Chapter 39: Arrival at Mount Hua
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: Arrival at Mount Hua
"It’s so damn far, seriously. Is this a joke? It’s not like we’re crossing the whole country; we’re just moving within Shaanxi. Why the hell is it taking so long?"
Chun-bong let out a hollow laugh at Seo-jun’s grumbling.
"If you hadn’t stopped to do all those weird things, it would’ve taken half the time."
"Weird things? What did I do?!"
"Are you seriously asking because you don’t know? I could list them all day and still not finish."
"You enjoyed it too!"
"It was fun, I’ll give you that."
Setting aside his other antics, the food tours they had gone on in every city they passed through had been genuinely enjoyable.
Chun-bong smacked her lips.
"It was delicious. That tanghulu... To think of making tanghulu with glutinous rice cakes... that vendor must be a genius."
"Was it really that good? It was way too sweet for me; I could barely eat it."
"You just have no taste."
Unbelievable, seriously.
Seo-jun slapped his forehead and looked around.
"But man, there are a ton of people here."
"It’s the season for it. Besides, Hwaeum County is always crowded to begin with."
"I’m getting annoyed."
"What now, you crazy bastard?"
"There are just too many people."
Sighing at the swarming crowds, Seo-jun suddenly scooped Chun-bong up in his arms.
"Go! Qi-Controlled Chun-bong!"
"Wh-whoa?!"
Whoosh—!
Thrown into the air, Chun-bong went flying. Seo-jun immediately leaped after her, caught her in mid-air, and landed lightly on the roof of a nearby building.
"The path is what I make it. Wherever I walk, a road follows."
"There goes his 'crazy disease' acting up again, honestly."
Letting out a sigh heavy enough to sink the ground, Chun-bong shaded her eyes with a hand and scanned their surroundings.
"Anyway, I hope there’s actually a place for us to stay."
"If not, we sleep outside."
"Ugh. No way."
Spotting a building that looked like an inn, Chun-bong’s eyes sparkled.
"Hey! Let’s try that place!"
As they used their lightness skills to hop across the rooftops toward the inn, a man suddenly leaped up from the street, blocking their path.
"Excuse me, but please refrain from running across the rooftops with lightness skills during daylight hours."
The man wore a blue Taoist robe. Seeing the small plum blossom pattern embroidered on his wide sleeves, Seo-jun poked Chun-bong in the ribs.
"Mount Hua?"
"Yeah."
Answering softly, Chun-bong gave an awkward smile and offered a polite fist and palm salute.
"Sorry. I forgot myself for a moment."
"It is quite alright. It is no great matter."
The man gave a bright smile and vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Watching the man’s footwork closely, Seo-jun let out a small exclamation of admiration.
"He’s a fucking pro."
"You... don’t tell me... No, never mind."
"What! What is it?!"
"You didn't just call him a 'foot-pro' because his footwork was good, did you?"
"I really didn't. Even for me, that’s a bit much..."
Seeing Seo-jun look genuinely disgusted, Chun-bong cleared her throat awkwardly. Grumbling for no reason, she jumped down from the roof and landed on the main road.
"I got scolded because of you."
"Kweeeeh."
"Sigh."
Chun-bong let out a long breath. Seo-jun chuckled and started walking.
"Anyway, let’s hurry before someone takes our room."
* * *
Fortunately, the inn wasn't short on rooms.
The innkeeper scanned Seo-jun and Chun-bong before asking, "One room? Or two?"
"Hmm... what do you want to do?"
Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong. She turned to the owner.
"One."
"A room for two, then... and meals?"
"We don’t need them, right?"
Seo-jun nodded. "Yeah."
Chun-bong paid the fee and took the key.
"Let’s drop our bags and get out of here. I’m hungry."
"You’re going to turn into a pig at this rate."
"Shut up. Didn't you tell me to eat a lot before?"
"I’ve realized something. No matter how much you eat, your cheeks never get fat."
"Bullshit."
After leaving their luggage in the room and finishing a meal at a decent restaurant, the two walked down the street, each munching on a stick of tanghulu.
"Miss Geum, when did you say registration for the martial arts tournament starts?"
"Next week."
"Then what do we do until then?"
"I don’t know either. Just look around, I guess."
"Look around?"
Seo-jun tilted his head. Was there anything worth seeing? Well, a city this size had to have something.
"Oh, can we go see the Mount Hua Sect?"
"The outer areas are accessible to outsiders."
"Oh, then should we go check out the Mount Hua Sect tomorrow?"
"Hmm..."
After a moment of thought, Chun-bong nodded.
"Sure, why not. It should be fine if I wear a veil."
"A veil? Ah."
Come to think of it, this was the Mount Hua Sect's territory. There might be people who would recognize her as Geum Hee rather than Chun-bong.
"Actually, never mind. I’m sure there’ll be another chance to visit Mount Hua later."
"I’m telling you, it’s really fine. Even if people from my family know me, almost no one else does. I hardly ever left the estate."
"What? You were a shut-in?"
"My father was just overprotective." Chun-bong gave a bitter smile.
Seeing her expression—one that threatened to drag the entire mood down—Seo-jun suddenly scooped her up and sprinted down the street.
"Let’s go, Geum Chun-bong! I’ll buy you five thousand veils today!"
"I only need one, you idiot!"
"Yahoo!"
"Stop it! Everyone’s staring!"
They only bought two veils.
* * *
When they returned to the inn, they were drawn in by the boisterous atmosphere of the tavern on the first floor and took a seat in the corner.
They weren't exactly hungry since they had already eaten, but the lively environment made them want to order something anyway.
"Is there anything light to eat? It’d be killer with some booze."
"Booze? Go ahead and drink."
"Hey, no way. You’re banned from drinking until you’re all grown up."
"Since when?!"
"Uh-uh! This older brother cannot allow it!"
As he slammed the table playfully, Chun-bong pouted. Just then, an inn servant passed by, and Seo-jun flagged him down.
"Waiter! One Carbonara over here!"
"Excuse me...? Carbo...? We have no such dish, sir..."
"Hmph, no class."
After a moment of thought, Seo-jun asked Chun-bong.
"Are wheat noodles okay?"
"Yeah. Let’s order one bowl and share."
"Is that allowed?"
Seo-jun glanced at the servant, who nodded enthusiastically.
"It is no problem at all, sir."
"Then give us that."
"Right away, sir!"
The servant hurried off, leaving Seo-jun to sit blankly, staring out the window.
‘Assuming I win the martial arts tournament, what do I do after that?’
He reached into his robe and felt the small wooden plaque. It was the one Mae-wol from the Red Moon Pavilion had given him.
Should he ask the Hao Sect where to find spirit herbs?
Just as he was pondering, a loud voice suddenly erupted across the room.
"This fellow dares to ignore me?!"
"You’re the one who started ignoring me! What did you say about the spear?!"
"Hah! Isn't it obvious? The Emperor of All Weapons is the sword! It is only natural that all other weapons are inferior to it!"
"Fine! Prove it right here and now!"
One man abruptly grabbed a spear leaning against the wall. The man he was arguing with drew a sword from his waist in response.
The ordinary patrons who weren't martial artists quickly scrambled to clear the area. However, perhaps because the tournament was drawing near, quite a few martial artists remained seated, watching the spectacle.
One of the onlookers recognized the man with the spear.
"Wait... Isn't that Nam Su-hyeok of the Swift Advancing Spear?"
"And the other one is Eom Ga-do-ro, the One-Eyed Heartless Sword."
It seemed they were martial artists with somewhat of a reputation.
Seo-jun watched them with mild curiosity, tapping his fingers against the table.
"Wow. But if they keep that up, I wonder if our noodles will ever come out?"
"Do you think they will? Maybe if the waiter is a hidden master."
"That’s probably not the case, right?"
"You never know. He might be a supreme master who has reached the stage of Returning to Simplicity."
"Chun-bong."
"Yeah?"
"You honestly think that’s nonsense too, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Chun-bong nodded. Seo-jun sighed as he watched the two men violently clashing their weapons.
"Ugh, those bastards."
Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun stood up from his seat.
"I’ll be right back."
"Don’t get hurt."
"By them? Me?"
Seo-jun chuckled and strolled over.
The sword and spear clashed violently, spitting sparks into the air. They seemed to be holding back somewhat, as they weren't actively using internal energy, but to Seo-jun’s eyes, that was about to change.
"You...!"
A ferocious blue light emanated from the One-Eyed Heartless Sword’s single eye. Pushed back by the Swift Advancing Spear’s technique, he finally drew out his sword qi.
"You’ve lost your mind!"
In response, the Swift Advancing Spear coated the tip of his weapon with a vibrant green spear qi.
The surrounding tables were already trashed, but with qi involved, it looked like the entire inn was about to collapse.
"Wow, look at this noob fight!"
Seo-jun, having casually stepped right between them, grinned.
"Go on, keep going. Why stop? I want to watch too."
"Who the hell are you?!"
The One-Eyed Heartless Sword gnashed his teeth and glared at Seo-jun. Seo-jun glared right back, not backing down an inch.
"Is it hard to see because you only have one eye? My fucking noodles! Huh? They aren't coming out because of you guys! Are you going to take responsibility if they get soggy?!"
"I’ve never seen such a madman!"
Unable to contain his rage, the One-Eyed Heartless Sword lunged. Seo-jun simply flicked his finger.
Clang—!
The One-Eyed Heartless Sword’s single eye widened in shock as his blade was effortlessly deflected by a finger pellet.
"A master...!"
"And you’re a disaster!"
Before the swordsman even registered the movement, Seo-jun closed the distance and drove a punch straight into his solar plexus.
"Blegh...!"
The One-Eyed Heartless Sword collapsed to his knees. It was the perfect angle.
"Behave yourself!"
Thump—!
Seo-jun delivered a brutal noogie to the top of his head, sending the One-Eyed Heartless Sword straight into a peaceful slumber.
Seo-jun turned. "You’re next, right?"
"...I have no intention of fighting."
"Well, I do."
Seo-jun strode forward and raised his fist. The Swift Advancing Spear’s eyes trembled violently.
"...Please, go easy on me."
"Yup."
Thump—!
Struck by a merciless noogie, the Swift Advancing Spear laid down nicely right next to the One-Eyed Heartless Sword.
"Debt repaid. For my noodles."
As Seo-jun raised his fist in victory, the surrounding martial artists began to applaud.
"Excellent!"
"Wonderful skill!"
Truly, the breed known as martial artists were mostly out of their minds.
Shaking his head, Seo-jun shouted toward the kitchen at the back of the inn.
"My noodles are coming out now, right?"
"Y-yes, sir!"
That was all that mattered.
Seo-jun grinned and started walking back to his seat.
"We meet again, Daoist friend."
Seo-jun stopped in his tracks at the sound of the familiar voice. Standing at the entrance of the inn was the Mount Hua disciple he had run into earlier.
"Ah, hey. What’s up?"
"I heard a fight broke out and came to stop it. The security of Hwaeum County is under the jurisdiction of the Mount Hua Sect, after all."
"Aha."
Then what kind of guts did those two have to be fighting here? He was momentarily curious, but quickly came to an understanding.
‘I guess they were just idiots.’
As Seo-jun nodded to himself, the disciple approached.
"So, would you mind coming with me for a moment? It won't be anything serious."
"Huh? Me? I wasn't fighting."
The disciple’s gaze shifted to the two unconscious men on the floor, and then back to Seo-jun.
Seo-jun nodded. "Okay, I did."
"Then..."
"Wait a moment."
Just then, a woman emerged from among the crowd of martial artists. Her face was hidden by a bamboo hat pulled low, but there was no way anyone could fail to recognize she was a woman.
‘Oh, she has three heads.’
Intimidated by her sheer proportions, Seo-jun reflexively moved his hand toward his sword.
The woman tilted her head for a moment before speaking up.
"This gentleman was only stopping the fight. If he hadn't intervened, the entire inn would be in ruins by now, wouldn't it?"
"Ah, Nam..."
"Shh. I told you my identity is a secret."
The corners of her mouth, visible beneath the brim of her bamboo hat, curved into a graceful smile.
"Anyway, for my sake, could you let this slide quietly?"
"Hmm... I understand, young lady. If this gentleman was merely stopping the fight, then of course we should."
The Mount Hua disciple gave an awkward smile and bowed slightly to Seo-jun.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding."
"No, it’s fine."
"Thank you for your generous understanding, Daoist friend."
"Hmm."
"Is something the matter?"
"You keep saying 'Daoist friend,' and it’s making me crave pizza."
"Ah... I believe 'pizza' will be difficult to find in Hwaeum County."
"Oh, what a shame."
Slapping his forehead, Seo-jun bowed slightly to the woman whose chest was the size of her head.
"Thanks for the help."
"It was nothing. Your younger sister was so cute that I couldn't help but keep an eye on you two."
"Oho. You know your stuff. Our Chun-bong is indeed the cutest in the world."
"Ufufu, is that s—"
"Oh, the noodles are here. I’m off."
Noodles were non-negotiable.