This Time, to Mount Hua (2)
As I always say, time does not take my circumstances into consideration.
It moves entirely as it pleases, so I have no choice but to adjust to it.
By that measure, ten days had passed far too quickly.
I had to make up for the training I had neglected, and I also had to dredge up what little memory I had to write down the events that would happen in the future.
On top of that, I had to exhaust myself dealing with Elder Yi and Gu Huibi, who came to see me every day.
The closest thing I had to peace was teasing Wi Seol-ah, who would come sit beside me once she had finished all the household chores.
It was so amusing to see her make a face as if the world had collapsed whenever I stole one of her yakgwa.
‘Come to think of it, isn’t this my money?’
The household servants did spend their own money to buy them for me from time to time, but most of it was my money.
To be precise, it was the Gu family’s money, but what was the difference...?
‘It’s my money until I run away from home.’
I did intend to leave the Gu family someday, but that was still a distant prospect.
I needed to stay for at least five years and eat my fill of everything they had.
Boom! Boom!
After finishing my training, I took off the sandbags.
Judging by the noise they made when they hit the ground, they were no ordinary weight.
“I’m still lacking.”
Reaching the Fourth Star with a mere ten days was, as expected, impossible.
I was currently at the very limit of the Third Star realm, but that was separate from the wall standing before me.
To move fluidly while wielding destructive inner power, my body had to be that much stronger.
In that sense, although the Gu family’s secret martial arts were easy to learn, their cultivation method was unbelievably demanding.
The flames it spewed out madly devoured inner power in equal proportion.
To withstand such ferocity, the body had to be tough.
And judging by my experiences in my previous life, I knew better than anyone how important external cultivation was.
“...Because I didn’t know that, I couldn’t break through to Full Completion.”
Full Completion.
The pinnacle of the Nine-Flame Flower Wheel Technique.
The realm of learning, comprehending, taming, and finally controlling the cultivation method.
I wondered if a phrase like “Perfect Unity” might carry a similar meaning.
But in the end, I had never reached it, so I couldn’t know.
The Sword Demon Queen of my previous life had reached the realm of Unity of Body and Sword.
In a way, her realm might have been higher than mine.
When I had asked her what enlightenment felt like, she had answered as follows.
‘It doesn’t feel like anything.’
That was all she had said.
I had never expected a proper explanation from her in the first place, so I wasn’t disappointed.
‘If I had to give it meaning, it would be the sensation of having transcended something.’
It was an ambiguous sensation that was difficult to compare with anything else.
The higher one’s realm rose, and the closer one came to that point, the more clearly it would be felt.
I couldn’t feel it because my current realm was smaller than a rat’s turd, but the person standing before me had undoubtedly gone far beyond the boundaries of an ordinary martial artist.
“I’m exceptionally good at driving a carriage, Young Master!”
“...No, there’s already a coachman, Old Master Wi.”
What was with this man...? Why was he acting like this?
I had always been curious about it.
******************
Before I knew it, the promised ten days had passed.
It seemed I had hardly had time to rest, yet the day had arrived for me to leave for Shaanxi, where the Mount Hua Sect was located, just as I had discussed with Father.
Damn it... I had only just returned from Sichuan, and now I had to go to Shaanxi.
How long would this take? By the time I visited Mount Hua and returned, it would probably be autumn.
“...How many days do you think it’ll take this time?”
“Wouldn’t it take longer than you expect, Young Master?”
“That’s a bit harsh. Are you still sulking?”
Mu-yeon seemed to have been rather upset ever since I teased him with the silver coins last time.
Of course, I hadn’t actually given him any money.
Ah, was that what he was sulking about? I had intended to make up for it in his next pay.
I put Mu-yeon aside for the moment and turned my gaze toward the carriage being prepared for departure.
I could see supplies being stacked neatly inside.
Unlike when we had gone to Sichuan last time, this seemed far more well-stocked.
Perhaps they were taking greater care because this was a carriage sent directly by the family head.
Amid all that, I spotted Wi Seol-ah waddling back and forth as she moved the luggage, her arms full of heavy things and her vision almost completely blocked.
She was carrying loads that would ordinarily have been handled by grown men without the slightest difficulty.
‘...Could she already have inner power stored in her dantian?’
Otherwise, there was no way to explain her monstrous strength.
Neighhh.
The sound of a horse naturally drew my gaze.
Wi Seol-ah carrying luggage was one thing, but the Sword Venerable was communicating with the horse.
...How was I supposed to make sense of this absurd situation?
‘...Why are they coming along with me, anyway?’
When I had heard that the Sword Venerable and Wi Seol-ah would be accompanying me to Mount Hua shortly after the schedule was set, I had been utterly shocked.
The Sword Venerable had even volunteered to serve as the coachman, saying that someone had to drive the horses.
Wondering what the hell was going on, I went to find the coachman who had originally driven us.
Apparently, after completing the journey to Sichuan, he had received silver and some leave and gone off to rest.
Of all times, now? The trip to Mount Hua had been decided as soon as he returned!
‘There’s a very fishy smell coming from this.’
I could sense the faint stench of something rotten—one that suggested the family head had personally pulled some strings.
And amid all those suspicious odors, there I was, lured by the Taesandan and walking straight into a whirlwind.
Was this really right? It didn’t feel right.
“Little Brother.”
It was Gu Huibi’s voice.
When I turned toward the sound, Gu Huibi was holding a familiar bowl of dumplings.
“Why are you holding that?”
“Little Brother, I heard you didn’t eat again.”
“No... I did eat some Grain-Banishing Pills.”
“Little Brother, are you insane? How do you expect to survive eating things like that when you’re at an age when you’re still growing?”
“As you can see, I’m surviving just fi—ngh!”
As if she had no intention of listening to the rest, Gu Huibi shoved a dumpling into my mouth.
I wanted to spit it right back out, but no matter what, I couldn’t spit out a dumpling.
I barely chewed and swallowed it, then accepted the water Gu Huibi offered me and drank.
“...”
Once I had properly chewed and swallowed it, Gu Huibi smiled with satisfaction.
That only made me more irritated.
“Big Sis, when are you leaving already?”
“Why? Do you want me to stay longer?”
“No, please leave as soon as possible—urk!”
I quickly turned my head to dodge the fist that shot toward me.
This crazy woman threw a punch without warning!?
“No! Just say it with words!”
“I knew you’d dodge it! Your manners are absolutely atrocious.”
Every time she casually shook out her hand, a small amount of red qi burst forth.
Wow, had she even imbued her fist with qi?
Putting that shocking behavior aside, Gu Huibi grinned and spoke.
“I’ll probably be leaving in about ten days.”
Ten days. That meant she would have rested for nearly twenty days in total, which was an enormous vacation from the perspective of the leader of the Sword Division.
Perhaps it was because long-term missions were so grueling. Considering that most of the Five Swords Division’s missions were long-term to begin with, this one must have been especially difficult.
“Where are you headed after your rest is over?”
“Oh, what’s this? Are you worried about me?”
How annoying. Should I have just kept my mouth shut?
Perhaps my reaction was amusing, because Gu Huibi giggled.
“It’s a shame we won’t get to see each other for a while.”
Gu Huibi vigorously tousled my hair with one hand.
Every time she shook me, my head went along with it, and I could sense Elder Yi in her.
Of all people, why did she have to resemble that old man...?
“It’ll be a little longer this time. I heard we’re going to a Demon Realm.”
“A Demon Realm?”
A Demon Realm referred to an area where the Demon Gates opened with exceptional frequency.
These were regions managed intensively by the Murim Alliance, and it had been agreed that orthodox clans belonging to the alliance would send their sword divisions to the Demon Realms according to the timing.
It seemed to be the Five Swords Division’s turn in the Gu family.
“That sounds like it’ll be tough.”
“Wouldn’t it be fun? I hear there are monsters everywhere... I’m already excited.”
“...Have fun, then.”
So my concern had been pointless... She was actually looking forward to it?
The Red Flower Mad Sword... She truly was a terrifying woman.
While we were making small talk, Mu-yeon approached and delivered a message.
“Young Master, everything is ready.”
“Are we leaving right away?”
“Not immediately. It seems we’ll depart in about fifteen minutes. Elder Yi has come and says he has something to give you...”
“...What is he trying to give me this time?”
Anything involving that old man made me uneasy.
He was the sort of person who could suddenly appear and tell me to take something to the Sect Leader over there, and it wouldn’t be strange at all.
“Take this to the Sect Leader over there and give it to him.”
But why did it have to actually happen...?
“...What did you say?”
I asked again, thinking I had misheard.
Elder Yi had suddenly appeared and spoken to me.
Then he repeated himself as if it were nothing.
“Hm...? Ah, take this to that Dohwa fellow and—”
“No...! Wait, wait! I wasn’t asking for the Mount Hua Sect Leader’s religious name.”
“What? Then why did you ask?”
Damn, had this old man really just called the Mount Hua Sect Leader “that fellow”? What kind of nerve did he have...?
“Anyway, when you get to Mount Hua, tell them Guryun has come, and they’ll meet you. Give him this.”
“What is it that you’re making me run an errand for?”
“It’s nothing special. It’s simply an item I promised to give him, but this old man had temporarily forgotten about it.”
The item Elder Yi handed me was wrapped roughly in cloth. It certainly appeared to be nothing special.
I kept running my fingers over it, intrigued by the pleasant texture I could feel through the cloth, so Elder Yi explained.
“It is called the Plum Blossom Linked Rectification Stone, one of Mount Hua’s Four Great Treasures.”
My hand, which had been stroking it, stopped on its own.
Beside me, I even heard Mu-yeon give an involuntary hiccup.
...What had I just heard? Surely, this time, I had misheard him?