Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Wu Hou Temple
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Wu Hou Temple.
This shrine, located south of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, was built to commemorate Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu Han.
Constructed during the Western Jin Dynasty and maintained steadily ever since, it remains one of the famous landmarks that draws countless tourists to this day.
Seol Hwa-un and his group visited Wu Hou Temple alongside Dang So-gyo.
Outside the temple, the North Wind Brigade stood guard, while inside, a dozen or so Tang Family warriors provided escort, their skills exceptionally high.
This was because Ximen Yanhong, the Tang Family's matriarch, was accompanying them.
Even nearing fifty, her appearance remained strikingly beautiful.
Though fine lines creased her face and her hair near the ears had turned white—marks of time—a little makeup would make her pass for a woman in her early thirties.
As her name suggested, she hailed from the Ximen Family and was the sister of the current Ximen Family head.
“Kyahaha!”
In high spirits, Dang So-gyo dashed here and there around Wu Hou Temple.
Other tourists frowned but fell silent upon seeing the warriors trailing behind her.
“So-gyo.”
At that moment, Ximen Yanhong’s low voice echoed out. Strangely, it reached Dang So-gyo’s ears clearly, even from a distance.
“……!”
Dang So-gyo froze in place without realizing it.
“You’re making others uncomfortable. You need to behave demurely in a place like this.”
Her tone was gentle, yet firm.
“……Yes.”
Just like that, Dang So-gyo began stepping carefully, as if nothing had happened.
Seol Hwa-un, standing beside her, smiled faintly.
“I never imagined So-gyo listened so well. This is a new side of her.”
“Is that so? The Young Palace Lord must have had it rough.”
“No. She at least pretends to listen to me…….”
Ximen Yanhong’s expression darkened slightly.
“She’s healthy now, but as a child, she was frail and prone to constant illnesses. The treatments were grueling.”
“I see. That explains it.”
Seol Hwa-un now understood why Dang So-gyo’s growth had been slow.
“She’s fine now?”
Ximen Yanhong nodded.
“Fortunately. But because we spoiled her so much during her illnesses, she turned out this wild.”
Ximen Yanhong’s face grew serious.
“I heard you met my nephew.”
“Nephew…….”
One person immediately came to Seol Hwa-un’s mind.
“You mean Ximen Gong?”
During the大会合, Ximen Gong had approached him personally to propose a deal and even provided Self-Combustion Pills.
“That’s right. He’s the one I cherish most among my nephews.”
Seeing the sharp glint in Ximen Yanhong’s eyes, Seol Hwa-un nodded.
‘Come to think of it, they said Ximen Yanhong’s business acumen is extraordinary.’
Though she had become the Tang Family’s lady through a political marriage, had she not been a woman, she could have easily become the Ximen Family head. Her talents were that exceptional.
There was even talk that the Tang Family’s finances had more than doubled since her arrival.
Smiling, she said,
“Relations with my natal Ximen Family aside, I hope he gets along well with our house too.”
“Of course.”
He had already grown close to Tang Cheong, the Tang Family’s young lord, and Dang So-gyo.
For the North Sea Ice Palace, building ties with the Sichuan Tang Family—considered the strongest among Sichuan’s three great sects—was a major gain.
Ximen Yanhong eyed Seol Hwa-un knowingly, as if reading his thoughts.
‘He’s the one that sly nephew of mine set his sights on, so it’s bound to work out.’
She trusted Ximen Gong’s judgment, if nothing else.
Dang So-gyo, who had approached unnoticed, asked,
“What are you talking about, Mother?”
“Just adult talk. Nothing for you.”
“……Yes.”
Anyone else saying that would have made her bristle about not being a child, but coming from Ximen Yanhong, she didn’t protest.
Suddenly, Ximen Yanhong asked in a subtle tone,
“How old is the Young Palace Lord?”
“Twenty-one.”
Her face lit up.
“Oh my! Just the right age to start thinking about marriage.”
“……!”
Dang So-gyo’s face stiffened with tension.
“Not yet.”
“What a pity. Our house might not work, but the Ximen Family has plenty of fine maidens.”
‘What?’
Dang So-gyo asked with an incredulous look.
“Why? Why not our house?”
“Didn’t you know? Our house only accepts sons-in-law. The Young Palace Lord is to become the North Sea Ice Palace’s lord, so that won’t do.”
“……!”
Dang So-gyo’s eyes widened.
“N-No way!”
“Hm?”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“So-gyo…….”
“No! It’s fine. We can overcome that with love!”
“Y-You little!”
Flustered, Ximen Yanhong covered Dang So-gyo’s mouth.
“Hohoho, sorry. So-gyo sometimes spouts nonsense like this.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“If you have no special lady in mind, do consider it, Young Palace Lord.”
“I appreciate the offer.”
At that moment, Dong Ho-won approached from a short distance away, his expression grave.
“Matriarch, that’s a bit troubling.”
“Pardon?”
“Our Young Palace Lord has a fiancée back in the North Sea.”
“Oh, I see. How rude of me…….”
“Someone even more urgent than the Young Palace Lord. If you have a fine lady to introduce, come straight to me…….”
Eom Mu-hwi swiftly appeared and clamped his mouth shut.
“Sorry, he spouts nonsense sometimes too…….”
“Hohoho.”
Amid the chatter, the one reeling most from the shock was none other than Dang So-gyo.
‘He has a fiancée?’
Feeling deeply betrayed, she glared at Seol Hwa-un.
‘And yet he came onto me? With that innocent face?’
Seol Hwa-un tilted his head at Dang So-gyo’s venomous stare.
“Hm? Something to say?”
Dang So-gyo flinched, blushed, and turned away.
“N-No.”
‘Ugh. He’s too handsome to give up over a fiancée. Fine, first make him completely mine, then get him to break it off…….’
While she lost herself in delusions, Seol Hwa-un’s group continued touring Wu Hou Temple.
Entering the Gongming Hall, they spotted a black drum.
“……!”
Eom Mu-hwi’s pupils trembled violently.
“This is the Zhuge Drum!”
The drum said to have been beaten by Zhuge Liang himself on the battlefield. He gazed at it in rapture.
The main reason Seol Hwa-un’s group had come sightseeing at Wu Hou Temple was Eom Mu-hwi.
A avid fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he admired Zhuge Liang above all.
Having come all the way to Chengdu, he couldn’t pass it by.
Dong Ho-won grumbled as he watched Eom Mu-hwi.
“Tch! What’s so great about Zhuge Kongming…… In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the best is Zhuangmou Hou no matter what anyone says!”
Dong Ho-won was also a huge fan of the novel. Eom Mu-hwi scowled at his words.
“Who let Cao Cao go at Huarong? If Guan Yunchang had just listened to Zhuge Wuhou, Shu would have unified!”
“N-No! During the Northern Expeditions, if Zhuge Kongming had just taken Wei Yan’s Wood Ox stratagem…….”
Seol Hwa-un shook his head and walked past them. Their argument dragged on for quite a while.
* * *
After fully touring Wu Hou Temple, Seol Hwa-un’s group headed back to the Tang Family residence. Midway, on a secluded path with few people, they spotted a man sitting in the middle of the road.
“……?”
He wore ragged martial robes with arms fully exposed and his fists wrapped in white cloth.
Appearing in his mid-thirties, he smiled upon spotting the group.
“You’re finally here!”
The North Wind Brigade Leader stepped forward.
“Who are you to block our path?”
Without answering, he sprang straight up to his feet.
Boasting a solid build and muscular frame, he bellowed energetically at the group.
“Who’s the Young Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“……!”
A Tang Family warrior, eyeing him suspiciously, spoke up.
“No way…… Mad Fist?!”
“The Mad Fist of the Heaven Breaking Sect?”
As the Tang warriors buzzed, the man burst into loud laughter.
“Krahaha! You recognized me right away. I am Shin Wol.”
Mad Fist Shin Wol.
A master of the Heaven Breaking Sect, one of the Eight Demonic Gates, known as a disciple of the sect leader, Fist Demon Cho Mu-shin.
Heaven Breaking Sect disciples were generally unorthodox, but Shin Wol was especially infamous as an eccentric.
“I hear the North Sea Ice Palace’s Young Palace Lord is called North Heavenly Dragon? They say he took down the Blood Yin Death Army with fist arts. Let’s see your face!”
“What? What did you just say…….”
“He defeated the Blood Yin Death Army?”
Seol Hwa-un defeating the Blood Yin Death Army wasn’t widely known yet.
Even in the Tang Family, only the leadership knew, so the other warriors’ surprise was natural.
“Is he here for revenge on the Blood Yin Death Army?”
“They’re both from the Eight Demonic Gates, but…….”
The North Wind Brigade Leader scanned the surroundings sharply.
“You’ve come alone to face us?”
Shin Wol scowled at the question.
“I came to see North Heavenly Dragon’s mug! Alone’s fine. What’s the problem?”
“Hah! A real eccentric.”
Seol Hwa-un stepped forward.
“I’ll handle him.”
“Yes, Young Palace Lord.”
The North Wind Brigade Leader retreated readily, and Seol Hwa-un faced off against Shin Wol.
“I am the Young Palace Lord, Seol Hwa-un.”
“So you’re North Heavenly Dragon.”
Shin Wol scanned Seol Hwa-un’s body with sharp eyes.
“Hoh! Impressive, very impressive. A young man barely past twenty exuding such aura!”
“…….”
“No young punk these days measures up to you. Tsk tsk!”
Seol Hwa-un showed no particular reaction to his words.
“Now that you’ve seen me, step aside?”
“Hahaha, impatient too. Mind if I take a look at your hands?”
An unexpected request, but for some reason, Seol Hwa-un nodded readily.
“Be my guest.”
“Straight shooter! I like you already!”
Shin Wol approached with a casual swagger. The group watched tensely.
The North Wind Brigade Leader especially gripped his tension taut, ready to charge if needed.
“…….”
As Shin Wol drew up to arm’s length, Seol Hwa-un extended his right hand.
‘This guy’s giving me his hand so casually, even if I strike his pulse gate—what’s he planning?’
A mischievous glint crossed his face.
‘Let’s test his reaction.’
He slyly moved his hand toward the pulse gate.
That instant.
Halt!
Shin Wol felt a chill run down his spine from intense killing intent. Startled, he looked at Seol Hwa-un’s face.
“…….”
Seol Hwa-un remained calmly composed, as if nothing had happened.
‘It’s not trust in me—he trusts his own skill. Confidence that no matter what I try, I can’t touch him?’
Though his pride stung, Shin Wol had a greater purpose and refrained from tricks, instead examining Seol Hwa-un’s hand.
Surprisingly, Seol Hwa-un’s palm was pristine, fit for a scholar ignorant of martial arts.
“…….”
Shin Wol frowned briefly, then carefully flipped the hand over.
On the back, the fist knuckles bore thick, uniform calluses, sharply defined.
“……!”
Shin Wol’s pupils shook slightly. But he quickly composed himself.
“The clean palm’s a letdown, but the bone structure’s definitely a fist master’s. The knuckles are excellent too.”
“Seen enough?”
At Seol Hwa-un’s question, Shin Wol shook his head.
“No good. Can’t back off after seeing hands like these.”
“What do you mean?”
A smile curled Shin Wol’s lips.
“Like this!”
Whoosh!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than his fist rocketed forward at terrifying speed.