Chapter 135

Chapter 135

“Hmhm.”

Jinwoong, who had caught the flying gourd in his hand and lightly rubbed it against his cheek, sniffed at the gourd. After smelling the gourd briefly, Jinwoong shouted.

“Old lady. You didn’t cook today? I’m hungry. Give me food!”

“There’s none even if you want to eat and die, you damned bastard! Don’t wander around outside and hurry home!”

“Why should I hurry home? There’s no one waiting for me. And how can there be no food? I just brought you rice the day before yesterday.”

“It means there’s no food for you. Stop making your family worry and go home quickly! I heard all sorts of strange bastards have been wandering around lately.”

“Heh. They say old people worry too much about useless things.”

After receiving a barrage of abuse from the old woman, Jinwoong shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze toward me, speaking.

“See? This is how I live.”

“You live quite intimately with the local residents.”

“Well, something like that.”

Jinwoong answered briefly and continued.

“That old lady is someone who came with a switch to scold me whenever I did something stupid since I was young. Across the way is an old man who gave me sweets when I visited while playing with friends. Down there is a younger brother who followed me around calling me big brother. It means they’re not just acquainted with me, but also with my parents and siblings.”

“Hmm.”

“Anhwa County is the world to us. Having some power and talking back to one’s parents happens to everyone who goes through a turbulent period, but turning one’s back on the entire world is uncommon. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Roughly.”

The faction Gaecheon Gyoryongpa belongs to is Sapa.

However, they can’t actually act like Sapa. They don’t try to act that way either. No matter how much Sapa they are, it’s rare for someone to mistreat their own family, and the people of Anhwa County are like family to them.

“Anhwa County has never not been a backwater.”

“The land is dreadfully vast but the population is small, so if you go one or two connections, you know everyone. It might be different for Sapa who came from outside, but if you were born and raised here, you can’t cause trouble even if you wanted to. I wouldn’t allow it immediately.”

Having finished speaking, Jinwoong strode forward, snatched the load from a young woodcutter who was sweating profusely carrying wood, hoisted it on his back, and grimaced.

“Seong Jin, you brat. Did uncle tell you to lift a moderate amount or not, saying your back would give out?”

“……Uncle said to build up my strength if I wanted to enter Gyoryongpa!”

“Why would you want to join a place like ours? If you want to learn martial arts, go knock on the door of somewhere like Wudang Sect far away. And building strength should be done gradually; doing it like this will hurt your back. You’re still ten years too early. Where do I need to carry this?”

“To grandfather’s house.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I smiled slightly watching Jinwoong, who bluntly shouldered the load and walked ahead. Even though he talks like that, can’t I see him constantly checking the boy’s condition?

‘I see, so this is what it meant.’

They have deep connections with the local residents.

It’s not simply that they have a good reputation among local residents by performing good deeds. Gyoryongpa is a sect that originated in this region and is striving to protect this region.

There probably isn’t a better place than this to be a branch sect of Uicheonmun. The members of Gyoryongpa are people who inherently cannot oppress their own region.

“You pass.”

“……? What do you mean?”

“It seems Gyoryongpa has sufficient qualifications to become a branch sect of Uicheonmun.”

“Ah, you mean that. Well, isn’t that natural? We’re not such rotten bastards.”

Tuk!

Having arrived at a hut at some point, Jinwoong leaned the load against the wall, loosened his shoulders, and grinned.

“But that’s that and this is this. Our Gyoryongpa still has no intention of joining under you folks.”

“The main sect and branch sects of Uicheonmun aren’t in a superior-subordinate relationship. It’s a cooperative relationship.”

“Even if Uicheonmun views it that way, other places won’t, will they? I showed you what kind of sect our sect is because of pride, but we actually have no idea what kind of sect Uicheonmun is.”

“Hmm.”

“We have no desire for fame, but if we’re bound as main sect and branch sect, won’t there be constraints?”

So this is the conclusion. From Gyoryongpa’s perspective, they can’t tell if Uicheonmun is a trustworthy sect.

“Then, let’s do this. I’ll resolve the work first.”

“Mm?”

I grinned at Jinwoong, whose eyes widened at my proposal. If Gyoryongpa can’t trust us, it’s a simple matter.

“I mean I’ll resolve both sides first. Both Hyeolung Manor and the missing persons case.”

I just need to show the results first, don’t I?

“……Is that really okay? This is embarrassing to say, but we’re Sapa for now. Isn’t it possible we could just take the work and wipe our mouths clean?”

“Then I’ll just take the request fee.”

“What if we don’t pay the request fee either?”

“Do you think you won’t pay?”

Pajijijiik!

“Hmm…….”

When I slightly drew internal energy to my hand and showed the lightning energy, Jinwoong’s expression became cautious and he carefully nodded.

“I was just saying. Anyway…… let’s do that. I’ll breathe easier since you’re resolving it.”

The moment Jinwoong, who had been contemplating briefly, looked at me and uttered words of acceptance.

[Request Occurred!]

[Branch Sect Recruitment]

Looking at the translucent window that appeared before my eyes, I grinned.

“The same for me.”

Shortly after Baek Riyun returned to Gyoryongpa.

“……What?”

Seohwa, who had been quietly listening to the story, heard Baek Riyun’s words and remained silent before blinking and asking back.

“Solo mission? Just us?”

“That’s right.”

At Seohwa’s look that seemed to ask if that was really okay, Baek Riyun nodded.

“Seohwa. You know this, but we currently have two tasks to handle. Do you know what they are?”

“Of course…… blocking Hyeolung Manor’s interference and investigating the frequently occurring missing persons case.”

“Right. Those two matters are what we need to resolve now. We can’t postpone either one.”

The Hyeolung Manor elder who had been knocked out by Baek Riyun when they first arrived returned to his sect as soon as he woke up. He’ll surely go to his sect and report in detail to the Manor Lord what happened here.

“If they find out another force has interfered here, Hyeolung Manor will move to respond. Before that, we need to drive in a wedge to prevent their interference. That’s why we can’t postpone the work immediately.”

“The missing persons case investigation is…….”

“The same.”

After pausing briefly, Baek Riyun tapped the vicinity map Gyoryongpa had drawn and continued.

“First one person. Nothing happened in the second month, then three people in the third month. Then two more, quiet for a while, then three. Looking at the information on the missing persons cases that have occurred, the disappearance cycle isn’t very regular. What does this mean?”

“Um, it means they weren’t captured for some specific need?”

“It won’t be accurate, but probably so.”

Most civilian missing persons cases are simply being dragged off by beasts, but occasionally there are intentional kidnappings. Securing materials for practicing demonic arts or evil arts is one of those things.

Demon heads who need human blood and vital energy mostly have a tendency to try to maintain the freshness of their materials. However, when people are kidnapped somewhere, they become terrified and gradually deteriorate.

“If it were for practicing demonic arts, they wouldn’t have gone missing so irregularly. To conceal something, or they kidnapped or killed people according to some criteria. We can judge it that way.”

“Ah…….”

At Baek Riyun’s speculation, Seohwa, who had been pondering, asked again.

“The Hyeolung Manor matter definitely won’t be ours since our strength is insufficient, so the missing persons case investigation will be our task…… but then isn’t it equally dangerous for us to go? We could fall into those criteria too.”

“Mm, that’s.”

“It probably won’t be like that.”

Before Baek Riyun could answer, Jinwoong quickly interjected and thumped his chest. The sound resonating dully like a drum.

“We’ve investigated the missing persons case quite a bit too, but there were no problems when we moved around in groups. It could be luck though.”

“Does that mean the culprit avoids commotion?”

“That’s at least what we think. Little miss.”

“……My name is Seohwa.”

“Right. I’m Jinwoong. Little miss.”

Seohwa glanced at the grinning Jinwoong, shook her head, and looked at Baek Riyun. Then Baek Riyun continued what he was saying.

“I heard you even went to investigate the empty stronghold. As Jinwoong said, the fact that they didn’t attack even though you openly investigated means they don’t want things to become noisy. It will be less dangerous.”

“Then…….”

“I’d like you and Gyoryongpa to cooperate and investigate while I go to Hyeolung Manor. I can make the trip in a day, but even that time is too tight to waste. Someone might go missing again in the meantime.”

“I’m not asking you to catch the culprit. Just gathering clues is fine. Even trivial things are okay.”

Can you do it?

At Baek Riyun asking that way, Seohwa remained silent briefly while considering the situation. Calculations passing through her mind.

‘The danger is……’

Low.

It’s optimistic to think that just because it hasn’t happened so far means it won’t happen in the future, but at least in this case, it will certainly be low. It’s not just Uicheonmun disciples moving, but Gyoryongpa members moving together as well.

They’ll also only move along routes they’ve moved before. If the opponent is disposing of people to hide something, there won’t be any reason to touch their reverse scale.

“I’ll try it.”

“Good.”

After staring at Seohwa for a moment, Baek Riyun grasped Seohwa’s shoulder.

“Don’t overdo it. Just steadily doing what you can do is enough.”

“When I’m absent, as the eldest disciple, you’re the acting sect master. If judgment is truly needed, you may move according to your own judgment on how to proceed.”

“……Yes.”

At Baek Riyun’s tone full of trust, Seohwa, who had been blinking awkwardly for a moment, smiled broadly. And the response that followed.

“I’ll do that.”

“Good.”

Then I’ll be back.

Baek Riyun nodded and spoke those words as he left through Gyoryongpa’s main gate. Leaving the investigation to the disciples.

And now.

“Everything’s been cleaned out.”

It has come to this.

“Prospective eldest disciple. Do you see anything?”

“What’s with ‘prospective’? Prospective.”

“You haven’t formally entered yet, so I can’t call you eldest disciple. Anyway, do you see anything?”

“No.”

Southwest of Anhwa County. The Nokrim stronghold.

Pushing aside Seonwoo Gang’s nitpicking and at Seomun Cheok’s question, Seohwa shook her head and looked around. The appearance of the Nokrim stronghold where everything—furniture and all—remained but only the people disappeared.

“It really looks like people evaporated overnight.”

“It’s my first time seeing such a scene.”

“Even though you’ve lived as a wanderer for a long time?”

“Yes. This is the first time I’ve seen such a scene.”

Looking at Seomun Cheok agreeing with her words, Seohwa became lost in thought. It meant that even to Seomun Cheok, who had the widest experience among them, this was strange.

‘It doesn’t seem like a normal form of martial arts……’

A laundry paddle left just as it was while doing laundry. Chopsticks placed on a bowl containing rotting food. A pile of firewood stacked in front of the furnace as if about to light a fire at any moment.

It’s a sight that’s hard to understand even if an unimaginably skilled master came and killed everyone in the blink of an eye. Shouldn’t there at least be traces of resistance for it to be normal?

“No bloodstains visible, no traces of resistance visible, and it doesn’t look like they all went out somewhere together…….”

“This is a headache. Do you have any guesses?”

“I don’t know. I was thinking it might make sense if it were soul-stealing arts, but…… can soul-stealing arts be deployed on such a large scale?”

“That would be difficult. Maybe against ordinary civilians, but these are martial artists.”

“Right?”

At Baek Risan’s assertion, Seohwa rubbed the back of her neck and furrowed her brow.

“If it’s not soul-stealing arts and not the work of a master, can’t we think it’s the work of a yokai?”

“There are suspicious points about seeing it as a yokai’s work too, aren’t there? If a great yokai with that much power were nearby, it couldn’t be this quiet.”

“That’s true too…….”

The fact that a force capable of destroying a Nokrim stronghold overnight only leaves Gyoryongpa alone, and the strange form of the disappeared Nokrim stronghold.

There are more than one or two suspicious parts. Questions that don’t clearly resolve.

‘Well…… if it could be easily solved, it would have been solved already.’

I need to cool my head a bit.

Having looked around appropriately, Seohwa warmed her hands frozen by the cold air with her breath and stroked the top of a moderately-sized wooden box. And then.

“Anyway, the important thing is one thing. Finding some clue here. I wish there had been a witness…….”

The moment Seohwa looked around stating her opinion and sat down.

Ttak!

“Eok.”

“……?”

At a brief sound that was or wasn’t a scream, Seohwa blinked and lowered her gaze.

The lid of the wooden box she was sitting on was slightly lifted.

As if a person were inside.