Chapter 287: Chapter 287

“Family Head! Family Head!”

Jang Sam-tae, who had run back to the manor in a hurry, hastily opened the gate and stepped inside.

Slam!

The opened door made a harsh sound as if it would break at any moment, but such a thing did not seem to matter to Jang Sam-tae in the least.

Gasping for breath, he looked around inside.

The people who should be there were not visible.

Although Sado Hak and Namgung Cheon were sitting and playing baduk, Dan Woo-hyun was not there.

Turning pale, Jang Sam-tae trembled all over.

“Why are you acting like that?”

Seeing this, Namgung Cheon asked.

Was it not amusing that he suddenly entered and was trembling like someone who had seen something he should not have?

At the question, Jang Sam-tae swallowed hard.

“Where… where did the Family Head go?”

“Huh? Come to think of it, I think it has been a while since he said he was going to the outhouse…”

“Eh…?”

Jang Sam-tae’s breathing grew slightly rougher.

“Are you back?”

Just then, a familiar voice was heard.

It was the voice of Dan Woo-hyun walking from the direction of the outhouse.

His clothing was the same as usual, and his expression was no different. The moment he saw that, Jang Sam-tae let out a sigh of relief, but he spoke anyway out of an uneasy feeling.

“Where have you been?”

“The outhouse.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes, why?”

Dan Woo-hyun spoke with a sincere expression.

“Look straight at my face!”

“Alright.”

“Was it really the outhouse?”

“How many times must I repeat the same thing for you to be satisfied?”

Jang Sam-tae squinted his eyes.

‘Was it really not him?’

However, the back of that figure looked so identical that he could not see it as anyone else.

Since even if he wore a mask, it was enough for him to recognize him instantly.

“Haha, what is going on for you to act like this?”

“No… I was just wondering if perhaps the Family Head participated in the tournament.”

“You fool! Why would we enter such a third-rate tournament? And if we were going to enter, would we have put masks on you guys?”

Sado Hak glared at him with an incredulous expression.

Moreover, it was Dan Woo-hyun of all people.

Since he was someone whose realm had already reached the heavens, did it make any sense for him to meddle in a tournament that was like a kids’ fight?

Also, Gwon Mu-jin was sent to participate under the name of the Gentleman Sword, and Jang Sam-tae under the mask of Ma Cheon-gun.

Because in reality, those two were the ones the Prince of Jin’s estate trusted.

Thus, if Dan Woo-hyun had entered, Namgung Cheon or Sado Hak would have directly stepped forward without placing masks on others.

“But he really looked exactly like the Family Head!”

“Haha, Family Head Dan. Did you really go out to that tournament?”

“You are speaking nonsense.”

Dan Woo-hyun looked at Jang Sam-tae as if it were truly absurd. The fed-up expression on his face did not seem like a lie at all.

Jang Sam-tae groaned.

Was it really a different person?

But that behavior and general aura were clearly Dan Woo-hyun’s!

“…I… must have been mistaken. Hahaha. Right? There is no way our Family Head would enter such a place, right?”

“Indeed, you thought wrong.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded and brushed past Jang Sam-tae. Without realizing it, Jang Sam-tae naturally looked at Dan Woo-hyun’s fist, and he saw a single drop of crimson blood splattered on it.

Shiver!

Jang Sam-tae looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a horrified expression.

Dan Woo-hyun, realizing that gaze, let out a small “Ah!”

“A wild boar appeared in the outhouse.”

“Where… where is that… wild boar?”

“I threw it away.”

“…Where?”

“Well… I do not know.”

Jang Sam-tae stared at Dan Woo-hyun with a speechless expression.

The moment he saw him smirk and walk past, he genuinely began to worry about his future.

* * *

Two days later, the main rounds of the Martial World tournament raised their curtains amid cheers.

At the tournament venue, which was prepared several times larger than usual, figures of the royal estates began to gather one after another, and countless constables and quite capable guards set up camp in all directions to escort them.

As they had put a great deal of effort into this tournament, they likely wished to bring it to a successful conclusion.

Especially from the perspective of the Prince of Geum’s estate.

“Hahaha, it was worth hosting it on such a large scale. Do you not agree?”

The Prince of Jin smiled gently at the words that drifted over.

Gathering so many people was with the intention of humiliating the Prince of Jin’s estate in front of everyone.

Since he could not possibly be ignorant of that, his insides were in turmoil, but because he could not curse openly, he had to offer at least a lukewarm smile.

“I heard that one of Yueyang’s newly rising families came out as the representative of your royal estate…?”

“Y… Yes. It is a place called the Hunan Dan Family, and they are quite skilled.”

The Prince of Jin replied with an awkward smile. Because it was not a place with as much influence as the Eight Great Families, he felt uneasy for no reason.

The Prince of Geum burst into a hearty laugh.

Since it felt like a sneer, the Prince of Jin frowned without realizing.

“It is alright, Father! We will definitely win this time!”

“Hahaha, since Ji-yak speaks like that, I suppose we shall have to watch.”

“Ha… Haha…”

At the brashly relaxed words of the Prince of Geum, the Prince of Jin had quite a hard time suppressing the anger that welled up inside him.

‘I will definitely crush you this time!’

Making that pledge, he prayed for the Hunan Dan Family’s victory.

* * *

Indeed, it was not an exaggeration to say that people formed a mountain and a sea.

Dan So-mi, seeing so many people for the first time in her life, also sparkled her eyes without hiding her surprise.

“Look! There are so many people.”

“Haha, indeed they are.”

Namgung Cheon and Sado Hak, who entered the arena and took their seats, laughed heartily as they looked at the massive crowd gathered there.

Although they wore bamboo hats because they did not want to reveal their faces to others, those seemed to attract people’s attention even more.

“Can those guys even see in front of them?”

“It looks like it would be extremely stuffy.”

Whispering voices were heard from all around.

The two old men smiled awkwardly, wondering if they had worn them for nothing.

However, because they could not show their bare faces in front of so many martial artists, it was an unavoidable choice.

“But I do not see Father.”

“He will come in a little bit. Did he not say he was going to the outhouse?”

“Yes…”

Dan So-mi nodded, her shoulders slightly slumped.

It felt as if it had already been an hour since he said he was going to the outhouse, yet he had not returned.

“Maybe he has severe constipation.”

“Is that so?”

“Let us feed him something good later. Hahaha.”

The moment Dan So-mi nodded readily, a roar of cheers suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Woaaaaah!

It was because those who would compete in the main rounds began to show themselves one by one.

Not only figures of the Eight Great Families, but also wanderers who had made quite a name for themselves.

Thanks to that, even more people visited this place than during the preliminaries, and the cheers showed no signs of stopping.

“The betting must be closed already, right?”

“Now, now… one should not carelessly touch such things.”

“What does it matter? So-mi.”

“Yes?”

“Who among those people do you think will win?”

Sado Hak asked, his eyes sparkling.

Though he did not enjoy gambling, thinking that guessing for fun was not bad, he asked Dan So-mi, who was the luckiest among them.

So-mi hummed, letting out a small sound.

She looked at the people visible from a distance one by one. Namgung So-hye was visible, and Jang Sam-tae was also there. Since there were many familiar faces, no matter whom she chose, those who were not selected would surely be disappointed.

Then, Dan So-mi pointed at someone.

“That mister over there.”

“Who?”

“That mister wearing the goblin mask.”

“Goblin?”

The two of them wore strange expressions as they looked at the place Dan So-mi pointed. Sure enough, they saw someone wearing a goblin mask standing blankly.

“…”

“…”

At that moment, the two of them were lost for words.

Because he wore a mask, his face was not visible. Yet, that by no means meant they could not recognize who he was.

Every person has a basic physical build and a unique energy, and among them, Dan Woo-hyun possessed a somewhat special energy.

Thus, the two old men recognized him instantly.

“What on earth is that fellow doing over there right now?”

“Ha… Haha…”

“Why? Is it someone you know?”

“Ah, no, it is not.”

The two of them broke into a cold sweat.

Come to think of it, they recalled the memory of Jang Sam-tae running back in a hurry near the end of the preliminaries. They figured that was probably because of this matter.

“An adult is meddling in a kids’ fight? Is he out of his mind?”

“Well… he must have had some reason for doing that, right?”

Although he was defending him, Namgung Cheon also wore quite a displeased expression. If things were like this, was the winner not practically decided already?

A sigh escaped from the mouths of the two.

Just then, as if they suddenly recalled something, Namgung Cheon and Sado Hak looked at each other.

Silence for a moment.

The moment they realized they were thinking the same thing, they cleared their throats.

“Ahem…”

“Ahem…”

The two of them rummaged through their chests.

Checking something and counting them one by one, they soon nodded.

“So-mi.”

“Yes?”

“Can you stay by yourself for a moment?”

“Of course! Will you be back soon?”

“Hahaha, it will not even take a single tea-drinking time.”

“Yes!”

Watching Dan So-mi nod readily, the two of them hurriedly rose from their seats. Their footsteps heading somewhere grew extremely rapid.

Passing through the countless crowd, they entered a back alley.

Normally, it was a place where not even people gathered, but today, they saw a vast number of people assembled.

The two of them stopped there.

“No, well… just trying it once…”

“Ahem, is such a game not beneficial once in a while? Haha.”

Hiding their mutual awkwardness, they stood in front of a man.

As the person taking bets slightly raised his head, Namgung Cheon suppressed his awkwardness and spoke carefully. His expression was like that of a child playing a prank behind an adult’s back.

“By chance, are there people who placed money on the man wearing the goblin mask?”

At the question, the man began to rummage through papers. After looking at them for quite a while, he gave a small nod.

“There are about two people. One of them placed a fairly large sum of money… but actually, the odds are not very…”

The man replied with a smirk. The winner of this tournament would surely be the people of the Prince of Geum’s estate, namely the late-generation disciples from the Heavenly Dao Society, yet some fool had placed a fortune of a hundred thousand taels.

The moment he shook his head.

“I will place all of this money on the one wearing the goblin mask.”

“Me too.”

“A… All of it?”

When the two of them nodded, the man wore a strange expression. Although he wore a terrifying mask, wearing such a mask did not make someone strong.

Thus, because many people considered the goblin-masked man out of the equation when betting, despite someone having placed a huge sum of a hundred thousand taels, he still had the highest payout rate in the tournament.

If by some miracle that person won, they could lay their hands on an enormous amount of money.

Of course, the probability of that happening, in the man’s mind, was truly slim.

The man harbored a sneer as he thought so.

“Hurry up and place the bet and give us the ticket! The child is waiting!”

“Understood.”

The man wore a strange expression, but he had no reason to stop them. Quickly reaching out to collect the cash, he handed over the ticket.

“Hehe…”

“Hahaha.”

The two old men walked away leisurely, wearing unseen smiles. The laughter softly slipping out felt somehow ominous.

Looking at them, the man trembled with an inexplicable anxiety.

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