Wudang Sacred Scriptures-Chapter 170
“That day, that pond was filled with the blood of hundreds from the Hong family.”
The lotus flowers that filled the pond turned blood-red in the glow of sunset.
“They tore everything down and burned it. Even though I was beneath the warehouse, the heat from the flames was unbearable. Still, I endured, holding onto a sliver of hope that you would come. But even when the entire manor was engulfed in flames, and the clash of swords could no longer be heard, you never came.”
“......”
“I shook off my mother and younger siblings, who pleaded with me to die with them, and ran out of the warehouse. At that moment, the beams of the warehouse collapsed, and I lost my memory. And then...”
The white-haired old woman suddenly /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ tore at her face.
A flesh-skin mask.
There was a reason the white-haired old woman had appeared youthful despite her age.
As the mask peeled away, her true face was revealed.
“This is what came of that day.”
A pained groan escaped from Danmok Seong’s lips.
“Ah!”
Her entire face was scorched with dark burn scars.
“Because I lost my face, I gained a youthful appearance. Because I lost my name, I was given the nickname White-Haired Demon Queen. My master saved me, and I was able to master the techniques of our sect. With those martial arts, I wiped out every last one of the enemies. All thanks to you.”
White-Haired Demon Queen covered her burn-ridden face once more with the flesh-skin mask and spoke.
“At last, I’m able to repay the favor. That makes me very happy.”
She flung open the doors to the shrine.
In front of the altar, lined with the memorial tablets of the Hong family, Danmok Cheong knelt.
It was as if he were begging the spirits of the shrine for forgiveness.
“Cheong-ah!”
“It’s no use calling him. That child can’t move under this palace’s acupuncture technique. His senses are open, so if there’s anything you want to say, speak now.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that to that child, you will be the last voice of the Danmok bloodline he hears in this world.”
Her voice was cold enough to pierce to the bone.
Danmok Seong, realizing what White-Haired Demon Queen intended, quickly spoke.
“Lady Hong... It may sound like an excuse, but I truly didn’t know. I rushed there as soon as I heard the news, but by then, there was nothing left.”
“......”
“I only realized you had survived by some miracle when you came looking for me in the Bamboo Forest years later.”
“If only my master hadn’t forbidden killing at the time...”
Her eyes, fixed on Danmok Seong, flashed with hatred.
“Then your beloved Danmok Clan would have vanished that day.”
Danmok Seong spoke in a voice filled with anguish.
“Ah... The resentment runs that deep. But the Danmok Clan did no wrong. The fault lies solely with me.”
“Of course your fault is greatest. But weren’t you the one who said it yourself? That you would live your life for the Danmok Clan, and that’s why you were breaking off our engagement. In the end, you chose the Danmok Clan and abandoned me. And all you did was inform me, unilaterally.”
“Lady Hong... I had no idea that choice would lead to such a catastrophe.”
“Silence!”
Her voice brimming with rage, White-Haired Demon Queen continued.
“Do you truly mean you didn’t understand what it meant to break off an engagement made between martial families? That you had no idea it would give the enemies an excuse to invade?”
“I... truly didn’t realize how dire the situation at Hong Manor had become with those people. Had I known...”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t have broken the engagement if you had known?”
“That... no. But I would have found another way.”
“Absolutely not.”
Shaking her head firmly, White-Haired Demon Queen said with icy eyes:
“Your father had already accepted their offer. That’s why, when my father sent a request for support, he received a false letter in reply.”
“You’re saying... my father did that? That can’t be.”
“Then why did your father prevent the news of our request from reaching you?”
“......!”
Danmok Seong’s face turned pale.
“Believing in the reply your father sent, my Hong family let down their guard. And in the enemy’s surprise attack, they were all killed.”
“Ah...!”
“I don’t even know why I’m talking about events from decades ago.”
Her voice was chilling.
“I was the fool who believed your sweet words and thought the break-up was a mistake. I wanted to tear out my own mouth for telling my father we should trust the Danmok Clan.”
“Hong-nui... No, Lady Hong... My feelings for you were genuine.”
“If they were genuine, you wouldn’t have unilaterally broken our engagement.”
“I thought you had no affection for me. You never smiled, always lowered your head... I believed you only accepted the engagement out of duty. So, though it hurt, I broke it off hoping it would ease your heart.”
White-Haired Demon Queen shouted:
“I was only eighteen at the time!”
“......!”
“Regardless, that’s all in the past now. What remains is that the vengeful spirits of the Hong family curse you and the Danmok Clan.”
“I have no words to defend myself.”
“You said the same back in the Bamboo Forest. And what else did you say then?”
“I vowed never to leave the Jeongyang region, the territory of the Danmok Clan. To prove that I chose them and took responsibility.”
“Then where are you now?”
“In Hyeongsan... on Mount Jeong-eum.”
“I told you then: if you ever broke that vow, I would hold you accountable with the blood of the Danmok line.”
Danmok Seong nodded solemnly.
“Then allow me to fulfill that vow. Take my head before the spirits of the Hong family.”
“Hmph! What good is the head of an old man like you? Sprinkling the fresh blood of the young lord of Danmok might finally appease their wrath.”
“Lady Hong, that cannot be.”
Seeing the desperation on Danmok Seong’s face, White-Haired Demon Queen spoke coldly:
“I want to see blood-tears fall from your eyes. That’s why I left the letter summoning you here.”
“Please, I beg you. That child bears no fault.”
“And those souls in the pond who died believing in the Danmok promise—what fault did they bear?”
“If you truly mean to go through with this... then I have no choice but to draw my sword against you.”
“Hah! So you finally show your true intent.”
“No. My feelings for you have never changed.”
“Then prove it—by not stopping me. If you do that, I’ll acknowledge that your feelings were sincere.”
Danmok Seong cried out in agony:
“Lady Hong... Please, take my life instead. If you do not wish to stain your hands with this filthy blood, I will disembowel myself. If you wish it, I shall lay my entrails, gall, and liver upon the altar with my own hands. So please... spare the child.”
Her eyes turned as cold as ice.
“In the end, you’re still choosing the Danmok Clan. That’s why I must see that child’s blood even more.”
Danmok Seong saw the deadly poison that lingered in her eyes.
They say a woman’s resentment lasts a thousand years.
Yes, it was for her clan—but underneath it all was the lingering sorrow of a woman scorned.
She had once been the shy girl he’d loved from afar.
“Lady Hong... I didn’t know your heart. Fool that I am, I had eyes but did not see. I had ears but could not hear.”
“......”
“Then let me gouge out these useless eyes, and slice off these foolish ears.”
“There’s no need for such nonsense. That won’t change my heart. There is only one way you can save that child.”
“......?”
“Kill me.”
“Lady Hong...”
“I’ll give you until the moon reaches the peak of the southern ridge. If I am still alive by then, that child will die.”
“Lady Hong... that’s...”
“The moon is already beginning to rise. You’re running out of time—so hurry.”
Even then, Danmok Seong could not draw his sword.
“You’re still indecisive. Then I’ll end this useless delay.”
With that, White-Haired Demon Queen forced his hand.
Chwaang!
“Lady Hong, forgive me... for drawing my sword against you.”
“Hmph!”
With a sneer, her hook-like hands turned ghostly white.
It was the manifestation of her supreme technique: Hanbaek Soso Divine Hands, unleashing her hand-force.
Wooooong!
Danmok Seong, resisting the wave of energy rising from her hands, gathered his Seongra True Qi in bitter sorrow.
He had no choice but to subdue her through martial skill.
‘First, I must save Cheong-ah... then entrust myself to her judgment.’
The problem was that her martial realm was superior to his.
But victory isn’t decided by cultivation level alone.
“Lady Hong... This sword is Meteor Heaven Radiance. Take caution!”
Blue light exploded from Danmok Seong’s blade.
Papatatatang!
Dozens of meteors streaked toward White-Haired Demon Queen.
“Enough with that disgusting mask already!”
With a cold cry, she swept the air with both hands.
Gagagagang!
The blazing meteor lights vanished with explosive bursts.
“This sword is Heaven-Piercing Starfall!”
Despite her sneering tone, Danmok Seong named each form he executed.
He had no intent to injure her, only to suppress her.
“With such petty skill, you can’t even touch the hem of my robe. Shut your mouth!”
As if to prove her words, she erased the starlit onslaught with a few palm strikes.
Kagang! Kagang! Kagang!
The net of sword-qi that had filled the sky was torn like metal mesh.
Though Danmok Seong’s Seongra True Qi was no less than pure qi-force, it crumbled too easily.
But of course—it lacked killing intent.
And a supreme master like White-Haired Demon Queen could sense that plainly.
“If you hold back like this, you’ll only suffer.”
To her furious cry, Danmok Seong spun his blade and replied:
“Then I shall unleash the Triple Dragon Spiral Slash.”
With the whirlwind of meteors, grass on the hilltop was torn from its roots and scattered in all directions.
Faced with such ferocity, White-Haired Demon Queen raised her hand-force to its peak.
Kwaaarurung!
Thunder cracked, lightning flashed—a clash worthy of legend. Yet she remained dissatisfied.
It still lacked the edge of lethal intent.
She leapt back and spoke:
“If you’ll continue like this, then submit and accept it.”
Danmok Seong lowered his sword and said:
“Lady Hong, you know I cannot. Kill me first, and then do with the child as you please.”
“Hmph!”
Scoffing, she added:
“If that were my intent, I would’ve killed you when I saw you at the Ju Tavern in Deokseong.”
“Ah... So it was you who released that pressure then. I had suspected as much...”
Danmok Seong now realized that the killing intent he’d felt at Deokseong had come from her.
“Enough chatter. Pick up your sword again. If you fail to kill me in the next exchange, I will restrain you and kill the child before your very eyes.”
“If that’s truly the case...”
Danmok Seong reversed his grip and placed the blade against his own chest.
“Then I shall end my life by my own hand.”
