Chapter 280
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: Those Mad Monks?
"We're going too. Get ready."
Ha Mu-baek said, staring off in the direction the Shaolin monks had vanished.
It was a different path from the one Gong Ya Hwi-yeon had taken, at least.
But if one of those monks knew tracking techniques...
No, there definitely was one.
Old Monster Hyeon-gwang, whom Ha Mu-baek knew well, was thorough about such things.
At Ha Mu-baek's command, everyone hurried into action.
Only Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1 lagged behind.
They clearly weren't thrilled about moving out with Fierce Dragon Corps Squad 7 and twenty squads from the Wa Dragon Corps.
"If you fall behind, we'll leave you."
Ha Mu-baek's chilling voice reached the ears of Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1.
And so they set off.
Racing toward Wuchang without pause.
By evening that day,
they arrived.
The disciples returned to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Ha Mu-baek, meanwhile, headed straight out of Wuchang.
Because of the person he'd sensed with his qi perception on the way to Wuchang.
'Gasp!'
Hae Pyeong-so jolted in surprise.
Ha Mu-baek had appeared right where he was hiding, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
'Even if you just get near him, he'll find you on his own.'
Those had been Strategist Moon In Baek-song's words.
Hae Pyeong-so hadn't believed it was possible, even hearing it from the strategist.
But it was true.
He'd been debating whether to enter Wuchang, since Ha Mu-baek was due back today.
His instincts had told him Wuchang wasn't dangerous.
"Sent by the Sa Hwi Alliance Leader?"
"Yes."
Hae Pyeong-so forced a calm reply to Ha Mu-baek's impassive question.
Ha Mu-baek extended his hand.
Hae Pyeong-so stared at it for a moment before realizing what it meant. He quickly pulled a letter from his bosom and handed it over.
He didn't know the contents.
Ha Mu-baek tore open the sealed envelope and scanned the text.
'As expected.'
Just as he'd thought.
The Sa Hwi Alliance Leader's granddaughter had gone missing after running away from home, and he was asking for help finding her.
She was wearing a device called the Myriad Faces Divine Mask, which allowed her to change her face at will.
'I figured she'd altered her face with some tool.'
She'd run off with three treasures.
The letter made no mention of the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm.
With her face perfectly changed, she'd have to be tracked by qi sense alone.
Their movements were restricted in righteous faction territory, so he was asking for help.
Only someone like Gong Ya Jang-cheon or Moon In Baek-song, who knew Ha Mu-baek's abilities, would think of that.
'Must be Moon In Baek-song.'
But they didn't seem to know she had the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm.
If they did, even Ha Mu-baek would have been out of options.
Someone whose inner energy was perfectly sealed couldn't be sensed, not even by him.
However...
'Thanks to seeing it happen once, I can find her now.'
Ha Mu-baek had grasped the knack of sensing Gong Ya Hwi-yeon's qi while watching her put on the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm firsthand.
"The alliance leader and strategist said just to let them know yes or no."
The messenger didn't seem to know the letter's contents either.
He probably had his suspicions.
Someone clever enough to hide like this while searching Wuchang for Shaolin...
Ha Mu-baek had met her before sending the messenger.
He had no choice but to help.
Especially now that Shaolin was involved.
It was a hassle, but ignoring it now might bring even bigger headaches.
"Yes."
The letter burst into the flames of the Samadhi True Fire, crumbling to ash and scattering.
Ha Mu-baek turned and vanished.
Hae Pyeong-so bolted after him.
Toward the hiding spot where Jeon Seo-eung waited.
He had to relay Ha Mu-baek's approval as quickly as possible.
Ha Mu-baek unleashed his Lightness Skill to the extreme.
Having accepted Gong Ya Jang-cheon's official request,
he had to return that troublesome girl safely to the Sa Hwi Alliance.
'What was that about the Summer Combat Festival.'
Back then, there was no pretext.
Even Ha Mu-baek couldn't force a free martial artist to do anything against their will.
Now was different.
He was moving at the Sa Hwi Alliance's official request.
'What am I going to tell the Pavilion Lord...'
He'd end up skipping Fierce Dragon Corps training again, unintentionally.
All he could do was trust Han Seol-bing had returned to the pavilion.
He had to wrap this up fast and get back.
Ha Mu-baek raced toward Mount Mokran at full speed.
At that moment,
Jeon Seo-eung flew toward the Sa Hwi Alliance at full speed.
"Chase Hwi-yeon, huh..."
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul tapped his desk.
He'd just received the report from Fierce Dragon Corps Squad 7 upon their return.
Ha Mu-baek had left immediately, so they hadn't seen him.
Still,
there was something off about that disciple named Chase Hwi-yeon.
Yeon Jin had pegged her as unorthodox, hadn't he?
And he wouldn't be wrong about that.
"Hoo."
As Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul let out a deep sigh,
two disciples from Fierce Dragon Corps Squad 9 arrived at the pavilion lord's office.
People he'd summoned.
Cho Mu-ha and Jin Yeon-sim.
Disciples especially close to Chase Hwi-yeon.
"Um, is this about Hwi-yeon?"
Jin Yeon-sim asked hesitantly, speaking first.
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul nodded.
The day before,
when they'd encountered the Shaolin monks,
she'd seen them grilling the ones hit by arrows.
Their intensity had been terrifying.
The others might not have noticed,
but Jin Yeon-sim had been scared.
So she'd worried about her friend.
She was the only one who'd used a bow in the Summer Combat Festival.
"During your time with Disciple Chase Hwi-yeon, was there anything unusual?"
The interview with Squad 7's instructor was already done.
He knew nothing.
He should've asked Ha Mu-baek, but he'd vanished again.
"Nothing. Except she struggled to keep up with training."
"What?"
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul did a double take at Jin Yeon-sim's unexpected words.
Yeon Jin had marked her as unorthodox and tracked her, yet she couldn't keep up with Fierce Dragon Corps training?
"Hwi-yeon never developed any inner energy, no matter how much she trained."
Cho Mu-ha answered cautiously.
News to him.
And yet she'd won the Summer Combat Festival.
That an inner energy-less girl had shot arrows Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps disciples couldn't block?
Impossible.
'She'd sealed her own inner energy somehow.'
That explained it.
If she really was unorthodox, Ha Mu-baek would've spotted her the moment she entered the pavilion.
But the seal fooled even him.
'Is that why the messenger came?'
The pieces were falling into place.
But who the hell was she?
For a messenger to come all the way to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
One person came to mind.
He'd thought of her the instant he heard "Hwi-yeon."
Ink Lotus Flower Gong Ya Hwi-yeon.
One of the Five Flowers of the Martial World, granddaughter of Sa Hwi Alliance Leader Gong Ya Jang-cheon.
Same name.
But he'd dismissed it immediately.
The instructor said she was so ugly she'd stick in your memory after one glance.
Couldn't be one of the Five Flowers.
'If she's sealing her inner energy, what if she can change her face too?'
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul was closing in on the truth.
But that was it.
Even knowing wouldn't let him do anything.
It just gave him a bigger headache.
All he could do was hope Ha Mu-baek handled it well.
"This way, it seems, Martial Uncle."
Yeon Jin nodded at his second-generation disciple's words.
Hang O, who had mastered tracking techniques.
A monk using tracking arts.
Only possible in Shaolin.
Subduing Demons and Eradicating Evil, Breaking Falsehood to Reveal Truth.
Eliminate demons, annihilate evil.
Shatter wickedness to let righteousness shine.
The Buddha's teachings, the path forward.
The way to achieve the Buddha's great compassion.
That was Shaolin's path.
For subduing demons and eradicating evil.
To destroy the wicked.
Shaolin's martial monks learned all sorts of auxiliary skills.
Hang O, a second-generation disciple, had mastered tracking.
"Lead the way, Hang O. We pursue."
Their pace slowed markedly.
They had to find traces.
Gong Ya Hwi-yeon had moved carefully too.
But she couldn't avoid leaving traces.
Her inner energy was sealed.
Limits to erasing tracks.
Traces of erasure remained.
Even so, Gong Ya Hwi-yeon did her best.
She slipped into places hard to track.
Sticking to busy official roads.
Blending into crowds,
changing her face each time.
Trackers would know her description.
Thus, Gong Ya Hwi-yeon gradually moved away from Wuchang and Mount Mokran, heading east.
North was Henan Province with Mount Song,
so she aimed for Anhui Province.
Jeon Seo-eung arrived swiftly at the Sa Hwi Alliance.
Days after the second messenger departed.
Moon In Baek-song sought out Gong Ya Jang-cheon with the letter.
His face was grave.
"Ha Mu-baek agreed to help."
Good news, yet tension laced Moon In Baek-song's voice.
"What's the use? With the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm, even that monster can't sense her qi. And her unorthodox inner energy is sealed."
Gong Ya Jang-cheon stated the obvious.
That's why he'd sent the second messenger, revealing the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm.
"A problem has arisen."
"Shaolin?"
He already knew they'd headed for Wuchang.
Shaolin's movements were a big deal for all unorthodox sects, so Haomen had reported quickly.
"They've left Wuchang, heading somewhere else."
"So?"
"Shaolin sent people to Wuchang for one reason: information on our messenger."
True enough.
"But they left without finding Hae Pyeong-so."
Gong Ya Jang-cheon's eyebrow twitched.
"The direction they're heading... toward Mount Mokran."
"Anything there?"
"Where the Dragon Training Pavilion holds its Summer Combat Festival."
Hae Pyeong-so didn't know, but
the Sa Hwi Alliance had the intel.
"Why would those monks suddenly..."
Leaving their target messenger aside to head elsewhere.
"They have one justification for such sudden action: Subduing Demons and Eradicating Evil, Breaking Falsehood to Reveal Truth. Meaning they've detected movements from other unorthodox sects, Demonic Cult, or Blood Cult."
Moon In Baek-song said gravely.
The Sa Hwi Alliance's eyes and ears spanned the world, like the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
No unusual activity from Demonic Cult or Blood Cult reached them.
Unorthodox movements were under their palm.
"So Shaolin leaving Wuchang suddenly shouldn't happen."
"Exactly."
"Unless they've found unorthodox activity even we don't know about..."
Somber expression.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon's face flashed with dread.
"The unorthodox martial artist the Sa Hwi Alliance is overlooking right now... is Miss Hwi-yeon."
Thud!
A shock like his heart dropping hit Gong Ya Jang-cheon.
From Shaolin's change in movement alone, Moon In Baek-song had reasoned this far.
"N-No way..."
"It fits perfectly. Anyone can join the Fierce Dragon Corps."
"Th-That... meat shield...?"
Moon In Baek-song nodded.
"Even with the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm sealing her inner energy."
"What 'miss'? Call her normally! Drop the honorifics and hurry!"
Every time Moon In Baek-song called Gong Ya Hwi-yeon "miss," it broke the flow and frayed Gong Ya Jang-cheon's nerves.
"Plus the Myriad Faces Divine Mask to change her face. Wuchang's not a place we can move freely. Perfect for Hwi-yeon."
"Then why the hell did that kid go there? To a place raising meat shields."
Gong Ya Jang-cheon said in frustration.
Moon In Baek-song looked like he had a guess.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon noticed.
"You know, don't you?"
After steadying his breath, Moon In Baek-song continued.
"Strongest in the World. That thing in her room."
Gong Ya Jang-cheon nodded.
Fitting ambition for his unorthodox sect leader granddaughter.
"To that kid, the strongest person in the current world is..."
"Ha Mu-baek."
Short reply.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon himself had told his granddaughter that.
"And one of the Fierce Dragon Corps instructors is..."
"...Ha Mu-baek."
He got it.
Why she'd run away to the Fierce Dragon Corps.
To meet the world's number one in person.
The pinnacle martial artist.
"Ha Mu-baek showing no reaction means the Seven-Colored Soul Sealing Charm fooled him perfectly too."
"B-But how do those damn monks know and track her!!"
Even Moon In Baek-song couldn't guess that part.
He just shook his head.
Lack of information.
Humiliating for the Sa Hwi Alliance's strategist to be stumped by missing intel.
'Even with Righteous Heaven Alliance pressure, I need to overhaul the Black Fog Corps.'
Information was key to reading the world's balance.
If he'd known the Summer Combat Festival winner was a Fierce Dragon Corps female disciple who used a bow, his reasoning wouldn't have stalled.
It was news that hadn't reached the Sa Hwi Alliance yet.
Gong Ya Jang-cheon's face paled.
Of course.
His granddaughter chased by those crazy Shaolin monks?
"Wh-Which bastard came out?"
"Yeon Jin."
Worse news.
A strong one among the first-generation disciples.
"I-I have to go now. Prepare!"
But Moon In Baek-song shook his head.
"You know that's impossible."
"Then wh-what? Just leave her like that?"
Gong Ya Jang-cheon lost his composure.
No trace of his usual logical, intellectual self.
"H-Hurry! Find a way! Baek-song! My friend! You're the Sa Hwi Alliance's strategist and advisor! Please... hurry!"
Pity crossed Moon In Baek-song's face.
His lord crumbling like this in an instant.
First time seeing it.
How much he cherished his granddaughter.
"Calm down, Alliance Leader. Even in the worst case, if those Shaolin bastards catch her, they won't harm her."
"Those mad monks?"
"Hwi-yeon's smart. I taught her. If caught, she'll reveal her identity. Your granddaughter—that's a shield even the righteous factions can't ignore."
True.
Kill an unorthodox leader's granddaughter just for entering righteous territory?
It'd spark a righteous-unorthodox war.
Even Shaolin wouldn't go that far against unorthodox.
Abbot Hyeon-gwang was a thinking old monster.
Only then did Gong Ya Jang-cheon slowly regain himself.
Even worst case, her life was safe.
"I'll bring her back safely, somehow."
To Moon In Baek-song, Gong Ya Hwi-yeon was like a disciple, a granddaughter.
He had to prevent the worst and get her home unharmed.