Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: So It Was You
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When Byeok Taesan burned Chae Miryeong's soul, he read a few of her lingering thoughts. One of them was quite interesting.
A very foul yet peculiar spiritual energy clung to Chae Miryeong's soul.
So, at the time, he had examined her thoughts more closely.
A few men had intentionally approached Chae Miryeong, and the spiritual energy came from one of them.
It wasn't common for another person's spiritual energy to cling to a soul.
And given how foul it was, it clearly hadn't been cultivated through normal means.
The spiritual energy on Chae Miryeong felt unnatural.
In other words, that man had deliberately attached his spiritual energy to her.
When Byeok Taesan had extracted and slowly burned Chae Miryeong's soul, that spiritual energy had also been completely incinerated.
He couldn't analyze it in more depth, but there was no way it had been attached with good intentions.
It was clear the man had done it to use Chae Miryeong in some way.
Perhaps he had planned to use that as a starting point to forge a deeper relationship with the Golden Jade Trading Company and attach that foul spiritual energy to others within the company.
Having spiritual energy attached didn't immediately turn someone into a puppet who would do the man's bidding, but over a long period, it would have a similar effect.
At the very least, the spiritual energy he attached clearly carried such an intent.
Byeok Taesan quietly recalled the appearance of the man who had attached the spiritual energy.
"First, his height is similar to mine. His face... is plain. He was wearing a gray robe."
Listening quietly to Byeok Taesan's words, Hwaok's expression stiffened slightly.
Even for the Underworld Sect, finding someone with only that much information was impossible.
More key features were needed.
"He has a rather large mole next to his right eyebrow."
Hwaok's eyes lit up. This kind of information was helpful.
"Are there any other features? Moles are good, but scars are fine too."
"A scar..."
No matter how much he searched his memory, the man had no scars.
"His eyes are rather narrow. And..."
Byeok Taesan mentally scanned the man's appearance from head to toe.
Since the memory came through the lingering thoughts, the image remained quite clear in his mind.
"He wears a red wristband. It looks as if it's been soaked in blood."
Byeok Taesan said that much and looked at Hwaok.
"That's all. There's nothing more."
Hwaok bowed her head respectfully.
"With this much, we should be able to find him without much trouble. I will pass on the instructions to the Underworld Sect immediately."
"Find everyone who looks similar and just tell me their locations. I'll know right away if I see him myself."
Since the face was clearly etched in his mind, he would recognize him on sight.
"Just when I thought things were quieting down, I get busier with more things to do."
He had to find this man, and he also had to visit the Sword Wall Fortress and the Jade Wall Gate.
And if he added a visit to the newly discovered Secret Heaven Group, it really felt like he would need three bodies.
In Byeok Taesan's opinion, the most urgent and important task among them was finding the man who had tainted Chae Miryeong with that filth-like spiritual energy.
His intuition told him so.
Leaving Wuhan without dealing with him seemed like it would be no fun.
After all, one must have a clean slate behind them to move forward with peace of mind.
Dealing with Chae Miryeong and Byeok Cheonil, though a small matter, was done in that same vein.
After Hwaok withdrew, Byeok Taesan rose from his seat.
And headed for the training grounds.
When his mind was this cluttered, training was truly the best remedy.
If he pushed his body to its limits, all the complicated tangles in his mind would soon vanish.
At the thought of training, Byeok Taesan quickened his pace with a pleasant smile.
***
"I have a bad feeling."
a man in a pure white robe muttered.
The woman in black following silently behind him asked cautiously.
"Is there something bothering you?"
The man nodded.
"It feels as if something is gripping my heart and slowly squeezing it."
It was a long-winded way of saying he had a bad feeling.
But for the woman in black, this was a common occurrence, so her expression didn't change in the slightest.
The man asked.
"The investigation into the Underworld Sect is proceeding well, I trust?"
"Yes. We have completed the investigation into their headquarters, the sect leader, and those around him. We are currently investigating how they operate in Wuhan."
"They're a highly suspicious bunch, so investigate them thoroughly. Is there anything unusual around them?"
"For one, they have a close relationship with the Golden Jade Trading Company. Especially with Byeok Taesan, the second young master of the company."
"Byeok Taesan... he's another suspicious one. In any case, that bastard Hyeokryeon Bigwang, like the snake he is, has hidden the necessary information too well."
No matter how much Hyeokryeon Bigwang had hidden, it wasn't as if they had learned nothing.
That's why they had come to Wuhan and subtly provoked the Golden Jade Trading Company.
Of course, that was also partly to piggyback on the Golden Moon Trading Company's operations against the Golden Jade Trading Company to gain something for themselves.
"As the investigation progresses, we've found that Byeok Taesan's power is considerable. And the Underworld Sect might be under his command. Ah, this part is not yet certain. There is only some circumstantial evidence."
The man's eyes glinted.
"Circumstantial evidence is like a path to the truth. It wouldn't be a bad idea to investigate with that in mind."
The woman in black bowed her head in understanding.
She looked at the man and continued her report.
"Also, while investigating the Underworld Sect's activities, we discovered something peculiar."
"Peculiar?"
"It seems the Underworld Sect is looking for someone."
"Isn't that what they usually do? What's so peculiar about it?"
"This part is also not yet certain, but... it seems the person they are looking for is Gyeong Baekjun."
"Gyeong Baekjun?"
The man frowned.
Gyeong Baekjun was one of the man's subordinates, one he had used for the operation against the Golden Jade Trading Company.
Naturally, he was a very important person to the man, and his skills were quite good.
"Why is the Underworld Sect looking for Gyeong Baekjun?"
"Some time ago, Byeok Taesan reportedly met with the wife of the Golden Jade Trading Company's master."
The man tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
"He figured out Gyeong Baekjun's existence from just that? That makes no sense."
There was no way Gyeong Baekjun would have met Chae Miryeong without any preparations or safeguards.
Chae Miryeong absolutely could not have divulged Gyeong Baekjun's existence or the fact that she had met him.
The woman in black looked at the man and said.
"I confirmed with Gyeong Baekjun himself; he said he definitely planted a Blood Spirit."
"That's my point. Isn't it strange?"
"It is strange. But it is certain that the Underworld Sect is looking for someone, and it's also true that there's a high probability that someone is Gyeong Baekjun."
It wouldn't hurt to be cautious. But he couldn't just get rid of Gyeong Baekjun.
"So this is why I had a bad feeling."
The man pondered for a moment before giving an order to the woman in black.
"Find out why the Underworld Sect is looking for Gyeong Baekjun. Go to some lengths to find out for sure. And just in case, provide separate protection for Gyeong Baekjun. With some skilled men, make it solid."
"Yes. I will take care of it immediately."
The man waved his hand dismissively, and the woman in black bowed her head and quietly withdrew.
Left alone in the room, the man walked to the window and looked outside.
The moon was bright in the sky, and the moonlit streets of Wuhan were visible.
After standing there for a while looking out, the man muttered.
"Everything is fine, but... the fact that I don't know what that bastard Hyeokryeon Bigwang is plotting bothers me. What on earth was he thinking, handing over Wuhan?"
The simple fact that outside forces like the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance were starting to enter isn't a good enough reason.
On the contrary, he could have used that situation to reap much greater benefits or create a favorable flow of events.
"Did he want me to fight to the death with Hyeokryeon Hwi here?"
That was the only thing that came to mind immediately.
But he couldn't understand handing over his own territory, Wuhan, for such a meager reason.
The man continued to tilt his head, pondering and pondering, trying to uncover the source of this unsettling feeling.
***
Gyeong Baekjun scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.
He had been getting a strange feeling often lately.
Just now was another instance. The sensation of being secretly watched brushed past the nape of his neck.
'If it's happened several times, it can't be a coincidence.'
Someone was watching him. And that someone was clearly an expert.
A name immediately popped into Gyeong Baekjun's mind.
'The Underworld Sect.'
There couldn't be many organizations capable of such skill in tracking and surveillance.
In fact, the Underworld Sect he knew was not such a formidable organization.
It had history and tradition, but its capabilities had hit rock bottom, making it just a mediocre organization.
But the recent Underworld Sect was completely different from the one Gyeong Baekjun used to know.
For starters, their intelligence-gathering capabilities had changed.
The skills of the Underworld Sect members had become incomparably better than before, making their activities extremely secretive and precise.
Not only that, but they had plenty of hidden secrets.
That must be how they managed to wipe Hyeokryeon So, who had come with hundreds of subordinates, off the face of the earth.
"What is it?"
As Gyeong Baekjun was lost in thought, a man nearby approached and asked.
He was a bodyguard assigned to protect Gyeong Baekjun.
Gyeong Baekjun shook his head.
"It's nothing. It's just... I feel like someone is watching me. Well, it must be the Underworld Sect."
At those words, sparks flew from the man's eyes.
"How dare they, the likes of the Underworld Sect...! What are you all doing? Search the entire area!"
At his command, the man's subordinates bowed sharply and scattered in all directions.
The number of warriors led by the man was a full twenty.
The sight of twenty masters scattering to sweep the area was a spectacle.
But Gyeong Baekjun's expression as he watched was not bright.
"No, there's no need to go this far..."
It wasn't that it was unnecessary; it was that they shouldn't. What good could come from revealing their presence like this?
"Do not worry. No one will be able to lay a finger on you, Sir Gyeong Baekjun. Now that the master's order has been given, I will protect you with my life."
Gyeong Baekjun looked at the man with an uncomfortable gaze.
He understood and was grateful for the master's sentiment in sending this man, but honestly, he felt it would be safer to be alone.
Gyeong Baekjun himself was also quite a master, though not on the same level as the man, so he could sense the presences around him.
He could feel unfamiliar presences scattering in all directions.
It seemed the ones who were watching were fleeing.
"Hoh. It seems the watchers are quite skilled. I honestly thought we could catch them in an instant."
The man who said that suddenly had a strange expression.
"Look at these bastards."
"What is it?"
The man spun around, scanning the surroundings.
"The watchers aren't just fleeing. They're circling the area."
"What? Circling the area?"
"They're leading our men around, but they aren't leaving this vicinity."
"Does that mean..."
The man nodded.
"Yes. They're circling us, waiting for reinforcements to arrive."
The man looked at Gyeong Baekjun and said.
"So, it would be best for us to leave this place. We can crush whoever comes, but there's no need to take unnecessary risks."
"Yes. Let's do that."
Gyeong Baekjun quickly nodded.
The two of them started to move.
The expression of the man leading Gyeong Baekjun at a fast pace grew increasingly stiff.
"These bastards are no ordinary foes. They are moving along with us."
Gyeong Baekjun's expression also soured.
He hadn't realized the skills of his watchers were this exceptional.
The smell of blood began to waft through the air.
It seemed some of the watchers had been dealt with.
At that moment, the man stopped walking.
Gyeong Baekjun looked at the man with anxious eyes and asked.
"What is it?"
Suddenly, the man's eyes glinted with fighting spirit and killing intent.
As Gyeong Baekjun flinched in surprise, the man said.
"It seems they've all been taken down."
Gyeong Baekjun was startled by the meaning behind those words. Did that mean the smell of blood he had just caught wasn't from the Underworld Sect members, but from the man's subordinates?
"All of them? All twenty of them?"
"But do not worry. As long as I put my life on the line, no one will be able to lay a single finger on you, Sir Gyeong Baekjun."
A dangerous aura shimmered from the man's body.
For a moment, Gyeong Baekjun almost recoiled from the man. But he suppressed the urge with superhuman patience.
"First, I will find a safe place."
As the man started walking, Gyeong Baekjun followed closely behind him.
But before the two of them could take more than a few steps, someone blocked their path.
It was Byeok Taesan.
Grinning at the two of them, Byeok Taesan strode forward.
"I know just by looking at your face. So it was you."
< So It Was You > End