‘In this case, should I say that I’m lucky? Or should I say I’m unlucky?’ , Zhuge Taeryong thought to himself.
After days of inactivity, Aladdur appeared, so Taeryong asked to meet with him. It was to ask him to trace Ghost Gun who had seemingly disappeared from the trail of the Orthodox’s hounds. There was no plan to meet him beforehand. If there had been such a schedule, Taeryong would not have been the only ones seeking out Aladdur.
Of course, there was no evidence of it yet that the clumsy bastard and hunter in front of Taeryong were the bastards he was searching for. But there was a vague feeling it could be. Even if their face and appearance was different, it could be disguised to this extent.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”, Lee Sungmin said, denying his identity under the disguise.
Lee Sungmin did not want to cause friction with Zhuge Taeryong. Even though he was branded and pursued as a rogue, he didn’t want to step up and inflate the problem. So for now, Lee Sungmin stepped back and pretended not to know.
“Who are you then?”
Zhuge Taeryong softened his attitude a little. He judged the situation as best as he could because he was alone. There were two people before him, if they were indeed the bastards, Zhuge Taeryong’s ability wouldn’t be able to handle either of them on his own. And if they turned violent it would be mayhem.
Especially because Lee Sungmin was known to have killed Ironclad.
[What are you going to do?]
asked Byuk Won-Pae to Lee Sungmin telepathically, looking at Taeryong. Lee Sungmin picked up that Taeryong’s attitude had changed. It looked like their interests were aligned. Taeryong didn’t want to cause friction with the two anyway. At least… for now.
“I’m just a wandering scholar.”, said Lee Sungmin calmly.
“I’m a hunter.”, Byuk Won-Pae added.
Taeryong twitched at the weird answers given as their identities didn’t make sense to be with each other.
“I am Zhuge Taeryong.”, Zhuge Taeryong introduced himself.
“I shall take my leave then”, Lee Sungmin responded as he had found the information he needed.
It would be possible to kill Zhuge Taeryong right here, but that would only lead to his notoriety rising and he would have to follow the act in the future if more martial artists were to come.
[All you have to do is have strength.]
said Heoju.
[All you need is the strength to kill everyone who comes to kill you. In the end it all leads to striking fear into those who oppose you and making your power known. Don’t you have any desire to reign?]
‘Pft.. me?’
Lee Sungmin let out a smile as he couldn’t believe what Heoju had just told him.
[You wouldn’t laugh at anyone that reigns with that kind of power, would you?]
‘Maybe not, and maybe that’s just how other people in my position would think… but, it’s not for me.’
There were too many people in Eria and he had met and heard of many of those people. He had no aspirations to settle or push down others with influence.
[In the end, there is no better person to compare than one’s self.]
Heoju spoke. At the words, Lee Sungmin smiled unconsciously.
‘I know.’
Even though he knew it.
‘It’s good to be able to pursue the path I want and get stronger.’
It felt good that he was improving so much these days. It felt even better knowing he had a path to follow that he had made for himself. Thus, he knew what direction to take and the obstacles to avoid more or less.
Lee Sungmin was happy he had found the location of Qian Zun, The Forest of Elves. He didn’t know where it was but, in any cases like these he could always ask his broker from Erebrisa, Neville.
[Hmm.. The Forest of the Elves? Do you mean the Forest of Beginning?]
As soon as he asked Neville, he got a response.
[The forest of the beginning is further south but, it won’t be easy to get in. Because Elves are viewed as a commodity in the slave industry there’s tight security and restrictions to getting in. Due to that, the place they reside in, The Forest of Beginnings, is one of the safest places in all of Eria.]
Even if Qian Zun was a master in the Transcendental Realm, he was weakened because of the curse he set on Wijihoyeon. As the curse was a double-edged sword for the caster, it would be extremely easy for Lee Sungmin to kill him. The only problem was getting into the forest he was hiding in.
He wanted to go there right away, but he restrained his impulses. He had one more thing to accomplish while being in the South and there was no need to rush it, which was mastering the power of the Yokai bestowed by Heoju, would be a difficult process.
“Who were those two who just came?”
It wasn’t until Lee Sungmin and The Crazy Heavenly Demon had finally left did Taeryong feel comfortable to ask Aladdur about their identities. Aladdur answered him blinking his eyes.
“They’re a hunter and a scholar aren’t they?”
Knowing that his opponent was Zhuge Taeryong, Aladdur did not make any awkward actions. Taeryong then, composed himself, exhaling his stifling breath.
“I’d like to find two people. Ghost Gun and The Crazy Heavenly Demon.”
“Well… I’m afraid sorcery is not that easy. If you want to find a person, you need to have a piece of their clothing or personal belongings like their hair.”
However, Taeryong came prepared. As the Black Dogs had secured a piece of hair from a cave Lee Sungmin and his party stayed at while being homeless, Taeryong handed over the hairs to Aladdur. Aladdur began to conjure his sorcery as he had done in the process of tracking Qian Zun.
“…huh? The ones you are looking for are the guests who just came in…”
Taeryong didn’t need to listen any further. He gathered his belongings and immediately departed from Aladdur’s sorcery place.
—-
Namgung Heewon was a person who kept to himself these days. He was very different from how he was when he had met Lee Sungmin in Shaolin. The reason was because he was solely focused on becoming stronger with his sword, maintaining his title as the ‘Sword Dragon’. Some people had rumored that he was even better than the current head of the Namgung Family in regards to martial arts. Regardless whether those rumors were true or not, it was clear he was incredibly skilled and was the suitable heir to inherit the title of the Head as one of the Four Major Families in the Orthodox Faction, the Namgung.
‘I’ve become a very different person.’, Heewon thought to himself.
Dang Ah-hui stood with her back leaned and looked at Namgoong Heewon. Around Namgung Heewon, there were 15 guards from the Namgung family. It was the same with Dang Ah-hui. Behind Dang Ah-hui stood ten people dressed in black military uniforms as if to escort Dang Ah-hui, exuding a strong but faint presence.
(T/N Dang Ah-Hui was translated as Tang Ahee before)
“Ghost Gun and the Crazy Heavenly Demon.”
Dang Ah-hui giggled a fit of suppressed laughter. Heewon glanced over to her.
“If I remember correctly. I think you introduced me to him seven years ago in Shaolin.”, Dang Ah-hui said in between her giggles.
“Maybe.”
Heewon’s response was lukewarm. Dang Ah-hui kept talking because she wanted to provoke a reaction out of Namgoong Heewon, who showed little emotion.
“How times have changed. He was a man you introduced to me as your brother and now he’s the rogue we have to hunt. How do you feel?”
“Why the fuck do you care?”
Namgoong Heewon’s mouth opened as he cursed at her. Dang Ah-hui’s eyes opened wide after being insulted and Heewon continued.
“You used to be a bit of a bitch, but I think it’s even worse today. Are you on your period?”
“…what?”
Dang Ah-hui’s eyes widened in disbelief at the treatment she was receiving from the man who had seemingly shown no emotions over the past year.
“Are you bleeding into your crotch? Don’t pick a quarrel with someone who stays silent. Not unless you want to die.”
At his harsh words, Dang Ah-hui looked as if she had been dumped in a pile of horseshit to rot. The guards behind her didn’t stay still at the insulting words however. They took out their blades and poured a surge of killing intent out at Namgung Heewon. Namgoong Heewon stood tall and received the forceful killing intent face-to-face. His 15 guards were standing behind him ready to act, if need be.
“Stop.”
Zhuge Taeryong raised his hand. He looked at Namgoong Heewon and Dang Ah-hui with an irritated expression.
“Thank you for your cooperation, but if you’re going to fight between each other, we won’t even catch Ghost Gun at this rate.”
“Oh don’t mind me… ehehe! I can’t bear to miss out on catching this good prey.”, said Dang Ah-hui with a shrill laughter.
She then glared at Namgoong Heewon with cold eyes, and then turned her gaze to Zhuge Taeryong.
“Ghost Gun is a rogue that has suddenly become notorious by murdering Ironclad, and The Crazy Heavenly Demon, I can’t even wonder why he was left alone all this time. I can’t bear to leave the honor of killing them alone.”
“You can say that with such a straight face. But the truth is you want to steal the honor and glory for yourself. Don’t you?”, Namgoong Heewon grinned and laughed.
“…that’s the same for you!”, Dang Ah-hui retorted.
“I just want to meet this Ghost Gun after such a long time.” Heewon stated calmly.
“You don’t mean to take the side of the Ghost Gun, do you?”, Dang Ah-hui exclaimed in an irritated voice.
“If we’re talking about our relationship, he’ll have to mend his ways as a brother.”, replied Namgoong Heewon.
Zhuge Taeryong sighed and gave up stopping the two. Either way, their forces were strong and he was confident they could catch the rogue Lee Sungmin and Crazy Heavenly Demon with it. Especially in the case of Namgung Heewon, since he was even stronger than Taeryong at this point of time, even though he would never admit it.
“Isn’t this too much to catch two people?”
Aladdur grumbled beside Zhuge Taeryong.
“I can’t believe you forced someone like me to give you a hand and guide you!”, cried out Aladdur.
“I’ll give you as much money as you want. So don’t have a seizure and just do what you’re told to do. Also don’t keep up the act pretending you need to eat every five minutes.”, Zhuge Taeryong stated to Aladdur, not caring about the sorcerer’s well-being at all.
“Of course, My Lord.”
Alladdur nodded in a pissed off manner, understandably so because he was essentially forced to do the job under the pretext of good pay. He picked up one of the strands of Lee Sungmin’s hair and lit it. Other sorcery was just so-so, but Aladdur was already in the ranks of elite sorcerers when it came to tracking.
As the smoke in the air dissipated and pointed out in one direction in the distance, The forces of the 3 family heirs moved forwards.