Chapter 45

<Return of the Martial God Chapter 45>

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“…”

“…”

Namgung So-hye, the woman wearing a veil, smiled awkwardly.

After meeting So-mi in the marketplace, she had been led to the manor by the hand before she knew it.

In a situation where it was already confusing that Gwon Mu-jin, a famous master of the Unorthodox Faction, was escorting So-mi, the most difficult person to deal with, Dan Woo-hyun, had returned.

“…Excuse me.”

“Hmm… Did I eat something wrong. I am seeing things.”

“I am real.”

Dan Woo-hyun turned his head.

He saw Dan So-mi holding Namgung So-hye's hands. Beside her, Gwon Mu-jin stood blankly with a somewhat stiff expression, keeping his guard up.

No matter how much he had walked out of the Unorthodox Faction on his own feet, it seemed he did not let his guard down since his opponent was a member of the Namgung Family.

If it was Namgung So-hye, famous as the Phoenix Squadron Leader, it was only natural.

“I met elder sister in the marketplace! That's why So-mi brought her here.”

She smiled bright and wide with a face that said, 'Didn't I do well?'

Dan Woo-hyun laughed awkwardly.

“Is that so… You did well. But in the future, bring only things that are not broken.”

“Eh? Is something wrong with elder sister?”

Namgung So-hye let out a soft sigh.

Glaring at Dan Woo-hyun with sharp eyes, she muttered with a fierce expression.

“Could you please not speak of a person as if they are a broken object? I am perfectly fine, you know?”

“That's a relief. I thought you were hurt, that is. Especially here.”

Dan Woo-hyun muttered while tapping his head.

The humiliation with the Five Swords of Hunan was a memory that a proud martial artist could never forget.

Especially for Namgung So-hye, who had grown up on a roll without a single hardship.

She bit her lip hard.

“H-Hmph! I am not afraid of anything like that at all.”

“I see. Rather, why are you here?”

Dan Woo-hyun naturally took a seat on the veranda and sat down. Namgung So-hye was standing right in front of him, and Jang Sam-tae, realizing that the atmosphere was bad, was pretending to sweep the yard with a broom.

Gwon Mu-jin was still standing on guard against Namgung So-hye.

“Before answering that, may I ask one thing?”

“Sure.”

“Why is that person here?”

Namgung So-hye growled as she glared at Gwon Mu-jin. Thinking of what she suffered last time, it wouldn't be strange if swords clashed right away.

Not anyone else, but Ma Dok-jin's subordinate!

Thinking back to the hardships she went through then, she still grit her teeth.

“He is our family now.”

“Now? Seeing that you took in a member of the Unorthodox Faction as family, Young Master Dan was also a member of the Unorthodox Faction?”

“When you stayed here, was I a member of the Orthodox Faction, and if a member of the Unorthodox Faction stays, do I become a member of the Unorthodox Faction? In that case, should I take in a Demonic Cultist next time?”

Namgung So-hye shut her mouth at Dan Woo-hyun's sharp point made with a chuckle.

If Dan Woo-hyun were a member of the Unorthodox Faction, he would not have smashed Ma Dok-jin like that.

Because Ma Dok-jin was a person who exerted quite a large influence in Martial Sovereign Castle, the largest power of the Unorthodox Faction.

Furthermore, even when she stayed in this manor in the past, she had thought Dan Woo-hyun was a somewhat ambiguous person to judge by the Murim's divisions of Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic.

He was a man who walked his own path rather than using such standards of the world.

“Then it is your turn to answer.”

“Fine. While chasing opium smugglers in the Murim Alliance, we realized that their origin was Hunan and followed them down. But do you know what kind of things occurred on our way here?”

Dan Woo-hyun shook his head.

In fact, the reason he began to look for the opium smugglers was to clear Jang Sam-tae's name.

That meant he had not set out for issues like what was up with opium or what was up with Hunan.

Yet, for some reason, it felt as though the situation was growing larger and larger.

Dan Woo-hyun glanced at Jang Sam-tae.

He saw him shaking his head vehemently.

“In one small village, the people all went mad because of opium. Even in large towns, without exception, there were people showing symptoms of addiction. What is even more ridiculous is that among the addicted, most of the young women went missing after some time.”

“So you came down to Hunan?”

“Yes, following the trail led me all the way here.”

Namgung So-hye shrugged.

Honestly, the issue regarding opium was a national problem that should be resolved by the Imperial Court.

However, the reason the Murim Alliance stepped in this time was because of one thing: several of the small and medium sects affiliated with the Alliance had fallen due to opium addiction.

Because the process was too covert, even the Murim Alliance had not realized their downfall until recently.

Although they sent an investigation team in a hurry, even the young ladies of the sects had vanished without a trace, and only traces of their wealth flowing into Hunan in pieces remained.

Although they could not know where the end of it led, as a result, there was no doubt that it was the work of someone in Hunan.

“Could there be someone with such big guts in Hunan? Most of them were captured…”

“The Three Sabers Association… they said they call themselves that. And they say that their leader changes faces at will using disguise techniques…”

“That's it!”

Jang Sam-tae suddenly shouted loudly.

Disguise technique!

Why had he not come up with that thought until now?

If it was someone outstanding in disguise techniques, changing their face would have been no task at all.

Jang Sam-tae, who threw away his broom and rushed to Dan Woo-hyun, muttered.

“Manor Lord! Disguise technique! With just disguise technique, they can make their face similar to mine!”

“I knew.”

“Yes?”

“Did I not say I knew.”

Jang Sam-tae was silent for a while.

He stared intently at Dan Woo-hyun's face and muttered.

“Then why did you not tell me?”

“Because I felt like it.”

“…Damn.”

Instantly, Dan Woo-hyun's eyes turned fierce. Realizing his slip of the tongue, Jang Sam-tae turned his head and cleared his throat.

‘Damn it, can't I even curse as I please?’

At that moment, Namgung So-hye's voice was heard.

“Do you know something?”

“They said some fellow is dealing in opium and human trafficking with this guy's face. I wondered if it was a human skin mask, but a disguise technique? He's a more interesting fellow than I thought.”

Dan Woo-hyun showed her the wanted poster he had kept in his sleeve.

Receiving it, Namgung So-hye could not take her eyes off it for a while, then glared at Jang Sam-tae with a suspicious look.

“You…!”

“I said it isn't me! Did you not hear the story just now? It's disguise technique, disguise technique!”

“Why would they bother to disguise themselves with your face? You are not a famous person, nor do you have a handsome face.”

“That is exactly what I want to ask first!”

Namgung So-hye still held her sword with a suspicious look.

She looked ready to arrest him if given a chance.

Seeing that, Gwon Mu-jin stepped forward slightly and placed his hand on the twin sabers hanging at his waist.

“If you intend to draw your sword here, stop. I will not stand by either.”

“…”

Small Twin Sabers Gwon Mu-jin.

It was no exaggeration to say his skills were the real deal.

If they fought properly, she would begin to be pushed back once they exchanged about twenty moves, and would end up losing before even reaching fifty moves.

That was the difference in skill between Gwon Mu-jin and Namgung So-hye right now.

“Stop trying to set a useless atmosphere. So-mi is here, isn't she?”

As a threatening atmosphere began to flow between the two, Dan So-mi was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Because Dan So-mi liked both Namgung So-hye and Gwon Mu-jin.

She wished the two of them would get along.

Dan So-mi, who held Gwon Mu-jin's hand, also held Namgung So-hye's hand with her other hand.

Just as she was about to apply force to make the two hold hands soon.

Swish-!

Even before their skin touched, the two pulled their hands back, startled.

“You mustn't do that, So-mi. They say boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven, so if you hold hands with a person like that, something terrible will happen.”

“Eh?”

“She is right, So-mi. You must not do that to just anyone. Especially not to a woman like that who only knows herself.”

“Yes? Yes?”

At the voices coming from both sides, Dan So-mi's head turned left and right several times. She had wanted to make them shake hands in reconciliation, but the rejection from these two was far too intense.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun's sigh was heard from one side.

Soon after, he took out something from his sleeve and threw it.

“This is the opium that guy sold.”

“!?”

Receiving it, Namgung So-hye was startled.

Because even if she wanted to obtain it, there was no way to find it, so she had not been able to get opium.

Yet where on earth had Dan Woo-hyun laid his hands on this?

She examined the opium wrapped in a small piece of paper here and there. After smelling it, she frowned as if something was strange.

“This is not ordinary opium?”

“It appeared to be a specially manufactured product. It is several times more addictive than general opium.”

Namgung So-hye turned her head. Perhaps because she did not even want to smell the scent of opium, she quickly folded it and returned it to Dan Woo-hyun.

“How did you get this?”

“I have my ways.”

“…Then do you also have a way to catch him?”

“Not all of it, but at least the tail.”

Namgung So-hye looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a newly surprised expression.

This man, who went ahead and processed things in an instant that even the Murim Alliance could not achieve.

It was truly impossible to know whether he was a human or a ghost.

Furthermore, seeing him speak like that, it seemed he had a way.

Smiling softly, Namgung So-hye asked.

“What is it?”

“Do you want to catch him?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then there must be a corresponding reward.”

“Yes?”

Looking at Dan Woo-hyun who was grinning, she felt he needed something. But how was she to know what this man needed?

Just as she frowned her eyebrows and fell into deep thought.

“Bring the bounty that was placed on the head of the Black Dao Association's leader.”

“Th-That is…”

Two hundred gold coins… it was not a small amount, and she had settled that situation long ago.

How was she to speak to Chief Strategist Zhuge and get that money?

Furthermore, the distance between the Murim Alliance and Yueyang was not small.

The travel time alone would be enormous.

“Suit yourself.”

“Fine, I got it! I will give it to you. But I have a condition as well.”

“A condition?”

Namgung So-hye caught her breath for a brief moment.

Frankly, it was extremely embarrassing to be in a position where she had to say such things.

Perhaps because of that, she muttered softly with a red face.

“A-After resolving this matter, all the credit will go to our Murim Alliance.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Yes?”

“I said do as you please.”

Seeing Dan Woo-hyun agree so readily, she was dumbfounded.

Although it had not clearly surfaced yet, if they caught them, they would be able to build an enormous reputation.

Yet he gave it up so easily.

Perhaps having read her thoughts, Dan Woo-hyun spoke without hesitation.

“Because of the Black Dao Association, the Murim Alliance's standing must have changed for the worse. An organization worse than a mere county magistrate. So you are trying to make up for it by resolving this matter, are you not?”

“Y-Yes, that is correct…”

He was like a ghost.

How could he speak as if he had looked right into a person's heart? Even that hard-to-deal-with Chief Strategist Zhuge would not be able to do this.

Therefore, that man was even more uncomfortable.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun's voice was heard.

“Sam-tae.”

“Yes?”

“Go call Hong Won-chang.”

“Yes! Understood!”