Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: What Daoist Hyun-un Protected
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The next morning.
As the darkness in the sky gradually faded and the blood-red hue grew sharper.
We left the base of the cliff where we had spent the night and began moving again.
“This way. Please follow me along the path.”
Leading the group was Cheong, who had received Daoist Hyun-un’s head from Daoist Hyun-jin the previous night.
Last night, Cheong’s proposal to retrieve Daoist Hyun-un’s body was accepted by the others without much resistance.
Everyone understood Daoist Hyun-jin’s feelings, so they agreed to help with recovering the body and searching for the other senior brothers, even if it took some time.
Of course, Ye So-ha had said something tactless in the meantime and gotten poked in the side by Cheong again.
“Fortunately, it’s not too far. We should arrive before noon at this rate.”
Cheong, cradling Daoist Hyun-un’s head in her bosom, turned back to us and spoke.
Her golden eyes shone much brighter than usual—likely the effect of some spell she was using.
“…Everyone. Thank you once again. To go this far for us…”
As we followed behind Cheong, who strode ahead without hesitation, Daoist Hyun-jin expressed his gratitude to us again.
“No need to be like that. We’re doing this because we want to. Besides, we understand how you feel about your sect.”
“…Thank you.”
Daoist Hyun-jin offered his thanks again in a quiet voice.
Soon, as the sun—which felt ominous under the blood-red sky—neared its zenith,
we arrived at another clearing at the base of a cliff, littered with countless fallen trees.
“…Senior Brother.”
And there, we found Daoist Hyun-un’s body.
Or more precisely, his scattered remains.
Flesh torn to shreds as if in a fit of rage, strewn across the clearing.
Seeing it in a far more gruesome state than expected, we subtly glanced at Daoist Hyun-jin.
“…I’ll collect them.”
Daoist Hyun-jin, who must have been deeply shocked, did not wail. Instead, he steeled his face and began gathering the remains.
The rest of us soon joined him, collecting the scattered pieces, and we managed to retrieve most of them fairly quickly.
The next to step forward was Cheong again.
“I’ll handle restoring the body.”
“Ah, no. I’ll do it…”
“With those hands, it would take you an entire day.”
Realizing only then that his hands were trembling like aspen leaves, Daoist Hyun-jin relented.
In the end, Cheong took charge of reassembling the torn-apart body.
“Let’s search for the others.”
At Hwa-ryeon’s words, the rest of us scattered to search the vicinity.
And I took a closer look at the clearing.
Withered trunks that seemed decades old, snapped like mere branches.
The deep claw marks gouged into their surfaces suggested it was the work of that hoe monster.
For trees to be broken all around like this, it must have been a fierce battle.
Yet, strangely, the trees on one side—toward the cliff—were remarkably intact.
As if they had been deliberately guarded to prevent anything from approaching the cliff…?
“…Could it be?”
A sudden intuition struck the back of my head.
I bolted straight toward the cliff.
“Young Master Goon? What…?”
Ignoring the voice calling from behind, I pushed through the lifeless trees and reached the cliff.
I glanced briefly at the steep wall before me and expanded my senses and qi detection web to their limits.
If my intuition was right, there had to be something…
-Hoo… hoo…
“…!”
Found it.
Faint, intermittent breathing.
I followed the sound and soon stood before a massive boulder embedded in one corner of the cliff.
Lowering my head, I spotted traces of someone clinging to it.
And the breathing came from behind the boulder.
They’re inside.
Certain now, I circled to the boulder’s side and circulated my internal energy throughout my body.
Then, exhaling sharply, I shoved the boulder—about the size of my body—with my shoulder.
“Grr, grrr—!”
With a muffled shout, I applied force, and the boulder slowly budged.
Gritting my teeth, after several heaves, I finally pushed it aside entirely.
“Hoo… hoo…”
“Wh-who…?”
Three daoists appeared before my eyes.
“…….”
Even though I had already sensed their presence, seeing them in person left me speechless for a moment.
These must be Daoist Hyun-jin’s fellow disciples.
All of them looked utterly exhausted.
In a small cave, the three lay side by side. Only the youngest among them was conscious; the other two showed no movement, as if unconscious.
Moreover, the torn cloth wrapped around the unconscious pair was stained red with blood.
A state of utter ruin that no one could deny.
Yet, they were alive.
They had survived.
Relieved by that fact, I recalled the scene around us once more.
The cave where the three daoists had hidden, the boulder cleverly blocking it, and the traces in the clearing.
Just from this, what had happened was clear.
Hyun-un.
He had protected his junior brothers.
As their eldest senior brother, giving his all—even his life.
“Wh-who are you…?”
Snapping back at the feeble question, I briefly introduced myself as part of Daoist Hyun-jin’s group and pulled the three out of the cave.
“D-Daoist Hyun-jin? Is Senior Brother alive?”
The young daoist brightened at my words.
He appeared about my age.
Rather than explaining at length, I figured seeing for themselves was best. I looked up and shouted loudly.
“Over here! We found them!”
At the sound of my voice, footsteps came rushing over.
Leading them was Daoist Hyun-jin.
“…Junior Brother Hyun-seong.”
“D-Daoist Hyun-jin…!”
Daoist Hyun-seong, tearfully overjoyed at reuniting with his senior brother after days apart.
Of course, Daoist Hyun-jin was no different.
The two senior brothers soon embraced, sobbing loudly.
“Waaah—!”
“Uwaaah!”
If they had the strength to cry like that, there was no need to worry.
The problem was the two unconscious ones.
I checked their pulses.
Fortunately, no serious internal injuries, but as mentioned, their external wounds were severe.
Peeling back the blood-soaked cloth slightly, I saw the untreated wounds beginning to fester.
On top of that, they hadn’t eaten properly, leaving their vitality depleted.
No time to waste. I turned to Ye So-ha.
“Miss Ye.”
“Y-yes. I know.”
Having been through this several times already, she was accustomed to it and immediately began treating their wounds.
Leaving the two daoists’ external injuries to her, I questioned Daoist Hyun-seong.
“How long were you in that cave?”
Having finally calmed after a long cry, Daoist Hyun-seong stammered his reply.
“A-after parting from Daoist Hyun-jin, we were attacked by those m-monsters soon after. So, at least…”
“Four days trapped without moving.”
“Already that long…!”
Shocked to learn they had been hiding in the cave for four days, Daoist Hyun-seong suddenly remembered and asked about Daoist Hyun-un.
“Daoist Hyun-jin, didn’t you see Eldest Senior Brother? He hid us in the cave and said he’d lure the monsters away…”
“…Junior Brother.”
Daoist Hyun-jin, his throat tight, opened his mouth several times before continuing.
“…Right now, not far from here, we’re retrieving Senior Brother’s… Senior Brother’s body.”
“…What? No, what do you mean…? You’re joking, right?”
Daoist Hyun-seong asked with an awkward smile.
But none of us smiled back brightly to call it a joke.
In the end, the smile vanished from Daoist Hyun-seong’s face.
The hope still lingering in his eyes faded at his senior brother’s grim expression.
“Ah, aaah…!”
Realizing the truth too late, Daoist Hyun-seong’s legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Hot tears soon poured from his eyes once more.
“Sob…! It’s my fault. I held back my senior brothers…!”
“No. How could it be your fault?”
Daoist Hyun-jin’s comforting words toward his junior soon turned to self-recrimination.
“It’s not your fault—it’s mine. Because I got separated, I burdened Eldest Senior Brother. If only I hadn’t gotten separated…”
Daoist Hyun-jin muttered gloomily.
If left like this, he’d dig into the ground and head straight to the planet’s core. I changed the subject.
“Save the self-blame for later. Treatment’s done, so let’s head back to the clearing.”
Glancing over, Ye So-ha had finished treating them and was standing.
Confirming the wounds—once oozing blood—had vanished without a trace, Master and I hoisted one each and returned to the clearing.
*
“We found the others. Glad they’re alive.”
“You finished the restoration already?”
When we returned to the clearing, Cheong had already completed reconstructing the body and wrapped it tightly in a large cloth.
“Eldest Senior Brother…!”
Daoist Hyun-seong, supported by Daoist Hyun-jin, spotted Daoist Hyun-un’s face still visible through the cloth and approached the body.
Seeing his eldest senior brother’s corpse with his own eyes, Daoist Hyun-seong couldn’t hide his grief.
As he clutched the cloth wrapping his senior brother and wept, I checked the two unconscious daoists once more.
The wounds, once festering, were now cleanly healed without a trace.
Once their depleted vitality was restored, they’d regain consciousness soon.
“We need to get to the Wudang Sect as quickly as possible to help them recover their strength.”
Ye So-ha spoke as if reading my mind, and I nodded, discussing our next moves with the others.
In the end, Master and I carried the two unconscious daoists on our backs, while Daoist Hyun-jin and Daoist Hyun-seong transported Daoist Hyun-un’s body.
“Are you sure you’re up for it? Your body’s not fully recovered…”
“…It’s fine. Let us do at least this much.”
Daoist Hyun-seong, who could barely walk on his own, stubbornly insisted on helping.
His stubbornness was so fierce—even ignoring his senior brother’s words—that the rest of us shook our heads.
And so, we began climbing the mountain again.
More precisely, we first sought out the stairs leading to the Wudang Sect.
We soon reunited with the well-paved stone steps after just a day and ascended without incident.
As we passed the mountainside and neared the peak, a belated question arose.
“…Why is it so peaceful?”
It was. Far too peaceful.
Just yesterday, we had fended off attacks from living trees and rocks at the foot of Wudang Mountain and engaged in tense chases with twisted monsters.
Yet today, not only no attacks, but not even a single ant approached.
Just in case, I expanded my senses fully again, but detected no movement whatsoever.
What was going on?
As I tilted my head, Ye So-ha said casually.
“Maybe they got scared?”