The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 150

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

A Declining Clan’s Limited Lifespan — Chapter 150

Dan Mok Cheon Gi simply pressed his lips together stubbornly. It wasn’t that he wished to contradict his granddaughter’s gentle words, but rather that he didn’t quite agree with them.
And Dan Mok Seong turned to look at Ryeon with an expression exactly like her grandfather’s.
Ryeon hurriedly changed the subject.
“Now that I think of it, didn’t someone say there’s a temple on this mountain too? People mentioned it back at the Canal. Should we stop by if we happen to see it?”
Perhaps she might hear something useful if she visited an old shrine. She’d gone to Cheon Bi Palace for much the same reason, after all.
“Oh my, Ryeon! That’s not a temple, it’s—”
Dan Mok Hyeon U, who had raced ahead earlier and spent considerable time teasing the Piao Bureau Director and the lead courier before bringing his horse back around, reached out and swept his palm playfully across Ryeon’s cheek with a laugh.
“It’s a bandit stronghold.”
“A bandit stronghold?”
Ryeon’s eyes went wide.
Thinking she didn’t understand the meaning of the term, a mischievous smile played across Dan Mok Hyeon U’s face.
In that moment, Ryeon glanced up briefly and studied Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s expression. For some reason it held traces of distress and bitter amusement, longing and—thin as a thread—something that might have been hatred.
“Have you heard of the Seventy Strongholds of the Nok Rim Chai? The Nok Rim Maeng is the Third Heaven of the Hek Cheon Ryeon. They usually prey on travelers passing through like this…”
And just as he reached that point—
“Uraaaaah!”
The sound of weapons clanged in the distance, and people came pouring out in waves. They wore a semblance of unified garb, though nothing with the discipline of an army, and their faces were all remarkably savage.
In the same instant, Dan Mok Hyeon U quickly grabbed Ryeon’s sleeve and shook it.
“Here they come! Oh, how scary! Will our little Ryeon protect this uncle?”
Ryeon almost burst out laughing. What was there to fear with Dan Mok Cheon Gi present, no matter how many bandits appeared? Besides, the adults had clearly sensed the approach of the brigands from a distance already.
“Don’t you have any shame speaking that way to your young niece!”
Before he could answer, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo came over and scolded him. As Dan Mok Hyeon U pouted, Dan Mok Seong spoke.
“I’ll protect Ryeon, Mother. You protect Uncle.”
“Oh, my dear daughter!”
“Ah, Seong…”
Dan Mok Hyeon U was embarrassed while Dan Mok Hyeon Yo laughed, yet not one of them showed a trace of fear.
And in the midst of this, Piao Bureau Director Yang Geum Bo and lead courier Paeng Ja Gwang and Gwak So Jeon came riding up.
“Sir, do not worry. I, Gwak the lead courier, know this entire region like the back of my hand, so this matter will be resolved swiftly. How dare these ruffians show their faces before the Dan Mok Clan.”
In truth, Piao Bureau Director Yang Geum Bo had been brooding for some time over various matters that troubled him.
No matter that it was a Piao Bureau owned by the Dan Mok Clan—they were now operating under the name of the Yuseong Piao Bureau at the Dan Mok Clan’s request, yet nothing had happened from the moment they descended to the northern reaches.
Those who approached were merely admirers of Dan Mok Cheon Gi, and those foolish brigands who harbored such dark thoughts upon seeing a seemingly wealthy entourage had scattered at a single glance from him.
Through it all, the couriers felt themselves useless—fit only as porters and guides. Since no one from Zhejiang Province had made this long journey before, even their guidance had been unreliable.
It was only thanks to Gwak So Jeon, himself a native of Shan Xi Province, that they had come this far without serious incident, but…
In the intervals, the employers themselves had even subtly shown the way to prevent the group from straying, or warned of sudden downpours that might have struck them.
No matter how much this journey was meant to build experience for the Piao Bureau in long-distance travel, it shouldn’t be like this!
Yang Geum Bo knew he wasn’t an extraordinarily capable man, but he didn’t consider himself incompetent—until self-doubt had begun to gnaw at him, robbing him of sleep.
At this rate, could the clan not justly decide to do away with such an useless Piao Bureau rather than continue to maintain it?
‘If I can only drive off these Nok Rim Chai bandits soundly!’
Then he could prove his worth as a courier. Yang Geum Bo’s shoulders tensed.
That said, he had no intention of settling the matter through bloodshed.
First, the bandit leader who appeared at the vanguard was no ordinary figure. His impression was as if the very phrase “mountain hero” had been given human form.
Moreover, strongholds had their own conventions, so he would approach gently and in accordance with custom—yet make them pay a fitting price for daring to bring their bandit rabble before the Dan Mok Clan without even recognizing them…
But Yang Geum Bo hadn’t ridden more than a few paces before he came to a halt.
“Destroy! Rites!”
“Rise! Cooperation!”
“…?”
All the bandits gathered and cried out loudly in unison, so much so that the mountain birds startled and flew away in a noisy flurry. The very air thrummed with the sound.
Then the crowd parted smoothly, and a man appeared.
With a savage face that unmistakably screamed “bandit” to anyone who saw it, the man came trudging forward and even dismounted from his horse.
The slogan that he’d thought had ceased to be uttered long ago was clearly meant to honor Dan Mok Cheon Gi, the hero of the past.
As silence fell over the area, the man performed the Po Gwon Ji Rye salute before Dan Mok Cheon Gi.
“The Martial Arts World bids greetings to the honorable Moonless Blade!”
“And you are…?”
Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s eyes narrowed. But the bandit showed no sign of hesitation.
“The man living on this modest hillock is called Hwang Chu Hun.”
Though he’d called it a hillock, in truth this place—Wu Ryeong San—was a treacherous mountain, and to live here was merely a circumspect way of saying he dwelt in the wilds.
But more than anything else, Yang Geum Bo was startled by the name.
‘Hwang Chu Hun? …… The Patcheon Il Do, Hwang Chu Hun!’
One of the Thirteen Heavens of the Hek Cheon Ryeon, the Heavenly Lord of the Third Heaven and a man who could have become the leader of the Nok Rim Maeng.
No one knew why he’d renounced that glory to settle on Wu Ryeong San, but there was no one in the north unfamiliar with his name.
At his words, the couriers tensed visibly, their hands moving toward their weapons, yet Hwang Chu Hun continued without regard.
“I’ve come forward for no other reason than that rain appears about to fall soon, and I wondered if I might be of help as you pass through…….”
“What……?”
“Rain?”
If unexpected rain were to pour down on a mountain crossing, it would be catastrophic.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s gaze turned toward Yang Geum Bo. Gwak So Jeon beside him spoke in a low voice.
“Rain clouds are indeed gathering in the distant sky. We may encounter rain within the hour.”
It was a quiet voice, yet Dan Mok Cheon Gi could not have failed to hear it. Yang Geum Bo’s expression darkened as well.
“We are not without preparations for wet roads…….”
Surely they would have made some provision for foul weather when setting out on such a long journey, yet no amount of preparation could match the shelter of a true roof.
Yet when Dan Mok Cheon Gi still said nothing, Hwang Chu Hun spoke again.
“I understand you travel toward Beijing.”
Since the Dan Mok Clan’s long journey and its destination had already spread throughout Kangho, it was hardly surprising that even a renowned mountain stronghold in the north had heard the news.
But all were startled by Hwang Chu Hun’s next words.
“Decades ago, during that great upheaval, the Iron Heart Frozen Soul saved our mountain stronghold from destruction.”
Iron Heart Frozen Soul—Bing Xue Yan.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi, hearing his wife’s alias for the first time in ages, closed and opened his eyes slowly.
Hwang Chu Hun’s penetrating gaze fixed upon him.
“…… I remember.”
Bing Xue Yan, who had abandoned all she could have possessed in that distant ice palace and come to his side, was a woman whose nature matched his perfectly.
She had given her all to save others with the strength she possessed. Even as she rushed toward news of her son facing Blood Coral Valley, she could not ignore the weak being swept away by that immense evil.
This very mountain pass was that path.
Unable to turn away from the mountain stronghold people dying under Blood Coral Valley’s assault, Bing Xue Yan gladly stood against Blood Coral Valley herself at this place to save them.
And at the end of that journey, before a small shrine halfway up this mountain, she encountered her fallen son.
War raged in many places. It was a site where Blood Coral Valley and Baek Do Meng had collided simultaneously, and like Bing Xue Yan, Ma Cheon Gyo had also arrived too late.
Bing Xue Yan did not regret her decision to halt her steps before rushing to save her son.
Yet she hated and lamented her own weakness for being held back there.
If only she had been stronger, if only she had possessed greater power, if only she had been the Beijing Ice Palace’s master…….
Dan Mok Cheon Gi knew well that self-recrimination bordering on self-harm and that lament. It was an endless regret she carried until the day she returned to the Beijing Ice Palace.
Because her son had ultimately not overcome his wounds from that day and was lost to the Nak Hwa.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s aging heart pierced with a sharp ache.

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