Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 269

Narrative of a Wandering Swordsman – Chapter 268

I was so taken aback that I was speechless.

When did the Nine-tailed Fox become a Corpse Demon?

No, more than that….

[Oh, Mother!]

Mother?

“I told you not to show your true form, yet you broke your promise again!”

[Th, that’s….]

If the mother these children are talking about is the Nine-tailed Fox….

“I wonder who you take after, running around so recklessly, making your mother… huh?”

Suddenly, the Nine-tailed Fox narrowed her eyes at Mountain Lord, then gasped in surprise, covering her mouth.

“You are…!”

[Mother! We caught an assassin who infiltrated the White Mountain Sect!]

[That’s right. We need to interrogate him for details, but he might be trying to drive a wedge between us and the White Mountain Sect!]

The boy and girl quickly blurted out their words, as if afraid of being scolded by their parents, but the Nine-tailed Fox didn’t seem to hear them and rushed over in an instant.

“You….”

Her face was filled with both joy and pity.

“It’s been a while,”

Mountain Lord said first.

The Nine-tailed Fox caressed his cheek and smiled bitterly.

“What happened to your appearance….”

His whole body was covered in blood, and his face was swollen, making him a sorry sight.

“Haha… something happened. Anyway, I have something to ask.”

When his gaze reached the children, the Nine-tailed Fox noticed and said,

“Greet him quickly.”

[Yes?]

[Mother, who is this person….]

The owner of this White Mountain, and also the sixth Ghost King of the Ten Seas, Myriad of Evils….

“He is your father.”

* * *

Swish.

Between the valleys of White Mountain.

In one corner, there was a hot spring with steam rising.

White Mountain was clearly a volcano, so there were quite a few hot springs like this in various places, and the most famous hot spring was the White Dew Spring.

This place was off-limits to not only the disciples of the White Mountain Sect but also the elders, and in such a place, the figures of a man and a woman could be seen through the hazy mist.

“How do you feel?”

“Much better.”

It was Mountain Lord and the Nine-tailed Fox.

His appearance was a mess, so he soaked in the White Dew Spring to heal while washing, and the Nine-tailed Fox was there to assist him.

Splash.

The Nine-tailed Fox, who was pouring hot spring water on his shoulder, gently touched the swollen area.

“I’m curious how such a strong person ended up in this state.”

Her tone was a bit sharp, but one could sense the worry within.

When they had met before, the Nine-tailed Fox was severely injured, but now it was him, so the world was truly unpredictable.

‘Well, I didn’t know that the Nine-tailed Fox and I would end up like this before either.’

Her touch, gently caressing Mountain Lord’s shoulder, contained a different kind of affection than when they first met.

Fate is truly like that.

You can’t foresee what’s ahead.

They were eternal enemies.

But their bad relationship turned into a bond, and they became parents, reversing their standings, widening the distance between eternity and an instant.

That hand, which seemed so high and distant, was now the hand of a woman worriedly touching his shoulder.

Mountain Lord grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

Her face, now right in front of him, was no different from before.

Perhaps because she was now the mother of two children, she seemed a bit more virtuous.

Drip, drip.

The sound of water droplets soothed the silence where only breaths could be heard.

‘It’s difficult.’

Looking at her teary face, he didn’t know what to say first.

Should he say she had suffered, or thank her for raising the children alone, or apologize? He was troubled.

“My wife knows,”

She seemed to have guessed that the reason Mountain Lord was hesitating was because of Choa.

“Hmm….”

Choa also knew.

It was a statement that made things even more confusing.

It was a part that made him think a lot.

He was already confused, but he didn’t know what face to show Choa.

‘To add insult to injury.’

He had thought something like this might happen someday, but it was sooner than expected.

“I don’t know what to say.

This… is also a first for me.”

As he spoke with an awkward smile, the Nine-tailed Fox replied as if she fully understood.

“Becoming a mother was also a first for me.”

“That’s right. It would be a first….”

Of course, it would be.

How could becoming a parent… not be a first?

“It doesn’t feel real.”

It had only been a little over 100 years, but suddenly having two children was confusing and awkward.

He had always thought of becoming a father as something far off.

As he smiled bitterly at that thought, the Nine-tailed Fox spoke first.

“How were the children?”

“Very… assertive.”

Because of the situation, that was all he could say.

“They were very pretty… like you.”

At that moment, she looked at him with tearful eyes and then lowered her head.

“Are you calling me your wife?”

“…Then what should I call you?”

He couldn’t coldly reject the woman who had his children.

Even if they had given each other affection without such a promise, how could a man ignore the woman who had given birth to his children?

Wiping away her tears, she tried to change the subject.

“They are naughty children who didn’t even recognize their own father.

It’s all my fault for not teaching them well, so please be understanding.”

“I’m not that narrow-minded.”

They were so assertive that they tried to knock their father down, but he couldn’t say he didn’t understand. It wasn’t like they had bad intentions.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard the details. How did you become a Corpse Demon… and come to White Mountain?”

He had been so out of it that he hadn’t asked how she had come here and how she had become a Corpse Demon.

He should ask that first.

“About a hundred years ago… after you left for the Golden Ring Celestial Realm, I stayed with Young Lady So and barely recovered my strength.”

The Nine-tailed Fox brushed her hair behind her ear and continued calmly.

“While regaining my original state, I found out I was pregnant. I was surprised and happy, but there wasn’t a suitable environment to give birth and raise a child.

For a while, I waited for you, but the situation wasn’t very favorable.”

The place where the Nine-tailed Fox was located was the base of the Three Ghosts, so she must have felt uneasy.

Moreover, she was pregnant, so why wouldn’t she be?

It was a time when she would be anxious even if she stayed still.

‘The Nine-tailed Fox was captured and tortured by the Ice Palace’s Celestial….’

It must have been even worse.

“Fortunately, through Young Lady So’s introduction, I asked the First Ghost of the Ten Seas, Myriad of Evils, to protect me and barely gave birth to two children.”

The events after that were like this.

As time passed while taking care of the children, the whereabouts of the Three Ghosts, Four Corpse Demons, and Ten Ghosts became unclear, and even Mountain Lord was nowhere to be found, so they might all be dead, and as a precaution, she was appointed as a Corpse Demon.

She was happy to have a stronger force, and she could raise her children more safely.

“Then, some time ago, a letter came from the White Mountain Sect. It asked if we should wipe out the Sea Demons of the East Sea and the Demonic Path bastards who were fighting.”

“I see.”

Thus, the Nine-tailed Fox wiped out those who survived the war in the East Sea some time ago and gained great benefits.

“Did you see the children’s horns?”

“I did.”

How could he not know the meaning of those horns?

Only the children of the Nine-tailed Fox and Mountain Lord in this world could be Beastkin with wings and horns.

“They both have very stylish horns like you. Now that the children have seen their father, I can finally give them names.”

“Names? They don’t have names yet?”

“Yes, it is our clan’s tradition for the father to name his children, so I haven’t given them names yet.”

“…I see.”

So that’s why the daughter said she would earn a name by making contributions.

‘What was she talking about? They didn’t have names yet….’

Giving them names isn’t difficult.

He could name them like the children of Myunghwa, or Tamhwa and Gyuyul.

“Husband, I have something to ask you, is that alright?”

“If you stop calling me husband, I’ll allow you anything.

We’re not strangers, so how long are you going to call me husband?”

Husband was clearly a term used to refer to another woman’s husband. She was now Mountain Lord’s woman, so wasn’t it wrong to keep calling him husband?

“Am I wrong?”

“Ah, no. It’s just that suddenly changing the way I address you isn’t easy… that’s why.”

Her rarely blushing appearance was unlike her and cute.

Seeing her ears turn red, she looked like a girl who couldn’t be thought of as a mother of two children.

Mountain Lord smiled contentedly and pulled her into his arms.

“Why are you doing this….”

“You’ve suffered.”

He patted her back.

There were things he wanted to say that would last all night, but sometimes there are things that are conveyed without being spoken.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Pat, pat.

Soon, her shoulders began to tremble. There must have been accumulated grievances and resentment.

How could those things disappear by patting her back, but at least the unspoken feelings would be conveyed.

* * *

On White Cloud Peak, the highest peak of White Mountain, there was a woman wearing white robes from head to toe, Choa, the wife of the White Mountain Sect’s leader.

“Aren’t you going out?”

The leader of the White Mountain Sect had returned.

With serious injuries.

Even so, Choa, the mistress of White Mountain, remained unmoved.

“What would I do if I went… I would only be a hindrance now.”

The disciple with the surname Pi, who volunteered to serve her, was angry as if she had heard something absurd.

“How could you be a hindrance, Madam! Even though you have given birth to a child, you are clearly the mistress of White Mountain…!”

“There’s no need to be so angry, Ming.”

“But….”

“It’s true that I’m not comfortable, but it’s definitely a blessing that Sister Yo is alive and has given birth to his child. Besides, she gave birth and raised the child alone, so how many sad and lonely things must have happened during that time.”

So….

“I would only be a hindrance now.”

However, her eyes, looking at the distant mountains, seemed particularly precarious today, like a lamp in the wind.

“Pi Ming. I’m fine, so go. You should go to your partner.”

“Pa, partner? Don’t say such things. Senior Brother is not my partner.”

“All the disciples of White Mountain are cheering for you and Unmo. It’s best to be honest with your feelings before a good time passes.

It’s easy to lose your love in an instant.”

She seemed to be reminiscing about the old days.

Pi Ming carefully retreated, engraving her words deeply in her heart.

After she retreated, Choa stood by the railing of the pavilion for a long time, gazing blankly at the distant mountains. Then, a girl and a boy appeared from the bushes.

They seemed to be lost, looking around, and they were his son and daughter.

‘She didn’t stop them.’

White Cloud Peak was a space used by the leader of the White Mountain Sect and his wife, so no one could enter without permission.

However, as the story spread that those children were the leader’s children, the elders didn’t know what to do and hesitated to treat them, and the other disciples were the same.

So even if those two stirred up White Mountain, no one could say anything.

‘Sister Yo is probably with her husband now….’

There’s no one to stop those twins.

Choa stood still, watching the children as if she were not there.

‘They look alike.’

The girl’s eyes resembled him, and her mouth resembled the Nine-tailed Fox.

The boy, on the other hand, had eyes like the Nine-tailed Fox and features like him.

Both parents were handsome and beautiful, so it was natural that their son and daughter resembled them and had outstanding looks.

‘With what eyes, with what heart, should I look at you.’

What her gaze was now.

She couldn’t even describe what her feelings were.

Was it an echo reverberating in the bamboo forest, or the swaying bamboo itself? She couldn’t tell.

The father of those children was the husband she loved most, and the mother was the sister who had helped her with her training.

She couldn’t figure out what eyes and heart to treat them with.

Slightly.

She took her hand off the railing and stepped back.

Soon, she turned her back.

The rustling wind seemed to be pushing her back for some reason.

As she was about to disappear like that.

“Ah, it’s Big Mother!”

Pause.

Her steps stopped.

She thought she had misheard.

But that couldn’t be.

When she turned her head, those little children were bowing to her.

“…Are you talking to me?”

She asked, just in case.

“Yes! Mother said so.

There’s a snow-white and beautiful person in White Mountain, and that’s Big Mother!!”

She spoke clearly.

‘Her voice resembles her sister’s.’

Her first thought was wonder.

Hearing her call her Big Mother with that voice made her feel many emotions.

‘Big Mother….’

Come to think of it, that’s right.

From the children’s perspective, she would be Big Mother.

Big Mother.

It was a title that made her think a lot.

“Mother said so. Big Mother is a really, really strong person.”

“So….”

“Yes! Mother often told me to become a woman like Big Mother!”

“I see….”

“I, I heard that you single-handedly annihilated the Bangok bastards in this battle too.

I want to become a strong cultivator like Big Mother when I grow up!”

Seeing her say that with a bright face, a smile appeared on Choa’s lips.

“Sister, Big Mother is troubled. And Mother also told us to become like Father, right?”

“Hmph, I don’t need it! It’s not like he’s really my father anyway, right?”

It was a sound that couldn’t be overlooked.

Saying he wasn’t her father.

“What does that mean?”

When she asked, the girl looked around and carefully said, bringing her hand to her mouth.

“Actually….”

And then Choa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes! If he were really my father, how could he have coughed up blood from just one of my attacks?”