Chapter 68
Even in summer, Yeopdubo Peak of Odaesan, one of the ten famous mountains of Central Plains, had extremely low temperatures.
A cutting wind blew across the peak, dispersing the clouds, yet even here, the vegetation thrived with vibrant life.
Beneath a massive rock near the summit of Yeopdubo, a man was digging into the ground.
His clothes were tattered, and his face showed the fatigue of many days of hardship. Yet his eyes shone with a sharp light, and his movements were precise and purposeful.
He seemed unconcerned about getting dirt on his hands, yet each touch was careful, deliberate.
How much time had passed? Suddenly, the man let out a roar of laughter.
“Ahahahahahahaha!”
No one who saw this man laughing like a madman could have guessed he was Namgung Seong (南宮惺), the junior head of the Namgung family.
“…So it really exists. It’s here… it’s really here.”
Namgung Seong muttered as he looked at the Gosan Mansu Gilgeonggeun he had just unearthed.
[Information has been obtained that ‘it’ is under the large rock of Yeopdubo Peak in Odaesan, Shanxi. I cannot reveal the source, but it is reliable.]
When he received a letter from his son, Namgung Hwi, he hadn’t held high expectations. After decades of disappointment, he had learned not to.
Still, once the information was in hand, he had to act. Although the Namgung family had many capable warriors, Namgung Seong went alone.
The journey from Anhui to Shanxi was far, but he did not mind the hardship.
Even after reaching Yeopdubo, it took him more than ten days wandering the mountains before he finally found the Gosan Mansu Gilgeonggeun.
“…As small as they said.”
He recalled the words of the doctor who had first told him about the herb.
I haven’t seen it myself, so I cannot be sure, but the size of the bellflower (doraji) should be very small. Even over long periods, it cannot properly grow at high altitudes.
Very small… that makes it hard to identify.
Yes. But it has a distinctive feature. Unlike ordinary bellflowers, it is wrinkled, almost like sasaem (Codonopsis).
How can you tell it apart from sasaem?
You will notice its unique fragrance. The records describe it as a deep bellflower scent. I haven’t smelled it myself, so it’s hard to explain.
Even without trying to smell it, the deep scent of bellflower filled his nostrils.
“That’s right… this fragrance… there’s no way it was properly recorded. Deep bellflower scent. Hahaha. Yes… deep bellflower scent.”
Namgung Seong’s hands trembled as he held the Gosan Mansu Gilgeonggeun. Though a warrior accustomed to controlling his body, the tremor started in his hands and spread through his whole body.
“Hehe… it really… exists here.”
Tears streamed down his face as he muttered with laughter. Though men like him rarely cried, he could not hold back his tears.
After some time, Namgung Seong retrieved a small box from his chest.
A cool aura emanated from it. Made of ten-thousand-year-old steel, the box preserved its contents well.
He carefully wrapped the Gosan Mansu Gilgeonggeun in silk and placed it in the box, handling it with utmost care.
“I have to go… quickly, to Hwareong.”
Putting the box back into his chest, Namgung Seong stood. He tapped it twice and sent a swift signal.
To Yangyang, Hubei.
Though the journey to Jeongal Hwareong, where his wife awaited, would be long, he did not care.
“…Who are these people?”
As he descended Yeopdubo and entered a nearby village, he sensed unfamiliar presences approaching.
At first one, then over ten, and soon over a hundred.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Namgung Seong spoke.
“Haha… seems I’ve been discovered.”
A man carrying a large sword on his shoulder jumped from the bushes. His arms spread wide in a playful, teasing gesture.
At his signal, around a hundred warriors armed with various weapons emerged.
They exuded a fierce, unrefined aura unique to rogue sects.
“Bandits? I wasn’t aware of a major hideout here.”
Namgung Seong, head of the Namgung family, was always aware of information about the Green Forest (a bandit network).
Although there were Green Forest hideouts throughout the Central Plains, none could move such a large force in Shanxi.
Yet he still asked if they were bandits, probing them to gauge their strength.
“Why no answer?”
He carefully assessed the warriors.
‘That man is supreme? Two peak-level fighters… half first-rate, the rest third-rate.’
Their martial prowess was formidable. That such a force appeared suddenly made little sense.
They could not have followed him from Anhui; he would have known if they did.
“Well, we live on this mountain. We might be bandits… or not.”
The man smiled mischievously, maintaining the same playful attitude from earlier.
“Then… are you Sado-ryeon?”
He had maintained a cautious peace with the Sado-ryeon alliance, a rogue sect union, for many years.
The Namgung family, a longstanding pillar of the righteous sect, had many enemies. Yet Namgung Seong knew that this apparent peace was dangerous. A small spark could ignite a full-scale conflict.
Or perhaps someone held a grudge against the Namgung family.
The opportunity was favorable; it was rare for the junior head to travel alone.
“Maybe… maybe not.”
The man’s playful demeanor remained.
“Is Sado-ryeon trying to start a righteous sect war?”
Namgung Seong’s low voice echoed through the surroundings.
“What? Hahaha! I’ve heard something amusing… a righteous sect war? Haha, isn’t that right, guys?”
The man laughed loudly, and the other warriors joined in.
They sneered, as if daring the Namgung family to even utter the thought of a righteous sect war.
They did not know that anyone daring to harm the Namgung family would have to prepare for such a war.
“You… don’t know who I am, do you?”
Namgung Seong sneered. His doubts cleared, he raised his aura to its peak.
The aura of an emperor filled the surroundings.
Cheonroe Emperor Divine Skill (天雷帝王神功).
Only the family head and junior head of the Namgung family could wield such a sovereign aura.
“…Y-you are?”
The sudden shift in Namgung Seong’s aura startled the man. He, too, was a supreme martial artist and could perceive Namgung Seong’s power.
“Well… who could I be?”
Tilting his head, Namgung Seong fidgeted with a sword sheath wrapped in white cloth to conceal his identity.
“I see. You wouldn’t know unless you were sent here for a task.”
He nodded and removed the white cloth. On the sword hilt were the characters Changgung (蒼穹) clearly engraved.
“I… I… Namgung?”
The man’s face turned to shock. Still a warrior, he instinctively drew his sword.
“Yes. I am Namgung Seong of the Namgung family.”
“W-why… why is Namgung here? I was only supposed to scare or take what we could…”
Despite drawing his sword and raising his aura, the man could not believe the situation.
“I see. So you were hired for this task.”
It meant someone knew Namgung Seong’s identity and that he had found the elixir.
“I don’t like teaching lessons. That’s for scholars who study Confucian classics.”
Namgung Seong drew his sword, the Changgung sword brimming with azure energy.
“Strike!”
As the man raised his aura, dozens of warriors charged.
“But since you don’t know who I am, today… I’ll give you a real lesson.”
One step. The step of an emperor.
Shreek, shreek, shreek.
Five warriors fell, spurting blood, before even seeing the sword move.
“When accepting a mission…”
They died without seeing Namgung Seong’s sword in motion.
“You must… know who you are facing.”
Ignoring the fallen, Namgung Seong advanced, cutting and thrusting at the attackers. Over half were downed.
“Step back. I’ll handle this.”
A supreme warrior pointed a sword at Namgung Seong.
“Still the leader, huh?”
Namgung Seong sneered, meeting the man’s gaze.
Whoosh!
Blood rose from the man’s sword as it struck above Namgung Seong’s head. The Changgung sword glowed in response.
Clang, clang, clang.
A clash of power. Sounds no weapon should produce rang out. In an instant, dozens of strikes were exchanged.
The man aimed for a brief opening in Namgung Seong’s shoulder.
But Namgung Seong did not dodge; he drove his sword into the man’s heart.
Blood splattered, but he remained unmoved.
The rest either fled or lay dead, leaving Namgung Seong alone in a sea of blood.
He withdrew the sword from the man’s heart, wiped off the blood, and muttered coldly:
“There is… one who targets Namgung.”
