Chapter 197
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Speak Quickly
"Wh-where is this?"
Early dawn.
Dan Mok Un-roe, who had quietly left home with the Thunderclap Beggar who had come calling, stared at the rundown shrine before his eyes.
It was a shrine on the outskirts of Muchang that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
This place was the Dan Mok clan's secret vault?
A place used as a home by countless beggars?
"Heh heh. Surprised, are you?"
The Thunderclap Beggar, who had recovered from most of the injuries sustained in his battle with Gwang Hoe-cheon, chuckled as he asked.
"Y-yes."
Dan Mok Un-roe answered with a dazed expression on his face.
He had no choice but to be.
This was a place he had passed by several times himself.
For this to be his family's secret vault...
"It wasn't originally a shrine to Lord Guan."
"Pardon?"
"It was some nameless shrine. I turned it into a Guan Yu shrine. Beggars and vagrants had used it as a temporary shelter even before that."
After it became a Guan Yu shrine, it had turned into a base for the Beggars' Sect mendicants.
Muchang had an unusually high number of Beggars' Sect beggars because of the Thunderclap Beggar.
Dan Mok Un-roe had only learned that fact from the Thunderclap Beggar this very dawn.
He had simply thought of them as elderly beggars lingering near his home.
"I heard the location of this place from your grandfather and turned it into a shrine. Well, all I did was bring in a statue of Guan Yu."
There had apparently been an altar since it was originally a shrine.
"But I don't know how to get into the secret vault either. Now it's up to you. Go on in."
At the Thunderclap Beggar's urging, Dan Mok Un-roe quietly stepped into the shrine.
There was no one inside.
The beggars had cleared out at the Thunderclap Beggar's command. Of course, they were scattered around the perimeter, keeping watch for any approaching intruders.
Dan Mok Un-roe looked around.
Everything was broken and shattered.
Junk littered the floor everywhere.
Food scraps were scattered here and there as well.
Thanks to that, he had already spotted several rats since entering.
Just as his mother had told him, he carefully examined the place.
The altar.
The original altar that had been there from the start.
An altar for some unknown entity.
He looked beneath it.
There were numerous circular grooves carved into it.
Some were so worn down that only faint traces remained.
Dan Mok Un-roe removed the bracelet from his wrist.
He tried fitting it into each of the many circles one by one.
None of them matched perfectly.
After trying it in every single one of the countless circles beneath the altar...
Click.
The bracelet fit snugly with a sound.
Rumble...
Something beneath the floor slowly slid to one side.
Thud.
The spot where the bracelet was inserted sank downward sharply.
He stepped onto the narrow staircase that had been revealed.
Click.
As soon as Dan Mok Un-roe's foot touched the step, which had some kind of mechanism, it pressed down slightly.
Pop.
The bracelet came loose and fell out.
He picked up the fallen bracelet and continued downward.
The floor rose back up, and the narrow staircase shifted to seal off the empty space above.
"Th-this is..."
Perfect darkness, without a single ray of light.
And the way back was now blocked.
His mother didn't know what lay beyond this point.
There was nothing to do but follow the path forward.
He groped along the wall and slowly advanced.
How far had he gone like that?
A faint light began to appear.
Thanks to the occasional worn night pearls embedded in the walls.
After walking for a long while, an underground cavern came into view.
A cavern formed where an underground stream flowed, with water running through it and a stone chamber beside it.
The stone chamber's door also had a circular groove.
Now he understood.
What that groove meant.
Dan Mok Un-roe fitted the bracelet again, and the door opened.
Inside the secret vault were twenty manuals, some gold and silver ingots, and a few jewels of unknown nature.
Five bright night pearls and three jewels of unknown purpose were embedded in the ceiling.
And in one corner stood three large jars.
They were filled to the brim with dried rice cakes.
"Th-this is..."
Having examined the not-insubstantial interior of the stone chamber, Dan Mok Un-roe approached the manuals.
The Dan Mok clan's martial arts.
They were right before his eyes.
Though they were old manuals, they were miraculously well-preserved.
Probably thanks to those unknown jewels in the ceiling.
That was his guess.
What martial arts would they be?
Just seeing the books laid out there made his heart race.
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes filled with emotion.
Finally, he too would have his own clan's unique martial arts.
He slowly examined the manuals.
His hands moved quickly.
In less than an hour, he had read all twenty manuals.
It was a swift pace.
And then he stared at them with a grave expression.
"I... I don't understand..."
Confusion spread across his face.
It was only natural.
The only martial art Dan Mok Un-roe had ever learned was the Three Talents Arts.
And even that had been entirely under Instructor Ha Mu-baek's guidance.
This was his first time ever seeing manuals.
Thanks to Yeon Hwa's teachings, he could at least read, but that was it.
No matter how many times he read them, the manuals were filled with content he couldn't comprehend.
In an instant, Dan Mok Un-roe's face crumpled into a pitiful frown.
He had no choice.
His clan's prized techniques were right there before him.
The martial arts manuals were there.
Yet he couldn't learn them...
"I have the martial arts right here... Why can't I learn them...?"
One of the reasons Yeon Hwa had never opened the vault despite its existence was this.
The ever-looming threat of Gwang Hoe-cheon, who was always scheming to raid it.
And even if they opened the vault and saw the manuals, they were mere pictures on a plate to people who didn't even know the basics of any techniques.
Dan Mok Un-roe blankly looked up at the ceiling.
Hope found, only to be dashed by despair moments later.
He had no idea what to do.
How long had he sat there in a daze?
Dan Mok Un-roe steeled his resolve and examined the manuals once more.
"Void Vastness Heart Formula. Eighty-One Forms Galaxy Illusion Sword Method."
Two manuals that stood out, placed more prominently than the others.
He could tell just by looking.
These were probably the strongest martial arts in his clan's arsenal.
The names alone exuded an air of grandeur.
He recalled Baek Ri-pyeong and Joo Woo-myeong displaying their martial arts.
Soon, he too would wield such techniques.
Just imagining it sent thrills down his spine.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't understand a single thing from the manuals.
"Let me look again."
Dan Mok Un-roe reached out for the manuals once more.
The Void Vastness Heart Formula.
Not a single part made sense even after reading it.
But he read it again.
"Again."
Once more.
Still, he couldn't make sense of it.
"Again."
Dan Mok Un-roe read it yet again.
How many times did he do so?
No matter how many times, he couldn't understand, but he kept reading and reading.
A determination to learn it somehow.
Dan Mok Un-roe didn't give up.
How much time had passed like that?
Dan Mok Un-roe had no choice but to stand.
He remembered the Thunderclap Beggar waiting for him outside.
"I've been here too long."
Dan Mok Un-roe tidied up the vault and made his way out.
He retraced the path he had taken slowly inward.
After traversing the darkness and climbing the stairs, he touched the dead end, and sure enough, there was a circular groove.
He fitted the bracelet there and emerged outside.
The Thunderclap Beggar had been guarding the front of the shrine until Dan Mok Un-roe came back out.
It was already late afternoon.
The Thunderclap Beggar had waited this entire long time.
"So, how was it?"
The Thunderclap Beggar asked upon seeing Dan Mok Un-roe trudging out, but soon closed his mouth.
He had seen the dark expression on Dan Mok Un-roe's face.
"What's wrong? Was there nothing there?"
There was no way that was the case. He wouldn't have come out this late otherwise.
Just as expected, Dan Mok Un-roe weakly shook his head.
He looked utterly dejected, like a puppy soaked in the rain.
It was a sight that naturally stirred pity.
For a nineteen-year-old youth to look like that.
"There was. But... no matter how much I read, I couldn't understand it."
Perhaps because he had forcibly held back his emotions upon meeting the Thunderclap Beggar.
A single tear fell from Dan Mok Un-roe's eye.
The Thunderclap Beggar flinched at the sight, then quickly understood the situation and sighed inwardly.
'Of course. Getting the manuals isn't the end. That's just the beginning...'
But this wasn't something the Thunderclap Beggar could resolve.
How could an outsider like him meddle with a clan's prized techniques?
And so, Dan Mok Un-roe trudged back toward the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Training time was already over.
Yet out of habit, he headed to the Fierce Dragon Corps training ground.
The chaos in Muchang had only been somewhat quelled yesterday.
Yet the cadets gathered at the Fierce Dragon Corps Seventh Squad training ground were immersed in their training without respite.
Instructor Ha Mu-baek was sprawled lazily on his designated rock seat, yawning.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong seemed busy scurrying about, but that old man's busyness was none of Ha Mu-baek's concern.
And so, it was time to wrap up today's training.
That was when Dan Mok Un-roe came trudging in.
Bearing a heavy dark aura.
His eyes were red, as if he had shed tears.
No one among the cadets dared step forward to ask what was wrong at that sight.
'What's got him like that? He seemed to be heading near that shrine on the outskirts.'
With his senses able to cover the entire city of Muchang, he had quickly located Dan Mok Un-roe when he was late for morning training.
The shrine where he had met the Thunderclap Beggar before.
He had been near there.
Out of habit, Dan Mok Un-roe picked up his sword and began training.
But there was no strength or precision in his movements.
He was training, yet not focused on it at all.
His mind was completely elsewhere.
Despite that, the cadets couldn't approach due to the intense dark aura emanating from him.
Instructor Ha Mu-baek furrowed his brow.
It was frustrating and irritating.
"Hey!"
In the end, Ha Mu-baek's irritation boiled over.
Dan Mok Un-roe's gaze turned toward him.
Tap tap.
Ha Mu-baek wiggled his finger.
"Come here."
Dan Mok Un-roe, sword dangling limply, trudged over to Ha Mu-baek.
The cadets halted their training and watched quietly.
"What is it? What's the problem?"
"......"
But Dan Mok Un-roe, glancing around at the onlookers, couldn't say a word.
"Speak. Don't make me burst a vein."
Ha Mu-baek snapped in an irritated tone.
He had already erected a qi barrier.
Double-layered, even.
No one else could hear this conversation.
Yet Dan Mok Un-roe still hemmed and hawed.
"It's just us two. No one can hear."
Even then, Dan Mok Un-roe's mouth remained shut tight.
"What is it? Speak quickly. This is the third time I've asked."
Three times.
The last chance Ha Mu-baek would give.
It was no different for the cadets.
In the end, Dan Mok Un-roe opened his mouth.
Stammering.
Hesitating.
Slowly.
"No matter how much I read, I couldn't understand the manual... It's my clan's martial arts, but I can't learn it."
Having heard the whole story, Ha Mu-baek looked at Dan Mok Un-roe with utter disbelief.
"Good grief. Over something so trivial. Bring it here. I'll teach you."
Ha Mu-baek said with a face that screamed it was no big deal.
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes widened round as he stared at him.
He would look at a manual from an entirely different sect and teach it?
Was that even possible?
Though his knowledge of martial arts was limited, Dan Mok Un-roe knew full well it was impossible.
"What? Those eyes? What, you think I can't teach it?"
Ha Mu-baek smirked and asked.
Dan Mok Un-roe flinched.
He couldn't deny that thought had crossed his mind.
Moreover, doubts arose about whether it was right to show his clan's hereditary martial arts to an outsider.
It was a destroyed clan now, but still, it had been a clan.
"Whatever, if you don't want to, forget it. I'm not forcing you. It won't be free anyway."
Soon after, training time ended.
Dan Mok Un-roe returned home.
He went to his waiting mother.
And calmly recounted everything that had happened that day.
But gradually, his eyes reddened again, tears flowing once more.
Yeon Hwa simply listened quietly.
It was something she had already anticipated. Even so, she had sent Dan Mok Un-roe to the vault on the off chance that things might work out.
And it seemed her hopes might come true.
Instructor Ha was willing to help.
Yeon Hwa vividly recalled Ha Mu-baek grabbing Gwang Hoe-cheon by the scruff and leaving this place.
"He's the one who healed Hye without asking for anything in return."
At Yeon Hwa's words, Dan Mok Un-roe bowed his head deeply.
"Even if Instructor Ha demands everything in the vault, it's only right to give it to him."
Dan Mok Un-roe's head drooped even lower.
It was true.
Wasn't he the man who saved the life of her most precious little sister?
For such a person to offer help, yet he had hesitated out of distrust.
How much help had he received from the instructor so far?
His current level would have been a pipe dream without meeting him.
A wave of self-loathing washed over him.
'I've gone mad. Blinded by martial arts, I've lost my mind...'
How had he become such a pathetic mess?
Probably because he had lost himself facing the reality that he couldn't learn the manuals despite having them.
"And for him to offer to teach you the martial arts from your manuals. What greater blessing could there be? Go to the instructor at once, apologize for your rudeness, and beg for his guidance."
"Yes..."
Dan Mok Un-roe headed straight back to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
To the instructors' quarters.
He paced in front of it.
Night had already fallen.
It was still cold.
A night where breath misted in the air.
"What is it?"
Ha Mu-baek appeared.
"Instructor. I'm sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment. Truly, I'm sorry."
Dan Mok Un-roe bowed his head deeply.
Ha Mu-baek stared silently into his eyes.
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes had returned to normal.
"What are you talking about? Sorry for what?"
Ha Mu-baek replied as if it were nothing.
He had regained his true self. That was enough.
"Pl-please help me... Please teach me."
Dan Mok Un-roe dropped to his knees with a thud.