Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: Upheaval in Nine Dragons (7)
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The Great Pure Adept rushed inside in alarm.
“…”
Not a single presence could be felt within.
He surveyed his surroundings, mobilizing not just his five senses but his spiritual sense as well.
After a moment.
“…!”
His spiritual sense detected something.
Under any other circumstances, he would have dismissed it as a wild animal due to its faint life force, but the urgency of the situation spurred the Great Pure Adept to use his Phantom Step.
When he arrived at the source, he couldn't hide his astonishment.
“Wh-what is this!”
A massive blood mist flowed ceaselessly, gnawing away at the life force of the three people within.
How could such an ominous, evil art be cast in the Hermit’s Forest?
“Begone!”
The Great Pure Adept’s left arm, now holding a sword, shot out like a thunderbolt.
Sun-Shooting Sword, Archer’s Sunfall.
Though unleashed with his left arm instead of his right, its power was enough to shake the heavens and the earth.
Moreover, true to the Taoist arts, it had the effect of scattering demonic energy.
The Great Pure Adept believed this single strike would dispel the blood mist.
However.
*Rumble.*
“…”
The blood mist wavered for a moment before resuming its solemn flow.
Caught off guard by the unexpected result, the Great Pure Adept gritted his teeth in frustration.
“How dare a mere evil art!”
He drew upon his internal energy in earnest.
As a blue aura enveloped his entire body, he once again swung his sword, unleashing the ultimate technique of the Sun-Shooting Sword.
*Whoosh! Rumble.*
The blood mist shuddered violently, and a hole was torn through it.
A different result than before.
But that was all.
“…Hmph!”
The hole was only temporary; the blood mist continued to flow.
With a troubled expression, the Great Pure Adept muttered.
“They say one comes to the Forest of Tao to find the Way, but the Way is not here…”
Was there ever a day more fitting for those words?
*Fwoosh.*
His sword once again shone brightly.
* * *
A short while later.
“Hah! Hah!”
Having unleashed the Sun-Shooting Sword more than ten times, the Great Pure Adept collapsed to the ground.
He had squeezed out every last drop of his internal energy, leaving him drained.
However, he had achieved something.
*Gurgle, shaaa.*
The dreadful blood mist finally cleared, revealing the people who had been trapped inside.
“Th-this is…!”
Seeing the state of the three people, the Great Pure Adept hurried toward them.
He could find no internal or external injuries, but their Innate True Energy, the very source of their life force, was severely damaged.
“Tae… Taecheong?”
Hearing a faint voice, he turned his head.
“Former Hall Master!”
It was Jeon Baek, the previous Hall Master of the Gray Dragon Hall.
It seemed he had endured within the blood mist thanks to the characteristically robust physique of the Gray Dragon Hall.
The Great Pure Adept placed a hand on his back and infused him with internal energy.
*Fwoosh!*
As if the priming water had awakened his Innate True Energy, color quickly returned to Jeon Baek’s face.
“What happened?”
“First, save those two.”
At his words, the Great Pure Adept nodded.
He placed his hand on the back of Adept Lee Pung, a former elder of the Blue Dragon Hall.
*Fwoosh.*
He was startled as he checked Adept Lee Pung’s condition.
An ocean of true energy flowed from his palm.
Even with his Innate True Energy damaged, the surging energy gave him a glimpse of Lee Pung’s level of mastery.
‘Who on earth could do this to such a warrior!’
It was an utterly baffling affair.
But saving them was the priority now.
The Great Pure Adept, sweating profusely, finished saving the last person, Dang Du-cheon, the former elder of the Green Dragon Hall.
“Hoo…”
He caught his breath and approached Jeon Baek to hear the full story.
“The rules of the Hermit’s Forest have been broken.”
Jeon Baek gritted his teeth and continued.
“Because of that bastard, Baek Sang-ji.”
The Great Pure Adept’s eyes widened in shock.
* * *
“Ugh… why so much liquor…”
My head was spinning from drinking all night with Master Bukgung.
I had no idea how a middle-aged man over fifty could hold his liquor so well.
“They say the liver is a silent assassin…”
My master, who started his day with a morning shot of Bamboo Leaf Liquor, surely had a fatty liver with a fat content of over 5%.
‘Not good.’
From now on, he needed to exercise sufficiently, eat food that wasn't salty or greasy, and avoid stress to escape the curse of a fatty liver.
As you know, liver transplants don't exist in this world, so you have to take care of your own health.
As I walked, lost in such useless thoughts, a cheerful voice called out.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Huh? Oh. It's nothing…”
Jeok Hwa-ran narrowed her eyes.
“You said you’d help me choose, but you’re not even paying attention… You’re so mean.”
“I’m not the one who wanted to come out…”
I had been dragged out by Jeok Hwa-ran, who had barged in while I was sleeping in my underwear.
Of course, I had refused.
‘I risked my life to help you, Gaga… and you can’t even do this for me?’
‘What does that have to do with this?’
She used the incident in Hanzhong as leverage, painting me as an ungrateful beast, leaving me with no choice.
Alright, to be honest, I didn't mind that much.
I had benefited greatly from the traps she set in Hanzhong.
However, the difficulty of shopping with Jeok Hwa-ran, a third-generation chaebol, was higher than I had anticipated.
“How about this one?”
“Hmm, I don’t like it. You don’t know much about women's clothes, Gaga.”
“Well, how would I know…”
“Try to open your aesthetic eye a little more.”
This damn woman?
“Th-then how about this one.”
“It’s better than the last one, but it doesn’t quite catch my eye. I’d probably wear it two or three times and then shove it in a corner.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. So Hwa-ran doesn't like blue, huh? Here, how about this one?”
I held up a set of red martial attire, and only then did she nod.
“Hmm… this one… is a little nice. I can feel that you're thinking of me in a special way, Gaga.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I just went along with it.
“O-Of course! I picked this one just for you, Hwa-ran.”
“Hehe, really?”
I just wanted to finish this quickly and go home.
Patience, patience, patience.
“But what are you writing on your palm?”
“Huh? It’s nothing.”
“If you say so.”
“Alright, now. We bought the clothes, so let’s go home.”
Now that we had achieved our goal, I suggested we head out, but Jeok Hwa-ran hesitated.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
“…I’ve changed my mind.”
“Wh-what?”
“I’m not buying this. Please pick again.”
“But why…”
“I just don’t like it anymore.”
In the end, I cursed every curse I knew internally and continued the hellish shopping trip.
An hour later.
*Grrrr.*
At the thunderous roar from my stomach, Jeok Hwa-ran turned with a bright smile.
“You must be hungry.”
“Thanks to someone, I didn't even get to eat breakfast.”
“Oh my, my mistake.”
“If you know that, then please just hurry up and pick…”
Jeok Hwa-ran ignored my words and pointed to a high-class tavern.
“I’ll treat you to a meal. How about we go there?”
“Let’s… I can’t take this anymore either.”
I was hot, tired, and thoroughly annoyed, so my feet automatically moved toward the tavern.
But as they say, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
The food at the tavern she led me to was insanely good.
*Slurp. Chomp.*
If there were a Michelin guide in the martial arts world, this place would have instantly earned three stars.
“It’sh delicioush, aren’t you eating?”
As I was wolfing down the food, I realized Jeok Hwa-ran hadn't touched hers and asked.
“Just watching you eat is enough to make me full, Gaga.”
*Gulp.*
“Liar. You used to eat five plates of dumplings… Hup!”
Realizing my slip of the tongue, I quickly shut my mouth, but Jeok Hwa-ran just smiled quietly, showing no particular reaction.
“Here, have a drink of liquor too.”
She slowly uncorked a bottle.
“I drank a lot yesterday… Huh?”
My eyes widened at the sweet aroma of the drink.
“What is this?”
“Try it.”
I downed the cup she poured for me in one go.
“Hah…”
It was a taste that could only be described as heavenly.
To compare, it was like Red Blossom Wine… no, it was far superior to Red Blossom Wine.
“Hehe, it’s a new liquor I developed, called Hongruju.”
“Hongruju? Then this place is…”
She covered her mouth with her hand and nodded.
“That’s right. It’s a new tavern I opened. Today’s the grand opening.”
Seriously, how long has it been since we parted at Nine Dragons Fortress, and she’s already opened a new business?
And a top-class tavern that looked even more expensive than… no, far more expensive than Moonflower Hall.
“How is it? It’s nice, right?”
I nodded, thinking that if the modern world has Mr. Baek, the martial arts world might just have Jeok Hwa-ran.
“Nice is an understatement. This must have cost a fortune.”
“Hehehe.”
“But couldn’t we have just come here from the start?”
“I was just killing time until the tavern opened.”
“Then we could have just waited for it to open. What was the rush, acting like a couple that just separated and met again…”
“C-Couple!”
Jeok Hwa-ran’s face instantly turned bright red, and she ducked her head.
“…”
I knew what that gesture meant.
She had told me she liked me over a hundred times.
But I couldn't accept her small feelings.
Things with Myo Hyang weren’t even sorted out yet.
“Hwa-ran. As you know, Sister Myo and I…”
At the mention of Myo Hyang’s name, she looked up with a fierce glint in her eyes.
“I!”
Jeok Hwa-ran bit her lip.
“Hoo…”
She calmed her excitement and slowly opened her mouth.
“You said your dream was to have three wives and four concubines, right, Gaga?”
“How do you know that…?”
“You told me once when you were drunk. That if you made a lot of money, your dream was to have three wives and four concubines and live in a sea of wine and a forest of meat.”
“No.”
I would only say something like that where no one could hear.
But there are so many people here.
*Stare, stare.*
My skin tingled under the gazes of the surrounding people, who were looking at me as if I were some anti-social deviant walking an inhuman path.
But Jeok Hwa-ran, with her eyes raised, said what she wanted to say, completely ignoring such stares.
“If I can be with you, Gaga, I don’t mind being the second. Or the third. As long as I’m not a concubine.”
“Wh-what?”
“It’s just as I said. I don’t care if you take Sister Myo as your first. I should have just made it a fait accompli at the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion…”
“Are you crazy? People can hear you.”
“So what? They’re all our people anyway.”
“No.”
That was an even bigger problem.
I was already dizzy from the power struggle over the Lord’s position, and now she was adding to it, making my head spin…
Wait a minute.
“Hwa-ran, what did you just say?”
“Huh? That everyone here is our people.”
“No, before that.”
“Sister… Myo?”
“Before that?”
“That if I can be with you, I don’t mind being the second or third…”
*Flash.*
A realization struck my mind like a bolt of lightning.
I suddenly recalled my conversation with the Green Dragon Hall Master.
‘I don’t want to be the Lord.’
‘But I hate seeing Nine Dragons Fortress fall into chaos even more. And I hate it even more when the people's lives become difficult because of it. Isn't this already an age of turmoil?’
Whether he was sincere or not, the Green Dragon Hall Master didn't seem to welcome the idea of becoming the Lord.
He was only willing to accept it because he hated seeing Nine Dragons Fortress in chaos.
On the other hand, Master Bukgung didn't particularly like the idea of the Green Dragon Hall Master becoming the Lord.
He seemed to think that a young and powerful Lord would hinder the growth of the War King Sect.
In that case.
Couldn't someone other than the Green Dragon Hall Master become the Lord?
Just then, a person’s face popped into my mind.
*Thump.*
“G-Gaga?”
My butt was itching; I couldn't stay seated.
“Sorry! Something urgent came up. I have to go first.”
“What? But I even booked a room…”
I had no idea why she would book a room, but now was not the time to dwell on that.
“I’ll buy you clothes next time!”
With that, I immediately bolted from the tavern.
“Hey, hey you jerk!”
Leaving Jeok Hwa-ran’s mournful cry behind me.