Chapter 115
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Huh? Big Brother?
“Excuse me, coming through. Sorry about that.”
Dan Mok Un-hye pushed her way forward through the crowd, bit by bit.
She figured that if she could get as close as possible, she might receive some of the dragon's energy.
Of course, there were no people at the entrance where you paid the admission fee to get in.
But warriors were guarding it, so she couldn't go that way. She tried to stick as close as possible to the rope barrier to see the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground, but it wasn't easy for a young, frail girl like Dan Mok Un-hye.
She couldn't make any headway past the burly adult men blocking her path.
The passage where people who had paid admission were walking offered at least a little gap to squeeze through, but even that was no easy task.
“Argh! What the heck is this? So annoying. I'm already pissed off with all these people.”
A rough-looking burly man standing right in front of a gap she was about to slip through twisted his body irritably and swung his arm, shoving Dan Mok Un-hye aside.
“Eek!”
Dan Mok Un-hye was flung back helplessly.
She tumbled under the rope barrier, landing on her butt and sprawling out in the passage.
“Hm?”
That spot was exactly where Beom Il-so and his group were just about to pass.
A girl had suddenly popped out and plopped down in their way.
The warriors guarding the area rushed over in a hurry. They meant to drag Dan Mok Un-hye away.
“Ah, hold on a second.”
Beom Il-so raised his hand to stop the warriors.
Then he carefully examined Dan Mok Un-hye.
Her clothes were shabby and worn, her appearance utterly unremarkable.
At least her face was clean, and she had a bit of plumpness to her cheeks.
But judging by her still skinny limbs, he could guess her circumstances.
They'd already had to push past enough annoying people on the way here, and now this kid was blocking their path.
“What are you?”
Beom Il-so looked down at Dan Mok Un-hye and asked.
His aura was sharply intimidating.
“Uh, th-that's...”
Dan Mok Un-hye flinched in surprise and hesitated to speak.
“Hm.”
Ha Mu-baek sat alone atop a rock in the training ground, legs crossed in half-lotus position with his arms folded.
He raised his right hand and channeled qi into it.
Pure white true qi gathered in his palm.
This time, he raised his left hand and released qi from it.
Dark inky qi.
Two completely different types of true qi formed simultaneously in both hands.
“It actually works?”
Ha Mu-baek muttered in amazement.
He had always handled two types of true qi.
But he'd never been able to use them at the same time before.
Now, after breaking through that wall, it was possible.
The heavy, domineering inky qi.
The firm, swift white qi.
Especially against jiangshi, the white qi exhibited even greater power.
Ha Mu-baek would judge the situation and select the appropriate qi accordingly.
But now, there was no need for that.
He could start with inky qi and add white qi whenever necessary.
Before, he'd have to retract the inky qi first to switch to white.
Fine in a leisurely situation, but in a tense one, that momentary gap could be fatal.
His meridians had grown even wider and sturdier.
His dantian was far more solid.
He extended his qi sense while maintaining his true qi.
It expanded rapidly.
Beyond Wuchang City, further and further.
Yet his dantian felt no strain.
Previously, this much would have caused pain in his dantian.
“I've definitely gotten stronger.”
Ha Mu-baek smiled in satisfaction as he withdrew his true qi.
“The problem is...”
He couldn't precisely gauge just how much stronger he'd become.
Only rough estimates were possible.
And based on those, he figured he could now withstand attacks from four of Mancheon Geumsa Pungroe's strikes.
He needed to fully calibrate his senses and accurately grasp his current limits.
The war was over, but the currents stirring in the martial world felt far from ordinary.
The Pang family head, the Yeon family young lord, the state of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, and the Demonic Cult's involvement in the Myriad Things Alliance's rebellion.
Every one of them grated on Ha Mu-baek's nerves.
And all within less than a year.
“Yeah. Better to be sure. Prepare for any contingencies.”
Ha Mu-baek rose from the rock.
“Nghcha.”
After stretching grandly, he vanished in an instant.
“So, to sum it up: your body is so weak that your mother worries, and you thought coming to the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground to absorb some dragon energy might make you a bit healthier. You have no admission fee, so you tried to get as close as possible to the site, got pushed and fell, and ended up here?”
Beom Il-so summarized Dan Mok Un-hye's halting, frightened explanation.
Dan Mok Un-hye nodded.
“Even so, coming here alone? What about your father?”
At Beom Il-so's question, Dan Mok Un-hye lowered her head slightly.
“He's passed away.”
Her voice was gloomy.
“Ah.”
Beom Il-so let out a short exclamation.
The four companions who had been quietly watching shot Beom Il-so glares.
Making a little kid say something like that.
“Ahem. Sorry.”
Acknowledging his mistake, Beom Il-so apologized quickly.
His gaze shifted to the crowd gathered thickly by the rope barrier along the passage.
Not just Beom Il-so—the eyes of the others were drawn there too.
Precisely to one person.
The burly man who had shoved Dan Mok Un-hye.
Under Beom Il-so's ominous aura, the surrounding people tensed up and stayed silent.
He was wearing the uniform of the Dragon Training Pavilion's Wa Dragon Corps, so they recognized him as a disciple of a prestigious martial sect.
The people of Wuchang were familiar with the uniforms of the Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps.
Thanks to the silence, quite a few people heard Dan Mok Un-hye's small voice.
It was only natural that sharp glares turned toward the burly man from those who heard the full story.
“Th-that's...”
Faced with the crowd's fierce stares, the burly man panicked and tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come.
One of those fierce stares belonged to Beom Il-so.
“Uwaaak!”
The burly man screamed and bolted away.
Beom Il-so frowned at the sight and muttered softly.
“You. I've memorized your face for now.”
“Th-thank you.”
Dan Mok Un-hye bowed deeply to Beom Il-so.
“Hm? For what?”
Beom Il-so asked with a baffled look.
“Th-that uncle...”
Dan Mok Un-hye's gaze followed the fleeing man.
“He didn't even apologize to you. He just got scared and ran off on his own. No reason for you to thank me.”
Zap.
His companions' gazes sharpened toward him again.
“Anyway. You still haven't gotten a proper look at the Ascension Ground, right?”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”
Dan Mok Un-hye answered Beom Il-so's question.
“Then come with us.”
“Huh?”
Dan Mok Un-hye asked in surprise at the unexpected words.
“I already said I was sorry. I was rude to you, so as an apology, I'll take you to the Ascension Ground.”
“B-but...”
Stunned by the offer, Dan Mok Un-hye couldn't respond properly.
She knew how much the admission fee was.
One tael of silver.
An enormous sum.
Her big brother said his monthly stipend was twenty taels of silver. Yet the fee just to glimpse the Fire Dragon's ascension site was one tael.
For Dan Mok Un-hye, it was an unimaginable amount—one she couldn't dream of paying, and even if someone offered out of kindness, she couldn't easily accept it.
“Whoa! As expected of Beom Il-so. What a big heart!”
One of the other cadets from Wa Dragon Corps Squad One clapped Beom Il-so on the shoulder.
Twenty taels could support a family of four comfortably for a month.
One tael was that significant.
It wasn't a huge burden for them, but neither was it something to casually spend on a girl they'd just met.
Dan Mok Un-hye was locked in a fierce internal struggle right now.
Should she lean on this stranger's kindness to see the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground, or refuse an overly generous offer out of human decency?
The temptation of the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground was so strong that, even knowing the right answer, she couldn't choose it.
“What are you hesitating for?”
Beom Il-so shot her a sharp look and said.
He pulled a tael of silver from his pocket and flicked it to the warrior nearby.
“For the kid.”
They had already paid their own fees to enter, so this was just extra for Dan Mok Un-hye.
“Huh? Wha—?!”
“I've paid. Now whether you come in or not is up to you.”
With that, Beom Il-so strode forward.
“Where on earth did this child go?”
Yeo Hwa looked around from in front of their house.
Quite some time had passed since Dan Mok Un-hye left, and she still wasn't back, which worried her.
The sunset was already dyeing the sky.
“She must have gone toward the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground.”
Then a raspy old voice came from beside her.
It was Byeok Ryeok-gae.
“Ah, sir.”
Yeo Hwa bowed politely.
“Why would that child go there?”
“Seems she got lured by the nonsense that sharp innkeeper spread.”
“Oh...”
Yeo Hwa let out a regretful sound at Byeok Ryeok-gae's words. She had heard the rumor in the marketplace too.
One tael of silver to see ruins.
People called it insane.
Of course, their household now had some financial breathing room.
Dan Mok Un-roe sent a monthly stipend, and the old man from the next room over had helped greatly with Un-hye's health.
They could now save up amounts they couldn't have dreamed of before.
But she still couldn't bear to spend that money.
It was money Un-roe had earned through hardship, so unless it was for Un-hye's health, she used only the bare minimum.
She had to return it to Un-roe someday.
“Why would she go to a place like that...”
“Heh heh. She wants to get healthy fast, that's all. Don't worry too much. She's gotten quite sturdy. I'll go check once myself.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Yeo Hwa bowed to Byeok Ryeok-gae once more.
“H-how do I...”
Beom Il-so had already gone inside the Ascension Ground.
Dan Mok Un-hye was left standing there awkwardly with the four cadets.
“Little miss, that's just his way. Come on in and see it. The money's already paid.”
The man who had patted Beom Il-so's shoulder earlier said.
“Still...”
“Try to understand him too. He feels bad about what he said earlier. This is how he's trying to apologize. He's just not great at expressing it.”
In the end, Dan Mok Un-hye walked into the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground with the four of them.
Beom Il-so, who had arrived first at the ruins of the inn's annex, glanced back at the latecomers.
Confirming Dan Mok Un-hye was with them, he gave a slight smile.
“What do you think?”
At his companions' question, Beom Il-so shrugged and nodded toward it.
“See for yourself.”
A few foundation stones and charred pillars that had survived the fire.
And debris from the collapsed roof.
That was it.
Nothing more.
Charging one tael of silver to call this the Fire Dragon Ascension Ground.
Beom Il-so thought the innkeeper was one hell of a businessman.
Dan Mok Un-hye cautiously approached the ruins, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes.
Her earnest wish that the Fire Dragon's energy might dwell in her too.
Beom Il-so silently watched her.
It reminded him of his own childhood—one he barely recalled now, or rather, didn't want to.
Before catching the eye of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
When he was a wandering beggar child.
“Alright, let's see what all the fuss is about!”
Then a vigorous voice rang out from afar.
A familiar voice, one he'd heard around the Dragon Training Pavilion.
A certain person came to mind, so Beom Il-so turned his head.
Sure enough, it was Dang Jin-san.
He was entering noisily with his buddies.
Beom Il-so's gaze locked onto them.
The three who had created his painful memory from the Summer Combat Festival.
And among them, the one who had knocked him out.
“Huh? Big brother?”
Then the surprised voice of the little girl in front of him reached Beom Il-so's ears.