Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 124

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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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Chapter 124

Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes sparkled.

“I understand that you didn’t mobilize the Main Palace’s power in that process. Is it the same now?”

“Yes.”

“…I heard you saved Mu-ryeon. He also conveyed these words to me, that he could understand but couldn’t accept it.”

“It’s not of great significance. I still don’t know my eldest brother’s heart.”

Seol Jung-cheon’s expression became truly complex.

No, it was regret.

“This incompetent father seems to be placing too heavy a burden on your shoulders.”

Woon-hwi smiled faintly.

“It’s fine. I exist for that purpose.”

“…Woon-hwi.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t overexert yourself too much. If there’s something this father should do as Palace Lord, tell me anytime.”

“Aren’t I telling you right now?”

“…Hm?”

“You must ascend to Primordial Sole Existence. Only when Father reaches Primordial Sole Existence can I execute the plans in my head without ‘being mindful’ of others.”

Seol Jung-cheon, who had been pondering the meaning of those words for a moment, opened his eyes wide.

“…If you’ve accomplished this much while being mindful… you’re saying you were holding back?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Are you alright?”

“…I’m not alright. You rascal.”

And at this moment, Seol Jung-cheon could be certain of one doubt he had been harboring in his heart.

He wanted a definitive answer.

“When is it? The time when Gun Mu-gyeol and Kang Cheon-u ascend to Primordial Sole Existence.”

Strangely, Woon-hwi was in a hurry.

He was full of thoughts about elevating Seol Jung-cheon’s realm by any means, but could this simply be for cleaning up the inside of Snow Palace?

No, it wasn’t.

When Woon-hwi plays baduk, he never makes a move with only one meaning.

There are always two or more intentions.

Seol Jung-cheon’s doubt was accurate. Woon-hwi answered quietly.

“According to my memory, Gun Mu-gyeol will ascend in half a year, and Kang Cheon-u at the end of this year, that is, eight months from now, to Primordial Sole Existence.”

The balance of an organization is important.

If realms are equal, balance is maintained, but if one side’s realm becomes exceptionally high, balance breaks and friction occurs.

Without fail.

He must ascend to Primordial Sole Existence.

That was what Seol Jung-cheon had to do as Palace Lord.

“Let’s play baduk.”

“Father.”

“Speak.”

“If you rush too much, even things that could work won’t work.”

“…Mm…”

“Please keep your mind at ease. Hesitation dulls the sword, while determination sharpens it.”

Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes opened wide.

“I urge you, do not fear greatness. Inner tranquility will summon the storm, and whether that is Father’s destiny or not, it is the path you must walk.”

With a calm mind, Seol Jung-cheon took out the Ice Heaven Go Board and baduk stones from his storage bag.

Woon-hwi asked.

“Will you play first?”

Looking at Woon-hwi’s reverent posture, Seol Jung-cheon picked up a black stone and placed it down.

Thunk.

The game began.

* * *

The atmosphere in Jeok An became seriously heavy.

Honestly speaking, the trust of Jeok An’s martial artists toward Lee Ja-gyeom was solid.

If Lee Ja-gyeom said to do something, they would do it without a moment’s hesitation.

He succeeded in everything he did, and whatever it was, he produced results.

Who brought the Divine Ginseng Flower from Divine Ginseng Valley?

Lee Ja-gyeom.

Moreover, Jeok An was a coastal city.

The money earned from smuggling was no joke, and with the specialty product called Blood Plum Blossom, they made poison, alcohol, and even tea, earning enormous profits. 

This was why Jeok An’s martial artists couldn’t help but follow Lee Ja-gyeom.

But today, for the first time, that trust was shattered.

“Damn… bastard…!!”

Lee Ja-gyeom’s appearance, smashing the table and wall before him, was not the cold strategist he had shown until now.

“Aaaahhhhh-!! Seol Woon-hwi!! You damn fucking bastard!!”

Crash-! Crash-!!

The surroundings were devastated, and even buildings collapsed.

Nearby martial artists evacuated and evacuated again.

Lee Ja-gyeom’s rage was truly beyond imagination.

But the problem with Jeok An martial artists’ trust wasn’t because of that rage.

It was because of the fifty or so boxes scattered across Jeok An’s main street.

And previously, there had been about one hundred fifty boxes, and before that, it wasn’t boxes but the brutally torn corpses of trading company members.

In the recent four days, nearly three hundred lives had departed this world.

Why.

Why on earth had it come to this?

Because Lee Ja-gyeom’s schemes had failed.

And they had failed repeatedly.

He had been continuously played by the man called Seol Woon-hwi and now had lost even his usual spirited appearance.

“This bastard dares to toy with me? A vermin-like bastard, how dare… how dare!!”

Jeok An’s martial artists waited for Lee Ja-gyeom’s rage to subside.

The damage to the One Sect, Three Families, Two Manors was severe.

There were sects that lost their leaders, sects that lost their vice-leaders, and sects that lost core martial artists.

That’s when it happened.

Lee Ja-gyeom shouted.

“Gather all the martial artists!!”

His eyes were literally blazing with fire.

“Today we will erase Yang-ryeong from this world.”

* * *

With a thunk sound, Woon-hwi’s white stone was placed.

And beyond that, neither Seol Jung-cheon nor Woon-hwi placed any more stones.

Five and a half points.

“I’ve caught up quite a bit, haven’t I?”

Woon-hwi smiled.

“You’ll be able to catch up even more.”

Seol Jung-cheon burst into laughter. Truly, Woon-hwi’s baduk skills were admirable no matter when he saw them.

While placing stones, they had many conversations.

The principles of heaven and earth, what kind of existence is a human being?

And what about martial artists?

They discussed all sorts of things and threw out countless answers according to each other’s positions.

And the new questions derived from those answers created more answers, which in turn created more questions.

Nevertheless, there was no change in Seol Jung-cheon.

“It seems it’s not time yet.”

“Father.”

“Speak.”

“I am certain of this.”

Woon-hwi’s smile was so warm.

“If not once, then twice. If not twice, then three times. You can continue playing baduk. You can engage in sword discussions with me or spar without internal energy. But if you become impatient, even what could be accomplished won’t be, so please don’t worry too much.”

He was so mature.

That’s when it happened.

“Young Master, I just received word from Jang Seok. The corpses of the envoy group have passed through Geumgwangjin.”

Geumgwangjin was a small village belonging to Jeok An, about two hours’ walk from Jeok An.

Considering the speed of the top-grade messenger bird that Woon-hwi had personally given to Jang Seok as a gift, the time remaining until the envoy group’s heads arrived in Jeok An was about an hour and a half.

At the voice from outside, Seol Jung-cheon looked at Woon-hwi with slightly worried eyes.

“At this point, I think I know what you’re trying to do, but will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine, Father.”

At Woon-hwi’s resolute answer, Seol Jung-cheon silently nodded and stood up, putting the Ice Heaven Go Board into his storage bag.

“Well now… Having secret meetings like this in the dead of night makes us seem like libertines sneaking into pleasure houses behind their wives’ backs.”

Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes suddenly widened. The joke he had just made suddenly resonated in his mind.

“What’s wrong, Father?”

“Ah… I just remembered what you said while playing baduk. ‘Empty yet having form, having form yet being void’…”

A light of realization flashed in Seol Jung-cheon’s eyes.

He organized his thoughts in the brief silence.

“How strange. I pursued such complex things to reach the realm of No-Mind, yet the answer was in trivial moments of daily life.”

Woon-hwi smiled.

“Sometimes, in trying to climb too high a mountain to see the moon beyond the clouds, we miss the moon reflected in the pond before our eyes.”

Seol Jung-cheon nodded. It wasn’t complete enlightenment, but it felt like something blocked had opened slightly.

“Next time… shall we share stories over drinks instead of baduk?”

Seol Jung-cheon said with a laugh, and Woon-hwi nodded.

While baduk was optimal, if he could only transmit enlightenment through baduk, it would be no different from limiting his own capabilities.

Woon-hwi was someone who believed that human beings possessed infinite possibilities.

“I’ll prepare the alcohol.”

“Good, let’s meet again in two weeks.”

With that same smiling face, Seol Jung-cheon’s body scattered and disappeared from that spot, and the smile on Woon-hwi’s lips vanished.

He had to return to Yang-ryeong’s affairs.

If the envoy group’s heads had arrived in Jeok An, then Lee Ja-gyeom would now realize what had happened and explode in great fury.

Lee Ja-gyeom considered himself clever, but when he realized that wasn’t the case.

And when he realized he had been dancing in someone’s palm all this time.

He would be unable to judge rationally.

Lee Ja-gyeom would surely lead Jeok An’s warriors to Yang-ryeong.

The time it would take would be roughly seven hours at most.

Lee Ja-gyeom, who would position himself in Yang-ryeong before dawn, would realize a bit too late that he had made a very big mistake.

A voice broke through Woon-hwi’s solitary contemplation.

“Um… Young Master…? May I come in? You’re not responding, so I wondered if something might have happened…”

“Manager Seong.”

“Ah, yes. Young Master.”

“Come in.”

The door opened.

Manager Seong’s appearance, wearing a long robe with a long sword at his left waist and three hidden daggers at his right waist, was not the managerial figure he had shown until now.

A sword.

And a well-forged sword at that.

“Today, the stage I mentioned will be set. Are you confident?”

Manager Seong smiled slightly.

“Of course, Young Master.”

Today, truly much blood would flow.

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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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