REAPER SCANS

Reincarnator’s Stream

[Translator – SCM]

[Proofreader –  ilafy]

Chapter 127

Insects buzzed in his ears.

It was quiet enough for the insects chirping, the howl of the wind, and even the faint rustling of mice to reach him.

Squirm—

Cheong-ryang struggled and moved a finger. Cold sweat dripped down his entire body due to all the effort he'd put into restoring his suppressed meridians.

As his body began moving little by little, he moved his vocal cords and spoke toward where Un-hyang had disappeared.

"That… Idiot…" He forced out each word with great effort. She would come back before the next stream? No way.

'Ja Unyeop is here.'

Unyeop had also spent a lot of time in Shinryeong Castle. Although his talent couldn't be compared to Un-hyang's, he had a lot of experience. Just like Un-hyang, no, even more so, he was well-versed in the affairs of the castle, and that was how the weak survived.

If you had strength, you could close your ears and focus on yourself, but if you didn't, you needed to stay low and keep your eyes and ears open. Only then would you know who not to mess with.

Among the people in the castle, Ja Unyeop was one of the few who could pose a threat ro Un-hyang.

'You can't win, idiot. The others are all elites too.'

Not to mention the 30 martial artists Unyeop had brought along. None of them were easy opponents. Although they might not have been a threat to Un-hyang, they were skilled enough to draw her attention or be a nuisance, and that was fatal when fighting someone like Ja Unyeop.

To send 30 people along with Unyeop, Shinryeong Castle must have been serious.

Crack—

Once his meridians started to loosen, strength gradually returned to his body. Gritting his teeth, he extended his hand. The veins on his face bulged, and his vision turned red. 

Hands trembling, he picked up the kit that he'd dropped on the floor and dialed a number.

'I won't be of help.'

With his skills, he couldn't even take on one of the martial artists who had followed Unyeop, let alone Unyeop himself. Unlike Un-hyang, he wasn't born with talent, and he'd given up in frustration, so it was only natural.

Still, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing. He needed someone who could come right away, someone far stronger than him, someone who could help…

'Please, pick up.'

There was only one person he could think of. He wasn't sure if that person's arrival would change the situation, nor was he sure if that person would be willing to fight the huge organization called Murim for their sake, considering how they had known each other for a few months.

Step—

Regardless, he was the only one whom he could rely on.

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Translator - SCM

Proofreader - ilafy

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Drip, drip—

The blood flowing from his forearms pooled at his fingertips before falling to the ground. The metallic smell stung his nose. Everyone mixed together, creating a hellish landscape.

Nearly 20 martial artists had died, slaughtered by the sword of a beautiful woman.

'She looks like a wounded beast baring its teeth.'

The whites of Un-hyang's eyes were turning red, perhaps due to burst blood vessels, and she was so terrifying that the surviving martial artists hesitated.

To think she would make those who were already prepared to die retreat. Her presence was certainly extraordinary.

"What are you doing? Why don't you fight?" Despite staggering from blood loss, Un-hyang didn't stop.

Step—

She approached Unyeop. As if her life didn't matter, she paid no attention to her bleeding.

"Don't push yourself."

"You can't kill me anyway." It wasn't an unfounded belief. After all, Shinryeong Castle's goal was to capture her alive. That's why, even though she was at a disadvantage, Un-hyang could keep fighting.

"You're right." Indeed, Unyeop had been holding back. Even when he could have cut her throat or pierced her heart, he only aimed for non-lethal areas, adding small wounds. "That won't change the situation. It just makes things take a bit longer."

"You talk too much."

Step—

"And you aren't even walking." Despite her injuries, it was Un-hyang who closed the distance. She stared at Ja Unyeop with her red eyes. "Are you scared of me?"

"Ha!"

Bzz—

Blue electricity gathered at the tip of Unyeop's sword. "Sound-!"

WHOOM—!

A blue wave surged with the sword strike. The ground of the flattened bamboo forest churned with blue electricity.

Crash—

Un-hyang cut through the chaos and closed the distance in an instant.

Paaf—

With one hand, she swept away the sand. While enduring the electricity running through her body, she swung her sword at Unyeop.

Slash—

A long wound opened from his chest to his shoulder. If he hadn't twisted his body, his head would have been cleanly severed. 

Since she was walking slowly, he’d thought she was tired.

'She has such strength left?'

WHOOM—!

Unyeop swung his sword again, unleashing another thunderous strike, living up to his title of ‘Thunder Sword’.

Un-hyang and Unyeop clashed once more. Although both were wounded, Un-hyang bore the brunt of the injuries.

Drip, drip—

One of her arms was numb and tattered due to her wounds; the injuries on her waist and shoulder were all critical.

She tried to focus, but her consciousness was fading.

'Am I going to lose?' She had no choice but to admit it. Her opponent was Unyeop, someone who held a sword long before she was born and became a high ranker through honing his skill. 

Even in a one-on-one fight, she couldn't be sure of her victory. On top of that, he'd come along with 30 other skilled martial artists.

It was tough. If things went on like that…

Blur—

Unyeop's sword blurred into two for a moment.

Her consciousness slowly faded; she swung her sword in a half-aware state.

Pif—

Boom—!

Unyeop's forearm was slashed while an electric explosion erupted in Un-hyang's abdomen. She staggered, and the distance between the two wounded fighters widened momentarily.

"You truly were born with a talent given by the heavens," a faceless man’s voice echoed.

Her vision blurred. She felt Unyeop aiming his sword at her again.

With both her eyes and mind clouded, Un-hyang's instincts took over as she swung her sword, and old memories flashed before her eyes like a blurry film.

"Mister, who are you?"

"He's the one who will teach you from now on." CheonGuk answered Un-hyang's question.

"Me?"

The man, who'd been spouting hard words like ‘talent given by the heavens’, looked at her as if she were some strange animal.

WHOOM—!

Another wave of blue electricity engulfed her body.

It was strange. Just a few moments ago, she felt as if she were going to die from the pain, but it didn't seem to bother her at all anymore.

"Then this mister is my master?"

"You could say that."

"But who is he?"

The truth was that she didn't ask because she was curious. Honestly, she found it ridiculous that the nameless man suddenly appeared, claiming he could teach her.

"How will you prove that you're qualified to teach me?" At 18 years old, she was overflowing with confidence.

It couldn't be helped. She'd always been the best among her peers, and even among adults with higher ranks, few could match her.

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing if the disciple surpassed the master too quickly?" She was certain that there were only a few people in the world who were qualified to teach her.

"Proof?" The man proved his qualifications in a far more dramatic way than she expected.

"Ugh—"

"Is this enough proof?" The man pierced CheonGuk's stomach with his hand, and the bright red blood, far more than she’d ever seen before, dripped down the man’s hand.

All of that happened in the heart of Shinryeong Castle.

She was too shocked to do anything. By proving himself, she meant for him to spar with her, but he'd subdued Un CheonGuk in an instant, leaving him in a near-death state as if he didn't care about turning all of Shinryeong Castle into his enemy.

He was terrifying.

The thought of whether he could teach her turned into fear of having someone like him as her master.

'But at that moment…' Recalling the situation, Un-hyang let out a bitter laugh. 'If my father had died, what would have happened?'

CheonGuk survived; the secret of his wound remained unknown. Even though he'd been attacked in his own quarters, CheonGuk kept everything strictly confidential.

'What if I hadn't met him?' She learned about the man's identity much later. Probably after she'd already learned a lot from him.

"Are you curious about who I am?"

"Would I keep asking if I weren't?"

A man with the power to instantly subdue the lord of Shinryeong Castle? She couldn't help but be curious. It would have been strange if she weren't.

After asking dozens of times, the man finally said, "I…"

She shouldn't have asked. If she hadn't, she wouldn't be struggling so much.

Crack—

Gritting her teeth, she held onto her consciousness, and Unyeop's face came into view as their swords clashed.

It felt as if she'd returned to reality.

WHOOm—!

Unyeop unleashed another thunderous strike. The power was fierce, but strangely, it didn't hurt as much as before.

'Are you going back like this?' a small voice echoed in her ear. 

She immediately realized who it was. 'Get lost.'

'You don't want to, right? Then decide.'

Her heart wavered. She had already made her decision long ago, but the thought of losing was unbearable—losing to Unyeop meant returning to Shinryeong Castle.

'You just have to close your eyes once.' She knew it wouldn't be just once. Most things started with the word 'once'.

'Once…' The unbearably unpleasant things in front of her were making that ‘once’ convincing.

'Yes.'

Swoosh—

The color of the energy flowing through Un-hyang's body changed.

'Just once.'

Flinch—

Unyeop froze at the sudden change in Un-hyang's energy. His feet, which had been moving nonstop, came to a halt, and the direction of his sword, aiming at her vital points, shifted.

Paf—

He quickly jumped back, creating distance. When he looked again, Un-hyang was still staggering.

'What's going on?' For a moment, the atmosphere changed, and he felt as if his neck had been sliced, his body torn to shreds… as if he were feeling fear of his opponent.

Swoosh—

Unyeop touched his neck while staring at Un-hyang.

Drip, drip—

She stood there, bleeding. Although both were wounded, he still had the upper hand.

'Nothing has changed.' To think he would give up the favorable position and create distance after a momentary illusion. 'Once I go back, I'll have to reflect on this.'

Just when he was about to finish the fight with Un-hyang, a yellow light descended from the sky.

Flash—! 

WHOOM—!

A massive bolt of lightning engulfed Unyeop's body. 

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