Chapter 148: Chapter 148

“-That is all.”

Shadows.

The shadows that secretly followed Jeok Mu-seong were entities not properly known even within the Martial Emperor Castle. It was said that the martial power of each of them was comparable to that of the heads of the Four Paths and Seven Families, which was also the reason why no one rebelled against Jeok Mu-seong.

Seated on the balcony, Jeok Mu-seong sipped his tea and nodded.

“I already know that.”

It could not be said that the waiter’s words were entirely true. Thus, when he heard all those stories and tried to combine them with the information brought by the shadows, everything was identical, so there was no need to think otherwise.

‘Foolish bastard.’

Jeok Mu-seong clicked his tongue and shook his head.

He knew that the man was impatient, but he had never dreamed that he would take the commoners of Yueyang hostage. Was it not just a matter of capturing Gwon Mu-jin?

He was foolish beyond measure.

“-Also… it is said that Ma Dok-jin and all his subordinates are dead.”

“Ugh…”

For a moment, Jeok Mu-seong gasped.

This was something even the waiter did not know.

For he had only said that someone had chased them away, and did not mention that the killers who committed the murder had died.

“Tsk, tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and sighed.

It was as if he had lost the meaning of coming all the way to Yueyang.

He regretted in hindsight that he should have hurried a little more, but there was no way to revive someone who had already become a corpse.

“Then, where are the corpses?”

“-They have gone missing.”

“Missing?”

It was information obtained by running around to provide more accurate details. Since it came from the mouth of the shadow and no other, it meant that they truly could not find the corpses.

Did they sink into the ground? Or did they soar into the sky?

Or perhaps those who blocked them burned their bodies.

Either way, it was not good.

Jeok Mu-seong, frowning, muttered.

“Do you know who the opponent is? There is no way they fell to Gwon Mu-jin alone. I heard even the Six Grim Reapers were there…”

“-There is a manor about two hours west of Yueyang. It seems it was done by the people living there.”

“A manor?”

“-It is called the Dan Family of Hunan.”

Is it a new Martial World family?

Jeok Mu-seong gasped with an even more dumbfounded expression. To think that Ma Dok-jin and the Six Grim Reapers were defeated by a family that had barely just been formed?

What could be more embarrassing than this?

“-Currently, their name is spreading wide in Yueyang.”

Rumors always spread like the wind.

For now, it was something that happened here and only the people here knew about, but it would soon spread to the entire Central Plains, and the name of the Dan Family of Hunan would resound throughout the land.

In particular, it was also something that gave strength to the orthodox bastards.

The unorthodox path and the orthodox path were at war. In such a situation, if the story that a descendant of the Ma Family was defeated got out, it would certainly not look good.

“It can’t be helped.”

Jeok Mu-seong sipped the last of his remaining tea and stood up. It did not matter if such rumors spread. No, he just had to make it not matter.

Although they killed Ma Dok-jin and the Six Grim Reapers, the Martial Emperor Castle handed down judgment and crushed them so thoroughly that not even a trace remained!

He just had to create such a rumor.

Jeok Mu-seong smiled and moved.

‘Well, then…’

“Where did you say it was?”

‘Shall I go?’

* * *

Having moved quickly from Hunan, Jang Sam-tae rode his horse without rest and had already arrived near Sichuan. Considering the time he departed, it was an extremely fast speed.

Did he look exhausted, though?

Not at all.

The reason was that Dan Woo-hyun had given them a considerable amount of money, and thanks to that, they were able to hire a carriage and a driver to travel comfortably all day long.

The one dying of exhaustion was the driver.

In the end, although they had to change carriages every time they stopped by a large town, it still had the advantage of allowing them to travel at such a fast speed.

But now.

At the same time they entered Sichuan, the carriage broke down, and because of that, the two were forced to travel on foot.

In the mountains.

Yes, in the mountains.

Right before parting ways with the driver, he had said that if they just went in the direction he pointed, a large town would surely appear, but no matter how far they walked, there were only mountains, water, rocks, and forests.

Why did it turn out like this?

Jang Sam-tae gritted his teeth hard.

“That bastard! He tricked us!”

“It’s because of you! How hard did you have to drive him for that to happen?”

Ma Jang-gang looked at Jang Sam-tae with a dumbfounded expression.

Originally, the person who did the most work in the manor was Jang Sam-tae. There was no one who did not know that, and they also knew well that if he did not work, the manor itself would not run.

Thus, he lived a life no different from a slave.

Such a man had started to drive the drivers as if he had picked a day for it. He urged them along the road without even letting them sleep properly for three days, and when they had to camp because no town was in sight, he even made them hunt.

Where would there be drivers who could endure that?

“From what I see, that driver broke the wheel on purpose. You know? Because of you!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Nonsense! There’s no way a perfectly fine wheel would suddenly break! Besides, what were you doing right before the wheel broke?”

“I was eating.”

Jang Sam-tae answered casually.

Because the only thing he could remember was eating.

“He was a guy who couldn’t even sleep properly because he stood night watch, and though he was hungry, didn’t you give him only a handful of the meat he hunted?”

“Well, since the amount was small… Still, I paid him properly.”

“You didn’t even give him half!”

Ma Jang-gang held his throbbing head and sighed.

If it were him, rather than earning money while being treated worse than a slave, he would choose to break a wheel and part ways. Considering that the driver was grinning even though he didn’t receive even half the money, it was unmistakable.

The driver broke the wheel and purposely gave them bad directions.

“Oh, my poor fate. How did I end up escorting a guy like this…”

“Ah, seriously, if you don’t like it, just go back. I am perfectly fine on my own.”

“That’s exactly why I can’t do that, isn’t it!”

“Why can’t you? If you go back to where you used to be instead of the manor, would our Lord really chase you down and break your jaw?”

“Th-That’s not it, but…”

Ma Jang-gang caressed his jaw with a pale face.

He had only heard about it, but he already felt as if his jaw had been crushed. The shiver down his spine made him feel that even thinking about it was bad for his health.

However, Jang Sam-tae waved his hand, as if he did not care in the least about Ma Jang-gang’s thoughts.

“You know our Lord’s personality, don’t you? Even if you just leave, he won’t chase you or anything. He hates bothersome things so much… You just shouldn’t show your face next time.”

“You certainly make it sound easy.”

“It’s not my problem, is it?”

Jang Sam-tae laughed merrily.

It felt as if he was teasing him. Because of this, Ma Jang-gang, rising in irritation, clenched his fists but gritted his teeth without bringing himself to hit him.

Throughout the journey, he had tried to beat him whenever he got annoyed, but Jang Sam-tae ran away every time. Although Ma Jang-gang took pride in his lightness art, he could not do anything about Jang Sam-tae’s lightness art.

He had to be able to catch up to him to hit him or do anything.

He only ground his teeth, and resentment built up in vain.

“If you aren’t going to run away, let’s get along instead of getting angry at each other. What’s good about grinding your teeth? It only spoils the mood.”

“It’s because of you, you son of a bitch!”

Watching Ma Jang-gang shout, Jang Sam-tae shrugged his shoulders. He still did not seem to properly understand what he had done wrong.

“Ah, why are you swearing? It makes the listener feel bad!”

“Nothing goes right because of you! I really don’t know why they ordered a guy like you to do this task. Seriously!”

“Isn’t it because it’s better than ordering you to do it?”

Ma Jang-gang clenched his fists and trembled.

The moment killing intent flashed in his eyes, Jang Sam-tae had already leaped far back. Since he did not even see him move, from Ma Jang-gang’s perspective, it was truly driving him crazy.

“Do you want to try? Even though I look like this, I learned directly from our Lord!”

“Shut up!”

Ma Jang-gang pressed hard on his throbbing forehead.

Talking to that guy only made him angry.

That made it even more annoying, and it felt like it would drive him crazy.

‘I will definitely catch you!’

Making that determination in his heart, Ma Jang-gang decided to devote himself to training in lightness arts starting today.

Did he read his thoughts?

Or did it show in his eyes?

Jang Sam-tae also determined to train harder in martial arts starting today.

At that time.

Jeok Mu-seong stood in front of the manor.

Who the opponent was, what kind of martial arts they used, whether they belonged to the orthodox path, the unorthodox path, or the Demon Sect, such things did not interest him.

Jeok Mu-seong was one of the Five Emperors.

The one called the Flame Emperor.

He was counted among the absolute strongest of whom there were only five in the Central Plains. Since such a man thought about thoroughly crushing someone, there was no need to identify who the opponent was, what kind of martial arts they used, or even distinguish between orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic.

Standing in front of the main gate, he pondered.

Should he break it down and enter? Or should he leisurely open the gate, go inside, and slowly reveal his presence?

Since he had no intention of leaving anyone alive, it would not matter either way, but to him, it seemed to carry a very great meaning.

After thinking for a long time, Jeok Mu-seong made a decision.

Let’s break down the gate grandly and enter.

The moment he finished his thoughts and was about to slowly place his hand on it.

The gate opened with a creak.

Instantly, he started and his eyes widened. Although he had not sensed even the slightest presence, he saw a young child open the door and poke her head out.

The young girl was smiling brightly.

“Ah! There really is a guest! Wow… So-mi had no idea!”

“U-Uh?”

“Hehe, my dad told you to come in. He said not to do strange things outside.”

Jeok Mu-seong frowned.

To think they sent a young child like this even when they knew he had come? He let out a dumbfounded chuckle. He wondered for a moment if he should kill the child first, but soon changed his mind and nodded.

If he was to kill, he should kill grandly.

Was that not the way of a martial artist?

“Fine, lead the way.”

“Yes! Just follow So-mi!”

Dan So-mi opened the gate wide and let Jeok Mu-seong inside. He felt that she was a truly wondrous child, as she did not show even a hint of fear.

As he took a step inside, the scenery of the manor entered his sight.

‘What is this… This is not at the level of a family, is it?’

That was the first thought that came to him.

What he saw from the outside simply gave him the impression that a manor was built on a vast piece of land. Since lofty pavilions were not something he had seen only once or twice.

However, the manor seen from the inside was so great that it made his eyes widen. The scenery was one thing, but all the buildings constructed here and there looked like the work of an extraordinary artisan.

Just what was the identity of this manor?

Jeok Mu-seong suddenly grew curious about the identity of the manor’s master.

“Dad is over there! Since it’s adults’ talk, So-mi will step aside!”

“Y-Yeah, go ahead.”

Dan So-mi waved her hand and scurried away.

She felt like a somewhat scatterbrained child.

Jeok Mu-seong, who was quietly watching So-mi’s retreating figure, only then slowly turned his head to look in the direction she had pointed.

In that place, three people were visible.

They were sitting quietly in a large pavilion, with a liquor bottle placed before them, playing Go. Even though Jeok Mu-seong, the master of the world-renowned Martial Emperor Castle, had come, they did not pay the slightest attention to him.

Feeling somewhat offended by that, Jeok Mu-seong raised his momentum. The internal energy he possessed suppressed the surroundings in an instant, revealing its power.

Tak!

However, the moment the sound of a Go stone being placed was heard!

“…!”

Jeok Mu-seong realized that his entire flow had been cut off.

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