Return of the Dark Moon
Chapter 27. The Master of the Haomun
After meeting Zhongli Quan, I immediately ran to Beomcheon.
Even if Zhongli Quan had gifted me a fortuitous opportunity out of pure goodwill, the fact that I had met him was something we needed to discuss.
Why? Because, no matter what, Zhongli Quan was a figure from the Peach Blossom Spring.
When I headed to the Main Buddha Hall, Beomcheon was tapping a wooden fish and chanting.
"A plague on them, the Invincible One and all the rest can just drop dead... Namu-fucking-hell..."
What the hell was he on about now?
As I approached, he stopped tapping the wooden fish and turned around.
"What brings you here? Do you still have business in Shaolin? Or perhaps... you missed this old monk...?"
"Shut up. Don't say such disgusting things. I met Zhongli Quan."
Instantly, Beomcheon's neck tilted stiffly toward me, like an automaton.
"Zhongli Quan of the Eight Immortals? From the Peach Blossom Spring? What business did you have with him?"
The mere shift in Beomcheon's mood unleashed a pressure so suffocating it felt like my chest was caving in.
Realising his mistake, Beomcheon quickly withdrew his aura.
I barely managed to calm my breathing by repeatedly circulating my internal energy using my cultivation technique.
This is why you shouldn't get involved with these peerless masters. Damn ignorant bastards.
After letting out a long, sighing breath, I spoke.
"He was sitting on the Gyeryong's corpse. He was the one who managed the Gyeryong we killed. I don't know why, but he seemed to hold some goodwill toward me. Said something about how I gave the Gyeryong its final pleasure. Then he just muttered to himself for a bit before tossing me a manual like he was giving alms and left."
"A manual?"
"The Cheondun Sword Art. It's Lü Dongbin's martial art. I haven't looked at it, but it's probably the real thing. Though there might be a verse in there that induces Qi deviation if I try to learn it. Why did he give it to me? Don't ask, because I don't know either."
Beomcheon was silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. Then he spoke.
"The manual. May I see it?"
Since I was already a beggar, I handed him the manual.
Beomcheon quickly flipped through the pages, his expression unreadable.
"There are no issues. It's authentic. The sharp strokes characteristic of a peerless swordsman can be felt in the calligraphy, yet it remains fluid and supremely restrained. There don't seem to be any problematic passages either. And that's what's strange. Why would that old drunk give you the Cheondun Sword Art?"
Zhongli Quan of the Eight Immortals.
The master of Lü Dongbin, known as the Greatest Sword of All Time.
But he was also a figure from the Peach Blossom Spring.
An ancient shadow of the martial world.
How should I deal with him?
There was no need to overthink it.
It was just a chance encounter on a random day.
A fleeting connection, like one of the countless leaves on an old tree.
Beomcheon handed the Cheondun Sword Art back to me and said,
"Learn it. Isn't this a good thing for us? The Cheondun Sword Art. The very sword art that Lü Dongbin, before he became an immortal, used to slay an ancient dragon. As I've said many times, getting stronger is your only way to survive."
I nodded, then a thought occurred to me, and I asked him,
"Zhongli Quan said that the Invincible One is watching everything we do. Even this conversation right now. Is that really true?"
"It is. His eyes see through everything. He's probably watching you with particular interest. After all, you're quite entertaining to watch when he's bored."
A life under someone's surveillance.
It wasn't a pleasant thought.
Then again, I was already tied to Ilgyeokmujeok all the time, so maybe it was the same.
In any case, my business on Mount Song was finished.
I hadn't planned on staying this long.
I'd yelled at Elder Un for his sudden outburst before, but it seemed I wasn't one to talk.
Well, what can you do?
I bid Beomcheon farewell and left Mount Song with Hwapyeong.
"I'm leaving. Don't you go crying because I'm gone, you hear? And drink in moderation. Uh, also... and..."
"Shut up."
...
Hwapyeong and I left Mount Song and headed back to Beijing.
Of course, this time, Ilgyeokmujeok was added to our party.
We stopped in Dengfeng, the city at the foot of Mount Song, and made our way to a nearby inn.
As we entered the largest inn in the area, a young waiter greeted us.
"What would you like to have? We got some fine pork in today. How about some Dongpo pork?"
He was guiding us to a table when he saw Ilgyeokmujeok, and his eyes widened to an almost comical degree.
He looked like he'd fallen in love at first sight.
Run away, kid. She's really not the one.
Besides, what's the age difference?
I turned my head and looked back at Ilgyeokmujeok, who had already taken a seat.
Don't kill him. He's just an innocent kid who doesn't know any better.
And the scene that unfolded the next moment left me speechless.
With a gentle smile, Ilgyeokmujeok patted the waiter's head.
Was she planning to make his head explode?
"Yes, the Dongpo pork. We'll have that. And could you bring us some Dukangju wine as well?"
An astonishingly soft voice flowed from her lips.
Hwapyeong, too, looked so flustered that he was pinching his own cheek.
Did the Master of the Heaven-Shattering Sect have such a side to her?
Before my regression, the woman I knew was nothing more than an exceedingly arrogant butcher.
Even if she knew about the regression, the Ilgyeokmujeok I remembered had not truly returned.
Thirty-five years from now.
What was the difference between the Greedy Wolf of the war's fifth year and the young girl of today?
I couldn't know.
It wasn't as if I could go back to that time.
Why did Baek Cheon set the world on fire?
That was another one of the questions that made my head throb.
What was the reason?
He was a man who pursued perfection more than anyone.
As I thought this, I looked at Ilgyeokmujeok's face.
For the first time, she seemed to act her age.
And that very sight filled me with a terrible sense of unease.
The person known as Ilgyeokmujeok didn't use that incredibly cringey third-person pronoun, 'this lady'?
This was a matter that required some thought.
It was on par with a talkative Baek Cheon or a silent Hwai.
Is the world about to end?
Come to think of it, the world really did end.
To think it was because of Ilgyeokmujeok.
Feeling like I was starting to spout nonsense, I smacked myself on the head.
Ouch.
I glanced at the waiter happily returning to the kitchen, then turned my head to look at Ilgyeokmujeok.
As if she'd never smiled, she was looking down at me with a slightly raised chin and a blank expression.
Is this an act? Is she only doing this in front of me?
No, that can't be it.
No way.
As I watched her with an indescribable expression, the food arrived.
Hwapyeong took two silver needles from his sleeve, handed one to me, and stuck the other deep into his own food.
He was checking for poison.
I, too, poked the needle in and pulled it back out.
It was a little greasy, but the color hadn't changed.
It was a fresh reminder that Hwapyeong, too, was a man of the martial world.
"Is there none for this master?"
It was, of course, Ilgyeokmujeok's voice.
She lowered her eyelashes as if she were disappointed.
Surely she wasn't actually disappointed.
Hwapyeong, who was picking up a piece of pork and chewing it with gusto, spoke nonchalantly.
"Don't worry, Master. You're incredibly strong, aren't you? They say you're impervious to all poisons, so it wouldn't work on you anyway, right? So this... AGH! My foot! It's gonna break!"
Gritting her teeth, Ilgyeokmujeok stomped on Hwapyeong's foot as she took a sip of Dukangju.
The reason she gritted her teeth was, of course, to control her strength so she wouldn't kill him.
I sighed, looking at her flushed cheeks.
"Now even brats are drinking. The world is truly ending. What's the point of living like this?"
“Then go ahead and die.”
Yeah, you can just die.
A bunch of heartless bastards.
This is why these two, master and disciple, can't start a family and live alone.
Crack, thwack!
With that sound, a searing pain shot through my forehead.
It was a flick from Ilgyeokmujeok.
"You're having delusional thoughts. It's not that I couldn't date, it's that I chose not to."
"Ah. That's what they all say. I bet your disciple is the same."
Hwapyeong retorted.
"I'm choosing not to date too, you son of a bitch."
Ilgyeokmujeok chuckled and said to me,
"And you? Were you so great that you married that woman? I heard from the Regressor that her name was Ma-jeong…"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Dammit, Baek Cheon.
Did he go around talking about other people's private lives?
Meanwhile, Hwapyeong, who didn't understand the situation, was just bewildered.
“Huh? You had a woman? No way. That can't be right. More importantly, since when did you two know each other?”
"None of your business."
As expected, that part of my life didn't exactly end well.
It's an awkward topic, so let's just drop it
After a long moment of silently munching on meat and drinking, a thought suddenly struck Hwapyeong.
……I was a dead man in the eyes of the Sect Leader.
"What. What's your problem now."
"No, but isn't it true? A disciple from his own sect suddenly becomes the disciple of some weird brat... Anyone would be pissed."
For a moment, a rumble of thunder.
Kureung
Echoed in the clear sky.
I quietly got up, paid for the food, and left the tavern.
The crackle of lightning, jjijik, and a gambler's groans filled the tavern.
A moment later, Ilgyeokmujeok emerged from the tavern with a smile on her lips, followed by a haggard Hwapyeong.
And so, the two idiots and one handsome young beggar set off once more.
***
We walked through the marketplace of Dengfeng County.
There was no particular reason.
It was just a way of trying to live a brighter life, instead of just skulking along gloomy mountain paths.
Hwapyeong looked like an Unorthodox Faction thug to anyone who saw him, and Ilgyeokmujeok's killing intent was too thick for her to be a martial artist of the Orthodox Faction.
Ilgyeokmujeok wandered the streets, perched on Hwapyeong's shoulders.
Those two were definitely not normal.
Since the three of us had plenty of time, we spent it wandering all over the place.
It felt good to take a proper rest like this for the first time since my regression.
Even though it was winter, they were selling rock candy (ice sugar), so I bought three and sucked on them.
My teeth were a bit sensitive to the cold.
Ilgyeokmujeok, however, seemed to feel nothing, having long ago reached the state of Hanseobulcheong, impervious to natural heat and cold.
"It's quite edible. But not worth paying money for."
That was all she said.
As we wandered here and there, the sounds of people's conversations inevitably drifted into my ears.
"Huh? No, the shop next door has the same material, but it's one silver tael cheaper."
"Then why don't you just go buy it there?"
Merchants and customers haggling over prices, martial artists with swords at their waists wandering about, and a man in an out-of-place bamboo hat……
Tap.
I bumped shoulders with the man in the bamboo hat.
It was clearly intentional.
I waved at him as he passed me.
I immediately put a hand into my sleeve, and the sharp edge of a piece of paper brushed against my fingers.
It was obvious who had put it there.
—Come to Unhwaru. I have something urgent to discuss.
It was a short message.
When I lifted my head and looked forward again, the young man in the bamboo hat had already transformed into an old man and was waving at me.
A peerless master whose true face no one has ever seen.
A master of disguise.
A being who could therefore be anywhere, and nowhere.
Muingwi, Cheonridong
But his better-known name was.
I bared my teeth in a grin.
"The Lord of the Haomun"
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