Chapter 518

The merchant caravan including Jin Ja-gang traveled safely to Dunhuang without incident.

Just before arriving at Dunhuang, the wind intensified.

Rumble, rumble.

Like a landslide below the sand dunes, like someone wailing, the sound of sand rolling in the wind sounded eerie.

Sand grains coarser than dust flew into eyes and mouths, making them gritty.

Moreover, the strong wind swept the sand, continuously changing the terrain. After walking for a while, hills that weren’t there before would appear, and hills would often become flat ground.

“It’s Mingsha Mountain.”

Indeed, in the distance, a single pavilion and estate stood tall, along with a crescent moon-shaped spring.

The caravan leader looked at the setting sun and said.

“The wind is strong, so we’ll have a hard time arriving before sunset. It looks like we’ll have to rest at Crescent Moon Spring today.”

Another merchant objected.

“From here to Dunhuang is only thirty or forty li, wouldn’t it be better to just go there and rest?”

“I understand wanting to rest, but going safely is better. In this direction, quicksand flows like a river between Dunhuang and Mingsha Mountain, so when the wind blows like this, crossing is dangerous. The sand could rise to your waist in an instant. We could save people but the beasts carrying loads wouldn’t make it out.”

“Can’t be helped.”

About thirty people in total.

The small caravan decided to unload at the inn at Crescent Moon Spring.

Peculiarly, at the Crescent Moon Spring inn, young boys between ten and fifteen years old greeted guests. Not only children from the Central Plains but also children who appeared to be from other ethnic groups were mixed in one by one. It seemed the children of the Nurturing Hall working together.

Mingsha Mountain Crescent Moon Spring. The place the Bright Demon God mentioned.

Jin Ja-gang tensed and heightened his senses. He watched every movement of the children in view without missing anything. Whether they learned martial arts, their bodies were nimble and steps light. However, it wasn’t impressive superior martial arts. It was only at the level learned at ordinary martial halls.

The merchants instructed the escort warriors.

“We’re still traveling until tomorrow, so don’t drink too heavily today.”

The merchants went early to rest in rooms on the second and third floors, and the escort warriors took turns guarding the luggage.

Night arrived in an instant.

Jin Ja-gang slowly looked around the inn while waiting for his turn.

He spread his qi sense throughout Crescent Moon Spring to check if there was anything unusual.

Besides the caravan Jin Ja-gang belonged to, there were about two other merchant groups, so their escort warriors were caught in his senses. However, they weren’t masters worth paying attention to either.

Otherwise, nothing particularly suspicious was felt throughout Crescent Moon Spring.

Even the Nurturing Hall raising orphans seemed very ordinary on the outside. Someone who seemed to be a martial arts instructor appeared strongest, but literally at the level of a martial hall instructor.

‘Unremarkable.’

It was so ordinary there was no room for doubt and no corners to search further.

No one who had learned special martial arts was visible.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t withdraw his suspicion. However, he couldn’t definitively conclude yet.

Then he saw a scene of an early teenage boy collecting chamber pots from guest rooms and emptying them outside. When the boy encountered Jin Ja-gang, he bowed his head.

Jin Ja-gang called to the boy who was about to pass.

“Wait.”

“Do you have something to ask?”

“You can speak the Central Plains language?”

“Yes.”

The boy fidgeted with his fingers and his eyes brightened.

When Jin Ja-gang took out a coin, the boy’s expression brightened considerably.

“Ask me anything.”

Jin Ja-gang was swept up in a peculiar feeling.

“I heard this estate cares for orphans.”

“Ah, yes. The lord takes care of us who have nowhere to go. We learn martial arts and skills so we can become independent on our own later.”

“How many children are here?”

“About fifty now. I heard there were even two hundred at the most in the past. But when you learn skills and come of age, you have to leave this place.”

The boy added.

“I’m about to become independent soon too, so I need money.”

Jin Ja-gang took out more coins.

The boy answered even what Jin Ja-gang didn’t ask.

“I don’t know where he brings kids like us from. Sometimes there are even infants and sick children. But it seems he doesn’t accept just anyone. Some people come with children and return.”

“I see. What are you learning?”

“I’m learning how to ride horses and run. They said since I’m fast, it would be good to do relay courier work.”

Feeling his steps were particularly nimble even compared to other children, it seemed he was learning lightness skill.

As the boy spoke confidently, perhaps his voice was a bit loud, the closed back gate of the estate opened.

An old man came out and called the boy.

“Lang-ah, what are you doing bothering the guest? If you’re done working, come in and sleep.”

“Yes.”

The old man bowed to Jin Ja-gang in greeting and took the boy into the estate.

Jin Ja-gang examined the old man just in case, but he had only learned some martial arts and wasn’t a great master.

Returning to the inn, Jin Ja-gang thought carefully.

‘This might be part of the Hungry Ghost King’s businesses. But it’s not the Hungry Ghost King’s base.’

There were no masters with high martial arts enough to resist even a few bandit groups’ attacks.

‘As expected, Dunhuang?’

Jin Ja-gang spread his qi sense all night, but nothing happened except one merchant group that arrived late.

Even Yeong-hwi, who was hiding near Crescent Moon Spring, sent no signal.

Jin Ja-gang’s caravan arrived in Dunhuang the next day.

The desert city of Dunhuang built of sand was full of vitality. Despite being frontier, it wasn’t at all sparsely populated. Rather, caravans of merchants loaded with trade goods continued endlessly.

Numerous ethnic minorities with different clothing and appearances lived together. Languages didn’t communicate well and customs differed, yet they treated each other as if nothing was wrong and looked at each other without prejudice.

Jin Ja-gang, whose appearance belonged to the somewhat conspicuous category in the Central Plains, didn’t stand out at all standing among them. It would be the same for anyone who came, not just Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang chose lodging after receiving his travel fee.

The lodging owner was a dark-skinned ethnic minority currently conversing with another guest in words Jin Ja-gang couldn’t understand. When Jin Ja-gang awkwardly tried to leave, unsure how to speak, the owner called him.

When Jin Ja-gang turned around, the owner looked him up and down not unpleasantly and asked.

“How many days?”

“I’d like to stay about half a month.”

“Half month. People?”

“Alone.”

The owner afterward very simply asked Jin Ja-gang’s intentions. How much luggage, whether to use the stable, how much lodging costs, he confirmed with simple numerals and wrote in the ledger.

When he was shown an empty room and paid the deposit, the owner finished the conversation with a smile. Not because he was displeased, but simply because he couldn’t speak the Central Plains language well.

Guests continued entering behind Jin Ja-gang, so he had to quickly give up his spot.

Another ethnic minority wrapped entirely in white cloth entered the inn and raised fingers. He curled them round then extended only three end fingers. He said something too, but Jin Ja-gang couldn’t understand.

He’d seen such gestures before. A number display method merchants use in the Central Plains called sleeve language.

The owner also showed numbers with fingers in the same way. The guest shook his head and made numbers again. Probably negotiating room rates.

The owner seemed to ponder a bit then brought fingers to his mouth. Jin Ja-gang could tell it meant how many meals during the stay.

When the guest displayed a number, the owner proposed an amount again.

Eventually the guest nodded. The owner smiled and greeted in words he knew. Then he wrote down the just-negotiated content in the ledger. When Jin Ja-gang glanced at the owner writing the ledger, it noted three people, four beasts to enter the stable, staying two days.

Once the transaction for room rate and meals was completed, the guest immediately paid the amount and went out with companions to get luggage.

It was much faster and simpler than when Jin Ja-gang secured a room. They negotiated without particular emotional expenditure and reached mutual agreement. No unnecessary remnants remained.

For Jin Ja-gang, it was watching the first transaction between ethnic minorities with different languages. He felt a peculiar sensation.

Having secured lodging, Jin Ja-gang went outside and began looking around the vicinity.

There were those packing loads all night for caravans departing at dawn, and caravans arriving late at night securing lodging and eating. Lights didn’t go out at night. Thanks to this, Jin Ja-gang could see Dunhuang unrestricted by time.

Jin Ja-gang continued wandering around Dunhuang for several days after securing lodging.

Dozens to hundreds of people and horses came and went daily.

Those with peculiar religions were also noticeable. Even the Zoroastrians, called demonic cult and oppressed in jianghu, weren’t subjects of exclusion here. Scenes of those crossing to the Western Regions and pagans from the Western Regions sitting together eating were often seen.

Small disputes constantly occurred, but nonetheless Dunhuang’s unique balance, order within chaos, remained unbroken.

Jin Ja-gang was curious about the reason but couldn’t just watch that. Jin Ja-gang’s purpose for coming here was to find the Hungry Ghost King and the Hungry Ghost King’s forces.

Jin Ja-gang began spreading qi sense as secretly as possible to detect the interiors of all sand buildings and people.

If the Hungry Ghost King’s forces existed, the qi fluctuations of those subordinates and masters wouldn’t be ordinary.

However, Jin Ja-gang still discovered nothing special.

It wasn’t that there were no masters, but they were escorts accompanying caravans or wanderers. Occasionally only masters worth being wary of appeared among government troops and generals heading from Dunhuang to fortresses in the western frontier.

‘I expected at least a hundred gathered…’

At minimum there should be a martial force group of about a hundred. Considering the Hungry Ghost King’s power, even that number was small. Among them, including the Nameless Slave, he expected at least three or four more masters comparable to him. With that much, they couldn’t not be caught by Jin Ja-gang’s qi sense.

But Jin Ja-gang’s thinking was completely wrong.

No such group existed anywhere in Dunhuang.

Yeong-hwi was greatly flustered.

“I couldn’t find any traces at all. There are no traces of any organization.”

Jin Ja-gang felt the same as Young Ghost.

He wandered all over Dunhuang for three days but couldn’t find any traces.

“Could they have already gone into hiding?”

“I don’t know.”

Perhaps they weren’t in Dunhuang’s city area. Jin Ja-gang, who had been thinking briefly, said.

“Let’s find a guide. It seems we need to go to Dunhuang’s outskirts.”

Jin Ja-gang found a guide. Acting like tourists together with Yeong-hwi, he searched all nearby areas of Dunhuang.

He searched the entire Dunhuang region over ten whole days.

Thousands of grottoes and even small village units.

However, no martial force group that could be suspected as the Hungry Ghost King’s forces was visible at all.