Chapter 293 – People Who Are Meant to Meet Will Meet (3)

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“Hmm!”

The woman in red silk showed eyes gleaming with interest.

Her gaze was directed toward a small boat. A tiny boat incomparable to the ship she was riding. On it stood a man.

It was a man wearing a black windbreaker robe fluttering in the river breeze. Though his true appearance couldn’t be discerned due to his black hair scattered by the wind, his fierce gaze alone could be felt vividly.

The boats carrying the two people momentarily passed each other.

As different as their sizes were, their speeds were also incomparable. If the man’s boat was a turtle, hers was as fast as a bird.

In an instant, they grew distant, and the man’s figure could no longer be seen. But strangely, his afterimage remained, flickering before her eyes.

‘Who could that be?’

Just as deep furrows formed between the woman’s brows visible through the silk, it happened.

“Is something wrong?”

A man with a massive build walked out from the cabin.

He was a man in his late forties with reddish-brown long hair, bulging eyes, and tremendous presence and momentum that overwhelmed his surroundings.

It was as if a great male lion was walking out.

When he appeared, all the women who had been steering the boat bowed their heads in unison to show respect.

The woman in red silk looked at the man and said:

“Did you rest well?”

“Thanks to you, I rested deeply. But what’s on the river that you’re looking at so intently? Is there something concerning you?”

“It’s nothing. How’s your body feeling?”

“Haha! It’s fine except for the itching.”

“That’s fortunate.”

The woman’s eyes, not covered by silk, curved in a smile. As if unable to resist the passage of time, faint wrinkles could be seen around the woman’s eyes. But even the silk and wrinkles couldn’t completely hide the woman’s beauty.

The man looked at the woman for a moment before turning his gaze to the surroundings.

A picturesque landscape spread out centered on the river. Low hills extended endlessly, covered with deep green foliage. On the hills, people farming could be seen.

It was so impressive that one might wonder if this was what the legendary Shangri-La would look like.

“Excellent!”

The man smiled broadly while appreciating the scenery. The woman in red silk gazed at such a man quietly.

‘Iron King of the North.’

Just then, a voice broke her reverie.

“We have arrived.”

Along with the voices of the women working the boat, the ship arrived at the dock.

The woman in red silk said as she descended to the dock:

“You all wait here.”

“Yes!”

Leaving their voices behind, the woman in red silk and the man walked away.

They walked for quite some time past the dock. How long had they walked? An amazing landscape unfolded before their eyes. Countless rice fields stretched along the sloped mountainside.

Having just planted seedlings, the rice plants were showing their sprouts in the paddies. And in one of those places, there was an old man planting seedlings.

The old man planting seedlings with his pants rolled up to his knees had hair as white as if snow had fallen. The old man exuded an otherworldly demeanor like an immortal.

The woman in red silk walked toward the old man. Then the old man’s movements stopped completely.

“Master.”

“…”

“It’s Woon-hyang.”

At her words, the old man sighed and turned around.

“How did you come all the way here?”

“If I said ‘by chance,’ you naturally wouldn’t believe me, would you?”

“I know well how thorough a child you are.”

“That’s right. But this time it’s really true. I have business in nearby Muli. I learned by chance that you were staying here, Master.”

“By chance…”

The old man muttered with an expression of disbelief. Then the woman in red silk made a fist-and-palm salute toward the old man.

“This maiden Dan Woon-hyang greets the master of the Sword Stream.”

“Holy Maiden… No, should I call you Demon Mother now? It’s truly been a long time.”

The old man was none other than Cheon Oh-gyeong.

He, who had disappeared after the battle at Mount Hua three years ago, had been living in seclusion here.

Cheon Oh-gyeong looked at Dan Woon-hyang with furrowed brows. Then Dan Woon-hyang removed the red silk covering her face.

A beautiful face that appeared to be in her early thirties was revealed.

“You’re still as lovely as ever.”

“I’ve aged too. It’s not easy to suppress wrinkles anymore.”

“Originally, going against natural law is never easy.”

“Can merely suppressing facial aging be called defying natural law? At least one should cause a bloody storm like you, Master.”

“You?”

“The bloodshed you caused three years ago at Zhongnan and Mount Hua was impressive. Thanks to that, our sect could breathe easier, so it was helpful too.”

Dan Woon-hyang smiled brightly. In contrast, Cheon Oh-gyeong’s expression hardened stiffly.

If someone else had said such things in front of him, he wouldn’t have let it pass. But his opponent was Dan Woon-hyang.

The Dan Woon-hyang he remembered was a shy little girl. A child who had been brought by the former Holy Maiden’s hand to greet Cheon Oh-gyeong.

She had particularly followed Cheon Oh-gyeong, and had actually studied at the Sword Stream until age ten. It was none other than Cheon Oh-gyeong who had built the foundation of Dan Woon-hyang’s martial arts. That’s why he had cherished and loved Dan Woon-hyang more than anyone.

The girl who had only been young became the Holy Maiden and witnessed the Demon Cult’s downfall. And she abandoned the cumbersome position of Holy Maiden to become the Demon Mother. Having watched all these processes, Dan Woon-hyang was like a painful finger to Cheon Oh-gyeong.

Cheon Oh-gyeong unconsciously let out a deep sigh.

“Phew!”

“Master, there’s no need to sigh like that. I really came today just to pay my respects. As I said, my business is elsewhere.”

“What business?”

“If I tell you, you’ll have to help, so would that be alright?”

“…”

“Hoho! I’m joking. You don’t need to be so wary. Even if you don’t help, I don’t expect Master’s assistance. Instead, I’ve brought someone who can be of strength.”

Suddenly, the man who had been silent behind Dan Woon-hyang until now stepped forward.

“I was late in greeting you, Master! I am Seok Mu-gang.”

A voice as powerful as his appearance echoed through the air. It was like the roar of a lion.

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Iron King of the North… So you’ve moved?”

“After hearing that you had a good workout at Mount Hua, Master, how could I stay still? Hahaha!”

Seok Mu-gang laughed heartily. But Cheon Oh-gyeong couldn’t laugh.

“Hmm! Is the Rock Cliff Stream moving?”

“Hahaha! When the Sword Stream has moved, the Rock Cliff Stream can’t stay still, can it?”

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s eyebrows twitched.

Rock Cliff Stream.

Like the Sword Stream, it was one of the Demon Cult’s Thirteen Branches. Like the Sword Stream, it was a school passed down through single succession. Single succession meant possessing correspondingly powerful martial prowess. The successors of the Rock Cliff Stream were called the Iron King of the North, hence Iron King of the North.

Dan Woon-hyang’s smile deepened.

“It’s thanks to you, Master. Because you set the precedent, I was able to bring those who had been hesitating until now.”

“…”

“So I came to express my gratitude as well.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong looked directly into Dan Woon-hyang’s eyes.

“Do you still resent me? For not stepping forward when the main base was invaded thirty years ago.”

“Not at all? I told you. I’m grateful. I don’t know why you won’t believe me.”

Dan Woon-hyang cast a beautiful glance at him.

She was still smiling. That appearance painfully pierced Cheon Oh-gyeong’s heart.

‘Karma.’

***

The boat docked at a pier near Muli.

An old pier and a small village welcomed Dam-ho and the others.

Dam-ho led Black Ghost off the boat, followed by Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol.

It was a very small village. The number of households was only about a hundred, but it was quite neat and clearly carefully maintained.

Those who had built this village were not Han Chinese but indigenous people. They wore large leather hats on their heads and leather tops, particularly adorning their bodies with many ornaments.

The indigenous people lived freely in Muli, cultivating rice fields or raising horses and sheep. Perhaps because of such free-spirited nature, they didn’t have much antipathy toward outsiders. Rather, they had a custom of treating outsiders with great hospitality.

But now, fear was contained in the eyes of the indigenous people looking at Dam-ho and the others. Their reaction was too intense to be simply because they were outsiders.

“What’s this about?”

Unable to understand their incomprehensible reaction, Eum Yu-kyung looked around. Then her gaze stopped at one particular place.

There ‘he’ was, where about ten indigenous people had gathered. And he was sitting in a chair at that.

He was sitting comfortably in a chair as if he had come on a pleasure trip, waving his hand toward the two people.

Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol recognized him at a glance.

“Dong… Hwa-woon.”

“Haha! It’s been a while, but you recognize me. I’m glad to see you both.”

The man called Dong Hwa-woon smiled brightly as he greeted them. But the complexions of Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol receiving his greeting weren’t very good. Among them, Shin Moo-wol’s expression was twisted as if it would rot away.

“Dong Hwa-woon.”

“It’s been a while, Moo-wol. And Holy Maiden too…”

Dong Hwa-woon stood up from his seat.

He had an ordinary build and ordinary face. Except for his smiling face, there was nothing particularly outstanding about him. The only distinguishing feature, if any, was the pair of bronze cymbals hanging at his waist.

Bronze cymbals were circular discs that looked like pot lids. When struck against each other, they made a pleasant metallic sound, which is why they were mainly used for musical performances.

Clang!

As Dong Hwa-woon moved, the bronze cymbals struck each other, making a clear metallic sound. Dong Hwa-woon seemed to enjoy the sound, smiling even more deeply. In contrast, Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol’s expressions became more rigid.

From long ago, Dong Hwa-woon had been like a messenger.

When Dong Hwa-woon appeared, it meant the Ten Soldiers were nearby.

Shin Moo-wol looked around with sharp eyes. Then Dong Hwa-woon chuckled.

“That suspicious nature is still the same. Well, I understand to some degree…”

“Dong Hwa-woon.”

Just as Shin Moo-wol was about to step toward Dong Hwa-woon while grinding his teeth, Dong Hwa-woon wrinkled his nose and said:

“If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Just as Shin Moo-wol was approaching Dong Hwa-woon without concern, it happened.

Whoooosh!

“Aaaahhh!”

Suddenly, flames shot up from the body of an indigenous person near Dong Hwa-woon, and they let out a desperate scream.

Even though flames were shooting up from a fellow villager’s body and they were rolling on the ground, the other villagers couldn’t move. Their faces were twisted with terror, and thick tears were flowing from their eyes.

“What the?”

At the horrific sight of a person who had been fine just moments before burning to death before his eyes, Shin Moo-wol blinked. Then he soon recalled a certain fact and spat out curses.

“You bastard! You still haven’t fixed that habit?”

“Tsk! Your mouth is still rough. I only came to have a conversation.”

“You came to have a conversation?”

Shin Moo-wol tried to approach Dong Hwa-woon while emanating a deadly aura. Then Dong Hwa-woon shook his head and flicked his finger.

“Kyaaaah!”

At that moment, another nearby resident was engulfed in bright red flames. At that shocking sight, Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol’s bodies froze like statues.

In childhood, Dong Hwa-woon’s nickname was Flame Demon.

He had the sadistic hobby of setting living beings on fire and enjoying watching them writhe in agony.

At first, it started with small insects and mice, but gradually the targets moved to larger animals, and ultimately he reached the point of burning people. And to efficiently burn people, he researched fire weapons.

What he created in this way was a small thunderbolt called Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullet. On the surface, the Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullet looked like a small iron ball. But inside it contained specially manufactured gunpowder and various materials.

The Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullet had a very complex structure, with the firing mechanism activated by special sound energy.

Once the Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullet exploded, it produced flames called hellfire that, once attached to the body, would never be extinguished.

His obsession with creating hellfire that had never existed before, purely for his own desires separate from learning martial arts, was frightening. That’s why he was ostracized by his peers and had to live as a loner.

Dong Hwa-woon showed his teeth and laughed.

“Hehe! Please understand. I’m a coward, so I need to set up this level of safety device to feel secure.”

“Don’t tell me you fed Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullets to all the villagers?”

“Ah! I’m not that much of a demon. I only fed them to the guys around me. That’s enough.”

The Nine Heaven Fire Soul Bullets were the size of candy. If forced to swallow them, there was no way to remove them without cutting open the belly.

“Why?”

“I told you. I want to have a conversation in peace. If I don’t set up this level of safety device, you’ll definitely rampage like a mad boar.”

“Conversation?”

“Yes! Conversation.”

Dong Hwa-woon looked around and chuckled.

The villagers were looking at him with expressions of terror. That made him feel good.