A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 363

363. Black Shadow

Beneath the peak of the ochre mountain, where black mist swirled, lay the ruins of a city long abandoned.

Once lavishly adorned with precious wood more valuable than gold, the ruins were now filled with crumbling mud bricks and the skeletal remains of withered trees.

—Karrrr.

A wolf-like monster whimpered softly.

The ruins of the old city teemed with monsters. Each one was moving slowly towards the peak of the ochre mountain, specifically towards the black mist that enveloped it.

“What are those things doing?”

No Gun muttered, hidden in the shadows of the mountain. The monsters’ behavior was indeed strange. Their usual aggression was nowhere to be seen; they moved sluggishly, as if possessed.

“There.”

Dang Wol-ah said quietly. But there was no need to point it out. No one could miss the bizarre sight of the black mist flowing down from the peak.

Swoosh.

It was like a giant tentacle of a sea creature. The black mist, extending from the peak of the ochre mountain, quickly wrapped around a wolf-like monster that approached.

—Keeing, Keeeeeak!

The monster, trapped in the black mist, cried out with an eerie sound. No Gun and the others all frowned. But the scream didn’t last long.

Crack, crunch.

The sound wasn’t audible, but if they were closer, they surely would have heard it. The wolf monster’s entire body was contorting.

At the same time, the black mist was absorbed into the monster, as if burrowing into it.

—Kaang.

As the black mist disappeared, a green monster emerged with a shriek.

The monster resembled a giant lizard, or perhaps a mix of wolf and bear.

—Kreung, Kreureung.

The green monster staggered, drooling as if it hadn’t regained its senses. But only for a moment. Soon, the green monster charged down towards the valley.

“Good heavens.”

No Gun groaned.

“The monsters are mutating again.”

The group finally understood where the green monsters filling the valley had come from. The black mist had mutated the already mutated monsters once more.

—Keeing.

Meanwhile, the tentacle of black mist ensnared another wolf monster.

“So, this is why they were trying to buy time.”

Son Bin said grimly.

“Yes. Those bastards needed time to mutate the monsters.”

No Gun nodded and continued.

“Seung-gun will have a tough time.”

At those words, Son Bin couldn’t hide his bitter expression. He wanted to minimize casualties for the Seung-gun as much as possible. Whether for religious reasons or not, the lives of those who sacrificed themselves for others should never be taken lightly.

“How awful.”

Sa Soo-yeon frowned. It was only because she was a martial artist that she could handle it; ordinary young ladies would have fainted.

“If that black mist were to flow into a populated town, something terrible would happen.”

Son Bin agreed. No Gun also frowned and nodded.

“Indeed. But it probably can’t move around that easily.”

No Gun said, watching the black mist writhing like a living creature.

“If it could, it wouldn’t have settled in such a desolate place to begin with.”

“That’s right. Maybe that’s why they haven’t left here either.”

Seo Rin nodded. He was right. They knew they would face a decisive battle with the Potala Seung-gun, yet they hadn’t left this place. It must be because the black mist couldn’t be moved easily. Perhaps there were certain conditions only available in this area.

‘Could it be…’

Suddenly, Son Bin remembered that this place was at the western end of Seojang. Saja-hyuk had said that the ‘Gate of Naraka’ [Gate of Hell in some beliefs] opened by the Heavenly Demon was even further west than here. Could that be the reason?

“The problem is that we have to go inside there.”

Dang Wol-ah said quietly. At her words, everyone wore a troubled expression.

“Will we be okay?”

No one could answer Dang Wol-ah’s quiet question.

Having seen the monsters wrapped in the black mist mutate with horrifying screams, they couldn’t recklessly jump in.

Besides, hadn’t the Potala Princess warned that even people might mutate?

“Hmm, what to do?”

No Gun pondered seriously, then suddenly looked at Seo Rin and said,

“You go take a look.”

“Huh? Why me?”

Seo Rin jumped. But No Gun had a reason.

“You’ve learned orthodox Taoist martial arts, haven’t you? So, go and touch it lightly. See what it feels like.”

Seo Rin was the one who had inherited the essence of Hwanghak Jin-in [a legendary Taoist immortal]. Originally, the Demonic Cult was the antithesis of Taoism and Buddhism, so No Gun’s words made some sense. But Seo Rin shook his head vigorously.

“No way. Just looking at it makes me feel really bad.”

Seo Rin shuddered all over, as if the thought alone was terrible. Since Taoism and the Demonic Cult were diametrically opposed, the discomfort Seo Rin felt was even greater than others.

“Hmm, then what should we do…”

No Gun, who had no intention of going himself, frowned and pondered. It was then.

Rustle.

Almost silently, a person appeared. The person who landed with black hair fluttering was none other than Geomhee.

“Ah, Miss Geomhee.”

Son Bin greeted her with a somewhat welcoming expression, but Geomhee said with a cold face.

“It’s okay.”

Son Bin was puzzled about what was okay, but Geomhee continued.

“Black mist, it’s okay to go in.”

No Gun’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you…”

Before he could finish, Geomhee nodded almost imperceptibly.

No Gun clicked his tongue in disbelief. Geomhee had actually gone into that terrifying black mist.

“Good heavens. Are you alright?”

Sa Soo-yeon rushed to Geomhee with surprised eyes. She examined Geomhee with a worried expression. Geomhee stared at Sa Soo-yeon for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“I’m, okay.”

Fortunately, Geomhee was fine. Sa Soo-yeon sighed in relief and then said to Geomhee with an angry expression.

“Why would you do such a reckless thing…”

“Must maintain momentum.”

At Geomhee’s sudden words, Sa Soo-yeon forgot her anger and asked.

“Momentum?”

“Like this.”

Whoong.

In an instant, Geomhee emitted a surprisingly strong aura. No Gun’s expression changed immediately.

“Hey! What are you trying to do, getting us caught…”

Before No Gun, who had lowered his voice as much as possible, could finish, Geomhee’s aura vanished as if washed away.

No Gun quickly looked around. Fortunately, no monsters had noticed them. Only the screams of monsters writhing in the pain of mutation continued.

“If I don’t do this, it will try to force its way in.”

The ‘it’ Geomhee was referring to was clearly the black mist. No Gun nodded.

“So, you have to keep pushing it away. Fortunately, it seems like you can withstand it with ordinary internal energy…”

In fact, maintaining this kind of momentum continuously was not easy even for the top experts. But among them, there was no one who needed to worry about lacking internal energy.

Except for Son Bin.

“Oh, then me…”

“I’ll do it.”

“I will…”

“Me…”

Geomhee, Sa Soo-yeon, and Dang Wol-ah’s voices came out simultaneously. No Gun sighed.

“Seo Rin will do it.”

No Gun quickly sorted out the situation.

“Taoist martial arts from the orthodox Wudang Sect will be better anyway. Since he inherited the essence of the Jin-in, he won’t lack internal energy either.”

“Yes!”

Seo Rin said happily. Thanks to that, the three young ladies’ unintended, sudden confrontation didn’t happen.

“How’s the breathing?”

No Gun asked Geomhee.

“It was fine.”

Son Bin was inwardly worried that she might say something like, ‘I just held my breath,’ but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Really? Then it doesn’t seem like real mist. Could it be… the legendary Demonic Energy(魔氣) [Magical energy of demon] ?”

Little was known about Demonic Energy(魔氣). The Demonic Cult was so secretive, and their martial arts and rituals were so bizarre.

After the Heavenly Demon disappeared, the very existence of the Heavenly Demon was treated as a myth, and Demonic Energy was just considered an exaggerated threat by the Demonic Cult. Until Demonic Energy appeared before them now.

“Alright, let’s go.”

No Gun said.

They couldn’t waste any more time. At this very moment, the Potala Seung-gun were risking their lives to fight the monsters.

Son Bin nodded and hugged Seo Rin tightly. Seo Rin hugged Son Bin back and smiled.

Tap.

The group of six, including Geomhee, moved quickly towards the ochre mountain as if flying.

The ruins leading to the peak were filled with monsters, but the green monsters that had just finished mutating were not in their right minds.

Thanks to that, the group was able to approach the black mist without much difficulty.

“Be careful.”

With No Gun’s short warning, the group immediately unleashed their auras and plunged into the black mist.

Whoosh.

“Ugh.”

Seo Rin let out a short exclamation. And it wasn’t much different for the other members of the group.

The inside of the black mist was like another world.

The mist covering the sky blocked even the morning sunlight, and the gloom cast everywhere made it impossible to gauge distances.

Not only the desolate ruins but everything had lost its original color and appeared only in a hazy gray, making one wonder if they had entered a nightmare.

“Stop for a moment.”

With No Gun’s voice, the group stopped moving and checked their respective situations and positions.

Whooooong.

As Geomhee had said, the black mist couldn’t get close.

The eerie black mist was constantly swirling around the group, but it couldn’t dare to penetrate their auras. Especially Seo Rin, who was pushing the black mist away particularly far, perhaps due to the unique nature of Taoist martial arts.

“Hold on a bit. Don’t use too much internal energy just because it feels bad.”

No Gun frowned and said. But even No Gun was pushing the black mist away from himself.

“But it really feels bad.”

Seo Rin said with a tearful face. Son Bin stroked his head as if to comfort him as he seemed to be acting spoiled.

“But we’ll inevitably be discovered like this.”

As Sa Soo-yeon said, it was impossible to hide their presence while emitting such an aura. It was no different from shouting, ‘We have invaded.’

“It can’t be helped.”

No Gun shrugged and said.

“We’ll just have to clear away anything that gets in our way as we go.”

Urrrrrr.

Was it listening to those words? Suddenly, a heavy vibration echoed throughout the ochre mountain peak. At the ominous reverberation, as if warning the intruders, No Gun distorted his face.

“Let’s move quickly.”

“Uh, where to?”

At Seo Rin’s question, No Gun said as if it were obvious.

“Where else? To the place where this damn Demonic Energy is flowing out.”

“How do we find that?”

No Gun gave a bitter smile.

“Go in the direction you don’t want to go. That’s where the Demonic Energy will be the thickest.”

No Gun’s words were certainly valid. The place where this black mist, this Demonic Energy, is thickest is where everything began.

But that also meant going to a place that felt even worse than now. It was no wonder that Seo Rin and Sa Soo-yeon’s expressions were distorted.

“Watch your step. It’s all mud bricks, so it’ll collapse if you step on it wrong.”

No Gun warned as he flew forward. But there was no one in the group who would make such a basic mistake.

The group immediately followed No Gun. The steep path through the ruins led to a narrow tunnel, and after leaving the tunnel, they soon reached the peak.

Whooooosh.

A strong wind was felt as they reached the peak of the ochre mountain. Although they couldn’t see it at a glance because of the black mist, the collapsed mud bricks and fallen roofs, the faded decorations and cracked murals told them that this place was originally a splendid palace.

“That way.”

No Gun frowned. He knew they had to go that way, but he couldn’t help but feel bad. Perhaps it was because of the instinctive aversion to Demonic Energy that all living things felt.

‘Huck.’

It was then that an indescribable eerie feeling swept past No Gun. No Gun immediately shouted.

“Get down!”

Kwaaaang.

The spot where the group had been standing just moments before exploded with a loud noise. Fortunately, the group was able to dodge in all directions just before that happened.

Pi-pi-ping.

No Gun and Dang Wol-ah’s steel arrows pierced through the thick dust and black mist. But all that returned were dull sounds.

Tuh-tuh-tung.

The sound of steel arrows rolling on the ground came from within the black mist. And heavy footsteps followed.

Thud, thud.

From the palace entrance, where there was probably a huge door, a black shadow was slowly walking out.

Covered from head to toe in a black cloak, even his face was not properly visible. That was certainly strange. No matter how dark it was, it shouldn’t be able to deceive the group’s eyes.

All that was visible was a blurry darkness, with a pair of red eyes flashing ominously within.

“Ignorance sometimes grants unwarranted courage.”

The black shadow said in a grating voice that sounded like scraping metal. It was clearly the language of the Central Plains [the standard Mandarin dialect of China].

“Welcome to the entrance of Naraka [Hell in Buddhism]. Ignorant ones.”

The declaration echoed with a chilling weight, as if it were coming from the depths. But No Gun snorted.

“Hmph, who do you think you’re fooling?”

Ping.

No Gun flicked his finger, and a steel arrow flew towards the monster’s face. But the monster silently raised his hand.

The monster had no doubt that his hand, which had blocked the steel arrows that had flown earlier, would also neutralize this steel arrow.

But No Gun would not use the same trick twice.

Kaang.

The steel arrow that No Gun had fired was lightly blocked by the monster’s hand. But the steel arrow, which had an enormous spin on it, bounced sharply upwards as soon as it collided. In a direction that even the monster had not expected at all.

Thwack.

No Gun’s internal energy contained in the steel arrow tore through the cloak the monster was wearing and scattered the black mist that had been covering his face. In that instant, the monster’s face was revealed before everyone’s eyes.

That gruesome sight of skin torn away and muscles and bones exposed.

Whooooong.

The scattered black mist gathered again and covered his face. The monster slowly raised both hands and put his cloak back on.

“Knowing the truth is not always a pleasant thing.”

The monster’s red eyes calmly looked at the group’s distorted faces.

“Just like you hide the truth of the ugly world under a thin veneer of hypocrisy, and boast of ignorance and arrogance.”

“Bullshit.”

No Gun said to the monster in a confident voice.

“Saying the world is ugly is because you yourself have defined it as ugly. The world is always just as it is[自然 – nature], so don’t arbitrarily call the world ugly.”

No Gun said, not hiding his anger.

“It’s only because the world can’t speak, but if I were it, I would have clenched my fist and jumped out right away. You 거지 깽깽이 같은 자식아 [You son of a beggar].”

Although he used rough expressions, No Gun’s words clearly contained truth. Son Bin felt as if he was breaking free from some kind of restraint. Perhaps it was the same for the other members of the group, as their expressions became lighter.

“That’s also true.”

Unexpectedly, the monster acknowledged No Gun’s words in a calm voice.

Rustle.

He slowly raised his hand. With that, the black mist rushed to his hand. It was sticking to the monster’s hand and flowing down like something sticky.

“But the fact that you have set foot in the entrance of Naraka.”

Uwooooong.

The monster’s voice echoed like a reverberation. It was not the voice of one person, but as if several people were murmuring at the same time. And that was by no means a figurative meaning.

“There are also people behind us!”

Son Bin shouted sharply. And in an instant, No Gun could see that black shadows had appeared everywhere.

Before he knew it, other monsters had appeared from within the black mist. All five black shadows, including the one standing in front, were surrounding the group.

“Is an undeniable fact.”

The murmuring voices echoed in the ruins of the forgotten palace. The five monsters were standing and looking at the group with the same red eyes, as if they were one person.

“Tsk.”

No Gun bit his lip. Not noticing their approach was by no means a mistake or carelessness. This thick Demonic Energy that covered the surroundings like black mist had blocked No Gun’s eyes and ears.

“This is no longer the world you knew.”

The monster’s words were true. The rushing black mist had already covered the sky, and the sound of the wind passing through the ruins was echoing eerily in all directions like a ghostly wail.

“Die, crushed by the weight of truth. Ignorant ones.”

The monsters spoke as if they were judges sentencing fate. At that moment, the black Demonic Energy(魔氣) that rushed in from all directions swallowed the group.

(Author’s words)

No Gun: I know what that bastard’s identity is.

Son Bin: What is it?

No Gun: That bastard is a middle schooler.