Chapter 282: Chapter 282
“It’s amazing.”
“So this is Mount Emei…….”
The members of the Extermination Unit ascending Mount Emei burst into admiration without realizing it.
Mount Emei showed outstanding beauty matching its widely known reputation in the world.
The mountain topography reached a height of a thousand zhang.
On top of that, it was even gentle, so for a moment, they were overwhelmed by the size of Mount Emei spreading out before their eyes.
“It’s quite high.”
However, Cheon-hwi’s impression was indifferent.
Since he had lived in the Tianshan Mountains, which had a topography easily surpassing twice the size of Mount Emei in his past life, he only spat out that level of impression even after seeing Mount Emei.
Instead, his eyes were drawn to something else.
‘Why are there so many temples.’
As if it wasn’t called one of the Four Great Buddhist Mountains for nothing, temples were lined up along every mountain path they passed.
There were numerous temples and hermitages such as Golden Summit, Ten Thousand Year Temple, Clear Sound Pavilion, and Repaying the Country Temple.
It was at the level where almost the entirety of Mount Emei seemed to be made up of temples and hermitages.
‘But it’s quiet.’
Cheon-hwi looked everywhere around him.
Was it just quiet?
There wasn’t a single sound of breathing or sign of presence in the surrounding temples and hermitages.
‘Did everyone evacuate because a war broke out?’
After walking for a while while looking around like that.
“This is the place.”
The bhikkhuni who had been silently guiding them up the mountain path from the mountain gate stopped and pressed her palms together.
It was in front of a signboard that read ‘Subduing Tiger Temple’.
It was lacking compared to Shaolin Temple which he had seen before, but it was a fairly large and spacious signboard.
‘Hmm? It’s a quite dense Buddhist power.’
Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the signboard.
A tranquil Buddhist power was flowing out from the three characters written on the signboard, wrapping around the surroundings.
It was an aura that made one guess that the person who wrote the signboard was no ordinary figure.
While he was examining the signboard like that.
“Those people are the reinforcements……?”
“With such a small number?”
Whispering sounds were heard.
When he lowered his head, many female monks were already standing all around beneath the signboard.
From bhikkhunis with their heads shaved bluish-grey, to women who kept their long hair intact as if they were secular disciples.
Everyone was standing while looking at Cheon-hwi and the Extermination Unit.
It was then.
Jingle…
Suddenly, the sound of a bell was heard.
“Amitabha.”
It was accompanied by a low Buddhist chant.
‘She’s quite good?’
Cheon-hwi’s eyes gleamed as he turned his head toward the direction the voice came from.
It was a voice laden with considerable Buddhist power.
At the same time, the female monks parted in half, and a person walked through the gap.
“Welcome to Mount Emei.”
A middle-aged female monk with a benevolent impression spoke while looking down at the Extermination Unit with gentle eyes, holding a Six-Ring Staff in her right hand.
The members of the Extermination Unit’s eyes shone.
There was only one female monk in the Emei Sect who could possess such a splendid Six-Ring Staff.
“To think the Sect Leader would come personally.”
The entire Extermination Unit became tense.
It was because usually, a Sect Leader refrained from coming out first.
However, coming out personally meant that this matter was grave.
Meanwhile, Abbess So-un stared at the tense Extermination Unit and felt a heaviness in her heart.
‘They are young.’
It was just as Namcheon had said.
The Extermination Unit was a group of young children who had not yet shaken off the vibe of rising stars.
Fortunately, their flowing aura was quite excellent at least, but…….
That was only when considering they were rising stars.
Those coming to the Emei Sect were the elites of the Four Black Alliances, specifically the Blood Shadow Squad and the Ghost Shadow Squad.
Compared to the enemy, they were merely shabby.
‘Will it be hard for them to become a great fighting force…….’
A sigh flowed out from within her.
But soon, she shook her head.
Despite their young age, they were people who came to help the Emei Sect, risking their lives.
Expressing gratitude wouldn’t be enough.
Just as she was about to forcefully shake off the disappointment rising from within and offer a greeting of gratitude.
‘That child is?’
Naturally, her gaze was pinned to one person.
A handsome young man at the front.
Unlike the other children, no matter how much she scanned the handsome young man with a slightly sharp impression, she couldn’t feel anything.
Like someone who had not learned martial arts.
However, seeing that he was in this place right now, there was no way he hadn’t learned martial arts.
Even so, he looked too young to have reached the Return to Natural State.
‘Did he learn a martial art that conceals one’s martial prowess?’
Around the time she stared at Cheon-hwi and tried to figure him out.
‘I didn’t think I would see that again.’
Cheon-hwi was keeping his eyes on something else rather than looking at her who was facing him.
It was the Six-Ring Staff that rang the bell sound.
A staff made of red wood.
A circle made of gold on top of it, and six rings contained within.
It was the Reincarnation Six-Ring Staff.
‘How is it exactly the same as before without any changes?’
For Cheon-hwi, it was simply fascinating.
It was an object that was already three hundred years old.
But not a single thing had changed.
Its Buddhist power, its appearance, and…….
‘Even that.’
Cheon-hwi quietly stared at a single trace engraved horizontally on the Reincarnation Six-Ring Staff.
A long trace of a cracked line.
That was something he had engraved in his past life while cutting down the Sect Leader of the Emei Sect.
As he was quietly looking at it like that.
Tap.
Ho Gwang-gae poked his ribs.
“Squad Leader, you should greet her…….”
At the words Ho Gwang-gae said while breaking out in a cold sweat and stealing a glance at Abbess So-un, Cheon-hwi shrugged his shoulders and offered a greeting.
“I am Cheon-hwi, the Squad Leader of the Extermination Unit. I heard you were having difficulties this time, so I came to help.”
A light greeting that only conveyed his purpose.
However, its impact was huge.
It was because of the Taoist title he revealed.
“If it’s Cheon-hwi…… the Plum Blossom Divine Hero?”
“The Plum Blossom Divine Hero came to help our sect……?”
The disciples of the Emei Sect, including Abbess So-un, could not hide their surprise.
It was because Cheon-hwi’s reputation was resoundingly echoing all throughout the Central Plains.
‘No wonder I couldn’t feel his aura at all. So it was the Plum Blossom Divine Hero.’
Abbess So-un stared at Cheon-hwi with changed eyes.
The Plum Blossom Divine Hero was the figure who had struck down and defeated the Green Forest Great Emperor.
Though he was young, he was someone of a different caliber.
Only then did her faintly stiffened expression loosen up, revealing a smile.
“Thank you for coming to help.”
It was a remark mixed with a soft tone.
Feeling strange at those words, Cheon-hwi scratched his head.
‘To think I would hear words of gratitude from the bald monks of the Emei Sect.’
The female monks of the Emei Sect were the ones who hurled all sorts of curses at him in his past life and rushed at him risking their deaths.
But gratitude from their descendants…….
‘If those bald monks knew about this, there would be an uproar, right?’
A snicker leaked out.
Would it just be an uproar?
They would probably say they’d tear him to death.
Meanwhile, Abbess So-un looked questioningly at Cheon-hwi who suddenly smiled, and soon spoke as if to freshen up the atmosphere.
“Let’s talk about the details inside.”
The story to be told from now on was related to the Four Black Alliances, something that might shake the hearts of the disciples if they heard it.
“Alright.”
Cheon-hwi nodded.
It was already getting awkward to continue conversing under the signboard anyway.
‘And them constantly staring at us, too.’
Hearing Cheon-hwi’s reply, Abbess So-un spoke to the old monk standing next to her.
“Junior Sister. Please guide our benefactors who came to help our sect to their rooms.”
“Amitabha. Understood.”
The old monk, Abbess So-hye, bowed her head.
Abbess So-un nodded, turned her gaze to stare at Cheon-hwi, and then harbored a smile.
It was a soft but sharp smile.
“Young Hero, please follow me.”
Cheon-hwi, who walked following Abbess So-un who immediately turned her body and led the way, arrived at a small room a moment later.
‘It’s extremely simple and frugal.’
Entering the room, Cheon-hwi scanned the surroundings and briefly spat out his impression inwardly.
It was a very small room to be called a place used by the abbot of Subduing Tiger Temple and the Sect Leader of the Emei Sect.
Even so, it wasn’t decorated either.
A table and two chairs placed all alone.
That was everything in the place.
Cheon-hwi scratched his chin.
‘They said she has no greed.’
In the present Jianghu, rumors about the Emei Sect were almost non-existent.
That was naturally because the current Sect Leader of the Emei Sect, Abbess So-un right in front of him, had no great greed for power and such.
He had heard about that, but at the moment he was scanning the room that looked even more desireless than he thought. Abbess So-un, who was looking at Cheon-hwi, carefully tilted the teapot in her hand.
Trickle…
The tea fragrance flowed out and wrapped around the room.
Soon, Abbess So-un, who finished pouring tea into the teacup, put down the teapot and opened her mouth.
“If you drink it, your mind and body will become a little comfortable. You must have had a hard time coming here in a hurry, so drink a cup.”
“Is that so? I’ll enjoy it.”
The moment Cheon-hwi replied, he lifted the teacup and downed it in one gulp.
“Smack, the tea tastes astringent.”
It was a sight far from the way of tea, but on the other hand, it looked hearty and refreshing.
‘He’s quite different from what I thought.’
He was the Plum Blossom Divine Hero famous as the great hero of Shaanxi. That was why she thought he would be a Taoist with deep manners, but facing him in person, he was a little different.
Abbess So-un looked at Cheon-hwi who was somewhat different from the Plum Blossom Divine Hero in the rumors, and then she too lifted her teacup and drank a sip of tea.
It was to push away the worries that were rising up again.
Swallowing a sip of tea water along with her worries like that, Abbess So-un opened her mouth.
“I heard the Extermination Unit is a flying column established by the Martial Alliance this time, but…….”
Her expression as she spoke became serious.
“How many people are there in total?”
She asked harboring expectations.
Abbess So-un did not think the personnel who came right now were the entirety of the Extermination Unit.
Still, they were a flying column of the Martial Alliance in name, so would only a mere forty people come.
‘They must have hidden the remaining personnel and put them on standby…….’
At a glance, it was a reasonable thought.
However.
“Including me, it’s forty-three people.”
Her expectations collapsed immediately.
“……Are you saying those people are really all?”
Cheon-hwi snickered inwardly.
‘She must find us unreliable?’
Although she had a calm expression, it was because he saw a sense of disappointment surface in her eyes for a fleeting moment before disappearing.
“Yes.”
Cheon-hwi spoke nonchalantly.
“The current personnel is the entirety of the Extermination Unit.”
And at the simple reply that followed immediately, Abbess So-un’s expression stiffened.
“……If so, are other reinforcements coming from the Martial Alliance?”
“If it’s other reinforcements…….”
“I’m talking about the Three Squads and Four Units.”
She spoke, cutting off Cheon-hwi tracing back his thoughts as if she couldn’t wait. It was because no matter how much she tried to be calm, she couldn’t endure it.
Since it was a matter related to the survival of the Emei Sect.
Cheon-hwi recalled the communication he had received when he arrived in Sichuan and parted his lips.
“They did say the Demon Suppressing Unit and the Chivalric Escort Unit were currently heading straight for the Emei Sect, but…….”
In an instant, Abbess So-un’s expression brightened.
The Demon Suppressing Unit and the Chivalric Escort Unit were the ones with a large number of people among the Four Units of the Martial Alliance.
However, at Cheon-hwi’s words that followed immediately, her brightened expression disappeared as if washed away.
“Since Sichuan is quite a distance away from the Alliance, it will probably take three or four more days for them to come.”
“…….”
Abbess So-un gently closed her eyes.
‘It’s the worst.’
She, who let out a sigh inwardly, opened her closed eyes and said in a low voice.
“In the end, you’re saying the Alliance’s reinforcements are just you, Little Taoist, and the Extermination Unit that arrived right now.”
A bitter smile flowed out.
Although a master called the Plum Blossom Divine Hero had come to the Emei Sect, it was ridiculously lacking with just that.
Were the number of enemies heading towards the Emei Sect right now just one or two?
It was a number counting a total of two thousand people.
A bitter smile couldn’t help but be formed.
But soon, she sorted out her heart, looked at Cheon-hwi, and pressed her palms together.
“Amitabha. Even so, it gives me strength that you, Young Hero, and the Extermination Unit came to help.”
It was a greeting of gratitude accompanied by a bitter smile that unavoidably leaked out even though she controlled her heart.
“Because it’s a mission.”
Abbess So-un met eyes with Cheon-hwi, who replied nonchalantly, and then parted her lips.
“If we end up in danger, can you take the disciples of our sect and run away?”
Abbess So-un, who wiped away her bitter smile, calmly continued speaking.
“I don’t want children with bright futures to lose their lives because of this matter.”
Would the winning rate of the war even be ten percent?
No, it would be less than that.
In the midst of that, she didn’t want to see the deaths of the rising stars who would brighten the future of her sect and other Orthodox Factions.
To that, Cheon-hwi spoke with a light attitude as expected.
“But I came to fight back.”
Abbess So-un shook her head.
“There is no need to risk your life in a place like this. Aren’t they lives too precious to die here? The disciples of our sect, the rising stars of the Extermination Unit, and you as well.”
Cheon-hwi quietly stared at Abbess So-un.
A clear will was laden in her eyes that were looking calmly.
“Hmm, even if the Emei Sect collapses?”
“A collapsed building can just be built again anytime as long as the will of the Emei Sect continues. However…….”
Abbess So-un calmly spoke.
“Lives are not.”
Oho?
Cheon-hwi looked at Abbess So-un with eyes saying he liked it, and then nodded.
“Alright. I will do as the Sect Leader says. If we end up in danger, I will lead the disciples of the Emei Sect and go.”
“Thank you.”
“Instead, if it isn’t dangerous, there’s no need to do so, right?”
Abbess So-un looked at Cheon-hwi as if surprised by the unexpected words, and then harbored a smile. It was because she thought it was childish confidence.
“If so, it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s good.”
Cheon-hwi said, and smiled.
It was a very confident smile.