Chapter 284: Chapter 284

Five days before the Martial World tournament.

For some reason, the entirety of Changsha, which had been heated with a festive mood, had settled down.

In the eyes of the martial artists who cast furtive glances, a turbulent air was visible, making it seem not at all strange if a sword fight broke out right then.

There was likely tension because the tournament was opening soon, but more than that, it was due to those who had been disappearing without a trace recently.

Over the course of a single night, colleagues, friends, or relatives vanished, with not even a trace of them to be found.

Naturally, they suspected the martial artists around them and were gnashing their teeth to take revenge.

And a group had gathered to resolve this situation.

Jang Sam-tae, Gwon Mu-jin, and Hong Won-chang.

Although they were few, there were no others as reliable as them. They stood facing a man in front of a small tavern at the entrance of Changsha.

The man, trembling and having a pale complexion, was unable to speak properly, perhaps cowed by the status of a County Magistrate.

“Is that really the truth?”

“It is true! There is not a single lie.”

At the man’s words, Hong Won-chang swallowed a groan.

This man was the only witness.

However, even when they pressed the man, nothing in particular came out. He merely said he saw a black shadow, or that a ghost was laughing in that darkness.

Or that it was very fast, and the way it fled while holding a person was like looking at a bird of prey.

Because he repeated the same things over and over, there was nothing that could serve as a clue.

Hong Won-chang held his throbbing head and pressed him a few more times, but the man only shivered.

“Was there really nothing else?”

“I have told you several times, but it was too dark to see anything. I only realized my companion had been taken later.”

The man beat his chest as if frustrated and vented his grief.

It was unfair enough that his companion had been taken and disappeared, and he seemed annoyed that they kept inquiring about that day’s events which he could not even recall.

“It does not seem like he is lying.”

Gwon Mu-jin muttered, dissuading Hong Won-chang from continuing to press the man.

From the perspective of the man who was both a victim and a witness, it was fully understandable for him to feel wronged.

“Sigh… This is a big problem.”

Hong Won-chang frowned.

The newly appointed County Magistrate of Changsha also took this situation seriously and had deployed constables, but since no clues came up, he had begged and requested help from the renowned Hong Won-chang.

Because if it was not resolved before the Martial World tournament opened soon, it was a crucial matter that could cost him his head.

Furthermore, if things went wrong, the spark might fly to Hong Won-chang as well.

“But does it really exist?”

At that moment, the cowering man stealthily asked.

It was something he could not believe even after seeing it with his own eyes, but seeing the rumors circulating in public and these people visiting him, it seemed unmistakable.

“The flesh-eating ghost.”

“Tut! How can you say such a bizarre thing! It is a groundless rumor with nothing confirmed yet.”

“But still…”

While casting furtive glances, the man tried his best to get an answer.

His companion had vanished before his eyes, and not even a trace of him could be found.

Moreover, since rumors that a flesh-eating ghost was roaming around were spreading in public, his thoughts naturally wandered in that direction.

“I told you there is no such thing! I will return later, so do not wander around uselessly and stay here.”

“Urgh… I understand.”

The man nodded with a dissatisfied expression.

His back, as he slowly walked into the tavern, looked heavy for some reason.

“What is a flesh-eating ghost?”

At that moment, Jang Sam-tae, whose face was swollen, asked carefully. The rumor about a ghost taking people away had only started circulating two days ago.

But a flesh-eating ghost all of a sudden?

Had human flesh been discovered somewhere?

“Have you not heard? There are rumors of a ghost that roams the Central Plains eating human flesh. I have only heard of it, but I do not know if it really exists.”

Hong Won-chang swallowed a groan.

Because it had not spread widely and most considered it a groundless rumor, he had brushed it off lightly.

However, because people were disappearing overnight, stories that the flesh-eating ghost actually existed and had entered this Hunan province seemed to be circulating.

It was indeed a bad situation.

“Does human meat taste better?”

“I told you it is a rumor. Furthermore, the current situation seems a bit different.”

Gwon Mu-jin thought, lending weight to Hong Won-chang’s words. If a flesh-eating ghost truly existed and had appeared in Hunan, traces of human flesh being consumed should have been found somewhere.

However, since they merely disappeared without any such traces, there was no connection between the flesh-eating ghost and the martial artists currently disappearing in Changsha.

Jang Sam-tae scratched his head vigorously.

“Actually, for this kind of problem… should that Zhuge Un fellow not be here? Why are we the ones going through this trouble?”

“Well… I do not know.”

As Gwon Mu-jin spoke after a pause, Jang Sam-tae let out a heavy sigh.

Then, he looked back and forth between Gwon Mu-jin and Hong Won-chang, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Gathering blockheads together and expecting to solve anything… Tsk tsk.”

“What?!”

“What?”

Gwon Mu-jin and Hong Won-chang glared at Jang Sam-tae.

Blockheads?

Setting aside Jang Sam-tae, Gwon Mu-jin and Hong Won-chang knew how to use their brains to some extent.

If not, how could one have risen to County Magistrate and the other gained a name in the Unorthodox Faction?

However, Jang Sam-tae refused to acknowledge that.

“No, think about it. What kind of person is Zhuge Un? Did they not say he is as devious as a snake and a genius when it comes to using his head?”

“Well… rumors are not to be trusted, but it is clear that such rumors exist.”

Hong Won-chang and Gwon Mu-jin nodded.

Indeed, Zhuge Un, who rolled his brain to play with opponents, was great enough that rumors circulated that he was more cruel than an evil spirit.

That was why even the Unorthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult targeted Zhuge Un as the highest priority for elimination over the Sword Emperor.

Yet to those who observed Zhuge Un by his side, those words did not resonate at all.

“But do you know the reason why we are suffering like dogs to investigate right now?”

The two of them listened closely to Jang Sam-tae.

It was a single statement that was strangely focusing.

Indeed, it was strange from the start that the smart Zhuge Yeon or Zhuge Un did not come to investigate the criminal.

Jang Sam-tae rubbed his sore face and grinned.

“They want us to do all the dog work while they take all the good stuff.”

“Crazy bastard…”

“Oh dear…”

Looking at Jang Sam-tae who was being so cynical, the two of them sighed.

They thought that, no matter what, he would not exploit people living together in the same family.

“…”

“…”

However, Gwon Mu-jin and Hong Won-chang soon looked elsewhere and pondered.

Although they knew the probability of that was not even ten percent, what if Zhuge Un only intended to move after all the investigations were done?

What if they did all the dog work while the credit went entirely to Zhuge Un?

It felt like it could become a highly unpleasant situation.

The two of them gnashed their teeth without realizing.

“Ahem! Let us look around more for now. I will go that way…”

“I will go this way.”

Gwon Mu-jin and Hong Won-chang moved in opposite directions.

Jang Sam-tae stared intently at them as they departed.

Then, he let out a long yawn and stepped inside the tavern.

“Then I will just drink alcohol and wait.”

Jang Sam-tae had chosen to do nothing from the beginning because he did not want to suffer like a dog and have the credit snatched by someone else.

* * *

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Zhuge Un, who was receiving and reviewing information, swallowed a groan. Since he had been doing that for nearly half a day, Namgung Cheon and Sado Hak could not help but feel frustrated.

The one who broke the silence in that situation was Dan Woo-hyun.

“Ah, have you come? These are the pieces of information brought from the Haohmen.”

“It is quite a large amount.”

“Haha, it needs to be at least this much to verify anything.”

Watching the smiling Zhuge Un, Dan Woo-hyun clicked his tongue.

An amount that was easily hundreds of pages rather than just one or two.

Yet Zhuge Un’s ability to read most of them in just half a day was not an exaggeration to call monstrous.

It was something Dan Woo-hyun could not possibly do.

“Is there any clue?”

“They are rumors flowing through the Central Plains recently. Things like the flesh-eating ghost… fortune tellers, or the Blue-Red Palace.”

“Ah, I have heard of that a few times too.”

Sado Hak replied while chewing on beef jerky.

He had also heard various rumors while coming here from Mount Tianshan, and there were a few interesting ones among them. Though the ones Zhuge Un mentioned were not all of them, they were the most amusing.

“A ghost that eats people… they say a dead fortune teller has returned to life… and the Blue-Red Palace, which consists only of women, goes around sucking the essence of men?”

“Haha, nothing has been confirmed yet.”

Zhuge Un smiled and nodded.

“But what need is there for that?”

Namgung Cheon tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

It was because he felt it had no connection to the matter Hong Won-chang was trying to solve. In the current situation, would the most suspicious one be the flesh-eating ghost?

“It has no relation, but since rumors often hold some truth, I am trying to look into them.”

Sado Hak and Namgung Cheon blinked their eyes.

To think the reason he read that massive amount of information so hard for half a day was merely to listen to rumors.

Was it not practically a meaningless action?

The most urgent matter right now was the issue Hong Won-chang had brought.

“Then what about Hong Won-chang’s matter…?”

“Ah… that matter?”

Zhuge Un let out a smirk.

“It has already been resolved.”

“W… What?”

“What does that mean?”

At the sudden statement, the two old men were startled and stared at Zhuge Un.

How could they not be surprised when someone who had not uttered a word until now suddenly declared the matter resolved?

Then, Zhuge Un calmed the two of them down and spoke.

“Actually, there was no need for me to step forward in this matter. Because I knew the culprit from the start.”

“Do not beat around the bush and speak straight. That Dongfang Gu fellow got beaten up every time because he did that.”

Sado Hak clenched his fist and frowned.

Those who used their heads always beat around the bush like that and got beaten up.

Zhuge Un broke into a cold sweat and backed away slightly.

“Did Jang Sam-tae not say so? That a shadow is originally black.”

“And? That is correct.”

“Haha, is it not strange? There is no way a shadow could be seen late at night, is there?”

At that single statement, the two of them wore shocked expressions.

In that case, Jang Sam-tae had spoken the correct answer from the very beginning.

Then on earth.

‘Why did that fellow get hit?’

The two of them looked at Dan Woo-hyun with peculiar expressions.

Though expressionless, Dan Woo-hyun broke into a cold sweat inwardly.

It was because he had simply dismissed it as Jang Sam-tae’s nonsense as usual.

‘Poor guy…’

‘Tsk tsk.’

They were people whose pity for Jang Sam-tae did not fade.

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