As Prophet - Chapter 104



Only Krnovel

Episode 104. Hoeryongsa

After visiting several temples, we arrived at Hoeryongsa Temple. The monks, who were frozen to the bone because of the harshness of the situation, ran out barefoot and stood in a line. They ordered all the members of the temple to come out.

Baek Yi-hyung slowly got off his horse and approached Won-ju. Won-ju became very nervous as he approached closer than the normal conversational distance. This was due to his large size, height, and the sharp aura that seemed like it could cut him at any moment.

“What’s going on?”

“Woo-heo, I am looking for a true person.”

Wonju flinched. He felt that this guy knew what he was talking about.

“There is no such person in our temple.”

“I am not a person who lives in a temple. I am a mountain person.”

“ah!”

“I’m 16 years old. My face is slender and white, with a sharp, sword-like face. When I smile, I’m full of mischief, but when I have a hard face, my face looks old. I’ve returned to the main temple in search of my master’s footsteps, and I’m probably alone now. I carry a long sword, which I hang on a belt and swing behind me. I also have a hobby of dangling it.”

Baek Ui-hyeong, who had said this, looked deep into Won-ju’s eyes. Won-ju, who could not withstand the pressure from Jang-su, hesitated and turned his body.

Baek-ui-hyeong glanced around at the people in the mountain temple lined up. No one made eye contact, but he met the eyes of Bulmok-hani at the very end. The big man smiled brightly. He was clearly a person with some shortcomings, but his smile was very bright. No, in a way, it seemed like he was teasing them.

“Hehe, hehe. I know you well!”

As Baek-ui-hyeong was walking to the end of the horizontal line, Won-ju quickly walked behind him and blocked his way. It was a gesture that if he were to swing his sword, he would block it with his body instead.

“I’m sorry. This guy is a little lacking. His words are not trustworthy. He only talks nonsense.”

Baek Ui-hyeong reached out and pushed Wonju Monk to the side. The old Wonju Monk could not resist and was pushed away.

“Woo-huh, you know the true person?”

“Hehe, I know. He even taught me the Sun God Art.”

Sunshinkong. Baek Ui-hyeong’s mind became clear. He himself studied as one of the Sanin. It wasn’t that difficult, but if you do it consistently, your mind will become clearer and your energy will become pure.

“Try it!”

“The sun is already high up, so I don’t do it. I only do it when the sun rises. That’s what Woo-Heo told me to do.”

“Try it!”

Baek-ui-hyeong released the safety catch on his sword. He pressed the bent iron and heard a clicking sound. Won-ju-sun jumped up and blocked his way again. He grabbed the edge of the armor and begged for his life.

“Please save me. This guy doesn’t know anything. Please save him.”

“My name is Baek Ui-hyeong, the head of the Hoeryeong Manho Cheomjeoljesa. I am the older brother of Woo Heo Jin-in, and we studied together at Baekdu Mountain.”

The two people were at Baekdu Mountain at different times. They did not study together, but they said they studied together because they learned from the same teacher.

Wonju’s expression changed slightly when he heard that they studied together. It could be a lie. How good are people in this world at lying? They live with countless lies that are socially accepted, yet they do not feel shame.

“We were together in Gyeongsan-hyeon and parted ways in Hanyang. When the head of the clan was transferred to Hoeryeong, he had no choice but to leave his master behind, but it seems he returned to his hometown for some reason. When the master of the clan passed away early, he could not leave the young Uheo alone, so he came to Sobaeksan. He had been taking care of the clan until now, but when he was transferred to the border, he could not be with him.

“I don’t know where Taebaek is, and I don’t know which mountain it is. If you could give me some general directions, it would be a great help.”

An explanation was urgent. Wonju hesitated. If it was a matter between the four brothers, there was no need for us to intervene. However, he still suspected him. No, he distrusted the two generals behind him and the soldiers of Hyeon.

But why the wind all of a sudden? Bulmokhani stood facing the sun and raised and lowered both arms to demonstrate the movement. He didn’t do it when I told him to do it earlier, but he suddenly did it. Baek Ui-hyeong was sure that Dalcheon had taught him this.

Bulmokhani’s breathing became stable, and soon his face became as stern and peaceful as that of a great monk. He did not look like someone lacking anything. Baek Ui-hyeong closed his eyes. He felt the energy flowing majestically, and he had the illusion that the sunlight was shattering into grains of light at the tip of his skin.

‘You learned it properly!’

Baek Ui-hyeong grabbed Won-ju by the shoulder and dragged him to a corner where there were no people. It looked like he was going to drag him to a corner and beat him up separately.

“Your Majesty, I ran away because you wanted to entrust me with a big task. If I had a family, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. I’m trying to set things right now.”

“He may not want it.”

“Yes. I will judge from the place of execution. If Wu Heo Jinyin does not want to do it, I will not force him. Don’t you know very well that he is not a person who can do that?”

“Whew… … Trust between people is very important. He told me not to tell anyone.”

“You know that.”

“I came down just once a few days ago. I went to the market to buy what I needed and stopped by on the way up.”

Wonju explained the story of the monk Takbal, starting with the incident with the monk, and the soldiers chasing him. Baek Ui-hyeong saw the monk Takbal standing on one side. When he heard that he was going to capture him and get rice as a reward, the ground seemed to fall away.

The master was furious, so he called a monk.

“Can you guide me?”

Bulmokhani shook her head.

“You can only go up to the middle, and it’s blocked off above that. The path is strangely blocked. If you go, you’ll come to the original place and the same place again. That’s why I couldn’t go up to the top of the cliff.”

Baek Ui-hyung asked quickly.

“Is it a cliff-like obstacle?”

It is not the intelligence of a sage that can answer specific questions.

“It’s blocked. I can’t go any further. Hehe.”

Wonju pointed to Takbalseung with the tip of his chin.

“Please come with me. At least until there.”

“Yes, monk.”

Wonju joined forces.

“I will guide you as far as I can go.”

“thank you.”

Baek Ui-hyeong ordered the cavalry that had come with him to stop searching elsewhere. The cavalry ran out in a hurry the way they had come. Leaving the soldiers behind, they climbed the mountain with only two generals. Bulmok-hani led the way, and a sturdy monk followed closely behind.

* * *

Soon, a gravel field appeared, and the stone towers that Dalcheon had made appeared. There were dozens of towers taller than a person, made of tightly stacked natural stones. Baek Ui-hyeong was sure. It was confirmation that these were the towers he had been talking about.

“It’s a stone tower… … .”

Baek Yi-hyung muttered. The slope became steeper and slower several times, and the sound of water falling could be heard in the deep valley with cliffs on both sides, and the Baek Jang waterfall appeared before his eyes. It was a waterfall that was really over a hundred chapters high, something that people didn’t even know about.

Bulmokhani climbed up the pile of rocks next to the waterfall on all fours. But it was faster to go on all fours. He climbed up the steep slope that would have made the secret warriors of Hoeryeong feel burdened. He looked like someone with innate divine powers, but Baek Ui-hyeong knew that it was the effect of the Sun Shingong.

As Baek-ui-hyeong climbed up the slope that was piled up like stone steps, the monk’s eyes shone sharply. At least, he seemed to think that he was not inferior to him. Baek-ui-hyeong looked back and saw that the monk was jumping up in the same way, and he had signs of having learned martial arts.

As we climbed up the plateau, the vegetation began to change. It was not a mountain, but a long, straight pine forest. Baek Ui-hyeong, who knew from hearing the story, quietly closed his eyes. The scent he had mentioned flowed elegantly. No one seemed to notice, but Bulmok-hani looked back and smiled. It was as if she was saying, “Do you know that this is a pine mushroom colony?” Baek Ui-hyeong nodded, and Bulmok-hani quickly passed by.

Although I said that if I kept climbing, I would never be unable to climb, it was around the end of the afternoon when I reached a point where I could not go any further.

“Take a break and go!”

The most welcome words during a hike are probably ‘let’s take a break’. Those who realized that they had never taken a break before let out a big sigh.

Suddenly, Bulmokhani started to move busily from right to left. It seemed that his anxiety and nervousness had reached the peak. Takbalsung gently grabbed Bulmokhani’s shoulder.

“Nothing is wrong. Don’t worry.”

“No, we can’t go any further from here.”

“I know. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about anything. It’s okay.”

“I can’t go any further, but I’m going to rest… … I’m going. I can’t go.”

“If you can’t go any further, don’t go any further. Don’t worry.”

Takbalseung tried to reassure him, but he kept coming and going in a hurry. It was distracting to the onlookers. Bulmokhani glanced at Baek Ui-hyeong, then he walked towards him with his shoulders tense and a stomp.

“This is it. We can’t go any further.”

Baek Ui-hyeong smiled softly. He was different from others because he had Dal-cheon’s touch on him.

“I know. You worked hard. Get some rest.”

“I can’t go any further.”

The mountain people’s training grounds are often surrounded by a kind of barrier. They are often located behind natural barriers, but if that is difficult, they set up a kind of formation to block people and animals. Most of the time, they deceive the eyes and ears of people trying to enter and make them turn back, but sometimes, the poisonous ones set traps to hurt people and block their entrance.

Baek Ui-hyeong gathered everyone together with a gesture.

“This is the only place that ordinary people can go. Rest here. You two can go down.”

Although Takbalseung was delighted, Bulmokhani was dissatisfied.

“I’m not going. If you hit Woo-Heo, I’ll stop you.”

“Hehehe. There is no one in the world who can put him in danger.”

The monk’s eyes sparkled. He had already experienced it once. As a monk who had mastered martial arts, it was a blow to his pride, but he could not even keep up with his feet. There was the pain of being unilaterally suppressed.

“It was strong.”

“Have you tried it?”

“I was unilaterally attacked.”

Baek Ui-hyung explained it without difficulty.

“He is the best sword in the world.”

“Huh?”

Baek-ui-hyeong, who was resting while leaning against the rock, got up and looked up to the high place. The steep cliff stood as a natural obstacle, and there was no detour in sight. Baek-ui-hyeong knew. Some of those rocks were fake and illusory. It would be close to impossible for ordinary people, but not for mountain people. Although he resented himself for being only half a mountain person, he was certain that he was there.

But there is no need to try. He must have already felt our presence. He is a person who can guess our martial arts just by the vibrations of our footsteps even if we are more than ten li away.

Did he feel impatient at the end where he could not go any further? The bijang who accompanied him from Hoeryong asked hurriedly.

“Is there a way?”

“He will come.”

“If you don’t come… … .”

“I’ve been waiting here for a thousand years.”

“Huh?”

A somewhat easygoing man sat across from me and muttered.

“I should have brought a tent with me.”

“If necessary, going and coming back is also an option.”

The faces of the two people turned bright yellow. If they went and came back, it would not be Baek-ui-hyeong, but themselves.

“He’ll be out soon. The executioner has arrived.”

Baek Yi-hyung shook his head. It didn’t feel right. No, it was a feeling he couldn’t put into words, but it was a certainty that he wouldn’t be able to come right away.

There was a strange smell different from the world, and something like a mist was swaying in the direction of the mountain, so it seemed like something was going on. If I were living a normal life, I would be changing my study, work, and hunting every hour. It would take at most an hour for him to appear, but it didn’t seem like it would be today.

‘What could it be…?’

Baek Ui-hyung shook his head.

“I think it will take some time.”

“Is this the dwelling place of the mountain man?”

“No. The dwelling is far inside the barrier. That is, the far outer edge.”

“Then wouldn’t you know we came?”

“I know. Already.”

“I guess I might not come out because I’m trying to refuse.”

“Turn off unnecessary attention and prepare to stay for a long time. At least a day or more.”

It only takes a moment for an answer to a question to turn into a command.

“Loyalty!”

The two men stepped back.