Chapter 20. If You Don’t Know Where To Go, Just Go Straight (2/2)

“Kehoh!”

Sim Duk Hoon’s eyes widened so much that it seemed like it would fall right out of the sockets. His minions, his trusty minions were all being beat up.

These kids weren’t just normal children. Actually, they could be called experts at this level. A first-rate expert, at that. The minions, however, learned their martial arts by picking up some moves in the streets. In short, they were third-rate.

Obviously the minions wouldn’t be able to deal with first-rate experts. Looking at the swordplay each of the kids were displaying, Sim Duk Hoon screamed in his heart.

‘Damned Five Families!’

The kids were definitely disciples of the famous Five Families. Those bastards from the family only cared about how pure-blooded their members were.

‘A year in one of the five families is equivalent to 10 years in the martial world.’

This was the rumor floating in the martial world, and it wasn’t so far-off from the truth, either. The amount of practice the people from the clans went through was unknown, but the fact that they were from the five families would still get them recognized in the martial world.

But why? Why would these kids roam the mountains without even a single guard, then? Why didn’t they just take that perfectly fine path over there, and roam the wilderness?

‘This……’

He immediately felt that he was caught in a bad situation. He felt that blood was going to be spilt from a while back. But to think that the ones whose blood is being spilt would be his.

Sim Duk Hoon kept complaining in his mind. If only he knew that these kids had ties with the five families, he wouldn’t have made a mistake like this! He might be stretching it a bit, but this was the kids’ fault.

While Sim Duk Hoon was laying out all these excuses, the situation had already closed up. Since the skill difference between the kids and the minions were quite big, Peng Ga Ho and Nangong Yubin were able to subjugate the bandits without shedding a drop of blood.

Sim Duk Hoon came back to his senses when he heard the painful moans from his minions, and immediately set out to fix the situation.

“Where are you young lords from?”

His proud look from before had vanished completely, and his way of speaking had turned almost shamefully polite.

“You don’t need to know that. Where are we?”

Peng Ga Ho’s question was answered immediately.

“Yes, young lord. This is the Martial Fire Peak, located at the Taebaek in castle Shaanxi. Is there anything else you want to know?”

“What? Castle Shaanxi? Martial Fire Peak? Are you crazy? This isn’t castle Shaanxi, it’s castle Gansu.”

Sim Duk Hoon made a troubled face for a moment, then immediately spoke.

“Young lord, I’ve ‘worked’ here for a very long time……. hehe.”

Looking at the Sim Duk Hoon, who was bowing in front of him, Peng Ga Ho began thinking. Trying not to get noticed by Nangong Yubin too much, he began whispering to Sim Duk Hoon.

“Bro, is castle Gansu far from here?”

“Eh? No. If you follow this road here, it’ll come out. It’s a one day trip in a carriage. Hehe.”

“What? So we were just about there?”

Peng Ga Ho’s face warmed up, and he looked at Nangong Yubin with a look of pride.

“See? My plan was flawless!”

Nangong Yubin, who grasped Peng Ga Ho’s personality after traveling with him for so long, smiled and opened his mouth.

“Yea, good job.”

“Big bro’s a reliable man.”

Peng Ga Ho and Nangong yubin smiled at each other.

Then, Peng Ga Ho suddenly opened his mouth.

“We’re almost there, so why not eat before we leave?”

“Where?”

Peng Ga Ho made an evil smile, and glanced at Sim Duk Hoon. Nangong Yubin, who followed Peng Ga Ho’s eyes, scratched his cheeks and spoke with a small voice.

“…….Good idea.”

When Nangong Yubin agreed, Peng Ga Ho turned around.

“Hey bro, is the food here tasty?”

“What?”

When Sim Duk Hoon made a confused expression. Peng Ga Ho wrapped his arm around the man’s shoulder naturally, and spoke.

“I’m kinda hungry after moving my body a bit. Give me some food, yeah?”

“Ah…… sure.”

Sim Duk Hoon wiped off his sweat, and spoke.

“Of course we have to treat you boy heroes. Our food might not be that good, but follow me.”

“I’m kind of picky, you know. If the food isn’t good, I get violent.”

“…….I’ll tell the chef to be careful.”

This black-hearted bastard was sure to be something big later on. To try to steal a bandit’s food……. It seemed Sim Duk Hoon’s luck was especially bad today.

Sim Duk Hoon, who was filled with anxiety for some reason, led the two boys to their hideout. The two happy boys and the miserable bandits headed for the Martial Fire Peak.

But Peng Ga Ho and Nangong Yubin still hadn’t realized this: the fact that their destination was going to be an extremely dangerous warfield. They didn’t expect it at all.

* * *

While Jo Gi Chun was observing the formation he was assigned, Cho Ryu Hyang was laying in his room, exhausted. But for some reason, the tired boy couldn’t go to sleep. So he kept his eyes closed, and started to think.

The Faultless View of The World.

It became weird.

He couldn’t really explain it, but something about it had changed.

He felt this after he met the pope. Before that was…. what should he call it? It was something that he didn’t think was significant.

But after he met the pope, that insignificant something seemed much more important.

‘Since when was it like this?’

When he thought for a while, an answer floated up.

‘Was it since then?’

After eating the Heavenly Demon Spirit Pill. After treating the side effect from the pill with inner energy, something about the Faultless View had changed.

‘Did it break?’

The red eye that was on the head of the pope. That was definitely not an illusion. That was because the eye was able to stay visible, even if he looked at it with the Faultless View.

Cho Ryu Hyang slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the ceiling. Then, everything, including the ceiling, could be seen with numbers on it.

‘It definitely changed.’

In order to use the Faultless View, Cho Ryu Hyang had to breathe deeply, and had to focus his mind. But not now. Now, as long as he willed it, he could see these numbers.

And the numbers were moving around him, as if they were alive. To think they were moving as if they were asking for Cho Ryu Hyang to touch them…… This was like…….

‘It’s like they’re alive.’

When Cho Ryu Hyang thought this much, he could hear the voice of the old man in his mind.

[Sometimes, the things that can be seen with the eyes isn’t everything.]

The old man, after saying that, paused for a while. When he spoke again, his voice held an acceptable tone in it.

[It doesn’t sit right with me since it feels like I’m handing a little child a treasured sword, but since I know that you’d be able to understand it, I’m telling you now.]

Cho Ryu Hyang waited quietly. He felt that the old man was about to teach him something. His prediction was indeed correct.

Seizing Conversion Technique (捉換法).

This was the name of the second equation he learned from the old man, and this would enable him to freely change the value of any number contained within matter.

This wasn’t something that stopped at the point of sight, like the Faultless View. This was a terrifying ability that enabled the boy to be able to use the numbers in actual combat.