Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
55. Stalemateless (8)
I had a guess which beings Hwang Jiho respected.
Heavenly God, Sinin and Eun-ho.
Among them, the one, who could have been sleeping under the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building was just one.
‘As a higher being, Heavenly God doesn’t exist in this world, and Sinin became a human Gong Cheonghwon. Then…’
I shared such a conversation with Baek Ho-gun before.
— Is Eun-ho dead?
— No. He just cannot open his eyes.
‘The one in the basement of the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building would be Eun-ho, who fell into a Deep Sleep, right?’
The name of the Ho tribe’s divine realm, Eungwang District, had the character ‘Eun (은 銀 Silver)’ in it to honor Eun-ho’s existence, and the name of the school built there was Eungwang School.
Moreover, even within the Eungwang School, there were many buildings that had the character ‘Eun’.
Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building, where Chairman Hwang Myeong-ho worked.
Silver Shadow (Eunyeong) Building, where Jeok-ho dealt with secret matters.
Silver Training (Eunryeon) Building, where Baek-ho trained.
Among Eungwang School’s buildings were buildings like Hoyeon Building and Exalted Tiger Hall that didn’t have the character ‘Eun’, but the buildings used by the tigers each had the character ‘Eun’.
Eun-ho’s existence didn’t remain in the Gaecheon Myth, but the Ho tribe members cherished Eun-ho just like before.
‘Does that mean that Eun-ho from the myth is a hint to waking up Seongheon-yi…?’
There were too few clues to make some kind of connection between the two.
I even recalled the words Cheon Dongha said before I met Cheon Seong-heon.
— Yeah. Do you remember there is something that bothers me about my dongsaeng?
— You said that there was something different from the Locked-in Syndrome.
— Yeah, the look of superpower waves my dongsaeng shows extremely resembles the ‘Deep Sleep’ of Jin people. I’m cooperating in the research to wake up Jin people from ‘Deep Sleep’.
The look of Cheon Seong-heon’s superpower wave appeared to be similar to the ones in the Deep Sleep.
And Eun-ho was in a Deep Sleep.
As the Transcendent Universe directly pointed out the place where Eun-ho was in a Deep Sleep, there would be some manner of connection between the two.
‘I have found a point of similarity. But I can’t draw a conclusion from just that…’
I made a few hypotheses, but there were too few clues.
In addition, because Eun-ho didn’t remain in the records, it wouldn’t be easy to gather clues related to him.
If there was a sole place to gather clues, it would be only the tigers who spent the same period with Eun-ho personally.
First of all, I decided to ask Hwang Jiho, who was in front of me.
“What kind of Jin was Eun-ho?”
“… Jo Uisin, you’re making a sound, when knowing what kind of state you’re in, right now?”
Hwang Jiho was making a face that was half worried, half absurd.
If you looked at this situation objectively, it would be strange.
I suddenly made some unknowable sounds towards the dongsaeng of school senior, ran to the Heavenly Wings (Cheonik) Mountain, asked what was in the basement of the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building, and then asked about the Ho tribe’s old leader?
I would also think I was suspicious.
But it wasn’t just a day or two when this geezer thought I was suspicious and investigated my background, so I decided to just act shameless.
I would leave the dealing with the aftermath to my future self.
“I’m fine. Tell me about Eun-ho. Characteristic, personality, the trigger for him becoming a leader, things he liked, things he disliked, anything.”
“Jo Uisin, it’s not that I want to hide things about Eun-ho, but your current state…”
When I showed no sign of taking back my words, Hwang Jiho put strength in the hand holding my shoulder as his forehead wrinkled.
If Hwang Jiho made up his mind and used his strength, my shoulder would be turned into powder, but as it was still intact, it seemed it wasn’t absurd enough for him to forget to control his strength.
As if he decided on the course of action, Hwang Jiho sighed once and let go of my shoulder.
“If you promise to stay at my mansion today and take an adequate break, I’ll tell you the story.”
“Got it.”
When I immediately nodded, Hwang Jiho took the lead with a complicated face.
Hwang Jiho, who was going down the mountain, while manipulating the device, spoke:
“I ordered the air shuttle to wait. Let’s go straight to the mansion.”
We came this far, but you’re saying to return to the mansion?
I naturally expected we would head to the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building.
The destination was the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building, so I couldn’t return.
“…!”
“… Jo Uisin?”
I was about to refuse right away, but the moment I opened my mouth, I felt the taste of iron in my throat and broke into a hacking cough.
It wasn’t as serious as before, but it seemed that I vomited blood anyway.
After I covered my mouth for a moment and adjusted my voice, I spoke.
“… I want to go to the Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building basement.”
“What sound are you making when you have just almost vomited blood a moment ago?”
Even though I didn’t vomit any blood outside of my mouth, I guess I couldn’t deceive the tiger’s sense of smell.
Even so, I didn’t give up and opened my mouth again to persuade Hwang Jiho.
* * *
Silver Light (Eunhwi) Building’s basement.
Behind the barrier Hwang-ho designed and reinforced someone was hiding behind the pillar and stared at the elevator leading to the surface[1].
It seemed they were waiting for someone to come.
Soon, the elevator moved.
It was a signal that someone was descending.
The panel on the elevator instead of showing the floor number, it was showing the intensity of superpower wave, and checking that intensity, they guessed there were two beings heading to this place.
Among them, the one with a powerful superpower wave seemed to be the Myth category Ho.
The being, who stared at the elevator panel, thought that the ones coming here right now were Hwang-ho and Jo Uisin.
Ding!
Just then, the elevator reached the basement and the door opened.
And the ones, who appeared the moment the door opened…
“…”
Grrr….!
The ones, who appeared in the opened door weren’t Hwang-ho and Jo Uisin, but Baek-ho and the Ho tribe’s Divine Beast.
They instantly noticed the being lying in wait, and stared right at the pillar that being was hiding behind.
“The Mountain Spirit, how did you get in here?”
While saying that, Baek-ho released the leash around the Ho tribe’s Divine Beast’s neck, so they seemed to prepare for a battle.
The Mountain Spirit trembled and stepped in front of Baek-ho.
The Mountain Spirit knew very well how harsh the training Baek-ho could do.
Thanks to that, the Mountain Spirit, who looked like a lump of gas, quickly regained energy and became material enough to wear a modified hanbok on Chuseok, but such a painful training couldn’t be beautified.
The Mountain Spirit desperately made hand and feet gestures to make excuses.
After they made an excuse, whose gist was that they saw a gap in a crack and came to play, Baek-ho’s eyes turned even more chilly.
“There is no way that Hwang-ho loosened up the barrier of the place, where my dongsaeng sleeps.”
Paaa….!
The White Fang of Thunder Clouds Breaker was summoned in Baek-ho’s hand.
Seeing the beautiful weapon that Baek-ho’s dongsaeng, the previous leader of the Ho tribe, made for his hyung and gifted it to him, the Mountain Spirit felt chills.
Every time they trained, the Mountain Spirit, who was beaten up to the limit by White Fang, begged earnestly to please go easy on them.
“I told you not to disturb Jo Uisin, so now you plan to annoy my dongsaeng?”
The Mountain Spirit shook their head, meaning ‘no’.
As if that answer wasn’t trustworthy, the Divine Beast growled threateningly and let out a cry worthy of a savage beast from hell.
Grrrrrr! Roar!
The Mountain Spirit covered their ears and hid their head.
Baek-ho pointed the White Fang at the Mountain Spirit and asked:
“Tell me the reason you came here.”
The Mountain Spirit raised their head and looked at Baek-ho, but their hands and feet didn’t budge.
When they showed no signs of answering, Baek-ho pointed at the Divine Beast.
“If you don’t answer truthfully, the next training partner won’t be me, but the Ho tribe’s Divine Beast.”
The Mountain Spirit’s hands shrunk up, startled.
With Baek-ho, he would go easy on them if they begged until their hands worn down, but the Divine Beast wasn’t like that.
The Ho tribe’s Divine Beast had a fussy temper and strong likes and dislikes, and recently seemed to decide that the Mountain Spirit was the target of its dislike, as if it didn’t like the Mountain Spirit’s actions.
The Mountain Spirit thought Baek-ho would make a better training’s opponent, and decided to answer the question.
The Mountain Spirit opened and closed their mouth, and pointed up.
They repeatedly pointed up, waved their hands in the air, and then pointed at their ears.
“… You mean ‘that thing’ told you to wait here?”
When the Mountain Spirit frantically nodded, Baek-ho withdrew the White Fang.
Keung?
The Divine Beast, who thought that they were going to beat the Mountain Spirit to a pulp, dubiously wagged its tail towards Baek-ho.
But Baek-ho took out the leash again and attached it to Divine Beast’s neck, as if his mind was firm.
Baek-ho seemed to have made up his mind to return to the mansion.
“I’ll later tell Hwang-ho you were hiding here. And…”
An unexpected lightning struck the Mountain Spirit, who was relieved.
“My dongsaeng’s descendants want to feed you. Come back just for it.”
* * *
Hwang Myeong-ho’s great mansion.
I ended up coming here with Eun-ho’s story as a bait.
I failed to persuade Hwang Jiho at the Heavenly Wings Mountain.
Hwang Jiho dragged me firmly, and we returned to the Hwang Myeong-ho’s great mansion.
“Hm, this much seems like it will be fine if you manage your superpower wave and take a break, eh?”
In the air shuttle, Hwang Jiho, who leaked superpower wave to examine me, spoke like this with a satisfied face.
I was frustrated, but thinking about catching a clue to waking up Cheon Seong-heon by hearing Eun-ho’s story, I decided to endure it.
‘It wouldn’t be bad to maintain a top condition in case something happens.’
As hastily played moves could catch my ankle later, I decided to endure for a bit.
While moving, the Silver Light (Eunhwi) and Hwang Myeong Research Institute often entered my vision, so I turned to look in their direction a few times, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
“Please come in. I guess Jo Uisin’s research institute tour ended, eh?… But I think I smell blood.”
“It’s coming from Jo Uisin-gun.”
The moment we arrived at the entrance, Jeok-ho and his son looked at me and spoke like this.
Although it happened a moment ago when I almost vomited blood, weren’t tigers’ noses exceptionally good?
The last time Hwang Jiho also recognized that my hand was almost cut off, so it seemed that the Ho tribe’s senses were much more extraordinary than humans’.
“Wash and change. The smell of blood subsided from your breath, but it seems some of it got on your clothes in the meantime, huh?”
I decided to follow those words.
Because Eun-ho’s descendants, who were cooking in the kitchen, or Snare, who went for a walk, might be worried for no reason.
I finished the shower in the guest room I used every time I visited the mansion and borrowed clothes from the wardrobe, but besides the school uniforms, I also saw daily clothes.
‘Summer clothes, winter clothes, spring and autumn clothes, and even corresponding coats are all here. Besides the school uniforms, there are also casual clothes.’
Did they prepare everything because I came covered in smell of blood a few times?
It seemed a bit excessive, but I decided to be thankful for the favor for the sake of Eun-ho’s descendants and Snare.
As I came to the living room, I saw my angel and Baek-ho, who finished the walk and returned, and the lifeless Mountain Spirit, who was pranking again and was scolded.
Woof woof!
I stretched out my hands towards Snare, who was running towards me, and waited, but the geezer messed things up.
“Hm, the smell of blood is gone, eh?”
Woof…?
Our clever Snare recognized the word blood, and looked at me worriedly.
I didn’t expect the Mountain Spirit, but I thought I did well that I came after washing, so I didn’t worry Snare and Baek-ho, but that benefit disappeared.
As I soothed Snare, saying it was nothing, Hwang Jiho handed me a Salomon’s seal tea[2], and spoke up again.
“As promised, I’ll tell you about Eun-ho. I think it would be good for Kim Sinrok and Eunho’s descendants to hear it together. Ah, before that, I also have something I want to ask you.”
Hwang Jiho placed the tea cups and asked:
“I want to know what is Cheon Dongha’s dongsaeng’s relationship with ‘Seong-heon’.”
“… Did You say ‘Seong-heon’?”
Jeok-ho reacted to the word ‘Seong-heon’.
From the looks of it, the geezer asked about Seong-heon before.
“Is the name of senior Cheon Dongha-nim’s dongsaeng not ‘Cheon Seong-heon’?”
“If I knew that, there would be no need to hear an investigation report about that ‘Seong-heon’ through Jeok-ho. Because Cheon Dongha’s dongsaeng is in the care of the Hwang Myeong Research Institute.”
It seemed that Cheon Seong-heon’s name was different here.
‘Aren’t there reasons for a bit of difference between me and Seongheon-yi?’
The biggest difference between Cheon Seong-heon and me.
Was the order of clearing.
I was proud to say I was the first to clear PMH’s last chapter.
‘I was certainly the first one to clear PMH’s last chapter. Because the time needed and the difficulty level to see that bad ending was quite a lot. It may be the difference between the person who cleared first, and the one who hasn’t.’
There was only one fourth examinee ‘Unnamed supporting character’, who appeared in the PMH’s tutorial and was controlled by the user.
A person, who had come to this world, might have received a different position instead of that position.
If you tried to match the family’s common syllable, there is a chance it would be difficult for the name to be the same as in the previous world.
I came up with several hypotheses but decided to postpone thinking about all of them for later.
Instead, I asked a very simple question.
“What is senior Cheon Dongha-nim’s dongsaeng’s name?”
At those words, Hwang Jiho made a subtle face.
Was there something about the name?
“In Cheon Dongha’s family, the children are said to be precious. So they consider the later born children as even more precious, and do absurd things as giving them higher ranking names, eh? But Cheon Dongha’s dongsaeng is a bastard child, and while growing up, he developed the Locked-in Syndrome and was neglected at the hospital.”
What kind of sound was that again?
Cheon Dongha’s family situation seemed more complicated than I imagined.
“Don’t humans rank copper (동 dong), silver (은 eun) and gold (금 geum)? So Cheon Dongha’s dongsaeng’s name…”
Hwang Jiho’s words trailed off, and then he opened his mouth. [3]
“… Is ‘Cheon Eunha’.”
*~*~*
[1] surface — 지상 (jisang) — also means reality.
[2] Salomon’s seal — 동굴레 (donggulle) Polygonatum odoratum, a medical herb, in ancient Chinese medicine book it was described as a plant that ‘can make you fly and become younger’. It’s sometimes confused with Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), called 은방울꽃 (eunbangulkkot) in Korean.
[3] Hwang Jiho’s words trailed off, and then he opened his mouth. — It actually could be ‘Hwang Jiho’s words trailed off, and I opened my mouth’. I’m not quite sure.
Translator’s note: Baek-ho, I want to punch you, and how you treat the Mountain Spirit is only 70% of the reason. How dare you?
Patron thank you note:
Thank you patron, Nobody, please accept this Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Al, please accept this Turbinicarpus laui’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Dust, please accept this Turbinicarpus lophophoroides’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Maru, please accept this Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, kamisonk, please accept this Turbinicarpus saueri’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Kasimir Ilmonen, please accept this Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Tara Hess, please accept this Turbinicarpus valdezianus (‘s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Ice, please accept this Turbinicarpus swobodae’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, anonymous Kofi-supporter, please accept this Turbinicarpus viereckii ‘s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Hematite, please accept this Bergerocactus emoryi’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Deflubs, please accept this Corryocactus apiciflorus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Links to support this translation and access to 8 advanced chapter (Patreon & Kofi)
> Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LibraryKeyTranslations
> Kofi-Euro: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslator
> Kofi-USD: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslatorusd
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
Leave a Reply