HDCLSSRS Ch 180
by berryChapter 180 Encounter (4)
“Maknae… Maknae…”
A gentle hand shook his shoulder.
Seong Muyon’s eyes flew open.
His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
His anxious gaze darted frantically around the room.
A moment later, once he had fully awakened, he let out a long sigh and collapsed back onto the bed.
“Ah…”
“So it was just a dream.”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
The Owl held out a steaming bowl of medicine.
The bitter taste was so intense it numbed his tongue.
Strangely…
That overwhelming bitterness reassured him that this was reality.
Seong Muyon drained the bowl in one gulp.
“…It was an absolutely dreadful dream.”
“At first, everything was peaceful.”
“I’d gone back to when I was about five or six years old.”
“I was playing house with Paeng Wongeum.”
“Then…”
He shuddered.
“Suddenly Young Master Paeng Dohwan appeared carrying a greatsword in each hand and started swinging them wildly….”
Seong Muyon fled for his life.
Then, out of nowhere…
Yakseon smacked him hard across the back.
She shouted at him to train while force-feeding him bitter medicine.
After that…
She dragged him to Mount Hua’s training cave.
She warned him not to even think about seeing sunlight again until he reached the Harmony Realm.
Then she threw him into absolute darkness.
“…And then I discovered Young Daoist Baek Ryeoil was already inside.”
Only Baek Ryeoil’s eyes shone within the darkness.
Step…
Step…
He slowly approached.
Those eerie eyes fixed upon him.
Then…
The instant Baek Ryeoil suddenly grabbed his shoulder—
“You woke me up, Hyungnim.”
After hearing the entire story…
The Owl stared at him with lifeless eyes.
Then said only one thing.
“…Get ready to eat.”
“Yes, Hyungnim.”
Click.
After the Owl left…
Seong Muyon scratched his cheek awkwardly.
While dreaming…
He had experienced terror unlike anything else in the world.
Now that he was awake…
The sheer absurdity and complete lack of logic in the dream left him feeling strangely empty.
Noticing a basin of water the Owl had already prepared…
He washed the sweat from his face.
The cool water chased away the last remnants of sleep.
Gradually…
His thoughts cleared.
Leaning over the basin…
Seong Muyon stared absentmindedly at his reflection.
A droplet of water fell from the tip of his nose.
Ripples spread across the surface.
His reflected face twisted into something strangely unfamiliar.
…Why would I dream something like that?
Was I really that shaken by yesterday?
Paeng Dohwan…
That much he could understand.
Originally…
Paeng Dohwan and his brother had been destined to stand at the very summit together, leading the future of the Central Plains.
Instead…
He had lost the person he trusted most.
No wonder grief had twisted him.
Baek Ryeoil, however…
Was different.
The Baek Ryeoil Seong Muyon had witnessed the previous night…
Was exactly the person he had always imagined.
A merciless executioner who annihilated evil.
Naturally…
Seong Muyon should have been delighted.
Baek Ryeoil had become exactly the man he had always hoped he would become.
And yet…
“……”
Still staring silently at his reflection…
He abruptly stood up.
Almost irritably…
He wiped the remaining water from his face.
What is this feeling…?
His thoughts ended there.
The Owl returned carrying breakfast.
Even so…
That vague discomfort refused to disappear.
It settled heavily in one corner of his heart.
“Whatever you do…”
The Owl handed him the badger mask.
“Don’t make any unnecessary noise.”
“And stay beside me.”
Apparently he had no intention of sealing Seong Muyon’s voice again as he had the previous day.
“Most importantly…”
“Don’t ever let yourself be alone with that Daoist.”
Seong Muyon sighed quietly.
Then pulled the mask over his face.
Once they were ready…
They went downstairs.
Baek Ryeoil, Kang Ung, and Paeng Dohwan were already seated together, engaged in a serious discussion.
“We can always find the Demonic Cult again.”
Baek Ryeoil spoke calmly.
“They’re rats.”
“They hide everywhere, waiting for opportunities.”
“Sooner or later… they’ll leave a trail.”
“There should be someone in this village who trades information.”
“We’ll capture any Demonic Cultist we can find.”
“Beat him until he talks.”
Paeng Dohwan slammed his hand onto the table.
“No!”
“That’s not what I mean!”
“We should decipher that letter first!”
“If you’re so confident…”
“Then why haven’t you caught Dokgoe yet?”
“Says the one in no position to criticize.”
Baek Ryeoil snorted.
“There has to be a clue in that letter!”
“Only after it’s deciphered.”
The two continued arguing.
Meanwhile…
Kang Ung absentmindedly stirred his soup.
Then he noticed the Owl and Seong Muyon approaching.
He immediately stood.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Please… sit here.”
He politely pulled out chairs for them.
As soon as they joined…
Paeng Dohwan’s entire expression brightened.
“I thought you’d overslept.”
“You never came down for breakfast.”
“Overslept?”
Baek Ryeoil let out an exaggerated scoff.
“Have you discovered any clues regarding Lord Yakseon’s whereabouts…?”
Ignoring Baek Ryeoil completely…
The Owl addressed Paeng Dohwan.
“Not yet.”
Paeng Dohwan shook his head.
“Plenty of people besides us are searching for Dokgoe.”
“He’ll leave a trail eventually.”
“But…”
“We don’t know whether the hostages will still be alive by then.”
“In the end…”
“We have to decipher that letter.”
“And that’s proving troublesome.”
“May I…”
The Owl asked carefully.
“Take a look at it?”
“Hm?”
Paeng Dohwan blinked.
“You?”
“Lord Yakseon has conducted extensive research regarding the Demonic Cult.”
“Because of that…”
“We’ve learned a fair amount ourselves.”
“We might be able to decipher it.”
“Of course you would.”
Baek Ryeoil snorted even louder.
His arms folded tightly across his chest.
His hostility wasn’t even disguised anymore.
“Then I leave it to you.”
Paeng Dohwan handed over the letter.
The Owl unfolded it widely enough for Seong Muyon to see.
His eyes silently asked…
Can you read it?
Hmm…
Most of the cipher was unfamiliar.
He couldn’t decipher everything.
But…
Some portions still used the older code system.
A handful of words were recognizable.
Considering it had only been three years since the Third Young Master’s New Demonic Cult split from the original Demonic Cult…
Apparently they hadn’t had time to completely replace every cipher.
Seong Muyon gave the slightest nod.
The Owl folded the paper again.
“Would it be possible…”
He asked.
“To examine it in our room?”
“It would be easier to concentrate somewhere quiet.”
“No.”
Baek Ryeoil immediately refused.
“If you walk off carrying our only clue…”
“We’re the ones taking the risk.”
After enduring countless provocations…
The Owl’s fingers curled ever so slightly.
“I dislike agreeing with him.”
Paeng Dohwan scratched his cheek apologetically.
“But I think the same.”
“It’s not that I distrust you.”
“Unexpected accidents can happen.”
“Take all the time you need.”
“But do it here.”
Ha.
Seong Muyon nearly laughed.
Unexpected accidents?
Did the two of them slaughtering an entire campsite because they couldn’t suppress their bloodlust count as one of those “unexpected accidents”?
They had destroyed every lead they possessed.
Now everyone was clinging to this single scrap of paper.
Yet somehow…
They were lecturing others about caution.
Still…
Neither Seong Muyon nor the Owl wanted to invite unnecessary suspicion.
The Owl unfolded the letter once more.
The thin sheet of paper conveniently blocked their faces.
He glanced subtly toward Seong Muyon.
Can’t be helped.
Thankfully…
He was wearing his mask.
No one would see his lips moving.
– It’s changed considerably… but I can decipher a few of the words.
His voice never entered the air.
Instead…
It traveled directly into the Owl’s ears.
Sound Transmission.
A high-level martial technique used to speak privately to a specific person.
It required two things.
First…
Extremely precise internal energy control, enough to direct one’s voice only to the intended listener.
Second…
One’s lips couldn’t be visible.
Otherwise…
Anyone skilled at lip-reading could simply eavesdrop.
True masters no longer needed to move their lips at all.
Some could transmit vibrations over enormous distances…
Even thousands of li away.
Seong Muyon hadn’t reached that level.
Fortunately…
The current situation was perfect.
The Owl stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
And the mask completely concealed his mouth.
No one could possibly read his lips.
– A village is mentioned. I believe it’s referring to Yaksu Village.
The Owl continued staring at the letter until Seong Muyon finished.
– “Security.” “Yakseon.” “Ambush.” And… “Nanju.”
The coded message itself wasn’t particularly long.
It was impossible to reconstruct the entire contents from only a few deciphered words.
One thing, however…
Was certain.
Nanju was the name of a city.
The Owl gave a small nod.
Then, pretending the conclusion was his own, he addressed the others.
“It appears something is waiting in Nanju.”
“If we go there…”
“We should find our next clue.”
And just like that…
Their next destination was decided.
Footnotes
- Harmony Realm (화경 / Hwagyeong) — A legendary stage of martial cultivation in Murim fiction, signifying mastery beyond ordinary experts. Reaching it represents an extraordinary level of skill and enlightenment.
- Sound Transmission (전음술 / Jeoneumsul) — An advanced martial technique that allows a practitioner to send their voice directly to a chosen recipient using internal energy, preventing others from overhearing the conversation. Skilled users typically conceal their lip movements to avoid being understood through lip-reading.