Chapter 206
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Spearheading South (2)
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Despite bidding a dramatic farewell to the Moyong family, the reunion with them happened surprisingly quickly.
Well, anyway, it was the Northern Bright Secret Area.
With the Northern Bright Divine Art, you could just brute-force your way through.
It's better when everyone shares the loot, right?
So now, he broke through gateways that weren't even novel anymore, claimed rewards that weren't special in the slightest, muttered "Hm, about that level," and flaunted the bearing of a Fusion Realm master.
Farming was something you could spin into a whole steamy book by dragging out the hardships and trials—or compress into three lines if you felt like it.
Geum Sihyeon here, now self- and widely proclaimed absolute expert, no longer needed a whole book.
So.
"Kuaaaaagh! Geum Sihyeon! You mad bastard! Mooommm!"
He'd designated Moyong Taek as the perfect guinea pig for the new Life and Death Talisman technique he'd picked up.
"Sihyeon, go easy...?"
"Excessive... no, downright vicious..."
Buoyed by Seol's total support—now loving him more than her own brother—he even grabbed the cheeky Moyong Wicheon yapping at his side and gave him a thrashing too.
"This is seriously a demonic art..."
"Are you even human? Using demonic arts on people!"
"Sister, I'm so disappointed..."
"Hm. No aftereffects, right, kids?"
True to its name as a talisman governing life and death, it was a horrific technique capable of utterly ruining a person.
The theory was simple.
After mastering the prerequisite Northern Bright Divine Art, you channeled yin cold energy to form something like an internal energy icicle and jammed it right into their acupoints.
Then what happened?
A mosquito-bite-level itch and agony erupted inside the acupoint.
You could scratch an itch on your skin, but imagine one blooming inside your bloodstream.
This was a real demonic art...
Purely in terms of effect, it felt closer to poison arts, so with some finesse, he figured he could synergize it with poisons too.
Anyway.
"Take care on your way."
He left behind Season 2 Farewell #2.
* * *
After that, they raced straight south and arrived at Sansan Haekou.
It sat at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula—a spot that barely registered in his scant knowledge of Chinese geography.
The modern name was Dalian.
And attached to Dalian was Lüshun, home to a notorious future prison where patriot An Jung-geun and scholar Shin Chae-ho met their ends.
Geum Sihyeon here—heaven-blessed genius who'd aced Korean history grade 1—remembered it all.
...Should've studied East Asian history too.
Not that it mattered much in this primitive ancient murim world.
Anyway, the reason they'd come all the way here?
Land routes would've been too far.
Wolf cheating for shortest path? Only in places without people.
Even so, parading a wolf rider clocking 100 km/h for all the world to see was a problem.
If another such existence existed besides him, that'd be the real shocker.
"Beasts are tricky, though."
"He's a very gentle boy, so no need to worry. Would you like to pet him?"
"Hm..."
Companion pet travel on public transport hadn't caught on yet, so the sailors shook their heads at the wolf at first.
"Kyau!"
"...Kinda cute."
In this era teetering between romance and savagery, nothing cuter than a battle-compressed shorty wolf—except maybe Luri.
"Fair winds tomorrow, so rest a day."
"Yes, sir."
Free pass, naturally.
A day to kill.
In the future, this place would be a beachhead for Korean firms pushing into China. Now? Just a rundown port doubling as a fishing village.
Maybe hole up and cultivate?
Now he was at that legendary realm where normal training barely budged his cultivation.
Should've brought Seol along.
Late starters scare the most—and he was living proof.
So.
"Moments like this call for mahjong."
If he had a smartphone, he'd spin up some phone mahjong, but he hadn't hit a big city on his route with shops for buying and activating one.
No Ten Thousand Gold Hall branch even in Shenyang, Moyong Family turf.
For his in-laws' sake, time to push business expansion.
.
.
.
In a mahjong parlor in Sansan Haekou.
"Oh! Isn't that Brother Geum?"
"...Why are you popping up here, Brother Nangong?"
Geum Sihyeon's sole certified Nangong playboy. A man of living conscience.
He'd run into Nangong Hui.
* * *
Nangong Hui was in a bit of a bind.
"No way! My Moyong brothers in crisis—how could any man stand by?"
Hearing omens of upheaval at the Moyong Family, he'd flown into a rage and stormed out of his graduating class at the clan—fine so far.
But from Anhui's Nangong Family seat to Liaoning's Moyong Family?
Straight line run, then straight boat, then straight run again: 3,600 li, 1,400 km.
Took a solid ten days of nonstop galloping, boating, and more galloping.
But.
Nangong Hui ran.
Sacrificing sleep to run.
And the moment he boarded for Sansan Haekou.
Victory news arrived.
"Yes! That's what I wanted!"
Nangong Hui laughed.
But right after disembarking.
He realized his money pouch was gone. Even the dashing Nangong Hui couldn't laugh then.
A warrior's pride weighed heavy.
He couldn't trudge to the Moyong Family penniless and beg for travel funds—his face wasn't that thick.
If there'd been a Ten Thousand Gold Hall...
Realizing he'd stashed his smartphone in the pouch too? Even the dashing Nangong Hui let out a deep sigh.
Penniless.
No way to contact anyone.
Pride still intact.
Only one path left for Nangong Hui.
"...So you sat here gambling to win boat fare?"
"Haha! Got a meal in Kaiping out of it!"
Beast-heart showdown.
Needless to say, utter failure.
Geum Sihyeon sighed deeply at Nangong Hui's disheveled, bloodshot-eyed state.
"I'll front your fare. Let's go together. I have business at the Nangong Family anyway."
"You, Brother Geum? At Nangong Family? Sounds good, but not right now."
"Why?"
Nangong Hui smiled.
"A back wound shames a swordsman—as fleeing defeat shames an emperor."
Geum Sihyeon clutched his head.
.
.
.
Moments later.
Sitting at the table with Nangong Hui before the first round, Geum Sihyeon grasped the full story.
Nangong Hui was getting worked.
Thoroughly.
Without his intervention, Nangong Hui would've soon crossed the Yellow Sea to meet a nonexistent wife—and walk into an assassination setup.
"Bro. Surname Mian by any chance?"
"Nah. Kim."
Geum Sihyeon even checked the bushy beard against the movie version of Mian Zhengxue.
Then gauged the odds.
Judging by the shuffling and stacking—opponent was no amateur.
Impressively paced, enough to draw a gasp from Geum Sihyeon.
But.
'This much?'
Geum Sihyeon was a Xi'an mahjong grandmaster.
How long had he rattled tiles alone, yelling Asura Hair Explosion, back when he couldn't even land first-rate?
He was confident he'd never lose at gambling.
And so.
Tiles passed, passed.
Passed again.
'Now.'
Geum Sihyeon seized the once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Opponent's mounting tiles.
His own stacking up.
Perfect setup to craft a divine hand without even qi.
His hand moved naturally.
And.
"Freeze. Bottom-dealing right now?"
Gambler Kim grabbed Geum Sihyeon's wrist without missing a beat.
"What's this?"
"Heh, do I look like a pushover? You slipped four extra whites to your buddy opposite for his tsumo, and ponned the dora marker."
Spot on.
Geum Sihyeon had been building a 'dora bomb' to sweep the board.
But.
Kim overlooked something.
He was a mahjong master—but a martial arts novice.
And unfortunately, facing a martial arts master.
"Got proof?"
Sparkling.
Chilling sword aura bloomed from Geum Sihyeon's left hand.
Even a total layman rubbing shoulders with jianghu folk would recognize sword aura—or eat their words.
"Heh, no proof."
"Then continue."
Life's a gamble.
After that, Kim 'fairly' puked up every coin he'd fleeced from Nangong Hui.
Punishment for mistaking the fake for real.
* * *
"E-Even if mahjong wasn't going your way, tormenting a guy who knows no martial arts like that... it's against righteousness, no matter how you slice it."
"..."
Come to think, Brother Hui's a Nangong too.
Should I dunk him too?
Suppressing the savage urge, they boarded and floated across to Dengzhou on the opposite Shandong Peninsula.
Roughly, land of tasty Yantai sorghum liquor.
Neighbor to Qingdao beer town.
From there, hard gallop to Shandong's heart, Jinan.
"Ooh... that iridescent gleam..."
"Haha! Top-shelf really hits different!"
Finally, after all that ordeal.
Nangong Hui and he reunited with smartphones.
Cyber detox over.
Time to unleash pent-up trolling...
Instinctively logging into Central Plains Martial World Gallery.
[Anon / Holy Fuck Breaking News lmao Four Demon Heirs Turf War—New Heir Leader lmao (131)]
Clicking the top conceptual post.
"Eh...?"
He doubted his eyes.
No way this guy's showing up here?