Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 173

Once the flames disappeared, the Ohsaekmun father and son relaxed a little. They had been afraid that Han Li was so angry he would kill them without even listening to Moon Ok-ju’s explanation.

They knew the terror of cultivators better than any ordinary person, so they didn’t even dare to think of resisting.

Moon Ok-ju, also relieved, gathered her thoughts and began to speak.

“Cultivator Han, I thank you for coming all this way to avenge the Moon family on behalf of my father. But why do you seek revenge on my husband? My father and husband never killed a single member of the Moon family; they were merely following orders from above. As a cultivator, you must know better than I who was giving those orders.”

Han Li was a little taken aback by Moon Ok-ju’s words. As she said, he couldn’t possibly not know who was pulling the strings behind Ohsaekmun. If he were to find the real culprit behind the Moon family’s downfall, he should naturally seek revenge on the Youngsoo Mountain cultivators.

However, with Han Li’s current strength, how could he provoke an entire sect? Moreover, his connection with the Moon family wasn’t so deep that it would lead him to create such a powerful enemy. He was only acting on behalf of Moon Bong-mu out of old friendship!

In truth, regardless of who the root cause was, it was a fact that Ohsaekmun was involved in the Moon family’s destruction. But since Moon Ok-ju appeared as a member of that enemy family, it could only be said that fate was playing tricks.

Since the Moon family members had differing opinions, he no longer had a reason to insist on revenge. After considering this for a moment, Han Li relaxed his expression and spoke gently.

“What you say makes sense, but it’s clear that they helped destroy the Moon family, so they wouldn’t be wronged if they died now. Besides, as soon as I revealed my connection to the Moon family, they tried to kill me, so I can’t believe they had no intention of destroying the Moon family.”

At this point, Han Li’s face turned cold again, and the Ohsaekmun father and son trembled with fear.

“However, since your family is involved and the Moon sisters have different opinions, I can’t just force the issue. It would be best if you sisters resolved this matter, so try to persuade Bong-mu.”

After speaking, Han Li moved his lips slightly and conveyed the whereabouts of Moon Bong-mu and Moon Chae-hwan to her alone through telepathy.

The Ohsaekmun father and son breathed a sigh of relief that the cultivator had given up on killing them.

The Ohsaekmun patriarch even tried to approach Han Li with a smile, but he couldn’t take a single step forward due to Han Li’s cold gaze.

“I don’t know what you did to make her your daughter-in-law, but you better treat her very well from now on. Otherwise…”

Han Li’s words contained a clear warning.

“Cultivator Han, you’ve misunderstood. I…”

Moon Ok-ju hurriedly tried to make excuses on behalf of her family, but the old man interrupted her.

“Immortal Master, please rest assured. I will make sure my son takes good care of Ok-ju and never neglects her.”

The Ohsaekmun patriarch was quick-witted and said what Han Li wanted to hear. Only then did Han Li nod in satisfaction.

Moon Ok-ju, moved by his intention, hesitated for a moment, then steeled her heart and handed her deeply sleeping daughter to him.

“Cultivator Han, I know you are cultivating the path of immortals, so please hold our Young-seo once. It would be good if she received your good energy.”

Han Li, who was briefly surprised by her words, soon smiled and accepted Young-seo, examining her closely.

Her innocent face, with clear features and jade-like skin, already resembled the future Moon Ok-ju.

Han Li suppressed the urge to pinch the child’s white cheeks and cleared his throat, taking out a jade pendant from his storage pouch. After carefully placing the pure white jade pendant in the child’s arms, he returned Young-seo to her mother.

“The Spirit Communication Jade isn’t a great treasure, but it will protect her from the cold in winter, the heat in summer, and insects, so keep it as a memento.”

After many battles, he had collected quite a few rare and precious items besides magical artifacts and talismans, and the Spirit Communication Jade was one of them.

Han Li suddenly turned his head towards the Ohsaekmun patriarch.

“The people of Youngsoo Mountain must not find out about what happened tonight. Your family’s lips aren’t so loose, are they?”

The startled old man humbly assured him that it would never happen. Han Li stared intently at him, causing cold sweat to form on the old man’s face, and then suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

While the old man was still shocked, he felt someone lightly tap his shoulder and slowly turned his head. Han Li was standing behind him with a blank expression.

“If you have any other instructions, I will do my best to fulfill them.”

The Ohsaekmun patriarch forced a smile, feeling uneasy.

“Instructions? No, I just wanted to say hello.”

‘Hello?’

The old man couldn’t understand Han Li’s intentions from his calm expression. However, he soon seemed to realize something and immediately checked his body using his inner energy, but found nothing unusual.

At this moment, Han Li, who had silently boarded the Swift Wind Boat, floated in the air, looked down at the old man and the young man with a sneer, and then turned into a white light and disappeared into the sky.

Now, only the bewildered Ohsaekmun patriarch and son, and the conflicted Moon Ok-ju, remained in the room.

As Han Li rode the magical artifact, cutting through the wind, the corners of his mouth unknowingly turned up. Just now, the Ohsaekmun patriarch had promised not to tell the people of Youngsoo Mountain about what happened tonight, but he couldn’t believe those words at all.

Even if they were ordinary people, those with sharp minds needed to be kept in check. So, just now, he had secretly planted a Heart-Piercing Worm on the old man’s back when he tapped him.

This worm was very unique, with a body as thin as a hair, making it difficult to see with the naked eye.

It could only be detected by a cultivator’s consciousness. Once inside the body, it would travel through the bloodstream and begin to wriggle near the heart.

In a year or two, the person would gradually start to feel pain in their heart and be unable to sleep soundly at night. Later, the symptoms would worsen, and after several months, they would die of a heart attack.

Outwardly, there would be no difference from a normal heart disease, and even if a cultivator who didn’t know the truth examined them, they would likely not find anything unusual.

Since a lot of time would have passed, no one would connect Han Li’s visit today with the old man’s death.

He had taken this strange worm from one of the demonic disciples he had dealt with. At first, he didn’t know what it was, but after asking several people, he finally found out.

In this way, he had kept his promise to Moon Bong-mu without becoming the bad guy to Moon Ok-ju. Even if the other party reported what happened tonight, he wouldn’t be too bothered.

After all, he hadn’t touched them at all, so the people of Youngsoo Mountain wouldn’t bother him over such a small matter.

However, the second son of the Ohsaekmun patriarch seemed like a decent person, and he hoped that he would get along well with Moon Ok-ju in the future.

Han Li thought this as he steered the Swift Wind Boat towards the west of Gawon City.

He intended to immediately resolve the strange changes in Gokhun. He didn’t know the cause of Gokhun’s transformation, but he couldn’t leave it as it was.

About a hundred miles west of Gawon City, there was a high mountain densely covered with trees, where poisonous insects and fierce beasts often appeared, so people avoided it. Perhaps that was why Gokhun had hidden himself there.

Han Li floated in the air, looking down at the dark mountainside without a word.

After a while, he took out the Soul-Guiding Bell from his storage pouch. As he slowly injected spiritual power, the Soul-Guiding Bell emitted a faint white light and floated up.

“Go!”

Han Li formed a hand seal and sent the small bell flying. The Soul-Guiding Bell trembled slightly and then sped towards somewhere in the mountains with a clear sound.

Han Li, riding the Swift Wind Boat, followed closely behind.

The Soul-Guiding Bell was a magical artifact refined with Gokhun’s essence, so it could quickly locate Gokhun’s position. Judging by how quickly it was reacting, Gokhun was definitely hiding in this mountain.

The bell, which had been moving to avoid the trees, gradually slowed down and descended. Han Li realized that his target was near and touched the bell, enveloping it in a blue light.

According to Son I-gu, Gokhun would run away in response to the Soul-Guiding Bell, so he had hidden his aura first.

Having arrived at a small mountain peak, Han Li looked around.

Although it was the middle of the night and there was no light, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could vaguely make out his surroundings. Han Li, having found the pile of rocks where the Soul-Guiding Bell had landed, immediately approached it.

He moved like a ghost, without a sound, so even though he had found Gokhun, the other party was completely unaware and was sitting cross-legged. Sitting on a large rock with his eyes closed, he looked like a cultivator practicing his breathing techniques.

Han Li, hiding behind a rock and carefully observing Gokhun, was greatly surprised. He could feel spiritual power emanating from Gokhun’s body, and it was a fluctuation that was probably at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Condensation [the initial stage of cultivation].

Han Li clearly remembered that his friend Jang Cheol had not been able to cultivate the Evergreen Technique, so he shouldn’t have had a spiritual root [a person’s innate ability to cultivate].

‘Wait! Not being able to learn the Evergreen Technique only means that he didn’t have a wood-attribute spiritual root. Then, could it be that Jang Cheol had a spiritual root of another attribute?’

Only then did Han Li realize the shocking truth and was lost in thought.

‘Such a thing! To think that two ordinary people with spiritual roots, which are said to be one in ten thousand, were under Master Moon’s tutelage.’

It was an unbelievable fact.

‘What a pity. Just because the attributes of our spiritual roots were different, our fates have become so different! If I hadn’t happened to have a wood-attribute spiritual root, I would have…’

As his thoughts reached this point, he even felt a little scared.

‘But how did Gokhun learn the basic cultivation techniques and accumulate spiritual power? Could it be!’

As if he had a bad feeling, Han Li frowned and emitted a cold aura from his eyes. However, he still had no intention of revealing himself and continued to observe Gokhun silently.

After a while, Gokhun opened his eyes, got up, and began to stretch. There was a vitality in his eyes, as if he was really thinking. However, Han Li didn’t rejoice but hardened his face and began to subtly reveal his killing intent.

“Good! If I just stay like this a little longer, I won’t have to fear even the ordinary people who have magical artifacts that bind me.”

Gokhun muttered, seemingly in a very good mood. However, a cold voice ruined the atmosphere next to the joyful Gokhun.

“It seems you’ve become quite fond of that body?”

“Who is it!”

Gokhun’s expression changed drastically, and he looked towards the source of the voice, revealing his wariness. Han Li, who walked out from behind the rock with a blank expression, had a face as cold as ice.

“Who are you! …A, a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

Gokhun shouted boldly, but soon became terrified after realizing Han Li’s cultivation.

“That’s what I want to ask. Who are you to be occupying that body? I entrusted the body of my friend to my subordinates to take care of, but if you’ve been using it for several years without permission, you should at least give me an explanation.”

“Is this body yours?”

Gokhun asked, half in doubt, rolling his eyes as if he was thinking of something.

Han Li, sneering at the sight, immediately raised the Soul-Guiding Bell, which was enveloped in blue light.

“What are you trying to do!”

Gokhun jumped up like a startled rabbit when he saw it.

He had sensed the existence of the Soul-Guiding Bell, but he didn’t know exactly what effect it had. He had only instinctively sensed that the magical artifact was created to bind his body and had been wary of it.

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