Chapter 47: Mount Hua (1)
It had been about a month since the Hao Clan received a request from the Gu Clan.
During that time, various events had unfolded in Dowoon-Chu’s life, both big and small.
After Gu Yangcheon left the Hao Clan, the first thing Dowoon-Chu had to do was not the mission Gu Yangcheon had given him, nor was it finding out what happened to the information Gu Yangcheon supplied. Instead, it was about gathering information regarding the Gu Clan itself.
Considering how Dowoon-Chu immediately started discussing the clan leader, it seemed that the prime suspect had to be the Gu Clan.
Dowoon-Chu needed to know.
Did the Gu Clan actually kidnap the Lord of the Hao Clan?
If so, for what reason? When and how did this happen?
And why on earth did they send Gu Yangcheon to bring the news?
While seeking these answers, he also had to verify Gu Yangcheon’s request and the authenticity of the information given.
A whole month felt agonizingly short for handling all these.
Yet, despite the limited time, Dowoon-Chu had no option but to press on.
He certainly couldn’t just return without any results.
First, he began to accumulate whatever information he could find about the Gu Clan.
The Hao Clan was on par with the central region in both searching and concealing information.
Hence, Dowoon-Chu believed that even if he couldn’t use all of his clan’s influence, he should still be able to unearth something if he sincerely sought it out.
However, aside from the pre-existing info they already possessed about the Gu Clan, there was no new information to be found.
Even for the so-called “Four Great Clans,” this didn’t seem likely. In fact, it felt downright bizarre.
It felt as if someone was purposely cutting off the flow of information.
…Are they hiding the Heavenly Venerables in their clan or something?
What a ridiculous thought to entertain!
It had turned out to be quite tough for Dowoon-Chu to verify the truths surrounding Gu Yangcheon’s details regarding the Yekcheonsan mountain within just a month.
With the distance involved, it was hardly a surprise that information wouldn’t easily travel.
However, he had heard news about some suspicious happenings that piqued his interest, so he was staying alert.
Furthermore, there was an overwhelming amount of information passing back and forth.
Nonetheless, Dowoon-Chu needed to maintain his composure, keeping the mask he wore.
No matter how curious he might be, he must not expose this weakness to others.
Being curious itself was the biggest weakness he could show to an opponent.
He had lived with this mindset up to now and was confident that he had not erred in doing so.
However, today, Dowoon-Chu found himself momentarily forced to drop that mindset.
This question was something he absolutely had to voice.
After hesitating for what felt like ages, he finally asked, “…Young Master Gu, may I ask you something?”
“No, don’t ask.”
“What happened to your eye…?”
With careful intent, Dowoon-Chu pointed towards Gu Yangcheon’s left eye.
What had once been an unblemished eye now bore the signs of a deep blue bruise, swollen like a balloon.
“…I told you not to ask.”
At the same time, Gu Yangcheon’s brows furrowed deeply.
*
Did he really have to ask about this…?
I was already feeling irritable having dragged my exhausted self all the way here.
Ah…
A sigh escaped me involuntarily after hearing Dowoon-Chu’s question.
This bruise was a badge of honor from my encounter with a wild boar last night.
That piece of…
That crazy boar, I told her to calm down, but she would not listen no matter how many times I said it!
What unnerved me more was that Gu Huibi had been grinning throughout our duel.
What was so exciting about charging at me like that?
She claimed she was helping me release the lingering Qi, yet halfway through it looked like she was just enjoying herself.
In the end, I managed to shed most of the Qi colors from my body during our duel, but I also ended up with a bruise.
“…It’s just that something happened.”
“I see…”
Once the duel concluded, Gu Huibi had shown visible guilt for going too far as she looked at me.
…Who continues to attack with their elbow after missing their sword strike?
Luckily, since she had missed that initial strike, she was a bit low on Qi, otherwise, I could have ended up with a fractured skull.
I swear I’m never dueling her again.
Meanwhile, Dowoon-Chu kept stealing glances at my bruise, appearing somewhat worried.
Is he looking for a chance to strike me?
Dowoon-Chu coughed lightly, noticing my discomfort from his invasive staring.
“…Ahem, I heard you had some business during your trip to Sichuan.”
“Business…?”
I halted mid-sip of my tea, halted by Dowoon-Chu’s words.
The only business I had in Sichuan was that secret vault, and there was no way he could know about that… right?
“I heard that you defeated the Lightning Dragon.”
“Oh.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me upon realizing what he meant.
Thank goodness he didn’t seem to know anything about the secret vault.
I had nearly forgotten half of what Dowoon-Chu was asking about; the incident with the Lightning Dragon held little significance to me.
“The tale of the Gu Clan’s young master taming the Lightning Dragon’s arm in battle, that’s about you, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t tame it… just gave it a light tap.”
There were only so many people at the Tang Military Exhibition, so who was spreading these rumors…?
“Well, where there are many eyes, there will be many mouths.”
It seemed Dowoon-Chu anticipated this response from me as he filled in the gaps.
Honestly, I expected the story to spread like wildfire given the embarrassment brought upon the Lightning Dragon. Oddly enough, it didn’t spread much at all.
“The Namgung Clan is frantically trying to stop the rumors from getting out further.”
Ah, that sounds like something they’d certainly do.
Despite their efforts to contain the whispers…
They probably dished out some gold coins to the Beggar’s Sect or something.
Stopping gossip from spreading was always tougher than starting rumors, and yet somehow, the Namgung Clan had achieved this feat.
They must have shelled out a significant amount of money to do so.
What was even more shocking was that Dowoon-Chu seemed more concerned about my bruise than the fact that I had defeated the Lightning Dragon.
…Is he seriously more surprised about my black eye than the whole defeating-a-dragon thing?
What kind of nonsense is this…?
“Anyway, how’s my request progressing?”
In response to my question, Dowoon-Chu seemingly anticipated it and pulled out a letter from his belongings.
I took the letter without hesitation, eager to uncover the news I had waited a month for.
“…What is this?”
However, I noticed something was off.
Frowning, I scanned through a few lines.
The brief letter contained information about the whereabouts of the child I was searching for, but it stated that the child had already left the area with his grandfather at the time I had handed in the request to Dowoon-Chu.
That was simply absurd.
It was absurd that the boy had already left the area, and leaving with his grandfather was even more baffling.
I had heard he was an orphan, but now it seemed he had a grandfather? Furthermore…
“You say he’s already left the area?”
“Yes, that’s what we could ascertain.”
A boy of about ten years old, predominantly gray hair, living in a uniquely rugged mountainous area.
There was no doubt—anyone could identify him with such distinct traits.
This left me with three possibilities: either the Hao Clan was lying, the info I had was incorrect, or…
Something had changed again.
What a headache.
If the Hao Clan was lying, what could possibly be their motivation?
If I had to guess, it might be that they were trying to keep an eye on him to extract more information from me, or they had kidnapped him thinking I held him dear…
Both possibilities didn’t really harm me, because if either were true, it made my job easier.
But if my knowledge of this child was initially flawed, that presented a whole new dilemma.
If he lied to me even when he was in such a dire situation…
All the information I had came directly from him.
If he deceived me while in a life-threatening scenario…
That thought sent chills down my spine.
Would he really lie to me on his last breath?
I couldn’t be assured of anything—the possibility that he might just be the type to lie even when facing death crossed my mind.
He was merely an ordinary person, devoid of Qi, who managed to outsmart thousands of martial artists using just his intellect.
Even so…
Whatever the answer may be, I found myself in a predicament where I couldn’t do much.
I couldn’t afford to waste time searching for definitive answers.
Soon enough, I had to head to Mount Hua.
…It feels like a ton of problems have hit me all at once.
“Young Master.”
“…What should I do about this?”
“Young Master…!”
“…What?”
As I navigated through the market after exiting the Hao Clan, I had nothing more to discuss.
So, I informed them that I wouldn’t be coming back until a few days.
And now, like always, I was determined to buy some yakgwa.
It had almost morphed into second nature for me.
As I gathered a handful of yakgwa, I noticed Muyeon with a sorrowful expression behind me.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he looked like that.
“…What’s the matter? Why the long face?”
“…I don’t have any money, Young Master…”
Muyeon suddenly blurted that out.
What on earth is he talking about?
Why does he think he’ll be the one paying for it?
This prompted a cheeky desire to tease him a bit.
“What!? Why are you telling me that only now!?”
At my words, Muyeon experienced a look of despair, as if he’d anticipated my response.
Seeing his expression, I immediately pulled out some silver coins from my pocket and couldn’t help but chuckle as his face shifted from despair to shock.
“Hey, it was a joke! Did you really think you would pay for it?”
“No… that’s not it…”
“No? Then why the dramatics?”
“…If you have money, could you return the money you borrowed from me last time…?”
“….”
“The yakgwa is here!”
“Oh! The yakgwa is here, we should hurry home!”
I snatched up the yakgwa that conveniently just arrived and started walking back toward my clan.
I could hear Muyeon calling out to me, sounding a bit disheartened.
But for now, I pretended not to hear him.
Sorry… I swear I’ll pay you back next time.
*
If I had to point out the biggest change in Gu Yangcheon’s dwelling, it would have to be all the wooden statues lining up.
The once dull and lifeless place had begun to take on some liveliness; partly thanks to Wi Seol-Ah, and the Sword Emperor’s hobby.
The Second Elder thought this as he gazed at the recently completed eagle.
“You say he left Anhui?”
This was a question posed by the Sword Emperor.
The Second Elder gently set down the eagle sculpture, handling it with utmost care as if afraid it might break.
“That’s what I heard.”
“…Did something happen?”
The Immortal Healer was a man who acted like the wind.
He didn’t remain in one place for long.
His traveling to Anhui bore a significant implication.
Anhui was the region of the Lord of Heaven, Jeolcheon, who was on a search for him.
For the Immortal Healer to be in Anhui while Jeolcheon was there…
The Sword Emperor sensed that something ominous was on the horizon.
…But why?
If Jeolcheon knew that the Sword Emperor was searching for the Immortal Healer, he wouldn’t have let him go.
Yet, somehow he had already departed Anhui?
“Do you know where he has gone, Gu Ryoon?”
The Second Elder momentarily pondered the Sword Emperor’s question.
The reason he headed to Namgung had been at the Lord’s request.
He needed to resolve Gu Yangcheon’s marital arrangement as well as matters concerning the Immortal Healer.
Considering how much work he had accomplished since sending Gu Yangcheon to Sichuan, he felt like giving Gu Yangcheon a proper smack during their next encounter.
By the time the Second Elder arrived in Anhui, the Immortal Healer was already gone.
Whenever they were asked where he had gone, the locals had expressed ignorance.
Yet, the Second Elder had learned from other sources that he had mentioned heading to the Shaanxi Province.
“…Shaanxi? So that would be Mount Hua?”
That sounded familiar. It was actually where Gu Yangcheon would be heading in a few days.
“What will you do?”
“If necessary, I will go search for him myself.”
The thought of the Sword Emperor, who was hiding in plain sight and had taken on a servant’s identity to avoid detection, now opting to search for himself seemed quite desperate.
Could it really be that urgent for him?
The Second Elder struggled to understand the depth of the Sword Emperor’s situation.
He asked what he intended to do, but the Sword Emperor didn’t provide an answer.
A few days later, the Second Elder learned that both Wi Seol-Ah and the Sword Emperor’s names appeared on the list of those departing for Mount Hua.
*
For a farmer, summer felt like hell.
Not only was the relentless sun scorching down, but the arduous labor often resulted in crops withering, leading to earning less than the already meager wage.
One could argue that all seasons were a struggle…
But for Mangdong, who helped his mother with farming, summer was the toughest of them all.
“Mother! I don’t think we can sell this!”
Despondently, he threw down the crop he had been carrying onto the ground.
Ugh, this wretched season.
I frequently questioned how long it would be before this miserable season would finally end.
Year after year, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and lamented, yet nothing ever changed.
Just then, a shadow briefly obscured the constant sunlight.
“What the…?”
I glanced up at the sky, wondering if rain was finally approaching.
Alas, it wasn’t rain that had captured my attention, but the person casting their shadow over me, leaving me utterly spellbound.
“…Whoa…!”
So shocked was I that I fell flat on my backside while exclaiming.
An angelic figure stood before me, with hair shining azure white under the sunlight and a complexion so pale it seemed she had never seen the light of day.
This is the image my father would rave about when drunk!
“Excuse me…”
She spoke.
Oh my gods, her voice is divine…
I struggled to calm my racing heart.
“Y-Yes!?”
“Could you tell me how to reach Shanxi?”
Shanxi…? Why is she asking about Shanxi?
Is she from Shanxi…? My mind raced with such nonsensical thoughts.
But somehow, I regained my senses.
“S-Shanxi is just east of here…”
“Thank you.”
Seemingly in a hurry, as soon as she got my response, she took off into the sky…
Sh-She just flew away!
My voice trembled as I shouted.
“What are you yelling for?!”
“M-Mother, there’s an angel!”
“…You crazy child, you’ve lost your mind since getting dumped last time.”
“No, I swear, look—”
No argument I made changed her mind, and she returned to her work, completely dismissing me.
I had no proof for my extraordinary claim.
“…What on earth was that?”
It was then I noticed a silver coin lying where the angel had been standing.
A sum enough to feed my entire family for months.
“H-Holy…”
Did the angel leave this behind for me?
Swiftly slipping the coin into my pocket, I couldn’t shake off the lingering questions.
The angel had asked about Shanxi. But I had instructed her it was to the east.
…Then why did she fly off to the west?
I even pointed in the right direction…
I would carry that mystery with me to my grave.
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