Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Unwelcome Reunion
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In response to my question, the group members each laid out the information they had gathered.
“After the sky over Wudang Mountain turned red, all the Wudang disciples in the area vanished. They must have returned to the Wudang Sect.”
“The nearby counties are all in an uproar. There are all sorts of rumors flying around about the Primordial Heavenly Lord being enraged.”
“They say they’re holding a ritual to appease that anger.”
Similar to—or pretty much the same as—what I’d heard from the kids.
It looked like we couldn’t get any more details than this around here.
“We’ll have no choice but to head straight to Wudang Mountain ourselves.”
“Yes. Let’s rest for the night and set out early tomorrow morning. If we hurry, we can reach Gyun County even if it’s late in the day.”
We nodded at Hwa-ryeon’s words, tamped down our regrets, and dispersed to our rooms.
And so, the next morning.
We left the inn early as planned, and by the time we reached the eastern outskirts of Goseong County, we were treated to quite a brutal spectacle.
“...What’s that?”
“Hmm, if I had to put a name to it, I’d call it a group beating.”
-Pow! Thwack!
In the middle of a wide avenue, a crowd of people was randomly pummeling a single group.
The problem was that the ones getting beaten were already severe casualties with splints on their limbs.
“Sh-shouldn’t we stop them?”
Seol-i poked her head out from the carriage at the commotion and asked urgently, but I didn’t step in.
Because the face of one of the men getting beaten was familiar.
The enemy elder from the Jeongmu Sect.
The guy who’d dragged the county’s able-bodied men around and abused them under the guise of his self-justifying “flower among flowers” nonsense had now lost his power and fallen into the position of the abused.
“Gah! Ack!”
The enemy elder let out nonstop groans and screams, then spotted me passing by in the carriage and bulged his eyes.
“You, you...!”
I met his bloodshot gaze filled with resentment and hatred, flashed a big grin, then whipped the reins to pick up speed.
Soon after, a roar full of rage echoed from behind.
“Uwaaaah—!”
“Hey, he’s just gonna get hit more like that. Does he wanna get beaten to death?”
That’s what he gets for not living a little nicer.
I chuckled and muttered to myself, and Hwa-ryeon, sitting beside me, tilted her head.
“...What’s that about?”
“I’ll tell you later. I’m gonna go full speed now, so get inside.”
After ushering Hwa-ryeon inside, I cracked the reins hard as soon as we were out of Goseong County, ramping up the pace.
“Ha—!”
-Neigh!!
The two horses, thrilled for their first full-tilt gallop since being hitched to the carriage, bolted off like mad.
-Kyaak?!
A scream came from inside the carriage.
Seol-i’s terrified little face was so cute that I grinned and urged them even faster.
*
Thanks to that nonstop full-speed run, the shape of another village soon appeared in the distance.
It was Gyun County, north of Wudang Mountain.
“Ugh, urk...!”
As I gradually slowed the carriage, the sound of dry heaving came from inside.
I peeked in and saw Seol-i’s face, pale as a corpse.
“You okay?”
“N-no, not okay....”
Since she answered clearly even in her half-dead voice, she seemed fine. I shrugged and turned to Hwa-ryeon.
Fortunately, Hwa-ryeon didn’t seem to get motion sickness as badly as Seol-i; her complexion was calm.
Not that there was any need to mention my master.
After confirming everyone was safe, I stopped the carriage for a moment and announced like a tour guide.
“Alright, everyone. Look at the sky outside. You’re in for quite the shocking sight.”
Just as I said, the group turned their gazes outward and widened their eyes at the scene before them.
“Good heavens...!”
“...I can’t believe it even seeing it with my own eyes.”
The sky was dyed blood-red.
That was far too feeble a description for the actual scene unfolding before us.
If I had to describe it properly, it’d be like this.
-Wudang Mountain was vomiting blood.
An ominous blood-red energy kept surging ceaselessly into the sky from deep within the mountain.
A sight that could only be described as the mountain spewing blood.
On top of that, the blood-red energy shooting into the heavens tore through the clouds overhead like it was punching a hole in the sky.
At that apocalyptic vista, as if the end of the world were approaching, we lost our words for a moment and stared blankly up at the sky.
How long did we stay like that?
Hwa-ryeon was the first to snap out of it and urged us on.
“Let’s hurry. We need to head into the village and learn more about what’s going on.”
“Yes, ma’am. As you command.”
The carriage set off again at Hwa-ryeon’s direction and soon entered the village.
The atmosphere in Gyun County we’d arrived at couldn’t even charitably be called good.
“...It’s like a ghost town.”
Just as Seol-i said.
The heart of Gyun County we’d finally reached was wrapped in dead silence, without a single sign of life.
Broad daylight, with the sun still high.
Shops that should’ve been energetically calling in customers were all shuttered tight, and not a soul walked the streets.
“...They’re not hiding. I can’t sense any presence at all.”
I expanded my senses to scan the area and informed the group that there were no people around whatsoever.
Naturally, everyone’s faces grew grave.
“What if they all evacuated because of that red sky?”
“I doubt it. We didn’t pass any processions or anything on the way here.”
Hwa-ryeon pondered my words for a moment, then lifted her head as if something had occurred to her.
“First, let’s head to the base of Wudang Mountain. They said they were holding a ritual for the Primordial Heavenly Lord, so maybe everyone’s gathered there.”
It was a pretty plausible idea, so I turned the carriage straight toward Wudang Mountain.
By the time we arrived at the mountain’s entrance, I knew Hwa-ryeon had been right.
-Please, we beseech you. Please, we beseech you.
-Primordial Heavenly Lord, please quell your wrath and...
An enormous crowd had gathered at the entrance to Wudang Mountain, as if every person from Gyun County was there.
The throng was packed so densely we wouldn’t even dream of driving the carriage through, so we got out.
“Wow.... I’ve never seen so many people in one place.”
I chuckled at Seol-i, who gaped blankly, overwhelmed by the sight, and asked.
“Can you see anything at least? Want a piggyback ride?”
“...No thanks?”
As Seol-i huffily turned her head away, I snickered and spotted an altar set up on a distant platform, along with a figure hopping around madly in front of it.
He was clearly wearing Daoist robes, but the way he flailed his limbs made him look like nothing more than a drunk throwing a tantrum.
All the proper Daoists around here would belong to the Wudang Sect anyway, and according to the rumors, they’d all returned to the mountain.
In other words, this guy was very likely just a fraud.
“Tch, what good’s a ritual from some con artist gonna do?”
“That’s how rituals are, though. It’s not about actual effects—it’s for the peace of mind from having performed it, believing things will get better.”
I nodded along to Hwa-ryeon’s words when something snagged in the threat-detection net I’d spread around us.
Someone was stealthily approaching from behind.
My senses told me there was nothing there, but the net signaled an intruder.
I quietly moved my right hand to my sword hilt. As soon as the unknown foe entered striking range, I spun around and drew.
-Clang!
My sharply drawn blade pointed at the target.
The one who’d snuck up behind me blinked in surprise.
“Huh...? How’d you spot me?”
A far too nonchalant reaction for someone approaching like an assassin.
The group, startled by my sudden draw, turned to take in the stranger.
“Who...?”
The group didn’t recognize her.
Which made sense, really.
I was the only one among us who’d met this woman face-to-face.
I narrowed my eyes at the distinctive golden irises in the center of her wide-open gaze.
“...Ye So-ha.”
“You still remember my name? Nice to see you again.”
The mysterious woman who’d finished off the seventh branch that escaped with some unknown power during the Nangong family raid—Ye So-ha—smiled at me.
To someone who didn’t know the situation, it would’ve looked like the alluring smile of a delicate beauty, but I didn’t let my guard down and tightened my grip on the sword hilt.
Seeing my reaction, Ye So-ha feigned hurt.
“Mm, you’re way too wary. Is that all our relationship amounts to? I was just trying to give you a little scare.”
What relationship?
I asked coldly as she spouted nonsense.
“Did it not occur to you that you could’ve gotten slashed?”
“Oh please, you think I couldn’t dodge that?”
Her brazen, innocent demeanor was infuriating, somehow.
“Excuse me, but who might you be?”
Hwa-ryeon tried to step between me and Ye So-ha as we faced off.
I grabbed Hwa-ryeon’s hand as she moved forward and pulled her back.
“Don’t get close. She’s not someone you can let your guard down around.”
“That’s too much. I’m not even armed right now?”
She put on a pouty, wounded expression and raised both hands.
Sure enough, she didn’t seem to have any proper weapons, but that wasn’t enough to make me relax.
-What’s going on...?
-H-he’s got a sword out?
Some people at the edge of the crowd had noticed us and started murmuring.
Ye So-ha glanced at them and shrugged.
“Hmm. Seems like we’re drawing eyes for no reason. Shall we save the reunion greetings and move somewhere else first?”
“.......”
“You’re not planning to stand like this all day, are you?”
She flashed a faint smile, turned as if to say follow me, and walked off.
I let out a small sigh at her retreating back and sheathed my sword.
“...Who the heck is she, anyway?”
Hwa-ryeon asked cautiously, finding my behavior odd.
I turned to look at the group.
“For now, let’s follow her. She’s suspicious as hell, but she probably has info we need to hear.”