Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 360

Nangseon Gi Hwan Dam – Part 2, Chapter 69

Thump!

“What’s all the commotion?”

The head of the Paeng Clan.

Paeng Jong-yeon spoke from his study, looking outside.

It sounded like something big had fallen. So early in the morning.

Such a commotion was unusual. Paeng Jong-yeon’s face hardened as he quickly used his divine sense.

Stepping outside, having folded space [a technique for instantaneous travel], he saw a house-sized red wolf collapsed, and beside it, his daughter.

Paeng Ga-yeon was there.

“Go… Gong-yeon!”

Paeng Jong-yeon rushed over, utterly dismayed.

He recognized the fallen wolf as his brother, Paeng Gong-yeon, at a glance.

And he realized.

That his brother was dead.

“Gong-yeon, why are you like this? Get up! It’s still cold. You’ll hurt yourself, get up quickly, Gong-yeon!”

But the dead do not speak.

“Who did this?”

Paeng Jong-yeon asked Ga-yeon with a heart shedding tears of blood.

“He died in battle over the Hu Clan’s treasures.”

Though she said ‘died in battle,’ it was no different from being harmed while coveting another’s treasures.

“Who was it? Which family took the Twin Annihilation Blades!”

“They were originally in the hands of the Head Instructor of the Martial Arts Hall. My uncle died fighting the Head Instructor.”

But Paeng Jong-yeon could not believe it.

“Nonsense! You’re saying a Superior Immortal killed a Fragrant Immortal? Do you even know what you’re saying!”

“But it is the truth.”

Paeng Jong-yeon was speechless at his daughter’s cold reply.

“Gong-yeon even took the Earth Tortoise Dragon I gave him. He said he would annihilate the Hu Clan with the Paeng Clan’s Superior Immortals and bring back the Twin Annihilation Blades…”

Why was it that only a cold corpse had returned to him?

Paeng Jong-yeon stroked his brother’s head with trembling hands.

“Father, why did Uncle aim for the Hu Clan’s Twin Annihilation Blades?”

“The Hu Clan’s destruction was inevitable… It is only right that the treasures of a clan facing annihilation find a new owner. Even if we have become one of the Five Great Clans, we are still lacking. It is because we do not have a Primordial Immortal Grandmaster.”

They were different from the Woo Clan, the Mi Clan, and the Ji Clan. The Paeng Clan might also face annihilation and be brought down at any time.

“Could it be that the Gon Clan was also our doing?”

She asked as if hoping it wasn’t true, but the response was not a denial.

“Ga-yeon, the Paeng Clan is still weak. From the beginning, we were a collateral branch. That was our nature. We were always a bloodline that had to serve someone! You know this too, don’t you? You, who inherited the blood of the Crimson Thunder Lord!”

That was why the Paeng Clan no longer served a master.

Serving alone could not prevent the clan’s peril.

So, the previous clan heads decided to sever the Paeng Clan’s traditions.

“You know what they did to us. They used their authority as one of the Five Great Clans to despise and mock us as inferiors. They spoke of our bloodline as if it were a pet to be raised, and they actually engaged in threats! That’s how my father and mother were lost, and you lost your grandparents!”

“But…”

“You don’t know. The pain and humiliation your father and uncle suffered… You don’t know. That’s why you have that look in your eyes!”

“But! Father’s current actions are being swayed by other clans. Did Uncle try to seize the Twin Annihilation Blades to make them our clan’s? No! Didn’t you intend to present them to a clan under the Primordial Immortal Grandmaster to solidify our position! You may not outwardly serve them as masters, but your actions are no different from serving them, so what’s the difference!”

“You wench!”

Slap!

The father, who had struck his daughter’s cheek, stopped, surprised at himself.

Paeng Ga-yeon’s lip was split, and blood flowed down. Droplets of blood gathered at her chin and fell, staining the floor.

Flutter!

A bird that had been sleeping on a branch at dawn flew away.

A strange silence fell.

“There is no master of the Paeng Clan anymore. Our master is ourselves.”

‘Ha…’

What is right, and what is wrong?

Should she resent the one who killed her uncle, or should she resent the clan and her uncle for coveting another’s possessions?

Or should she resent herself for being unable to do anything?

Paeng Ga-yeon forcibly swallowed the rising tears. But she could not stop the blood that had burst forth, so she let it flow.

She had swallowed her tears, so it seemed okay to let the blood flow.

* * *

Meanwhile.

In a corner of Yungyeon, Beom and Hwaran were sitting side by side, chatting.

“Mountain Lord, why are you closing your eyes? Perhaps, unable to cover the sky with your palm, you would rather close your eyes…”

Here she goes again.

Rather than a chat, it was Hwaran’s one-sided teasing.

“Or perhaps, though you can cover your face with two palms, your longing to see me is as vast as a lake, so you would rather close your eyes.”

Hwaran pretended to cry, pathetically sobbing as if she were sad.

“You’re teasing me, knowing full well.”

He rebuked her, but she showed no signs of stopping.

“The closer to the village, the more scratches on the surrounding trees. As you head to the palace with so much fuss, have scratches appeared on the Mountain Lord’s eyes as well? Ah… If only, if only I had told you not to leave the Thousand Household Army of Mount Baek. If only I had stopped you from stepping forward then!”

That Hwaran, it’s a regret for eternity… she exclaimed dramatically.

“Ran, do you know why I don’t place a *geumje* [禁制, a magical seal or restraint] on your mouth?”

“Because my voice is like a nightingale’s?”

Beom quietly shook his head.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s because if I shut your mouth, you might suddenly turn into a sword and stab me.”

“So it’s not because I’m a lovely woman, but because you’re afraid of being stabbed?”

“I’m sometimes scared of you.”

Ran pondered for a moment before changing the subject.

“…Really, can’t you see anything?”

“No.”

He couldn’t see.

“So you can’t see my beautiful face either.”

“That’s right.”

Was this how Sim Bongsa [a character from a Korean folktale who was blind] felt?

Was this how he felt, never having seen his beautiful daughter’s face?

“So even if I stripped naked right now, Mountain Lord wouldn’t be able to see me.”

“…That’s right.”

It didn’t seem like Sim Bongsa’s feelings.

“But because I can’t see, it seems like I can see more.”

“You’re talking like a senile old man. Mountain Lord is still young. I have no intention of living with an old man.”

He smacked Ran’s butt as she spoke coyly, and she shrieked.

“Where are you touching! You can’t even see!”

“Didn’t I say that because I can’t see, I can see more?”

“Was that what you meant? Have you finally realized not only enlightenment but also *saekdo* [色道, the path of carnal desire]? As expected, I knew something was up since you brought a young one…”

“What should I do with that incessantly chattering mouth of yours?”

“Why don’t you try hitting it? You’re good at hitting, aren’t you?”

She pouted her lips as she said that.

As if wanting something.

“I can’t hit it because I can’t see.”

“You can hit my butt just fine, but you can’t hit the lips right in front of you?”

“I’m old now… When I get old, I have to go. I have to blend into the cycle of *yunhoe* [輪廻, reincarnation].”

Ahem.

At that moment, Woo-myung, clearing his throat, intervened between Hwaran and Cheonbeom.

“Head Instructor. Preparations are complete.”

Ran, as if nothing had happened, bowed her head demurely and stood behind Beom.

Cheonbeom rose from the rock he had been sitting on.

In one hand, he held a *seokjang* [錫杖, a Buddhist monk’s staff] he had obtained from somewhere.

Using the *seokjang* as a staff, he followed Woo-myung, and all the Munmu unit members were chanting *seonmun* [禪門, Zen Buddhist scriptures] without rest.

“As you instructed, we found the Miseon Mine’s *gwangmaek* [鑛脈, ore vein] based on Hu Suseon’s guidance.”

Thus, all the unit members had spread out across the entire mountain range, establishing formations and waiting for him to come.

“Hmm, perfect.”

Cheonbeom smiled contentedly, shook the *seokjang*, chanted a *seonchukmun* [禪祝文, Zen Buddhist blessing], and then slammed it into the ground.

Then, the bodies of all the Munmu Immortals spread out were connected with golden light, and a vast *jinbeop* [陣法, formation] was formed, causing a great earthquake.

Kugugugugugung!

Mountain birds fluttered, and the earth shook.

But Cheonbeom, unconcerned, took out an empty scroll from his chest and unfurled it in the air.

Chwareureuk!

As he shot the *seonchukmun* into the unfolded scroll, it trembled and began to emit a mysterious light.

And then, Kugugung!!

A mountain range so vast that it was difficult to capture in a single glance rose into the sky.

The risen Miseon Mine’s mountain range was gradually sucked into the scroll.

After a while.

The empty scroll, which had been nothing more than blank space, was now filled with the densely packed mountain range.

A smile hung on Beom’s lips.

He had one more thing to take to Sangseo.

Huhae was glaring with fire in his eyes, but Cheonbeom pretended not to notice.

“Everyone has worked hard.”

It would have been a little difficult alone, but with the appearance of the Munmu unit, he was able to take it easily.

“It’s not just this. I heard that everyone suddenly took vacation or cut short their outings to come here urgently because of me.”

“It’s nothing. If something happens to the Munmu Head Instructor, who would we receive teachings from?”

“That’s right! Everyone came because of that! If the Munmu Head Instructor, who should be giving teachings, passes away, our cultivation will be sluggish!”

As he said that, the unit members laughed, clutching their stomachs.

They were joking, but Cheonbeom knew well that that wasn’t all that was on their minds.

But soon, Cheonbeom erased his smile and opened his mouth with a serious face.

“As you may have roughly guessed, it was the Paeng Clan that targeted me this time.”

The bright atmosphere instantly cooled.

The reason they couldn’t immediately spew out curses was probably because of her, the adjutant.

“But this time, it’s just the Paeng Clan. I rightfully inherited the *jinui* [眞意, true intent/essence] and treasures from the former head of the Hu Clan, and as the Hu Clan’s benefactor, the Twin Annihilation Blades must not be taken away by anyone.”

But those who coveted the Twin Annihilation Blades would be constantly trying to bite at him.

“Because of that, it was just the Paeng Clan this time, and no one knows which family will be after my life next.”

It could be one of the Five Great Clans, or it could be those comparable to other great families.

“The point is this. Your lives cannot be guaranteed if you are with me.”

That was the life of those involved in the Dao [the path or the way], but from now on, the danger had increased even more.

It was something that didn’t need to be said, but Beom deliberately said it.

This was the courtesy for the Munmu unit members who had rushed to his aid.

“Think carefully and decide. Anyway, I’m on vacation from now on.”

Soon, he smiled brightly, and everyone let out a hollow laugh.

Cheonbeom, having finished the rough work, saw off the Munmu unit and sent them back.

He couldn’t just send them empty-handed, so he gave them each a bundle of Miseon Mine, which was worth one *nyang* [兩, a unit of currency], so the Munmu Immortals all grinned, thinking, ‘What luck!’ and returned.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Woo-myung didn’t leave alone and remained by Beom’s side, and when asked why.

“I was on vacation anyway.”

“If you’re on vacation, you should go to your hometown, why are you here?”

It’s not like he doesn’t have a hometown, and isn’t he the scion of the best family in the Water Realm?

The Woo Clan was the best in the Water Realm.

“As a result of thinking, I thought that the most meaningful vacation for me would be to watch over the Munmu Head Instructor.”

So.

“You’re going to follow me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have a *namsek* [男色, homosexual] hobby.”

“Neither do I.”

Cheonbeom stroked his chin.

Surveillance from the Woo Clan? Well, various thoughts came to mind, but it didn’t really matter.

“Do as you please.”

He wanted to use his vacation as he pleased, and even if he was his superior, he couldn’t tell him what to do.

Besides, he seemed to know roughly why he was doing that.

‘He saw the *yukgoejigye* [六 괴 之 計, Six Gates Plan].’

He saw the opening of the Six Gates from afar and the unfolding of the *hwangye* [幻界, illusionary world] of the *yukgoejigye*.

And he saw all the resulting horrors….

‘My respect for me must be overflowing.’

Anyway, it’s not bad to have another companion.

“Shall we go then?”

Cheonbeom got into the carriage he had borrowed from the Water Palace.

By his side, Huhae and Woo-myung were seated together.

After talking a little with Huhae, he had no choice but to follow Beom, whether he liked it or not.

Yungyeon had long been destroyed by the Earth Tortoise Dragon, and the house site had all collapsed, so he couldn’t do anything on his own. Besides, Beom had his father’s *jinui* and treasures, so he had no choice.

“What was the Gon Clan famous for?”

“The Gon Clan is famous for silk.”

Woo-myung answered immediately.

“Silk?”

“The silk made from *cheonjam* [天蠶, celestial silkworms] silkworms is the most famous silk in the Water Realm because it feels weightless, is tough, and comes in various colors.”

“If we go to the Gon Clan now, would the *cheonjam* silkworms still be there?”

He asked, but Woo-myung didn’t seem to know that much.

“I suspect that one of the surrounding families has monopolized it. The Gon Clan and the surrounding families divided and supplied it to the Water Palace and the Water Realm.”

Come to think of it, when he went to the Gon Clan, they were weaving something on a loom day and night, so that must have been the *cheonjam* silk.

Cheonbeom thought about stopping by the Gon Clan to get some *cheonjam* silkworms, but he shook it off and turned the horse’s head south.

“Let’s go to Sangseo first.”

The Miseon Mine alone was a great harvest.