Chapter 129
Chapter 129
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Clash Over the Buried Legacy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Namgung Hyeok raced like a madman toward the mountain range north of Beijing.
Every time he unleashed the Blood Wind God, the scenery rushed backward in a blur.
A distance that would take an ordinary person half a day of nonstop running, he covered in a mere two hours.
And the moment Namgung Hyeok's gaze turned to the northern mountains, he unwittingly spat out a curse.
"Damn it..."
It was impossible to tell if this should even be called a mountain or just a hill.
He had thought the Heavenly Void Mountain he'd seen before was tiny like a booger, but this thing was just a flattened lump of taffy.
'This is some real bullshit?'
How could anyone mix these up?
They looked nothing alike.
Both might be small as boogers, but that one was needle-sharp, while this was round like a pebble.
The more Namgung Hyeok thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Because those damn black spot informants hadn't done their jobs properly, he'd wasted time wandering around searching for a single Heavenly Void Mountain!
'Forget all that. Just find it first.'
He'd wasted time at the fake Heavenly Void Mountain, but in the end, he'd found the real one.
That was what mattered.
Now, if he could just locate Gongmok's mark, everything would fall into place.
As Namgung Hyeok steeled his resolve and scanned the surroundings, Namgung Ryong caught up from behind, followed in turn by Geon Cheon-hwi and the rest of the Thunder Dragon Squad.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Hoo! Hoo!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad panted as if they might collapse any second.
Namgung Hyeok whipped his head left and right, his eyes blazing.
Even in the pitch-black night, his pupils gleamed with sharp light.
Geon Cheon-hwi finally caught his breath, his face troubled.
"Young master, are you planning to dig today as well?"
"And?"
"...We don't have time, young master. Just confirm the location and head back."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"...You've already been away for a full day, haven't you?"
It had been exactly one day since the black spots brought new information and they traveled here.
He was worried because the annex at the Hankuk Pang Clan had been empty for a whole day.
"So what?"
"The birthday banquet starts at noon tomorrow. We need to head back now to make it in time. There's no time to dig..."
"Is some banquet more important right now?"
"Pardon?"
What could be more important than that...
They had been sent by the Namgung family precisely to attend the Hankuk Pang Clan's banquet.
Namgung Hyeok glared at Geon Cheon-hwi with eyes full of venom.
Geon Cheon-hwi flinched at the sight of Namgung Hyeok's pupils turning blood-red in the darkness.
"We're not leaving until we've dug it all up."
"Y-Young master?"
"We're digging, no matter what."
It was a terrifying voice that sent chills down the spine.
The Thunder Dragon Squad shuddered faintly in resonance with the venom and resentment in that resolute tone.
'...Digging no matter what?'
'...Not leaving till it's all dug up?'
'We're screwed for real...'
'What the hell is he planning to dig, argh!'
A silent scream.
The Thunder Dragon Squad's gazes instinctively turned to Namgung Ryong.
It was a desperate plea for the second young master to rein him in.
"Hyeok."
The Thunder Dragon Squad perked up their ears at Namgung Ryong's voice, hope flickering—
—just as Namgung Hyeok unleashed Blood Wind God and shot up the slope in an instant.
"Follow me!"
Namgung Ryong stared blankly at his receding back, then let his shoulders slump powerlessly.
"...Let's go."
"...Yes."
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad sighed and hurried after the distant Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok's eyes rapidly swept the surroundings.
Then, at one point, just as the black spots' information indicated, as he followed the gentle ridgeline toward the Heavenly Void Mountain's mid-slope, his eyes lit up.
"Hold up."
Namgung Hyeok lowered his voice and raised a hand.
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad, who had been following closely, halted.
Geon Cheon-hwi approached and asked.
"What is it?"
Namgung Hyeok pressed a finger to his lips.
The Thunder Dragon Squad held their breath without thinking and stared at him.
Namgung Hyeok furrowed his brow and expanded his senses.
It was a flat, unremarkable mountain.
The peak was so low it barely reached fifty feet, making it seem utterly squat.
The gentle slopes had no proper valleys or cliffs, giving it an empty feel.
That allowed Namgung Hyeok's senses to extend farther than usual.
Five feet, seven feet, ten feet, fifteen feet...
As his senses stretched, his hearing sharpened, catching every tiny sound.
Namgung Hyeok's gaze shifted to one side.
"Kill your presence and follow!"
Namgung Hyeok's eyes flashed open, gleaming fiercely.
He slid down the hill with a rustle.
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad followed in confusion.
How long did they move like that?
Rowdy noises reached them, along with a cluster of presences.
Namgung Ryong's expression gradually hardened, and the Thunder Dragon Squad belatedly froze.
Boom boom! Boom boom boom!
The sounds grew louder, then erupted like thunder.
'This noise feels familiar somehow?'
'Huh?'
'No way?'
The Thunder Dragon Squad stared ahead in bewilderment when Namgung Hyeok raised his hand.
He hid behind a space thick with trees and boulders.
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad concealed their presence and pressed close behind the rocks.
Namgung Hyeok's gaze fixed forward.
About thirty feet away, flickering torchlight swayed.
And in front of those torches, a dark mass of figures moved busily.
'What the hell are those guys?'
They didn't look ordinary at all.
Dressed in black night clothes with face masks, their movements and atmosphere screamed stealth.
Where had he seen them before?
...Weren't those the guys?
The Ghost Shadows, Ghost Beasts, or whatever—those serving some higher-up.
They were clearly the same type as the ones who had helped Namgung Baek incite rebellion back at the Namgung family.
" Y-Young master! Those are them!"
Geon Cheon-hwi whispered urgently, pressed close to Namgung Hyeok.
His stiff face suggested he had instantly recognized them too.
Namgung Hyeok scowled deeply.
'Do these bastards follow me around or what? How do they keep showing up everywhere I go?'
If not, what were the odds of running into them all the way out here in remote Beijing?
Every damn time...
'Hold on.'
What the hell were those bastards holding?
Namgung Hyeok narrowed his eyes and focused his vision, spotting pickaxes and shovels gleaming under the torchlight.
'Shovels? Pickaxes?'
Namgung Hyeok blinked, then suddenly ground his teeth.
Grit!
"Are those fuckers digging right now?"
"S-Seems like it."
'Seems like it?'
"...They've even dug a tunnel?"
What?
A tunnel?
They'd dug a tunnel too?
'These bastards came prepared to dig, huh? No way. It can't be, right?'
Only a tiny few knew that Gongmok had buried his legacy while wandering.
Most of those few were dead, which was why Shaolin still hadn't recovered Gongmok's legacy.
And now these random black-clad fuckers were here for Gongmok's legacy?
What kind of bullshit was this?
Namgung Hyeok held his breath and shook his head.
'No, how would they even know where Gongmok's legacy is? How did they find the mark?'
Even if they knew the mark, could they interpret it?
It wasn't some mark you could just look at and understand.
You had to hear it directly from Gongmok.
Unlike Namgung Hyeok's leisurely thoughts, he pressed tight against the rock, focusing so intensely light seemed to shoot from his eyes.
'They won't find it. No way they can. How could those bastards possibly?'
Namgung Hyeok watched the black-clad men anxiously, then suddenly noticed something odd on the rock he was leaning against.
'...But what's this graffiti?'
...Huh?
What the?
It was Gongmok's mark.
Gongmok had left animal drawings from the Shaolin Five Elders as marks.
On the rock was a dragon from those animals.
Drawn as a squiggly line like an earthworm, with a head marked as having horns and dot-like claws.
But...
"...Why is the head facing that way?"
It was right then, as Namgung Hyeok felt a mix of absurdity and foreboding.
Boom! Rumble rumble!
A massive roar shook the mountains and trees.
Even from thirty feet away from the intruders, the ground trembled here.
An enormous blast accompanied by a shockwave swept through, scattering the brightly lit torches.
A moment of silence fell.
Geon Cheon-hwi whispered to Namgung Hyeok, holding his breath.
"...Let's take another route. Running into them here won't end well."
Geon Cheon-hwi spoke to Namgung Hyeok with a voice laced with concern.
But Namgung Hyeok's eyes stayed glued to the intruders.
Geon Cheon-hwi looked thoroughly troubled.
If they got caught by those guys here, it was obvious nothing good would come of it.
Considering they were the same bunch with impure motives toward the Namgung family all this time, avoiding them was best.
They moved so secretively, reeking of something shady.
And their numbers outnumbered this side...
"Think about why we came here."
Why they came?
"...This is my goal, you idiot."
"Pardon?"
"Those mongrel bastards are digging up my tunnel right now. My tunnel..."
"No, young master, why would your tunnel be in Beijing..."
It was the moment Geon Cheon-hwi's voice reached Namgung Hyeok's ear.
"We found it!"
"The tunnel's here!"
"There's space inside!"
The intruders at the entrance bustled about.
And soon, someone burst out from inside the tunnel...
Namgung Hyeok's eyes twitched.
'Those fuckers right now...'
My stuff.
Touching my prize?
"Young master, stay calm..."
Geon Cheon-hwi, who had been watching straight ahead, turned to speak to Namgung Hyeok and jolted.
'He's gone.'
Where'd he go in that instant?
No way...
Nah, no way over some crummy tunnel.
Geon Cheon-hwi panicked and looked around, his eyes widening.
"...Over there?"
Namgung Hyeok was charging at the intruders, eyes rolled back in fury.
"You fucking bastards! Don't touch my stuff!"
Namgung Hyeok's scream, echoing through the mountains and trees, shook the hearts of Namgung Ryong, Geon Cheon-hwi, and the Thunder Dragon Squad hiding behind the rock.
"Y-Young master!"
"Eek!"
"C-Crazy!"
Why the hell was that guy acting like that?!
What was so special about some damn tunnel!
The Thunder Dragon Squad gaped, their faces blank.
Namgung Ryong shot after him without a word, and as Geon Cheon-hwi bit his lip and vaulted the rock—
Namgung Hyeok leaped at the intruders and swung his sword vigorously.
Flash!
Rumble rumble rumble!
A sudden azure flash slashed toward the black-clad man emerging from the tunnel with something in hand.
Boom!
"Arghhhh!"
A storm of sword energy ravaged the space in front of the tunnel, carving a clear line into the ground.
Namgung Hyeok glared at the black-clad men retreating in terror, his eyes bloodshot.
Even they trembled and flinched at his ferocious aura and venom.
Namgung Hyeok held his sword, its blade flashing azure before his face, and growled.
"Drop everything and get lost."
"..."
The black-clad men scowled, then glanced at Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad emerging from behind.
"These fuckers!"
"How dare you touch our young master's stuff..."
At that moment.
Swish! Swish!
Intruders silently poured out from the cave, and more swarmed from behind it.
"Heh. They've got some numbers..."
More came.
Kept coming.
"..."
Soon, their numbers easily surpassed fifty.
Geon Cheon-hwi flinched, and Tak Hyeok-dong's jaw dropped.
Tak Hyeok-dong forced an awkward smile at Namgung Hyeok as he sensed the black-clad men's menacing aura.
"Um... young master?"
"..."
"We're kinda screwed, aren't we?"
Namgung Hyeok bared his fangs in a savage grin.
"Those fuckers are the ones screwed."
No.
Please, think this through just once...
"Kill them all!"
The black-clad men charged the Thunder Dragon Squad without a battle cry.
"Uwaaah! Damn it!"
"Nothing ever goes right!"
Tears in their eyes, the Thunder Dragon Squad met them and began to fight.