Chapter 261: Sensing a Crisis
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 261: Sensing a Crisis
Inside the carriage.
"Did you know? The origin of the Way began with words. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it all started with the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. Do you know what that is? It’s a Taoist sect founded on Mount Qingcheng by Zhang Ling—later known as Celestial Master Zhang—after he studied the Way and organized the scriptures on Mount Hakmyeong, one of the famous mountains in the west. It was called the Five Pecks of Rice Sect because one had to donate five pecks of rice to join."
Un-jeok-ja looked at Sun-woo and began to chatter away without a moment's rest.
Sun-woo gave half-hearted nods, offering just enough of a reaction to keep the conversation going.
"During the Three Kingdoms period, Celestial Master Zhang’s grandson, Zhang Lu..."
Encouraged by Sun-woo’s response, Un-jeok-ja opened his mouth even wider, looking increasingly excited.
Damn it.
Sun-woo cursed inwardly.
Un-jeok-ja’s endless prattle showed no signs of stopping. Soon, a wave of regret washed over him. After all, he was the one who had brought this upon himself.
Normally, Sun-woo used the carriage alone. At first, he had been delighted by the thought of not having to worry about others, but that feeling hadn't lasted long. As the days passed, his boredom grew.
Initially, he had continued his martial arts training through meditation, but after a month of that, his entire body felt restless. From then on, he lived only for lunch and dinner—the only times he could actually talk to people.
However, even that solitary luxury vanished once they entered the North Sea. The snow winds were so fierce and the weather so unpredictable that stopping to sit down for a proper meal was an impossible extravagance. Consequently, lunch usually consisted of dry rations eaten on the move.
This routine gifted Sun-woo an unbearable level of boredom. He had managed to endure for a while thanks to the coachman, his only conversation partner, but even they had eventually run out of things to say.
So, Sun-woo had come up with a plan: invite others into his carriage. There was the downside of having to be mindful of company, but his sheer listlessness outweighed that concern.
The ones he invited were Un-jeok-ja and Seol-hyang. He figured that with two talkative people, he wouldn't be bored. When Sun-woo made the proposal, both accepted readily.
And that was when Sun-woo’s personal hell began.
The moment they stepped into the carriage, Un-jeok-ja’s monumental chatter commenced. The man talked a lot. An incredible amount, in fact.
Sun-woo and Seol-hyang were forced to listen to a non-stop lecture on Taoist philosophy. Not only that, but they heard everything from the origins of the Qingcheng Sect to anecdotes about the one hundred and one heroes who had brought glory to the sect.
Sun-woo felt his eyes grow hollow and his mind turn to mush. There was nothing he wanted to hear less than the history of someone else's sect that he had zero interest in. He felt his consciousness drifting away.
Sun-woo slowly turned his gaze toward Seol-hyang. She seemed to be in the same boat, staring blankly with hollow eyes, merely enduring the noise.
He began to feel a twinge of guilt. She had come over with a light heart to hang out, only to be trapped in a history lesson; how absurd must this be for her? Sun-woo lowered his head slightly, offering her a silent apology. Of course, given her catatonic state, it didn't seem like she noticed.
"Oh, and by the way, in the twelfth generation of Qingcheng, there was a senior named Gwangmyeongja..."
Whether he was oblivious to their suffering or simply didn't care, Un-jeok-ja continued to recite the history of Qingcheng. Watching him, Sun-woo made a firm resolution: from now on, he would just meditate in silence.
After some time had passed...
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, Seol-hyang’s ears perked up, and she let out a confused sound.
"Wait a moment."
She turned her head toward Un-jeok-ja and asked for his indulgence. At her request, Un-jeok-ja stopped mid-sentence.
Once the talking ceased, she quietly closed her eyes. As she did, the countless sounds of the world surrounding her began to flow in. The rolling of wheels, the whistling snow wind, the scurrying of snow rabbits, the muffled conversations within the other carriages—all sorts of sounds reached her.
She expanded her senses even further. Then, she caught the voice of a man coming from quite a distance away.
[Greetings. I am Pi Sang-deuk, the Unit Leader of the Northern Wind Unit.]
"Pi Sang-deuk!" Seol-hyang shouted.
"What?! Pi Sang-deuk?!" Un-jeok-ja asked in shock. Why would the name of a notorious murderer who once shook the Murim suddenly come up?
"Pi Sang-deuk, you say?!" Sun-woo asked, equally surprised.
Sun-woo knew the name well. Since his memories were fully assimilated with those of Jang Sam, he was well-versed in most of Murim's history. Moreover, Pi Sang-deuk was the man who had once broken through the Heavenly Net of the Cheonmu Alliance. There was no way Jang Sam, who had been part of that alliance, wouldn't know him.
"Yes, I heard the voice of Pi Sang-deuk, the leader of the Northern Wind Unit," Seol-hyang replied to their questions.
"What does the situation sound like?"
"It sounds like a confrontation." Seol-hyang continued with a grim expression.
[Ah... as I thought, I can't do it.]
[Sigh... seeing those upright eyes of yours makes me want to kill you so badly.]
"This is bad! It sounds like an ambush!" Overhearing Pi Sang-deuk’s words, she spoke up in alarm.
"What!"
Upon hearing her, Un-jeok-ja grabbed the sword beside him. He looked ready to bolt out of the carriage at any second.
"Wait a moment," Sun-woo said calmly, looking at Un-jeok-ja. "Stop."
"Every second counts right now!"
"And where exactly do you plan on going?" Sun-woo looked at him and continued, "You can't go."
"What?!" Un-jeok-ja stared at him, his face full of confusion. How could he try to stop him?
"Our current objective is to find the missing disciples. It is not to save people we don't even know," Sun-woo said in a cold voice.
"But that man is a heinous murderer!"
"Even so, he has nothing to do with our mission."
"No... how can a member of the Orthodox Faction, who upholds chivalry, tolerate such injustice!"
"Because we are the Orthodox Faction, justification is everything. Right now, we have no reason to go and kill Pi Sang-deuk."
"Why not!" Un-jeok-ja asked, unable to understand.
"First, we don't know who Pi Sang-deuk is attacking. We don't know if they are innocent civilians or fellow bandits. Second, we don't know the extent of the enemy's strength. I don't want to waste our combat power on something unnecessary."
"But chivalry—!!"
"Un-jeok-ja, get a grip. It took us two months just to reach the North Sea. If we waste the search party's strength here, it will be a massive loss. Pursuing chivalry is important, but you must also consider the safety of your disciples."
Sun-woo spoke in a serious tone. His words were true. If they wasted their strength here, it would undoubtedly hinder the search, and they would face the inconvenience of having to send more people to the North Sea.
"..........."
Un-jeok-ja couldn't find a word to say. He realized Sun-woo was right. Their goal wasn't to subjugate Pi Sang-deuk. They couldn't afford to waste resources here, especially when they didn't even know who Pi Sang-deuk was fighting.
Eventually, Un-jeok-ja hung his head. He had been persuaded.
Whew.
Sun-woo let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried the man might charge out regardless. Fortunately, he seemed to have listened to reason.
"What if... what if they are innocent people?" Un-jeok-ja asked in a trembling voice.
"Then it's unfortunate. It's a burden they'll have to bear themselves," Sun-woo replied flatly.
It was a statement devoid of even a shred of sympathy, but Sun-woo didn't care. He hated being dragged around by concepts like chivalry or the "greater good." He barely had enough energy to look after his own people; who was he supposed to help? It wasn't that he lacked compassion, but he had no desire to run miles to save someone whose identity he didn't even know. Why get involved in someone else's fight without a proper reason?
"Um, Young Master Jang."
Seol-hyang’s voice reached Sun-woo.
"Speak."
"Listening closely... it sounds like they've ambushed a merchant caravan."
"Even so, it can't be helped. That is their burden to bear," Sun-woo replied firmly.
His goal was to find the missing disciples, return to the Tang Clan, and live a happy life. He had no intention of playing hero and wasting time.
"Young Master, I think we should go too," Seol-hyang said cautiously.
"Didn't I just say? We have no justification to go there."
"We do have justification." Seol-hyang’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"What justification?" Sun-woo asked, genuinely curious.
"First, the direction our carriage is heading is the same as the direction of the battle. We will inevitably pass that spot and encounter Pi Sang-deuk anyway."
She looked at Sun-woo with clear eyes and continued.
"Second, to minimize our own potential losses, we should cooperate with the merchant guild's warriors. When we don't even know the enemy's numbers, it's better to bring even one more person to our side."
Taking a breath, she continued again.
"Third, there is a massive bounty on Pi Sang-deuk’s head. Son Mu-chang, one of the Five Great Merchants of the Central Plains, offered half his fortune for it. I know a significant amount of money was spent on this trip to the North Sea. If we cover those costs with the bounty, we can minimize the losses incurred by this expedition."
She stared at Sun-woo with eyes full of determination.
"Fourth, we cannot ignore the possibility that it was Pi Sang-deuk who attacked the missing disciples. As a Public Enemy of the Murim who fled to the North Sea, he surely harbors a grudge against Central Plains martial artists. When else will we encounter such a prime suspect in this vast North Sea?"
"..........."
Sun-woo fell into deep thought. Her words were surprisingly persuasive. At first, he had expected her to harp on about chivalry like Un-jeok-ja and was prepared to tune her out. However, she had completely excluded emotional appeals like compassion or justice. That was precisely why her argument carried so much weight.
"Very well."
After careful consideration, Sun-woo finally spoke.
"Then I shall go at once!"
As soon as permission was granted, Un-jeok-ja turned as if to bolt.
"No." Sun-woo stopped him.
"Why now?!" Un-jeok-ja snapped back. He had just agreed, so why stop him now?
"I will go and save them alone," Sun-woo said firmly.
"That's dangerous!" Seol-hyang cried out, thinking it was madness. Why take such a risk alone?
"It's fine. You know how strong I am, don't you?" Sun-woo replied calmly.
"Even so, alone is..." Her voice trailed off.
"In the first place, if the situation is dangerous enough to threaten me, having you two along won't be much help anyway."
"..........."
"..........."
Neither Un-jeok-ja nor Seol-hyang could say a word. It was the truth. Sun-woo was a man who had suppressed Un-jeok-ja—who had reached the beginning of the Transcendent Realm—in a single move. If Sun-woo was in danger, they would be of no help at all.
Click.
"I'll be back, then."
Offering a light smile at their silence, Sun-woo opened the door and leaped out.
Whirrrrrrr!
The freezing snow wind greeted him.
It's cold.
Sun-woo shivered as the biting wind hit him. He could feel the intense chill.
Northeast, she said?
Sun-woo circulated the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, gathering his internal energy. Soon, a massive amount of energy swirled around him before seeping into his body. The Yin-Yang Harmony Qi activated his physical abilities to their absolute limit.
But he didn't stop there. Sun-woo began to accelerate his blood flow. His blood pumped faster and faster, pushing his physical capabilities even higher. Soon, his entire body began to turn a deep red. He had reached his peak physical state.
"Phew..."
After exhaling, Sun-woo channeled all his internal energy into his Yongcheon Points. He arched his upper body like a bow. Then, as he kicked off the ground, he simultaneously detonated the energy stored in his Yongcheon Points.
BOOM!
A massive roar echoed out, and the spot where Sun-woo had been standing was instantly shrouded in a cloud of dust. Sun-woo snapped his arched body forward, launching himself like a projectile.
In an instant, his form vanished, leaving only afterimages behind. He had performed the Transposition Technique, a legendary level of movement.
Sun-woo’s figure disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye. Watching this, Un-jeok-ja and Seol-hyang stood with their jaws dropped. They knew he was strong, but they never imagined he had reached the level of the Transposition Technique.
They could only track his presence by the continuous sonic booms echoing through the air.