Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
Jongro-1, Red Lion team’s exclusive skyscraper building.
Beyond the portal engraved with barriers designed by the collaboration of the Yong tribe’s head, Cheongryong, and Dragon King’s shaman[1], residential area.
After the banquet ended, Yeom Junyeol, who came back, immediately found himself in front of Yong Jegeon’s room to visit him.
“Come in.”
Yong Jegeon, who read Yeom Junyeol’s presence, offered permission to enter straight away.
After the automatic door opened, he saw Yong Jegeon spreading out three chess boards.
‘You’re in the middle of replay analysis[2], huh?’
Two semi-finals matches and one final match which were held today.
The location of the chess pieces reproducing the three games caught his eyes.
‘That’s my game I played with Seung-hyeon I met in the semi-finals, huh? Looking at it now, it was fierce. If I was even a bit careless, I would have lost. Over there should be a confrontation between Gyeong-gu and Uisin? And here, the closest is the finals…’
He was about to recall the memory of the defeat again, but perhaps thanks to family’s consolation, his heart[3] didn’t hurt so much.
“Looking at your face, you didn’t come here to play chess, huh? What is the matter?”
Yeom Junyeol marveled over Yong Jegeon’s sharp instinct as he calmly replied.
“Jegeon hyung, I met some kind of Jin at the banquet.”
Yeom Junyeol briefly passed on the events during the banquet.
Owned by TC group’s air hotel, Snow and Air hotel’s lounge.
Jin woman in a red dress who suddenly appeared.
The words and item card she left behind.
Unidentified perfume she sprayed and then disappeared at the last moment
Yong tribe members who completely didn’t sense the traces of a different Jin.
After Yeom Junyeol’s words were finished, Yong Jegeon’s asked back:
“Is that so, huh… And you say she was wearing a red dress?”
“Yes. It was a pure red color.”
At Yeom Junyeol’s reply, Yong Jegeon made an ecstatic[4] face for a split second.
Yong Jegeon examined the item card the Jin woman left behind with a soft smile.
‘Jegeon hyung is paying attention to strange points.’
It wasn’t a day or two when Yong Jegeon was ecstatic for reasons others couldn’t understand and poured his interest into something.
Yeom Junyeol decided to ask what he was most curious about first.
“Who was that Jin?”
“A person I made a deal with a long time ago. In exchange for granting a favor[5] to her son, I asked her to inform me if something fun happens.”
Her son?
Looks like it was about that son she called a troublemaker.
He was curious, but as it was related to someone else’s family history, Yeom Juneyol decided to refrain himself from prying any further.
“Ages passed so I thought she forgot, but looks like she is finally thinking of paying back, huh?”
Yong Jegeon materialized the item card as he spoke.
At the side of the materialized item, an envelope was attached.
Only an artisan would be able to include other objects besides the item in the card.
The message would come from that item artisan then.
Yong Jegeon read the entire content inside of the envelope, but it didn’t look like he had any thoughts of sharing what it was about with Yeom Junyeol.
Yeom Junyeol was curious about the content of the envelope but suffered patiently.
“Thanks, Junyeol.”
“No. I did nothing but just pass an item card.”
“Haha, not that. It’s because she is a Jin who is difficult to meet. She caused you serious trouble.”
He may not know the details, but he was glad that Yong Jegeon was happy as that Jin woman said.
Thinking like that, Yeom Junyeol left Yong Jegeon’s room.
***
“Cute!”
“Wow, can we place it in our room?”
“We have to take a picture!”
Seeing the gifts I brought, Eun-ho’s three descendants were very happy.
The things I prepared today before coming were dog houses.
I bought it for our Snare who had nowhere to hide and crawled under a mat.
The prepared designs were the house type from solid wood and windows, the cube type, the Indian tent, one looking like a fruit, etc.
As Hwang Jiho’s said, it may have been because my intelligence drops when I think or hold Snare, but I had no idea what Snare would like, so I decided to buy them all.
Woof woof!
Using a DIY kit, they were completed one after one, while Snare’s eyes lit up and sparkled as it observed[6] from my side.
I guess the clever Snare figured out that all of those houses were its.
“Snare, where do you want to live?”
I pointed at the houses, which were completed much quicker than I anticipated thanks to receiving Baek Ho-gun’s help, as I spoke.
Finally I stroked Snare with an empty hand while asking, but Snare didn’t move.
“Try out your favorite place.”
However, Snare still didn’t move.
Its eyes were shining when we were making them, I thought that there were a few houses that caught its attention.
It can’t be helped if Snare doesn’t like them.
I have to go shopping again, right?
When I recalled about 10 website addresses of stores specializing in dog houses.
Keuung….
Suddenly Snare jumped towards my knees and asked to be hugged, showing its charms.
I put my brain to full operation, trying to figure out Snare’s meaning.
‘No way, is it saying that its favorite spot is in my arms!?’
I, who came to the conclusion, held and hugged Snare.
“It’s like that, huh? Snare! I’m sorry I couldn’t figure it out sooner!”
Woof woof!
As if it was the correct response, Snare barked with a bright voice.
In addition, as if our clever Snare knew that I won the chess tournament, it showed me the type of cuteness it didn’t usually show.
It looked like it was that victory celebration cuteness Eun Niho was talking about before.
I felt it was worthy of winning the chess tournament.
“Jo Uisin, your intelligence drop phenomena gets worse with each passing day, huh?”
I didn’t know what kind of sound Hwang Jiho was making.
I perfectly figured out Snare’s meaning, so there was no intelligence drop.
Due to the time constraints, it seemed to be difficult to play chess with Snare, so the baby chess was put in Snare’s exclusive cabinet, and we moved to the living room.
In the living room, I, Snare, Hwang Jiho and Baek Ho-gun.
After the automatic maid served the tea and refreshments and disappeared outside of the door, Hwang Jiho opened his mouth straight away.
“Jeok-ho woke up last night.”
“Is Jeok-ho okay?”
“Yeah. But he fell asleep again as he hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
It seemed that he was safely recovering, so I was glad.
But it seemed difficult to bring Jeok-ho and go with him to the boat party today.
“I was handed a hologram chip containing investigation materials from the awakened Jeok-ho. In it the moment when Jeok-ho was injured was also recorded.”
While Hwang Jiho spoke like that, he gulped down an entire red cinnabar ceramic cup filled with black beans-liquorice[7] tea beforehand.
Black beans-liquorice tea was a mix of black soya beans and liquorice
I heard that it was a traditional tea used to soothe anger, so it looked like it was a choice made because of Jeok-ho.
“Zhu Ganglie was in the middle of receiving orders to aim for the boat party from the being he called ‘That Person’. At that time, Jeok-ho was hiding his body with the Red Smoke skill strengthened with the equipment I bestowed a blessing[8] on.”
Hwang Jiho unfolded a hologram video.
In the video, a person hiding their body with a robe and a person with a big build appeared.
‘That’s Zhu Ganglie, huh?’
The Jin, assumed to be Zhu Ganglie, was holding a rake type weapon, Nine Iron Teeth Rake.
Unlike Sun Wukong’s Ruyi Bang which was made to measure the depth of the sea floor, Nine Iron Teeth Rake was made as a weapon from the beginning.
For that reason, its acknowledgment as a treasure was higher than Ruyi Bang.
“Jeok-ho’s Red Smoke was reinforced by me… It seems that the guy they call ‘They’ pierced through it and saw him.”
From the screen, I heard a voice close to that of a robot as if they were using a voice changer.
[Zhu Ganglie, use Nine Iron Teeth Rake’s ‘Forking’, now.]
[Yes? Aghr, I can use Nine Iron Teeth Rake’s Forking only nine… No, I can use it but only eight times, sir[9]! I can’t use it carelessly!]
[Quick. Behind you.]
Currently, the one who was recording this video, Jeok-ho, was behind Zhu Ganglie.
Jeok-ho, who had sensed that this turn of events was strange, seemed to try to hide his body to avoid it, but before that, the rake flew towards the screen.
The screen shook, then began to flicker.
“Jeok-ho’s body was pierced with Nine Iron Teeth Rake’s Forking. However, he didn’t release the Red Smoke and escaped up to here, right? Even if the opponent knows that someone infiltrated, they won’t be certain that it was Jeok-ho.”
It looked like the guy called ‘That Person’ to some degree pierced and looked through the Red Smoke.
Even the version strengthened by Hwang Jiho.
Hwang Jiho’s explanation continued.
Under Hwang Jiho’s fingertips, the hologram switched while Zhu Ganglie’s picture and profile came up.
“I heard that after the Clash of Different Worlds, Zhu Ganglie lost his position as Cleanser of the Altars. The reason was said to be that he was corrupted, I didn’t confirm a detailed full account. Anyhow, it looks like Zhu Ganglie’s corruption enraged quite a few higher beings.”
Hwang Jiho put down a cinnabar teacup while his eyes lit up.
“For that reason, Zhu Ganglie’s current statistics considerably decreased. I’m saying ‘considerably’, but thinking of his capabilities when he was a Heavenly Admiral, he should still be much more powerful than those damn Moon Rabbits, right?”
“Hwang Jiho, how does it compare to you in a perfect state?”
“The Nine Iron Teeth Rake may be annoying, but even so, not a problem.”
Hwang Jiho spoke confidently.
If he even speaks like that, I guess he would win by a landslide.
“One among Three Pure Ones, Daode Tianzun Taishang Laojun, was greatly enraged by that pig’s moves, so it seems that he plans on taking back Nine Iron Teeth Rake. Hence, the Nine Iron Teeth Rake responded to him.”
The Nine Iron Teeth Rake responds to Taishang Laojun’s wishes?
I guess as a weapon made by One of Pure Ones in the Eight Trigram Furnace by himself, it had a certain degree of its own will.
“However, there is a limit to how much Taishang Laojun as a higher being can interfere in this world. He has to use a Jin or a human as a medium to do it, but… There is no one satisfactory in his eyes, so it seems that he is putting it off.”
After Hwang Jiho’s words ended, I started to organize my thoughts.
The boat party in the game and similar events.
Ju-Oh and TC Groups’ next heads’ assassination plan.
Long Tail of still not uncovered identity.
Nine Iron Teeth Rake and Zhu Ganglie.
Jeok-ho.
“I have a suggestion.”
“You’re smiling suspiciously again, eh? Speak.”
I guess I was smiling suspiciously again while I was organizing my thoughts.
While I managed my expression a bit, I explained the plan I had in mind.
For the first half of the explanation, Hwang Jiho was nodding his head while listening, but gradually his expression turned grave.
“I object.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like it.”
Besides the speaking Hwang Jiho, who sat in the seat of honor, even Baek Ho-gun, who sat opposite of me, was making a chilly expression.
I guess they didn’t particularly like my suggestion.
I added an explanation.
“It’s still not known that the Ho tribe noticed the Don tribe’s betrayal, right? So you can’t come forward.”
“Even so, I don’t like it.”
“What do you think is the reason why Jeok-ho endured when he was torn into nine parts?”
At those words, Hwang Jiho closed his mouth.
He still had a dissatisfied expression like before, but it looked like he came to understand.
“It’s a situation where we still have almost no clues about the Long Tail, you know? If it is revealed that you came forward personally, the Long Tail will hide even further.”
“That’s true, but.”
Hwang Jiho poured the still extremely hot black beans-liquorice tea from the teapot and quickly gulped it down.
After drinking all the tea, Hwang Jiho opened his mouth.
“But ‘almost’? Jo Uisin, did you notice something?”
Whether I noticed or not, in the game there was a Jin tribe who never showed any movements signaling that they were on Dark Mastermind’s side.
I wanted the Ho tribe to be aware of it, so I looked for a chance and at last it came.
“I know the Jin tribe who will never be a traitor. The Yong tribe is not a traitor.”
In the game, Yong Jegeon died protecting students.
In addition, it was immediately after Yeom Junyeol passed away, when the Yong tribe rebelled against the government with their head, Cheongryong, as a center.
“Evidence?”
“Currently none, but anyway, they’re NOT.”
“…Okay.”
The eyes of Hwang Jiho, who was staring at me, suddenly sparkled a bit.
“I didn’t mean to be hiding it exactly, but the Ho tribe figured out one more long tail that is not a traitor. The ‘evidence’ is even here.”
What, there is something?
“I thought you noticed it immediately, but is your intelligence truly dropping, Jo Uisin? You encounter that ‘evidence’ every time you visit this place.”
I encounter it every time I come to Hwang Myeong-ho’s mansion?
I ruminated over things in the manor whenever I visited from the beginning, one after one.
‘Something related to the long tail…’
When I fell into thoughts, Snare wriggled in my arms.
That moment, I realized.
“You’re a Gyeon[10], huh?”
“Hahaha! You realized it now!”
Keung…
As if our clever Snare was aware it was a topic of conversation, it looked up with an uneasy expression.
“The Gyeon tribe and our Ho tribe made a secret alliance. We have a closer relationship than with that sworn friend Moon Rabbit. To hide each of our divine beast’s identities, they each shared a portion of their own divine energy, you know?”
Was it because of that that the Don tribe couldn’t kill Snare personally by using wild boars?
In the game, Cotton Ball didn’t die at the hands of the Don tribe but by illegally admitted students.
“The divine beast’s true form is closer to a tiger. As it lost its remaining divine energy in the Ho tribe’s divine realm, it took this appearance to borrow the divine energy of the Gyeon tied by alliance, you know?”
Our cotton ball-like Snare moaned while trying to show off its charms.
I guessed it was nowhere near confident, so it was worried a lot about this conversation.
I had no problems with whatever Snare’s real appearance was.
“It’s fine, Snare. Even if you’re a tiger, you’ll be cool, clever and cute.”
… Woof woof!
Our clever Snare, who understood my words, barked energetically.
With all its might, it tried to jump into my arms, and I also responded by hugging it.
On the other side, Hwang Jiho was staring in this direction with an uninterested face.
It seemed I knew the reason why that guy wasn’t close with our Snare.
“Then see you later.”
After finishing the conversation with Hwang Jiho, when leaving the mansion.
Eun-ho’s three descendants siblings quietly approached.
“Uh! You won’t be staying for the night?”
“We even bought new VR game software and gear to play together with Uisin oppa!”
“I took many pictures, so I planned to show them to you…”
It was regrettable, but today it was impossible to stay for a night.
“Sorry, I’ll come next time. Instead, please play a lot with Snare.”
“Yes…”
My heart hurt.
It was sad I had to leave the three siblings behind and go, and it was sad I couldn’t enjoy the walk back home with our Snare.
After leaving behind the children and Snare remaining at the entrance, when I was about to climb into the air shuttle used to move around the maze garden.
“If I think you will fail, I’ll interfere straight away.”
Hwang Jiho spoke bluntly.
He acted mischievously during the Snare conversation, so I thought he wasn’t so greatly worried, but it didn’t seem like that.
“Be careful, Jo Uisin.”
Even Baek Ho-gun, who stayed dead silent before, said a word.
I nodded my head to two Ho tribe members and then climbed into the shuttle.
‘It’s a half gamble, but if successful, I can cut the Dark Mastermind’s power.’
While strengthening my resolve and double checking the plans in my head, I prepared for departure.
*~*~*
[1] shaman – think shrine maiden, but it’s not a shrine but a god they attend to (the word seems to have the same roots as Japan’s word for shrine maidens, but as Korean shamanism mostly merged with buddhism, it doesn’t hold the same religious significance). They are exclusively female, so if this novel mentions shamans, unless this translator leaves a note that says otherwise (because a different word is used), you can assume that all shamans are women.
*For example, the Ho tribe’s head shaman mentioned before uses a different word, ‘주술사’ (jusulsa) which is also translated to shaman but doesn’t have a gender specification. Uh, I may use something like shaman maiden or godly maiden for the shrine maiden type to differentiate between them??
[2] replay analysis – a different word than ‘replay’ in the title is used here, I just have no idea how to translate it without using replay, but please remember, no replay here. Idea of replaying a thing, yes? The word ‘replay’? No.
[3] his heart didn’t hurt – raws: his mind didn’t hurt.
[4] ecstatic – I think I forgot to mention it before? The Yong Jegeon’s ‘ecstatic face’ could be also translated as ‘dazzling’ in the meaning of being so brilliant, shining, beautiful or ‘difficult to read/understand’.
[5] In exchange for granting a favor – or showing kindness. Also, ‘in exchange’ is a bit ambiguous here. It could also mean ‘instead of’.
[6] observed – It could also be ‘guarded me from the side’ and considering Jo Uisin’s abilities… It is safe to assume it was also guarding Jo Uisin from the side.
[7] liquorice – chinese liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis).
[8] blessing – it’s the good luck/fortune blessing which was mentioned before, like the one Jo Uisin used to bless Kwon Lena’s ribbon. I remember the proposition to call them good luck charms, but it doesn’t feel right in this specific situation… protection charms? Fortune blessing? Uh… I’ll continue to think.
[9] sir! – a particular grammar form is used here. It used to state something as a fact (doesn’t matter in english, untranslatable most of the time) and is mainly used by ‘merchants in Seoul’. That’s what the dictionary says. Don’t hold me to it. But it does tie nicely with Zhu Bajie being a patron of merchants and brothels. Also, additional note, as you may expect, ‘They’ use a casual/imperative tone towards Zhu Bajie, and Zhu Bajie is using a polite tone towards them.
[10] Gyeon – Gyeon tribe – dog tribe.
Translator’s note: Hwang-ho, I’m not sure if you are quite aware what Jo Uisin’s ‘successful’ entails.
Correction note:
‘Spirituality’ when referred to the power of the land, the energy in lay lines, will now be called ‘Power of Earth’, so it isn’t confused with the mental power (which I also translate as spirituality for some reason) which Players use for their skills.
Also, Power of Earth is a translation of the hanja which appeared in chapter 43 during the 12 Zodiac meeting. At the time, I said I’d go to check if the hanja was mentioned ever before. It wasn’t. Hanja is specified only once when the Seo tribe head is speaking about it. So there is still a chance that when the tigers and Jo Uisin use that word, they refer to something else.
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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