Episode 147. Do you see something strange?
Around lunchtime.
When it was mealtime, people took food out of their bundles and ate it.
The Yeonjeokha group also gathered together and had a meal together.
As the meal was coming to an end, the captain approached cautiously.
“Excuse me, gentlemen. I apologize for having to eat lunch in a place like this. Please bear with the inconvenience for a little while. You will be able to eat dinner on land. We are planning to anchor in Janghojin in the afternoon.”
Yoo Geun-sik stopped eating the beef jerky and asked.
“When do you mean afternoon?”
“We will arrive at Janghojin by 5-7 PM at the latest.”
“Are you going to stay overnight at Janghojin?”
“Yes, it’s not easy to move the boat when it’s dark outside. We usually stay at Janghojin and then go.”
“Oh, yes.”
Yoo Geun-sik nodded as if he understood.
When no one else said anything, the captain bowed and returned.
The Sulchasu group went into the cabin and slept because they were tired.
Cheongunggeom Namgungcheon and Gucheonnodo Simtongdo went to find some shade, saying they needed to rest.
As it turned out, only Yeonjeokha and Hwayongdoksim Namgungyeon were left on the deck.
How much time has passed?
Yeon Jeok-ha approached Namgung Yeon, who was looking at the surrounding scenery from the bow of the ship.
“Sister, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
Namgung Yeon smiled and nodded.
The human mind is truly wicked. In the morning, there was a fight with the ten-headed horsemen, but now it felt like a journey. This was possible because he was by my side.
“Actually, I have something to discuss.”
“What?”
“Among the martial arts I have learned, there is one more called the Shinmaek in addition to the Qi Jing Palmaek.”
“Shinmaek?”
“Yes, this is the location of the new vein.”
Yeonjeokha pointed to the space between her eyebrows with her finger.
A strange light appeared in Namgung Yeon’s eyes.
“however?”
“Every time one of the ten horsemen dies, this place starts to burn and I see something strange.”
“Do you see anything strange?”
“Yes. A dark place like the abyss appears before my eyes. There is something that looks exactly like the Ten Horse Soldiers. But the thing I killed in reality dies there too. When it dies, I wake up from reality as if I was dreaming.”
“But you didn’t fall asleep or anything while fighting the Ten Horsemen, right?”
“Yes, it happens in an instant, so other people wouldn’t have noticed. It happens every time a Ten Horse Soldier dies. Without a single exception.”
“Hmm. So you’re saying that you see something in the brief moment when the Ten Horsemen die?”
Yeonjeokha scratched her head.
“It wasn’t just seeing it, it was like I was there. You know, when you breathe deeply, you can have an out-of-body experience? It was like seeing it right in front of you.”
“Hmm. So?”
“If Baek-san says so, then that place is the afterlife. When I saw it, it looked exactly like the afterlife. Before, I would go to the afterlife alone as if I was dreaming, and then return to reality. But since I started carrying the Palju-ryeong, things have gotten a little weird.”
“Is it getting weird?”
“When the demon dragon died earlier, I was sucked into the afterlife again. There were a lot of monsters like the demon dragon there. And hundreds of them looked straight at me as if they had found me.”
“Could it have been a coincidence?”
“That’s not all. Before, I couldn’t hear anything from the underworld. But when Indussa died, I heard Indussa’s screams from the underworld.”
“Did you hear a sound?”
“Yes, I heard the screams of the inducer clearly. I even heard the other inducers there laughing at me. I feel like I’m getting closer to the afterlife, and it’s scary. Can a living person like me go to the afterlife?”
Namgung Yeon looked at Yeon Jeok Ha with ambiguous eyes.
The concept of Shinmaek is unfamiliar, but the idea of going to the afterlife and seeing and hearing things leaves me speechless.
Everything related to the famous religion is like this.
An exclamation escaped Namgung Yeon’s mouth as he recalled his memories for a long time.
“Ah! That’s right. There is a pineal gland in the kidney vein. It is also called the ‘third eye.’ You could say it is where the mind’s eye is. Maybe your mind’s eye has opened. Is that why you see hell?”
“Mind’s eye?”
“Yeah. There was something like that in a book I read a long time ago. It was about Eastern monks training their spiritual eye.”
“I see. But how do those monsters see me? It never happened before I started carrying the Paljuryung.”
Namgung Yeon said with an apologetic expression.
“I don’t know about that. Did I make you carry around the bracelet for nothing? Do you want to take it off right now?”
“No. Just like my older sister said, there is something about the Eight Pillars. I think the internal energy I have learned and the Eight Pillars are related. So I will just carry it with me.”
“Really? I’m glad you think so.”
Only then did Namgung Yeon’s expression brighten.
I felt heavy-hearted because it seemed like Yeonjeok-ha had made me do something I didn’t want to do.
The two people were silent for a while.
Yeon Jeok-ha, who was standing next to Namgung Yeon and watching the river flow by, asked.
“But do you believe what Baek-san said, Sister?”
“The leader of a famous cult is trying to summon the Demon King to the living world?”
“yes.”
“Hmm! It’s probably true that the famous cult leader is trying to summon something. I don’t know if it’s really the Demon King or something else.”
“The King of Hell is the King of Hell, right? He rules over hell.”
“Why would a famous cult leader do something like that?”
“Humans are such foolish creatures.”
Namgung Yeon looked across the river with a bitter expression.
That’s because I remembered the family members who died in that foolish act.
***
Namjikryeoseong.
Soho, south of Hapbi.
Anaerobic reduction.
Musan Nangnang Lee Mae-hwa slammed the table so hard that it made a ‘bang!’
I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry since I joined the famous church.
“What! You think Lee Cho-ryang and Baek-san are dead? Are you saying that now? If the chief of the Green Forest had come, wouldn’t you have known? Two of the ten horsemen died in a mere patrol?”
Gwirangdo Ho-pung, who had been the guide for Icho-ryang and Baek-san, spoke cautiously.
“You two quickly followed the men’s carriage after discovering it at the landowner’s dock. By the time your men arrived, the fighting was already over… … .”
A gust of wind clouded the end of his words.
I was worried about whether I should tell the story of those who witnessed it at the riverside or not.
Lee Mae-hwa shouted nervously.
“What, after the fight? Can’t you speak properly? My damn tongue!”
“It’s such a bizarre sound that I’m embarrassed to even bring it up.”
“Tell me what you heard!”
“Yes, yes, there were many people watching from the riverside. They said that two old men ran across the river and got into a boat. And then a fight broke out… … . Gulp.”
Ho-pung swallowed dry saliva as if he was nervous while speaking.
The moment Lee Mae-hwa, who had been glaring at him with eyes that seemed ready to devour him, was about to say something, Ho-pung spoke hurriedly.
“It is said that when a master of Taoism died, his body transformed into a demonic dragon.”
“Ma-ryong? That crazy guy. I sent him to guide the ten horse soldiers, but he went somewhere and drank alcohol.”
“How dare you do that? All the witnesses said the same thing. The old master who used the Tao died and became a dragon, and the old master who used the sword became a god of thunder.”
A lightning-like light flashed in Imaehwa’s eyes.
‘It is clear that the one who uses the Tao is Lee Cho-ryang, and the one who uses the sword is Baek-san… … What do the Dragon and the God of Thunder mean?’
He said that he drank alcohol with Ho-pung, but he didn’t really think that way. There was no way that Lee Cho-ryang and Baek-san would let him do that right away.
Lee Mae-hwa’s voice softened a little.
“Tell me more about the Demon Dragon and the Brain God.”
“It is said that the demon dragon had a lizard head and a body as big as an elephant, and that it had bat wings on its back. It is said that it flew into the sky with those wings. Then it was struck by a young man’s sword and died… … .”
“If you are young, are you talking about Yeonjeokha?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“What about the brain god?”
“It is said that he had a human head but a snake body. That is probably why he was called the Brain God. It is said that his body was about five feet thick (about 150 centimeters) and five feet long (about 15 meters). It is said that he was blowing mist from his mouth and was killed by the young man’s sword… … .”
“however?”
“It is said that both the Demon Dragon and the Brain God disappeared like goblins as soon as they died.”
“You disappeared like a goblin?”
“Yes, I definitely heard that. It disappeared in an instant, as if it were a lie.”
“So after Lee Cho-ryang and Baek-san died, they turned into a demon dragon and a thunder god, but when Yeon-jeok-ha killed them, they disappeared like goblins? Hehehe.”
Lee Mae-hwa burst into laughter with a face of disbelief.
In my life, I have never heard anything as absurd as today.
‘Does the Ten Horsemen have two lives?’
Compared to that bizarreness, his own first marriage seems ordinary.
“Is it possible that the witnesses were talking nonsense?”
“I was so frustrated that I dragged them to a secret place and tortured them. But even as they died, they insisted that it was true.”
“Even as he died, he said it was true?”
“yes.”
“Okay. Then where is Yeonjeokha going now?”
“I didn’t know it until then, but the ship was headed towards the mouth.”
“Oral?”
“Yes. I clearly said it was a ship that went to the mouth.”
“The mouth. What’s in the mouth? Huh?”
For a moment, divine light poured out from Imaehwa’s eyes.
‘Wait! You’re going to kill the cold noodle sword ghost in Guhwasan and go to Guangji?’
If there is Samdosanchae in Guhwasan Mountain, there is Janggangsuchae in Gugang.
Coincidentally, the two main characters are Shibduma Byeong.
‘Look at this. Are you perhaps cleaning up the mountain village controlled by the Ten Horsemen?’
Once that thought occurred to me, no other possibility occurred to me.
“Huh! It seems like the Pacheonma Army is trying to be hostile to our school.”
“Huh! Is that the Pacheonma Army?”
Ho-pung looks surprised when the name of Pacheonma-gun is suddenly mentioned.
“Yes. It seems that Yeonjeokha is after the owner of Janggangsuchae. If it weren’t for the orders of Pacheonmagun, why would he be poking around in the mountains?”
On one side, the commander, Doksim Gwi-rang, and Yang So-ran, who had been listening quietly, opened their mouths.
“If so, should I contact Jang Gang-il-gwae?”
“What’s the use of contacting them? More importantly, who are the remaining guardians of the oxygen-free zone?”
“There is a blood sword and a jade Buddha.”
“Hmm!”
A slurred voice flowed from Imaehwa’s mouth.
Two of the ten horsemen were hit, and I don’t feel like sending two more.
At that time, Yang So-ran said.
“Your Majesty, may I take the blood sword and the jade Buddha and run to the Jangjiang Suchae?”
“You’re going?”
Lee Mae-hwa looked at Yang So-ran with surprised eyes.
It was surprising that she, who rarely left the church, would go to Jang Gang Suchae.
“I want to avenge Baek-san.”
“Have you ever been friends with him?”
“His life was as turbulent as mine. We hung out together often because he was different from others.”
“It would be better for me if you stepped forward.”
Lee Mae-hwa had a face that seemed somehow uneasy.
This is because Yang So-ran and I have lived together like real sisters for a long time.
“Haha. Your Majesty. You don’t think I’ll be defeated by a mere Green Forest patrolman, do you?”
“No way. If she’s a poisonous spirit, even the Three Lords of the Green Forest wouldn’t dare to do anything to her.”
Lee Mae-hwa decided not to worry any longer.
It is no exaggeration to say that Doksimgwirang, Hyeolgeom, and Okbul are the core of the oxygen-free axe. With the power of these three and Jang Gangilgoe, there was nothing to worry about even if the opponent was the Pacheonma Army.
Wuxia,
