Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Training Ground
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“Are you really going to use this place?”
“Yes.”
“But… why here?”
“Yes, why here indeed.”
To Wang Cheon's question, Neung Un-bi nodded without a change in expression.
“Why?”
“It’s cozy.”
“…”
*Just what part of this is cozy?*
Wang Cheon, utterly baffled, looked around.
Right after the master-servant relationship with the Snow Mountain Manor was established, Neung Un-bi had insisted, despite everyone's opposition.
Left with no choice, they concluded the banquet and headed to none other than the training ground the Snow Mountain Manor had prepared for Neung Un-bi.
Beneath a blue-tiled roof where the afternoon’s snow had piled high, a vermilion-railed pavilion with fine, traditional coloring caught the eye.
Inside a wide, square wall, a training yard paved neatly with bluestone was visible. To one side, there was a pond where fish of unknown names played, and a pavilion where one could cool off in the breeze and rest leisurely.
And what about the weapon racks set up in various places along the wall?
Even the stands, which one might not look at closely, were carved with elaborate patterns, and the weapons on them all exuded a sharp aura.
Every one of them was made of nothing less than hundred-refined steel, and there were even some masterpieces worthy of being called treasured swords.
With the added charm of the piled snow, that place was the special training ground the Snow Mountain Manor had prepared for the Third Young Master, Neung Un-bi.
But after a quick look around, Neung Un-bi had said.
-I don't like it.
He rejected it outright.
Why! For God’s sake, why!
You'd be hard-pressed to find a training ground like this even if you searched the entire Demonic Cult!
But the reason was simple.
-It's too open.
The fact that it was open on all sides for anyone to see.
He didn't understand, but what could he do if the man disliked it?
It was the first place they were offering to the one they would serve as their master; it wouldn't make sense to force it on him when he clearly disliked it.
So they recommended other places, but Neung Un-bi rejected every single one.
“I don't like this one because of this, I don't like that one because of that.” He had so many damn reasons.
At this rate, he might even complain that he didn't like the shape of the grass on the ground.
Then, they found this place, a gloomy cave located on a mountainside a short distance from the Snow Mountain Manor's main building.
It was a prison used long ago to lock up the Snow Mountain Manor's criminals.
Naturally, it hadn't been maintained and even had a musty smell.
In truth, they had brought him here as a form of protest.
*This is the only kind of place you could possibly want. Take a look and be horrified.*
But what happened?
-Yes, this is it! This is the very place I've been looking for!
Neung Un-bi even expressed his admiration, leaving not just Seon Hwa-yeon, but all the vassals at a complete loss.
*What kind of training could he possibly do here…?*
And on top of that, he called it cozy.
It was enough to make one worry if he needed to be taught the language all over again.
But as he stood his ground stubbornly, as if his feet were rooted to the spot, everyone eventually threw up their hands and left.
For now, they had left him in Wang Cheon's care. By now, they were probably putting their heads together and having a serious meeting.
About how to repair this damn prison, and how best to arrange the guard detail, among other things.
“Haa, my lord. No matter how I think about it, this isn't right. Look, doesn't it seem like a ghost could pop out at any moment?”
“What ghost? There's no such thing.”
“They exist! I saw one in the outhouse when I was a kid. A hand shot right up, I tell you!”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m serious!”
“Even if there are ghosts, it doesn't matter. You know I've studied the Dao, right?”
“…”
“I'll just stick a few talismans up, and if that doesn't work, I'll chant some spells. The books said they're quite effective for exorcism.”
Wang Cheon stared pitifully at Neung Un-bi's satisfied smile.
*Studied the Dao, my ass. He barely scratched the surface.*
He couldn't let this be.
Isn't he my true lord now?
My rise in sta— Anyway, how could I let his precious, noble self stay in such a shabby place?
Above all, if his lord, Neung Un-bi, stayed in such a rundown place, he himself would have to use an even more rundown one.
Maybe build a hut at the cave entrance… Absolutely not.
Why suffer needlessly when a comfortable life is available?
“My lord, that's not the only reason. Look, even with me holding this torch, we can barely see what's in front of our noses. How can you possibly train in such darkness…”
“Is that all?”
“Pardon?”
Cutting Wang Cheon off, Neung Un-bi shot forward and, channeling his energy, thrust his hands into various spots on the wall.
*Thwack, thwack thwack thwack!*
“…”
*What on earth is he doing?*
Neung Un-bi soon returned and snatched the torch from the bewildered Wang Cheon's hand.
“Here, look. This should do it, right?”
“…”
Wang Cheon sighed at the sight of Neung Un-bi sticking the torch into the hole he had just punched in the wall.
*So he was making torch holders?*
“See the remaining holes over there? Go get some more torches. I'm going to start training right now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
“Haa, please, just stop being so stubborn. Why are you acting so out of character? Huh?”
“…”
Unable to watch any longer, Neung Un-bi slowly clasped his hands behind his back and put on a dignified expression.
“Wang Cheon.”
“Wh— Yes.”
“Who am I?”
“You're my… lord?”
Wang Cheon sighed as he spoke, and Neung Un-bi nodded.
“That's right, your lord. And that lord has given his very first command! Does the man who is supposed to be his Guard Captain intend to disobey?”
“…”
Wang Cheon's face crumpled at Neung Un-bi's feigned roar.
“Damn it, seriously! Since when did you ever think of being a lord! Don't just start using it like that all of a sudden!”
He had tried to act all dignified, but it had no effect on Wang Cheon.
It seemed they had been too informal with each other all this time.
*In that case?*
“My good man, don't be like that. Let's just live here for a few days. Who knows? I might find it uncomfortable and change my mind.”
“And if you don't? You said the same thing when you left your residence in the fortress to live in a thatched hut.”
“Th-this is different. Am I not your lord now? Surely you don't think I, who have received the loyalty of the Snow Mountain Manor, would keep this up? I have my own reputation to think of.”
“Let's just go somewhere else. I'll find a training ground that's sealed off from the outside.”
“Ahem! My good man, don't they say that hardship in one's youth is a treasure worth seeking? I have lived too peaceful a life as the Cult Leader's disciple. Shouldn't I experience some hardship in advance? If I'm to overcome all sorts of trials and become the Cult Leader…”
“Treasure, my ass. Hardship just leads to chronic illness. And are you telling me you can gain experience in just a few days? You have to make some sense.”
Wang Cheon shot back, refuting every word with a look of disbelief.
*It's because I'm making up reasons on the spot, you bastard!*
But Neung Un-bi, undeterred, began to explain calmly.
“My good man, don't just get angry. Think about it. This is a minimal effort.”
“What kind of effort?”
“The minimal effort one must make, experiencing things from the very bottom, in order to rise to a high position.”
“…”
“Think about it. If word gets out that the lord forsook a fine place to begin his training in such a humble location, what kind of rumors will spread?”
“…That he's doing something pointless?”
“You have a twisted mind… Our subordinates will think this: Ah, we have met a truly frugal and down-to-earth lord.”
“Who will?”
“Everyone.”
“You've been spouting nonsense this whole time…”
“…”
Wang Cheon's resistance showed no signs of letting up.
“Haa, to think you can't understand my heart. I was planning to give you a high position when I become the Cult Leader.”
“…Pardon?”
However, those words, uttered as if in lament, seemed to have piqued his interest.
*This guy, greedy to the bone…*
“Think about it. When I truly become the Cult Leader, what will you, who have always been by my side, become?”
“The Great Protector…?”
“Ahem, my good man. How could one call that rising in the world?”
“Th-then?”
“There's something I've always held in my heart but couldn't say until now. You are more than my guard; you are my friend.”
“Fr-friend?”
“Of course! Absolutely. Therefore, if I am the Cult Leader, you must rise to a position second only to one, but above all others! Indeed!”
“S-second only to one…?”
“Yes.”
“Ahem.”
“Do you understand?”
“…I don't know why, but while the rest sounds like nonsense, that 'second only to one' part is quite tempting.”
Wang Cheon's expression grew serious.
*Damn him.*
*Well, as long as he understood something, that's what matters.*
“Now, hurry up and get more torches! Quickly! Second only to one!”
“Ab-above all others!”
“Go! Wang Cheon!”
“Uoooooh!”
At Neung Un-bi's gesture, Wang Cheon's eyes sparkled as he quickly exited the cave.
His speed was like a flash of lightning.
*Phew, it's so hard to get rid of a pest.*
Watching the direction Wang Cheon had disappeared, Neung Un-bi shook his head and looked around the dim cave.
He had truly found a good spot.
First, the size was just right.
Since the Snow Mountain Manor would guard the outside, not even a rat could get close.
Moreover, with only one entrance, if he blocked the door, it would become a space completely cut off from the outside world.
In other words, a training ground for true seclusion.
A place where he could practice the martial arts he learned in the past without anyone knowing.
There might be other places like it, but only one had this kind of location.
The fact that it was on the outskirts of the Snow Mountain Manor.
If it were a training ground inside the manor, there would be too many places to pass through.
But this place was different.
Get past the guards, and rugged mountains and valleys stretched out immediately.
The snowy paths would be an obstacle, but that was a minor issue…
Neung Un-bi, smiling contentedly as he pictured the scenery outside the cave, soon sat down in a meditative posture.
Internal energy?
It didn't matter what kind he was practicing.
Was he a shadow for nothing?
Because the scars left on his body must never reveal the assailant, he had only learned martial arts that could accommodate any type of internal energy, be it orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic.
“Khehehe, Cult Leader? I wouldn't take that title even if it were handed to me for free.”
Neung Un-bi gently touched the pouch inside his robes.
The secret spiritual pill of the Snow Mountain Manor, which he had obtained from Seon Hwa-yeon along with the training ground.
“It's a waste to eat it now. I haven't even broken through the next wall, so if my internal energy increases, I won't be able to fully absorb it anyway.”
For now, he would save it.
He would take it later, when a moment of crisis arrived or when he broke through the next wall.
It wasn't like it would rot over time… It wasn't called a secret spiritual pill for nothing, was it?
What he needed now were the incantations of his past martial arts.
He would have to start training soon, so he repeated them over and over, engraving them perfectly in his mind so he wouldn't forget.
Until a door was installed and the cave was completely isolated from the outside world.
* * *
“Haa, it's getting harder and harder to play along with him.”
Wang Cheon, who had energetically strode outside, shook his head as he looked at the cave entrance.
He didn't know the specifics, but it was clear he was up to something.
Had they only known each other for a year or two?
He had cared for Neung Un-bi more than himself. By now, just by looking at his eyes and expression—no, just by hearing him breathe—he could get a rough idea of what he was thinking.
“Hey, you there.”
“Yes, Young Ma— No, Guard Captain Wang.”
When Wang Cheon called, the highest-ranking martial artist temporarily standing guard ran over.
Wang Cheon's title had already changed to Guard Captain among everyone in the Snow Mountain Manor.
“Get some torches.”
“Torches… How many?”
“About a dozen should be enough.”
“Understood. I'll bring them immediately.”
After the martial artist who received the order hurried away, Wang Cheon turned his gaze back to the cave entrance.
“Hoo, I wonder what kind of surprise he's planning this time.”
But it didn't matter.
As long as it wasn't something like practicing a forbidden text and falling into Qi Deviation like in the past.
“Still, I'll have to guard him well. Make sure he doesn't try anything funny… No, the checks from other places will intensify, so that won't be enough. I'll have to ask the Matriarch to drastically increase the number of guards. Even if it means pulling from the main forces of the Snow Mountain Manor…”
Wang Cheon surveyed the surrounding terrain, imagining an inescapable net cast around the cave.
For the purpose of protecting Neung Un-bi from external threats, of course…
And so, inside and outside the cave.
The two men pictured different thoughts in their minds and laughed sinisterly.
“Khehehehe.”
“Khahahahat!”
One thinking of escape, the other of defense.