Chapter 603: Chapter 1491: There's No Need For That (Part 1)
'What...?'
Did I hear that wrong?
It's possible. No, I don't know.
In the cloudy eyes of the old man, no truth could be discerned.
"What did you say?"
Chung Myung's eyes flickered with frustration, his chest was about to burst. He urged the old man, whose consciousness was half-clouded, almost as if scolding.
But the old man's eyes, clouded like mist, were fixed only on the ceiling. He showed no reaction to Chung Myung.
"What did you just say...!"
"Chung Myung?"
Baek Cheon hesitated and opened his mouth. He was taken aback by Chung Myung's intense reaction.
Chung Myung, who had been staring at the old man with tightly bitten lips, exhaled a deep and long breath. After a while, his face, which was full of agitation, slowly regained composure. The old man still looked like a mummy.
'Is he the one who has been controlling the Beggar's Union from the shadows?'
The unaware old man seemed closer to a piece of wood than a person. What could such a person do?
The confusion quickly turned into anger. At that moment, Master Lu's voice came from behind.
"Step back."
Master Lu, who had climbed upstairs, walked over and stood by the bed where the old man lay.
"...Is this the person you wanted to show me?"
"Yes."
Chung Myung's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"What is this nonsense?"
"Arrogance is a way to ruin oneself sooner or later."
"What?"
"You are great, but you don't know everything in the world, whether it's history or knowledge."
While Chung Myung's eyes were filled with doubt, a dark energy began to appear at the fingertips of Beggar Union's Sect Leader. An eerie energy that couldn't be seen as righteous martial arts. It was the energy that should not be used by the Beggar Union's Sect Leader.
"You?"
Pshoo!
Master Lu's hand flew like a beam of light and consecutively stabbed the old man's body. Dozens of blood spots occurred in the blink of an eye. It seemed like a cruel act to the old man.
"What...!"
"What are you doing!"
"Soso, quickly!"
The flustered Five Swords tried to block him, but Master Lu cut them off with a cool voice.
"The Taoists seek to prolong their lives through cultivation."
"What...?"
"Of course, the ultimate goal is enlightenment through cultivation, but extending the duration of their development through cultivation and refinement is also a goal of Taoists."
Master Lu slowly raised his head.
"However, cultivation is not the only way to prolong one's life. There are many ways to extend life if you are willing to endure some things."
Among those present, only Chung Myung understood the meaning of Master Lu's words.
"...Is it the Quieting Breath (龜息)?"
"You know it."
Chung Myung's gaze turned back to the old man. The face that had seemed on the verge of suffocation and sluggishness was regaining vitality.
"What... This crazy act..."
A forced laughter burst from Chung Myung's mouth. Jo Gol, unable to bear the frustration, asked.
"Chung Myung. What are you talking about? Quieting Breath?"
"It's the Quieting Breath Technique."
"Quieting Breath Technique? Isn't that the method of holding your breath when hiding?"
"That's right."
"Why is that suddenly relevant? Is it related to this?"
"...The Quieting Breath Technique doesn't eliminate sound but reduces the activity of the body. Slowing down the heartbeat and allowing the blood to circulate slowly. It is a method for surviving without sustenance when trapped in places like caves."
Tang Soso, who understood immediately, quickly nodded.
"Yes, that's right. If you reduce vitality, the energy consumption is less."
"...This person is constantly practicing the Quieting Breath Technique to the point of even eliminating his own consciousness."
"Huh?"
Tang Soso looked at the old man in disbelief.
"No, how could that...?"
"I had a feeling. It was strange that I couldn't sense the presence of the person right above my head."
Chung Myung's gaze, observing the old man, was sharp.
"It's not even an ordinary Quieting Breath Technique. It's Skeleton Technique (骷髏功)... Soft Demon Technique (柔魔功)? It seems that the beggar who practices the Beggar's Union martial arts thought of mastering Seojang and Cheonchuk's martial arts quite well. Even if he's torn apart and dies, there's nothing to say."
For a moment, Master Lu's eyes sparkled with admiration. After glimpsing at him for a moment, that person was able to guess the source of the energy the old man was using.
"...As rumored, you truly are an unfathomable person."
Chung Myung did not respond to Master Lu's words. His gaze was solely fixed on the old man.
The withered body of the old man, like a piece of dry wood, gradually swelled. It wasn't a dramatic change, but there was definitely a vitality that wasn't there before entering the old man's body.
"Cough!"
Finally, a dry cough burst from the old man's mouth, and at the same time, light returned to his unfocused eyes. The open eyes now seemed vividly alive compared to before.
Master Lu shouted.
"Shifu!"
'Shifu?'
The disciples of Mount Hua, startled, looked at the old man again. If he was the shifu of the Beggar's Union's Sect Leader, did that mean this withered old man was the Great Sect Leader of the Beggar's Union?
"...Water..."
"Yes, Shifu!"
Master Lu offered a glass of water that had been prepared in advance to the old man. The old man, with faintly trembling hands, took the water glass and brought it to his lips.
He seemed relaxed, as if he had done this several times before. Without rushing, he let the water flow into his mouth several times and exhaled a long breath.
A strong medicinal fragrance spread in all directions.
Tang Soso muttered with a pale and horrified face.
"This is crazy... A Quieting Breath Technique that even oneself cannot wake up from. It's literally a coma..."
If Master Lu were to suffer a coma, the old man would forever dry up and die in this dark chamber without ever waking up.
Who in the world would willingly take such a risk? Truly an unbelievable situation.
The old man answered Tang Soso's question. With an answer she never thought of.
"Am I..."
"Yes."
Before the words asking to be awakened could even fall, Master Lu supported and lifted the old man. Leaning against the wall, the old man coughed a few times and then muttered weakly.
"...Am I... awake again...?"
"I apologize, Shifu. There was no other way."
"...What's don is done."
The old man slowly raised his head. Clearer eyes looked at Chung Myung.
"I can understand the situation just by looking at the disciples of Mount Hua standing in front of me. Yes. In the end, it's come to this..."
The corners of Chung Myung's mouth twisted.
"The fact that a person without consciousness can recognize us so well is surprising. We're even wearing the uniforms of the Southern Edge Sect."
At that remark, the corners of the old man's mouth twitched faintly. It wasn't certain, but it might have been a smile.
"It couldn't be helped... because I've been told countless times."
"..."
"I've heard extensively about the stories of you and Mount Hua, vividly enough to grasp them in my hands."
Chung Myung smirked.
"I'm not sure whether I should feel flattered or not. It indicates how thoroughly we've been surveilled."
"Perhaps so... Cough! Cough!"
Even this level of conversation seemed to strain the old man's strength, as he coughed dryly intermittently.
"Shifu!"
"Step aside."
Although Master Lu tried to support and lay him down again, the old man firmly pushed him away. The way he arranged himself made it difficult to believe that he was the same old man who had been lying down a moment ago.
Just by looking at this scene, it was easy to see that the old man was far from ordinary.
As if nothing had happened, the old man spoke calmly.
"To have come this far... it means you have come to kill me."
Chung Myung furrowed his brow. The way he spoke, as if he knew in advance that such an incident would occur, grated on his nerves.
"If necessary, I was prepared for it."
"..."
"But it doesn't seem necessary. You're already at your limit, even without me lifting a finger. Isn't that so?"
The old man chose not to answer. There was no need to deny what was apparent.
"An old man who should have died long ago is indulging in such actions. Isn't this just merely breathing? Haven't you ever thought of yourself as repulsive?"
"Chung Myung!"
"You crazy bastard! He's the Great Sect Leader of the Beggar's Union?"
"Be careful with your words!"
Though surprised, the Five Swords tried to intervene, but the old man raised a hand to silence them. Baek Cheon looked at him with an expressionless face.
"Gr... Great Sect Leader, I apologize. This guy..."
"Don't...interfere."
Baek Cheon closed his mouth. The weight in the old man's eyes, energy, and even throughout his body felt distinctly different from when facing Chung Myung.
Based on his appearance, he looked like a frail old man without the strength to swat a fly. However, he emitted an aura so formidable that even someone like Baek Cheon, who had encountered numerous masters, found it unfamiliar.
Perhaps its heaviness was based not on his martial skills but on a lifetime of experience. It was the heaviness of the old man's life journey.
"Repulsive..."
The old man nodded solemnly.
"That's right. When one's life is over, returning to the heavens is the natural order of the world. Refusing this is an unforgivable sin. I apologize for showing you this side, a disgraceful sight for someone like you, a Taoist."
"Don't beat around the bush. I didn't come all the way here to hear clichés. Answer. What were you doing? What schemes were you plotting in this dark chamber that doesn't even let light in?"
"...Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."
Suddenly, a deep voice flowed from the old man's mouth.
"What do you want to know...why I made the Beggar's Union this way? Or... why I'm still alive?"
"Either way, it'll probably be the same answer. Isn't that right?"
Chung Myung's teeth were exposed fiercely.
"Answer me. What can the Beggar's Union possibly gain from doing this?"
The old man didn't answer immediately. Only after a while, when impatience and frustration seemed to reach its peak, the old man spoke without turning his head, looking straight at Master Lu.
"That child called me shifu... but to be precise, I'm not his shifu."
"...No?"
What's suddenly with the denial? No, is that important now? What's important is...
"Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."
The old man turned his trembling head slowly and looked directly at Chung Myung. A hint of regret passed through the old man's tearful eyes.
"I am well over a hundred years old. Do you understand what that means?"
"...What?"
"I... am..."
Numerous emotions suddenly rushed into the old man's eyes.
Despair, regret, sadness, pain.
"I am...a survivor of the infamous Demonic War."
Chung Myung's face froze.
"I am a wretched remnant of the past that hasn't died yet, a sinner who should not be allowed to live and breathe."
The old man's head sank down. Tremors spread through his frail body, resembling a withered tree.
The accumulated resentment and fear settled in the entire room like a heavy fog. The oppressive atmosphere made it feel as if the air in the room was thickening, suffocating everyone present.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Bagel_Seeds
Bagel_Seeds Hi everyone. I won't be releasing any chapters as part of the Gaza strike. I will be translating in the meantime, but I won't be posting anything until January 28th, the end of the strike.
I hope this small act can spread some awareness and make a difference, however little. Thank you for your understanding.
#ceasefire
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