A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 491

491. The Secret Region of the Snow Mountain

Sunbin stood on the snow mountain with the young Jade Dragon. Snowflakes swirled in the occasional cold wind, but the young Jade Dragon, holding his jade fan, remained calm. His ornate robes fluttered in the breeze as usual. In contrast, Sunbin was bundled up in a warm coat, a hat for protection against the cold, and even fur-lined boots.

“The secret region of the snow mountain, is it?” the young Jade Dragon chuckled, looking at a specific spot. The previous Jade Dragon had told Sunbin about a secret place on the snow mountain, the very place they had come to find.

“That gloomy predecessor certainly had some strange ideas. It’s bound to be full of unpleasant things,” the young Jade Dragon said, covering his mouth with his jade fan. Sunbin silently agreed. The previous Jade Dragon had mentioned many ‘interesting’ things, but his definition of interesting was likely skewed.

Nodding, Sunbin asked the young Jade Dragon, “Do you remember the diagram that Miss Wol-ah showed us?”

Originally, the diagram to enter this secret region had been shown to Sunbin directly by the previous Jade Dragon. But Sunbin couldn’t recall it. How could he remember something drawn in the air with a flick of the hand, even after seeing it twice? Fortunately, Sasu-yeon, Tang Wol-ah, and Seorin had memorized the diagram. So, before coming to the snow mountain, Sunbin had visited them at the restaurant with the children.

“Then, if you don’t mind, Miss Suyeon could come with me…”

At Sunbin’s request, Sasu-yeon, who was sitting at the table with the children, looked apologetic. “I’m sorry. I have to take care of the children.”

Sasu-yeon, ever concerned about the Seowon children, didn’t want to leave their side. Seorin was happily eating with them, and seeing her bright face, Sunbin hesitated to even ask.

“Then…”

In the end, the only person Sunbin could ask was Tang Wol-ah. Tang Wol-ah silently put down her chopsticks and stood up. Sunbin, knowing how much she loved delicious food, felt incredibly guilty.

“Why not draw it?” Old Gun, who was sitting next to him, suddenly suggested. It seemed like a good idea, but Tang Wol-ah and Sasu-yeon shook their heads.

“It’s not just simple lines; it includes three-dimensional movements. Drawing it would only make it more complicated.”

At Sasu-yeon’s explanation, Old Gun nodded but clicked his tongue. “And you remembered such a complicated thing in one go?”

Sunbin fully agreed with Old Gun’s words. “Miss Suyeon and Miss Wol-ah are not ordinary people. Neither is Seorin.”

Knowing how exceptional they were, it was only natural for Sunbin to say that. If there were geniuses, they were it. But at those words, Old Gun clicked his tongue. “Are you one to talk?”

Sunbin looked at Old Gun with a puzzled expression, but Old Gun pretended not to notice and raised his teacup. In the end, after promising to buy her a separate meal later, Tang Wol-ah returned to the Blood Dragon Gate with Sunbin and showed the diagram to the young Jade Dragon, drawing it in the air with a flick of the hand. Of course, Sunbin didn’t remember it this time either.

That’s why Sunbin asked the young Jade Dragon if he still remembered that complicated diagram.

“Of course,” the young Jade Dragon frowned. “I saw it twice; how could I not know it?”

Surprisingly, the young Jade Dragon had memorized the complicated movements in one go. Showing it twice was only out of consideration for Sunbin, not because the young Jade Dragon had requested it. It was something Sunbin couldn’t imitate at all.

With Tang Wol-ah hurrying back to the restaurant, Sunbin arrived at this snow mountain with the young Jade Dragon.

“But I was caught off guard. I didn’t expect there to be a hidden place in a spot like this,” the young Jade Dragon said with a displeased expression. Sunbin gave a wry smile. “It is surprising, but I don’t think there’s any real need to come all the way here.”

In fact, Sunbin wasn’t particularly interested in what was here. He was curious because it was a hidden place, but he didn’t think it was a place he absolutely had to visit.

“It’s a place that the predecessor passed on to you, not someone else,” the young Jade Dragon said sternly. “We need to check what’s there. And it’s unpleasant to leave the predecessor’s traces on this snow mountain.”

Sunbin didn’t really agree with those words. If that were the case, wasn’t the young Jade Dragon himself the biggest trace of the previous Jade Dragon?

“Let’s go.”

*Sabhak* [sound of walking on snow]. The young Jade Dragon moved towards the snow mountain valley. At first glance, it seemed blocked, but there was a path to the secret region left by the previous Jade Dragon.

“Ah, and,” the young Jade Dragon suddenly said to Sunbin. “There’s no need to be polite to me. It’s unpleasant to hear, so speak comfortably.”

“But…”

Sunbin tried to say something, but the young Jade Dragon didn’t allow any objections. “Are you saying you don’t care about the humiliation I feel, being addressed with honorifics by someone who lost to me?”

The young Jade Dragon said with a rather chilly gaze. Of course, Sunbin had no intention of humiliating him, so he quickly nodded. “I understand… I understand.”

Sunbin almost used honorifics without thinking but quickly corrected himself when the young Jade Dragon frowned.

“Ahem,” Sunbin cleared his throat, feeling awkward for some reason. The young Jade Dragon was still frowning, but he didn’t say anything more.

*Sabhak, sabhak.* The young Jade Dragon walked towards the valley. Sunbin tied his horse to a nearby tree and quickly followed him. The white peaks of the snow mountain, soaring high towards the blue sky, quietly looked down on them.

***

The valley was ever-changing. It seemed blocked by snow-covered thickets, but once they entered following the diagram, the scenery shifted in an instant. Fog would thicken, and before they knew it, they would be standing in front of a fork in the road. Moreover, strange noises kept coming from somewhere, confusing their minds. Of course, it didn’t affect Sunbin or the young Jade Dragon at all.

“How fascinating! Is this the legendary Gimunjin Style [a type of illusionary formation]?” Sunbin was very interested in the ever-changing appearance inside the valley. But despite his surprise, he didn’t get lost.

“Ah, I think it’s that way?” Sunbin suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the foggy snow path. The young Jade Dragon chuckled. According to the diagram, the direction Sunbin was pointing was correct.

“That’s right. Maybe you didn’t even need the diagram.” Sunbin replied with an awkward smile. “I’m just right sometimes. If I were alone, I probably would have had a hard time.”

Sunbin’s tone was somehow awkward, but the young Jade Dragon didn’t seem to notice. “The place the predecessor hid is about to appear. After passing here…”

*Sabhak.* Just as the young Jade Dragon and Sunbin passed a large snow-covered tree while saying that…

*Swish.*

A gust of wind blew, and suddenly their vision cleared. The thick fog disappeared in an instant.

“Is this the place?” Sunbin said, standing next to the young Jade Dragon. The young Jade Dragon nodded with a stiff expression. “Yes. This is it.”

In a place surrounded by thickets and valleys, a rather large building stood. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but that couldn’t be the case. Because this place, clearly in the middle of the snow mountain, was full of green grass and tall trees.

*Ssk.* The young Jade Dragon raised his head and confirmed that he could see the peaks of the snow mountain. This was still the snow mountain.

“Amazing.”

“It’s a good place.”

Sunbin’s impressions were different from the young Jade Dragon’s. “A good place? Do you really think so?” The young Jade Dragon chuckled. “It’s a place left by the predecessor. You shouldn’t judge by what you see.”

Sunbin agreed with those words, but the scenery unfolding before his eyes looked relaxed and comfortable.

“Let’s go.” Saying that, the young Jade Dragon walked towards the building in front of him. The building, with a black roof and red wooden pillars and walls, was built in a rather antique style. But there were no letters on the golden sign hanging above the main gate.

‘Since there’s no name, is it the Nameless Pavilion?’ As Sunbin thought that, the young Jade Dragon carefully opened the building’s large door.

*Sarak.* Even though it was clearly an old place, the door opened smoothly without a sound. And at the sight that unfolded before them, the young Jade Dragon frowned. “This is…”

Sunbin couldn’t hide his surprise either. Like what they saw from the outside, it was one large building, but the inside was not empty. Tall bookshelves filled the building, centered around a small space in the middle, and the bookshelves were filled with all sorts of things rather than books. And in the small space located in the center of the building, only a small desk and a chair were placed.

*Jeobeok.* Sunbin and the young Jade Dragon stepped inside. There was no musty smell unique to old places, and light came in through the dense windows high up, illuminating the interior, indicating that it was a very carefully maintained place. The two first looked at the objects placed on the nearby bookshelves. The first thing they saw was a row of small porcelain bottles, with no markings on the contents and various colorful silk threads tied around them.

“Hmph,” the young Jade Dragon snorted. “To line up even these things, how like the predecessor.”

Only then did Sunbin realize that the small porcelain bottles were standing in a tight row. The many porcelain bottles placed on several layers of the large bookshelf were perfectly aligned.

“And these silk threads, they seem to be marked according to their own classification. If you remember the contents, this is convenient and intuitive.” After thinking for a moment, Sunbin finally understood the young Jade Dragon’s explanation: the silk threads were a personal classification system, and the previous Jade Dragon remembered everything about the contents.

*Tuk.* The young Jade Dragon deliberately knocked over a small porcelain bottle, disrupting the line. Then he passed by that place and headed to the next bookshelf.

*Jeobeok, jeobeok.* The following bookshelves were also full of amazing things. Some places had martial arts manuals, and some bookshelves had unique martial tools. There were many places with mysterious medicinal herbs of unknown use, or things they had never seen before. But upon reaching one place, Sunbin couldn’t help but frown as well.

“This is…” Sunbin muttered without realizing it. The young Jade Dragon also frowned and said, “Yes. This is a corpse.”

What was placed in the coffin in front of them was clearly a human corpse, and it wasn’t just one or two. At first glance, more than ten coffins filled one side of the bookshelf. Some corpses still maintained their appearance from when they were alive with a cold aura, and some corpses were just bones or dried up.

Most of the corpses seemed to be wearing fancy and luxurious clothes, as if they were wearing what they wore in life. In many cases, swords, weapons, or objects such as fans were placed together.

“Why like this…” Sunbin couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. The young Jade Dragon frowned and answered the question. “It must have been something worth collecting, probably to the point where those involved would turn their eyes upside down and rush in.”

Even corpses, or rather, *corpses*, often have great meaning. Just like Tang Hwa-ryun, the chief military strategist of the Tang family, who rose to prominence as the power of the Tang family after recovering Tang Baek-ho’s corpse. Of course, it was also because he inherited everything Tang Baek-ho had left behind, but the symbolic meaning of a corpse is greater than one might think. Sometimes, countless people are willing to risk their lives just to recover a single corpse.

“Or maybe he just liked it.” At the young Jade Dragon’s muttered voice, Sunbin sighed softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

Sunbin’s voice was heavy and subdued. He didn’t want to be in a place like this any longer.

“Yes. But before that,” the young Jade Dragon gestured slightly with his chin towards the desk in the center of the building. “Shouldn’t we check that?”

The desk, which was placed alone in the middle of this place full of all sorts of bizarre objects. Sunbin could clearly see a book with a black cover on it.

Sunbin sighed softly and slowly moved his steps towards the desk in the center of the building. The young Jade Dragon guarded the surroundings and followed behind Sunbin.

*Jeobeok, jeobeok.* On the desk, there were only basic writing tools, a lamp to light the fire, and a book with a black cover. The chair in front of the desk looked quite comfortable, but it didn’t look particularly fancy or great.

*Ssk.* Sunbin reached out and picked up the book with the black cover. He was worried that the cover might be made of something strange, but it was surprisingly ordinary except for the fact that it was a luxury item.

*Pararak.* First, Sunbin lightly examined the entire book. At first glance, it was full of small and detailed letters. The letters were also very nice to look at, with no lines out of place or strokes sticking out.

*Sarak.* Sunbin checked the cover of the book to confirm that there was no title, and then turned the first page. And before he had even turned a few pages, he quickly realized the identity of this book.

“What kind of book is it?” the young Jade Dragon asked. Sunbin, who raised his head, realized that he was standing a little far away. Noticing Sunbin’s thoughts, the young Jade Dragon said, “That’s what the predecessor passed on to you. There’s no reason for me to see it. Just out of simple curiosity…”

“It’s okay to look.” Sunbin handed the book to the young Jade Dragon and said with a calm expression. “This is a book that records various things he was interested in. In other words, it’s like miscellaneous notes or records.”

The book didn’t record any special topics or great secrets. It wasn’t even an explanation of the things in this building. The writings, which were recorded haphazardly and without context, were closer to miscellaneous notes or records, as Sunbin said. Even in one paragraph, the topic would change several times, making it chaotic. It was completely out of place with the elegant and delicate handwriting.

“I don’t need it,” the young Jade Dragon frowned and said. “I don’t want to see the predecessor’s handwriting.”

At the sight of the young Jade Dragon turning his head and refusing, Sunbin withdrew the hand holding the book and slowly turned the pages one by one, examining the contents. In fact, treating a book like this was not something a scholar would do, but Sunbin, who had read many books, was also familiar with this way of examining them.

‘Hmm?’ Sunbin suddenly felt a word catch his eye and began to read that part slowly and carefully. The content written there was just a simple idea and result. The important process or how it was actually done was not written, but it was content that had quite important meaning for Sunbin.

‘…So that’s how it was,’ Sunbin nodded and started turning the pages again.

*Palak, palak.* As the thick book neared its end, Sunbin found another sentence. It was just a single sentence that was incongruously inserted between other contents, but it contained a word that Sunbin could never miss.

Sunbin was lost in thought with a stiff expression. How much time had passed like that?

*Hook.* Suddenly, the lamp on the desk lit up. Sunbin, who raised his head, realized that the young Jade Dragon had lit the lamp.

“…It’s getting dark,” the young Jade Dragon said in a calm voice. Come to think of it, the inside of the building was getting dark.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was too engrossed in…”

Was it because of his habit of living as a scholar? He seemed to have been too engrossed in the book without realizing it. And only then did Sunbin realize that the young Jade Dragon had been silently guarding his side all along.

“It’s okay,” the young Jade Dragon said bluntly. “Read it all to the end. It’s yours.”

“Thank you.” Sunbin said that and turned his gaze back to the book.

*Palak, palak.* The rest of the book was nothing special. After examining it to the end, Sunbin closed the book and put it down on the desk.

“Aren’t you going to take it?” At the young Jade Dragon’s question, Sunbin nodded. Not just the book, he had no intention of taking anything in this place from the beginning. That’s why he had examined the book here, although he felt sorry for the young Jade Dragon.

“Let’s go out.” At Sunbin’s words, the young Jade Dragon frowned. “What about the things here?”

Shaking his head, Sunbin said, “I don’t need them. If it’s such a secret place, no one will know.”

“No one?” The young Jade Dragon said in a voice filled with annoyance. “Aren’t you thinking about the fact that I know the way to come here?”

Sunbin smiled. “I don’t think you’ll touch this.” He was the proud young Jade Dragon. Sunbin was sure that he wouldn’t covet this.

The young Jade Dragon flinched at the casual address. But he soon frowned and said, “That’s why it’s even more unacceptable. I don’t trust myself, so what right do you have to trust me? If you really don’t need it, burn it all down.”

Sunbin hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the coffins of the corpses that suddenly caught his eye, he soon nodded. “I will.” It was by no means a rash decision. As you can see from the corpses, what is in this place is by no means good. If you think about who the owner of this place was, it’s even more so.

The young Jade Dragon was slightly surprised at that answer, but he soon smiled. “That’s a pleasing answer for the first time in a while. Good, let’s do that.” As if he was really happy, the young Jade Dragon looked at the building full of bookshelves and said in an excited voice, “It’s not enough to just burn it. There will be things that don’t burn. If we blow it up and destroy it before burning it, even if someone comes to this place, they won’t get anything.”

“Blow it up?” Sunbin asked back with a puzzled expression, but instead of answering, the young Jade Dragon pointed to one side of the bookshelf with his chin. And Sunbin realized that something familiar was placed there.

‘Ah.’ It was Hwatan [a powerful explosive]. The Cheonroe [Heavenly Thunder], which was said to be the secret Hwatan of the Sichuan Tang family that he had seen in the Tang family before, was sitting alone in one corner of the bookshelf.

“Wouldn’t it be fun?” The young Jade Dragon grinned. It was the brightest and most unadorned smile Sunbin had ever seen from him.

(Author’s words) Sudden fireworks.