༺ Third Chapter – Together to Ghost Valley (1) ༻
It had been three days since they departed for the journey.
In a small village somewhere in Jiangxi Province, they stopped at a marketplace.
Tang Hwa-seo humbly admitted to herself.
‘…I made a mistake.’
They should have never traveled together.
It was her fault. Her compassion had led her astray.
Reality was finally beginning to dawn on her and such thoughts emerged.
‘Country bumpkin!’
Mok Riwon was a country bumpkin.
Not only that, he was an uncivilized mountain valley man completely devoid of common sense.
She should have expected the kind of reaction such a person would have around civilization.
Tang Hwa-seo was certain that the most vicious phrase in this world had to be none other than, ‘Young Lady! What is this?’
“Young Lady! What is this?”
The question came out without missing a beat.
She had heard those words dozens of times a day for the past three days since leaving Suyang County.
“…It’s candied fruit.”
“Candied fruit! I know about this! The protagonist, Mountain Hero, in the third chapter of Tales of the Martial Heroes, practiced striking techniques with candied fruit in his mouth!”
“Yes, of course you did.”
Tang Hwa-seo let out a deep sigh as she saw Mok Riwon, his eyes sparkling before her.
Then, what followed was no different from their journey so far.
“Excuse me. Please give me one of the candied fruits there.”
“Ohh…!”
Maybe if he had something to snack on, he would stay quiet for a while.
With that thought, she reached for a coin in her pocket and Mok Riwon cheered loudly.
“Thank you, Young Lady! But why don’t you eat candied fruit?”
“I do not enjoy sweet things.”
“Umm…! I see!”
Tang Hwa-seo glanced at Mok Riwon.
His attention had already shifted from her and was staring intently at the candied fruit.
‘If only he wasn’t so handsome…’
It wasn’t that she hated seeing that sight, she thought. It was just that despite his actions being so aggravating they made her want to tear her hair out, she still forgave him all because of his good looks.
‘…It’s not the time for this.’
Thinking about those things, she sighed again.
With only one month remaining until the Dragon Pheonix Tournament, even diligently riding on a horse to the venue in Anhui Province would take three weeks.
This should have been a place they passed through yesterday, but they had only arrived this afternoon because of Mok Riwon’s curiosity.
At this rate, they might not even make it to the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, which would ruin their plans.
“S-So sweet! I’ve never tasted anything this sweet in my whole life!”
Mok Riwon’s loud shout reached her ears.
Lost in her thoughts, Tang Hwa-seo looked over at him.
‘He’s so pure.’
She couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile and wondered what he could possibly like so much about a candied fruit.
“Is it good?”
“Of course! Too good! Every moment has been delightful with you, Young Lady. Ever since I started traveling with you, I’ve seen nothing but new things!”
Flinch–
Tang Hwa-seo suddenly flinched at the unexpected compliment and fanned her flushed face.
“W-What are you saying…”
It was the face.
That face was the problem.
Saying those words with that face, she couldn’t help but be self-conscious.
Struggling to calm her flustered heart, Tang Hwa-seo said to Mok Riwon.
“Enough with the flattery, let’s go. We can’t afford to waste any more time in this market.”
“Mm! Understood!”
Mok Riwon bit down on the candy with a crunch and swallowed, then said to her.
“Are we looking for horses here?”
“Yes, we have no choice but to hurry.”
“If we rush using movement techniques…”
“Why would we want to unnecessarily drain our stamina? And how do you plan to find your way there running wildly through the mountains?”
As Tang Hwa-seo pointed out the issues he had failed to consider, Mok Riwon firmly shut his mouth.
“Just follow me quietly.”
Mok Riwon nodded.
Finally arriving at the stables, Tang Hwa-seo frustratingly repeated her question to the owner.
“You mean there’s no horses? Not even one?”
“Ye-yes… The only horses we had were all rented by merchants who passed through here two days ago.”
“No, that can’t be. Who the hell would do something so ridiculous…?!”
“T-That would be the Heavenly Merchant Group…”
Freeze–
Tang Hwa-seo stopped moving.
The stable owner, noticing her reaction, stammered and continued.
“T-They… offered ten times the market price. They bought everything, horses and mules alike, loaded up their goods and left.”
It was an absurd situation.
A merchant group that would buy up all the horses in a village at ten times the market price, and this village that sold them at that price.
But Tang Hwa-seo was left speechless.
‘The Heavenly Merchant Group…!’
It was the Heavenly Merchant Group who had done this unbelievable act.
“Young Lady, what is the Heavenly Merchant Group?”
“The largest merchant group in the Central Plains. No, to be more precise, it is a merchant group that has rapidly expanded its influence over the past fifteen years to become the largest in the continent.”
“They bought all the horses?”
“That’s right. It seems we are simply out of luck.”
Tang Hwa-seo sighed deeply, and her expression darkened.
‘This is the worst.’
The next village was at least three days away now. That wasn’t all, that place was smaller and in worse shape than this one, so there was no guarantee that there would even be horses available.
In other words, if they couldn’t find horses here, they would be stuck walking and their fans would fall apart.
“The caravan will return in about a week. I can sell it to you then…”
“It’s too late.”
“Well, what to do…”
The owner of the stables scratched the back of his head, smacking his lips.
It seemed he couldn’t think of any other solution.
In the depressing atmosphere, Mok Riwon stared back and forth between the two before uttering the following words.
“Then, Young Lady, why don’t we take a shortcut?”
“A shortcut? Is there even one?”
A look of disbelief spread across Tang Hwa-seo’s face.
It was absurd that this mountain boy, who knew nothing of the martial world, mentioned a short she herself didn’t know.
However, there was someone present who understood what Mok Riwon was talking about.
“W-What! You can’t mean you want to go through the valley, do you?!”
The stable owner exclaimed in shock.
“No way! That’s Ghost Valley! One wrong misstep and your life is over!”
Tang Hwa-seo made an inquisitive expression upon hearing the words uttered from a frightfully pale face.
“Is there really a path? Hey, tell me more about it.”
The stable owner clamped his mouth shut, clearly signaling that he wouldn’t discuss it any further.
‘Ghost Valley?’
Wonder what that was, Tang Hwa-seo looked at Mok Riwon.
“Young Hero, where exactly is this shortcut you are talking about?”
She asked, expecting him to know since he brought it up.
Then, Mok Riwon said with a grin on his face.
“Moaning Blood Valley!”
He announced loudly.
The stable owner squealed in fright, and Tang Hwa-seo looked stunned. Despite this, the ever-cheerful Mok Riwon nodded and went on.
“That’s right! It’s the valley where the seniors of the Orthodox Faction fought during the war with the Blood Cult!”
There were a few things even Mok Riwon, who was ignorant of the world, knew about the Central Plains.
They were related to chivalrous deeds that Mok Seon-oh had told him as stories.
Mok Riwon still remembered vividly, a stormy night filled with relentless roars of thunder. The story Mok Seon-oh had told to put his seven-year-old self to sleep.
“Blood Valley?”
“Yes, it was a valley where many heroes of the Orthodox Path once stood against the Blood Cult with their lives on the line. It’s not far from here, somewhere in the mountains to the north of Jiangxi Province. Brother and I were there that day as well.”
“Brother is the Beggar King, right?”
“So you remember.”
“Hehe…”
The smile and warm touch on his head as his master stroked his hair were truly comforting. Moreover, the words delivered in a playful tone were so exciting.
“So much blood was spilled. Blood Valley was the quickest route from Jiangxi to Anhui. Had it been seized, even Anhui might have fallen to the Blood Cult. How terrible that day was. Ordinary people living in Blood Valley were all sacrificed by the Blood Cult, and even masters of the Orthodox Alliance had met their end at the hands of the Unholy Blood Fiend’s Sword Arts.”
“W-What happened after?”
“What happened, you ask…”
Mok Riwon remembered. The moment his master stretched out his sentence, the lightning that struck, and what followed.
“…Your Master took care of all the villains.”
The coolest smile, in the room lit up by a flash of lightning in the distance.
Leaving the stable, Tang Hwa-seo came to a nearby inn and looked at Mok Riwon with a serious expression.
Bamboo leaf liquor in somen noodles.
Mok Riwon, sitting opposite to her, had ordered it as soon as he entered the inn and was inhaling it full of smiles.
‘Moaning Blood Valley.’
Tang Hwa-seo was well aware of this place. Although she didn’t know it was directly above here, she did know about the events that had taken place there and why it was called Ghost Valley.
‘How does he know about it?’
She was curious how a man who lacked common sense, knew about Blood Valley.
‘His master? Yes, it’s likely his master.’
It was possible that he was a martial arts master from the previous generation who played an active role in the Bloodied History. That would make sense, especially since the martial arts she had glimpsed from Mok Riwon contained a strong and pure inner qi.
Tang Hwa-seo suddenly became even more curious about his master, but she did not dare ask.
‘This man who talks so much hasn’t said anything about him.’
It was probably right to assume that he was hiding something about his master.
It wasn’t an unusual occurrence. There were often those who had learned martial arts from secluded masters and moved about without revealing their origins.
‘What’s more important right now is…’
What they would do next.
Tang Hwa-seo once again reflected on Blood Valley.
‘We can surely get out of Jiangxi Province quickly if we pass through Blood Valley.’
Although the terrain was rough and hardly any places were suitable for rest, that wasn’t a problem for her and Mok Riwon. They were both martial artists who had reached a realm where those issues did not apply.
However, that was exactly the problem.
‘Traces of the Bloodied History still remain in Blood Valley.’
After the war, Blood Valley became a place overrun with corpses and death qi, where none who entered came out alive. As a result, rumors spread of a malevolent spirit beast that had taken residence there, drawn by the death qi that had settled into the land.
‘A spirit beast is probably nonsense… but the death qi is real.’
If there was truly a spirit beast there, Blood Valley would not have been left untouched. The reason the common folk who entered and never returned was likely because they were overwhelmed by the death qi and died.
‘I’ll be fine.’
The process was horrific, but she had attained a body that was immune to all poisons.
No matter how vile the poison, her body would absorb everything as nourishment, so it posed no threat to her.
But the man in front of her was different.
“Hm? Young Lady, does the food not suit your taste?”
“It’s not that. I just have something on my mind.”
Tang Hwa-seo said, and after adjusting her position, she continued speaking.
“Young Hero Mok, may I ask you just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“During your training, did you learn anything about detoxification?”
Mok Riwon blinked, then nodded his head.
“I know how to expel poison with my inner qi, but other than that, I also carry a few blood poison pills that Master prepared for me.”
Pointing to his bundle, Mok Riwon said that and asked her in return.
“But why do you ask?”
“It seems that we will need to go into Blood Valley.”
“Oh!”
Mok Riwon’s voice rose, and naturally, the inn’s attention shifted to him.
“Ahh…”
A quiet sobbing came from somewhere. The moment his presence became known, someone else began to suffer from lovesickness.
Tang Hwa-seo let that sound pass. Although she had initially been shocked, she could now dismiss such trivial reactions.
With the same expression as usual, Tang Hwa-seo nodded and said.
“Blood Valley will likely be swarming with death qi. It has been abandoned for nearly twenty years, and the stench of corpses that have contaminated the land can harm your body with poison qi by just passing through. Make sure you prepare accordingly.”
“Understood! Today, I must push my qi circulation even harder and manage my internal cultivation well!”
As though excited about something, Mok Riwon gulped down his somen noodles without leaving even the broth, then sprang up to head to the inn’s second floor, where his room was.
Tang Hwa-seo’s eyes narrowed.
‘Will he be fine?’
Seeing Mok Riwon so excited, a deep sense of unease began to take hold of her.
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