Dropped into Murim with an Instant-Kill Skill - Chapter 126

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 126: At the Moment of Death, All Is Already Vague

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A few days earlier.

Flutter!

Moyong Jun caught a pigeon descending from the sky in one hand.

“Good. That’s it.”

He gently stroked the carrier pigeon’s head with a bent finger, then untied the note from its leg and read it.

“...”

His expression darkened.

“Ha...”

He read the contents of the note again and again.

On that tiny scrap of paper, in the little blank space that remained, one name appeared two, three times.

“Even in the midst of all this, was that friend what worried you so much?”

Moyong Jun clenched his teeth, then relaxed his jaw and weakly breathed out a name.

“Yeon Sowol.”

* * *

Yeon Sowol broke out in a cold sweat.

‘All right. So.’

He had completely ignored the Yuezhou provincial governor’s warning and caused a huge scene.

Moyong Ha had snuck into the Yuezhou government office, then returned saying she wanted to look around Junshan Island, which was under a travel ban.

Well, it was not impossible.

They were people of the Jianghu. If necessary, things like that could happen.

Still...

‘Now that I have to tell my friend’s older brother about it, I can’t get the words out.’

It felt like being caught by his parents after doing something he knew would get him scolded.

Moyong Jun stared at Yeon Sowol.

Yeon Sowol hesitated, deflated.

‘Still, I have to explain it...’

He calmly gathered his thoughts.

Then he realized something.

‘Wait. Do I even have a reason to feel intimidated?’

Thinking it over, he did not.

Everything had begun because Moyong Ha asked him for help. Yeon Sowol had only helped her, and she herself had clearly said that the Moyong Family owed him a debt.

‘Right. I even received a jade token. She said I was her benefactor.’

There was no reason for him to shrink back.

Yeon Sowol straightened his shoulders slightly.

He was about to confidently explain everything that had happened.

‘Wait.’

Something suddenly bothered him.

‘Hold on.’

It was more than a vague feeling of unease.

One corner of his chest went cold. The hairs on his body stood on end, and a chill ran down the back of his neck.

Yeon Sowol’s demeanor changed in an instant.

From a prankster caught doing something bad, he became a child hoping for praise, and now a finely honed blade.

He looked coldly at Moyong Jun.

“What should I call you, if I may ask?”

Moyong Jun’s eyes lit up at Yeon Sowol’s sudden change.

“Well, I’m the eldest of the family, so people usually call me the young family head. But you’re Ha’s friend. That would be too stiff. Just call me Brother.”

“Young family head...”

Yeon Sowol rolled the words over in his mind. His gaze deepened.

“Then, Brother, if you’ll excuse me, let me ask you something first.”

“Really? Is there something you need to ask? I feel like I have more to hear from you.”

“Brother. Did you really come here by coincidence?”

“...”

Their eyes met.

Moyong Jun’s gaze slowly grew solemn as well.

“Ha told me she was carrying out a mission for her family. She said it was very important, and that it was why she traveled all over the world. She was willing to face danger for it.”

“...She told you that much?”

“Everything we did here in Yuezhou was to help Ha. The matter ended, and Ha said she had found nothing. Then she said she would look around Junshan Island before leaving...”

Yeon Sowol bit his lip.

He slowly studied Moyong Jun, who stood silently before him, and spoke as though chewing each word.

“And yet, the young family head of the Moyong Family is here.”

“...”

“Was that really a coincidence? Did you truly not know what Ha was doing here? Is that why you asked me? Then let me ask you this. Why is the next heir of the great Moyong Family all the way here in Hunan, so far from Liaoning? You said you came on family business. What business is that? Is it unrelated to what Ha was trying to do?”

“...”

Moyong Jun did not answer.

He only looked at Yeon Sowol with a faint smile whose meaning was impossible to read.

Yeon Sowol asked him, driving the point home.

“Did you come to help Ha?”

His fist tightened.

His bitten lips turned white.

“Don’t tell me. Ha... That idiot... Did she lie? Did she lie that she hadn’t found any clues, then take all the danger on herself?”

The form of his words was a question, but certainty burned brighter and brighter in Yeon Sowol’s eyes.

“Is that why you pretended not to know anything, spoke to me, and acted as if you meant to scold me? You needed information from me, but you didn’t want to involve me. Is that it?”

“You’re imagining too much.”

“If that isn’t it, why would the busy young family head of the Moyong Family come all this way?”

Yeon Sowol’s hand moved to his sword hilt, as if he meant to run straight to Junshan Island in Dongting Lake.

Moyong Jun shook his head.

“Let me make this clear first. I did not come to help Ha. Even if every one of your guesses were correct, I would not have come to help her. I cannot put myself in danger.”

The corner of Moyong Jun’s mouth lowered bitterly.

“That is what it means to be the young family head. I must never be in danger.”

Moyong Jun continued.

“I cannot tell you everything about my family’s affairs. I will look for Ha myself. Even if she is caught entering Junshan Island, there is nothing to worry about. The Yuezhou provincial governor cannot do anything to a blood relative of the Moyong Family.”

“You know that isn’t what I mean. Moyong Ha is tracking people of the Demonic Path...”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. In any case, I will find Ha, so listen to me.”

The faint smile vanished from Moyong Jun’s face.

“You are in danger now. The Yuezhou provincial governor holds a grudge against you. If you stay here, you will get a beating. Leave Yuezhou when the time is right. Do not stay until the martial arts tournament ends. Leave suddenly while the tournament is still in full swing, when no one expects it. Then nothing will happen. Do not worry about Ha.”

Yeon Sowol stared at Moyong Jun’s face.

As if he were trying to find something.

Any clue at all.

Then, at last,

he made his decision.

* * *

“Are you really going through with this?”

Splash. Splash.

In the middle of the night, the waves of Dongting Lake were cold, dark, and soft, as though the night itself had melted into them.

Dressed in black, Yeon Sowol swam through the water.

“Why are you following me? You said the young family head cannot be in danger.”

“I’m following because it isn’t dangerous. How could I stand by while my sister’s friend suddenly gets a strange idea and runs wild?”

Yeon Sowol and Moyong Jun swam side by side.

They crossed the waters of Dongting Lake, under a travel ban, toward Junshan Island at its center.

Yeon Sowol snapped at him in a quiet voice swallowed by the night waves.

“If you won’t help, go back. You’re the young family head. Don’t you have work to do?”

“No, this is truly unfair. Can you make something up on your own, decide it is the truth, then pressure me like this? What if you’re wrong? What if Ha already looked around Junshan Island and left, and I really just stopped by to see my sister? What then? That is actually the truth.”

What would he do then?

“Then that’s good.”

“...That’s all?”

“Yes. That’s all. But if it isn’t true... then it is completely different. The situation changes completely.”

Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth.

“Then I would be an idiot who failed to notice my friend walking into certain death with a smile on her face. I would be useless, someone who could do nothing when my friend was in danger. And if... if she really...”

If Moyong Ha died.

Yeon Sowol could not bring himself to finish the thought. He breathed heavily.

There was one thing he had learned since coming to this world.

This world was insane.

And yet, in such a mad world, he had carelessly thought that nothing would happen.

Crunch.

“I was stupid. Why did I believe her so easily in the first place? When she said she would look around Junshan Island before leaving, I should have stopped her and pressed her for answers. Then I wouldn’t be doing this now...”

Splash, splash.

As he pushed through the night waves, Yeon Sowol spoke bitterly.

“I’m suffering now because of that stupidity. Even if this is all for nothing, it is only what I deserve.”

“...You really don’t listen.”

“Yes. So you don’t need to follow me.”

“I have to follow you. If Ha’s friend gets caught by the Yuezhou provincial governor and beaten because of Ha, how do you think I would feel? I’m following in case something happens. If you get into trouble, I’ll protect you. So you’re causing me trouble right now. I heard you know propriety well. Is this proper? Is it?”

“If that is truly why you came, I’ll apologize later.”

“Hah. Honestly...”

Whoooong!

Whoong!

They had been swimming toward Junshan Island for a while when the water suddenly trembled.

The energy in every direction shook.

Faint cheers carried from far away.

Moyong Jun glanced behind him.

“You really caused a proper scene. I can feel the martial force waves from the tournament all the way here.”

The remaining members of Hunan’s Twelve Experts were all masters at the peak realm or at the very limit of late first-rate.

The martial force waves they scattered as they clashed shook even the waters of Dongting Lake so far away.

Even ordinary people without qi sense could feel the trembling if their senses were sharp enough.

Moyong Jun said, “Can you not tell from this alone? If Ha were truly in danger on Dongting Lake, would you not have sensed those martial force waves? Ha is a master standing right at the threshold of the peak realm. If something had happened, you would have felt it already.”

“Maybe there hasn’t been a problem until now. But she could need help later.”

“Could you not simply assume she already looked around Junshan Island and left?”

“Then that would be good.”

“Hah...”

Moyong Jun shuddered at the conversation going in circles.

Whether he liked it or not, Yeon Sowol continued forward, and Moyong Jun followed behind him.

Shwaaah.

Using the dark night as cover, they finally reached Junshan Island.

Since a travel ban had been imposed, government troops stood guard throughout Junshan Island with torches in hand. None of them, however, were masters capable of discovering Yeon Sowol and Moyong Jun.

Those masters were all too absorbed in the martial arts tournament.

Thanks to that, Yeon Sowol and Moyong Jun were able to search every corner of Junshan Island.

“...She’s not here.”

“I told you. There are not even footprints at scenic places Ha might have visited, like the Shrine of the Two Consorts.”

“Then perhaps she never came to Junshan Island.”

“...? You’re going to keep this up?”

“We need to continue until we know for certain that there is no problem.”

“No...”

“I cannot accept it. Why you came to see Ha at this time. Why you’re pretending not to know.”

“I’m telling you, you’re imagining too much.”

“Better to go too far than live with regret.”

Moyong Jun stared into Yeon Sowol’s eyes, shimmering beneath the moonlight.

“Those are not the eyes of someone who can be reasoned with. Is that because you’re a person of the Jianghu?”

“You are an excellent person of the Jianghu yourself, Brother.”

“...Was that an insult?”

“In any case, we should return for today.”

Yeon Sowol took the lead and entered Dongting Lake again. Moyong Jun glared at his back, then shook his head and followed.

Splash. Splash.

They swam again, parting the night waves glittering beneath the moonlight.

Far away, it seemed another match had just ended. Someone’s voice faintly carried over.

“Lady Moyong! Lady Moyong! Where are you?”

The voice broke apart against the night waves, but Yeon Sowol recognized it.

‘Hwangbo Hwi.’

He must have won his match just now.

He sounded excited as he called for Moyong Ha.

Moyong Jun, swimming behind Yeon Sowol, asked, “Does he not know Ha has left?”

“I don’t think he does. She said she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“But you know?”

“...We’re friends.”

“Hmm.”

A voice called out again from afar.

“Lady Moyong! Are you really not here? I just won in a really impressive way!”

“Shut up, you fool! Have you no shame? Lady Moyong! Please ignore him!”

The voice cutting in belonged to Namgung Ujin.

Yeon Sowol heard a low laugh from behind him.

“They are young. Because they are young, they don’t know what they’re doing. What they want. Driven by pride and fragile faith.”

Yeon Sowol let the words pass through one ear and looked beyond the distant waves toward the lights near Yueyang Tower.

‘Still. Is this a relief?’

He remembered what Moyong Jun had said earlier.

If a major fight had occurred, martial force waves strong enough to be felt in Yuezhou would have spread out.

Surely.

If a master like Moyong Ha had fought, that would have happened.

‘Even if I assume the worst, maybe she is still all right.’

He could not understand why Moyong Jun was acting so strangely.

‘Tomorrow, the day after, I’ll keep looking for a while.’

He would leave the martial arts tournament to his other friends for now.

Splash.

Yeon Sowol pushed through the night waves that wrapped coldly around him like seaweed and moved forward.

* * *

Yeon Sowol woke to the sound of murmuring.

Dawn was just beginning to break.

It felt as though the whole world were submerged in blue mist.

“...What is it?”

Yeon Sowol usually woke around this time to train at dawn, which made the murmuring feel strange.

It was growing louder.

People were shouting, banging on things, and running through the streets.

Yeon Sowol quickly put on some clothes and headed outside.

He did not need to ask what the commotion was about.

He only needed to head in the direction people were running toward, or running from. The noisiest direction.

It was toward Dongting Lake.

Step. Step.

As he walked, others fell in beside him.

Jin Geol, Won Huiseung, So Hye, Namgung Ujin, and Hwangbo Hwi.

They must have all heard the commotion and come outside. One by one, they approached his side.

“Sowol. What is happening?”

“I don’t know yet...”

With a faint, ominous feeling creeping over him, he reached the shore of Dongting Lake.

Countless people had gathered by the water.

They talked in confusion. Some stamped their feet, some trembled in fear, and some prayed.

‘What on earth...?’

He pushed through the crowd and stood at the water’s edge.

“Huh?”

For a moment, he lost the ability to speak at the sight before him.

He blinked.

He could not understand.

“Ha?”

Someone floated on the surface of the water.

Her hair, dark as the night waves, spread loose around her. Tangled in water plants, she looked as though she were lying upon a green bed.

Cheeks white and pale as porcelain.

Long eyelashes.

For some reason, lips that remained red.

She did not move.

Small fish swam between her hands and feet, pecking at the hem of her clothes.

Someone’s voice rose from the crowd.

“Look at how decayed her clothes are. She’s been there for at least seven days and nights.”

Seven days and nights?

Yeon Sowol’s ears pricked up.

How could that be possible?

Seven days ago was the day Moyong Ha said she would leave.

“Look. The fish ate at her clothes and they rotted away, but the corpse itself is intact. It looks like she just fell asleep. It’s unnatural...”

“How could such a thing happen...?”

A corpse?

The muscles in Yeon Sowol’s cheeks tightened.

Splash!

He tore off his outer robe, clenched it in one hand, and jumped into the water.

“Ha! Ha!”

He drove away the fish, tore away the water plants, and grabbed Moyong Ha, shaking her.

She was cold.

Limp.

Unresponsive.

“Ha?”

Yeon Sowol wrapped Moyong Ha in his outer robe, gathered her into his arms, and carried her out of the water.

The crowd hurriedly backed away, frightened by her pale beauty.

“Moyong Ha.”

He carefully laid her down.

He placed a finger beneath her nose and pressed his ear to her heart.

Anguish slowly distorted his gaze.

“This can’t be...”

It was strange. Nothing but strange.

Even if Moyong Ha had faced danger alone, just as he feared...

‘There isn’t a single wound on her body?’

What could possibly have happened to her?

‘And seven days ago? I didn’t feel any martial force waves then either.’

How could a master like Moyong Ha have been struck down without leaving a trace?

And...

‘No matter how skilled she was, if she had been left in the water for more than a week, how could she still look like this...?’

His thoughts suddenly stopped.

He felt numb.

All he could see were Moyong Ha’s pale cheeks.

Her cold, motionless forehead.

Yeon Sowol knelt there with his head lowered.

A shadow fell over him.

“...I will take care of this.”

It was Moyong Jun.

“This... was not how she was supposed to be seen...”

He spoke painfully as he removed his outer robe and wrapped it once more around Moyong Ha’s body, already covered by Yeon Sowol’s robe.

He carefully gathered her in his arms and stood.

Yeon Sowol’s gaze followed him, then suddenly turned vicious.

“Is this why you came?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said the young family head cannot be in danger. Did you come here to collect her body?”

“...Think whatever you want.”

“Brother!”

Yeon Sowol shouted, then bit his lip and lowered his head.

Moyong Jun was looking down at him with sad eyes.

Was it right to shout at a bereaved relative in a moment like this?

Everything was spinning.

What was this?

Why had it come to this?

Moyong Jun looked down at Yeon Sowol in anguish, then turned away.

A voice transmission pierced Yeon Sowol’s ears.

⌜Our Moyong Family will pursue this matter to the end. So keep your hands off it.⌟

Yeon Sowol sharply raised his head.

Moyong Jun slowly stopped and looked back.

Their gazes collided.

⌜Remember my words. The Yuezhou provincial governor holds a post appointed by His Majesty the Emperor. If you oppose him carelessly, it will become treason. The disaster will reach not only you, but your school in Guangdong. So continue on your way. The Moyong Family will handle this matter.⌟

Yeon Sowol’s eyes reddened.

⌜...Those are the eyes of someone who will not listen. I was careful because I feared this.⌟

Moyong Jun adjusted Moyong Ha in his arms and turned away again.

His voice transmission entered Yeon Sowol’s ears.

⌜If you must do this, make sure everyone knows. Make sure all the people of Yuezhou learn the evil secret. Only then will you avoid taking the blame alone.⌟

After a moment of silence, one last voice transmission quietly reached him.

⌜There is much darkness in this world that you do not know. Things too strange to describe. ...Please, be careful.⌟

Yeon Sowol watched Moyong Jun’s retreating back.

He had not blinked once, but it gradually blurred.

The masters were crying.

They could not understand.

Some were angry.

Some looked around as though they had been slapped across the face.

“She is... dead?”

Jin Geol tilted his head.

“...”

Namgung Ujin sat down hard on the ground and stared blankly at Dongting Lake.

“Why...? How?”

Hwangbo Hwi stood stiffly, like stone. Only his eyes blinked.

“She... lied?”

Won Huiseung’s eyes narrowed.

“Big sister... Big sister...”

So Hye looked lost. As if she could not believe it, she kept glancing toward the path Moyong Jun had taken with Moyong Ha in his arms, shifting restlessly on her feet.

Everything had happened too suddenly.

It hurt too much.

Only then did Yeon Sowol understand.

‘Was this what it meant?’

The meaning of the second line from Moyong Ha’s favorite poem.

This feeling may one day become a memory.

Yet even then, I was already lost.

Had he not known because he was young?

“Urk...”

A drop of saltwater fell from Yeon Sowol’s chin.

* * *

It was a dark night.