Chapter 125
Chapter 125
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: An Omen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The road he traveled with Dang So-so and Seol Ha-ryeong was wide enough for a carriage. For a region with rugged mountain terrain, it was relatively flat, but it tended to wind and curve.
After several days, they had passed the winding part of the road. From here on, all they had to do was follow a nearly straight path to reach Hubei.
However, the path from here to Chipyeong Temple was a difficult mountain trail, unsuitable for a carriage.
So, Mu-heun sought the understanding of Seol Ha-ryeong and Dang So-so.
"Lady Dang So-so, Lady Seol Ha-ryeong. When we arrive in Hubei, do you plan to head directly to the Martial Alliance in Yunnan?"
Despite Mu-heun's sudden question, Dang So-so answered calmly.
"No. It's quite a long journey, so we'll probably rest for a while in Yichang, Hubei Province. It's a port city, a perfect place for travelers to rest."
"I see. In that case, if we continue by carriage, won't it take about two weeks?"
"Yes... I suppose so."
"Then, may I meet you there in two weeks? Something has come up that requires me to visit Chipyeong Temple in the nearby Chongqing region."
"What...? Chipyeong Temple? Ah, well, of course."
Dang So-so knew what kind of place Chipyeong Temple was.
She had heard it had deep ties to Baek Jung-hyeok, the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, and that its monks had visited the Sichuan Tang Clan a few times. Each time, they came asking about the Divine Doctor Baek Jung-hyeok's well-being.
Just then, Seol Ha-ryeong spoke to Mu-heun.
"I will go with you."
However, Mu-heun refused to let her accompany him.
"No. I will go alone. There is something I need to check."
"What is it you need to check? Weren't you the one who brought me here...?"
"Of course, I will go with you into the Martial Alliance, Lady Ha-ryeong. We must attend the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly. However..."
Mu-heun hesitated for a moment.
Dang So-so and Seol Ha-ryeong were puzzled, not knowing why Mu-heun was hesitating. Seeing how he had been contemplating earlier, they could only guess that something was on his mind.
Mu-heun silently chose his words.
The feeling of walking a tightrope between truth and lies was something only those who had experienced it could understand.
He couldn't possibly tell them he was going to investigate the *Three Books on the Advent of the Chaotic Heavens' Inhuman Beings* left by the Arhats, which seemed connected to a transcendent being threatening the entire Central Plains.
'I must be careful with my words until I'm certain.'
Having organized his thoughts, Mu-heun opened his mouth.
"That place is actually the hometown of my hidden master, the Divine Doctor Baek Jung-hyeok. It only occurred to me after coming here, but the starting point of everything I have achieved and will achieve is in this area. I wish to check on it for a moment."
"..."
"...?"
Dang So-so, who had a rough idea of the relationship between the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, Baek Jung-hyeok, and Mu-heun, wore a sympathetic expression and said nothing. Seol Ha-ryeong, however, had no idea what Mu-heun was talking about.
Still, she wasn't completely clueless and sent Mu-heun a telepathic message.
[ Pavilion Lord of the Dragon Demon? What on earth are you talking about? ]
[ I will explain later. For now, just know that I had a hidden medical master in the Heavenly Dance Family. ]
[ ...I understand. ]
After persuading Seol Ha-ryeong and Dang So-so, Mu-heun stepped out of the carriage.
He then instructed Cheon-hyang to shuttle back and forth between his location and theirs, reporting any incidents, before setting off to find Chipyeong Temple in the Chongqing plains.
* * *
Mu-heun used his lightness technique to cross forests and leap over mountains, searching for the area where he was born and raised.
According to his memory, Chipyeong Temple was located deep in a dense mountain forest, protected by a barrier that hindered perception, making it difficult to spot with the naked eye.
Therefore, he had to first find the location of his birth village and then follow his memories to find Chipyeong Temple.
However, contrary to his expectation that it would be easy, Mu-heun couldn't find his birth village even by sunrise.
He reasoned that it was likely because his past self, Baek Jung-hyeok, had no experience with martial arts and had never searched the mountains at such high speed or leaped high into the air to see the overall landscape.
All that remained in Mu-heun's memory were the nearby river, forest, and trees, along with a small, shabby mountain path.
Besides, there was no guarantee that the village, which had disappeared in his childhood, would still be in the same place.
'No, but it's still too hard to find. How could I not remember where the Yangtze River splits?'
Perhaps he was just trying to find a rational explanation for himself.
In the end, instead of searching a wide area for a landscape that perfectly matched his memory, Mu-heun decided to find the river first and then go there to check things out on a smaller scale.
By the time the morning sun reached its zenith, Mu-heun had finally found it. The place where Baek Jung-hyeok was born and raised, where he came to despise martial arts... the starting point of his entire story.
Chipyeong Temple had to be somewhere nearby.
Mu-heun looked around the area where the Yangtze River diverged and found a large village.
In the very spot where his birth village, the one that had burned down, once stood, a new village had been established.
'Huh? People are still living here.'
A strange feeling washed over Mu-heun.
"But why couldn't I find it when I looked from the air?"
Though he found it odd, he first headed toward the village along the riverbank. There, a scene completely opposite to what he had imagined awaited him.
* * *
Mu-heun followed the course of the Yangtze River, arrived at the village, and entered the newly formed town.
At that moment, a sharp pain shot through his head. Then, he felt his heart pound with a storm of complex emotions.
'What's happening...'
Mu-heun suddenly felt memories of the village from his past life flash through his mind. A fond sense of nostalgia soon followed.
Separate from that, curiosity about the changes in the village after so much time welled up. All sorts of feelings began to mix.
Mu-heun walked deeper into the village, and the farther he went, the more the scenery before him differed from the simple, rural village he remembered.
"This is... unbelievable."
As the village's inner landscape unfolded before him, Mu-heun couldn't help but be astonished. The scale of the village was far larger than he had imagined.
While the nearby plains made the area generally livable... the plains were narrow, and being next to the Yangtze River meant it was prone to frequent flooding.
It should have been a harsher terrain than being surrounded by mountains and rivers.
Therefore, even with the river nearby, the environment should have only supported a small village.
However, this place—where the small village Mu-heun knew once stood, the home of Baek Jung-hyeok's childhood—now seemed ten times larger.
"It's developed so much it's unrecognizable."
There was even a sign at the village entrance that read 'Okhwa-hyeon' (Jade Transformation County), and next to it stood a massive weeping willow.
'Hah, when I was young, we just called it the riverside village; it didn't even have a proper name. Now it's an official town. And with a graceful weeping willow, no less...'
Inside the village were various types of buildings. The residents' homes and pavilions coexisted in harmony with the nearby river.
Just then, Mu-heun felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
On the surface, it seemed vibrant and full of energy, but it felt strangely unnatural.
*Zap.*
But what did it matter? The prosperity of his hometown was a joyous thing in itself.
He took another step deeper into the village.
*Zap!*
His head suddenly throbbed with a stinging pain, but it was so fleeting that he dismissed it as nothing.
The moment Mu-heun's foot stepped further into the village, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to his old home after a long time and was overcome with sentimentality.
The streets were filled with the laughter of people and the hum of a small market, all of it feeling like a single, vibrant organism.
"What a peaceful village."
Children ran and played, merchants sold their wares, and women drew water from the river to drink and use.
Mu-heun was lost in thought.
Would the village where he grew up have become this large if it hadn't been destroyed by the Poison Demon? Could it have prospered like this?
As these thoughts trailed one after another, he still felt that this was a truly happy place.
Just then.
A strange feeling brushed past Mu-heun's heart.
*Zap!*
But then the peaceful village came back into view, and he saw children running around with bright smiles.
At that moment, a strange sense of déjà vu struck Mu-heun.
*Zap!*
However, he soon tried to regain his composure.
'Could I be envious of this village?'
Seeing a village so much better and more peaceful than the one he had lived in, he wondered if he was feeling jealous.
The village's development stirred a feeling in him that was both familiar and foreign. It was a completely different scene from the simple landscape he remembered from his past life.
The energy of the people in the now-prosperous village brought life to every corner of Okhwa-hyeon.
"This is nice. Yes, this is what a village should be."
Amid such change, the clear waters of the Yangtze River and the beautiful surrounding nature remained the same.
Just then.
Mu-heun again felt an unidentifiable sense of déjà vu.
*Zap!*
But seeing the villagers happily buying and selling goods and playing joyfully lifted his spirits again.
Mu-heun walked along the village streets, deeply contemplating what this place meant to him.
The pure happiness he felt as a child washed over him as nostalgia, followed by a surge of anger toward the Unorthodox Sect's Poison Demon who had stolen even that simple happiness from him.
Calming his trembling heart, he thought.
'Still, it's nice that this village looks so peaceful.'
Just then.
Again, an unidentifiable sense of déjà vu struck him.
"But..., could a village truly prosper like this in such a remote, rugged mountain valley, surrounded by a river and mountains?"
He saw people still expanding the village, bringing in lumber to construct buildings.
It was strange.
"There's no sign of trees being cut down nearby, so where did all this timber for these buildings come from?"
No matter how you looked at it, even with the river, this level of development was odd.
Did people naturally gather and achieve this level of development?
No... that seemed unlikely.
'It makes no sense. Where did they get all this lumber for construction, and where did all these people come from? And what's with this faint, strange smell of insects...? Everything is suspicious.'
Strange. Is it strange?
'The lumber wasn't sourced from the surrounding trees.'
There were no boats on the river, nor any signs of lumber being transported.
'What is this unsettling feeling of déjà vu...'
Something was definitely wrong.
A village of this size couldn't possibly form in such an isolated location...
*Zap!*
But what if I interfere and ruin the lives of the people living happily in this village?
"..."
...
...
...
"What is wrong with me?"