Episode 107

Still, even though he was the family head, he couldn’t intervene in children’s play.

Yu Jinsan stood at the corner of the training ground, calmly waiting for the sparring to end.

Although it was the warriors of the Courageous Blade Clan who suffered a one-sided defeat, they enjoyed the spar, which offered them much to learn.

When the commotion ended, Yu Seol and the warriors faced each other and embraced.

“Uncles, thank you for your hard work.”

“Our Seol has grown so strong since we last saw each other.”

“What on earth do you eat to grow so quickly?”

Yu Seol exchanged a few more words with the warriors and then approached her grandfather.

“Grandpa, why didn’t you come? It was fun.”

“I can’t be hanging out with those kids at my age, right? Are you feeling better now?”

“It is still enough. Where did Uncle Baek Gyu go?”

Yu Jinsan shook his head once, his back facing the hall.

“Uncle has guests right now, so let’s be on our way.”

“Already?”

It had been a long time since she had been here, and they were already leaving.

The child looked clearly disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped. Soon, Shaanxi would turn into a battleground.

Their goal was to obtain the wealth of the family, and they had no intention of getting involved in a war between the two.

And now, the priority was to decipher the secrets of the book they had managed to get.

“You will be able to see them again once our work is done, so there’s nothing to be too sad about.”

She knew it well. When her grandpa spoke seriously, there was no arguing.

“…Uh. Can I see Aunt Maeng for a moment then?”

The wife of Baek Gyu, Maeng Ryeon-hwa, was particularly fond of Yu Seol and had even taught her how to write.

“Yes.”

Their purpose in visiting the clan was to briefly see their faces and leave.

After briefly greeting them, Yu Jinsan carried the baggage one by one and set off for their destination.

After a day’s travel, they arrived at the southern part of Shaanxi and crossed the river again by water.

After many twists and turns, the place they arrived at was Mount Mangong, in Sichuan Province.

The two stopped to rest for a while and slowly walked down the mountain path.

“Grandpa, this mountain feels odd. My body feels lighter.”

“Really? You noticed that? Although this place isn’t famous, it is said to be a place where ancestral rites were held in the sky in the past.”

“Really?”

“Yes! When did Grandpa ever lie to you? It isn’t often visited by people, and it is a mountain that is no different from a sacred place.”

“Woah! Then do gods live here?”

“Probably. If not, how is this place filled with such qi? But why are you so curious about that?”

Yu Seol, who was asked, stroked the Dragon Flower Spear, which was covered in cloth.

“Is the Mountain God good at fighting?”

Yu Jinsan answered with a serious look.

“Be careful of what you say. It is said that when the Mountain God is angry, humans like us can be killed with a single wave of his hand.”

Yu Seol covered her mouth at her grandpa’s joke.

Yu Jinsan, who was watching this, had a hard time suppressing his laughter as well.

The reason he had this knowledge was because, in the past, among the adults in their family, there were many shamans.

But he didn’t believe in gods.

It was when they were joking…

On the other side, an old woman wearing sacred attire was slowly coming down. It seemed like a shaman was coming down after holding some rites.

At that time, their eyes met, and she stopped. No, wasn’t it rather a slow step backward?

Yu Jinsan, who watched that, narrowed his eyes and scolded Yu Seol.

“Grandpa told you not to play pranks on normal people, right?”

“Uh? I didn’t do anything.”

“Even so! Didn’t I say the aura of a Grandmaster could be fatal to ordinary people?”

Yu Seol cried as if she felt unfairly treated by the continued scolding.

“…I didn’t really do anything.”

“Then why would that person back away upon seeing you?”

It was then. Why was the shaman who was stepping back suddenly falling to her knees?

As the distance got closer, her body began to tremble, too.

“Hurry and stop before your grandpa gets more angry.”

Yu Seol had tears in her eyes, as if she couldn’t understand what was happening.

“…Sniff.“

Yu Jinsan finally sensed that something was wrong and tilted his head. No matter how much he looked, Yu Seol wasn’t doing anything weird with her qi.

Suddenly, the shaman placed her head on the floor and put her hands together.

“Oh my, general. I see the one whose humble body is precious.”

“…?”

Yu Jinsan asked with a puzzled look.

“Why are you doing this to us?”

Her entire body shook, and she didn’t move.

“Get up, Grandmother. We are good people.”

As soon as Yu Seol said this, the trembling stopped.

She stood up with the help of Yu Seol and calmed herself down, then explained everything that had happened.

“The Mountain God suddenly concealed their presence, and I was curious why. I cannot believe such a great God has stepped foot here.”

Yu Jinsan asked again in response to the mumbling.

“A great God?”

She answered with her head bowed down, as if she couldn’t look Yu Seol in the eyes.

“Oh my, the general holding the scimitar behind you is stroking his beard. I have never seen a God this big in my life. He isn’t one to come to humans, then why…?”

“Behind me?”

Confused, Yu Seol glanced behind her. But there was nothing. Did this shaman see something they couldn’t?

The old woman nodded and then walked away as if she didn’t want to be with them any longer.

“Fine, I guess I have to leave first and head down. If I stay here a little longer, I feel like I’ll be crushed to death.”

As she left, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.

Yu Jinsan, who had previously misunderstood his granddaughter, was the first to speak, his tone apologetic.

“Now that I think about it, when you were three years old, at Ho County’s blacksmith forge, you grabbed the replica of a spear and said many things. It seemed like General Guan Yu was looking out for our Seol.”

“……”

Yu Seol seemed upset and remained silent.

“Grandpa is sorry for not believing.”

“Huh.”

It wasn’t that Yu Jinsan was unaware of her feelings.

In this situation, they had to wait until the issue resolved itself naturally, until she felt better and began to speak on her own.

Yu Jinsan walked in silence, the atmosphere awkward.

After a while, another shaman was approaching.

And as soon as he saw Yu Seol, the same thing happened.

“Oh, oh my, the general has come…”

What kind of absurdity was this?

As if the Mountain God were present, many shamans reacted the same way. Realizing they might end up in trouble, he suggested to her,

-This won’t end well. I think it would be better to go somewhere with fewer people.

-Huh. Okay.

Yu Jinsan silently moved to a deserted path.

As they walked for a while, Yu Seol finally spoke.

“…Grandpa, wait.”

Had her sulky mood passed? Yu Jinsan didn’t respond.

“Shall we take a rest then?”

“No. Look there.”

She pointed to a rock about 50 feet away.

In front of it, a middle-aged man was seen setting up a table for ancestral rites, muttering something.

But his appearance was odd.

Wasn’t he holding a sword in both hands like a warrior praying to God before battle?

Moreover, a killing intent could be felt.

‘What could cause a shaman to harbor such a strong desire to kill?’

At that moment, Yu Seol, who was hiding and observing, mumbled softly.

“That guy has learned martial arts. A little.”

By her standards, he was a first-rate warrior.

Yu Jinsan also became interested and focused his qi on the man, observing him closely.

His broad back muscles and calluses on both hands were reflected in his form.

Traces of hasty martial arts training were visible everywhere.

‘Learning martial arts and serving God are entirely different paths, so what’s with him…?’

As soon as he got up, Yu Jinsan’s face went stiff.

Eyes filled with killing intent.

His expression, as sharp as a blade, showed a will to kill.

At that moment, Yu Seol whispered in a low voice next to him.

“I think he is about to do something bad. Let us chase him and confirm.”

“We have a long way to go; we cannot be meddling in other people’s affairs.”

He tried to walk away, but his granddaughter was certain of it.

“A true warrior shouldn’t look down on rules.”

What does she know?

Although it was frustrating, he had to comfort his sulking granddaughter.

“Instead, we will pretend that what happened earlier never happened.”

“Okay.”

Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter then began following him from a distance, concealing their presence.

He couldn’t get closer than a certain distance. When Yu Seol got close, the shaman began to shake.

Grabbing his sword, he moved through the mountains to a nearby village.

Soon, they came upon a huge manor.

Looking at the long line of people who came to see it, it seemed like a place that practiced martial arts.

“That must be a rich family.”

“Seeing as they even have bodyguards. It sure looks like it. Well, with so many people flocking there, it’s impossible not to make money. That must mean he is brave.”

Anyway, that wasn’t what he was curious about.

The shaman with killing intent was hiding on a hill near the manor, waiting for the chance.

And the Yin Yang Twin Monsters were watching him from a high tree.

“Do we catch him now?”

“Catch what? What did the man do? We need to wait and see.”

Something was odd. No matter how much they looked, this shaman couldn’t win against the guards outside.

As the day darkened and the guests departed, he began to move.

“I think he will set it on fire.”

“Hmm… let’s continue watching.”

After lighting the torch, he quickly threw it into the barn beyond the fence.

Grrrr!

As the straw bales caught fire and a strong flame arose, chaos ensued inside.

“Fire! Fire!!”

Seizing the opportunity, the warriors rushed to the other side and leaped over the wall, which stood isolated.

Yu Jinsan, observing this, glanced at his granddaughter.

“Child, that strategy is known as attacking the west by diverting to the east.”

“I know.”

Yu Jinsan was taken aback because he had never taught her this.

“How do you know?”

“I know it all. To pretend to hit the left cheek while actually hitting the right.”

It seemed like someone from the Courageous Blade Clan had given her a clumsy example.

He asked, patting her head affectionately.

“Nice. Well, it’s the same thing. What kind of person does Seol think that man is?”

He climbed over the wall and appeared to be heading towards what seemed like a shrine. That seemed to be his goal.

“A bad one? He set fire to someone’s house and climbed over the wall.”

“Hmm. It might seem that way. But one should not judge a person until the entire story is known.”

“Why?”

“Everyone has a story. There may be right and wrong methods, but the distinction between good and evil is quite complicated.”

“So, you’re saying that guy is a good person?”

Yu Jinsan shook his head with a smile.

“When did I say that? I’m saying that one needs to be sure to understand the context before interfering in other people’s affairs.”

As soon as he said that, an angry shout came from the manor.

“You beastly bastard, I will kill you all today!”

It was the middle-aged shaman who had trespassed with a sword.

It wasn’t long after his entry that his whereabouts were discovered.

Yu Jinsan clicked his tongue and mumbled, feeling pity.

“He seems a bit clumsy.”