A dense forest of verdant foliage.Three people were passing along a narrow mountain path that had naturally formed from occasional foot traffic. It was Daoist Cheonghwi and the Namgung siblings.
The three were walking diligently, sweating profusely.
The mountain path was poorly maintained, uneven with many slopes, and they had to push through branches and grass that reached out to them. It was an uncomfortable path no matter how you looked at it.
Namgung Seungah burst out in complaint.
“We could have walked on the main road! Did we really have to choose such a difficult path?”
“…Inner… Inner Arts, huff, not using it, gasp, really makes you feel… how lacking… Outer Arts are…”
Namgung Myeong’s wheezing, tired voice indirectly added another comment.
However, Daoist Cheonghwi spoke firmly.
“This is the right way.”
“…So what exactly is right about this?”“Explaining that would not be befitting of a great virtuous expert.”
“Is it possible that the poison hasn’t been fully neutralized yet?”
Daoist Cheonghwi kept his mouth shut in a straight line and walked silently. Namgung Seungah glared at his back sulkily, but had no choice but to continue walking while supporting Namgung Myeong.
If we had just rented a carriage, we would have arrived long ago…
“Hmm.”
But Cheonghwi had his reasons.
He was wary of possible attacks. Since he had declared that he would restore Namgung Myeong’s dantian, those evils would surely reach out their filthy hands once again.
If they took the obvious main road, they’d end up in a chase scene, round two. So he turned onto a mountain path that no one knew about, mixing up the route erratically so they couldn’t be tracked.
That wasn’t all.
After Cheonghwi had negotiated with Namgung Chaegong, he had time to return to the Academy once. The first thing he did upon waking was to run to the girls’ dormitory and knock on the door.
Envers, have you lost your mind in the middle of the night…?
And when Selvier came out after being called, he asked for a ton of scrolls and got various advice.
After receiving a practical, condensed lecture on evasion theory from a capable Red Tower Wizard (who had Niolle, a master of tracking, as a friend), Cheonghwi devised a travel route that neither the Demonic Cult nor anyone else could follow.
That was this current mountain path.
It was a safe path where he had been liberally using Trace-Erasing Scrolls and Decoy Scrolls whenever they had time while passing through. Even if there had been pursuers, they would have fallen off by now.
Cheonghwi looked at the dizzy Namgung Myeong and thought. The reason he was deliberately hiding why he made their travel route so complicated was out of concern for that boy.
If the worst-case scenario that Cheonghwi was worried about, which was still just a hunch, turned out to be reality… Wouldn’t the boy be terribly hurt?
Thud. Cheonghwi stopped walking and announced.
“We shall rest here for a while.”
“Hwaaaaah…!!”
“Nnngghhhh.”
Namgung Myeong collapsed face-first, and Namgung Seungah stretched out with a strange sound.
Envers took out camping equipment. He gathered stones and branches to make a campfire, lit it with an Artifact, and tore a Water Generation Scroll over a tin pot.
Seeing this, the Namgung siblings’ eyes sparkled in unison. How could it not be fascinating, with strange things happening every time he tore a talisman?
Namgung Myeong exclaimed in great admiration.
“If everyone in the world had talents like Daoist Cheonghwi, there would be no strife in the world!”
“Wouldn’t it be the opposite? I think they’d fight terribly.”
“If we could create water out of thin air, wouldn’t there be no more fights between farmers over drawing water, Noonim?”
“Instead, they’d spray water around claiming more land for themselves.”
Contrary to Namgung Myeong, who was considering proper uses, Namgung Seungah believed that conflict would surely arise. Cheonghwi found this interesting and spoke while tearing mushrooms into the pot.
“You two came from the same womb, yet you are so different.”
“That’s because we’re from different wombs. I was adopted.”
“…But you look so alike?”
“We don’t look alike at all, though?!”
Namgung Seungah shouted. Namgung Myeong felt a bit dejected, wondering if she disliked being told they looked alike that much.
But in fact, Namgung Seungah and Namgung Myeong did not look alike.
There was such a difference in their facial structures that at a glance, you could tell they definitely had different mothers, but the big-nosed cracker, Daoist Cheonghwi, couldn’t distinguish Asian faces well. Cheonghwi made an embarrassed expression.
“…Adopted, you say.”
“The Clan Lord took me in, saying I had talent. In terms of bloodline, I have no connection to the Namgung name at all.”
“But Noonim is still my Noonim! And you’re part of our Namgung family!”
“Yes, you’re my little brother too, Myeong. No doubt about it.”
It was nice to see the siblings getting along so well. Cheonghwi threw some dried meat into the pot and boiled it. Generally, if you just throw in various things and heat them, you’ll end up with a stew that’s at least edible.
“Daoist Cheonghwi, I found these mushrooms along the way… Should we try adding them?”
“If they are bright red with spots, are they not poisonous?”
“Daoist Cheonghwi! These leaves have a very nice fragrance! Last time we couldn’t mask the gamey smell and it was hard to eat, so if we add these leaves and boil them together, maybe it’ll be easier to eat the slop!”
“This is a stew.”
With three people who were clueless about cooking gathered, every evening’s cooking turned into something like an alchemy experiment. After all, last time, hadn’t they thrown in a whole spiky fruit and the broth turned sour?
“Then let’s save the mushrooms for next time, and today we’ll add about two of those leaves…”
“I brought ten!”
“If we add a lot, it will surely mask the gamey smell!”
“…Won’t it just taste like grass then?”
Bubble bubble bubble.
Various additional ingredients freshly gathered from the mountains went into the boiling water. Then, the color of the boiling stew started changing strangely! It seemed to have a slight purple tinge…
Cheonghwi sensed that today’s dinner menu was also ruined and quietly put the lid on. Namgung Seungah also sighed and got up, grabbing her sword.
Namgung Myeong watched the two preparing with a question mark over his head. What’s this, did the cooking fail that badly? Are they going to catch a wild rabbit or something?
“Where are you going, Daoist Cheonghwi? Noonim too?”
“As they say, no one well-meaning will arrive and he who arrives is surely ill-intentioned. Unwelcome guests are coming.”
“It’s not ‘arrive’, it’s ‘come’. Daoist Cheonghwi.”
“……”
A bitter expression flashed across Namgung Myeong’s face. To think he alone couldn’t sense their presence. Was the absence of a dantian really so fatal for a martial artist?
Cheonghwi read that expression and quietly patted Namgung Myeong’s head.
“You will get better.”
“…Yes.”
Rustle. Rustle.
Breaking the momentary silence, along with the sound of brushing undergrowth, bearded men with all sorts of weapons emerged!
Shabby attire with no uniformity, clothes roughly patched together with animal skins. They were clearly mountain bandits no matter how you looked at them. There were about six of them.
The bearded man who appeared at the front, with a large blade slung over his shoulder, shouted:
“This is Green Forest’s territory! Who dares to light a fire and play around here!”
“It seems they shall make good training partners.”
“…Huh?”
Seeing these young ones not even scared, the Green Forest bandits hesitated for a moment. When people encountered bandits in a remote mountain slope and remained calm, it was one of two things.
Either they were ignorant of the ways of the world, or they were Masters.
“Young Lady Namgung Seungah, let us leave one for Myeong’s training.”
“…I, I haven’t killed anyone yet, Daoist Cheonghwi.”
“Ah, this… It is because I received assassin training when I was young. I apologize. I should not shed blood in front of children. Let us just subdue them.”
“D-Daoist, you’re saying you received assassin training?!”
It was a retort full of emotion, asking him to unpack that bundle of stories. Cheonghwi broke off a suitable branch, sharpened its end, and held it lightly.
When the mindset changes, the body posture also changes.
The assassination techniques and various skills learned from the household, which he had buried along with painful memories; Cheonghwi finally decided to dig them out and use them.
The use of a tool is determined by the person, so even if it was a technique for the Duke of Redburn’s evil schemes, wouldn’t it be different in Cheonghwi’s hands?
Rapier.
The education from the past flashed through his mind. His brother had been very skilled with the rapier, and had taught Cheonghwi quite a few tricks.
“Keep movements light and flexible, but be firm when thrusting, he said.”
Then there’s a good technique, isn’t there?
Whirl!
The tip of the branch swayed erratically, mesmerizing, and in the gap of consciousness thus created, it thrust in like lightning. Along with Ignition (爆灑結), which was used efficiently.
Whoosh. Swish swish swish swish swish!!
“Keuk!”
“Ugh…! A Master!”
“Damn it, aagh!”
Thrusts flew in all directions, making holes in shoulders, wrists, knees, and other places before being withdrawn. Moving as fast as lightning, two or three afterimages could be seen at once.
“You bastard-!!”
Whoosh!
Seizing a gap in the attack, one of the Green Forest bandits swung his large blade. Then Cheonghwi’s body slid smoothly along the ground without any warning. As if a large invisible hand had moved him.
It was such an unnatural movement that the watching Crazy Wizard stood up abruptly, thinking ‘Fuck me, is there a fucking bug?’
The secret was a combination of the 『Icy Ground』 Scroll that reduced the friction coefficient of the ground and Ignition. The solid center of gravity from lower body training also played a part.
“I-It’s sorcery──!!”
“Well, it does look a bit like sorcery, Daoist Cheonghwi!”
“Guk!”
Cheonghwi and Namgung Seungah successfully dealt with the group of Green Forest bandits, leaving only one. The remaining one trembled and shouted.
“Y-You bastards! This is Green Forest territory…!! Are you not afraid of future troubles?!”
“Young Expert Namgung Myeong, what we are going to practice today is an extension of Gaze Insight, which I call Dance. It is a technique I learned from Luna… I mean, someone called Yue.”
“I’m asking if you’re not afraid of future troubles!!”
“In my opinion, the essence of Dance is not being bound by the number of movements… But I do not have the brains to come up with it myself. I shall teach you a few movements I learned from Luna. You should be able to apply them.”
Cheonghwi demonstrated several inhuman evasive movements using the Green Forest bandit as a target, and only after giving Namgung Myeong some solid practical experience did he let them go.
Later, when the Green Forest bandits returned to their base, they testified like this:
Some crazy bastard of a Demonic Adept used Sword Techniques as vicious as those used by assassins, but his movements were not like a human offspring but similar to an insect, and he used sorcery, and after toying with them for a long time, he let them go.
===============================================================
A few days later, Cheonghwi and the Namgung siblings arrived in front of a city, looking like beggars. This was Jebu Province, said to be near Heavenly Mirror Lake, and it was quite a bustling place.
All sorts of people were coming and going through the province gates. Watching carriages leisurely entering along the main road, the Namgung siblings grumbled.
“…If we hadn’t wandered through mountain paths, we could have made it in a day on the main road.”
“If we had taken a carriage, it might have only taken half a day…”
Jebu Province was also very close to the Namgung Clan’s residence. That’s why Cheonghwi had deliberately twisted their route to arrive late. He thought they would naturally assume they had gone far away.
“Shall we eat first, or wash up first?”
“I want to eat food fit for humans…”
“We need to wash up first, how can we look like this?”
As the siblings’ opinions differed, Namgung Myeong and Namgung Seungah looked at each other intently, preparing for a showdown. Rock-paper-scissors would guide them to what they wanted.
“Rock… Paper… Scissors!”
“Ha!”
“…!!”
A subtle advanced application of Gaze Insight. Predicting the next move from the opponent’s gaze and responding, a cognitive preemptive strike!
“Th-That’s a scam…!!”
“What scams could there possibly be in a match, Noonim.”
Namgung Myeong won by showing rock, and raised his arms in joy of victory.
“Let’s go to an inn, Daoist Cheonghwi! I’ve been to Jebu Province often, so I know a good inn. It’s called Lovely Dining…”
“What kind of dishes do they mainly serve?”
“Carbona– Urk.”
“?”
Namgung Myeong seemed to have bitten his tongue and groaned for a moment, then answered again after a pause.
“I’ve heard their noodles with bamboo leaf liquor are excellent!”
“…I am not sure what it is just from hearing about it.”
“The broth is truly profound, I’m sure you’ll like it too, Daoist Cheonghwi!”
Chatting pleasantly, they reached the province gates, where a gatekeeper blocked their way, thumping the ground with his spear shaft.
“?”
“Beggars aren’t allowed in for the time being.”
“No wait, we’re not beggars, though…?!”
“Or so you say that while looking like that! Anyway, you can’t come in, so get lost!”
Namgung Seungah seemed to flare up. Her expression clearly showed that she wanted to announce to the world right now that she was from the great Namgung Clan, make this rude gatekeeper kneel, go in, and finally take a bath.
Namgung Myeong, on the other hand, looked puzzled.
“Excuse me, Warrior. Didn’t you usually accept beggars too? Has something happened inside? I really want to know!”
“…There have been frequent disappearances inside the city, so there are orders not to let suspicious people in. You might get arrested if you go in unnecessarily, so if you want to beg, it’s better to look elsewhere.”
“Oh my, such a thing…”
“Hmm. Still, we are not suspicious people. I am actually a Daoist who has cultivated the Dao, and if I burn a talisman, I can even show you a fireball…”
As Cheonghwi was trying to pass through the city gate by pretending to be a fake Daoist…
“…What are you doing there, Daoist? While leading the Namgung Clan’s children, at that.”
“…Young Lady Hee Yeonghyeon? What are you doing here?”
“I have my reasons for being here. And don’t call me Young Lady.”
Cheonghwi’s eyes met those of Hee Yeonghyeon, who was disguised in clothing akin to a rural village housewife.