Chapter 376
"...Red Mountain Tiger?"
Sagan unknowingly clenched his fist tightly.
A gap.
Yes. There had been a gap.
'He's not there.'
When he thought about it, Wei San-ho wasn't there.
Only Wei San-ho, the Demon-Slaying Sword who had been called the greatest future talent of the martial world, remained in his mind. What Wei San-ho had done in the great war that was about to unfold didn't exist in his memory.
The fact that it didn't exist in his memory meant that no trace of it remained in history.
If that was the case...
If that was the case, then what on earth had Wei San-ho done?
'Why had I been completely unaware of such a crucial fact until now?'
It was suspicious.
Until Wei Yan-ho's emergence, Wei San-ho had been the greatest future talent of the martial world. Although he had suffered a bitter defeat at the Huashan Martial Conference, it wasn't enough to tarnish Wei San-ho's reputation.
White Sword Hero had also been a talent of the heavens.
'He had been overshadowed by Wei Yan-ho.'
It was both strange and not strange at all.
The fact that Wei San-ho's name had disappeared so rapidly was certainly strange. But considering that the records about Wei San-ho were cut off after the Huashan Martial Conference, it wasn't strange.
The fact that they had stopped by the Imperial Palace after the Huashan Martial Conference wasn't passed down in history. Thanks to that, wasn't it natural that Wei San-ho's presence, having been defeated at the Huashan Martial Conference, would rapidly disappear along with Wei Yan-ho's rise?
'I should have noticed that Wei San-ho wasn't weak enough to disappear like that... '
When light is too great, shadows are inevitably created.
But Wei San-ho was someone who could emit light by himself even within the shadows. He wasn't someone who would be overshadowed by Wei Yan-ho's shadow.
"Then..."
Sagan's lips trembled.
He had heard something too tremendous.
"The Great Demon Emperor..."
To think that the name of that man who had made the martial world sick with the fear of blood and death would come up here.
And to think he was the bloodline of the Great Demon Emperor.
What on earth did this mean?
Even he, who bore the mission of conveying the hidden history of the world, couldn't grasp how to accept this situation.
If the one who had said these words hadn't been Divine Beggar, he would have dismissed it as nonsense. That's how shocking the story was.
"Are you saying that Wei San-ho is the son of the Great Demon Emperor?"
"..."
"And that Wei Jeong-han took in and raised the son of that Great Demon Emperor?"
Divine Beggar closed his eyes.
He had finally begun to unravel the secret he had hidden and hidden again for such a long, long time.
A little guilt, and a little relief.
Also...
Divine Beggar opened his mouth without either affirming or denying.
"It's too long a story to answer simply."
Bitterness was evident at the corners of his mouth.
"So for now, listen more. What we saw, and what was hidden behind that war."
As if responding to Divine Beggar's serious words, Sagan straightened his posture.
* * *
'What did I just hear?'
Jang-il doubted his own ears.
Yes.
He must have heard wrong.
A body so exhausted that consciousness was hazy, and rain falling so roughly as if to wash away everything in the world, along with thunder that rang without cease.
There couldn't be a more perfect environment for mishearing something.
But...
Jang-il ended up turning his head.
He had no confidence in himself. It was something that should never happen for someone who dealt with information, but right now he didn't want to trust his own ears. He needed someone else. Someone who would tell him that he had heard wrong.
But Peng Dao-ji and even Mu San had faces as if they had seen ghosts. And they too were looking back at Jang-il as if they needed confirmation.
'Don't look at me with those eyes.'
Because I don't want to believe it either.
Drip.
Blood flowed down as Jang-il's tightly bitten lips burst.
Finally acknowledging that they alone couldn't deny anything, Jang-il's gaze followed Wei San-ho.
Wei San-ho said nothing.
It was impossible to figure out what he was thinking from his expressionless face.
But there was no need to particularly observe his reaction.
Who wouldn't be shaken?
Having heard such words right before their eyes.
To dismiss it as mere probing words or a joke, the one who had brought up the story was too remarkable. It was impossible for Gwangma, a High Priest of the Demonic Cult, to speak falsely while mentioning the name Great Demon Emperor.
All circumstances pointed to one thing.
"So..."
When an utterly cold voice leaked from Wei San-ho's mouth, Jang-il almost collapsed on the spot.
Not because it was desperate.
It was because relief washed over him like a tide, seeing his friend who maintained such a calm voice without being shaken despite hearing such words seemed so remarkable.
Wei San-ho was completely unshaken.
"Do you think that because of those words without a single piece of evidence, I would deny my father and follow you?"
"Evidence..."
Gwangma laughed as if it was extremely amusing.
"You should know best of all, yet you say you need evidence?"
"...I should know best?"
"You couldn't have failed to feel the sense of discord yourself. Do you really think that your current father is your biological father? No, no. That can't be. You must have already known it too, that you are a heterogeneous existence."
Wei San-ho burst into laughter.
How utterly stupid.
It was absurd that someone who had been boasting about being a High Priest of the Demonic Cult or whatever was only at this level.
"Let's say your words are correct."
Wei Yan-ho said in an unwavering voice.
"Even so, do you think I would forget the grace of the parents who raised me and follow you? To search for traces of parents I've never even seen once? Do you really think so?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
Gwangma answered in a somewhat hardened voice.
"Because if you don't, you and your younger brother will die here."
Wei San-ho closed his mouth at that voice without a single emotion.
"No matter how much demon blood flows, if you don't join us, there's no meaning at all. Even if you don't learn demon arts, demon blood is threatening. Then eliminating you here would be for the good of the Cult. I declare that if you refuse to follow me, I will never let you live. Your younger brother as well."
Wei San-ho said as if groaning.
"So that's why you spared Yan-ho?"
"Seeing your reaction, it seemed like you would never even have a conversation with the one who killed your brother. Your younger brother is dangerous. Very dangerous indeed. Although I won this time, I can't guarantee I could win again if we met next time, he's that strong. To be honest, I wondered if killing both you and your younger brother wouldn't be better for the Cult. But... if I did that, I wouldn't be safe either. Those guys didn't just follow to assist me."
Wei San-ho glanced sideways at the black-clad figures blocking his companions.
'Surveillance, is it?'
Of the renowned Gwangma?
"Now, it's time to choose. I don't have very deep patience. Choose. Either follow me to the Cult to save your younger brother, or everyone dies here."
"..."
Gwangma giggled and laughed.
"It won't be easy to choose. That's why I gave you justification. You should know too, shouldn't you? About your biological father, where you were born, and how your biological father died."
Wei San-ho asked with a hardened face.
"One thing..."
"As much as you want."
Wei San-ho stared quietly at Gwangma before opening his mouth.
"If I follow you to the Cult, must I live forever as a cultist?"
"There's a misunderstanding."
Gwangma giggled and laughed.
"The Cult doesn't place restrictions on accepting believers, but it's never a place that forces conversion. We're not stupid enough to keep insincere people as believers. You don't need to become a believer. You just need to meet one person. After that, if you want to return here, I'll let you go without conditions. I promise on the name of I, Gwangma."
Wei San-ho's lips trembled.
At that moment, Jang-il couldn't hold back and shouted out loud.
"How can you trust the words of that wicked demon and follow him!"
"That's right, benefactor!"
Even Mu San raised his voice with veins bulging in his neck.
"I'm not afraid to die! If you become a prisoner and are taken away like this, it will be more painful than dying for those who remain, wasn't it you who said that! I have no desire to live by selling out my friend! Yan-ho would feel the same!"
Wei San-ho turned his head to look at Jang-il.
A smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth.
That smile was so bright that Jang-il had no choice but to close his mouth for a moment.
"You make the decision easy for me. You really are a good friend."
"...San-ho."
Wei San-ho turned his head again to look at Gwangma.
"I've decided."
"Your answer?"
"I will..."
Stopping mid-sentence, Wei San-ho turned his head backward. After confirming the sight of Wei Yan-ho collapsed in the rain, Wei San-ho quietly closed his eyes.
"I will..."
* * *
Wei Jeong-han ran through the rain.
"Damn it!"
When his speed combined with the rain falling like poles, he could barely see ahead.
But Wei Jeong-han didn't slow down at all. His sons were in danger. In many senses.
What if Gwangma had figured out everything and came here?
'No.'
That's something no one else knows.
It's something only he and his wife know. How could they know something that has no place to leak from? That was absolutely impossible.
His head thought so, but his heart was beating fiercely as if it couldn't accept it.
Wei Jeong-han ran. He ran and ran again.
As if to blow away all the ominous thoughts rising in his head, he kicked the ground with all his might until his energy core felt like it would burst.
And...
"Great Hero!"
Before him, Jang-il and the others huddled together revealed themselves. Behind Jang-il, who had an almost crying expression, he could see Wei Yan-ho collapsed on the ground.
Jin Ye-ran was on top of him, desperately massaging Wei Yan-ho's body.
"Yan-ho!"
Wei Jeong-han shouted and ran to Wei Yan-ho, checking his pulse.
"H-how is his condition!"
He didn't ask what had happened. That wasn't important. What mattered was Wei Yan-ho's detailed condition right now.
"Fortunately, he's passed the critical point."
Jin Ye-ran, whose lips had turned blue, looked back at Wei Jeong-han with trembling eyes.
"If he stays like this, it'll be dangerous. To somewhere warm!"
"I'll carry him!"
Wei Jeong-han hurriedly lifted Wei Yan-ho onto his back.
"But where is San-ho?"
Those words were like a signal for silence.
No one answered. No one could meet Wei Jeong-han's eyes.
"Jang-il."
"...Great Hero."
Wei Jeong-han spoke as if chewing and spitting out his words.
"What happened to my son San-ho?"
Jang-il slightly lowered his head.
Trembling slightly, he slowly raised his head. Those bloodshot eyes seemed to express Jang-il's current state of mind.
"He... San-ho followed them."
"Them?"
"Yes."
He knew who 'they' were. But Wei Jeong-han asked again.
As if trying to grab onto even the last thread.
But to him, Jang-il delivered an all-too-cold verdict.
"He went with the Demonic Cult. He said he would return after learning everything."
The body of Wei Jeong-han, carrying Wei Yan-ho on his back, swayed.
It rains.
The rain that doesn't stop.