Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Arrival at White Ghost Castle
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The man burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha. Since we've crossed paths like this, it's fate. How about we introduce ourselves?"
Disliking the awkward atmosphere, the man scanned the four of them one by one and suggested they exchange names.
Before the others could react, he revealed his own name.
"I am Gwak Ui."
A wrinkle formed on Hyeondo's forehead.
"Gwak Ui...?"
Hyeondo muttered unconsciously, and Gwak Ui shrugged his shoulders.
"What's wrong?"
"It's a name I've never heard before."
"There are countless people in the world. How could one know all their names?"
"But it's hard to believe that someone like you is unknown."
"You think highly of me."
"I haven't said anything like that."
Gwak Ui laughed at Hyeondo's blunt words.
"Hahaha, is that so?"
"In truth, it's been less than a year since I set foot in the martial world."
Hyeondo felt uneasy but accepted it.
Ha Woojin and Jingae's expressions shifted constantly as they listened to the exchange.
Especially Ha Woojin's face was grave.
'If even Senior Brother Hyeondo says that much, at minimum...'
As he deeply memorized Gwak Ui's appearance in his mind, Jingae had been staring intently at his face from the moment he heard the name.
'Gwak Ui? I've heard that name somewhere...'
Pondering the sticky name 'Gwak Ui' in his mouth, Jingae racked his brain.
'Where did I hear it?'
He kept thinking, but couldn't recall when or where.
As his thoughts deepened.
"Now it's your turn, right?"
Gwak Ui looked at the four who had fallen silent and demanded introductions. Hyeondo spoke first.
"...I am Hyeondo."
"Ha Woojin."
Gwak Ui's eyes widened.
"Mount Hua's Supreme Sword and the Flying Swallow Sword Force!"
His eyebrows curved like a crescent moon as he alternated glances between Ha Woojin and Hyeondo.
"Hahaha! I'm lucky. I never imagined I'd encounter Mount Hua's Supreme Sword, Immortal Hyeondo, and Zhongnan Sect's future star, the Flying Swallow Sword Force, in a place like this."
Gwak Ui grinned broadly.
His eyes then met those of Jingae, who had been quietly suppressing his presence.
"This lowly one is Jingae."
Jingae, who had been staring piercingly, quickly introduced himself the moment their eyes met.
"Jingae...? Hmm, a good name."
Gwak Ui responded with disinterest.
It was a lukewarm reaction compared to before, but Jingae, the person in question, understood Gwak Ui's feelings all too well.
'After the two immortals' introductions...'
The difference in fame was like heaven and earth.
Swoosh―
At that moment, Gwak Ui turned his head.
He fixed Cheonhwi with the most intense gaze he had shown so far.
"And you..."
"Cheonhwi."
"Cheonhwi, Cheonhwi, you say."
Gwak Ui repeated the name.
Then, his expression suddenly changed as he spoke.
"This is truly surprising. I've heard recently that relations between Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect aren't good... just a rumor, I suppose."
Gwak Ui trailed off, unable to finish.
Hyeondo and Ha Woojin had clamped their mouths shut with displeased expressions.
"Hmmm."
From their reactions, Gwak Ui and Jingae could gauge the truth of the rumor.
"...So it's not a baseless rumor."
'Great!'
Unlike Gwak Ui who voiced it aloud, Jingae cheered inwardly.
'Heh heh heh, it was hard to ask all this time, but I can use this guy.'
He felt fondness for Gwak Ui, who was scratching his itch for him.
"We're not on the best terms."
Hyeondo admitted it straightforwardly.
No, he had no intention of hiding it.
The poor relations between the two sects were already widely known in the martial world.
"Not good at all."
Ha Woojin added with a bitter smile.
Originally, Mount Hua Sect in Shaanxi and Zhongnan Sect had no particular exchanges, but as fellow Taoist sects in the same region, they had maintained good relations for a long time.
But that changed in an instant.
On the day Mount Hua Sect suffered the catastrophe of losing the Plum Blossom Sword Sage and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards, a Taoist from Zhongnan Sect coincidentally reached the Realm of Heavenly Martial.
Zhongnan Sect rejoiced at the appearance of a Heavenly Martial Realm expert after decades.
Seeing it as a gift from heaven, they hurriedly pushed for his debut in the martial world, and the result was a resounding success.
The Taoist roamed the jianghu freely.
He took the heads of infamous demonic cultivators, helped suffering commoners, and earned the new title of Zhongnan Sword Saint.
Mount Hua Sect's fall and Zhongnan Sect's rise.
The shift in status between the two Taoist sects happened in the blink of an eye.
The more it happened, the more Mount Hua Sect trembled with rage.
They had stayed silent to pressure the Murim Alliance implicitly with their decision, but Zhongnan Sect exploited the gap to elevate their status.
Fortunately, circumstances prevented it from escalating to full war, but their once good relationship had rapidly cooled.
"Then why are you traveling together?"
Gwak Ui asked curiously, then added, "Oops."
"Was that rude?"
"No, it's fine."
Hyeondo smiled bitterly and said,
"We share the same goal."
"Hmmm, I see."
Gwak Ui wisely refrained from probing further and stepped back.
A brief silence fell.
"Where did you learn your martial arts?"
Then Hyeondo asked instead.
"From my family's hereditary arts."
"Hereditary arts? Are you affiliated with the Beggar Clan?"
"Hahaha, just a very small clan. No one would know it even if I told you."
Gwak Ui smiled wryly, but.
"That's strange."
Someone reacted.
It was Cheonhwi.
"It's quite a unique internal energy cultivation method for family arts."
Gwak Ui's eyes twitched momentarily.
"W-what do you mean?"
"It's a cultivation method that's hard to see in the Central Plains."
Gwak Ui's pupils darted around at Cheonhwi's words, accompanied by a faint smile.
Then Hyeondo interjected.
"What kind of cultivation method is it?"
"This internal energy of mine..."
"Young hero, you have sharp eyes. The oral formula for my cultivation method was partially lost long ago, so it's still unstable."
As Cheonhwi was about to answer Hyeondo's question, the startled Gwak Ui hurriedly glossed over it.
"Hmm, is that so?"
Cheonhwi turned his head as if to say "really?"
Gwak Ui looked at Cheonhwi with a strange gaze, then quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, I heard Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art is peerless..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day, Gwak Ui spoke to the four as they busily prepared to depart.
"If our paths aligned, I would have traveled with you. What a shame."
Gwak Ui, pleased with the night's conversation, gazed at them and opened his mouth.
"May I visit later?"
Hyeondo and Ha Woojin smiled.
"Come anytime."
"Do you need permission to visit? Come whenever."
"The Beggar Clan is a bit..."
"Hahaha!"
When Jingae spoke awkwardly at the end, Gwak Ui laughed and patted his back.
"Then, if you think of me, contact me first anytime."
"Keh, keh. Got it."
"And..."
Gwak Ui turned his gaze to Cheonhwi.
He looked at him with complex eyes, then murmured softly.
"I'd really like to see you again."
"If it's fate, we'll meet someday."
Gwak Ui's surprised eyes widened, then he threw his head back and laughed heartily.
"Hahaha!"
After laughing for a while, wiping tears from his eyes, he said,
"Right, as you say, if we're fated, we'll meet again."
Gwak Ui turned away crisply.
Then he sent a transmission to Cheonhwi.
『I'll definitely visit later.』
Without waiting for a reply, Gwak Ui parted ways, anticipating their next meeting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Nakcheon County in Shaanxi.
Perhaps because it's a midpoint bridging western Gansu and eastern Shaanxi.
Most visitors to Nakcheon County were merchants or travelers.
As a result, the streets had developed differently from ordinary counties.
Into nighttime streets designed to keep visitors longer.
As the time shifted from dusk to evening.
The sun, peeking while casting its glow, finally hid behind the mountains, and darkness began to blanket Nakcheon County.
Whoosh!
The streets rejected the darkness, lighting lanterns on walls to drive it away.
This was Nakcheon County's time.
Inns began emitting mouthwatering aromas different from the daytime.
The streets, quiet and peaceful during the day, transformed dramatically at night.
Brothels and inns lit seductive lights, preparing eagerly.
Soon, their business began.
And as if waiting, people poured out from the inns.
The brothels and inns lining the streets tempted them, drawing in all sorts of crowds like moths to flame.
The vitality and desires of burning people.
Clop clop― Clop clop―
Just then, a carriage entered.
The carriage, arriving in Nakcheon County after three days, passed through the main avenue between brothels and tall buildings.
"I didn't know such a place existed."
"...Amitabha."
Hyeondo and Ha Woojin frowned.
To them, who had lived their lives as Taoists, Nakcheon County's streets felt repulsive.
Unlike the two who quickly averted their eyes, Cheonhwi calmly scanned the streets.
People wandering the streets, reddish lights shining every time he turned his head, and vulgar temptations beneath them.
"Come here, dear."
A woman in sheer gauze leaned on the windowsill of a brothel's second floor, adorned with tacky decorations fluttering, sending alluring glances.
'Nothing special.'
Having experienced far more intense temptations countless times, he felt no stir.
Only Jingae reacted.
"Heh heh, nice."
Driving the carriage, Jingae grinned widely, his philtrum stretching.
As the carriage proceeded in that state.
"Soon..."
"White Ghost Castle."
Hyeondo and Ha Woojin's expressions changed.
Feeling themselves drawing nearer to White Ghost Castle, they breathed slowly.
Then the carriage jolted to a stop.
Jingae turned his head slightly from the driver's seat and whispered cautiously.
"This is White Ghost Castle."
The three gazes turned out the window.
Ahead loomed a massive wall over eight cheok tall, and atop it, a stark white, enormous roof faintly visible.
Cheonhwi stretched as he said,
"Ugh, finally arrived."
Then Hyeondo looked at Jingae and said,
"You've worked hard."
Jingae swallowed.
During the journey, he had already figured out their purpose.
"Just the three of you going?"
Hyeondo nodded.
Staring straight at Jingae for a moment, he spoke in a firm voice.
"Before you go, I have a request."
"A request?"
Jingae's expression turned serious.
"It's not grave."
Hyeondo reassured him.
"Just spread a rumor in Nakcheon County."
"What rumor...?"
"That White Ghost Castle sent the Soul Severing Squad and White Ghost Squad to massacre the Bi Pung Merchant Group."
Jingae's pupils shook.
"I-is that true?"
"Traces should still remain."
Jingae closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"So there was a reason you brought me along."
"Isn't it a worthwhile trade?"
Realizing he had been used by Hyeondo after seeking information himself, Jingae scratched his oily head.
"Sigh, anything else needed? If we claim White Ghost Castle struck first now, we could request reinforcements from the Alliance..."
"No need. This is our karma."
Hyeondo cut him off decisively.
He no longer trusted the Alliance.
"Just let them know we have cause to strike White Ghost Castle."
"Understood."
As Jingae answered and swallowed,
"How dare you insult the Castle Lord!"
A sharp voice rang from outside.
The startled Hyeondo turned to where Cheonhwi had been, but it was empty.
"Could it be...!"
Rushing out of the carriage, he saw Cheonhwi in front of the gate guards defending White Ghost Castle's gate.
"He's inside."
Cheonhwi glanced dismissively at the glaring guard and raised his left hand, palm open.
At that instant.
Boom!
The guard flew back like a shot arrow, smashing White Ghost Castle's sturdy gate.
"...!"
Jingae's mouth gaped open.
He had thought him extraordinary, but the feat—no, the inaction—Cheonhwi displayed far exceeded expectations.
'Mount Hua Sect has a junior like that...'
Forgetting to leave, Jingae stared blankly.
Drip drip―
Cheonhwi strode toward the shattered gate, chin raised.
Beyond the wide garden stood the castle.
A castle entirely white, befitting the name White Ghost Castle, gloomy and dark as if ghosts dwelled within.
"Over there."