Chapter 581: Side Story 81

Chapter side_81

“It’s really here…”

Following Dan So-mi, they exited the eastern city gate and climbed a nearby mountain, along which they discovered traces left on a path rarely traveled by people.

Soon, after carefully following those traces for a long while, a large cave revealed itself, and about ten people could be seen holding swords and keeping guard around the area.

Although they could not see clearly due to the considerable distance, the guards exuded an energy similar to those Chu Jak-han had led, making it certain that they were members of the Heaven and Earth Sect.

“What should we do now?”

Watching the situation, Dan So-mi asked with her eyes shining brightly. Perhaps unable to contain her excitement, she looked just like a young child about to play an interesting game.

Jang Sam-tae and Namgung So-hye locked eyes.

Soon, they let out a long sigh and spoke.

“How about you… head back now?”

“What? Aren’t Sister Geum and Uncle Jin inside?”

“They are, but… it’s dangerous…”

“Pardon?”

Instantly, Dan So-mi widened her eyes.

Since she had climbed the steep mountain all the way here to find the two of them, she became dispirited at being prevented from doing anything.

Her shoulders drooped.

“No… Still, I came all the way here too…”

“Ahem! Yes, that is true! We wouldn’t have even made it here without So-mi.”

“Uncle…!”

“But still, So-mi. Inside is filled with bad guys. If you step forward and get hurt, it will be a huge disaster, won’t it?”

Jang Sam-tae suddenly shivered, as if remembering something. The one who would face a disaster would undoubtedly be him, for dragging Dan So-mi into this matter.

It would definitely not end with just a couple of hits.

“Then I’ll just watch from here! I have White Tiger and White Cat, so won’t it be fine?”

However, Dan So-mi had no intention of backing down.

Since she did not want to return alone, and also because she had journeyed with Geum Ji-ran and Jin Tae-gong, even if only for a short time. Since it was a mission to rescue the two of them, she did not want to be left out.

“If it’s… just that much…”

Ultimately, the one who threw up her hands in surrender was none other than Namgung So-hye.

The White Tiger and the White Cat would be the most reliable guardians in the current situation, and they would protect Dan So-mi no matter what happened.

Sending her back alone might actually be dangerous in the first place.

“Sigh… It can’t be helped. But you have to stay quiet. Understood?”

“Of course!”

Dan So-mi nodded with a confident expression.

She vowed to never do anything else. Namgung So-hye was somewhat suspicious of her, but knowing that arguing further would be useless, she sighed and turned her head.

“So, what is the plan?”

“…What?”

“Eh?”

Jang Sam-tae stared at Namgung So-hye with a blank expression.

Sensing that something was wrong, she smiled awkwardly and spoke once more.

“I mean, what is the plan?”

“…What?”

“…”

Clenching her fists unconsciously, she trembled. Her gaze directed at Jang Sam-tae grew increasingly chilling, and a strange energy began to ripple around her.

Startled, Jang Sam-tae hurriedly spoke up with a flustered expression.

“No, you should be the one making the plan! What do I know?”

“You were the one who suggested doing this! Then you should have planned it!”

Namgung So-hye gasped in pure disbelief. If they had set out to find the two under the assumption that a problem had occurred from the start, shouldn’t he also have a way to rescue them in mind?

Yet, it appeared he had not given it a single thought.

Unconsciously, she held her aching head.

To think she had trusted and followed such a man.

She frowned, lamenting her own foolishness.

“Excuse me… What if I ride White Tiger to lure those people away… and then you two go in?”

“No, I said that’s too dangerous!”

“Didn’t you promise to stay quiet?”

Dan So-mi, who had slipped between the two, wore a dissatisfied expression as if displeased about something.

Since neither of them had a plan in the first place, she wished they would trust and follow her, at least this once.

How long were they going to treat her like a child?

She was filled with such dissatisfaction, but did not let it show on her face.

Instead, she spoke with a broad smile.

“White Tiger is strong, Sister…”

“I… I know that, but… just earlier you clearly…”

“Didn’t you say you don’t have a plan? Or would you rather just charge in blindly?”

In truth, given the skills of Jang Sam-tae and Namgung So-hye, they would not face much difficulty even if they rushed in blindly. However, it was also true that they had to be cautious, as they did not know how many people were inside the cave or what kind of experts might be present.

“White Tiger is extremely fast. Even Uncle Jang can’t catch him. Furthermore, he is super, super strong.”

Urgh! Namgung So-hye flinched.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Dan So-mi said. The White Tiger was a beast and a spiritual creature, born with abilities that earned him the title of a divine beast.

As such, even Jang Sam-tae, who was considered one of the best in the Central Plains in lightness art, could not easily catch him, and in terms of martial prowess, the tiger was superior to Namgung So-hye.

“So… I’m the only option, right?”

“B-But…”

“I’m the only option, right?”

Looking at the beaming Dan So-mi, Namgung So-hye and Jang Sam-tae broke into a cold sweat. They had always thought of her as just a lovely child, but looking at her now, she was a total fox.

Although she was smiling, the clear implication of ‘if you have another plan, lay it out’ behind that smile was definitely not their imagination.

She was not Dan Woo-hyun’s daughter for nothing.

“Ha… Haa…”

Namgung So-hye let out a long sigh once again.

If she was going to be this stubborn, she could not be stopped.

Had they not already seen and felt this for a long time?

* * *

Clack!

He sat in a quiet tavern and drank alcohol.

Although the alcohol going into his mouth was merely cheap fire liquor, Dan Woo-hyun savored it as if he were drinking an expensive, famous wine.

The moment the strong scent pierced his nose and he poured it down his throat, he felt a burning sensation as if his throat were on fire. However, no matter how much he poured down, he could not replicate that flavor of the past.

“Hohoho. Is it really alright for you not to go?”

Just then, the voice of Namgung Cheon, who was playing Go with Sa Do-hak on one side, was heard. He paid no heed to Dan Woo-hyun’s expression, who was lost in contemplation while drinking.

Jang Sam-tae had gone out to find Geum Ji-ran and Jin Tae-gong, and Namgung So-hye and Dan So-mi had still not returned to the tavern. This was undoubtedly because they had gotten involved in Jang Sam-tae’s business.

Naturally, Dan So-mi, who was with them, could fall into danger, so he was curious about Dan Woo-hyun’s intentions since he was just drinking in deep thought.

“She’s not a child, so why worry? Right?”

“True.”

“Haha. I am sure that is not the real reason you are not going.”

Namgung Cheon knew.

Even though Dan So-mi had reached adulthood, she was still a young child in the eyes of her father, Dan Woo-hyun. Yet the fact that he was not going meant he was thinking of something else.

For Dan Woo-hyun always acted while looking ahead.

“It doesn’t seem like… any major trouble will occur.”

“One can never know what lies ahead, you. No matter how well you read the heavenly secrets! Life is always unpredictable, you know.”

Sa Do-hak frowned at the ambiguous yet confidently spoken words. The future of a human was unpredictable, never knowing when or where something might happen, so he found the fortune-teller-like tone of trying to predict everything annoying.

“Is that so?”

In that moment, Dan Woo-hyun also chuckled.

Come to think of it, Sa Do-hak’s words did not seem wrong.

Even when he first opened eyes, how could he have imagined he would meet Dan So-mi? Not a single breeze had blown, nor was there any premonition.

Yet, at some point, Dan So-mi was before him, and in the end, Dan Woo-hyun reached his hand out to the child.

Perhaps that was the first time no wind had blown.

Thus, Dan Woo-hyun also could not predict anything.

“Still, well… your words hit the mark more than ninety percent of the time, so they can’t be ignored…”

“Hohoho. Indeed. Family Head Dan is someone who could make quite a bit of money even if he set up a fortune-telling mat, indeed!”

Dan Woo-hyun paused as he was raising his cup.

He seemed to think for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. Even to himself, it seemed he thought earning money by playing the fortune teller was not a very good choice.

“By the way, I don’t know about other things, but is that one okay? That cult leader fellow, I heard he learned your martial arts?”

“He did say such a thing.”

“In my view, I don’t think your martial arts are something that can be learned just because someone tries to, but still, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn’t it? Right?”

Sa Do-hak frowned, looking displeased.

If someone he didn’t know learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and claimed to be its successor, it was obvious he would fly into a rage. However, even after hearing the whole story, Dan Woo-hyun did not get angry but merely smiled, making it impossible to guess his inner thoughts.

“I do not care.”

“What kind of crazy bastard is this?”

“Hohoho. It is because he is Family Head Dan that he can think this way. If it were us, we would have rushed over immediately and split his head open.”

Dan Woo-hyun was strong.

And to an extent that could not be explained in words. That was why he was praised as the greatest Martial God of all time, and his name continued to be passed down as a legend.

Because he was such a man, he could afford not to care.

For he knew that even if someone had dismantled his martial arts and another person had learned them, they would be no match for him.

Thus, Dan Woo-hyun’s composure never faded.

Of course, there would be other reasons besides that.

“Are your martial arts… something that can be learned even if someone dismantled them and wrote them down in text?”

“Nonsense! The martial arts of the Namgung Family contain the essence of a thousand years! No one can easily learn them!”

“The reason the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is passed down to the cult leader is because it cannot be learned unless one is the strongest in the Demonic Cult.”

“…Indeed.”

At the fiercely ringing voices, Dan Woo-hyun raised his cup, nodding as if he had expected as much. Just as the two of them held pride in their own martial arts, Dan Woo-hyun was the same.

It was not Dan Woo-hyun’s martial arts.

Perhaps the Great Dharma King of that time had poured his heart and soul into creating something similar, but it could not be considered Dan Woo-hyun’s Heavenly Unity Creation Art.

If it had truly been that, Cheon Mu-je would have never left it alone. However, the Potala Palace had remained intact for a thousand years, and except for the process of reclaiming the secret manuals created by Cheon Mu-je, there had not been a single attack.

This meant that even Cheon Mu-je did not consider it to be Dan Woo-hyun’s martial arts.

“However… it does pique my interest.”

Dan Woo-hyun wore a faint smile.

Although he was certain it was not his, he was nonetheless curious to see what kind of technique it was.

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