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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Chapter 53
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It had already been two hours.
Cheongun asked Seolhwa, who was silently moving forward.
Having left Hefei using light-body techniques, the two had already entered the deep valleys of Huangshan, south of the Yangtze River.
By this point, Cheongun couldn't help but ask.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"We're going to get something to replace the Daehwandan."
"That's what I mean. What in this vicinity could possibly replace the Daehwandan?"
The Daehwandan, after all, was the pride of Shaolin and hailed as a divine artifact.
Shaolin Temple wouldn't have many of them either.
"It's also Shaolin and Hwasan's responsibility for failing to manage such a precious item in the first place."
"That's true."
If it was so precious, they should have managed it properly.
"So, there's no need to specially bring a replacement item...."
"It might not matter. But then it would be hard to gain an advantage, wouldn't it?"
"Advantage...?"
Seolhwa nodded.
"Those who lost it are a problem, but so is the one who took it and selfishly consumed it. Hwasan will definitely find fault with that."
"But what can be done? It's already gone."
Seolhwa looked back at Cheongun, as if surprised.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"For a Namgung young master, you're quite brazen, aren't you?"
"Ahem! Having worked for the escort agency for so long..."
Perhaps taking "brazen" as a criticism, Namgung Cheongun's neck flushed slightly.
But Seolhwa had meant it as a compliment.
'He's not as rigid as I thought.'
His appearance suggested he would only adhere to the righteous path, yet Cheongun unexpectedly showed flexibility.
"We can't demand something that's already gone. We could also claim I didn't take it from the start. But then, our relationship with Hwasan would end there, wouldn't it?"
"That's true."
After all, Hwasan had no prior connection with Namgung, nor did they particularly seek one.
"Hwasan coming to Namgung is an opportunity. We can't miss it."
To face the Hyeolgyo, the various factions of the Murim must join hands.
Seolhwa had deliberately brought Hwasan to Namgung for that very reason.
'I must establish a connection with Hwasan with this opportunity.'
On the other hand, Cheongun thought Seolhwa was considering the clan's benefit.
Like everyone else in the clan, she believed they should establish relations with Hwasan to elevate Namgung's name.
'I knew Seolhwa had an unusual devotion to the clan, but...'
"I didn't know you thought that way too."
"…?"
Seolhwa, whose mind was solely focused on consolidating power before the war with the Hyeolgyo, tilted her head, seeing Cheongun's serious expression.
Cheongun asked.
"So, there's something comparable to the Daehwandan nearby?"
It would have to be something like a spirit beast's core or a ten-thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, wouldn't it?
"Have you heard the term Cheongunggwidu (Heavenly Bow Tortoise Head)?"
"Of course, I have."
Cheongunggwidu (Heavenly Bow Tortoise Head).
It was a legendary rumor spread throughout Anhui Province.
"Isn't it the rumor that if you find the Cheongunggwidu, you can gain control of the world?"
"That's right."
No one knew what the Cheongunggwidu was. However, it was said that whoever found it would gain control of the world.
The problem was that it was rumored to be a treasure hidden by Manrisintu, known as the "Divine Thief," which once stirred up the Murim.
"But it's a baseless, false rumor. Many tried to find the Cheongunggwidu, but not a single person found even a trace."
As that rumor spread secretly, the factions of Jungwon, including Namgung, dispatched their elites to find the Cheongunggwidu.
Namgung, too, sent Bipunggeomdae, Namgung Mucheon's direct sword unit, but they also found nothing.
"At that time, Manrisintu even earned the nickname Myorisintu (Vast Thief), for supposedly stealing even human hearts."
It was a nickname given because he was said to reach places beyond ten thousand li, to unknowable ends.
Seolhwa nodded.
"That's right. But you're wrong."
"Wrong? You mean, the Cheongunggwidu actually exists?"
"Yes."
People dismiss things as non-existent if they can't obtain them.
Whether it was Namgung or other factions, they must have known that the Divine Thief's rumor wasn't just false.
However, there was only one reason why everyone conspired to dismiss the rumor as false.
'If I can't obtain it, no one else should either.'
They spread the false rumor out of concern that someone might actually go looking for the Cheongunggwidu.
"Cheongung. It means 'Heavenly Bow.' Do you know what it refers to?"
"A rainbow."
"Then what about Gwidu?"
"Literally, a tortoise's head."
A tortoise's head beneath a rainbow.
"But nowhere where rainbows frequently appeared was there a tortoise. And even if we found a tortoise-like formation, there was no rainbow."
There were times both conditions were met, but that was all.
Nothing special was found.
"Two things aligning by chance holds no meaning. Cheongunggwidu. A place that can only be described by these four characters. There, the power to rule the world, as spoken of by the Divine Thief, will exist."
"And you know where that place is?"
While they talked, the two had already ventured deep into Huangshan.
The forest was so dense that the leaves covered more area than the sky, and consequently, less sunlight penetrated even in broad daylight.
Precipices appeared without warning in various parts of the rugged mountains, and unknown sounds echoed from all directions.
Seolhwa turned to Namgung Cheongun and smiled refreshingly.
Suddenly, she drew her sword with a *shiiing*.
"Do you like monkey brain dishes?"
"…Hm?"
"I don't really like them. Why eat an animal's brain? There are so many other delicious things in the world."
"What are you suddenly talking about..."
Just then.
*Kiiiek—! Kiiiek! Kiiiek, Kiiiek!*
"…!"
A sound like metal scraping somewhere was heard. It sounded like a pig being slaughtered, or perhaps a human scream.
The chilling sound rapidly approached the two.
Namgung Cheongun instinctively took a stance, gripping his sword hilt.
'Danger!'
"Seolhwa. You must flee...!"
However, Seolhwa instead took a step towards the direction from which the sound was approaching.
She raised her sword towards the darkness.
"Seolhwa!"
"They say monkey brains must be eaten while the monkey is still alive. So, they tie drums or bells to the living monkey's hands and feet. To check if the food is fresh while they're eating it."
*Kiiiek! Kiiieeeek!*
The sounds, which had been distant, rapidly converged around the two, encircling them in an instant.
"Aren't humans truly terrible? Utterly cruel and barbaric."
At the sounds coming from all directions, Cheongun spun in place.
"That barbarity gives birth to grudges (怨), and those grudges accumulate to create things that shouldn't exist in this world."
"It's dangerous! Get behind your father...!"
At that moment.
*Kiiieeeek—!*
Something lunged towards the two.
Cheongun drew his sword, but Seolhwa swung her blade even faster.
*Chwaaak—*
Two masses fell to the ground.
They were monkeys with severed heads.
*Kiiiek! Kiiieeeek! Kiiik! Kiik! Kiiiiiik!*
At the death of one monkey, countless monkeys positioned around them roared.
The deep forest of Huangshan was suddenly filled with the cries of monkeys.
"If wishes (願) accumulate, divine creatures are born. But if grudges (怨) accumulate, do you know what is born?"
Namgung Cheongun's face was filled with tension.
His gaze was fixed on the monkeys Seolhwa had cut down.
"…Demonic beasts (魔物)."
They were monkeys, yet not monkeys.
Their heads were split in two as if struck by an axe. Their claws and nails were long, sharp, and hard, like bound daggers, and they appeared two or three times larger than ordinary monkeys.
Most importantly, their eyes were blood red.
As if filled with deep grudges.
Towards cruel humans, towards a barbaric world.
They were demonic beasts, no longer monkeys nor anything else, born from that.
*Kiiiek! Kiiiek! Kiiieeeek!*
"Just because they are humble creatures doesn't mean they have nothing precious, no fear, or no resentment."
Humans are cruel.
They catch monkeys, tie bells to them, and then smash their skulls open to eat their brains on the spot.
Monkeys who barely escaped watch their mothers, children, and friends die, and they howl.
Amidst those howls, humans eat. They merely savor it.
"Seolhwa..."
Cheongun swallowed dryly, gripping his sword.
"I don't like monkey brain dishes either. But why... why must we bear this grudge...?"
Huh...? Why, exactly...?
"Because what we wish for is beyond this. You could say it's a battle of wishes versus grudges."
"That... Cheongunggwidu, you mean...?"
That's beyond here?
"Yes."
"Can't we just give up on Hwasan?"
"That's a greater wish, so we can't."
Cheongun seemed to give up, spreading his senses to count the number of monkeys that had gathered.
There appeared to be at least several hundred.
"Can the two of us defeat all of them?"
"I wonder."
*Kiiiek!*
Seolhwa swung her sword towards the charging monkey. But this time, Cheongun's sword was slightly faster.
With a *chwaaak—*, one demonic beast burst into a spray of blood.
Around Namgung Cheongun, a sharp, vibrant blue aura surged.
"Isn't it true that in a battle of wishes and grudges, the one with the deeper desire ultimately wins?"
