Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 89

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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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In the early morning, Namgung Cheon climbed the mountain, breathing hard against the chill wind.
He’d only just begun the ascent, yet already his breath came short—something that would have been unthinkable in his younger days.
As he let out a wry laugh at the thought, Jang Sam-tae, walking beside him, began muttering complaints.
“How on earth are we supposed to find such a thing? And dragging us out at the crack of dawn, no less!”
“Rare Spirit Herbs, by nature, are only discovered when Heavenly Fortune favors us.”
Gwon Mu-jin added his voice as well.
Having been rushed out straight after breakfast, all of them were thoroughly disgruntled.
Moreover, they had been climbing Ak-rok Mountain—a peak notorious for its treacherous terrain—without rest for well over an hour.
“Be quiet and follow. This mountain surely holds Rare Spirit Herbs worth finding.”
“And wandering about like this will actually help us find one?”
Considering that even among herb gatherers there were those who’d spent their whole lives without ever laying eyes on a Rare Spirit Herb, it seemed impossible unless Namgung Cheon had been born under Heavenly Fortune itself.
“I don’t know what we’re looking for, but I’ll do my best for grandfather!”
Dan So-mi, growing tired as they walked, whispered this from where she clung to Namgung Cheon’s back.
Hearing only the complaints of the other two, Namgung Cheon felt his ears clear and let out a soft laugh. It seemed he could feel the warmth of So-mi’s heart.
Of course, carrying her on his aging, weakened shoulders was sapping his strength all the same.
They ventured deeper into Ak-rok Mountain. As the mountain path grew steadily steeper and more treacherous, even the well-trained Gwon Mu-jin began to gasp for breath. They had been climbing for so long, and the difficult terrain was draining their stamina rapidly.
“Huff, huff… We should have brought the Manor Lord along… Why must only we suffer like this…?”
“Ha, and would the Manor Lord have budged if I’d asked him?”
“Well… I suppose not.”
Jang Sam-tae wiped away his frustrated sweat.
It was absolutely true.
Only Dan Woo-hyun’s own will could move Dan Woo-hyun. Even if Dan So-mi pleaded, he had an unyielding firmness—if he decided something was not to be done, he would not do it.
“Whew… whew… I think this spot will do.”
Namgung Cheon caught his breath and surveyed the surroundings.
It was treacherous terrain indeed. Just a little farther west lay a sheer cliff, and around where they stood, the ground bore no trace of human passage—pristine and untouched.
Namgung Cheon began to hope that even herb gatherers would avoid such a place, which meant Rare Spirit Herbs might flourish here.
‘He said it plainly enough…’
Dan Woo-hyun had spoken of it: Heavenly Fortune is close by.
Though his words were admittedly abstract, he seemed to hold absolute confidence that they would find the Rare Spirit Herb. Namgung Cheon could not fathom why.
‘If you think clearly, it will be easy to obtain; if you cannot, it will be difficult?’
Namgung Cheon recalled Dan Woo-hyun’s words and steadied his breathing. He still couldn’t grasp what that man had truly meant.
He sighed softly and set Dan So-mi down.
“Stay here. These surroundings are dangerous—don’t wander about.”
“Yes! Don’t worry. I’ll stay somewhere safe.”
Dan So-mi broke into a bright smile and dashed toward Jang Sam-tae, who was carrying all the tools for digging up herbs.
“You’re going to search too?”
“Of course. It’s for grandfather!”
Dan So-mi slung a small basket across her back, grasped a hoe in one hand, and laughed cheerfully.
Though she truly didn’t know what a Rare Spirit Herb was, she was there solely for the sake of helping Namgung Cheon.
Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin exchanged awkward smiles. Finding a Rare Spirit Herb was hard enough without having to look after So-mi as well—they already felt their minds reeling.
“Don’t go near anywhere that looks dangerous!”
“I won’t!”
Dan So-mi scampered off.

“Hmm, what should I start with?”
Dan So-mi looked thoughtfully left and right. She could see Namgung Cheon, Gwon Mu-jin, and Jang Sam-tae sweeping the area, earnestly searching for something.
“But what is a Rare Spirit Herb, anyway?”
Dan So-mi furrowed her brow in confusion.
She folded her arms and pondered, but nothing came to mind. Neither at the School nor at home had anyone ever taught her what a Rare Spirit Herb was.
All Dan So-mi knew of were a few edible plants—weeds and kudzu.
Growl—
Her stomach rumbled loudly.
Though they’d eaten breakfast before coming, considerable time had passed.
Namgung Cheon didn’t seem inclined to eat lunch anytime soon, so she couldn’t very well complain about her hunger.
Dan So-mi decided she would have to dig up something to eat.
Looking carefully around, she spotted kudzu growing nearby.
Dan So-mi dug at it eagerly. One root vine emerged, and searching the area around it, she found others as well.
From the start, So-mi was skilled at foraging in the mountains. She had learned from Dan Woo-hyun, and it was a natural talent besides.
So Dan So-mi began to search the surroundings thoroughly, intent on filling her belly.
It seemed long ago that the thought of finding Rare Spirit Herb had vanished from this child’s mind.

“Huff… huff… I-is this stuff actually going to show up?”
Jang Sam-tae’s appearance as he returned from searching deep into the mountain was pitiful. His face was already slick with sweat, and his clothes had become little more than rags.
They were torn and cut from rummaging through the undergrowth so meticulously.
Of course, this wretched state belonged not to Jang Sam-tae alone. Namgung Cheon and Gwon Mu-jin were no better off.
After a simple lunch and half a day of searching, Gwon Mu-jin had even scaled cliffs to look, yet no sign of Rare Spirit Herb appeared anywhere. There were edible grasses here and there, but since that wasn’t what they were seeking, they didn’t even spare it a glance.
“Hm—I thought there’d be some here, too.”
“In the first place, Rare Spirit Herbs don’t appear easily, do they?”
Crunch-crunch.
Though they searched in vain, the day was already growing dark. Now it was urgent that they descend the mountain.
The sun sets faster in the mountains than on flat ground. Considering such things, there was no time to spare.
Namgung Cheon sighed and shook his head slowly.
True, he hadn’t expected to find one easily, but he never thought they wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of its trace.
Crunch-crunch.
Then came a sound that interrupted Namgung Cheon’s thoughts—one that continued repeatedly. He turned his gaze toward the noise and saw Dan So-mi steadily putting something into her mouth.
Their eyes met directly.
Dan So-mi, her expression innocent and guileless as she continued chewing, swallowed with a gulp, then extended her small hand.
“Would you like some?”
“Heh heh, and what is that?”
“Root vine.”
Dan So-mi handed over a basket of root vine, smiling brightly. He’d asked her to find Rare Spirit Herb, but it looked like she’d only dug up root vines.
Inside the basket, besides the root vine, there was quite a lot of other things. Well, this place was so deep that human hands seldom touched it, so there would certainly be plenty of medicinal herbs and wild vegetables.
Namgung Cheon let out a short, amused laugh.
“You’ve gathered quite a bit.”
“Yes! This is for Father.”
“Is there nothing for this old man?”
Dan So-mi made a small sound of effort and contemplation.
It seemed she was carefully examining each item in the basket one by one, wondering which to give to him.
Then, quite suddenly, Dan So-mi extended her hand and placed one of the items from the basket into Namgung Cheon’s palm.
“This one!”
“And what is this?”
“I don’t know either. I just thought it was pretty…”
She laughed, a little hehe.
It wasn’t edible, but it was beautiful to look at. The root resembled ginseng, but the leaves were a deep red—entirely different from ginseng’s appearance.
Namgung Cheon gazed at it carefully.
The form seemed familiar, as though he’d heard of it somewhere before.
Something with a shape similar to ginseng but with red leaves. The root, too, had a faint crimson tint, as though it held fire within it.
This is…
“This is… Fire… Hwa Samginseng?!”
“Pardon?”
At the mention of Hwa Samginseng, both Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin were startled.
Ordinary ginseng is full of Yang Energy, but this Hwa Samginseng possesses even more Yang Energy than that.
Because it is rarer and harder to obtain than ginseng, it is not something one sees easily.
In short, it was precisely the Rare Spirit Herb that Namgung Cheon had been seeking.
“Hwa Samginseng?”
“That’s… yes! W-where did you find this?”
“I found it over there.”
Dan So-mi pointed with her finger to a spot. It was the same place where she’d first begun digging for root vines.
Namgung Cheon, gazing at that location, closed his mouth, while Gwon Mu-jin and Jang Sam-tae’s lips twitched.
‘What kind of pointless effort was that?’
‘This is mortifying.’
But could anyone be as mortified as Namgung Cheon?
He reached out, his words lost, and then pinched Dan So-mi’s cheek before stretching it outward.
“Ow, ow, ow! It… it hurts!”
“Heh heh heh—you’ve done very well, very well indeed.”
He had clearly been helped by the young So-mi, and yet somehow this situation rankled him deeply. Namgung Cheon, too, seemed quietly irritated that half a day of grueling effort had come to nothing.
“Grandfather! So-mi hurts!”
“Heh, heh, heh. Yes, yes. I know.”
Dan So-mi’s face crumpled as she drummed her small fists against him, tap-tap-tap. Only then did Namgung Cheon release his hand and rise from his seat. He reached out again, stroking her hair with a gentleness that hadn’t been there before.
“You are my Heavenly Fortune.”
“Huh?”
Dan So-mi tilted her head, bewildered by words that made no sense.
What in the world was Heavenly Fortune supposed to mean?
She tilted her head again and again, but nothing came to mind. Yet it didn’t sound like a curse, and Namgung Cheon’s expression was so gentle that she broke into a shy smile.

“You’re a fortunate one.”
“Heh, heh, heh.”
That night, Namgung Cheon returned to the Manor and placed the Hwa Samginseng before Dan Woo-hyun, laughing. The gesture carried the weight of hope—hope that this might finally neutralize the Mountain Poison Toxin.
“As you said, Heavenly Fortune lay close at hand. The fault was mine for not recognizing it.”
“It was mere chance.”
Namgung Cheon nodded.
It had to be mere chance. If Dan So-mi truly possessed Heavenly Fortune, if she could obtain whatever she desired so effortlessly, then her value as a tool—depending on how she was wielded—would be beyond measure.
And if word of such a thing spread to other ears, a bloodbath would follow as surely as night followed day.
Better to think of it as luck—nothing but chance. Lightning never struck twice.
Such thinking would be easier to live with.
“Can this truly cure him?”
“It can drive out the Mountain Poison Toxin. But I cannot promise his Internal Power will return.”
Namgung Cheon swallowed a groan.
If his Internal Power never returned, that would indeed be tragic. But the immediate danger was the Mountain Poison Toxin, and if only that could be purged, recovering his Internal Power would be well within reach through Jeok Hwang’s own effort.
“Sit cross-legged and begin your Qi Circulation. It may be painful.”
Namgung Cheon clenched his teeth and nodded.
This was Heavenly Fortune, granted by the heavens themselves.
A little pain was nothing he couldn’t bear.

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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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