Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Dan So-mi was in a daze.
Her fingers fidgeted absently as she glanced around with a somewhat vacant expression.
This was not the estate she knew. Somewhere entirely different.
She wondered why she found herself in such a place, turning the question over in her mind.
After School ended, she had returned home.
But Dan Woo-hyun and two others were preparing something.
With just a word to pack light, delighted at the prospect of an outing, she had stuffed whatever she could into a bundle and brought it along.
So far, so good.
But then they’d arrived in Ak-yang, and now she found herself at some official residence.
“…….”
“…….”
Hong Jin-rang regarded Dan So-mi with a look of displeasure. Dissatisfied with her bewildered state, he exhaled softly and held out what he’d been holding in his hand.
“Here.”
“What is this?”
“Can’t you see? Sweet rice cake.”
It was indeed sweet rice cake.
Whether homemade or not, its appearance and scent were distinctly different from what she was used to.
She took it in her hand and bit down — “Mm!” — and the sweetness spread across her tongue. Dan So-mi’s vacant expression melted away in an instant.
“It’s delicious!”
“Of course it is. My mother made it.”
“Oh…… oh, I see. I, I understand.”
The word “mother” made her smile awkwardly.
The estate had three men who would gladly lay down their lives for Dan So-mi, but there was no woman to hold this small child in her heart, which made the moment all the more tender.
“Oh my, so you’re Dan So-mi.”
At that moment, a woman’s voice reached her ears.
Startled, Dan So-mi turned her head to see a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties approaching, her face flushed with excitement.
She was beautiful.
That was Dan So-mi’s first thought upon seeing her.
Of course, she didn’t quite match Namgung So-hye, but among the women she’d seen in Ak-yang, this one seemed the finest.
“You’re so beautiful! How can you be this pretty?”
“Huh?”
The woman who had rushed over swept Dan So-mi into an embrace.
She held her as though she would never let go — or as though she might squeeze the breath from her.
When Dan So-mi whimpered in discomfort, the woman finally released her.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. Did your older sister go a bit too far?”
“It’s…… all right.”
Dan So-mi’s face flushed crimson as she forced a smile. It was far more than “a bit too far” — she’d nearly been crushed — but she kept that thought to herself.
Whoever this woman was, she smelled wonderfully fragrant.
Dan So-mi turned to Hong Jin-rang and opened her mouth.
“Your…… sister?”
“Isn’t that right? I told you! She looks just like me, doesn’t she? I’m quite something.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s our mother.”
At Hong Jin-rang’s words, Dan So-mi’s expression froze. Her face stiffened as if it might creak, and she forced herself to turn and look at the woman again.
‘Mother? Did he just say mother?’
Dan So-mi called to mind the face of Hong Won-chang.
A man who, no matter how she looked at it, appeared to be in his fifties. Probably the oldest-looking person she knew from the estate.
And yet the woman before her now?
By any measure, she was in her mid-twenties.
Dan So-mi, somewhat shocked, muttered under her breath.
“Th…… thief…….”
“Hmm?”

***

To enter Gunja Island, one had to cross by boat.
This was Dong Jeong Lake.
The boatmen waited here, ready to transport passengers to Gunja Island. Yet something strange was amiss: there were boatmen present, but no one was able to board and travel anywhere.
The restless crowd vented their frustration.
They wanted to enter, but something was blocking them.
What stopped them from forcing their way through was precisely those standing in the way.
On one side, the Phoenix Unit—the Murim Alliance’s inspection force—stood with grim expressions, protecting the boatmen.
Though they appeared to be around twenty women, the name Phoenix Unit alone was enough to prove they were first-rate masters.
On the other side stood members of the Demonic Cult.
With their eyes narrowed fiercely, blocking any further entry, their menacing presence was so palpable that no one dared take even a single step forward.
Several bodies already lay scattered in the vicinity.
A sight of the orthodox and heterodox standing together was rare indeed, but given the circumstances, it seemed they’d formed an uneasy alliance.
“At this rate, we won’t even be able to board the boat, will we?”
Jang Sam-tae furrowed his brow.
They weren’t emperors, and blocking the boats this way didn’t sit right with him, whether it was the Murim Alliance or the Demonic Cult doing it.
Of course, the boatmen had surely been paid handsomely.
“If they were ordinary people, yes.”
Dan Woo-hyun let out a soft chuckle and turned his head.
There stood Hong Won-chang, wearing an awkward expression. He’d been forcibly dragged away from his administrative duties.
Though he didn’t know exactly what was happening, no matter that he was a county magistrate, being surrounded by so many martial artists—and Demonic Cult members at that—was enough to unsettle anyone’s nerves.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Dan Woo-hyun pushed past the disgruntled warriors and stepped forward. As he began descending toward the boat, all eyes fixed upon him and his group.
Everyone looked baffled about what he thought he was doing. The orthodox Phoenix Unit might be restrained, but the Demonic Cult showed no such restraint.
“Stop. You cannot proceed any further.”
A woman of the Phoenix Unit raised her sword, blocking his path.
Dan Woo-hyun’s feet halted at that very moment.
Every member of the Phoenix Unit, and even the Demonic Cult members, tensed, watching Dan Woo-hyun and his party with the clear intention to strike if needed.
It was then that Dan Woo-hyun jabbed Hong Won-chang in the ribs—the man who’d been standing silently at his side.
“Ugh!”
Hong Won-chang snapped to attention.
Now he understood, at least in part, why he was here.
Even though these were martial artists, he was still a legitimate county magistrate, and moreover, this was Honam—his domain—with countless eyes watching.
The Demonic Cult couldn’t do much about it.
And Dan Woo-hyun was beside him.
“I am Hong Won-chang, county magistrate of Ak-yang! What in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing, blocking the road like this!”
Clang!
His thunderous voice echoed across the area.
The crowd gasped at his audacity, shouting at the Phoenix Unit and Demonic Cult members alike, their mouths hanging open in surprise. But as soon as they heard the word “magistrate,” every gaze shifted to Hong Won-chang.
“Isn’t that the man who dismantled the Hukdo Society?”
“That magistrate?”
“Ah…”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
With each voice that rose around him, Hong Won-chang felt bolstered, his face growing visibly more assured.
The Phoenix Unit, by contrast, looked shaken.
They’d never expected a county magistrate to step in directly.
Though the government and the martial world were supposed to remain separate, it was only natural for officials to intervene in such matters. Blocking his path would be asking for trouble.
Even the Demonic Cult members exchanged uncertain glances.
If he was going to speak so openly about it, neither they nor the Phoenix Unit could afford to act rashly.
“Clear the road at once! This is the Emperor’s domain, not yours. What right do you have to block the passage and prevent people from coming and going!”
“Ugh!”
The Phoenix Unit members exchanged hesitant looks.
Their leader, Namgung So-hye, was on the island and couldn’t give immediate orders.
But if they yielded now, crowds would surely rush forward, and they wouldn’t be able to conduct a proper investigation.
“Didn’t you hear me? Clear the road now!”
Clang!
When Hong Won-chang bellowed again, the Demonic Cult members frowned. After exchanging meaningful glances, they quietly withdrew to one side.
Since they couldn’t block him like the others or silence him permanently, they had no choice but to comply with his demands—even if it went against their orders.
“Ah… they cleared the road!”
“Hooray for Magistrate Hong!”
The crowd roared with approval.
Those who hadn’t budged an inch until now were stepping aside.
With each cheer that erupted, Hong Won-chang’s face glowed as if he’d just conquered the world.
“What a showoff…”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it!”
Jang Sam-tae shuffled inside with a grumble.
The boatman didn’t know what to do with himself, but there was no refusing a county magistrate’s order.
The boat carrying the group began to pull away slowly toward Gunja Island.

“You… all of you! How are you even here…….”
The moment they arrived at Gunja Island, the first thing they saw was a familiar face. Namgung So-hye recognized Dan Woo-hyun, Jang Sam-tae, and Gwon Mu-jin at once, and her mouth fell open in shock.
The Phoenix Unit and the Demonic Cult had the boatmen blocked off—it should have been impossible to get in here at all. How could they possibly be here?
Then she spotted Hong Won-chang standing beside them.
She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.
She was beginning to get the picture.
“Remarkable. I never thought I’d see you in a place like this.”
Dan Woo-hyun gazed at Namgung So-hye with a playful expression, muttering the words in a teasing tone that made her frown slightly.
“I see—you must have heard the rumors.”
“I wasn’t particularly interested.”
“You weren’t interested, yet you came all this way?”
“I became interested in the Remains of Samcheon.”
……
Namgung So-hye regarded Dan Woo-hyun with an odd expression.
The Remains of Samcheon?
Not the Secret Cave of the Martial God?
Most martial artists came to this place for one reason alone—to lay eyes on the Secret Cave of the Martial God.
She hadn’t ventured inside yet, but even she was certain something lay within.
Yet he took an interest in the Remains of Samcheon instead?
That was rather unexpected.
“I thought you’d already have retrieved them by now… haven’t you found them yet?”
At Dan Woo-hyun’s words, Namgung So-hye exhaled deeply.
How she wished the retrieval could be done sooner rather than later.
But things rarely went according to everyone’s wishes.
“The place where that so-called Opportunity Hunter entered last time collapsed from the inside, making it impossible to get in. The small cave where he escaped from is on the western side, but the recent rains weakened the ground, and it caved in as well.”
“So you haven’t even found an entrance.”
“That’s correct.”
She shrugged and offered an awkward smile.
Right now, the Demonic Cult and the Murim Alliance were tearing through Gunja Island trying to locate the entrance.
The place the Opportunity Hunter entered and the place he escaped from were now useless, and it would take over a month just to excavate them. While doing that work, they were putting all their effort into finding the real entrance.
“I see… So you’d like to meet this Opportunity Hunter?”
“That person is currently…….”
Namgung So-hye’s expression turned odd as she glanced upward at the sky. Then she pointed to it with her finger and smiled faintly.
No one could mistake the meaning of that gesture.
“Dead?”
“Yes, very thoroughly so. I’m not sure who killed him, but he was found with his limbs torn to pieces. If it weren’t for his clothes, we wouldn’t have been able to identify him at all.”
It was only natural.
He was the one who’d first discovered the place and the one who’d escaped from it. Since he might have obtained something, he became a target for many.
Dan Woo-hyun nodded calmly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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