Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 266
Chapter Title: Huangshan Secret Manual
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Namgung Hyeok set off toward Hefei, followed by Namgung Ryong and the three members of the Thunder Dragon Squad.
Geon Cheon-hwi, Tak Hyeok-dong, and Jang Ung whispered among themselves.
"Where are we going?"
"How should I know?"
"Isn't it toward the Ilseon Society?"
"That makes sense."
Jang Ung's speculation—that they were moving with a minimal group because the Sacheon Tang Family was there and they wanted to keep it from the Ilseon Society—seemed plausible at first.
But would Namgung Hyeok really?
Namgung Hyeok, who didn't care about others' eyes—would he move with just a few to hide from the Ilseon Society?
"Nah, no way. That doesn't make sense."
"Keuheheh, even a passing dog would laugh at that."
"Then where are we headed?"
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad scratched their heads, unable to answer.
Geon Cheon-hwi finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"Young Master."
"Yeah."
"Where are we going?"
"Hmm……."
Namgung Hyeok rubbed his chin and tilted his head.
What? He told us to come, but now he's hesitating?
Namgung Hyeok stared at the baffled Geon Cheon-hwi and spoke.
"If you suddenly got a secret manual, what would you do?"
"A secret manual?"
"Yeah, a secret manual."
"A divine technique?"
"Well, say it's something that satisfies you. What would you do?"
"Of course I'd learn it. I'd hole up in some mountain and train alone."
Namgung Hyeok nodded.
"Good. That's it."
"Yes? What do you mean? Did you pick up a secret manual?"
"I'm doing this to make them train."
「……More intense than now?」
"Not you guys."
「……Yes? Then who?"
Geon Cheon-hwi voiced his confusion.
The Thunder Dragon Squad was already training under Namgung Hyeok—who else was he going to make train?
Namgung Hyeok said.
"There are guys to grind."
"Who the hell are you planning to grind that much……."
"I'll handle that."
They couldn't even guess the extent of his "handling," so Geon Cheon-hwi and the others felt a subtle dread.
Namgung Hyeok asked them.
"If it were you, where would you say you picked up the secret manual to make it believable?"
"You pick up a secret manual? It's not like a roadside pebble……."
"Exactly. So where besides the roadside would make people believe it?"
"Probably some ruin or hidden chamber. Or the black market."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
A meaningful smile crept onto Namgung Hyeok's lips.
At that ominous smile, Namgung Ryong and the three from the Thunder Dragon Squad froze.
Namgung Hyeok jerked his chin and said.
"Follow me!"
"W-Where?"
"Where else! A hidden chamber."
"Yes?"
What nonsense is this?
Where did this sudden hidden chamber come from!
Namgung Hyeok grinned.
"We're heading to a hidden chamber now. Everyone think that. I know where one will turn up."
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad stared at him blankly.
Is there some miracle at work?
What madness is he planning this time?
Then, Namgung Ryong, who had been quietly watching, grabbed Namgung Hyeok's shoulder.
He shook his head vigorously.
"What."
「……」
"What!"
「……Don't do it.」
How does he know what I'm about to do?
Namgung Ryong's eyes shook with anxiety as he kept shaking his head.
Namgung Hyeok shot him a crooked look and said.
"You think I'm doing this for me? It's to save the Namgung family!"
「……」
"Tch, let's hurry."
「……」
Namgung Ryong's unease grew at Namgung Hyeok's urging.
「……Where?"
Namgung Hyeok grinned.
"Huangshan!"
* * *
Amid the splendid scenery of Huangshan stood the serene Huangshan Sword Hall, now thrown into unexpected chaos.
"T-The second young master is here? The e-eldest young master too?!"
Baek Yeon-seung, one of the ringleaders of Namgung Baek's rebellion, had been imprisoned, and the newly appointed hall leader, Namgung Cheong, shouted in panic.
"What does that mean? Why are they coming to the main hall without notice!"
"I-I'm not sure…… It didn't seem like wandering. It was just the second young master, the eldest young master, and three from the Thunder Dragon Squad."
"Is that true?"
"Yes!"
Deep furrows formed between Namgung Cheong's brows.
The sudden arrival of the two young masters left him utterly bewildered.
'Is it an inspection? Damn it, things were quiet for a while!'
The Huangshan Sword Hall had once been a key player in the Namgung family's rebellion.
Naturally, the main family had turned it upside down in an investigation, capturing and interrogating the ringleaders less than a year ago.
Once treated as a branch with two hundred years of tradition, it had become a place of exile for those who joined the rebellion or supported Namgung Baek and were demoted.
Namgung Cheong had been one of those who supported Namgung Baek.
He hadn't directly joined the rebellion, but lingering guilt made Namgung Hyeok's arrival unwelcome.
Whether wandering or inspection, it felt ominous.
"Damn it, gather everyone in the hall grounds."
"Everyone? Why……."
"Why do you think! People from the main family are here—we have to greet them!"
"Ah!"
His subordinate let out an exclamation.
Namgung Cheong sighed.
'Damn it, why me…….'
He couldn't fathom how he'd ended up serving two young masters not even fully grown.
Wagging his tail like this wouldn't improve his lot, but not doing it might earn him a beating.
He felt mired in quicksand.
Namgung Cheong sighed again and hurried out of the hall.
People were already waiting outside.
Once nearly three hundred strong, the Huangshan Sword Hall now had barely over fifty.
After the rebellion, only the minimum needed to manage the Huangshan area remained, and even they rotated periodically, rendering the hall largely nominal.
Namgung Cheong shook his head as he walked.
"What wind blew them to Huangshan?"
"They went to Sichuan not long ago too."
"They traveled far. After such a long trip, wandering again? If they're coming to the hall, why head to some peak?"
"No idea. Someone who recognized the young masters' faces happened to spot them and reported it……."
"Haa……."
Namgung Cheong quickened his pace.
Lamenting his fallen status, he climbed Huangshan's peaks.
Huangshan's peaks stretched across hundreds of li—seventy-two in total.
The one the young masters had climbed was an unnamed one among them.
Passing the sea of pines in Songun, they left the bizarre rock formations behind.
Even Namgung Cheong, trained in martial arts, was growing short of breath.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dull sounds echoed from beyond the pines.
Namgung Cheong's ears perked up.
'What are they doing?'
The dense pines obscured the interior.
But signs of people were clear.
"Huu! Huuk! How long do we have to dig?"
"Until it feels like enough. Make the angle like this."
"This should be enough already. Hekhek!"
"Pfft, you think anyone will buy this? Hey, no palm winds! Split it with raw strength—raw strength!"
"Hehekhek! You think I'll fall for that?"
"That's why—dig so they do fall for it."
"Ugh! Can't we stop digging and just fake it? Who'd dare call bullshit on the young master's word!"
"Rumors like this are better the more detailed."
"No, spreading this rumor—what does the young master get out of it?"
"It's to save us all, you fool. How could you grasp my deep intent?"
What the hell is that?
Namgung Cheong entered the pines, puzzled.
The hall's warriors followed.
Pushing through Songun, the scene inside came into view.
Thud thud thud thud!
The hard ground screamed, revealing its black innards.
Thud thud thud!
Dirt piled up beside the furiously plunging shovel handle.
"Yes, more! That's how it'll look real."
"Hekhek!"
"Strength! More! Strength!"
A ragged voice accompanied the disciplined shoveling.
'……What the hell is this?'
Climbing Huangshan in broad daylight to suddenly dig?
Why?
Huangshan's peaks were for admiring scenery surpassing the Five Peaks—what madness?
Namgung Cheong cautiously peered into the spacious pit, big enough for a hall.
Flash!
His eyes met Namgung Hyeok's at the pit's bottom.
Zing!
Namgung Cheong shuddered at the glint in Namgung Hyeok's eyes from the dark pit.
Whirr!
Namgung Ryong, Geon Cheon-hwi, Tak Hyeok-dong, and Jang Ung stared up at him blankly.
A moment of silence.
Namgung Hyeok jammed his shovel into the ground.
Thud.
「……Ha, caught. Thought you'd go somewhere else.」
"Who the fuck is that guy?"
"Shall we bury him?"
"There's a spot open, young master."
The faint aura of killing intent and madness turned Namgung Cheong to stone.
What are they saying?
Bury who?
Shing.
Namgung Ryong's gleaming blade snapped Namgung Cheong back to reality.
"H-Hiiik! Y-Young masters?"
"Yeah?"
"W-What are you doing here?"
Namgung Hyeok looked up.
"You know me?"
"O-Of course……."
"Oh, one of ours?"
Whoosh whoosh!
Namgung Hyeok gestured.
The three from the Thunder Dragon Squad set down their shovels, and Namgung Ryong sheathed his sword.
Namgung Cheong rolled his eyes in confusion, and Namgung Hyeok smiled gently.
"Don't mind it—it's nothing."
……It sure as hell isn't nothing.
"We were just resting, and a hidden chamber popped up."
"Yes?"
"Hidden chamber. Hi. Den. Cham. Ber."
Namgung Hyeok emphasized it again.
Namgung Cheong's pupils lost focus for a moment.
'……Why is there a hidden chamber here?'
A Namgung family collateral who had lived forty years, Namgung Cheong had never heard of one in Huangshan.
Rumble!
"Hi-Hidden chamber?!"
"A hidden chamber?"
"Gasp! Here of all places?!"
Namgung Hyeok beamed innocently at the gathering crowd.
Damn, drew a huge crowd.
At the unexpected visitors, Namgung Hyeok showed faint glee.
He waved toward the back.
Jang Ung's eyes lit up as he bent down.
"Uh, wh-what's this?"
Geon Cheon-hwi snatched it up.
"Young master! A secret manual's here!"
He held up the dirt-caked yellow booklet high for all to see, waving it at the onlookers.
Namgung Cheong's jaw dropped.
"Se-Secret manual?"
A real secret manual appeared?
Tak Hyeok-dong tilted his head.
"Stop digging now? To make the hidden chamber……."
"Shut up!"
Whack!
"Guk, keuk! Y-You!"
"People need to read the room."
"Guk, guk!"
Jang Ung struck Tak Hyeok-dong's pressure point and dragged him aside.
「……」
Eyes flicked there briefly, then back to the book in Geon Cheon-hwi's hand.
Everyone looked baffled.
"A hidden chamber here?"
"I've been stationed here over ten times—never heard that."
"Wow! Then what's that? The young masters found a secret manual!"
Huangshan had been Namgung territory for centuries, yet there were no tales of hidden chambers, let alone legends.
This wasn't Shaolin or Huashan—who in the Namgung family would dig up a fine Huangshan peak for a hidden chamber?
Namgung Hyeok cleared his throat and eyed Namgung Cheong.
"Ahem! We need to report this good news to the main family pronto."
「……」
"Why?"
As Namgung Hyeok stared flatly, Namgung Cheong nodded blankly.
'……Do I believe this or not?'
Namgung Cheong said awkwardly.
「……I'll report to the main family. That a hidden chamber appeared.」
"Yes. Say a secret manual came out—top-grade divine technique. Precisely!"
"Y-Yes."
Namgung Hyeok nodded contentedly with a satisfied smile.