Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Returning Home (2)
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“I will check first.”
Ouyang Jue whistled softly, looking at the arrived carriages.
Three carriages in total, each drawn by two horses. Considering the goods being transported, it seemed the Golden Ring Merchant Guild had invested a bit excessively.
But if they tried to be too practical and attracted riffraff, it could turn into a major problem.
Ouyang Jue could glimpse the kind of dilemma Bai Chuan must have faced in these three carriages.
Pushing aside the straw covering the goods, he saw things like barley and dried fruit stems.
‘Better than expected.’
This too must be a decoy to hide the real items, and goods to appease the bandits swarming in the spring.
Ouyang Jue chuckled and tossed a fruit stem to a mountain animal that had gathered nearby.
Chitter!
After digging down about half a palm's length further, his hand grasped a sword.
“There we go!”
Ouyang Jue lifted the sword with a gentle smile.
The juice from fruits that had burst during the hundreds of miles of transport stained his hand. But with a blade that shone sharp enough to cut through anything, such a small thing was of no concern.
Just then, Gwak Un-pae, who had been watching from behind, asked abruptly.
“Jue, what is that?”
“It's a sword I acquired while wandering the martial world.”
“A sword?”
For a moment, curiosity flickered across Gwak Un-pae's face, and then he quickly descended the stairs and approached Ouyang Jue.
Ouyang Jue was slightly surprised that he could use lightness techniques with that build and took a step back.
‘Come to think of it, Martial Uncle Gwak has always had a desire for fine swords.’
That was why he had so easily believed that Ha Jin-ak coveted the Severing Manifestation. Ouyang Jue grinned at Gwak Un-pae's materialism.
“Have a closer look.”
As Ouyang Jue handed him the sword, Gwak Un-pae shuddered at the sticky feeling on his palm.
But he soon examined the blade closely with a serious expression.
“This… is no ordinary sword!”
Gwak Un-pae asked the stablehands and merchants to excuse him for a moment, then cleared a circle five paces wide.
Presently, a powerful light emanated from Gwak Un-pae's grasp.
*Shhh-clang!*
A blue sword energy overlaid the flowing wind, and a tremendous roar violently battered the surroundings.
The single test strike Gwak Un-pae unleashed carried a wave-cleaving power capable of tearing through a distance of ten paces, enough to make even Ouyang Jue, who was prepared for the impact, momentarily grimace.
And what about the power emanating from the space between his hand and the blade, a distance of less than two inches?
It even contained the profound principle of a suppressing sword, weighing down the opponent.
A single swing.
Though it was just one man swinging a sword through the air, the heated energy did not cool easily, floating lightly on the wind.
“...Hoo.”
After a short exhale, Gwak Un-pae lowered the sword's tip and assumed a ready stance.
At the end of his breath, a fresh smile formed on his lips.
“It handles well. It's a fine sword.”
As he said this, Gwak Un-pae glanced regretfully at the Severing Manifestation tied to Ouyang Jue's waist.
“But you already have the Severing Manifestation, don't you? Are you planning to use dual swords?”
“Of course not. The Mount Hua Sect has no martial arts that use dual swords.”
Though I could if I had to.
Ouyang Jue swallowed the rest of his thought and chuckled.
“Could it be that you want it, Martial Uncle?”
“...Uh, huh? No, no. I'm fine.”
At his words, those watching the two of them burst out laughing.
He had tried to shake his head in a show of modesty, but it ended up looking like he was nodding midway through.
As Gwak Un-pae's face turned red as a ripe persimmon, Ouyang Jue spread his hands.
“You can have it.”
Gwak Un-pae asked back in surprise.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. I brought it with the intention of giving it to someone.”
Ouyang Jue glanced at the sword at Ha Jin-ak's side.
“I originally intended to give it to Senior-most Brother... but it seems the sword he's used to suits him better.”
At those words, Ha Jin-ak gave a small nod, easing Gwak Un-pae's burden.
“I must use a sword that fits my martial arts, so I have no choice.”
“He says so, so what about you, Martial Uncle?”
Ha Jin-ak had said he didn't need it, and now its owner, Ouyang Jue, was gesturing for him to take it.
Gwak Un-pae glanced at Song Muk and Bai Duanxian, gauging their reactions, then smiled happily and said.
“Ahem, hem. If you insist, how can I refuse! I will use it gratefully!”
Though the entire sword was sticky with fruit juice, Gwak Un-pae didn't seem to mind at all, looking it over and touching it here and there with a silly grin.
Watching him, Ouyang Jue let out a hearty laugh.
“I'd be happy if you put it to good use, Martial Uncle.”
He somehow resembled a bear that had found honey; Gwak Un-pae's dignity seemed to diminish with each passing day.
‘Now, the only things left are items I can't handle alone...’
Five inner cores of spirit beasts, and two or three secret manuals written in the script of an ancient kingdom.
The manuals were one thing, but the inner cores were practically useless for Ouyang Jue to take any more of.
No matter how good the inner cores of spirit beasts were, they were inferior to elixirs like the Small Purple Spirit Elixir refined by a physician like Cheong Ho-won.
‘It would be better to hand them over to the clinic to be refined into something the disciples of Mount Hua can easily consume.’
Ouyang Jue pondered how to deal with them and politely requested of the stablehand.
“My apologies for the long commotion. Could you move the carriages to the open ground of Mount Hua?”
At his words, the stablehand bowed deeply.
“Goodness, Great Warrior. There's no need to say that. You are the benefactor who saved the Golden Ring Merchant Guild.”
Benefactor.
Ouyang Jue gave an awkward smile at the stablehand's words.
‘I can never get used to this.’
Was it because he knew that words like 'benefactor' or 'Great Warrior' didn't suit him?
He didn't know.
‘For now, I should just focus on the task at hand.’
Burdening himself with thoughts of the distant future would only darken his expression.
Ouyang Jue began to climb Mount Hua with a relaxed gait.
* * *
Bai Duanxian asked Ouyang Jue with a bewildered expression.
“Did you rob a royal tomb or something?”
“Master, you jest.”
“I'm asking because it seems like something you'd be capable of.”
“...”
At those words, Ouyang Jue could only press his lips together.
After all, it had only been about a year since he had shown his changed self, so his master must still remember his past self.
It wasn't strange for him to think that way.
Besides, he had handled more than a few things on his own without telling anyone.
But at least he hadn't committed an atrocity like robbing a royal tomb, so Ouyang Jue spoke up.
“Rob a royal tomb? I merely climbed a mountain.”
“A mountain... Then did you grave rob?”
“Um...”
Somehow, after the incident with the explosives, the way people looked at him seemed to have changed to 'a disciple who would do anything necessary'.
But that wasn't exactly wrong, either.
When he thought about it, it could be considered grave robbing, so it was difficult to answer easily.
Because it was basically the same as killing the Black Dragon and plundering his cave.
When Ouyang Jue didn't answer readily, Bai Duanxian let out a deep sigh as if deflated.
“Good heavens... To think a grave robber would emerge from the history of Mount Hua.”
“It wasn't grave robbing. I received permission from the owner.”
Even if it was permission received *after* taking the items, it was still permission.
At Ouyang Jue's half-truth, Bai Duanxian smiled in relief.
“That's a relief. For a moment there, I thought 'grave robbing' would be etched into the lineage of Mount Hua.”
Ouyang Jue hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, Sect Leader, do you know the origin of this manual?”
Bai Duanxian seemed to know something about the manual that Ouyang Jue did not.
“Hoo, that's precisely the problem.”
“...?”
As Ouyang Jue tilted his head in confusion, Bai Duanxian focused his will and created a sound-blocking barrier with his true energy.
“Do you know of the legacy clan called the Peerless Order?”
“...!”
At those words, Ouyang Jue's eyes flew wide open.
“Aren't they one of the Two Gates that distinguished themselves in the war against the old Demonic Cult!”
Who were the Peerless Order?
Along with the Sun Gate, they stood at the forefront of the war against the old Demonic Cult, a legacy clan that had been watched with caution ever since.
While the Martial Alliance and the Hundred Thousand Mountains represented the Orthodox and Demonic factions respectively, the Peerless Order alone stood independent.
Their whereabouts were now unknown, but in his past life, a powerful figure from their ranks had suddenly appeared in Jiangsu and made the entire martial world tremble.
Ouyang Jue couldn't hide his surprise.
“Don't tell me, this manual belongs to the Peerless Order?!”
“...I cannot be certain, but from what I remember seeing long ago... it seems to be a record of their martial arts.”
Bai Duanxian repeatedly emphasized that he wasn't sure.
But a legacy sect, especially one that championed walking the martial world alone, would never have carelessly let its secret manuals fall into other hands.
Ouyang Jue cast an empty gaze into the air.
‘In my past life, the successor of the Peerless Order appeared in Jiangsu, and Mount Mao is in Jiangsu. In that case...’
If I hadn't killed the Black Dragon, does that mean he would have killed the Omniscient One and then appeared as the successor of the Peerless Order?
Then what happened to the Peerless Order?
There was no need to reconsider. Since the Black Dragon appeared so brazenly, the fate of the Peerless Order must have already been sealed.
Bai Duanxian, who had been engrossed in reading the manual, quietly mumbled to himself.
“Indeed, the external arts of the Peerless Order are unrivaled even by Shaolin, and their fist and foot techniques are said to be the essence of the martial world. It wasn't an exaggeration.”
“Are they that exceptional?”
“Yes. In my youth, I only saw it with my own eyes, but reading the manual, I can clearly picture the arduous training they must have undergone.”
Hearing this, Ouyang Jue breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Black Dragon had learned the martial arts of the Peerless Order as he had in the past life's history, it would have been difficult to win, no matter what fortunate encounters he had.
After a slight shiver, Ouyang Jue cautiously asked Bai Duanxian.
“How about absorbing the martial arts of the Peerless Order into the Mount Hua Sect?”
“What are you talking about!”
Bai Duanxian exclaimed with a hint of anger.
“If you find a secret manual, you should think of returning it to its owner, not coveting it for yourself!”
“Sect Leader, there's actually something I haven't told you yet.”
“What is it?”
“When I found it on the mountain, the person who seemed to be the successor of the Peerless Order was already...”
Ouyang Jue lowered his head with a sorrowful expression.
The 'Hundred Selections of Acting' he had learned while living as a rogue in his past life was finally starting to pay off.
“He pleaded with me in a fervent voice. He said he was already done for, and asked me to at least ensure his martial arts could survive in the martial world!”
At those words, Bai Duanxian's mouth fell open with a gasp.
“Did such a thing happen?”
“So I couldn't refuse him on the spot. He also screamed his lungs out, begging me to take the treasures the successor of the Peerless Order had been gathering and use them to contribute to the martial world.”
Ouyang Jue skillfully modulated his voice, lowering and raising it to control the tempo.
Sometimes pitifully.
Sometimes decisively.
In the story, Ouyang Jue had become an uncharacteristically righteous warrior.
Normally, Bai Duanxian would have found it suspicious.
But it didn't matter right now.
Because Bai Duanxian, the listener, was completely engrossed in the story.
“...I confronted an evil man named Black Dragon, who was guarding the cave of the Peerless Order. He was also the very reason the Martial Alliance was wary of Mount Mao.”
Ouyang Jue exquisitely inserted the story of the Black Dragon in between.
So that even if the Martial Alliance were to learn of his actions later, they would be understandable. Ouyang Jue's story continued in chronological order.
The next day.
After wiping away the tear stains in his chambers, Bai Duanxian began to study the secret manual with the other elders.