Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 204

Tales of the Spirit Lancer – Episode 203

The scenery wasn’t particularly impressive.

In front of the simple thatched-roof house was a lake, and by the lake stood an old fishing rod.

It was a disappointing sight.

The scriptures obtained from the Hari Mountains had been absorbed into the ancient book, becoming a monument.

And after entering that monument, all that awaited was a lake and a thatched-roof house.

Anyone would be disappointed.

It was a bizarre scene, with only a thatched-roof house and a large lake standing alone in a white space.

Hoping for something more, he went inside the thatched-roof house, but it was empty.

“What the hell is this?”

Leaving behind his unsettled feelings, he saw the sparkling, clear lake. Perhaps it was because of his emptiness.

As if drawn by an unseen force, San-gun sat on a chair and picked up the fishing rod.

“Fishing… is it fishing?”

All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.

“But still, to create only a thatched-roof house and a lake in this secret space… and a fishing rod, that’s all? Or is there more to it?”

Then, Hwa-ran appeared, embracing his neck, her hair now a dark blue.

“It is a bit strange. What about that fishing rod? It doesn’t seem ordinary.”

“It’s nothing special. It’s just a treasure-grade fishing rod, a bit sturdier than usual.”

As if to show off, he swung the fishing rod, and it bent like a crescent moon, as if the hook was caught on the bottom of the lake.

“This is ridiculous.”

He spat out his annoyance and applied more force, bending it like a bow. He considered just breaking it, but even with all his strength, the fishing rod was surprisingly sturdy, as were the line and hook.

“Are you making fun of me?”

Creak.

He applied even more force and pulled up the fishing rod, and finally, there was a scraping sound as something began to move.

Drag, drag!

He thought he was almost there and gave it one last burst of strength.

Clunk!

With a sound like a mechanism engaging, a change began to occur.

Rumble!!

“What did you do?”

“I pulled the fishing rod….”

Then the lake began to swirl.

The water gradually receded as if a deep hole had been created, revealing the bottom.

In a daze, San-gun jumped up and flew to the center of the lake, slowly descending.

The lake water quickly disappeared, revealing a huge pit that seemed to welcome him.

“It seems the fishing rod was connected to a mechanism. There’s a handle and fishing line connected on this side.”

On one side of the lake bottom, a mechanism was installed, with a handle and fishing line tied to it.

“That’s why it was so heavy.”

Whatever the reason, it wasn’t bad.

No, rather, a strange anticipation began to rise.

With a smiling face, he descended leisurely, feeling a strange warmth emanating from the seemingly bottomless pit.

It was a strangely familiar energy.

However, San-gun’s face couldn’t help but frown.

“No way….”

Even though he thought it couldn’t be, there was no doubt about this familiar energy. San-gun immediately transformed into a blue streak of light and began to descend.

No matter how much he amplified his *遁術* [Dunjutsu: a technique for swift escape or movement], the bottom was not visible, indicating how deep it was.

With a sense of unease, San-gun bit his lower lip and took out his two wings, shooting down like an arrow.

How long had passed since then?

Bang, bang, bang!!

With the sound of tearing air, his wings fluttered, and his figure stopped.

San-gun, who had stopped, was looking at something as if he couldn’t believe it.

San-gun’s surroundings had turned into a sea of fire, and he couldn’t help but be surprised by the unique color of the fire.

“San-gun, this is….”

“It seems so.”

San-gun said, looking at the huge feather in the blue sea of fire.

“It’s a feather of the Bongak Cheonsujo [Bongak Cheonsujo: a mythical phoenix].”

* * *

Geumhwan Seonhyang.

The southern side of the *Jangseung* [Jangseung: Korean totem pole] at the crossroads.
The Yeomcheon Jangseung that rose on the road of Yeomcheon Simun.

His eyes flashed open.

The face of the Jangseung, which always maintained a blank expression, changed bizarrely.

It was an ambiguous face, seeming to be happy and sad at the same time.

[Why are you like that?]

[I must go first.]

[What? Su, surely!!]

Whoo-oong!

Soon, a brilliant light spread from the Jangseung’s body, and his wooden body shattered into pieces.

The other Jangseung looked at him with a mixture of surprise and envy.

[Hehe… I guess words do come true. To think you would be the first to be liberated… I’m bittersweet about it.]

[Why wouldn’t I be? I’ll be saying goodbye to this tiresome place now.]

[It’s a shame, but a promise is a promise, Yeomcheon. May you take us all in.]

With a faint vibration, the space rippled, and various waves spread out.

The Yeomcheon Jangseung, who had been scattering ashes like burning firewood, instantly turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared like the wind.

* * *

It was a huge feather.

It was a graceful and elegant feather, but there was a trace of being cut off somewhere.

‘Why is the Bongak Cheonsujo’s feather here….’

It was a mystery.

Could this also be fate?

The Bongak Cheonghwa [Bongak Cheonghwa: a divine blue fire] is now an inseparable divine power, and it can be seen as one of the divine powers that brought San-gun here.

If he hadn’t grown by embodying the Bongak Cheonghwa, he wouldn’t have been able to come this far.

It was such a grateful divine power, but he never thought he would reunite with it again.

‘I vaguely thought I might see it once I headed to the Immortal Realm….’

It was faster than expected.

Even if it was just a feather!

“This is a more precious opportunity than anything else to me.”

More than anything else.

The Bongak Cheonghwa that San-gun originally possessed was the flame left by the Bongak Cheonsujo.

San-gun had nurtured and grown that remnant to make it this intense.

But now that he had obtained the feather of the Bongak Cheonsujo, he felt full just thinking about it, and he felt like he had the whole world.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course, I’m so happy that I want to go into seclusion right now. It’s not just Bongak Cheonghwa, but I have no idea how powerful the flame inherent in the feather of the Bongak Cheonsujo will be.

It’s truly a divine beast’s feather and flame, so I’m worried about whether I can digest it all.”

But he didn’t sound worried at all, grinning from ear to ear.

Hwa-ran smiled involuntarily at his childlike appearance.

“Shall we take it? I hope this guy comes into my hands willingly.”

He quickly formed hand seals and opened his mouth, and the *Hwaryeong* [Hwaryeong: a fire spirit], who looked just like him, simultaneously spewed out Bongak Cheonghwa.

As the feather met San-gun’s Bongak Cheonghwa, it spun around and trembled.

It was a divine beast’s feather.

To a phoenix, a feather is like a part of its body. How could he not feel good when it didn’t reject his flame? San-gun even wanted to dance.

As he gained confidence, he also gained speed.

He spewed out the flame more boldly and quickly flicked his fingers to shoot out *법결* [Beopgyeol: magic seals].

The feather soon responded, lightly spewing out Bongak Cheonghwa, but the fire was so intense that even San-gun felt suffocated, and his skin felt like it was burning.

‘Just a moment of spewing it out is this much…!’

It was a truly amazing fire.

It was the flame contained in just one feather.

Even though it was a feather with no intact parts, it was truly amazing that it contained such a powerful flame.

If he could properly absorb this, he was confident that no one in the Lower Realm would dare to threaten him.

“San-gun!!”

But that was then.

The feather’s reaction was unusual.

Suddenly, it began to emit a strong light.

Before he could even grasp the situation.

San-gun was startled and looked up at the sky, and something was coming down here at an extremely fast speed.

‘Who on earth….’

It wasn’t Gugwi or Sibgwi [Gugwi and Sibgwi: powerful entities].

It wasn’t their energy.

It was an energy that was barely perceptible.

He didn’t know what it was, but San-gun wasn’t going to let it go.

“I’ll burn you.”

He didn’t know who it was, but it was a guy crawling into this fire pit.

It was just right to show him how special the taste of Bongak Cheonghwa’s fire was.

San-gun’s hand moved like a wave.

The Bongak Cheonghwa that was overflowing around him reacted to it and rose up, soaring into the sky like a dragon.

It was as fast as lightning, and the heat would burn everything.

It was shot as if to pierce the sky with the momentum of a blue dragon.

“What….”

But how could this be?

The something lightly passed through the Bongak Cheonghwa and fell onto the feather.

Flash!!

A dazzling light was emitted, and a pillar of light rose high from the pit.

-There is no need to be afraid. Rather, I am an existence that needs your help.

He flinched!

San-gun was about to pull back, but the faint telepathic message that was heard for a moment stopped him.

“……….”

Soon, the pillar of light disappeared, and San-gun, standing with a dazed expression, met the eyes of a young boy in front of him.

“Is that true?”

“It’s true. I am the owner of the feather trapped here, and at the same time, I am the *분혼* [Bunhon: a divided soul] of the feather that came out of the main body.”

“분혼?”

If it’s a feather, it’s a feather, but what is a feather’s *분혼*?

“To explain that, there are many things to explain beforehand. Is that okay?”

He didn’t have much time, but he had enough time to listen to that much.

‘I don’t feel any murderous intent. Rather….’

It was strangely friendly.

“…Please be brief.”

San-gun, who would have been suspicious, unknowingly relaxed.

Soon, the boy’s story began, and he listened silently. The story, which he thought would be difficult and long, was surprisingly concise and simple.

He was a phoenix feather.

For some reason, he fell from the main body, and when he came to his senses, he was trapped here and divided into four.

‘The shape of the feather is strange….’

They were divided into four, but over time, they gradually regained their strength, and as a result, they were even able to possess the *Jangseung* standing at the crossroads, wandering around various places with only their souls.

“We made one promise at that time. The first one to be liberated would take in the remaining *분혼* and become the main body or head to the main body.”

“Are you saying you don’t even know if the main body is alive or dead?”

“That’s right. We were originally the feathers of the main body. We don’t know what happened after we fell from the main body. We can’t even sense it. Perhaps the main body is not in a good situation either….”

“Hmm… So you’re saying you want me to help you gather the other *분혼*.”

“That’s right. Can you do it?”

The boy’s expressionless face was unsettling.

Besides, he was preoccupied with the thought of absorbing the Bongak Cheonghwa, but he felt like he had been robbed in an instant.

‘Is my relationship with the phoenix still going on?’

He always had a grateful heart for the phoenix, but when the *분혼* appeared in front of him, even if it wasn’t the main body, that feeling disappeared.

Perhaps it was because the Bongak Cheonghwa he was going to get had disappeared, or perhaps it was because of the *분혼* that had suddenly fallen.

However, the important fact was that the feather’s *분혼* wanted his help.

“It’s not difficult to help.”

One way or another, he had received help from the Bongak Cheonghwa quite a bit, so if it wasn’t trying to harm him, he could help enough.

But as the world goes, there is no such thing as a free favor.

“Only if the price is sufficient.”

“Are you trying to make a deal with me now?”

“Of course! Did you think I would help you without any compensation?”

No way.

He didn’t know what dangers he would have to face to find his feathers, which were divided into east, west, south, and north.

“Even now, if it weren’t for the scriptures I accidentally obtained in Dongguk, I wouldn’t have been able to enter this place.”

“Let alone find other feathers.”

“Putting aside whether it’s possible or not, it’s not easy or safe, so I can’t listen to you without compensation.”

“There is no coincidence. There is only inevitability.”

He was saying something nonsensical.

“Anyway, I can’t do it without compensation.”

As he shook his hand, the boy smiled faintly and said with a wistful face.

“I’ve already received the price.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t received anything?”

“I’ve already received it.”

“Since I’ll be with you for a while, it’s the same as having the knowledge and wisdom I possess.”

“What is that….”

“And didn’t I say it before?”

“What?”

“I said I’ve been wandering around Bidong here and there with my soul.”

In other words.

“I know where all the treasures that the ascetics are longing for are. I don’t know what treasures you’re looking for, but they’re all in the palm of my hand.”

Startled, San-gun raised the corners of his mouth and gave a bitter smile.