Ch.269. The Main Headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Sect (3)

Like Soso, it was fluent Korean.

In Ark Hunter, Korea is the hegemonic power. And hunters from all over the world inevitably have to work with Korean hunters.

Yeon Se-hwi, the strongman of Wu Kingdom, also spoke very natural Korean.

“I see. I’ve heard a lot about Mr. Minsu from my daughter.”

It was a light handshake. To strangers, it would look like a harmless greeting between people meeting for the first time. But the executives of the Cheonma Divine Sect were horrified to see me calmly shaking hands with Yeon Se-hwi.

‘Not a strange reaction.’

Perhaps an ordinary awakened person would be afraid, but I wasn’t. Fear is ultimately a biological terror of death.

I might fear the death of others, but at present, I had not the slightest fear of my own death.

I’m already terminally ill. And I’ve made up my mind to shorten what little life I have left.

So even if Cheonma, Yeon Se-hwi, were to emit killing intent toward me, I certainly wouldn’t have feared him.

At that moment, Yeon Se-hwi’s expression changed subtly. It was very brief, but the emotion in that expression was clearly surprise.

However, he quickly returned to his original expression and released my hand. He spoke to his subordinates in the language of Wu Kingdom, which is Cantonese.

Thanks to my close friendship with Soso, I could speak Cantonese. So I understood everything he said.

“It would be rude to keep our guest standing here. This person is Soso’s guest. I would like to have a quiet conversation with them alone. You all withdraw.”

“But Master! Leaving you alone with an outsider is…”

One executive exclaimed in surprise. Yeon Se-hwi’s eyebrows twitched slightly at those words.

“Elder Lee. Who do you think I am?”

At that calm statement, the person called Elder Lee trembled.

“I… I apologize for my rudeness…”

“Enough. Just withdraw. All of you.”

“Yes, Master!”

The group bowed to Yeon Se-hwi and withdrew in perfect unison.

It was surprising to see Yeon Se-hwi, who looked like a scholar or gentleman, handle those fierce-looking people so lightly.

‘As expected of the Cheonma.’

But Soso seemed used to this sight and showed little reaction.

“Father… I mean, Father. What do you mean alone with Minsu… Shouldn’t I be present too? I… I’m the team leader of Flame, so on behalf of the intern employee…”

She seemed more concerned about Yeon Se-hwi’s statement about talking to me alone.

But Yeon Se-hwi spoke to Soso with a very warm smile, quite different from how he had just handled the Cheonma Divine Sect executives.

“Don’t worry, Soso. I won’t keep him long.”

Hearing that, Soso couldn’t argue further.

“Will you follow me, then?”

I nodded. And Yeon Se-hwi led me to a reception room.

***

I sat in one corner of the very spacious reception room.

Instead of calling someone else, Yeon Se-hwi personally boiled water and brought tea.

“Explaining the name of the tea would probably be boring to a young person. But this is a tea that requires careful temperature control, so I personally prepare it for precious guests.”

As he said, even though I knew nothing about tea, I could tell the aroma was excellent.

‘Soso prefers lattes over green tea.’

Indeed, even though Soso called herself Cheonma, she felt quite different from her father, who was actually called Cheonma.

Above all, Yeon Se-hwi boiled the water in the teacup itself, without a kettle or pot.

Cheonma Divine Art. Called internal energy cultivation in Wu Kingdom and mana acceleration method in Korea.

‘What an impressive person.’

Generating heat through mana isn’t difficult for awakened ones, but controlling that heat precisely enough to perfectly steep tea in a small cup was on another level entirely.

I wasn’t nervous, but I was newly impressed that the person before me was a member of the Five Celestial Stars, those who had reached the pinnacle of hunters.

After we each took a sip of the fragrant tea, Yeon Se-hwi did something unexpected.

“Mr. Lee Minsu. I finally have this belated opportunity. On behalf of my daughter, I would like to apologize to you.”

He bowed to me.

A man who had reached the pinnacle in Wu Kingdom, no, in the entire hunter world, was bowing to me, a mere intern at a hunter guild.

Of course, he said it was on behalf of Soso, and I knew the reason, but it was uncomfortable to have the Cheonma and one of the Five Celestial Stars bow to me.

“You don’t need to do this, Master.”

“No, I must. I know very well what happened to you and Ains Academy because of my daughter.”

I remained silent at his words. In truth, few people know the detailed circumstances of the Ains Academy tragedy.

It was only reported as a terrorist attack by an extremely dangerous terrorist, with the details censored by the Association.

But the man before me was Cheonma, Yeon Se-hwi of the Five Celestial Stars. Since his daughter Soso was involved in the incident, the Association couldn’t hide the facts from him.

And Soso would have told him about it too.

‘Come to think of it, Yeon Se-hwi also came to visit me.’

But I naturally refused then. I couldn’t see anyone, not Yeon Se-hwi, not Yuri, not Soso. So it seems he’s now belatedly apologizing to me in person.

“No, it wasn’t Soso’s fault. It was the Blood Demon who stopped me, not Soso.”

And since I was the cause of the Blood Demon’s awakening, I couldn’t fully accept his apology.

“And it was you, Lee Minsu, who destroyed that Blood Demon. So I must not only apologize but also thank you.”

He bowed his head once more. And for a while, we talked about the Blood Demon and Soso.

“When I heard that Soso had awakened the Cheonma Divine Art, I was truly happy. In fact, I had no intention of passing on the position of Master if Soso didn’t want it, but as a father and as the leader of the Cheonma Divine Sect, I couldn’t hide my honest feelings.”

But Soso possessed not only the qualities of Cheonma but also those of the Blood Demon. That fact must have been a great shock to Yeon Se-hwi as well.

‘And I eliminated that Blood Demon.’

It seems Soso didn’t tell him the cause of the Blood Demon’s appearance. So from his perspective as her father, I was nothing less than his daughter’s savior.

‘I helped awaken the Cheonma Divine Art and eliminated the Blood Demon.’

That was the result, after all. And Yeon Se-hwi seemed to feel very guilty about me, who had been seriously injured and lost the ability to properly use mana in the process.

“And regarding the villain group that attacked Ains, the Red Lake, the Cheonma Divine Sect has conducted its own investigation. If you wish, I will provide you with all that information.”

That was an unexpected gain. With the Cheonma Divine Sect’s intelligence network, which has connections in both the hunter world and the underworld, there was a high chance they would have the information I wanted to know.

The conversation continued for a while.

‘Soul-Stealing Demon Seo Mun-yeom?’

An unexpected name came up. Another notorious villain. I learned that this villain was part of the Red Lake.

But hiding my true thoughts, I just quietly nodded at Yeon Se-hwi’s words. His apologies and thanks continued for quite some time.

Then, finally, the conversation turned to the main point.

“Anyway, the Cheonma Divine Sect will help you in any way we can. And you said you came to visit our headquarters because of an Ancient Gear, correct?”

“Yes. I heard that the Cheonma Divine Sect has a master craftsman who specializes in Ancient Gears.”

I showed him the meticulously prepared medical certificate from Professor Seong Chae-rin.

To get help from Yeon Se-hwi and the Cheonma Divine Sect, I needed to explain the situation to some extent.

“So rather than a medical approach, you’re looking at it from an equipment perspective, through the Ancient Gear. And through that, you can also recover a certain amount of your mana. Is that right?”

“Yes, Master.”

“I’ve heard so much about you from my daughter. She said you were truly outstanding at Ains. So if your rehabilitation is possible, I’ll help you in any way I can. Let me write a letter to that craftsman myself.”

I felt relieved inside. The craftsman of the Cheonma Divine Sect that Professor Seong Chae-rin had told me about. Since my Ancient Gear, Hong-ok, is related to the Eastern Empire among the ancient empires, consulting a craftsman from Wu Kingdom was definitely the right choice.

“He’s like an uncle to me, so he’s from the same Yeon family. But like many famous craftsmen, his personality is a bit… unique. Still, if I, as the Master, personally send this letter, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

And according to Professor Seong Chae-rin, that craftsman was quite eccentric. He had been retired for a long time. That’s why I came all the way to Hong Kong.

“Anyway, since both Soso and you have come here on this business trip, we should prioritize that. I’ll guide you to where he is right away.”

But Yeon Se-hwi seemed somewhat regretful even as he said this.

“I really wanted to have many conversations with you, Mr. Minsu. Most of what Soso tells me is about you. Haha. And since Soso is now of marriageable age, I’d like to have a detailed conversation with you about that once this matter is concluded. I want to see my son-in-law, after all.”

And suddenly, I almost spat out the tea in my mouth at what I heard. Pretending not to have heard that remark, I soon headed with Soso to where the craftsman was located.

***

Ancient Gear craftsman, Yeon Mun-woo. Among high-ranking hunters associated with Wu Kingdom, there is no one who doesn’t know his name.

Ancient Gears are difficult for even high-ranking hunters to handle.

But with Yeon Mun-woo’s hands and advice, controlling those tricky items becomes much easier, making him famous.

“But my great-uncle is known for his unique personality. Still, don’t worry too much. I’ll try to persuade him.”

The two got out of the car and were heading up a rather rugged mountain. Befitting a craftsman famous for being eccentric, the place where he lived was a mountain quite far from the city center.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen such an outfit.’

And Soso had changed her clothes. She was now wearing what appeared to be traditional Chinese clothing, the kind that female characters in wuxia novels might wear.

Noticing my glance, she suddenly blushed.

“My… my great-uncle is an old-fashioned person. Father said that if his granddaughter wears this traditional outfit, things might go more smoothly. That’s all.”

The outfit actually matched her current way of speaking well, so I didn’t mind, but Soso seemed embarrassed.

After walking silently for a while, she hesitantly asked,

“By the way… did my father say anything strange to you?”

He did. That remark about wanting to see his son-in-law. But I didn’t mention it.

“I only heard kind words from the Master.”

“I… I see. I was just wondering.”

The two continued walking the mountain path in silence. But the terrain became increasingly difficult. And although the sun hadn’t set yet, a hazy fog surrounded them.

“It’s just as Father said. Like a true craftsman, my great-uncle is also interested in these formation arrays.”

Formation arrays. To make an analogy, they’re like dungeon traps.

“It would be troublesome to just go in blindly.”

But identifying those traps in advance and securing the safety of the raid party is precisely the role of an operator. It was something I was confident in.

“I’ll try to disable the formation array first.”

“No, there’s no need to worry. We can break through in the Cheonma way.”

Soso drew her sword. And soon her sword began to emit light. The special ability of awakened swordsmen, the so-called aura sword.

“Just destroy everything that’s annoying.”

But instinctively, I stopped her.

“There’s no need for Team Leader Yeon to exert herself. I should earn my salary too.”

“I… I see. But for me, this is a very easy task…”

“It’s fine. It won’t take long.”

Just in case, I had brought equipment for operating. I quickly identified the structure of the formation array and broke through it with Soso.

After easily overcoming it, they finally reached an old temple-like building near the summit.

“Who are you?!”

And a white-haired old man blocked their path. Soso spoke up.

“Hello, Uncle. It’s me, Soso.”

“Soso? Soso… Ah, Se-hwi’s daughter.”

Then, seeing the sword at Soso’s waist, he clutched his head.

“Damn it! If a child of the Yeon family comes like this, it means you’ve smashed all the formation arrays I worked so hard to create!”

At that moment, I understood why he reacted that way.

The Cheonma way that Soso mentioned. It seems that whenever people from the Cheonma Divine Sect visit his hermitage, they break through the formation arrays by brute force.

I spoke to the despairing Yeon Mun-woo.

“Um, sir. We didn’t break the formation arrays.”