Chapter 84
“What were you talking about with the adults?”
“Just this and that.”
“So what’s ‘this and that’?”
Instead of the usually curt Dokgo Ryong, it was Dang Jinak who chuckled and answered.
“We decided to go hunt the Myunyeonhwari.”
“Wow! Really?! …But did Haeam allow you to hunt the Myunyeonhwari?”
Earlier in the day, the three great disciples had treated it as nothing more than a rumor and seemed to deliberately avoid discussing the Myunyeonhwari.
Did the Haeam Sect really agree to let them hunt it?
“Of course, there were conditions.”
“We agreed to help keep other small fry from approaching.”
“Really? Even the Murim Alliance?”
“Yes, even the Murim Alliance… Wait, how do you know about that?”
“The three great disciples told me. They said the Murim Alliance and bad people entered Haeamdo.”
Dokgo Ryong glanced at Eunsowol with a brief look of surprise, then quickly averted his gaze.
“So you’ll be fighting the Murim Alliance too?”
“Rather than fighting, we’ll be stopping them from getting close. But if they come at us aggressively… we won’t just sit around.”
So in the end, a fight was inevitable.
“Don’t worry too much. There won’t be any major battles. Besides, we’ve got Hyungnim and the Flame King!”
“Hmm…”
It wasn’t that she was particularly worried they’d get hurt.
‘In the original story, the Murim Alliance ended up taking the Myunyeonhwari’s inner core.’
She felt uneasy wondering if they could reverse that outcome this time.
“When are you going to hunt it? I want to come too…”
“No.”
Before she could finish speaking, Dokgo Ryong cut her off firmly. His eyes, softened from drinking, snapped wide open.
“Why not this time?!”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Creatures known as ‘spirit beasts’ usually require even strong warriors to band together just to take them down. Remember the Yin-Yang Twin Snake we fought in Heuksigok?”
Keurung!
“Ugh…”
Baekwoon and Eunsowol shuddered as the memory returned—almost being swallowed by the giant mouth of that creature, which was deep and wide like a cave.
“That thing was only a few hundred years old. But what we’re going after now…”
“…The Myunyeonhwari.”
“Right. It’s a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast. And it doesn’t live in an ordinary place.”
“I know! Grandpa said it lives in a hot spring!”
“Normally, yes.”
When Eunsowol looked confused, Dang Jinak stepped in.
“This time, the one we found isn’t in a hot spring, Sowol.”
“Then where is it?”
“In lava.”
“…Where?”
“Lava. The kind that sleeps inside a volcano.”
You mean that red, boiling stuff that melts anything it touches?
This… this was beyond imagination.
When Eunsowol stood there gaping, Dang Jinak giggled as if expecting the reaction.
“H-How can a fish live there?! Does it have iron scales or something?!”
“That’s why it’s a spirit beast.”
Even if it was a spirit beast, wasn’t this taking things too far?
“What we actually need is the Cheonnyeonhwari, but the only one discovered now is the Myunyeonhwari. And if that one’s there, there’s a high chance the Cheonnyeonhwari is too.”
“We told them we only need the Cheonnyeonhwari, nothing else. The elders helped us a lot, and Haeam has been accommodating.”
It seemed saving Dam Suyeon had really earned them some goodwill.
“Anyway, now you understand why you can’t come, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“We don’t know how long it’ll take to catch the Cheonnyeonhwari either. So you stay here quietly until we return with the inner core. The Haeam Sect agreed to look after you while we’re gone.”
“Okay. Don’t overdo it, Uncle!”
Eunsowol decided not to be stubborn this time.
‘No matter how brave I am, going into a lava field is a bit much.’
Lava would be sweltering, and a single misstep could turn you to ash.
‘Ugh, just imagining it is horrible.’
Eunsowol hugged Baekwoon tightly and trembled.
The next morning.
Eunsowol awoke to sunlight streaming through the window.
She looked around, saw no one nearby, and stepped out of the guest house. Beyond the wall, she spotted people gathered.
“Yesterday, the Murim Alliance surveyed Gyeongsan and Ojisan.”
“We also received word from Geumsado and Byeokrado. Renowned Central Plains figures like the Lustful Gambler, Master Serpent, and the Samrin Brothers were seen wandering the mountains.”
“No one’s reached Yeomobong yet, but it’s only a matter of time before they do.”
Not only her two uncles, but also Yang Huicheon, Hyeonje, and key Haeam officials had gathered for a serious conversation.
From the sound of it, interference in the search for the Myunyeonhwari had increased.
“For now, we should stop accepting guests and block the entrance to Yeomobong.”
“Yes, that would be best.”
“Send word to the secular clans, starting with Geumsado. Track the movements of the Central Plains folks, but avoid direct conflict. We must minimize unnecessary friction.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
At Hyeonje’s orders, the elders and disciples moved swiftly.
Yang Huicheon stroked his beard with displeasure.
“Tch, where are all these rats crawling in from?”
“…You said you knew the Myunyeonhwari was here, right?”
Hyeonje asked Dokgo Ryong.
“I learned through a contact.”
“Would that contact happen to be someone named Chosik?”
“No.”
At his firm denial, Hyeonje sighed deeply.
“It was my fault. When we discovered the Myunyeonhwari, I failed to properly control the mouth of a civilian who was with us.”
They hadn’t even gone looking for it. The Haeam Sect regularly checked the summit of Yeomobong, and during a recent survey with scholars familiar with volcanoes, they had found it by chance.
“Then why didn’t you catch it immediately?”
“Spirit beasts like the Myunyeonhwari aren’t caught just like that. It was inside lava, and we planned to get Brother Yang’s help.”
Yang Huicheon had learned of the beast through a letter sent by the Haeam Sect.
“But then, Central Plains people started creeping in and gossiping about the Myunyeonhwari. That’s when we realized the information had leaked.”
“So Chosik leaked it.”
At Dokgo Ryong’s words, Hyeonje nodded wearily.
“Yes. He was an assistant to one of the scholars. Apparently, he blabbed while drunk. But what’s done is done.”
Yang Huicheon clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“Then before these mangy rats take it, we’ll snatch it ourselves.”
“I wanted to move after thorough preparation, but there’s no choice now. Still, Yeomobong is our territory. They can’t enter easily. Though some will surely try.”
Hyeonje didn’t bother hiding his discomfort.
No clan welcomes uninvited thugs trampling their land.
“For those with no fear, I’ll give ‘em a taste of Flame God Palm. No need to worry.”
Yang Huicheon clenched his fist with a grin, making Hyeonje laugh.
“Haha, dependable as always, Brother Yang. Today, we’ll head to the crater to confirm the Myunyeonhwari’s location—huh?”
He suddenly turned his head mid-sentence.
He’d spotted Eunsowol quietly eavesdropping behind a door in the wall.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as his expression softened like a crescent moon.
“Looks like we woke you with all the noise.”
“Sowol! Did you sleep well?”
Embarrassed, she gave a bright smile and bowed with her hands over her belly.
“Good morning, Grandpa, Grandpa Sect Leader.”
“Hohoho, yes, yes. Did our Sowol sleep well?”
“Yes! I ate lots of delicious food yesterday and played in the hot spring, so I slept super well!”
No one seemed particularly bothered that she had overheard their conversation.
“Are bad people coming up here?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Sowol. We’ll take care of everything.”
“Hmm… If Grandpa and my uncles go fishing, I’ll be all alone?”
“We asked the three great disciples to look after you. Didn’t you have fun with them yesterday?”
Hyeonje said with a warm smile.
“Yes, that’s right! The big sisters and brothers played with me lots!”
“Hoho, if you keep having fun here, this old man will bring back a big fish just for you…”
Just as Yang Huicheon was gently stroking her head, he suddenly went silent.
“…Looks like some fools without fear have arrived.”
His jovial face hardened instantly, sparks flaring in his eyes.
In a flash, he and Hyeonje vanished far off into the distance.
Startled, Eunsowol looked up at Dokgo Ryong.
“Uncle, what’s going on?”
Dokgo Ryong was also looking in the same direction, eyes narrowing.
“Looks like someone’s come all the way here.”
Eunsowol was carried by Dokgo Ryong to the Haeam Sect entrance.
There, she saw Hyeonje and Yang Huicheon, who had left earlier, along with disciples who had followed them, now gathered in a tense group.
