Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 106

Nangseon Gi Hwan Dam – 105

The child, Chong Maru, asked to be called Maru and spoke in a friendly manner.

Was it because he was a child?

He quickly shed his fear and acted as if he had made a new friend.

Maru’s wings were small, but they fluttered every time he hopped and moved.

Though they were called wings, they resembled those of an insect rather than a bird.

‘Like a butterfly….’

That was the feeling.

“Seonsa-nim [a Taoist hermit or immortal], it’s here!”

Chong Maru said excitedly, as if they had reached their destination.

However, unlike Maru, San-gun’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Is this where you live?”

“Yes!”

The space behind Maru was just a tree.

Just a large tree.

‘Is it a birch?’

A giant birch tree, seemingly thousands of years old, was Chong Maru’s home.

The first birch tree is also called a sacred tree (神壇樹) and is a useful tree.

It is very hard and has a dense structure, so it does not break or burst easily.

Therefore, it is used for various purposes.

‘They say that if a birch tree absorbs the energy of heaven and earth for more than ten thousand years, it becomes a sacred tree.’

Although it is a beneficial tree, it was strange to make this tree itself a home.

‘Is it because of the Hona bloodline?’

Their characteristics may be like that.

Since the blood of a spirit insect is mixed in from the beginning, the tree may be a home….

“Maruni?”

“Yes, Mother!”

At that moment, a gentle voice was heard from above the tree.

When I glanced up, a woman fluttering large wings appeared from above the tree.

It was Maru’s mother.

“Ma, Maruya, that person is….”

“He’s a Seonsa-nim I met in the mountains over there! He’s not that scary!”

Even with Maru’s cheerful words, the woman’s face turned pale and froze.

‘About Doseon level [a level of spiritual attainment].’

Chong Maru didn’t feel even a speck of spiritual power, but the mother seemed different.

But she was only at the level of Doseon.

“There’s no need to be so afraid. I just came out of curiosity.”

“Yes, yes….”

Maru’s mother trembled like an aspen leaf.

“Ma, Maruya. Go play at Juran’s house for a while….”

“Ah… okay! I’ll be back!”

After Chong Maru disappeared, silence fell.

“The child is very bright.”

“Yes, he is a very bright child….”

The woman couldn’t even make eye contact with San-gun and trembled with nervousness.

“Are you of the Hona bloodline?”

“Yes? Ah… yes, that’s right. I don’t know the details… but I heard that I am a rare offspring of a spirit insect and a human.”

The mother didn’t seem to know much either.

“Is that so? Hmm… well. It doesn’t matter to me what kind of bloodline you have. I think the question was wrong.

Let me ask again. What is that chain around your neck?”

Then, the woman touched the chain around her neck and bit her lower lip.

What does it matter what kind of bloodline they have and how they live?

If it were the usual San-gun, he would have passed by without paying attention.

But there was one thing.

A Hona bloodline with a white chain around her neck.

That’s what made him come all the way here.

‘I thought it was something unique to the Hona bloodlines, but it doesn’t seem to be.’

It is clear that they are hiding something.

The woman hesitated for a long time, moving her lips, and then sighed deeply.

“It would be easier to understand if you saw it yourself rather than me explaining it.

If Seonsa-nim is okay with it….”

“What’s so difficult about it? Show me.”

* * *

An isolated island somewhere in the East Sea.

In a classic pavilion, three men and two women were chatting.

The men’s mouths were hung from ear to ear as if laughter was blooming, but the women, on the other hand, were cold.

“Let’s get to the point. I don’t want to waste my time with stories I don’t even want to hear.”

It was a woman wearing a blue palace dress.

However, even with her cold tone, the men still wore sly smiles.

“I also want to get to the point.

No matter how strong the Sea Dragon Clan is, if you commit such rudeness, we will not stand still.”

“Rudeness? We are just smiling because we are looking at the precious daughters of the Dogeuk Whale Clan and the Gyoin Clan.”

“The first brother is right. Among the three major clans that dominate the East Sea, who is above and who is below? It’s not that we are being rude because we are the Sea Dragon Clan, so please calm your anger.”

“Then shall we have a constructive conversation now?”

Only then did the women’s expressions relax and the atmosphere eased.

Among the men, the most burly was the first heir of the Sea Dragon Clan, a man named Jido.

Next to him was the second, Jirae, and the third was named Jipa.

Among them, the first, Jido, spoke.

“You must be curious about the sacred trees we manage. Why does the Sea Dragon Clan have so many trees called sacred trees?”

“Please tell us without delay.”

It was a Gyoin Clan woman with fin-like ears.

She even narrowed her brows as if she couldn’t stand her curiosity.

Jido smiled and continued.

“There’s no reason not to. Shouldn’t the three major clans of the East Sea join forces? We must show the foreign thugs what we’re made of!”

“Brother Jido is right.

That’s why we, the Sea Dragon Clan, are telling you while taking a big loss.”

“Yes, it’s for that reason, like Jirae said.

I’ve been too long-winded. Anyway, it’s all thanks to the Hojup Ryangchung (胡蝶糧蟲) [Butterfly Food Insect].”

Hojup Ryangchung (胡蝶糧蟲) [Butterfly Food Insect]!

But what does that have to do with the sacred tree!

“Is that the secret? But I heard that the Hojup Ryangchung is a precious spirit insect that is called a noble insect. It is a spirit insect that is difficult to find. But even if you find that spirit insect, it dies easily if the environment changes and soon dies….”

It dies so easily that it is not easy to manage.

Why else would they call it a noble insect?

“Do Seonja [a respectful title] knows well.

That’s right. As is the case with Hojup Ryangchung, it dies easily and is not easy to handle.

But if you handle it well, isn’t it a rare spirit insect that burns its own body and revives even dying spirit trees?”

Therefore, those who handle wood attribute divine powers are noble insects that they seek with their eyes wide open.

“But I know that the Hojup Ryangchung has a breeding season once every 100 years. The number of eggs laid at one time is also very small….”

“Yes! That’s the problem. It dies before the time to breed comes, and even if the breeding season comes, it cannot find a mate, so the population has gone to the brink of extinction.”

“But there! My father found a Hojup Ryangchung that had achieved Talhyeong [a state of transformation]!”

Talhyeong [a state of achieving a body similar to a human through the third transformation]!

It is a state of achieving a body similar to a human through the third transformation.

“My father was also seriously injured and barely caught him and had him mate with a mortal to create a Hona bloodline!”

“Then!!”

Not only Do Yeoin, but also the Gyoin Clan woman opened her eyes wide and was surprised.

Hojup Ryangchung’s Hona bloodline!

Unlike spirit insects, they will not die easily, and if they have inherited even that divine power, it was understandable why the Sea Dragon Clan had so many sacred trees.

“500 years have passed since then, and now we have quite a few.

Isn’t that what humans are like in the first place? They are better than other beasts at unnecessarily planting seeds and increasing the number!”

Only then did Jido rub his palms together.

Now that he had finished explaining, it was time to make a deal.

“You would be in great trouble if you didn’t have a Biseungseon (飛昇船) [Flying Ascension Ship] made of that sacred tree, right?”

* * *

At the same time.

San-gun was looking at the corpse of a Hona bloodline that seemed to have died in the middle of a birch tree.

“That’s my husband.”

“…I see.”

There was nothing to say.

From the moment he saw the chain around her neck, he knew which clan was managing the Hona bloodline.

But it wasn’t just a simple slave.

It is to offer one’s life to the tree. It was worse than a slave.

[Have I ever seen such terrible bastards! Oh, how could they do this…!!]

Even Chukman Daein, who had been silent, expressed his anger and burst into resentment.

San-gun was not much different.

“Even livestock is… no, is it similar?”

They are killed out of necessity.

They were just livestock.

They live as livestock and throw their bodies into the tree to make a simple birch tree as sacred as a sacred tree.

‘If you make treasures with this, at least it would be a Bogo or at most a Jibo [types of treasures]….’

When I thought about it, the spiritual energy was abundant because of the sacred trees growing here.

“How many sacred trees are there here?”

“…There must be at least a thousand.”

Thousand.

No, more than that must have died.

This won’t be the first time.

“My husband will be cut down soon.”

“…Does that mean the day when they will recover the tree?”

“Yes. And they will plant a new tree, and when that time comes, it will be my turn.”

Her appearance of calmly speaking about her death was almost detached.

What kind of life did she live to accept death so calmly?

San-gun sighed softly.

“Are you worried about Maru?”

The woman’s eyes shook for a moment, but it was only for a moment.

“It’s our fate. I was like that too, so Maru also… has to endure it.”

A tragedy passed down from generation to generation.

If this is not Mugan Hell (無間地獄) [Avici Hell, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism], then where is Mugan Hell?

San-gun stared at the tree that had become a sacred tree for a long time.

* * *

Bang!

Chukmun-gyeong, who was pounding the table, turned red and became angry.

“These heinous bastards!!”

Jangcheon was the same.

“We will help you! As those who practice the Tao, how can we turn a blind eye to such injustice!”

But San-gun had a cold look in his eyes.

“How?”

“Th, that’s….”

“Your righteousness (義) [moral righteousness] is undoubtedly right and just. But there are problems that cannot be solved with that alone.”

If you are emotional when solving a problem, it is likely to cause harm.

“Then are you just going to stand by and watch? Are you going to stand by and do nothing even though Yuksas [you all] know their situation?”

“If I do the math, there’s no reason to help. We just met today, and what am I to help them? I don’t have the ability or the right way.”

“We have to find a way!”

Jangcheon stood up and said.

Chukmun-gyeong seemed to agree with him and stood up following Jangcheon.

“Let’s build a ship!”

It was a reckless sound.

“This is the East Sea. There are three East Sea Kings who manage the East Sea and three branches of the Sea Clan. They will probably be happy to kill them since they are managing the Hona bloodline.”

It means that if you go on a ship, you are likely to die in droves. If they go on a ship, they will have to escort them.

Otherwise, they will be caught in an instant and will not be able to avoid a harsh situation.

“It’s like three Hwanseons [divine beings] are going to war with the Sea Clan. When I think about it, I’m surprised how we were able to enter this place…. Didn’t those guys put up a Hwanjin [illusionary formation] or a Geumje [forbidden barrier]?”

When I thought about it, they shouldn’t have such an important island, but I couldn’t see the Geumje or Hwanjin.

That was truly ironic.

Chukmun-gyeong slyly raised his hand.

“Because there’s something strange….”

“!”

“Tell me in detail.”

San-gun’s eyes became fierce.

Chukmun-gyeong flinched and shrugged his shoulders.

“I, I didn’t come down first.

At that time, there was something that bothered me, so I got rid of it appropriately…. That’s probably….”

Geumje [forbidden barrier]. Jangcheon’s eyes widened, and San-gun lowered his head.

After all, the East Sea itself is their land, so there was no need to deploy a high-level Geumje.

Who would dare to covet the Sea Clan’s things?

Even in the middle of the East Sea.

“It’s a matter of time….”

“I, I’m sorry.”

They must have already been caught.

Since they were considered enemies, even if it wasn’t a large army, a large number of Sea Clan would rush in.

‘If we run away now….’

They will be able to live.

Chukmun-gyeong may not know, but Jangcheon will not try to let this go.

He is none other than a Taoist of stripping. It is natural that he cannot bear to see injustice because he is a Bubeopju [Dharma Master].

‘But there’s no way.’

No matter how important righteousness is, it is reckless.

How can just three people wage war with other races! That is like a moth jumping into the fire.

“Hoo-”

There’s no other way.

Running away is the best option now.

It is unfortunate, but what can I do?

San-gun is different from Jangcheon.

He didn’t want to sacrifice himself to do righteousness. It’s not that their situation isn’t pitiful, but frankly speaking, he and the Hona bloodlines are strangers with no connection.

There is no reason to help.

‘I’m tempted by the sacred tree, but….’

It is not more important than life.

Thinking that way, he got up from his seat.

Suddenly, Chukman Daein opened his mouth.

[Tsk, tsk, is your head full of poop? What are you talking about building a ship? Everything can be solved with just one thing that guy is wearing around his neck…. Tsk, tsk, I thought you were smart, but I guess not!]