Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Dan So-mi was currently in a daze.

Wriggling her fingers hesitantly, she looked around with a somewhat blank expression.

This was a completely different place, not the manor where she usually stayed.

She pondered deeply, wondering why she was in such a place.

She had returned home after her academy classes ended.

However, the three men, including Dan Woo-hyun, had been preparing something.

At the simple instruction to pack lightly, Dan So-mi, excited at the thought of going on a trip, packed her bundle as full as she could and brought it out.

Up to that point, it had been fine.

But then they entered Yueyang, and before she knew it, she was at the government office.

“……”

“……”

Hong Jin-rang was staring at Dan So-mi with a dissatisfied expression. Perhaps not liking her blank demeanor, he sighed softly and held out what was in his hand.

“Here.”

“What is this…?”

“Can’t you tell? It is sweet snacks.”

It was definitely sweet snacks.

Perhaps because they were homemade, their appearance and smell were quite different.

Clutching them in her hand, she took a big bite! As she bit into it, a sweet taste spread throughout her mouth. The dazed expression on Dan So-mi’s face vanished in an instant.

“It’s delicious!”

“Of course it is. My mother made it.”

“Heh… Hehe, I, I see.”

She gave a somewhat awkward smile at the word mother.

Although there were three men at the manor who would lay down their lives for Dan So-mi, there was no woman to embrace the heart of this small child, which seemed to make it feel even more unfamiliar.

“Oh my, you must be Dan So-mi.”

Just then, a woman’s voice was heard.

Startled, Dan So-mi turned her head to see a woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, running toward her with a flush on her face.

She was beautiful.

That was the thought that occurred to the girl the moment she saw her.

Of course, she might not compare to Namgung Sohye, but she was likely the most beautiful among the women she had seen in Yueyang.

“So pretty! How can anyone be this pretty?”

“Uh?”

The running woman hugged Dan So-mi tightly.

She hugged her as if she had no intention of ever letting go, or perhaps as if she would suffocate her to death.

Only when Dan So-mi groaned in pain within her embrace did she finally release her.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. Did this older sister go a bit too far?”

“It’s… It’s okay.”

Dan So-mi forced a smile with a bright red face. It was beyond going too far; she had almost killed her, but she refrained from saying it out loud.

Whoever she was, she smelled quite nice.

Dan So-mi looked at Hong Jin-rang and opened her mouth.

“Jin-rang’s… sister?”

“Oh, what should I do! Do I really look like that? I knew it! I am quite something.”

“Stop talking nonsense. She is our mother.”

At Hong Jin-rang’s single sentence, Dan So-mi’s expression froze. With stiff movements that seemed to creak, she forced her head to turn and looked at the woman.

‘Mother? Did he just say mother?’

Dan So-mi silently recalled the face of Hong Won-chang.

No matter how she looked at him, he was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He was probably the one who looked the oldest among the people she knew at the manor.

But what about the woman in front of her now?

No matter how she looked at her, she was in her mid-twenties.

With a shocked expression, Dan So-mi muttered.

“C-Cradle… robber…”

“Hmm?”

* * *

To enter Junzidao, one had to launch a boat.

This was Dongting Lake.

It was the place where boatmen waited to transport people to Junzidao. However, the strange thing was that although there were boatmen, no one was able to ride and move.

The bustling crowd vented their frustration.

They wanted to go inside, but they were being blocked.

Even so, they could not push through by force, and it was precisely because of those people.

On one side, the Phoenix Squad, the swordsmen of the Murim Alliance, were guarding the boatmen with fierce expressions.

Although they were women who looked to number around twenty, the name Phoenix Squad alone proved that they were first-rate experts.

On the other side, members of the Demonic Cult could be seen.

Glaring fiercely and blocking anyone from entering, their appearance was so terrifying that no one dared to take a single step forward.

This was because several people around had already become corpses.

A sight where the orthodox and unorthodox paths stood together like this was one of the rarest things to see. However, since the situation was what it was, they seemed to have joined hands.

“At this rate, we won’t even be able to get on a boat, will we?”

Jang Sam-tae frowned.

It was not as if they were the emperor, and blocking even the boats was something he disliked, no matter if it was the Murim Alliance or the Demonic Cult.

Of course, the boatmen must have received that much money.

“It would be so for ordinary people.”

Dan Woo-hyun let out a chuckle and turned his head.

There stood Hong Won-chang, wearing an awkward expression. He had been working in his office but was dragged out by force.

Although he did not know exactly what was happening, even as the magistrate, he had no choice but to feel intimidated since there were so many martial artists, and even the Demonic Cult was mixed in.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Dan Woo-hyun stepped forward, passing the complaining martial artists. As he began to walk down to board a boat, everyone’s eyes focused on Dan Woo-hyun and his party.

Their expressions showed they had no idea what he was thinking by walking out. Putting aside the orthodox Phoenix Squad, the members of the Demonic Cult would stop at nothing.

“Stop. You cannot go any further than this.”

A woman of the Phoenix Squad blocked the way, raising her sword.

It was also at that moment that the walking Dan Woo-hyun stopped his steps.

Not to mention everyone in the Phoenix Squad, even the members of the Demonic Cult watched Dan Woo-hyun and his party with their nerves on edge, fully prepared to strike if anything happened.

Just then, Dan Woo-hyun nudged the ribs of Hong Won-chang, who was unable to say a single word.

“Ugh…!”

Only then did Hong Won-chang snap out of it.

He felt he understood a little bit why he was in such a place.

Even if the opponents were martial artists, he was strictly a magistrate, and moreover, this was Hunan, which could be considered Hong Won-chang’s territory, and there were so many eyes watching.

Even if it was the Demonic Cult, there was nothing they could do.

Besides, Dan Woo-hyun was by his side.

“I am the Magistrate of Yueyang, Hong Won-chang! What on earth are you all doing blocking the path!”

Boom-!

His loud voice echoed.

Seeing him boldly shouting in front of the Phoenix Squad and the Demonic Cult, the people could not close their mouths in surprise. However, upon hearing that he was the magistrate, all eyes soon settled on Hong Won-chang.

“Is, isn’t that man surely the one who wiped out the Black Sect?”

“That magistrate?”

“Oh…”

Buzz-

The people began to talk. Hearing those voices coming from all around, Hong Won-chang also seemed to gain some strength, and confidence showed on his face.

On the contrary, the ones who were flustered were the Phoenix Squad.

To think that the magistrate himself would step forward.

Even though the government and the martial world strictly did not interfere with each other, it was also natural for the government to step in for such matters. Blocking his path was no different from declaring a challenge.

Even the members of the Demonic Cult exchanged glances.

If he spoke so openly like this, the Demonic Cult was also in a position where they could not carelessly take action.

“Will you not clear the way this instant? This place strictly belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, so who are you to block the road and even stop the people who come and go!”

“Ugh…!”

The members of the Phoenix Squad looked at each other.

Since their leader, Namgung Sohye, was on the island, they were not in a position to receive immediate orders.

However, if they cleared this place, people would naturally flock in, and they would not even be able to conduct a proper investigation.

“Did you not hear me tell you to clear the way this instant!”

Boom-!

When Hong Won-chang shouted loudly once more, the members of the Demonic Cult frowned. They gave each other glances and quietly retreated to one side.

Since they could neither block him nor kill him like the others, they had to follow his words for now. Although it was against their orders, they had no choice.

“Oh… they cleared the way!”

“Wow-! Long live Lord Hong!”

Buzz!

The people let out a great cheer. The ones who had not budged until now had cleared the path.

Every time his name was called out repeatedly, Hong Won-chang looked as if he possessed the entire world.

“Showing off…”

“What did you say?”

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

Jang Sam-tae muttered as he stepped inside.

Although the boatman did not know what to do, there was no way he could refuse the magistrate’s order.

The boat carrying the party slowly departed toward Junzidao.

“Y… You people! How are you here…”

The moment they arrived at Junzidao, the person they saw was a familiar face. Namgung Sohye could not close her mouth in surprise upon confirming the faces of Dan Woo-hyun, Jang Sam-tae, and Gwon Mu-jin.

Since the Phoenix Squad and the Demonic Cult were blocking the boatmen, it should have been impossible to just enter, so how were they here?

Then, she saw Hong Won-chang next to them.

Soon, she held the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

She began to get a rough idea of what had happened.

“How surprising, to think I would see you in a place like this.”

Dan Woo-hyun muttered, looking at Namgung Sohye with a playful expression. It was as if he was teasing her, causing Namgung Sohye to furrow her brow.

“Sigh, I guess you heard the rumors after all.”

“I was not interested, but…”

“You were not interested, yet you came all the way here?”

“I took an interest in the remains of the Three Heavens.”

“……”

Namgung Sohye looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a strange expression.

The remains of the Three Heavens?

Not the secret cave of the Martial God?

Most martial artists visited this place to see nothing other than the secret cave of the Martial God.

Although they had not entered yet, even Namgung Sohye believed that there would definitely be something there.

Yet he was interested in the remains of the Three Heavens?

It was quite unexpected.

“But I thought you would have already recovered them… Have you not found them yet?”

At Dan Woo-hyun’s words, Namgung Sohye let out a deep sigh.

How good would it be if they could recover them even a day earlier?

However, things did not go easily as everyone wished.

“The place where the one called the opportunity hunter entered last time is impossible to access because the interior collapsed. The place he escaped from was a small cave to the west, but that also collapsed, perhaps because the ground became weak due to the recent rain.”

“In the end, it means you have not even found the entrance.”

“That is correct.”

She shrugged her shoulders and gave an awkward smile.

Currently, the Demonic Cult and the orthodox Murim Alliance were searching Junzidao thoroughly to find the entrance.

Since the place the opportunity hunter entered and the place he escaped from were no longer useful, and it was said that it would take over a month just to dig them out, they were focusing all their efforts on finding the real entrance while doing that work.

“I see… Then I would like to meet that person called the opportunity hunter…?”

“That person is currently…”

Namgung Sohye looked up at the sky with an awkward expression. Then, she pointed up with her finger and smiled softly.

No one would fail to understand the meaning of that gesture.

“Is he dead?”

“Yes, quite certainly. I do not know who killed him, but he was found with his limbs torn to pieces. If not for his clothes, he could not have even been identified.”

It was a natural outcome.

In any case, he was the first to discover it and was also the one who escaped from there. Since he might have come out with something, he was bound to become the target of many people.

Dan Woo-hyun nodded naturally.