Chapter 257
Chapter 257
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 257
Chapter Title: Zhuge Clan (3)
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Now upgraded to be usable every five days in this world's time, the privilege "Otherworld Teleportation Circle Summon."
As soon as the cooldown ended, Hugo crossed over to the Kanghwan Realm and, through Harris's arrangements, was able to enter the Zhuge Clan right away.
'Hmm, this sends a real thrill down my spine.'
As he leisurely strolled through the clan grounds, he gave a wry smile at the subtle hostility mixed with wariness emanating from those around him.
Well, they had no choice but to accept it, but from their perspective, it was no different from utter humiliation, so their reaction was perfectly understandable.
'Harris could have approached them a bit more gently.'
It was surely because he had acted so aggressively that their resentment had grown just as much.
Even if there was nothing to be done about the past, actually being here like this made it impossible not to feel some regret.
'First things first, I need to mend relations. But how?'
A few days later, once Harris left, Hugo—who was now Ha Seung-hoon—would be solely responsible for matters in the Kanghwan Realm.
Of course, the Zhuge Clan wouldn't dare try anything rash against him, but improving relations was essential for smooth operations going forward.
'There's no better place than this to blend naturally into this world, gather information, and build influence.'
It lacked standout powerhouses but possessed collective strength rivaling any other faction. It had maintained amicable ties with other righteous sects even after the world fell into chaos and was geographically positioned in the continent's heartland, making expansion easy.
'Plus, they're a renowned family known for their knowledge and talent, so I can expect all sorts of help while training my martial arts in a stable environment.'
In truth, Harris had simply been lucky enough to absorb the Infinite Eight Trigrams Steps in his own way; he couldn't be said to have properly learned any martial arts.
That's why Hugo needed the experience of learning it "by the book" at least once.
Only then could he properly gauge how to utilize the power of martial arts afterward.
'...Maybe I should bring some kind of gift?'
After all, no one dislikes gifts.
And he had plenty of loot plundered from the Eighteen Eastern Strongholds piled up.
But a clan of this caliber wouldn't be swayed by mere gold and valuables.
Especially when the world had fallen into such ruin—their true value was questionable anyway.
So something like spirit herbs or divine weapons that couldn't be obtained easily with money or power would be better...
"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but you can't go any further."
"Ah? This place is..."
Lost in thought as he wandered aimlessly through the clan interior,
Hugo halted at the words of the female warrior who suddenly appeared to block his path.
"This is the residence of the clan's women, so I kindly ask for your understanding, Young Hero."
"...My apologies. I was lost in thought while walking and committed a faux pas. I'll head back right away."
"Thank you for understanding."
He must have wandered into the women's quarters without realizing it.
He couldn't afford to loiter here and further erode their already low goodwill.
With a light bow, he turned to leave when—
From deep within the restricted area, snippets of conversation between women drifted into his ears.
-So how is the young lady doing...
-The situation isn't great...
'Hm?'
Though just a few brief words,
Some instinct made him stop in his tracks and sharpen his hearing.
Until now, back on Earth, Hugo had only followed the main body's lead,
But that didn't mean he was powerless or lacking in ability.
How could it be otherwise?
Just the karma he'd dumped purely into his stats was nearly four million.
Even if returnees' core strength came from the mysteries and skills of their respective worlds, that overwhelming numerical value was more than enough to elevate his body beyond any outlier.
Naturally, his senses far surpassed the ordinary.
And with "Hypersensitivity" for focus and "Versatility" for support, eavesdropping on their unguarded chatter was hardly difficult.
-To have another seizure amid all this unrest caused by those unwelcome guests. What are we to do?
-The spirit herbs we brought this time won't last even half a month. It's not just that the young lady has developed resistance to the medicines; the herbs' potency overall is diminishing. At this rate...
-Hey! Mind your words! Don't be so reckless!
-...My apologies. But we need some kind of solution...
"...Young Hero?"
As he strained to listen, the voice of the warrior blocking his path came again.
As if questioning why he was still lingering after saying he'd leave.
Unlike Hugo, whose pure physical prowess bordered on superhuman, she needed to circulate her inner energy to enhance her hearing, so she apparently hadn't caught what he overheard.
"Ah! Sorry about that. I got lost in thought again. Haha!"
Hugo let out a shameless laugh and hurriedly backed away.
Considering it a stroke of unexpected luck in gaining valuable information.
'Hmm, I heard the Zhuge Clan is quite renowned for their medicine as well. And they can't heal this patient?'
Given the title "young lady," she was undoubtedly a woman of high status.
Possibly even a direct descendant of the clan head.
Either way, she was surely an important figure.
'An incurable illness that even the Zhuge Clan can't treat...'
Hugo lightly stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Perfect."
Finally struck by an idea,
He headed back to his quarters with a lighter heart and a faint smile playing on his lips.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ While Hugo wandered the clan grounds, Harris was conversing with the Zhuge Clan's Supreme Elder Patriarch, whose eyes were gently closed.
Or more precisely... receiving the information he desired unilaterally.
After all, his primary purpose in coming here had been intelligence gathering, so it was only natural.
And the information obtained was quite useful.
'Twenty-two years ago, winged foreigners raided the imperial palace, causing a catastrophe. He assassinated the emperor and ripped out the continent's largest dragon vein at the palace site—the Dragon Heart?'
As expected, the Zhuge Clan had connections to the imperial palace and knew a great deal.
With the imperial family utterly fallen, there was no need to keep secrets, so they answered Harris's questions forthrightly.
'Heaven-Defying Society Leader. So he was here after all.'
Harris's eyes grew icy cold.
There was a vast difference between mere suspicion and confirmation.
Moreover, he now clearly understood why the man was so powerful!
'Crossing dimensions like me is basic. Having led one world to ruin, the karma he gained must be beyond imagination. And somehow, he even stole away something akin to the origin of qi?'
It was so absurd no hollow laugh even escaped him.
His mind grew even more chaotic realizing the man had likely done this to multiple worlds.
'No, stay calm.'
But the turmoil was fleeting.
Thanks to his overwhelming mental stats, he quickly regained composure, let out a deep sigh, and calmly sorted through the situation.
The Heaven-Defying Society Leader's hand had undoubtedly reached this world.
And the method he'd chosen to gain power—the ruin of the Kanghwan Realm—was now clear.
Yes.
In that case—
'What if I do the opposite?'
Perhaps he could thwart the man's plans?
If the man had already taken what he wanted from this world and washed his hands of it, no amount of effort might matter.
Even then, he could still harvest karma.
But what if the tampering done to the Kanghwan Realm wasn't fully complete?
What if the man had left a straw stuck in, continuously exploiting it for some purpose?
'I don't know what he wants, but I can't just let him have his way.'
In any form,
Even denying him his desires could become a variable.
He had no intention of playing world savior, but...
Things had come to this.
'First, stabilize this world as much as possible.'
And for that, the Zhuge Clan's help was essential.
Harris suppressed his irritation as best he could and offered thanks.
"Thank you for the valuable information. It's been a great help."
"Ho ho, I'm glad it was useful. ...That said, this old man has one question as well."
"...I don't know much about him either. That's why I'm gathering information like this. But one thing I can say for certain is that he is also my mortal enemy."
"Hmm—?"
He preemptively answered before the Supreme Elder Patriarch could pose a headache-inducing question.
In truth, he really didn't know much about the Heaven-Defying Society Leader.
'No need to let a sharp mind pry and expose my hand just because of some clever questioning.'
The conversation so far had already revealed quite a bit, but there was no need to roll out the red carpet too.
And right now, there was a more pressing matter.
With a light cough, Harris began laying the groundwork.
"I've imposed on you, so I feel like I should offer some recompense. Breaking the formation aside, I've caused various nuisances unintentionally."
"Ho ho, recompense...
"I happen to have some spirit herbs. It's a small token of appreciation—please accept them."
Spirit herbs were as easy for him to gather as picking mugwort from the backyard slopes, so he had no reason to stint.
He even planned to sweep Mount Wudang clean soon.
"Oh, in that case, I gratefully accept."
The Supreme Elder Patriarch nodded with a faint smile.
Of course, it was merely a polite response to the gesture; he showed no great expectations.
Watching him, Harris slyly brought up the main point.
"Of course, compared to that, the child I brought... Ha Seung-hoon is far more impressive. Haha!"
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
The old man with closed eyes tilted his head slightly.
Unless it was the absolute master called Harris, he doubted what help a young man with no detectable inner energy could provide.
"Ah, that child has a special power. Though his bones and aptitude are exceptional as well."
Harris would be leaving soon anyway.
Thus, it made sense to bolster Hugo's position here, who would collaborate with them going forward.
Of course, there was just a tiny bit of...
"The ability to heal any illness."
...exaggeration.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Magical tools crafted in this otherworld couldn't be used in a dimension with a completely different energy system.
Then what about holy power borrowed from the gods?
'It's the power of gods, after all. No way it'd be affected by something like that.'
Of course, crossing dimensions like on Earth did weaken its potency to some degree.
But the cause lay not in the power itself, but in the output drop from restrictions on the channel drawing it forth.
Holy power could still activate.
Thus, this attempt was feasible.
"Please come this way."
Hugo followed the guiding maidservant into a building.
This was the interior of the place he'd once turned away from.
The dwelling of the clan's women—a sanctuary no outsider male could enter.
Of course, he hadn't been invited here immediately.
No matter Harris's bold claims, trust between them wasn't sufficient to act solely on his word.
It began with a polite request for verification.
[That Great Hero Harris spoke of your abilities, Young Hero. We have sick in the clan—could you take a look?]
In a state of ignorance, he wouldn't have even sensed it as a test, so deferential was their attitude. Over two days, he examined everyone from the lightly injured to the wounded and ill.
Of course, his method wasn't something to abuse lightly, so the number actually treated wasn't high. But since verification was their goal, it posed no issue.
In the end, both sides got what they wanted.
"Mm."
Hugo involuntarily let out a groan upon seeing the one lying on the bed.
A girl who appeared around thirteen, with jet-black hair like ebony and deathly pale skin.
Pathetically emaciated, her breathing so faint she seemed not to be breathing at all—like a corpse quietly slumbering.
"Then, I'll begin the treatment."
It was a show for smoother cooperation anyway, so no need to drag it out.
Approaching the girl on the bed, Hugo extended his hand toward her forehead.
'Well then, please do your best today as well!'
The holy symbol—unfamiliar in this world—gripped in his hand soon began to shine brilliantly.
Whoosh—
As it emanated the holy power generously bestowed by that dimension's saint.