Chapter 77

Chapter 77

"Who… who on earth are you?"

Zhejiang Un looked around with a trembling gaze.

His subordinates lay strewn about in a miserable state, and Hwang Hae-yeom, who was counted among the hundred great experts under heaven, was crumpled far away.

All of this had happened in the blink of an eye.

It was a divine might that could only be displayed by those called the ten great experts under heaven, namely the Ten Sovereigns.

'Is that man an expert of the Seven Stars or Five Emperors level?'

Where in the world had such an expert suddenly popped up from?

"The person beside him… I felt like I had seen him somewhere, and he is definitely So-ssang-do."

Zhejiang Yeon muttered in a low voice.

At first she only thought it was a familiar face, but upon quiet reflection, it was clear that he was definitely a man she had met once in the past, So-ssang-do Gwon Mu-jin.

Hearing those words, Zhejiang Un frowned.

"If it is So-ssang-do, he is a figure of the unorthodox path… Does that mean such a powerful person has emerged from the unorthodox path…"

A lament escaped him naturally.

The current Murim Alliance was turning in a bad direction.

They had lost the Sword Emperor, and Murong Hyeok-mun, who originally could not rise to the position of alliance leader, had ascended to the post.

That alone caused much talk both inside and outside.

Given Murong Hyeok-mun's personality, he would press down with force, so soon no one would dare open their mouth carelessly, but inwardly there would be considerable discontent.

With this alone, cracks would begin to appear in the Murim Alliance everywhere.

As fate would have all, at a time like this, such an expert had appeared from the unorthodox path, so the Murim Alliance would be even more unable to find a way to suppress them.

'Was resigning a mistake…'

Zhejiang Un let out a long sigh.

Murong Hyeok-mun was by no means of the caliber to be the alliance leader. Suspicious even of whether he had assassinated the Sword Emperor, Zhejiang Un had left without looking back.

The process of him becoming the alliance leader, the vanished Sword Emperor, all of these things fit together too exquisitely.

And many people would harbor the same doubts as himself.

Even so, the reason they could not speak it aloud was because they had no way to do anything about the giant existence that was Murong Hyeok-mun.

Moreover, recently, the prestige of the Murim Alliance had fallen considerably in the eyes of the public.

If such suspicious stories leaked out at a time like this, the orthodox path could lose all the initiative they held to others.

One way or another, it was a truly difficult situation.

Lost in thought for a moment, Zhejiang Un raised his head at Zhejiang Yeon's words.

"But he…"

"Do you know something?"

"It is something I heard a while ago. Whether it is true or false is unknown, but Gwon Mu-jin is currently known to have died in Muhwang Castle."

"W-What?"

It was a statement that came from the mouth of none other than Zhejiang Yeon.

Since she was an extremely clever child who would not speak unless she was certain of something, it was bound to be the truth.

If so, did it mean Gwon Mu-jin had abandoned his post and escaped the unorthodox path?

Zhejiang Un frowned.

He could not understand at all how the situation was unfolding.

"For now… let us join up with the Namgung Clan as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

Many thoughts crossed his mind, but this was not the time to sort them out one by one.

There was no guarantee that people who had bad relations with the Zhejiang Clan, like Hwang Hae-yeom, would not attack again.

They had to hide themselves as much as possible and join up with the Namgung Clan.

And they had to follow the traces of the Sword Emperor to verify his life or death.

"Have you returned?"

Dan So-mi bowed in greeting.

Dan Woo-hyun smiled and stroked Dan So-mi's head.

"Yes, have you been well?"

"Yes! So-mi has been well. Did you also return safely without being hurt, Father?"

"Haha, of course. Just looking at your face makes all my anger wash away."

Pat-pat.

Even during the long journey from Hubei to Hunan, what had happened with Geum Wang-su had not easily left his mind.

Who was he?

He was the Martial God who had made all the people of the Central Plains tremble.

In his entire life, he had never received such treatment from anyone, but that bastard Geum Wang-su had not only toyed with him but had also laid him down and trampled all over him.

That one sentence written at the very end had completely shattered all of Dan Woo-hyun's efforts.

"By the way, did the matter you went for go well?"

"Ha, haha… the matter I went for…"

Dan Woo-hyun hummed and sat on the veranda.

Dan So-mi, who came running over, sat on his lap and giggled.

Although it was still an innocent smile, he had no particular words to give in response to that question.

"It was just… so-so."

Tremble.

His tightly clenched fist trembled slightly.

Thinking about it made his anger surge once more.

That he had been fooled by a mere thief was an unbearable humiliation for Dan Woo-hyun.

"Haha, you returned faster than I thought. So, how did it go? Did you find it?"

Namgung Cheon chuckled as he approached.

Dan Woo-hyun stared silently at him.

Come to think of it, the one who had handed him that map was this man. He thought that perhaps he had been set up not by Geum Wang-su, but by this man.

Dan Woo-hyun's eyes spun for a moment, but he exercised patience and endured.

After all, the opponent was a powerless old man.

"I do not wish to speak about that matter."

Hearing the words spoken with a frown, Namgung Cheon could easily figure it out.

Ah, something did not go well, and that was why he was so angry.

Namgung Cheon coughed dryly and averted his gaze.

"Still… did you not enjoy the sights of Hubei?"

"There were no sights to speak of. Since I went with only one thing on my mind, other things could not possibly enter my sight."

"Cough! Did you not… gain a good experience?"

"Ha, I would like to make you experience it as well to see if such words can still come out of your mouth."

Drip.

Namgung Cheon broke out in a cold sweat.

He already knew Dan Woo-hyun's cold temperament.

But seeing him act even sharper today, he grew slightly curious about what on earth had happened in Hubei.

He glanced to the side and looked at Gwon Mu-jin.

From the moment they returned to the manor until now, Gwon Mu-jin had not uttered a single word.

His face was pale. He looked so exhausted that one could feel how incredibly arduous the journey had been. It seemed difficult for him to even say a single word.

"Do not… ask anything."

"I… I shall do so."

Gwon Mu-jin looked like a man whose soul had departed.

Looking at him, Namgung Cheon broke out in a cold sweat once again.

"Oh my! Have you returned, Manor Lord?"

Just then, Jang Sam-tae, who seemed to have returned from Yueyang with a handful of purchased items, looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a glad expression and bowed.

Although he was a somewhat uncomfortable person to be with, not having him here had made things rather lonely in its own way.

Moreover, he had to attend to that old man.

Recalling the past few months, Jang Sam-tae frowned.

It had been painful. He had to make delicious food and serve him without any discomfort.

They were both guests in this manor, so he could not understand why he had to serve that man.

Though he had ended up serving him without a word of complaint in the end because he had been beaten up after trying to rebel a few times.

"Yes, it has been a while."

Dan Woo-hyun merely nodded slightly while still looking at Jang Sam-tae with a blunt gaze. Having observed this carefully, Jang Sam-tae could tell that Dan Woo-hyun's mood was extremely twisted today.

It felt like if he said even one wrong word, it would not end simply.

Jang Sam-tae approached Dan Woo-hyun with a flattering smile.

"Hehe, did the matter you went for go well?"

In fact, he had no idea what he had gone to do. He had only heard that he was going to Hubei.

"It went well… very."

Dan Woo-hyun replied expressionlessly and pulled a map from his chest.

It was the one he had first received from Namgung Cheon and the one he had obtained from that shabby manor.

Thinking that perhaps there might be some other clue here, he had looked at it several times, but nothing of the sort was visible. Just as he was about to tear it up, thinking that he should not linger on it anymore.

"Oh? This?"

Suddenly, Jang Sam-tae reacted to the map.

He stared intently at it and then burst into a loud laugh.

"This is really nostalgic! Where did you get this? Hahaha."

"…Do you know this?"

"Of course. How could I not know this? May I take a look for a moment?"

Dan Woo-hyun obediently handed over the map.

Jang Sam-tae looked here, then looked there, and then laughed heartily once more before speaking.

"Haha! I really miss it. It was so hard when making this."

"…Make it?"

"Yes! There is a rule in our sect, which is to make maps like this to mock those who come looking. So I made this. Do you know how hard it was? Hahaha!"

Jang Sam-tae laughed loudly.

It had been the final test of the master who had taught him theft and lightness art. Since there were many whose eyes would turn upside down at the mention of Geum Wang-su's treasure, it was meant for him to hand this over and escape if he ever fell into danger.

Of course, the opponent would interpret the map and try to get the treasure without knowing anything, and would end up grinding their teeth at Geum Wang-su who had brought them indelible disgrace.

"Originally, you see, there is a chest you find at the end, and I was going to put feces in it. But I couldn't bring myself to touch it because it was too dirty…?"

Speaking up to that point, Jang Sam-tae could not help but feel puzzled.

Why did Dan Woo-hyun have this?

And why was the Dan Woo-hyun in front of him staring at him with such eyes?

He even felt that the light in Gwon Mu-jin's eyes beside him was slowly returning.

What was it?

After contemplating for a long time, Jang Sam-tae realized the situation.

Dan Woo-hyun had been to Hubei. And for some reason, he was extremely angry. The map had come from his chest, and it was related to himself.

Having thought up to that point, Jang Sam-tae turned around and ran.

"It, it is not my fault-!"

Shouting loudly, he ran blindly.

Judging by the look in Dan Woo-hyun's eyes, it seemed he had opened the final chest. If he pictured that process in his mind, it would be normal to hold his belly and laugh right now, but his own life was in greater danger.

"…"

Dan Woo-hyun stared intently at the disappearing Jang Sam-tae.

Since he was a fellow with outstanding lightness art, he was already disappearing into the distance.

Staring at that quietly, he soon let out a chuckle and turned to Gwon Mu-jin.

"Bring him back."

"Yes!"

With fire in his eyes, Gwon Mu-jin ran.

In terms of lightness art alone, Jang Sam-tae was definitely faster. But in terms of tracking, finding traces, and even endurance, Gwon Mu-jin's capability was far superior in every aspect except for lightness art.

"Is… is something wrong? Why is Uncle Jang doing that again?"

"Haha, it is nothing. More importantly, why don't you go play in Yueyang with Grandfather?"

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Of course. I will also give you allowance."

Namgung Cheon watched Dan Woo-hyun as he gave the allowance with a gentle smile. Since he had grasped the situation through Jang Sam-tae's words, he realized that Dan So-mi should not be kept in this manor.

Namgung Cheon reached out to grab Dan So-mi and clicked his tongue.

'A person really has to behave well in ordinary times.'

It was Namgung Cheon who shook his head as he thought of Jang Sam-tae who would soon be caught.