Chapter 562: Side Story 62

Chapter side_62

Dan So-mi, riding on the back of the White Tiger, was enjoying the scenery of Tibet. No matter where she looked-east, west, south, or north-it was a truly wondrous place, completely different from the Central Plains.

There was not a single place that didn’t catch her eye, with the mountains and rocks visible over there all being slightly different.

Also, perhaps because it was near the Western Regions, the appearance of the people visible in the distance also felt quite different from those she had seen so far.

Was it similar to Geum Ji-ran?

Or should she say a bit more exotic?

Therefore, she wandered around as if capturing all the scenery in her eyes.

“Huh? Where are we going?”

At that moment, the White Tiger jumped like an arrow, as if it had discovered something. It was so fast that she had to lean forward and tightly grab its fur with both hands.

Even so, it was impossible to look at the scenery passing by like a flash, and because it hopped around here and there so much, her whole body shook, making it quite precarious.

“What on earth is it…”

Dan So-mi put on a crying face and spoke.

Since it had never moved so violently while she was riding on its back, questions could only follow one after another.

Soon, at some point, the White Tiger’s speed slowly decreased.

Only then did Dan So-mi open her eyes, let out a sigh of relief, and look around.

“Where… is this?”

Wherever she went, it was a place she was seeing for the first time, so it was actually awkward to even ask where it was. Realizing this, Dan So-mi smiled bitterly.

Meow!

At that moment, the White Cat popped out of Dan So-mi’s arms and moved.

As if it knew what the White Tiger had found, it moved, and naturally, the White Tiger followed behind it. Moving a little from where they had stopped, Dan So-mi opened her eyes wide.

“What is that…?”

There was something.

Around that thing fallen on the ground, bright red blood was pooling.

Even at a glance, she could guess it was a person, and she could immediately notice that it was by no means a normal situation.

“A-Are they alive?”

Meow!

At the voice of the White Cat that followed, Dan So-mi hurriedly nodded.

Although anyone would see them as already dead, if they were alive, the story would be different. Moreover, normally they should find a doctor, but in this situation, there was someone better than a doctor.

“Hurry, let’s take them to where Dad is!”

* * *

“What on earth do you plan to do?”

“…About what?”

Geum Ji-ran, who glanced at Jang Sam-tae grilling meat over the campfire to gauge the atmosphere, turned her gaze back to Jin Tae-gong, who was folding laundry beside him, and whispered.

From Sichuan all the way to Tibet.

They had already been held captive for over a month.

They showed no intention of letting them go, and even escaping was not easy.

Jin Tae-gong had tried a few times, but all had failed.

Instead, after being caught, not only were they beaten, but they were also piled with all kinds of chores, exhausting them mentally and physically.

As about a month passed like that, Jin Tae-gong seemed to have already given up on everything, naturally living while doing what they ordered.

From Geum Ji-ran’s perspective, there was no way such a situation could look pleasant.

She had to take the White Tiger and the White Cat and return to the Heaven and Earth Cult as soon as possible. That was what she wanted, and wasn’t it also an opportunity to bring down the Cult Leader’s pride?

Yet, why was Jin Tae-gong, who should be carrying out that task, so leisurely?

“Just when on earth can we take the White Tiger and the White Cat and escape from these people!”

Soon, her words rang out shrilly.

There were thorns in her extremely sharp words, and her fierce gaze stared at Jin Tae-gong with disillusionment.

Did he know that?

Jin Tae-gong laughed, haha.

“Ha, haha, give up.”

“W-What?”

“They aren’t people we can do anything against. We just have to crawl if they say crawl, and bark if they say bark… that’s what I mean.”

With eyes that were somehow empty, Jin Tae-gong meekly accepted all of this. Something had to work for them to try, right?

What could do against people whom nothing worked on from start to finish?

Moreover, in this place…

“And I… have finally met her.”

“…? What?”

“Haha, isn’t she the one I should serve?”

Jin Tae-gong looked at Namgung So-hye, who was chewing meat next to Dan Woo-hyun.

How could even her eating appearance be so charming?

Elegance did not fade even from her sitting posture.

It was a world of difference from Geum Ji-ran, who always spoke with a smile but had thorns hidden inside. Wasn’t that Namgung So-hye the one truly worthy of being called the Saintess?

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun, who was nearby, looked around for water, and noticing what he wanted, Namgung So-hye quietly stood up.

At that moment, Jin Tae-gong ran.

Holding a water container in his hand, he ran toward Namgung So-hye and handed it to her.

“Here it is.”

“Th-Thank you…”

Even as Namgung So-hye accepted it in a daze, the embarrassment did not leave her face. How did he know she was going to get water and bring exactly what she wanted so quickly?

It was so chilling that it gave her goosebumps, as if he was reading her mind.

But soon, she turned her gaze to look at Dan Woo-hyun.

“Here, water. You were looking for it, right?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Namgung So-hye smiled slightly and sat down next to Dan Woo-hyun again. Although it was just sitting down lightly, the action was so elegant that Jin Tae-gong’s eyes, which were watching her, sparkled.

“You are truly… beautiful.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve heard that so much that my ears are rotting.”

“Haha! If you need anything, please call me anytime! This Jin Tae-gong! I am prepared to burn my very soul for the Saintess… no, the fairy!”

“…”

“…”

Dan Woo-hyun and Namgung So-hye looked at Jin Tae-gong with disgusted gazes. As it was, they were displeased with Geum Ji-ran’s behavior, and now even Jin Tae-gong was acting like he had lost his mind, leaving them speechless.

Finding it absurd, Dan Woo-hyun opened his mouth.

“One dedicates their soul to a beast… and the other to a woman… Interesting.”

“Ha, haha…”

Instantly, Jin Tae-gong broke out in a cold sweat and backed away quietly.

Even in front of the two old men whose skills were beyond formidable and completely unapproachable, it wasn’t to this extent. Although it was just an act of speaking words, a cold sweat began to flow across his entire body.

It was to this extent even though he hadn’t emitted any sort of pressure.

What if his power were to be revealed?

The thought that someone like the leader of the Heaven and Earth Cult would be crushed to death crossed his mind. And this was also the reason why Jin Tae-gong remained here instead of fleeing anymore.

The Heaven and Earth Cult was targeting this group.

Ultimately, they would end up in a hostile relationship, but considering this man’s power, the Heaven and Earth Cult would be torn to shreds, leaving not even a trace behind.

If he returned to the Heaven and Earth Cult in such a situation?

He swallowed dry spit in spite of himself.

It was obvious that something he could never laugh at would happen.

“We have a guest.”

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun turned his head.

Soon, within a very brief moment, everyone’s gaze turned.

Wondering what it was, Jin Tae-gong also looked there as the bushes suddenly rustled, and something massive revealed itself.

Grrr-!

“Wh-White Tiger?!”

The one that revealed itself was none other than the White Tiger.

On top of its head, the White Cat was sitting modestly and crying, and on its massive back sat Dan So-mi, whose face was completely pale.

What made the situation even stranger was the person held in the mouth of the revealed White Tiger.

Looking at that, Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

“Do you plan to eat humans now?”

Grrr-

At Dan Woo-hyun’s single word, the White Tiger laid the person it was holding down on the ground as if denying it. Then, as they wriggled face down on the ground, it seemed they had somehow survived.

“This person… is badly hurt!”

At that moment, Dan So-mi, who got down from the White Tiger’s back, shouted toward Dan Woo-hyun. It appeared she had seen the collapsed person while walking with the animals and brought him all the way here.

Looking at the collapsed person then, Sa Do-hak opened his eyes wide.

“This guy… is from the Demonic Cult?”

Although he lay fallen and unable to move properly, the energy subtly rising from him was undoubtedly demonic energy. That meant he had cultivated demonic arts and was a person of the Demonic Cult.

“Ha, why are you in this state? How embarrassing.”

Sa Do-hak clicked his tongue in disapproval, approached, and examined his condition.

It was not a good situation.

His Qi and blood were terribly twisted, perhaps from being hit by a powerful palm technique, and his acupoints were also blocked. If a little more time passed like this, he would either be in a state where he couldn’t be called alive even if he survived, or he would draw his last breath.

Sa Do-hak frowned upon examining the wound.

Soon, he lightly moved his hand and tapped the acupoints.

Instantly, with a cough, a handful of blood was coughed up from the man’s mouth. Dan So-mi and Geum Ji-ran watched in horror, but Sa Do-hak calmly placed his hand on the man’s back as if nothing had happened.

Soon, as he channeled his energy, the blocked Qi and blood were slowly cleared.

“Uuuugh…”

“Hoho, will he live?”

“Since I corrected his twisted Qi and blood, he will wake up soon.”

However, Sa Do-hak’s expression was not very good.

Although he had corrected the twisted Qi and blood, the situation was not much different in that the wounds were severe. It seemed impossible for him to move properly for the time being.

“He’s a guy from the Chuhyeong Pavilion.”

“What kind of place is it?”

“Simply put, it’s a hound organization that secretly tracks someone… Of course, their skills go without saying…”

The fact that the Chuhyeong Pavilion moved was equivalent to saying they were tracking a highly important person. They were all composed of experts hovering between first-class and peak-class, and they could boast of having the best stealth and concealment in the Central Plains.

For such a person to end up in this state?

A groan escaped Sa Do-hak’s mouth.

“Hoho, they must not be that great then.”

“What are you talking about? They are far better than the stray dogs of the Murim Alliance.”

“Those guys have never failed. Hoho.”

“You bastard, are you picking a fight while laughing?”

Rumble-!

Instantly, the energies of the two clashed and exerted force. It was so fierce that Geum Ji-ran and Jin Tae-gong, who were nearby, trembled violently and fell to their knees.

“I-Is this… a human?”

“Khhh…!”

There were numerous experts within the Heaven and Earth Cult as well.

Led by the Cult Leader, there were the elders, the protectors, and the Four Heavenly Kings who could be called the Cult Leader’s hands and feet. Yet, no one had ever shown such power.

‘Just… what kind of humans are they?’

Geum Ji-ran bit her lip tightly.

Although blood was flowing because she bit it so hard, she didn’t even notice and simply took rough breaths.

To the point where the fear of the Cult Leader could be considered minor dirt under her fingernails, the momentum emitted by those two old men was beyond imagination.

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