TCRH Ch 1

“Huff… Huff…”

A man in tattered and torn robes desperately ran along a mountain path. This man, who looked to be just past sixty, was named Hwi Biyeon. Until recently, he had been an elder of the Taebaek Clan, located in Jincheon. He was also a seasoned master, proudly listed among the The Thirteen Stars, the thirteen unrivaled martial arts experts in the world.

The Thirteen Stars. A term referring to the thirteen martial arts masters who, with human bodies, embraced the heavens. It was a glorious title that every martial artist dreamed of. Hwi Biyeon, having reached this position, naturally received the respect of the righteous martial arts world. Why, then, was he now a fugitive, desperately evading the relentless pursuit of the Martial Arts Alliance?

It was because the Martial Arts Alliance had publicly declared Hwi Biyeon the culprit behind the Sipchilcheonhyeolsa, the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed Incident. This incident referred to a tragedy that occurred within the Martial Arts Alliance roughly thirty years ago. Seventeen clans and their leaders were massacred in an instant, and the incident earned its name because over a thousand people were caught in the bloodshed and perished.

Because of this, not only Hwi Biyeon, but also the entire Taebaek Clan, where he belonged, was branded as a group harboring a vicious criminal and sharing his wicked intentions, leading to their annihilation. The Martial Arts Alliance, under the pretext of eradicating the seeds of bloodshed, did not spare even the young disciples of the Taebaek Clan, extinguishing every last life.

Hwi Biyeon, luckily surviving alone and evading the Alliance’s pursuit, was finally cornered after a month.

‘This… is a trap!’

Hwi Biyeon felt wronged. He swore to heaven and earth that he had never raised or swung his sword against innocent people he didn’t even know. He and the Taebaek Clan had been framed. He had no idea which faction had orchestrated this, nor their reasons, but it was clear that someone had employed crude tactics to destroy him and his clan.

The screams of his fellow disciples, as close as blood relatives, and the young disciples rang in his ears like tinnitus. He gritted his teeth, barely swallowing back tears of blood as he ran. But for a month, he hadn’t eaten, slept, or even had a moment’s respite to cultivate his internal energy. His internal power was long depleted. If he faced the Alliance’s pursuers in this state, he wouldn’t last a moment.

Whizz!

A giant blade lodged itself in front of Hwi Biyeon, who was moving between trees, desperately trying to hide.

“Hwi Bi!”

‘Hwi Bi’ was a derogatory term used to belittle Hwi Biyeon. It was given to him because he shared the name with the second concubine of the former Emperor, the wicked Hwi Bi, who was now deposed and demoted to Lady Yangan.

Hwi Bi was infamous as the most wicked woman in the land. It was said that when the country was in turmoil and starving commoners’ suffering filled the rivers, she blinded the Emperor, coveted wealth, and drained the vital essence of men. As a result, Hwi Bi met a gruesome end, her limbs severed and her body nailed inside a barrel and thrown into a river.

Incidentally, she was the biological mother of the current Emperor, Geum Wi.

“Do you think you can escape?!”

“Ugh!”

Pung Wolbaek, the Vice-Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance and one of the few survivors of the Sipchilcheonhyeolsa, approached with ferocious momentum. He kicked the stumbling Hwi Biyeon to the ground, grinding his teeth.

Hwi Biyeon, sprawled on the dirt, staggered to his feet, leaning on his broken Baekdan Sword, his body trembling. He felt the injustice and resentment of the entire situation. The deaths of his Taebaek Clan members, his current status as a fugitive – it was all a wicked plot, completely illogical.

“You hid like a rat for thirty years. And yet you dare to show your face so brazenly… Did you think the world had forgotten you? The Taebaek Clan sheltered you, a beast in human form, and refused to hand you over.”

“I… didn’t do it.”

Hwi Biyeon cried out, spitting blood as his energy channels twisted. He was on his way to Hyeseung of the Shaolin Temple while being chased by Pung Wolbaek. Hyeseung, along with his master Myeonmyeon, were benefactors who had brought Hwi Biyeon to the Taebaek Clan. He was certain they would clear his name.

However, Pung Wolbaek, retrieving his long blade, scoffed coldly at Hwi Biyeon’s weak muttering.

“What do you mean you didn’t do it?”

“All of it. Burning your clan, the bloodshed that everyone talks about… I didn’t do any of it.”

While Hwi Biyeon might have appeared calm, his condition was critical. His energy channels were contorted, his internal energy draining from his core. His complexion was not just pale but purplish, and his limbs twitched as if contorted. It was no wonder, considering he had witnessed the destruction of his sect and pushed his body to the limit for nearly thirty days. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had succumbed to Qi deviation.

“I haven’t forgotten your face for a single day.”

Pung Wolbaek glared at Hwi Biyeon, his eyes flashing with a chilling, demonic light, and tears of blood streamed down his face. There was no hint of falsehood or fabrication in his words. He was genuinely grieving the deaths of his family and acquaintances.

Hwi Biyeon shook his head, continuing to deny the accusations, but facing Pung Wolbaek’s genuine rage, he became confused. Could it be true, as Pung Wolbaek claimed, that he had succumbed to Qi deviation, committed these acts, and simply didn’t remember? No matter how he looked at it, the man before him didn’t seem like someone who would fabricate lies.

“Your voice, your footsteps, your face… even your build. I saw it all clearly with my own eyes, and I’ve etched it into my memory thousands, tens of thousands of times. And yet you say you didn’t do it? Don’t make me laugh… Hwi Bi, an honorable death doesn’t suit you. Remember the thousand innocent lives you took… and rot in hell.”

He couldn’t die here, unjustly, without clearing his name. Hwi Biyeon gritted his teeth and braced himself for Pung Wolbaek’s sword energy. A tremendous explosion followed, and a gale swept through the area.

…And so, the murderer who had taken the lives of seventeen clans and a thousand people became a fugitive, and after his Taebaek Clan was annihilated for sheltering him, he fled for approximately a month before finally meeting his end at the hands of Pung Wolbaek, the Vice-Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Pung Wolbaek, who had dreamt of avenging his family for his entire life, finally achieved his revenge by beheading the vicious murderer. Hwi Biyeon, until the moment his head was severed, cried out that he was not the culprit.