Chapter 456: Chapter 456

“Kkeueueu…….”

Hong Won-chang was not dead yet.

It was no exaggeration to say that his whole body had been torn apart by torture, but his tenacious vitality was like that of a cockroach, and he was still breathing.

He looked at the people in front of him with a blurry vision.

Several men sat in front of Hong Won-chang as if guarding him, constantly checking his physical condition.

Perhaps to keep him alive to inflict more pain, they did not forget to provide minimal treatment.

In fact, the biggest reason Hong Won-chang was still alive was that they tortured him just enough not to kill him, and then treated him afterward.

Hong Won-chang checked ahead with a blurry gaze and wriggled his hands that were tied behind his back.

He had slipped a broken blade from his torture into his sleeve, and it was time to use it.

“We should just kill him quickly. I really don’t know why he keeps hesitating.”

“Tell me about it. How long do we have to stay here?”

The Plague Demon’s subordinates grumbled and voiced their complaints.

They had captured Hong Won-chang of Hunan, the man criminals feared the most.

Killing him quickly, burying his corpse, and leaving this place would have been the best choice for them, but for some reason, the Plague Demon Kang Ja-jung did not kill him and only repeatedly tortured him.

Of course, they knew the reason.

Wanted posters.

Kang Ja-jung had never had his wanted poster circulated before, but the situation had changed.

If they started circulating, he might face a situation where he had to leave the Central Plains, and stronger martial artists might come to claim the bounty.

Therefore, he wanted to quickly find the source of the wanted posters and wipe them out, but since Hong Won-chang refused to open his mouth, it was a difficult situation for Kang Ja-jung as well.

But what could be done about what had already happened?

In times like this, hiding quickly was the best policy.

If they lived quietly while holding their breath for a moment, the matter of the Plague Demon would be forgotten from everyone’s minds.

Things are originally only remembered vividly in people’s minds at first, and as time passes, they gradually become forgotten.

If they thought like that, this time itself became meaningless.

“Should we just kill him?”

“Hmm…… it’s a good idea, but…… what if we get caught?”

“Ah, we can just say he died from the shock of the torture.”

The two men’s eyes flashed.

His wounds were severely injured anyway.

No matter how much they treated him, there was a limit, so wouldn’t it be fine to say that his open wounds got infected and he died?

“I think it would be fine if we strangle him? He already has marks on his neck anyway…….”

The two men quietly looked at Hong Won-chang.

He had a wound on his neck from being hung by a rope. It was because they intentionally hung him by the neck to instill the fear that he might die, even though they had no intention of killing him.

If they strangled that area, even Kang Ja-jung would find it hard to notice.

The men who looked at each other nodded.

They harbored a malicious intent because they wanted to escape this place even a moment sooner.

Soon, the two men stood up and approached Hong Won-chang.

Tap, tap.

Their figures narrowing the distance and the sounds he heard brought terror to Hong Won-chang.

“Kill him!”

Soon, the moment one of the approaching men was about to strangle Hong Won-chang.

Puk!

A dagger the size of a pinky finger pierced his neck.

“Keok!”

The man swallowed a short groan, grabbed his neck, and stepped back.

At the same time, his colleague nearby tried to draw his sword, but the one who moved was Hong Won-chang, who was more desperate than anyone else.

He couldn’t let them make a sound.

There were dozens of the Plague Demon’s subordinates here, so it was obvious that many would rush over at a single leaked sound.

Thus, he stabbed the neck once more and covered the mouth with his other hand.

He used his body weight to block the mouths and noses of the two men who were shaking on the ground, so not a single groan leaked out.

“Ha…… haa…….”

Only Hong Won-chang’s rough breathing could be heard.

The men who were trembling violently soon became as quiet as dead mice. Only then did Hong Won-chang stand up and clumsily gather the two men’s equipment.

One dagger and one chipped heavy sword were all there was.

It was truly difficult to escape this place with just these, but he couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

“This is the first time this obese body has been helpful…….”

Hong Won-chang smiled bitterly and looked around.

This place looked like a mountain stronghold abandoned by bandits.

Given the situation of the Plague Demon Kang Ja-jung, who lived a wandering life, it was unlikely that he would have built such a mountain stronghold, so whether he killed the bandits and took it or used an empty one, it didn’t seem like he intended to stay for long.

Also, one of the reasons he thought this place was abandoned was that they had tied Hong Won-chang in the deepest corner of the stronghold, a place barely visible to people.

Normally, he should have been placed in a warehouse or a prison, but the reason they didn’t was probably because there was not a single usable place.

Having thought that far, Hong Won-chang calmed his breathing and slowly moved his body.

Sure enough, before going far, a half-collapsed abandoned building that didn’t even have space for a person to rest blocked his vision.

Hong Won-chang carefully hid his body behind it and looked around.

He saw several people moving as if standing guard.

There were at least dozens of them.

And he thought that Kang Ja-jung was definitely staying in the intact building located at the furthest distance. The reason was that the number of people standing guard there was definitely higher than in other places.

‘Where can I get out……?’

Hong Won-chang quickly turned his gaze and checked other places. Since he was blocked by wooden walls on all sides, he couldn’t leave unless through the exit.

If so, he had to find a way out.

However, the moment he checked it, he frowned without realizing it.

Because he had to pass the place where he thought Kang Ja-jung was, and two or three guards continued to guard the main gate.

He was bound to get caught the moment he tried to leave.

‘What should I do?’

His entire body throbbed.

In fact, even moving like this was exhausting, but he couldn’t take too much time to escape. He had to move the moment he thought of it, so Hong Won-chang’s mind worked quickly.

Then suddenly, something caught his eye.

It was the bonfires visible between the paths.

Perhaps because it was a day without a single ray of moonlight, they had lit the fires unusually strong, and with the strong wind blowing, a little nudge seemed enough.

Hong Won-chang grabbed a pebble lying on the ground.

‘I must do it in one go.’

He was confident in throwing stones.

Because from childhood and even now, he occasionally played with Hong Jin-rang by throwing stones.

However, the problem was the sound, so if he failed to knock it over in one go, a major disaster could occur.

Hong Won-chang quietly watched the bonfire.

He stared intensely as it swayed back and forth in the strong wind.

Since its frame wasn’t strong, it seemed he could easily knock it over if the wind blew just a bit stronger.

At that moment, as if the heavens were helping him, a strong gust of wind blew.

The bonfire, which had been swaying precariously, moved significantly. It wasn’t to the extent of falling over, but with a slight trigger, it seemed entirely possible.

Hong Won-chang took a stance and forcefully threw the stone.

***

“He is such an elusive person that finding him won’t be easy. Whether he’s the Plague Demon or not.”

“I know.”

“It might take a few days…….”

Tang Mun-hye sneaked a glance at Dan Woo-hyun.

She already knew the fact that Hong Won-chang had been kidnapped. She knew through information that he had a relationship with the Hunan Dan Family for a long time, so Dan Woo-hyun’s mood might be uncomfortable.

Therefore, she had to be careful in choosing her words.

This was the same for the two men guarding Tang Mun-hye’s side.

Chasing a ghost and suddenly going to catch a man who might be the Plague Demon was quite a confusing situation, but like it or not, catching the Plague Demon was synonymous with walking the road to success.

Therefore, the two men’s eyes were also burning with enthusiasm.

“It is today.”

“Yes?”

“I will catch him within today.”

“……?!”

“What…… what nonsense!”

Everyone clicked their tongues.

They couldn’t tell if it was the Plague Demon or not.

However, since it seemed certain that they had captured Hong Won-chang, from Dan Woo-hyun’s perspective, every second counted.

Because his life could be in danger.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t understand those feelings, but finding someone within a day when they didn’t even know where or how he was taken was an impossible task.

“The Lower District Sect has already stepped forward. If you can’t find him…… be prepared.”

“Y-Yes!?”

Dan Woo-hyun half-opened his eyes and looked around.

The members of the Lower District Sect, who were observing the situation from a distance as if monitoring it, and the people of the Heavenly Dao Society, including Tang Mun-hye.

Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes, looking at those people, gleamed sharply.

In particular, the one most surprised was none other than Tang Mun-hye.

It was a remark made by none other than Dan Woo-hyun.

The words telling them to be prepared were no different from despair.

The moment she heard it, she got goosebumps all over her body, and all sorts of dangerous imaginations greatly agitated her mind.

“Why are you trying to take out your anger on us?”

At that moment, Jang Sam-tae stepped forward abruptly and frowned.

He had an expression that didn’t care in the slightest about the words telling them to be prepared. He put his hands on his hips and glared at Dan Woo-hyun with a dissatisfied look.

He didn’t seem afraid at all, even at Dan Woo-hyun’s sharp gaze that snapped back.

“I will try to find him, of course! But if I can’t find him, it can’t be helped, right? Isn’t it his destiny? Just like that guy who fell from a tree and died last time.”

Jang Sam-tae nodded in agreement.

It was nothing more than lightly touching a tree, but who would have known that he would fall and die? A person’s life does not depend on someone doing something for them to live or die.

If he was a person destined to live, he would live, and if he was destined to die, he would die.

Furthermore, what time was it now?

It was already late at night.

Because not even the moonlight was visible, it was difficult to distinguish even an inch ahead. Finding someone and discovering their traces in this situation was a very difficult task, so now was the time to leave it to Hong Won-chang’s luck.

“You are quite relaxed…… you’ve known him for a long time?”

“Haha. As this Sam-tae watched and learned many things by your side, Manor Lord, I came to think that life is just flowing. Besides, he’s not someone who will die easily, is he?”

Jang Sam-tae smiled like a scholar, unsuitably for him.

However, his hand was trembling slightly, which seemed to reveal the anxiety Jang Sam-tae was harboring.

But it seemed he possessed faith.

Wasn’t he someone who hadn’t walked such an easy path to die easily in an event like this? While being by Dan Woo-hyun’s side, Hong Won-chang had also experienced harsher things than this and survived until now.

Because of such things, he could believe in him.

Tang Mun-hye and Dan Woo-hyun looked at him and laughed absurdly.

“But it doesn’t seem like you are wrong.”

“Yes?”

“That those meant to live will live, and those meant to die will die.”

Dan Woo-hyun stretched his body out.

He sent a puzzled look because it looked as if he was warming up. At the same time, the moment she turned her eyes toward the direction he was looking.

“A m-mountain fire?”

Flames blazed up fiercely in the distance.

A fire started even though there was no thunder or lightning?

Dan Woo-hyun started to walk slowly as he looked at it.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

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