Chapter 541: Side Story 41

Chapter side_41

There were those in this Murim who did not know the Martial God, the one called a legend. However, there were also things that anyone, young or old, man or woman, could not help but know no matter who you asked.

Whether it was in the Murim or not.

The Four Guardian Divine Beasts.

The names that countless people of the Central Plains inevitably heard as they were born and raised, and the entities whose names they would bring up countless times throughout their lives.

A story handed down from even longer ago than the Martial God, whom everyone considered the most sacred and called the legend of the Murim.

Even the symbol of the Heaven and Earth Religion symbolized the White Tiger, one of the Four Guardian Divine Beasts, so the people’s fear and awe towards them was beyond words.

“N… Nonsense…!”

Chu Jak-han, who was sitting on the ground, trembled and looked at the thing in front of him. The word ‘huge’ was not enough to explain everything, and its sharp eyes, which looked like embedded jewels, made him feel as if his whole body would be torn to pieces just by looking at them.

Thus, he realized it the moment he saw it.

That was real.

It was the divine beast, the White Tiger, without a single lie.

The real one, completely different from the fake that the Saintess of the Heaven and Earth Religion was raising, had appeared right in front of his eyes.

His mouth twitched.

Cold sweat poured down his whole body in fear.

And at that moment.

He felt a chill run down his back.

Without realizing it, he rolled on the ground and escaped from that spot.

Swish!

Then, something small quickly passed by him. Wasn’t it at a speed that couldn’t even be confirmed if one didn’t look closely?

That was… the New Moon Cat?

As if one divine beast wasn’t enough, even the New Moon Cat?

Furthermore, the New Moon Cat, which was known to never follow humans, naturally jumped on the White Tiger’s back and climbed onto the shoulder of the woman who hit the White Tiger’s head.

It was unbelievable.

Something like this could absolutely not happen.

“Ah, hey mister? How about you leave now? This guy’s temper is not ordinary, you see.”

At that time, Ju Ji-yak smiled brightly.

There was the White Tiger, and there was the White Cat.

They must have been playing somewhere, and upon realizing that Dan So-mi was in danger, they had run over faster than a shot arrow. According to Namgung Cheon or Sa Do-hak, those who could stand unharmed against these two guys could be counted on the fingers of one hand, so it would probably be fine.

Ju Ji-yak, having thought that far, smiled even brighter.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

At that moment, men wearing black clothes revealed themselves around Chu Jak-han. Was their number about twenty? Every single one of them surrounded Chu Jak-han with wary expressions.

It seemed as if they were trying to protect him.

“Are you going to continue?”

Grrrr!

Ju Ji-yak wasn’t surprised or scared even while watching that. Instead, she made an even more triumphant expression and sneakily placed her hand on the White Tiger’s back.

Her hand trembled for a moment, but the truth was, these guys didn’t follow humans well unless it was Dan So-mi, and due to the nature of a tiger, she couldn’t help but be scared too.

‘I… I can’t get used to this…’

However, Ju Ji-yak swallowed her tears and hid her fear.

“My Lord! For now, you should avoid the spot…”

“Keuk…!”

Only then did Chu Jak-han, who had stood up from his spot, clench his teeth. His most confident charming arts didn’t work, and he couldn’t even achieve his desired goal.

For Chu Jak-han, who had never failed any mission so far, retreating in this way was exactly the same as having his pride crushed.

However, Chu Jak-han calmed his boiling anger and controlled his breathing. Only then did his shaken mind regain stability, and as the rising heat cooled down, he was able to judge this situation coldly even a little bit.

“How interesting. It was just a journey I came out on for fun, but thanks to you, I caught something very big.”

“Pardon?”

Chu Jak-han slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled while looking at Dan So-mi, who opened her eyes wide in surprise. He was just simply trying to catch the guy who was selling the title of the Demonic Star, but to think he would see a girl accompanied by the White Tiger and the New Moon Cat in a place like this?

He wanted to make a move right away if he followed his heart, but it wasn’t easy.

Because he felt that the White Tiger’s ability was already far beyond his.

For now, he would retreat from this place.

His revenge against that damn bastard was the same.

Nothing would happen even if he delayed it for a while.

Didn’t something more urgent than that come up now?

“I will just retreat for today. However… we will see each other again soon.”

Chu Jak-han swooshed back and threw his body backward.

At that moment, his subordinates began to retreat while keeping their guard up against the White Tiger. As the men in the area kicked the ground and retreated in an instant, the tense atmosphere vanished completely as if washed away.

“Haa… I thought I was really going to die.”

Eventually, as everyone disappeared, Ju Ji-yak flopped down onto the floor, perhaps having lost the strength in her legs only then. She didn’t show any signs of shrinking in front of Chu Jak-han, but she had been more surprised and more scared than anyone else.

Perhaps recognizing Ju Ji-yak’s condition, Dan So-mi, who had sneakily approached, asked.

“Are you okay? You were very surprised, right?”

“Aren’t you… even scared? You have no reaction at all…”

“Ahaha… I was a little scared, but actually… it’s scarier when Grandpa Sa gets angry.”

Ju Ji-yak shook her head and forcefully stood up from her spot. Hearing Dan So-mi’s words made her feel like she understood something.

Where would there be a person who wouldn’t be scared when a figure who was counted within two fingers among the Five Emperors of the World got angry?

It was like how the Emperor’s scolding was scarier than a father’s scolding.

As she shook her head while thinking such thoughts, the somewhat troubled face of Dan So-mi caught her eyes.

“But… what should we do with this person?”

Sneakily looking at the place she pointed at with her finger, the figures of two men lying face down on the floor entered her eyes.

One was stretched out like a dead frog flipped over after being hit in the head by a stone. Seeing his body twitch, it seemed he had managed to survive without dying.

The other one was…

“Ugh…!”

She covered her mouth in disgust just by looking.

He was burying his head in vomit that smelled terrible, and it was more amazing that he managed to survive in that state. If this was also heavenly luck, was it heavenly luck?

“I think… we can just leave him alone?”

“But he still came to save us…”

Ju Ji-yak shook her head.

Dan So-mi’s embarrassed expression was visible. It seemed she felt sorry to just leave him behind, but she didn’t seem too keen on saving him either.

Perhaps there was some kind of ill-fated relationship between the two.

“Just leave him alone. I feel like if we save him, he’ll rush in asking for marriage.”

“Ugh…! I hate that.”

Dan So-mi shook her head with a serious expression.

It was an expression that seemed to plead to please spare her from that at least.

Considering Dan So-mi, who rarely revealed bad feelings towards others, this man seemed to have become an existence beyond disgust to Dan So-mi.

It wasn’t easy to be like this…

Ju Ji-yak let out a small sigh.

* * *

Chu Jak-han, who was moving forward quickly by unfolding his lightness art, still couldn’t distinguish whether what he saw was a dream or reality. To think that he would see that entity, which he just thought was a vague legend, right in front of his eyes?

It was completely different from the fake that the Saintess of the Heaven and Earth Religion carried around.

The spirit and power felt the moment he looked at it.

It was so perfect that it could literally be felt that it was a divine beast.

Therefore, Chu Jak-han couldn’t control his excited heart.

‘I must inform the Cult Leader as soon as possible.’

The White Tiger symbolized the Heaven and Earth Religion.

The reason why the Saintess of the Heaven and Earth Religion carried around a ridiculous fake White Tiger was also to show the believers that she handled one of the Four Guardian Divine Beasts.

Such a thought hit the mark exactly, and countless believers blindly followed the Saintess chosen by the divine beast and the Cult Leader.

But what if this White Tiger was the real White Tiger?

What if that White Tiger could reveal its power in front of countless people?

They would be able to secure more believers than now, and they would gain the influence and power to challenge the Righteous Faction’s Murim head-on, rather than being a group maneuvering secretly in this Central Plains Murim.

Thinking of that, he couldn’t stop smiling.

To the point of forgetting the face of the person who made his face like this in an instant.

“There is someone in front.”

“Hmm?”

Chu Jak-han, who was moving forward while having such thoughts, looked forward at his subordinate’s sudden words. Sure enough, just as his subordinate said, he could see someone slowly approaching this way.

It was a place with dense bushes and where even people didn’t visit.

Therefore, a somewhat surprised expression was evident on his face as he hadn’t thought there would be someone else.

The subordinate beside him secretly grabbed his sword.

In such a situation, if a person appeared before their eyes, it was their job to cut them down first.

However, Chu Jak-han opened his mouth with a slight smile.

“I am in a very good mood right now. Do not shed unnecessary blood.”

“Understood.”

At Chu Jak-han’s words, his subordinate bowed his head.

Even so, he moved forward while being wary of the silhouette in front of him, and the moment the distance narrowed and the figure gradually became clearer.

The subordinate’s eyes shook greatly.

That face, it was definitely the man who was inside that carriage.

Unknowingly, he became wary and glanced at Chu Jak-han.

However, not knowing anything, he still passed closely by the silhouette quickly with a smile.

“You’ve used up all your heavenly luck.”

Soon, the silhouette’s mouth opened and its voice dug in like a whisper. It moved without stopping its steps to the point where one would wonder who it was talking to or if it even had the intention of hearing an answer, and before they knew it, the silhouette and Chu Jak-han’s group were quickly moving away from each other.

“Hmph! What a strange guy. If it weren’t for this situation, I would have cut off his head…”

Chu Jak-han frowned, perhaps not liking the gaze of the person he had brushed past. However, it was already irreversible, and he had no desire to go back and swing his sword.

Right now, he was only full of the thought of returning to the branch office as soon as possible and letting the Cult Leader know this glad news.

* * *

Dan Woo-hyun was watching Dan So-mi and Ju Ji-yak return from a rather far distance. Perhaps the short time they spent together was quite good, as they had faces that looked like they had shaken off a bit of the hard things from the past.

Their expressions were distinctly better than yesterday.

Just leisurely watching that sight made Dan Woo-hyun’s heart feel like it was melting like snow.

“It’s a relief that nothing serious happened.”

He soon smiled slightly.

Saving the White Tiger and the White Cat in her childhood had become heavenly luck. Of course, that too could be called that child’s power, but thanks to that, nothing serious had happened.

Because no matter how dirty the White Tiger’s temper was, it had a tendency not to try and see blood in front of Dan So-mi.

If it hadn’t been for that, the whole surrounding area would have been a field of corpses right now.

“You managed to hold back… I thought you’d use your sword right away.”

At that time, Namgung Cheon, who stealthily revealed his figure, looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a somewhat unexpected expression. If it were him normally, he would have cut their breaths off the moment they were visible in front of his eyes.

Wasn’t that why he followed to prevent such a thing?

But, to think he would spare them without killing a single person?

It was completely unexpected.

“It was just that I didn’t want to sprinkle blood on the path that child would take back.”

“Heoheo, then those guys were quite lucky.”

“They were…”

Dan Woo-hyun smiled faintly.

Throughout ancient and modern times, there was only one person who survived after offending the mood of the Martial God. At first, he tried to kill him, but he couldn’t because of Dan So-mi, and the reason was that the teasing he showed afterwards had now become familiar and wasn’t too offensive.

Otherwise, the existence named Jang Sam-tae would not have existed in this world anymore.

And this was the second time.

They were in front of his eyes, but he didn’t kill them.

The reason that he didn’t want to smear blood on the path Dan So-mi had to take back was the first, and that first reason was exactly what became the second.

Since he spared them because he didn’t want to smear blood on the path Dan So-mi had to take back, those guys today survived by using up all the heavenly luck they should have spread out over their entire lives.

Therefore, there was no second time.

“I will meet them again. And in a fairly near future too…”

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