SYM 51

Eun-hyeon scrutinized the dark, gruesome face of the Undead, biting his lip. It was different from what he remembered, but it was definitely a face he knew.

Even with its head severed, the Undead seemed to have some energy left, its mouth gaping as it looked at Eun-hyeon.

It looked as if it was trying to say something to Eun-hyeon, sending shivers down his spine.

The Undead’s appearance was horrifying, but instead of turning away, Eun-hyeon examined the man’s face closely.

“This person definitely looks familiar… I’ve seen him somewhere…”

He was certain he had seen the face before, but he couldn’t remember where.

Ha Yeo-un glanced at the Undead Eun-hyeon was looking at.

“Hmm, is that Eldest Young Master’s type? Your taste isn’t very good. Why don’t you look at my handsome face instead of that ugly mug?”

“No, what are you even saying…? I’m looking at this Undead because his face is familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere… Ah!”

Suddenly, a face flashed through his mind. It was one of the Namgung Clan’s guards who mainly worked in the outer court.

In the Namgung Clan, the inner court was staffed by collateral relatives, while those who weren’t blood relatives worked in the outer court. Eun-hyeon had mainly stayed in the outer court, so the man’s face was familiar to him.

“…Could it be?”

Were all the Undead who could use Martial Arts made from the corpses of martial artists?

He didn’t know much about Undead, but he was certain that corpses were needed to create them.

If so, where did they get the corpses of martial artists? A chilling thought he didn’t want to consider followed.

“I examined him because his face looked familiar, and he’s someone who used to guard the outer court of the clan.”

“From the Namgung Clan?”

Eun-hyeon nodded.

“He was a guard in the outer court, so his Martial Arts wouldn’t have been that outstanding… But he must have been at least a first-rate martial artist. But how did someone like that…”

Ha Yeo-un subtly gestured towards Yoon Ju-myeong, the leader of the Amhon unit. It was a signal to make sure to retrieve the head of the man who was said to be a Namgung Clan guard.

“That’s strange. A Namgung Clan guard appearing as an Undead.”

“Could Madam Hwang be involved? She is the head mistress of the clan, after all.”

Ha Yeo-un’s lips curled up at Eun-hyeon’s words.

“Eldest Young Master is still young, aren’t you? You see the world in a bright light.”

“Pardon?”

“If Madam Hwang had any pride or self-respect as the head mistress, would she have joined hands with those kinds of people in the first place?”

Eun-hyeon couldn’t say anything in response to Ha Yeo-un’s cynical words.

Eun-hyeon stared at the Undead for a while before turning his head. He didn’t feel particularly attached to the Namgung Clan, but he couldn’t believe that something like this had happened in the Namgung Clan, which was representative of the Five Great Clans.

“By the way, are you alright, Great Hero Ha? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Eun-hyeon shook his head once, as if shaking off his complicated thoughts, and looked at Ha Yeo-un. He didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere, but he was still worried.

“If I were to get injured by these things, I should put down my sword.”

Ha Yeo-un answered Eun-hyeon while casting his gaze upwards. It was as if he was speaking to those at Godeok Temple on the mountain.

Eun-hyeon swallowed hard as he saw the gleaming look in Ha Yeo-un’s eyes. An inexplicable sense of unease began to creep up on him.

Then, Ha Yeo-un’s eyes met his.

“Tsk. You should have stayed back a little further. You got something dirty on your face.”

“Pardon?”

Ha Yeo-un frowned as he saw the bloodstains on Eun-hyeon’s face. Eun-hyeon couldn’t say anything until Ha Yeo-un took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.

“Ah, I was too distracted to notice. Thank you. I’ll wash the handkerchief later…”

“It’s fine.”

Eun-hyeon took Ha Yeo-un’s handkerchief with an awkward expression.

“But could Madam Hwang have prepared all these Undead? What could be the reason?”

Eun-hyeon muttered with a sigh.

Madam Hwang was just greedy and not capable of planning anything big. At best, she was a petty person who harassed her stepson and tried to resolve her inferiority complex towards his late mother. All she wanted was for Namgung Eun-gwang to become the next clan leader, but the scale of this incident was beyond that.

“Does Eldest Young Master know why there aren’t many Undead in the martial world?”

“Pardon?”

Eun-hyeon blinked as he looked at Ha Yeo-un, who asked a strange question instead of answering his question.

“Isn’t it because people are reluctant to use corpses? And there was the Red-White Sect incident as well.”

“That’s right. But aside from those reasons, there’s also a practical reason.”

“…What practical reason?”

“It’s like why the Moshan Sect is always poor. It costs more money than you think to create one Undead. Even if you make one, it’s just sturdy, so there’s no need to make one. It’s much better to hire mercenaries with that money.”

“Ah…”

Eun-hyeon nodded. If they needed manpower, it was much cheaper to hire mercenaries than to create Undead, so there was no need to go to the trouble of spending a lot of money to make them.

“But what if, like the ones we saw earlier, there were Undead who could use Martial Arts? What if they were first-rate martial artists who didn’t eat, sleep, or worry about betrayal? Or what if they were supreme master Undead?”

Eun-hyeon’s face stiffened.

Supreme masters were the leaders of small to medium-sized sects or the elders of the Nine Great Sects and One Union. Naturally, you couldn’t just use those people as you pleased with money.

But what if you could use them as you pleased? What if you could use them like slaves without the possibility of betrayal?

Just imagining it sent shivers down his spine.

“…If you could make such Undead, a few coins wouldn’t be a problem.”

“But, Great Hero Ha. The Undead we saw earlier did use Martial Arts, but their skills weren’t that great.”

Ha Yeo-un nodded at Eun-hyeon’s words.

“That’s right. The Undead from earlier were only second-rate at best. As Eldest Young Master said, if he was a Namgung Clan guard, his skills would have been at least at the end of a first-rate martial artist. That means his Martial Arts deteriorated when he was made into an Undead.”

Ha Yeo-un looked at Eun-hyeon and then subtly cast his gaze towards the top of the rocky mountain.

“But what if it was an Undead made from a supreme master, or even a martial artist beyond that…? Wouldn’t that be a different story?”

“T-That’s ridiculous! Supreme masters are the leaders of small to medium-sized sects, or the elders of the Nine Great Sects and One Union. How could you recklessly turn the corpses of such people into Undead? Who would do such a thing?”

“Well… Let’s go up there and ask them directly.”

Following Ha Yeo-un’s gaze, Eun-hyeon also looked towards the top of the mountain.

Although it couldn’t be seen from here, Godeok Temple was located on top of the rugged rocky mountain. And the people who planned this heinous act would be there.

“Well, Eldest Young Master. Let’s go up now. The people waiting for us will get bored.”

Ha Yeo-un beckoned Eun-hyeon towards him. He was acting as if nothing had happened, despite having said something so shocking.

Eun-hyeon let out a short sigh and approached Ha Yeo-un, who naturally picked him up.

Unlike before, when he had carried Eun-hyeon on his back to use both hands in case of danger, now that he had found Dark Shadow, it was enough to just hold Eun-hyeon.

Eun-hyeon, who was now quite used to Ha Yeo-un’s embrace, wrapped his arms around his neck and leaned his face against him.

“…Be careful, we don’t know what’s up there.”

At Eun-hyeon’s words, Ha Yeo-un looked at Eun-hyeon for a moment with a strange expression.

In the Demonic Sect, no one worried about Cheonma. It was considered blasphemy to even think of such a thing. So, seeing someone worry about him like this was very unfamiliar. But that unfamiliarity wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. It felt like someone was tickling the inside of his heart with a small feather.

“Let’s go up and see what’s there.”

Ha Yeo-un lightly stepped forward, and his body soared into the air in an instant. Ha Yeo-un lightly bounced between the rocks, climbing the mountain at an unbelievably fast speed. Even while holding Eun-hyeon and climbing the nearly vertical rocky mountain, his form remained steady.

Eun-hyeon knew that Ha Yeo-un’s lightness skill was excellent, but he was still impressed to see him climb the rocky mountain at a level close to walking on air. It was as if Ha Yeo-un had wings on his back.

In an instant, he couldn’t see the bottom well. Eun-hyeon gripped Ha Yeo-un’s shoulders tightly each time he took a step.

“Are you scared? Eldest Young Master.”

“No, I was just surprised.”

No sooner had Eun-hyeon finished speaking than a loud noise came from above. When he raised his head, he saw a boulder the size of a house falling.