Chapter 538
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 538
Chapter Title: You'll End Up Going There Anyway
"It must be bothering you quite a bit, huh?"
Han Seol-bing asked as she scanned the documents.
They contained information on the situation in Shangnam, Shaanxi Province.
Anyone reading them would know exactly who Ha Mu-baek had gotten this intel for.
"What?"
"Pavilion Lord Pung and Squad Leader Gwan."
Pung Geon and Gwan Ha-kyeong.
The two were currently en route to Shangnam in Shaanxi Province to meet Yoo Gwi-gwang, weren't they?
"Squad Leader Gwan's a Fierce Dragon Corps member. I just checked the lay of the land wherever our corpsmen go."
He replied indifferently and dove back into his meal.
Han Seol-bing let out a chuckle at Ha Mu-baek's demeanor.
It was the kind of attitude that left her no choice.
"So, when are you heading out?"
Han Seol-bing asked as she tidied up the papers.
"Head out where?"
"Where else? Shangnam."
"Why would I go there?"
Ha Mu-baek stuffed more food into his mouth and chewed away.
"Well, it seems like you'll end up going anyway. In that case, I should discuss with the higher-ups what to do in your absence, Corps Leader."
Though Ha Mu-baek insisted he wasn't going, Han Seol-bing spoke as if his trip to Shangnam was a done deal.
"Here. This one. Black Face Room. It's a third-rate black path sect, but their deputy leader's supposedly at the Peak realm."
"Gwan Ha-kyeong's at Peak too, and Corps Leader Pung's just hit Peak himself."
"And this, Plum Fragrance Gate. It's a branch founded by a Huashan Sect disciple."
"So?"
"Black Face Room and Plum Fragrance Gate both seem awfully interested in the Flowing Cloud Martial Hall... I wonder if things will stay quiet there. Especially now that the hall's star pupil, Yoo Gwi-gwang, has returned."
Ha Mu-baek set down his utensils and looked at her.
Not because of her words.
He had simply finished eating.
"Oh? You finished quicker than usual."
"Restaurant's closing soon. Gotta think of the cleanup crew."
Ha Mu-baek answered matter-of-factly.
"Anyway, wouldn't it be better to head out before something blows up?"
"You want me to go? Didn't you hate me stepping away from my post?"
Ha Mu-baek asked incredulously.
Han Seol-bing's gaze returned to the documents he'd handed her.
"True, but seeing this... it looks like trouble's brewing there soon. I'm just worried about our pretty squad leader."
"Why don't you go?"
Han Seol-bing shook her head at his question.
"If I can't handle it, I'd have to send Baek-ah to call for your help, Corps Leader. Better if you go from the start."
"Hmm."
Ha Mu-baek pondered briefly.
"Well, if something comes up, maybe I'll check it out."
He tossed the words out casually as he picked up his dishes and stood.
"You'll end up going there anyway."
Han Seol-bing declared confidently, rising from her seat as well.
Dusk had already settled over the surroundings.
The two who had left Jiangxi Province.
Pung Geon and Gwan Ha-kyeong.
Their journey had been smooth and peaceful.
There was no way two Peak realm martial artists would run into any real trouble.
Gwan Ha-kyeong had donned casual martial robes instead of her uniform and veiled her face with cloth to avoid drawing eyes from the start.
"Shaanxi Province is drawing near."
Gwan Ha-kyeong said from atop her horse as they followed the official road.
"Not far now."
"A month feels too tight. Might have to see Squad Leader Yoo's face and turn right back."
"That'll do."
Pung Geon smiled faintly.
The sight of his long-lost family, reunited and smiling together.
That was all Pung Geon wanted to see, just once.
During their time together in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, he'd witnessed Yoo Gwi-gwang's desperation countless times and cheered his safe return.
Now he yearned to confirm it with his own eyes.
"Wudang Mountain should come into view in a few days. Yungzhong Mountain too."
Gwan Ha-kyeong gazed down the long road ahead.
They were currently traversing Hubei Province diagonally.
In the process, they'd pass by Wudang Mountain, home of the Wudang Sect, and Yungzhong Mountain, stronghold of the Jegal Clan.
Places any orthodox martial artist dreamed of visiting—at least once.
But the two had no time, not even for a quick stop.
"And by the time we reach Shaanxi, no Huashan visit either, right?"
Regret dripped from her voice.
"You said at the start it was just meeting Gwi-gwang."
"Sure, because you and the pavilion lord decided that. I'm following suit."
Now that the road stretched ahead and famous sites lay along the way, the regret only grew.
And how could it not? It was such a long journey.
Passing through renowned landmarks en route would have been ideal.
"Forget Wudang, Jegal, or Huashan. The Fierce Dragon Corps looks greater to me."
Gwan Ha-kyeong found herself nodding unconsciously at Pung Geon's blunt sincerity.
In truth.
The corps leader was the greatest of all.
She hadn't requested assignment to the Fierce Dragon Corps for nothing.
It was all because of him.
"So let's catch one glimpse of Gwi-gwang living happily and hurry back. I've got my own path ahead."
Pung Geon gripped his sword hilt, eyes gleaming.
The path he referred to was the way of the sword.
The horses galloped along the official road.
The Plum Blossom Sword Sage and Wi Su-yeon pushed them at full speed.
When the horses neared exhaustion, they planned to swap them in the nearest city—hence the breakneck pace.
They had to scour every martial hall under heaven.
The task was monumental; they couldn't waste a single moment.
All to shorten the trip from Huashan to Kaifeng.
As night fell.
Just before crossing from Shaanxi Province into Henan Province, they arrived in Shangnam, the last major city in Shaanxi.
The horses were nearly spent, so they planned to rest there overnight and change mounts.
The pair moved toward a suitable inn in central Shangnam.
"Ah, I heard there's a branch called Plum Fragrance Gate here. How about staying there for the night?"
The thought struck Wi Su-yeon suddenly, and she asked the Plum Blossom Sword Sage.
"Plum Fragrance Gate?"
Wi Su-yeon explained at his questioning look.
"Yes. My master mentioned that his martial uncle by the sixth generation had founded a branch called Plum Fragrance Gate in Shangnam."
The Sword Sage dredged up his memories.
Soon, his face darkened.
"Is that the one founded by that rebel disciple?"
"Master called him 'rebel martial uncle,' so probably."
The Sword Sage shook his head.
"Forget it. That guy's a petty wretch. Stay there for one comfortable night, and he'll use it as an excuse to make demands—who knows what."
The Sword Sage recalled the recent war.
He'd requested aid from all branches, but Ban Yun sent only money under various excuses, no usable fighters.
The few he did send were barely past second-rate.
Disgusted by his conduct, the Sword Sage had erased Ban Yun from memory entirely.
That's why the idea hadn't crossed his mind upon arriving in Shangnam.
He'd wiped him out completely.
Ban Yun's name might linger in Huashan's records, but not in the Sword Sage's mind.
His face, ever kind to Wi Su-yeon until now, turned quite fierce.
"Understood."
Wi Su-yeon, her face fully veiled in thick cloth, quickly scanned the surroundings.
For a decent inn.
True to Shangnam's bustling heart, brothels and taverns blazed with lights.
Just past the entertainment district, inns clustered together.
As they headed that way, the Sword Sage halted abruptly.
He eyed intently a man passing before them.
Wi Su-yeon tilted her head.
Eyes glazed, staggering—he resembled a drunk at a glance, but no.
Not a whiff of alcohol.
'Opium?'
That was Wi Su-yeon's first thought for someone passing out sober.
A faint acrid smoke confirmed it.
The man staggered to a stop, sensing the Sword Sage's gaze, and glared fiercely.
"What? Old man? You picking a fight?"
A classic black path ruffian.
"No offense. If it came off that way, my apologies. Carry on."
"Tch, bad luck. *Hack, ptui!*"
He spat phlegm on the road and shuffled toward a brothel.
Its sign read Flower Phoenix House.
As the Sword Sage resumed walking, Wi Su-yeon tried leading to an inn, but her mind wandered.
"Let's head that way."
The Sword Sage pointed south.
Fewer lights than elsewhere.
Southward, brothels and taverns thinned out.
Inns grew scarce too.
A bit farther, a small three-story inn appeared.
It looked rundown.
"Uh, that place..."
Wi Su-yeon panicked.
Too shabby for escorting the Sword Sage.
And its lantern wasn't even lit.
"I sense good energy from there. We'll stay tonight."
Ignoring her, the Sword Sage approached the door.
"Hello? Room for the night available?"
He called loudly enough to be heard inside.
Presence stirred beyond the door, and it opened moments later.
"Sorry. We just took over the inn today—no preparations yet."
A woman bowed as she emerged.
That explained the unlit lantern.
"Ah. I asked knowing it might be rude, but no luck."
The Sword Sage muttered, disappointed.
The woman bowed again, face apologetic.
"Truly sorry, elder."
"I came because I felt good energy from afar, but if the owner says no, nothing to be done. Next time I'm here, I'll stay."
"Really sorry."
She bowed deeply once more.
The pair stabled their horses at the last inn they'd passed and took a room there.
"Why'd you stare at that opium-addled man so?"
Over late dinner in the first-floor dining hall, Wi Su-yeon cautiously asked the Sword Sage.
"He warranted it."
Wi Su-yeon tilted her head.
"If you run into him alone, steer clear—don't get involved."
The Sword Sage added as he sipped his tea.
He had good reason.
'A Peak realm unorthodox warrior in a place without even a proper black path sect...'
The Sword Sage's senses revealed the third-rate ruffian high on opium was actually a Peak realm master.
"Yes."
The advice baffled her, but she'd heed it.
It was from the Sword Sage, after all.
"Um, what was that good energy at the inn?"
Her follow-up.
The second of the Sword Sage's baffling actions since entering Shangnam.
"Hard to put into words. Lately, I sense good energy from people or places. Being near it always brings good fortune."
He explained calmly with a small smile.
Wi Su-yeon briefly wondered if such senses came at supreme martial heights.
Food arrived just then, so they began eating.
Lifting her thick veil slightly to eat was no easy feat.
Removing it entirely would draw stares, and she couldn't leave her sect elder to dine alone in her room.
"Next time, eat comfortably in your room."
The Sword Sage noted her struggle, as if it hadn't occurred to him before.
"Yes."