𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔𝟕
“Unfortunately, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the fellow disciples you mentioned.”
“. . . Is that so?”
I had thought that at least one of them might have reached Jinyeon Mountain by now, but it seemed that my expectations were too optimistic.
However, I was certain that we would eventually meet them all, given enough time.
In the meantime, we decided to make the most of our encounter with the young Ho-chung and engage in a meaningful conversation.
“May I truly speak my mind?”
Cheong Juhwa whispered, her voice laced with concern, but I knew that there was no alternative but to reveal the truth to Ho-chung.
After all, he was the one who could potentially provide us with the clues we needed to find Polar Night. I had no choice but to lay out the entire situation for him.
“I shall be forthright. My companions and I are not of this era. We have traveled through time with the aid of a special technique, seeking you, Ho-chung-nim.”
Ho-chung’s characteristically gentle expression hardened as he listened to my words, his face becoming solemn.
“In these modern times. . . . . . is such a jest popular?”
“. . . . . . .”
“My apologies, Donor. Your words have left me quite bewildered.”
Sensing the sincerity in our demeanor, Ho-chung finally reacted, his hand reaching up to stroke his chin.
“Hmm, while theoretically possible, I never thought I would witness such a feat of sorcery in my lifetime.”
“Do you believe us?”
“I detect no falsehood in your words, Donor. And yet, you do not seem to be a madman lost to delusions. I have no choice but to accept your claims.”
Relieved that he was willing to engage in a serious discussion, I cautiously shared more details with Ho-chung.
“I am aware of the great yokai Sancheon. However, it would be difficult for him to perform such a feat with his power alone. . . . . . It seems that he must have had a formidable collaborator.”
If that was the case, then it was likely Ho-chung himself from the future. I could not think of any other figure who fit the bill, based on the knowledge I possessed.
“. . . Are you not shocked?”
Shin Pyo-eul, who had also been troubled by the truth of this world, seemed surprisingly calm as I revealed all to Ho-chung.
“It is certainly surprising, but death awaits us all at the end of life. Whether I am an imposter or destined to fade away, it makes little difference.”
He truly seemed to have transcended worldly concerns, reaching a state of nirvana. I felt like I was beginning to understand why Ho-chung was known as the Heavenly Taoist in the future.
“Incidentally, do you have any idea if I will truly reach such a state?”
“At least as far as I know, no other Taoist has surpassed you in the annals of history.”
“Hmm. . . . . . .”
The Ho-chung I knew from the future was practically a transcendental being, so his response felt refreshingly genuine.
However, I could not help but feel a sense of unease amidst it all.
“Ho-chung-nim, do you have any words of wisdom for us. . . . . . ?”
Echinacea Lianqi spoke up. She told us that Ho-chung had given her Sancheon’s horn at the end of his life, entrusting her with the task of finding him in the world of sorcery.
However, it seemed that Ho-chung had no answers for us.
“Of course, I am aware of Polar Night. It inflicted great suffering upon my ancestors and is likely regaining its strength somewhere, even now. It is an adversary that has haunted my family for generations.”
“Then. . . . . . .”
“However, I do not know what to tell you. If even my future self could not defeat it, how can I, in my current state. . . . . . .”
It was a fair point.
If the Ho-chung of the future could not accomplish the task, it was unlikely that the Ho-chung of the present could do so.
However, we had hoped that he would at least have some clues to offer us.
「𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙃𝙤-𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩?」
I had begun to suspect that the final boss of this exorcism 1st installment Hell difficulty might not be Polar Night.
However, we still had no leads on what it could be.
“Perhaps my future self realized something at the end, Donor. And by giving you the horn of sorcery, he must have intended for it to serve as a clue.”
“. . . . . . .”
Ho-chung confirmed that our approach was correct, but that alone did not change anything.
Just then, as if a thought had occurred to him, Ho-chung stroked his smooth chin once more and spoke.
“Donor, may I confirm something?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“In the story you told me, was it Echinacea Lianqi who instructed you to find me?”
That was correct. Echinacea Lianqi had told us to find Ho-chung in the world of sorcery.
“Then, is that a message from my future self? It feels to me like it was merely Echinacea Lianqi’s own judgment.”
Now that he mentioned it, that did seem likely.
In the original story, Ho-chung was defeated in his final battle with Polar Night and entrusted the task to his descendants.
Sancheon’s horn was merely a tool for Yoo Ha-on to receive teachings from Ho-chung in his prime, and it had no other significance.
However, the situation was different now. It seemed that we needed to approach things from a different perspective.
And as I thought about it, a sudden realization crossed my mind.
Why was I facing the young Ho-chung instead of the Ho-chung from his prime?
Why had the era of the world of sorcery changed from the original story?
The reason was simple. It had to be that way.
“I cannot be certain, but I have a feeling that I know the answer.”
“. . . It seems that the Ho-chung-nim of the future did not want you to find him here.”
“You are likely correct, Donor. If there is a key to the clues, it is not me.”
Ho-chung took a moment to compose himself before delivering his final conclusion to us.
“What we need to delve into is the world of sorcery itself. My future self must have believed that there was a clue to defeating Polar Night somewhere in this era.”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
After our conversation with Ho-chung, we finally had a concrete guideline for our final battle.
First, we would locate all of our scattered companions and exchange the information we had gathered during our journey.
Then, we would alert them to the dangers of this era and work together to find any clues to Polar Night’s whereabouts.
To that end, we decided to wait for our companions at Jinyeon Mountain, as we had originally planned, and began training with Ho-chung.
Even though he was not yet the Heavenly Taoist of his prime, the Ho-chung of the present was still an incredibly skilled practitioner.
As a result, we were able to make significant progress with his guidance.
“Donors, you possess truly remarkable talents. I have met countless individuals who were hailed as geniuses, but none of them possessed such power at your age.”
It felt strange to hear such praise from Ho-chung, who was truly a transcendental talent, but it was not an inaccurate assessment.
After all, both I and my companions had undergone systematic training and practical experience in the future, and our talents were all at their peak.
It was a bit of a cliché, but we were a formidable team.
And so, we continued to train day after day, eagerly awaiting the arrival of our companions.
Three weeks passed since we had first arrived at Jinyeon Mountain, and we were finally able to meet the first of our reinforcements.
“. . . Junior. Long time no see.”
“I’m glad you’re safe. Oppa.”
It was Arietta and Han Seo-ah, who had found us at the same time.
“So, it’s true that the answer lies not in the Taoist Ho-chung, but in this era itself?”
We immediately began sharing the information we had gathered, and it was only then that we learned of their experiences.
“. . . I met this junior soon after we arrived.”
“I was lucky. I landed near a city right away. I was able to join up with her while we were searching for a human settlement.”
However, it seemed that they had also faced their fair share of challenges after that.
“There was a group that was hunting a specific yokai using some kind of cursed tool, and for some reason, it reacted to senior. . . . . . .”
“We kept fighting them off until they finally realized their mistake.”
They told us about their adventures with a mixture of excitement and relief, and I asked them if they had encountered anything similar. However, they said that they had not.
“. . . It’s dangerous, just like junior said. We need to be careful.”
“We almost fought a really strong yokai, but I’m glad we didn’t after hearing that.”
To my surprise, they had encountered Gyeonggang, the same Taoist Cheol-woong from Daehwa-rym had told me about.
They had only sensed each other from a distance, so there had been no conflict, but it was a close call.
Once we had shared all of our information, Seo-ah, who had been deep in thought, offered a suggestion.
“Maybe we don’t have to avoid them so much. In fact, maybe we should actively seek out great yokai from now on.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know where to find clues about Polar Night, but there are few who have as much knowledge as yokai who have lived for centuries.”
It was a valid point.
Polar Night was also known as the king of yokai, so it was possible that they knew more about it than anyone else.
Of course, it would only be possible once we had all of our companions together, but the day would surely come when we would have to face them.
“Well, either way, we’ll have to wait a little longer for now.”
Not all of our companions had arrived yet.
So, we continued to train, including the newly joined Han Seo-ah and Arietta, and grew stronger with each passing day.
This era was already overflowing with natural energy, and with the added benefit of Han Seo-ah’s Long-term Chronic trait, our growth was almost exponential.
「𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨?」
Ho-chung’s presence was also a great help, as were the other factors.
The knowledge he possessed was truly invaluable, and with Ho-chung’s guidance, who had already reached a state of enlightenment, we were able to gain great insights in a short amount of time.
And so, one month passed, and then two.
And by the time three months had passed, roughly half a year since we had fallen into this world, we were forced to make a difficult decision.
“. . . Something’s definitely wrong.”
“Oppa, I think something’s definitely going on.”
We had enlisted the help of merchants and Daehwa-rym Taoists, and had even acquired new sources of information to aid in our search.
However, we had not been able to find any trace of Sophia and Yoo Ha-on, and they had not been able to reach Jinyeon Mountain to join us.
We had been actively searching for them for four months now. The fact that they had not been caught in our search net in all that time was not something to be taken lightly.
“. . . Junior, I don’t think waiting any longer is going to help.”
“I agree. I think it’s time for us to move.”
If possible, we wanted to gather everyone at Jinyeon Mountain, but the situation was such that we could not afford to sit around and debate any longer.
And so, we left Jinyeon Mountain after months of training.
To search for the missing Sophia and Yoo Ha-on, and to uncover their whereabouts.
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