NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53
Chapter 2: The Floating Dilemma
I thought we were landing at the dock of Infinity, but we were just slipping past the bustling Infinity harbor.
As I was preparing to disembark, I noticed our destination suddenly moving further away.
“Um!? I think we just passed it!”
“What!?” Upon hearing my panicked question, my older sister pointed to a small pier in the distance.
“No, So-ryong. We’re not getting off here; we’ll be landing over there. That’s the Martial Forest Alliance. They have a separate pier only for martial artists.”
“Oh, I see.”
Now I understood why we had to switch ships operated by the Zhuge Clan, which was also one of the Seven Great Clans. It seemed everyone wanted to use their private docking facility.
The Martial Forest Alliance was like a cooperative for those skilled in martial arts, and does it have the money? It had its own docking facilities!
“You see, So-ryong, Wuhan is what they call the ‘Nine Provinces Thoroughfare.’ It connects nine cities. To the east, there’s Anhui and Guangxi; the west has Chongqing and Sichuan, and to the north, there are Henan and Shaanxi, while to the south, it connects Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi.”
‘So basically, it’s a traffic hub?’
I had been wondering why the Martial Forest Alliance was located in Wuhan, and hearing Gu Pae’s explanation, it became clear: this place was indeed a transportation hotspot.
As I listened to Gu Pae’s explanation, I turned to look where my sister was pointing from the deck. A towering separate chamber and a fortress-like wall loomed into view.
One side of the Martial Forest Alliance faced the twisting Zhang River, while the other was adjacent to Wuhan.
– Thud!
A moment later, the ship slowly glided to the dock.
As it touched the pier, sword-wielding warriors leaped aboard with their lightness skill.
The leader of these warriors, dressed like the captain of the ship from the Zhuge Clan, asked the vessel’s owner, “Could you tell us your purpose for visiting the Martial Forest Alliance?”
“This is the regular ship from the Zhuge Clan. Do we really need to go through this formality?”
“Don’t you know? In that case, please hand over the list of guests.”
“Fine, here it is.”
Though the Zhuge flag was on the ship and we seemed familiar, the warriors insisted on confirming why we were visiting the Martial Forest Alliance.
“Those whose names are called, please step forward and show your faces.”
The warrior checked each person as if conducting attendance.
The security felt especially strict.
Then it was our turn.
As they checked the list, the leader of the warriors seemed surprised and asked, “Are there guests from the Tang Clan aboard this ship?”
The Zhuge Clan member hurriedly nodded, “Yes. The direct descendant from the Tang Clan, the Poison Flower’s Little One is aboard.”
“Why didn’t you mention that earlier? The military officer is waiting for the members of the Tang Clan.”
“Ugh, you said to be thorough…”
As soon as my sister’s name was mentioned, she stepped forward from the crowd and addressed the leader of the warriors with a bow.
“I am Hua Eun from the Tang Clan.”
“Pleased to meet you. I am Mak Gyeol, the leader of the Huang Long team under the inner cabinet of the Martial Forest Alliance. The military officer has indeed been waiting for you.”
“Ah, so it’s you, Mak Dae-hyup? Could you lead us to the military officer? I’ve brought the items you requested.”
“Yes, Little One. What are you all doing? Hurry and escort the members of the Tang Clan to the military officer!”
“Yes!”
One warrior jumped off the ship and quickly headed toward the towering separate chamber as my sister and I disembarked, following the leader of the warriors into the Martial Forest Alliance.
As we passed between the separate chambers and headed toward the highest building, three young men and women appeared from a corner at the back of the separate chamber, engaged in a spirited discussion as they approached us.
A woman with a sword at her waist was dragging the ear of a man with a spear on his back.
Suddenly, loud voices began ringing in my ears.
“Ugh! Let go! I was just trying to beat that guy into shape!”
“Hey… do you know how this looks coming from your family? Are you seriously going to have a spar with fellow warriors while trying to catch those Blood Cult bastards?”
“Right? Without even confirming what they said, you sure were hasty, Seol-hu!”
“No, what do you mean by that! I need to uphold the honor of my Little One!”
Just then, I heard someone calling my sister’s name.
“Poison Flower? Little One Hua Eun?”
“Huh? Poison Flower? Oh!?”
“Ah?”
They seemed to recognize my sister.
My sister halted in her tracks and bowed to the trio.
“It’s been a while. Knife Dragon, Sword Phoenix, Spear Dragon. This is our first meeting since the Dragon and Phoenix rivalry conference.”
“Oh, wow! Fancy meeting you here, Poison Flower!”
“It’s been a while. Hua, Hua Eun, Little One, no, Poison Flower.”
Though they wound up calling her by her nickname, not her actual name, I had learned the significance of those nicknames from my time in the Tang Clan.
Hearing them referring to my sister as Poison Flower was a bit surprising.
Those nicknames suggesting they were formidable fighters— the dragon wielding the spear, the phoenix with the sword, and my sister’s “Poison Flower” title—really spoke to their prowess.
Among martial artists of their age, gaining the title of dragon or phoenix was reserved for the elite!
The girl, clearly close to my sister, clung to her arm and said, “Hua Eun, we saw each other last year, didn’t we?”
“Yes, Sword Phoenix. We met last year in Sichuan. Let’s set this aside…”
“Oh, no! Didn’t we agree to call each other by our names now that we’re friends?”
“That was you insisting, Sword Phoenix…”
Sword Phoenix was quite the socialite, nonchalantly addressing my sister who seemed a bit awkward about the whole thing with a sly smile.
“Well, speaking of which, I’ve got something I’ve been curious about.”
Sword Phoenix’s question caught my sister’s attention.
My sister tilted her head, surprised by the sudden inquiry. “Curious about something? About me? But we just met.”
Sword Phoenix nodded enthusiastically.
Looking aside at the man with the spear, she flashed a mischievous grin.
“No, you see, when we went after those Blood Cult scum, we heard some strange rumors.”
“Strange rumors?”
“Yeah. There are bizarre whispers in the Martial Forest Alliance that the Poison Flower has found her fated partner. Hard to believe, right?”
“Me, finding a fated partner?”
“Yeah! The warriors have been buzzing about it, and that fool over there is trying to uphold your honor by challenging anyone who spreads such nonsense!”
Sword Phoenix pointed at Spear Dragon, his face aflame as he defensively replied, “I didn’t mean anything by it! Still, we’ve shared a bond as friends, so for the sake of Little One’s honor…”
My sister, maintaining a calm demeanor, simply replied, “Seems there’s been a misunderstanding about the rumors.”
‘Is she trying to keep it a secret here? That does imply she doesn’t want it spread outside the Tang Clan.’
At the clan, she introduced me as her fated partner to the elders, but she was dismissing the rumors now that they’d made their way to the Martial Forest Alliance.
With this, I felt relief wash over me, until I wondered what my sister’s next move would be.
Spear Dragon chimed in joyfully, “There! I knew it!”
“Oh, really? Were the rumors just fluff? You’re alive and well, then! Hahaha!”
“Don’t talk as if I was ever dead! No, this isn’t the time for that; I have to teach that warrior a lesson…”
As he raged, my sister placed a hand on my shoulder, beaming a smile.
“We need to clarify this. I’m not just a fated partner; I’m actually her fiancé.”
‘Whoa! Fiancé!’
While a fated partner means someone whose heart is given, a fiancé implies a promise of marriage!
My heart raced at the thought of not failing to catch the Ten Great Venoms.
It seemed my sister had a no-nonsense, all-in style.
‘It’s like, “I’ve given you a chance, so make it count.”’ What a blast!
Her bombshell of a statement caught even the sociable Sword Phoenix off guard, her eyes wide in surprise.
“Y-You’re engaged!? But you look so… young!?”
“Yes, this is my fiancé, Wei So-ryong. So-ryong, please meet them! Starting from there, it’s Knife Dragon, Sword Phoenix, and Spear Dragon! I’m sorry not to have introduced you sooner.”
Though I was surprised myself, I managed my greetings while planning to check my sister’s intentions later.
It appeared Schooled by the Uprising’s Spear Dragon had a bit of a crush on my sister, but what could he do about it?
Kids grow up like that after all.
So I bravely stepped forward to greet them, “Pleased to meet you all. I’m Wei So-ryong, Poison Flower’s ‘fiancé.’ All your kindness is much appreciated.”
Taken by surprise at my introduction, they quickly regained composure.
“Er, yes. Well met! I’m Seol-Hu, the aptly nicknamed ‘Sword Phoenix.’”
“Someone who could defeat one of the Three Champions at such a young age? I’m the Knife Dragon, Peng Gyoo-seong.”
The Spear Dragon stared wide-eyed before he jumped in too, “I’m Yang Seong-hu. B-b-nice to meet you.”
Once the introductions were over, the voice of the warriors’ leader echoed in our ears.
“The military officer is waiting, so we must hurry.”
“Oh! I’m sorry, everyone! My sister has a prior agreement with the officer. We’ll catch up later!”
My sister smiled at me and looked back as we moved forward. I noticed Sword Phoenix and Spear Dragon giving Yang a friendly pat on the back.
It seemed today, a boy was stepping into adulthood for the first time.
*
“Who do we have here? Well, well! I didn’t expect both of you to come by in person!”
“Greetings, military officer.”
“It’s an honor to meet the military officer.”
We stepped into the military officer Zhuge Hu’s office, greeted warmly as he welcomed us.
He offered us seats and poured us a cup of tea while asking, “So, how much did you bring this time?”
“Well, we gathered as much as we could, but that’s about three bottles,” said my sister as she placed the box on the table.
With a thud, she opened the box to reveal three bottles of liquor.
“You must’ve gone through a lot of trouble. When I was in Sichuan, I observed the extraction of toxins. It’s no easy feat, collecting them, is it? Please convey my thanks.”
Not shocked by the compliment, I guess Zhuge Hu was indeed the most astute person in the martial world, aware of our efforts.
Three bottles are still no small feat!
The average venom production of a Russell’s viper hovers around 12 milliliters, but it varies wildly—some yield as low as 2 milliliters while others can go over 20.
So, to fill a 1.5-liter bottle, one would need at least 125 snakes— and that’s considering the viper’s a notorious venom producer!
For a smaller creature like a Water Monitor, they’d typically need 500!
So if those three bottles were close to 1.5 liters each, almost 1500 snakes had to have been sourced!
“I understand, military officer. I will relay your words to the clan elders.”
With her response, he nodded, smiling gratefully, “Then, let me show you around the Martial Forest Alliance. I hope you make good connections with disciples from all clans. Oh, So-ryong, you should meet our leader. He’s been wanting to meet you.”
It seems we had time to spare for some sightseeing before meeting the leader after all.
However, we were pressed for time.
“We’re about to leave, military officer.”
“Right now? Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t you have somewhere else to stop?”
Upon hearing us say we were leaving, the military officer blinked in confusion.
I explained the situation, “Well, apparently the lizard we mentioned grows with the energy of the Spirit Herb, so we need the Ice Orbs. We plan to visit the Nangong Clan, who might have them.”
After hearing, he nodded but spoke with concern. “Oh dear, did I just end up stealing from those kids? I understand what you mean. But I should warn you; the Nangong Clan is going through some strange events, so they might be disoriented. They couldn’t even send people to catch those Blood Cult scum.”
“Strange events?”
That got my interest—there was something going on at the Nangong Clan.
I began feeling a bit worried about what we might find once we got there.