Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Chapter 6. The Lone Walker, Dok Haeng-ryu (2)
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“We’ll have to camp here tonight.”
Damho’s words drew a nod from Bang Jinbo.
Even though they had hurried, darkness was already settling over the surroundings.
Damho knew Bang Jinbo could now prepare camp on his own without any instructions.
He built a fire in a hollow beneath a large boulder and got dinner ready. They could have just eaten simple rations, but Bang Jinbo insisted on hanging a pot and fetching water from a nearby spring.
In the meantime, Damho closed his eyes and meditated.
He had fought in many battles so far. Not only with divine strength but also nonstop since entering the Central Plains. There was probably no one who had fought as much as he had in such a short time.
The endless string of fights had sharpened his combat instincts to the peak. It had also begun to reveal the flaws in his Shadow Form Fist.
The Shadow Form Fist he had developed in the darkness was undoubtedly destructive. In a one-on-one fight, few fists could match its devastating power.
He had confirmed this in countless battles. The problem lay in fights against multiple opponents. When facing a crowd, the Shadow Form Fist clearly fell short.
But Damho didn’t rush. Improving a martial art with a solid foundation was never easy. Not even for him, its creator.
It was while Damho was lost in deep thought.
“Hyung, time to eat.”
Bang Jinbo’s voice snapped him out of it.
Damho opened his eyes and looked at Bang Jinbo. He had already set out a decent meal and was watching him.
“Hehe!”
Bang Jinbo’s cooking skills had improved by leaps and bounds. He had reached the point where he could make tasty food with just a few ingredients.
Today’s dish was beef porridge. He had made it from pre-prepared beef jerky and dried grain powder.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“No big deal. Eat up, hyung.”
Bang Jinbo scooped out a bowl and handed it to Damho.
For porridge hastily made in the mountains, the aroma and flavor were exceptional. Damho thought meeting Bang Jinbo had been a stroke of luck.
Watching Damho eat with relish, Bang Jinbo took up his own spoon. Even as the cook, he found it delicious.
“Hehe! Tastes great.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“No, really. It was nothing—just whipped it up.”
Bang Jinbo waved it off. Damho silently watched him.
Bang Jinbo’s once childish face now bore a more mature expression. All the experiences had toughened him up.
Damho felt proud of him.
“Hyung, can I ask you one thing?”
“Speak.”
“The Mount Hua Sect… Are you really okay with that? Not meeting them and just leaving like this.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Really? Weren’t you a disciple of Mount Hua?”
“That was in the past.”
Damho answered with a calm expression.
After the Ak Yang Sword Gate incident, Han Soyu had come looking for him. But Damho hadn’t met her.
Their bond was already severed. The only thread holding it was his master, and even that was fragile enough to snap at any moment.
“I’ll visit Mount Hua someday. But it doesn’t have to be now.”
Han Soyu had said Elder Hyun So was doing well.
That was enough. He had more than enough reasons to put Mount Hua out of his mind for the time being.
“So you’re not going to the Mount Hua Sect?”
“Not right now.”
“Ehyo!”
“Are you disappointed?”
“They say the scenery at Mount Hua is unmatched. I’ve always wanted to see it.”
“You will, someday.”
“You have to take me then.”
“Alright.”
Damho replied evenly.
A bright smile lit up Bang Jinbo’s face.
“Get some rest. We need to stock up on energy for an early start tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
Bang Jinbo replied briskly and lay down. Exhausted from the long march, he fell asleep in no time.
Damho watched Bang Jinbo’s sleeping form for a moment, then closed his eyes.
The next day, the two left their campsite at dawn.
The path down the mountain wasn’t too tough. It was gentle enough to ride horses, so they descended easily.
“Phew!”
Reaching a small stream at the mountain’s base, Bang Jinbo let out a sigh of relief.
Riding down the mountain had taken a toll on his stamina. Just half a day in the saddle felt like it had burned off several pounds.
Bang Jinbo dismounted and splashed water on his face. The cold water cleared his head and washed away the fatigue.
“Refreshing.”
Bang Jinbo grinned widely.
With the heat gone, he finally had a chance to look around.
Vast rice paddies stretched before them. The rice swaying in the wind was a breathtaking sight.
“Wow!”
An exclamation burst from Bang Jinbo’s lips.
He had never seen such a rice-filled plain before. Neither had Damho.
Farmers tended the fields here and there. Seeing them with trousers rolled up to their waists, pulling weeds, stirred something in Damho.
“Hahaha!”
Their laughter carried all the way over.
What could be so joyful? They chattered without pause, smiles plastered on their faces.
Sweat poured down their foreheads and chins, but not one complained of tiredness.
Damho and Bang Jinbo watched the farmers in silence for a while. This was a world apart from the harsh one they knew.
Women approached, baskets strapped to their foreheads.
“Have some snacks and get back to work.”
The women called loudly to their husbands and children toiling away. The farmers, dripping sweat, walked over with smiles.
Suddenly, a middle-aged farmer spotted Damho and Bang Jinbo and looked their way. After eyeing them for a moment, he ambled over.
“New faces. Did you come over that mountain?”
“Yes! We’re from Hunan Province.”
Bang Jinbo answered.
A smile crept onto the farmer’s face.
“I see. Long journey. Hungry?”
“Hehe! Starving.”
Bang Jinbo flashed a cheeky grin. Liking the boy’s spirit, the farmer beamed at Damho.
“If it’s not too much trouble, join us? Not much, but…”
“That’s fine.”
“He doesn’t seem picky, but the kid…”
The farmer pointed at Bang Jinbo at Damho’s words.
Bang Jinbo gazed at Damho with a look like he might cry any second. His eyes pleaded desperately.
‘Hyung, please.’
Bang Jinbo weakened at the sight of food.
Unable to resist the earnest plea, Damho nodded reluctantly.
“If it’s not a bother…”
“Bother? It’s extra food anyway.”
The farmer led them under a large tree. There, a middle-aged woman with a child strapped to her back in a cloth carrier was spreading out a mat.
On the tray inside were steaming potatoes and a kettle of homemade liquor.
“Honey, you must be hungry?”
The woman greeted her husband warmly, then noticed Damho and Bang Jinbo. Strangers joining was odd.
The farmer grumbled.
“Just travelers passing by. Food tastes better with company.”
“You again?”
The woman shook her head helplessly. From her reaction, this wasn’t the first time.
But soon she smiled brightly.
“Just potatoes, but please eat with us.”
Like her husband, she seemed to enjoy sharing with strangers.
“Thank you.”
Bang Jinbo bowed deeply without hesitation and sat down. The woman covered her mouth and laughed.
Damho plopped down beside him.
The farmer picked up a large potato and handed it to Damho.
“Eat up.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. Plenty of potatoes.”
The farmer spoke gruffly and started eating. The woman smiled faintly at his demeanor.
He was a man full of heart. He couldn’t let passersby go without feeding them at least a potato.
It might seem foolish, but she loved that about him—his generous and kind spirit.
The farmer lifted the kettle toward Damho.
“Homemade brew. Care for some? Not fancy, but quenches thirst well.”
When Damho nodded, the farmer filled a bowl to the brim, then his own, and downed it in gulps.
“Kuh! Good stuff.”
He wiped the liquor from his lips and smiled. Bang Jinbo unconsciously swallowed hard at how enjoyably he drank.
The farmer noticed and asked.
“Thirsty?”
“Yes!”
“Liquor’s for when you’re grown. Wait till the peach fuzz sprouts.”
“Yes!”
Bang Jinbo’s face fell instantly. But the tasty potato soon pushed the disappointment aside.
Damho ate his potato with gusto too. It was rough fare without even salt, but it carried the woman’s care for her husband, making it all the more delicious.
The woman squatted nearby, eyeing Damho and Bang Jinbo with curiosity.
Damho clearly wasn’t ordinary. His attire and aura set him apart from any traveler she’d seen.
Curiosity got the better of her.
“Where are you headed?”
“No particular destination.”
“Wandering the world, then?”
“That’s right.”
She nodded at Damho’s reply, envy plain on her face.
Born here, married here—the world to her was this place. She still yearned for the outside. Free wanderers like these always stirred that longing.
“Seen a lot? What’s the most beautiful place?”
“Hey now…”
The farmer clicked his tongue, and she shrank back a bit. But the curiosity in her eyes lingered.
Damho answered without hesitation.
“Of all the sights I’ve seen, Mount Hua takes the prize.”
“Mount Hua in Shaanxi?”
“Yes.”
“Is it really that beautiful?”
“Of all the sights I’ve seen…”
“What makes Mount Hua so beautiful?”
“Well…”
Damho delved into his memories.
“Mount Hua is a rocky crag—think Baekcheok Gorge, Cheoncheok Hall, near-vertical stone steps. Climb them, and sweat pours like rain. But crest that, and you see Polryong Ridge like a dragon’s spine. Beyond lies Yeonhwa Peak, most stunning at sunset. The glow is unmatched. Head to Joyang Road for plum blossoms supreme. Spring breezes carry their scent, dizzying the mind. When they fall, the whole mountain turns white with petals.”
The words flowed unbidden.
Memories long buried since his solitary confinement in the Thousand Gold Horse Pavilion surged forth.
The small thatched hut on Yun Dae-bong, the panoramic view of Mount Hua from there, his days with his master.
The image of his child self, tiny fists pounding rock, crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Damho’s gaze deepened.
The long-forgotten sight of Mount Hua lived again in his mind.