Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Connection
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“They’re tenacious bastards.”
When I approached Cheong to see how much information she had gathered, she answered, shaking her head.
“You didn’t find out anything?”
“Not much. They belong to the Shanxi branch of the Dark Blood Heaven Cult, they’ve established branches in every province, and their main headquarters is near Chang'an County. It also seems they’ve recruited most of the major demonic masters from the previous generation. Right now, their power is concentrated west of Luoyang. That means this Shanxi province should be considered their territory.”
“You found out more than I thought. By the way, what about this box?”
“On that subject, they keep their mouths shut tight. No matter how much I torture them, they won’t answer.”
“It must be a very important item.”
“It’s more than that…”
“Go on. Why are you trailing off?”
“When I ask about the box, they become terrified. They’re willing to leak some information about the Dark Blood Heaven Cult, but the moment the box is mentioned, they’re gripped by fear. Isn’t that strange?”
“So it’s no ordinary object.”
“What about the spy in the Martial Arts Alliance?”
“They don’t seem to know about that. It’s likely something only the highest echelons would know.”
My conversation with Cheong left me worried.
If we took them to the Martial Arts Alliance, we could probably extract more information.
But seeing how they reacted with terror to the box—or more accurately, the painting inside it—I could easily guess that the Dark Blood Heaven Cult would be hell-bent on finding it.
“Cheong.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think we can take them with us.”
“What do you mean? If we take them to the Martial Arts Alliance, we could get a great deal of information. They have interrogation experts there. This is a golden opportunity to learn about the Dark Blood Heaven Cult.”
“Of course, that’s important too. But this box. They will be desperate to find it.”
Only then did Cheong’s gaze shift to the box in my right hand.
“This has gotten bigger than I expected.”
“Then we should hurry.”
“Wait a moment. Sit here.”
Cheong gave me a strange look for my leisurely attitude as she sat down.
“At times like these, direction is more important than speed. We need to predict how the enemy will pursue us and choose a path that avoids them. No matter how fast we leave this place, if we move in a direction they anticipate, we’ll never escape their pursuit network. Where is the safe house?”
“In Zhangzi County. The Martial Arts Alliance’s Shanxi branch is there.”
“Then let’s avoid Zhangzi County.”
“Are we going back the way we came up?”
“We need to avoid that route too. The path through Yang'a County to Qishi County is a single road along the Qin River. The chances of being caught by the enemy are high.”
“Then there are no other paths.”
“Let’s go through Quwo County to Taiyuan County.”
“What? Taiyuan County is where the Dark Blood Heaven Cult’s Shanxi branch used to be. They’ve probably just moved their estate but established a new branch nearby. Wouldn’t that be more dangerous?”
“There’s a saying that the darkest place is under the candlestick. They’ll never think we’d hide there. And from now on, don’t contact the safe house. Until we’re safely out of Shanxi, trust no one.”
“Is it that important of an item?”
“It seems so.”
“Understood. Then I’ll go take care of them.”
Cheong stood up immediately.
Where did such venom and ruthlessness come from in that slender, pretty face?
Without a hint of hesitation, she disposed of the three men.
“What should we do now?”
“Let’s take the main road. Just like common folk, we’ll walk during the day and rest at night.”
“Lord Affectionate. With your martial skill, couldn’t you just break through? I don’t understand why you’re choosing such a difficult path.”
“If this painting is as important as I think it is, they could cast a net far and wide to corner us. The roads in Shanxi are formed through valleys and passes due to the rugged Taihang Mountains. It’s not easy to get out. And we don’t know the full extent of the Dark Blood Heaven Cult. We have no idea if there’s a master in Shanxi stronger than the Mad Sword. Caution is our best bet.”
I glanced at her, paused for a moment, and then continued.
“At night, I’ll need to study the painting a bit.”
“The thing in the box is a painting?”
“Yes. It’s like a person moved or something. It’s hard to describe.”
I handed her the painting.
She scanned it for a long while, then tilted her head and gave it back.
“To me, it just looks like a completely ordinary painting.”
“Given that the ones who came for it were terrified, it can’t be ordinary.”
“I’ll get us some clothes. Please wait a moment.”
The moment she finished speaking, she vanished.
Left alone, I opened the box again and examined the painting.
‘Strange. The first time I saw it, he was looking to the side. The next time, he was facing forward. But now, his back is completely turned. This is driving me crazy. Am I imagining things?’
I scratched my head and put the painting back in the box.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt it was anything but ordinary.
We changed out of our martial arts attire into merchant’s clothes and headed for Quwo County.
Since we didn’t use lightness arts, our pace was slow, but we didn’t feel like we were being watched.
At night, we would get a room at an inn and I would study the painting.
For the first few days, Cheong joined me in my research, offering her opinions, but she soon gave up.
Because to her, the martial artist in the painting remained unchanged.
‘Is it only visible to my eyes? Could this be a fateful encounter? But what does it mean? It’s not a starting posture. Wait, now that I think about it, this mountain looks familiar.’
Until now, I had been so focused on the old man’s changing posture that I had overlooked the mountain.
The magnificent mountain with its sheer cliffs was definitely something I had seen before.
A mountain like this was not common.
“Cheong. Have you ever seen a mountain like this?”
“Now that you mention it, it does look familiar. Where have I seen it?”
Cheong tilted her head.
As a liaison, she had traveled all over the Central Plains.
While my past life was focused mainly on fighting, she prioritized topographical reconnaissance to identify escape routes. It was more likely she would remember.
I watched her with anticipation.
“Ah, I remember.”
“Tell me. Where is it?”
“I think it’s Manjeolae on Mount Tongcheon.”
“Manjeolae on Mount Tongcheon?”
“Yes. Mount Tongcheon is a rugged mountain north of Quwo County. The area around it is a harsh, sparsely populated mountain range, and Mount Tongcheon is the most treacherous and highest among them. Could it have some connection to the Dark Blood Heaven Cult?”
I shook my head.
No one knew more about their predecessors, the Dark Heavenly Cult and the Blood Heaven Cult, than I did.
Mount Tongcheon had no connection to them.
Even looking at the roots of the Dark Heavenly Cult, the Heavenly Demon Cult, their base was in the far west, in the Tian Shan Mountains.
The martial artist’s appearance didn’t fit the Blood Heaven Cult at all.
It was the image of someone purely dedicated to martial arts.
I had planned to go through Quwo County to Taiyuan County, but I decided to change my route for now.
“Cheong, please prepare some food that will last a long time. I think we need to go to Mount Tongcheon.”
“Understood. But will it be alright not to report to the Martial Arts Alliance?”
“It will probably become a problem later. But it’s difficult to report. As far as I know, their spies are everywhere. They never reveal themselves under normal circumstances, so it’s hard to know who is a spy. But if this is truly important…”
“Then they’ll drop their masks and provide information to the Dark Blood Heaven Cult.”
“Exactly. I might be overly worried, but there are many single paths here, so it’s best to be cautious and then be cautious again.”
“I understand. As expected of Lord Affectionate.”
Cheong gave me a thumbs-up.
“Cheong. Prepare the food now. It seems we’ll have to travel quickly along the mountain ridges to get to Mount Tongcheon.”
“But we disguised ourselves as merchants to avoid the enemy’s eyes. Will that be okay?”
“That was when we planned to go through Quwo County to Taiyuan County. We had to pass through several large villages on a single road, so it was to avoid suspicion. From here to Mount Tongcheon, we can run straight through the mountains.”
“Then, couldn't the enemy be guarding Mount Tongcheon?”
“They probably are. But they’ll be hell-bent on finding this painting, so it’s more likely the area around Mount Tongcheon will be less guarded. Who would think we’d charge in like this?”
“That’s true. It’s human nature to try to escape after coming into an enemy’s stronghold and obtaining a valuable treasure. I understand.”
“Brace yourself. It’s a very difficult path.”
“I’m already regretting my decision to serve you, Lord Affectionate.”
Contrary to her words of regret, Cheong beamed, and I smiled back at her.
The next day at dawn.
We ascended the mountain as stealthily as possible.
We kept an eye on the enemy’s movements, and only when we were sure it was safe did we use lightness arts, so our speed wasn’t very fast at first.
Once we were on the mountain ridge, our pace began to pick up.
Three days later.
We finally arrived at our destination, Mount Tongcheon.
-Cheong. From now on, follow me completely concealed.
-Understood.
I lightly drew upon my internal energy and calmly advanced toward Manjeolae.
As I neared Manjeolae, I saw no signs of human presence.
‘The Mad Sword probably found this painting by chance and sensed it was something unusual. He must have reported it to his superiors. But then he died at my hands, so they burned down the Jin estate and were trying to retrieve the painting when they ran into me. I hope my prediction is correct.’
I moved toward Manjeolae with a sense of tension.
After checking the painting several times, I arrived at the spot where the martial artist had been standing.
I calmly surveyed my surroundings but found nothing out of the ordinary.
I drew my sword and assumed the posture of the martial artist in the painting.
‘I have no idea what’s going on.’
After trying various methods for a long time without any results, I plopped down on the ground.
-Lord Affectionate.
-What is it?
-Do you think we might be on the wrong track?
-Maybe. This is strange. Why were they so terrified at the mere mention of the box containing this painting? It must be an extremely valuable painting. How curious.
-This belonged to the Mad Sword, right?
-Right.
-Then wouldn’t the Mad Sword have tried for a long time to figure it out? But when he couldn’t, he decided to offer it as a sign of loyalty to the Dark Blood Heaven Cult. And that’s when you appeared and killed him.
-That’s worrisome.
-Why?
-If what you say is true, Cheong, it means that even after studying this for a long time, the Mad Sword couldn’t solve its secret.
-That’s true. Anyway, while you research here, Lord Affectionate, I’ll procure food and water.
-Thank you so much.
After she disappeared, I once again spread the painting before me and mimicked the martial artist’s movements.
I also moved far away to observe Manjeolae as a whole and fell into meditation.
The more I studied it, the more convinced I became that there was something within the painting.
**
“Old man, who are you?”
The martial artist from the painting appeared before me.
“Did you call me?”
“Call you?”
“You called, so I responded.”
“Then does that mean you only responded to me?”
The martial artist nodded.
Hearing that he had responded, a chill ran down my spine.
It meant that this martial artist had not responded to the Mad Sword or any of the others who had found this.
That was why only I could see the old man changing his posture.
“Who are you?”
“Wouldn’t it be proper for you to introduce yourself first? There is, after all, an order between elders and juniors.”
“I am Guyang Cheon of the Ouyang Clan.”
“Not that. The real you, inside.”
“Hwa Un-ryong. I am the former Martial Arts Alliance Leader, Hwa Un-ryong.”
“Yes. So it was. I am Mok Yeong-cheong.”
At the name Mok Yeong-cheong, I tilted my head.
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t figure out who he was.
‘Not from the righteous faction, but a figure from the demonic path?’
I gave up searching among the righteous faction and began to recall the old masters of the demonic and evil factions one by one.
“Gasp. You can’t be… Mok Yeong-cheong, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
I shouted in surprise.
“Hoo hoo hoo. Indeed. I am that very Mok Yeong-cheong.”
Thud.
I collapsed right where I stood.
Mok Yeong-cheong was a figure from a thousand years ago.
At that time, the Heavenly Demon Cult was enjoying its golden age, thanks to the efforts of its leader, Mok Yeong-cheong.
Back then, Mok Yeong-cheong was called the greatest martial artist in the world.
The Heavenly Demon Cult of that era had another giant who was no less than Mok Yeong-cheong: his junior martial brother, Cheok Eun-gwang.
The details were hazy due to how long ago it was, but a great internal conflict had erupted within the Heavenly Demon Cult, leaving it virtually annihilated.
And after the Heavenly Demon Cult vanished from history, the Dark Heavenly Cult emerged.
Cheok Eun-gwang had won the internal strife.
That was all I knew of the secret history of the Heavenly Demon Cult.