Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Return
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Blue Thunder Sword Ye So-cheon.
One of the heroes who faced the Blood Cult in the past and known as an eccentric of Kunlun, she was famous for bringing clouds and blue lightning wherever she went. During the height of the fierce war against the Blood Cult, there was even a tale that all the warriors kept their eyes on the clouds in the sky throughout every battle.
She darted across battlefields at speeds invisible to the eye, accompanied by those clouds and blue lightning, so one might think eyewitness accounts would be scarce. But she roamed so many battlefields that her sightings became fairly well-known, and everyone who claimed to have seen her described the same distinctive feature.
[Her hair was blue.]
Setting aside how rare such a sight was in the Central Plains, it was a hair color that didn't exist naturally, so many initially doubted the story upon first hearing it. But the accounts kept coming, and people eventually shrugged it off as some special martial art she had cultivated.
And the rumors about her physical traits didn't end there.
[She looked not even ten years old.]
She had a surprisingly youthful appearance.
It was less "young" and more "childlike," which fueled rumors that she must be an immortal hermit secluded in Kunlun.
Even those who achieved a return to their prime through reversal of aging typically regained the look of their twenties at peak condition. Her appearance, even younger than that, was enough to inspire a profound sense of mystery in onlookers.
And finally, there was one sighting that briefly surfaced before quickly dying down, dismissed as an insult to her.
[Her mouth was incredibly foul.]
She lived with curses on her lips.
Not only when cutting down Blood Cultists, but even when rescuing or supporting allies, she spared neither friend nor foe from her vicious tongue—and more people than one might expect had suffered for it.
But naturally, this rumor never spread properly.
For anyone else, or any other sect, it might have been believable. But a Kunlun Daoist swearing like a sailor? It was hard to accept, and spreading it risked retaliation, so it remained mere whispers among those in the know.
Even allies who heard her curses firsthand often chalked it up to the chaos of battle and her strikingly radiant appearance, convincing themselves they'd misheard—and promptly forgetting it. Unless you had ironclad confidence in your memory, such moments didn't stick.
Deep within Kunlun Mountains, far from the secular world, lay a hidden abode in the most secluded spot.
There, a blue-haired girl sat cross-legged.
Her appearance suggested gentle mystery at first glance, but anyone who'd spoken with her quickly shattered that illusion.
It wasn't just her status in Kunlun that let her monopolize this isolated space.
"!!"
She bolted upright.
After sitting motionless in meditation for ages, she snapped her eyes wide open and jumped to her feet.
'The heavens have something to say!'
She rushed to fetch an item into her hands.
Qian (乾), Dui (兌), Li (離), Zhen (震), Xun (巽), Kan (坎), Gen (艮), Kun (坤). A bundle of wooden plaques inscribed with the eight trigrams.
She gripped them tightly and closed her eyes.
Whummm...
Heavenly principles stirred around her, whipping up an indecipherable flow—rising or falling, who could tell?
Even in Kunlun, where Daoists sought immortality close to the heavens, this was unmistakably beyond mortal realms.
Crack!
Amid the flow of heavenly principles, a single bolt of blue lightning struck her crown.
The aura dissipated instantly, leaving no trace of the celestial disturbance, as if nothing had happened.
"...How dare she!"
She snapped her eyes open in fury at the information she'd received about that person.
A mere fortune-teller mocking heavenly principles, insulting the heavens themselves with such arrogant insolence?
She couldn't sit idly by.
To curse the skies while ignoring the grace bestowed by heaven and earth, fixated only on her narrow little world?
Who had granted mercy to that outsider fated for disaster? And this was her repayment—utter ingratitude.
'Unforgivable.'
She needed education.
The heavens hadn't commanded her to judge; they'd merely indicated that a bit of "education" was required.
Shing...
This wasn't the time to idle away in the mountains.
Keeping tabs on the Demonic Cult was important, but they were holed up without much worldly interest anyway. A brief diversion of attention wouldn't spell catastrophe.
'If only that monster would just drop dead of old age.'
She'd love for it to wither away naturally, but waiting for a freak like that to die peacefully was sheer folly.
That monster was causing the heavens no end of trouble.
If she could help, she would—but she couldn't, which was frustrating.
So now, she had to assist in another way.
Teaching that ungrateful outsider her place.
That was her mission.
"Whoa, the damage looks massive. Must've been one hell of a fight."
"Y-Yes, indeed."
After breakfast, I visited yesterday's tavern with the Sword Empress—the site of the incident.
The destruction was staggering.
Nearly half the building had collapsed, so proper business was out of the question for a while.
"Argh, that woman said just give a warning, but she wrecked the whole place!"
In the midst of it, one man clutched a splintered plank from the tavern, muttering nonsense.
Reactions among the locals varied wildly in the shadow of this massive ruin.
Some merchants, on bad terms with the tavern owner, smirked at the sight. Others worried practically: plenty of customers came to the area thanks to that place—what now?
'Anyway, this world's seriously dangerous.'
Who could've imagined that huge tavern crumbling overnight?
If I were an architect, I'd be questioning my career hard.
What's the point of designing and building when a few swings from martial artists turn it to splinters?
After surveying the disaster site, the Sword Empress and I left.
Our brief detour was over; time to head back.
I'd flown from Anhui to Guangdong on a whim, after all.
Shaanxi was a long way off.
"Straight back to Shaanxi? Or detour somewhere midway...?"
"...Straight to Shaanxi."
"Alright, then."
The tavern had collapsed, but I'd gotten my fill of drinks yesterday—no cravings for now.
If anything, I had tourist urges...
'But everywhere I go, trouble brews.'
Incidents kept popping up; traveling for fun felt risky now.
Having a powerhouse like the Sword Empress as a bodyguard eased worries some...
'Still, with accidents nonstop...'
Even with the Orthodoxy's top expert guarding me, I couldn't relax.
What kind of messed-up world was this?
Maybe just return to Shaanxi, run the fortune shop, and call it a life.
'Haven't seen Dang Ayoung in ages.'
The name felt nostalgic.
After escaping the mountain into this world, before the Sword Empress, she'd helped me most in Shaanxi.
She'd assisted with opening the shop, protected me from nasty customers, worried over me, even taught self-defense techniques.
Not that I'd ever needed to use them.
'Wonder if she's waiting.'
Come to think of it, I'd been gone from Shaanxi quite a while.
I'd planned letters if it dragged on, but getting hurled to Guangdong nuked that idea.
Dang Ayoung wasn't a plant; she was fine without me. Still, as my only real "friend" here, I couldn't help missing her a bit.
"Miss, the information you requested."
"Good work."
Dang Ayoung unfolded the paper to review the intel she'd commissioned.
It detailed the movements of the "Faceless Golden Ghost," sourced from the Beggar Clan.
'I never planned to stoop to this, but he hasn't shown up in forever.'
It was too long for a mere trip.
At least send a letter if it'd drag.
No word at all, leaving her to wait indefinitely—small wonder her patience had worn thin.
"Last trace in Anhui?"
"Yes. After that, no sign, no matter how hard they searched."
"Hmm..."
Had bandits kidnapped him or something?
Thinking of his frail body stirred worry automatically.
But when she read the next line, her mood shifted dramatically.
[Prior to disappearance, seen with a companion. Female. Messengers who passed them described the pair as looking like a married couple.]
Crunch!
"..."
"M-Miss?"
"What?"
"N-Nothing!"
Whether he'd reopen the fortune shop in Shaanxi unscathed remained to be seen.