.
“Kuaak!”
“Stop!”
Hong Hwa-ryun shouted, unwilling to let him die. At his cry, Mumu said without changing his expression,
“Why should I?”
“How can you carelessly try to kill someone who you have no relation to?”
“This person thinks that I should die either way.”
“What?”
“He said I had to die from falling off a cliff or at the hands of others, right?”
‘!?’
Hong Hwa-ryun was speechless at those words.
He heard this before too, what was this kid talking about?
He was talking like he was the child who got thrown off the cliff. It was a place not just children, but even martial artists wouldn’t be able to live.
‘… Nonsense.’
It couldn’t be.
Hong Hwa-ryun was engulfed by a strong shock. He was still living his life with guilt, and as he lived like that, the feelings of anger in Hae Ha-rang had changed a little.
“Little… disciple… your… name please?”
“Mumu. It is Mumu.”
‘!!!!!’
The moment he heard this, he stumbled.
The memory of that moment had come to his mind.
The Thousand Cliffs wasn’t too far from where the castle of Dominating Hegemony was.
[Uahhuhaah.]
Hong Hwa-ryun looked at the baby in the cloth. With the jade plaque around his neck, on it had the word Mumu.
‘Baby…’
Hong Hwa-ryun couldn’t bear to cut down another child. He too had a daughter like this.
That is why he couldn’t touch the child so recklessly. It was impossible to leave the baby alive though.
‘I apologize, child.’
He hated the child for being of that man’s blood. Hong Hwa-ryun, eventually took the baby to the cliff. It was so high that the bottom could not be seen.
The height couldn’t be imagined to the point that even if a few warriors jumped off it, it would be tough to retrieve their bones.
‘There is no chance to survive from it… but if he did, it is the luck of yours and bad luck for me.’
Swish!
Hong Hwa-ryun closed his eyes and threw the child down. The baby fell down the cliff and turned invisible.
-There is no chance of surviving… but if you do, it is luck for you, and bad luck for me.
The words he said then kept repeating in his mind.
It was a thought which had haunted him all the way up until now.
It was a one-in-a-million chance.
If the child survived by luck, even with the low chance, he hoped that the child would not forgive him. However, this felt too much.
Since that wasn’t going to happen, he was gripped with extreme guilt after throwing the child and wished to die at the hands of his mother.
But the baby he dropped off the cliff is alive?
“It can’t be. How can this…”
Crack!
“Kuaak!”
At that moment, the dying voice of the commander rang in his ears. Hearing this, Hong Hwa-ryun was shocked.
“Let him go!”
“I will think about it if this guy apologizes politely for what he said earlier.”
At those words, Hong Hwa-ryun hurriedly knelt on the floor.
Thud!
There was no hesitation. Hong Hwa-ryun lowered his head to the ground.
“That man is innocent. If you are really that child, let him go and take revenge on me. The one who deserves to die is me.”
“…”
If the boy really was Mumu, then this had to be fate.
At that time, the dying commander said,
“Ughhh… No. Sir… how much… will you… sacrifice…? If this guy… is the seed… of that… evil… don’t… step back… from him… I… do not… care… about me… cough!”
“Seed of evil… you are so consistent.”
Clench!
In the end, the head exploded.
“Commander, Baek!”
Hong Hwa-ryun, who tried to save him, by kneeling down, couldn’t help but feel lost.
“Why… why…”
“Why? Then do I have to ask you too?”
“What?”
“Why did I get thrown off the cliff? A simple child?”
“…”
Hong Hwa-ryun couldn’t answer the question. The actions he took 17 years back in that castle were sins he could never forgive himself for. Hong Hwa-ryun, who was speechless, just focused on his presence.
He felt a tremendous strength apart from just internal energy.
‘… Did the child get this strong in 17 years?’
This ominous power.
If he could kill a commander just by clenching his hand, then he felt more concerned with the power Mumu held than the guilt of throwing him. The fact that this child appeared in front of him meant he was coming for revenge.
Even though he had lived for atoning all his life, will the child be satisfied and not take revenge?
‘He…’
It was a fleeting moment when he felt too confused.
Then Mumu said,
“Don’t want to answer? Then, I will change the question. You took my mother according to someone. Why did you take her?”
Actually, when Mumu heard this from the Great Guardian he was puzzled. For this man to save his mother and then atone for attempting to kill him.
At the question of Mumu, Hong Hwa-ryun lifted his head.
“… It is for the sake of the cause, but it was to pay for the sins I committed against your mother.”
“Are you paying for the sins?”
“To get rid of the regret, but what we did that day was surely unacceptable. Especially the one who threw a child off the cliff…”
“That’s why you saved mother. Are those eyes for atonement too?”
“…”
Hong Hwa-ryun was silent at this. Mumu, realizing that he was right, nodded. Looking at the loss of both eyes and considering his words which sounded serious about his atonement.
Step
In response, Mumu approached him and said,
“Thank you for saving my mother.”
‘!?’
Hong Hwa-ryun’s mouth was slightly ajar at this. Since he was the one who dropped Mumu off the cliff, he thought Mumu would be angry.
So he never expected a thank you.
At this, Hong Hwa-ryun’s voice trembled.
“I… I…”
The guilt of dropping Mumu as a child had haunted him for the rest of his life. However, when the child came back and thanked him for saving his mother, everything changed.
He was worried about Mumu holding so much power until a second back.
‘I was stupid.’
The child inherited the blood of the worst man who had to be stopped, and that was what made him think of Mumu taking revenge. But after hearing this, he couldn’t help it.
Hong Hwa-ryun opened his mouth with his voice trembling,
“… How can… you thank… me… when I committed the… sin? Really… I don’t know… what to say…”
“Yes. Probably ask me to kill you.”
“What?”
Snap
“Kuak!”
At that moment, Hong Hwa-ryun was thrown back with a scream of death at the pain in his forehead.
Kwakwakwakwang!
Hong Hwa-ryun flew back destroying trees and houses.
Mumu lowered the finger and said,
“Atonement and all these things were so bad that you want to be forgiven too, so aren’t you doing all these things these past years for your own selfishness? Then pay the price.”