Episode 175: Return to the Demonic Sect

The guesthouse where Sabigang and the Cheonmyeoldae had stayed was tightly locked all this time.

Fearing it might be related to the disappearance of the Jeokmudae, Ha Taesang had instructed the servants not to clean it.

Despite this, the Black Wolf Brigade found nothing unusual in the guesthouse.

Eventually, they were led by the chief to the Jeokmudae’s quarters.

That place, too, had been sealed shut since the Jeokmudae vanished.

For the Black Wolf Brigade, even a speck of dust could be a clue, so Ha Taesang had taken special care with this place as well.

“There are no signs of disturbance here either.”

“Well done.”

The chief’s words were met with a stern nod from Ham Cheonseok, the leader of the Black Wolf Brigade.

He was growing increasingly uneasy.

He had never encountered such an inexplicable case before.

The crux of this incident was the missing gold bars.

But how those gold bars disappeared was beyond him.

As the chief opened the door, thirty members of the Black Wolf Brigade entered the quarters and began their search.

The Black Wolf Brigade is generally divided into a search team of thirty and a tracking team of seventy.

However, these roles aren’t strictly defined or fixed; they are temporarily assigned based on the situation, except for a few specific individuals.

‘How can it be this spotless?’

Ham Cheonseok felt more frustrated as time passed.

Even the wind leaves traces in its wake.

He often told his subordinates, “Even shadows leave traces.”

It might sound exaggerated, but Ham Cheonseok believed it.

After all, the ground’s moisture and plant growth differ in places where shadows linger all day.

These are significant traces.

Even the wind and shadows leave marks.

‘How can humans be this clean?’

Just then, Churyang approached him and spoke.

“It’s immaculate.”

“Indeed.”

“In situations like this, there’s only one way.”

“What is it?”

Ham Cheonseok turned to him with interest.

Churyang was more skilled in tracking than he was, so it was worth listening to him.

“Instead of following traces, we follow the story.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, what’s missing are the gold bars. And then there’s the Jeokmudae.”

“So?”

“We know a bit about the Jeokmudae, but those gold bars… It seems like a significant amount. How did such a quantity end up with the Dongbang family?”

Ham Cheonseok’s expression hardened slightly.

As a close aide to the King of the East, he knew some of the backstory.

The gold bars were a financial resource used by factions associated with the King of the East.

However, his subordinates were unaware of such details.

They simply followed orders without question.

Moreover, this mission was top secret, so they had to pretend not to see even if they did.

But Churyang’s inquiry about the gold bars’ origin put Ham Cheonseok in a difficult position.

“You don’t need to know that.”

“But without that information, we can’t find any leads. If we knew the story behind the gold bars, we could track more efficiently.”

“The mission itself is top secret. Don’t dig any further.”

“Come on, if you keep it secret from us too, how are we supposed to track…?”

At that moment.

“Leader, there’s something here!”

One of the Black Wolf members shouted from under the desk of Sanggeomak’s office, lying flat on the floor.

The members quickly moved the desk, revealing a single sheet of paper underneath.

Ham Cheonseok hurried over, picked up the paper, and frowned.

“A drawing…?”

“What is this? Oh?”

Churyang, who had come over to look at the drawing, widened his eyes.

Though it was simple, like a child’s drawing, the two of them immediately understood its meaning.

“This is…”

“Gold bars.”

Churyang’s words made Ham Cheonseok nod.

“Yes, no doubt about it. Gold bars.”

“Why did this come out from here?”

The member who found the paper offered his own speculation.

“Could it be that Sanggeomak planned to steal the gold bars with the Jeokmudae?”

“Hmm. For now, that seems the most plausible.”

All evidence pointed to Sanggeomak and the Jeokmudae.

Sanggeomak was one of the few who could operate the secret vault’s mechanism.

And now, with this drawing found.

In truth, it was something drawn by Neungso to show to Silp, but they had no way of knowing that.

Churyang still looked uneasy.

“But isn’t it strange? They left no trace, almost perfectly… Especially the mystery of how the gold bars vanished from the vault remains unsolved. Yet they made such a simple mistake…”

Ham Cheonseok was also bothered by that.

But without any other possibilities coming to mind, he had to consider the most likely scenario.

Even the most meticulous person can make a ridiculous mistake.

Just then.

A Black Wolf member rushed over to report to Ham Cheonseok.

“Leader! We’ve found a body of a Jeokmudae member!”

“What? Where?”

“An old shrine on Iron Mountain to the north.”

Ham Cheonseok and Churyang turned to look at each other simultaneously.

**

“Hmm.”

Ham Cheonseok squatted down, staring at the body before him.

The body, dressed in the Jeokmudae’s uniform, bore marks of sword wounds all over.

The Jeokmudae member had died leaning against the wall.

“How did you end up here?”

Ham Cheonseok spoke to the body as if trying to have a conversation.

Of course, the body didn’t respond.

Then Ham Cheonseok’s eyes caught something.

One side of the chest was oddly protruding.

He carefully reached out and felt the area.

His hand caught onto something solid.

When he pulled it out from the chest, the surrounding Black Wolf members were startled.

“Isn’t that a gold bar?”

What Ham Cheonseok pulled out was indeed a gold bar.

Just then, Churyang entered the shrine.

“There are signs of a struggle about a mile from here. Analysis shows multiple people attacked one person, and the lone fighter, severely injured, seems to have fled here and collapsed… Huh? What’s that? Are you already giving out rewards?”

Churyang asked, looking at the gold bar in Ham Cheonseok’s hand.

Ham Cheonseok tossed the gold bar to him and said.

“It came from his chest. What do you think?”

“Have you identified him?”

“They say he was a squad leader of the Jeokmudae.”

“Then under Sanggeomak’s orders, the Jeokmudae stole the gold bars, and the squad leader got greedy, stole one, and tried to escape, only to be caught by other Jeokmudae members. After a fierce battle, the severely injured squad leader managed to flee here and died… Oh, come on! What kind of nonsense is this?”

“Doesn’t make sense to you either, does it?”

“I’m curious about who played this prank.”

“Who do you think it could be?”

“I have no idea. The mystery of how the gold bars vanished from the vault is still unsolved. For now, we have no choice but to pursue Sanggeomak.”

“That’s probably the best course.”

“He’s the only suspect.”

“Then, this body…”

“The body was moved here after death. That’s certain. The culprit could be Sanggeomak or someone else.”

“Why would Sanggeomak go to such lengths? To confuse us? Why did this person have the gold bar?”

“How should I know? Maybe it was meant as fare for the afterlife.”

Ham Cheonseok chuckled.

“In any case, we’ve found a gold bar and a Jeokmudae member. Coincidentally, in the same place. It’s clear they’re somehow connected to the missing gold bars.”

“Yet, why do I feel like I’m sinking into an invisible swamp?”

Churyang sighed.

**

At Mount Hang, where the Northern Light Sect is located.

A child walked along the forest path with a stick in hand.

Last night’s torrential rain had washed soil and gravel onto the path, leaving it in a mess.

But the child didn’t mind, as the rain had brought out earthworms, which were perfect for him.

Feeding earthworms to his ailing mother at home was said to have medicinal benefits.

His bucket was already filled with dozens of wriggling earthworms.

Some were as long as snakes.

The child ran towards the foot of the mountain.

There were especially many earthworms on the mound of soil washed down by the rain.

As he enthusiastically dug through the soil with his long stick, the child suddenly fell backward, landing on his rear.

His eyes widened like saucers, his lips turned pale, and his face lost all color.

“Ugh, ugh. Aaaah!”

Finally, the child screamed and ran away.

Where the child had been.

A human face peeked out from the mound of soil.

It was the face of a corpse.

**

Bok Ilryong, the leader of the Thunder Sword Brigade of the Northern Light Sect, frowned deeply as he surveyed the dozens of bodies exposed at the mountain’s base.

‘Why are the bodies of the Jeokmudae here…?’

The Northern Light Sect and the Dongbang family had been secretly exchanging information as close allies of the King of the East.

But now, the missing Jeokmudae had turned up dead at Mount Hang, where the Northern Light Sect was based.

Just then, one of his subordinates rushed over to report.

“We’ve confirmed the body of Sanggeomak as well. All but one of the Jeokmudae members have been found dead.”

“This isn’t good.”

Bok Ilryong’s brow furrowed deeply.

He had recently heard the secret news that the Dongbang family’s vault had been robbed, and it had left him quite unsettled.

But why had the Jeokmudae ended up dead here at Mount Hang?

There was nothing good about drawing unnecessary attention from Meng.

Bok Il-ryong crouched down in front of the corpse of Sang Geom-ak, scanning the bodies strewn across the ground. He examined the stab wounds etched all over Sang Geom-ak’s body with keen interest.

Then, suddenly,

“This is…!”

Bok Il-ryong’s eyes widened in shock.

**

At the headquarters of the Justice Alliance, in the Comet Pavilion.

Lee Sa-heum hurried his steps. He quickly entered the pavilion, searching for Gu Yoon.

“We’ve received a message from the Northern Star News.”

“The Northern Star News?”

Gu Yoon flinched. Sa Bi-gang had mentioned that the Eastern Family would likely involve the Northern Star News as well. Did this mean the plan was already in motion?

Gu Yoon asked again, “What did the message say?”

“They found the bodies of Sang Geom-ak and the Red Martial Squad on Mount Hang.”

“The Red Martial Squad’s bodies?”

“Yes. It seems the Northern Star News is visibly shaken by the discovery.”

Gu Yoon’s mouth fell open as if he’d been struck on the back of the head.

‘So this is it!’

It was something he wouldn’t have considered, being so bound by conventional thinking. But Sa Bi-gang had eliminated the Red Martial Squad and scattered them in the region where the Northern Star News was based.

‘So this is your way.’

At this point, there was only one thing for him to do. Sa Bi-gang would be waiting for his directive.

Gu Yoon nodded and said, “Send an official letter to the Gangjin branch where Sa Bi-gang is staying. Instruct them to head straight to the Northern Star News and begin an investigation into the deaths of the Red Martial Squad.”

“Understood.”

Lee Sa-heum bowed deeply and left. Gu Yoon gazed out the window, murmuring softly to himself.

“Now, the second round begins, Chief Sa.”

**

At the Thunder Hall of the Justice Alliance.

“The bodies of the Red Martial Squad were found on Mount Hang?”

“Yes.”

Deung Wang-pae furrowed his brow deeply, rubbing his forehead. He looked utterly baffled by the turn of events.

Shaking his head, he spoke, “Send the Black Wolf Squad to the Northern Star News immediately!”

“Understood.”