Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Oyeon.

This settlement in charge of the southern part of the Great Seal is also the boundary line between the Great Desert and the Central Plains.

Being close to the Demonic Cult, it’s also the place where the most support supplies sent by the Demonic Cult to each settlement pass through, and because of that, it’s the place with the most people among the settlements.

If you’re someone who thinks only primitive settlements exist in the Great Desert, you’d have no choice but to blink your eyes upon coming to Oyeon. Unlike what they think, Oyeon is quite properly shaped like a city. 

For Baek Risan, who followed Nakcheon, it was an even bigger deal.

“Next.”

Oyeon, like a proper city, was literally conducting inspections.

“……What do we do?”

Watching people pass through one or two at a time in the distance under the guard’s guidance, Baek Risan quietly whispered to Nakcheon. People showing something like identification tags and entering inside Oyeon.

Since he hadn’t heard stories of people from inside the settlement going outside, they must be people from outside. Either Demonic Cult members or Yokai hunters who came to Xinjiang to hunt Yokai.

—There’s no need to worry. We can just say we’re newly arrived Yokai hunters, can’t we?

“That’s fine for us, but what about you?”

—There’s a method.

Simultaneously with those words, Baek Risan’s eyes widened as he felt the demonic energy presence disappear from Nakcheon as if washed away. Though it gave off an ominous aura, the demonic power had decreased to the point where you couldn’t think of him as a Yokai.

“What? How did you do that?”

—I sealed it.

“What, your demonic power?”

—No, I sealed the organ through which you sense demonic power.

“……That’s possible?”

—It’s easier than suppressing my demonic power. Suppressing and deceiving others’ senses isn’t as difficult as you’d think.

Olfactory fatigue.

Just as you adapt to foul odors if you keep smelling them, demonic power also inevitably causes fatigue to the sensory organs if you keep sensing it. That’s why Baek Risan, who had been with Nakcheon for three days, didn’t strongly sense the ominous demonic power from Nakcheon.

—If you can artificially induce that sense of fatigue, you can make it feel like you’re not emitting demonic power even when you are.

“……That’s amazing. Is that also some kind of magic art?”

—Yokai cannot use magic arts. Think of it as something similar to an authority.

“I see.”

Nakcheon gazed intently at Baek Risan, who was nodding his head, then tilted his head at an angle before returning it to its original position. And then Nakcheon spoke casually.

—It’s our turn. Go forward.

“Ah.”

Baek Risan, who snapped to attention, glanced at Songbyeok Jinin following from behind and stepped forward. Soon after, seeing Baek Risan’s appearance, the guard spoke.

“A face I haven’t seen before. Are you from the Central Plains?”

“Yes.”

“Purpose?”

“Yokai hunting.”

“Yokai hunting.”

The guard who looked over Baek Risan’s attire frowned at a strange sense of incongruity. No matter how he looked, it didn’t seem like clothing worn with the intention of hunting Yokai.

“You don’t look like you have the skills to hunt Yokai.”

What kind of existence are Yokai hunters?

Literally, they’re people exceptional at dealing with various monsters. They’re those who visit Xinjiang to train their martial arts with numerous experiences and martial arts refined over a long period, or to vent their hatred toward Yokai.

“Your movements look decent, but…….”

“You seem underprepared and lacking in experience. If you go out into the Great Desert in that state, it’s perfect for dying. This is a place where Great Yokai routinely roam around.”

“……Is that so?”

“It is. In the first place, with those skills, they wouldn’t have let you leave from Qinghai either, so how did you get here?”

As the guard looked at Baek Risan with a suspicious expression, Nakcheon quietly stepped forward. And the statement that followed.

“He’s my disciple. I brought him for experience.”

“……And you are?”

“A Yokai hunter.”

While Baek Risan’s eyes widened upon hearing the rough true voice like scraping metal, Nakcheon drew his sword and slowly struck downward from top to bottom. A movement that looked extremely simple at first glance.

“……Hmm.”

Whether he sensed something from that simple slash, the guard let out a contemplative sound, took a step back, and shook his head.

“If a master of your caliber is attached to him, it makes sense that the exit station in Qinghai would permit it……. I understand.”

“If you have skill, you’re more than welcome. I’d appreciate it if you’d kill all those Yokai bastards.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Next.”

Watching the guard call out for the next person and move on, Baek Risan blinked his eyes and turned his head toward Nakcheon. He couldn’t quite understand the current situation.

“What did you do?”

—What are you talking about?

“What did you just do? Wasn’t that just a downward slash? I didn’t feel anything.”

If some great martial principle had been contained in it, he’d understand, but there wasn’t anything great mixed into that downward slash. None other than Baek Risan, who was born with genius talent in martial arts, could tell that.

Just what did he do?

—I cut the gap.

“Gap?”

As if disliking producing his true voice, Nakcheon, who returned to his somewhat cloudy voice, nodded his head.

—I don’t know if you noticed, but the guard here is a master.

“I roughly knew that. Though I don’t know why such masters are in charge of security…….”

—Because there was a transaction with the settlement people.

“Transaction?”

—In exchange for providing a place, they monitor and guard each other. The Yokai hunters active here must take turns standing guard according to a rotation. Because many of those who flow into places like this are people who’ve committed crimes or are driven by desperation.

The further you head toward the ends of the world, the more extreme the environment becomes, and the more desperate people become. Those who choose to survive in extreme environments have reasons for doing so.

—That guard was spreading out his energy sense without you knowing. That Daoist behind you would have noticed, but you didn’t.

“That means…….”

—I cut that energy sense.

A man who could cut away all the spread-out energy sense with one sword strike, not even a neck.

That’s an art impossible unless you’re thoroughly perceiving your energy sense from head to toe. That’s why the guard judged Nakcheon to be a master.

“That’s possible……?”

—It’s possible. I’ve always been better at perceiving ‘energy’ than anyone else. More importantly, isn’t that not what’s important right now?

“If that’s not what’s important?”

“Shouldn’t we be gathering information?”

“Eek!”

Baek Risan, startled by Songbyeok Jinin’s voice that had approached behind him at some point, bounced his body with a pop. Songbyeok Jinin chuckled at the sight.

“Hehehe, my apologies. You seem quite startled. Should I have made some noise to announce my presence?”

“No…… I was just distracted by something else. More importantly, what do you mean by gathering information?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Didn’t we come here to search for survivors?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Baek Risan, remembering his purpose, nod his head. Now that he thought about it, that was right.

“That’s right. Where should we go?”

“If we’re gathering information in a place like this, the most accessible place would naturally be an inn, but…….”

Songbyeok Jinin, who trailed off for a moment, shook his head.

“Teleportation is a special case, and this is a place the influence of Haomun doesn’t reach. It probably won’t be easy to obtain quality information at an inn.”

“Then?”

“If a problem occurred on the settlement level, there are two places that could quickly notice it.”

One is the place where the settlement’s chief, the village head, is. Since he oversees all matters of the settlement, large and small, naturally if some abnormal phenomenon occurred in the settlement, he would notice and be responding to it.

“But it’s not easy for us as outsiders to directly contact the village head either. Even though this is a place relatively familiar with outsiders.”

“Then we should look into the other side. Where is it?”

“The Yokai hunter headquarters.”

“……Ah.”

Confirming Baek Risan nodding his head, Songbyeok Jinin smiled and continued his explanation.

“Since the Yokai hunters are in charge of the village’s security, they’re surely responding sensitively to information about new people appearing. The village head is from Xinjiang, but since there are many Central Plains people among the Yokai hunters, there’s no reason for them to be exclusive toward us either.”

“That sounds good. Let’s go right away. Where do we need to go?”

“We need to find that out from now on, don’t we? I say.”

After finishing his words, Songbyeok Jinin grabbed a person nearby and asked for directions, then nodded after listening to the explanation. And then Songbyeok Jinin returned and pointed to the road ahead.

“If we follow this road straight, it’ll appear. It seems to be a red house blocked with cloth dyed with red dye.”

“Everything’s red.”

“Because that’s the only construction material you can obtain in places like this. Let’s hurry.”

Watching Songbyeok Jinin take the lead with enthusiastic words, Baek Risan smiled bitterly and followed behind, then turned around at a strange feeling. The sight of Nakcheon not following Songbyeok Jinin but looking up at the sky.

“What are you doing?”

—It’s strange.

“What is?”

—It’s not precise, but I have a feeling the formation has weakened slightly.

“Formation? By any chance, the Great Seal?”

—No, the Great Seal can’t be broken by external force unless a shock on the level of heaven and earth opening occurs. The formation I’m talking about now is this settlement’s formation.

“If it’s the settlement’s formation, you mean the formation that blocks Yokai?”

—That’s right.

Isn’t that simply because Nakcheon, who is a Yokai, entered?

“It’s not something we need to worry about. Let’s go.”

Baek Risan, who thought that but deliberately didn’t say it out loud, shook his head and pulled Nakcheon’s arm. Nakcheon, offering no resistance, was dragged along by Baek Risan.

“Come to think of it, I never asked, but you’re the one who brought me to this settlement. Have you been here before? Looking at the guard earlier, it seemed like you didn’t recognize him either.”

—I have.

“When?”

—I don’t know exactly when. But I’ve been to this place before.

“Really?”

Since he’s a Yokai, maybe he came here once several decades ago.

“It might be fortunate he didn’t recognize you. Back then, you might not have hidden that you were a Yokai.”

—……Didn’t hide it, you say.

Baek Risan, who considered that, nodded her head in understanding on her own. And when Nakcheon, who had maintained silence, was about to answer, a building came into view.

“Ah, that must be it.”

Baek Risan clapped her hands after confirming the words Yokai Slaughter written on red cloth as large as a door panel.

“We found it quickly. What should we do?”

“Hehe, let’s go in first. It would be good if we could meet the commander.”

After finishing his words, Songbyeok Jinin lifted the cloth and entered inside, looking around. The sight of rough martial artists tilting their cups while relying on sunlight seeping through window cracks without even lighting fires.

“Excuse me. Is this the Yokai hunter headquarters?”

“It is, but what brings you here?”

Songbyeok Jinin smiled broadly at the sight of the man who was wiping tableware with cloth at the counter and replied indifferently.

“I have something to ask. Could you possibly summon the headquarters commander?”

“The captain is busy. Tell me your business and I’ll decide whether to relay it or not. What’s your business?”

“I came hoping I might be able to hear some news.”

“News, you say.”

“By any chance, do you know anything about the whereabouts of Central Plains people who were suddenly teleported here? Whether in the settlement or in the Great Desert.”

Thud.

At Songbyeok Jinin’s story, the man who had been wiping tableware stopped his actions and quietly turned his gaze toward Songbyeok Jinin. Hostility faintly rippling in his eyes.

“……You asked about Central Plains people who were teleported?”

“That’s right. There must certainly be some.”

“You’re confident.”

“Hehe, this old man is also a Central Plains person who was teleported. I’m thinking of gathering people in the same situation to go back down to the Central Plains, so I came hoping for cooperation…….”

“Is that so?”

The man who silently nodded at Songbyeok Jinin’s words put down the tableware as if understanding. And after a moment, the man’s voice resonated quietly.

“I can tell you the news. However.”

“However?”

“There’s a condition that must be met first.”

Hostility spreads.

Chae-chae-chae-chae-chaeng!

“Wh-what is this?”

Watching the Yokai hunters who simultaneously drew their weapons and aimed them at the group, Songbyeok Jinin looked around in bewilderment. And the man’s voice covering from above.

“First, you’ll need to be imprisoned.”