Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 293

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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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Chapter 293
“I had intended to appoint both of you as Elders, but now it seems keeping you out of the spotlight would serve us better.”
The man and woman exchanged glances.
“You two will handle information and finances within the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
“Thank you for entrusting us with such an important position….”
“Not immediately.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
At Seol Woon-hwi’s words, the two tilted their heads in confusion.
“Where is the Poison Master Moo Cheol-woo right now?”
* * *
The Poison Master Moo Cheol-woo resided in Cheong Pung City, two days’ journey south of Cheonsu.
Cheong Pung City was a representative commercial hub in the southern Central Plains, where countless trading companies gathered to buy and sell goods—a place where thousands of merchants passed through daily.
Once, Seol Woon-hwi had spoken with Yeong Woon-seong about a poison called Thousand Soul Returning Powder, which was primarily produced in Jeok An, but Jeok An was not the only place where one could obtain it.
Cheong Pung City was where countless poisonous plants were traded—a repository of hundreds of varieties of toxic flora, venomous creatures, and poisonous minerals, gathering nearly every poison that existed in this world.
It was so renowned throughout the Central Plains that one could say there was no poison absent from this place, and his residence here aligned perfectly with his epithet, the Poison Master.
The reason he had rejected the proposal—or rather, Seo Hyo’s proposal delivered on Seol Woon-hwi’s orders—likely stemmed from his superior knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance and Woon-guk compared to any of the Four Main Gods.
However, that had been applied as a handshake.
He had been given one opportunity. Anyone who sought to exploit that chance for personal gain had no place in Seol Woon-hwi’s plans.
Before the rooster’s crow at dawn, three riders galloped through the darkness.
Seol Woon-hwi rode ahead while Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran followed behind. The distance to Cheong Pung City was roughly two hundred li—a journey that could be completed in a day and a half if they rode without rest.
And at this moment, Ya Muk-cheon was greatly flustered.
This simply would not do.
“Lord Seol Woon-hwi.”
Seol Woon-hwi turned his head.
His face, swept by wind as it matched the horse’s pace, bore an expression of absolute composure, which harmonized subtly with the long scar etched across his forehead, creating an enigmatic atmosphere.
Ya Muk-cheon, who had called out with a question in mind, momentarily fell into a daze.
“Do you have a question?”
At Seol Woon-hwi’s words, Ya Muk-cheon snapped back to attention and nodded urgently.
“Go ahead.”
“…Is there a reason for departing so hastily?”
The answer was simple.
“Because this is not a matter to be prolonged.”
Yet for all that, Seol Woon-hwi was moving alone.
Manager Seong, who always stood at his side, was absent; Han Mu-rin, his subordinate brought from Yang-ryeong, was absent; and Seo Hyo, his trusted aide, was absent.
They had all been left at the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, each attending to their own duties.
There was a certain contradiction between saying this was not a matter to be prolonged and the current situation.
“…That place is under Moo Cheol-woo’s domination.”
Domination….
“It sounds as though problems could easily arise from the very entrance.”
“Precisely. Above all, we are going to persuade him, so we should bring at least the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s Strike Force to make him receptive….”
Seol Woon-hwi let out a soft chuckle.
At that laugh, both Ya Muk-cheon and Sa Seol-ran simultaneously furrowed their brows.
They wanted to ask why he was laughing, but it was pointless. Seol Woon-hwi opened his mouth immediately.
And at those words, both their eyes widened in surprise.
“When did I ever say I would persuade you?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m curious—can you two manage the territories of Cheon Rim that the Poison Master controls?”
The two exchanged glances, Sa Seol-ran nodded, and Ya Muk-cheon answered.
“Yes. We can. However….”
“Are you afraid of retaliation?”
“…We’ve heard what kind of war this is.”
“Did Seo Hyo tell you?”
“Yes. We learned of the Muk Se-hoe organization for the first time through this, but we agree.”
“You agree? To what?”
“We are telling you that we fully agree with the Muk Se-hoe absorbing Cheon Rim.”
Seol Woon-hwi, who had been thinking for a moment, laughed softly.
“Now I see—you two seem to have no interest in the reconstruction of the Thousand Year Demon Cult.”
Both of them flinched.
“Your true desire was for Seo Hyo’s dream to be realized, wasn’t it?”
Only then did Sa Seol-ran, who had been silent, open her mouth.
“How did you know?”
“Even Seo Hyo deliberated deeply and presented his opinions to me multiple times about whether this was the right course. Yet you two made your decision without hesitation. Isn’t that enough to tell?”
Though they could not see the expression on Seol Woon-hwi’s face as he looked forward, they could intuitively sense that he was smiling faintly.
“There are two reasons. One is that you two are loyal to Seo Hyo, not to Cheon Rim. And the other is.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s words ended there.
He said nothing more.
Silence settled over them for a time.
Only the sound of hooves striking the ground and the distant wind could be heard. Yet both of them understood.
What Seol Woon-hwi had been about to say last.
It was simple. If one or both of these two were spies.
After silence stretched for about half a moment, Seol Woon-hwi finally spoke.
“I simply hope it’s not the latter. If it were, Seo Hyo would be very sad.”
Silence fell once more.
Now they all understood why Seol Woon-hwi had brought only these two to meet the Poison Master.
This was a test.
Seol Woon-hwi had clearly departed the moment these two arrived.
Then who knew that fact? Who had he told?
Seol Woon-hwi was certainly not careless in his dealings.
The two regarded Seol Woon-hwi with an ambiguous expression.
Something.
Seeing it firsthand, I could finally grasp the situation.
Someone this meticulous would be difficult to please, though even thinking this was presumptuous beyond measure.
Beyond merely pleasing him, I had to worry about earning his genuine favor.
That was the reality.
Whiiiing—!
Dozens of arrows came flying from both sides of the forest accompanied by the Air-Rending Sound.
The speed was tremendous, and these were no ordinary arrows—they were iron-tipped projectiles.
“An ambush—!”
Ya Muk-cheon, who cried out thus, halted as he began to throw himself forward.
Cold energy was emanating from Seol Woon-hwi’s vicinity, spreading outward to engulf the entire area.
Heavenly Snow Domain.
Crash—!!
With a thunderous sound, dozens of iron-tipped arrows froze solid in mid-air.
The moment the man and woman witnessed Seol Woon-hwi’s martial art—something they’d only heard rumors of—their eyes gleamed with recognition.
It was indeed a formidable technique.
The two exchanged silent glances.
Their eyes conveyed a single meaning.
Suspicion.
As they questioned each other wordlessly—”Was it you?”—Seol Woon-hwi’s voice pierced their ears.
“Will you simply stand there watching?”
The moment they met his impassive gaze, both understood what they needed to do.
They immediately dismounted and bolted in opposite directions—Sa Seol-ran to the left, Ya Muk-cheon to the right.
Seol Woon-hwi remained seated on his horse, watching them depart without any inclination to follow.
Before long, both returned.
As if they’d made a pact, they spoke identical words.
“Twenty-three in total. All took their own lives.”
This came from Ya Muk-cheon, the Dark Master.
“Twenty-eight in total. All took their own lives.”
This came from Sa Seol-ran, the Assassin Master.
Both cultivators shared the same realm—Divine Transformation Realm.
The time it took for these two to return was approximately one tea time.
Had they wished, they could have killed everyone and extracted information within that span, yet Seol Woon-hwi asked nothing.
He merely spoke briefly.
“Mount your horses.”
The two were taken aback by his command.
“…You ask us nothing?”
Ya Muk-cheon’s words carried the same sentiment Sa Seol-ran harbored.
Yet Seol Woon-hwi’s response only deepened their bewilderment.
“Why should I ask?”
“…We’ve only just departed from the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance. For us to face an ambush so soon, it’s natural you’d suspect us here. Yet why…?”
“Done.”
Ya Muk-cheon’s eyes widened at Seol Woon-hwi’s words.
“I will ask nothing, and I will learn nothing. And there is no need for you to tell me what you have discovered.”
“….”
“How much longer until Cheong Pung City?”
“…If we maintain our current pace, we can arrive within a day.”
Very well.
“Let us depart.”
Setting aside their questions, the two mounted their horses.
Seol Woon-hwi’s party resumed their journey through the strange atmosphere that had settled between them.
* * *
Nearly a day had passed when the three came to rest beside a small stream, allowing their horses to drink.
Seol Woon-hwi gazed at the distant outline of Cheong Pung City and spoke.
“It seems we shall arrive in about two hours.”
Sa Seol-ran replied to his words.
“I took precautions and stationed ten of my subordinates in Cheong Pung City.”
“Are they trustworthy?”
“They have served with me for fifteen years. All are former assassins, and you need not doubt their abilities.”
As Seol Woon-hwi nodded in acknowledgment.
Splash—!
Suddenly, hundreds of poisoned needles erupted from the stream all at once.
Ya Muk-cheon, who stood near the water’s edge, gasped in alarm and stumbled backward.
Black energy swirled forth from his body.
The Black Heavenly Demonic Arts.
His hands began deflecting the incoming needles in an instant, yet their sheer number was overwhelming.
Nearly two hundred needles spread in a fan pattern, their power equivalent to a Harmony Realm martial artist unleashing their full strength.
Seol Woon-hwi remained still, but Sa Seol-ran did not.
Brilliant crimson light erupted across her entire body.
The Blood Slaughter Demonic Arts.
As she extended her hand, a massive barrier materialized centered on her and Seol Woon-hwi.
The poisoned needles could not penetrate the barrier and began flowing harmlessly downward.
At that moment, Ya Muk-cheon joined them and spoke.
“It is a mechanism trap. However….”
He could not continue his words.
Beyond his shock at the unfolding situation, he recognized all too well the true nature of this mechanism trap.
Sa Seol-ran felt the same.
Sa Seol-ran sighed deeply, then drew a hidden dagger from her waist and hurled it directly toward the pond.
Whistle—!
With a sound that cut through the air, the hidden dagger plunged into the pond and struck something with a dull thud.
Boom—!!
It detonated instantly.
Through the cascading torrent of water and debris, a peculiar mechanical device emerged into view.
An octagonal bronze box, its surface etched with intricate patterns of bewildering complexity.
At the center of the box lay a sculpture of a viper consuming its own tail, surrounded by hundreds of tiny apertures bored into the metal.
Sa Seol-ran and Ya Muk-cheon clenched their teeth.
That was it.
Both of them knew far too well what this was.
The Cheon-rim O-dok-jin.
One of the most lethal mechanical trap formations ever conceived and constructed by Cheon Rim.
“…Why… is this here….”
Sa Seol-ran murmured, her voice trembling.

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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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