Ep415 - I Became a Drunkard in a Martial Arts Novel.

The tomb that houses the first king who conquered the plains and established a nation centuries ago. Countless tribesmen sweat profusely in search of that one tomb, yet none among them know anything about the past king. All they know, at best, is that he was a remarkable person who founded a nation. To this, Bayan asked, "Do you know why we have forgotten such a great king?" There are two main reasons why they lost touch with their history. The first is that they are nomads who wouldn’t unite unless there was someone extraordinary among them. Until a few centuries ago, they were unified, but gradually dispersed as if such unity never existed. Their history fragmented and tore apart. The shredded records, which lack a perfect understanding of events, have been distorted or lost, eventually leaving no trace in people's conversations today. “In fact, the biggest reason is the second one.” The second reason the past king remains only a legend. “It’s because... the king at that time burned all of his own records.” Records of the past are history itself. There was only one reason he reduced them to ashes. “Are you saying the king didn’t want to be remembered by future generations?” “Well... what other reason could there be for burning his records?” Bayan also doesn’t know the true reasons. He only speculates. He continued speaking. “At first, I couldn’t understand why he had to do it.” He was a figure who achieved feats in the vast history of the plains worthy of remembrance. Why would he deliberately destroy records that should have been widely known? What made him come to such a decision? No matter how many times the thought resurfaced, pondering it over and over again revealed nothing. "But... lately, I've started to think differently." A forgotten history and his traces vanished due to the king's will and decision. However, all of a sudden, individuals emerged, seeking to dig it up. The Demonic Cult. From Ten Thousand Great Mountains, far from this place, began to excavate the plains to find the king’s tomb. “Always curious. How could they possibly know about a king even we barely know? And... what exactly do they seek to gain?” While harboring these questions, Bayan encountered Cheonma as they entered the plains. An overwhelming aura and presence, hardly believable as that of a mere human. Bayan asked her, who had spared his life despite being undaunted before her, ‘What is it that you seek in this land?’ To this, she replied, “She called it ‘heritage’.” “Heritage…” The heritage left by the king from the distant past. What exactly is this object that a woman, possessing a seemingly unmatched power across current and historical martial worlds, desires? The moment he added a new question to the old ones, the pieces scattered like a puzzle came together perfectly. “The thought suddenly crossed my mind.” "What thought might that be?" He continued with a significant smile. “Could the reason the king burned his records be connected to the legacy Cheonma is searching for?” “Are you suggesting…” Upon hearing those words, something flickered in Baek Woo-jin's mind as well. Clearing his thoughts calmly, Baek Woo-jin spoke. “You mean he obliterated the records to keep the legacy, which he would leave behind posthumously, hidden from the world?” Bayan laughed heartily and shook his head. “Hahaha! Only the deceased king himself would know for sure.” However, “It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.” “…….” Baek Woo-jin fell into contemplation. Indeed, it makes sense. No, there's a growing certainty that leans closer to the truth. The object Cheonma desires, one that’s hard to fathom an equal for. A dangerous or marvelous item that had to be concealed, even at the cost of erasing all records. Doesn't everything fit too perfectly together? However, one question remains. It concerned something Bayan mentioned at the beginning of their conversation. “What makes you say the tomb might not exist underground?” To which he replied, “There are a few lines describing the king left in our tribe. It’s those lines that made me say so.” “Can you share them?” “That’s not a hard thing to do.” He cleared his throat once to gather his voice, then spoke with a solemn expression. “Everywhere he passed, vegetation grew lush and brimming with life.” Words akin to a line from a fable. But it didn’t end there. "When he was happy, the plants danced, and when he wept, they too shed tears. And when he truly raged," The interruption in his sentence was followed by, "The endlessly growing trees formed a vast sea of foliage, trapping his wrath within." A folktale handed down orally through generations. Echoing words meant to signify the extraordinariness of a man, Bayan said. "It might sound unbelievable, but it's not entirely false." "...If it's not false." "My master’s master once said that the title of the king of the plains was not simply given because he conquered all tribes of these plains and founded a nation." A sudden thought arises. Perhaps the king of the plains truly controlled the vast vegetation freely. If those words are true, "I can’t help but think that this sea of trees might actually be the king’s tomb." Then he asked, "What do you think?" "......" The next day, Those searching for the king’s tomb changed their direction. * * * The Sea of Trees. A word crafted because the dense forest is like the sea. According to the words passed down from Bayan's tribe, it means that the vast land where towering trees and lush bushes intertwine with skyward ambitions is the king's tomb. Upon hearing this, Dang Sun-young voiced her skepticism. "The sea of trees... It doesn’t seem likely that such a thing exists on these vast plains." Her team members shared the same opinion. "If there were a sea of trees on these open plains, it should have been discovered by now, right?" After all, this place is an open plain on all sides. If a sea of trees existed, surely some part should obstruct the view. As common sense and logic began forming consensus, "Not necessarily." Jegal Yeonji stepped forward, countering their opinions. "Even centuries ago, illusionary formations existed." "Are you suggesting, Yeonji, that it might be concealed by some formation or another means?" "Yes, sister." The power of formations is limitless. Jegal Yeonji knows more about this than most. But there’s an issue to consider. "But... Wouldn’t the nomadic people of the plains be unfamiliar with the formations of the central lands?" As she pointed out, it was unlikely that those born and raised in the plains would have deep knowledge of formations developed in the heart of the central lands. Jegal Yeonji candidly shared her thoughts. "I'm also puzzled by that. I mentioned formations to highlight the possibility of various methods." Even aside from formations, there could be plenty of ways to obscure the sea of trees. She wished to emphasize that. A target is easiest to hide in a place shrouded by narrow perspectives and darkness. What could that method be? While they were pondering, someone shyly raised their hand. "Um..." The one who raised her hand was none other than Geum Yeoul. Feeling the pressure of everyone's eyes on her, she spoke hesitantly. "While traveling between the Northern Ice Palace and these plains, an old woman once told me something." It was during the time she commuted between the plains and the Northern Ice Palace, establishing her place. That day, as usual, she was selling the tea leaves needed for delicate cold tea at the Northern Ice Palace. An old woman living at the village entrance had said while taking tea leaves, “There was once a time when one couldn’t travel directly between the Northern Sea and the plains.” Pass through the wide plains northwest, and the lush greenery starts to fade. Beyond its boundary lies the realm of the eternally snow-covered Northern Ice Palace, and according to the old woman, it was not freely traversable in the past. The reason being, “There used to be a massive wall clearly dividing the two lands.” A frozen land and a land teeming with life. There existed a wall that intricately separated them. Baek Woo-jin asked, “But it’s not there anymore. Did someone tear it down?" “Hmm... I don’t know. They just said it disappeared one day...” “Disappeared one day...?” If it’s a wall demarcating boundaries, it must have been enormous. How could it vanish suddenly? “A wall..., a wall.” A vast sea of trees forming a dense forest, the forest. From a distance, couldn’t it easily appear like a wall? And if the sea of trees vanished for some reason...? Baek Woo-jin sprang up and spoke. “Since we hardly have any solid leads, let’s go check it out.” Baek Woo-jin's quick decision-making led him and the team to the boundary between the plains and the harsh cold. * * * Author’s Note: I’ll see you in the next installment. Thank you, as always, for reading. Have a restful night. (_ _)