“You’re too much of a curse, you know that I hate stupid men!”
“Then why throw the ice crystals in a place like this! If you want to throw it away, you’ll throw it in the valley! I think I’m going to make my hair look like Seok-san’s!”
“No matter where I throw my things, what will my sister be angry about?”
“The death penalty looks bald, stone-headed, dumb, and eunuch, but now I don’t look angry!”
“I will be mad! It’s not my fault that Woo-bin became like that, is it?” Geum Hong took a deep breath. “Yeah, it’s not your fault, it’s all the fault of these stupid priests. Why didn’t I think that all these symptoms were side effects of martial arts? We just thought we were unlucky. I should have known when Pyeong-su suddenly turned stupid. Ah! Do Pyeong-su!”
“What’s the situation?”
“If it’s normal, I’ll be able to break this ice. Even if he is ignorant, the fact remains that Pyeong-su is still strong.”
“No matter how strong you are, it is impossible to get the ice crystals out of this lake.”
“Would you like to bet?”
“I can’t even step on the back of my sister who fell.”
“If I win, tell me how to make your tea. If you win, I’ll teach you how to make this wine.”
It was Eun Bi-yeon, who slowly began to appreciate the taste of alcohol after living intoxicated with alcohol for the past few days. “You can’t tell me the secret because you’re so desperate, you shouldn’t talk like this.”
“Write down the secrets or recipes for making tea. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To meet Pyeong-su. He will probably be at Mao Liang’s house.”
“Mao Liang?”
“There is such a guy.”
“Then why am I going with you?”
“It’s better to go with me than to be stuck in this mountainous area and drink alcohol. is not it?”
And so, Eun Bi-yeon decided to go out after 40 years.
* * *
It was a shabby hut in the mountains. Even after hearing the detailed explanation, Do Pyeong-su had to wander around two cities or two to find the hut. Inside the hut was a woman who looked to be about thirty years old and a boy who appeared to be about eight years old. The beautiful woman looked so tired that it seemed to devour her beauty.
Although she graciously opened her door, the woman who grabbed the handle of her sword on her back put her little boy behind her and said: “Give me the proof that you came from the rally.”
Do Pyeong-su had a bewildered expression on his face. “I didn’t get anything like that.”
Then, a relief appeared on the woman’s face. “That’s right. They said they would call Hoeju a dung fly.”
Recognized in a strange way, Do Pyeong-su found a jig in the corner of the hut. “Is that probably used by someone who made a successful quest before this?”
“Do you know him? To be honest, I wanted those two to come.”
“Don’t worry, they’re both the same for me.”
“Please wait. Let me pack some of my stuff…”
“Is it your luggage? The road is only the two of us, the kid and I.”
“No! Master, I can’t let you go alone!”
“The commission I received is for one little boy. No other way.”
There was no way that a woman could keep up with the pace of Do Pyeong-su. He didn’t like going a long way, but he didn’t want to go with a hump. “I must go with the master.”
Although she showed determination as a woman, she was much more stubborn than Do Pyeong-su. “Then you two go. I will fall.”
“You accepted the quest!”
“Yes. Just taking the kid. You weren’t there.”
“But…”
“There is no time. When I arrived, there were all kinds of shamans. If you don’t go quickly, they’ll come all the way here.”
Do Pyeong-su’s decisive attitude made even the will to draw the sword of persuasion disappears. She sighed as if she couldn’t help it, she spread her map on the table. “Then tell me the way to go.”
Do Pyeong-su then drew a straight line from where he was now to Namgonsan in Gansuseong.
“I will go like this.”
“Please give me the detailed directions.”
“Isn’t there a lot more places other than roads?”
“There will be mountains, rivers, and valleys. What are we going to do?”
“You go over mountains, over robbers and even with equal frequency, and over valleys, and that’s how you go. You’re asking the obvious.”
Jeong Yeong-hong and Seo Seok-san also came like that in the first place, so there was no reason not to believe Do Pyeong-su’s words. “Aren’t you going to waste time here and get caught by the shamans?”
“Sure.”
“Then let’s go now, little one, Tara.”
The child, who appeared to be about eight or nine years old, had a face like a girl with dense facial features.
‘That’s cute. The death penalty met us at that age.’
Whenever he saw the child, he was reminded of Geom Woo-bin. “It’s not that kid, it’s Ji-an. Kang Ji-an.”
“I don’t care about your name. Little one, you just need to ride the forge and sit still.”
“I just told you I’m Ji-an. Kang Ji-an.”
“I don’t care what your name is! Come on, Gian!”
“But it’s Kang Ji-an….”
Do Pyeong-su lifted Kang Ji-an and put him on the ground and tied him tightly so that he would not fall off.
“Anyway, the kids are annoying, all except for our death penalty.” The woman then spoke to Do Pyeong-su, who was carrying the burden. “Don’t run too fast. Master, I may vomit because I am not feeling well.”
“That’s your problem.” The road from Shaanxi to Gohaphyeon in Gansuseong was quite long no matter how far Do Pyeong-su was. Since there were so many difficult terrains, it would take a full month to go from Gansuseong to Mao Liang’s house, no matter how short it was.
It was much faster than the time when Mao Liang stole the New Year’s Eve and the New Year’s ginseng, but it was still better to go early and wait. “Hold on tight.”
Do Pyeong-su, who gave the warning, smashed the ground. “Aww!”
It was natural for Kang Ji-an to scream out of soul. Although Jeon Yeong-hong took care of Kang Ji-an and worked hard, there was nothing like that for Do Pyeong-su. Kang Ji-an was only concerned about falling and ran at the highest speed he could achieve.
“Wow!” Kang Ji-an eventually vomited something inside, but the reason that a drop did not splash on Do Pyeong-su’s back was because it was too fast.
When Do Pyeong-su had just crossed a mountain, he felt his popularity. On a narrow road in the mountains, shaman warriors lined up in a row, holding swords and waiting for him.
“Stop there…!”
Before the word ‘Oh’ could be finished, Do Pyeong-su went over their heads and disappeared. There was no time to finish his words, so he didn’t even think of wielding his black sword. He chased after him in surprise, but only glanced at the gray hem of Do Pyeong-su disappearing into the forest. After running for about an hour, Kang Ji-an couldn’t stand it and pulled Do Pyeong-su’s hair.
The wind hit his face so hard it was hard to breathe, so he couldn’t even speak. Do Pyeong-su inevitably slowed down. “I… Are you going to take me to the corpse?”
“I can’t stand this much. You are weak.”
“It’s not that I’m weak, it’s that you’re too fast! Whoops!”
He no longer came to the bitter side. Kang Ji-an’s condition was so bad that Do Pyeong-su had no choice but to rest for about half an hour.
And again, that day, the shaman was waiting on the road ahead. It was in the middle of a mountain that could not be called a road, but that was even more strange. It was definitely not normal to run like this and get blocked twice. Of course, this time, the masters of the shaman faction did not achieve what they wanted.
This was his first experience, so he ended up swinging his sword without warning, but he couldn’t even cut the hem of Do Pyeong-su’s robe, the one that went over his head. He would probably be the first since he learned martial arts.
Do Pyeong-su left those who swung his sword at him. However, the decision to camp was purely because of Kang Ji-an. If he kept running, he thought he would take Kang Ji-an in as a corpse.
‘Geum Hong and Seok-san seem to have done it easily.’
Kang Ji-an, exhausted, fell asleep as soon as she lay down, even though it wasn’t a very comfortable bed. ‘It will be a little later than I thought.’
Do Pyeong-su then lay down to catch a breath. However, a stinky aura drove him away from his sleep.
‘Huh? How did you know that I was here?’
This was a mountain that was so deep that no human foot had ever set upon it since time immemorial. However, much like a ghost, the shamans knew where Do Pyeong-su had been.
He thought about getting rid of everything at this point after all the hassle, but it was always Geom Woo-bin that made Do Pyeong-su endure killing. ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t kill the shamans.’
Kang Ji-an woke up in surprise. “Why… What’s wrong?”
“There are scoundrels around. Hold on tight.”
“Can I scream?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Kang Ji-an really screamed out loud. The shamans would have written a rather elaborate siege network, but they were absurdly lax to confine Do Pyeong-su. If he had known that his opponent was a shaman, the encirclement of the shaman would have been different.
No, he obviously didn’t even think about fighting at all. Most of the shaman figures did not even see Do Pyeong-su passing by, only those who were at the level of the head of the party found it and shouted. The memorization of the memorization box shot by one of them could not even pass the shadow of Do Pyeong-su.
The man was surprised to learn that the memorization that had just been shot at him was Seon Woo-kyung of the Sacheondangmun. Seon Woo-kyung was a child’s toy to the Blood Lion, and even those who were called first-class masters of Moorim shivered.
‘Who is this little boy, from the shamans to the gangster Seon Woo-kyung?’
He was curious about it. There was nothing he couldn’t figure out. However, knowing it didn’t change anything, so it was easy for him to just stay unaware. The most important thing for Do Pyeong-su was now to get rid of the side effects of Geom Woo-bin. All minds should be focused on that one thing.
* * *
The hunter’s voice talking to the Crown Prince was low. “I’m telling you because it’s you, so don’t be greedy. Because in the past three years, no one has lived above the swell rock.”
Another hunter who was drinking with him turned out to be meddling. “Is there one? Bae, who wears flowers in his hair.”
“Ah! That Bae who still can’t cover his poop?”
Cheonunsan was a forbidden land for hunters and herbalists to the extent that it could not be compared with Cheon Seoksan. “How can we catch and sell the hyeolwoong? Don’t even think about catching them?”
Then, the Crown Prince said: “The hyeolwoong has already been caught.”
“What?” Wang Sebang pointed to Seoseoksan Mountain, where he was quietly drinking tea. “I hit him in the same room and broke his neck.” It was two rooms, but there was no need to disappoint by revealing the truth.
“What, really?!”
“Yes, exactly so. So don’t worry about blood.”
“The blood is much stronger than the blood male.”
Everyone thought so, perhaps because of the belief that tigers were stronger than bears.
“If you put him in the same room, he might be able to catch him. But I still prefer not to go to Mt. Cheonunsan.”
“Why?”
“You talked about Mr. Bae with flowers in his hair earlier. Now I can’t even cover my shit.”
“Um…”
“You are possessed by a demon.”
At this, the Crown Prince let out a ridiculous laugh. “Where in the world are the ghosts? After twenty years of hunting, do you still believe in that?”
If one were to believe that there were ghosts, one couldn’t even dare to hunt at all. “Yes, because it is the way it is. Mr. Bae at least came back alive. He has not climbed over the shroud and has come alive. Cheonseoksan is not annihilated, is it?”
If it wasn’t for the hunter who climbed the mountain with the intention of catching the hyeolwoong, he came quite alive. “Are you really saying that all the people going up are dead? Except for pear seeds with flowers in their hair?”
“That’s because it is. Among the dogs, there were people who were working hard in Moorim, but all of them were to no avail. Bae, with a flower in his hair, can only say, ‘It’s a ghost, it’s a ghost.’”
As he listened, he began to think that there really was a ghost. Of course, Seok-san only sighed. “Tell me where the hyeolwoong often appear. Whether it’s a ghost or a goblin, I’ll take care of it.”
“Uh-huh! I am doing this because I am afraid that my precious life will be lost. And the three are good friends with me.”
It was apparent that the hunter firmly believed that there were ghosts living in Mt. Cheonunsan.