Chapter 569: Side Story 69

Chapter side_69

“No, then are you saying we are following the wind?”

“…….”

There was a young man.

His shaved head, which had just begun to grow out, was like a chestnut burr, and he was holding a brush in one hand and bamboo slips in the other.

He was so talkative that once his mouth opened, there was no rest, so Dan Woo-hyun treated him as non-existent more often than not.

Since when had this fellow been following him around?

In fact, he could not remember clearly.

Because he treated him as non-existent, he felt like he really did not exist, and he would sometimes forget the guy’s existence. Thus, to Dan Woo-hyun, he was like air.

“Come to think of it, you seem to have a close relationship with Cheon Mu-gwang too…… how did you get to know each other? Ah-! Did you beat him up as soon as you saw him, by any chance?”

“…….”

“Seeing that he is alive, you must have liked him quite a bit?”

Dan Woo-hyun looked ahead and let out a sigh.

Closing his ears to the voice he heard, he looked up at the sky, and the stars were exceptionally bright tonight. Between those starlights, the round moon was floating quite neatly.

“Is…… is this alright? Shall I chase him away?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“No, I mean…… that human.”

Nam Ju-ryeon wore a bitter smile and glanced to one side.

His gaze looking at the man, who was writing something down with sparkling eyes, was displeased. It was only natural since someone who was of no help to the journey was following them endlessly.

However, even though Dan Woo-hyun looked at the same place as Nam Ju-ryeon, he spoke like a person who saw nothing.

“There is no one.”

“No…… there is a person there…… a person……. He has been chasing us for months already…….”

“I do not know who you are talking about. Instead of talking nonsense, swing your sword one more time.”

“…….”

“…….”

Just then, Nam Ju-ryeon’s expression came to mind vaguely.

He remembered him smiling slightly as if finding it amusing while looking at the dumbfounded yet perplexed Dan Woo-hyun.

“…….”

Waking up from his old dream, Dan Woo-hyun slowly looked around. A young fellow holding a brush and bamboo slips was still in his head, but he could not tell what his face looked like at all.

Whether he could not remember, or whether he had erased it on purpose.

Either way, it was a memory he did not want to recall.

However, just because he did not want to bring it up did not mean he could pretend not to know the memory that had surfaced. Thus, as Dan Woo-hyun pondered, he finally let out a short exclamation.

“Now I remember.”

Soon, he chuckled to himself.

There had been one.

A high-spirited young fellow who followed him around and mumbled. Because he was so talkative and frivolous, he had treated him as non-existent, and that had carried on all the way to the present.

Thus, he had no choice but to answer that he did not know to the questions of Namgung Cheon or Sa Do-hak. Since he was not in his head in the first place, he could not know.

But even now, he could not remember his face and name.

Nam Ju-ryeon had suffered a lot because of that fellow.

Looking at it now, was it like the relationship between Namgung So-hye and Jang Sam-tae?

“Are you awake?”

Just then, a soft voice was heard.

Glancing toward the door, Namgung So-hye naturally opened the door and entered. She brought washing water and a cloth to wipe it with, looking like a maid and her master to anyone who saw them.

Dan Woo-hyun looked at her with an absurd expression.

“Did you get a job as an inn server?”

“No, I thought you would need it at this hour.”

Namgung So-hye pointed out the window with her finger.

Slolwy, the dawn was about to break.

Since he woke up at this hour unless there was something special, she had prepared it naturally. However, her actions felt as if she knew everything about what time Dan Woo-hyun did what, without missing a single thing.

“…….”

“……Why?”

“Do you…… also know what time I sleep?”

“Hmm…… was it not the beginning of the hour of the Ox?”

“……The time I meditate?”

“It is the hour of the Snake. You do it right after eating.”

“…….”

“What is it, really?”

Namgung So-hye wore an expression of complete incomprehension. Since they saw each other every day, was it not normal to know what time he did what?

“Do you…… also know what time the old man Namgung wakes up?”

“How should I know?”

Dan Woo-hyun closed his eyes tightly and sighed.

Perhaps because of the memory that had surfaced once, his past memories were pouring in like a flood.

– You go to the outhouse at this time every day?

– Hahaha! Come to think of it, it is time for you to practice martial arts!

– Aren’t you getting hungry? It is exactly now……?

“……I see. There was one in the past too.”

“Yes?”

“A child just like you. It gives me goosebumps.”

“W-What did you say?!”

Namgung So-hye raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

She had gone out of her way to bring it for him, only for him to compare her to someone else and even say it gave him goosebumps? Was that something to say to a woman?

Dumbfounded, she glared at him fiercely and set down the water and the cloth.

“Then I will be going.”

“What happened to the other things?”

“Ah-! The information that was supposed to come from the Demonic Cult? There was nothing particularly helpful…… but the one from the Haomen is a bit more certain.”

“The Haomen’s handling of matters is fast.”

“Would they do it slowly when they know who requested it? Maybe if they had about ten necks.”

Namgung So-hye shook her head, thinking of the Haomen Leader. How terrified must he have been when he saw the request that came in under the name of the Hunan Dan Family?

If he did anything wrong, Dan Woo-hyun would not sit idle, and yet he could not spend time leisurely saying he was looking into it in detail.

Thus, he must have suffered greatly.

“Senior Sa has already left.”

“I see…….”

Sa Do-hak had moved at the same time he obtained the information on the Ma Hyeong Squad. Since it was a matter of the Demonic Cult, he had a strong reason for not wanting to leave it to others.

That was why he even left Namgung Cheon behind, whom he always hung around with, was it not?

“Then we shall go too.”

“Yes?”

“I want to see it. That thing called the scripture.”

“……Are you really moving because of that?”

“Yes, is there something wrong?”

“No…… it is not that, but……”

Namgung So-hye wore a somewhat dazed expression.

There was no doubt that it was something Dan Woo-hyun could feel interested in. Since it was said to be the scripture of the Martial God, it was only natural that he would want to check it.

However, she had not expected him to move separately when Sa Do-hak had already moved. As long as at least one of them was there, the matter would be handled anyway.

In the end, it did not change the fact that Sa Do-hak would get his hands on the scripture and Dan Woo-hyun would see it.

Yet, he was taking the initiative to go find it?

“Did something…… happen?”

“I just had an old dream.”

“Ah, yes…… is that so?”

Namgung So-hye nodded and replied briefly. He said he had an old dream, but what was she supposed to say? Moreover, thinking about the story from earlier, he must have dreamed of a woman from the past.

It did not feel very good.

“……So, I must bring it back.”

“Pardon?!”

Dan Woo-hyun forced up the memories that had been forgotten for a moment.

At that moment, the rising memories stimulated his brain.

– Today…… the Martial God pooped. Even those who have transcended humanity seem to poop. The sound of his farts is so violent, did he eat something wrong, c-cough?!

– Do not write useless things.

“Sigh…….”

Dan Woo-hyun looked at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

The more he thought about it, the more his head throbbed.

He had a feeling that, besides such things, many other unknown things must have been written down. In other words, it was a forbidden book that must never be seen by anyone.

“I will definitely find it.”

“Sigh……?”

His determination was unusually firm.

Although she had seen him for over ten years, it was the first time she had seen him show such firm determination. Thus, did he not look different from other times?

Involuntarily, her face turned red.

“I-I see. But what about So-mi and Mr. Jang?”

“Since the old man Namgung is staying behind, it should be fine. White Tiger is also by their side.”

“Understood…… I will prepare quickly, so please wait a moment.”

“Prepare as quickly as possible. There is no time.”

For some reason, impatience was mixed in his words.

Namgung So-hye did not quite understand that, but at his urging gaze, she moved quickly without realizing it and headed to her room.

* * *

“Pant, pant…… what on earth is this state!”

Gu Ja-gok panted and frowned.

Having obtained the object that the Cult Leader of the Heaven and Earth Cult had desired so much, he had never imagined that such a thing would happen while on his way there.

“To lose it……!”

Was this what desolation felt like?

He had broken through the border of the Potala Palace with great difficulty, broken the extremely complicated formation, and obtained it. With this, he would be able to spread his wings and rise by the Cult Leader’s side.

Holding such thoughts, he was heading toward the Central Plains after escaping the Demonic Cult.

But what was this unexpected occurrence?

Clearly, the object he had put in his breast pocket had vanished without a trace.

He had never let it leave his chest, nor had he come close to anyone else. Since he had always kept his distance from his subordinates, there was absolutely no way the object could have been stolen by someone.

Then what on earth was it?

“Damn it! If we cannot find it, we are finished! Find it quickly!”

“W-We are looking, but the area is so wide……!”

At his subordinate’s grumbling, Gu Ja-gok frowned.

However, there was not a single thing wrong with his subordinate’s words. After stealing the scripture from the Potala Palace, they had moved back to Mount Tian. This was to leak to them that it was the doing of the Demonic Cult.

That was completely successful, and in the end, a war broke out between the Demonic Cult and the Potala Palace. Since everyone’s eyes had turned away from them toward other places, escaping should have been easy.

But what was this?

Since the scripture was definitely present when they returned to the Demonic Cult, the search area would be from that place all the way to here.

It was a width that would normally make a person give up.

But they could not give up.

This was a mission directly received from the Cult Leader, and carrying it out was what a true member of the Heaven and Earth Cult should do. Thus, no matter what happened, he could not give it up.

“Squad Leader! Let us just give up! How many days has it been already?”

“Give up?! This is a command directly given by the Cult Leader!”

“Is the Cult Leader just any cult leader? He is not even the leader of the Demonic Cult…… but just some leader of the Mad Sect that acts in secret…… gasp?!”

In an instant, Gu Ja-gok’s fist struck his subordinate’s face hard. As the man, who was blown away by the strong force, foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground, everyone who was watching fell silent and cast tense glances.

“A Mad Sect?! It is several times more beneficial than the Mount Tian Demonic Cult without Cult Leader Sa! And he is a much greater person than Gam Chun! Watch your mouth!”

Gu Ja-gok did not tolerate insults directed at Yuk Cheol-wan, who had now become his lord. That person who appeared as the giant idol Sa Do-hak left.

Did his dignity in ruling tens of thousands of believers not look like he was looking at Sa Do-hak?

Following such a person was Gu Ja-gok’s path of martial arts.

That was why he entered the Potala Palace at the risk of his life, was it not?

“We must find it! Only then can we be recognized by him!”

“Yes!”

The members of the Ma Hyeong Squad replied while breaking out in cold sweat.

A companion they had been with for a long time had his head blown off right before their eyes. Since that fear was deeply engraved in their minds, how could they say they did not want to?

Thus, they moved desperately to find the lost scripture.

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