Chapter 136: A Strange Feeling
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The wanderer, wearing a gray blood-stained robe, soon stood precariously at the very edge of the sharply cut cliff.
FLUTTER FLUTTER.
The wind sweeping across the high cliff lightly rustled the robe’s hem a few times.
Before long, lips beneath a face heavily shadowed by the round bamboo hat opened, and a voice with a strange accent leaked out.
“Refreshing.”
Looking down at the vast panorama of Zhanzhou stretching far ahead, he soon spotted a dust cloud rising and then vanishing in the distance.
It was Black Ox Hall’s direction.
The traces of the clash between Cheol Ryu-heun and Do Yun.
Suddenly, a faint smile spread across the wanderer’s lips.
“Never a dull moment.”
Having muttered to himself, he quietly raised his head and the blue sky entered his pupils.
‘Fight to your heart’s content. That azure sky will soon turn to dark bloodred… At least, it will appear that way to your unprepared eyes.’
The wanderer who had withdrawn his gaze remained still at the cliff’s edge, not moving at all.
As if waiting for someone.
* * *
Two figures were racing without rest along a path of fallen leaves.
It was Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae.
Before long, the two reached the vicinity of the main road leading directly to Zhanzhou and stopped.
“Something… Is bothering me.”
At Namgung Heon-rin’s quiet voice, Jeon Kwae responded with a meaningful gaze.
“Suspicious?”
“A little.”
“So what you’re saying is he deliberately moved conspicuously so people would see him, then cleverly changed course?”
“What the cart owner said about seeing him should be true but… Thinking quietly, I wonder if it might have been intentional exposure. Hmm.”
When Namgung Heon-rin swallowed a groan as if troubled, Jeon Kwae carefully spoke up.
“Could it be a lure…?”
“Well, there’s no way he’d know we’re chasing him. But since he’s been heading south almost in a straight line after passing Wuyang… It’s somewhat strange to attribute it simply to his tired physical condition.”
“Heonrin, I rather think that kind of movement proves he knows nothing. If he had detected that we’ve tracked him this far, he would have left some kind of false trail in advance to create confusion.”
Namgung Heon-rin slightly narrowed his brow upon hearing Jeon Kwae’s words.
‘What could it be… Could there be some other important reason he had no choice but to stop briefly here in Zhanzhou…?’
Suddenly his gaze changed.
‘Ah!’
Turning his head, Namgung Heon-rin examined the mountains standing like a folding screen in all directions, then spoke briefly.
“A rendezvous?”
At that, Jeon Kwae’s gaze changed as well.
“Oho, that makes sense.”
“Right, he might have a prior appointment with someone… So he hurried along and unintentionally left traces.”
“My, my, this is practically killing two birds with one stone. Hoho. We can catch that guy who stole something unbefitting his status and also confirm the identity of whoever’s behind it. It’s bound to be someone from one of the heterodox sects.”
“We don’t know yet. Not until we see with our own eyes.”
“Come now, if we assume his final destination is the Shiwan Mountains, the only faction that would show interest in that item carrying tales of ancient mystery is the heterodox sects. As you well know, those people aren’t just a simple religious group of irregular flow. They’re a crowd that’s been dabbling in demonic arts under the guise of researching mystical arts since ancient times. Well, it is somewhat puzzling why the heterodox sects would plot something like this in the current era…”
Jeon Kwae wore an expression of certainty while Namgung Heon-rin approached cautiously.
“They’re the most likely mastermind for now. But we mustn’t forget our duty and should only trust evidence. So there are no innocent casualties.”
“Yeah, I know, I know. As you say, it’s best to keep all possibilities open.”
Following those words, Jeon Kwae pulled out the bamboo tube from his bundle.
“Anyway, if the place he wants to go isn’t inside Zhanzhou but somewhere outside, it must be one of those mountains visible over there?”
“Of course.”
The moment Namgung Heon-rin nodded, Jeon Kwae scattered the Tracking Powder from the bamboo tube onto the ground.
Then.
“Here!”
At Jeon Kwae’s short cry, Namgung Heon-rin’s gaze turned to the ground.
Several faint footprints.
The target they were chasing had veered into the forest to the side just before Zhanzhou.
“Ha, look at this? Seems he pushed through the thick underbrush. Heonrin, tracking should be easier now.”
“Don’t let your guard down. As you said, this path itself could be a lure, so we should move while keeping in mind possible ambushes of some kind.”
“With you and me together, what is there to fear? Hoho.”
When Jeon Kwae laughed boldly while erasing the Tracking Powder on the ground, Namgung Heon-rin warned him again.
“I said don’t let your guard down. We’re also human, and we only have one life each.”
At that, Jeon Kwae shrugged and smirked internally.
‘This guy, acting cautious when he’s stronger than most famous rising talents in the martial world… But that meticulous attitude is something worth learning. He has the qualities to rise to a commander position someday.’
* * *
“No one?”
Before Cheol Ryu-heun’s dry voice, the arena sank into even heavier silence.
-Anyone else want to take me on?
No one could answer that question.
Not just the Black Ox Hall thugs, but also the first, second, and third ranked swordsmen of the Broken Mountain Hundred Sword Assembly – Broken Mountain Sword Manor’s elite – and even Mountain Shattering Sword Beon Sa, the disciple who had inherited Blue Robe Sword Noble Do Yun’s legacy…
A powerhouse who held one of the Five Supreme Martial Experts of Hunan Province seats had been brought to his knees by a mere twenty-year-old young man.
So who would dare express their intent to challenge him to his face?
Beon Sa remaining silent meant the situation was already settled.
‘Master has…’
Beon Sa was still perplexed.
Good heavens, Cheol Ryu-heun’s martial prowess is at that level?
Someone said to have talent only slightly better than average… Is that the same person standing before him now?
It was incomprehensible.
Something felt very, very wrong.
He had boasted internally that the price for recklessly provoking his master would be great, but when it actually happened, it was the opposite.
He had to exercise restraint.
He finally realized that recklessly touching Cheol Ryu-heun, whom he had misjudged until now, was an extremely dangerous thing.
The two powerhouses who vied for the top among the Five Supreme Martial Experts of Hunan Province are commonly called the “Two Dukes.”
Taoist White Cloud Sword Duke Cheon Mu of Mount Heng Sect, and Thunder Cloud Sword Duke of Thunder Lightning Sect.
Estimation told him that the martial prowess Cheol Ryu-heun had demonstrated today clearly surpassed the level of those Two Dukes.
Everyone else felt the same way.
It seemed like a dream.
Like a terrifying nightmare they never wanted to have again…
But the acrid smell of blood stinging their nostrils made them aware this was stark reality.
“What are you doing? Stop his bleeding.”
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s words, Beon Sa snapped to his senses and gestured, and the three of the Broken Mountain Hundred Sword Assembly hurriedly moved to tend to Do Yun’s body.
At that moment.
PWEEEEE-
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s whistle, Divine Wind clip-clopped out.
Seeing that, Beon Sa was seized by yet another great question.
‘What…!’
Because he had faintly sensed the tremendous energy residing within Divine Wind’s body.
That was no mere horse.
Setting aside the external appearance with excessively developed muscles across its entire body, the size of energy faintly touching his energy sense was at a level that could be called a rare creature of the ages.
There was no need to deliberately operate internal energy to confirm it.
Cheol Ryu-heun soon lightly stepped off the ground and leaped onto Divine Wind’s saddled back.
Only then did Beon Sa open his mouth.
“I shall… apologize.”
Polite speech naturally flowed out.
As if both body and mind had been subdued before the other’s fearsome presence.
Cheol Ryu-heun moved his gaze to that face and said.
“Broken Mountain – the so-called ruthlessly shattering mountains… But you couldn’t shatter our White Peak.”
Beon Sa suddenly flushed with embarrassment.
“Losing to me isn’t something to be particularly ashamed of.”
“……”
“What should truly be shameful is oppressing the powerless people of the village. That means the one you should apologize to isn’t only me standing before you.”
At that, Beon Sa bowed his head slightly and replied quietly.
“Yes, I shall… Take this opportunity to go to the marketplace and apologize.”
After Cheol Ryu-heun brushed back his hair and quickly swept his gaze over everyone.
“I don’t believe in repentance anyway. What you do when I’m not watching – I have no interest. However…”
Gripping the reins, he continued in an indifferent voice.
“Just don’t let me catch you doing something unnecessary.”
Immediately after, Divine Wind snorted and stamped the ground with a CRASH before galloping off into the distance.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE, RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE-
The horse and rider became a black dot and vanished in an instant.
Beon Sa gazed in that direction for a moment with eyes tangled with complex emotions, then adjusted his posture and gave orders.
“Black Ox Hall is officially disbanded as of today and will be incorporated as a direct subordinate organization under our Manor.”
No one objected.
Beon Sa then turned his head and addressed the middle-aged swordsman who was the first-ranked of the Broken Mountain Hundred Sword Assembly.
“Assembly Head, I will go to calm the angry sentiment of the marketplace people. It seems it’s time to seek a different path from the methods we’ve pursued until now. I will personally persuade Master later.”
“Hmm, but…”
“White Peak Sword Sect is orthodox and not even a sect based in Zhanzhou, yet through this sparring tour they’ve gained much. They’ve won the people’s trust, built justification, and their new Sect Master Cheol Ryu-heun has even raised his martial reputation.”
“……”
“People… Call us unorthodox because we use martial arts of irregular flow, but if our conduct also keeps tilting toward the irregular, we’ll lose something greater later on.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“I believe Master will also have a change of heart due to this incident. Then I’ll see you later.”
Having finished speaking, Beon Sa didn’t hesitate and strode toward the marketplace.
Meanwhile.
Atop Divine Wind, Cheol Ryu-heun had already reached the outskirts of Zhanzhou.
‘That young one will soon surpass his master. Though he seems to be hiding his strength out of courtesy.’
But suddenly.
FLINCH.
Having felt something strange, he yanked the reins to stop Divine Wind’s gallop.
‘……’
Soon, turning his head, he looked at the various mountains lined up like a folding screen around Zhanzhou.
At that moment.
Spotting a certain mountain at the farthest point of his vision, he spoke in a voice barely audible as if talking to himself.
“Something’s triggering my senses.”
It was just a vague intuition, but leaving felt like some invisible hand kept holding him back.
‘Might as well go see.’
Cheol Ryu-heun soon pulled the reins to turn Divine Wind’s head and began speeding toward that mountain.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE- RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE-
* * *
At a cliff on that mountain where Cheol Ryu-heun’s gaze had just rested.
The wanderer perched precariously at its edge also seemed to sense something strange, quietly gazing at the dense forest spread out far below.
‘……’
Right then.
A faint presence was detected.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH…
A sound like someone treading on leaf-covered ground.
It was a presence from such a distant range that it would be nearly impossible for anyone but a master with transcendent senses to detect.
Soon, when the wanderer turned his body around, his gray robe hem rippled like gentle waves before hanging still.
‘He’s here.’