Chapter 125
Chapter 125
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Divine Martial Jianghu Journey (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Even in a place like this, you want to ride a carriage?"
"Ugh."
"I'm at the point where I might as well carry you on my back."
The horse was being treated far better than the lowly instructor.
If she weren't his bride-to-be, he might have seriously considered switching jobs to horse handler.
But Moyong So-hye didn't back down easily.
"What about lightness skill then? Instead of trudging along like this, we could just zip through with lightness skill."
"Jegal."
Instead of replying, he wagged his finger, and Jegal Tan stepped forward.
"It's impossible. On public roads managed by the government, you can't use martial arts unless it's some dire emergency."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"It's perfectly reasonable."
Chu Un-hwi clicked his tongue at Moyong So-hye.
"Kid, you seem clueless even after being at the Divine Martial Academy. How many martial artists do you think there are in the world?"
"Quite a few, right? Just those registered in the Murim Alliance's roster number thirty thousand, and the Beggars' Sect is said to have over a hundred thousand disciples."
Maybe around two hundred thousand?
Chu Un-hwi shook his head.
"The roster includes all sorts of riffraff and third-rate warriors."
If you filtered for those properly trained in martial arts, it wouldn't even be half.
"And real, hardcore martial artists are even rarer."
They're incredibly scarce.
"Most of them cluster around places like the Murim Alliance or Iron Blood Alliance anyway."
Which meant, in the end...
You rarely ran into wild martial artists wandering the world.
"True. Even that mountain bandit village we passed before didn't have anyone you'd call a proper martial artist."
Just third-rates relying on poison.
"The Divine Martial Academy is the abnormality, swarming with sword-wielders."
"Ugh. I get it now."
Baek Ri-seol, who had been listening, tilted her head.
"So what happens if you get caught using martial arts?"
Chu Un-hwi shrugged at Baek Ri-seol's question.
"Follow me. I'll show you."
Chu Un-hwi led the group to a small roadside sentry post nestled between the public road's trees.
It was an occasional temporary wooden structure, manned by what looked like government guards bustling about.
As they approached, the guards—who had seemed startled at first but responded with fierce glares—backed off.
"Well, thank you for your hard work."
They recognized the Divine Martial Academy uniforms and deflated.
"Ah, out on a jianghu training trip?"
"Got a cooperation request from the higher-ups."
"You all look so sharp and reliable."
Chu Un-hwi whispered something to the guard captain, who had asked what was up.
The captain's eyes lit up.
"If it's that, then sure."
He went inside and returned with a few wanted posters.
Chu Un-hwi took them and sauntered back.
"If you're unlucky and use martial arts recklessly..."
This is what happens.
The paper he held out had three large characters scrawled across it.
Wanted Criminal
Used martial arts freely on the main road and fled from government troops.
Appears to be an unorthodox martial artist.
Bounty: 50 iron coins.
"No way."
Chu Un-hwi nodded as Baek Ri-seol's eyes shook.
"Yeah. If you're unlucky, you end up a cheap wanted criminal."
It wasn't until the bright moon rose high that...
...the group finally set up camp by the roadside off the main road.
As travelers passing by began settling for the night and making their own camps, Moyong So-hye squatted and buried her face between her knees.
"Uwaaang. Is there really no other way but this road?"
Traveling on foot without a carriage or martial arts, lugging heavy loads—it was beyond boring; it was torture.
Maybe Nangong Yun-ho, built like an ox, was breezing through it?
In the end, Jegal Tan offered the proposal he'd been holding back.
"Instructor. I brought some money with me."
"Oh?"
"We could rent a carriage with this, at least."
Whoosh! A gust of wind, and the money pouch in his hand vanished.
Jegal Tan, suddenly penniless, shot a glare at the instructor.
The instructor tucked the familiar pouch into his bosom and feigned ignorance.
"Why didn't you say so earlier if you had money?"
Jegal Tan realized.
That money going into her bosom might as well have vanished from the world.
"Why? You said you had some."
"I must have been mistaken."
"Why? If you have it, let's share."
At her innocent question, Jegal Tan bowed his head.
"I left the money pouch behind. My mistake."
Oh? That's too bad.
The others, who had thought it a clever idea, checked their own bosoms.
Desperately guarding their pouches from the greedy instructor.
Crackle. Crackle.
If money wouldn't solve it...
Moyong So-hye, who had been moping with her face buried in her knees, suddenly shouted boldly.
"Tomorrow, come hell or high water! I'll rent a carriage and ride!"
Just trust me.
As soon as dawn broke, Moyong So-hye marched right into the middle of the passing traffic on the main road.
She blocked the path of oncoming carriages, flapping her arms.
Her face beaming with cheerful energy.
"Hey! I've got a favor to ask!"
Just like at the academy, she was trying the charm offensive.
But the reaction was completely different.
"Hiiik!"
The cart driver, pulling a small load wagon, freaked out at Moyong So-hye jumping into the road.
"S-Spare me!"
Moyong So-hye, whose killer charm tactic failed, was deeply shocked.
"...He wouldn't even talk to me."
"Isn't it normal to be startled by someone blocking the road with a sword at their waist?"
"But he looked like he'd seen a ghost."
"He must've recognized Bronze Hall's Iron Fist. What of it?"
Waaah! As she fumed, Baek Ri-seol furrowed her brow.
"This is why hitchhiking a ride won't be easy."
Having swords just scares civilians.
"Better to reveal our identities to a famous merchant caravan and request assistance."
As the group started finding decent solutions, Chu Un-hwi raised a finger.
"Those who come are not good; those who are good do not come."
"Isn't that from Gaeyeo Cong Exam?"
It's also a jianghu common sense phrase.
"I know it means to always stay vigilant, but why bring it up?"
Exactly.
"It's the first lesson of jianghu travel."
Use jianghu common sense to hitch a ride.
"Huh?"
How on earth?
Everyone wondered.
In the hidden secret chamber of the Blue Wall Tower.
Yoran stared at the paper between her fingers and let out a long sigh.
- Dark Venerable. Departed.
"He's left the forbidden zone."
No matter how great the Murim Alliance, how could they hold an enigmatic being?
'Even the Alliance's forbidden zone is easy access for him.'
Her first reaction to the news was relief.
- Will you ever greet me with a smile, anytime, anywhere?
A promise with someone who could unleash madness unpredictably was a shackle.
But what followed was emptiness.
"Now it's just me."
Though hidden behind countless veils of favor, loneliness washed over her like standing alone in the wilderness.
'I've been relying on him more than I thought.'
It was truly strange.
She had handled Infinite City's affairs alone just fine until now.
She hadn't expected one person's absence to leave such a void.
The moment she realized this, a dark shape dropped from the air.
Flutter!
With the sound of flags flapping, black bandages surged into the air.
"You called?"
A gruff voice echoed.
Emerging from the shadows was Danya, the desert lord ruling six months of night and six of day.
"This better be important. I was in the middle of some fun."
"Wangcheon Society's minions."
"Heh heh heh. All dead. You won't find their like around here anymore."
Yoran wanted to avert her gaze from those madness-glinting eyes.
But she held firm.
'This beast can't harm me.'
Thinking of the Dark Venerable let her meet his eyes squarely and straighten her back.
Danya chuckled.
"Fine, good. That's more like the Tower Lord."
Whoosh!
As the bandages rustled, Danya was suddenly plopped across the small table at the room's end.
'Incredible movement technique.'
A stealthy, swift method that rode shadows.
She poured tea with a clink.
A black bandage slithered up from under the table and gripped the cup.
Danya nodded from the writhing shadows.
"What's the business?"
"......"
Yoran steadied her breath and answered.
"The Dark Venerable has left the Alliance."
The moment the words fell.
Danya's bored face twisted in manic glee and ecstasy.
Like a lunatic high on drugs.
"Kuhahaha!"
Rumble!
"Eek!"
The whole room shook.
From one man's shout alone.
"Finally! Finally!"
Bandages surged around the laughing Danya, dancing in rapture.
'What I've seen so far is just a fragment.'
Yoran intuited.
The divinity he'd shown was but a piece of this desert monster's power.
- The Lord descends upon the jianghu!
This one-man army was...
'A monster beyond measure.'
Only then did Yoran grasp the razor-sharp blade the Dark Venerable had bestowed.
That blade wailed.
Like a famed sword passionately responding to its master's touch.
Drip.
Danya's laughter stopped.
"Indeed. Worth the Tower Lord's call."
"The Dark Venerable is now."
"No need to tell me. If the Lord has entered the jianghu..."
My nose is sharp.
Whoosh.
The bandages converged, swallowing Danya.
The instant a black cocoon formed...
...no one sat across the table.
"Haa."
Exhausted, Yoran slumped against the wall.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves."
The instructor said something normal for once.
But what followed was baffling.
She'd merely slung the money pouch she'd snatched from Jegal Tan at her side.
Jegal Tan spotted his abducted pouch right before his eyes but said nothing.
It even had "Jegal Family Second Son. Tan." embroidered on it, but there was no proof it was his.
Bickering with the instructor would surely end in defeat.
The Jegal teachings differed, but wild jianghu rules were what they were.
"Suddenly climbing a mountain—what's the scheme?"
"Yeah. Meditating up there or something?"
They puzzled but soon gave up.
If pondering yielded answers, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Grumbling with blistered feet, they trudged up the mountain path until a small clearing appeared.
"No people, nice and quiet."
Alright, camp here.
'Camping already?'
She never gave rest even after walking all night—why now?
But it was a relief.
They'd been pushing non-stop day and night; it had been grueling.
"Saved."
"My shoulders are killing me."
They unpacked the heavy gear prepared for wilderness survival first.
"Plenty of time, so let's cook a proper meal?"
"Great idea. Dry rations weren't filling anyway."
They unpacked, rested, and even broke out the grains.
"Hot rice? How long's it been?"
"Nearly a week of chewing jerky."
"Porridge to soothe the stomach sounds good too."
They glanced warily at the instructor, but no objection.
Emboldened, Baek Ri-seol upended her grain sack.
"Dump in a heap."
A savory aroma wafted through the campsite.