Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Ancient Forest
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Sching!
Ak Muyoo's right hand traced a terrifying arc at blinding speed, and a burst of pure white radiance exploded forth.
"Huh?!"
Jeok Yeom-cheon's eyes widened as if they might tear apart.
"How can such an absurd thing...?"
In his bulging eyes, he saw something falling downward. It was a human leg attached below the waist.
'No way, my leg...'
His gaze shifted to his hand.
The hand was still right in front of Ak Muyoo's throat. But there was no qi infused in it.
"Im... possible..."
Jeok Yeom-cheon's thoughts ended there.
Soon his mind went blank, and everything froze.
Luha landed on the ground first.
She barely steadied herself and caught the falling Ak Muyoo.
Thud!
But she couldn't withstand the impact and collapsed to the ground. Jeok Yeom-cheon's torso landed on top of them both. The two were drenched in his blood and entrails.
"Are you okay?"
Luha asked.
"Not a scratch."
Ak Muyoo stood up. But he staggered and fell again. Luha supported him.
"Are you okay?"
At that moment, Ara's voice came from above.
"Yeah, we're fine. Let's head to that lake you mentioned."
Luha replied.
"Grab my weapon too."
Ak Muyoo shouted.
"Got it."
"Let's go."
"We have to take that."
Ak Muyoo pointed to the Sun Heaven Sword lying off to the side.
"I'll get it."
Luha picked up the Sun Heaven Sword and handed it to Ak Muyoo. He slid it into its sheath. Then the two headed toward the lake.
After Luha and Ak Muyoo left, a short while later, two people descended. It was Mok Bu-seong and Seo Haran.
"This is grim."
Mok Bu-seong muttered like a groan.
Something unimaginable had happened. Jeok Yeom-cheon was a transcendent master ranked fourth among the Desert Ten Heroes. And he had been defeated.
"They planned it well, and Jeok Yeom-cheon got arrogant. And..."
Seo Haran pulled an arrow embedded in Jeok Yeom-cheon's chest. The arrow was transparent, like it was made of glass.
"What's that?"
"It's a treasure of the Heavenly Bow High Citadel Caravan House: the Dark Current Arrow."
"If it's a treasure, shouldn't they have taken it?"
"They seem to have left it behind, aware of us."
"So they know we're following them?"
"They might not know our exact identities, but they must have sensed strong warriors on their trail."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Curiosity keeps me up at night."
"Who's curious?"
"The one who took down Jeok Yeom-cheon."
"Not the Great Bow Dragon?"
"The Great Bow Dragon is the best with a bow. It doesn't make sense for his arrow to miss. Especially an invisible Dark Current Arrow. Yet it hit Jeok Yeom-cheon not in the heart, but off to the right. That means he dodged the Dark Current Arrow. In other words, she wasn't in position to slice his waist with a single sword stroke."
"For that guy's skill to cut Jeok Yeom-cheon's waist is impossible."
"It's possible if they used the cliff."
Seo Haran pointed to the cliff.
"You mean they sliced his waist while falling from the cliff?"
"Otherwise, how else would the upper and lower body be separated?"
Seo Haran pointed to Jeok Yeom-cheon's lower body.
The lower body was about three張 away from the upper, completely mangled. Traces of a fall from a great height.
"He never dreamed they'd attack while plummeting."
"Exactly. Let's go now."
Seo Haran climbed up the cliff. It was too high to ascend in one go, so she stepped on a protruding rock ledge midway and leaped again.
Once atop, she mounted her camel.
At that time.
Ak Muyoo's group arrived at the lake. The lake was located in the heart of the Ancient Forest.
The lake was oval-shaped, with the long side about twenty張 and the short side around ten張. Unusually, the surface was shrouded in thick steam.
The steam scattered this way and that with every gust of wind, creating a mystical scene.
"Steam's rising?"
Luha said.
"It's because warm water bubbles up from somewhere."
Ak Muyoo explained.
"So there's a hot spring?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"If you follow the lakeshore, there's a spot that dips inward."
Supporting Ak Muyoo, Luha walked along. Soon they reached the place he described. She sat him down and dipped her hand in the water.
"Whoa!"
Luha let out an exclamation. It felt just like dipping into a bathtub filled with warmed water.
Seeing the warm water made her want to jump right in.
"Should we set up the ger here?"
Ara asked Ak Muyoo.
"You can do that?"
"You saw me do it."
"You're saying you can do it after seeing it once?"
"There are guys who memorize complex martial arts formulas after hearing them just once, so what's this?"
Ara shrugged.
She was referring to how Ak Muyoo had memorized all the martial arts formulas recited by Gun Cheokjeon not long ago. And it wasn't just him. He'd memorized the ones from Ak Gun-eok, Cho Yu, and So Dae-hwa perfectly after one listen too.
"Well, yeah... I'm pretty smart. But it's all empty show."
Ak Muyoo grinned sheepishly.
"So you're a perfect martial prodigy, except for your dantian?"
"Yeah."
"That's like a guy who's rich, tall, handsome, and has a great personality—but impotent."
"You little..."
"Go wash up. I can smell the rot from your whole body."
"No jodu, I suppose?"
Jodu was a facial cleanser made from finely ground grains.
"We have some."
"We do?"
"Yeah."
"..."
"You're thinking, 'At a moment between life and death, how did you even prepare for that?' aren't you?"
"You're a mind reader."
"All women are."
Ara pulled a small jar from her bosom and pushed it over. Then she continued.
"I need some too, so use it sparingly."
"Thanks."
Ak Muyoo took the jodu and headed into the lake.
If it were just blood, he wouldn't need jodu. He wanted it because of the foul stench from Jeok Yeom-cheon's spilling entrails. Having been covered in them, the reek was overpowering. Luha was the same.
He set aside items that couldn't get wet and entered the water. It was warmer than most bathtubs. In the water, he stripped off his clothes and shook them out.
"I'll wash them."
Luha, who had followed him in unnoticed, took his clothes. Ak Muyoo went beside a large rock and washed his hair. Blood streamed from it. Once most of the blood was out, he worked the jodu into a lather and scrubbed hard. Old grime and remaining blood washed away. After finishing his hair and sitting, Luha approached and pressed her back against his.
Her actions felt so natural, like they'd been bathing together for years.
Without a word, Ak Muyoo washed Luha's back.
Then a splash came from behind. They turned. Ara, having finished setting up the ger, had entered.
"Have you forgotten I'm a guy?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
Ara, who had waded in naked, approached them.
"Quite the opposite."
"Opposite?"
"I've forgotten I'm a woman."
"That's something you shouldn't forget. Anyway, nice body."
Ara's figure was as voluptuous as Luha's, closer to a Westerner.
"The guy who even shaved my privates is saying that now...?"
Still, she didn't seem displeased; her cheeks lifted slightly.
"That was as a medical officer. Now I'm a strapping man."
"Shouldn't you tell a woman she's pretty or seductively alluring, not just 'nice body'?"
"I said I'd forgotten you're a woman."
"Forgotten, not that you're not one. Anyway, you good?"
Ara's gaze dipped underwater.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm aggrieved."
"About what?"
"You got to see mine."
"Cheon Yu General!"
Ak Muyoo barked.
"Anyway, after seeing hundreds, you're naturally number one. Overwhelmingly so."
Ara grinned broadly.
"Ugh!"
Ak Muyoo glared at her.
"If you're that upset, look all you want."
Ara thrust out her chest.
Then Ak Muyoo reached out and pressed the scar above her breast.
"No pus. Seems healed."
"Good."
"The scar'll last a lifetime."
"Be grateful you're alive."
"True. How about the other spots?"
Ak Muyoo nodded and asked.
"You can check them inside the ger later."
"Want me to scrub your back?"
Luha asked.
"Sure."
Ara went in front of Luha and turned around.
Whether on purpose or not, Luha sat facing Ak Muyoo.
"Your skin's so smooth."
Luha said while scrubbing her back.
"Thanks. Mind if I ask something?"
"What?"
"Your husband left you to him, right? Is that it?"
"How did you know?"
Luha asked, surprised.
"In the Cha Cha Kingdom, when the eldest brother dies, his wealth and family go to the younger brother. I think it's called levirate marriage or something..."
"Right."
Luha nodded.
Before her husband passed, they'd argued a bit. It was over his dying wish for her to follow Ak Muyoo. At first, she'd refused outright. But he begged, saying it was his final request, and she'd reluctantly agreed.
"So you two are husband and wife now?"
"He has to agree."
"In levirate marriage, the man's will doesn't matter, I thought. Isn't that right?"
"This situation's special."
'That guy...'
Ak Muyoo shook his head.
He'd found it odd how she called him "elder brother" and such upon first meeting. Turns out it was for his wife's future.
"Did your husband have no younger brother?"
"He did."
"Then why..."
"Not a blood brother—a cousin."
"You marry a cousin too?"
"Levirate's to continue the family line."
"So as long as the line continues, even distant kin is fine?"
"Yeah. But most men don't like handing their family to relatives."
"True, some kin are worse than strangers."
Ara nodded.
Suddenly, she thought Cha Sawoong entrusting Luha to Ak Muyoo might not just be pity for the still-young widow.
"What did you do before coming to the battlefield?"
Ak Muyoo asked Ara.
"I was at Emei Sect."
"That's a temple."
"Yeah."
"Did you shave your head?"
"I have a dharma name."
"What is it?"
"Bul Jeong."
"Impressive family, so why become a nun?"
"The Cheon Yu Merchant House is impressive, but I'm a concubine's daughter—and a girl. Total unwanted child."
"The principal wife, scared you'd kill her son, called you home and sent you to war?"
"Something like that."
"You got revenge anyway."
"What revenge?"
Ara looked at Ak Muyoo puzzled.
"Ju Jang-cheol must've reported the Cheon Yu General dead. Meaning your dear aunt's precious son can never use the name Adal again."
"Is that so?"
Ara smirked.
"Does your aunt have other kids?"
"She said if she had two, she wouldn't have sent me to war."
"Only son, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Play it right, and you'll be rolling in money."
"Why?"
"The Cheon Yu heir's officially dead. Dead men can't inherit, so you're the only one left."
"That's what they mean by 'the dream's not as good as its interpretation.' Anyway, let's get out."
Ara stood.
"Even if you've shown everything, that's not right."
"Quit yapping and check my wounds, punk."
"You seemed so prim at first..."
"I told you. Three years with the guys, and I started questioning my own identity."
"Sit."
"Why?"
"This hot spring water relieves fatigue."
"Really?"
"My experience. Just sitting here melts away exhaustion and heals wounds."
"Then let's do it."
Ara immediately assumed a cross-legged position.
"I need to circulate my qi too."
Luha also sat cross-legged there.
The two began meditating right away.
"Jealous."
Ak Muyoo gazed at them quietly. Then he let out a soft sigh, leaned against the rock, and closed his eyes. Sleep had always been his best medicine, as before.
He leaned on the rock so his face wouldn't dunk underwater if he dozed off.
He promptly circulated the Myriad Phenomena Great Heaven Force.
"Sleep coming... soon..."
He stifled a yawn. And waited for slumber.
"...?"
Ak Muyoo tilted his head.
"What the hell is this now?"