Chapter 463

It’s already the second day, and we’ve been ready for a night in the mountains but still haven’t made it down in just one day.

Cheon Yu-hak is drawing a big circle on the map.

A huge circle around the eastern part of No Mountain’s waist.

“This should be the territory of the Gang Pae-cheon guys. So let’s head up from the west this time.”

“Hmm, isn’t that Young Master likely to come down searching for his enemy since he’s been a general?”

In response, Cheon Yu-hak gives Qing a playful tap on the head.

Then starts rubbing his knuckles with vigor.

Unless you’re a master of the martial world, you shouldn’t be hitting Qing’s head.

It’s just like banging on an iron pot; the one doing the hitting ends up with more damage.

“What’s with that thick skull? Ugh, can’t you just speak nicely? What do you mean, ‘general’?”

“But it’s just the truth….”

“Tsk. The four avoidances state that once words leave your mouth, they can’t be taken back. Just like a penny for your thoughts: be careful with your words. Wise person should be cautious with their speech. How can you just blabber like that?”

The four avoidances mean don’t speak ill of others.

Think three times before you speak.

Watch your words and actions like your life depends on it.

And blabbering means just saying whatever comes to mind without thinking.

“Ugh. That’s called a wise person being silent….”

Wise people stay quiet; it means don’t boast about your knowledge unnecessarily.

Cheon Yu-hak grins in satisfaction.

“Hm. You’ve learned quite a bit. If you can understand and write characters, that’s something. Anyway, can you speak politely? What’s with the ‘general’?”

“Hehe.”

Although, coming from someone like Cheon Yu-hak, who deals with shady merchants and frauds, that’s a bit rich.

It’s the classic parent-teacher love: you can break the rules yourself, but make sure your kids and students follow them.

“Well, it’s only the Gang Pae-cheon leader who’s angry about losing his son. The rest are slackers who’ll just swallow their anger if they die pointlessly. They’re probably desperate to find that Heart Consumption Technique now, or they’ll take their frustration out on someone else, right?”

If you teach your kid like that, haven’t you killed him yourself?

You’re just telling him not to do anything but to go around robbing women.

“Hmm.”

But Qing held back his thoughts.

He just got told to speak nicely, so he shouldn’t break that right away.

“It’s funny. Who deserves to be angry? Just look at them; you can tell the parents by their children. If you don’t raise your kid, aren’t you just killing them yourself?”

“Ah.”

You can tell the master by the disciple; in the end, it reflects badly on the master.

In reality, Cheon Yu-hak has a ruthless tongue when it comes to nagging others about their behavior.

“Anyway, let’s head to Qingdao before sunset. The Gang Pae-cheon guys will need to at least pretend to be looking for the Heart Consumption Technique, so we’ll attract the wrong kind of attention if there’s commotion in the city.”

And so, Qingdao!

Nothing much there!

I’d heard it was a lame rural area, but for real, it’s the middle of nowhere….

Until some country decides to make it a colony before it starts to look like a place for mustaches and crooked temple designs.

Still, the land is fertile, and the rivers are clear, so it’s not entirely a hick town.

When they say clear water, it’s not just flapping lips; there aren’t many places in Central Plain where the water is as clear as in Qingdao.

Sangjang-hyeon is a small city located southwest of No Mountain.

It’s a small city but can welcome tourists with well-defined hiking trails along the main peak, Geobong.

However, there are no rooms available.

With slight exaggeration, of the three people passing through this city, one is probably from the martial world.

Even while our party was wandering around trying to find accommodations, a few folks outside were yelling, “Die, you bastard!” “Do you know who I am, you punk!” and other such nonsense. But can’t imagine there’s many onlookers.

They’ve probably seen this too many times already.

No wonder, every single inn, from the top-notch tavern to the shabby lodgings, is fully booked.

I could see people gathering around campfires outside the city.

But there’s no way we’re doomed to sleep under the stars.

If you have money, renting a place for a day isn’t tough.

However, the lodgings aren’t up to par compared to the gold you pay, but—

Tonight is so packed, every eatery and tavern is bustling with people that we end up rubbing elbows while hastily grabbing dinner at a cheap eatery.

Interestingly, while the tavern is overcrowded, the tea house has decent spots available.

Qing strongly insists on going to the tea house.

The food was underwhelming, so we need to at least dig into some snacks.

Of course, the excuse of taking his master to enjoy some tea is about half-valid.

And the other half is genuine.

Until I can snatch up either the food or snacks, I won’t be closing my eyes.

We managed to snag a room with a view of the over-crowded city, really it was only three of us excluding Qing.

Qing is too busy munching on snacks.

What good is it trying to look over the streets full of bad guys in a countryside town?

That’s when it happened.

“Stop! You there! Halt! Who would eat you up?!”

A wild commotion was coming closer, and then someone bolted through the wide-open wall of the second floor like a bullet.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Can you please hide me for a moment!?”

Pretty polite for someone barging in out of nowhere.

“Listen here. We don’t want any trouble. If we get involved in helping you, one side will hold a grudge.”

“Old man, it’s not like that. It wouldn’t cause trouble; think of it as saving a life…please…”

The man is desperate, but still courteous.

To Qing, he doesn’t seem like a complete scumbag but is clearly living a decent life as a warrior.

But wait, where have I seen him?

“Hmm. Is it okay to hide down there?”

“Thank you! Thank you! Young lady!”

The man hurriedly crawls underneath the round table, having no sense of shame.

This elicits a startled response from Jin Jangmyung and Mo Yong Joo-hee as they pull back their chairs.

This reaction is totally natural for women.

But Qing isn’t thinking anything of it.

Why the fuss? It’s not like he’s wearing a skirt or anything.

“Hey! What’s the deal?”

Cheon Yu-hak raises an eyebrow, asking.

“I just don’t think he’s a bad person? And, um, also, for some reason, I feel like I’ve seen him before. You know that feeling when you know someone through a friend?”

“Well, then.”

He thinks it’s familiar, like knowing someone through an acquaintance.

Hence Cheon Yu-hak lets it slide.

“Hey, where’d he go? Hey, didn’t you see someone with a scar on his face? Is he over there? Next to that one?”

A loud voice calls from outside.

While the party exchanges glances—

Another fellow leaps into the room.

The open wall wasn’t meant for people to just go flying in and out like this.

“Hmm? Oh dear. Was there a guest in here?”

Qing’s eyes widen.

It’s someone he knows.

“Isn’t that the Seven-Stringed Ronin? The senior Yu Ra-dal?”

The number might be slightly off.

The wandering master he met during the floods in Nangnyeong, Nine-Stringed Warrior Yu Ra-dal.

“It’s not seven strings, but nine. Huh? Do we know each other?”

In reality, Qing’s face is hard to forget after just one glance.

On top of that, he has three faces.

Still, he couldn’t recognize it, which indicates how good his disguise was.

With Qing unable to reveal his identity, he spoke truthfully.

“I’m a friend of Nan-hwa. Um, this person is the father of Nan-hwa. Let me introduce you.”

“Hello.”

Jin Jangmyung bows her head slightly.

Yu Nan-hwa is Yu Ra-dal’s daughter.

Currently training as a heavenly maiden in the Divine Maiden Sect.

Seeing Yu Ra-dal’s expression ease.

“Oh? Would you happen to be here looking for the Demonic Arts?”

“Yeah. Speaking of friends of Nan-hwa, I tell you, don’t touch those Demonic Arts. What’s the use of getting strong with such vile martial arts? So leave this dirty game immediately; you won’t regret listening to an older man.”

And just like that, the nagging bursts out.

“Indeed, wise words.”

Cheon Yu-hak nods along.

Yu Ra-dal bows his head at Cheon Yu-hak.

Qing looks at Yu Ra-dal keenly.

So you’re not looking for the Demonic Arts either?

But Yu Ra-dal holds his ground.

“I’m already famous for my unique martial arts, why would I seek out Demonic Arts? I’m here to catch my son-in-law.”

“Son-in-law? Has Nan-hwa married already? Wait, as of this spring….”

“No, no. Not married yet. Um? Did you see her in the spring? Um, how did she look by any chance?”

“Much prettier than before! Right?”

“Yeah. She’s transformed completely.”

That brought a smile to Yu Ra-dal’s face.

“They call it a transformation for her beauty; it’s quite a nickname.”

Qing’s and Yu Ra-dal’s expressions turn awkward.

Transformation? Isn’t that bullying?

Seeing their expressions, Jin Jangmyung hastily adds.

“No, she came up with that herself. Nan-hwa asked them to call her that.”

Yu Ra-dal nods along.

If it’s his daughter, it’s plausible.

“Ahem. Anyway, I’ve set my sights on a fine son-in-law, but he’s been running away and ignoring all his advice.”

“Ah.”

Didn’t he just say there won’t be repercussions?

“Pay attention! Hasn’t a man with a scar on his face come in here? His name is Nang Yacha.”

Qing tilts his head.

Nang Yacha? That rings a bell.

“Oh, um. He left that way. Closed the door behind him.”

“This brat! Does he have no pride as a wanderer, chasing after Demonic Arts? Don’t just linger around; you’d better leave now. I’ll take my leave. Sorry for bothering you all.”

“No trouble at all. Safe travels.”

Yu Ra-dal opens the tea house’s private room door and leaves.

The sound of the Nine-Stringed Warrior’s voice searching for his son-in-law can be heard fading into the distance.

“Seems like it’s alright to come out now?”

With that, Nang Yacha, Yeok Tae-gang, finally crawls out.

He cautiously looks around before asking—

“Um, are you friends of Nan-hwa Young Lady?”

“Roughly. But if you’re nine-strings deep, you should be fine to meet the father-in-law, right?”

“Nah, young lady knows. Yu Ra-dal is her father.”

“Ha, didn’t you hear? She’s been looking so pretty after learning the heavenly skill.”

“Besides, she hasn’t been thinking about marriage at all.”

Hearing it was about Nan-hwa’s long-haired father doesn’t have much persuasive power.

Still, Qing doesn’t want to force those running away and making them marry.

“Sure, you’re right; marriage should start with mutual affection. But, did you come looking for the Demonic Arts as well?”

“I heard rumors and figured I’d come check it out, but, well, the old ghost A-mook-hap-rab from Qinghai lives around here. If he came all the way from Qinghai, it’s not going to end well for me, right? So I’m thinking of leaving.”

Yeok Tae-gang’s motto is to know when to latch on and when to bail.

That’s why he still survives as a prominent ronin.

Then Yeok Tae-gang poses dramatically.

“I thank you for the kindness shown! Please take care.”

He greets Cheon Yu-hak and dashes out over the railing.

Don’t know why he keeps flying over walls with decent doors nearby—but—

“Hey! Stop it, you punk!”

“Yikes.”

Ball’s really not in his court, huh?

The shouts of two people demanding him to stop fade away into the distance.

And then Cheon Yu-hak clicks his tongue.

“This isn’t looking good.”

“Yeah, chasing someone who clearly doesn’t want to get married is just weird, right?”

Qing agrees wholeheartedly.

Still, Cheon Yu-hak turns sour-faced as if saying, “What do you mean?”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t that guy just say he met A-mook-hap-rab, the Strange Monk?”

“Is he famous?”

“An Arabdaltaekbul temple is filled with strange characters. It’s not the individual fame that matters, but that he’s actually made it all the way here from Qinghai.”

How did he even know to cross the Central Plain to come all this way?

It’s definitely not easy to get this information by mere gossip or letters.

“Could there have been a Treasure Map?”

“That’s precisely the problem. Even with an original Treasure Map, how could it reach such a far-off Qinghai?”

“Hmm. It did get here, after all, didn’t it?”

Qing merely brings up stories he heard back in his hometown.

What was it again? Don’t attach assumptions to events that have already occurred?

What was that? Razor blade? Beckham? What’s the connection between a razor and a sportsman, really? Sure, they do typically advertise with it. Oh, man, I want some pork cutlet now.

But Qing learned to accept things as they come.

And as for concepts from his hometown, no matter how much he thinks about whether something is right or wrong, there’s no way to confirm, so he just lets it be.

Of course, there are definitely some precious things he can never accept or give up.

If I want to eat, I can just make it, right?

Just smash up some pork, coat it in breading, and fry it?

Still, Cheon Yu-hak’s expression didn’t lighten.

Qing stole a Treasure Map from Great Chief of Green Forest.

To be precise, he stole Great Chief of Green Forest’s life, and the map was just an extra.

And those rascals who had the other Treasure Map belong to the guys causing trouble at the borders of northern Shanxi Province.

Now we’re in Qinghai?

Even the Kunlun Sect disciples moved to the Eastern foothills of Qinghai Lake, claiming it’s too far from Kunlun Mountain. How did a Treasure Map flow into the desolate mountains inhabited by Strange Monks?

Unless someone deliberately spread the Treasure Map around.

That’s why Cheon Yu-hak can’t help but frown.

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