Chapter 56

Cheong-ra, who had no intention of either escaping or being tied up and carried around, protested vehemently.

"Then at least let me stay in another room with someone watching over me!"

"Is Young Master Baek Ri spending money carelessly? Did you grow up so preciously that you don't know the value of money?"

Cheong-ra was dumbfounded to hear this from a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan, who was among the top ten wealthiest in the Central Plains, wearing lavish accessories. Even when Cheong-ra offered to use his own money, Dang Ran-yeong pretended not to hear. It was unclear whether this was for surveillance purposes or if he enjoyed seeing Cheong-ra suffer in the chaos. Probably both.

At the end of this one-sided journey of endurance for Cheong-ra, they reached Mount Heng. As he got out of the carriage, Cheong-ra exclaimed in admiration at the sight before him.

"So this is Mount Heng!"

Mount Heng was a sacred mountain highly revered in Taoism. True to its reputation, the misty mountain range exuded an auspicious aura. Perhaps it was because many heroes throughout history had fought life-and-death battles here. Seeing with his own eyes the place he had only heard about in stories filled his heart with excitement.

"Lord Owner, this is as far as we can go by carriage," the coachman said, bowing his head to Dang Ran-yeong. As he said, the road narrowed considerably, becoming a trail that clearly couldn't accommodate a carriage. The coachman turned the carriage around and drove away. Soon, they set foot on the trail.

Inwardly worried, Cheong-ra fiddled with his insect-repelling sachet and glanced at Dang Ran-yeong before asking Nam Gang-ryong,

"Monk Gang-ryong, is this the path to the Hengshan Sect?"

During this journey, Cheong-ra had become somewhat friendly with Nam Gang-ryong. Although he was a defrocked monk and had grown his hair slightly, the atmosphere he exuded was that of a devout Buddhist, so Cheong-ra had been calling him "monk" from the beginning, and Nam Gang-ryong didn't object.

Since Dang Ran-yeong never answered no matter what he asked, Cheong-ra naturally found himself asking Nam Gang-ryong more often. And Nam Gang-ryong was more talkative than expected, always giving detailed explanations.

"No, Devotee Baek Ri."

"Aren't we going because of the Hengshan Sect closing its doors?"

"To be precise, we're going to confirm the rumor that the Hengshan Sect has closed its doors."

What Cheong-ra was curious about was why they were going to confirm this. From Cheong-ra's perspective, there seemed to be no connection between the Hengshan Sect, composed of female monks, and Dang Ran-yeong of the White Jade Merchant Group.

'Either the White Jade Merchant Group was supplying something to the Hengshan Sect, or it's related to the mastermind behind the Enlightened Mind Tea... Probably the latter.'

Nam Gang-ryong didn't answer everything either. When it seemed to be an important matter from their perspective, he would gently refuse, saying he couldn't explain. Of course, this was much better than being ignored. Cheong-ra stared at Nam Gang-ryong, thinking. He seemed like such a good person, how did he end up committing a sin that would send him to the Hell of Crushing Mountains?

'Even Shaolin monks sometimes have to break the precept of not killing. Is that why?'

In rare cases when there were extremely strong evildoers that were too difficult to subdue, even Shaolin monks sometimes had to take action. Cheong-ra vaguely guessed that Nam Gang-ryong might be in a similar situation. Then he stiffened and let out a low groan.

"Ugh..."

A pine caterpillar was crawling on a leaf. The fuzzy caterpillar was particularly the type of insect Cheong-ra was vulnerable to, so he quickly averted his gaze and tried his best not to look at it. As he was following behind Hwan-hong with his nerves on edge, Dang Ran-yeong, who had been walking leisurely, suddenly took something out from his bosom and asked,

"Young Master Baek Ri, do you know what this is?"

"...A sachet?"

Cheong-ra answered in confusion, wondering why he was showing him a sachet made of fine silk, and Dang Ran-yeong smiled.

"It's a sachet that's excellent at repelling insects. It's so much more effective than the one Young Master Baek Ri has that insects die just from approaching it."

"Is that really true?"

Cheong-ra's eyes widened. The insect-repelling sachet that Geum-hye had prepared for him wasn't perfect, and insects often swarmed around him. But a sachet that could kill insects just by being near it seemed like a lifeline to Cheong-ra.

He didn't know how expensive that sachet might be, but he desperately wanted to get his hands on it. Could it be that he had prepared that sachet to give to me? As he looked at it longingly with such thoughts, Dang Ran-yeong smiled meaningfully. Cheong-ra's face stiffened slightly.

"However, its effective range is quite short. It might only reach about half a zhang (1 zhang: about 3.03m)."

Then, as if to show off, he attached the sachet to his own waist.

The intention was so obvious that Cheong-ra came to his senses. Of course, preparing a sachet for him because he was afraid of insects would have been too kind and friendly for someone like Dang Ran-yeong. Cheong-ra gritted his teeth and said,

"Insects are..."

"Insects are what?"

Although he was really scared, Cheong-ra continued resolutely.

"I may dislike insects, but they're natural in the mountains, so it can't be helped."

Dang Ran-yeong let out a chuckle and then strode forward. Cheong-ra followed, glaring at his back. Without realizing it, he was tightly clutching Geum-hye's insect-repelling sachet.

As they walked along the path, Cheong-ra's complexion gradually paled. When they first started walking along the trail, it was still manageable. However, soon the path disappeared, and they had to push through the undergrowth. The dense vines and waist-high bushes that had never been touched by human feet were a terrifying environment for Cheong-ra.

"Devotee Baek Ri, are you alright? Your complexion doesn't look good at all."

"I'm fine... It wouldn't do for a martial artist to say this level of mountain climbing is difficult..."

Cheong-ra answered with a complexion that clearly showed the problem wasn't the mountain climbing. His face was completely drained of color, and his forehead and nape were already drenched in cold sweat. He kept his gaze down, not looking up, and occasionally held his breath and shuddered.

'What if I faint...'

Cheong-ra's fear of insects was very severe; when he was younger, he had even fainted a few times. This was already an improvement from back then.

He kept feeling an unpleasant tingling sensation on his skin, and nausea rose, making him want to vomit. The biggest problem was the possibility of fainting. He didn't think any of the three people accompanying him would take care of him. His friendship with the kind-hearted Nam Gang-ryong was the only thing he could rely on.

Afraid of being abandoned deep in the mountains, Cheong-ra trudged on in a half-delirious state. He had lost even the composure to speak and kept his mouth completely shut. He was just waiting to reach their destination as soon as possible. A time that should have felt like drinking a cup of tea felt like two hours.

At the end of this hellish time, Hwan-hong, who had been walking in the lead, finally stopped. She carefully surveyed a basin-shaped terrain and disappeared for a moment. Soon she returned after scouting the surroundings and spoke.

"Lord Owner, there's nothing to be found no matter how much I search."

"Since when?"

"At least three months. Or possibly longer."

"Then we'll have to go to the Hengshan Sect. This has become troublesome."

The two had a conversation that Cheong-ra couldn't understand. While listening intently, Cheong-ra stood as far away as possible from the trees and bushes. Having exerted himself too much, not only was his head dizzy, but his steps were also somewhat unsteady.

He had no confidence in going back the way they came. Despite his best efforts, insects had clung to his clothes a few times along the way. He had barely managed because it was an open environment. If it had been a narrow or enclosed space, he wouldn't have been able to endure at all.

'Should I just jump off a cliff? That would reduce the time it takes to go down.'

As he was thinking this and taking deep breaths to cool his cold sweat in the chilly wind, a shadow fell on the ground. When he barely managed to lift his head, he saw that Dang Ran-yeong, having finished his conversation with Hwan-hong, had approached. Unlike usual, he was wearing the insect-repelling sachet, and a sharp scent wafted from him. Dang Ran-yeong smiled, pretending to be kind.

"Young Master Baek Ri, are you going to keep being stubborn?"

"What stubbornness..."

"If you just follow closely behind me, you won't have to worry about insects."

Cheong-ra, who was already full of frustration, lifted his head abruptly and glared at him.

"You said it only works for about half a zhang. So you're telling me to follow you like a dog or a servant? I'd rather die than do that!"

The thought of sticking close to Dang Ran-yeong's back, afraid of the distance increasing, following him around like a puppy – Cheong-ra would rather have insects crawling on him than show such a pathetic and ugly sight. He didn't have the ability to snatch the sachet from the other, but he didn't want to beg for it either.

"If you're not going to give me the sachet, then get lost!"

Being on edge, his tone came out harsh. Already tired and not wanting to deal with him, Cheong-ra turned his body abruptly to walk away. Then Dang Ran-yeong reached out and grabbed Cheong-ra's arm. He irritably tried to shake off the arm and twist his body.

"Let go of..."

His words were cut short by a thud and an impact to his solar plexus. Having been caught off guard and exhausted, he took the hit squarely, and for a moment his vision darkened and strength left his body. As he was about to fall forward, Dang Ran-yeong caught him tightly.

"Right, you said you didn't want to act like a dog or a servant. Then there's no choice."