Chapter 371

“We pay our respects to Great Hero Jin Taekyung, the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon!”

When that awe-filled cry rang throughout the grounds of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Jin Taekyung was not the only one who felt a shiver run through him.

Watching from a distance, his old master had to struggle to contain the emotion welling up inside him.

You rascal…

Jeok Cheongang remembered the day he had first met Jin Taekyung as clearly as if it were yesterday.

The Third Young Master of a frontier martial family. The young man who had only just begun making a name for himself in Shanxi had become a Hidden Dragon, and now, at last, he was spreading his wings and soaring into the blue sky.

Yes. You truly are a Divine Dragon—and a Great Hero.

Their eyes met, and Jin Taekyung grinned. Leaning halfway out the window, he waved both hands wildly.

“What’s my name?”

“Jin Taekyung!”

“And my sobriquet?”

“Blazing Flame Divine Dragon!”

“Louder—!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

The solemn gathering erupted into a frenzy, and Jeok Cheongang finally burst into the laughter he had been holding back.

“Ha! Ha-ha-ha!”

His hearty laughter mingled with the cheers. The breeze was cool, and the sky was clear.

It was the dawn of an age of turmoil, but the day a new hero was born was warm with spring.

Jeok Cheongang appeared shortly after the frenzy died down.

“You’ve packed quite a crowd into this millet-sized room.”

“Huh? It’s not cramped at all.”

“Great Hero Jeok, there’s an empty seat over there.”

Unlike Cheongpung and Hyuk Mujin, who could die and come back without ever learning to read the room, Gung Gibang was a pure-blooded beggar to his very bones. He moved at once.

“Oh my, now that you mention it, this place is practically bursting at the seams. I’ll wait outside.”

Cheongpung and Hyuk Mujin waved at him.

“Goodbye, Gung Gibang.”

“He’s finally leaving. Captain, haven’t you smelled a stray dog’s ass around here for a while now?”

I nodded cautiously.

“Yeah. It was pretty strong…”

“Stop talking shit and get out, both of you!”

“No, I’m telling you, it really did smell…”

“All right. Don’t get so angry, Gung Gibang.”

Cheongpung lowered his head dejectedly at Gung Gibang’s furious outburst.

“Mimi. Say goodbye with a whirlwind.”

Hiss. Hissss!

“…What the fuck.”

Looks like Mimi had picked up some new tricks in the meantime. After putting on that flashy performance, Cheongpung was the last to leave the room.

Jeok Cheongang finally spoke.

“You reckless little brat. You certainly made quite a ruckus.”

His face was stern, his voice low and subdued.

He really hadn’t changed at all. Seeing Jeok Cheongang act just like his usual self made me want to laugh for some reason.

“You laughing?”

“Of course I’m laughing. What else should I do, cry?”

“Hah, look at this brat. You made a spectacle of yourself in front of everyone and dragged our sect’s reputation through the mud, yet you still have the nerve to say that?”

“You were laughing pretty loudly for someone who thought that.”

“…!”

“I saw everything.”

The stern expression he had been struggling to maintain collapsed all at once. Jeok Cheongang’s head slowly turned toward the window.

“Ahem. What exactly do you claim to have seen?”

“About fifty people besides me probably saw it too. For a moment, I thought your smile had split your mouth open and you were bleeding from the corners.”

He’d practically looked like the Chinese Joker.

My finishing shot left him no room to escape. Jeok Cheongang hesitated for a long while, unable to continue, before finally muttering one word.

“…Did.”

“Huh?”

“I said you did well!”

Jeok Cheongang shouted, his face bright red, then grumbled under his breath.

My smile deepened at the sight.

Yes. That one sentence was enough.

“Thank you. It was all thanks to you, Old Master.”

“…”

What was this? His expression seemed strangely off.

His eyes even looked almost hurt. I asked, baffled,

“What’s wrong this time?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“Your face doesn’t exactly say nothing…”

“I said it was nothing!”

“Why are you shouting? The mood was finally warm and pleasant for once.”

“If I say it’s nothing, then take it as nothing! You keep prying and asking questions, so this is happening!”

“Uh-oh. It’s getting worse?”

What was wrong with this man all of a sudden? Had I screwed something up?

I was tilting my head in confusion when—

Rustle.

Two presences were coming up the stairs.

Their footsteps were so light and graceful that I might never have noticed them if my senses hadn’t grown even sharper after crossing the threshold.

They’re both incredible masters.

Two Supreme Peak masters, just like that?

After all the crises I had weathered lately, my body moved on its own.

But as I clenched my fists, Jeok Cheongang stopped me with a glance and waved one hand.

A thin stream of hot air gently pushed open the closed door.

“You’re all so impatient. Couldn’t even wait fifteen minutes before swarming up here?”

An old Buddhist nun and a Daoist answered Jeok Cheongang’s gruff voice in turn.

“Impatient? Hearing that from a lay devotee gives this poor nun a rather strange feeling.”

“This junior was discourteous. However, given the circumstances…”

The elderly nun, her face covered in fine wrinkles, was a stranger to me. But I immediately recognized the Daoist.

I cupped my hands toward him.

“Greetings, Perfected One.”

“It’s good to see you again, Fellow Daoist Jin.”

The old Daoist was Cheongpung the Ancient Sword, the Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect whom I had once visited to ask for help finding the Divine Physician.

Then this nun must be Emei Sect’s new Sect Leader… Who is she?

I knew a fair amount about famous masters by now, but not enough to understand the inner workings of every sect.

Especially when it came to a Sect Leader who had only recently taken office after the death of the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun.

As if he had read my thoughts, Jeok Cheongang quietly sent me a Sound Transmission.

That old hag is Emei Sect’s Extinction Divine Nun. She may look kindly, but once she loses her temper, she becomes a rakshasa¹ incarnate. Watch your mouth around her. And whatever you do, don’t mention her age.

I replied cautiously through Sound Transmission.

Just how old is she?

Older than this old man. She was also the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun’s Senior Aunt.

Oh.

I didn’t know Jeok Cheongang’s exact age, but I knew he was over a hundred. Add the sheer force of that sobriquet…

I bowed deeply to the ancient woman who looked like the matriarch of a bossam restaurant.²

“Greetings! My name is Jin Taekyung!”

“Good to meet you, Benefactor Jin.”

The Extinction Divine Nun studied me with a strange look in her eyes, then nodded.

“So the rumors were true. No—they fell short.”

Cheongpung the Ancient Sword smiled faintly.

“Isn’t it truly astonishing?”

“The waves behind drive the waves ahead on the Yangtze. It seems the younger generation means to sweep even old people like us aside. To cross the threshold at such a young age…”

“It isn’t only him, Venerable Nun. There is also a young man named Cheongpung.”

“Ah, the Sword Saint’s successor?”

“Yes. This poor Daoist lacks the discernment to judge which of the two is superior, but both young men are unquestionably heaven-sent. They are a great blessing to the Murim.”

“Oh…”

Interest and surprise flickered across their weary faces.

I was shifting my eyes awkwardly when Jeok Cheongang stepped in front of me.

Not that it accomplished much, considering the difference in our heights.

“You’ll wear the boy’s face out staring at him. Say what you came to say and hurry along.”

The two Sect Leaders looked embarrassed by his blunt words and finally got to the point.

“A problem has arisen. Could the two of you accompany us for a while?”

“It won’t take long. You have my word.”

“Accompany you? Right now?”

Jeok Cheongang asked in a displeased voice as he turned toward me.

“What will you do?”

“…”

Two Sect Leaders from the Nine Sects and One Gang were asking for my help. What exactly was I supposed to do?

“I’ll go.”

My body felt light, and accompanying them would give me a chance to hear everything that had happened. There was no real reason to refuse.

At my ready answer, the two Sect Leaders took the lead.

Then Jeok Cheongang abruptly asked,

“But where’s the other one?”

“He’s waiting below.”

“He said he preferred not to attract anyone else’s attention.”

The other one? If he was important enough to join this group, was it Tang Sadok, the Family Head of the Tang Clan?

Well, whoever it is, I’ll see him soon enough.

But my curiosity vanished the moment we left the pavilion and encountered a familiar face.

A delighted shout burst from me.

“Hey, you little punk! Mungyeong!”

Mungyeong looked exactly as he had before leaving the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Dark Heaven had invaded not long after he left, so I had been worried. Yet, perhaps our paths had simply missed each other, because he had somehow escaped without a scratch.

“When did you get here? You look taller than before. Going through a growth spurt?”

“…”

“Why so quiet? Are you in a bad mood? Maybe…”

I ruffled Mungyeong’s hair, then leaned closer and whispered,

“Did you have a wet dream this morning?”

“…!”

“You did. You totally did.”

Look at the little brat. Too embarrassed to say a word.

I smiled with satisfaction.

That sort of thing happened from time to time at his age. Maybe this was my chance to spread proper sex education throughout this dusty old Murim.

“Your hyung³ here is going to show you a whole new world. From now on, call me Teacher Jin Seong-ae.”⁴

Teacher Gu Seong-ae, are you watching? Your knowledge is crossing space and time to reach the next generation.

I was proudly patting Mungyeong on the shoulder when—

“Uh…”

“Um…”

“Oh dear… We forgot to tell him.”

Forgot to tell me what?

Three long sighs sounded behind me. At the same time, Mungyeong spoke in a flat voice.

“Take your hand off.”

“…Huh?”

“And I stopped having wet dreams a long time ago.”

“That’s a little problematic, because your secondary sexual development hasn’t completely finished ye—no, that’s not what I mean.”

I swallowed hard.

A terrifying possibility had just flashed through my mind.

“Who… are you?”

Mom, I’m scared.

“…And that is how things came to this.”

“It truly is a bizarre matter.”

Even as the two Sect Leaders raced along using their movement techniques, their voices never wavered.

They looked at me, waiting for an answer. I forced my lips apart.

“Ah, right. So there’s some kind of strange formation where we’re going?”

“According to the Third Fiend, whom we captured and interrogated, that appears to be the case. But the formation itself is so strange…”

Jeok Cheongang answered gruffly.

“This old man and this brat are both hopeless when it comes to formations. Looking at it won’t tell us a damned thing.”

I agreed. The Fire Gate Cavern on Mount Jiuhua contained an extraordinary Mystic Gate Formation, but that didn’t make either of us experts.

We’d be better off calling someone from the Zhuge Clan.

But it would take the Zhuge Clan a considerable amount of time to get here.

For some reason, the two Sect Leaders seemed to have high expectations of us.

Especially me.

“Fellow Daoist Jin, did you notice anything else strange about that man? Anything in his words or behavior?”

“I’ve told you everything. And from what I could tell… I don’t think it was possible for him to get any stranger.”

Dark Heaven was strange by nature. They were fanatics who worshiped the Lord of Heaven as almost—no, simply—as a god.

The Blood Lord and the Western Heaven Demon Lord were no different, with all their bizarre powers and abilities.

One regenerated like a human Troll. Another popped his arm off and stuck it back on like he had double-sided tape under it. And then there was the possession at the end.

The more I thought about it, the more miraculous our victory seemed.

We had fought those lunatics and somehow won.

“Before you awoke, Benefactor Jeok gave us a general account of what happened. Once the messenger eagle we sent to Henan returns with a reply, we should have a clearer idea of how to proceed.”

“If you notice anything strange when you examine the formation, tell us.”

“Yes.”

As I answered, I glanced at the figure racing far ahead of us.

Mungyeong.

No—the man known as the Slaughter Saint.

Fuck. What the hell is the Slaughter Saint doing here?

Honestly, I had nearly pissed myself.

Even if I spent half a day swimming in the Sanzu River valley, grilled meat, and came back, it wouldn’t be this bad.⁵

Mungyeong was the Slaughter Saint. And I asked the Slaughter Saint if he’d had a wet dream!

Teacher Gu Seong-ae, I nearly died because of you.

I had just let out a private sigh of relief when the dense undergrowth around us fell away, revealing towering cliffs ahead.