Chapter 242

Chapter 242

“Prison, what on earth…….”

As Baek Risan muttered after confirming the hunters who suddenly turned hostile toward them, the man looked at Baek Risan. Eyes coldly chilled.

“I don’t intend to ramble on about the circumstances in detail, but there are certain charges against those who were teleported, including you.”

“What charges?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“You want to detain people without even telling them what the charges are, how is that…….”

“Do I look like I’m asking for your understanding right now?”

At the man’s growl and simultaneously confirming the Sword Energy covering the man’s sword, Baek Risan turned her gaze left and right to assess the situation. The appearance of Yokai hunters who completely blocked even the exit routes front, back, left and right, surrounding the group.

“This is a notification. If you have no guilt, I promise there will be no harm done. But if you try to resist…….”

“There’ll be no choice but to see blood?”

“Good, you catch on quick.”

“Haah.”

Baek Risan, who let out a deep sigh, sent her gaze to Songbyeok Jinin as if asking what to do. Then Songbyeok Jinin smiled bitterly.

—This has become troublesome.

—Should we run away?

Baek Risan, who asked the question to Songbyeok Jinin as he moved his lips with Voice Transmission, glanced at Nakcheon. If they had Nakcheon’s power, escaping from this place surely wouldn’t be difficult.

—That won’t do.

—Why not?

—Because it would be like buttoning the first button wrong from the start.

Songbyeok Jinin, who lightly denied Baek Risan’s words, made a cupped-fist salute.

“I don’t know what charges we have against us, but…….”

“If an investigation is needed, we’ll receive the investigation. Can I take it as fact that if we enter prison, you’ll tell us about the other teleported people?”

“As long as you cooperate with the investigation.”

“That won’t be difficult.”

At the sight of Songbyeok Jinin smiling and extending his hands, those who approached cautiously while on guard pressed his acupoints. The appearance of Songbyeok Jinin stiffening rigidly.

—What are you thinking?

—There’s no gain from fighting and escaping from here. It’s not easy, but at this old man’s level, I can forcibly release the acupoint sealing. It’s natural that acupoint sealing won’t work on that Yokai fellow either.

Whether imprisoned or whatever, escaping is easy anyway. If so, they need to extract even a little more information.

—Watch the situation a bit more. It won’t be too late to act after that.

—……Understood.

Haah.

Hearing Songbyeok Jinin’s story, Baek Risan sighed and extended her hands forward. Watching Baek Risan become docile, the man spoke indifferently.

“The discussion seems to be over. May I seal your acupoints?”

“Even if I say no, you’ll do it anyway, won’t you?”

“That’s right.”

Simultaneously with his words, the man who pressed Baek Risan’s acupoints and had his subordinate martial artists carry all four of them spoke quietly.

“As long as you’re cooperative, there will be no harm done to you. I promise.”

“May I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“By any chance, are other teleported people imprisoned here? You seem strangely hostile toward teleported people.”

It hasn’t even been a few days since the people were teleported. There couldn’t be any deep-rooted grudge, so something must have happened in between.

“……Huuu.”

As if recalling something at Baek Risan’s question, the man who sighed moved his steps without answering. And soon after, the man opened the door leading underground.

“Seeing is believing, you’ll know when you see it.”

“When we see?”

“I won’t seal your leg acupoints.”

After confirming the man who opened the prison door entered first, Baek Risan rolled her eyes. The dark and damp interior of the prison.

‘There’s a problem, and they say the teleported people are under suspicion, so they must have met teleported people before.’

If they had never met any teleported people, there would be no reason for suspicion to fall on teleported people in the first place. They should assume that at least several teleported people fell here and caused some kind of problem.

‘I hope there were many if possible.’

Even though this Xinjiang is a place filled with demonic power making it difficult to act freely, the more people the better. Though she’s a somewhat exceptional case, even Songbyeok Jinin can overcome the demonic power and act, can’t he?

‘Masters, masters who could be helpful!’

“You will be imprisoned here.”

Simultaneously with his words, watching the man stop, Baek Risan rolled her eyeballs and scanned the surroundings. At that moment, something visible.

“……That is?”

“A teleported person like you.”

“That?”

After confirming someone wrapped tightly all over their body with iron chains as if determined never to let them escape, Baek Risan asked helplessly. Then the man grimaced.

“We didn’t want to go that far either. There’s no reason to tie up a prisoner like that in the first place.”

“……But, why.”

“Because that bastard resists.”

Chwaleuk!

“You——bastards——!!!”

Ah.

Simultaneously with his words, confirming the iron chain monster that wriggled and screamed at the top of his lungs, Baek Risan covered her face. A voice strangely familiar to her ears.

‘This voice…….’

If her memory wasn’t wrong.

“Do you know who I am!”

The opponent was indeed a master.

“I am the Family Head of the Dokgo Family, Dokgo Cheon—!!! Release this immediately! If you don’t release it, I’ll tear you to shreds and throw you as dog food!!!”

……Though she doesn’t want to be with him.

“I’ll come back in two shichen.”

“Release this before you go, you bastards—!!!”

What to do.

After confirming the retreating back of the man who disappeared while ignoring Dokgo Cheon screaming at the top of his lungs, Baek Risan let out a deep sigh. Then Nakcheon, confirming that appearance, quietly spoke.

—I can make him quiet. Would you like me to make him quiet?

“No…… You don’t need to go that far.”

—Is that so.

“Yeah.”

Anyway, isn’t this a situation where they need to join forces?

Baek Risan, who stopped Nakcheon from showing his dark sword, sighed and raised her voice. Because they needed to talk.

“Excuse me, you’re the Dokgo Family Head, right?”

“Hm? Who are you?”

“We’ve talked before, don’t you remember? At the inn.”

“Inn? I don’t know. I don’t remember every trivial matter.”

“You son of a…….”

Should she beat him up, even though he can’t even move?

Baek Risan, who barely suppressed the surging curse words, continued speaking while trying to maintain a gentle tone.

“Think carefully. We met at the inn before the Gate Opening Ceremony started. I’m from Uicheonmun.”

“Uicheonmun? Ah. Come to think of it, there was such a thing. There was that unpleasant fellow called Baek Riyun.”

“I remember now. So what do you want?”

“I hoped we could share information.”

At the sight of Dokgo Cheon cursing Baek Riyun, Baek Risan, who carved the character for patience three times, threw out a question with a forced smile.

“You were teleported here, right?”

“Hmph.”

“Could we possibly know why we were imprisoned? And where the other teleported people are.”

“Does a wretch like you dare to question me?”

“……They say the teleported people are under suspicion, so could you tell us what suspicion we’re under?”

“I have no intention of telling you.”

At the sight of Dokgo Cheon who maintained a consistently uncooperative attitude throughout, Baek Risan, who let out a deep sigh, rolled her eyes to look at Nakcheon. And the words that followed.

“Nakcheon.”

—Why do you call?

“Create cooperation.”

—Understood.

“Hm? What’s that, what is that? Aaaaah!”

A few strikes.

As Nakcheon, who had been pretending to have his acupoints sealed, got up from his seat and beat up Dokgo Cheon, Dokgo Cheon’s shouts and screams echoed through the prison. And after a moment, the shouts subsided.

“Name.”

“Do, Dokgo Cheon.”

“Age.”

“Thirty-three…… Damn it, is this necessary?”

“Shut up and answer. Do you want to get beaten more?”

Dokgo Cheon, who peeked at Nakcheon through the gaps in the iron chains that only loosened around his eyes, trembled and shook his head. Because the pain that permeated to his bones, as if knowing well how to beat someone to make it hurt, educated him in etiquette and manners.

“This is where you were first teleported, right?”

“That’s right. Precisely, it was the outskirts of the settlement.”

“If it’s the outskirts, outside the formation?”

“That’s right.”

“How did you enter when you came in? They wouldn’t let suspicious people in.”

“Those annoying things were buzzing around, so I gave them a few hits.”

“……So you mean you caused a disturbance and were captured?”

“It’s their fault for not recognizing me.”

What kind of obstinacy is this?

At Dokgo Cheon’s story that could truly be said to be solidly packed with arrogance without exaggeration, Baek Risan sighed and asked Nakcheon to release her acupoints and pressed her forehead. A throbbing head.

“Fine. What about information on the other teleported people?”

“I don’t know. Because I’ve been imprisoned here the whole time.”

“If you don’t know, just say you don’t know, why were you so uncooperative? Want to die?”

“You wench! Watch your words. I am the Dokgo Family Head——!”

“Nakcheon.”

“Huu, aren’t you afraid of future troubles?”

“I’m afraid, so shall I eliminate the future troubles here?”

“……Ask me anything.”

“Should have done so from the start.”

Baek Risan, who snorted, threw another question.

“When we revealed we were teleported people, we were brought here without doing anything, but what does it mean that teleported people are under suspicion? By any chance, did Family Head Dokgo do something.”

“It wasn’t me. I did rampage a bit, but I didn’t do anything that would affect others.”

“Then, what is it?”

“I don’t know well. But from what I heard…… they said there’s a problem with the formation.”

“Formation? Ah…….”

Come to think of it, didn’t Nakcheon detect an abnormality in the formation?

At Dokgo Cheon’s story, Baek Risan, who remembered the words Nakcheon had dropped earlier, nodded her head.

“You’re saying you don’t know how that’s connected to the teleported people?”

“That’s right.”

“Is it simply suspicion? Or is there really some connection…….”

Either way, it’s not very good. Because the formation is the settlement’s lifeline.

If the formation collapses, the settlement collapses. Just the possibility that they might have adversely affected that formation alone means the teleported people could already be seen as the villagers’ potential enemies.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm…….”

When Baek Risan, who heard Dokgo Cheon’s story, released Songbyeok Jinin’s acupoints and asked, Songbyeok Jinin hummed in contemplation and fell into deep thought. And watching such an appearance, Dokgo Cheon opened his mouth.

“What are you pondering? We should escape from here!”

“I did cause a disturbance, but I didn’t cause enough of a disturbance to receive this kind of treatment. The urgent priority should be to escape immediately and return to the Central Plains!”

“Escape is…… premature, isn’t it.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

Songbyeok Jinin, who ignored Dokgo Cheon’s voice, nodded and presented his opinion.

“In any case, this is one of the largest settlements in this area. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“If we wait, we’ll surely be able to meet other teleported people. Moreover, we haven’t obtained proper information yet. If that fellow doesn’t know anything, then surely other teleported people must have come and gone from here.”

“So you mean we should stay still until we obtain that information?”

“It seems it will be so. Isn’t this not a good situation to do anything rashly?”

“That’s true.”

Then is it waiting?

“Let’s escape right now! Release these chains and return to the Central Plains! If we go back and bring the personnel of the Dokgo Family, we can completely……”

“Be quiet.”

“Mmph.”

Baek Risan, who forcibly silenced Dokgo Cheon by stuffing the mouth portion of the iron chains into his mouth, nodded and agreed with Songbyeok Jinin’s opinion. And.

“Then, shall we observe the situation a bit more?”

“That would be good.”

“Let’s observe the situation for about two days…….”

If there’s no improvement in the situation, let’s move around that time.

The moment Baek Risan, who said so, shrugged her shoulders.

“Mm

At the strange sensation covering her shoulders, Baek Risan turned her head.

Beyond her line of sight.

—……An abnormal situation.

Nakcheon had risen and was looking outside the prison.

—The formation has broken.

——While watching the scene of swelling demonic energy flowing into the prison.