episode_0399

*** ***

An unnamed mountain in Hubei.

There was a warrior who departed from the hill and made a light attack toward the city.

That warrior was none other than Jeong Cheol.

As Ho Cheon-an and his group expected, Jeong-cheol chose to go into hiding and then train.

While Jeongcheol devoted himself to training, he also kept his ears wide open to the situation in the martial arts world.

Even in Magyo, which was thought to be an absolutely safe place, I encountered Ho Cheon-an, so of course I had no choice but to become sensitive to the news about Ho Cheon-an.

Jeong-cheol has been collecting information about Moorim by always listening to rumors and investigating suspicious parts separately.

But today the atmosphere of the city was strange.

“No, is that really true?”

“That’s right! People have turned into monsters!”

“Wow, such an incident…!”

“I thought blood religion had disappeared into the back of history! How dare you pull such a trick on the world’s five great families?”

The whole city was excited about one news. Jeongcheol, who heard the unusual words such as blood religion and monster, quickly went to the guest house.

“Hey Jeomsoy, what’s going on these days?”

“Oh my, warrior. It looks like you just trained somewhere in Simsanyu Valley. The whole world is in an uproar because of what happened in Shaanxi these days.”

Jeongcheol handed money to Jeomsoy. After receiving the information fee, Jeomsoy immediately explained the rumor.

“Sejak of Hyeolgyo has infiltrated the Shaanseobunta of the Mo Yong family. I tricked Buntaju into receiving Dafa, and that was…! It was an evil method that turned people into monsters!”

Jeongcheol couldn’t help but be surprised after hearing Jeomsoi’s words.

‘Blood religion…’

“Is that true?”

“This is a definite fact as it was directly announced by Moyongsega!”

Jeomsoy continued speaking.

“Thanks to that, Moorim was turned upside down. Sejak of the blood religion also infiltrated the Moyong family, so is there any guarantee that it would not have infiltrated anywhere else? That’s why the atmosphere in Murim these days is very scary.”

“Um.”

Jeongcheol stroked his chin. Whatever the clan was planning was out of Jeong-cheol’s interest, but the current situation was not good for Jeong-cheol, who had to hide his identity.

The incident with the blood religion stimulated the entire martial arts community’s sense of alarm and crisis, so it was not very good news for Jeongcheol, who was hiding his identity.

However, Jeongcheol’s worries were blown away by Jeomsoi’s next words.

“Fortunately, it is said that the immediate descendants of the Moyong family and Noegeomnangin stopped it before it could turn into a big problem.”

“What?”

Jeongcheol, who was calculating the impact this situation would have on him, was startled and jumped up from his seat.

Why is Noegeomnangin suddenly mentioned there?

“Who was involved?”

“Mu, warrior, please calm down. The Mooyongseo Grand Hyeop and the famous Mooyong Yeonhwa, which were visited by the Moorim cruise ship…”

“Their story is over. So what did Noegeomnangin do?”

“Yes. Noegeomnangin made a very decisive contribution to stopping Buntaju, who had turned into that monster.”

What does this mean?

How can Ho Cheon-an solve the problem of the Mo Yong family?

“Do you know why he got involved in that?”

“Well, I don’t know? There is a rumor that he is a sworn brother with Shamanseo Bunta’s later Jisoo, but I do not know the details…”

Jeongcheol handed Eunja back to calm Jeomsoi, who was scared. Jeomsoy, who received financial treatment, smiled and opened his mouth again.

“The news of the blood religion is so big that it is not mentioned often, but the activities and actions of Noegeomnangin are also enough to attract interest. Because of this incident, the actions of Noegeomnangin, who hid his identity in Sichuan Province and no one knew what he was doing, were revealed.”

“What does that mean?”

“The Moyong family officially declared that it would actively cooperate in finding Jeong Cheol, who disappeared from the martial arts forest, saying that he would repay the favor to Noegeomnangin.”

Jeongcheol’s eyes shook slightly.

“When Noegeomnangin disappeared in Sichuan Province, there was a theory that he left to find Jeongcheol, who was said to have been poisoned, but since there was no basis for it, it could not be said to be a popular theory. However, this fact has become clear due to the information revealed by Mo Yong Sega.”

“….”

“Noegeomnangin, who had been following in the footsteps of a charlatan, has once again become active in Shaanxi. With the full help of the Mo Yong family on his back, Noegeomnangin’s momentum is quite fierce. Many people are paying attention to whether they can find Jeong-cheol and shake off the conspiracy once again.”

“…Thank you for the information.”

As soon as Jeongcheol heard the information, he left the guesthouse.

“Hocheonan.”

Jeongcheol gritted his teeth. Ho Cheon-an’s intentions were clearly read to Jeong Cheol.

-If you choose to go into hiding again and practice, I will increase my power.

Jeongcheol felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Jeong-cheol discovers Ho Cheon-an when he goes to recruit Yong-maeng. Afterwards, after realizing that Ho Cheon-an was at the center of everything that shook the Sadyoryun, Jeong Cheol accepted Ho Cheon-an as a serious threat.

Jeong-cheol tried to take Ho Cheon-an’s life, but was unable to achieve his goal due to unknown interference.

When Jeong-cheol chose to go to the devil, conscious of the unknown, he believed that he would be the ultimate winner.

However, that faith was shattered when faced with the Heavenly Demon.

Jeongcheol, who learned the whole truth after meeting Cheonma, became afraid of Hocheonan.

How long has it been since the chaos in Sichuan Province was resolved that he was invited to the Demonic Cult as a guest of Socheonma and even gained the favor of Cheonma?

That guy has now even put the Mo Yong family on his back.

It felt like a knife was getting closer and closer to my throat.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

If Ho Cheon-an continues to be given time like this, he will complete a siege that can never be broken through.

“Haha.”

Time was not on Jeongcheol’s side.

Jeongcheol burst out laughing at his situation where he had no choice but to admit that fact.

Where did the misjudgment come from?

It was the ultimate confrontation with Hwa-kyung. I thought it was a gap that could never be overcome no matter how much time there was, but after a few years at most, Hocheonan had come within a distance where he could grab Jeongcheol’s tail.

In order to avoid being overtaken by Hocheonan, he had to stop.

“Khehehe…”

Jeongcheol burst out laughing.

Ho Cheon-an, who was thought to be just a small talker. In order to prevent such a plan, Jeongcheol had to risk everything he had built up until now.

“Let’s see the winner.”

Jeong-cheol was hiding in an unnamed mountain in Hubei and cultivating himself.

When Jeong-cheol decided to risk everything he had.

“Ask!”

Ho Cheon-an, waiting for Jeong-cheol’s reaction, was having a happy time with his pet spirit.

*** ***

“Ask!”

Seogong ran quickly to pick up the stick that Hyeok Kirin threw. It was a gesture that made one think, ‘Why do I have to keep listening to these meaningless orders?’, but Hyeok Kirin, who was already immersed in the fun of throwing sticks, did not seem to see Seo Gong’s questionable gesture.

“Good job!”

Hyeok Kirin ‘lifted’ Seogong, who returned with a stick in his mouth, held him in his arms, and stroked him roughly.

Squeak!

As I watched Seogong, the size of a puppy, struggling in Hyeok Kirin’s arms as if telling him to stop touching me, I remembered the day before I left Shaanxi.

When I was about to leave Shaanxi on a raincoat carriage, my companions and I were looking at Seogong following behind the carriage, anxious as to whether we would really be able to go on a trip with Seogong.

Squeak?

Sure enough, Seo-gong, who was following the raincoat following the hand signal, stopped on the spot at some point.

This was because the route of the raincoat went far beyond the area where I normally take a walk.

Seogong paused for a moment.

“Ugh, Mr. Seogong. You must follow. That way we can travel together.”

He made various hand signals with Hyuk Kirin next to him, who was looking at Seo Gong with eager eyes.

Seogong, who continued to look at the hand signal, his ears twitching.

A behavior usually shown when one understands something.

At the same time, Seo Gong began to look alternately at the raincoat and the forest.

I swallowed dryly as I looked at the sight as if they were weighing things.

Will Seogong be able to understand and accept the fact that he is leaving far away?

The next question was whether he could follow the raincoat without being noticed.

While thinking about that, I was concentrating on Seogong’s movements.

Suddenly, Seogong’s body began to shrink.

The gigantic body, which was nearly 1 foot tall, suddenly shrunk in half, then halved again, and eventually shrunk to the size of a dog.

When we were staring at the West with our mouths wide open in a situation we could never have imagined.

Squeak!

Seogong, who had become small, naturally got into the raincoat, crying like never before.

From then on, Seogong became our pet spirit and traveled with us in the raincoat.

To call it a trip, I was just running along the road while waiting for Jeongcheol’s reaction.

A considerable amount of time had passed since they rode in the carriage together, but Seogong never increased his size again.

Although there have been several situations where it was suitable to return to its original size, it seems that it has maintained its small appearance and cannot change its size as easily as flipping the palm of its hand.

Hyeok Gi-rin let Seo-gong go with a tearful look upon seeing Seo-gong violently expressing his refusal. As soon as he regained his freedom, it was Tang So-yeol whom Xu Gong chose as his shield.

“Hmm?”

Squeak!

Seo Gong, who was closely attached to the side of the party’s ranks. Tang So-yeol only glanced at him and smoked again.

It is truly ironic, but the person that Xu Gong voluntarily approached was a Tang So-Yeol.

As Seogong got smaller, the group began to find him cute.

Naturally, there was a lot of touching, stroking, and other things being done, but Seogong seemed to find that very annoying.

As a result, they naturally began to take refuge in indifferent party fervor.

Hyuk Qilin looked with resentful eyes at Tang Xiaoyeol, who was monopolizing Xu Gong’s attention(?), and Tang Xiaoyeol enjoyed the gaze and took out a spirit herb from his bosom.

“It’s old.”

Squeak~

Seogong happily gnaws on the herb.

From the Duke of Xu’s point of view, since Tang Xiaoye is a person who does not bother anyone and even gives herbal tea when he gets close, wouldn’t it be natural for him to have feelings for Tang Xiaoye?

“When I stop by the next city, I will buy some Yeongcho!”

Dang So-yeol chuckles at the sight of Hyeok Kirin being so excited.

Seogong, who was gnawing on the yeongcho as if he didn’t care about the human quarrels, saved about half of it and stored it in his cheek.

Seogong’s appetite, which had been gorging on Yeongcho as if he were truly obsessed, has now reached a plateau, and his intake has decreased significantly.

It was good to be free from the pressure of huge food costs, but the drastic reduction in food intake was also a cause for concern. Right after he got smaller, he ate it the same way as when he was big, and at some point, he started to feel like he could eat less, but now he has become so greedy that he only eats half of a single herb.

“Maybe the amount of food has decreased too much.”

As Yeo Il-ye muttered, Tang So-yeol looked at Seo Gong’s plump cheeks and said.

“A foolish person who is crazy about his appetite and cannot take care of himself cannot survive until he becomes a spirit creature. Since I’ve quenched your hunger, you should be able to take care of your body yourself.”

Tang So-yeol gave Hyuk Kirin his medicine with an evil smile.

“Do you understand? Even if you put all your effort into it, you never know if it will actually have an effect.”

“Keuuu…!”

Well, just as Seo-gong has to adapt to our group, our group also needs to learn how to treat Seo-gong. Wouldn’t Hyeok Gi-rin, who is currently unable to control his affection for Seo-gong, gradually find the right way to interact with Seo-gong?

“Haha, let’s go. If you move from now on, you will be able to reach the city.”

“Good! Let’s leave right now!”

The city arrived at Chaegeun, where Hyeok Gi-rin is burning his will to win Seo-gong’s heart by giving him a gift.

While Hyeok Kirin and Tang Soyeol went to buy herbs, we unpacked our bags in the guesthouse.

Dang Do-yeon was inspecting the Bicheon carriage and I was unloading supplies for the party to use from the Bicheon carriage.

“Senior.”

Heukmyo, who left to receive updates on the martial arts group through Wolbokdang, returned with a stern expression.

Looking at the black cat’s tense expression, I intuitively realized that the news I had been waiting for had arrived.

“Did Jeongcheol move?”

“Yes.”

Okay, now it’s time to do something about it.

Jeongcheol had to make a choice after hearing the news that the Moyong family, along with Hyeokyo’s Jundong, had become his strong allies. Should I continue like this and just watch my influence grow stronger, or should I break this trend now?

Perhaps Jeongcheol’s choice was the latter.

Not long after leaving Xinjiang, I made a major alliance with the Moyongse family.

Jeongcheol must have felt a great burden from my actions.

“Jeong Cheol applied for a public meeting with his senior.”

Jeong-cheol is cornered.

Jeongcheol’s choice was to attack head-on.