Beastly and Fearlessly - Chapter 7
Only Noblemtl
Episode 7
dump.
I don’t know what’s in there, but I think I need to rest for a while.
He stretched out like a lion in front of the cave.
The only strength left is the strength to breathe.
Every muscle in my body has been screaming for a while now.
“Oh my. It’s hard to be a troublemaker… … .”
I muttered without realizing it.
If it weren’t for this wonderful body… … .
A pack of wolves suddenly appearing is definitely suspicious.
They shouldn’t have been there, so someone must have lured them out.
But that’s not what’s important now.
I got up.
A dark cave was beckoning me in front of me.
The northern part of the forest is said to be a forbidden area that must never be entered, so I will be the first of the warriors of the Beast Palace to set foot there.
I took a step towards the cave.
My throat is on fire.
The elixir is good and the emergency kit is good, but I wish there was some cool water… … .
* * *
I walked through a cave where no light came in, relying on my senses.
If the Dark Soul had reached a certain level, this darkness wouldn’t have been a big deal.
Did you walk like that for a while?
The dark cave gradually became brighter.
Night lights scattered everywhere.
Thanks to that, the murals painted on the long walls on both sides caught my eye.
“Um… … . What is this?”
There were four murals in total.
All pictures are of a man fighting with someone.
A man in red breathes fire from his fists, while another man in white robes flies across the sky like lightning, riding on clouds.
The black-clad man bears countless sword blows with his bare body, while the blue-clad man stands expressionless on top of a mountain of thousands of corpses.
“Ah… … . They’re all the same people.”
Black, white, red, blue… … .
Although the colors they were painted in were different, you could tell they were all the same character.
They all had the same gaze that looked down on the world.
These are definitely paintings depicting the man buried here.
He breathes fire from his fists and blocks swords with his bare body.
He moves as fast as lightning and never gets tired even when facing thousands of enemies.
Just how much power did he have to have it depicted in such an exaggerated way?
The clothing is clearly that of the Central Plains.
Why is such a person buried in a secret forest far away in Namman?
As we went deeper, a small space appeared.
The end of the cave.
I went inside.
Phew.
Some unknown energy surrounds me.
How should I describe this feeling right now?
The blood in my whole body feels boiling hot, but my mouth is so cold that my breath is coming out.
My skin feels ticklish as if I am rubbing sand against it, but on the other hand, it feels refreshing as if I am staying in a green forest.
“What, what is this… … .”
They said it was someone’s grave, but there was no trace of it.
Four dragons painted on the walls on all sides.
Black, white, red, and blue dragons of different colors were staring at me as if they were alive.
And beads.
There was just a small bead sitting on top of a pile of rocks.
As if lying on an altar, waiting for someone.
It is as big as an egg and is pitch black.
Its appearance, emitting a mysterious aura, makes it seem as if it is not of this world.
Perhaps the energy I feel is flowing from that bead.
Gooooooo… … .
It’s calling me.
I felt like I had to answer the call.
Without realizing it, I approached him and slowly raised my hand.
Ts …
The pitch-black beads dispersed like smoke as soon as they touched my hand.
Black energy scattered in all directions.
Soon, it split into four colors: black, white, red, and blue, and filled the small space I was in.
“iced coffee…….”
It was beautiful.
It was as if four dragons of different colors were intertwined and ascending… … .
I forgot everything and was captivated by that precious sight.
The energy that had been lingering for a while began to gather around me.
He stayed around me for a while as if checking my qualifications… … .
It disappeared in an instant.
“… … .”
It just felt like something great was going to happen and then it just disappeared.
That was it.
At the end of the empty cave, I was standing alone.
“……what?”
There was no change in my body.
The pain felt from the tiger’s scratches and the energy drained to the point where it was difficult to even walk are all the same.
I looked inside my body just in case, but even my danjeon, the size of a soybean, was still there.
Something clearly entered me, but it had no substance.
Everything is still the same, only the black beads are gone.
“Ha. I guess the chance to obtain the secrets of a hermit’s martial arts and rare elixirs only happens in novels… … .”
Suddenly, I felt funny for entering the cave with such vain hope.
But I survived.
This is enough.
I’m still curious about the identity of that mysterious energy from earlier.
* * *
The entrance to Myorim.
“It’s been exactly a week since today.”
Dammuhun muttered.
It is the day when Sodongju returns from Myorim.
It would have been okay to just send a few people to pick him up, but I felt uneasy for some reason so I went out myself.
For some reason, the elder brother was also waiting for me and Sodongju.
“Why did you come all the way here?”
The elder brother answered with a smile.
“Haha. Anyway, aren’t you still a Sodongju? When you come out of Myorim, you should welcome him and say you worked hard.”
It’s still a small town.
A cunning old man.
The current Senate was moving according to the opinion of one person.
Elder Moon Il-ji.
A smart and cunning man who is unusual for a warrior from Namcheon Damdong.
There was a time when his extraordinary intelligence was of great help to Dong, but now he has become nothing more than a cunning snake that covets Namcheon Damdong.
A person who argues that another Sodongju should be established instead of Dammyeong while talking about the red lineage.
‘It’s up to Myeong to show that he is worthy of the position of Sodongju. He will have to lead them all someday.’
I turned my gaze towards the forest again.
This is a place that everyone who is interested in Namcheon Damdong has visited.
As long as you don’t go north of the forest, there’s no particular danger, and since you’ve inherited the blood of Namcheon Damdong, you’re not so weak that even if you starve for a week, you won’t be able to do anything.
So, entering Myorim is just a small procedure to be recognized as a Sodongju of Namcheon Damdong.
‘But why am I so anxious?’
I have a feeling something must have happened in that dark forest.
Today is the week I promised, but I feel like I have to go in there and find it right away.
“I’m sure I explained the forest properly, right? I also told you not to go to the northern forest.”
“Oh my. I explained everything in detail from start to finish.”
Deoksam, standing next to him, answered with a trembling voice.
This guy guarded this place for a week after Myung-i entered Myorim.
He said that he had to stay here just in case Sodongju got hurt and came out.
He is a loyal guy.
A bit stupid and overly honest though.
“Huh? Over there… … .”
Deoksam ran out.
In the distance, Dam-myeong was muttering and coming out of the forest.
The clothes he was wearing were tattered and torn, and his hair was disheveled.
I feel like I have no strength in my steps, like someone who has starved for a week.
Above all, the shoulder where the carcass of a wild beast should be is empty.
Anyone who saw it would see that he was being chased.
‘… … I guess he just held on and came back. Was the appearance he showed in the rain a coincidence?’
Dammuhun turned around in disappointment.
‘I can’t even pass this simple test… … .’
At that moment, Deoksam’s startled scream was heard.
“Oh, no, what are these? Did you catch them all?”
“Who will catch the magazine if I catch it?”
“No, where on earth did you hear that you only need to catch one? Did you become stupid after eating those colorful mushrooms and your hearing also went dark?”
“Didn’t you say that more than one is not allowed? And I lost my memory, not became stupid.”
In the hand of Dam-myeong, who was bickering with his servant, was a long vine.
And at the end of it, there were probably over twenty wolves tied up.
‘Wolves… … Why are they the ones who should be on the other side of the forest?’
Dam-myeong, who had come closer without me noticing, opened his mouth.
“Namcheon Damdong’s Sodongju Dammyeong. I returned safely from Myorim.”
When I looked back, the head of the senior council, Moon Il-ji, who had said he would welcome me, had already left.
The remaining elders welcomed him with awkward expressions.
Only Master Mujinbaek, who had promised to teach Dammyeong, had a faint smile on his face.
* * *
I was lying in bed for a week.
Fortunately, there were no broken bones.
Even though my whole body is covered in wounds.
“I am a so-called troublemaker and I am on the verge of death. Why isn’t the doctor coming? Shouldn’t he at least give me some ointment?”
I fought a hundred wolves and killed twenty of them.
I fought a tiger as big as a house and drew.
Of course, I think it was a draw.
But you didn’t even call the congressman.
Of course, I didn’t tell you about my trip to the north of the forest.
Not only was it a forbidden place, but what happened there seemed unrealistic to me.
There is also a possibility that the elders will find fault with you for no reason.
My mother has come by several times in the past three days.
Every time, I pretended to be unconscious.
He just checked if my breathing was normal and left.
Deoksam blinked his eyes with an expression that said he didn’t understand English, then opened his mouth.
“When I talk to the Lord of Sodong, I feel like I’m talking to a person from the Central Plains. That’s what they say. If you get cut or stabbed, you immediately go to the doctor and apply a lot of ointment.”
Deoksam-ah.
If you get cut or stabbed with a knife, you should go to the doctor.
Otherwise you might die.
“An honorable warrior of the South has no need for treatment.”
According to Deoksam, scars earned during battle are like a warrior’s honor.
So, what I’m saying is that if it’s a minor wound, you don’t apply any medicine.
And since my body recovers quickly from most injuries, I just have to wait.
“For a warrior of the Beast Palace, dying in battle is considered the greatest honor. What they fear the most is dying of old age in their blankets. Haha.”
Dying in battle is considered a warrior’s honor… … .
How wonderful this is compared to the Central Plains, where false honors and false alliances reign!
Of course, that doesn’t mean I want to die early.
“Did Dongju not tell you anything about Myorim?”
The word father still doesn’t come to mind.
“You seemed to wonder why a pack of wolves that should have been on the other side of the forest came all the way here. Haa. A hundred wolves? How did you catch twenty of them?”
“Ah, that’s… … .”
“Ah! I guess they killed each other.”
Our Deoksam tends to underestimate his master’s abilities.
Anyway, I confirmed my father’s gaze as he looked at the corpse of the wolf with its eyes open.
I could clearly see that they were drug addicts.
So, it’s something that should be left to your father for now.
“You said that the fact that you caught a wolf was a secret. But you were surprised to see the large wound on Sodongju’s back. Could that be a scratch from a tiger?”
While I was thinking about what excuse to make, Deoksam continued speaking.
“Haha. I was just saying. Where can you find a tiger with claws that big? If it’s that big, it must be as big as a house. You must have tripped and rolled around somewhere, right?”
“……right.”
Deoksam-ah.
I didn’t know there were such big tigers in this world.
“By the way, when do you plan on leaving the room? Everyone is waiting for the day when Sodongju of Namcheon Damdong will start his training.”
At that moment, my body was also aching.
The great martial arts of the Central Plains are already in my head, so I can learn them as much as I want if I put my mind to it.
But are they really right for me now?
Perhaps the martial arts that fit this body perfectly are in the Beast Palace.
Of course, I have no intention of abandoning the martial arts I learned in my past life.
“Will I be training separately?”
“Haha. That’s impossible.”
“Are you saying that there’s no special treatment for being a Sodongju? Is that how the Beast Palace is?”
“To be exact, it’s Namcheon Damdong. It’s the first family law established by Dongju-nim. Only the strong are recognized!”
I’m liking this place more and more.
The person called father too.
“Where did I say I practiced?”
“The young warriors of the clan train individually and gather together to train from the age of sixteen. Master Sodongju is no exception. And to be precise, it is not a ‘place where he trained’ but a ‘place where he should have trained’. He has never been there yet.”
Deoksam sometimes obsesses over small details and nitpicks.
I’m glad I met a generous owner.
“Take the lead.”