Chapter 117: Dragon and Phoenix Gathering-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: Dragon and Phoenix Gathering-1
"I don't really have any thoughts on it."
"What?"
Sun-woo asked her back, dumbfounded by her somewhat absurd remark.
"You haven't even thought about, I don't know, getting revenge or something?"
"Did I have an enemy?"
Yorang tilted her head and asked back.
Wasn't he the enemy who had killed her husband, the Human-Faced Spider, and nearly killed her as well? Had she eaten so many sweets that her brain had turned to mush? What did she mean, 'did I have an enemy?'
"Don't you remember us fighting like crazy?"
"I remember fighting."
"Then do you remember why we fought?"
"Because you killed my other half?"
"And yet you don't hate me?"
"Nope."
"Does that even make sense?"
Sun-woo asked again, his expression full of bewilderment. Even for a beast, it made no sense to hold no grudge against the enemy who killed her mate.
"But I don't have the memories."
"Huh?"
"I told you before. When I molted, I lost a huge chunk of the memories I had before the molting. That includes most of my memories regarding my other half."
"No, but still, you two must have been together for hundreds of years, right?"
"I guess? Back then, I was so focused on molting with the single-minded goal of becoming stronger that I threw away everything unnecessary. I guess those hundreds of years of memories were among the things I didn't need."
"So you have absolutely no memory of your mate?"
"It's not that I have none. I remember that I had a mate, but I don't feel any urge to avenge him or get revenge. In the first place, he was only eaten because he was weak."
She was more resolute than he expected. He thought there might be a lingering shred of affection for the male Human-Faced Spider, but she seemed to have drawn a complete line between herself and who she was before the molting.
"To be honest, I like the Great Matriarch more than my other half now. If the Great Matriarch were to die, I'd definitely make sure to avenge her."
Sun-woo stared at her, stunned. He felt like a fool for having worried about his relationship with her for no reason.
"Of course, you're scary and annoying, and I want to beat the crap out of you every chance I get, but that's because you're irritating, not because you killed my other half."
She answered Sun-woo with a bright smile.
"Hah..."
Sun-woo let out an exasperated sigh. It was ridiculous that she cherished the Great Matriarch more than the mate she had lived with for hundreds of years.
"And I haven't really thought about it, but I'm just going to keep living at the Tang Clan from now on."
Yorang continued as she looked at Sun-woo, who still wore a blank expression.
"And who said you're allowed to?"
"The Great Matriarch did!"
Yorang answered with absolute certainty. It seemed that in her mind, the Great Matriarch was unconditionally on her side.
Poor bastard.
Sun-woo silently offered his condolences to the male Human-Faced Spider who had died by his hand. His wife of hundreds of years hadn't just forgotten about revenge; she'd tossed out the very memory of their life together. How could he not be pitied?
"Sun-woo..."
It was then. Yorang spoke to him in a suggestive tone.
"What is it, brat?"
"Can't we stop by a village tomorrow?"
She looked at Sun-woo with watery eyes.
"Get lost."
Naturally, Sun-woo refused flatly. What village? To get from Sichuan to White Flower Peak near Shandong Province, they had to pass through Hubei and Henan. But because of the dead weight named Yorang, a week had passed and they were only just halfway through Hubei. They hadn't even reached the halfway point of the journey.
Of course, covering this much ground was incredibly fast, but by his standards as a martial artist, it was a subpar performance. He had estimated the journey would take fifteen days at most. Unlike the first time he headed to Sichuan, he knew the way and wouldn't get lost. Moreover, he had plenty of money and food, so there was no need to hunt along the way. Plus, his martial arts had improved, so he wouldn't tire easily.
Fifteen days was the estimate even with all that considered. However, because Yorang found walking so bothersome, she wasted too much time resting. On top of that, to soothe her tantrums, he had stopped at villages here and there, which inevitably slowed their pace significantly.
Sun-woo's expression hardened. He couldn't indulge her whims any longer. He had to deliver the Poison Essence as soon as possible so Ok-ryeong could recover. Although he had about three months left, he had already kept her waiting for too long. He didn't want to delay any further.
"Sun-woooooooo, pleeeeeeeease!"
Whether she knew of his urgency or not, Yorang only raised her voice and threw a bigger tantrum.
"Shut up and sleep!"
Bam!
Sun-woo raised his fist and slammed it down on Yorang's head.
"Gah!"
Perhaps because he had infused a significant amount of internal energy, Yorang let out a short shriek before her head slumped forward, and she lost consciousness.
"Damn wench."
Sun-woo spat out a curse and went to bed. Tomorrow, he intended to leave Hubei even if he had to carry Yorang on his back and run. Sun-woo fell asleep to conserve as much energy as possible. Their night deepened.
*
Yorang was walking down the main road with her cheeks puffed out. One look was enough to tell she was in a foul mood.
"I said I'm sorry."
Sun-woo offered her an apology.
"Hmph."
But Yorang turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
"Ah, fuck."
Sun-woo cursed under his breath. Knocking her out last night because he didn't want to hear her whining had backfired. From the moment Sun-woo woke up until now, as they ran down the road, she hadn't said a single word to him. She was following him as he ran, but her pace felt strangely sluggish. It was her own way of protesting against Sun-woo for bullying her.
Sun-woo clutched his forehead. He needed to pass through Hubei and reach Henan immediately, but it was troublesome if Yorang was going to be this uncooperative.
"Hey."
"What!"
Yorang reacted sharply to Sun-woo's call. Her anger must have reached its limit.
"Look, let's just walk a bit faster."
Sun-woo spoke to her earnestly. She was the type who would only pretend to listen if he threatened or scolded her. It seemed better to just ask.
"I need to eat something to have strength!"
She made her own argument. How could she have strength if she hadn't been fed properly? He had only given her a tiny bit of meat; where was she supposed to get energy from?
"If you pick up the pace, I'll give you a few more pieces of meat."
"...How many?"
She seemed tempted by Sun-woo's offer as she asked for the number.
"How about three pieces in the morning and four in the evening?"
"No! That's too few!"
"Then how about four pieces in the morning and three in the evening?"
"Who do you think I am, an idiot? That's the same thing!"
Sun-woo felt a pang of guilt at her words. He had said it just in case, but her intelligence was definitely higher than a monkey's.
"Forget it! Don't talk to me!"
Thinking Sun-woo was teasing her again, Yorang turned away in a huff.
"Ah, fuck's sake."
Sun-woo let out his frustration.
*
"Hehehehe."
Yorang was smiling brightly with sweets in both hands. She was in a very good mood right now. Sun-woo, who had sworn he wouldn't stop at a village, had finally stopped and bought her plenty of food.
"Is it that good?"
Sun-woo asked Yorang, who was grinning ear to ear.
"Yeah, it's great!"
Yorang answered Sun-woo with the innocence of a child.
"Seriously, this is the last time, okay?"
"Got it, got it."
Lick, lick.
She gave Sun-woo a half-hearted answer and went back to licking her sweets. In the end, Sun-woo had veered off the mountain path and found a village to appease Yorang's anger. Fortunately, there was a fairly large village called Gyunhyeon nearby, which allowed Sun-woo to soothe her.
Sun-woo walked around with Yorang, buying dried rations and jerky. He had planned to stop at a village at least once to reorganize their supplies anyway. He decided to think of it as just moving that schedule up and intended to pack their bags to the brim while they were here. He was determined not to stop at another village again.
It was then. Yorang started tugging at Sun-woo's sleeve.
"Sun-woooo, I'm hungry."
She spoke to Sun-woo with a silly grin.
"Didn't you just stuff your face with sweets?"
"That was a snack!"
"Unbelievable."
Sun-woo reached into his robe and pulled out a few silver coins.
"Here."
He pressed them firmly into her hand.
"See that inn over there? Go ahead and order first. You've ordered a few times before, right?"
Sun-woo pointed to an inn located not far away. He felt a bit uneasy sending her alone, but she had experience finding a seat at an inn by herself several times since leaving the Tang Clan. Besides, she had gained enough knowledge by now to understand the concept of currency—exchanging money for food—so nothing major should happen if he sent her alone with silver coins. And she would only be alone for about fifteen minutes; what could possibly happen in such a short time?
"Whoa!"
Yorang let out a cheer of joy as Sun-woo handed her the silver coins. What were silver coins? Were they not magical treasures that could be exchanged for all sorts of delicious dishes as long as you handed them over?
"I'll go first!"
She shouted loudly at Sun-woo, then turned around and started running.
"Hey! Don't order everything on the menu like last time!"
Sun-woo called out urgently, but she just kept running without looking back.
"Seriously."
Sun-woo let out a short, dry laugh at the sight. Was she really that happy? Sometimes it felt like he was raising a daughter. Sun-woo watched her go before returning to his shopping.
*
Rising Stars.
What are Rising Stars? They can be described as the next generation of talents who will follow the current generation and lead the future.
In the vast Central Plains Murim, there were countless young martial artists, but only a tiny fraction of them received the title of Rising Star. And even among this tiny fraction of exceptional Rising Stars, there existed monsters with a gap in power that others dared not cross. These were monsters among monsters, possessing martial prowess that rivaled mid-tier martial artists and backgrounds that ordinary Rising Stars couldn't even dream of.
People called them the Dragons and Phoenixes, and they never hesitated to explain until their breath ran out that the future power structure of the Murim would be drastically shifted by their relationships.
*
Pungcheonru, Gyunhyeon, Hubei Province.
A group of young men and women were emptying their cups together.
"Hahahaha! Everyone, please accept a drink from me."
The man laughing loudly, Overlord Fist Dragon Hwangbo Ak, poured drinks with a boisterous laugh.
"Hahahaha! Brother Hwangbo, aren't you going a bit too fast?"
The man who received the drink, Plum Sword Dragon Hwa Un-san, replied with a smile.
"Shouldn't a man be able to laugh off this much alcohol with ease? By the way, Priest Cheongmyeong, is it alright for you to drink?"
Hwangbo Ak answered energetically and then asked the man with the clear, refined features.
"On a day like today, wouldn't even the Primordial Heavenly Lord understand a few cups of medicinal wine?"
The man with the refined features, Wudang's First Dragon, Priest Cheongmyeong, replied with a smile.
Today was Wudang's First Dragon Cheongmyeong's birthday. The Rising Stars designated as Dragons and Phoenixes had formed a group called the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering and met frequently. And as it happened to be the birthday of their fellow member Cheongmyeong, they had gathered in Gyunhyeon, where Mount Wudang was located, and rented out the largest inn in the area, Pungcheonru, for a celebration.
"Aing, is Brother Hwangbo going to leave my cup empty?"
Just then, a woman wearing a tight-fitting red martial outfit that accentuated her curvaceous body held out her cup toward Hwangbo Ak.
"Oh my, I nearly forgot about our sister Jia. Here, I'll fill your cup to the brim, so please don't be upset."
At her words, Hwangbo Ak made a fuss and immediately began pouring wine into her cup.
"Hohoho, thank you."
As Hwangbo Ak filled her cup, the beauty in the red outfit, Zhuge Jia, replied with a laugh. They emptied their cups while chatting boisterously, seemingly enjoying themselves immensely.
And not far away, a woman dressed in a martial outfit as white as pure snow was watching them.
"Yawn."
The woman in the snow-white outfit, Heavenly Sword Phoenix Lee Ye-seol, let out a large yawn. This gathering, which seemed more about drinking and socializing than pursuing the martial path, didn't seem to suit her well.
Of course, looking at them one by one, they were disciples of prestigious sects or children of renowned clans, but in her eyes, they didn't seem all that impressive. She had already surpassed the Peak Mid-Stage and entered the Upper Stage. Having far exceeded the level of a typical Rising Star, everything seemed like child's play to her.
In her eyes, the group with the grand name of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering was nothing more than a social club for young masters and ladies of prestigious families, filled with a sense of elitism. Naturally, her interest had waned, and she found it incredibly boring.
In the first place, she wouldn't have even come to this gathering if it weren't for the request of her mother, the Heavenly Sword Empress Joo So-yang. Joo So-yang harbored a wish for her daughter, Lee Ye-seol, to start a family soon. For that reason, she made her attend every meeting of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, the elite group of Rising Stars, telling her to form a connection with someone.
From Lee Ye-seol's perspective, it was a massive headache. What kind of son-in-law was she supposed to find among people who were all significantly weaker than her? She felt her time would be better spent searching for the Cheonmu Alliance's worst criminal, Jang Sam.
It was then.
"Haha, Miss Lee, what are you doing here all by yourself?"
Hwa Un-san, who was quite intoxicated, spoke to her. He was the most outstanding Rising Star of the Mount Hua Sect, which was famous for its great power among the Nine Sects and One Gang, and he held the title of Plum Sword Dragon. Thanks to his handsome appearance and respectable martial arts at the Peak Mid-Stage, he was rumored to be very popular among female martial artists.
"Come over here and have a drink with us."
He slowly reached out his hand, attempting to grab her.
Swish.
"I prefer being alone."
However, Lee Ye-seol easily avoided his hand and spoke.
"Haha..."
Hwa Un-san let out a dry laugh as he withdrew his awkwardly extended hand.
Arrogant bitch.
Of course, he was cursing her in his mind. In truth, Hwa Un-san liked Lee Ye-seol. Her beautiful appearance, slender body, and the incredible background of being the daughter of the World's Greatest Martial Artist left nothing to be desired. Moreover, seeing that haughty attitude of hers only made his desire to conquer her rise.
Who else but I, Hwa Un-san, would be a match for her?
He felt confident and began to scan her with a suggestive gaze. He was appraising the body of the woman who would be his future wife.
Noticing that gaze, Lee Ye-seol furrowed her fine brows. Hwa Un-san always leered at her whenever he was drunk. She felt disgusted by his attitude, but she tried her best to ignore it. She felt he wasn't even worth dealing with.
It was then.
Creeeeeak.
The door of Pungcheonru began to open.
"Give me all the food you have here!"
A woman shouted loudly as she entered. The eyes of everyone in Pungcheonru began to turn toward her.