Chapter 207. A Clue (3)

Heavenly Emperor Cult.

A strange religion with the name ‘Emperor of the Spring.’

The ‘spring’ they advocated for was the same ‘spring’ as in the River of Three Crossings.

The cult leader, who would later be called the Teaching Demon, was a madman who claimed to be the emperor of that spring.

I quickly asked back at the Beggars’ Sect member’s shout.

“Where? Where did the trace of that Heavenly Emperor Cult appear?”

“It is a place called Ningdu in Jiangxi Province, Great Hero Ghost Sword.”

I mulled over the place name ‘Ningdu’ in my head.

It was a place I had been to in my past life.

Although it was called Jiangxi Province, it was actually a remote village closer to Fujian Province.

“Clan Head. We will be on our way now.”

Jiangxi and Hubei were adjacent.

But the Seomoon Clan was located in the north of Hubei.

On the other hand, Ningdu was located in the southeast of Jiangxi.

Since the distance was quite far, it seemed necessary to depart even a day sooner.

“Didn’t you just arrive at the clan today? How about resting for a day before you go?”

I shook my head at the Seomoon Clan head’s proposal.

“If we delay, the traces of those guys might disappear again, so we should depart immediately.”

***

After leaving the Seomoon Clan, we traveled by using our movement techniques without rest.

We ran without even the leisure to stop by a village to buy new clothes or do laundry.

Thanks to that, we ended up looking like beggars for the first time in a long while.

Because we had hurried so, we were able to arrive at the place called Ningdu in just over ten days.

We went looking for a person who looked similar to us.

The very Beggars’ Sect member who had found the trace of the Heavenly Emperor Cult.

After wandering around Ningdu looking like beggars for a while, dozens of beggars approached us first.

It seemed like an excessive number of beggars for the size of the village.

Among them, an old beggar stepped forward and cupped his fists at us.

“It is truly a pleasure to meet such famous chivalrous heroes of the martial world in person. I am the elder, Meng-gu.”

“We greet the elder of the Beggars’ Sect.”

After exchanging greetings by cupping our fists back, I quickly asked.

“By the way, how is the matter of tracking the traces of that Heavenly Emperor Cult going?”

It had taken us over ten days just to hear the news and come here.

Also, it would have taken some time for the news from here to reach the Seomoon Clan.

Since nearly a month had passed, I thought there might have been some progress.

But the situation was turning out differently from my expectations.

Meng-gu shook his head with a bitter expression.

“I am sorry. It seems I have made you come on a fool’s errand.”

“What do you mean by that? A fool’s errand?”

“Haa. Actually, we are not originally beggars from this place either.”

According to Elder Meng-gu, since this was a village that was not very large, originally only a small number of Beggars’ Sect members stayed here.

Then, upon hearing the news of the Heavenly Emperor Cult, beggars from nearby belatedly gathered.

“But in the few days that we were gathering, those guys had already disappeared without a trace.”

“Are you saying that not a single trace was left?”

Elder Meng-gu nodded with an expression that showed his own frustration.

But I couldn’t just say ‘I see’ and let it pass.

“That does not make sense, does it? The fact that a trace of the Heavenly Emperor Cult was discovered means that they were engaged in proselytizing activities here, does it not?”

“That is so. In fact, a few of the residents were caught up in those proselytizing activities.”

“Then how can there be no trace?”

“……Haa. First, please follow me.”

With a mixture of curiosity and frustration, I followed Elder Meng-gu.

The Beggars’ Sect members also followed behind us.

Elder Meng-gu led us to a low mountain near Ningdu.

On one side of that mountain, a cave had been dug.

“According to the residents, the gatherings of the Heavenly Emperor Cult were held here periodically.”

It was a cave with many traces of people coming and going.

“Then why did you say there were no traces?”

“As if they had noticed our pursuit, they all disappeared like ghosts. The residents also said that they had only participated in the gatherings here and knew nothing else.”

I felt like I was finally starting to understand what the elder was trying to say.

It meant that there were no traces left that led to the base of the Heavenly Emperor Cult or its members.

“Isn’t it possible that some of the residents were lying?”

That Dang Clan guy’s point was quite sharp.

But there was one problem with this.

“How are we to find out if they are lying? Are you saying we should torture all the residents to catch that liar?”

“Ah……”

When that Dang Clan guy shut his mouth, Elder Meng-gu also let out a sigh as if frustrated.

“Hah. Even if we were to torture them, there would have to be some suspicious evidence first, wouldn’t there?”

If we were to torture people indiscriminately just for participating in a gathering, we would be no different from the members of the Underworld.

Because the rural residents would have participated in the gatherings or been dragged there without even knowing what the Heavenly Emperor Cult was.

“So we are currently staying in this vicinity and monitoring the residents. To see if any of the residents are lying.”

I nodded, having roughly understood the Beggars’ Sect’s position.

But it wasn’t a situation where I could just listen and let it pass.

“Then what happened to the Beggars’ Sect members who first discovered the trace of the Heavenly Emperor Cult? Didn’t they sneak into the gatherings or attempt to track them?”

“……They did attempt it.”

For some reason, Elder Meng-gu clenched his teeth.

“Originally, there were four Beggars’ Sect members staying here. Two of them lost their lives while trying to monitor the gatherings. And the ones who noticed our pursuit disappeared just like that.”

As he said that, Elder Meng-gu turned his head toward somewhere.

In the direction Elder Meng-gu was looking, two beggars were standing.

“They are the ones who survived.”

A middle-aged beggar and a young beggar cupped their fists toward me.

“I am the Four-Knot Beggar in charge of this place, Chun-gae. Great Hero Ghost Sword.”

“I am the Three-Knot Beggar, Dong-gu.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, the Four-Knot Beggar Chun-gae stepped forward and explained the situation.

“Even though the time for the gathering to end had passed, the two of them did not return.”

Feeling a chill, the two of them hurried here.

In the dead of night, after searching the dark mountain for traces, they had barely managed to find the bodies of the two.

“But we could not find any new traces leading from the bodies.”

The Four-Knot Beggar spoke in a tone of suppressed anger, his fists trembling.

We followed the Four-Knot Beggar Chun-gae’s guidance to the place where the last trace was.

Apart from a bloodstain near where the bodies had been laid, there were really no other traces left.

That was why it felt unnatural.

The traces of a battle remained, but there were no traces of people leaving.

Thinking that there might be something, I opened my second eye and looked around.

A thought came to mind, as I had expected.

I cupped my fists at the Beggars’ Sect members.

“Although there are no immediate traces, we will also stay here for a while and look for the Heavenly Emperor Cult, just in case.”

“Please do so.”

After a final exchange of greetings with Elder Meng-gu, we turned around and returned to Ningdu.

And after getting a room at an inn in Ningdu, I gathered my companions into one room.

After checking the surroundings of the inn with my senses, and additionally using my second eye to make sure there was no one watching, I spoke to my companions.

“There was a spy hidden among the Beggars’ Sect members.”

My companions all showed a startled reaction.

“I-is that really true!?”

When I nodded at that Dang Clan guy’s question, he asked again.

“How did you figure that out?”

“I felt a sense of disharmony while listening to the Beggars’ Sect members’ story.”

They had fled without a trace.

It would have been possible if they had noticed the Beggars’ Sect’s pursuit in advance.

But from what I heard, it seemed they had noticed while capturing the Beggars’ Sect members during the gathering.

But they had removed all traces while fleeing in a hurry?

Although not impossible, it was certainly a very difficult thing to do.

Then a certain possibility came to mind.

The Teaching Demon, a member of the Four Demons, was a master of shamanism, as befitting a pseudo-cult leader.

His notoriety also stemmed from the shamanism he wielded.

He could make his subordinates unleash their latent potential through shamanism, making them display abnormal power.

In addition, he could use people like his own slaves through shamanism.

The future Teaching Demon was a man who did not walk on his own feet.

He always moved around in an eight-person palanquin carried by eight people.

And surprisingly, the eight slaves who carried him were all masters who had once made a name for themselves in the martial world.

They had been caught by his shamanism and become slaves.

He always had slaves and never walked on his own feet. For this reason, people sometimes called him the King of Slothful Teaching instead of the Teaching Demon.

Just as Hwangbo Ak was called the Green Forest Fighting King, and Hyeok Ilso was called the King of the Underworld.

Of course, since I couldn’t mention the events of my past life, I just finished the explanation with a sense of disharmony.

“Because of that sense of disharmony, I secretly opened my second eye just in case.”

And I could see it.

“The Four-Knot Beggar Chun-gae. A sinister energy was lingering on his head. It seemed he had been hit by some kind of evil art.”

“No, then we should have caught him right away and interrogated him. Why did we just come back?”

I answered Hwangbo Ak’s question, which sounded frustrated.

“It is because of the sinister energy embedded in his mind. If we had continued the interrogation, Chun-gae’s head would have exploded because of that energy.”

That Four-Knot Beggar had been hit by shamanism while chasing the Heavenly Emperor Cult.

He wasn’t acting as a spy intentionally.

At my answer, my original companions nodded as if they had expected it.

But Paeng Daecheol’s reaction was a bit excessive.

“As expected of the Great Hero!! To think you would even worry about a Beggars’ Sect member who was unfairly caught up in shamanism!”

On the contrary, Hwangbo Ak muttered with an annoyed face.

“Ugh. It was the same with the Red Moon Falling Flowers last time, but these damn shamanism users are really tiresome. I just want to have a good, clean fight.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I just retreated without a plan.”

Since we had appeared in this village anyway, Chun-gae would have no choice but to move, even if it was because of the shamanism.

Whether he contacted someone from the Heavenly Emperor Cult or sent some letter, he was bound to make some move.

And among my companions, there was one who was very specialized in chasing and monitoring someone.

“Junior Sister Choyeon. From today on, you will monitor that man Chun-gae every day.”

The woman who, if the original future had come to pass, would have been called the Killing Demon.

***

From that day on, Jin Yuseong and his companions split into groups of about three and wandered around the village.

They contacted the Beggars’ Sect members and asked the residents for various information.

The Beggars’ Sect members also helped them and continued their investigation into the Heavenly Emperor Cult.

After a few days of being engrossed in the investigation together like that.

“Ugh.”

In the dead of night, Chun-gae, who was sleeping with the Beggars’ Sect members, got up with a groan.

“Are you in pain somewhere?”

At Elder Meng-gu’s question, who had woken up at the sound, Chun-gae answered.

“It seems I drank too much river water at dinner earlier. My stomach is a real mess.”

“Ugh. Go and relieve yourself somewhere a bit far away and come back.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Chun-gae, clenching his buttocks as if he had to go, ran out in a strange posture.

After moving a short distance away from where the Beggars’ Sect members were staying, Chun-gae’s movements, which had been as if he were holding it in until just now, changed.

SWISH!

He used his movement technique and ran.

Not toward the back mountain where the Heavenly Emperor Cult’s gatherings were held, but toward the mountain located on the opposite side.

Before long, Chun-gae, who had arrived at the entrance of the mountain, veered off to a side path instead of the one people usually took.

A short while later, Chun-gae stopped in front of a cut tree stump.

He picked up a piece of bark that was scattered nearby and scribbled some letters with his fingernail.

Leaving behind a short phrase that looked like a code, Chun-gae turned around and went back.

How long had it been since a single piece of bark was left alone in a place with no sign of anyone?

About a shichen later.

RUSTLE.

With a very faint presence, a man dressed in black appeared.

The man in black turned his head from side to side and looked around.

And after confirming that there was no one around, he approached the bark on top of the tree stump.

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