Chapter: 915
“What’s up with you?”
I asked, looking at Gubong, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“…”
The guy didn’t respond to my question.
I couldn’t help but frown at him.
His face was all puffy and his eyelids were bruised a dark blue.
Needless to say, I didn’t need to mention who did that to him. But that wasn’t what I was concerned about.
‘He’s already walking?’
Gubong had recovered enough to walk. That was where my focus lay.
‘Didn’t I beat him up that badly?’
I had taken precautions not to kill him, but I certainly hadn’t gone easy on him either.
After all, it was also a way for me to vent my frustration, so I had pounded him with enough emotion to crush him.
‘His recovery speed is definitely faster.’
Seeing him standing tall after that beating made me let out a chuckle without meaning to.
“Why? Now that you’re up, are you looking to fight me again?”
I nodded my head a little as I said it.
“There won’t be a second time. Next time, you’re really dead. Got it?”
Since I had spared him once, I wouldn’t do it again. When I warned Gubong sincerely, I noticed his shoulders twitch.
He lightly swallowed.
“…I didn’t come here to fight.”
He said, as if trying to explain himself.
You didn’t come to fight? Then what do you want?
“…I’m here to guide the nobles as commanded by the Great Jangmunin.”
“What?”
His words made my brows furrow deeper.
‘Guide?’
Come to think of it, the old man had mentioned sending a guide. Was he saying that Gubong was the one?
“Seriously, is this old man out of his mind?”
It was absurd.
How could he possibly pick Gubong for this? He wants me to get guided by a guy who harbored ill feelings towards me and just got beat up?
It seemed that the old man was losing his marbles.
Gubong flinched at my words. I looked at him and asked.
“Why? Are you angry because I insulted him again?”
“…”
As I said it with a sneer, Gubong bit his lip. Then he said,
“I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, he bowed his head toward me and offered an apple. I stared at him blankly.
“What are you doing?”
What’s up with this guy? Why is he acting so weird all of a sudden?
“…I let my emotions get the better of me and treated you terribly. I sincerely apologize.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded slightly at the sight of Jeong Su-ri apologizing.
I thought maybe he was just coming to his senses and offering an apology.
‘Looks like Noya did something.’
Life doesn’t just flow smoothly like that, and it seemed obvious that something had happened with Shin Noya.
So that must be why Gubong was shoved into the role of a guide.
‘Though, it doesn’t seem completely insincere.’
Tch.
I sighed and clicked my tongue briefly.
“It doesn’t really matter. I was the one who got hurt anyway.”
If you’re calling out the bad here, honestly, I was worse off than their side—like they had done nothing to me.
So, an apology didn’t really bother me. I had already cleared all my ill feelings when I first punched him.
So, I said,
“Just keep one thing in mind.”
This is merely a warning.
“As I’ve said before, there’s no second chances.”
As I emitted a killing intent with that sentence, I noticed Gubong’s shoulders twitch violently.
“…I will remember that…”
After I heard his response, I relaxed my stance. After that, I scoffed and approached him again.
“So, what exactly are you guiding me about?”
When I asked what I was supposed to be guided on with Gubong, his eyes widened slightly.
“What do you mean…?”
“You said you would guide me. What are you guiding me about?”
“Uh, did you not receive any explanation?”
“Um, they kicked me out right away?”
“…”
Seeing Gubong’s embarrassed expression made it clear.
‘You kicked me out without explaining anything? That’s the face you’re making.’
Yeah, Shin Noya, that old man is indeed strange.
“Do you know what the current situation is?”
“…”
“I’ll explain as we go. For now, it seems wrong to head back.”
Since it seemed I couldn’t go back, I figured I’d just have to head somewhere and think it through.
I followed Gubong beside Cheonma.
What was odd was that even with a perfectly good road available, we were ignoring it and trudging up a mountain path.
Though it was a rough trek, it didn’t seem too difficult, thanks to my stamina.
Crispy.
I brushed aside some branches in front as we went up.
Despite everything, Gubong kept on talking to us without pause.
“We’re heading out to procure groceries once every two weeks.”
“Groceries?”
“Right.”
“It looks like you do some farming too. Do you have to go out to get it?”
“Most items can be found internally, but things like seasonings or other specific goods are quite difficult to get.”
“Well, I can see that.”
Given that everything around was mountains, acquiring everything would be tough, so that was understandable.
“Why exactly are three people going…?”
If the goal is simply to gather groceries, it sounds like a trading trip, but only three are going? That made no sense to me.
Even if it was about groceries, shouldn’t they be taking something to carry it back with? Why were they going empty-handed?
“You don’t have to worry about that. Though they call it procurement, the real job is escorting.”
“Escort?”
“Yes. It’s my job to escort the disciples returning after gathering groceries.”
“…Ah, I see.”
I said, holding my forehead.
“So you kicked me out and are now telling me to guard the kids bringing back food?”
“…Exactly.”
“Are you serious?”
I thought perhaps they were sending me out to do something truly important, but that was all it was?
How ridiculous.
“Hey, what about Seol Young? Didn’t he say that all the major disciples were out? Are they all doing that?”
At my question, Gubong’s expression darkened a bit.
“That’s not the only thing. Only some disciples are doing this. The others are in charge of important tasks.”
“Hmm.”
So not everyone was out looking for food. At least that was somewhat of a relief.
However, as we continued onward, a thought popped into my head.
‘Putting aside the fact that I got kicked out, the sudden task of guarding the kids bringing back food is also suspicious.’
Regardless of Noya’s intentions, I was confident he wouldn’t send me out to do anything harmful.
The problem was.
“Where exactly are you getting those groceries?”
If they can’t produce them internally and need to get them from elsewhere, where are they procuring those necessary items from?
As I wondered if there was another village nearby…
“Yawol Palace.”
“Yawol Palace?”
“It’s a country located to the north.”
Hearing Gubong’s words, I couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.
…It actually exists?
‘Well, it’s kind of funny that all I thought existed was Noya’s Volcano Sect in this vast land.’
I had never thought about it before. I had so much to learn that I hadn’t even considered it.
‘Right, there could be other places.’
In some ways, it should’ve been obvious.
In fact, it was odd that Shin Noya created a Volcano Sect in Man-gye.
‘Sure, he could have made it like it’s just there… But then, who exactly are the people gathered there?’
The fact that all sorts of beings congregated at the Volcano Sect.
And even that there had been friction with beasts and leaders.
‘What exactly has Shin Noya been doing here, and what kind of position is he in?’
These questions suddenly started to bother me.
But anyway.
‘In the end, we’re heading towards a different group now, right?’
Not the Volcano Sect, but another country in Man-gye.
“—Come back after seeing it for yourself.”
That thought mingled in my head along with Noya’s words. It was a lie to say that I wasn’t intrigued, regardless of the situation.
*
After that, we walked for about half a day more.
We really did just walk. Unlike using the lightness technique, we didn’t run; we simply walked.
“Why are we not running?” I asked in frustration. Gubong replied.
“It’s a rule set by the Great Jangmunin to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.”
That’s right, this was something that Shin Noya mandated.
The idea that we had to walk all the way instead of taking other means seemed bizarre, but I didn’t say anything.
Thinking back, Noya had also made us walk when taking us to the Volcano Sect.
It seemed there was a reason for it. Well, there must be a reason.
That’s how it should be.
Munch!
I could even understand why it was annoying as hell to deal with this shit.
I squinted at Cheonma while feeling something fluffy brushing against my head.
“…Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Who’s sneakily touching me?”
“Busted.”
“Busted? What’s that supposed to mean when you’re doing it out in the open?”
It was utterly ridiculous.
Did he seriously think he could just do that and not be caught?
“Pull away.”
“How about just a little more since I’ve been caught?”
“Get lost.”
“Alright, fine.”
Cheonma pulled back her hand with a disappointed glance. What is wrong with her, seriously?
Sigh.
I was so irritated. My tail and ears kept on bothering me.
Was I really expected to put up with this for three days?
Honestly, I wanted to rip it off immediately. Or should I just remove it now?
If I tried to pull it off, would it hurt? Still, wouldn’t it be better? I genuinely pondered that for a while.
“Here we are.”
Upon Gubong’s words ahead, I stopped in my tracks.
I looked ahead.
We were still on a bush-filled mountain path, and something was visible beyond it.
“…Huh.”
I let out a hollow laugh upon seeing it.
I had thought Noya’s Volcano Sect was “huge,” but seeing this made me think nothing of the sort.
‘This is insane.’
It was gigantic. It was incomparably larger than Noya’s Volcano Sect.
‘If you think about it, it might be similar to Hanam?’
It was so vast and monumental that you’d hardly find anything close when comparing it to the whole landscape.
In every sense, it was more like a country.
That thought came to me naturally.
As I was lost in awe at the sight, Gubong spoke.
“Noble. Again, let me remind you, it’s something you must keep in mind.”
He said, seeming quite worried.
Hearing that, I responded with an exasperated tone.
“Yeah, I get it. You keep saying to keep my mouth shut. Don’t worry, I’ll actually stay quiet.”
I absolutely must not open my mouth unnecessarily.
Gubong had been repeating this till he was blue in the face during our trip here.
“I’m doing everything I’ve been told, how many times do you have to say it? Look, I even changed into the proper clothes.”
I had taken off my original clothes and was now wearing the attire of the Volcano Sect.
Cheonma had also changed similarly.
Hadn’t they told us that we had to wear these to enter?
Clothes were no issue to switch out, so I didn’t mind.
Still, even after hearing that I should keep quiet.
“…Just be careful, alright?”
Gubong kept repeating his concerns.
“Got it.”
“Seriously….”
“If you keep talking, I’ll throw a punch.”
“…”
As I started to get annoyed and growled at him, Gubong finally zipped his mouth.
While he kept silent, I could see that there was still anxiety on his face.
Seeing that made me clench my fist, making him turn away and move forward again.
We walked a bit more until a massive gate came into view, with countless people moving back and forth through it.
What I could see was not that different from the Volcano Sect’s interior.
I noticed many beings with ears and tails, just like Gubong and Seol Young.
The difference was….
‘They’re all from that side.’
There had been other unknown beings in the volcano, but here, there were none of those.
I followed behind Gubong.
Soon he approached the entrance and went up to those standing guard.
They were beastmen wielding spears.
As Gubong approached, they reacted.
They grabbed their spears and stared at Gubong. Gubong spoke to them.
“I’ve come to request entry.”
“Who are you?”
“Volcano Sect.”
“Volcano Sect?”
At the mention of the Volcano Sect, the guards’ expressions shifted. I raised an eyebrow at that.
Their expressions were off-putting.
“What’s your purpose?”
“Groceries procurement.”
“How many people?”
“Three.”
As Gubong spoke, the guard looked over at us.
He scrutinized both Cheonma and me from head to toe.
For reference, Cheonma was covering her head under the fabric piece Gubong had provided.
The guard examined my ears and Cheonma’s swaying tail and then told Gubong,
“Permit.”
Hearing that, Gubong pulled something out from his belongings and showed it to him.
The guard inspected it closely and nodded.
“Entrance granted.”
“Thank you.”
Gubong showed respect and proceeded inside.
Fortunately, it seemed everything had been resolved well without issues.
As I was about to head inside slowly…
“Pfft.”
Suddenly, I caught a laugh ripple through the air.
At the same time, I heard the guard sneering at me as I entered.
“Fools.”
It was definitely directed at me.
What’s up with these punks?
‘Should I punch them?’
I clenched my fist tightly.
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