-Whoosh!

Seop Chun, the Third Captain Commander of the Heaven and Earth Society’s headquarters, clicked his tongue at the fierce downpour.

‘The rain seems to be getting heavier as we approach the riverside.’

He wasn’t sure if crossing the river would be possible even with a large boat.

Upon climbing a high hill, he saw the river current that was practically a raging torrent, which was deeply worrying.

Just then, the only estate in the village came into view.

Compared to the magnificent estates in the inner city of the Heaven and Earth Society, it was utterly shabby, but it was evident that it was quite wealthy for a small riverside village.

Mong Mu-yak looked at the estate and said,

“There seem to be quite a few people inside.”

At his words, Mok Gyeong-un nodded.

That was because he could sense the presence of people inside the closed estate, and smoke was even rising from the tiled roofs.

“They must be employees. Let’s go inside for now.”

Seop Chun took the lead and walked towards the main gate.

As he grabbed the door handle to knock, he noticed a plaque-like object attached next to the gate and spoke with a glint in his eyes,

“My Lord.”

“What is it?”

“It seems the boat owner is not an ordinary village tycoon.”

“If not ordinary, then extraordinary?”

“Look at this.”

The plaque that Seop Chun pointed to read:

[Meritorious Retainer of Quelling Turmoil, Fourth Rank]

“Meritorious Retainer of Quelling Turmoil?”

As Mok Gyeong-un read it, Mong Mu-yak, who had approached closely, frowned and said,

“It seems the owner of this estate was a government official who had rendered meritorious service.”

“A government official?”

“Yes. Judging from the plaque being hung right next to the main gate, he might be a government official who retired to his hometown after rendering meritorious service.”

“Oh my. What a day it is!”

Seop Chun clicked his tongue.

At the inn, they had already encountered individuals who might be related to the government or the imperial palace.

If the owner of this estate was also a former government official, it would be truly ironic.

Of course, unlike the reactions of these two, Mok Gyeong-un seemed utterly unconcerned as he said,

“Does it matter whether he was a government official or not? We just need to borrow a boat and cross the river.”

“Well… that’s true.”

He was right about that.

It was just an ironic situation.

Seop Chun then grabbed the door handle and knocked on the gate.

-Knock! Knock!

Perhaps due to the heavy rain, there was no response from inside.

So Seop Chun shouted and knocked on the door.

“Is anyone inside?”

-Knock! Knock!

After knocking a few times like that, the gate opened soon after.

-Creak!

As the gate opened, a woman in her mid-twenties wearing a paper umbrella appeared, accompanied by two sturdy-looking men.

Seeing them, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flashed with interest.

‘Hmm.’

She didn’t seem to be the boat owner he had heard about from the innkeeper.

But she appeared to be related.

Both the innkeeper and the old man named Elder Beom had mentioned that the boat owner was on the verge of death.

Judging from the woman’s haggard face, dark complexion, and lack of energy, she might be the boat owner’s daughter.

“What brings you gentlemen here at this late hour?”

“Pardon us, but may we meet the owner of the estate?”

“……”

The haggard-looking woman didn’t answer Seop Chun’s question.

Instead, she glanced at the military sabers hanging from Seop Chun’s waist and asked,

“Forgive my presumption, but are you simply travelers seeking to cross the river? Or are you the ones who came after seeing the notice in front of the government office in the nearby county?”

At the woman’s words, Seop Chun furrowed his brows.

They had said they came to see the owner of the estate, but the question she asked in return was strange.

He understood her asking if they were travelers trying to cross the river, but he couldn’t comprehend what she meant by the notice in front of the government office.

A notice literally means a written request for help.

Puzzled by this, Seop Chun thought it had nothing to do with them and was about to answer that it was the former.

“We are just…”

“We came after seeing the notice.”

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un abruptly interrupted Seop Chun.

‘My Lord?’

Seop Chun looked at Mok Gyeong-un, startled.

Their purpose was simply to borrow a boat to cross the river.

But if they unnecessarily said they came after seeing a notice they didn’t even know about and were asked about its content…

“Ah!”

Just then, the haggard-looking woman let out a gasp, and her eyes reddened.

‘Huh?’

Seop Chun couldn’t understand the woman’s reaction.

Wasn’t she suspicious?

Then the woman clasped her hands together, bowed her head, and spoke in a choked voice,

“Thank you. I sincerely thank you for coming, even in this manner.”

‘!?’

Her reaction was as if she was desperately clinging to a straw, willing to grasp at anything.

What is happened had happened for her to react like this?

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un casually asked her,

“We came because of the notice, but we would like to meet the master first. Is that possible?”

‘Ah!’

At these words, Seop Chun finally nodded in understanding.

The woman had a sharp edge to her when asked if they were simply travelers trying to cross the river.

So rather than directly stating their purpose, it was a way to indirectly approach and confirm whether the boat owner’s condition was truly suitable for sailing or not.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, the woman raised her head, let out a deep sigh, and said,

“I can show you my father’s condition, but he hasn’t been in his right mind since a while ago. It seems to be the result of his past karma.”

‘Ah… so it was true?’

At her words, Seop Chun looked at Mong Mu-yak with troubled eyes.

Mong Mu-yak also couldn’t hide his difficulty.

If they couldn’t cross the river quickly, they might not be able to make it to the gathering point on time.

While they were worrying about this, Mok Gyeong-un showed interest in something else.

Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze was not on the woman but behind her, or more precisely, beyond the main gate.

‘It’s trembling.’

The energy of a vengeful spirit could be felt from inside the estate.

It was exceedingly chilling and ominous.

Moreover, it seemed to have been going on for quite some time, as the entire interior of the estate was heavily stagnant, as if sinking like a boat, being engulfed by this ominous energy.

[That master is possessed by a water demon.]

‘So this is what it meant.’

It seemed the words of the old woman, the innkeeper, were not mere rumors after all.

However, what was peculiar was that such ominous energy was only felt when the gate was opened.

As if someone had artificially blocked it, like at the Corpse Blood Valley cliff…

‘Oh. Is it this?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze turned to the six talismans meticulously attached between the cracks of the gate.

Upon seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un immediately recognized what it was.

‘Six Talismans Four Directions Technique.’

Whoever did it seemed to be a fairly skilled exorcist.

Considerable spell power could be felt from the talismans.

‘They were attached not long ago.’

After absorbing the power of the beast inside the scroll and Third-Eyed, Mok Gyeong-un’s spell power had also reached a level nearly on par with Sun-level diviner. He could vaguely estimate when this talisman technique was formed just by sensing the energy flowing from the talismans.

Thus,

“It seems a skilled exorcist recently visited?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the woman replied with wide eyes,

“How did you know that?”

“The person seems to be proficient in talisman techniques. In addition to the cracks of the main gate, they must have attached them to the back gate and the walls on the east and west sides, right?”

“Yes! Yes! I didn’t know because it was hidden by the bamboo fence, but are you perhaps an exorcist?”

The reason she asked this was that Mok Gyeong-un wasn’t wearing the Taoist robe that exorcists usually wore.

At her question, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and replied,

“My skills are insignificant, but I learned techniques from a renowned exorcist.”

‘Insignificant?’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak inwardly clicked their tongues.

He possessed such miraculous exorcism skills that he could even reattach a severed arm, so how could he describe it as insignificant?

It was unnecessary modesty.

Of course, the woman, unaware of this, shook her head and said gratefully,

“It’s no small feat to come here through the heavy rain on this dark night. I sincerely thank you.”

“Not at all. But do we have to stay here?”

“Oh my, what am I thinking? I left the guests standing in the rain. Please come inside.”

The woman led Mok Gyeong-un’s group into the estate.

As they entered, she introduced herself.

Her name was Woo Hyang, and she was the eldest daughter of the estate owner.

Perhaps because Mok Gyeong-un and his group had said they came after seeing the notice, her attitude remained friendly throughout.

However, the two men guarding her were different.

They kept glancing at them with dissatisfied eyes as they guided them.

So, Cheong-ryeong said,

<Those living beings don’t seem to like us.>

<Indeed.>

<Although their external muscles are well-developed and appear capable, their footwork is crude, suggesting they have only learned martial arts, not internal martial arts.>

<Yes, it seems they haven’t cultivated internal martial arts.>

<They could have been government soldiers.>

<Government soldiers?>

<Yes. Even if their footwork is crude, they naturally synchronize their steps without being aware of it.>

<Oh. I see.>

The two men were walking side by side, and their steps were in unison as they moved forward.

It couldn’t be considered a mere coincidence, as their walking postures were also quite similar.

<Seeing this, the estate owner might have been a military official.>

<Ah.>

Mok Gyeong-un also nodded in agreement.

Come to think of it, the “Meritorious Retainer of Quelling Turmoil” on the plaque next to the main gate could also mean a meritorious retainer who suppressed a rebellion.

Considering this and the fact that he had individuals presumed to be government soldiers as guards, as Cheong-ryeong said, there was a high probability that the estate owner was a retired military official.

Then Seop Chun approached Mok Gyeong-un and whispered,

“My Lord, I apologize, but do you intend to help the estate owner?”

“We need to take the boat.”

If he were in a normal state, they could threaten him to sail the boat, but it was the opposite situation.

“I understand that, but…”

“Let’s see first. Whether something ominous is attached to him or not.”

“What?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Seop Chun was puzzled.

He thought Mok Gyeong-un might be trying to help the estate owner, who was said to be on the verge of death, with miraculous exorcism techniques like when he reattached Mong Mu-yak’s severed arm. But he suddenly mentioned checking if something ominous was attached, so he couldn’t understand what he meant.

So he cautiously asked,

“What do you mean by that ominous thing?”

“Something like a vengeful spirit or a malevolent ghost.”

“……”

He became even more confused.

Weren’t vengeful spirits and malevolent ghosts closer to superstition and strangeness?

He couldn’t understand why his master was saying such things, but Woo Hyang, the estate owner’s daughter who was leading the way, said,

“The benefactors who arrived earlier after seeing the notice are guarding the main hall where my father is.”

“The main hall?”

“Yes, the exorcist named Yi Mun-hae said tonight would be the critical moment…”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un nodded.

That was because as they approached the main hall, the ominous energy became more turbulent and stronger.

With this level of energy, it was definitely not low-grade.

“Ah! There’s someone over there.”

Woo Hyang pointed to the front of the main hall building visible beyond the pavilion.

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flashed with interest upon seeing this.

‘Huh?’

Under the eaves of the main hall’s roof, a man was leaning against the wall, drinking from a gourd.

This man was not very tall, but his muscles were so brawny and developed that he was twice the size of an ordinary person.

But what was more noticeable than this was his nearly bald head with short hair and the prayer beads filled with broken eggs hanging around his neck.

‘A monk?’

His attire and appearance certainly seemed like that of a monk.

In a way, he even gave off a similar feeling to Horse Monk.

Then Seop Chun spoke,

“Oh my. What is he doing here?”

“Do you know him?”

Instead of Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak intervened and replied,

“Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior, Ja Geum-jeong.”

“Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior?”

It was a unique title.

Demon-subduing literally meant subjugating demons.

There was actually an organization that used this title, and it was none other than Shaolin Temple, known as the birthplace and center of the righteous martial arts world.

Shaolin Temple had monks with various precepts and titles, and the title “demon-subduing” was usually given to martial monks who cultivated both Buuhism and martial arts.

Unlike the title “demon-subduing” that would be fitting for martial monks who practice Buuhism, the aura emanating from that man was rather crude and exuded a rough scent of blood.

Mok Gyeong-un’s question was quickly resolved.

“That man is an expelled monk from Shaolin.”

“An expelled monk?”

“Yes.”

An expelled monk.

Literally, a monk who was excommunicated for violating the precepts.

At these words, Mok Gyeong-un nodded as if he understood.

“Ah. It must be because of the precept against killing.”

The precept against killing.

A monk who practices Buuhism must not kill any living being.

That was no different even for a monk from Shaolin Temple, known as the center of martial arts.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mong Mu-yak shook his head and replied,

“No. He was expelled for indulging too much in alcohol.”

‘!?’