TCRH Ch 3

To think he’d returned to the past after dying.

How could he explain this stroke of luck? Or was he perhaps caught in some wicked spell? No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t understand this situation.

“Hmph!”

Hwi Biyeon plugged one nostril with a finger and blew out the other, dislodging a piece of paper stuck inside. Then, touching his perfectly normal face reflected in the water, he repeatedly expressed his amazement.

It really is my younger self.

But his admiration was short-lived, and a shadow quickly fell over his face. While he should be rejoicing at his revival and the fact that his sect was safe and sound in the past, in truth, he didn’t know much.

In his previous life, he had no idea why or how he became the murderer of the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed, a public enemy of the martial world. He only knew he’d been framed; had he even had time to investigate? The Martial Arts Alliance attacked before he could uncover the truth, and despite his desperate defense, everyone perished.

“…Pung Wolbaek.”

Hwi Biyeon’s grip tightened. His knuckles turned white as his clenched fists trembled. Yes, at the heart of this incident was Pung Wolbaek. A survivor of the past bloodshed. The eldest son of the Pungwol family, Pung Wolbaek…

In fact, even the incident that branded Hwi Biyeon a public enemy happened in the blink of an eye.

On the day he was listed among The Thirteen Stars, the Taebaek Clan was in a festive mood. All the disciples wholeheartedly respected and were proud of their senior brother, Hwi Biyeon. A dragon had been born from a clan far smaller than the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families. Thanks to this, the Taebaek Clan’s standing and prestige soared.

Even renowned righteous sects knocked on the Taebaek Clan’s door, hoping to exchange even a few words with Hwi Biyeon. Even the aloof Martial Arts Alliance personally extended an invitation for the Taebaek Clan to join them.

The Thirteen Stars, Taebaek’s One Sword, Baekdan Sword Emperor Hwi Biyeon.

To witness this fame firsthand, Pung Wolbaek, then Vice-Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, visited the Taebaek Clan. He was famous as one of the survivors of the bloodshed thirty years prior and was known for his extreme aversion to evil, never hesitating to personally punish the wicked. His reputation preceded him even within the Taebaek Clan, and many disciples respected him. Dang Hyojin and Hwi Biyeon proudly greeted him at the main gate.

But as soon as Pung Wolbaek saw Hwi Biyeon’s face, his eyes widened in shock, and he pointed a finger, roaring,

“H-How can this be! Has the Taebaek Clan been harboring a murderer all this time! You fiend! How dare you show your face so brazenly before me?!”

“Vice-Leader!”

Murmurs rippled through the Martial Arts Alliance members at their leader’s outburst.

Hwi Biyeon, the target of Pung Wolbaek’s accusation, was even more bewildered. Pung Wolbaek glared at him with bloodshot eyes and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His energy channels were twisted with immense rage.

What followed was a tragedy. The Martial Arts Alliance, turning on their heels, demanded Hwi Biyeon’s surrender. The Taebaek Clan bolted their gates, refusing to hand him over. The Hwi Biyeon they knew wasn’t someone who would kill innocent people without reason. His pure and unblemished Heart Sword was proof of that.

Then, not only Pung Wolbaek, but also other survivors of the bloodshed came to see for themselves. And upon seeing Hwi Biyeon, they recoiled as if they’d seen a ghost. Like Pung Wolbaek, they vomited blood, claiming he was the murderer.

Not just one or two, but twenty-two out of twenty-four survivors said the same thing, word for word. The other two had already passed away, so everyone who had barely survived the bloodshed unanimously pointed to Hwi Biyeon as the culprit. Public opinion turned sharply against the Taebaek Clan.

But Hwi Biyeon swore, with all sincerity, that he was wrongly accused.

Throughout his life, he had never killed an innocent civilian. In fact, he rarely left the Taebaek Clan grounds. He had dedicated his entire life to honing his martial arts, absorbing the energy of Mount Taebaek. When would he have had the time to cause such a massive incident? Moreover, during the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed, Hwi Biyeon was only thirty years old. It was a time when his fiery master, Myeonmyeon, kept him close and constantly trained him. There was no way he could have slipped out of his master’s sight and left the Taebaek Clan. The Taebaek Clan Leader and his fellow disciples knew this better than anyone. Therefore, they believed this must be a conspiracy, a scheme by the Martial Arts Alliance to bring down Hwi Biyeon.

Dang Hyojin, the Taebaek Clan Leader and a disciple of the same generation as Hwi Biyeon, kept the gates locked and continuously refused the Martial Arts Alliance’s demands to hand over the vicious murderer. Then, less than three months later, Pung Wolbaek marched on the Taebaek Clan with the Alliance’s forces. Their justification was that the Taebaek Clan, by harboring the murderer, could no longer be considered righteous.

As if seeking revenge for his family’s annihilation, Pung Wolbaek showed no mercy to anyone in the Taebaek Clan. He killed them without hesitation, branding them all as villains. Thus, many fellow disciples, including the Clan Leader, died at the hands of the Martial Arts Alliance, trying to protect Hwi Biyeon.

“Senior Brother! Go to the Shaolin Temple! You must obtain Master Hyeseung’s testimony, clear our Taebaek Clan’s name… and reclaim your honor… Ugh!”

A fellow disciple died brutally, his body severed in two. And the young disciples? Innocent trainees also lost their lives. The Martial Arts Alliance mercilessly slaughtered the Taebaek Clan members. Without a hint of remorse, Pung Wolbaek pursued Hwi Biyeon relentlessly, as if he were his sole target.

The pure white snowy mountain was stained with blood. Hwi Biyeon fled, shedding tears of blood. But he was soon captured… and beheaded by Pung Wolbaek’s sword.

Perhaps someone took pity on him.

Not only did he come back to life, but he returned to the past.

“This is insane…”

His swirling thoughts intensified rather than calming down. He considered sitting down in a corner of the training grounds and meditating, but his turbulent mind wouldn’t cooperate. Hwi Biyeon pressed his lips together, looked up at the sky, and let out all the turmoil within him.

The reason Hwi Biyeon was currently at the training grounds was that his master, Myeonmyeon, had punished him with cleaning duty for unreasonably assaulting his fellow disciple. Such punishments were usually given to young disciples for mental cultivation, but this was Myeonmyeon’s decision, as he had accurately assessed his disciple’s state.

In any case, this was definitely not the afterlife. He didn’t want to think about suffering from bone-chilling cold even in the afterlife. He was simply curious why this had happened to him, and whether it was a common occurrence. Of course, it couldn’t be something that happened to everyone. If it were, there would be no one in the world who died unjustly.

“No matter how hard I try to organize my thoughts, it’s no use…”

Hwi Biyeon had only achieved enlightenment and reached his current level after turning sixty. That one step beyond the wall. Most martial artists who couldn’t take that step gave up and ended their lives. Hwi Biyeon’s master, Myeonmyeon, had been one of them. Yet, even Hwi Biyeon couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

He had been killed for reasons unknown. He couldn’t simply rejoice at returning to the past. Still, since he now knew he would be framed for the bloodshed in the future, he was determined to prevent the Taebaek Clan’s annihilation, even if it meant betraying the sect and being expelled.

Yes, this was an opportunity.

He knew the future, so he had to take steps to prevent that horrific event from happening. Witnessing the deaths of his fellow disciples once was enough. Finding a way was his top priority.

“…And before that, there’s something more urgent to deal with.”

It was still before the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed. According to what he’d gathered after enduring his master’s beating and grilling his fellow disciples who looked at him strangely, the Pungwol family was fine, and there were no reports of harm to the other sects and leaders involved in the bloodshed.

Come to think of it, around this time, there seemed to be a particularly high number of incidents and accidents, not only within the martial world but throughout the Central Plains.

Even within the Taebaek Clan, his junior, Nam Jibyeok, would murder a young disciple and flee, and a few years later, the sixth prince, Geum Wi, would be appointed crown prince over his older brothers. Or rather, his older brothers would all die, leading to his hasty appointment. Within those few years, the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed would occur, killing a thousand civilians, and the Jeongsa Rebellion would erupt.

‘I truly… was oblivious and uninterested in everything.’

Of course, he knew the major events that everyone else knew, at least in broad strokes. But he had never looked into or been involved in those events, so he still had no clue why he had to die. Hwi Biyeon had dedicated his life to martial arts and spent all his free time in secluded training, completely ignoring worldly affairs and other sects.

Although he wasn’t entirely sure, as this memory was squeezed from the depths of his mind, the Seventeen Thousand Bloodshed would likely occur about a year from now. If he could somehow prevent the tragedy, he could also prevent being framed as the culprit.

However, he saw limitations. While his soul had traveled back in time, his body was not that of the The Thirteen Stars Hwi Biyeon, but his younger self, with the martial arts skills and internal energy he possessed before his enlightenment. What good was an enlightened mind if his body couldn’t fully utilize it?

The Taebaek Swordsmanship was fundamentally based on Yin energy. The more one practiced it, the closer one’s body aligned with Yin energy. This made it more challenging for men, full of Yang energy, to master the technique. This was also why the Taebaek Clan had so many female disciples. Of course, with dedicated training, one’s body gradually aligned with Yin energy, making it more suitable for understanding the Taebaek Swordsmanship. The technique even changed one’s bones and muscles.

“I still have a long way to go…”