abcnovels
Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Woof!
Hwanggu joined in as well.
When Jin Cheon-hee said he was going on a martial arts journey, Hwanggu stubbornly insisted on going too.
“You really have no intention of returning to the Beggar’s Sect, do you?”
Pant pant pant.
Hwanggu wagged his tail.
Then he approached Yoo Ho and rolled over, exposing his belly.
Yoo Ho scratched Hwanggu’s belly vigorously.
“Have a safe journey, Sir Hwanggu.”
Yoo Ho and Hwanggu seemed to have some kind of understanding. After a brief initial awkwardness, Yoo Ho sometimes acted as if he could understand Hwanggu’s speech.Hwanggu, too, treated Yoo Ho like a friend, differently from how he treated Jin Cheon-hee.
Yoo Ho hung a medicine container around Hwanggu’s neck.
It was clearly custom-made to fit Hwanggu’s neck size.
Jin Cheon-hee asked,
“What’s that, Chief Yoo?”
“It contains White Dragon Golden Wound Sap and White Dragon Divine Pills. I also put in some beef jerky. For emergencies.”
Jin Cheon-hee had felt this before, but Yoo Ho definitely liked dogs more than humans.
It was different from the medicine box Jin Cheon-hee carried on his back.
“Don’t tell me you carved a white qilin in relief on the bamboo container?”
“I made it in my spare time. Sir Hwanggu said the White Dragon Medical Pavilion is more stylish than the Beggar’s Sect anyway.”
He always does this.
It really makes it seem like he’s actually conversing with Hwanggu.
Woof!
Hwanggu barked as if in agreement.
On top of this, Hwanggu wore a white leather outfit on his back.
“Is that Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor?”
It’s armor made from the skin of a silver snake that lived for a hundred years. It can block stray arrows and swords.
“You didn’t wear it, young master.”
“That’s because it gets in the way.”
“That’s why I modified it for Sir Hwanggu.”
Woof woof!
It seems Hwanggu is dressed better than me.
This guy eats spirit medicines like they’re his lifeline, wears Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor like it’s fashion, and even has the armor wrapped around his four legs like anklets.
Yoo Ho even added decorations to his head.
‘Well, it is cute.’
Jin Cheon-hee understood why pet owners dress up their companion dogs.
Moreover, Hwanggu, who treats his own body like a diamond, wears the Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor without showing any signs of discomfort, as if it fits perfectly.
Woof!
Hwanggu barked at Yoo Ho.
“Sigh… Do I really have to?”
Woof, growl…
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Hwanggu barked at Yoo Ho as if speaking.
Yoo Ho clicked his tongue in displeasure but unfastened something from his arm.
“Take this.”
Thud-
Jin Cheon-hee caught what Yoo Ho threw. It was a bracelet made of twisted threads in various colors: gold, silver, and light orange.
“It’s clearly made from animal hair, not human hair, but strangely, it’s as hard as if it were woven with gold thread. What kind of hair is this?”
He tugged it slightly as a test, but it didn’t budge.
“It’s fox tail hair. It will help when you encounter spirit beasts.”
“Fox tail? Is fox tail hair this tough…?”
“It’s from a spirit beast.”
I see. So there are such spirit beasts in the world.
Indeed, there are many spirit beasts not mentioned in books. Thinking this, Jin Cheon-hee put on the bracelet.
Woof!
-Master. I want beef jerky!
He looked down in surprise.
There was Hwanggu, staring intently at Jin Cheon-hee.
“What’s this sound?”
“It’s a treasure that allows you to understand spirit beasts’ speech. It doesn’t work for ordinary animals. Oh, and it only works for intelligent spirit beasts. If they lack intelligence, communication isn’t possible. This is similar to how humans communicate with each other.”
It’s amazing that such a treasure exists.
“Yoo Ho, where on earth did you get this?”
“What good would it do you to know?”
Yoo Ho spat out bluntly.
“No, no. I’m just grateful.”
“Since the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp incident, I don’t like the idea of hunting spirit beasts. But, it can’t be helped.”
Master nodded at Yoo Ho.
“You’ve made a big decision, Yoo Ho.”
“…”
Yoo Ho didn’t respond.
He just jerked his chin towards the outside, as if telling Jin Cheon-hee to leave quickly.
“Yoo Ho, thank you! I’ll be back! Master, I’ll return safely!”
Jin Cheon-hee vigorously rubbed Hwanggu’s back.
Woof! – I. Eat beef jerky well! Quickly supply food!
Jin Cheon-hee pulled out some beef jerky from his sleeve and threw it to Hwanggu.
Chomp!
Hwanggu caught it in mid-air and ate it with loud chewing sounds.
***
On the deck.
Jin Cheon-hee had found a merchant ship and crossed the Yangtze River.
In Jin Cheon-hee’s hands were information sent by the Hao Sect, Wuhwa and Wuyue, along with information gathered by the Beggar’s Sect and the Trio Assassin Rats while accepting requests from various places.
The martial arts world information obtained through his master at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion was also of considerable quality, but that was still just the medical pavilion’s information.
It was information they needed to gather to manage the medical pavilion.
What Jin Cheon-hee needed was even more detailed and intimate information.
The Blood Immortal Sect.
He needed to understand how they were operating.
Of course, he couldn’t openly reveal the name “Blood Immortal Sect” itself.
If that became known, the Trio Assassin Rats would already be dead.
The opponents were meticulous.
‘There’s a rumor that a man-eating mountain lord has appeared near Mount Putuo…’
Mountain lord.
It refers to a tiger, and a tiger big enough to be called the lord of the mountain.
After villagers went missing, they were found hanging on trees with all their internal organs missing, it was said.
The sight was so gruesome that people suspected it was the work of a beast rather than a human.
Skilled hunters were searching for the mountain lord but were lamenting that it was hiding like a ghost and couldn’t be found.
The Trio Assassin Rats had also received a request, but they couldn’t go because they were busy handling Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency’s affairs.
‘Has the Blood Immortal Sect already passed through once?’
Corpses mutilated as if mauled by beasts. Hanging bodies on trees or rooftops for all to see is a characteristic of the Blood Immortal Sect.
Yet, there were no traces of martial arts.
Moreover, the decisive factor was the missing internal organs.
When making offerings to fox immortals, human internal organs are considered the most precious sacrifice.
The problem is that tigers also eat the most nutritious internal organs first when hunting humans, making it difficult to distinguish.
This is the kind of information Jin Cheon-hee wants.
Unverified rumors.
Stories strange enough to be called urban legends.
Such information is classified as low-quality and wouldn’t be passed on to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.
‘The Trio Assassin Rats did well. Now I just need to cross-reference this with the information from the Hao Sect and the Beggar’s Sect.’
Information from the Hao Sect and the Beggar’s Sect is hard to obtain frequently.
Jin Cheon-hee’s goal is to either intercept what the Blood Immortal Sect wants first or scatter thumbtacks in their path.
If he were to gather information specifically targeting the Blood Immortal Sect, there’s a high chance of catching the eye of their spies.
That’s why Jin Cheon-hee randomly received low-grade information for money, asking for martial arts world rumors and such.
This is the level of information often requested by enthusiasts.
Low-quality information with no real confidentiality.
After cross-referencing, Jin Cheon-hee came to a conclusion.
‘It seems the Blood Immortal Sect searched around Mount Putuo and then moved on.’
They’re moving around looking for the Heavenly Thunder Hawk.
They’ll search everywhere and if they still can’t find it, they’ll return to Mount Putuo, but there’s still time.
‘They definitely haven’t found the Heavenly Thunder Hawk yet.’
As with Wang-ya Ju, he had been worried about some butterfly effect causing them to find the Heavenly Thunder Hawk first.
Fortunately, this part was going according to the novel.
Jin Cheon-hee burned the letters with the fire energy of his Five-Elemental Divine Technique.
When fire suddenly appeared from his hand, he heard a sailor mutter in surprise, “Samadhi True Fire!”
Another person fooled.
It’s the Five-Elemental Divine Technique pretending to be Samadhi True Fire.
The Unperceivable Snow Gliding is actually the ice energy of the Five-Elemental Divine Technique.
In the martial arts world, the Zhuge family has the image of both wise strategists and con artists, and Jin Cheon-hee thought they might have brought it upon themselves.
The martial art itself is somewhat suited for conning people, at least on the surface.
Jin Cheon-hee decided to leave it be, feeling awkward about going to explain, “This isn’t Samadhi True Fire.”
He just looked at the rippling river, organizing his future plans.
‘The target is the Zhoushan Archipelago where the Heavenly Thunder Hawk lives. Mount Putuo is there, and there’s the Putuo Sword Sect, right?’
The Sword Empress.
It was held by the Putuo Sect, which had been called the Southern Sea Sword Sect for generations.
Along with the Emei Sect, the Southern Sea Putuo Sect, known as one of the two holy lands of female monks, was famous for producing experts for generations.
The Sword Queen is so strong that even later, one of the Three Great Swords of the world is the Sword Queen of the Putuo Sect. However, it’s located in the Zhoushan Archipelago, an area dense with islands.
It was also a sect that didn’t involve itself much in martial arts world affairs.
Sword Emperor.
A title even higher than Sword King or Sword Queen.
The Azure Dragon Sword King and the Putuo Sword Queen will compete for this position.
The Putuo Sect had produced two Sword Emperess in history, and at that time, they were aiming for the third Sword Emperess.
‘Come to think of it, the Blood Immortal Sect guys are gutsy too. To capture the Heavenly Thunder Hawk in the Zhoushan Archipelago, breaking through the Putuo Sect’s surveillance network.’
The book stated that the Putuo Sect had known about the existence of the Heavenly Thunder Hawk from the beginning. However, they didn’t even attempt to capture it.
As a Buddhist sect, they couldn’t bring themselves to take a life, it was said.
Moreover, since the Heavenly Thunder Hawk wasn’t an evil spirit beast, all the more reason not to.
‘First, cross the Yangtze River to Zhejiang, then arrive at Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province. From there, I can look for a ship to the Zhoushan Archipelago.’
Woof woof! – Master! Quickly supply beef jerky!
“Oh. Alright.”
Now that they can communicate, Hwanggu begs for beef jerky even more.
‘At this point, I wonder if I’m not the master but a beef jerky shuttle. It’s starting to worry me.’
Woof! Chomp chomp. – Loyalty! Loyalty!
‘Cute rascal.’
Jin Cheon-hee vigorously scratched Hwanggu’s head.
Hwanggu, seemingly pleased, swallowed the beef jerky in two bites and then licked Jin Cheon-hee’s hand.
‘Somehow he’s even cuter now that we can communicate.’
He thought it would become annoying, but it’s just lovable.
Jin Cheon-hee blew a warm breath onto Hwanggu’s forehead.
Flap flap-
Feeling strange, Hwanggu shook his head from side to side.
***
Perhaps because it had been a long time since the Hao Sect’s wanted notice ended, they crossed the Yangtze River without incident.
Jin Cheon-hee headed straight for Zhejiang Province.
Riding a horse would have been faster, but the road to Zhejiang Province was rough, and more importantly, he regretted that riding a horse would reduce opportunities to train his internal energy.
When Jin Cheon-hee first trained, he practiced moving energy while carrying water buckets.
The Five-Elemental Divine Technique is both static and dynamic cultivation.
It was possible to accumulate energy while walking.
Also, by continuously overworking his body, he trained his external techniques, and by using internal force in the process, he constantly stimulated his energy meridians.
Woof! – Master, you’re fast.
“It’s less burdensome than before, probably because Master’s life isn’t at stake this time.”
It’s walking, but at a speed comparable to decent lightness skills.
Nevertheless, since one foot was always on the ground, it was still speed walking.
As they were following a path deep into the mountains, the sound of clashing weapons and shouts rang out from somewhere.
Clang, clang clang clang!
“Someone please…!”
Hearing a cry for help, Jin Cheon-hee switched to full lightness skill and leapt forward in one bound.
Hwanggu quickly chased after Jin Cheon-hee.