The Third Son of the Zhuge Clan is a Returned Martial God - Chapter 02

========== CHAPTER 2 ==========

========== CHAPTER 2 SIHYEOLGOK (CORPSE BLOOD VALLEY) ==========

The nights at Sihyeolgok (Corpse Blood Valley) were always quiet.

It was only after the screams vanished that one could finally sleep.

Light was not permitted.

Where torches were lit, it was always the spot where someone had fallen, and after the lights went out, only the thick scent of blood remained.

The children did not cry.

If they cried, they disappeared, and the disappeared child never returned.

“Where did the kid from yesterday go?”

“Don’t know. Don’t worry about it.”

It was common for a face that had been beside you until yesterday to be gone the next day.

Training was regular, and violence was fair.

Survival—that was all that mattered.

And I, I woke up in that child’s body.

It took a few days to realize the situation, and I finally had to admit it.

Two years.

The Jin Clan’s youngest, Jin Mu-yeon, couldn’t make it past that time.

“Mu-yeon-ah, I will live on for your share.”

In the end, the Jin Clan’s youngest, Jin Mu-yeon, whom I failed to protect, must have been kidnapped by the monsters of Heuk-myeong (Black Name) who raided the family that day.

That thought gnawed at my heart for a long time.

The confusion didn’t last long, and without even a moment to grieve, the ruthless night of Sihyeolgok continued.

A few months passed.

For the first time, all the children in that place were gathered in one spot.

Inside the communal area built within the cave, there were at least three hundred of them.

They were all young children who appeared to be around Mu-yeon’s age.

Every one of them must have been kidnapped and dragged here.

Before long, ten men dressed in black stood tall in front. One of them stepped forward and spoke in a heavy, low voice.

“Seems everyone is here, so let’s begin. I am the Valley Master, responsible for this place, Sihyeolgok.”

The others were called instructors.

From that, I knew.

The real life here was about to begin.

“From now on, you will be reborn as Martial Artists by our hands.”

At those words, my eyebrows twitched.

‘Martial Artists?’

Just looking at the atmosphere, it was obvious this was a place designed to raise assassins of the underworld. And soon, dozens of men in black rushed in and began carrying something.

Pool-sseok.

A rabbit was placed in front of me.

Beside it was a small dagger.

Beyond that, other living creatures like squirrels and mice, barely clinging to life, were lined up.

‘They’re in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if they died right now.’

Meanwhile, confirming that preparations were complete, the Valley Master shouted.

“Kill them.”

It was a short sentence, but there wasn’t a child who didn’t understand its meaning.

Stifling silence descended upon the communal area as the children clutched their daggers, watching each other.

One of the instructors in front split the rabbit in his hand in half, and blood splattered.

“Argh!”

“D-did it die?”

Scream-filled shouts erupted from the children’s mouths.

“I’ll say it again. Kill them. Otherwise, you will end up like that.”

As the brutal voice fell, the children’s mouths shut simultaneously. Their instincts realized first that those words were not a threat, but a warning.

Strength naturally went into the hands gripping the daggers.

‘Even if I stepped up now, there’s nothing I can do.’

Right now, I was in Jin Mu-yeon’s body, a state where I hadn’t even learned martial arts yet.

There was nothing I could particularly do.

It was then.

Chwa-ak!

The sound of flesh tearing rang out long.

Following that, once more, the sound of a blade cutting through flesh.

Turning my head, I saw one child hacking a rabbit to pieces with a dagger.

A gaze filled with nothing but killing intent, without a shred of hesitation.

That sight was so bizarre it was chilling.

‘Don’t tell me… Cheonsalseong (Destined Star of Slaughter)!?’

Cheonsalseong.

A being born with the star of slaughter, fated to bring death.

Perhaps he liked that appearance.

The gazes of the Valley Master and the instructors gathered on that kid.

Chwa-ak.

Another tearing sound rang out, and soon, daggers began to be swung here and there.

The communal area was instantly filled with the sounds of lives being extinguished.

Blood flowed onto the ground, pooling like mud.

Looking down at the blood-soaked children, I bit my lip hard.

That was it. This wasn’t training.

It was just the beginning of breeding to create murderers.

Around the time that cruel fate had been continuing for about a month.

The iron bars of my room, which had been firmly shut, opened.

“Number Two, come out.”

Numbers were called instead of names.

Sensing a change, I swallowed hard.

With bare feet covered in blood and dirt, I followed him out.

Even though it was a cave submerged in darkness, the path was as clear as day to me now.

‘Living here constantly, my vision has started to open up.’

Since waking up in Mu-yeon’s body, I hadn’t even seen sunlight. This must be the result of adapting to the darkness.

A perfect environment for raising a murderer.

I saw iron bars lined up along the passageway.

Inside, the children were all watching me, holding their breath. They were no different from wild beasts locked in cages.

‘Their eyes have changed. They’ve started to harbor killing intent.’

They were children who learned how to end lives before they learned how to plant trees.

So, it was no surprise that such a look appeared in their eyes.

‘Heuk-myeong, what on earth is the identity of these guys that they would commit such acts?’

Just as I was walking down the passage, receiving their sharp gazes with my whole body.

I stopped in front of a small room located at the very end.

Standing there were the man called the Valley Master and a man in black.

“It’s Number Two.”

Hearing the number, the Valley Master nodded lightly.

His attitude was as if he already knew this body was of the Jin Clan’s bloodline.

“Sit.”

“…….”

I sat on the chair placed in front without a word. Soon, the man in black approached and tied both my arms tightly to the armrests.

Perhaps pleased with the gaze laced with killing intent, the Valley Master nodded.

“That one, I like his eyes at least.”

A twisted smile must have been drawn behind the veil covering his face.

Soon, the Valley Master opened the box placed beside him. Inside, something long, thin, and transparent was wriggling.

When he picked one of them up, its form became clearly visible.

“It’s a Hyeolgo (Blood Parasite). Specifically, one called Gihyeolsangchung (Qi-Blood Conflict).”

“!!!”

Hyeolgo.

A parasitic insect that lives in the brain and forces the host’s will and actions to obey through suggestions. If one resists after implantation, they become an idiot or lose their life.

The Valley Master lifted the Hyeolgo and opened his mouth slowly.

“You aren’t surprised. All the other children cried or trembled, but once this ritual is over, you will become a true Martial Artist of Heuk-myeong. Aren’t you happy?”

Profanity calling him a crazy bastard surged up to my throat, but I barely swallowed it.

‘Not a Martial Artist… but a slave, they mean to make me.’

A life where one’s will is controlled until the day they die.

Perhaps reading my inner thoughts from my expression, the Valley Master tilted his head.

“At first, you only cried, so I thought you were for disposal, but you’ve grown quite well.”

“I have a question.”

When I opened my mouth for the first time, the Valley Master’s gaze shone with interest.

“What is it?”

“Becoming a Martial Artist of Heuk-myeong… what does that mean?”

“Hmm.”

He paused for a moment before speaking.

“It is a glorious position at the forefront for the Great Cause.”

The Great Cause and glory.

What correlation could there be between the destruction of the Jin Clan and these bred murderers?

“What exactly is the Great Cause—.”

“You will know soon enough. You just need to follow. Bring it.”

As if he didn’t want to hear any more, the Valley Master gave the order.

The short explanation ended, and his hand moved.

The wriggling Hyeolgo burrowed into my ear, and my eyes widened at the squirming sensation.

Having entered through my ear, it soon headed for my brain and began to rummage everywhere as if stirring inside my head.

“Ugh… G-gah….”

I writhed in unbearable pain, but my tied arms didn’t budge an inch.

Seeing me grit my teeth and endure it, the Valley Master said.

“Yes, endure it. That is the only way you will survive.”

With those words, pain that destroyed consciousness rushed in.

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

My scream rang throughout all of Sihyeolgok.

After implanting the Hyeolgo in my head.

Physical training began.

Not the assassin’s killing arts, nor profound martial arts, just basic movements.

As the years passed, the children grew rapidly, and Jin Mu-yeon’s small hands soon grew large enough to hold a sword.

Three or four years must have passed.

I observed the children training with wooden swords, and the number had already been reduced by half.

‘What on earth are they thinking?’

It had been at least three years since I woke up in Jin Mu-yeon’s body, but their intentions were still unknown.

That was when real swords were handed down for the first time.

And the order was consistent.

“Kill them.”

A short and cold sentence, just like that day when we first caught beasts with daggers.

But this time was different.

The children, who had seen blood for years, swung their swords at each other without hesitation.

“Yaap!”

One child rushed at me, and I reflexively raised my sword and drove the blade into the guy’s shoulder.

The guy, whose momentum wasn’t broken, grabbed the sword with his other hand and stabbed straight toward my heart.

“I’m sorry.”

After deflecting the sword, I slashed across his upper body.

Chwa-ak!

Only then did he fall and fail to rise again.

On the chest of the child who was gasping and dying, the number ‘Fifty-two’ was engraved.

“I will remember.”

With those words, I ended his breath. The slaughter did not stop, and it was then, as I continued the fight to survive.

“Stop.”

As the Valley Master’s voice rang out, the hand holding the sword stopped abruptly as if reacting to a command. Looking around, corpses were piled up like a mountain on the ground.

Before I knew it, only five were left standing on their own feet.

Satisfaction was buried in the Valley Master’s voice.

“As of today, you are true members of Heuk-myeong.”

That day, for the first time since coming to Sihyeolgok, I was given a name.

Breeding Assassin Number Two, Jin Mu-yeon.

A few days later.

The five of us, including me, left Sihyeolgok and were sent to different places.

It was exactly the fifth year since the youngest, Mu-yeon, and I had stayed in this hell.

Since I didn’t even know the location of Sihyeolgok, I just had to walk along forest paths for days on end.

‘Judging by the direction the moon rose, it seems we are moving south, but…….’

“Where are we going?”

“Questions are not permitted.”

The answer that came back was always the same.

And not long after, we arrived at our destination.

A small house built in a remote forest.

As we entered the room, the instructor picked up one of the piled-up books and threw it forward.

“From now on, memorize these without omission.”

“What is this?”

I picked up the book with a puzzled heart. Contrary to expectations, it was packed with vast amounts of information.

The current situation of the Murim, key figures of the Murim Alliance.

And.

“Jegal Clan…….”

Who the Clan Head was, how the military units were organized, even the scale of wealth piled up in the storehouse.

Suddenly, one face flashed by.

Murim Alliance Chief Military Strategist, Jegal Sang.

‘The very person who ignored the destruction of the Jin Clan.’

That day, the Murim Alliance knew that villains had raided the Jin Clan Estate. I, who was outside the Alliance, had heard the news late and rushed to the estate, so there was absolutely no way they didn’t know.

Yet, they did not appear.

In my gaze, which was swallowing anger, the titles of several books caught my eye.

“Socheonseong Geombeop (Sword Technique)… This is Cheongimiribo (Manual)….”

The Jegal Clan’s martial arts secrets.

Judging by the fresh smell of ink, it was clear they had been copied recently.

“Memorize these too. They will be helpful someday.”

It didn’t mean to learn the martial arts.

It meant to put them into my head.

Going through the current process, I realized a few truths.

That Heuk-myeong is not just a simple assassin group.

And where their goal is aimed.

“Am I going to the Jegal Clan?”

“You’re quick on the uptake. Yes. You will go there and eliminate Jegal Sang.”

At that moment, the pavilion swept by the firestorm came to mind. As did the dying face of Clan Head Jin Cheong-un, who had taken me in.

Just then, the instructor took out a letter and handed it to me.

“The one who drove your family to death was none other than the Jegal Clan Head.”

The secret order they showed me had a short command written on it, along with the secret code used by the Murim Alliance.

No intervention whatsoever.

Murim Alliance Chief Military Strategist, Jegal Sang Order.

That day, neither the Murim Alliance nor the righteous sects moved.

The destruction of the Jin Clan was no coincidence.

‘This is why they kidnapped Jin Mu-yeon.’

The intention was to eliminate the person who drove the family to destruction, using a survivor of the destroyed family.

It was vicious, beyond just a scheme.

Even so, the choice was not difficult.

Doubt had become certainty, and my head was already filled with anger.

“I will do it.”

After that day.

I read the Jegal Clan’s secret manuals, cutting even my sleeping time, and read them repeatedly so that if I were just handed a sword, I could unfold them immediately.

Of course, Heuk-myeong was not careless either.

Because they checked my body frequently, building up internal energy was not permitted.

Seven years after being kidnapped by Heuk-myeong.

I headed to the Jegal Clan.