Episode 396 Are you the greatest sword of volcanoes?
The first emotion I felt upon arriving at the foot of the volcano was one of awe.
It was a mountain that was steeper than expected and much higher than I expected. There were places obscured by clouds and places where rocks rose like countless swords. To my crooked eyes, he looked like a mountain with a violent personality.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one who looked at me like that.
Everyone looked like country bumpkin in front of the volcano because they couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.
“….”
But what surprised me more than anything was that, contrary to my expectations, the volcano was not a mountain suitable for fighting.
There are cliffs and rocks everywhere you look, so how can you fight safely there?
From the perspective of the attack, the volcano was an impregnable and rugged terrain and a fortress itself. It seemed like if a dozen experts who knew volcanoes well could hold out and engage in a melee, they could annihilate numerous troops.
Instead, it was a very suitable mountain for training.
Once you go up there, you don’t want to go down for a few days. I thought that just climbing up that volcano would deepen my sense of murder.
If you could climb up and down a volcano without any worries, you would be a Taoist in itself.
However, now we are in a situation where even if we are just breathing quietly, those who already have a deep sense of life have to meet and compete. It was a mountain where the leader of the Demonic Cult seemed likely to lose his temper while climbing, so I also needed to change my mind.
“This is a bit…”
I tilted my head and then said to my eldest brother who made eye contact.
“Let’s fight under the eldest volcano.”
“hmm?”
“I think my personality will get worse as I go up.”
The eldest brother looked at me intently.
“It’s already bad, so who cares?”
“No, not me. I think the cult leader’s personality will also get worse. Anyway, not this. Anyway, Sambok just needs to deliver the location. Let’s find a good place. “It’s a different place than I expected.”
Sambok asked.
“Munju, what does it mean to be a good place?”
Everyone looked at me, so I explained whatever came to mind.
“First of all, it has to be wide.”
“….”
“It’s better if it’s quiet. It would be nice to be able to drink water when resting. It’s sometimes cool when the wind blows, and sometimes it’s nice to have a flower tree to look at when you’re bored. As the night deepens, it is easy to turn on the lights. “It’s nice to sit here and there and look at the moon, but if you’re hungry, you have to eat and fight.”
Sambok answered while scratching his forehead.
“Are you here to play?”
I pointed to Sambok with my finger.
“Good point. A place where you feel like you came to have fun. “That is the correct answer.”
“May I know why?”
“If you fight along a cliff or in a barren place, your heart becomes rough. There are more methods and strategies to consider. A place where you can focus solely on martial arts as much as possible. A temple is the most suitable, but since the chief priest of a sect appears, let’s choose a place without religious overtones.”
Sambok nodded.
“In that case, it would be better to look widely under the volcano and find a suitable manor.”
The devil said with an expression of bewilderment.
“what. Did you mean it? “It’s not nonsense?”
I nodded while looking at the rugged volcano.
“I’m serious. It’s a mountain with a narrower location than I expected and dirty rocks. If you’re thrown by a single force, you’ll fall off a cliff. The problem is not that we die in one hit of tension. “We have to climb the mountain again and fight, but we’re both tired.”
I know this well.
This is because I was completely disabled.
“Let’s move, move, move.” Let’s ride again. Let’s go forward, forward, let’s go.”
I led my group and got on the black carriage again and moved on. Sambok, who was on the carriage, spoke to me.
“It is not easy to predict or read Master Moon’s thoughts.”
“You don’t have to understand.”
Sambok added with a serious expression.
“What I mean is that I also want to understand Master Moon’s thoughts.”
“Why do I want to understand?”
Sambok looked at me.
“This is because the flatter, calmer, and less variable the place is, the more advantageous it is for the religious leader.”
I nodded.
“okay? In that case, let’s think of the place as a gift.”
“hmm.”
“So that you can fight to your heart’s content. So that we can fight without any regrets. Block out variables and use only martial arts. The fight was so fun that I couldn’t help but laugh. “It is a gift from Lord Hao Wen to the leader of the Heavenly Demon Church.”
“Didn’t you hate and hate?”
“It has nothing to do with it. Volcanic rain is someone’s last fight. I don’t know what the struggle for succession was like, but there must have been all kinds of dirty moves. You must have dealt with poison, memorization, traps, betrayals, ambushes, and various magic attacks. Rather than competing with martial arts, they would have fought while seeing with their own eyes all the nastiness that humans can show. In fact, that may have shaped the personality of the religious leader. It is very different from white peach. I’ve had enough of schemes and conspiracies. “There is no need to fight with me.”
Sambok nodded.
“Then let’s look for a good place. Don’t worry, we won’t force you or force you to rent a place. “I now understand Master Moon’s intentions.”
“I’m glad you can talk to me too.”
“yes.”
Sambok spoke to the coachman.
“If you see a guesthouse nearby where you can rest, stop. “It would be quicker to ask, Master Moon, than to just go looking for him.”
“okay.”
* * *
When eating in a guesthouse without a sign. After walking around a bit, Sambok sat down at the table and spoke to us.
“Surprisingly, there is a common noun that everyone mentions, isn’t it?”
I asked after drinking water.
“who?”
“There is a man named Maehwajangju (梅花莊主) nearby. He is a wealthy man with a lot of money, a lot of land, and a good listener to other people’s requests.”
“Plum blossom?”
“yes. It just seems like a manor name. “The owner’s other nickname is Hwasan First Sword.”
I, the eldest brother, answered at the same time.
“The first sword of the volcano?”
I looked at my eldest brother.
“Have you heard of Eldest Brother?”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“In all my life, this is the first time I’ve heard such a cheeky byeolho. First, let’s take the star number first. How dare you call it the greatest sword of volcanoes.”
The devil laughed.
“It’s a common nickname for every big mountain, so what makes it rude?”
“Look at the volcano.”
While we were eating, we looked at the volcano rising above the clouds that looked like white headbands. The color demon, who was looking at the sight of the volcano once again, nodded.
“…That’s a cheeky star. Let’s take away the star first. Since you and I don’t have a sword right now, Master… Master?”
The Sword Demon took a sip of his drink and then answered.
“You’re at the volcano, so I’ll take it from you.”
“yes.”
In this way, the eldest brother became the first sword of Hwasan. Whether or not it is a useful star name is none of my business. Because it is important to take it first.
The eldest brother asked Sambok.
“Where is it?”
“I can come in with the driver and guide you.”
“let’s go.”
We woke up without even finishing our meal. After paying, I came out and told my companions.
“Let’s go. “Hwasan First Sword, Hwasan Third Sword, you should be Hwasan First Sword.”
Sambok answered.
“Isn’t it fun, Moonju?”
“sorry. let’s go.”
We got on the black carriage and set off for Maehwajang with Hwasan Jeil Coach. I asked Sambok in the carriage.
“Sambok, I have a secret nickname for you, but isn’t it kind of cool?”
“It’s the best sword of the volcano… so it’s okay.”
“How about Jongnam First Sword or Seongsan First Sword?”
“It seems somehow weaker than the Volcanic First Sword. “Maybe it’s because I saw a volcano.”
“I know yeah. “This is my first time climbing a mountain where I feel like I can practice light and air just by climbing it.”
So it was also a good mountain for training.
Once I reached the point where I could easily climb up and down a volcano like the mountain behind it, I felt like I could fly on flat ground. Because the mountain slopes are so rugged, there are probably many places that no one can reach, so the natural energy of the mountains is still alive. It’s not called Yeongsan for nothing.
I haven’t heard anything about the Hwasan First Sword.
Here is my prediction:
He was either a retired expert who could look down on the world with arrogant eyes, or he was a local lowlife who had no idea what was going on in the world. Volcanoes are such extreme places that I don’t know which one is correct.
After a while, we got off the carriage and looked at the plum blossom market. I also looked at the surrounding atmosphere. Perhaps because it was a manor, it was in a quiet and spacious place. Since the door was not locked, I asked as I entered the manor, leaving only the driver behind.
“…Is the owner here?”
I was about to talk more, but fell silent the moment I saw the inside of the manor. Although we could not confirm whether Hwasan Jeilgeom was an excellent swordsman, we could sufficiently confirm that he was an excellent swordsman.
As the name of the manor suggests, plum trees were planted here and there…
The layout was exquisite and the space for martial arts training was spacious. There seemed to be a sloping pond, and there was also the sound of rippling water somewhere. There was a table where you could drink tea, and most of all, the wide wall was full of vines, making it a much more cozy and spacious manor than it looked from the outside.
‘The place is nice.’
However, it was also a place that seemed like it would quickly become a mess if the experts fought. While the demon was talking about something, a man walked out of the manor with his back to him, looking either like a bachelor or a person in public office.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties, but it was unclear whether he was the manor manager or the owner.
He looked fine and neat, but he didn’t look like a great expert, so I was a little embarrassed. The man who was looking at us with a surprised expression opened his mouth.
“What brings you here?”
Sambok answered first.
“I came because I had some business to do with the owner of the plum shop.”
The man glanced at us with a puzzled expression and then answered.
“I am the owner of the plum blossom market.”
Sambok pointed to me first.
“This is Hao Wenju. The person next to him is Confucius Meng of the Wind and Cloud Dream House, and the person next to him is Confucius Meng’s master.”
In a dazed mood, I first showed courtesy to the owner of the plum shop.
“Hao Wen Ju, let’s do this.”
Have you heard of it?
Maehwajangju said while tilting his head.
“Oh, I see. “It’s rare for me to go to a powerhouse, so… please sit down for now.”
Maehwajangju pointed to a table placed outdoors. We moved together and sat around a long table.
I’m sure it’s not just me.
As I moved, I looked at Maehwajangju’s steps and breathing, but I was not impressed.
‘Is it too ordinary?’
Maehwajangju said as he looked around at us.
“…Why did you visit?”
I answered.
“While looking for a place to dance, I heard about the reputation of Maehwajangju. “From what I heard, he also has the nickname ‘The Best Sword of Volcanoes.’”
“Well, that’s right.”
“One of us will challenge you, so if you lose, please give us a place to dance.”
I looked at the expression on Maehwajangju’s face after speaking from conclusion to conclusion. Maehwajangju blinked and then looked at me.
“You’re going to challenge me?”
“exactly.”
“It’s not difficult to rent a place to work. But what do I get if I win?”
“I didn’t even think about it until then. If there is anything you want, please let me know. “Give me a reward, whether it’s money or something else, and I’ll step down cleanly.”
Only then did Maehwajangju laugh, as if he was in despair.
“Ah, so you came here without any thought of defeat?”
“For now, that’s right.”
As Maehwajangju burst out in laughter, the eldest brother also showed a rare expression of embarrassment. I couldn’t help but empathize with my eldest brother’s expression. No matter how you look at it, Maehwajangju did not look like a cilantro.
‘What kind of atmosphere is this?’
Could it be that this is something out of the blue? With a calm mind, I looked at the plum blossom funeral prayer again.
‘Hmm…’
Maehwajangju asked us.
“Who can I compete with?”
I told Maehwajangju the conclusion I had come to in my heart.
“Choose anyone.”
“yes?”
Maehwajangju looked displeased and said this.
“Then let’s do it this way. There is nothing in particular that I want. Instead, if you lose to me, the next person will challenge you. In the end, I will accept the challenge from all four of you.”
When it comes to four people, of course it includes my eldest brother and Sambok, the slut.
“….”
I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t speak for a moment. Maehwajangju’s words continued.
“If I lose, I will give you a place to fight.”
I suggested cautiously.
“If we lose, are you going to give us a nickname called Volcano Best Sword?”
“If I lose, how can I claim such a star name as mine? You’re going too far. “Bring the sword.”
Maehwajangju jumped up and headed inside.
Naturally, the four of us watched closely as Maehwajangju walked. When the plum blossom liquor disappeared, the eldest brother finally sighed.
“I wondered if he was an absolute expert hidden in the world, but no matter how I looked at him, he was a Jeongjeongjiwa (井中之蛙).”
Sambok asked.
“What does it mean?”
The devil answered.
“It’s a frog in a well.”
“yes.”
The eldest brother looked at us.
“Who will step forward?”
Since it was an unavoidable situation, I looked at Sambok.
“Sambok.”
“Yes, Lord Moon.”
“You do the volcano first sword.”
Sambok quickly looked at our expressions and answered.
“Is this a road sign? I’m not stupid. “Are you saying you want to take revenge after seeing me suffer and figuring out the method?”
“no?”
“yes.”
“It’s a shame. That person can’t beat you. “Please lend me a knife.”
Sambok pulled out the black sword from his waist and held it out to me. Does a person’s fate change like this all the time?
While waiting for the plum blossom funeral, I became the first sword of the volcano.
The color demon said.
“Because he is a gentle person, he has the demeanor of an expert. “He’s a master of the atmosphere.”
The eldest brother also gave advice.
“He doesn’t seem like a bad person, so don’t hurt him.”
“That’s right.”
Only then did Sambok, who fully realized the situation, intervene belatedly.
“Oh, should I just compete?”
I looked at Sambok.
“You shut up. “We have already crossed the blackest water of the volcano.”
Even if you practice on a volcano, if you do not experience the world, you will become a frog in a well. I thought it would be right to climb the volcano after seeing the world like I did.
How can someone who stays alone in the mountains become an expert?
