Chapter 102: Chapter 102

‘How did it end up like this……’

He was a man who led a merchant group in Hunan.

Although it was small in scale and did not make much money, he had earned enough to take care of his family.

Then, he got lucky.

He had happened to receive a considerable amount of goods from a Western trade merchant he got to know by chance, and was on his way to Anhui, where selling them would yield the most profit.

Because of the risk of being attacked by bandits, he had hired ten more escort warriors, who had previously been few, and it was a journey he set out on thinking it would be safe.

He never expected the bandits to be this strong, nor had he thought the guards he hired would be this weak.

Yet, the problem occurred here.

The strange group that saved them from the bandits’ raid.

This road they were traveling together toward Anhui was as heavy as a thousand geun to him.

“Thank you!”

The waiter bowed and smiled brightly.

Indeed, he had reason to smile.

They had ordered and eaten a considerably large amount of food at the inn. Since they seemed to have ordered most of the food on sale, how much would the cost be?

Several silver coins vanished in an instant.

Whose fault was all of this?

It was because of that strange group.

‘Your destination is Anhui? Since we are heading that way too, we can travel together. Of course, you just need to provide for our convenience, considering it the price for saving your lives.’

It was what the man named Dan Woo-hyun had said as if doing a favor.

He had thought he was saner than the two bickering old men, and since he did not seem to ask for much, he had no choice but to nod.

Ten days passed like that.

Geum Eun-hak, the leader of the Gold Ring Merchant Group, was having his pockets completely emptied.

“Hmm, this inn is worse than I thought.”

Dan Woo-hyun casually spat out.

That was not something to say after eating most of the food at the inn. Geum Eun-hak’s lips trembled, but since he could not bring himself to get angry, he had to swallow it down.

The people in front of him were masters great enough to subdue bandits with a single stroke. He had to be careful with every word he uttered.

“N… Next time, we shall go to a better place.”

“I am grateful for that.”

At the words of Dan Woo-hyun, who had not even bought a single bowl of noodles, Geum Eun-hak wore a crying face.

Shameless.

He was a truly shameless human.

He had caught a glimpse when buying something for the child named Dan So-mi last time; this man had more money than Geum Eun-hak, not less.

Furthermore, he had even received the bounty for the captured bandits.

His sigh leaked from his mouth.

“By the way, do you know the situation in Anhui?”

“Ah, are you speaking of that?”

Geum Eun-hak let out a groan and a sigh.

Come to think of it, he had already heard and knew.

The Namgung Family fell?

Because they were in charge of Anhui’s public security, it could be said that bandits did not appear. However, if the Namgung Family fell, he had to prepare himself for that much.

“It is a shocking event…… but we cannot turn it back, can we?”

“Have you not heard anything else?”

“Umm, only that the Snake Blood Band has begun activities all over Anhui……”

“The Snake Blood Band?”

“Haha, they are people who appeared suddenly. Seeing that they even brought down the Namgung Family, they seem to possess quite some power. However, won’t the Martial Alliance sweep them away soon anyway?”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded.

He had already heard and knew about the Martial World situation multiple times. If the place that brought down the Namgung Family, one of the Eight Great Families under heaven, was the Snake Blood Band, there was no way the Martial Alliance, which had been protecting the Namgung Family, would stay still.

The Snake Blood Band would soon be subjugated.

“For that to be the case, they seem to be moving too little, though……”

Gwon Mu-jin, who had approached before they knew it, muttered.

His thoughts were slightly different.

Immediately after the raid on the Namgung Family began, or a few hours later, it would not be strange for the Martial Alliance to move right away. Because the Martial Alliance, the Eight Great Families, and the Nine Sects and One Gang would have a secret communication network that tight.

Yet, seeing that no personnel had been dispatched from the Martial Alliance despite dozens of days having passed, he thought that perhaps something suspicious was going on within the Martial Alliance’s internal movements.

Gwon Mu-jin glanced at Namgung Cheon, who was beside Dan So-mi.

Although he did not speak.

He too must guess to some extent.

“We will arrive in Anhui soon. I think we will be able to confirm anything, but……”

“It does not matter what it is. Are we not on a simple sightseeing trip? It is enough to sightsee and eat delicious food.”

Seeing the worried appearance, Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

He had told Dan So-mi they were going on a sightseeing trip.

A sightseeing trip was a sightseeing trip.

No matter what happened where, it was not a story directly related to them. Since he made that judgment and spoke, Gwon Mu-jin agreed and bowed his head.

“Soon…… Anhui?”

Dan Woo-hyun looked to the east.

Now, once they crossed that mountain, they would enter Anhui. He was already curious about how much Anhui, which he was entering for the first time in a thousand years, had changed.

* * *

“Ugh!”

Namgung So-hye gritted her teeth and tied the cloth tightly around her arm.

Because there was nothing to use as a bandage, she had cut a sleeve to make a makeshift one.

She wiped away the flowing blood and caught her breath.

‘Fortunately, there are no more signs of pursuers……’

She was lucky.

She could not help but think that way.

When she opened her eyes after fainting, she was wedged between the remains of a collapsed building. Because she was in the furthest corner, it seemed the Snake Blood Band fellows had failed to find her.

It had already been over a month since she found an opportunity to escape that place.

Namgung So-hye’s steps as she left Anhui and headed toward Hunan had to be heavy.

Until just a few days ago, she had fought a fierce struggle against the Snake Blood Band pursuing her, and had been unable to eat or drink properly for nearly a month.

‘It is strange.’

And this situation.

It was too strange.

By now, it was a time when the Martial Alliance should have sent a subjugation force long ago. Nevertheless, she had not yet heard that they had departed.

Therefore, she did not go to the Martial Alliance.

‘There is a spy inside!’

The one who helped those who brought down the Namgung Family.

Or the one who tried to kill her grandfather.

One or many of those people were inside.

Otherwise, this current situation made no sense.

Although she was full of thoughts of stepping forward to find her family, she could do nothing with this body now.

Rather, she would hold them back.

She had to rest to recover her body.

A place where she could hide.

Only one place rose in Namgung So-hye’s mind.

‘So-mi’s house……’

Dan So-mi’s house.

If it was that place in Yueyang, it would be enough to hide. Since the Martial Alliance’s gaze did not reach it and those targeting her would not know exactly where it was.

Namgung So-hye, having made up her mind, moved quickly along the path.

There was no time to hesitate.

Since it was a situation where she did not know when the pursuers would follow, she had to arrive there as quickly as possible to recover her body.

‘If he sees me in this state, I will get scolded again, won’t I?’

Namgung So-hye laughed absurdly, thinking of Dan Woo-hyun’s figure rising in her mind. While she was having those thoughts, a rustling sound was heard not far away.

Namgung So-hye steeled her expression and gripped her sword.

‘Persistent!’

* * *

“Then, I shall leave from here.”

Geum Eun-hak let out a sigh of relief and bowed.

This was Hefei, Anhui, where the Namgung Family was located.

Since they had arrived at the destination, escaping quickly was the best policy. Because he knew that if he stayed with them any longer, he would never see a good outcome.

Before even hearing an answer, Geum Eun-hak urged the porters and disappeared.

“Well, what a disappointing fellow. We traveled all the way here together, yet he leaves so coldly?”

Sa Do-hak muttered with an inwardly uncomfortable expression.

Since that human had paid most of the money so far, he was preparing to treat him generously today. But since he just left, he did not like it.

“Do not worry. It is a fate that will meet again.”

“……Do you perhaps read things like the secrets of heaven?”

Sa Do-hak, remembering Dan Woo-hyun’s tone of voice that he occasionally uttered, asked.

He recalled him falling into thought while looking at the sky, or saying things about the wind or fate whenever meeting people.

He had thought that most of such people were either suffering from mental illnesses, or really had to be around the level of the Eight Immortals.

‘Are all descendants of the Martial God like this?’

Both the legend of the Martial God and this guy assumed to be his descendant, he wondered if all the members of this guy’s sect had mental issues.

“It is not the secrets of heaven. The wind tells me.”

“Yes, the wind…… the wind, of course. Ahem.”

Sa Do-hak replied, waving his hand in the air.

Although the wind was felt, it told him nothing. No, in the first place, isn’t it more amazing if the wind can speak?

Even Sa Do-hak, who possessed a talent more outstanding than anyone else in manipulating demonic qi, had never once thought that such energy would tell him anything.

“Then do you feel the wind too?”

Sa Do-hak asked Namgung Cheon, as if finding it quite unfair. Because of the thought that Namgung Cheon might know while he knew nothing.

However, Namgung Cheon shook his head.

“Hahaha, the wind…… I have never felt such a thing.”

“Then this guy is the unusual one.”

Sa Do-hak clicked his tongue.

That was clearly a gaze mocking the opponent.

Dan So-mi, who engraved that scene in her eyes, stepped forward with an angry expression.

“O-Our dad’s words are all true!”

“Yes, yes, only to you, surely.”

“No! Uncle Jang and Uncle Gwon said so too. They said if Dad says live, they live, and if he says die, they die; if he says a dog is a cat, they believe it, and if he says dung is congee, they believe it too.”

“…….”

“…….”

Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak turned their heads with expressions of being lost for words. At the end of their gaze were Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin, who were lowering their eyes with awkward expressions.

It seemed they had spoken those words in all sincerity.

“Ho! That is indeed an interesting sound.”

Dan Woo-hyun also reacted.

He had no intention of saying such a thing, but if they went as far as to say that, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to test them.

“Dung is congee……? Would you like to try eating it?”

“……If…… If the Lord tells me to do so……”

“Are you crazy!?”

Gwon Mu-jin gave a forced reply with a fearful expression.

Jang Sam-tae, startled by that sound, raised his voice. Saying those words back then was merely to flatter Dan Woo-hyun in front of Dan So-mi.

Of course, he knew that he was great, but…….

There was no way he could actually do such a thing.

“It is a joke. More importantly, let us find a place to stay first. Since this place seems to have quite a lot of things to enjoy.”

Dan Woo-hyun smirked and glanced around the surroundings.

Gazes were felt from everywhere.

The gazes cast the moment they arrived here were by no means friendly. Some of the pouring gazes were close to vigilance or even killing intent.

Gazes that could not be thought of as belonging to such a large town, especially one that the Namgung Family had been managing.

If so, the identity of these.

They surely belonged to those who were said to have brought down the Namgung Family.

Namgung Cheon also nodded, as if having the same thought.

“Follow me. I know a good place.”

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