Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Mount Nogun
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Lacking tact doesn't mean ignoring whether you've hurt someone's feelings. It just means you're slow to realize when you have.
In fact, people without much tact are aware of their own shortcomings, so they tend to pay even closer attention to the other person's mood if they sense they've offended them.
Dang Mujin was exactly like that.
People become honest and emotional at night, but come morning, they turn utterly clear-headed.
Recalling the conversation from the previous night, Dang Mujin felt regret.
'She must be pretty upset.'
He had spoken his thoughts too bluntly. Anxious, Dang Mujin kept glancing at Mok Wana's expression.
'I should have softened it a bit, beaten around the bush.'
Of course, Mok Wana wasn't the type to harm him, nor was she capable of it.
Still, wasn't it basic human decency to check on the person beside you, especially when traveling alone together?
As Dang Mujin fidgeted endlessly, Mok Wana grew awkward too.
Dang Mujin and Mok Wana took turns trying to start a conversation, but it never lasted long before trailing off awkwardly.
In that subtle silence that followed, Mok Wana finally spoke up.
"Don't worry too much about what I said yesterday. I'm actually glad you were honest with me."
". . . Really?"
"Besides, I was the one who brought it up first. You just answered."
With her naturally positive disposition, Mok Wana interpreted Dang Mujin's cautious attitude in a favorable light, without twisting it negatively.
The old Dang Mujin would have been relieved that the issue was resolved and worn a satisfied expression.
But after spending time with Dan Seoryeong, Dang Mujin had gained an important realization.
You shouldn't switch back to your usual attitude the moment they say it's fine.
Treat them casually like flipping a pancake, and a heart that seemed mended could unravel again.
"Thanks for thinking that way."
Dang Mujin maintained an attitude about thirty percent kinder and more considerate than usual as he headed deeper into Mount Nogun with Mok Wana.
*
Traversing the precarious cliffside paths high on Mount Nogun was no easy feat. One misstep, and you could plummet down a thousand-zhang precipice.
The paths were crumbling and damaged in many places, too.
Yet wandering the base of the cliffs below was incomparably more grueling.
The soil, heavy with moisture, clung stickily to your feet, and the humidity only thickened. There were no good spots to rest even when your legs ached.
Insects burrowed into your clothes at every turn, and if you paused to catch your breath, wild beasts crept closer.
At least near the entrance of Mount Nogun, you could guess your general location. But once they ventured into the deeper areas untouched by human feet, even gauging position became difficult.
'I need to at least avoid getting turned around.'
Dang Mujin frequently climbed trees to check the sun's position.
On the third day of wandering Mount Nogun, Mok Wana suddenly halted and lifted her head high.
Dang Mujin stopped with her and asked,
"Are your legs hurting?"
"No. I smell something unfamiliar."
Mok Wana sniffed delicately at the air with a serious expression.
"I'm not imagining it. There's a faint, odd scent."
Dang Mujin tried sniffing the surroundings, but sensed nothing.
All he caught was the tiresome wet earth and grass smells he'd grown used to, mingled faintly with animal musk.
"I don't notice anything."
"Don't you smell something strange? Like small rue flowers or mugwort."
"Not at all."
Mok Wana's sense of smell was exceptional, so she wasn't imagining it.
Thus, Dang Mujin checked for any toxic qi entering through his nose.
An unfamiliar scent might connect to the strange poisons they'd encountered on Mount Nogun.
But he detected no toxic qi worth noting.
"No poison."
As Dang Mujin muttered, Mok Wana said,
"Shall we head toward where the smell is coming from?"
"Sure."
They weren't heading to a specific destination anyway. Dang Mujin nodded and walked with Mok Wana.
But before they could take more than a few steps, Mok Wana startled and stopped.
"Poison!"
"I don't sense it. Where?"
"My legs, my feet! I think a venomous insect bit me."
Dang Mujin jumped in alarm and gestured to a nearby rock.
"The rock—sit on that rock!"
The two climbed onto the broad rock.
Dang Mujin immediately lifted the hem of Mok Wana's skirt just enough to expose her calf, while Mok Wana removed her shoes and shook them out.
Sure enough, a small, unfamiliar insect was inside Mok Wana's shoe, and another clung to her ankle. About the size of a grain of rice, with what looked like tiny wings at a glance.
"What kind of bug is this?"
"No idea. First time seeing it."
"Well, how many bugs do we even know by name. . . . How's the bite?"
"It's an unfamiliar poison, but nothing serious at this level."
Only after finishing did Mok Wana belatedly feel embarrassed. Dang Mujin turned away awkwardly too.
Women don't bare their feet to strangers.
For Dang Mujin, seeing another woman's feet was a first since childhood and Dan Seoryeong.
Perhaps because of that, Mok Wana's feet stuck vividly in his memory. Her face was fair, but her instep and ankles were even whiter, pale blue veins faintly visible beneath.
Ahem, ahem. Dang Mujin cleared his throat unnecessarily a couple times, then rolled up his own trouser leg.
Sure enough, an identical insect clung to his calf.
Dang Mujin started to pluck it off but paused.
Mok Wana, who had slipped her shoes back on, asked,
"What's wrong? Want me to get it off for you?"
"No. I need to feel what kind of poison it is."
Dang Mujin gently prodded the insect. It scurried at first, but eventually bit into his calf.
He felt a minute trace of toxic qi seeping in through his leg. Indeed, a type of poison he'd never encountered.
With his strong resistance to poisons, Dang Mujin couldn't discern exactly how such a tiny amount worked.
But he could tell it was remarkably potent for a small venomous insect's toxin. An ordinary person would likely fall deathly ill from this much.
Dang Mujin felt a twinge of regret about the situation.
'If there'd been more poison, I could have made good use of it.'
He flicked the insect away casually and said,
"People must have come through here and gotten bitten by these bugs."
"Looks like it."
"Should we head back to the village and tell them to avoid this area?"
"Hmm. . . ."
Mok Wana seemed unsatisfied, hemming and hawing. Dang Mujin agreed it wasn't enough.
No guarantee the insects were only here, and no ready solution for the poison.
Moreover, encountering a new poison after so long—it felt wasteful to just abandon it.
Seeming to guess Dang Mujin's thoughts, Mok Wana said,
"It was a poison we'd never experienced before, right?"
"Yeah."
"Since we're already here, let's go a bit deeper. There might be some connection between this scent and the poison."
"You think?"
The two rose immediately and pressed on.
*
At first, only a couple insects latched on, but as they advanced, the venomous bugs swarmed in greater numbers.
Dang Mujin and Mok Wana, with their strong poison resistance, could brush them off casually, but an ordinary person would have been overwhelmed and died from the poisoning.
In hindsight, leaving their friends in Chengdu had been a wise call.
After trudging on for a good while, the insects suddenly vanished as if by magic.
Instead, a thick fragrance wafted in, strong enough for Dang Mujin to detect. A bitter yet refreshing scent, subtly different from any he'd smelled before.
"Is this the smell you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah."
A bit farther on, a vast meadow appeared amid the trees. Its expanse was hard to gauge at a glance, densely covered in an unfamiliar grass.
This was somewhat unusual. In untouched forests, plants typically grew jumbled together.
True, some like pines or walnuts could stifle nearby vegetation.
In pine-heavy woods, you might only see azaleas or mountain berries besides the pines.
But this meadow had no weeds at all. Pure stands of a single plant were exceedingly rare. To Dang Mujin's knowledge, nonexistent.
"Looks like someone farmed this in the woods."
"You couldn't even farm like this. No weeds anywhere?"
While Dang Mujin pondered, Mok Wana squatted and plucked leaves and stems, popping them into her mouth.
Dang Mujin squatted beside her, watching Mok Wana chew the grass like a calf.
"How is it?"
After some thought, Mok Wana answered,
"Not sure if it's poisonous. But it has a strange taste."
Dang Mujin tried some himself, but detected nothing special. Just a bitter aftertaste lingered.
As he stood to turn back, Dang Mujin spotted a man standing still about five paces away. He hadn't been there moments ago when they'd squatted.
The man had a striking appearance.
Dang Mujin had traveled the Central Plains extensively, but never seen anyone like him from any region.
Not tall, but built solid like granite, with coarse features larger than average and dark skin.
Not tanned like Dan Seoryeong from sun exposure—just innately different coloration.
'A dark-skinned foreigner?'
Western merchants came in all varieties: pale faces with blond hair, blue eyes with red hair.
Occasionally, some had unusually dark skin, similar to this man's—like the merchants from Tianzhu.
But he differed somehow from those Tianzhu folk. Hard to pinpoint, but the features were off.
More concerning than appearance, though, was the man's skill.
Dang Mujin hadn't sensed him approaching within five paces.
'At least my equal.'
As Dang Mujin moved Mok Wana behind him and reached for his waist, the mysterious man drew his sword and charged.
Clang—
Dang Mujin instantly unsheathed and parried.
Unbeknownst to him, the move wasn't from his master—it was picked up naturally sparring Ma Church warriors in the Dang family head's backyard.
The first strike was solidly blocked, but the man, as if expecting it, unleashed a barrage at Dang Mujin.
A horizontal slash was deflected by angling the blade; a vertical chop dodged with Shadowless Step.
'Not from the Central Plains. Certain now.'
Beyond looks, the man's swordplay confirmed he hailed from afar.
Its subtlety fell short of Central Plains styles, but every technique was ferociously wild and savage—far beyond tiger- or wolf-named arts.
Yet it had consistency. A unique, systematic martial art, without doubt.
Dang Mujin bided his time, then shoved back fiercely with an inner force-laden strike and shouted,
"Who are you, swinging a sword out of nowhere?"
The man rolled his eyes but didn't speak.
Dang Mujin understood. Many Western merchants were like that—poor with Central Plains tongue.
The man hesitated briefly, then lowered into stance again.
Was he clueless about the words, deeming talk unnecessary, or intent on subduing first? Unclear.
Dang Mujin's left hand slipped into his bosom. Pure swordplay put him at a slight disadvantage, but poisons would tilt things favorably.
Just as they clashed again, another voice rang out.
"Stop!"
A woman's voice.
But Dang Mujin wasn't swayed by mere words. With sword in hand, only self and foe mattered.
Ignoring it, Dang Mujin aimed at the man again. But the man unhesitatingly sheathed his sword.
Sheathing before an enemy? Baffling enough, but what followed was worse.
He bowed politely toward the voice's owner, utterly disregarding the sword-wielding Dang Mujin.
'What does he take me for?'
Dang Mujin considered slashing the man's exposed neck but relented and withdrew his blade.
Anything else aside, he didn't want to show that side in front of Mok Wana.
Dang Mujin turned to the voice's source.
Mid-twenties perhaps. Large eyes and bold features like the man, though her skin was nearly as dark.
Her attire was odd too. Far from cold—humid and somewhat warm—yet she wore long robes layered twice over. Apparently sensitive to chill.
She eyed Dang Mujin and Mok Wana with some surprise.
But quickly regained composure and declared haughtily,
"Who are you lot, to pierce through the blood exhaustion insects and reach this place?"
The question demanded an answer, but a snag arose.
". . .What did she say?"
Her pronunciation was so clumsy that Dang Mujin and Mok Wana couldn't quite catch her words.