Chapter 369: Chapter 369

“W-What on earth is this…?”

The county magistrate swallowed, his hands trembling. In the alleys where people did not walk much, corpses that appeared to be Blood Heaven members were scattered here and there.

In addition, the Hyeongmun Sect, which held the greatest power here, had vanished without a trace, and the many vagabonds were also nowhere to be seen.

Hearing that corpses were lined up, the magistrate, who was hurriedly looking around those places, returned to the county office, feeling a chill run down his spine.

He sat on the steps, unable to even climb onto his chair.

This place was originally quiet.

Until now, there had never been a proper sword fight, nor had any major incidents to speak of occurred. Therefore, because it was his first time seeing this many corpses, he could not control his wildly trembling heart.

“Sigh…”

Wiping away his cold sweat, the magistrate caught his breath.

The Hyeongmun Sect collapsed, and the Blood Heaven forces all became corpses. When just clearing away those bodies was a burdensome situation, what would happen if this fact became known to the place called Blood Heaven?

It would never be something that could end with a laugh.

As if the thought alone was horrifying, the magistrate shuddered.

The hunger he felt until just a moment ago also vanished. That was how shocking the things he had engraved in his eyes were.

“Are you alright?”

A voice was heard.

It rang in his ears like a small bird’s chirp. When the magistrate slowly raised his head, a small child was in front of him. Come to think of it, he had forgotten that there were guests who came up from Yueyang.

Where did everyone go, leaving such a small child behind?

“Ha… Haha. I-I am fine. More than that, where did the other adults go? Why are you alone?”

“Well… everyone seemed busy, so they left me behind and went away. They told me to stay here and not move a muscle. I am bored, though…”

Dan So-mi frowned her pretty face with a dissatisfied expression. Coming all the way to Hubei after a long time, she seemed highly displeased that she could not sightsee anything.

In her heart, she wanted to spring out immediately.

However, the magistrate’s state and the strange atmosphere floating everywhere held this small child’s steps.

“It is very noisy outside, right?”

The magistrate let out a bitter smile.

It was natural to be noisy.

Corpses were found everywhere, and the constables were moving to clear them away. Since even the screams and resentment of those who had family in the Hyeongmun Sect did not cease, there was no way the clamor would fade easily.

“Yes, it is a bit like that. So never go outside.”

“You are saying the same thing as Uncle Zhuge.”

Dan So-mi shrugged her shoulders.

Zhuge Un was in the annex. He was busily rolling his brain, wondering what he was doing. Therefore, out of boredom, she had crawled out to this place without realizing it.

“It is because it is d-dangerous.”

“Ah.”

Dan So-mi had realized something, letting out a small gasp. Soon, she slowly looked outside and let out a soft sigh, saying ‘Ehew’.

The magistrate, who did not know what that series of actions was due to, could only stare with a strange expression and tilt his head.

“Ah, it is nothing. Then I will go.”

Saying so, Dan So-mi walked off quickly. Watching the child gradually disappear, the magistrate tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

He became curious about what on earth made that child sigh.

Contrary to the magistrate, Dan So-mi, who had entered the annex before she knew it, stared intently at the wall. Zhuge Un was not coming outside, and no matter how large the county office was, there was strictly a difference between inside and outside.

She tried to jump, sticking close to the wall.

However, the high wall could not be easily crossed with this small child’s height.

“Okay…”

Dan So-mi slowly stepped back.

With a determination to surely cross this wall, she shone her eyes brightly and applied force to her legs. In an instant, the sleeping internal energy gathered in her legs.

In Dan So-mi’s head, the image of Jang Sam-tae, with whom she ran every day, was clearly engraved. The moment she tried to run while recalling those movements one by one.

“Growl.”

A sound was heard.

When Dan So-mi looked back in surprise, the White Tiger revealed itself, appearing from who knew when. It held a strange booklet in its mouth, and carefully bringing it, it laid it down in front of Dan So-mi.

“What is this?”

“Growl.”

The White Tiger rubbed its head against the booklet as if saying something. That behavior even looked joyful, as if it had obtained something good.

Dan So-mi, who was fully intent on going outside, picked up the booklet, her eyes flashing.

Then she slowly read down the title.

“Martial God… Scriptures?”

This was definitely the same book she had discovered last time. The one she could never find again because she had surely dropped it in the water.

How did it bring it in its mouth?

Dan So-mi looked at the White Tiger with a strange expression.

However, the White Tiger also tilted its head as if it did not know the reason.

“Where did… this come from?”

“Growl, growl.”

The White Tiger lay down its large bulk.

Soon, it seemed to slowly open its eyes, and thumped the ground with its large paw.

Confirming all of those actions, Dan So-mi let out a gasp.

“You were sleeping, and it was suddenly just there?”

At that single statement, absurdly, the White Tiger nodded.

The human and the beast having a conversation even seemed to have no discomfort in communication at all.

The White Tiger continued to growl, and Dan So-mi, with her arms crossed, nodded and listened to the talk seriously.

“Strange. Did Myo-a pick it up?”

Dan So-mi glanced at the White Cat.

The fellow lying soundly on the floor opened its eyes briefly. Then, losing interest, it closed its eyes, and seeing that appearance, it did not seem to be the culprit.

“Could it be a ghost?!”

At Dan So-mi’s sudden words, the White Tiger perked up its ears. Shaking its head while making a small sound, even this massive White Tiger seemed to fear ghosts.

However, the White Cat did not seem to care about ghosts, opening its eyes briefly, snorting, and closing them again.

The ones who widened their eyes were rather Dan So-mi and the White Tiger.

Whether getting goosebumps, the White Tiger shook its head, and Dan So-mi rubbed her arms.

“Phew… It is incomprehensible.”

Dan So-mi looked at the book with both hands, wiping away her cold sweat.

Martial God Scriptures.

Surely, looking at such a title written still gave her goosebumps. Swallowing a small groan with a ‘hm’, she checked the book here and there once more.

A somewhat worn booklet.

It felt like it would crumble if touched even slightly roughly.

Dan So-mi slowly turned a page.

It was full of densely written letters.

The moment she saw it, Dan So-mi.

“What is written here?”

Tilting her head at the incomprehensible writing, she wore a puzzled expression.

“Aigoo, save Sam-tae!”

It was exactly at that moment that Jang Sam-tae’s voice was suddenly heard.

* * *

“Aigoo!”

“You lunatic, quit exaggeration!”

“It really hurts!”

Jang Sam-tae frowned. The place sliced by the sword was extremely painful. It was not a shallow cut but a deep one, and no matter how much they stopped the bleeding and performed emergency treatment, the wound would not heal in a short time.

Jang Sam-tae’s complexion was deathly pale.

He did not look like the person who had been shouting toward the Sichuan Tang Family until just a moment ago.

Sa Do-hak, who was carrying him on his back, frowned, displeased with something. For a martial artist, a deep wound or two was bound to happen.

Among those living in this Murim, where was a fellow who had not been slashed?

Sa Do-hak had several wounds much deeper than Jang Sam-tae’s.

However, the problem was.

That he had no internal energy capable of enduring such a wound.

‘Medical methods are useless. In the end, must we leave it to heaven?’

Although the bleeding stopped, the wound was not healed. Since they could not sew up the sliced organs, utilizing herbal medicine and acupuncture was useless.

It had already surpassed the scope treatable by medicine.

Thus, there was no choice but to block internal bleeding with internal energy and heal the wound through meditation.

This was the reason why internal injuries were more terrifying than external wounds.

Also, the method to surely treat internal injuries was the internal energy one possessed.

‘If only that Dan fellow was here at a time like this, it would be different…’

A long sigh leaked from Sa Do-hak’s mouth.

If Dan Woo-hyun had been here, the situation might have been different. Even Sa Do-hak, who boasted of being one of the world’s Five Emperors and received reverence from martial artists, could only do so much as to channel his internal energy to hold onto Jang Sam-tae’s lifeline.

The reason being.

“Am I dying?”

At that moment, Jang Sam-tae’s voice was heard.

He realized his strength was gradually fading, and seeing that no action was being taken, he might have felt his end.

Sa Do-hak did not say anything, and then, deciding it was no use, he sighed and spoke.

“The cultivation method you learned is too trashy. With that, even if I inject internal energy, your internal injuries cannot be healed. It is a miracle you learned such lightness art with that cultivation method.”

There are elixirs that can control internal energy and internal injuries. Sa Do-hak had picked up a few before leaving the Demonic Cult, and one of them was in his breast pocket.

However, with the cultivation method Jang Sam-tae possessed, absorbing the medicine’s energy was impossible in this situation.

“Ah… damn it… that cursed old man… he said it was a cultivation method like no other under heaven…”

“You lunatic, a cultivation method like no other under heaven would be learned by that Dan fellow.”

“Th-Then bring that Dan fellow here…”

Sa Do-hak let out an absurd laugh.

Was Dan Woo-hyun a guy who would come just because he was called? Also, how could he call someone in Hunan right now? Even if he did, there was no guarantee he would hand over the cultivation method.

“Th-Then tell me your cultivation method, Old Man.”

“What a lunatic…”

Sa Do-hak looked at Jang Sam-tae with a bewildered expression. Teaching the Demonic Cult’s cultivation method, especially Sa Do-hak’s own, was equivalent to saying he would become the next Demonic Cult Leader.

However, the cultivation method Sa Do-hak was learning was different in its path from the original Heavenly Demon Divine Art, so perhaps Jang Sam-tae could learn it.

Sa Do-hak swallowed a groan.

‘Should I save him? Or kill him?’

“However, several more energies are inside your body. Even if you learn mine, it won’t be perfect.”

“What does that mean?!”

“Who told you to learn in such a cluttered way!?”

“Damn it, who was the one that taught me?!”

“What? Damn it? Do you really want to die?”

“Kill me! Kill me, you son of a bitch!”

Whether he acted recklessly because he was going to die anyway, Jang Sam-tae shouted loudly, pressuring Sa Do-hak. Even though Sa Do-hak raised his fist, his face turning bright red, Jang Sam-tae glared with wide eyes.

Since he had already sensed his death, it was a manner of dying this way or that.

“What is wrong?”

At that moment, Dan So-mi ran over and asked. Initially, she wore a puzzled expression, but upon confirming Jang Sam-tae’s appearance, she gasped and covered her mouth.

The book held in her hand fell with a thud.

“Why is it like this?! Uncle, are you alright?”

“So… So-mi… even without this uncle, you must eat well, dress well, and live well…”

“Uh… Uwahhh… Do not be scary like that!”

Dan So-mi burst into tears and held Jang Sam-tae. Perhaps because she felt he would disappear somewhere if she let go, she held tightly and did not let go.

At that moment, Sa Do-hak, who picked up the fallen booklet, turned it page by page with a serious expression. Nearly half was filled with essays about the Martial God and the Blood Demon, but when he turned to the very last page, strange sentences stimulated his gaze.

Sa Do-hak frowned, but soon let out a sigh.

“Has some heavenly luck dwelt in this fellow?”

“Yes?”

“No… nothing. We have no time, so sit cross-legged.”

Sa Do-hak looked at Dan So-mi with an absurd expression. Was this also this child’s heavenly luck? If not, was it someone else’s trick?

Whichever side it was, saving Jang Sam-tae was the priority right now.

“Never think of anything else. Since I am also channeling true qi exactly as I see in the book, if it goes wrong, it cannot be undone.”

“What on earth is it for you to be like this?!”

“Shut up, swallow this, and sit! If you do not want to die!”

At Sa Do-hak’s scolding, Jang Sam-tae was left speechless.

And.

“Oh my…”

Someone looked at that sight and wore a perplexed expression. As the situation flowed differently from what he had thought, an absurd chuckle formed at the corners of his mouth.

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