Chapter 82. No Jin Nyung’s Role
The Buddhist king, Godly Monk Kongye.
He, who was temporarily acting as the leader of the Alliance, was currently sitting with Gu Hui, the next heir of the Nanman Beast Gate.
“Amitabha…….”
Godly Monk Kongye put the steaming teacup to his mouth as he chanted buddhist prayers to himself.
Then, Gu Hui, who was seated on the other side, opened his mouth coldly.
“I gave you one month. Then waited for ten more days. Do we still need to wait more?”
Godly Monk Kongye shook his head.
“We have made our decision. This is why I am here with you today.”
Gu Hui’s sharp, annoyed face disappeared when these words were spoken.
This face was soon replaced by one that was filled with anticipation.
“That’s good. So you have made your decision?”
“Amitabha…….”
Godly Monk Kongye was hesitant on saying the answer.
Honestly speaking, he was against the decision that the Alliance made.
Right then, Gu Hui spoke.
“As you know, the Heavenly Demon Church is moving towards Sichuan. If we are slow to ally with each other, you would be the one to suffer.”
The Godly monk faintly smiled when he heard this.
“It is true that we must treat the church with care. But it is also true that the Nanman Beast Gate isn’t able to act freely due to the church, is it not?”
“……..What do you mean?”
“Did you not already have a talk of how you’ll take over the mainland with the North Sea Ice Palace?”
Gu Hui smiled.
But inside, he was extremely nervous.
Just how? How did they know of this?
The Godly Monk had somehow gotten hold of the information that the Nanman Beast Gate was working with the North Sea Ice Palace.
(TL: I barely remember any of this…….)
Many thoughts crossed Gu Hui’s mind in a short span of time.
But soon, Gu Hui opened his eyes with a smirk.
“How laughable. Since when did the godly monk of the Shaolin temple turn into a snake like this?”
This time, the Godly Monk was the one to smile awkwardly.
The young one in front of him wasn’t an easy opponent, as he thought.
This child wasn’t just good at fighting.
The child was also frighteningly strong.
He had realized that the Godly Monk tried to provoke him in an instant.
‘He’s not easy…….’
The fact that the North Sea Ice Palace, and the Nanman Beast Gate were working together to form an alliance with the Black Moon Guild and the Alliance was not a secret.
If one were to think about the Alliance’s current situation, allying with them was the most sound decision they could make.
The Heavenly Demon church was that powerful.
The higher-ups in the Alliance naturally talked about allying with them, but then Sanguan Zhongda, the strategist, stopped them.
He gave everyone a single question.
—Why did they ask for an alliance?
Why would they, who was not involved in all this in any way, try to fight the Heavenly Demon Church?
Even by suffering from immense losses?
Everyone in the Alliance became speechless when they heard this.
Nanman Beast Gate, and the North Sea Ice Palace.
They were not idiots.
There was no way they would step out to help the Alliance for nothing.
Then why?
Why would they fight the church?
Sanguan Zhongda answered this for them.
He took out a map of the mainland, and explained everything for them.
—They’re probably trying to take this area for themselves. After all, they need this piece of land to expand into the mainland.
Only then did everyone nod their heads.
Both the Nanman Beast Gate, and the North Sea Ice Palace were trying to expand into the mainland.
Their interests aligned, and they decided to work together.
‘It would not be wise to bring in a bloodthirsty fox and a bloodthirsty wolf to chase out a tiger…….’
The Godly Monk came here in order to find out just what the Nanman Beast Gate was trying to do.
After all, the Alliance would only be able to prepare if they knew what was going on.
But their opponent was not easy to take on.
He had seen through all of the Godly Monk’s plans, and responded properly.
“Does it even matter, if you think about it?”
“What do you mean?”
Gu Hui looked straight at the Godly Monk, and opened his mouth slowly.
“It is not possible to block the Heavenly Demon Church without working with us. It is hard to admit, but the church is the strongest force in the world, after all.”
The Godly Monk nodded.
The strongest expert, Gongson Chun Gi, combined with the strongest power that currently existed in the world.
It was not possible to take it on.
Right then, Gu Hui continued talking.
“But if we work together, the whole story changes. What we plan to do in the future does not matter for now. What matters is the fact that the Heavenly Demon Church is trying to expand. I’m sure even your strategist reached the same conclusion as I.”
“Amitabha…….”
Right.
No matter how fierce and bloodthirsty a wolf and a fox was, they could never measure up to a tiger.
It would be better to get rid of the tiger first, then think about getting rid of the fox and the wolf.
That was the conclusion Sanguan Zhongda had reached, and surprisingly enough, Gu Hui saw through it.
The Godly Monk took on a serious face.
The one in front of him was even smarter than he thought.
He was young, as well.
That made the Godly Monk afraid.
Just how much would this person grow?
It was not a stretch to think that this person might grow to be the second Gongson Chun Gi.
‘Perhaps we are bringing in a tiger cub into our midst, and not a wolf…….’
But there was nothing he could do about this.
The tiger stretched out its claws into Sichuan, threatening the Alliance.
“We will work with you.”
It was dangerous, but there was no choice.
When the Godly Monk said this with a grim face, Gu Hui nodded.
“Good choice.”
Only then could Gu Hui smile.
’So the tasks that the North Sea Ice Palace was given is now complete.’
Allying with the Alliance was originally something the North Sea Ice Palace was supposed to do.
But then Juk Hyul Myung, the heir of the North Sea Ice Palace, foolishly injured himself in a fight. Due to this, the Nanman Beast Gate was forced to take on this task by themselves.
Gu Hui was not annoyed by this, however.
He merely became curious.
’The one who fought with Juk Hyul Myung…….. Shi Yup, was it?’
The heir of the North Sea Ice Palace was definitely not weak.
Gu Hui knew this as soon as they met.
’Just as strong as me……..’
He didn’t want to admit it, but Juk Hyul Myung was as strong as him.
His pride seemed to be big enough to match his martial power as well. The fact that this prideful guy actually asked him for help meant that he had suffered greatly.
Of course, this made Gu Hui very curious.
‘Just who?’
He was unable to believe that someone other than Neng Mu Gi of the Black Moon Guild would be able to put Juk Hyul Myung in such a predicament.
‘Interesting.’
In any case, things were getting interesting now.
It seemed that even the Black Moon Guild had a useful expert.
To Gu Hui, who was trying to become the master of the next generation, the current state of the world was very satisfactory to him.
* * *
Cho Ryu Hyang took a hot bath from a decent house, which was something he had not done for a long time.
He smiled as dressed himself with a red face.
Un Hui’s stealth technique was good enough to prevent Cho Ryu Hyang from noticing him without using Godly Vision.
But that was not the case for No Jin Nyung.
No Jin Nyung was quite easy to discover, even without Godly Vision.
It was almost as if he was shouting ‘I’m here!’. It was even possible to hear his breathing.
‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about that for now.’
As stealth techniques were something that took practice to master, it took a lot of time for one to actually get good.
Normally, experts find a way to deal with such things easier, in order to master techniques faster, but No Jin Nyung couldn’t do that.
After all, No Jin Nyung only valued simple, straightforward things.
This caused him to have trouble at hiding himself, even with much power.
His personality as a hotheaded person got in his way as well.
“Please come out for a bit.”
No Jin Nyung made a half-surprised, half-guilty face when he heard Cho Ryu Hyang call him out.
He pretended to not have heard any of it, but Cho Ryu Hyang kept looking at him.
“I’m not trying to punish you or anything. Come out.”
No Jin Nyung finally stepped out from behind the wall with a sad face.
Even to him, his skill at stealth techniques was just horrid.
After all, even normal people who didn’t practice martial arts were able to notice him.
He could remember the words Un Hui said to him multiple times when learning stealth techniques.
–You are not using your strength efficiently.
But no matter how many times Un Hui explained this to No Jin Nyung, No Jin Nyung did not understand.
It was too hard.
No Jin Nyung walked to Cho Ryu Hyang. In the process of doing this, he kept looking around.
‘Just where is he?’
Although hiding in itself was not related to martial arts, detecting hidden people was.
The fact that even he, an expert on the same level as Un Hui, showed that Un Hui was that good at hiding himself.
While No Jin Nyung didn’t acknowledge Un Hui, he had to acknowledge Un Hui’s stealth skills.
The thing he really couldn’t understand was Cho Ryu Hyang.
‘He can sense Un Hui? How?’
It was unbelievable, but it came from the mouth of Un Hui himself.
It had to be true in that case.
Cho Ryu Hyang, without realizing what No Jin Nyung was thinking, looked over to where Un Hui was for a second, and opened his mouth.
“Isn’t it hard to try and hide yourself?”
“It is, but it’s fine, hehe. I can hide my shadow now.”
When No Jin Nyung said this with an awkward smile, Cho Ryu Hyang smiled back.
“So you’re getting better.”
“Yes. Ehehe.”
No Jin Nyung smiled like an idiot when he got praised. Cho Ryu Hyang smiled as he looked at No Jin Nyung.
Strangely enough, it was hard to hate this person.
No, he was a person you just naturally liked.
Almost too much.
TL: Not in a gay way you pervs. Gotta say this before all of you start making BL fanfics and shit.
Was it because all of No Jin Nyung’s emotions could be seen on his face?
After thinking for a bit, Cho Ryu Hyang spoke again with a smile.
“You can guard me in public now.”
“Haah? Is that fine?”
“Yes. I do need someone to help me out and guard me at the same time in public.”
“Right.”
No Jin Nyung nodded with a delighted grin.
He was being shouted at by Un Hui constantly because he had to learn stealth techniques, but now, there was no need to be shouted at anymore.
Even that made him happy, but Cho Ryu Hyang decided to go one step further.
“And now, you two may sleep in a room other than me. You can guard me at night by taking turns.”
[Impossible!]
Somebody dropped from a ceiling, like a drop of water.
It was Un Hui.
Screen Shot 2016-03-04 at 9.56.34 AM
As soon as he appeared, he looked at Cho Ryu Hyang with a stiff face.
“Please take back the order you just gave us.”
“Isn’t it hard for you?”
Un Hui glared at No Jin Nyung viciously for a second, then bowed down.
“That idiot might not know, but I’m fine. I was trained like this, and was taught like this.”
He was trained to be an assassin in the first place.
Being in the darkness made him comfortable.
But Cho Ryu Hyang shook his head.
“It makes me uncomfortable.”
“……..”
Un Hui became speechless.
While he put on a dumb face, Cho Ryu Hyang sat comfortably on his seat, and spoke.
“I’m really thankful for how much you have protected me during this time. But such intense protection isn’t really needed anymore.”
“But…….”
“We have to be ready for anything.”
Un Hui turned serious when he heard Cho Ryu Hyang’s tone. He decided to hear Cho Ryu Hyang out completely.
“Even if you are a harmonious expert, you wouldn’t be able to make use of all your power without sleep. The place where we are going now won’t allow you to survive in such a condition.”
“……..”
“Even if this reason might seem a little hard to accept, you must follow my orders this time. Also, it would be hard for me to have a good rest while knowing that the two of you aren’t even sleeping.”
Un Hui became thoughtful.
It was true that Cho Ryu Hyang was discomforted by Un Hui guarding him 24/7.
But that wasn’t a proper reason for him to guard Cho Ryu Hyang less.
After all, Cho Ryu Hyang’s safety outweighed his discomfort.
‘But……’
It wasn’t easy to refuse Cho Ryu Hyang’s order.
After all, Cho Ryu Hyang was a master he decided to serve for the rest of his life.
After some thought, Un Hui bowed.
“I will follow your orders, untill you become used to us guarding you 24/7.”
“Thank you for being so understanding.”
Cho Ryu Hyang smiled brightly.
He expected No Jin Nyung to agree to his request immediately.
But not Un Hui.
As Un Hui was quite intelligent, Cho Ryu Hyang expected Un Hui to disagree with him a bit. He was thankful that Un Hui was so understanding.
He could see that Un Hui truly cared about him from this. That made Cho Ryu Hyang happy.
“I want to go on a walk for a bit.”
When Cho Ryu Hyang shook off the excess water from his head and stood up, No Jin Nyung quickly prepared to go out.
Un Hui also prepared himself by hiding his body. Cho Ryu Hyang nodded when he saw this, and spoke quietly.
“Good.”
What should he say about this.
It felt like everything was in its right place.
He felt such a thing at that moment.
‘What is this?’
It felt like he would see this scene many times in the future.
Cho Ryu Hyang smiled faintly, and walked out to the garden.
He stood at its centre, and breathed in.
He could see.
He could see the Emei Mountain, which was standing quietly below the moonlight.
‘We’ll be arriving soon.’
The expeditionary force of the Heavenly Demon Church.
Their destination was a region known as Jiulong (九龍) of Sichuan.
This was an area that belonged to the Emei Sect, but was also close to the Qingcheng Sect, as well as the Sichuan Tang Clan.
There was no choice but to fight those of the Alliance in order to settle in to Sichuan.
‘I’m different from before.’
Cho Ryu Hyang quietly looked down at his hands.
In the past, these hands were unable to hold anything other than a brush.
Not anymore.
He learned martial arts, and created his own formation.
He was much stronger than him of the past.
Cho Ryu Hyang licked his lips as he thought this.
When the fighting begins, there may come a moment where he would have to hurt someone.
No, it will definitely happen.
‘I won’t try to run away from it.’
If he tried to run here, he wouldn’t be able to meet ‘him’.
The one who killed his teacher, Jo Gi Chun.
Krr— (TL: Sound of someone who’s grinding his teeth. Can’t come up with a decent onomatopoiea for this)
’The Wudang Sect…….. and Yu Sul Bin.’
Cho Ryu Hyang ground his teeth.
He would make them definitely pay.
At that moment, while CHo Ryu Hyang was thinking such things, something strange came into his eyes.
“Nn?”
Cho Ryu Hyang touched his glasses, and tilted his head in confusion.
He blinked several times, to confirm if he wasn’t imagining things.
Cho Ryu Hyang made a strange face as he looked at the Emei Mountain.
‘What is this?’
He saw something strange.
Something he shouldn’t have seen.
Was he imagining things?
After thinking a bit, Cho Ryu Hyang opened his mouth.
“How long do we have to travel until we arrive?”
“We’ll arrive tomorrow.”
Cho Ryu Hyang opened his mouth after pondering on Un Hui’s response for a bit.
“So I’ll have to confirm tomorrow, in that case……..”
When Cho Ryu Hyang said this,
[So you can already see such a thing…….. what a monster.]
Cho Ryu Hyang widened his eyes when he heard something in his head.
He could hear Zhuge Liang, who had been staying quiet for a long time.