Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Two Shamans
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The next day.
I headed back to the Zhuge Clan's Wuhuan Branch once more, this time with Hwaryeon and Gong Aksa.
This marked our third visit.
By now, even the gatekeeper recognized us and let us in without a fuss.
“…Hmm.”
As I walked toward the now-familiar office after passing through the main gate, I took in the atmosphere inside.
The expressions of the passing clerks or the servants hauling heavy loads.
Every one of them wore a serene face, as if nothing had happened.
Some folks who recognized me flashed friendly smiles, but no one showed any hint of gloom.
After brushing past them and entering the office, Jegal Geun-yeong greeted us with a shadier expression than usual.
“Ah, you've arrived.”
“Did you spend the night wrestling with worries?”
“Ah, yes. Well….”
When I pointed out the dark shadows under his eyes, Jegal Geun-yeong rubbed at them awkwardly and gave a strained smile.
“So, you've decided to let the matter of the Heavenly Guard Unit drop?”
“…As expected, you've noticed as well.”
A bitter edge crept into his stiff smile.
Jegal Geun-yeong let out a deep sigh and nodded gravely.
“Yes. We've decided to bury it. The Heavenly Guard Unit's casualties were already being kept under wraps from the public anyway. Besides, it seemed better for the surviving members.”
“…I see.”
It might really be for the best, as he said.
They'd already lost so many comrades and blood kin they'd shared life and death with.
That alone was heartbreaking enough, but forcing them to face the fact that their own swords had slain those comrades would be downright cruel.
It'd probably be easier on the mind to shove all the blame onto that vile seductress and turn a blind eye.
It wasn't my place to butt in, so I just shrugged without a word.
At that, Jegal Geun-yeong made one request.
“That said, I'd ask you all to keep quiet about the Heavenly Guard Unit as well.”
“Well, we're in a position where we want to stay on the Zhuge Clan's good side, so that's no trouble at all.”
“Hahaha, that's a thanks that somehow feels burdensome.”
Jagal Geun-yeong let out a low chuckle.
He'd instantly read the subtext: keep quiet, and we'll show that much goodwill in return.
In any case, we sat back down in our seats from yesterday and picked up where we'd left off.
“We've confirmed the Jade-Faced Yin Witch is a shaman who uses illusions. That means to catch the seductress, we need a way to counter sorcery. What's the Zhuge Clan planning to do?”
At Hwaryeon's sharp opening question, an astonishing answer came from Jegal Geun-yeong's lips.
“As it happens, we have a shaman among the clan's retainer guests at the main house.”
“A shaman?”
“Yes. I sent word to the main house yesterday, so I expect they'll arrive in Hangu within five days at most.”
“You're planning to borrow this retainer's power to catch the Jade-Faced Yin Witch?”
“Exactly.”
Five days…?
Who knows what that seductress might do in the meantime? Do we just sit around twiddling our thumbs?
Honestly, it made me uneasy.
But that unease proved unfounded. After that, the Jade-Faced Yin Witch vanished completely.
Including the day I saved Gong Aksa, it had been a full seven days with no new victims.
By the time people were buzzing that the seductress must have fled for sure.
The Zhuge Clan's shaman retainer arrived in Hangu.
*
“It's been a while, Branch Head.”
“Already two years. You've been well, Elder.”
The retainer from the Zhuge Clan was a diminutive old man.
He looked like an utterly ordinary elder, nothing particularly extraordinary about him.
But the moment his gaze turned to me, I had to revise that thought.
Though he exuded no aura or intimidation, the profound qi in his eyes made it impossible to take the old man lightly.
And apparently, I wasn't the only one who sensed something deep about my counterpart.
“Hoh…? And who might this extraordinary young man be?”
For some reason, the old man eyed me with a strange glint.
Jegal Geun-yeong introduced me.
“This is Goon Ja-seong. He's been helping track down the Jade-Faced Yin Witch.”
“I'm Goon Ja-seong.”
As I offered a cupped-hand salute, the old man returned it with a faint smile and introduced himself.
“This old man is called Gok Il. I just freeload off the Zhuge Clan with my assorted petty sorceries.”
“E-Elder… How can you say such a thing….”
Jegal Geun-yeong flustered at Gok Il's joking remark.
It was clear he held the old man in high regard.
“Heh heh, even teasing the Branch Head is no easy task.”
After chuckling warmly at Jegal Geun-yeong, Gok Il heard about the recent events and promptly asked to be taken to the Jade-Faced Yin Witch's hideout.
“No, at least rest from your journey first….”
“I couldn't possibly. I don't fancy getting an earful for dawdling.”
“Who would dare?”
Jegal Geun-yeong's face hardened as he spoke firmly.
Hm, I knew he was stiff, but now I see he doesn't take jokes at all.
Evidently used to such reactions from Jegal Geun-yeong, Gok Il burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha, just pulling your leg. This old codger can't stand not scratching an itch when it strikes, so bear with me.”
“Very well, if you insist….”
Jegal Geun-yeong had already visited the Jade-Faced Yin Witch's hideout a few days prior.
He could guide them alone just fine, but I insisted on tagging along.
Gok Il had brushed it off with a joke, but his eagerness to head straight to the hideout struck me as oddly urgent.
And so, Hwaryeon and I followed Jegal Geun-yeong and Gok Il to the hideout.
As we walked behind the leading Jegal Geun-yeong, Gok Il approached me.
“Young hero, this old man's curiosity runs deep, so might I ask you a few questions?”
“Of course. What piques your interest?”
Wondering what he wanted to ask, I nodded.
Then came a question I hadn't expected in the slightest.
“Are you by chance a disciple of a Taoist sect?”
“Pardon? Taoist sect…? You mean like Wudang or something?”
“Precisely.”
“No. I haven't set foot in those places yet.”
Well, planning to in the future, but still.
“Hmm….”
Gok Il let out an odd sigh at my answer and fired off the next question right away.
“Then where did you learn your martial arts?”
“…At a small martial hall near my home.”
After that, Gok Il asked who my master was, if my master had any ties to a Taoist sect, and so on.
I couldn't fathom why he kept linking me to Taoist sects, but I answered no to all of it.
My master was clearly no Taoist, and I'd never learned anything particularly Daoist.
“…I see.”
Gok Il stared at me silently for a moment after my replies, then nodded and shifted his gaze to Hwaryeon beside me.
“Now that I think of it, what relation do you have with the young lady here?”
“What… relation?”
Hwaryeon flinched at the loaded question.
I quietly echoed it back.
At our reactions, Gok Il chuckled heartily before dropping his bombshell.
“Isn't the energy flowing from you circling around the young lady in a most peculiar way? That's why I assumed you two were lovers for sure.”
“…….”
“…….”
With a single remark, Gok Il turned us to stone.
Beaming a knowing smile at our frozen selves, he followed after Jegal Geun-yeong.
…Did he plan that?
“L-Let's go. We'll lose them.”
As Jegal Geun-yeong and Gok Il pulled farther ahead, I awkwardly urged Hwaryeon on and hurried my steps.
By the time we caught back up, Hwaryeon's small voice wormed into my ear.
“…Is it true?”
“Hm? What's true?”
“What that elder said. Is it true?”
Her voice was surprisingly matter-of-fact.
I nodded, subtly checking her expression.
“Yeah, it is.”
“…….”
The silence resumed.
Feeling inexplicably fidgety, I started making excuses with this and that.
“I mean, who knows when that seductress might pop up? I know it looks over-the-top, but I can't help worrying.”
“I don't feel anything?”
“Huh?”
I turned to look at Hwaryeon as she cut me off.
The eyes peeking through her face veil showed only puzzlement.
What? I figured she'd blush or get mad.
“You said you're blanketing the area with energy? I don't feel a thing.”
…Not sure of the details, but at least she didn't seem angry.
Relieved inwardly, I concentrated the qi I'd spread around, intensifying it near Hwaryeon.
“Here, feel it now?”
“This…!”
Hwaryeon's eyes widened in surprise.
I dispersed the qi back out and gave a sly grin.
“Pretty neat, huh?”
“…How'd you do that?”
“It's something I developed studying Zhuge Cheon-sang's Protective Art. I scatter ultra-fine qi around me to heighten my perception of the surroundings.”
It was a qi technique wholly unlike extending one's qi sense.
Put simply, like spreading a net of qi wide around oneself.
That way, even if an enemy hid their presence or presence was invisible, I'd spot them instantly.
After hearing my explanation, Hwaryeon wore a look of dawning realization.
“Could this be the way to counter illusions…?”
“Exactly. I still need practice controlling the qi more fluidly, but with this, even if the seductress hides and sneaks up, I'll know right away.”
Qi Sensing Web.
A net of qi to detect the surroundings.
It had taken three days longer than expected to perfect, this qi technique crafted specifically to catch that seductress.