Chapter 879: To Changbai Mountain (1)

Things to do before departing for Changbai Mountain.

First: say goodbye to friends.

“Jegal, travel safe.”

“Yes, Older Sister. And you take care as well. I’ll see you later in our district at the Martial Alliance.”

“If a Martial Alliance official heard that, they might snap back, Since when did Mucheon Pavilion—the Martial Alliance’s top-VIP Guest Hall—become your Half-Sword Twin-Blade Society’s district?

But also—watching that six-and-a-half-foot mountain of muscle, Jegal Ihyeon, fold at the waist while he said it... yeah. It really does look like some hometown street-gang organization.

“And give Hyang-i my regards too. Wow. My god—how long has it been since I last saw Hyang-i?”

“It’s been a little over half a year, Older Sister.”

“Already over half a year? Wow. Time flies.”

“Stop by sometime. Hyang-i probably misses you a lot too.”

Jegal Ihyeon, returning home!

Qing did consider dropping him off on the way to Changbai Mountain, but the Jegal Family was close—if he just rode a boat down from here, one day was more than enough.

If it only took a day to get home, there was no reason to make him wait and go together.

Of course, even aside from that, there was no reason to grab someone and tell them to wait just because it happened to be on the way home.

If they parted now, they could see each other again next time.

Partings should be clean.

In that spirit, Peng Daesan was goodbye too.

“San, you’re going too, right? Give Miss Peng my regards too. Ah—I said I’d come visit once, but I still haven’t made it.”

“Even if you come, there isn’t anything special. And even if you do come, I won’t be at the family estate anyway.”

“That’s hilarious. Who said I’m going to see you? I’m going to see Miss Peng.”

“Hmph.”

Peng Daesan snorted.

Then he stared at Qing for a moment.

“...You’re not actually planning to come.”

“Mm, I don’t know yet. I might stop by on the way back after Changbai Mountain? It’s kind of right in between, isn’t it?”

“You’re going to Changbai Mountain? That’s not a place you go sightseeing.”

“There’s something I’m looking for.”

“...If you absolutely have to go, it’d be better to go as early as possible. If you leave in early spring, you’ll get there in summer.”

“I was planning to drop my bags and go right away.”

“Mm.”

“Anyway, travel safe, San.”

Like that—people going home went home.

And yet Gunyeong was standing beside Qing like it was the most natural thing in the world, like she was just coming to our house?

Sure, Gunyeong had nowhere to go after getting kicked out of the Ice Palace, but didn’t she have her own room at the Martial Alliance?

Well, whatever.

Things to do before departing for Changbai Mountain.

Second: listen to Sarang and Yeonseo’s drooling nonsense at the main gate—again, today.

First, Sarang.

“Ah, Great-Grand Senior Teacher is here! Great-Grand Senior Teacher, Great-Grand Senior Teacher, did you know? They say if you see someone too pretty, the shock can make you lose your memory.”

Sarang said it.

“Ah, Great-Grand Senior Teacher! Great-Grand Senior Teacher, Great-Grand Senior Teacher, did you know? They say if you see someone too pretty, the shock can make you lose your memory.”

Sarang blinked and said it again.

“Ah, Great-Grand Senior Teacher? When did you get here? I heard this before, but—if you see someone too pretty, the shock can make you lose your memory.”

Sarang tilted her head and said it.

“Ah? Great-Grand Senior Teacher? Are you heading out? Ah, Great-Grand Senior Teacher, be careful. If someone sees someone too pretty, they might lose their memory—MMPH. I-ya-gul ih-leul-sdo iss-eo-yeo.”

Even with candy shoved right into her mouth mid-sentence, Sarang stubbornly kept the drooling nonsense going.

“W-Whoa. Calm down. Yeonseo, you been doing okay too?”

“How could I be doing okay when Great-Grand Senior Teacher isn’t at the sect gates, and Jayeo isn’t here—no, Jayeo! My life, my light, my salt, my candy! For Jayeo, I think I could even give up tonight’s snack! Heehee, Jayeo, sniff, Jayeo smell, heeheehee....”

While Yeonseo buried her nose in Qing’s nape, Jayeo cocked her head crookedly and looked up at Qing.

Her face said, This person is weird.

“Alright, alright. Good work.”

“Yes, Great-Grand Senior Teacher!”

“See you later! But—ah! Right! Did you hear that? I heard it last time, but—if you see someone too pretty, the shock can make you lose your memory. It’s true!”

No way—she was going to overdo it one more time in this opening?

Qing smiled with her eyes and pointed at Sarang, like, Ohhh, and Sarang puffed her chest in proud triumph for some reason.

Before departing for Changbai Mountain—(omitted)—third:

Pay respects to the Sect Leader and greet her.

“So, our youngest, you’re back? Oh my, you didn’t have to bring me something like this. Alright—then I’ll save it and eat it all by myself later.”

Sect Leader Wang Juhee accepted the dried shiitake mushrooms and immediately tucked them into a drawer in her office.

Shiitake mushrooms might be common in Qing’s homeland, but originally they were the king of mushrooms—the strongest of the mushroom world, capable of making matsutake and such into, literally, such.

Of course, if it were truly that rare, Sect Leader Wang Juhee wouldn’t be saying she’d eat it alone.

The truth was, Seol House Commercial Guild’s ingredients for their master’s household included specialties from all across the Central Plains, so “I’ll eat it alone” was just what she said.

“Still, you should’ve spent Spring Festival at the main sect. You said Yunnan, right? Nothing happened?”

“Nothing happened... well, stuff happened, so—”

Qing poured out her usual messy, scattered summary.

The order was a bit scrambled, but someone at the level of a Sect Leader naturally had the ability to understand even a report with garbage sequencing.

“The world is truly growing more and more dangerous. Those Blood Cult wretches keep showing their faces—it’s ominous. Should I send word to your Teacher? Times like these are exactly when you must be even more careful.”

The Priestess Order Temple’s location wasn’t exactly ideal; further south than this, it was closer to unorthodox territory.

Still, having WUDANG SECT and the Jegal Family nearby was a relief.

And it was an even bigger relief that Qing had wiped out the Green Forest Headquarters.

“Alright, then. Get some real rest.”

“About that... I think I have to head out again soon.”

“My goodness, right after you got here? You child—why won’t you stay home for once? Where are you trying to go this time?”

“Changbai Mountain...”

“Changbai Mountain? Oh dear—if you go and come back, it’ll easily take half a year. Mm.”

Wang Juhee’s expression softened into something oddly kind.

“Even if our youngest hasn’t registered as a disciple of the Priestess Order Temple, not a single disciple of the main sect considers our youngest an outsider.”

“That’s not it. This is my home. I just... think this is a time when I need to move quickly.”

Wang Juhee had been asking whether Qing felt uncomfortable because she was an outsider.

Qing wasn’t a disciple of the Priestess Order Temple; she would always be Ximen Surin’s disciple.

She was telling Qing: don’t feel uneasy in your Teacher’s sect just because your Teacher isn’t here.

Qing answered that it wasn’t like that, and a smile returned to Wang Juhee’s kind face.

“At your age, if you’ve already reached harmony, you’d be justified in resting. But then again... that must be why our youngest reached such a realm in the first place. Still, don’t make me worry too much.”

“Yes. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Before departing for Changbai Mountain, whatever—fourth:

Play with Jin Jangmyeong.

“What, you’re leaving again?”

Jin Jangmyeong, with his chin planted hard on top of Jayeo’s head, puffed out his cheeks.

No—where did this grown man get off acting cute?

Sure, to the eye, Jin Jangmyeong still looked like a sixteen-year-old kid, but how old was he this year again?

If he was two years younger than Qing’s public age—my god, wasn’t he twenty-one?

Puffing his cheeks at twenty-one... well, whatever. But wasn’t it kind of embarrassing for himself?

“Where are you acting cute from?”

“Hmph. My choice.”

“What’s the point of playing? You’ve gotta work your bones to dust while you’re young and retire early. Once I hit the Manifest Realm, after that, everything’s dead. Don’t expect me to step one foot outside the house.”

“Manifest Realm—what, is that a dog’s name?”

“If you’re a real master, it’s a dog’s name. Our Jangmyeong is obviously destined to work his whole life. Let’s retire when we’re dead. Tsk, tsk.”

A vein throbbed on Jin Jangmyeong’s forehead.

“Mm. In that spirit, want to teach Jayeo the Thousand Character Classic before I go? Changbai Mountain is too far, and I heard it’s dangerous.”

“Hng. Me too.”

Jayeo tried to act cute.

But with Jayeo, you could argue it wasn’t “trying.” She was just cute by default.

Up to Liaoning Province was clearly Central Plains territory.

But beyond that—Jilin and Heilongjiang were kind of ambiguous. Opinions differed.

From the imperial household’s standpoint, they didn’t officially dispatch administrators there, but since many Central Plains people lived there, they decided it was implicitly Central Plains land.

Of course, the Jurchen barbarians over there absolutely did not agree.

Originally, Jilin and Heilongjiang were the region where the Jin Kingdom—the old country of the Jurchen barbarians—had once existed, and now the Jin Kingdom had splintered into hundreds of tribes.

Over there, each tribe carved out territory and claimed it as their land.

And it wasn’t only the Jurchen—Mongol barbarian tribes were also quietly slipping in and claiming it as their own domain.

No Central Plains administrators. Tribal laws varied wildly by tribe. Jurchen and Mongols in constant turmoil.

So if you had to put it into words, it was everyone’s land—but at the same time, nobody’s land.

In other words: a chaotic lawless zone.

Still, in the large and small cities connected by the main road, Central Plains law usually held and order was maintained.

To be more exact: only one single artery—the road running Liaoning–Harbin, the one line leading from the Central Plains up into the Black Dragon corridor—counted as Central Plains.

Everything else was, in Qing’s homeland terms, a jointly managed zone.

As a result—

“This time, no. Horse bandits, mountain bandits—those robbers, you end up running into them six times a day, rotating through Mongols, Jurchen, and Eastern Barbarians one after another. It’s too dangerous for Jayeo.”

“Hiiing....”

Jayeo drooped.

But what could Qing do? A land crawling with robbers like that—

Heh.

A land where all the robbers are dead, a land overflowing with bastards you can kill, bastards who deserve killing.

A land truly flowing with milk and honey. No wonder Grandfather Dangun picked it as a home.

Did Grandfather Dangun enjoy killing villains too?

“...What? Why are you excited?”

“Ahem. Excited. No, I just—thinking I can’t take Jayeo and our Jangmyeong with me, ah, my heart, kuh-hk... I’m so hurt, Jinja. So hurt.”

“Daughter, Dad’s already hopeless. Let’s just live happily by ourselves.”

“Studying?”

“No studying.”

At that, Jayeo turned her back and threw herself into Jin Jangmyeong’s arms.

A vein bulged on Qing’s forehead.

These tiny little punks—playing around and flopping over.

What is this, the Tiny Alliance?

“No, I said get her through the Thousand Character Classic. The kid’s illiterate—can you even swallow food like that?”

“Do it yourself. I don’t know. Daughter, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Right.”

Well—Qing had just dumped Jayeo on them and said she was leaving again, so this was probably their way of complaining.

Nothing to be done.

Studying could happen later anyway—Jayeo wasn’t going to enter government service, so what if she was illiterate?

Just be healthy, my precious little Jayeo. For now, you’re cute, so it’s fine.

Later, when you stop being cute, you can study hard then.

Still, after spending the New Year outside, coming back and sleeping only one night before leaving again felt... kind of embarrassing.

So Qing decided to sleep two nights.

“Great-Grand Senior Teacher! Travel safe!” “Ah, you’re leaving again, Great-Grand Senior Teacher. Until you come back, I’ll guard the main gate forever.”

“Mm. You aren’t really the only ones standing watch, right?”

“Senior Teacher-Brother, I’m not saying this because I want something, but I hear the bracken over there in Changbai is insanely good.”

“Bracken. Noted.”

“Come back fast. Jayeo waits.”

“Listen to your moms, okay? Study hard.”

Jayeo slid her eyes away.

Qing looked up at Jin Jangmyeong, and Jin Jangmyeong shrugged—mm. He wasn’t really just planning to play, right?

“Seomun Cheong, I’ll be waiting.”

“Yeah. You train hard too. Also... I’m not sure why you’re standing over there.”

Somehow, Seol Iri was naturally mixed in among the Priestess Order Temple side, seeing her off.

Seol Iri stayed behind.

Qing had refused Seol Iri when she said she wanted to come along.

Because—well, would you go together for something you couldn’t feel proud about?

Qing was heading out to find a demonic art—no, one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts Under Heaven.

Even if they were friends, it was better not to get tangled up in it.

Leaving behind the Priestess Order Temple and the few others seeing her off—

Toward Changbai Mountain.

Departing.