Entomologist in Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 376

376
As soon as Oryongsambong boarded the ship, Geumdo left the port.

Infinity quickly disappearing behind the golden sword.

As the ship began to set sail, a simple feast was held on board, as Oryongsambong, who had returned from Muhan, had brought with him a lot of delicious dishes.

Thankfully, he bought it for me, Hwa-eun, and Seol, who were waiting on the boat, to taste?

There were roasted duck and many other dishes on the table, but what caught my attention the most at the banquet was the information that Oryongsambong had collected from the Murim Alliance.

“······The warriors we sent across the border for reconnaissance continue to disappear, so we can no longer send people across the border. It seems they guessed it was because of the Odokmun’s loyalty.”

“So you’re using bugs to find people who are hiding?”

“Yes, I heard that with the help of the Beast Palace Wolf, we continued to capture the Blood Cult members who were hiding in the Central Plains, but they gave up about three months ago and there hasn’t been much movement. It feels like things have become quiet in that state.”

“Has it become a kind of lull?”

According to my brother, the confrontation between the Blood Cult, the Odokmun, and the Murim clan has entered a lull.

You might think it’s no different than before, but it’s different from before.

It seemed like there was a lull before, but it was said that the information war was active.

They said that they kept sending scouts and spies to each other.

In the meantime, small clashes continued to occur at the border, and now, since neither side could send scouts across the border, it seemed like a long standoff was continuing for an unknown period of time, with neither side able to confirm each other’s information.

“Yeah, I guess that’s how it is. If we make a mistake, we might be quiet for another twenty years…”

My brother seemed to think that the Blood Cult might be quiet for twenty years, just like it had been in the past, but I thought differently.

“That’s not true, brother.”

“Why?”

“I mean my martial arts. The more perspectives I am allowed, the weaker the Odokmun becomes. So even though it may seem calm on the surface, I’m sure he’s plotting something behind the scenes.”

“Sure. That could be possible.”

“That sounds right. So So Hyup.”

The more I open the gate, the less poison I can use in the gate, so I’m probably on a shit streak right now.

The current lull may only be superficial.

So I think there will probably be a big move soon.

“Yes, there may be a big move soon, so it would be a good idea to anchor in a nearby city and send a letter to the Murim Alliance to warn them.”

“So So-hyeop Then, as soon as I arrive at Akyang, I will send a letter to your uncle right away.”

Akyang is a city blocking the entrance to Dongjeongho Lake.

The city was briefly ruled by the princess’s fake marriage partner, Bin-ak Hyung-ssi. The story ended with Ji-ryong sending a letter to the Murim Alliance military leader, Jegal-hou, warning him. At the end of the story, the older brother asked.

“By the way, Soryong, did everything go well on the boat?”

It seemed like you were just asking without any particular reason, but isn’t it after something big happened?

He immediately brought up the matter with the leader.

“Yes, well, nothing happened on the ship. But something happened on the island.”

“Huh? What happened?”

“Hwa-eun and I went out to a fancy restaurant to buy dinner, and the leader was there.”

“What? Your Majesty!?”

“How can the leader be in such a spot?”

“Wasn’t it supposed to be forbidden for a small household to meet the lord?”

Everyone looked shocked at the news of meeting the leader.

“That was a place that sold dishes from the lord’s hometown, so it seemed like he stopped by for a moment to think about his hometown.”

“Heh heh… You must have been embarrassed?”

“Are you just embarrassed?”

Everyone looked at me with a look of surprise on their face when I explained it to them.

I asked them not to tell the Murim Alliance that I had arrived to avoid the leader, so it’s ridiculous to say that the leader was in the restaurant I happened to go into.

“Is this good luck or bad luck?”

“Bad but good? Good but bad? Something like that?”

Everyone’s opinion is that I’m not sure if I’m lucky or unlucky.

“Then what happened? Did you end up getting caught for dissing your martial arts skills?”

“But that’s the funny thing. The leader wanted to see my martial arts skills… That’s how I was able to avoid the crisis.”

However, in a situation where he could not help but be disappointed by the leader, he was lucky enough to receive great praise, so it was concluded that he was a lucky guy.

Well, even in my opinion, this guy was extremely lucky.

Who would have thought that Cheongwol’s shell would be connected to the iron ore?

“Then that’s a relief.”

“Anyway, it turned out well, so I guess it’s right to say you’re lucky.”

“If you follow So-ryong around, it feels like there are a lot of fun things to do. No, maybe you could say it’s a lot of things that aren’t ordinary?”

And while explaining the matter with the leader, the topic of conversation shifted to that story.

Everyone was curious about the story that I had acquired a hardness similar to Cheongwol’s shell.

“But Soryong, you said earlier that you had Cheongwol’s shell. Is that true?”

“Yes, Brother Gyu-seong.”

“It’s okay now?”

“Ah, this is something that changes when you spread out the iron ore.”

“Can you show me? It’s a bit out of the ordinary to ask someone to show you their martial arts skills, but I guess I have to be patient because I’m curious.

“It’s just like last time, I feel like I’m only asking you for things I feel bad about.”

Brother Gyuseong, you are very sorry to have asked me to show you my martial arts skills, just like you did last time.

Oryongsambongdo also nodded together at Hyungnim’s question.

They said they were curious too, so they apologized.

Even if you are close, it is rude to ask someone to show you their martial arts skills.

But anyway, I nodded willingly.

I don’t know if it was a martial arts that had herbivorous properties, but it wasn’t like that.

There was no need to worry about things like being an outsider or being a vegetarian being revealed, and since we had been together for a long time, we were like family.

“Okay, I see. That’s a difficult thing to do.”

The skin becomes firmer as you roll up your arms and immediately draw up your internal energy to unleash the iron fist.

The older brother who came over touched my arm and made an expression of admiration.

“That’s true. It’s strong. At this level, it should be impervious to swords. Our Pengga also doesn’t get knocked out by external attacks···.”

“That’s right. I think it’s about that much.”

“Where, me too.”

“Me too. Me too.”

Oryongsambong rushes in at his brother’s reaction and touches my arm.

It was a time when everyone gathered around and touched my arm and was amazed.

-Krrrrrr.

Suddenly, Cheongwol’s crying sound was heard from behind.

It was a slightly angry cry, without any voice mixed in.

At the same time, a large pair of Cheongwol’s tongs squirmed between us.

The wind caused the tables on the deck to slide backwards, and people were thrown around and screaming.

“Ugh!”

“Gyah.”

No injuries, but being suddenly pushed by a large pair of tongs and being startled.

“Cheongwol-ah! What’s wrong!?”

I was surprised and shouted, but Cheongwol carefully grabbed me with the tongs and put me on her back as she spoke.

-Krung! “I need to talk to you!”

“story?”

-Krrrrr. “Then why are you letting anyone touch the shell? The shell was given to me, so no one else should touch it but me!”

“no one?”

Cheongwol’s comment that somehow gives off a sense of yesterday’s deja vu.

The same question popped out of my head without me knowing it.

“Hwa-eun and Seol too?”

“···.”

And the reaction was, as expected, the same as yesterday.

‘Why aren’t you answering and are just glaring at me…’

***

As the sun began to set, the Akyang began to appear, and as we approached closer, it revealed something strange.

“Why is this city so quiet, like a funeral home?”

“It feels strangely quiet, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right, Little Dragon.”

We should have solved the love bug and returned to the vibrant city, but it was reminiscent of the city back then.

No, is it quieter than before?

Akyang is a bustling city with many fishing boats and people as it is the gateway city to Dongjing Lake, but even though a long time had passed since we solved the love bug, the atmosphere was very quiet.

Even the people passing by in the distance didn’t seem to have any worries.

When you think something strange, a Taoist priest points to the waterway leading to Dongjeongho and shouts.

“Huh? Mr. Soryong, there’s something strange over there. The boats are lined up, almost as if they’re blocking the entrance. They don’t look tangled.”

“Let me check it out.”

Let’s raise our eyes to check. What we see is, as expected, ships lined up in a row.

As I focused more, I noticed the ropes connecting the ships to each other.

It doesn’t feel like the Dongjeongho is blocked by boats that are tied together by ropes, rather than boats that come and go for a short time.

“The ships are connected by ropes and blocking the entrance?”

“Huh?”

As I blinked my eyes at the Taoist priest, a signal came from the port on the Akyang side with a torch.

People waving torches from side to side.

“I think it’s telling me to bring the boat closer to Akyang?”

“Let’s just take a look. Geumdo, come a little closer.”

-Bugurur.

The destination was far inland, but since I couldn’t get in, I first approached the port of Akyang.

Come to think of it, the harbor is full of ships.

When Geumdo was at a loss because the harbor was full of ships and they could not find a place to dock,

Soon the soldiers came running across the tied boats and shouted at us.

“Were you trying to enter the Dongjeongho!?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Dongjeongho has been off-limits since this morning. I don’t know what’s going on, but if you want to get to the inner village, you have to take the land route!”

“You’ve been banned from entering since this morning!?” “That’s right!”

“What the hell is going on all of a sudden!?”

“If that’s the case in the coffin, then you should have known that. Why are there so many questions? My throat hurts from shouting!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

A situation where I tried to ask one more question, but only heard one word.

The boatman quickly apologized and pulled the boat back further, barely able to anchor it next to the cliff at the end of the dock.

This was because the port was full of ships and there was no space.

“I think I should go and find out what’s going on.”

“Understood, Little Dragon.”

Anchoring the boat, we immediately gathered Oryongsambong.

I decided to go down to Akyang and gather information on why the waterway was blocked.

“I would like you to find out why the waterway is blocked.”

“Okay. Then let’s split up into groups of three or four and move.”

We decided to split Oryongsambong in two, and me, Hwaeun, Seol Nui, and Jaheo decided to move as one group.

We got off the boat and quickly headed towards the author’s entrance.

“Okay, then let’s split up and gather information and then meet up.”

“all right.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Which way are we going?”

Oryongsambong was divided into the author’s inner and outer parts, and while we were thinking about where to go, we heard a sound nearby and headed in that direction.

“What the hell!”

“These people, calm down.”

“If we keep going like this, we’ll all starve to death. Are you finally calming down?”

“Um… Let’s go over there.”

It seemed like there was a murmur of resentment coming from somewhere.

The place we arrived was a back alley of the author’s house, a street of street vendors with tables spread out here and there.

People who looked like sailors or fishermen were sitting here and there at street stalls, drinking.

I could only see ships and no people, but it seemed like all the sailors were here.

“I guess we can just ask them.”

Jaheo looks relieved as he checks on the sailors.

At that moment, a muffled sound was heard from a nearby seat.

[Shouldn’t I be doing this? Shouldn’t I be appeasing the Dragon King’s anger quickly?]

[Last time, when the black insects were swarming, the governor offered a sacrifice to the heavens and even swallowed them alive, but what on earth is the governor thinking this time···.]

[If you want to offer a sacrifice to the Dragon King, you have to go out on a boat. Isn’t that risking your life?]

“Hey. Damn it!”

It seems like they killed him to silence his voice, but we are martial artists.

Basically, since I have better hearing than the average person, I could hear whispering.

He quickly sat down nearby, gathered his hair, and whispered.

[I heard it was called Dragon King. What does it mean?]

[If it’s the Dragon King, isn’t it in the sea?]

[If you’re the Dragon King, aren’t you a dragon of the sea? Ryong-ah?]

[That’s true.][I think we need to listen to it in more detail.]

[Okay, I’ll go.]

[Are you a monk?]

Monk Jaheo nodded at our worried expressions and stood up from his seat.

He walked over to the table where they were talking, put his hands together, and smiled.

“Amitabha. I heard he is called Jaheo of Shaolin. May I ask him something?”

“Oh my, what happened to the Shaolin monks?”

“I just arrived here in Akyanghae and checked, and the city was so quiet and the waterway to Dongting Lake was blocked, so I was feeling embarrassed when I heard the story from the side.

“They say the Dragon King is angry. What is happening in Akyang?”

The people of the Central Plains originally did not like to eavesdrop on conversations from the side, but is this what the Shaolin of Mount Tai and the Big Dipper are like?

The sailors who were looking around took Ja-heo in among them and began to explain to him one by one.

“If you are a monk of Shaolin, then of course I should tell you. Come here.”

“thank you.”

“Thank you. Where should I begin? Oh, right.

For several months now, whirlpools have occasionally appeared in this Dongjeongho. At first, you just had to avoid the whirlpools that appeared, but sometimes, if you couldn’t avoid them, the boat would capsize.

But recently, it has gotten worse and the boat capsizes as soon as it goes out.”

“Huh. Is that so?”

“Yes, monk. Yesterday, a small rowboat capsized and a large fishing boat that could carry ten people capsized, almost killing two people.”

“We think the Dragon King is angry, but the governor is only trying to stop the ship from leaving without taking any measures, so we are criticizing him for that.”

‘Ah! Is that why there’s a whirlpool that occasionally appears in Dongjeongho?’

I wondered what was going on, and it seemed like the cause was the whirlpool in Dongjeongho Lake that we had tried to find and check on.

A strong smell reached my nose.

What does that smell like?

It’s the smell of a spirit.

“Does this smell?”

“The smell of cooking has been coming from here for a while, Ryong-ah.”

“No, not that, Sister Seol. The smell of a spirit.”

‘It’s a familiar scent.’