Chapter 174: It Is Fate (3)

Chapter 174: It Is Fate (3)

It Is Fate (3)

Inside a forest that knew no end, a thick purple fog was present.

It was filled with fog to the point that it was impossible to tell apart night from day.

All that could be heard was the ambient sounds of a mountain and the cries of crickets, which made me assume that it was night time.

Crunch-

A rough sound came from between the trees.

It was the sound of something being broken and pulled out.

Flutter-

Along with the sound, birds that were hiding themselves within the forest flew away simultaneously.

-Sigh.

I let out a sigh, being done with this fierce battle.

I threw the demons neck far away; it was the neck of a green colored demon that resembled a wolf.

Tap!

The demons head fell to the ground after being thrown away and in front of that head, stood a person.

I frowned as I checked who it was.

It was someone I didnt want to see at all.

-What.

The voice that came out of my mouth sounded rude as ever.

-Are you that tired after only defeating one green demon?

-Why are you talking shit as soon as you get here, you wanna die?

The woman that spoke to me in a mocking manner was the Snow Phoenix.

She was also covered head to toe in dust and leaves from wherever she was.

Moyong Hi-ah let out a sigh and spoke after hearing me.

-Ha, Im jealous, seeing you so relaxed.

-Relaxed? Do I look relaxed in your eyes?

I had fought with everything I got, yet she was saying that I was taking it easy.

This was why I hated that damned woman.

She thought that the world revolved around her.

I spat on the ground, not wanting this conversation to go on, but Moyong Hi-ah continued to speak.

-You are here wrestling with some random demon while not even knowing the current situation, so yes you do look like youre taking it easy.

I looked at Moyong Hi-ah hearing her words.

-What are you talking about? Be clear.

-I was relieved to have finally managed to find a person But it had to be you out of everyone. How unlucky I truly am.

-You damned bitch.

Why was she talking shit to me when she was the one who had come to me?

I was already tired enough without her.

I roared at her while growing my flames, but Moyong Hi-ah maintained her disappointed expression.

-You, how long has it been since youve seen the others?Diiscover new stories at nove/lbin(.)c/om

-What?

I asked as such to Moyong Hi-ahs sudden question, but she urged me to answer without caring one bit.

-I asked, how long has it been. Dont stretch this any longer and just tell me, its an urgent situation.

-About four days.

-Four days? You, did you never once think that something was strange in those four days?

-What strange things are you saying? Be clearer.

Moyong Hi-ah swept her hair up after hearing me.

She seemed very frustrated.

-Everyone has disappeared.

I frowned after hearing her.

A year had passed, since the day we got trapped in this damned world. This Demon Realm. This Abyss.

The number of people trapped in the Abyss kept on decreasing ever since the first day, but there were still a good number of people remaining.

It was thanks to the numerous sacrifices that The Water Dragon and Wi Seol-Ah had made to protect everyone.

But everyone disappeared?

-What are you even talking about? How could they disappear when this place isnt even that big?

I was currently scouting a forest located in the north.

It was filled with fog, but I came here with some people in hopes of finding some food supplies or an escape route.

But all of them had disappeared?

At least twenty people had entered all together.

Moyong Hi-ah too seemed like she was unable to comprehend; she replied.

-Thats what Im saying, you should have been searching for the others if they went missing, but what the hell are you doing here?

-Are you blind? Cant you see? I was trying to fucking survive!

As could be seen earlier, I was barely managing to hold onto my life while fending off against those demons inside the forest.

To be honest, there were some near death moments.

I get that they were only green demons, but because of me being out here without a wink of sleep for four whole days

I almost died earlier due to exhaustion.

Moyong Hi-ah laughed apathetically at my response.

-Then you shouldve gone searching for others instead. What are you doing here being pathetic all by yourself?

-I thought they had just left me.

-What?

Moyong Hi-ah asked at my lightly uttered words.

She had definitely heard what I said, so why the hell was she asking again?

-Its not very strange, is it?

-

I dont know if it was because I said those words so lightly, Moyong Hi-ah seemed to have lost her words for a moment.

Did it really sound that weird for her?

In my opinion, it wasnt weird at all for me to get left behind.

The same applied for Moyong Hi-ah who was right in front of me as well.

There was no way that crazy woman was believing anything I said until now and I was certain that she would use me as bait and run away if a dangerous situation were to come.

Moyong Hi-ah let out a sigh after seemingly understanding my thoughts.

-Never mind that. You, so you havent even tried to leave the forest yet right?

-Not yet?

Now that I think about it, I never did think about leaving the forest.

-Well, we cant.

As soon as I had that thought, Moyong Hi-ah spoke in a cold tone.

-What do you mean we cant?

-I went back to the entrance I came from, but I only ended up looping around the same place and it didnt let me leave the forest.

-You sure its not just you not being able to find the entrance?

-Do you think Im stupid as you? I obviously left marks where I was.

-

This bitch I swear, should I just charge at her right now?

I really considered attacking her, but I held myself back.

I couldnt even win against her in my best shape, so if I charged at her in my current state, I might actually die.

-Anyway So we cant leave the forest?

-If you cant believe me, go see it for yourself.

So I decided to go see it for myself.

The marks that Moyong Hi-ah said that she had left, thankfully didnt disappear, so as long as I followed those marks, I should end up at the entrance of the forest, but

-Why am I here again?

Yes, I said the two of you standing in front of me.

Hearing Heeyoung speak like there was nothing wrong, I looked at Moyong Hi-ah with a shocked expression.

Moyong Hi-ah still had a smile on her face.

And that smile of hers was so charming, that even Heeyoung who probably lived his whole life as a monk, started to blush a little.

I told you that you didnt need to worry.

Moyong Hi-ah put her hair behind her ears. And because of the light breeze that came, Moyong Hi-ahs scent reached my nose.

I am someone that doesnt move without making a plan first.

I was about to say that thats her biggest problem, but I barely managed to hold those words back in.

Whether Moyong Hi-ah knew my thoughts or not, no she probably does and is just pretending not to she spoke.

Shall we go then?

I lost my capability of speech in the end after seeing her blatant, shameless smile.

******************

Shaolin was originally Elder Shins goal, but unlike the plan, I ended up coming to Shaolin without Elder Shin.

As we went up the stairs following monk Heeyoungs guidance, I was able to see that Shaolin still had an ancient atmosphere thanks to them not changing anything for a long time.

The buildings here seemed twice as large and wide than Mount Huas.

This didnt mean that Mount Hua was small, but rather that the Shaolin Temple was way too big.

I couldnt even imagine how much donation and support this place got from Hanam.

I wonder what that old man wanted to find out in this place.

I thought about the old swordsman that became a ghost in this world after living his life as a hero.

The Divine Sword of Mount Hua, Shincheol, who was in a deep sleep right now.

This is where tourists visit the most.

I looked where Heeyoung pointed at, and there was a big lake inside Shaolin.

Inside the lake so clear that you could see the ground, there was a pure white fish swimming around.

I looked at it in confusion, thinking why there was only one fish, when Heeyoung started to explain.

That is the Shaolin Temples treasure, the White Fish of Purity.

That fish is a treasure?

Yes, thats correct. It is a treasure left by the great hero, The Light of Might, who had stopped the Blood Demons Blood Disaster in the far past.

That means that the fish had lived for hundreds of years.

Wasnt it a demon at that point?

I could only nod in the end, as asking if the treasure of Shaolin was a demon was sure to get me in trouble.

Was there something like this in my past life too?

I didnt really have much interest in Shaolin back then, nor did I hear anything about the fish.

I was just fascinated by the fact that a creature could also be called a treasure.

Also, can they really just let that thing swim freely around the lake?

What were they gonna do if someone appeared out of nowhere and stole it?

As I stared at the fish with that thought, Heeyoung started to explain as if he was waiting to.

The Abbott put up a barrier just in case people with ill intent come here, so that we would be able to know if they go near it.

I thought about the barrier back in Mount Hua for a moment after hearing Heeyoung.

I enhanced my vision with Qi, and I was able to faintly see that there was indeed a barrier around the lake.

Im curious about one thing, Monk Heeyoung.

Yes.

Do all monks give tours like this?

Oh.

It was simple curiosity.

I knew that there were many people in Shaolin, but there werent that many people for them to give a tour to every tourist that visited here.

Heeyoung hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a stuttering manner.

Its not that but the Chief Abbott himself ordered me to.

The Heavenly Eye himself, huh.

Yes, he said that a precious guest would be here soon, and that I should treat them nicely

A precious guest huh.

It felt very strange considering those words came from the Chief Abbott of Shaolin who could read the Heavenly Qi.

Does that old man know that I traveled through time?

I would assume he didnt.

Because if he knew, then he would have appeared way earlier.

It seemed like I had shown more than I should have, and thanks to that, the Chief Abbott of Shaolin noticed me, it made me displeased.

This is why I shouldve held back more when I beat him up back then.

Letting out a small sigh, I looked toward the front.

I didnt look behind, the eyes staring at me bothered me.

The feeling of someone staring at me was unpleasant.

Moyong Hi-ah continued to stare at me with extremely focused eyes.

Why did she even ask to go together if she wasnt gonna do anything in the first place?

Even when we entered Shaolin Temple, Moyong Hi-ah didnt say anything.

Instead, she almost burnt a hole in me, staring at me with laser focused eyes.

It felt like she was blatantly observing me to find out about something from me.

I followed Heeyoung in silence and walked the pathway of the lakeside.

Moyong Hi-ah continued to say nothing, so I had to endure her uncomfortable gaze for a long time.

I cant deal with this anymore.

In the end, I couldnt endure it anymore so I turned around and looked at Moyong Hi-ah.

Lady Moyong, why are you doing this to m-

I paused my question.

It was because Moyong Hi-ah had frozen.

Not just her steps, but everything about her was frozen.

Her feet that were lifted up to walk were floating in the air,

Her hand, and her eyes that were observing me

Even the leaves that were shaking along with the breeze, everything was frozen.

What the.

The world had frozen in time.

Everything besides myself.

In such a sudden situation, I instinctively charged my Qi.

This was way too strange of a situation.

Was it an ambush?

Did that mean that someone was able to use such a strange power?

Suddenly,

[cheol.]

I heard a voice from somewhere.

[Shincheol]

It was the voice of an old man.

I quickly turned my head towards the direction of the voice.

And in that place

Was the White Fish of Purity, that had been swimming earlier, staring at me.

[Shincheol, you arrogant, stubborn, fucking idiot.]

And it gave quite the offensive greeting.

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