Published at 26th of January 2026 9:32 am

Chapter 349

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The largest plum tree of Mount Hua has fallen.

The old tree, steadfast and thought never to collapse.

It toppled without a sound.

"Aigoo...!"

The wails echoed throughout Mount Hua, which had been forcibly subdued into silence by circumstance.

How sorrowful they were.

Each voice resonated with their own regret.

"How could you leave like this...?"

"Sect leader...!!"

Between the endless cries of lament.

Amidst it all, I quietly gazed at the one who had fallen.

Whatever peace had blessed him, he left with an unaffected smile.

He truly looked as if he were only sleeping.

For a split second, I wondered if he really was only asleep.

'Of course not.'

Of course not. I knew better than anyone. That was impossible.

Hehehe, there's nothing to regret about a good death.

The soul of the one lying ahead was right beside me.

The Sect leader of Mount Hua. The hero of the Great Demon War. The soul of Plum Blossom First Sword, Sung Hun, was by my side.

I lived a decent life, don't you think?

'...'

I sighed at his cackling laughter.

'I'm going to go insane.'

Laughing as he looks down at his own corpsewhat could one even call this?

Sung Hun's body had already lost all vitality. He was, truly, dead.

I'd seen souls leave bodies before while they were still alive, but this was different.

His heart had stilled, his breath lost.

When one is still living, the body continues, but now, even that was gone.

An absolute death.

His soul had nowhere to return, and thus, Sung Hun's time in this world ended.

Aaaaaah...!

Amidst everyone's lament.

We, too, caught our breath in that atmosphere.

Even Chun Hye-In, who always wore a cold or smiling face, had her eyes closed.

Chun Uijin and Do Hyung were the same. Poison Dragon was no different.

Before those people, both I and the Small Moon Division Leader exhaled slowly, bidding Sung Hun his final farewell.

Now that I see it, you've become quite the figure. Don't you agree?

Absurd. What kind of figure is an old man? Wipe off those age spots before you talk.

Tsk tsk. These days, youngsters call those charming characteristics. You're just out of touch. I shouldn't age like that.

Yergh. Only you could make nonsense sound so flowery, flower Sage.

Flower Sage, you say... You little

"..."

Please just shut up.

I honestly meant it. Were these people sane?

I couldn't focus. If I wasn't careful, I might burst out laughing.

If I laughed here, it'd be over. I'd be socially finished for sure.

- Euhuhuhu...

What would happen if I laughed while everyone was wailing?

I knew I wouldn't be able to handle their stares.

And

'Even without that.'

That small back in front of me.

I couldn't bring myself to laugh while looking at Yu Yun.

"..."

Aigoo...

I sat in utter silence amidst the overflowing wails.

Yu Yun made no soundsilent and unmoving.

Seated in front of her master, whose breath had already ceased.

She sat like that for a long while, doing nothing.

On a day when the season would soon turn cold,

The hero called Sung Hun left, leaving behind a silent disciple.

Such was the day.

***

Sung Hun's funeral ended before night fell.

Within the flower petals. And while the sun was up.

This was because I discovered a passage Sung Hun had written, saying he wanted it ended that way.

Perhaps the funeral should have lasted into the night.

But, perhaps missing the right time, I stayed longer on Mount Hua.

The night is cold.

Sung Hun came close and spoke. His now ghostly self made me snort a laugh.

I had just finished his funeral, and yet, here he was, beside me. It was almost comical.

In the past, this would have felt normal. But not anymore.

"You can't even feel the cold."

Aigo, I got caught.

Hahaha. Sung Hun laughed.

Thank you.

Right after, he expressed thanks. I looked at him at that.

"For what?"

For watching over my end.

"I didn't do anything special. It was just how things worked out."

I meant it. I hadn't planned to look after his end.

Honestly, I wanted no part of it.

I stared at him with those thoughts, but Sung Hun continued smiling.

The night is lovely.

He spoke as he looked up at the rising moon.

I glanced at him and asked,

"Are you alright?"

About what?

"I meando you have no lingering regrets?"

Heheh. Why? If I did, would you help me with them?

"No."

Have I gone mad, to do such a thing?

"I really can't help you anymore."

This was my limit. Even getting involved with the Plum Blossom True Sword was too risky; I couldn't move for his regrets any further.

Heh, I suppose so.

"Yes. Requests from the dead cause me trouble. Even last time, it was a big deal for me to step in for you."

It's odd. Just what kind of life have you lived?

A wistful look passed over Sung Hun's face.

Those dry eyes of yours, and your indifference to death... your life makes me curious.

"You don't need to be. It was nothing special."

More precisely, it was a life I couldn't just discuss so freely.

People, in truth,

'If someone's different from them, they think that's wrong.'

That's true for humans and ghosts alike.

I was someone living in-between such people.

Someone who couldn't belong anywhere, and only curled up to survive. That was me.

Nothing worth remembering.

.....

Sung Hun didn't ask me any more questions. He must have realized that he ought not to.

You've been through a lot.

The sudden comment made me chuckle.

"Yes."

A hard life, indeed. I've suffered and will continue to suffer.

'It's a damned fate.'

Would it have been different if I'd followed the advice to become a god?

The thought passed through my mind.

But then

'Come to think of it...'

Who was it again?

Who told me to become a god? Who was it again?

"..."

I frowned. I couldn't remember.

Who was it? Was it some higher existence?

I couldn't remember at all.

'What is this?'

Was it just to long ago? That can't be.

There's no way I'd forget something like this. As I was pondering

Hey, what's wrong

Yu Chun-gil, seeing my odd expression, was about to speak, when someone appeared in front of us.

"Excuse me, Moon Hero."

It was Yeo Hyuk. His arrival broke my reverie.

"Ah, taoist Yeo Hyuk."

"Sorry to disturb you so late at night. I've come to deliver something."

"For me?"

Yeo Hyuk's face was somber too. Understandable. But to bring something under these circumstances?

Curious, I watched as he handed me a letter.

"It appears the sect leader left this for you, Moon Hero."

"... Pardon?"

My eyes widened. Left by Sung Hun? I glanced at Sung Hun's ghost; he was grinning.

Didn't you say it yourself?

Say what?

That you can't grant the wishes of ghosts. But if the request was made to you while I was still alive, wouldn't that be different?

"..."

I was so dumbfounded, I couldn't even speak. So that's why he wrote a will before he died.

Madman. Of all things, to leave his will for me.

Don't worry, I wrote letters for lots of students.

With a sheepish look, I opened the letter. Inside, short yet lengthy instructions were written.

First, it said Yu Chun-gil's inheritance was being entrusted to me. Then, it asked me to return the Black Robe.

But

"To be returned only if his direct disciple, Yu Yun, receives it herself...?"

So I am to give the Black Robe to Yu Yun.

What is this? Then...

'Does that mean I have to drag her to Henan or something?'

Could that be it? Looking at Sung Hun's face, it seemed that was exactly it.

"Hah."

"Moon Hero...?"

"It's nothing."

Reading this old man's mind left me suddenly annoyed.

What a sly man.

'And how did he know about the rules, anyway?'

Amazingly, Sung Hun was mostly rightrequests made by the living do not impose upon my fate, but requests from a ghost do.

"..."

A cunning old man. No wonder they were friends.

What did you say?

You brat!

How did he read my mind when I didn't even say anything?

Their perception really is uncanny.

I let out a deep sigh and read on.

But then

"Huh?"

At the last sentence, I tilted my head in confusion.

Because it was something Sung Hun would never have written.

***

With Sung Hun's funeral complete, quiet settled over Mount Hua.

Within, the elderly Plum Blossom Division Leader, who'd been confined, stirred at last.

Clang.

The chains binding him clanged, and with the wails ceased, he let out a short chuckle.

"... Senior brother. You really left, after all?"

Heh heh.

"Then you could have just left it to me, instead of leaving that way."

The seat of sect leader, which he never managed to receive.

Because of that, the Plum Blossom Division Leader sighed deeply.

Would he have chosen differently, had he known it would end this way? No, he probably wouldn't have.

Even now, look at him. He yearns for a better choice, yet remains stubborn.

"... You were right, senior brother."

There was something Sung Hun once said to him: that he was not suited to the role of Sect leader.

That was the turning point.

He became obstinate and unreasonable.

He had tried to prove that Sung Hun was wrong.

"In the end, you were right, senior brother."

He was never suited for that position.

"Heh heh... heh heh heh."

So it makes sense things ended like this.

Thinking thus, the Plum Blossom Division Leader lowered his head.

"No matter what..."

No matter what.

"I can't let it end like this."

If he's to end up simply as a traitor, then he should become something else instead.

With that thought, the Plum Blossom Division Leader raised his head.

Perhaps because Sung Hun died.

Or perhaps because of a conversation with Moon Hero.

Plum Blossom First Sword's thoughts had changed.

While other betraying disciples took their own lives under the forbidden incantations, leaving him alone alive.

Moreover, there was a truth that not even the Ghost Demon or the Great Demon knew.

He would reveal this to Mount Hua before he died.

Thinking so, the Plum Blossom Division Leader stared down the dark corridor and muttered,

"You there."

You there. You there. You there...

The Plum Blossom Division Leader's words echoed hollowness.

"Is nobody there!"

Only echoes answered. Was no one there? Even with the Sect leader's death, for there to be no guards posted was odd.

"You there, I have something to"

At that moment,

Step.

Footsteps sounded in the distance.

Step, step.

Slowly, ever so slowly, someone was approaching.

What's this sound?

The Plum Blossom Division Leader grew wary.

Thunk!

A dagger stabbed into his forehead.

"Urk."

With a final gasp, the Plum Blossom Division Leader collapsed.

"..."

Before long, someone stood over his body.

A man with blue eyes looked down on his corpse.

Slip

And just like that, vanished without a trace.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Blue eyes?

Small Moon Division Leader?

Chun Uijin?

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