Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 72

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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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#072

There was always one beggar near the Yongseong Merchant Guild.

Even though the merchant guild filled his bowl with rice from time to time, he usually lay on the ground begging.

“The people here have kind hearts.”

There are always good spots for begging.

The beggar in his early thirties, who had unexpectedly found a prime location, thought he wanted to stay here a bit longer.

But as is the fate of beggars, the more desperate the wish, the further it became.

“I want to meet Uncle Geumgang-gae.”

Deungmyeong Jangju had finally come looking for Geumgang-gae. He had been begging near the Yongseong Merchant Guild specifically to hear those words.

“I’ll contact him right away.”

Just two quarters of an hour later, Geumgang-gae came alone to the merchant guild where Ja-gang-cheon was staying.

“Please come in.”

They sat around the round table in the room where Ja-gang-cheon was staying.

“First, let me tell you the information and predictions we’ve discovered.”

Cheon-gu continued speaking.

“They called two ginseng diggers and one woodcutter until last night to ask them something. We didn’t know the content, so we looked into their past activities and found something peculiar. They had searched this area before, and it seems they were trying to find caves or mines.”

“Do you have grounds for thinking that?”

“The first person they were looking for was a miner. We met him and asked directly.”

Geumgang-gae nodded while being inwardly surprised.

‘I didn’t expect them to find out this much.’

They had discovered facts unknown even to Gaebangdo in just two days. That didn’t mean Gaebangdo had been idle though.

“They’ve searched not only Yonggu here, but also Bongrae, Yeongtae, and Weihai. They mostly searched mountains and were so thorough they drained entire ponds to check them. That was five years ago.”

“So they’re doing again now what they did five years ago.”

“And currently they’re only searching here. We confirmed there are no North Cheon City people in the other regions I mentioned.”

The messenger birds must have been quite busy moving around for several days.

“The fact that they’ve narrowed their search range and key figures have come means they’re confident that what they’re looking for is here.”

Cheon-gu reached a conclusion based on the information received. Hearing this, Geumgang-gae stroked his chin.

“It’s not certain information, but there were rumors that North Cheon City has been searching for Yongmyeong Tomb for a long time. The search five years ago was also seen as part of that.”

“Yongmyeong Tomb?”

Yongmyeong Tomb .

It meant the tomb where a dragon sleeps.

Since it happened before Ja-gang-cheon and Cheon-gu were even born, Geumgang-gae told them about Yongmyeong Tomb.

“Thirty years ago, Song Jin-baek, who was called the Righteous Path’s Single Sword, suddenly appeared as a madman. From then on, he wasn’t called the Righteous Path’s Single Sword but Gwangnyong. Because he persistently sought out strong opponents for duels, countless martial arts masters died. The number of those who became disabled was also countless.”

Gwangnyong Song Jin-baek was one of the characters storytellers loved.

He was a hero representing the righteous path and a genius who could create his own martial arts, but he was a tragic figure who gained madness because he couldn’t overcome his limits.

“His rampage stopped because of qi deviation. He was so immersed in madness that he couldn’t even take care of himself. In the end, he lost all his internal energy and barely saved his life, but surprisingly, his sanity returned.”

He paused for a moment, and Ja-gang-cheon and Pansuk were shining with bright eyes. Cheon-gu also had a serious expression but lowered even his breathing as he focused on the story.

It was the moment Geumgang-gae understood why gossips often mentioned this story.

He continued the story without disappointing the audience’s expectations.

“After regaining his senses, he took one disciple to pass on his martial arts. He left a will to the disciple he had carefully raised for twenty years. He told him to go to the place he had arranged when he became qualified someday. That was Yongmachong. The tomb where a dragon sleeps.”

“Huh? But why is North Cheon City looking for that place? If the disciple already found it, it would be useless.”

To Pansuk’s question, Geumgang-gae said something no one expected.

“There was no disciple.”

“What?”

All three showed surprised expressions.

“What he saw was a hallucination. There was no disciple from the beginning, and he wasn’t in a condition to teach anything. What protected him until his dying moment wasn’t a disciple but a woman from his past. Without that woman, we wouldn’t even know how Gwangnyong died.”

“Then what happens to Yongmachong?”

“That was probably also a hallucination. The disciple was also an illusion. Yongmachong probably doesn’t exist.”

After hearing the entire story, Ja-gang-cheon somewhat understood his heart.

‘My parents who were researching formations on the uninhabited island were like that too. They became completely different people and it was scary.’

For martial artists, facing the wall of martial arts was both an opportunity and a crisis.

Most people couldn’t even touch the wall, so seeing it itself meant achievement. But countless people fell into qi deviation and madness because of that wall.

-Sweet spider web.

Ja-gang-cheon thought of their madness this way.

“It’s somehow sad yet futile.”

The story seemed to end here, but Cheon-gu wasn’t finished.

“I understand the story well enough, but there’s a part that doesn’t make sense.”

Geumgang-gae waited for the next words with an expression as if he knew what would be said. And the expected words came out.

“A group like North Cheon City doesn’t seem like they’d move based on mere rumors. A small number of people would be one thing, but they conducted a large-scale search and the city lord’s granddaughter is personally involved.”

“That point bothers us too. That’s why we can’t reach a clear conclusion.”

Geumgang-gae had said from the beginning of the story that it wasn’t certain information. He judged it to be that ambiguous.

“We have no choice but to investigate more.”

“Yes. We’ll also investigate more.”

After finishing the conversation, Geumgang-gae gave a separate greeting to Ja-gang-cheon. Pansuk and Cheon-gu had a comfortable relationship, but he still showed respect to Ja-gang-cheon.

“Lord. Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes. Uncle.”

Ja-gang-cheon personally escorted him to the merchant guild’s main gate. But when Geumgang-gae disappeared around the corner of the alley, someone appeared from the opposite direction.

“Huh?”

It was Miho from Hao-mun.

Miho made eye contact with Ja-gang-cheon, then turned around without saying anything.

She was being conscious of the Gaebangdo member in front of the merchant guild.

Noticing this, Ja-gang-cheon entered the merchant guild, then climbed over the wall and moved in the direction Miho had turned.

He found a narrow alley, and Miho entered it as if she had been waiting.

“What? How did you come here?”

Ja-gang-cheon asked as he entered the same alley.

“Dan-ju wishes to see you. May I guide you?”

“Huh? Why is your way of speaking like that?”

There was an awkward aspect with stiffness and softness mixed together.

“I’m making an effort.”

Ja-gang-cheon had once pointed out that she wasn’t making an effort.

“It looks good. Guide me.”

Miho guided Ja-gang-cheon while avoiding Gaebangdo.

The place they arrived at was a small inn on the west side of the village. After passing through the first floor with only six dining tables and opening the back door, a shabby warehouse appeared.

Following Miho’s guidance and opening the warehouse door, a completely different scenery from the outside unfolded.

Having experienced this several times at the Gyeonam Black Market, Ja-gang-cheon wasn’t particularly surprised.

“Sister always splurges on places like this. You should save money to live well.”

Yeon-hee, wearing blue silk clothes resembling the sea today, greeted Ja-gang-cheon.

“That’s right. I splurged a lot trying to look good for Lord, but maybe I should really stop now.”

Yeon-hee’s tone today was different from her usual kindness.

She still had a smiling expression and was gentle, but it felt like a thorn had sprouted.

“Do you have some complaint against me?”

“A complaint? I’m just curious where you picked up such a foul smell.”

“Foul smell? Ah! Gaebangdo?”

When the word Gaebangdo came up, her pretty eyebrows formed an inverted figure-eight.

“Who would have known that Lord would move so secretly with Gaebangdo, setting aside our Hao-mun?”

“Are you jealous right now?”

“Men are really dense at times like this. Sometimes they can’t distinguish between being angry and being jealous.”

Ja-gang-cheon couldn’t accept those words as they were.

“Sister, you’re free to be angry. But I can’t accept that I’m the target of that anger.”

“Are you saying that traveling with Gae-bang is justified?”

“There’s no reason why it wouldn’t be.”

“You really seem not to know, so I’ll explain it to you this time.”

Ja-gang-cheon waited for her words.

“In the last fight between Hwangbo Clan and Deungmyeong Manor, I took your side, Lord. But what if I had also been friendly with Hwangbo Baek? How would you have felt?”

Only then did Ja-gang-cheon understand her words exactly.

In the fight with Hwangbo Clan, Yeon-hee had prepared to be expelled from Hao-mun and sided with Deungmyeong Manor.

“The relationship between Hao-mun and Gae-bang is much older and deeper than the bad blood between Hwangbo Clan and Deungmyeong Manor. It means they can never be together.”

When Ja-gang-cheon couldn’t answer, Yeon-hee clearly explained the laws of Gangho.

“Martial artists are divided into Jeongpa and Demonic Sect. There are people who belong to neither, but there’s no one who belongs to both.”

There are martial world enemies like the Evil Sect who are chased by both sides, but there’s no existence welcomed by both Jeongpa and Demonic Sect.

Those words painfully stabbed Ja-gang-cheon’s heart. It seemed like words pointing out Ja-gang-cheon’s origins.

“It’s really a difficult world for me to live in.”

It was such a self-deprecating tone that even Yeon-hee, who had been warning him, was surprised.

“I understand what you mean. This seems to be my mistake.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Don’t be kind to me anymore.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’re choosing Gae-bang?”

“No. I won’t choose Gae-bang either.”

“You’re not saying you’ll become someone who belongs to neither, are you?”

Ja-gang-cheon shook his head.

“I don’t know. It’s still a difficult problem for me.”

That appearance somehow softened Yeon-hee’s heart.

“Sigh. Lord really is a difficult person. Fine. I’ll give you plenty of time, so think it over carefully. Until then, I’ll be kind like before.”

“You might get betrayed doing that.”

“Then I’ll get angry when that time comes.”

Yeon-hee looked at Ja-gang-cheon, who still had a dark expression, and brought up a topic he could focus on.

“The rumors about Yongmyeong Tomb might actually be true.”

It was a different conclusion from Gae-bang’s. As Yeon-hee intended, Ja-gang-cheon escaped from his complicated thoughts and focused on her words.

“Gwangnyong Song Jin-baek. The last whereabouts of Han So-ok, the woman who stayed by his side, was North Cheon City. Though she didn’t live long due to her weak mental and physical state, North Cheon City took care of her with all their heart. It was around that time that North Cheon City started looking for Yongmyeong Tomb.”

Hearing her story, the credibility of Yongmyeong Tomb skyrocketed.

“Is it okay to just tell me information that even Gae-bang doesn’t know?”

“I’ll be satisfied with showing you that Hao-mun is better than Gae-bang.”

When you think about it, it wasn’t wrong either.

While abilities might differ by field, it was hard to imagine Jiao-nan having a strained relationship with Hao-mun.

Since the black market was already playing a big role in Jiao-nan, becoming uncomfortable with them wouldn’t be a very good picture.

‘She’s not really a bad sister.’

What bothered him most was the affection they had built up over time.

‘She chose me in a moment of crisis too.’

At this point, Ja-gang-cheon felt sorry toward Yeon-hee.

“Thank you.”

“Oh my. Don’t speak so affectionately. It might go beyond kindness.”

“Don’t do that. I don’t want to say bad things to you, sister.”

“Tsk. Lord really has no eye for women.”

Yeon-hee skillfully lightened the mood with her words.

“That’s all I have to tell you today. Now go back and get along well with those smelly beggars.”

Watching her shrug her shoulders and issue an order to leave, Ja-gang-cheon smiled.

“Alright.”

As he turned to leave, Ja-gang-cheon suddenly felt like he was missing something important.

“But tell me, what exactly is in Yongmyeong Tomb? Is there some martial arts manual?”

“According to rumors, Song Jin-baek’s true legacy remains there. But there’s something more important than that. It’s only found in mines or caves where very special energy gathers.”

“What is it?”

“Gongcheong oil stone.”

Only then did Ja-gang-cheon understand the true value of Yongmyeong Tomb.

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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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