Chapter 45: Chapter 45
The road from Hamyang County to Nakcheon County was exceptionally narrow and winding.
On such a deserted road, a single carriage was running without hesitation.
Clip-clop… Clip-clop…
Inside the carriage, which ran ceaselessly while letting out the sound of horse hooves, a conversation was in full swing.
“How long do you think it will take?”
To Hyeon-do’s question, which was full of impatience, Ha U-jin estimated the distance and answered.
“We will arrive in three days.”
“Three days? We’ll arrive quite quickly.”
“It is all thanks to the Guild Leader. If it weren’t for the Guild Leader’s help, we would have only been able to get horses by now.”
Ha U-jin and Hyeon-do’s gazes moved out the window at the same time.
The sun, popping out over the top of an unknown mountain, was brightening the journey.
It was still early dawn, a result that proved their departure had been very early.
“I feel sorry for the Guild Leader.”
Hyeon-do smiled bitterly.
The carriage they were riding in right now was the carriage in charge of the Flying Wind Merchant Guild’s transportation.
Even though the Flying Wind Merchant Guild was in a bad situation, Go Gye-yeong willingly gave them the carriage and horses, saying it would be of great help to their journey.
If it had been usual, they would have flatly refused, but because the current situation was what it was, they accepted the goodwill.
“We will have to express our gratitude in the future.”
“I should do that as well.”
When the two were having a conversation.
‘Three days? It’s quite a distance.’
Cheon-hwi, who was sitting opposite them, looked at the coachman’s seat with a deflated expression.
There, a beggar with a wretched appearance was holding the horse’s reins and driving the carriage.
It was Junior Beggar, the Successor of the Beggars’ Sect.
Originally, they only intended to get information about the White Ghost Castle, but Junior Beggar, upon seeing the carriage behind, volunteered to be the coachman.
‘The Beggars’ Sect is the same now as it was in the past.’
Cheon-hwi saw right through his inner thoughts. To be exact, he knew the habits of the Beggars’ Sect.
‘He must have been curious.’
Since the Zhongnan Sect and the Mount Hua Sect, whose relationship had soured recently, were traveling together, it must have been bait he absolutely could not miss.
It was then.
Swish…
Junior Beggar, who had been pricking up his ears and listening to the conversation, sneaked a glance backward out of curiosity.
“……!”
Junior Beggar’s pupils, which were in a state of confusion from the unexpected eye contact, darted around before he let out an awkward laugh.
“Ha, haha…….”
Cheon-hwi grinned.
“You said you know a lot about the White Ghost Castle, right?”
Junior Beggar made a fuss and opened his mouth.
“Oh my! Of course I know. In the current world, the number of people who know more details about the White Ghost Castle than I do can be counted on one hand.”
Perhaps proving he wasn’t a member of the Beggars’ Sect for nothing, Junior Beggar tactfully grasped the intention behind the question.
“Is there any information you want?”
“I’d like to know the military strength of the White Ghost Castle.”
“Excuse me?”
Junior Beggar, as if thinking he misheard for a moment, asked with a dumbfounded face.
Then, a long while later, his eyes widened.
“Th-The military strength of the White Ghost Castle, you say?”
“Yes.”
Junior Beggar, who was looking at Cheon-hwi with an unbelievable face at his answer, sneakily glanced at Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin.
However, the two were quietly listening without even reacting.
‘I thought it was unusual from the moment they said they were going to Nakcheon County, but they were really heading for the White Ghost Castle?!’
The shocked Junior Beggar gulped down his saliva.
‘It’s too much for me to handle…….’
Was it an easy matter for the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect to ask about the military power of the White Ghost Castle?
His lips completely dried up.
“Do you know? Or do you not know?”
A blunt voice knocked on his maximally stiffened ears.
Coming to his senses, he looked at Cheon-hwi, who was observing him, and shook his head frantically.
“I-I know.”
Junior Beggar caught his breath and asked.
“……Exactly what part are you curious about? Are you asking about the experts belonging to the White Ghost Castle? Or are you asking about the squads and military forces in the White Ghost Castle?”
“Everything.”
At Cheon-hwi’s answer, Junior Beggar looked at the sky with a pale yellow face for a moment.
“Phew, understood.”
Letting out a big breath, he calmed down.
“The White Ghost Castle has a strategist called the White Ghost Strategist and four experts known as the Four Directional Lords under the Lord of the White Ghost Castle, the White Snake God. Since the strategist, the White Ghost Strategist, hasn’t learned martial arts, I will skip him.”
Junior Beggar checked Cheon-hwi’s reaction and immediately excluded unnecessary information.
“The Four Directional Lords are all experts in the Limitless Realm, and they are people who could become the sect leader of a sect if they weren’t in the White Ghost Castle.”
“Experts in the Limitless Realm?”
In an instant, the faces of three people flashed through Cheon-hwi’s mind.
“Ah! So all those bastards were the Four Directional Lords.”
“Do you know who they are?”
To Junior Beggar’s question, whose eyes were shining, Cheon-hwi waved his hand as if telling him not to ask.
“……Understood.”
Junior Beggar said with a sullen expression.
‘There will be opportunities later.’
His curiosity about exactly who he had thought of still surged up, but he forced it down and moved his lips.
“The Four Directional Lords known so far are the Water Slashing Poison Sword, the Hidden Hand Slashing Death, and the White Snake God’s disciple, the Little White Ghost. The identity of the remaining one had been hidden, but we recently grasped his identity.”
“Are you saying you found out?”
“It really means the Beggars’ Sect isn’t just for show. To find out a disguised identity hidden for tens of years.”
Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin reacted with surprise.
The Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect had also been gathering information about the White Ghost Castle, but they hadn’t been able to grasp the remaining one.
But to think they found out.
Junior Beggar nodded his head.
“He is the Broken Sword Ghost.”
“The Broken Sword Ghost……!”
“That atrocious bastard was still alive!”
Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin were shocked.
Cheon-hwi, who was watching the reaction of the two making a fuss, asked with an apathetic face.
“The Broken Sword Ghost? Who is that?”
For a moment, Junior Beggar panicked.
“Do-Do you not know the Broken Sword Ghost?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know.”
“He’s the bastard who poisoned the contemporary sect leader of the Non-Dual Sword Sect, which once commanded the world, and stole their martial arts.”
Hyeon-do abruptly spoke up. Following that, he muttered with a serious expression.
“I heard that the Non-Dual Sword Sect succeeded in their revenge, but……”
“We thought so as well. However, not only is he alive, but he even threw himself into the White Ghost Castle.”
“Hmm…….”
“If he has mastered the Non-Dual Sword Sect’s sword arts that he stole, it will be a dangerous matter.”
When Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin were letting out groans.
“Forget about that guy, what about the other military forces?”
Cheon-hwi cut off their groaning.
Whether it was the Broken Sword Ghost or the Non-Dual Sword Sect’s sword arts, he had no interest. What was important to him right now was the military strength of the White Ghost Castle.
Junior Beggar, while sneakily checking Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin’s reactions, succumbed to Cheon-hwi’s urging gaze and continued speaking.
“As everyone knows, the Three Great White Ghost Squads exist as the most famous military squads of the White Ghost Castle. The White Ghost Squad, the Ghost Slashing Squad, and the Soul Slaying Squad, whose existence is still uncertain; the murim grouped these three squads and called them that.”
“What about other squads besides the three?”
“There are seven other squads. They are the ones handling various matters such as the White Ghost Castle’s finances and aftermaths; although they are overshadowed by the fame of the Three Great White Ghost Squads, it is known that each of them possesses power comparable to a martial squad of a sect.”
“What is the total number of people?”
“It is between about five hundred and seven hundred.”
At Junior Beggar’s answer, which was a beat faster, Cheon-hwi stroked his chin.
“Five hundred to seven hundred, you say.”
“The military strength of large sects is mostly similar. If the White Ghost Castle was exceptionally superior to the other Six Imperial Sects, wouldn’t they have already become the head?”
It was information that weighed calculations and substance.
“You know quite in detail.”
“It is the White Ghost Castle, one of the Six Imperial Sects, so shouldn’t we pay special attention to it?”
Junior Beggar shrugged his shoulders.
It was none other than the Six Imperial Sects, not any other sect.
Even if it was the era of the Nine Provinces Three Supremacies, which was a peaceful time, in a Cold War situation where it was unknown when and how it would escalate into a war, the intelligence war was fiercer than anything else.
“What is the possibility that there is hidden military strength?”
“Absolutely none.”
Junior Beggar was firm.
“If there were more hidden military squads, there is no way the White Snake God would have stayed quiet until now. If it was him, the moment the White Ghost Castle was pushed to the bottom seat of the Six Imperial Sects, he would have immediately been willing to go to war.”
Cheon-hwi let out a snicker.
He liked the White Snake God’s actions.
‘He’s a refreshing guy?’
For some reason, it overlapped with his past self.
“Well, even if there are, it would probably just be about one or two experts.”
Cheon-hwi, who was listening to Junior Beggar’s words that immediately followed, immediately withdrew his gaze.
He had expectations since it was the White Ghost Castle, but it was a military strength that fell short of his expectations.
‘It’s just similar to the current Mount Hua Sect.’
In an instant, silence hovered in the carriage.
Hyeon-do and Ha U-jin, who had been talking, also fell into thought upon hearing the military strength of the White Ghost Castle.
Unlike Cheon-hwi, who kept asking questions, Junior Beggar stared at the two who had been quietly listening.
‘I thought one of the two would ask…….’
Right now, he was full of questions.
When he had grasped the identities of the two through the conversation heard inside the carriage, Junior Beggar was so startled that he found it hard to breathe.
The Mount Hua’s First Sword and the Flying Swallow Sword Lord.
He thought they were not ordinary people, but their identities far exceeded his thoughts.
However, what was even more surprising than that was…….
‘Cheon-hwi, I have to find out about that guy. He’s not an ordinary person.’
It was the young Taoist in front of him.
It was clear that he was a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, but his words and actions shown so far could not be understood with his head at all.
‘Since that young man seems to be leading all the situations, not to mention the conversation…….’
Sweat gathered on the hand holding the reins.
The questions in his head were not resolved at all, but his intuition was speaking.
That this journey was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity sent down from heaven.
* * *
The sun set, and darkness was cast.
Due to the darkness where one couldn’t see an inch ahead, the carriage stopped running relentlessly, and the four of them were preparing to camp out.
If they forced themselves to go, they could have, but the horses were in an exhausted state, and they could have overturned if they made a slight mistake in the dark.
Even thinking about the future, they had to rest.
As soon as Junior Beggar got off the carriage, he skillfully lit a campfire. Even if it was hot during the day, it was bound to get chilly at night.
Crackle… Crackle…
Around the time the fire on the firewood gradually grew bigger.
‘Huh?’
Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed.
There was a presence approaching from afar.
Swish…
The next one to feel it after Cheon-hwi was Hyeon-do.
Snapping his head in the direction the presence was approaching from, he pierced through the darkness with narrowed eyes and let out a low voice.
“Someone is coming here.”
“……!”
“……!”
When Ha U-jin and Junior Beggar, who hadn’t felt any presence at those words, flinched.
“Well now, this is quite an unexpected group of people.”
A man revealed his appearance through the darkness. The appearance of the man, illuminated by the light emitted by the campfire, was quite unique.
A worn-out martial arts uniform and a bushy beard.
However, since his entire face held a smile, he looked relaxed rather than haggard.
Perhaps having grasped that the three were on guard, the man approached in a defenseless manner.
“May I warm myself by the fire?”
“……Come here.”
Hyeon-do was the first to lower his guard.
It was because it was hard to find any killing intent or fighting spirit from the man.
“I’m thankful for this.”
The man sat opposite Hyeon-do.
“Hahaha! The weather got chilly as evening came, so it was a moment where I needed a fire.”
At the sight of the man laughing cheerfully, Ha U-jin and Junior Beggar’s wariness naturally eased.
“By the way, it’s a unique traveling party.”
The man scanned those sitting around the campfire one by one with an interesting gaze.
It was easy to find out their identities.
The cloud pattern engraved on the blue-white Taoist robe.
The plum blossom pattern engraved on the white-red Taoist robe.
And the five knots swaying largely at the waist of the dirty ragged clothes.
Because they possessed unique things that anyone with even a little knowledge of the murim would know.
“Mount Hua, Zhongnan, and the Beggars’ Sect…….”
The moment his gaze, while speaking, scanned Hyeon-do, Ha U-jin, and Junior Beggar opposite him and finally headed towards Cheon-hwi.
“…….”
He closed his mouth and tilted his head.
Even for Hyeon-do, who was opposite him right now, he could feel his presence, faintly at least, but right now there was nothing from Cheon-hwi.
As if he were a ghost.
Around the time a question was blooming in his eyes.
‘This is fun.’
Cheon-hwi faced the man and smiled.
The unexpected and sudden encounter amused him.
‘To think I would find traces of the Sword Demon in the Central Plains. I certainly didn’t expect that.’
Enjoyed the chapter?
If you like our work, consider supporting us on Ko-fi. This site solely runs on donations. Every donation helps us keep translating!
Support on Ko-fi