Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 247

Tales of a Wandering Swordsman – 246

The Next Day.

Waking up, San-gun smiled wryly as he realized he had been letting her use his arm as a pillow.

Her face was gaunt, as if she had been suffering a lot lately.

He gently brushed back her disheveled hair, and she smiled faintly, trying to snuggle closer into his embrace.

“Are you awake?”

“No, I’m not.”

She grinned and replied, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Then sleep more.”

As he said this and tried to get up, Cho-ah used her strength to push him back down.

“You’re not fully recovered. Where are you trying to go? You should rest more.”

She opened her eyes wide and scolded him as he tried to move.

“You’ve been lying down for a whole year. You need to rest a little more.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly.

Her firm determination not to let him move was evident.

San-gun looked at Cho-ah, who was lying next to him, their noses almost touching, and said,

“You only act like a child in front of me. You’re practically an old woman who’s hundreds of years old.”

Cho-ah’s brow furrowed instantly, and her cheeks puffed up.

“Isn’t that a terrible thing to say to your one and only virtuous wife?”

“Do virtuous wives these days prevent their husbands from even getting out of bed?”

“I’ll stop you no matter what you say. Today, your goal is to laze around with me!”

San-gun burst out laughing at her endlessly serious tone.

“Why, why are you laughing! I’m not kidding!”

She exclaimed, flustered, then climbed on top of San-gun and hugged him tightly, as if to prove she was serious.

“I’m going to stay like this all day, so don’t even think about going out.”

“Geez…”

He wore an exasperated expression, but he didn’t dislike it.

What man would dislike his wife, who always turned into a child in front of him, clinging to him like this?

San-gun patted his wife’s back as if giving in, and hugged her back.

She hummed a cheerful tune, ready to enjoy a happy moment.

“I can’t.”

“Huh?”

He lifted his head at his apologetic words.

San-gun got up and sat her on the bedside. Then, he raised his hand and grabbed at the air, and a talisman appeared in his hand.

It was a message talisman that Cho-ah hadn’t even noticed.

Judging by the fact that the message talisman was sent secretly, it must have been partly to test his skills.

Probably one of the Earth Immortals.

Among them, the one called the Great Master of Escape here.

It must have been sent by Hwan-mang.

“I’ve been in his care for a year, so I should at least pay my respects.”

San-gun examined the message talisman and was about to burn it when he paused.

‘I see.’

Having mastered the Supreme Yang Divine Art of the Great Sky, San-gun had a condensed fire bead called Hwajeong [Fire Stabilization] within his body, which had advanced his fire divine power by several stages.

Naturally, it was not a fire divine power that a Six Arts Master of the Eternal would use.

He immediately burned the message talisman with purple lightning and got up.

“What are you doing? We need to greet the host, so get ready and come.”

“Yes? Me too?”

“Do I have another wife here?”

“Ah… O-Okay, I’ll get ready right away!”

Whether she was absent-minded or because she had never thought about going to greet someone as a couple, she looked like she hadn’t even considered it.

‘I guess so.’

Most of the time, they had only been cultivating together or spending brief moments together, so they hadn’t really done anything that could be called being a couple.

“We should do things like a couple now.”

The enemies who directly threatened San-gun were either dead or gone, and there were not many who could threaten him in the Lower World.

Now that he had a little peace of mind, spending time with her while cultivating wouldn’t be bad.

As he was thinking this, Cho-ah approached, having finished getting ready.

“Let’s go.”

Her snow-white hair was neatly tied up in a topknot with a hairpin, and the snow-white palace dress was as beautiful as her hair color. The white palace dress, decorated with gold and red, enhanced her beauty and elegance.

“Oh my. Are you going to go like that?”

“What about me?”

Come to think of it, he had only told her to get ready, but he hadn’t done anything himself.

Unable to watch any longer, she took out San-gun’s robe and straightened it, then combed his hair and tied it back up, making him look much neater.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes, let’s go now.”

Anyone would think they were going on a flower viewing.

San-gun wondered if he should really be doing this, but he didn’t say anything, seeing her somehow excited face.

The thought of greeting someone as a couple seemed to make her very happy.

As they went outside the residence, a masked child attendant was there to greet them.

‘This place is all about masks, huh.’

Memories of the past instantly came to mind.

The battle at Goseon and the masked Taoists who died because of it.

And.

The mastermind behind it all.

‘I’m curious.’

Whether it was still well-sealed.

Or whether it had been destroyed.

“It is an honor to serve the Immortal. May I guide you to the Great Master now?”

“Do so.”

The attendant was about to take out a flying treasure at the edge of the cliff, but San-gun stopped him.

“Why are you doing this?”

“We’ll go on mine.”

San-gun waved his sleeve, and something spun around inside it and transformed into a huge object.

The triangular object, about thirty yards long, emitted clouds of fire as soon as it appeared, revealing itself to be Hwaunbanhong, one of San-gun’s familiars.

Koo-oong!

As if excited to be outside after a long time, it flapped its fins and circled around San-gun’s head. The attendant was startled by the familiar’s aura, which was on par with his own, but soon his eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Lead the way.”

“A-Ah, yes, sir!”

The attendant led the way to a peak that was surprisingly empty. It was the highest peak in Talmyeong Mountain, but there was nothing special about it.

It was just an ordinary peak with a few rocks and trees.

As they got off Hwaunbanhong and walked up the path, they saw Hwan-mang sitting on a suitable rock in the middle.

“You’ve come.”

Jang-cheon, a familiar face, was also with him.

San-gun exchanged a look with him, then bowed to Hwan-mang and expressed his gratitude.

“I am in your debt.”

It was for healing him.

“There’s no need to mention the debt. It was the Deputy Chief’s will to save you, and it was a man called Wan-gyeong Seonsa who helped the Deputy Chief, so if you’re going to express your gratitude, do it to him.”

“But wasn’t it Hwan-mang who allowed it? And there’s more than just this that I need to thank you for.”

“What are you talking about?”

Before, when he was placed in the main formation of the Divine Sword Union and became one with his senior brothers, San-gun’s inner demon had flared up and he had been in danger.

If he had been careless, he might have been swallowed by the inner demon and lost himself, but he had overcome the crisis thanks to the restriction that Hwan-mang had placed on him.

He couldn’t deny that he had received help, so there was no way he wouldn’t be grateful.

But Hwan-mang seemed displeased and threw out a meaningful question.

“When I saw you appear on Talmyeong Mountain, dying, I was deeply troubled.

Whether to save you or leave you. Or…”

“Whether to kill me?”

“That’s right.”

Cho-ah’s face turned cold.

“What is the reason?”

“The first is that you broke your promise.”

“Are you talking about the promise not to set foot in Goseon?”

Come to think of it, that was right.

Hwan-mang had asked him three things.

To retrieve the Myriad Poison Flame.

Never to set foot in Goseon again.

To stab his woman.

Two were requests and concerns, but the other was a warning.

“Although there were unavoidable circumstances, it is true that you broke your promise with me.”

Whoosh. A cold wind swept past San-gun and Cho-ah.

“But you didn’t.”

But even so, Hwan-mang did not abandon San-gun.

“I couldn’t possibly kill the sworn brother of the disciple who will succeed the Great Master of Escape soon.”

Sworn brother? He glanced at Jang-cheon, who just smiled awkwardly. He seemed to understand roughly.

“Let me be clear. I don’t like you. You’re bound to bring blood with you, so wouldn’t that be natural?”

“You said that before.”

“I wasn’t wrong. I heard about your story through occasional news.

Not only did you annihilate the Thunder Immortal of the East and his sect, but you also became a member of the Ten Seas Myriad Feet and received the seat of the Six Devils? Didn’t you commit so much slaughter that the blood flowing from your hands became a river and an ocean?”

“It was an unavoidable measure. It is the fate of those who belong to the Taoist world to be killed if they don’t kill.”

San-gun felt a little wronged.

Hwan-mang said that he brought blood with him, but San-gun didn’t think so.

That’s because he was mostly caught up in those who were after him.

“I came here today to express my gratitude.”

“I have no intention of receiving that gratitude.”

Seeing his evasive attitude, even he couldn’t help but get a little heated.

San-gun’s gaze grew colder and he began to unleash his energy.

“That’s a tremendous killing intent. I can’t even fathom how many lives you’ve taken.”

Hwan-mang, who had criticized him, tapped the ground with the staff he was holding.

Koo-oong-!

Everything began to turn gray in a circle from the end of the staff.

It was a divine power with a sinister impression.

Cho-ah recognized at a glance that it was no ordinary divine power and took a step back, but San-gun embraced her.

“It’s okay.”

Thud.

The gray space that was spreading rapidly vanished as San-gun took a step forward, turning into blue mist and scattering in the wind. Hwan-mang’s gaze sharpened at the sight. He was surprised that his divine power had been so easily nullified.

‘…Did he reach this level in less than a thousand years?’

When he first saw him, he was just a Six Arts Master belonging to the Spirit Connection Realm.

But now, even in his weakened state, he was standing shoulder to shoulder with him, which was quite impressive.

“…Do you know?”

“Know what?”

“The fact that your existence is bringing blood even to Talmyeong Mountain.”

Hwan-mang looked at San-gun’s bracelet.

“So how can I welcome your existence?”

It was a warning in its own way.

But San-gun smirked.

“Those who covet what belongs to others are at fault, not me.”

“That’s not wrong, but it’s also true that you’re always at the center of the bloodbath.”

San-gun frowned.

He couldn’t find any meaning in his conversation with him, which was going around in circles.

“What do you want?”

“What I want? I don’t want anything. What would someone preparing for ascension want?”

His expression remained unchanged, showing his depth.

“At the very least, I urge you not to spread the smell of blood here.”

San-gun stared at Hwan-mang for a long time before turning his back.

Hwan-mang moved his lips and sent a telepathic message to San-gun, who paused, then turned into a wisp of smoke with Cho-ah and disappeared.

San-gun and his wife disappeared.

“You don’t have to worry.”

“What do you mean?”

“His divine power is stronger than mine. Even though his energy is greatly weakened now, seeing him easily block my divine power, I don’t think the things you’re worried about will happen.”

Furthermore.

“The Baek San Sect won’t have to worry about the things you’re worried about either.”

“…Did you know?”

“Stop doing useless things and focus on your cultivation. When I ascend, you will have to protect Goseon.”

“I understand.”

Jang-cheon smiled bitterly, thinking about his friend who had gone too far ahead.

* * *

A sudden cloud of fire settled above Talmyeong Mountain, creating a rare spectacle.

“Are you bothered by it?”

Sitting on Hwaunbanhong and flying around Talmyeong Mountain, San-gun was thinking about what Hwan-mang had said.

“Are you angry?”

Even Cho-ah, who had heard it with him, was upset by Hwan-mang’s words.

There was no way San-gun wouldn’t be angry.

“No. I’m not angry.”

But San-gun wasn’t angry at all.

At first glance, it seemed like he was just spouting annoying words, but the true meaning wasn’t like that.

“Although his tone wasn’t good, he was just warning me that someone was after the Tamhwa. And he was also warning me about the killing intent that grows stronger as I accumulate more bloodshed.”

Didn’t they say you give one more rice cake to the person you hate? The feeling that Hwan-mang had towards San-gun seemed to be a bit like that.

“And…”

Hwan-mang had also said this in a telepathic message at the end.

-You can’t even pull out the sword stuck in your back, so how can you fight to the death?

San-gun slightly loosened his robe and looked at his unhealed sword wound.

When he unfolded the Danryeong Geumjeong [a specific type of sword technique or manual, contextually], what he saw was.

A faint image of a sword.

“It seems like he’s worried about me in his own way.”