Thump-thump-thump-.
Urgent footsteps echoed through the streets.
"Find them quickly! They couldn't have gone far!"
Along with that voice, the footsteps gradually faded away.
Cheon Myeong and Yu Eunseong held their breath in the alley until the footsteps completely disappeared.
'...It seems they're gone.'
Even after leaving the Black Night Gang, the mbers had tenaciously followed Cheon Myeong and Yu Eunseong.
After playing hide-and-seek around the city for about half an hour, it seed that they had barely shaken off the pursuit of the mbers, and as he felt that it was safe, Cheon Myeong was finally able to take off his mask.
Swish-.
It was a mask he was taking off for the first ti in a long ti.
Although he could breathe properly even with the mask on, perhaps because of his mood, as soon as he took off the mask, Cheon Myeong felt that the air he was breathing in was refreshing.
However, Cheon Myeong's face, which was revealed after taking off the mask, did not look refreshing at all.
'In the end, I couldn't retrieve all of the Three Sacred Treasures.'
Just in case, he had brought the fragnts of the Heavenly Demon Ring.
But unless a craftsman of Hua Tuo's level appeared, wouldn't it be impossible for the Heavenly Demon Ring to regain its forr appearance?
Moreover, since it had been broken into quite small pieces, although he had said that he had taken all of them, he could not be sure that he had recovered the fragnts completely.
'The mission... is a failure.'
Since one of the Three Sacred Treasures had been shattered, he would have to think so.
And as Blue Face had said, his responsibility would also be in the fact that the Heavenly Demon Ring was broken, no matter what.
Even if Cheon Jin were to ask him for responsibility for this matter, it seed that he would not be able to make any excuses.
"..."
He had no particular lingering feelings about the Heavenly Demon Ring being broken.
Since it was already broken, what would change even if he kept thinking about this here?
It was a problem that would be neatly solved if he just went to Cheon Jin and received his punishnt.
However, there was still a part that Cheon Myeong could not let go of as neatly as the broken Heavenly Demon Ring.
'Blue Face... what on earth was that guy?'
A martial art on par with his, no, perhaps even more.
Although there were many puzzling things about such a guy suddenly appearing, the most puzzling thing was, as expected, the martial art that Blue Face had used.
'That was the sa type of martial art as that guy I fought at that ti.'
The enemy he had fought, risking the existence of the Demonic Cult, before he had entered this body.
Of course, in terms of montum alone, it could be said that the guy who had fought with Jangcheon's body was much stronger.
However, what he had to look at more carefully than that was why an enemy who should have appeared a hundred years later existed in this era.
'It was a dark blue energy.'
The montum he felt was also on par with his Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
There was no way such a guy would have suddenly appeared, and thinking about what would happen a hundred years later, he had no choice but to think that a force that had been aiming for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for a long ti had existed.
'I had thought that if I endured the checks of the Five Great Demonic Families and I inherited the position of leader, all problems would be solved.'
But as he realized the existence of Blue Face, and furthermore, the fact that there was a mysterious force that Blue Face belonged to, he had co to realize that he could no longer change the future of the Demonic Cult with just that.
Of course, for now, it was just a guess. That's why it could be a force that existed only in his imagination, but recalling his last mory as Jangcheon, it was also true that he could not just dismiss it as such an imagination.
'...It ans that the real enemy may not be the Five Great Demonic Families.'
As he had that thought, Cheon Myeong's face couldn't help but darken.
"Young Master."
At that mont, Yu Eunseong called Cheon Myeong from the side.
Hearing the voice calling him, Cheon Myeong finally relaxed his very serious face and turned his head to the side.
Prostrate-.
As Cheon Myeong turned his head, Yu Eunseong was lying flat on the floor there.
"...?"
Why on earth was Yu Eunseong bowing to him?
Since Cheon Myeong could not guess the reason at all, he was looking down at Yu Eunseong with his mouth shut.
"I'm sorry."
At that mont, Yu Eunseong said to Cheon Myeong while prostrating.
Well, just by looking at her posture, it seed that she was asking for his forgiveness.
But to ask for forgiveness so abruptly without any context, the one who was receiving the apology was rather more bewildered.
"I disobeyed your order, Young Master, and acted on my own. As a result, Man Jeokseon was killed by the enemy."
"..."
"Since I even let the enemy escape, it can be said that everything is my fault."
Ah, so that was it.
As Yu Eunseong added an explanation, Cheon Myeong finally understood why Yu Eunseong was prostrating to him.
'The death of Man Jeokseon is indeed a painful mistake.'
If Man Jeokseon had been alive, he might have been able to find out the identity of Blue Face and what kind of force was behind him through him.
That's why the securing of Man Jeokseon was in fact an important matter, but Cheon Myeong had no intention of blaming Yu Eunseong for that.
'I also couldn't stop that guy.'
So could Yu Eunseong have been able to stop Blue Face?
Of course, she might have been able to prevent him from easily killing Man Jeokseon. However, even if Yu Eunseong had been guarding that place, Cheon Myeong thought that the result would probably have been the sa.
'In the first place, if I had subdued Blue Face, Man Jeokseon would not have died.'
So wasn't it that Yu Eunseong had also moved away from Man Jeokseon and had aid for Blue Face's back?
If one were to strictly determine who was at fault, he, who had not been able to protect the Three Sacred Treasures, was more at fault than Yu Eunseong.
"Please punish in this place."
"..."
Cheon Myeong silently looked down at Yu Eunseong, who was saying that to him.
'Now I think I can roughly know what kind of person Yu Eunseong is.'
While acting with Yu Eunseong, there had been quite a few things.
Although that ti could not be said to be very long, at least it seed that he had been able to know more about Yu Eunseong than when the four of them had been traveling together.
Cheon Myeong thought so and opened his mouth after a brief silence.
"Okay. Then I will give you a punishnt."
"..."
"Go and find Cheon Seong and Soyeon Sang right now."
Although it was a little strange to call it a punishnt.
As Yu Eunseong had that thought, she thought that there were more words left, but no matter how much ti passed, as Cheon Myeong did not say anything more after those words, Yu Eunseong raised her head slightly and said.
"...Is that all?"
"That's all."
"But that's not sothing that can be called a punishnt..."
"This is also a strict punishnt. Do you think it's easy to find those two in this wide land of Namgang? Since the promised ti to et has already passed by a long ti, those two may have left the eting point."
"That's true, but..."
In the first place, it was natural to et up with the two.
That's why Yu Eunseong wanted to receive a more appropriate punishnt for her mistake, but before that, Cheon Myeong said to Yu Eunseong.
"You'll have to get up and find them quickly. Since the guys from the Black Night Gang are looking for us with their eyes on fire in this city, be careful."
"..."
"Although it will be sowhat okay because we were wearing masks, they might be able to find us by our clothes."
As Cheon Myeong said that, Yu Eunseong could not say anything more.
In the end, Yu Eunseong, who was getting up from her seat. And she bowed her head lightly to Cheon Myeong and said.
"I understand. I will be careful and find those two."
"You'll have to find them quickly. Since there will be nothing good about being caught by the guys from the Black Night Gang, let's leave Namgang in a hurry."
"..."
Yu Eunseong looked at Cheon Myeong intently.
Cheon Myeong, who was stretching, seed to have felt the gaze directed at him and looked at that side, and even when their eyes t, as Yu Eunseong was looking at him without a word, he smiled calmly and said.
"What? No matter how handso I am, it's a little embarrassing if you keep looking at like that."
"...Young Master, perhaps."
"Yes?"
"...It's nothing."
What on earth was it?
To try to say sothing and then stop in the middle like that, there was nothing more frustrating for the one who was listening.
"By the way, Young Master."
Before he could ask Yu Eunseong what she had swallowed, she called Cheon Myeong again from that side.
"Is it okay for you not to retrieve the bird you were raising, Young Master?"
"Huh? A bird?"
"Yes, the bird you put up as an auction item when we were entering the Black Night Gang."
"..."
Uh.
"...Have you perhaps forgotten?"
Yu Eunseong asked, looking at Cheon Myeong's expression.
Then, Cheon Myeong shook his head strongly and answered with an awkward smile.
"No! Of course, I was going to go and retrieve Baekjo from now on!"
"..."
"I deliberately didn't look for it until I had shaken off the guys from the Black Night Gang. Deliberately."
He emphasized it twice.
Yu Eunseong quietly thought to herself that if she had not said anything, Cheon Myeong might have left Namgang, forgetting about Baekjo's existence.
"I'll be back, so hold on to this."
Saying that, Cheon Myeong held out the Heavenly Demon Sword and the Heavenly Demon Mirror to Yu Eunseong.
Although Yu Eunseong received them in a daze, she realized his intention and imdiately said to Cheon Myeong.
"I will also follow you."
"No, you should be looking for those two."
"But..."
"Since they're busy chasing us, there probably won't be many people on the Black Night Gang's side. So I'll go quickly and co back quickly."
To go quickly and co back quickly.
Although there might not be many people in the Black Night Gang now as Cheon Myeong had said, that did not an that it was not dangerous.
"How about we et up with the other two and go together?"
"What if Baekjo is sold in the anti and becos a white soup?"
"..."
"It's okay to go alone. I'll also retrieve the swords we entrusted to them, so let's et at the eting point later."
With those words, Cheon Myeong suddenly disappeared from Yu Eunseong's sight.
Although she had also tried to chase him, since that would be disobeying Cheon Myeong's order again, Yu Eunseong had no choice but to stop in her spot.
"..."
Yu Eunseong slung the Heavenly Demon Sword she was holding over her shoulder and carefully hugged the Heavenly Demon Mirror.
The order given to her was to protect these and find the other two.
With the thought of surely carrying out that order this ti, Yu Eunseong imdiately disappeared from that spot.
Yes, now there would be no more making a mistake like at that ti.
***
Bang-!
A man with a bushy beard slamd the table hard with his hand.
Because of that, the teacup that had been on the table fell to the floor and shattered into pieces, but as if that were not enough, the man let out a rough breath with an angry face.
"Why on earth can't you catch just two people and are causing this ss!"
The na of the man who was slamming the table and shouting was Wang Ja-un, the leader of the Black Night Gang.
The reason why Wang Ja-un was so angry now was because of the incident that had happened at the auction today.
A rare incident where not only was an auction item that had been won at a high price openly stolen, but the auction house had also been turned into a ss.
Even if one were to look through all the precedents, there had never been a ti when they had suffered this much damage. And that, by just two people.
Bang-!
As he thought about that, as if his anger was rising on its own, Wang Ja-un slamd the table once more.
This incident could be said to be a matter of the existence of the Black Night Gang.
It was not simply a problem that an item that had been traded for two thousand gold taels had been stolen. What was more of a problem was that the item had been stolen in a place where all the bidders were gathered.
And that would soon beco a problem that would lead to the honor of the Black Night Gang.
'I must find them.'
If he could not properly handle this incident, the honor of the Black Night Gang would fall to the ground.
Do you know what is the most important thing from the perspective of organizing an auction? And that is trust.
Especially since the items that ca into the Black Night Gang were mostly things that were traded secretly, they couldn't help but be sensitive to safety.
But if an item were to be openly stolen like today, who would want to put up an item in the Black Night Gang in the future? Even the leader himself would probably never entrust an item to the Black Night Gang.
'I can't lose the trust of the custors here.'
How much inco had he made from this until now? He could not lose such a good source of inco so futilely.
'It's not too late yet.'
If he could just catch the two guys who had committed the cri, he could still regain his trust.
Of course, although he could not make it as if it had never happened with just that, in the current situation, that would be the best.
"Leader."
At that mont, a man who was standing behind Wang Ja-un called Wang Ja-un in a low voice.
Then, Wang Ja-un, who was barely catching his breath and turning his head to that man. Then, the man said with a relaxed smile.
"Don't worry. Don't I have you by my side, Leader? We will surely be able to catch the two rats that have run away."
"Although it's reassuring that you say so, Mr. Heo... since there is no news that they have been found yet, I'm a little worried."
As Wang Ja-un said that, the man who was called Mr. Heo, Heo Cham, said with a grin.
"Then I will relieve your worries a little, Leader."
"Is there a way?"
As Wang Ja-un asked with interest, Heo Cham clapped his hands lightly twice instead of answering.
Creak-.
At the sa ti as the clap, soone entered the room.
Wang Ja-un's gaze naturally turned to that side, and his gaze imdiately moved to what the person who had entered was holding in his hand.
'...A bird?'
A birdcage visible at the end of Wang Ja-un's gaze, and inside it, there was a white-colored bird.
(End of Chapter)
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