Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 145

When the Lightning Strike of Punishment descended, even the Mountain Lord couldn’t help but be startled.

While he couldn’t definitively identify her, the appearance of the woman who followed immediately confirmed it.

“For you to be here… Could it be that you’re Blackie?”

The Mountain Lord stared at Guigui with disbelief, asking the question. Even though 400 years had passed, he couldn’t believe that Blackie had ascended to the Eternal Realm in such a short time.

And not only that.

Guigui had somehow secured a position among the Ten Seas Myriad Mountains, which was astonishing.

‘Blackie’s talent was extremely ordinary…’

Blackie’s talent was indeed ordinary.

When training in the Jinsu Myeonghwa [a specific martial art or cultivation technique] with the Mountain Lord, Hori always took more than twice as long, an undeniable fact.

“Who are you to speak as if you know me and Hongyeon?”

It seemed that both Hori and the Mountain Lord hadn’t recognized each other due to their transformed appearances after achieving Talhyeong [a state of transformation or enlightenment].

“Could you be the Mountain Lord?”

As expected of Hongyeon, or rather, Red Lotus.

Her intuition was quite sharp.

However, Hori sneered as if he were hearing nonsense.

“What nonsense are you spouting? That Great Tiger doesn’t have wings or horns. Or did he? Anyway, he definitely doesn’t have wings! Therefore, he can’t be the Great Tiger, no way!”

His tone was filled with such conviction.

It was absurd, but showing him would be faster than saying a few words.

The Mountain Lord immediately used Biwundungap [a transformation technique] to transform into a man.

“Would you believe it now? I thought the appearance was strangely familiar…”

He chuckled as he spoke, and Hori’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“R-Really, are you the Great Tiger?”

“Who else would it be, you idiot?”

“Really, really?”

“Yes.”

Hori, with a flushed face, rushed forward as if he couldn’t contain himself.

He immediately embraced the Mountain Lord.

“You bad guy! Where have you been all this time!”

The Mountain Lord was slightly taken aback but patted his back with a kind face.

“Things happened. Come to think of it, Aijeoksa disappeared.”

It seemed to have disappeared when he received the Heavenly Tribulation [a trial or test of power].

“Do you know how worried I was that you might have died! You nasty thing!”

Hori pounded the Mountain Lord’s chest with both fists. The Mountain Lord hugged the sobbing Hori and looked at Hongyeon.

“Is there a suitable place?”

A place where other spirits also reside.

It wasn’t a suitable place to reminisce.

“Of course. I will guide you.”

Hongyeon flashed the Lightning Strike of Punishment and flew across the sky.

The Mountain Lord watched it, then ordered Yuksa, who was looking dazed.

“Take the soul children of Eungmyeongcheonchung [a specific group or faction of spirits] with you.”

“Y-Yes, sir!!”

Soon, the Mountain Lord, holding Hori, disappeared in a streak of blue light.

The spirits in the plaza were dumbfounded, exchanging glances before resuming the auction.

However, no one paid any attention to the soul children of Eungmyeongcheonchung.

The two Yuksas sighed, gathered the girls, and hastened their steps towards Seoak Hwasan (西岳華山) [Mount Hua of the West] of the Red Sea.

* * *

In a high-rise pavilion at the top of Mount Hwa, there were people enjoying a drinking party with smiles on their faces.

They were Guigui, the master of the Red Sea.

And Hongyeon, who assisted him, was also at the drinking party.

“Great Tiger, you bastard! Tell me quickly!”

Hori, drunk and with flushed cheeks, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Tell you what?”

“You son of a bitch! I tried so hard to catch up to you, you know? My crotch almost tore, you know? Damn it, I’ve been cultivating for over a thousand years, thinking of flattening your nose, you who are still in the Youngmyeong realm even after becoming an Eternal Yuksa!”

“What are you talking about…”

He was rambling, seeming quite drunk.

When one achieves Talhyeong, they often take on the appearance of a child.

It was a process of gradually finding the appropriate body age for oneself, but seeing him drunk with such a young appearance wasn’t a pleasant sight.

“Master, it’s not a stork, it’s a crow-tit.”

“Whatever! Didn’t my crotch almost tear because of that bastard!”

Hori was becoming a drunkard, holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

He was crying and laughing all by himself, making a mess. But everyone was smiling because the Mountain Lord was alive.

“I’m sorry. He’s acting like this because he’s happy to be reunited with the Mountain Lord today, so please understand generously.”

“It’s alright. It can happen.”

“Mountain Lord, I can’t receive honorifics from my master’s friend. Please treat me comfortably as before.”

“Hmm… If you insist, I will.”

“You must have many questions, so I will answer everything I can.”

The Mountain Lord smiled bitterly and tilted his glass. The cool night air cooled his drunkenness as the pavilion’s windows were open.

And why did the crescent moon rising with the clouds look so poetic?

It seemed so because he met a welcome friend.

“Come to think of it, I was surprised. That Blackie was a fox. If I had known in advance, I wouldn’t have made you blush.”

He had been suspicious from the moment he took out Sacheol [a specific item or weapon] when they first competed.

Still, he had thought Blackie was a tiger, so he soon dismissed his suspicions.

“Please pretend you don’t know. My master wouldn’t want you to know he’s a fox more than anything.”

Everyone has a secret or two.

And he wasn’t particularly curious.

“But how did Hori become Guigui?”

That’s what he was curious about.

He could accept that he had risen to the Eternal Realm, but becoming Guigui was puzzling.

“It was my recommendation.”

“Was it because of the Hundred Ghost Night Tribulation?”

Then Hongyeon smiled slyly.

“Unlike the Mountain Lord, my master’s original talent was terrible.”

“So he became Guigui, was entrusted with the Red Sea, and ruled it…?”

“Entrusted? It was just passed on. The Red Sea is almost a dying land.”

A dying land?

Hwaran’s hand, which was pouring alcohol into the Mountain Lord’s glass, paused.

“About four hundred years ago, it suddenly became a sea of fire, and poisonous energy soared, killing many and causing them to leave the Red Sea.”

“It was because of the Chronic Poison Flame.”

“Since you know, the story will be faster. Because of him, the land itself is gradually becoming sick, so there’s nothing we can do.”

That’s one of the characteristics of Chronic Poison Flame.

Powerful fire and poison.

Since it’s a flame born from poison in the first place, how potent would its toxicity be?

The Mountain Lord knew it well because he had accepted the poison into his body.

An ordinary person would die in one breath, and even spirits wouldn’t be any different.

“His poisonous flames are gradually spreading, but there’s no suitable way to stop it.”

It seemed that the poison, coexisting with the fire, was spreading, devouring the vegetation.

“Can’t you just catch him?”

“If we could catch him, we wouldn’t be worried. To catch him, we have to enter the sea of fire in the north, but even an Eternal being would have a hard time enduring the heat and poison. Besides, how can we find a lump of fire that has gained spirituality in such a vast area?”

Come to think of it, that’s true.

It’s not like he’s going to lie down and tell us to catch him, so we have to search, but that wouldn’t be easy.

‘Since the Chronic Poison Flame was originally in my hands, it’s right for me to find it.’

At that point, the Mountain Lord had no choice but to stroke his chin and ponder.

However, when Hongyeon saw the Mountain Lord looking troubled, she changed her expression and changed the subject.

“I think I’ve given a precious person unnecessary worries. Rather than that, I want to hear the Mountain Lord’s story. I know you entered Geomryeongdo [a specific location or realm] and gained good fortune, but how did you grow wings?”

Then the Mountain Lord smiled bitterly.

“I wish I knew. I don’t know the details either.”

‘Perhaps the ancestor of the Gungbi Tiger was a Twin-Horned Tiger like me.’

He wondered if it was related to the Twin-Horned Tiger, but even that wasn’t certain.

If he had time, he would have to look for scriptures related to the Twin-Horned Tiger.

“Anyway, it’s truly a new feeling. It seems like only yesterday that you arrived at Mount Baek, covered in wounds.”

“Ah, that’s right. I remember it clearly because I had a hard time thanks to the Mountain Lord back then.”

Hwaran accepted Hongyeon’s words and was convinced on her own.

“Miss Ran also suffered a lot.”

“Yes? No. What did I do…”

“There’s no need to be humble. You’ve shed the aura of a ghost and become a Geomryeong [a spirit or entity associated with swords]. I have shallow knowledge of Geomryeong, but Miss Ran’s energy is not much different from that of the Eternal Realm!”

Ran declined Hongyeon’s words.

“What have I done? The Mountain Lord did everything. I just ate the food he fed me. Rather than me, Hong Yuksa is more amazing. He eventually made Blackie an Eternal Yuksa and made him take the seat of Guigui. Compared to that, I’m just a drop in the bucket, a drop in the ocean. The Mountain Lord is someone who can take care of himself.”

The women praised each other and exchanged words for a long time.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard I killed the revenge that Blackie was raising. Is that true?”

“It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about it? I owe you and Blackie a lot, so I’ll repay you with something else.”

He couldn’t just wipe his mouth clean since it was Hori’s, even if it was someone else’s.

Fortunately, there were many useful Tongsul [magical techniques] books and metals for the Golden Divine Power in Jichung’s Gongjeonggang [a specific location or item], so he would like it if he gave it to him.

“My master wouldn’t care about that. If you really want to, tame Hwaunbanhong [a specific creature or beast] and patrol the Red Sea with my master.”

“Patrol?”

“Yes, since you showed my master and the Mountain Lord fighting today, wouldn’t it be good to show a friendly appearance while touring the Red Sea? And just by having the energy of the Eternal Realm lingering around, the guys who do stupid things will disappear, so that should be enough.”

Indeed, the Guisu [a type of spirit or demon] are violent, so it would be good to scatter the energy of the Eternal Realm to prevent them from doing anything unnecessary.

Hongyeon was one of the few people the Mountain Lord could trust, and since he had forcibly brought Hwaunbanhong and the soul children of Eungmyeongcheonchung, he could do that much.

“But that alone wouldn’t make me feel comfortable. I’ll take some of the troublemakers who are making the north a sea of fire off your hands.”

“Yes?”

Hongyeon was startled.

Since she was always calm, it was somewhat refreshing to see her so surprised.

“Mountain Lord. Chronic Poison Flame is not an easy opponent. Of course, the Mountain Lord is a powerful Hwasintong Yuksa [a master of fire magic], but if you’re not careful, you could be poisoned by his poison. If you’re lucky, only the Hwaryeong [a fire spirit] will be damaged, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll be put to rest. Do you know that fact properly?”

“Haven’t you known me for a long time?”

Saying that, the Mountain Lord drank the glass at once and put it down with a thud.

At that sound, Blackie, who had been sleeping without thinking, raised his head with a dazed look and looked around.

“I’m not the type to say things carelessly without thinking.”

Saying that, the Mountain Lord got up from his seat and disappeared into the air.

[I can definitely handle it. I’m not confident, so don’t expect too much.]

Following behind him, Hwaran also bowed her head and disappeared.

Hongyeon smiled bitterly and supported Hori, who still couldn’t come to his senses.

“Enyaang…”

“Please come to your senses. The Mountain Lord has become so great, but why is my master still not mature?”

“Ah, I don’t know~”

Hongyeon’s sigh grew longer as she looked at Hori, who was still staggering as if he hadn’t woken up from his drunkenness.

* * *

The Mountain Lord, heading to the assigned room, was momentarily stunned to see the girls standing side by side next to the bed.

The girls were bound all over with red ropes.

They were only wearing thin veils, revealing their bare skin.

It seemed like they had misunderstood something.

“Master, can I eat the kids?”

“No.”

He said in one stroke, making her pout.

The Mountain Lord ignored Tamhwa and pondered what to do with these children.

“Are you going to start womanizing as soon as you reach the Eternal Realm? If you’re so horny, take your lust out on me! Sniffle.”

Hwaran pretended to cry, saying that’s why she made him a Geomryeonghwaya [a sword spirit].

Tamhwa seemed to find it so funny that she imitated it next to Hwaran.

The Mountain Lord’s sigh deepened.

Soon, he took out Gongjeonggang from his arms and took out Jangcheon and Manho. After briefly explaining the situation to them, he ordered Manho.

“Take these people and go to Mount Baek first. I will also return soon, so take this letter. Then they will let you in without suspicion.”

“Yes? Ah… I understand.”

“Why, do you hate it?”

“Ah, no! However, since this is the Red Sea and you’re going to Mount Baek, taking these children with you is a bit…”

“That’s true.”

The soul children’s realm is Doseon [a lower realm], so they will have to walk a long way.

Manho doesn’t have a Biseon [a flying vehicle] or a Dunbo [a magical item for transportation] to carry them all.

“Tamhwa. You’ll have to suffer. Manho will ride Tamhwa and take them to Mount Baek, and you will wait there too.”

“Yes, sir!!”

Manho’s group rode Tamhwa, who had turned into a centipede, and immediately set off.

“Why did you take those children in?”

It was Hwaran.

This time, she was not planning on playing around, and her tone was quite serious.

“You never know what will happen in the world, so those children might save my life. And it’s not like you can only heal by having an affair. And who knows, if they work hard at their cultivation, they might be able to use their divine powers and not die.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Rather than that, how is it?”

“What?”

“How does it feel to be back in Hwasan?”

It is now dominated by the Ten Seas Myriad Mountains, and Guigui, Hori, resides there.

However, 500 years ago, it was the Hwasan faction building where the Mountain Lord and Hwaran lived, so it couldn’t be that he didn’t have new feelings.

Hwaran looked around silently and hugged the Mountain Lord, saying.

“I’m scared.”

He didn’t ask why.

He just lent her his arms silently.

The two took out old memories and reminisced about those days all night long.

That night.

It was unusually warm.