The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 73

Chapter 73. The Black Flame Dragon Who Leaps over the Trial

After we crossed Anhui Province and Mount Tianmu began to come into view, Eun-ho’s face began turning deathly pale.

“Senior Brother, are you seriously thinking of taking the First Trial at Twin Curtain Stronghold?”

“Yes.”

“……Could the Taeul True Scripture perhaps have a side effect that makes one lose one’s reason……”

In the end, Eun-ho was struck once on the back of the head.

“You bastard, the farther we go, the more you say things to Eldest Senior Brother that you should not.”

“No, honestly, is that not true? Why are you trying to risk your life going somewhere even the Murim Alliance specifically told people not to go?”

In this Hell Regular Exam, the mountain strongholds designated by the Murim Alliance were strongholds that repeatedly appeared and disappeared sporadically.

The Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds, on the other hand, were entrenched in major regions of the murim, so they had a strong tendency to be regional overlords.

That was why no one stepped forward saying they would subjugate one of the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds for the First Trial.

Moreover, just as the name Twin Curtain Stronghold implied, two different mountain strongholds had established themselves around Mount Tianmu.

In other words, it meant we had to face two mountain strongholds at once.

“That is what I mean. Why are you deliberately trying to poke a beehive?”

Even so, the reason I had chosen Twin Curtain Stronghold as my target was because it was easier to deal with than the other four thousand mountain strongholds.

‘To be precise, the bear does the trick and I collect the money.’

Eun-ho was looking at me with eyes that showed he could not understand at all.

“Sometimes, something that looks difficult may not be that difficult.”

How could a mere sparrow know the deep intentions of a Great Roc?

Ignoring Eun-ho’s grumbling, I kept running, and we reached our destination, Mokgi County.

“Senior Brother, it looks like a war broke out somewhere……”

The state of Mokgi County was more miserable than the contents of the report I had seen in my previous life.

“This is worse than I expected.”

Houses on the verge of collapsing lined the streets here and there, and most places that still had traces of once having done business were closed.

On the roadside, there were only gaunt old people weaving straw under the sun, and children wandering around in filthy clothes.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three brothers, who had been chattering until we reached the entrance of the village, were overwhelmed by the village’s strange atmosphere and tightly shut their mouths.

When we entered the inn we had barely managed to find in order to eat, there was not even a clerk.

Only a sharp-looking old man came out from the kitchen, wiping his hands.

“Order.”

“We have been sleeping outdoors for the past few days. Is there anything you can make right now?”

“If you want food, go to West Lake or Hangzhou. We only have noodles.”

“……Then please give us that.”

The old man who took our order went back into the kitchen without answering, and I looked around, checking whether the person I was looking for had arrived.

However, every person sitting inside the inn was also an old person.

‘He should definitely have arrived in Mokgi County today.’

The three brothers had remained silent, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

Only after a long while did Eun-ho seem to realize something and say,

“Senior Brother, there are no young people in the village. Did they all go to the city to earn money?”

The old man, who had been coming out with noodles and water, roughly set the food down.

“Do not say such things carelessly in this village. To those who have nothing left to lose, a martial artist’s sword is not something that enters their eyes.”

“…….”

At the old man’s sharp reaction, Eun-ho became as mute as if he had eaten honey.

I could understand the old man’s reaction to some extent.

According to the records of Mantongbu, this village called Mokgi County had always been prosperous thanks to the goods and people heading to Hangzhou and West Lake.

However, after a generational change occurred in Twin Curtain Stronghold and new Stronghold Masters took over, their exploitation of the nearby villages became unspeakably severe.

As a result, all the young men and women of the village had died, leaving only the elderly and children behind.

In addition, because the toll fee for Mount Tianmu had risen to three times what it had been before, merchants no longer traveled this road.

When the people of the village had lost even the will and hope to live and were merely waiting for death,

‘There is someone who will stop that and take over Twin Curtain Stronghold.’

BANG!

The old door opened so violently it seemed as if it would break.

At the tremendous Qi wave I felt behind my back, I slowly turned around.

“Master of the house!”

A man led a group inside.

His bold voice rang through the desolate inn.

He had arrived on the exact date and at the exact time recorded.

“Bring us five-spice braised beef and Hundred Flowers Wine!”

A man with a massive build, arms as thick as an ordinary woman’s waist, and a face as fierce as a bandit’s.

“Dear, can we eat five-spice braised beef in a place like this?”

And a beautiful woman held in his arms.

They were none other than the future Alliance Leader of the Green Forest Alliance, Mountain King Bang Du-chil, and the Green Forest Alliance’s strategist, Baek So-ryeong.

The old man who came out of the kitchen furrowed his brow deeply.

“Five-spice braised beef? If you want to eat that kind of thing, go to West Lake or Hangzhou.”

I clicked my tongue at the old man’s unstoppable charge.

He truly seemed like an old man who had nothing visible before his eyes.

In our case, our faces were around twenty years old, so that was one thing, but Bang Du-chil’s outward appearance alone should have carried no ordinary pressure.

Yet the old man, as if he truly did not fear death, was treating everyone equally with a prickly attitude.

Who was Bang Du-chil?

Strength that could uproot mountains, spirit that could cover the world.

This man, called the reincarnation of Xiang Yu, was born with the Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body and was a Heaven beyond Heaven existence who had reached Transcendent Peak without any particular training.

Without any sect behind him, he took the Murim Academy Regular Exam with only his lover and companions, and in the middle of that, after receiving a child’s “one-silver-tael” request, he subjugated Twin Curtain Stronghold.

During that process, his Dantian was damaged, so he ultimately could not take the Murim Academy Regular Exam.

However, even with that damaged Dantian, he later unified all of the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds, formed the Green Forest Alliance, and rose to the position of Mountain King.

He truly was a fearless old man.

“Kahahahahaha! You are one nasty old man. Fine. Then what can we eat?”

“Noodles.”

“Is that so? Then bring us all the noodles you have.”

“……Wait.”

In my previous life, I had cooperated with him several times to fight against the Demonic Cult.

He had been the first true King of Green Forest to rule the Green Forest, but as the anecdote of the “one-silver-tael request” showed, he was a person full of spirit and affection.

If the wounds he suffered in the battle against Twin Curtain Stronghold had not worsened and caused him to die young, and if the Murim Alliance had properly cooperated with the Green Forest Alliance, the Demonic Cult could have been pinned down in Jiangnan.

That was the thought of Jegal Cheon-gi, the strategist of Sojeong Squad.

Of course, I had questions.

How had someone with the Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body suffered irreparable damage to his Dantian?

I had asked him several times while drinking with him, but he had only said it was because he had been immature.

“Master of the house, is this all?”

Although the old man brought out enough noodles to fill the table, Bang Du-chil and his subordinates wore expressions that did not seem very pleased.

“That is all. More importantly, do you have money?”

As the old man looked at Bang Du-chil with a suspicious expression, Baek So-ryeong smiled and took out a silver coin, then handed it over.

“If you have any wine, could we ask for that as well?”

“……Very well.”

Even the old man’s nasty temper seemed unable to do anything before Baek So-ryeong’s smiling face.

He cleared his throat and was just about to go back into the kitchen.

“We ate well.”

I held out the payment for the noodles.

“…….”

The old man stared blankly at the silver coin I handed him, then frowned.

“Where is there anyone who eats four bowls of noodles and pays with silver?”

“You can keep the change.”

“…….”

For some reason, the old man’s face showed guilt.

“Your situation appears extremely difficult. Are you all right?”

In order to connect Bang Du-chil and the old man, I carefully broached the subject.

“……The drought continued this year. In winter, some snow needs to fall for us to even get through the barley-hunger season.”

Unfortunately, snow would not fall in Zhejiang Province this winter.

According to reports from the Murim Alliance branches in West Lake and Hangzhou, the drought that had begun the year before last continued into winter, causing all of Zhejiang Province to suffer famine.

In the area around Mount Tianmu, there were especially many people who had starved to death, so many that even the corrupt County Magistrate opened his own storehouses.

“Is it perhaps because of Twin Curtain Stronghold?!”

At Eun-ho’s sudden words, the old man’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

“I am asking whether the village is suffering like this because of Twin Curtain Stronghold’s exploitation.”

The old man’s eyes sank.

“I told you earlier as well. Do not speak of such things carelessly in this village.”

“From what I know, Mokgi County is a village that one must pass through when going to West Lake and Hangzhou, so I heard it was always overflowing with goods and people.”

“……That is all in the past.”

“If the exploitation is that severe, have you not tried asking the Murim Alliance for help?”

Eun-ho shouted in anger as if he had experienced it himself, and the old man’s face slowly flushed red as well.

“We have! We have tried! But when has the Murim Alliance ever stepped forward for people like us, who have neither strength nor money?”

“……How could such a thing……”

While the three brothers gaped in shock at reality, Bang Du-chil’s party, who had been noisily eating noodles, also quietly focused on this side.

“Haah…… You should not stay in this village. Hurry on your way.”

The old man left the silver coin he had received on the table and took away all the noodle bowls, even though we had not finished eating.

“Elder……! Please, let us talk a little more……”

At the old man’s order for us to leave, I rose first.

However, I left the silver coin where it was.

“We ate well.”

“……But Senior Brother!”

“The elder is right. Let us get up.”

“But Senior Brother clearly……”

Seeing Eun-ho trying to say something, I quickly sent a Sound Transmission.

-This is not something to discuss now. There is a way to resolve everything, so get up first.

Just as the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers were about to rise with their shoulders drooping, a booming voice rang out from one corner of the dining hall.

“Master of the house! I am curious about that story. Tell me more.”

Bang Du-chil and his party had begun to take interest in the old man’s circumstances.

‘I have finished what I needed to do for now.’

The old man whipped around and snapped at Bang Du-chil with eyes blazing in anger.

“Did you not hear what I just said? Even the Murim Alliance has given up on this matter! And it is not something you people need to concern yourselves with either! Either get out at once or quietly stuff yourselves with noodles. Pick one.”

“No! I have to hear the story!”

Bang Du-chil rose with that huge body of his.

“Let us go.”

In the meantime, I led the three brothers outside.

“Senior Brother! That is different from what you said earlier.”

Unlike this morning, when he had turned pale at the idea of subjugating Twin Curtain Stronghold, Eun-ho could not suppress his anger after seeing the state of the village.

“There is a way, so wait a little.”

In truth, how could it make any sense for the four of us to face Twin Curtain Stronghold?

However, if Bang Du-chil and Baek So-ryeong stepped forward and his subordinates tried to subjugate Twin Curtain Stronghold, I thought it would be entirely possible for us to lend a hand.

I did not know whether this was a characteristic of people born with the Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body, but Bang Du-chil was someone who considered loyalty and justice the most important virtues.

Whether he became the King of Green Forest as he had in my previous life, or whether things changed and he came to the Murim Alliance, it was certain fate that he would oppose the Demonic Cult.

Just as I left the inn, satisfied with my actions, a young voice sounded.

“Mister…… Are you Great Hero Black Flame Dragon?”

The child was filthy, as if he had received no care from his parents at all.

Unlike me, whose brow had deeply furrowed, Dong-ryong could not hide his smile and answered in my place.

“How did you know?”

The child pointed at my sword.

“I heard you had an all-black sword and clothes, and a sinister face.”

“……?”

What was this?

Had a strange word not slipped in at the end just now?

“Are you Great Hero Black Flame Dragon?”

“It seems some strange rumor has spread. I am called Black…… that, yes.”

The child suddenly held out what he had been clutching tightly in both hands.

“Then please save my mom and dad. Grandpa said Mom and Dad went to Kunlun Mountain to earn money, but that is all a lie. Mom and Dad are being held in Twin Curtain Stronghold.”

What the child held out was one silver tael, dirty and grimy.

“Huh?”

Why was he giving this to me?

And what did he mean, his parents were alive?

“I heard you saved a whole lot of people. Please save my mom and dad.”

“…….”

Something seemed to have become badly tangled.

“Little one, are you sure your parents are alive?”

“……Wow.”

“How can you ask that……”

“……Hah.”

The Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers sent me disappointed looks.

There was nothing I could do.

The report from the Murim Alliance’s Hangzhou Branch had clearly said that when the child asked for revenge in exchange for “one silver tael,” Bang Du-chil, who wanted to overestimate his own strength, had used that as an excuse to step forward.

‘No way…… Those bastards……’

Until the Great Righteous-Demonic War broke out, the emotional gulf between the Black Path and the Orthodox Path was quite deep.

Since they had not been pleased by the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds uniting under the name of the Green Forest Alliance, if I assumed they had written the report to belittle the other party……

“Those damned…… bastards……”

No matter how much they wanted to devalue their opponent, there were things one should and should not do.

“Yes?”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the child was trembling as he looked at my face.

“Ah, sorry. But are you certain your parents were kidnapped?”

“Wow…… Senior Brother, really……”

“Stay still. We need to hear the story properly, do we not?”

The child, whose eyes were brimming with tears at the thought of his parents, said,

“I saw them on Mount Tianmu. Dad was digging the ground, and Mom was washing dishes. Il-seong’s parents and Jeong-jeong’s dad are all there too.”

“Hm……”

A full revision of the plan was necessary.

Even if the Mountain King possessed a constitution that seemed inhuman, he could not move freely in front of hostages.

‘Moreover, considering the character I saw from him in my previous life. If hostages had been taken……’

Only now did the pieces I had not known in the past begin to fit together.

The reason a Heaven beyond Heaven existence who should never have been able to get injured in the first place suffered irreparable damage.

“It was because of the hostages.”

I looked at the child for a moment.

If hostages had been taken, things could not proceed as they had in my previous life.

“Do you live alone?”

“With Grandpa here.”

The nasty old man from earlier was this child’s grandfather.

I took the child’s hand and went back into the inn.

“Please take this.”

The child stubbornly tried to give me the silver.

“No. I am not the one who should receive this money.”

“Then who?”

“Among the people in here……”

I opened the door, went inside, and pointed at Bang Du-chil.

“The person you should give the money to is that frightening-looking……”

I could not finish my sentence.

Bang Du-chil was performing a shoulder throw on the old man.