novelraw Chapter 377 : To Mount Dabie (2)
Chapter 377 : To Mount Dabie (2)
Chapter 377: To Mount Dabie (2)
The forces of the Three Demonic Heavens had all left Deungbong County, but only San Bi could not.
Because the person he had been waiting for had not yet arrived.
When another day passed, he was finally able to meet the one he had been waiting for.
“What use is there in coming after everything is already over?”
“My apologies, Young Cult Leader.”
A sharp-looking middle-aged woman bowed with a pipa in her arms.
Beside her, her disciple, a middle-aged woman exuding a bewitching air, offered a polite greeting.
“I greet the Young Cult Leader.”
“You’ve grown even more beautiful since the last time I saw you.”
After exchanging greetings with the disciple, the middle-aged woman asked:
“Where is the enemy?”
“He has left Shaolin Temple and is heading somewhere, though at the moment, our pursuit unit is tracking him.”
“Then we will join with the pursuit unit.”
“It is said Yong Hwarin has separated from the group with only a single guard, heading in another direction. This may be the perfect opportunity.”
“Understood. I and my disciple were delayed because we were completing a new Sound Art. With it, we can certainly kill him.”
“He is not someone to take lightly. He made not only me but all the descendants of the Three Demonic Heavens kneel. It would be safer to ambush him rather than face him head-on.”
“I already have a plan of my own. With it, I can kill him.”
“Then I will trust only in Madam.”
“Await good news. I will now leave to join the pursuit unit.”
San Bi watched as Jin Cheonum Maseon Hye Bang, wife of Elder Man, and her disciple, the Blood Sound Witch Seon Ok, departed. He murmured to himself:
“Perhaps it’s fortunate they arrived late. Had they faced Yong Hwarin directly, they would surely have been defeated. But if they strike with Sound Arts from the shadows, he will never be able to withstand it.”
All that San Bi had gained from this trip to Shaolin was the sparring match of the Three Swords Beyond the Heavens.
At Shaolin Temple, he had been utterly defeated by the unexpected Yong Hwarin, throwing the entire plan of the descendants of the Three Demonic Heavens into ruin.
Instead, all they had managed was to bolster the pride of the orthodox Murim.
“Damn it. I thought once I emerged from secluded training, the world would be mine. Yet to be blocked by such a man… And on top of that, I broke Father’s treasured Nine-Serpent Sabre. How can I even face him when I return?”
San Bi, who had once departed for Murim so proudly, sighed as he looked at the miserable state he had been reduced to.
Yong Hwarin headed from Mount Song toward Mount Dabie, imparting his ultimate techniques to Mo Biyoung without reservation.
The two spent every spare moment in sparring and training, devoting their time to strengthening their skills.
Yet the journey disappointed Mo Biyoung, who had expected something different.
She had always enjoyed training even more than eating, and training with Yong Hwarin was by no means unpleasant.
But since the atmosphere she had hoped for did not come about, she felt a pang of regret.
‘I really am just a woman after all.’
Though she had resolved to dedicate her life to Yong Hwarin and the Heavenly Central Sect, she realized she still hoped that he might look upon her with tender eyes.
That realization drove Mo Biyoung to throw herself even harder into her training.
There was hardly enough time simply to master and internalize the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art, Dragon Scale Finger, and Dragon Claw Five Fingers that Yong Hwarin was teaching her.
Yet, being a martial genius by nature, in just seven days she had already grasped the basics of these arts and reached a level approaching proficiency.
“Master Mo, you truly are a natural. For most, it would take at least several months to learn those three techniques, but you have absorbed them in only seven days.”
“With such an excellent teacher, of course I learn quickly. It has come to the point that I feel unworthy to be called an instructor by the Young Sect Leader.”
“Why so? Master Mo is indeed the instructor of the Heavenly Central Sect. You need not feel any burden.”
“Would it be permissible for me to pass down what I’ve learned to the disciples of our sect later on?”
She asked because she felt that what she was learning was of such a high level that it could greatly benefit the sect.
“Of course. If all our disciples were to truly master these ultimate techniques, our sect would become immensely powerful. With the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect redefining our martial arts, it would be excellent for you to transmit these techniques to the disciples as well.”
Mo Biyoung stared intently at Yong Hwarin before speaking.
“I never believed our sect could become this strong. But from the day the Young Sect Leader rose from his sickbed, everything began to change. Seeing you appear as if reborn gave me hope. I had resolved not to remain a mere instructor of the Heavenly Central Sect but to rise and become one of Murim’s Three Great Female Masters.”
“I know. That’s why you have mastered our martial arts to such an extreme, is it not?”
“You knew?”
“Of course.”
In his past life as well, she had been a heroine who staked her very life solely on the pursuit of martial arts.
“But what was your reason for aiming to become one of the Three Great Female Masters?”
After a moment’s silence, Mo Biyoung answered.
“It was my mother’s dying wish. She told me that if I was not satisfied even after mastering martial arts, I should find my grandfather and live under his shadow. With half-baked skills, I might die in Murim at any time. But if I had true talent, I should build a strength so overwhelming that no one could ever scorn me. My mother worried for me, left behind alone.”
Yong Hwarin nodded. In his previous life too, she had never spared a glance for men, devoting herself wholly to martial arts until the day she died.
“She feared that someday, your true identity would be revealed.”
Yong Hwarin took Mo Biyoung’s hand and spoke.
“Master Mo, I have come to learn this in life: both martial arts and life itself are battles with oneself. Did not Wang Yangming once say? A person must first have the will to value themselves, only then can they overcome themselves, and only by overcoming themselves can they truly complete themselves. I believe those words to be true. Even if others call you the descendant of the Blood Demon Castle, if you deny it, then it is not so. To me, Master Mo belongs to the Heavenly Central Sect. What others say means nothing at all.”
Mo Biyoung quietly pulled her hand away and said.
“I understand. I’ll take care of myself. But Young Lord, how long have you lived to say such a thing?”
She lightly threw out a joke to break the odd atmosphere.
Yong Hwarin realized that Mo Biyoung’s heart had softened greatly when he saw that she now even made jokes.
It was quite different from the past, when she would glare with disgust if he tried.
“Wouldn’t you say I’ve lived enough by now?”
Mo Biyoung smiled at Yong Hwarin’s nonsense, which he used to comfort his own heart.
That smile was so beautiful that Yong Hwarin couldn’t help but smile along.
Before entering Mount Dabie, Yong Hwarin decided to take an inn to relieve the lingering fatigue from constant martial arts training.
As for him, he could endure as a man, but Mo Biyoung had a woman’s body and needed to wash from time to time.
After entering the inn, Yong Hwarin first cleaned himself thoroughly, then went with Mo Biyoung to the dining hall for a meal. He ordered food that Mo Biyoung liked and asked the waiter.
“Has there been a big earthquake around here recently?”
At Yong Hwarin’s question, the waiter shuddered and began chattering.
“Don’t even mention it. This area felt it the strongest. There are even rumors that peaks of Mount Dabie collapsed. If such a quake happens again, Mount Dabie itself may fall apart. And quite a number of commoners died from their homes collapsing. This region suffered the worst damage.”
When the waiter withdrew, Mo Biyoung asked.
“Young Lord, are we heading to the place we stopped by last time in Mount Dabie?”
“That’s right. With such a large earthquake, something must have been revealed.”
He again covered it up with the lie about there being ginseng and hua wine at that place.
“I hope there really is plenty of ginseng there, just as you said.”
Mo Biyoung still believed there would be ginseng.
“Ginseng is important, but to observe the Dabie Sect’s movements, we’ll need to disguise ourselves and change our clothes.”
The very reason Yong Hwarin insisted on staying here for the night was precisely for this.
Relieving fatigue and preparing for disguise required proper arrangements.
After finishing their meal, the two returned to their lodging.
“Young Lord, I’ll go and buy the materials for the disguise and the clothes for our change.”
After Mo Biyoung left, Yong Hwarin sat down leisurely and circulated his qi to ease his fatigue.
Then, when he recalled the melody of the Royal Consort Record, he suddenly felt his true qi rushing toward the Crown Point and stopped circulating.
If qi suddenly surged like that toward one place, it was perfect for falling into qi deviation.
“Let’s not rush. If I make a mistake, it could be disastrous.”
Muttering, Yong Hwarin took a flute from his robes.
“I should first fully analyze the melody before training with it.”
The first problem to resolve was uncovering what insights Master Gwi had left behind in that melody by playing it with the flute.
To play the flute, Yong Hwarin went out to the inn’s rear garden and sat on a rock.
After only a few measures of the Royal Consort Record melody, his qi was already in turmoil.
As expected, the qi was moving toward the Upper Dantian.
‘Could this melody be for fully opening the Upper Dantian? In Sword Control with Qi, the Upper Dantian is the most important of the three. Surely the opening of the Heavenly First Sword’s Fontanelle was because the Upper Dantian was fully opened. Should I just let the flow head toward the Upper Dantian without blocking it?’
Thinking of taking the risk, Yong Hwarin continued playing the melody.
At once, the qi began to gather in the Upper Dantian.
‘Ugh! The qi is getting stuck at the Great Vertebra Point and cannot move to the Yamen Point.’
The Great Vertebra Point and the Yamen Point lay on the path from the neck to the crown of the head, but the meridians there were unusually weak and narrow, unable to allow much qi through.
‘If this goes wrong, the Yamen Point will burst and I’ll die. I can’t do this alone; I’ll need someone’s help to succeed. Since Hye Mae is learning Sound Arts, I’ll have to try again then.’
He stopped playing and used breathing to calm his qi.
At that moment, someone approached.
Yong Hwarin looked at the woman coming toward him.
“Forgive me. Did I disturb your playing?”
A middle-aged woman and a girl who seemed to be her daughter spoke to him.
“Not at all. But what brings you here?”
The two women held pipas in their arms, so he could guess their reason.
“We were drawn out by the sound of your flute. Your playing is exquisite, Young Master, and we hoped to have the chance to perform together.”
At the refined lady’s words, Yong Hwarin nodded.
“I was in rare spirits, having played the flute for once. Let us try a duet. What piece shall we play?”
“Shall we do ‘Boundless Miles’?”
Boundless Miles was a famous duet for flute and pipa.
It was a sorrowful, mournful song that immersed listeners in grief.
It expressed the heart of a wife who could not forget her husband, conscripted to labor on the Great Wall, waiting outside the eastern gate. A masterpiece passed down since long ago.
The pipa began first, pouring out notes as if voicing a woman’s sorrow.
Listening to the lady’s pipa, Yong Hwarin marveled inwardly.
‘Impressive. I didn’t expect her attainment to be this deep.’
He had thought her merely a lady who played the pipa as a hobby, not a courtesan, but her skill had already surpassed ordinary bounds.
When it came his turn, Yong Hwarin played the flute.
The flute and the two women’s plucked pipas blended exquisitely, so poignant that any listener would surely be moved to tears.