“Dead?”
“…Yes.”
Ho Gamyeong, the advisor of Myriad Man Manor, put the brush he was holding on the inkstone. Then, taking a smoking pipe and biting on it, lightly rubbed his fingers to light it.
Even though he didn’t puff up a few times, acrid smoke soon rose.
“Huuuuft.”
He exhaled long and looked at the prostrate man with an unchanging expression.
“The ones I sent to Nanchang?”
“Yes.”
“Who did I send?”
“Great Spirit Dao Ma Gwi and One Red Palm Heo Hyeong.”
“Ma Gwi and Heo Hyeong…….”
Kkiiik. Kiiik.
As he mumbled and leaned back slightly, the chair emitted a rough scraping sound. Ho Gamyeong, who stared at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, leaked a low voice.
“That’s weird. Is there anyone in Nanchang who can kill them? No, even if such a person visited by chance, it’s still strange. They didn’t subdue our man, but cut their throat? Even after hearing the name of Myriad Man Manor?”
“….”
The murky smoke scattered faintly in the air.
“Who is it?”
“It’s….”
The informant hesitantly raised his head, glanced at Ho Gamyeong’s reaction, and stuttered as he opened his mouth.
“Well… I’m afraid it’s…….”
“Don’t waste time. I’m a busy person.”
“Yes. It seems to be Mount Hua Sect.”
A moment of silence ensued. The burning cigarette also died down.
Ho Gamyeong, who had been staring at the ceiling, slowly lowered his head and looked straight at the informant.
“Mount Hua?”
“Yes, according to my understanding, Mount Hua’s disciples came to Nanchang.”
“……Why did those who should be in Shaanxi suddenly appear in Nanchang? And no matter how strong Mount Hua guys are, Great Spirit Dao and One Red Palm wouldn’t have been that easy. Who came?”
“Mo- Mount Hua Divine Dragon…….”
At that moment, a snicker burst out from Ho Gamyeong’s mouth.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
“Yes. It seems so. He led Mount Hua Five Swords……”
“……It’s really annoying.”
Somehow, this person is deeply entwined with Myriad Man Manor’s ill fate. Nothing can move on without hearing this name whenever something happens.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon, who was on Shaanxi, suddenly appeared in Nanchang and killed Great Spirit Dao and One Red Palm?”
Ho Gamyeong’s face, which smiled, turned icy cold in an instant.
“This is no different from a declaration of war against our Myriad Man Manor. Despite Paegun’s direct visit to Mount Hua and showing favor, they come out like this?”
Others may not know, but Ho Gamyeong saw Paegun’s direct visit to far off Mount Hua of Shaanxi as an incredible expression of favor.
“How did you hear the information?”
“It’s, it’s actually kind of strange.”
“Hm?”
“Based on the circumstances, they didn’t know that Great Spirit Dao and One Red Palm were in Nanchang. It’s just because things got tangled up……”
“Tangled up? What does that mean?”
The informant carefully began to explain. Ho Gamyeong’s face twisted as he listened to the whole story.
“What the hell….”
They came to catch a con man and happened to run into each other. Then, he cut down Great Spirit Dao and One Red Palm, which were attacking first.
It’s ambiguous to say that Mount Hua started the fight in this situation.
“……What a headache, really.”
Ho Gamyeong sighed deeply.
As he was about to pick up the pipe he had put down in frustration, there was a knock on the door, and someone urgently entered the room. Then the person lay down right next to the informant.
“Advisor! I have something to report.”
“……What now?”
“Mo- Mount Hua Divine Dragon…….”
Ho Gamyeong leaned back and grabbed his forehead.
How long do he have to listen to that damn Mount Hua Divine Dragon?
“What about Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon is in Guangdong!”
Kwang!
The chair fell back with a loud noise. Ho Gamyeong, who had jumped up from his seat, asked with a flustered face.
“What did you just say?”
“Re- Reports that the disciples of Mount Hua and Mount Hua Divine Dragon have entered Guangdong now….”
“Are you sure?”
“Although it’s difficult to say for certain, as not many people know Mount Hua Divine Dragon’s face well, it’s certain that a group wearing martial uniforms with a plum blossom pattern has entered Guangdong.”
“……They must have come from Nanchang, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ho Gamyeong bit the pipe and sucked in the smoke deeply. As the scent of tobacco filled the depths of his lungs, his shaken heart gradually calmed down.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon…. Hmm.”
It was not long before Ho Gamyeong nodded.
“Paegun still needs him. So now is not the time to catch and kill him.”
“Then……”
“But.”
Ho Gamyeong’s eyes grew cold.
“They must pay the price for interfering with Myriad Man Manor business and fearlessly stepping foot in Guangdong. Even if we spare Mount Hua Divine Dragon, it wouldn’t be a problem to kill Mount Hua’s disciples who are with him, right?”
“….”
“I’ll go myself. Get ready.”
“Yes!”
Ho Gamyeong narrowed his eyes and became lost in thought.
‘It’s necessary to break their spirit just enough.’
If not, it would rather make them more poisonous.
Either way, it’s not bad for Myriad Man Manor’s position.
* * *
“Hngg, I don’t think it’s here.”
“……A- Again?”
“It’s weird. I was sure it was this way… Was I mistaken, thinking it was the opposite side?”
Jin Yangjon faltered as he felt the sky spinning at the old man’s murmur.
It is no wonder. He had been carrying the old man on his back for four hours, climbing the mountain.
He could muster up all his strength and go if there was a definite destination. However, the hellish roundabout of being told that this place is certain and then it’s a mistake, or that it’s the opposite side and then it was there earlier, continued on and on.
“Keuh, old man! You said you remember.”
“No. Well… I clearly remember the scene at that time, but I’m not sure how to get there…”
“If a person who has only climbed this mountain all his life doesn’t know, what can we do!”
“Hey, you brat! You’ll get old too!”
The old man on Jin Yangjon’s back slapped him on the head.
Yoon Jong, who was watching the two, murmured quietly toward Baek Cheon.
“That’s a relief, though.”
“What is?”
“If it were normal, that guy would have gone crazy and run around everywhere, but today he’s quiet, isn’t he?”
“That’s true.”
It was not difficult to imagine. The scene of Chung Myung, frothing at the mouth, throwing a lion’s roar at the old man, and asking if he would come to sense if he was hit.
Fortunately, however, Chung Myung was not showing any particular reactions at the moment.
“Maybe he’s not saying anything because the opponent is an old man?”
“That kid usually attacks when he sees an old man.”
“….”
‘Ah, right.’
So far, Chung Myung has beaten the Ice Clan Leader, Wudang Elder, etc. They were all old people. Bishop of Magyo? He was beyond the level of an old man, a living centipede.
“Anyway, it’s a relief that he’s not like his usual self. Fortunately, we don’t have to see a terrible scene……
It was then.
Jo-Gol, who was flinching from the front, twisted his face and walked up to the old man Pyo with small steps.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Reaching right in front of the old man, he yelled furiously.
“No, old man! You should have told me beforehand if you were senile! Why are you making us run like dogs, making everyone tired? How many hours has it been now?! You’re screwing us….”
“Yoon Jong-ah.”
“Yes, Sasuk!”
“Kill him.”
“Yes!”
Yoon Jong ran forward like a bolt from the blue, lifted himself up, and struck Jo-Gol in the back with his knee.
“Argh!”
As Jo-Gol fell forward, Yoon Jong, who climbed directly on top of him, began to hit the back of his head mercilessly.
“Darn it! Why is the blind person jumping when the sablefish isn’t even jumping? Why! Just die! Just die!”
“Argh! Aargh! Argh! Sahyung! Aarggh!”
He seemed to have learned well from somewhere, as he swung his waist vigorously while hitting. Baek Cheon, who had been watching the scene with satisfaction, suddenly shuddered and shook his head.
He shouldn’t be pleased by this. After all, he’s a respectable swordsman.
Jo-Gol screamed, grabbing the back of his head with both hands.
“Ahh! It’s not like I said something wrong! Argh! Sa- Sahyung, my back! My back gonna break! Not the waist! Don’t step on it….!”
“Just die, you bastard!”
Yoon Jong, who had completely trampled Jo-Gol like a laundry, stood up panting and sighed deeply.
“People usually get more serious as they age, but how do you get more and more new every day, you bastard?”
“…I think Sahyung is becoming increasingly violent.”
“Who is it all because of, you punk!”
When Yoon Jong raised his hand, Jo-Gol flinched and covered his head.
Baek Cheon sighed deeply while watching them.
‘That guy too.’
It was so awkward that Chung Myung kept a stiff face and silent the whole time, and they were trying to break the ice like that. Whether it was effective or not, it was better than everyone keeping their mouths shut.
As expected, Jo-Gol rubbed the back of his head, which had been hit, and sneakily observed Chung Myung’s expression.
Baek Cheon also quietly looked at Chung Myung. And called him in a low voice.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
“Huh?”
“What are you going to do? The sun will set soon.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s a place we couldn’t find even in broad daylight. After the sun sets, it will be even more difficult to recognize. We should probably call it a day today.”
Chung Myung slowly stroked his chin as if pondering, then asked the old man.
“Old man.”
“Yes?”
“You said that the place where you discovered the secret was somewhere around here, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
The old man Pyo nodded and patted Jin Yangjon on the shoulder.
“Let me down.”
“Ugh….”
As Jin Yangjon sat there as if he had been waiting, the old man Pyo got off and looked around.
“Although my memory isn’t accurate, I’m sure it was either this mountain or the one next to it. If we look around for another day, we’ll definitely find it.”
Chung Myung nodded his head as he looked at the mountain the old man pointed to.
“Can you give me a more detailed description of what happened then?”
“Ah, that’s……”
The old man scratched the back of his head and spoke.
“It’s been so long that I don’t remember the details, but I remember that the beast I caught at that time was a fox.”
“Fox?”
“Yes. I found a fox in front of me and shot an arrow right away. I thought I had hunted a mountain animal like a rabbit because it had something in its mouth, but when I went to the spot after catching it, there was a book instead of a mountain animal.”
Chung Myung frowned slightly.
“So you brought that to this person?”
“Yes, yes. I was letter blind, so I had no idea what was written in the book, but I thought it would be okay to give it to him because there were several pictures of people with swords drawn.”
Old man Pyo glanced at Jin Yangjon and said,
“Anyway, this guy is rumored to know how to read and learn martial arts or something.”
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung nodded slowly.
“Alright. It will get dark soon, so you can go down now.”
“Yes? I haven’t found it yet….”
“That’s all right.”
Old man Pyo sneakily glanced into Chung Myung’s eyes.
“Well, then the earlier….”
Baek Cheon, who knew what the old man would say, replied instead.
“You can take the reward as is. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Tha- Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.”
Baek Cheon looked at Jin Yangjon with cold eyes and asked.
“Take the old man home, and stay at your house. I’m telling you, you’d better not think about running away.”
“I, I won’t even dream of it! Really!”
“Good.”
Jin Yangjon bowed and carried old man Pyo down the mountain. Baek Cheon, who had been watching the departing figure, looked back at Chung Myung and asked.
“What’s the plan?”
“It doesn’t make any difference to find it anyway. The important thing is that the secret martial art was found somewhere around here.”
“Um.”
“It’s unlikely that the mountain animal moved a long distance with the secret manual in its mouth. It must be nearby.”
“I see. Then what are we looking for?”
At that, Chung Myung stared silently at Baek Cheon. It was difficult to guess what he was thinking from his eyes.
Only after a while did Chung Myung’s mouth slowly open.
“A tomb.”
“….”
“If not, bones. No, a piece of cloth, corpse… anything is fine.”
He hesitated slightly and added.
“I know it’s too much. But we have to find at least a trace. Please.”
Everyone nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“Let’s divide the area and search separately.”
“Yes, Sasuk!”
Cheongmyeong watched everyone divide the area and allocate tasks quickly, then looked at the rapidly darkening mountain. His eyes were also dimly sunk.
‘It must be somewhere in this mountain.’
‘No.’
‘It has to be.’
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
