Dropped into Murim with an Instant-Kill Skill - Chapter 163

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 163: If I Hear the Dao in the Morning, I Can Die by Evening (3)

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Three boats made a circuit around Dongting Lake.

Not a single other boat floated on its vast waters.

Normally, fishing boats and pleasure craft should have filled every direction he looked. Today, though, all he could see were waves like a silver platter and Junshan Island, blue as a conch shell.

“It was an honor to accompany you.”

A military officer cupped his fist before Yeon Sowol.

Ga Geukjun, the sixth-rank Roving General.

He was the one who had arranged this scene today.

“...Thank you for going to such trouble. I hope this won’t cause you any problems because of me.”

All the higher-ranking officers had died, making Ga Geukjun the most senior remaining official, but this must still have been quite a burden on him.

He had issued a travel ban on Dongting Lake, requisitioned military ships, and arranged this boating excursion for Yeon Sowol.

Thanks to him, Yeon Sowol had been able to take one last peaceful tour of beautiful Dongting Lake. Still, he could not help feeling both grateful and sorry.

“Don’t say that. It caused no trouble at all. The moment people heard we were arranging a boat ride for the Leader of the White-Robed League, they were desperate to help. That is how much you have done for this place.”

After saying that, Ga Geukjun stood silently for a moment, as if swallowing something down. Then, in a voice heavy with pain, he spoke.

“Thinking back now, there had been signs everywhere.”

It was the day Yeon Sowol was leaving, but Ga Geukjun could not help thinking of Yang Hoeam again.

Yang Hoeam had not suddenly fallen into corruption without warning.

If anything, he had left behind countless traces.

“One day, he ordered a large number of military uniforms made. The red and blue uniforms that only martial officials may wear, and which no one else should wear. We thought the provincial governor meant to grant us new clothes in recognition of our service. Yet not one of us received a new uniform.”

These were facts uncovered after everything had ended.

Yang Hoeam had colluded with the Demonic Path, and the Demonic Path had controlled the water raiders of Dongting Lake.

With the Flood Dragon of Dongting Lake backing them, bringing mere water raiders under their control could not have been difficult.

Yang Hoeam had supported them in every way.

Stealing military uniforms that only martial officials could wear, along with the battle robes and breastplates worn by government soldiers, had been part of it.

They had disguised water raiders and Demonic Path followers, allowing them to move about freely.

As Yeon Sowol listened, he suddenly recalled a passage from the Yuezhou Guide to Avoiding Danger.

2. If you leave Yuezhou’s city walls, walk along the shore of Dongting Lake, and see government soldiers or martial officials walking into the water, stop where you are, hold your breath, and close your eyes. Remember this well. No government soldier or martial official of Yuezhou patrols the Dongting Lake shore outside the city walls.

They truly had not been government soldiers or martial officials.

Ga Geukjun was speaking of that now.

In terrible pain.

“I knew it was strange. Where had the uniforms we never wore gone? It was strange. Yet I let it pass. I thought it wasn’t my place to question it. Looking back, that was disloyalty. Because of that, General Shin Gilrip died. Because of that, all this happened.”

Ga Geukjun lowered his head.

“So how could I neglect something for Leader Yeon? It was solely through your efforts that a disaster on the verge of becoming far worse was contained here.”

Slowly, he raised his head.

His trembling eyes still showed the shame he carried, but he gritted his teeth and faced Yeon Sowol.

“I wrote down every detail and submitted a memorial. The Imperial Court will not misunderstand you or treat you poorly over this matter. If anything, you may even receive a reward.”

“...That’s good to hear.”

The boat ride was nice, but this was far more welcome.

The fact that he had killed a local official appointed by the Emperor had weighed on his mind the entire time.

“You said you submitted a memorial. Is it really all right for me to leave before the Imperial Court’s reply arrives? Shouldn’t I wait for their answer...?”

“You are going to Wudang, so it is all right.”

Yeon Sowol’s eyes widened slightly.

“You mean it’s all right because I’m going to Wudang?”

“That is correct. By law, it would be proper for you to remain here until the Imperial Court’s reply arrives. But if you are going to Wudang, there is no issue with leaving. Just remain at Wudang until the reply arrives.”

“Why is Wudang so special?”

Yeon Sowol could not help asking.

Was Wudang not just another martial sect?

The officials he had seen so far did not seem to hold Jianghu martial artists in such regard. Was Wudang really that different?

Ga Geukjun read the look on his face and smiled faintly.

He looked amused, as though Yeon Sowol was finally showing some innocence appropriate for his age.

“Mystic Peak That Governs the Realm. The World’s Foremost Immortal Mountain.”

A northern mountain that governed the realm, and the greatest immortal mountain under heaven.

“Is that not Wudang? Whenever a new dynasty was established, each founding sovereign climbed Wudang Mountain and received Heaven’s Mandate anew. How could Wudang be treated like some ordinary martial sect?”

Yeon Sowol’s mouth fell open a little further.

He was genuinely shocked.

‘Mystic Peak That Governs the Realm?’

By now, Yeon Sowol knew this world fairly well.

People in this parallel world of ancient China did not use words carelessly.

To govern the realm.

It meant ruling all under heaven.

Such a description was not attached to just anyone. It was an expression permitted only for the Emperor.

Yet a single martial sect bore such a title.

In Shinheung County, Yeon Sowol had bowed and called even a ninth-rank County Inspector “my lord”...

It felt as though every shred of common sense he had was collapsing.

Ga Geukjun watched his expression and chuckled softly again.

Then, in a much friendlier tone, he said, “Then, Leader of the White-Robed League. Let us end the boat ride here.”

“Ah.”

The military ship, which had been moving forward without pause, had stopped before he noticed.

Approaching from either side were two boats, one bound north along the Yangtze and one bound south along the Xiao-Xiang River.

It was truly time to leave.

* * *

“Brother Yeon...”

So Hye sniffled.

“I really won’t forget this... I learned so much... felt so much... but I wasn’t much help at all...”

Her nose was red, and she kept sniffling so much that she could barely speak.

Yeon Sowol smiled softly, bent his knees a little, and met So Hye’s eyes.

“If I need your help again, I’ll call for you.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

“...I’ll train hard! This time, I really learned that being pretty isn’t enough... Though I still have to be pretty!”

“Yeah. Of course.”

So Hye clenched both fists tightly.

Unable to resist, Yeon Sowol patted her small head once.

“See you again, Brother! Stay healthy at Wudang Mountain too!”

So Hye boarded another boat and headed south along the Xiao-Xiang River.

Yeon Sowol, Jin Geol, Won Huiseung, and Ha Jeop traveled north along the Yangtze.

The journey remained peaceful.

As they chatted with the friends they would soon part from, time passed in a flash.

Their boat passed Wuhan, left the Yangtze, and sailed upstream along the Han River before finally reaching Xiangyang.

“We’re getting off here.”

“I-I’ll be going... Uh.”

Won Huiseung and Ha Jeop disembarked at Xiangyang.

They said they were returning to Zhongnan and Huashan.

Yeon Sowol asked, “Huiseung. You only just found clues about the dragon, and you’re already heading back to your sect?”

“Now that I know for certain a dragon exists, that’s enough for now. Besides, I think I need to get myself in order before I face a real dragon next time.”

Won Huiseung raised his palm.

Crackle!

Blue currents jumped from his fingertips.

“What’s that...?”

Yeon Sowol’s eyes widened, and Won Huiseung nodded.

“Maybe it’s because I got struck by lightning too many times. My qi changed a little. I’ll return to my sect, see my master, and ask for advice. Whether it’s a gain or a loss, and what I need to do to make it a gain.”

Won Huiseung finished speaking, shrugged, and turned away.

“See you again, Sowol. Jin Geol too. By the next time we meet, I hope your martial arts have improved enough that I won’t feel bad beating you up.”

Jin Geol grinned.

“Who knows? You may spend the rest of your life regretting not beating me up now.”

“Sure. Fine.”

Won Huiseung waved without looking back. Jin Geol gave the back of his head a lazy wave in return.

“Y-yeah, well. M-my master told me, since I was already out, to make a name for myself before returning... B-but I didn’t manage that, so... I-I’ll just train some more. A-anyway, see you, H-Huiseung! I’m coming too!”

Won Huiseung kept walking without looking back. Ha Jeop hesitated as he watched him, then hurried after him.

Ha Jeop would return to Huashan.

Won Huiseung would return to Zhongnan.

Both sects were in Shaanxi and quite close together, so the two would likely stay together for the rest of their journey home.

After they got off the boat...

Rumble.

Far more people climbed aboard.

Even so, Yeon Sowol felt strangely empty.

The boat continued up the Han River toward Wudang Mountain.

From Xiangyang, Wudang was already close.

After the boat drifted onward for a little while...

“Then I think I’ll get off here too.”

Jin Geol disembarked near Longzhong, at the edge of Xiangyang.

“...Where are you going? If you don’t have anywhere to go, why not come see Wudang Mountain with me?”

Yeon Sowol asked casually, but Jin Geol shook his head.

“That wouldn’t be bad, but unfortunately, I have somewhere to go.”

“Where?”

“My family home.”

“Hm?”

Yeon Sowol’s eyes widened.

Jin Geol had said he ran away because he hated home.

His family wanted him to take the civil service examination, but he did not want to. As far as Yeon Sowol knew, Jin Geol had left home almost as though running away, saying he would see the world’s scenic wonders and drink with beautiful women and friends.

Yet he was going home?

“To take the civil service examination?”

Jin Geol shook his head.

“No. If anything, I’ve become even more certain. An official position doesn’t suit me.”

“Then?”

“I’m going to become a person of the Jianghu. Properly.”

Jin Geol’s eyes gleamed.

There was mischief in them, but Yeon Sowol could see the cool sincerity resting beneath it.

Jin Geol was that sort of person.

He always seemed playful, yet in the end, he accomplished things others could not.

“...You’re going to have it out with your parents?”

Jin Geol grinned at Yeon Sowol’s question.

“Yeah. Just as my closest friend stood before the Governor-General of Liangguang and argued right from wrong. Just as he sternly rebuked an official appointed by His Majesty the Emperor. I’m going to show my temper too.”

“How are those the same thing?”

“Maybe they are...?”

Jin Geol turned away.

He waved over his shoulder.

“Go on. Wudang is right before you. Your reputation has grown beyond measure, and your friends are now scattered across the world. There’s nothing left for you to fear.”

Jin Geol walked away.

“...He didn’t even look back.”

Yeon Sowol muttered as he looked up at the sky.

Rumble.

Another group of people climbed aboard.

They wore all kinds of clothing.

As though they meant to fill the spaces his departing friends had left behind...

“Why are so many people boarding?”

Yeon Sowol murmured, watching Jin Geol’s back disappear into the crowd.

Then Jin Geol’s voice transmission suddenly reached him.

He still had not looked back.

⌜They are incense pilgrims heading for Wudang.⌟

“Incense pilgrims?”

⌜It is the greatest Daoist sacred site under heaven, so countless people go there to burn incense and offer prayers.⌟

“Really?”

Yeon Sowol tilted his head.

“I imagined some otherworldly place, like immortals living above the clouds. I guess it’s more open than I thought. Closer to the secular world too.”

⌜Not really. That place is unusual. It is open to everyone, yet it is also the most secluded hidden place in the world. It does not reveal its true worth to just anyone. You, too, will have to prove yourself several times.⌟

Yeon Sowol suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

When he had left Guangdong for Dongting Lake, he thought he had talked with Jin Geol about how he should conduct himself from then on.

Feeling the emptiness settle over him, Yeon Sowol muttered, “...Hey. You heard everything, but you still didn’t look back once?”

This time, no voice transmission came in reply.

Jin Geol’s back was no longer visible through the crowd.

“...”

Yeon Sowol looked up at the sky.

“I’m alone.”

Come to think of it, this was the first time since he had fallen into this world that he had truly become alone again.

Flap!

The boat raced on the wind.

Not long after, Yeon Sowol disembarked at Junzhou with the countless incense pilgrims.