Episode 37. Prove that you are the pillar of the green forest.
Liangshan County, north of Jining, Shandong Province.
In the sparsely populated forest along the Yellow River, there stands an unexpectedly large manor. The words written on the plaque at the main gate in a bold handwriting read, “Gwangmyeong Manor (光明庄園).”
In the heart of Gwangmyeongjangwon, the welcoming spirit Ungjaegwi and a woman who looked to be in her fifties sat across from each other. The two seemed to be of similar status and were secretly taking care of each other.
Woongjaegwi shook his head as he placed the eight-legged sword he had stolen on the table.
“Whew! This time it really wasn’t easy. We lost half of the Dark Belt… … . Ugh.”
The woman, Wolha Seonja, opened her eyes wide.
“Are you saying that the Baekdu Horse Army was there?”
The Baekdu Ma-gun of the famous religion is a group that even the Chilpa-mun leaders look down on. Although Ungjae-gwi is a sorcerer, he is still not someone who would suffer any harm.
“How outstanding was that bastard’s martial arts. Heukam Daeju couldn’t even take a single bite.”
“How was it against the new demon?”
“That day, I had to hurriedly leave because the mission to bring the holy relic was so important… … Honestly, even if I had stayed and fought until the end, I wasn’t confident that I would have won.”
“It’s really surprising. That Baekdu Horse Army couldn’t handle it… … .”
“I’ve never seen such a feat before. When that guy flips his body nine times in the sky, pottery falls down like lightning… … Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me.”
In that moment, life force poured out of Wolhaseonja’s eyes.
“I think so. I have seen similar swordsmanship during my time as a sibduma soldier. But how old are you to be called a child?”
“If I had to guess, I would have looked about twenty years old.”
“Then maybe he’s that guy’s son or disciple.”
“Who is that guy?”
“About twenty years ago, I built a church in Gangnam at the leader’s order. At that time, that guy and the head of the Namgung family came and caused a commotion, so we had to close the church.”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard that before… … .”
Woongjaegwi tried to recall old memories.
However, the ideal that Wolha Seonja had mentioned did not come to mind. At that time, the number of church members and the Sipduma soldiers was large, so they did not receive much attention within the school.
The Yumeong religion sacrifices monks in its temples everywhere. To be exact, they sacrifice the heads of living monks to the Yumeong religion’s god, King Yama.
If you offer ten people, you will become a ten-headed demon soldier, if you offer a hundred people, you will become a hundred-headed demon soldier, and if you offer a thousand people, you will become a thousand-headed demon king. Through such sacrifices, the priest will obtain supernatural powers from the Demon King of Yama. In the famous religion, this process is called escaping from the secular world.
In order to escape, a proper monk is needed, but it is not easy to find such a monk. There are countless cases where famous monks were offered but failed.
Since human sacrifice is required, secrecy is essential. However, about twenty years ago, sacrifices were made indiscriminately, which ultimately led to the collapse of the church.
After that, the leader gave the order to ‘do it more secretly, even if it takes a little longer.’ Thanks to this, six Baekdu Horse Corps have been born so far, but they have not been talked about.
What the leader wants is the Demon King of Heaven. Although he is called the king, his power is closer to that of a god. In order to achieve that long-cherished wish, the famous cult continues to wander in the shadows.
The Moon God said, gritting his teeth.
“They say that later he was given the nickname of True Moon Swordsman. The leader of the cult told him to ‘keep the name of the cult from being talked about by people’ so he buried it… … .”
“So, are you saying that that kid has something to do with the True Moon Swordsman?”
“I can’t say for sure since I haven’t personally seen that kid’s swordsmanship.”
“Ugh! If the leader becomes the Demon King of Heaven as soon as possible, he can sweep away those bastards… … .”
“It’s possible if we just have more Baekdu Horse Army. The leader also told us to go out into the world after establishing the Chilma Army.”
There are currently six Baekdu Horses.
It is not known how long it will take for one more Baekdu Ma Army to grow. It could be a month, or it could be ten years. It is entirely up to the leader. Baekdu Ma Army can create ten-headed soldiers, but Baekdu Ma Army is within the authority of the leader.
“Since the leader will take care of the Baekdu Horse Army, let’s just work hard to create the Sidu Horse Army.”
“To do that, we need to gather more Eight Pillars. At the very least, I think the elders of the church should be ten-headed soldiers.”
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped Woongjaegwi’s mouth.
The eight pillars of destiny belong to one person the moment the offering is made.
Not only the Ten Headed Horsemen, but also the Baekdu Horsemen and even the leader of the cult who aims to become the Thousand Headed Horse King, all have one Eight-Ju-Ring. The problem is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the Eight-Ju-Ring.
Why?
The Eight-Way Spirit is not a craftable item. It is a sacred relic from the ancient East and its number is limited. Therefore, as the number of Ten-Headed Horsemen increases, they will inevitably become rarer.
“I would like to use the upper room, but if I do that, it will only awaken the Chilpaimon’s sense of alarm. I have no choice but to search for it carefully like I am doing now.”
Woongjaegwi looked at Paljuryeong greedily.
Every human being has a desire to have power. Ungjaegwi is no different. As a Baekdu Ma-gun, he wanted to lead more Ten-Du Ma-guns. The feelings of other Baekdu Ma-guns are probably not much different.
***
The landowner of Namjikryeoseong.
The appearance of the five hundred men walking along the road was extremely shabby. Anyone who had been exposed to the wind and rain for two months would have a similar appearance to them.
However, unlike his shabby clothes, his eyes were sharp, unlike when he was at Mt. Obong. This was because he hung on Baekjagugyeol every day, except for the time he spent walking and sleeping.
The sixth place, Jang So-bong, who had been walking slowly, glanced back and muttered.
“Oh my! Those guys’ eyes are no joke. Are they the ones participating in the Green Forest Competition?”
The eighth, Lee Cheol-san, took the lead.
“It seems so. They said it would take about three to four days to get to Mansapyeong, but it seems like we’re starting to see it now.”
“Hmm! As expected.”
“I know.”
The five great heroes nodded their heads.
Certainly, from the morning, I often noticed people with fierce looks. Judging by their poisonous eyes and strange weapons, they were obviously thieves participating in the Green Forest Competition.
The number of people was about ten, like the Five Bongsipgeol. There were some cases where it was less than that, but most were in groups of about ten. It seems that this happened because they couldn’t empty the mountain village, so they only brought out the minimum number of people.
But the good news is that they vaguely guessed each other’s identities and didn’t start a fight. Rather, some of them even snickered with meaningful eyes.
Three days later.
The five great warriors finally arrived at a place called Mansapyeong.
When I heard the name, I thought it would be a field, but Mansapyeong was actually a basin surrounded by mountains.
There was a small hill in the center, and people were sitting in a circle around it.
The five Bongsipgeols also unpacked their luggage in a suitable location with a good view of the hill.
Some, tired from the long journey, lay down on their bundles.
Takgo Myungdo was about to quietly join the ranks when Poongyeon Cho called out to him.
“Gomyung-ah, I have somewhere to go.”
“Where are you going?”
“Since we’ve come this far, shouldn’t we pay our respects to the elder brothers of Daebyeolsanchae?”
“Do you know where those people are?”
“So, let’s take a spin around.”
“Oh my, brother. We will meet naturally when the time comes. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Inma. But since they are the ones who took us in, it’s polite to go to them first.”
“Oh my! What manners do those thieves have among themselves… .”
Tak Go-myeong, who had been grumbling, had no choice but to get up from his seat.
The two people walked away, knocking on each other’s doors.
I took my place and lay down among the five great men who were in love.
As I was watching the clouds passing by, I thought of my parents. But unfortunately, I couldn’t remember their faces.
Even if my mother died giving birth to me, why can’t I even remember my father’s face?
When I think about it carefully, I think it was because my father didn’t take care of me. I couldn’t even see his face once every three days, so how could I remember him?
‘You’re like a bad father.’
Even though I resent my father, what is it that I miss?
When I thought of my father, for some reason, the poisonous face of my grandmother immediately came to mind.
Surprisingly, my grandmother’s face was vivid as if I had seen it yesterday. It seemed to have been engraved in my mind because she was pinched and beaten several times a day.
The things I want to remember are vague, but the things I want to forget are vivid, so it makes me feel dirty.
“shit.”
Hasobaek heard him grumbling and immediately spoke up.
“Why, Brother?”
“I was reminded of someone I absolutely hate.”
“Who is it?”
“There is such a person.”
I didn’t even want to mention the name of the war dragon I was fighting with.
“Wow. Brother, I’ve never seen you look like that before. You must really hate it.”
“Because he was the one who tried to kill me.”
“really?”
Hasobaek opened his eyes wide and looked at Yeonjeokha.
It seems like it’s talking about something from the past, but who on earth tried to kill Yeon-jeok-ha?
“Is that person alive?”
“I guess so?”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“huh.”
“Then I’ll take revenge! If you lift a finger, I’ll die!”
“That’s not allowed.”
“why?”
“Grandma.”
“… … .”
Hasobaek was unable to say anything when he heard the word “grandmother.”
The five Bong Shib Geols, who were lying comfortably and listening to the conversation between the two, let out a sigh. They thought Yeon Jeok Ha had a story, but they didn’t think it would be to that extent!
Meanwhile, Poongyeoncho and Takgomyeong, who were searching for Daebyeolsanchae, found Dokanhyeoldo Lee Jeong-an and Heukmyeonnangin Yeom Sang-cheol on the other side of the hill and ran to them.
“Brothers, this is Pungyeoncho from Obongsanchae. How have you been?”
“It’s Takgo Myung.”
Lee Jeong-an and Yeom Sang-cheol greeted the two people with bright smiles. It was because the status of Daebyeol Sanchae rose in Nokrim thanks to the success of O Bong Sanchae.
In particular, Lee Jeong-an, who had strongly promoted the inclusion of O Bong San Chae in the Green Forest, patted Poong Yeon Cho on the shoulder and welcomed him warmly.
“Pung-ah! I heard that Obongsanchae is doing well these days? I’ve heard the rumors about Obongsipgeol too. Thanks to Pung-ah, Yeom-hyung and I are able to walk with confidence.”
A person must become famous and be seen. Although this was their second meeting, Lee Jeong-an treated Poongyeoncho as a close younger brother.
The same was true for Yeom Sang-cheol, who had been keeping his distance somewhat.
He, who used to avoid eye contact, asked with a friendly face.
“Feng Ah, I heard that among the Five Fengs, there’s a guy who’s good at swordsmanship. Did you bring him along this time?”
“Oh, you mean my younger brother? Of course he came with me. He is resting with the O Bong San Chae family on the other side.”
“That’s good. I’ll introduce you to our Chaeju later. She’s curious.”
“yes.”
After a while, Poongyeoncho and Takgomyeong returned.
As the figures of Poongyeoncho and Takgomyeong disappeared from sight, Lee Jeong-an muttered.
“Wow! Last winter it was just so-so, but it changed so much in just one year… … .”
“I was surprised too. I thought the rumor about the Five Bongsipgeol was exaggerated… … Did you see that the sun glasses of those two people are prominent?”
Lee Jeong-an nodded silently.
Last year, I could speak informally to those two people without any burden, but today I couldn’t. I feel a mixture of pride and a sickening, somewhat awkward feeling.
***
The day before the start of the Green Forest Competition, the leader of the Cheonma Army, Seok Mu-hae, and his disciples, the Twelve Horse Army, gathered together.
The Twelve Horsemen told Seokmuhae the important information they had seen and heard while roaming around as lions.
As soon as the report of the Twelve Horse Army was finished, Seok Mu-hae opened his mouth.
“I held the Green Forest Competition to gather the power of the Green Forest. Up until now, the Green Forest has been scattered and not treated properly. If the Green Forest unites, even the Seven Paimon will not be able to ignore us.”
Guiyingjagun, one of the Twelve Horsemen, spoke cautiously.
“Your Majesty, isn’t it true that everyone has wanted it so far, but no one has succeeded?”
“That’s because there is no strong center of gravity. The reason I taught you the Amcheonsurajingyeong was because I wanted you to become the center of the green forest. Through this green forest competition, prove that you are the pillars of the green forest.”
“Prove it?”
“Yes. We will hold a convention to elect patrolmen and law-guardians of the Green Forest. No one can stand against you, so become patrolmen and law-guardians and unite the Green Forest as one. You will finally rise from your thousand-year slumber!”
“Please leave it to me!”
“We can do it!”
The twelve horsemen clenched their fists with excited faces at Seok Mu-hae’s passionate speech.
At that moment, the hesitant Eumpungmyogun spoke in a crawling voice.
“Excuse me, Master. But there is a problem.”
Wuxia,
