Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Night of a Hundred Ghosts (2)
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Quaaa.
Sima Baek, who had somehow procured even high-quality tea, spoke up.
"To be the first to welcome back my lord upon his return—'tis the greatest fortune for this old servant."
I stared at him blankly.
"However... that day is not far off."
Sima Baek wiped at the corner of his eye with his sleeve.
"Soon, you'll have a proper wife."
He put on a deliberately sorrowful act, but I wasn't fooled.
"I didn't expect you to show up this quickly."
Didn't you say you'd provide support from afar?
"Even a single step is more than enough for this old man."
I knew it would be like this.
"Enough with the jokes."
What's the real reason you're here?
Sima Baek cleared his throat and bowed his head deeply.
"I came in person because there is urgent news to relay. Hohohoho."
"Out with it."
"Good news and bad news. Or perhaps news that could be either good or bad."
Which would you like to hear first?
Chu Un-hwi answered immediately.
"The good news."
"The Murim Alliance has finally begun to take the Netherworld Society seriously."
He was the one who had stayed behind, citing the Blood Tower Stone and the Eight Thousand Apostles incidents, vowing to warn the Alliance.
He had spurred the notoriously sluggish Murim Alliance into achieving some results.
"And the bad news?"
"An incident occurred while investigating the Netherworld Society's backing."
A large number of demons seemingly connected to the Netherworld Society had appeared.
"Demons popped up everywhere, clashing with the Murim Alliance."
"So that's what caused the recent troubles."
"Indeed. The Beggars' Sect, who stepped up for the investigation, lost thirty members, with over a hundred severely injured."
This had thrown not only the Murim Alliance but the Divine Martial Academy into chaos, according to Sima Baek's explanation.
"With the expedition perfectly timed to the incident, anyone with a brain would sense something off."
"Thus, they urgently dispatched me here."
Hohohoho.
He claimed it was all coincidence and that he'd merely been pushed into coming, but it was hard to take at face value.
'Uncle Sima is the sort who could see through such schemes with ease.'
Of course, pressing him wouldn't reveal his true intentions, so I'd just have to let it slide.
"And the other news? Good or bad?"
"Hohoho. As the situation grew dire, an order came down for all participants in the expedition to seek shelter in safe locations."
It matched what Yeo Mae-hong had mentioned.
"In other words..."
"A place with secure public order, protected by Kunlun's finest, would make an excellent refuge."
Damn it all.
It was already a popular posting.
'With safety guaranteed, crowds of all sorts will come flocking, gnashing their teeth.'
I could picture it: all manner of riffraff swarming this once-quiet outpost in droves.
"We're doomed. Work's about to pile up."
Nothing good about this at all.
"It's not necessarily bad."
Sima Baek pointed out something I hadn't considered.
"The more people flock here, the higher the chance your official wife will visit."
"I know. I get it."
I just hoped this ominous feeling was unfounded.
Wetting my parched lips, I asked for the final piece of news.
"...And the bad news?"
"An Inspection Department has been established."
"What? Inspection Department?"
What the hell is that? When I asked, Sima Baek explained.
"A secret bureau to police the students' conduct."
A shackle on the young souls dreaming of passionate romance.
At the thunderbolt-like response, Chu Un-hwi flipped the table.
Bang!
"Why the hell did something like that get created?!"
There wasn't one until now!
I was just about to find a bride and elope with her—why now?!
Why do these meddlers keep popping up?!
As I bellowed, Sima Baek replied in a perfectly even tone.
"Why? Didn't your son propose mixed-gender classes to lighten the instructors' workload?"
"Yeah."
Thanks to that, quite a few mixed teams formed for this expedition.
Instructors and students alike had been full of praise.
"It started well, but then an incident happened recently."
"What? Incident?"
"A student named Seo Ok-rang got caught sneaking off for a rendezvous."
Red-handed.
Because of that, the academy's stuffy elders, who prized separation of the sexes, lost their minds.
"Argh!"
The memory resurfaced.
The girl from Palmi who reeked of the same perfume as my bride-to-be.
I'd wondered why she trailed after Duggo Yul so eagerly, swishing her hips.
"Grrr. That damn brat finally caused trouble!"
Gnashing his teeth, Chu Un-hwi grabbed his sword from where it leaned against the table.
"Plans changed."
"Where are you going?"
"Gotta smash the Qingcheng Sect first."
"My lord, calm yourself."
Calm down? Like hell!
Those Qingcheng bastards!
"You must endure! Starting a bloodbath here will scare off your official wife!"
"Arrrgh!"
Damn it! Things were just starting to go my way.
The martial world truly never bends to one's will.
A gloomy drinking party I was dragged to.
They'd even reserved a spot in a fine inn overlooking the Mojin Sect's main gate, but my mood wouldn't lighten.
The worst news had already drained all color from my heart.
The world had lost its shine.
'We're screwed. Screwed.'
As I sipped my drink with a face like the end of days, Yeo Mae-hong apologized beside me, clueless to the reason.
"Cheer up a bit."
Moyong Seon-ya pouted too.
"Yeah. Smile a little. You're with beauties, after all?"
I slowly turned to look at Moyong Seon-ya and tilted my head.
"Beauties... where?"
Ouch.
Both sides pinched my sides hard.
It snapped me back to reality.
"Instructor Chu, what happened?"
"Yeah, you look like you've lost your country."
When I asked them about the Inspection Department.
"Huh? An Inspection Department was created?"
Yeo Mae-hong reacted as if hearing it for the first time.
"Sigh. So it came to this after all."
Moyong Seon-ya sighed.
When I asked why, she refilled her cup and answered.
"A scandal broke out on the way."
Students led by Instructor Ja-gyeom, I think?
Moyong Seon-ya crunched on some pickled vegetables as she continued.
"Seems a female student from Qingcheng Sect and one from a mid-tier martial clan hit it off."
"Talk about a storm brewing."
"Yeah, a midnight tryst at a water mill, no less."
"Oh my. How steamy."
Kids whose blood hadn't even dried yet.
Even cold water has its proper flow.
'They clicked, sure, but the instructor comes first.'
The Alliance brats have no sense of propriety.
"The problem's on the Qingcheng side. She was a promising talent, apparently."
Yeo Mae-hong nodded in understanding.
"Makes sense. A prized disciple cavorting with some no-name clan's student."
"Right. 'How dare some gutter rat!' They'd blow a fuse."
"Qingcheng's stubbornness is notoriously intense."
From the conversation, it seemed like something that happened occasionally before.
"I think the real issue is locking up kids in their prime and telling them just to train."
"Well, those who prize tradition and formality even in casual settings won't admit it."
The ensuing gossip was rumors that had floated around like ghost stories when the two were at the academy.
Mostly gripes about the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Clans' old fogeys.
"Trysts are nothing."
"Yeah. There was even an instructor who said water a man drank from was impure from his yang energy."
"I remember. They made us fetch water from a distant well because of it."
When I asked who spouted such nonsense.
"An instructor from Emei Sect."
That explained it.
'No wonder my bride-to-be was so averse to any contact between men and women.'
Emei Sect was the culprit.
'After Qingcheng, Emei next?'
If the bride elopement failed, I'd have to smash those two sects first.
I needed an outlet for this rage.
"What kind of people run the inspection team?"
When I asked about the opposition, Yeo Mae-hong replied.
"Retired folks from the Murim Alliance or Divine Martial Academy."
Moyong Seon-ya added,
"That's the base, but the real scary part is their collaborators. Even untrained civilians watch with eyes blazing."
Chu Un-hwi asked incredulously,
"Martial artists make sense, but why drag in civilians?"
"Because it pays."
Yeo Mae-hong formed a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
"Report a tryst, and the academy pays a bounty."
Moyong Seon-ya agreed.
"Yeah. Sometimes sects involved in scandals pay hush money to keep it quiet."
"......"
To think such useless corners of society could get serious about something.
'The Murim Alliance is going this far?'
As I wallowed, Yeo Mae-hong laughed to cheer me up.
"Don't worry too much. It's not for spying on lazy instructors."
No, that hits the nail on the head.
"Right. Just don't get caught dreaming of fiery romance with a student."
Spot on.
It was the most depressing night imaginable.
Step. Step.
There was a man shambling down the road in a wretched state.
His hair was matted from who knows how long without washing, and grime streamed down his face and hands.
"Huuuuh."
Utterly oblivious to his condition, the man just kept walking.
At first, he'd simply been crossing mountains.
Then following waterways.
After that, it was chaos. He walked wherever his feet took him, smashing boulders that blocked his path.
'How long have I been walking?'
The man, Gon Ya-pyeong, had no idea.
He just grinned dopily, intoxicated by the power surging through his body.
"Heh heh heh. This old man is now one of the world's mighty."
Heh heh heh.
As he trudged along with hazy eyes, a rustle caught his attention, turning his head.
In his vision, a massive tiger bristled its whiskers toward him.
"Grrrrowl."
The tiger lowered its body, glaring intently—a thoroughly menacing posture.
But...
"Heh heh heh heh."
Drunk on power, Gon Ya-pyeong only laughed.
Before, he'd have recalled martial arts manuals, but now overflowing with strength, there was no need.
"Eya-ha!"
As a mountain-shaking roar erupted, the tiger—big as a small hill—charged. Gon Ya-pyeong merely stood and raised one hand.
That sufficed.
"Grahk!"
The lunging tiger halted mid-air with a jerk, while Gon Ya-pyeong didn't budge an inch.
"Kerung! Grahk!"
Throat gripped in mid-air, the tiger flailed in panic.
Its weight could topple even a massive ox, yet this prey was different.
"Grahk! Graaahk!"
Sensing the anomaly, the tiger thrashed wildly, but Gon Ya-pyeong's grip on its throat didn't twitch.
"Yes. This is it. Overwhelming power."
Crack. Crack.
Dangerous sounds emanated from the tiger's seized throat in mid-air.
Crunch.
Suddenly, its head whipped left and dangled limply.
Neck snapped clean while alive. Astonishing strength.
"Heh heh. Perfect timing—I'm starving."
Chomp. Crack.
Gon Ya-pyeong buried his face in the tiger's scruff and slaked his thirst for a good while.
Only the fragrant oil flowing from the nape quenched it, so he gulped it down greedily without pause.
"Guh—ah."
After a moment, he lifted his face from the throat and muttered.
"Not... enough."
There had definitely been something that slaked his thirst better than this.
"Right. Just recently."
As he mumbled, he caught a scent from afar and turned his head.
"Fragrant ones."
Gon Ya-pyeong, who had stopped, began shambling slowly again.
Soon his steps quickened, until at some point he lightly kicked off the ground and soared like the wind.
Shiiiik!
Behind him, as he unfurled blood-red membranes, pitch-black demonic wings spread thickly.