Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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Baek Woong and I had begun crossing the region known as the Great Steppe. We'd heard from the North Sea Ice Palace Lord about a large lake to the north that served as a reliable source of food and water, so we headed straight that way. Sure enough, after about half a day, a massive lake came into view.
"Hmm... this must be it."
The place was called Hangka Lake, and the surrounding area wasn't a complete frozen wasteland—sunlight shone down here and there, with plenty of grass and trees thriving. Being a lake, it also attracted nomadic tribes who wandered nearby. This land was technically Goryeo territory, but since Goryeo couldn't fully control the Yodong region, they granted a degree of autonomy to the local tribes—at least, that's what I'd heard.
I figured Hangka Lake was enormous. It wasn't just a mile or two across; it rivaled Dongting Lake in size. You couldn't even see the far shore at a glance, marking it as a vast body of water unlike any ordinary lake.
'This seems like a good spot to head for first.'
Water was crucial for exploration. Lakes especially made it easy to find abundant food and shelter. My primary plan was to come and go from Jinrang Valley, but in a pinch, restarting from Hangka Lake was worth considering. Miho dipped her feet in the lake and splashed around playfully.
"Hee hee hee. Let's play in the water a bit before we go."
"We can do that later. Saving time to reach Arasa territory faster is what's important."
"Tch... It's a long journey across the continent anyway. What's wrong with a short break?"
"Sorry."
Miho grumbled, but I had no choice but to soothe her. With my wealth of travel experience, I knew that the longer the journey, the tighter you had to rein it in and push through quickly—for both time and stamina. Dragging it out would wear you down mentally, making the latter half even tougher.
I said to Miho,
"We'll travel with the lake as our base. First target: Huurun Lake."
"How will you navigate?"
"My qi is so abundant that I can always sense the cardinal directions precisely, no matter the situation."
When your internal energy reached an extreme level, you began resonating with the qi of heaven and earth, intuitively grasping east, west, south, and north without even looking. Even without a compass, I could pinpoint them more accurately than anyone. It was this very ability that had allowed me to undertake the long journey to Sichuan Province.
"Alright, let's hurry."
As a great yokai, Miho could match my speed using spells and yokai power. She agreed to the fast pace and off we went, bounding forward with all our might. We flew over rivers and mountains like the wind, covering ground far quicker than before.
*Thud thud*
By the time we reached Huurun Lake, a full day and a half had passed. We'd barely stopped, so Miho and I sat by the lake to rest for half a day. Miho rubbed her legs, looking exhausted, and said,
"Whew, what a huge land. No matter how far we go, it's nothing but earth."
"The Central Plains are the same, aren't they?"
"But here, the nights are freezing. The temperature swings are brutal—it's exhausting."
"If it's that bad, how about transforming into an inanimate object? I can carry you..."
We hadn't stopped by Jinrang Valley so far. It would give Mangnyang too much to worry about, and he'd told me to avoid exposing our movements as much as possible. The more we visited, the higher the chance of drawing attention.
Miho shook her head.
"I'm fascinated by treading on such unfamiliar ground. I've never been to a place like this, so I want to savor the scenery a bit more."
I chuckled.
"You prefer nature over people, huh?"
"Hmph... I don't discriminate much. It's just that being in nature fills my yokai power to the brim and lets it recover faster."
"I see."
"Let's catch some fish to eat."
*Whoosh*
Miho unleashed a sharp burst of energy from her hand toward Huurun Lake. Moments later, thread-like strands pierced eight fish and hauled them into the air. As the fish flopped onto the ground, Miho wagged her tail happily.
"Looks delicious."
As Miho reached for a fish, I swatted her hand away.
"Miho, no."
"Why not?"
"Lake fish are full of parasites—you have to cook them."
"......"
Miho looked dumbfounded for a second, then snapped irritably,
"I'm a yokai; that stuff doesn't affect me. Unless it's from the demon clan."
I replied firmly.
"I have to eat too. And I hate raw."
Back when I was an escort warrior, I'd seen people die or end up crippled from carelessly eating raw freshwater fish riddled with parasites. That memory made it a hard rule for me: never eat raw freshwater fish.
"Urgh... fine."
Miho reluctantly summoned flames with a spell and started grilling the fish. As she did, I asked,
"Isn't it about time you taught me that flame spell?"
During our three months at the North Sea Ice Palace, Miho had put it off with excuses about being too bothered. But a promise was a promise, so I pressed her to keep it.
"Hmm... I suppose so. Shame, but I'll teach you."
Crouching down, Miho continued,
"The flame spell I use is different from human spells. Human ones borrow power from the Eight Trigrams, but mine comes from yokai power. Normally, humans couldn't imitate it."
"Hmm..."
"But you can."
"Why?"
"Because the Illusion Fox Lord's power has seeped into you. With my tail's yokai energy latent inside, you just need a few pointers to wield flame spells."
With that explanation, Miho stared at me intently and said,
"Baek Woong. Ever thought about becoming a yokai?"
What kind of talk was this?
But her eyes were dead serious. As the fish finished cooking, she poked one's head with a stick and went on,
"You know human bodies are inconvenient and full of limits. Become a yokai, and you'd gain several times your current lifespan and a far stronger physique. All the qi you've accumulated would carry over intact, letting you become a powerful great yokai right away."
"Don't talk nonsense. Yokai are yin by nature, so they're inherently weak to spells. And word spirits too. Better to stay human."
With my knowledge of spells and yokai weaknesses, I shot back curtly. Miho smiled brightly.
"Hee hee hee, so the weaknesses are why you won't become one... You're no ordinary human."
"What do you mean?"
"Put another way: if there were no weaknesses, you'd seriously consider it, right? That's not how normal humans think."
"......"
She had a point, so I didn't deny it. I wasn't particularly attached to staying human. If becoming a yokai meant getting stronger, I'd weigh it. But yokai were yin entities in yin-yang and five elements, so they inevitably had fatal flaws—especially innate vulnerability to spells. Right now, there was no need to trade for those weaknesses just to gain yokai transformation.
"Eat this, then I'll teach you. It won't be hard."
I watched in fascination as Miho devoured the grilled fish with relish. She looked so satisfied that it made me hungry just watching.
'Is it really that good?'
I tried a bite, but as expected from freshwater fish, it lacked bold flavor. Still edible, so it'd do for a meal. Of course, food from Jinrang Valley would be better, but Miho seemed to enjoy these "delicacies."
Soon after, Miho taught me the trick to drawing out flames and the incantation to summon them.
*Fwoosh!*
"You got it on the first try."
"Am I a genius or what?"
"Hee hee hee, no way. It's because you have my tail's energy—flame spells come naturally. Hee hee."
"......"
My smug moment deflated. After learning the flame spell from Miho, I could summon will-o'-wisps with a simple incantation—for lighting or combat.
Miho laughed.
"That spell is weak now, but it grows with your spell power. How strong it gets is up to you."
"Could I learn illusion spells too?"
"Better to study human spells for that. Mine are too innate; they wouldn't suit you."
"Got it."
With the lesson done, we resumed our run.
We'd just entered the vast high plains of the Great Steppe, where steppe tribes dotted the landscape here and there. They were descendants of those who once founded the Great Yuan Empire. Some seemed to practice martial arts, but they didn't dare挑衅 us as we sped past at superhuman speeds.
*Screech*
Had it been about three days and nights?
In the dead of night, I sensed we'd reached another lake. We'd barely paused along the way, arriving faster than any horse. I patted Miho's back and said,
"I'll go ask around about this place real quick."
"Urgh..."
Miho, drained of stamina, slumped against a tree to rest. According to her, this was her own form of training—pushing her endurance to the limit boosted her yokai power afterward. I left her and dashed toward nearby signs of life.
*Thud thud*
I soon found a steppe tribe camped around a fire. They spotted me and grabbed swords and bows, shouting something, but I performed the greeting I'd learned from the North Sea Ice Palace Lord.
Calmly touching my arm, then shoulder, then clasping hands over my heart while kneeling on one knee. They calmed down and lowered their weapons. It was a greeting common among steppe tribes, meaning [I am a traveler seeking aid]. As I relaxed my guard, an older tribesman approached and spoke.
"#*(&[email protected]*[email protected]*&@(%....."
Of course, I barely knew the steppe tongue. I asked if anyone spoke Central Plains language. The elder called over a young man, who soon said,
"I speak Central Plains tongue. Speak, traveler."
I eyed the youth and the tribesmen.
'They have matchlock guns.'
Sure enough, steppe folk knew firearms and carried them. Mindful of their guns, I said,
"I'm So Woong, a traveler from the Central Plains. We're camping by the nearby lake and came to learn its name."
The youth translated for the elder, and their reply came.
"It's called Obus Lake."
"We're heading to the Crimea Khanate—how much farther is it?"
This was per the North Sea Ice Palace Lord's advice. Saying outright we were going to Moscow, Arasa Empire's capital, would draw suspicion from steppe folk. The youth looked surprised at my question and answered,
"It's very, very far from here. Over two thousand li at least."
"Any good waypoints along the way?"
After translating, the youth relayed the elder's words.
"If you're going through Tatar lands, they say it's wise to stop at Astana and seek the prophet's guidance."
"Astana?"
The youth grinned.
"The coldest land in the world. A great prophet lives there who can aid travelers, they say."
"Where in Astana is the prophet?"
"He dwells in the grand temple."
Astana's prophet? Grand temple?
"Why seek his wisdom?"
"He's the wisest in the world—everyone reveres him."
"I see."
After getting directions and terrain details, I had a rough idea. As thanks, I pulled three grilled fish from my satchel—the ones from before—and handed them over. They seemed delighted. Unlike in the Central Plains, steppe tribes traded in necessities, not gold or jewels.
Back with Miho, I reported,
"This is Obus Lake. We need to ask the Astana prophet for the way."
"Astana's prophet? What's that?"
"No idea. Some seer or sage, probably."
Miho snorted.
"Hmph! Just some human busybody. We've rested enough—let's go."
Ending our brief break, Miho and I dashed across the wilds again. It was grueling even for us, but my vast internal energy substituted for stamina, and Miho's great yokai constitution outstripped any human's.
Had we pushed through a day and two nights without sleep?
I realized we'd reached a land gripped by ferocious cold. Snowy plains stretched everywhere, the chill incomparable to before. I glanced at Miho, who seemed fine and said,
"I can summon foxfire to ward off the cold."
*Fwoosh*—a few foxfire flames appeared around her, letting her shrug off the freeze easily. I could endure with internal energy alone, but wasting it irked me, so I donned a thick fur coat from my satchel.
*Whoooosh*
It was brutal cold. Breath turned to frost mid-air; piss would freeze solid. Hard to believe humans survived this. We trudged endless snowy plains until a peculiar temple loomed ahead.
*Rumble...*
"No way..."
I was stunned.
In this hellish cold stood a massive temple, easily a hundred jang across. Not crudely built, but with proper architecture unlike Central Plains styles. No signs of life made it even stranger.
*Whoooosh*
*Whoooosh*
The gale howled madly. No point lingering, so Miho and I pushed open the grand temple's huge front doors and entered. They stood ajar, needing little force.
*Thud*
The doors shut behind us. We marveled at the unfamiliar interior design. Looking around, we spotted what looked like an altar in the distance, with a shadowy figure beside it.
Approaching, the figure spoke.
[Far travelers from distant lands. Are you bound westward...?]
It was heart-speech, like Miho's—no translation needed; it flowed straight into my mind. Its form was shrouded in darkness, identity unclear.
'Skilled in spells.'
I glanced at Miho, then replied.
"Yes. Are you the prophet?"
[Indeed. Why have you come to this grand temple...?]
"I'm So Woong; this is Miho. We're heading to Arasa Empire's capital. We heard you could guide us there."
*Swish...*
Moments later, the prophet emerged from the shadows.
I jolted like I'd been struck by lightning.
"......!!"
A异族!
Unlike any I'd seen, but no human or yokai—this grotesque异族 had tentacles sprouting like facial features from a central body-mass, with multiple claws extending out. *Shick shick*—odd metabolic sounds emanated as it moved.