Chapter 94 – Mosan (3)

“No, they said they would come out to meet us from over there!”

The setting sun, a mix of purple and navy blue in the sky. The air turning chilly.

We started climbing Mosan around noon, so it’s been roughly half a day, hasn’t it?

We were still wandering in the mountains.

“We definitely followed the path, right?”

“Yes. Just in case, we even went back and climbed up from the beginning, retracing the route we had already taken twice. We followed the clear traces of people coming up. There weren’t even any forks in the road.”

“I’m going crazy….”

In novels or comics, when people get lost like this, don’t they usually go around in circles?

So, I even tried making noticeable marks on the trees around me. It was a meaningless gesture, though.

I wasn’t going around in the same spot. I was continuously moving somewhere, but I couldn’t reach my destination. I couldn’t even see the Mosanpa buildings.

“Should we just sprint to the summit with all our might? Maybe we’ll see something if we look down from above.”

“Hmm. Even if we do that, we won’t be able to reach where Mosanpa is.”

Maybe it’s because she skipped lunch. Hong Yeon-hwa, who looked a bit tired, raised her head. Then, she took out the green jade pendant she received from the martial arts prodigy from her chest.

In the dimming surroundings, the green jade pendant faintly shimmered. However, unlike before, it wasn’t shining steadily but flickering rhythmically.

“I’m not well-versed in the art of alcohol, but it seems like it’s sending some kind of signal.”

“If it’s sending a signal and they still haven’t come out to meet us….”

“They either never intended to come out in the first place or it’s an impossible situation. It must be one of the two.”

“Hmm. I also think so.”

Paeng So-so let out a sigh with a worried expression, while Hong Yeon-hwa nodded calmly.

We planned to get the help of the martial arts prodigy through Yongbongjihoe, even if we had to go back a little….

“What should we do? Should we go down today and come back tomorrow?”

After contemplating for a moment, Hong Yeon-hwa nodded with a serious expression.

“You don’t want to postpone it until tomorrow after coming all the way here. It’s not what you want, but you have to exert a little effort, my lady.”

Putting the green jade pendant back into her chest, Hong Yeon-hwa took a few steps forward. She looked slightly higher than the mountain peak and slowly began to gather her inner energy.

Woong-

A lump of dark energy formed above Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand. A strong pill the size of a human head, a Ganghwan pill.

Like a hole being pierced in the air, the pitch-black pill quickly shrunk and diminished in size.

The compressed Ganghwan pill, compact enough to fit in Hong Yeon-hwa’s small hand, looked like a pretty pebble picked up from the roadside at first glance.

Of course, its power wasn’t anything to scoff at. It could probably crush the cause of our lost path in this vicinity in an instant.

And even if not, if something like that flew above our heads, the martial artists of Mosanpa might come out first.

Hong Yeon-hwa took a stance as if she was about to strike with her thumb and middle finger. In front of her was, of course, the Ganghwan pill she had created a moment ago.

Just as the moment was about to unfold where she could easily demolish an average house, a middle-aged man dressed somewhere between a martial artist and a shaman emerged from behind the bushes, waving his arms and running towards us.

White martial arts uniform. Long beard. A peculiar energy emanating from the sword hanging at his waist. A bundle of talismans tied on the other side.

A middle-aged man dressed in a way that seemed to be a mix of martial artist and shaman, sweating profusely, stood in front of Hong Yeon-hwa, blocking her way.

“No matter how much I tried to contact you and got no response, I came down myself… I knew it was a wicked trick by that bastard, Madu!”

“Hmm? By contact, do you mean…?”

“The fact that the green jade pendant is in your hands means that there was a great disaster in the martial arts world as well! But even so, the Great Mosanpa will never kneel to some special individuals!”

“Take a moment to calm down and listen to what my lady has to say. It’s not what you think, it’s just…”

“Ha! How dare you try to deceive the Grand Disciple of Mosanpa, Pung Cheong-wol! With this level of magic, I would have noticed it even in my hometown! Even if I have to return to the embrace of the Primordial Heavenly Deity in this place today…”

“Ugh!”

“Kwah!”

Pung Cheong-wol, who was raising his sword in his right hand and a talisman in his left hand with a fierce voice.

But when Hong Yeon-hwa lightly flicked her finger, he was hit by the Ganghwan pill she had prepared in advance and fell down helplessly.

“…Is he dead?”

“What do you think of my lady? Since I suppressed the power as much as possible, it should be similar to being hit by a pebble.”

Upon closer inspection, the self-proclaimed Pung Cheong-wol, the martial artist, had a small bump instead of a hole in place of the wind hole.

“But did you really have to knock him out? Couldn’t we have just subdued him with acupuncture and slowly cleared up the misunderstanding?”

“Oh… I didn’t even realize it, my lady!”

Did she just hit him out of anger….

While I was dumbfounded, Paeng So-so let go of the sword she had reflexively grabbed and looked puzzled.

“By the way, Hong Unni. Earlier, you mentioned that this Pung Cheong-wol was trying to contact us. What does that mean?”

“Oh, right. That bothered me too. You also seemed to have a reaction that suggested you had some idea.”

“Ugh… Is that really true?”

Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated, her finger twirling as she opened her mouth with a hesitant attitude.

“It seems like it’s all because of Lady that we ended up in this mess.”

According to her explanation, when we arrived at the middle of the mountain, a suspicious energy suddenly enveloped us.

And Hong Yeon-hwa considered it some kind of sorcery.

Something that could make us lose our way or deceive our senses, making it impossible for Mosanpa to detect us.

Since I had already heard rumors that Mosanpa was wary of visitors, I probably thought the same.

“But was that the premonition meant for the person who brought the green jade pendant?”

“If his words are true, then most likely.”

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head with a small voice. Perhaps she thought that she had caused us hours of wasted effort, as her expression seemed slightly deflated.

“So, to summarize, Mosanpa knows that we’ve entered, but they don’t know where we are or how to contact us, so this guy came out to find us? And in the meantime, you unleashed your magic so loudly.”

“I’m sorry… Lady, I was too hasty.”

“I’m not blaming you, so it’s okay. Let’s just focus on getting the situation under control.”

If it were me, I wouldn’t have thought twice about acting the same way as Hong Yeon-hwa, given the opportunity. I had no intention of saying anything.

I gently pinched Hong Yeon-hwa’s soft cheek, imbuing my words with a comforting meaning.

“Surely the green jade pendant is a means for the Wulin Alliance to contact Mosanpa in times of emergency, right? So it’s unlikely that only one monk came down to find us.”

“That’s right. And considering that they could sense Hong Unni’s magic as well, it’s possible that they sent trackers from the Four Clans.”

Paeng So-so patted Hong Yeon-hwa’s head and nodded.

“Well, there shouldn’t be a big problem since there’s a way to clear up the misunderstanding about the magic.”

“Besides the green jade pendant, Master also mentioned that he wrote a separate letter for you, right?”

“Yeah. Rumors about Yeon-hwa… I mean, rumors about the existence of the Heavenly Demon might have spread here and there, so Master wrote a separate letter just in case Mosanpa doesn’t know.”

“Ugh…”

Squish, squish.

Pat, pat.

As the wind blew, Hong Yeon-hwa was shaken back and forth like a doll, her head being patted from both sides and her cheeks being pulled.

Lately, it seemed that Paeng So-so had been finding Hong Yeon-hwa more adorable. Perhaps they had become closer?

“Well, it’s not as bad as I thought. If we wait here, they’ll come on their own, right?”

“As long as those monks don’t come charging at us like earlier, we should be able to follow them straight to Mosanpa.”

“Phew… As long as we didn’t get caught in the act this time, they won’t come charging at us, right?”

“Hehe. It seems that Jin Ga-ga is not yet accustomed to asserting his authority. Who are we? Aren’t we the Three Realms Sword Dragon and the Venerable Yeon-do Bong of the Hongbuk Paeng Clan? And there, I am the wife of Jin Ga-ga.”

Ah, that’s right. I am no longer a nameless wanderer who has to prove myself.

The title of Yongbong and the presence of Paeng So-so guarantee my status in the martial world and the Paeng Clan.

Of course, if I were to tarnish the names of the martial world and the Paeng Clan, they would come after me first to seek revenge… But until then, they will be a reliable backing for me.

“Well, there is a better way!”

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was squeezed between me and Paeng So-so, broke free and shouted anxiously.

“What is it?”

As I asked, remembering the sensation of her cheek that lingered on my hand, Hong Yeon-hwa stood in front of the fallen Pungcheong-wol and said, “Before the other monks arrive, we can wake him up and explain the situation. He will listen better to what our family members have to say than what we say.”

Saying so, Hong Yeon-hwa dropped the sword and talisman that she had not let go of until Pungcheong-wol fell.

Thud, thud, thud.

“Ugh!”

Pungcheong-wol, who stood up with a startled expression as if waking up from a nightmare, pushed aside the letter he received from the head of the martial world without even understanding the situation.

“There seems to have been a slight misunderstanding.”

…

…

…

After that, everything went smoothly.

We met with the representative of Mosanpa, explained the situation, and received help on the condition that Hong Yeon-hwa would pass on some of her martial arts knowledge.

I don’t know what they did or how they did it, but it didn’t take long for them to find a way for Hong Yeon-hwa to cross over to the world she belonged to. And it was a two-way path.

With this, Paeng So-so can also stay with her family.

Everything is perfect. It felt a bit uncomfortable that everything unfolded so smoothly, just like the best scenario I had imagined, but well, who cares.

Good things are good, aren’t they?

After all the preparations were made, we finally crossed over to the world where Hong Yeon-hwa was.

And…

***

The entrance of Mosanpa. Instead of being filled with silence as it should have been, an enormous magical energy surged forth.

In the center stood Hong Yeon-hwa, emitting an overwhelming aura.

“Release the spells on them right now. If not, I guarantee you that today will be the last day of Mosanpa.”

“Cough… That’s impossible. I already told you that I am not the one in charge of this trial. If we forcefully wake them up, they will only become more dangerous.”

The entire Mosanpa is already within the range of Hong Yeon-hwa’s Heavenly Demon’s Dominion.

The other disciples of Mosanpa had long been in a state of confusion, and only Jang Moon-in was able to maintain his composure while vomiting blood.

An elderly man with white hair opened his eyes and pleaded, “I may not have the ability to end this trial of divine water, but I can at least steal a glimpse of the process! If necessary, I am willing to break the divine water, so please, for now, trust those two and calm your anger.”

“….”

As Hong Yeon-hwa slowly closed and opened her eyes, the oppressive feeling that seemed to crush the sky and the vitality that constricted her heart disappeared without a trace.

“Very well. However, if any small issues arise for my husband and younger sister, then at that time…”

Silence.

Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at Jin So-chan and Paeng So-so as she spoke.

The focus of the two standing in front became increasingly blurred.

As if they were looking at a place other than here.