Chapter 241 – Return Home

I had decided to return to my hometown, but I couldn’t just go there without telling anyone where I was going.

So, I went to see Pang Ojin, who was busy with the distribution of goods.

“Are you all better now?”

“Yes. I’m strong enough, aren’t I?”

“Hmm. When I saw you last time, you looked weak and had no energy.”

“Hehe…”

Pang Soso laughed instead of me.

Pang Ojin glanced at her for a moment, then nodded his head as if it was nothing.

“Anyway, it’s good that you’re better. You said you were going to stay in your hometown for a while?”

“Yes. I think I’ll rest in my hometown for a month or two.”

“Changto Village, right? I see. If you need anything, I’ll send someone there for you.”

“Do you… know where it is? There might be more than one village with a similar name.”

“Can’t Pangga find it in Hahyeokseong?”

Confidence, huh…

But in reality, Pangga was almost like a small country in Hahyeokseong.

If he tried, he could find a village easily.

Of course, it would be faster if I just told him.

“You don’t have to. Just lend me some paper and food, and I’ll tell you where it is.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know what I’m doing. I just don’t want to make things complicated.”

“Okay… it’s here.”

I took the paper from Pang Ojin, wrote down the name of the nearby city, and handed it back to him.

“I’ll take care of your share and Cheonma’s share, so you can rest. Oh, where should I put the money we received?”

“I’d like to leave it in Pangga for a while if possible. There’s no room for it in my hometown. …You’re not going to steal it, are you, father-in-law?”

“Oh my. Do you think I would steal money from Pangga?”

“If you’re a farmer, I don’t know, but I don’t think you would steal money like that.”

“It’s just a joke.”

After that, we chatted for a while and said goodbye to Pang Ojin.

***

The next person I visited was Myeongwoljinin.

“Who are you?”

Creak.

The door opened slowly. Behind it, I could see a desk full of books divided into several categories.

At first glance, it looked like a martial arts book… maybe it was distributed as a reward for the military arts competition?

It seems that the Mosan faction wants to receive most of the rewards as martial arts.

Of course. Although I am now halfway through the Bongmun, the Mosan faction is still a part of the Gupailbang.

It may not be as arrogant as the Hahyeok Pangga, which looks down on even the amount of money that can cause a three-way conflict, but the Mosan faction should not be short of money even if it takes a break.

Myeongwoljinin welcomed us with a smile after the door opened completely.

“Myeongwoljinin, it’s me, Jin Sohyeop. I’ve brought some others with me too!”

“Well, well, it’s been a while. Come in, come in. The room is a bit messy, but I can make some space for you to sit.”

“That’s alright. We just came to talk for a bit.”

“Talk? About what?”

Myeongwoljinin stopped tidying his desk and looked at me curiously.

“We think we can help with something we asked you about before. Let me see…I’m sure I put it in here somewhere…”

I rummaged through my bag and found a thin book. It was the recipe for the potion to cross over to the other world that my master had taught me.

“What is this?”

“You’ll know if you read it.”

To be honest, I had only memorized it and didn’t really understand the contents. Myeongwoljinin looked puzzled at first, but as he flipped through the pages, his expression became more and more serious.

“Ah!”

He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and urgently asked me, “Where did you get this book?”

“Do you understand what it’s about?”

“I need to read it more carefully and test it out, but it has everything I was missing! But it’s not something that can be achieved by humans…and it doesn’t seem like it was written a long time ago either. It must have been written recently…who could have…?”

We had agreed to only tell him half the truth about this part. I checked my words in my head and cleared my throat.

“Well, actually, I wrote it, Myeongwoljinin.”

“You wrote it, Sohyeop?”

He sounded disappointed, as if he had just heard that a duck-billed platypus was not a mammal. I think he misunderstood.

“I wrote it, but I didn’t come up with the idea. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I met a sage in my dream…”

I briefly explained how I had encountered a spirit who had left behind a message in my dream, without mentioning that my master was Lady Yeodongbin.

“Hmm…now that I think about it, that makes sense. Since the connection to the divine realm has been severed, not only can humans not ascend, but the spirits that had descended cannot return either.”

“That’s what we thought too.”

“But for a spirit to achieve immortality…no, they must ascend first to become a spirit. So, it must be the peach of the Heavenly Queen Mother that can make it possible…”

Myeongwoljinin trailed off, lost in thought.

Myeongwoljinin muttered to himself with excitement, lost in thought and making various guesses.

Seeing him like this, I feel a little sorry for him.

But since I can’t reveal that my master was a member of the Geomseon, I have no choice.

He seemed to notice me scratching my head for no reason and awkwardly smiled.

“Oh dear. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that are completely unrelated to our guests.”

“It’s okay. By the way, can you interpret this?”

“To be honest, there’s no need for interpretation. It’s written in direct language, without any complex metaphors or allegories.”

In this case, it’s said that even though it’s difficult to understand the truth contained in the text, it’s easy to memorize it just by following the instructions.

Just do what it says?

“Anyway, as we talked about before, we can use the Manghyang potion to set the destination and cross over without any problems.”

“Wow…! When will it be possible?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s pink eyes began to sparkle with anticipation.

“I haven’t read it properly yet, so I can’t be sure…but it might take a year even if everything goes smoothly.”

“Ugh…”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked slightly disappointed at the strangely realistic timeframe.

“Well, it’s a potion that was originally used by spirits, not humans, so it’s inevitable that it will take some time.”

“That’s right. Although I have confidence in my potion-making skills, this one is quite difficult.”

At least it’s the long text of the Mosanpa’s Jeil, which was written using potion-making skills. If it had been written by someone else, it would have taken several times longer.

“…If we postpone it a bit, it could be done faster.”

“No, don’t do that. The most important thing for a leader of a sect is ultimately their own sect.”

After a moment of thought, Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head.

“Let’s do it this way. If there’s something in the martial arts that’s difficult to interpret, bring it to me. I’ll try to explain it as much as possible. In return, please pay attention to the tasks I assign you.”

“If you’re going to do that much, how can I refuse? Thank you for your consideration.”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you also Lady Yeodongbin’s teacher? I feel a little guilty for being too demanding.”

Hong Yeon-hwa shrugged her shoulders with a playful smile.

Was she thinking that?

Anyway, I handed over the text that my master had taught me to Myeongwoljinin and received a few secret texts in return.

Since Myeongwoljinin said he would come to Changto Village later, I’ll give him the interpreted text then.

I guess I’ve said goodbye to everyone I need to say goodbye to.

Since Paeng Ojin lent me a carriage, I can just leave now.

We all got on the flashy carriage that was always too much to handle, and soon the carriage started moving with the sound of the coachman’s whip.

Hong Yeon-hwa was sitting on my lap, reading the secret text that she received from Myeongwoljinin.

As I looked at her pink lips, a question suddenly came to my mind.

“Yeon-hwa, why are you in such a hurry?”

Now that there’s no real threat, and we’ve made a name for ourselves, we can live comfortably.

Isn’t it possible to make a detour to create a potion that will help us return home faster?

Even though it’s Hong Yeon-hwa, she must have received some difficult martial arts to learn, so it must be quite difficult.

But when I asked her, Hong Yeon-hwa raised her head and looked at me for a moment.

“Uh.”

She puffed her cheeks and turned her gaze back to the secret text.

What was that? Did something happen just now?

As I thought back to what I had just said, I heard a giggling sound next to me.

“Hehe, Jin-gaga. I really don’t know?”

“I’m just lost in thought for a moment.”

Paeng Ojin’s mischievous voice. But I really don’t know.

“Oh my. It seems that we love the heavens more than they love us. You couldn’t think of it right away.”

“You’re so clueless, Jin-rang. That’s why you need four people to live with you.”

What is it? What’s the reason for Hong Yeon-hwa’s hurry?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of a reason.

As I kept tilting my head, Paeng Ojin, who had been silent, leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear.

“She made a promise with Hong Unni. If she returns to Hong Unni’s world or gives up on returning, she will marry you officially.”

“Ah!”

I had already considered her as my wife, so I didn’t think of it right away.

Right. That was it.