Chapter 381: Chapter 381

“There was a ghost?”

“Yes. Really!”

Dan So-mi, who returned home, clung to Dan Woo-hyun with a tearful face.

Although it made no sense and was a fact she actually didn’t want to believe, the situation that unfolded before her eyes was reality and could not be denied.

The child, shedding tears like chicken droppings, did not try to separate from Dan Woo-hyun’s side no matter what.

“That is indeed… interesting. A ghost?”

“Hahaha, isn’t it that you saw wrong?”

“No! I said it was really there!”

When Namgung Cheon asked back with a dumbfounded expression, Dan So-mi, perhaps finding Namgung Cheon hateful for not believing her words, approached before anyone knew it and patted his chest.

Namgung Cheon, finding that action extremely cute, stroked her head.

“Haha, but it is interesting. A ghost? If it can be seen, I would like to see it once.”

Zhuge Un shined his eyes with an interested expression.

Although he had no interest at all if it was not realistic, it seemed that if such things actually appeared before his eyes, he wanted to investigate in detail why such a phenomenon occurred.

At his curiosity, many shook their heads.

“There really are ghosts. Because I have seen one before.”

At that moment, Jeok Mu-seong, who was sweeping the yard, wore a grin and spoke.

While seeming to tell an old story, his gaze was directed toward young Dan So-mi.

Whether he found it amusing that she instantly got scared at the word ghost, the stories flowing from his mouth were also nothing but scary ones.

“One day, while climbing a mountain, I saw a woman wearing white mourning clothes, but before I knew it, she vanished cleanly. I was so startled that goosebumps broke out.”

“And… what happened next?”

“I was so dazed that I turned my back just to go down… and right in front of my eyes!”

“Kyaaaak!”

“Aaaaah, I can’t hear anything!”

Dan So-mi screamed, and Namgung So-hye covered both her ears. As if she did not want to hear anything more, she violently denied Jeok Mu-seong’s voice that was heard.

“Come to think of it, I also have one. It is an event that happened at the Martial Sovereign Castle, though…”

“At the Martial Sovereign Castle?”

When the story about the Martial Sovereign Castle came up, Jeok Mu-seong’s eyes shined brightly.

Come to think of it, there was a time when a bizarre story was heard.

“You mean the ghostly wailing?”

“Indeed. Was there not actually a time when ghostly wailing was heard whenever it was late night? Just like a child’s crying voice.”

“Ah, I know, I know. I also lost sleep a few times because of that.”

Thinking of that time, Jeok Mu-seong frowned.

It was the voice of a sobbing and weeping woman to the extent that he could not sleep properly for days and nights. It was an incident where even most of those sent to grasp the cause turned devastated like people who had seen something they shouldn’t.

“Did… such a thing happen too?”

“Hing…”

“Yes, at that time, under the Castle Lord’s command, myself and a few others were dispatched further to investigate the cause.”

“Oho, was it you who went back then?”

Gwon Mu-jin nodded.

Thinking of that time, he took a deep breath for a moment and wore a bitter expression. Although it was just for a split second, his eyes shook violently, which alone brought fear to the two women.

“That sound came from the side of an abandoned building that was not used even in the Martial Sovereign Castle, and the path to it was as desolate as the road to the underworld.”

Jeok Mu-seong nodded.

He had gone to that path only once. He had never gone again since then, the reason being that if one walked, it became unknown whether they were in the living world or the underworld.

“Moreover, they say many people also died in that place.”

“Because it was a place used as an execution ground.”

“Urrr… s-so what was that sound?”

Gwon Mu-jin looked at the shivering Namgung So-hye with an amused gaze. She looked considerably terrified while rubbing her arms.

It was hard to believe she was an expert who even underwent marrow cleansing.

That was why it was even more amusing, wasn’t it?

“When we arrived and opened the door of the place where the sound came from…”

“O-Opened…”

“The sound gradually drew further away. And there was no one inside.”

“Heh…!”

“Umm…”

Gwon Mu-jin was still dumbfounded, thinking of that time. He wondered how such a thing could happen in the world.

Gwon Mu-jin let out a grunt and wore a resentful expression.

“We… had no choice but to follow. Because it was none other than the Castle Lord’s command.”

“Praiseworthy, indeed! Yes, that’s what makes us the unorthodox faction!”

Jeok Mu-seong clapt his hands.

Actually, he could not hear the story properly at that time. It was partly because everyone was devastated, and for some reason, they did not want to speak.

Hearing that story now, the feelings of that time emerged vividly.

“And… what happened in the end?”

Dan So-mi looked at Gwon Mu-jin with an anxious gaze and asked. The name ‘ghostly wailing’ alone was enough to make one’s skin crawl, and she looked at Gwon Mu-jin, who had to go forward to find that ghost, with a pitiful gaze.

“On that day, the wind blew exceptionally violently and not even moonlight seeped in… the silence where not even insect cries were heard felt like it drove us further into a corner.”

“Haha, just hearing it makes my skin crawl.”

Even Namgung Cheon agreed and nodded. If he had also been in the same situation as Gwon Mu-jin, he might not have stepped forward easily.

“Before long, we stopped in the spot where the sound was heard, but the ghost was not visible. However, whoosh! Whoosh! Something brushed past our backs.”

“Ugggh…”

“I-I don’t like it…”

The faces of everyone turned pale. Even if they rubbed their arms and tried hard not to hear, they could not easily shake off Gwon Mu-jin’s voice piercing in.

Soon, Gwon Mu-jin wore a fearsome expression and looked at Dan So-mi.

“The moment we turned our heads to find the cause!”

“Th-The moment?”

Gwon Mu-jin’s eyes rose fiercely.

Looking only at his expression, it was indeed no different from a fierce god of slaughter. It was a shocked expression that showed the feelings of that time intactly.

“There, a cat in heat was…”

“…….”

“…?”

“Huh?”

Everyone wore dazed expressions.

However, Gwon Mu-jin also had an absurd expression.

Although he discovered it, he was still dumbfounded.

A commotion arose, called ghostly wailing, and due to that, Jeok Mu-seong could not even sleep properly for several days. In the end, to think that what they found by moving under the Castle Lord’s command was merely a cat in heat?

Wasn’t it an absurd ending?

“A… cat in heat? I have never heard such a report, though?”

“I am telling you now, but… how could we submit such a report? That, as it turned out, the Castle Lord could not sleep because of a single kitten in heat, and ultimately sent a search party. Everyone just kept quiet.”

Gwon Mu-jin caught his breath with an expression of finally feeling relieved. If this fact had spread within the Martial Sovereign Castle, Jeok Mu-seong would have been mocked by many.

“Keh…”

“Heh… really…”

“It’s dumbfounding.”

“What is that, seriously!”

Everyone cast absurd gazes.

But could anyone match Jeok Mu-seong?

Holding the back of his aching head, he groaned.

Unlike Gwon Mu-jin’s relieved expression, Jeok Mu-seong’s face was already flushed bright red.

* * *

“What is this?”

Having filled his belly, Mu Cheon-pung traced his memory over and over and found the place where the treasure was buried. In that place, Lake Dongting was right in front, and since the surroundings were not private land, it was a place where people did not even easily come and go.

Yes, it could definitely be called a perfect place where there was no way anything would be built.

However, arriving at that place, a house was built right there.

Even in the middle of Yueyang or Changsha, a manor so grand that it would be no exaggeration to say such a splendid and spacious house could not be found, was there.

He stared intently at the plaque of that place.

Hunan Dan Family.

The four written characters, just with their handwriting like a soaring dragon, raised the speculation that they might have been written by a considerable master. Even checking the overall thing, it looked clear that people were living inside.

“No… what on earth…”

Wondering if he had come to the wrong place, he traced his memory once again.

However, the surrounding scenery was familiar.

Therefore, this was unmistakably the place.

Under that grandly built manor, all of his property was hidden.

And deep underground, at that.

Although it was a far distance, the presences of people were clearly felt. Since there seemed to be even those who would be quite prominent among them, Mu Cheon-pung could not move carelessly.

“Aigo, my money…”

He swallowed his tears.

Or, the thought arose whether someone had discovered his money and built this manor. However, he soon denied that thought, because the depth at which the treasure was hidden was considerable.

Since it was to the extent that an adult man could stand vertically and even his head would fit in, it could not be easily found unless one dug the ground like crazy.

‘Should I sneak in and steal it?’

He had such thoughts, but soon shook his head.

Originally, stealing was not his hobby.

Also, there seemed to be those with considerable gongfu inside, and to Mu Cheon-pung, who had not yet reclaimed his original strength, such behavior was like a gamble.

Even if, by chance, there was royalty in that place, things about Mu Cheon-pung would become known and numerous military officers would begin pursuing him again.

Mu Cheon-pung, who wanted to decline that above all, sat on the ground.

“What should I do?”

Mu Cheon-pung thought and thought.

However, an answer did not come easily.

While racking his brains for a long time like that, a single thought brushed past his head.

“Aha!”

Slapping his knee, he wore a bright smile.

There was no need to sneak in, was there?

Since a manor that large would surely have quite a lot of servants and underlings, if he went inside and asked them to let him work, a slight possibility would arise.

Then, he could watch for a gap, take the treasure, and run away.

To rack his brains over such a simple task.

It was because his brain did not work well due to being locked up for a long time.

Mu Cheon-pung wore a grin.

Reclaim his property again and leave this Central Plains. Since if he just had money, he could live boastfully and well wherever he went, there was no need to remain in this Central Plains.

‘I can just go to that far east… before that, catching and beating that fellow up, of course.’

Having thought up to that point, Mu Cheon-pung let out a pleasant laugh. Getting revenge and reclaiming his money, although it was somewhat insufficient to be called a reward for the twenty years of life spent locked in prison, right now Mu Cheon-pung’s goals were only those two.

Having resolved, Mu Cheon-pung did not hesitate.

Since he had to look a bit more shabby to gain sympathy, he rolled on the ground, dirtying his clothes further, and smeared dirt thickly on his face.

It was to the extent that even his original face could not be recognized.

Confirming his face visible in the waves of Lake Dongting, Mu Cheon-pung nodded with satisfaction.

This level was perfect.

“Now! Shall we go!”

Prepared, Mu Cheon-pung walked proudly toward the Hunan Dan Family.

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