Chapter 34: In Search of Vigo. (2) (Revised)

In Search of the Bigo (2)

Geumcheon Yeongga.

It was a noble family that, centuries ago, was not only a martial clan but also operated the foremost merchant guild in the Central Plains.

During the time when the Demonic Mirror Sect first appeared in the Central Plains, Yeon Ilcheon, known as the Fist Iron Gold King (拳鐵金王), who had bravely stood against the Demonic Mirror Sect and displayed his chivalry, was also famously the head of the Geumcheon Yeongga family.

It was the foremost noble family of the era, producing the greatest martial artist in the world and even controlling the flow of money in the Central Plains.

Contrary to expectations that it would firmly hold its ground no matter how much time passed, the history of the Geumcheon Yeongga family came to an abrupt end.

The Blood Calamity.

The reason the Geumcheon Yeongga family collapsed in an instant was due to the sudden outbreak of the Blood Calamity.

The Blood Demon (血魔) of the Blood Heaven Cult. The rebellion of the Blood Cult that he instigated caused a storm of blood to sweep across the Central Plains at the time.

Of course, in the end, the Blood Demon was killed and the Blood Calamity was brought to an end. However, countless noble families and sects vanished in flames during the process.

The Geumcheon Yeongga family was one of them.

The place revered as the foremost noble family in the world disappeared without a trace.

How it happened, or what the Blood Demon did to cause such a futile disappearance, could not be known.

I wasn’t sure if records of that extent even remained, and I had never particularly tried to study the process.

‘What use would knowing about something from hundreds of years ago be?’

The important thing was that they hadn’t completely vanished without a trace.

The Bigo of the Geumcheon Yeongga family, which the Tang Clan found in my previous life, was the very proof.

As it was the Bigo of the foremost noble family of the time, many expected it to contain vast amounts of gold and rare medicinal herbs.

The Gyecheon Sect, which fought a bloody battle over the Bigo and ultimately succeeded in acquiring it.

They never spoke about the Bigo, but it was predicted based on the Sect Leader, who was said to be at the pinnacle, suddenly reaching the Hua Jing (化境) realm.

What if there’s nothing inside?

‘Then it’s just nothing, what else?’

I judged that there wouldn’t be nothing inside, but if that were the case, there was nothing I could do.

Besides, I doubted if I could even find it in the first place.

The time given to me was barely over three days.

Somehow, I managed to avoid losing time to the Tang Martial Arts Convention, but that didn’t mean I had ample time for the search.

“…Damn, it’s ridiculously wide.”

The previous day, I gave Tang Juyeok a convenient excuse, saying I couldn’t show my face at the Tang Martial Arts Convention because I’d caused trouble, and bailed.

To the people of Gu Family, I left a letter at dawn and ran away.

I told them I’d be back in 3-4 days and instructed them to leave the Tang Clan and go to the village I’d visited before.

Muyoung would despair upon seeing it, but there was no other way. I decided to compromise by having her take the scolding with me.

Of course, it was a compromise only I had agreed to…

After running and walking for over an hour, I arrived at the mountainside where the Geumcheon Yeongga family once stood.

Given its location between the Tang Clan and the Gyecheon Sect, I could understand why they fought each other.

It might seem like a small mountain, but it was too vast to search alone for the Bigo.

“Sssip…. A few days won’t be enough.”

“That’s right! It’s really wide!”

“Exactly, isn’t this crazy? How are we supposed to search all of this?”

“That’s right! I’m hungry too!”

“Yeah… maybe we should just go back and eat dumplings or something…”

Huh…?

I turned around at a voice I shouldn’t have been able to hear.

There stood Wi Seol-ah, inexplicably covered in leaves.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Wi Seol-ah tilted her head as if asking why.

Tuk.

A leaf stuck in Wi Seol-ah’s hair fell off.

“You… You…”

“Yes?”

“Why are you hereeeee!?”

The echo reverberated through the mountain.

---

Dumplings are delicious.

I’ve felt that way since my previous life. They’re cheap, packed with meat inside, and the wrapper is fluffy.

Ah, there are thin and chewy ones too, but I prefer the fluffy kind. They’re delicious hot and cold.

They’re delicious dipped in broth and delicious fried.

What a righteous food this is.

In my life, I’ve never thought dumplings were bad.

“Young Master, aren’t you eating?”

Except for now.

“…You, how on earth did you follow me?”

After descending the mountain I had climbed, I stopped by a nearby village.

Since she said she was hungry, I felt I had to feed her something first.

Seeing the pile of bowls Wi Seol-ah was devouring made my head throb.

‘…Just how many bowls of noodles is she eating?’

I’m only eating about three dumplings now, and she’s eating how many bowls… one, two.. three… four… et.

‘Let’s stop.’

I stopped checking halfway through, too scared to count.

“Since when did you follow me?”

Wi Seol-ah, who was vigorously eating noodles, answered my question.

“Just now, uhm… leaving, uhm…”

“Sorry, you can talk after you finish eating…”

Her cheeks look like they’ll burst.

How on earth is she holding all that in her mouth?

Wi Seol-ah finally swallowed all the food in her mouth.

“This morning, Young Master left quietly, so I followed you!”

“…How, exactly?”

I avoided the guards on duty early in the morning and spent hours walking and running.

I even used my internal energy intermittently while running.

Never mind not noticing Wi Seol-ah following me.

…How did she follow me?

Even if she was out of breath from lack of stamina…

“Young Master looked like he was going to die from exhaustion midway, but! You looked like you were having fun, so I watched!”

“…Uh, yeah, thanks.”

Even if I only had a minuscule amount of internal energy and lacked physical training.

I am a martial artist with internal energy.

Even if not later, it wasn’t possible for Wi Seol-ah, who was merely a commoner now, to follow me.

But how?

Of course, I had never seen Wi Seol-ah look tired while doing chores.

Moreover, I had seen her effortlessly lift things that even male servants found difficult to carry.

‘…No, that seems to be the problem in the first place.’

Is the future greatest martial artist in the world different from the start?

This is still too strange.

“Did you really run after me?”

In response to my question, Wi Seol-ah glanced back slightly.

I looked back too, wondering if something was there, but there were only empty tables and chairs.

“I just followed you!”

Wi Seol-ah turned back and answered, making me rub my throbbing forehead.

How should I send her back?

Even if I told her to go back the way she came, I wasn’t sure if she’d arrive safely, and even if I returned to the Tang Clan immediately, I wasn’t sure if my companions would still be staying at the Tang Clan.

Taking her with me and coming back again would take too much time.

Sending her back alone was risky due to Wi Seol-ah’s striking appearance; anything could happen.

After all, Sichuan isn’t exactly a peaceful region.

‘Though I don’t have the right to think that, having run off myself.’

“Hey, why would you follow me dangerously like this!”

Wi Seol-ah flinched at my outburst.

“I’m sorry… I thought Young Master was going somewhere far away… I followed because I was worried.”

I feel the same way.

No matter how lacking my internal energy is, not noticing Wi Seol-ah following me…

‘This is the perfect state to get stabbed in the back.’

Have I become complacent, thinking this is still a peaceful world?

Considering I was traveling through Sichuan, I thought I was being reasonably cautious.

What should I do? I don’t have much time.

Should I search with her? That seems a bit much; I can barely manage myself, let alone drag Wi Seol-ah around.

…Should I just go back to the Tang Clan and come again? Maybe it would be better to come here now and say, ‘I coincidentally obtained information about the Bigo,’ and bring Muyoung.

Though I doubt she’d believe me…

‘Ah, seriously, what do I do?’

While I was lost in thought, Wi Seol-ah asked.

“Young Master, why did you come here?”

“I’m trying to find something.”

“Delicious dumplings?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about dumplings?”

“But, Young Master eats only dumplings every day.”

“No… that’s true?”

I have been seeking out only dumplings lately.

But dumplings are delicious…

Hmph, I let out a sigh.

Can I really find the Bigo in this situation?

I had overheard information about the Bigo of the Geumcheon Yeongga family being around here, but it probably wasn’t accurate information.

“A white maple tree in the middle of summer… what nonsensical talk is that.”

Beneath the white maple tree, I found the entrance to the Bigo.

That’s what the Tang Clan said back then. It was practically impossible talk.

In my previous life, it was summer when the Tang Clan found the Bigo.

It’s hard enough for maple leaves to appear, let alone white ones?

“Was the information vaguely conveyed, or was it distorted?”

I suspect it’s closer to the latter.

After all, it was a story about the greatest noble family that dominated the era; it could have been mixed with fantasy and spread differently among the public.

The biggest problem is me, who came here blindly believing it.

‘…Ah, you idiot.’

The thought of giving up and going back suddenly welled up.

As I was getting tired, Wi Seol-ah said.

“A white maple tree?”

“That’s right, a white maple tree… I came to find that.”

Wi Seol-ah would find it strange too.

No, come to think of it, it’s stranger that such a distinctive tree couldn’t be found for centuries.

“Maple leaves in summer, isn’t that a bit strange?”

“That’s right, I saw it earlier, and it was really pretty!”

“…Right, even you think it’s a bit…”

Huh?

What did Wi Seol-ah just say?

“What did you just say?”

As I asked back in confusion, Wi Seol-ah looked like she didn’t know what I was talking about.

“What’s wrong, Young Master?”

“No, you said you saw the white maple tree.”

“Yes.”

“…Uh, where did you see it?”

Wi Seol-ah tilted her head at my words.

“We were looking at it together earlier!”

“What…?”

“The tree!”

“Me…? With you?”

“Yes!”

When, exactly?

I became dumbfounded, looking at her as if she couldn’t understand why I hadn’t seen it.

Wi Seol-ah, perhaps frustrated by me, huffed and took one of my dumplings, so I slapped the back of her hand.

“Ouch!”

“….You said you saw it together, that tree.”

I asked Wi Seol-ah, who was glaring while rubbing the back of her hand where she was hit.

“Yes, yes.”

“Do you remember where that was?”

I carefully handed the dumpling bowl to Wi Seol-ah and asked.

---

-Jjireureuk jjireuk

Before I knew it, the sun had set and night had arrived.

Night fell just from climbing up and down the mountain a few times…

‘Time passes so uselessly fast.’

I just climbed up and down without finding anything.

Even if one becomes a martial artist who pierces through to reach the heavens, time cannot be controlled, can it?

It might be too presumptuous for someone who has experienced regression to say, but…

“Yeongcha!”

I glanced at Wi Seol-ah, who was diligently following me along the path with a strong battle cry.

Walking on the narrow path filled with trees and rocks, my carefully ironed clothes were covered in dust and leaves.

Despite this, Wi Seol-ah had a bright smile on her face, as if she found this incredibly fun.

“What’s so fun about it?”

“Everything is fun when I’m with Young Master!”

I asked for nothing.

My heart kept tickling, so I forced myself to turn my head forward.

It’s a rough path for an ordinary girl to walk, yet Wi Seol-ah follows without a single sign of breathlessness.

‘…She seems to have too much stamina?’

Is the physique destined to become a divine sword truly different?

“We’ll soon be at the place we went up to earlier.”

The mountainside I climbed during the day. Wi Seol-ah said she saw a white maple tree there.

When I saw it, it was just a cliff full of ordinary trees and rocks.

What on earth did Wi Seol-ah see there?

I hoped it would be worth risking danger to come here at night.

‘Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any demonic beasts around.’

It’s strangely quiet; I can’t feel the presence of any demonic beasts.

Not even the presence of wild animals.

Only the chirping of insects filled the air.

Before I knew it, we reached the place we arrived at earlier.

As expected, I couldn’t see anything with my eyes.

“Where on earth is it?”

“…Huh?”

Wi Seol-ah responded strangely to my words.

“It’s right over there!”

I followed her pointing finger, but there was nothing there.

It’s a cliff over there, actually?

“What are you talking about? There’s only a cliff.”

The atmosphere felt like I shouldn’t go there.

I wanted to go check, but strangely, my feet wouldn’t move.

“That’s strange… It’s really there?”

Wi Seol-ah, seemingly feeling nothing, casually walked towards the cliff.

“Wait…! It’s dangerous!”

I yelled, but my feet remained rooted.

Why is this happening…?

Wi Seol-ah gestured towards the empty air.

It was a dangerous spot where just half a step forward would mean falling down.

“…Shit… move, damn it!”

Gritting my teeth, I drew out my internal energy throughout my body.

Huk! Heat rushed out of my body.

I circulated the Nine Flame Wheel Technique (구염화륜공) with all my might.

Using my internal energy, I forced strength into my legs, which were frozen like statues.

Only then did my body slowly start to obey. Ignoring my hesitation, I ran and pulled Wi Seol-ah into an embrace.

“Kyaak!”

Wi Seol-ah, held in my arms, was startled and let out a short scream, but I couldn’t afford to care.

“Are you crazy!? If you fall from here, you’ll die…”

I stopped myself from yelling at her reckless behavior.

Something was strange.

Jjeojeok-jjeojeok!

Cracks began to appear in the air.

The lines, appearing slowly then rapidly, spread further.

This is just like…

‘The Demonic Mirror Sect…?’

I quickly took out the Demonic Thread Talisman (마선부) I had brought just in case.

The Demonic Thread Talisman from my pocket remained calm.

The Demonic Thread Talisman showed no abnormalities… why?

The current phenomenon was similar to the Demonic Mirror Sect appearing by tearing through the void.

As that thought reached me, a chill ran down my spine.

If it really was the Demonic Mirror Sect, it was already too late to run.

“I really should have left you behind…”

The situation became urgent.

Even if I were lucky enough to be a Jade-grade, at my current level, I couldn’t defend Wi Seol-ah.

Should I send Wi Seol-ah away and deal with this alone? It was an urgent situation, so I needed to act before thinking.

“It’s dangerous right now, so quickly…”

“See! I told you! Young Master!”

“What?”

Wi Seol-ah was just smiling even in this situation.

“It’s not a lie! Right?!”

“What are you talking about? I’m telling you it’s dangerous right now.”

Wi Seol-ah, seemingly oblivious to my urgency, kept pointing somewhere with her hand.

Cracks started to appear gradually from the edge of the cliff into the air, and now they were crumbling down.

‘What on earth is this?’

Could it be a formation? I had never seen such a formation before.

Moreover, could it be made to look this real?

Finally, a bright light burst forth from the cracks that had spread like a spiderweb.

Not knowing what would happen, I held Wi Seol-ah in my arms to protect her.

“Ughh!”

Wi Seol-ah made a muffled sound.

After about 30 seconds, the light seemed to fade, so I slowly opened my eyes.

“…What on earth is this?”

As the light subsided, I let out an incredulous sound at the sight before me.

Where the cliff had clearly been, flat ground now stretched out.

And in the center.

Just as the Tang Clan had mentioned, a giant white maple tree stood tall.