As the sunset dyed the sky red, it vanished, and darkness settled in. The lights in the village faded, and the stars in the sky became clearer, so I stepped outside the inn.
Just then, Chaeran stepped out with a question.
“But isn’t it unnecessary for the innkeeper to go personally?”
“It’s better if I see it with my own eyes.”
“That’s true, but where is it between Cheonil Village and Seomhwa Village?”
Curious, I showed Chaeran the map. There was a small stream a bit further down from the valley between the two villages, near where the hidden landscape I was looking for was located.
“Hmm… It’s a bit far from the hidden landscape I went to last time.”
“Oh, the one you went to with the Sword Saint?”
At that moment, the inn’s door opened, and Chaejin walked out. She stared at Chaeran for a moment before swiftly turning her gaze to me.
“Don’t tell me… she’s going too?”
“That’s right.”
Chaejin sighed softly, her face showing disappointment.
But it couldn’t be helped. No matter how easy this hidden landscape was said to be, I wasn’t much of a help when it came to combat.
Precautions were essential.
“But your attire is a bit…”
Chaejin walked out dressed in Moonjeong attire with just a fur coat on top.
Even if her martial arts were strong enough to bear the cold, we still had to ride horses…
“It’s fine for me.”
Receiving my gaze, Chaejin smiled brightly. It seemed she understood what I was hinting at.
“Honestly, I don’t need this much. I wore it in case the innkeeper got cold while we were out.”
After Chaejin spoke, Chaeran added, “Elder Sister might be silly, but her stamina is good, so don’t worry.”
“Haha. Chaejin isn’t silly at all. She does such a great job.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“In what way? Except for teaching martial arts, of course.”
Grinning, Chaeran asked, and I replied with a smile, “Alright. Let’s go.”
“Innkeeper?!”
“Just kidding. I can trust you with the operations of the inn and other matters. Last time I left for a bit, I had you handle things, and you did splendidly.”
“Oh~. Is that true?”
It is. When there’s a lot of work, Yohwan and Chaejin occasionally help out, and they were quite useful then.
Basically, the expectations from Moonjeong were high, but Chaejin wasn’t completely incompetent.
“Hehe.”
Chaeran looked at her with pride but then shook her head.
“I should have you try other tasks when we get to Moonjeong.”
“… Let’s think about that later.”
She seemed reluctant. Chaejin hurriedly wrapped up the conversation and got on the horse.
It was quite a big yet gentle horse, probably because it was borrowed from the government office earlier.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Do you think we can get back by dawn if we hurry?”
“That should be possible, using the knowledge I have to find the hidden landscape. Plus, according to my research, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
I smiled at Chaejin.
“I trust only you, Chaejin.”
“Leave it to me!”
And so, we rode away from Seomhwa Village. The chilly night wind stung my face, but there was no time to rest.
It was a bit of a sting, but there was no time to rest.
“I told Yohwan to handle the morning business, but I have to be there for lunch.”
“Is it around here?”
After a long run, Chaejin pulled on the reins near the canyon. She set her horse down, which groaned a bit, and looked around.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any special evil monsters around… oh, I can leave the horse over there.”
There was a decent place to escape the cold night breeze. Once she tied the horses there, they seemed tired from the run and sat down.
“What’s the legendary spot that the Innkeeper is looking for?”
“The secret of Hwajoryul.”
“Hwajoryul?”
“One of the heroes who renamed himself after being inspired by Hwajopung. He was also an excellent archer. A hero on the side of good… I never expected his secret to be here. How did you find out?”
To be precise, it was mentioned in the攻略 (strategy guide) for the Heavenly Bright Moon Gallery, but it felt a bit off to say that. Still, I had plenty to explain.
“While consulting, an old woman told me. It’s a legend passed down in Cheonil Village… It’s said that Hwajoryul, who stayed around here, took down a powerful evil monster that was tormenting people nearby.”
“Like Hongduo Gong?”
“More precisely, it was a guy named Cheollak, one of Sahyung’s minions of chaos. A monster with a body of iron…”
As we descended into the canyon, I shared the information and deductions I had gathered. Chaejin, as always, nodded along, enjoying the story, while Chaeran chimed in with her opinions during my tale.
“Anyway, Hwajoryul caught Cheollak and acquired a powerful arrow called Hwaerunsih. That secret might have been created to commemorate that.”
As we reached the bottom of the canyon, strange-shaped rocks were everywhere, marked with little signs.
“Can you help me out?”
I adjusted the direction of the rocks.
Chaeran occasionally asked why I had to adjust them this way, but since I remembered the related setting, answering was not too difficult.
“All done.”
After moving the last rock, I placed the Taegukbu in the center. At that moment, light burst forth from it, resonating with the marks on the rocks and starting to converge into a single gleam.
“That might be it?”
Even after picking up the Taegukbu, light remained. When Chaeran pointed to the canyon wall where the light was heading, I approached it.
Then, I tapped on the engraved pattern on the wall, which began to change its form and align its light and shape, just like during the Heavenly Bright Moon event.
-Kugugugung…!!
With a low vibration, the wall vanished, revealing a staircase leading down.
“Do you have any light juice?”
“Yes.”
Chaeran pulled out a glowing orb from her pocket, and relying on it, we went down.
At the bottom of the stairs, there was the legendary spot.
“Wow…”
“Finding a secret usually happens like this. Legends of the past and records, with a bit of deduction.”
“And a spark of inspiration too!”
Winking with one eye, Chaeran confidently stated, while Chaejin pressed her forehead as if she had a headache and then smiled at me.
“Then I’ll leave this to the Innkeeper.”
“Indeed. We all have our own roles. Now let’s go in. I think I’m nearly done with my part.”
“Here we go. It seems like I’ve finished most of my tasks.”
“Of course, I could point out some traps inside, but…”
“Chaejin or Chaeran would do it better than me anyway.”
As expected, Chaejin excelled. Maybe it was her instinct, but she stopped moving and destroyed traps using the Moonlight Sword technique, proving her skills when an evil monster appeared.
We passed through the secret realm quite easily, but when we reached the last owner’s location, both Chaejin and Chaeran groaned.
“Ugh…”
“Is it going to be tough?”
The owner of the secret realm was a bronze giant resembling the fiery plate of Cheollak. The two of them shook their heads at my words.
“Nope. Just thinking about who should go first.”
“Shouldn’t I go then?”
As Chaeran giggled, Chaejin leaped down immediately.
“Hey! That’s cheating!”
“First come, first served!! Haha! The innkeeper’s compliments are mine!!”
“Oh dear.”
Chaeran let out a long sigh and stood beside me. Meanwhile, Chaejin began to literally smash the moving bronze giant.
“If only she could do well in other things too.”
“Do you dislike me that much?”
“It’s not that. I just want to surpass you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But…”
Chaeran glanced up at me and smirked with a hint of mischief.
“You know, lately, it seems unnecessary. Did you know? Sister, you’ve improved a lot. Back when you were at Moonjeong, you were quite anxious… but since staying at the inn, you’ve become more relaxed.”
“Hmm…”
“…So, I’ll leave it in your hands, sister.”
“I got it!!”
Was it because the secret realm wasn’t suited for Chaejin’s level? The bronze giant eventually broke down and collapsed. Watching this, Chaeran shrugged her shoulders.
“Alright, let’s go.”
While Chaejin and Chaeran went to the reward room, I examined the remnants of the bronze giant. Among them, I picked up a gray bronze fragment.
This material, ancient bronze, provides better defense when added to armor crafting.
I need to use this to make equipment for Sayoon.
Noah should be able to craft it easily since he can already create the Hyunwun Armor.
“Oh… there’s quite a bit of reward here?”
Surprised, Chaejin opened the box she brought out. Inside were a map, a red dagger, a bracelet, a long talisman, and a charm.
“This map is…”
“A clue for another secret realm of the Phoenix Melody. Feel free to take it if you need it.”
“Aren’t you interested, innkeeper?”
Not really. It’s not a place we need to go to, and it’s far away. So, I handed the map to Chaeran.
I figured she would be satisfied with this since she loves investigating and exploring secret realms, and just as I thought, she was quite happy.
“And Chaejin, you should take this.”
I placed the charm in her hand. Confused by what it was, she tilted her head, and I calmly explained.
“This is a charm of the god Dunjeong. It will help you in your training.”
“Hehe. I’ll make good use of it.”
Should I give the dagger to Hongryeon?
Since she primarily uses a large sword, it would be better to have a dagger or two on hand. Especially since this dagger suits practitioners of the sword techniques and carries fiery energy, it would match her well.
“It’s better to have a dagger or two on hand. Especially since this dagger suits those who use the Taoist martial arts, and its fiery red color makes it quite fitting for her.”
“What is this token?”
“This is called the Cheonghyo Token. They say it helps stabilize the mind and body.”
“Wow, Innkeeper, you know a lot!”
“To run a store, you have to at least know the value and names of the goods.”
“Still, there are many store owners who don’t know much about items.”
“You can learn by reading books. There are plenty of good ones; I can recommend some.”
Chaeran nodded in anticipation, and I gave Chaejin a light tap on the back.
“Thank you. Let’s ask you for another favor. And let’s ask again tomorrow.”
Because there were still hidden realms we needed to venture into.
“Oh, right. We’re going together again, right?”
Seeing her bounce ahead with a lively step, Chaejin gently spoke, and I shook my head.
“No.”
This hidden realm was one we needed to tackle just the two of us.
So…
“We’re going together.”
At my words, a tense spark lit up her eyes.
And then, checking as if confirming with each word, she asked with emphasis.
“Me and the Innkeeper. Just us?”
“That’s right. If it’s too tough…”
“I’m not tired at all! Leave it to me!”
I nodded in response to her excited demeanor.
As expected, breaking through the hidden realm went off without a hitch.
The rest was just about crafting items for Sayoon.
Thus, emerging from the hidden realm, we rode back to Seomhwa Village.
By the time we returned, the morning sales were winding down.
Maybe because of our late-night adventures, Chaeran seemed tired as she headed to her room, while Chaejin also decided she needed some rest.
Of course, I had no time to spare.
“I’ll be heading to the blacksmith for a bit.”
“Take care.”
With Yohwan sending me off, I made my way straight to the smithy.
The artisans there were busy at work as usual.
Peeking inside, I saw Mak Noya pondering over some blueprints.
“Hmm? When did you arrive?”
“I just got here. By the way, that…”
“Oh, this? It’s a commission from Hongseong.”
Hongseong? As I looked over, he handed me the blueprint.
“Napil Sword asked for it. He wanted to create armor for the youngest member of Hongseong. Well, if it’s for Sayoon, I have to put in the proper effort.”
“That works out perfectly.”
I pulled out the ancient bronze we had acquired from the hidden realm. Mak Noya’s eyes widened when he saw it.
“Where did you get this? Seeing you hand it over, I can’t possibly doubt its significance…”
“I stumbled upon it accidentally. Don’t you think it’ll help when making armor for Sayoon?”
“Wow. That is a matter I must discuss with Hongseong specifically. Ancient bronze is quite valuable.”
I nodded in agreement.
Valuable for sure, but if it helps us out in a pinch, it’s worth the price.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
