BRDM 31

Chapter 31

Mountain God (1)

Feng Jinghao (冯夏照).

Those who knew of his existence called him “Chairman Feng” with fear, while his underlings called him “Elder” with reverence.

He was the hidden supreme administrator of the Central Heroes Committee, which oversaw all hunters in China.

Despite his notoriety, outwardly he appeared to be nothing more than a simple, good-natured country old man.

And indeed, to those close to him, he was admired for his upright, frugal personal life.

“Elder.”

“Oh, yes. My little one (娃儿). What brings you here?”

The term wa’er (娃儿) was a colloquial expression used by elders from the southwestern countryside to affectionately call juniors like grandchildren.

Thus, whenever Feng’s secretary Liu Xin heard it, she was always reminded of her own grandfather, warming her heart.

But such sentiment was fleeting—now, the matter was urgent.

“Qing Xiao has returned injured. His mana exhaustion is severe, and it seems he has also suffered a degree of mental contamination.”

Feng paused in the middle of carefully wiping an orchid leaf.

After a beat, he resumed tending to it as he asked:

“What mission was Xiao on at the time…?”

“He was monitoring the ‘Fragment’ of Sha Wujing.”

“That shouldn’t have been too difficult for the boy.”

“The report states that a Disciple of Zeus appeared.”

“…A Disciple of Zeus, you say.”

“And because of that, Vajrason was killed.”

Even Feng, who was said never to bat an eye at most incidents, could no longer concentrate on his orchid.

Liu Xin recounted Qing Xiao’s testimony in full.

Feng’s eyes widened slightly.

“Heh… this will certainly stir up those Ah San (阿三—a derogatory Chinese term for Indians).”

“What shall we do?”

“Who responded immediately?”

“Fortunately, Bing Xin (氷新) was on standby and was deployed. But by then…”

“The temporary gate had already closed, I take it?”

Bing Xin—

This was the special unit Feng had been devoting much effort to recently.

It was created by copying the know-how of a unit once operated by a small eastern nation.

Though still lacking in many respects, he believed one day it would surpass the original.

The Chinese nation always had hidden potential.

“My apologies. In trying to assemble a minimum hunter response force after Vajrason was taken down, I ended up delaying the response.”

Liu Xin bowed deeply.

Feng chuckled dryly and waved his hand.

“What more could you have done? You did well. You followed protocol.”

“…”

“But still… even when Qing Xiao and Vajrason fought together, they were shattered by one man alone. Where on earth did such a fellow suddenly appear from? I’ve heard nothing of a Zeus successor before.”

Feng stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming faintly.

It was a habit that appeared whenever he found something he coveted.

“Is there no way for us to claim that myth for ourselves?”

Feng was infamous as a fanatical collector of myths.

If necessary, he spent vast sums to recruit famous divine Disciples. If that failed, he would kill them and take their relics.

He had already amassed so many myths that his underground vault was overflowing.

“According to Qing Xiao’s testimony, he doesn’t appear affiliated with any particular nation or organization.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Yes. And apparently, he hinted as though he knew you, Elder.”

At that, Feng’s eyes shone.

“Heh. To think someone would remember this old man still alive.”

“Yes. He even directly mentioned your name…”

“Oh? Have I met this person before, I wonder.”

“There are many oddities about him. For now, I’ve instructed Bing Xin not to back down and to keep tracking his trail. A few of them will soon be dispatched to Korea.”

Feng nodded.

“Be careful. Since Qing Lei disappeared, Korea’s standards have fallen considerably, but General Lee is no pushover. Especially after the last incident, his hostility has been sharpened.”

“I’ll warn them accordingly.”

“Good. And also investigate why this so-called Disciple of Zeus targeted Sha Wujing. Digging there will likely reveal something.”

“Thank you.”

“I should be the one grateful. You always work hard.”

Liu Xin bowed and slowly left the mansion.

Feng continued to smile warmly as he saw her off, but once she vanished completely, all expression drained from his face.

“Tch. Fools. To make such a mess failing to control even one matter properly. Perhaps I’ve spoiled them too long. It may be time for a purge.”

Qing Xiao believed he was ordered by Nezha to watch over Sha Wujing, but in truth, the surveillance was orchestrated by Feng himself—

Or rather, by the god Feng served.

A being who could command even the Jade Emperor and Nezha without hesitation.

“…What a pity, Master. It could have been a fine chance for you to reunite with your old disciples.”

Feng returned to his smiling expression and gazed at the jade orb placed behind the orchids.

Inside the orb, clear enough to see through—

Clink…

A man covered in wounds dangled weakly in chains.

His blood-soaked kasaya robe and shaved head revealed he was once a monk.

[Vajra Orb (金剛琢)]

A sealing relic said to have been used by Shakyamuni himself when capturing the Demon King of Solitude.

Once imprisoned inside, all mana and divine power are drained, leaving the captive utterly powerless.

• Type: Sacred Relic, Divine Seal

• Origin: Myth “Journey to the West”

There were no exceptions to the Orb’s effects.

Not even a Buddha who had attained the ultimate enlightenment.

“…”

Perhaps for that reason, the monk showed no movement at all.

One might think him dead.

But Feng knew well this monk was not one who would die so easily.

“In any case, I must observe further. Suddenly Zeus’s interference… what on earth is happening here?”

If he could, Feng would have loved to visit the Heavenly Realm, but he lacked the standing for such a thing.

“Well… Zeus uses thunder, doesn’t he? That reminds me of that boy. I wonder how he is faring.”

But almost as soon as he recalled that figure, Feng erased him from his mind.

A cripple who could never rise again was no longer worth his concern.

Rumors about the “Pied Piper” spread throughout headquarters.

“Did you hear?”

“That Z Team successfully cleared the Hoengseong Dungeon?”

“That dungeon was still around? I’d only heard of it back when I first entered the field…”

“It was left untouched because of its difficulty. I heard the team leader died during the raid.”

“Huh? I heard the rookie cleared it all alone?”

“How could one person possibly clear a dungeon?”

“I thought so too, but the rumors are…”

Speculation abounded, but no one knew the truth.

Because Z Team had not returned to the company—they’d been summoned elsewhere entirely.

“Team Leader Jung is dead?”

“Yes. Manager Jang Ihyeon split his skull in one blow. Just—bang.”

“…What?”

Im Wonyoung blinked at Section Chief So Seonghae’s report.

What did I just hear?

So Seonghae only shrugged as if he too didn’t quite believe it.

“I don’t know the exact details either. But apparently there’s talk of a disciplinary committee or even reporting to the Hunter Management Bureau. We’re trying to suppress the rumors for now.”

Im Wonyoung gave a dry laugh.

He had expected Jung and Ihyeon would clash eventually, since their personalities were completely incompatible.

But not to this extreme.

‘He said he didn’t want rumors about himself spreading… yet he causes this mess…’

Im Wonyoung pressed a finger to his temple.

It seemed this was no time to just sit around working.

“Executive Director Jung will be furious.”

He clicked his tongue.

“Shameless he may be, but his love for his son is intense.”

“Let’s head over there.”

Im Wonyoung grabbed his jacket and rose.

“Think you’re living easy now?”

“I spent four years being hunted. Having even this short reprieve isn’t so bad.”

A small solitary cell, barely the size of a single mat.

Ihyeon stretched his legs out comfortably.

He looked as if he were lounging in his own room, but in fact he was detained.

After publicly splitting the team leader’s head with an axe, he was locked in the headquarters detention cell.

The higher-ups were surely now debating whether to hand him over to the Hunter Management Bureau, or to treat it as self-defense given the circumstances.

To Sun Wukong, Ihyeon was utterly baffling.

He had dealt so brilliantly with Indra’s and Nezha’s Disciples, yet this time he’d acted with such recklessness?

“Kak-kak-kak. So this is what it looks like when one first takes on a Disciple, eh? Worrying over nonsense.”

Beside Wukong, a small, cute blue turtle burst into laughter.

It was Sha Wujing.

‘After leaving the dungeon with Great Sage, he shrank down to that form to conserve divine power.’

Considering Wukong’s true body was over ten meters tall, Wujing’s transformation wasn’t unusual.

‘…Though did he really need to make himself look like some SD mascot character?’

Did mortals know their mighty gods from Journey to the West actually had such strange tastes?

“I wasn’t worrying!”

“Kak-kak. Oh really? Looked to me like you were anxious your Disciple might get hurt.”

“Nonsense! I was just concerned that fool might drag me into trouble by acting stupid!”

“And that’s what I mean—worrying over nothing. Didn’t you see how quick-witted our Disciple is in this incident?”

“Our? Our??”

“Oh? Did that word stick out? Yes, our Disciple. Didn’t we all agree to temporarily accept him as such?”

“Graah! I was going to call you out on that! Stop claiming him!”

Watching the baby monkey and the little turtle bicker gave Ihyeon a strange feeling.

Were these truly the legendary immortals of Journey to the West?

“I didn’t act without a plan.”

Ihyeon shifted the topic before Wukong’s face turned beet red and exploded.

Wukong’s gaze snapped to him.

“You had a plan?”

“Yes. I wanted to observe their reaction.”

“Their?”

“You might not have sensed it from afar… but that Team Leader Jung may be connected to the Jade Emperor.”

At those words, the atmosphere around Wukong and Wujing grew heavy.

“Explain in detail.”

“It’s still speculation, but his inheritance seemed deeply tied to that side. Even his mana aura was similar.”

The “Ghost Moon” referred to the 7th lunar month in Chinese tradition, the time of strongest yin energy.

It was believed the gates of heaven opened then, letting ghosts descend to feast and play before returning.

Out of respect, people called them “brothers” rather than ghosts, and held rituals.

Naturally, this tied closely to the Jade Emperor, who ruled both heaven and the underworld.

“So I provoked him deliberately. To see what would crawl out. With so many witnesses, they won’t dare openly retaliate against me.”

Jung had grown so corrupted by mental contamination that he even threatened his comrades.

In such cases, active defense was considered justifiable.

He could simply say he had no choice but to protect the team.

“White Burn won’t want the incident to escalate either, so they’ll cover it quietly.”

Ihyeon added:

“And I need to firmly grip Z Team. Not only did I clear a long-unsolved dungeon, I personally stepped in to save them in crisis…”

“So they’ll owe you a debt. They’ll naturally be cautious of you.”

“Exactly. And since the deceased team leader’s father is an executive director, he’ll have to align with me anyway—otherwise he’d bear the blame for his son’s death.”

“So it was all a political calculation?”

“Kak-kak-kak! What did I say? Our Disciple always thinks ahead, Brother!”

“Stop calling him our Disciple already!”

“Kak-kak. You’re still as petty as ever.”

“What did you say?”

Wukong glared at Wujing before turning back.

“So what you mean is—you can always hide behind White Burn, so you stirred the grass to see what snakes slither out?”

“Yes. I’m hoping a fine snake shows itself.”

“‘Stir the grass to startle snakes’… I see. Waiting for an opportunity while scratching the surface lightly isn’t a bad move.”

Wukong’s Fiery Eyes of Truth blazed like fire.

“I can’t let those who dared such things to my brothers go unpunished.”

“For now, I’ll confirm whether they’re truly tied to the Jade Emperor, while quickly gathering the Great Sage’s myth. Beyond that…”

Ihyeon steadied his breath and continued:

“There may be other brothers awaiting the Great Sage. I’ll need to find them.”

Wukong nodded gravely.

He said nothing more, but Ihyeon knew he was grateful.

And Ihyeon too had his reasons.

‘If I can be accepted by others like Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, and the Bull Demon King, just as I was by Wujing…!’

His ambition was to succeed the entire grand myth of Journey to the West, starting with Wukong.

‘…Which means I’ll need to accelerate my pace.’

Ihyeon opened his inventory.

It was time to check the rewards from the “Pied Piper.”

Among them—

“The Random Box.”

He was most curious about the reward for completing the dungeon’s story.

[You have taken out Random Box (SR). Would you like to open it?]

A small box resembling the kind of treasure chest a child might store precious toys in.

Ihyeon pulled the lever on the side of the lid.