Chapter 222: Chapter 222

“It is a place that suddenly popped up when the Martial Emperor Castle invaded Shaanxi. At first, we just laughed it off as a joke…”

Gi Cheonyu grimaced as he recalled the past.

Worship the Martial God.

If you do, blessings will come, your body will neither die nor age, and you will escape the human realm to ascend to the immortal realm.

Such words began to circulate around the time the Martial Emperor Castle started its invasion of Shaanxi. It was a time when the Nine Sects and One Gang were split in half, and Mount Hua did not even have the spare strength to properly block the Martial Emperor Castle.

At that time, when the people, who had been looking only to the Nine Sects and One Gang… especially Mount Hua… lived in constant anxiety, wondering if the region would become the territory of the unorthodox path.

The ones who dug into the people’s anxious minds were none other than those of the Martial God Cult.

Their preaching moved the hearts of many.

Not to mention those who had learned martial arts, but even the commoners who did not know a single martial arts move.

They thought it would soon disappear when the Martial Emperor Castle withdrew from Shaanxi, but instead, the situation turned even more serious.

Famous wanderers tried to capture the cult leader, but as they knelt one after another before that overwhelming power, the people became even more enthusiastic.

Within a few months, fanatics emerged, and incidents occurred here and there.

“What kind of incidents happened?”

“S-some parents dedicated their own children to the cult leader. Some offered their entire fortunes, and another person even killed dozens of people by swinging a sword in the streets, claiming to execute those who did not follow the cult leader’s teachings.”

It certainly did not end with just one or two occurrences.

Even in the village where Mount Hua was located, someone wielded a sword to harm people, and in Xi’an, there was also a person who caused a disturbance in the marketplace and killed dozens of people.

In addition, those who did not have money to offer to the cult leader did not hesitate to commit robbery, and there were also those who sold their own children to raise the money.

They really seemed to not even value their own lives.

“Now, just hearing the word ‘martial’ of the Martial God makes my skin crawl.”

Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth twitched.

It was not that he particularly attached meaning to such a title, but his skin crawled just from the fact that there were people defiling his name.

However, it was the same now as it was in the past.

The Blood Demon Cult, the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the like.

Once people began to worship and follow someone, blind followers were bound to appear, and as a result, this kind of ruin would occur.

This was especially true if the person at the very top was abnormal.

Just as it had been with the Blood Demon and the Black Wind Demon God.

Dan Woo-hyun let out a small sigh.

“I see…”

Dan Woo-hyun turned his back.

He decided it was no longer worth listening to. If he had thought they possessed any information, he might have questioned them a bit more, but no matter how he looked at it, pursuing those bastards seemed impossible.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? You’re just leaving?”

“It does not look like any good will come of staying here.”

Step, step.

The two men disappeared into the darkness once again. When not even a trace of them could be seen and the sound of their footsteps could no longer be heard, Gi Cheonyu sighed and sank to the ground.

“Whew… he is truly a terrifying man. The moment our eyes met, I felt like I was being sucked in.”

“He seemed like an incredible master. Perhaps he is someone who has reached the realm of the Ten Venerables or the Seven Stars…”

“At any rate, let us return to Mount Hua. We must hand over the captives, report what happened, and continue to pursue those bastards.”

At Gi Cheonyu’s words, the Five Swords of Mount Hua nodded.

Although it was a terrifying experience, there were more urgent matters than that.

* * *

“See, there was no way he would just go.”

Until now, Dan Woo-hyun had deliberately avoided crowded places. However, after hearing about the Martial God Cult, he entered Xi’an as soon as dawn broke.

Since both of them were walking with their faces covered, people’s stares fell upon them from all directions.

The patrol officers even stared at them with suspicious eyes.

“Are you really planning to catch them?”

“It is for amusement.”

Jang Sam-tae knew.

Although he did not know what kind of journey Dan Woo-hyun was on, he knew that he was moving in a hurry to finish the work as quickly as possible.

Because of that, he also knew that Dan Woo-hyun was trying not to pay attention to other matters.

Yet, in the end, this place called the Martial God Cult caught Dan Woo-hyun’s footsteps.

‘Fools.’

Out of all the people, they just had to provoke Dan Woo-hyun’s temper?

Though it was not something Jang Sam-tae, the one who provoked Dan Woo-hyun’s temper the most, should say, he already had a premonition that this would never end well.

“But still. How are we supposed to catch those whom even Mount Hua could not catch?”

Jang Sam-tae found that part the hardest to understand.

Mount Hua was by no means foolish. Not only their information-gathering power, but their strength was also once at the top of the Nine Sects.

Considering why they could not pursue the Martial God Cult, it meant that the cult was structured as a point-to-point network and did not expose its tail easily.

‘They missed a golden opportunity.’

The cult leader was right in front of them, yet they let him escape. Perhaps from Dan Woo-hyun’s perspective, that itself was amusement.

They probably never dreamed that he would be the one to catch them.

He stole a glance at Dan Woo-hyun’s expression.

He was looking at Jang Sam-tae with a displeased expression.

“I was not thinking about anything.”

“I did not ask.”

“…”

Jang Sam-tae broke out in a cold sweat, feeling as if he had just stepped into hell and back.

Though he said nothing, Dan Woo-hyun seemed to have already read Jang Sam-tae’s thoughts.

Jang Sam-tae cleared his throat and spoke.

“Should we try searching the Haoma Gate?”

“If it were information that could be obtained from such a place, they would have been caught long ago.”

He knew that the information-gathering capability of the Haoma Gate was the best, but it was highly likely that Mount Hua had also searched the Haoma Gate. If nothing was revealed even in such a situation, going there would only result in their money being taken.

Moreover, there was also the incident from last time.

Dan Woo-hyun swallowed a small groan.

For now, it seemed like the time to get a room and watch the situation for a moment.

* * *

“Have you still not found him?”

The Blood Demon looked down with a displeased gaze at Man Hu-ryang, who had his head pressed against the floor.

Several months had passed since Dan Woo-hyun disappeared, and a similar amount of time had gone by since they learned of the Black Wind Demon God’s death.

Despite that, they could not find any trace of the vanished guy.

It would be fine if it were anyone else.

No, if it were the Dan Woo-hyun of the past, he would not have cared much.

But his movements were not the same as in the past. Nothing was more unsettling than a guy who did not know where he would bounce next.

Especially if that person was the Martial God, Dan Woo-hyun.

“I have deployed as many children as possible… but by no means…”

“What about the Hunan Dan Family?”

“There is no trace of his return. In the first place, letting the children approach near that place… is not easy.”

Man Hu-ryang replied with difficulty while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Every time he uttered words like failed, could not find, or did not know, he felt as if his heart was sinking.

It also felt as if his neck would fly off with every single word.

The Blood Demon looked down at Man Hu-ryang with an indifferent gaze.

Then, deciding this would not do, he snapped his fingers with a click. Suddenly, a dozen subordinates revealed themselves from the darkness.

Appearing while covered in a crimson mist, they prostrated themselves and bowed their heads before the Blood Demon.

‘Blood Ghost Birds!’

Man Hu-ryang shivered.

The Blood Ghost Birds were one of the assassin groups supporting the Blood Demon Cult. Their skills were to the point where even the Killing Pavilion was no match, and they were second to none when it came to secrecy.

Summoning them, even though they had kept themselves hidden until now, meant only one thing.

“Go. Kill the rats at the Hunan Dan Family and bring that daughter of his to me.”

Man Hu-ryang gasped.

Until now, the Blood Demon had not deployed those inside the Blood Demon Palace. He had always used those outside to plan and carry out his schemes.

For such a Blood Demon to deploy the Blood Ghost Birds meant, in the end.

‘Is he being cornered?’

Man Hu-ryang denied that thought in his mind, thinking there was no way.

However, it was definitely not an illusion that the Blood Demon sitting on the throne looked small today.

Denying that thought once again, he awakened his loyalty toward the master he believed in.

‘There is no way! Who is my master!’

Man Hu-ryang bowed his head.

* * *

Inside a room in the Xi’an inn, Jang Sam-tae wiggled his hand. Even that had been impossible last time, but now he was recovering to some extent, and he could move it little by little.

He silently stared at the window looking outside the room.

He saw the scene of people noisily coming and going.

To anyone, it looked like a scene where nothing would happen. However, he had to remain highly tense to prepare for an accident that might break out at any moment.

All around, warriors wearing swords were moving around while keeping watch.

The patrol officers were also looking around with fire in their eyes.

It meant the situation in Shaanxi was that bad.

“In the first place…”

Jang Sam-tae mumbled with a sigh.

It was a monologue uttered to himself even though there was no one to listen.

“Even if something happens, will anything come out of it?”

Jang Sam-tae, who had been watching outside for a full day, could not help but feel frustrated. Did anyone know the feeling of having to stare only out the window?

Dan Woo-hyun did not even come out of his room.

Since he even ate his meals in his room, it felt as if they had become shut-ins.

“It would have been better if we just went on our way, regardless of the Martial God Cult or whatever…”

He shook his head and sighed.

Even if they were descendants of the Martial God, it was obvious that they would have no direct connection to the Martial God anyway. If someone had a connection with a person from a thousand years ago, would they even be human?

“Just because one was lucky enough to learn the martial arts of the Martial God, there is no need to act like a disciple…”

That was the part Jang Sam-tae found frustrating.

Even if someone acquired and learned that martial art, was there a need to go so far as to protect that name? From Jang Sam-tae’s perspective, even that time was a waste.

It would be much better to run to Hunan right now and play with Dan So-mi instead.

Of course, he knew that Dan So-mi was not the same as before.

At that thought, his shoulders slumped.

‘Those damn cats…’

The white cat and the white tiger.

Just hearing those names made his skin crawl.

Ever since those guys appeared, Dan So-mi spent more time playing with them than spending time with Jang Sam-tae.

The more he thought about it, the gloomier it got.

It was not as if he could beat up things that could not even speak.

No, in the first place, he could not hit the white cat because of its nimbleness, and he could not lay a hand on the white tiger because he felt he might get bitten to pieces if he challenged it.

The gloomy Jang Sam-tae slumped his shoulders.

It was right then that a sound was heard from outside.

“Kyaaaak!”

It was a woman’s scream.

His gaze turned toward that direction.

In the middle of the marketplace, a woman fell to the ground, and a group of men snatched her purse.

Not only that, but others nearby quickly overturned stalls and began to run away after stealing the shopkeeper’s money.

“What is this?”

Jang Sam-tae stared blankly at it.

This was Xi’an, of all places.

It was incomprehensible that they would commit such acts even when the patrol officers were watching closely.

The patrol officers hurriedly chased after those who were fleeing in a rush.

However, it did not seem like they would be able to catch them.

“There are also those who are in league with them.”

Jang Sam-tae was startled by the voice that suddenly came.

Turning his head blankly, he saw Dan Woo-hyun standing there, holding his bamboo hat, though he did not know since when he had been there.

His gaze was fixed on the pursuing patrol officers. Though it looked like they were trying hard to catch them, they were actually tripping over on purpose to hinder their colleagues, guiding them so they could not catch the fleeing ones.

Dan Woo-hyun, who had been watching that behavior, spoke.

“Let us go out. I wish to look around the area.”

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