The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 107

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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 107. O Hwa Hae
Sam Il’s eyes flew open in surprise at Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi’s sudden motion, and he asked urgently.
“Why? Have you figured something out?”
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi, his voice brimming with excitement, answered Sam Il’s eager question.
“I’ve discovered what the Five-Colored Sea truly means.”
“What does it mean?”
“O Chae Ji—also known as O Hwa Hae, the Five-Colored Sea, a lake as beautiful as flowers in five hues. It’s a place I visited years ago with your master.”
At Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi’s words, Sam Il tilted his head uncertainly and spoke.
“O Chae Ji… you mean that O Chae Ji in Jiu Zhai Gou in Sichuan?”
“No, neither your master nor I have ever been to Jiu Zhai Gou in Sichuan.”
“But just now you said you had been there…”
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi answered Sam Il’s bewildered question.
“Here in Haenam, too, there exists a place of beauty to rival Jiu Zhai Gou. It’s known by another name—So Chae Gu…”
“Ah! You mean Ak Dong Ho.”
“Precisely. That’s the place. And there too is a small lake called O Chae Ji.”
“But Ak Dong Ho isn’t a sea—it’s a lake, isn’t it?”
“That’s where the confusion arises. The text made it seem as though it were a sea. But a lake that bears the name O Chae Ji, also called O Hwa Hae—the Five-Colored Sea—where flowers bloom. Now I understand your master’s words asking me for aid. He believed I would recognize it, for it is a place he and I once visited together.”
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi spoke with such certainty that Sam Il found himself nodding along.
“Then what of the second line? What does ‘Falling Flowers, Stilled Wind’ mean?”
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi answered Sam Il’s question.
“I thought those words carried deeper meaning beyond flowers falling and wind ceasing, the waters growing calm. But no—they speak of the tranquility of the lake, of O Chae Ji itself.”
“Then what of ‘Gui Yi Shen Yi’ that follows?”
“A divided thing becomes whole—the monkey’s day. I believe it refers to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Among the Earthly Branches, the monkey signifies Shen. Among the Heavenly Stems, Mu and Gi embody the earth element in Yin Yang Five Elements—the force that unites all things. That passage likely points to either a Mu Shen Day or a Gi Shen Day.”
“Then the final part must be…”
Sam Il seemed to grasp something even as he spoke, and Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi nodded in confirmation.
“A lake is like a well—fresh water. So…”
“The center of O Chae Ji!”
At Sam Il’s exclamation, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi nodded repeatedly.
“Yes. Exactly there.”
At Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi’s affirmation, Sam Il sprang to his feet.
“What are we waiting for? We must go at once.”
“There’s no rush. The Mu Shen Day and Gi Shen Day come around every sixty days. We can move once the commotion outside dies down.”
“But what if someone else discovers it before then? O Chae Ji is famous for its beauty—surely many feet tread that path?”
“Years have passed since your master departed this life. Yet I have never heard of anything being discovered at O Chae Ji. That tells me whatever lies there is hidden in such a way that it won’t be easily found. There is no need to hurry.”
“But…”
“Enough. I told you to wait.”
Watching Sam Il retreat with a stung expression at his disapproving tone, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi softened his words somewhat.
“Once the outside grows quiet enough for us to move safely, I will take you with me. So wait quietly until then.”
“You truly mean it?”
“I do. I promise.”
Watching Sam Il nod reluctantly at his promise, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi smiled.
“I will keep my word, so rest assured. Stay here quietly and await my return.”
“Where are you going?”
“To gather food and scout the situation outside for a time.”
“Then I should go in your stead.”
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi shook his head.
“No. Things have been chaotic because of the rabble from the Yucheon Cheol-ga. You would be in danger. Even I have had to be extremely cautious. So I will go and observe carefully. The checkpoints set up by the Geom-mun patrols may keep me out for a day or two, so put aside any other thoughts. Don’t venture into that inner cave, and wait for my return.”
“Very well…”
Leaving Sam Il’s listless reply behind him, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi departed the cave.
After sitting alone in the cave waiting for about half a day, Sam Il suddenly lifted his head as if struck by a thought.
***
Hounded daily by Yun Yeo-ok’s relentless complaints, Yucheon Chu-hon drove the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s masters into a frenzy, their eyes blazing as they hunted for the thief throughout Wi Hae and Mun Chang, and tore through the area where Poong Ryu had been found unconscious like a comb through hair.
No inns or taverns were spared; those walking the streets submitted to checkpoint searches without exception.
In the process, scattered incidents erupted. Kangho masters from out of town clashed repeatedly with Yucheon Cheol-ga fighters conducting the interrogations.
Such inspection was demeaning even if asked courteously, yet the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s men showed nothing but arrogance and intimidation.
As a result, all the martial schools throughout Sandong except those with ties to the Yucheon Cheol-ga shut their doors and forbade their disciples and members from venturing outside.
It was an unavoidable precaution to avoid needless conflict with the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s fighters and the calamities that might follow.
With so many checkpoints in operation, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi could not set foot in the town proper. In the end, to procure provisions, he had to resort to his specialty—scaling the walls of other people’s homes under cover of darkness.
Even after securing supplies through such difficult means, he expended considerable effort evading the eyes of the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s deployed fighters.
As he cautiously made his way back to the cave, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi witnessed a considerable number of the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s men rushing off in one direction.
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi, thinking yet another traveler from elsewhere in Kangho had fallen victim to misfortune, seized the moment when the crowd’s attention had shifted to one side. He deployed his Lightweight Skill with practiced speed and slipped out of the marketplace.
Since so many of the Yucheon Cheol-ga’s warriors were scattered across a wide area, it took him the better part of the night to avoid them all and scavenge for food before returning to the cave, where he stopped short at the entrance.
The warmth of human presence had vanished, replaced by a cold, suffocating chill—and several items he’d left scattered about the cave had gone missing.
His eyes turned cold at once. Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi called out quietly.
“Sam Il. Sam Il!”
No answer came.
Whoosh.
As if in response to some unheard sound, a black aura exploded from Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi’s entire body in an instant.
His aura had transformed completely from when he’d entered the cave—his gaze sharp and focused, he moved deeper into the darkness.
“Hah…….”
Fortunately, So Cheon, who possessed the Yin Moon Body, lay undisturbed.
Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi released the surge of killing intent, examined So Cheon’s condition, confirmed nothing was amiss, and returned to the front chamber where the entrance lay.
From the front section he’d claimed as his own quarters, the missing items were mostly those needed for long journeys.
Which meant…….
“Damn this bastard!”
There was no reason to expect trust to flourish among thieves, no matter what debts or obligations bound them together.
Only now grasping this, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi ground his teeth and wavered, his gaze shifting between the cave’s depths and its entrance.
The woman with the Yin Moon Body would need to remain in that Pure Yin Ground for more than six months to come.
Given that she possessed the Yin Moon Body and lay upon Pure Yin Ground, there was no need to provide food or water.
Moreover, with Acupoint Sealing applied, she wouldn’t wake even if she wanted to.
But the treasures of Mun-byeon Ho in O Chae Ji…….
After wrestling with himself for some time, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi set his jaw with resolve, gathered a few supplies, and left the cave.
The thief’s innate lust for treasure had won out in the end.
Not that he neglected to thoroughly conceal the cave entrance behind him—a precaution he took with meticulous care.
Using the Black Ghost Qi that ‘that person’ had given him, he’d even woven a unique Array Formation across the entrance; no ordinary person, much less any Kangho warrior, would find the cave’s mouth even if they died and came back to life.
Satisfied as he surveyed his camouflaged entrance one final time, Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi departed the cave and set his course toward Ak Dong Ho, also called So Chae Gu.
Though both lay within Haenam, Ak Dong Ho sat at Haenam’s western edge.
Moreover, that region held a secret outpost of the Haenam Geom-mun, making it territory thick with their warriors.
Using Lightweight Skill, one could reach it in a day, but it was hardly a place where one could move about so freely.
Thus Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi’s expression grew grave as he turned his steps toward Ak Dong Ho.
***
Around the time Gyeongcheon Chu-gwi was leaving the cave, Yucheon Chu-hon was facing the man his subordinates had brought in.
Yucheon Chu-hon studied the man’s face—so swollen from the beating during capture that his features were barely distinguishable—and asked.
“So this bastard resembled the Face Recognition Drawing created by the Mun Chang So Residence?”
“Yes, Lord!”
Taking the drawing that Bu Ga Ju handed over, Yucheon Chu-hon could find little resemblance between it and the man’s visage, no matter how closely he studied it.
In truth, comparing the drawing to a face so grotesquely swollen that one couldn’t tell nose from eye was absurd to begin with.
“Hah……. Could you identify him if you compared him to that drawing?”
Bu Ga Ju took back the drawing, his smile strained.
“Ha, ha, haha! Well, you see, the bastard wouldn’t stand when told to—he bolted instead. And for a man who didn’t look particularly quick, he was surprisingly fast.”
“So you beat him down?”
“Well, I just meant to give him a little persuasion, but it got a bit carried away…… Ha, haha!”
Bu Ga Ju laughed awkwardly again, and Yucheon Chu-hon replied flatly.
“Right. Well, that happens. No harm in roughing up the one who got caught. The real culprit is the one who ran when summoned.”
“Exactly. That’s precisely what I was saying. Uh, hahaha.”
Bu Ga Ju laughed heartily, seeming quite pleased, but Yucheon Chu-hon remained unmoved.
“Fine. I understand completely. So here’s what you’ll do—take that man to the Mun Chang So Residence and explain the situation to that person yourself.”
The moment Yucheon Chu-hon said ‘that person,’ Bu Ga Ju’s face drained of all color. He understood at once who was meant.
“Me, Lord? Myself?”
“You were the one who beat him. Made such a mess of his face no one can even recognize it.”
“But that…….”
It had been frustration.
The frustration of a man of Bu Ga Ju’s station having to spend days upon days unable to wash properly or eat his fill, wandering about gathering information through sheer grit.
And then this bastard had to show up right when he was at his limit.
Did he resemble the drawing?
Honestly, Bu Ga Ju couldn’t say for certain.
At first glance, there seemed to be some resemblance, but the moment their eyes had met lasted only an instant.
After that, when the man had bolted instead of standing still, Bu Ga Ju had simply charged after him, beat him senseless, and dragged him back.
He’d thought it would let him show the Lord some results, and use that as leverage to finally get a chance to wash, eat a proper meal, rest.
But with a single word from the Lord, everything had changed.
So Bu Ga Ju had concluded that only by swiftly altering his own actions and words could he survive.
That was how volatile ‘that person’s’ mood had become of late.
“About that… I’ve given it more thought, and I don’t think it’s actually much of a resemblance.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
“Yes, master.”
Watching Bu Ga Ju—his face completely transformed, the very picture of insistence that this was not the man he’d brought back—Yucheon Chu-hon broke into a grin.
At that smile, Bu Ga Ju’s unease deepened, and Yucheon Chu-hon spoke.
“Don’t worry. Take him along for now, explain to that person, and tell him you’ve captured the wrong man—someone who doesn’t resemble him at all.”
“M-master…”
“What is it?”
At Yucheon Chu-hon’s listless question, Bu Ga Ju shook his head frantically, his eyes pleading.
To Bu Ga Ju’s desperate resistance, Yucheon Chu-hon replied with a chilling look.
“You’ve grown bold, haven’t you? Refusing to obey when ordered, shaking your head like that. Perhaps I should twist that neck of yours around backward—let you spend the rest of your life staring at your own back.”
Recognizing that the master’s vicious temperament had surfaced, Bu Ga Ju finally surrendered and, his face rigid as stone, dragged the man toward the Mun Chang So Residence, shambling forward with heavy steps.
As Bu Ga Ju disappeared into the distance, many of the Yucheon Cheol-ga warriors called after him, “Please come back alive!”

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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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