Since the start of the Yugeom Emperor’s furious pursuit.

Jongri Hong had never felt a threat like the one he was feeling now.

“We’ve reached the immediate vicinity!”

“The right side is blocked!”

“The shortcut that goes around is also blocked!”

The Tae-eul swordsmen urgently relayed the situation one after another.

Even the great Jongri Hong’s face turned pale at the urgent reports that were bursting out from here and there.

“If we go this way, we’ll be caught soon. Find another way!”

The pursuit had been fierce even before. No matter how much he erased his traces and moved secretly, they had stuck to him to the end.

But there had been no major problems.

Because a distance of almost one to two days had been maintained.

For an absolute master like Jongri Hong, that much of a difference was enormous.

Jongri Hong had been optimistic as he watched the situation.

But since yesterday, things had changed rapidly.

“If we go this way, we’ll be caught soon. We have to get out of the mountain.”

“Fortunately, they don’t seem to have guessed that we’re going to Anhui. But if we keep heading for Anhui, there’s a risk that our paths will overlap, so we have to go down the mountain.”

The Tae-eul swordsman repeatedly offered his earnest advice.

Jongri Hong nodded his head with a slightly furrowed face.

It was truly urgent.

The pursuit team had reached his chin in an instant.

“An enormous guy has attached himself.”

Jongri Hong’s voice became stiff.

The previous tracker had also been quite excellent, but the tracker who was attached now was no ordinary person.

Even if Jongri Hong changed his direction abruptly and intentionally left false traces to cause confusion, he had chased him with amazing accuracy.

If things continued like this, it was only natural that a threat that he might be caught soon would loom.

In the end, Jongri Hong had no choice but to accept the Tae-eul swordsmen’s advice.

“We will go down the mountain and move along the river.”

“The Yangtze River, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“But… we can’t avoid them on the river.”

That was right.

There was no faster way to get out of Zhejiang Province than through the Yangtze River.

As fast as it was, if they took a boat, they had to take a risk. The fact that they could not change their path once they were discovered. Didn’t the waterways eventually merge and flow as one?

But now there was no other way.

All paths were blocked.

The only remaining route was to use the Yangtze River.

“He is a truly vicious and meticulous tracker. I want to see his face once, and I want to hire him for our Jongnam! If we had a guy like this, tracking the sacred object would be no problem at all!”

So much so that Jongri Hong would express his frustration like that.

“Let’s go.”

Jongri Hong made a decision and moved immediately.

But as he went down the mountain, a sense of foreboding slowly rose in Jongri Hong’s heart.

Something was strange. He felt as if the intuition of an absolute master was poking at his mind.

‘Somehow… it feels like he’s guiding me to this path.’

As if he wanted him to use the Yangtze River.

As if he were forcing this path.

‘Why is he leaving this path open?’

The enemies’ pursuit was truly clever. No matter which way he went, the paths connected and overlapped. No matter which path he took, he had pursued a path where he would inevitably be caught in a short time.

But just one.

The path leading to the Yangtze River was open.

‘A tracker of this level didn’t think of the Yangtze River?’

It was strange.

‘As if he could catch me, but he’s intentionally letting me go and luring me.’

Although that thought suddenly came to him, Jongri Hong soon shook his head.

His mouth felt bitter.

‘I must be very tired too. To think such a ridiculous thing.’

Logically, when tracking a kidnapper who had kidnapped one’s daughter, would one intentionally let him go and lure him down a path?

“Grandpa, where are we going?”

At that time, the child who had woken up in the Tae-eul swordsman’s arms rubbed her eyes and said.

As if she did not even know that she had been kidnapped, the child still followed Jongri Hong well.

Perhaps she had felt a closeness to the faint immortal energy within Jongri Hong. Jongri Hong forcibly suppressed the guilt that was blooming in his chest and barely managed to smile.

“Child. We will take a boat.”

“A boat? Wow! It’s my first time on a boat!”

“Yes, yes. Let’s take a boat, go to grandpa’s house, get healthy, and then go back to your father.”

The only thing Jongri Hong could do was to take out the girl’s immortal energy, let her recover her health, and then send her back.

Jongri Hong urged himself on and quickened his pace.

* * *

“So he’s really trying to get out of Zhejiang by taking the Yangtze River.”

The Yugeom Emperor, who had finally confirmed that the traces were heading down the mountain and towards a tributary of the Yangtze River, let out a sigh that he could not understand.

What was contained in the sigh was a strange admiration, and the object of the admiration was none other than Cheon Mubaeck.

In fact, even as he had come this far, the Yugeom Emperor had been half in doubt.

‘That warrior was an excellent tracker. In fact, he had led us excellently this far.’

But it was frustrating that the distance did not seem to narrow, as if he would be caught but was not.

But that was not because the warrior’s tracking skills were wrong, but because the villains’ escape was excellent.

So even though the Yugeom Emperor had trusted and relied on Cheon Mubaeck instead of the warrior, he had wondered, what if the warrior’s words were right? What if the direction of Anhui was right?

But look at the results.

“As the young master had expected, he has headed for the Yangtze River.”

At the Yugeom Emperor’s words, the gazes of the crowd were focused on Cheon Mubaeck all at once.

Everyone was filled with admiration.

They had also confirmed it with their own two eyes. The traces that the villains had taken a boat and had escaped through the Yangtze River.

In any case, it was a half-day’s distance. If they quickly got a boat and rowed hard, they would be able to catch up soon.

Cheon Mubaeck maintained his composure. He had naturally known that they would go to the Yangtze River.

‘Because I guided them that way.’

He had blocked all the paths and had only left the path to the Yangtze River open, so would they not go?

The Yugeom Emperor, who did not know his inner thoughts, grabbed Cheon Mubaeck’s shoulder with a grateful face.

“Thank you, Young Master. Thanks to you, we were able to chase them this far.”

“No. We haven’t caught them completely yet, so it’s too early to raise a toast. We must not let our guard down until the moment we completely catch the villains and rescue your daughter.”

The great Yugeom Emperor. The most famous and respected man in Zhejiang Province after the Sword Empress.

He had been praised and thanked directly by such a person.

Even a mature middle-aged martial artist would be moved, but the young man, who looked to be around twenty, was calm.

Rather, the crowd was amazed at his appearance of emphasizing that they should not let their guard down.

The Yugeom Emperor was also the same.

“That’s right. That’s right. We must not relax until we catch the villain and find my daughter. Let’s pursue as soon as the boat is ready.”

“I will look for other paths.”

“Other paths?”

“In any case, I cannot show my skills on a boat. Finding traces on the water is something that only sailors who have lived on the river for a long time can do. Moreover, since the boats are small and the number of boats we can get is small, shouldn’t only the most elite warriors ride?”

“Indeed…”

“Moreover, although we had a conflict, that warrior was an excellent tracker. His words also have a point. Since he might have caught a route to Anhui, I will thoroughly track that side in case of an emergency.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s firm words, the goodwill that the Yugeom Emperor had held grew even greater.

Wasn’t he a person who had accused him of all sorts of things, saying that he was on the same side as the villains?

But he acknowledged his skill, and even saved his face by saying that his opinion also had a point. And even the meticulousness of keeping in mind the possibility of an emergency.

The Yugeom Emperor wondered where this young warrior had come from.

“What did you say your name was, Young Master?”

“I have no particular moniker. I am just a certain someone with the surname Hyeok.”

“Hah…”

At his appearance of being reluctant to reveal his identity, the Yugeom Emperor let out a sigh.

Was it because he had been seen in a good light once?

Far from being suspicious, he was rather amazed. If he had achieved such a result, he would have boasted of his name, but rather, he was hiding his name.

“This is not my result alone. All of this is thanks to the many heroes who have started the pursuit following the path of righteousness. My name is not important at all.”

“Ah!”

“Thank you, Young Master Hyeok.”

“Young Master Hyeok, please visit the Yuseong Gate once this matter is over.”

“No, please visit our Hangi Sword Sect. We will treat you without disappointment.”

“If you have no sect that you are an enemy of, please join our sect…”

His martial arts skills that had entered the vanguard, his young age, his tracking skills and experience that were more outstanding than those of most martial artists, and his humble and serious appearance.

Among the crowd, there were many leaders and high-ranking officials of influential sects in Zhejiang Province, and they all coveted Cheon Mubaeck.

“Thank you. Young Master Hyeok. Then please visit our manor once this matter is over.”

“I understand, Manor Lord.”

The Yugeom Emperor, who had concluded the story for now, gave an order with an excited face.

“Secure all the boats that can be secured!”

The warriors moved busily.

It was then.

“The Sword Empress has arrived!”

“Finally!”

The Yugeom Emperor clenched his fists.

The Sword Empress of the Putuo Sect.

A master of the previous generation who competed for the top even among the Ten Great Masters of the world.

Since she had come, it was only a matter of time before they captured the villains and made them pay for their crimes.

In an instant, his mind flashed.

‘Right, I should introduce Young Master Hyeok to the Sword Empress.’

Looking at him, he was a man who seemed to have no desire for fame or wealth.

Rather, what he could repay him with was to introduce him to the Sword Empress and let them form a connection.

To get to know one of the Ten Great Masters of the world, what greater reward could there be?

He hurriedly looked for Cheon Mubaeck. But he was not seen.

“Where has Young Master Hyeok gone?”

Yong Seong-ak approached and answered.

“He left while we were looking for a boat. I think it means that he will track separately.”

“Truly… truly diligent!”

The Yugeom Emperor was repeatedly amazed, saying that a hero had truly appeared in the martial world after a long time.

Of course, it was an admiration that came from not even dreaming of the situation that would soon follow.

* * *

It was not a difficult task to slip out from among the crowd.

Because everyone was frantic to get a boat.

When he was far enough away that people could not see him, Cheon Mubaeck whistled.

At that, a small boat that had been hiding in a corner of the riverbank, where a tree was hanging over, slowly crawled out.

Surprisingly, Neung-heo was on the small boat.

“Were you enjoying a leisurely boat ride? While your lord was working his bones off?”

Neung-heo’s mouth was agape, and he made a dumbfounded expression. As if he were upset, his face flushed red.

“A boat ride? Are you trying to make me sick? I almost died. A few guys even shot arrows and threw knives at me, you know?”

“But you escaped well, didn’t you? You worked hard to escape, pretending to be Jongri Hong.”

“Wow. I guess I did work hard. For the Lord to even encourage me.”

“You escaped well. You must have learned how to climb a mountain well after getting close to the Green Forest members at the Black Assembly.”

“Well, I’ve prepared the boat as you ordered. But why are you making things so troublesome? To be honest, if you had made up your mind, you could have finished the pursuit on the mountain and caught him, right?”

At Neung-heo’s question, Cheon Mubaeck just smiled.

“Why did you lure him to the river…”

Although Neung-heo had naturally followed Cheon Mubaeck’s orders, he had one or two questions.

The villain that the pursuit team had discovered was none other than Neung-heo, and the traces that Cheon Mubaeck had discovered and that the warrior had said seemed artificial were also traces that Neung-heo had left.

So all of this was a fabrication. As Neung-heo had said, Cheon Mubaeck had intentionally guided him to the Yangtze River.

“It’s a headache to catch him there. The Yugeom Emperor, his subordinates, and even the Sword Empress will be coming soon. What can I do?”

“Then what about on the Yangtze River?”

“It’s a complicated board. The Black Assembly, the Blood Demon Valley, Jongnam, the Zhejiang martial world, and even the Sword Empress.”

It was truly a complicated board, just looking at the faces.

Here, what Cheon Mubaeck had to gain was clear. The problem was that everyone was trying to gain the same thing. Everyone was a competitor, an enemy.

So in this complicated board, Cheon Mubaeck had to overcome all the obstacles and win.

By defeating everyone? It was impossible unless one was a madman who wanted to become a public enemy of the martial world.

“If the board is complicated, shouldn’t we solve it one by one?”

“That’s the orthodox theory, but… isn’t it troublesome?”

Neung-heo closed his mouth firmly.

Well, he’s young, but he finds everything troublesome.

“There’s a signal flare in your bosom, right? Shoot it.”

Neung-heo shot the signal flare as he was told, with a face that was hard to understand.

A firework exploded high in the sky.

“Even if it’s troublesome, you have to solve the complicated things to win money at the board.”

“No.”

Cheon Mubaeck dismissed Neung-heo’s words and turned his gaze.

Far away, beyond the Yangtze River.

A pure white mast shot up.

“A complicated board…”

One by one, the masts appeared. And the fluttering flag.

The leader of the Black Assembly.

The General Fortress Leader of the Yangtze River Waterway, the River King, Wang Jeonyu.

“Rather, if I make it a board that no one can eat, the probability that I will eat it increases.”

What was such a board called…?

A smile spread on Cheon Mubaeck’s lips.

“Now, let’s make a mess.”

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep