Episode 206

Kuaak!

I am engaged in a fight to the death with some insane bastard right now.

I pride myself on having lived a good life, but the spirit of the mountain is too harsh.

One day, he suddenly appeared in the vicinity of me and my family, completely destroying our peaceful daily life.

Right… It was an unfair thing right from the start.

This place was ours. It was a place where no one else came.

Of course, I had heard from father, who died of old age, that there were beings like immortals living at the top of the mountain.

I heard that they are people who value life and do not kill indiscriminately, but I never ventured a step in that direction without fear.

I even warned the children several times that they shouldn’t go there.

But two days ago.

The youngest child, who was cute and chubby, went far away to run errands and suffered a tragic accident.

The child clearly said it was an errand, but didn’t return for a long time, hence I worried as I followed the footsteps of the child and what my eyes saw was my baby, dead, lying on the flame…

A mountain spirit consuming flesh?

I, dazed after witnessing the tragedy, was hit on the head by the mountain spirit I didn’t know of, and was almost sent to hell right on the spot.

I had no choice but to run as if my life depended on it.

Did they say that a parent’s grief over the death of a child is buried deep in the heart?

It felt bad to the youngest child, but what could I do? There is a duty to look after the rest of the family.

I held on to my broken heart and moved to another place.

But…

It wasn’t known how that damned bastard knew for him to show up again.

Could it be that he already consumed all the babies?

There will be no more running!

I must protect my family who are trembling behind me.

Yes, the reason I grinded my tusks on the floor every time I had the chance throughout my entire life was in preparation for a day like today.

I hollered to my family to run as far as possible and rushed towards the guy.

And now I am…

Kuak!

Pak!

“Why is this damned pig so stubborn? Is it… because he is a pig?”

When the wild boar which Jinmu had hung above the bonfire suddenly came to and squealed, he grimaced and broke its neck.

Strange.

Surely I hit him enough to kill him.

Is his head that hard?

Anyway, he tilted his head and turned the wild boar that was hanging over the flame in the opposite direction.

Because it had to be roasted evenly.

It has been three days since I arrived here. Thanks to all the time spent on finding food and sleeping, the shelter was finally complete.

He used rocks to create a table and two chairs to place food on.

I am the only one who can sit there, but I’m lonely.

Then, he cored a cliff face and made a bed out of it.

Maybe it was because it was made entirely out of rocks, but it looked pretty good.

Jinmu looked at the shelter he had made for a moment while the wild boar was being roasted.

“Hmm….”

What would be better?

Now that he has created a home, he must give it a name. Of course, it might not even be discovered.

However, if someone later discovers the residence and boasts that he found traces of the greatest warrior of all time in ‘– Cave’ or ‘– Cliff’, I think I would feel good even after I died.

What would be better?

Maybe I’ll give it a decent name.

Names have always been given to me by others; I never gave one myself.

It is amazing to see how people can come up with plausible names.

Hmm, maybe I should have studied about naming things first.

After contemplating for a while, Jinmu slapped himself on the knee when an idea suddenly popped into his head.

“Right!”

He then filled his fingers with qi and began to scribble something on the wall.

Kakakakak!

A name was revealed as the stone was carved following the path of qi which circulated.

Yang’s Cave.

“……”

It sort of sounded like a name.

But that was too Wudang-like.

Tak!

Jinmu, who didn’t like what he wrote, swept it off with his palm, and the surface of the rock was ground into thin pieces and the writing vanished.

Gagagak!

Write.

Swish!

Erase.

Write, erase, write, erase…

Ah, I don’t know, I cannot.

It is something that can only be thought of when carefully considered.

While writing and erasing over and over again, another large hole appeared in the cliff.

Well… let’s treat it as a cupboard.

Jinmu pouted and tore off one of the wild boar’s legs.

When he took a bite of it, the taste was horrible. Maybe a bit of spice would be nice.

I miss Chung Woo, and I miss Baek Pyo.

It doesn’t taste nice but it wasn’t like he had much to eat now.

In the meantime, thanks to Tang Se-ryeong, he managed to live in guesthouses and despite the difficult journey with them, he managed to at least have good food and he only visited the rich and wealthy eateries.

After satiating his hunger, Jinmu cleared the table and sat down on it.

Now, it is time to learn the Dual Internal Qi Arts.

He carefully removed the book from where he kept it in his sleeve and opened it.

The Dual Internal Qi Arts, which his Master had copied for him.

Would he have made it back to Wudang safely?

It would be a huge issue if he fell ill on the journey back….

If he had known that was the case, he would have just given the Purple Cloud Pill he got from Mount Hua to his Master.

When he was alone, all sorts of strange thoughts entered his mind.

Swish.

That was not important now.

Focus.

With such world-class growth, should his thoughts change?

‘The human body is the passage for qi. There are hundreds of blood vessels and small and large veins which connect the blood vessels…’

A preface that he had already read once.

He was carefully reading the Dual Internal Qi Arts, which started with the same content as the fragment from the annotated copy he had obtained from the Kongtong Sect.

During this time, Jinmu created a nice training center and began full-scale learning.

Due to the clues he gave, Murim began to move actively.

It all started in Luoyang with the Original Flower Garden.

A morning before dawn filled with heavy silence.

Drrr. Drip.

The sound of a rolling wheel which took down the silence of the early morning.

Was it so shocking that a cart made its way?

But what caught the eye was the fact that the people pulling the cart were monks with shaved heads. Monks of the White Horse Temple near the Original Flower Garden.

The old monks in the lead were carefully observing the surroundings.

“No! Isn’t that monk Hwa Cheong?”

“…!”

The head monk of the White Horse Temple, Hwa Cheong, who stopped at the garden was flustered at the voice.

Why was this person there?

Obstructing the path was a monk with a clean shaved head and a faceful of wrinkles.

Although he had a good-natured face, he was actually an old monk and leading the Arhat Hall, which is the main force of Shaolin.

“Ah, nothing. What happened for the Hall Leader to come to Luoyang?”

“Why do you look so surprised?”

The monk smiled brightly and put his hands together.

“You people! Why aren’t you greeting the higher ups!”

As he shouted towards the back, the rest of the monks all clashed heads together and bowed.

But, their clothes were unusual.

Those wearing yellow military robes rather than monk robes.

He was a warrior and one who led the Arhat Hall, who were praised as the best warriors of Murim along with the Four Great Golden Beings who protected the Shaolin.

‘Fuck!’

Does this mean that the higher ups of that place had crawled out?

Hwa Cheong pretended to laugh, gulping back a curse.

“What about leaders in Nahan?”

“Uh, them? We all came down the mountain.”

“Uh?”

“Do you not see it there?”

The monk smiled and pointed, he caught a glimpse of some of the monks who had been hiding at the outskirts of the garden.

Even at a glance, the number didn’t seem small.

“A-all Hundred and Eight Arhats?”

“Huh, right.”

“…No, how can Shaolin, who has no interest in the outside world, bring in all the Arhat monks to descend the mountain?”

“We didn’t have any other way out. Yang So-bang of the Alliance had made this request.”

“…The Central Murim Alliance?”

“Yes. Did you hear it? About the ones they call the Palace.”

“……”

Hwa Cheong’s face stiffened at those words, and the monk didn’t miss it.

“Well, I guess you do know.”

“……”

“Well, the White Horse Temple focuses more on the theory of Buddhism than martial arts, so it is natural that the news coming to you is slow.”

As Monk Hwa Cheong looked puzzled, the monk got closer and said slowly.

“Recently, this group called the Palace has been operating secretly in the realm of Central Plains and the Murim Alliance. According to news from Kunlun, they are also setting foot into the Demonic Cult and the Evil Sect’s Heaven.”

“Ahem. But this time, they seemed to have entered the money halls without fear.”

“……”

“It is difficult to investigate since the Imperial Family is connected to the halls, but this time, the Sword of Wudang revealed the one behind it.”

“The Sword of Wudang, you mean?”

“Yes, have you not heard of him?”

“Ah, no. I did hear of some outstanding talent had come out from Wudang.”

“Hehe, so it is known all around. That guy all by himself turned the martial arts world upside down.”

“…”

“Well, he risked a fight with the officials to investigate the Dongrim Money Hall and find out who was behind them.”

“Then? The siege of the Original Flower Garden?”

“The Garden is behind it.”

“Nonsense! The Garden is a shrine built by the Emperor!”

As Hwa Cheong shouted in shock, the monk nodded.

“Why wouldn’t we know? And we are only keeping the siege for now.”

The Original Flower Garden.

As Hwa Cheong said, it was a shrine built by the Emperor’s father.

There were shrines all around, but the problem is that the one who did this, was similar to the Imperial family.

And because the one who built it was directly from the Imperial Family, not even the Imperial Family itself could touch it, they could only control who touched it.

There was even a popular belief that if one belonged to this Garden, they wouldn’t be able to step out even after death, that people turn to ghosts there.

Since the Garden was directly under the control of the Imperial Family, it was only natural that even the martial arts sects couldn’t touch it.

But just watching from afar didn’t seem like a sin.

‘How quickly did they move? How did this guy called the Sword of Wudang know? Could it be that the gold from the Dongrim Money Hall was stolen?’

Hwa Cheong’s mind began to spin.

Even though the Dongrim Money Hall was robbed, he expected that it would be a long time before the Alliance found out about it.

Wasn’t it recently that they even began to investigate it? No matter how quickly they did so, they couldn’t have known it right then.

Now they had to erase the remaining traces of the Palace inside the Garden and collect the money raised from each Money hall.

What on earth were the people doing that they couldn’t even report all this?

And what was this guy called Mu Young, that was in charge of the troops, so busy with for him to not stop this?

“Not just Shaolin. There are sects from other places, like Yongbong Hall, close by. In addition the best warriors of Zhuge, Wudang, Mount Hua, and Southern Edge have departed, so they will arrive soon.”

The eyes of Hwa Cheong trembled at those words.

He was hearing this for the first time.

What happened for things to escalate this far?

The hundred-and-eight Arhats of Shaolin were a strong force, but to have three major sects belonging to the Alliance and even the Zhuge family to come…

“Th-that many have been mobilized?”

“Not all. Just the main ones are coming. But if we all gather together, there will be enough, around 500.”

Hearing the explanation, Hwa Cheong felt his stomach fall.

Five hundred?

Five hundred elite warriors from the most prestigious sects.

Even if it was the warriors or troops, it can be said that each sect had sent around 100 people.

Hwa Cheong secretly glanced at the cart following behind him.

Two carts.

The chests inside contained around 50 gold ingots from the Money Halls, including those from Dongrim and the Dead Sea.

“Wasn’t there a disaster not too long ago because of the smuggling of the officials? And there is a rumor that the Sword of Wudang had handed over the ledger that documented what the cheaters have been doing till now.”

“Wh-what?”

Hwa Cheong yelled in disbelief, and when he realized his mistake, he tried to mask his expression and cleared his throat.

“Uh? How can it be… Well, it is shocking. The Sword of Wudang is indeed amazing.”

“R-right.”

As Hwa Cheong hesitated, the monk laughed and asked.

“But what brings you to the Garden?”

“……”

The monk asked expressionlessly, but Hwa Cheong could feel something odd about it. What was reflected in the monk’s eyes.

Was doubt.

The man was doubting him now.

Hwa Cheong had the skills to compete with the monk but the current situation was far from ideal.

The gold on the cart had to be delivered and he, along with a few disciples, could never take on the 108 Arhats of Shaolin.

They had to escape now.

They had to hurry back to inform them that the Central Murim Alliance had already surrounded the Original Flower Garden.

Since they will not be able to investigate the Garden, they wouldn’t find the connection with the White Horse Temple yet.

But all that was only for the time being.

“I came to offer the rites because the Garden requested it of us.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The monk glanced at the carts behind. Well, it wasn’t strange for the White Horse Temple to offer rites for the Garden.

Because it always happened.

“It seems to be a lot of things for the rites?”

“It isn’t just the rites, but also items donated from the Flower Garden.”

“I see. Then, head back as soon as you can. If possible, it would be best to head back and lock the Temple. A big fight might break out in Luoyang.”

“Yes. Thank you for your words.”

Hwa Cheong hurriedly bowed and moved.

Somehow, there was bitterness in his eyes as the monk watched Hwa Cheong leave.

“Hall Leader.”

“……”

After they left, monks appeared from the side.

They were warriors of Courageous Valor Troops wearing monks’ robes.

“Hehe, Miss Zhuge was right.”

“Such a pity.”

“Hmm…”

At Zhuge Sansan’s words, the monk nodded.

How….

Why did the White Horse Temple, a sacred place of Buddhism, collude with an unrighteous group of people that was trying to disrupt the peace in the Murim world?

“Amitabha…”

The monk expressed his confusion, displeased.