Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Ascending Mount Tai
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When Heuk Do-san returned to Bokmang Cave, the night was already deep into the early hours. He went straight to his room and stowed away the Iron Bamboo Staff.
"If it weren't for this thing, I wouldn't have needed to come back here."
The Iron Bamboo Staff he had obtained from the snow mountain cave was just over five feet long, yet it weighed nearly thirty jin.
Carrying it around was cumbersome, and wearing it at his waist caused his pants to sag from the weight. That was why he had left it at the lodgings Hyeon-gak had prepared for him before heading to the abandoned house—and why he now had to return.
When he stepped outside, Hyeon-gak was waiting with six or seven of his subordinates, all wearing hoods pulled over their faces.
"Preparations are complete."
"What preparations?"
"To seize the sailboat, of course."
"Why report that to me?"
"Aren't we going together?"
"You want me to go rob them?"
"You egged me on to rob them plenty, but now you're backing out yourself?"
"Of course. It's not my business."
"You're really going to do this!"
"Get worked up. Take some responsibility—responsibility. Besides, I have somewhere else to go separately. As I said earlier, Borae isn't safe anymore. I'm not coming back either, so tell Seung to leave now and not return."
"Where the hell are you going?"
"I've baited the hook, so now I need to watch for the fish."
"What are you talking about?"
"You'll find out in time."
"I'll go with you."
"You plan to send fifty people out to sea without a captain?"
"Leave that to the sailors and subordinates I mentioned earlier. I've only lived on land, so they're far better at handling ships than I am."
"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were peerless warriors, one against a thousand, but the people followed Liu Bei. The old man and his subordinates can't be the leader. You know what I mean?"
"Just to be sure, you're not planning to charge into the Heavenly Demon Palace alone and confront Seop Dae-gang, are you? That would be insane. To fool him completely, we'd need a fake Zhang Bo-do too, and there's no end to the preparations."
"There's a turtle-head-shaped rock on the coast of Huai'an. Not far from that rock is a small hidden cave. Whoever finishes their task first leaves a signal at the cave. Take care."
With that, Heuk Do-san walked off without looking back. Hyeon-gak stared at his retreating figure for a long while.
*What is that fox plotting now?*
Heuk Do-san hadn't gone far before he stopped. Hiding behind a large pine tree by the seaside was Heuk Ye-mong.
"If you're going to assassinate someone, the treetops are better."
Heuk Ye-mong twisted her body awkwardly as she stepped out from behind the tree. Her head hung low, her face flushed with shame.
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting."
"For me?"
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"Since evening."
"Why?"
"I have something to ask."
"Out with it."
"Where are you going?"
"None of your business."
"Then I'll ask later."
"There might not be a later."
Heuk Ye-mong jerked her head up in surprise. She stared piercingly at Heuk Do-san with her clear eyes and asked,
"You're not coming back?"
"Probably not."
"You said you'd take me as your disciple."
"You ran off saying you hated it."
"That was... I'm sorry."
"No, you did well. You shouldn't force yourself into things you hate. And when you hate something, you should say so clearly. Running off was a very clear statement of intent. Though it lacked manners."
"Instead of teaching me to read, can't you teach me martial arts? I hate studying letters. Just seeing characters makes me sleepy."
He had figured as much.
People think only within the breadth of their own experiences. Heuk Ye-mong had lived in the back alleys by the sea, where the strongest fist ruled supreme.
She was still too young to realize that violence wasn't the only power.
"What would you use martial arts for?"
"If I get strong, no one will look down on Mom or me. I really want to learn martial arts."
Heuk Do-san peered into Heuk Ye-mong's sparkling eyes. It was definitely a different look from when they had talked about the Thousand Character Classic.
"Do you want people to look at you and feel fear?"
"Huh?"
"When I learned you were illiterate, I looked down on you. Yet here you are, not asking for lessons in reading, but in martial arts."
"......!"
"That's not to avoid being looked down on—it's to make people fear you."
"......"
"Better to earn respect than fear. Whether through martial arts or letters. You might subdue people with fear, but you won't make friends. From what I see, you need friends more."
Heuk Do-san turned and walked away.
Heuk Ye-mong felt as if she'd been struck on the back of the head with a hammer. She stood there dazed for a while, then stretched her neck toward his receding figure and called out.
"I'll still do martial arts. If I memorize the whole Thousand Character Classic, will you teach me then?"
"If you want to learn martial arts, you don't need me specifically. Find someone else. Hyeon-gak's here too."
"I don't want anyone else!"
"I don't want you anymore either."
* * *
Heuk Do-san left Bokmang Cave and headed straight for Mount Tai, where the Heavenly Demon Palace lay.
Without Zhang Bo-do in hand, exchanging it for Gong Cheon-ak and Bing-seol was impossible from the start.
In other words, it was a bluff.
His plan was to infiltrate the Heavenly Demon Palace, observe the situation, and then secretly tail and rescue Gong Cheon-ak and Bing-seol if someone set off for Geum-o Island on Seop Dae-gang's orders.
One precondition was necessary: he had to arrive before Yeom Jin-sang.
That way, he could pursue whoever left for Geum-o Island. Yeom Jin-sang was essentially the bait.
If one precondition was needed, one problem arose: would that fox-like Seop Dae-gang fall for it?
*Yeom Jin-sang had better do his part.*
Mount Tai lay about a hundred li from Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province. It was just a day's ride on a fast horse from Borae. Yeom Jin-sang had left about half a shichen ago, so he'd arrive around tomorrow night.
Instead of riding, Heuk Do-san unleashed his lightness skill. It was the only way to travel faster than a horse.
Lightness skill literally meant making the body light. When the gong character was added, turning it into a martial art, it went beyond mere lightness.
One could outrun a horse, scale sheer cliffs, and race across precarious treetops as if on flat ground.
This transcended human physical limits. It couldn't be achieved with external arts alone.
Lightness skill was directly tied to one's internal energy depth. Especially for a full day's sprint like this, not just momentary leaps from leg strength.
Heuk Do-san vaulted over mountains, fields, and cliffs like thresholds. In dense forests with no footing, he skimmed the treetops brushing the sky like the wind.
Anyone seeing him would surely call him a ghost. By the next evening, Heuk Do-san reached Mount Tai.
Mount Tai rose alone from the vast North China Plain at the Yellow River's lower reaches, a rocky mountain with a circumference nearing two hundred li.
Its highest peak was Heavenly Pillar Peak, propping up the sky like its name. It was the first place on the plain to see the sun rising from the sea.
Enchanted by its sanctity, Qin Shi Huang visited Heavenly Pillar Peak right after ascending the throne to perform the Fengshan Ceremony, the highest rite of the Son of Heaven.
Countless emperors followed suit upon taking the throne, and eventually, people called Mount Tai "Dai Zong," the foremost of the Five Great Mountains.
It was no coincidence that the Heavenly Demon Palace stood on that very Mount Tai, at Heavenly Pillar Peak.
Heuk Do-san slipped through the darkness and ascended to Heavenly Pillar Peak in an instant. On the flat mountaintop, sliced clean like by a blade, stood the grand Heavenly Demon Palace.
Even half-ruined in places, the walls resembling small cliffs stretched vigorously north to south. The evening glow from the North China Plain settled red upon them.
This place, more fortress than palace, had once been where the Heavenly Demon dreamed of conquering the world.
*Heavenly Demon Palace...*
Heuk Do-san recalled the old days.
It was a winter during the war's final stages, when the East Wind General raged.
Sword Sage Yeop Jeong-cho led ten thousand Righteous Alliance troops and camped at the foot of Mount Tai.
People thought they could slay the Heavenly Demon here and end the long war.
But Heuk Do-san thought differently.
With sheer cliffs behind and three-zhang-high walls in front, the Heavenly Demon Palace was no mere mountain fortress. Locked tight, it could hold off a hundred thousand with defensive focus alone—a natural stronghold.
His prediction proved true. Though the Righteous Alliance threw everything into the siege, the gates held.
Bloody battles raged each morning, only for peace to return at night, for a full month.
The Righteous Alliance grew frantic, losing many troops to the endless siege. Famous strategists pooled ideas, but none worked.
Siege weapons were useless against the rear cliffs and front slopes—impossible to even deploy.
Isolated assaults failed too. Rumors said the palace held enough food and water for all its troops for a year.
One night, Heuk Do-san scaled the rear cliff and infiltrated successfully. He needed to scout where the Demonic Cult had hidden their treasures before the battle ended, to grab them first with the old mercenaries once the war closed.
The rear cliff was too high, steep, and crumbly to climb casually. The unwary would plummet thousands of feet with crumbling rock.
Knowing this well, the Righteous Alliance dared not attempt it.
The Demonic Cult focused on the front walls, posting only minimal guards on the rear cliff.
Fortunate for him, freeing him from both armies' eyes.
Heuk Do-san, taught the Sky Escape Earth Technique by a Joseon native, found firm veins amid the crumbly rock and climbed.
Once inside, it was absurdly easy. With five thousand Demonic Cultists garrisoned, they noticed no intruder.
Dressed as a dead cultist from the siege, Heuk Do-san roamed freely. Like a mole, he prowled the palace. Entering was simple; finding the treasure was hard.
After fruitless toil, descending the cliff one day, he encountered an unexpected figure: Sword Sage Yeop Jeong-cho, Righteous Alliance Leader and one of the era's two strongest, rival to the Heavenly Demon.
Heuk Do-san's legs shook. Prostrating, he claimed he wasn't a cult spy, but had infiltrated to scout the enemy and was returning.
Yeop Jeong-cho stared long, then said,
"If I put you as guide, how many could infiltrate the Heavenly Demon Palace in one watch?"
Five days later, under cloud-shrouded moon, a hundred elites scaled the cliff.
Alarm bells clanged as the enemy spotted them, but too late.
Special forces, drilled dozens of times, eliminated sentries, raced the walls, and opened the gates.
Cavalry in heavy armor with spears poured in, clearing the way. Ten thousand main troops flooded, sweeping the palace.
That battle cost the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult half its forces. The month-long siege ended. Yet the Heavenly Demon escaped with his demon army, and the war dragged on.
But that battle turned the tide. The Heavenly Demon and his kin were hunted, pushed to the Shandong coast.
Snapping from reverie, Heuk Do-san scouted the palace. The massive gates were shut tight, no soul in sight.
But every ten-odd zhang on the walls, sentries armed with longbows and dragon-head glaives stood watch.
Beyond the walls came unidentified shouts, drumbeats, and ground-shaking vibrations—like a war raging inside.
*What are they up to?*
Whatever happened inside was none of his concern. Heuk Do-san hid in the pine shadows on the slope, waiting for night.
As sun set and darkness fell, torches lit the walls, spreading instantly—like a fire dragon awakening.
Then, far off, five horses galloped toward the gates. Yeom Jin-sang's group.
*Right on time.*