novelraw Chapter 132 : Chapter 132
Chapter 132 : Chapter 132
Chapter 132 Prince Yeomseong (10)
"The radiant spring moonlight. She has returned."
A man watching the rising dust in the distance grinned. With a hawk feather in his hair and animal hides wrapped around his body, he took out a small horn pipe from his bosom.
─ TOOOOOOT
As the sound of the man's horn pipe filled the grasslands, nomads poked their heads out from the tents set up here and there.
"Hoaio hoa!"
When someone started the chant, others simultaneously repeated the same word.
The nomads' shouts flowed gently over the grasslands and spread out.
"Ah…!"
Hearing the nomads' shouts from afar, Chun-wol took off her wind-proof cloak, tied it around her waist, and raised her head.
Chun-wol's eyes were moist with tears. Wiping her eyes with one hand, Chun-wol let go of the horse's reins and cupped her hands in front of her mouth.
"Dijaide tuho!"
A firm and heavy roar erupted from the mouth of Chun-wol, who was usually bright and cheerful.
"Dijaide… tuho!"
Letting out the same cry once more, Chun-wol increased her speed and galloped forward.
Several nomads could be seen riding toward the furiously speeding Chun-wol.
The thick clouds of dust created by the two groups soon met in the center.
Leaping to and fro over the horses, moving from this horse to that and rubbing her cheeks against them, Chun-wol finally burst into tears.
As the bearded man watched them embrace and exchange greetings, his own eyes grew moist.
"Ahem!"
The bearded man, who had cleared his nose loudly, ducked his head deep inside his wind-proof cloak.
Jaun, who had slowed down to allow them to exchange greetings, caught his breath for a moment and advanced toward the nomads.
Confirming the approaching Jaun, the man with the hawk feather turned his horse around.
"Welcome to the Root Tribe of the Grasslands. I am the Angry Pebble. It seems you call me No-seok."
No-seok grinned and extended his hand to Jaun.
"I am Han Jaun. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I am Jang Sam-sik."
"Please call me So-hyang."
As the three introduced themselves, the nomads thumped their chests with their hands.
"The Unextinguished Bonfire. My name is Yeong-hwa."
"The Gushing Stream of Water. I am Seung-su."
A man with a muscular build and a woman with dark skin introduced themselves.
After a simple exchange of greetings, the nomads turned their horses and began to move toward the tents visible in the distance.
Jaun's party followed Chun-wol and the tribespeople as they headed toward the tents, catching up on old stories.
No-seok led Jaun's party to a large tent.
After tying their horses to one side, the three people entered the tent, and an elderly man of advanced age raised his head.
"Welcome, all of you. They call me Piercing Gaze. You must have had a hard journey coming all this way."
The old man, who had struggled to his feet, picked up a leather pouch hanging over the bonfire in the center of the tent and threw it to Chun-wol.
"It is your favorite twenty-day-aged mare's milk wine."
Chun-wol, who gladly received the pouch from the old man, opened the stopper and poured the wine into her mouth.
"Kyahh."
Letting out a cry as if her chest had been cleared, Chun-wol passed the pouch to So-hyang next to her. So-hyang took a sip of the mare's milk wine and passed it to the bearded man. The bearded man, who received the pouch, tilted his head and brought the spout of the pouch to his mouth.
"Gahhh. Ptooey, ptooey."
As soon as he poured the wine into his mouth, the bearded man coughed violently, and everyone in the tent burst into loud laughter.
"W-what is this?"
The bearded man shivered and threw the pouch to Jaun as if he had eaten something inedible.
Jaun lifted the received pouch filled with mare's milk wine.
'Hmm?'
The wine, with its fishy, rough, and pungent aroma, went down Jaun's throat.
'Not bad.'
Tilting the pouch again and filling his mouth, Jaun grinned and passed the pouch back to the old man.
The old man, who had been watching Jaun as if it were strange that he was enjoying the mare's milk wine, finally burst out laughing.
"It's been a while since a manly guest has visited. Please, have a seat."
Following the old man's guidance, the party took their seats. The old man, who was gazing intently at each member of Jaun's party, opened his mouth.
"I have heard the story. You came to stop the atrocities of the people of the Central Plains?"
Jaun, who was looking at the old man, opened his mouth.
"Yes. However, it is not that I came with any grand purpose. I came here for a very short time to help you all stop the movements of the people of the Central Plains. Because that is something we also need."
When Jaun answered honestly, the old man slowly nodded his head.
"Do not feel burdened. We did not agree to your request with great expectations either. We must solve our own problems with our own hands. I was just thinking that in that process, seeing that child's face once more would be enough."
The old man looked at Chun-wol with a warm gaze.
"However, I would like you to make one thing clear. Is it true that if you reach the path you desire, the flow of meaningless blood will be reduced?"
"Yes. If things go as we wish, there will be no more indiscriminate massacres."
At Jaun's answer, the old man nodded, took out a long bamboo pipe from his side, lit it, and put it in his mouth.
"Then that is fine. It will be a short time, but during that time, we too will treat you like family. Do as you wish."
As the old man finished speaking, No-seok, who had been listening with a stiff expression, opened his mouth.
"...The Wolf Who Held Sorrow. He recently became a star of the grasslands."
At No-seok's sudden words, the smile disappeared from Chun-wol's face.
"Angry Pebble. Is that really true? Why that child?"
"It seems he went to trade with the Tree Tribe of the grasslands and encountered the army of the Central Plains. He tried to lend his strength, thinking he could not just leave his friend in difficulty... and it is presumed that is what happened."
Chun-wol's fists, her lips tightly clenched, trembled faintly.
"The Tree Tribe is located quite deep in the grasslands. Has the reach of the Central Plains already extended that far?"
"Yes. Many people who use strange powers have joined the army. They possess a power so great that the warriors of the grasslands cannot stop them unless they unite."
At No-seok's words, a shadow fell over Chun-wol's face. As someone who was both a person of the Central Plains and a member of the tribe, it seemed to be a difficult situation for her to accept.
"Radiant Spring Moonlight. No one blames you. After you went to the Central Plains, the warriors of our tribe have been avoiding conflict with the Central Plains as much as possible. The Wolf Who Held Sorrow was just unlucky."
"But if the warriors of our tribe, who possess the strongest power in the grasslands, do not join forces, how can the people of the grasslands stop the people of the Central Plains?"
"That too is the will of the grasslands and the will of the heavens. If they want our land, we have no choice but to move to another place, as we have always done. It is inevitable for coexistence."
"...They do not want the land. They want blood."
"...Blood? What do you mean?"
Chun-wol, who was looking at No-seok's puzzled expression, let out a deep sigh.
After hesitating for a moment, Chun-wol turned her head toward Jaun.
"Great Hero. I know well what thoughts you came here with, but from what I've heard, the situation is by no means light. While you are here, could you properly help us?"
"Do not worry. I did not come with a light heart either. I intend to do my best while I am here. I cannot let a situation like this continue."
The old man, who was gazing at Jaun, rose from his seat and walked to a corner of the tent. After rummaging around for a long time, the old man took out a small horn bow, returned to his seat, and handed it to Jaun.
"Chief, that is...?"
No-seok looked at the old man with surprised eyes.
"While you stay here, I want you to use this. Before you all came here, I saw a brightly shining star in the sky of the Central Plains approaching us. I do not know if that star is you, but if you truly intend to help us, we too will help you as much as possible, even for a short period."
Jaun carefully examined the horn bow he had received.
It was a bow that contained an extraordinary energy. Although it was a small bow, it was a weapon that was difficult to even draw the string without properly infusing it with internal energy.
'A horn bow.'
Jaun, who had received the horn bow and was lost in thought, bowed his head in gratitude, and the old man smiled and put the bamboo pipe back in his mouth.
"I do not mean to pressure you. However, if by any chance you meet those who have white powder on their faces, I would like you to catch them with that horn bow. It is the bow that the Wolf Who Held Sorrow used his whole life. If you can take their lives with it, it would be a small revenge."
"Those with white powder on their faces... surely, is the Eastern Depot also lending a hand in this matter...?"
At Jaun's muttering, So-hyang nodded her head.
"From what we have found out, yes. I heard that recently, not only high-ranking officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard but also martial artists from the Eastern Depot have joined the subjugation."
"...I was just wondering how I should repay you, and it seems I can repay you to some extent with this. If I meet the people of the Central Plains you mentioned, I will definitely do so."
At Jaun's words, the old man nodded and looked at the tribespeople standing beside him.
"Today, the Radiant Spring Moonlight has returned to our embrace. While this child is here, I will permit the fight against the people of the Central Plains, which has been forbidden. We have been cowering too much in the name of peace in the grasslands. We cannot turn a blind eye to the pain of our fellow tribespeople forever. Go and teach the Central Plains a harsh lesson about the fierceness of the grasslands' wind."
At the old man's words, No-seok, Yeong-hwa, and Seung-su knelt down on the spot.
"It is what we have long awaited, Chief. We will show a side of ourselves that is not shameful to the stars of the grasslands."
A gentle energy of nature began to spread out from around the three people.
***
Jaun and the bearded man spent three days and nights with the warriors of the tribe.
The energy of nature they used was completely different from internal energy. It was similar to the spiritual energy contained in the food given by the Wudang Sword Immortal, but it had a freedom that was not confined to a mold.
They sometimes became the wind, the earth, and the trees.
If the martial arts of the Central Plains focused entirely on the person, their power was nature itself.
Normally, they possessed the strength of ordinary martial artists who had trained in external arts, but when they drew upon the power of nature, things happened that even Jaun was surprised by.
During the three days with the warriors of the tribe, the bearded man raised the level of his Frenzied Wind Sand martial arts by several stages. He said he had obtained something he had been missing from them.
The bearded man was not the only one who made progress in his martial arts.
Jaun also was able to break down the existing framework of his martial arts and create a much larger one.
It had been quite a while since he had opened his middle dantian and reached the peak realm where he could utilize the surrounding energy, but he realized on this occasion that he had not been using even one-tenth of the power of his middle dantian.
The power that a person could utilize was not just the internal energy contained in their dantian.
By becoming one with nature, feeling nature, and being with nature, Jaun realized that there was another hidden power within it, and he learned how to utilize that power.
On the last night.
When the arrow shot from Jaun's horn bow passed through the dense trees and hit the target, the warriors of the tribe acknowledged that Jaun had become one of them.
Thus, Jaun and the bearded man, who had become warriors of the tribe, received clothes made of animal hide and a small hawk feather to put in their hair.
Not long after Jaun and the bearded man were accepted as warriors of the tribe, news came that a large-scale subjugation army had been organized again in the Central Plains.
It was time for the warriors of the Root Tribe to move.