Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#076

“Ah, there’s no need for that! What are you doing getting up right after waking up…?!”

Ignoring the young boy’s outcry, I pressed forward.

The Sleep Demon, just as Leaf Huazi had said, allowed me to wake up after one hour had passed.

As soon as I awoke from unconsciousness, I grabbed the crutch lying beside me and frantically climbed the nearest and highest hill from the hermitage.

‘What if the Baekdo Alliance in the meantime…!’

My entire body screamed as if being crushed, but I didn’t care.

With my heart bursting with urgency, I tried to grasp the current situation by any means.

“Slowly… let’s go together!”

I stopped.

Looking back, I saw the young boy sighing as he followed me.

Though tall for his age, his bright eyes still seemed untainted by worldly corruption.

This was the fellow who had stuck right beside me and followed along as soon as I stepped outside earlier.

“Seriously, how can someone even using crutches be so fast? Are you really a patient?”

“…”

“I heard roughly from Elder Yeophwaja. I understand you’re worried about the Baekdo Alliance, but I spent the entire morning hurriedly setting up formations. They can’t discover this place now.”

“…Formations, you say?”

“Yes. I learned it at Flying Red Palace. Our sect may not know other things, but formations are real.”

The boy gestured toward the ridge with his chin.

“It’s called the Soul Confusion Formation. It’s nothing grand, just something to make anyone entering get as lost as possible. I laid it out all the way from that valley entrance over there. Even if someone comes near, they’ll wander around in circles for a long time before turning back. Most people won’t even know there’s a formation.”

“…”

I looked up at the hill.

In the past, I could have used Pasabeolsik’s movement technique to survey all directions from this distance. No, even without Pasabeolsik, if I moved quickly in a circle, I could have grasped what abnormal situations existed in all directions around me.

But now, far from Pasabeolsik, even my basic energy perception was more than half blocked, limiting my ability to assess the outside situation.

And most importantly.

‘I can’t distinguish colors.’

It’s not completely black and white, but the differences in light and shadow aren’t distinguished as precisely and sharply as before.

It feels blurred somehow.

‘Well, this probably won’t be a major problem anyway.’

I raised my head again to survey the surroundings.

“And also, brother. Elder Yeophwaja can only see most clearly once a day, at noon when the sun shines most vividly, yet even under such harsh conditions, this place was found after great hardship with our help.”

The boy pointed with his finger at the ridge surrounding the basin.

“Look at that terrain. The ridge blocks all directions, doesn’t it? And there’s a cliff right behind.”

“Indeed.”

“The fog flows in from that distant ravine and accumulates here in the hermitage like the mouth of a gourd, stagnating. It conceals the hermitage. The ridge surrounds all sides like a folding screen, fundamentally blocking external view along with the wind once more.”

Though I had expected it, hearing the explanation made me understand anew why the Baekdo Alliance, including their scouts, hadn’t found this place.

“Moreover, the wind blowing along the ridge that surrounds like a screen scatters along the cliff. The smoke from cooking or lighting campfires doesn’t rise upward but rather spreads along the ground following the ridge, accumulating with the fog before dispersing and flying away. With such a fortress plus unfamiliar formations that most warriors wouldn’t know, what exactly is there to worry about?”

The boy said proudly.

“So brother, please relax now.”

I looked at the ridge.

A natural fortress.

It was certainly a plausible explanation.

‘So that’s why it’s still so quiet.’

I relaxed a little.

And for a moment, it was dangerous.

I just felt the characteristic sensation of the Sleep Demon approaching suddenly.

When I concentrated, it retreated, but I realized anew that Leaf Huazi’s words about being unable to move for seven days weren’t an exaggeration.

‘I didn’t know my body would become like this.’

I was bewildered.

What should I do about this?

I had considered countless variables, but I hadn’t anticipated a situation where I’d be semi-forcibly immobilized like this.

‘But… for now.’

Looking at it objectively,

Though I couldn’t be completely at ease, it didn’t seem like this place would be attacked immediately.

For now, I forcibly suppressed my increasingly anxious heart.

‘Let’s start with what I can do, organize what’s right in front of me.’

I looked at the boy.

“Are you also someone who was receiving treatment from Elder Yeophwaja?”

“Ah, I haven’t even introduced myself.”

The young man bowed at the waist.

“I’m Cheongwun from Flying Red Palace. Elder Yeophwaja told me to take care of you when you woke up. Please speak comfortably!”

Flying Red Palace.

Though I had dealt with countless sects and received commissions in my previous life, I had never heard that name.

“Flying Red Palace. If I may ask, in which region is this sect located? My knowledge is limited.”

“Eh… I’m young, so please speak comfortably.”

I glanced at the sword hanging at Cheongwun’s waist.

“I’m comfortable with this.”

I’ve felt this before, but it’s even harder to relax around warriors.

“Ah, and it’s understandable you don’t know Flying Red Palace.”

Cheongwun changed the subject and laughed cheerfully.

“It’s a very small palace stuck in the Northern Rural Outskirts, so you probably wouldn’t know it.”

“The north, you mean Hebei region?”

“Even further up than that. It’s an insignificant place. Just know that such a place exists. Even calling it minor is embarrassing, ah, my face is getting red.”

I stopped asking further questions.

It’s not important anyway.

These are people I’ll part with soon, and they’re not the essence of this matter.

I gave a brief introduction of myself.

“I’m called Hwi.”

“Ah, yes. I heard roughly from Elder Yeophwaja and know about you. Won’t you really speak comfortably?”

“…”

“Alright! You’ll speak comfortably as time passes, I suppose!”

Cheongwun continued chattering like a sparrow.

“You’re from the Wu Family, right? I heard you were able to receive treatment from Elder Yeophwaja because you belonged to the Baekdo Alliance before defecting. Wow, that’s really amazing. Though I was really desperate to find Elder Yeophwaja due to my urgent condition, I don’t think I could have thought of or executed such a method.”

It seems Leaf Huazi made up an appropriate story for me.

Rather than hiding everything completely, appropriately leaked information prevents additional suspicion.

“That’s right.”

“Which type of martial arts does the Wu Family practice? Though you defected, the fact that the Baekdo Alliance accepted you means you might actually be from a really famous background… By the way, do you always speak so stiffly? I know warriors are like that, but Brother Hwi feels somehow more rigid. Please speak comfortably. So which Wu Family are you from? Haha, will I finally make some Martial Arts World connections as someone from the Northern Rural Outskirts?”

…This familiar feeling.

It seems like this conversation will get very long.

Feeling something like Wu Biaoyun’s vibe, I quickly tried to cut off the endlessly continuing conversation.

“Since I was expelled from the family anyway, the Wu Family name doesn’t mean much to me. My speech is naturally like this, so don’t mind it.”

“…Ah.”

Cheongwun scratched his head awkwardly.

“Sorry. I was rude.”

“It’s fine.”

Then, a voice came from behind.

“Cheongwun, what are you doing? The meal is ready.”

I turned my head to see a man walking toward us.

He was a young man with a modest appearance, looking about one or two years older than me.

His eyes were gentle, and a faint smile hung at the corners of his mouth.

“Ah, Brother Gangbi!”

Cheongwun waved his hand.

“This person has awakened.”

“Oh, really?”

The man called Gangbi approached me.

“Fellow disciple, I am Gangbi of the Flying Red Palace. Please feel free to call me by name.”

“I go by Hwi.”

“I heard you’re from the Wu Family—”

Cheongwun rushed over, grabbed the back of Gangbi’s neck, and pulled him back.

“Brother Gangbi, you shouldn’t ask such presumptuous things!”

“Ack! What, what? What did I do wrong?!”

After a brief commotion, Gangbi pushed Cheongwun away and scratched his head awkwardly.

“Haha, if I was rude in any way, I apologize. Everyone here has their own circumstances, so, well… uh, hmm.”

“I don’t mind at all, so it’s fine.”

Rather, their consideration beyond my expectations was making me feel embarrassed.

Gangbi seemed relieved by my words and smiled warmly.

“Did Cheongwun guide you well?”

“Thanks to him, I was able to understand the situation.”

“Really? That’s good to hear.”

Gangbi lightly patted Cheongwun’s shoulder.

“This guy talks a bit much, but he does good work. He even set up the formation. In our palace, we have plenty of guys like this… but on top of that, he talks so much.”

“Brother, I’m more amazing than you think.”

“In front of another person… I’ll deal with you later.”

Gangbi sighed and said to me.

“Let’s eat first. We’ve prepared some porridge that’s easy to digest. You shouldn’t go hungry when your body is in that condition.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. That’s just how we live here.”

And so I returned to the hermitage.

I suppose you could call it a small valley village.

Five or six mud huts were clustered together, and clear spring water flowed on one side.

Today they had lit a bonfire in the courtyard to cook food and make jerky.

We lit a fire and sat around it.

They placed creaky wooden chairs here and there, hung pots, and prepared porridge and food to eat.

People I hadn’t seen before emerged from various parts of the hermitage.

Everyone sat around and ate together.

Though water mist gently enveloped us, the feeling reflected by the bonfire was more like warm clouds than something chilly.

Rather, as I got used to it, it even felt comfortable.

Moreover, the porridge we ate for dinner was plain but easy on the stomach.

As I held my empty porridge bowl and gazed at the bonfire, Gangbi asked.

“Would you like more? Elder Yeophwaja doesn’t usually eat dinner anyway, so there’s plenty left.”

“Please.”

Gangbi spoke in a serious voice.

“But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

“You need to speak more casually.”

“…”

Beside him, Cheongwun was nodding his head like crazy.

“…Why is that so important that you’re making such a big deal about it?”

“We at Flying Red Palace have a habit of eating through our noses when there’s a guest speaking stiffly while we’re eating together.”

Cheongwun added from the side.

“I even drink tea through my nose.”

“…”

I let out a small sigh.

“I’ll… try.”

“Haha, it’s very awkward but we’ll bear with it. Here’s your porridge.”

As he said this, Gangbi quietly gestured toward a group of people nearby.

“And those three over there… don’t be shocked.”

Gangbi took a deep breath and said.

“They’re from Sadoryeon.”

I doubted my ears.

Sadoryeon meant… the Sects of the Central Plains were here?

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