Chapter 182
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Is It That Guy's Doing?
Finding the Thunderclap Dog's location was a piece of cake.
The entirety of Muchang lay under Ha Mu-baek's qi sense, so pinpointing his presence took only an instant.
He usually lingered near Dan Mok Un-roe's house, but this time was different.
Muchang's outskirts—Dog Shrine.
That's where the Thunderclap Dog's presence emanated from. Several others mingled with it.
The old, rundown Dog Shrine served as a usual gathering spot for the Beggars' Sect members.
'No wonder the beggars have been scurrying about.'
Right when the Thunderclap Dog had stepped away briefly, loosening the Beggars' Sect's guard on Dan Mok Un-roe's house.
How had they timed their gathering so perfectly?
Whoever these Blood Cult or Demonic Cult bastards were, it spelled serious danger.
Even so, Ha Mu-baek's qi sense constantly enveloped all of Muchang.
On top of that, Ha Seol-ran's qi sense training was underway.
Just because the Thunderclap Dog and the Beggars' Sect had let their defenses slip didn't make Dan Mok Un-roe's house an easy target.
'Though the bastards wouldn't know that.'
Mulling over these thoughts, Ha Mu-baek drew closer to the Dog Shrine.
"That Ha Mu-baek bastard, huh."
Hyung Ui-cheon muttered with a furrowed brow.
He'd confirmed the Beggars' Sect shifting toward Muchang's outskirts and secretly ordered the operation to proceed.
But it ended before it even began.
The presences of his twenty subordinates scattered in all directions, vanishing in a flash.
Then, a lone, massive aura remained.
Hyung Ui-cheon leaned back behind his wheeled chair, looking exhausted.
With his lower dantian's internal energy sealed, reading presences through qi sense was grueling.
Still, given the stakes, he'd pushed his qi sense to the limit to assess the situation.
Limited to his middle dantian, he could manage qi sense, but its boundaries were stark.
Hence the fatigue etched plainly on his face.
Blood Cult's Greatest Foe.
Not So Hwi-woong, but this Ha Mu-baek guy.
The reputation seemed well-earned.
He'd dispatched twenty men Hyung Ui-cheon had painstakingly nurtured—in a blink.
From their presences, they'd likely triggered self-destruction rites, most taking their own lives.
But that monstrous speed, catching all nineteen scattered spots instantly...
"Muchang. More of a headache than I thought. Yeo-hwa, how'd you hole up in a place like this."
Hyung Ui-cheon grumbled irritably.
His gaze drifted down to his abdomen.
More precisely, where his lower dantian resided.
He might have to unseal it after all.
"Hmmm..."
A sudden headache drew a short groan from Hyung Ui-cheon. He grabbed the bell beside his wheeled chair and shook it vigorously.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling.
The piercing bell rang out. The door swung open, and attendants—male and female—poured in.
"I'm beat. Move me to the bed first."
At Hyung Ui-cheon's command, two maids gripped the handles on the back of his wheeled chair and pushed hard.
The wheels turned slowly, wheeling him along.
Once beside the bed, four attendants lifted Hyung Ui-cheon and placed him on it.
Propped against the headboard, he eyed the maids impassively.
Six in total.
"You two tonight."
The pair he pointed to bowed and stayed; the rest filed out.
The lamp was extinguished, and the two maids shed their clothes.
Swish. Swish.
After the sound of fabric slipping away,
The two women, clad only in thin silk shifts, climbed onto the bed, stripped Hyung Ui-cheon, and nestled into his arms.
Under the moonlight filtering through the window, faint, sweet moans drifted out.
"More people head to Moon Dragon Tower for the food than to bed the courtesans?"
The Thunderclap Dog asked, incredulous.
"Yes, elder. But you can't just eat there without a courtesan... And after the meal, most get stirred up and end up taking one anyway."
The Thunderclap Dog frowned at the beggar's report.
He'd suspected foul play with the food at Moon Dragon Inn and Moon Dragon Tower.
But this? It sounded like they'd laced the dishes with aphrodisiacs too.
"Black path or unorthodox scum up to their usual tricks..."
The Thunderclap Dog muttered with a scowl.
"The more folks visit Moon Dragon Inn, the worse the poisoning symptoms get for those who've eaten there. Some can't last without three squares from the place daily."
Another beggar's report.
At this point, people should notice something's off.
Yet Moon Dragon Inn still teemed with customers.
"Even you seem stumped by Moon Dragon Inn, elder."
A familiar voice cut in suddenly.
The Thunderclap Dog didn't flinch. He knew the owner.
To that man, this was small potatoes.
"What brings Instructor Ha to this humble shack?"
The Thunderclap Dog turned toward the voice and asked.
"Got some questions."
Ha Mu-baek plopped down across from him.
The Thunderclap Dog signaled his men to withdraw with a glance.
The beggars, knowing full well who Ha Mu-baek was, vanished outside in a flash.
Ha Mu-baek erected a qi barrier around their space.
"What do you want to ask? Moon Dragon Inn, maybe? I heard you checked it out."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
"It's about the Dan Mok Clan."
The unexpected topic sharpened the Thunderclap Dog's gaze.
Why the Dan Mok Clan all of a sudden?
Unless...
"Something happen at Un-roe's place?"
"About twenty guys tried hopping the wall just now."
Flames erupted in the Thunderclap Dog's eyes at the reply.
"Which rotten sons of bitches!!"
He shot to his feet, bellowing. A terrifying aura surged from him.
The Thunderclap Dog's body trembled faintly.
Of all times, while he was away briefly—this mess.
It felt deliberate.
Especially with the Dan-an Merchant Group already tying up the Beggars' Sect.
His thoughts halted abruptly.
The Dan-an Merchant Group distracts the Beggars' Sect, and assailants hit Dan Mok Un-roe's house in the gap.
It could be intentional.
A schemer like Gwang Hoe-cheon he knew would pull something like this.
Wasn't the Dan Mok Clan's downfall due to falling for his ploys?
"Gwang Hoe-cheon. That bastard's handiwork..."
The Thunderclap Dog muttered softly.
"I handled it fine, so sit down and explain it so I can follow."
Ha Mu-baek said to him. Composing himself, the Thunderclap Dog sat back down.
"Sorry. Got carried away. And thanks. For guarding the Dan Mok house while I was tied up."
"No big deal. Un-roe's one of my students anyway. But why would those bastards target it?"
"What kind were the attackers?"
The Thunderclap Dog countered Ha Mu-baek's question with one of his own.
Assuming there was a reason, Ha Mu-baek answered readily.
"No clue. They all offed themselves before capture. Blood Cult or Demonic Cult, one or the other."
The Thunderclap Dog scowled.
"Blood Cult."
He stated flatly.
"Hm. Then those Blood Cult rats must've tampered with their blood arts. No blood qi from any of them."
Ha Mu-baek trusted the Thunderclap Dog's assertion. He knew the Dan Mok Clan's affairs best right now.
"Remember I mentioned it before? The Dan Mok Clan has a secret vault for emergencies."
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly.
When discussing Dan Mok Un-hye's illness, the Thunderclap Dog had briefly explained.
"Their strongest secret martial art's in there too. Some damn bastard's after that vault."
"Sounds like this Gwang Hoe-cheon guy."
"Spot on. Couldn't dismember the fucker enough times."
Rage filled the Thunderclap Dog's voice.
He'd betrayed the clan for a martial art, dooming it to destruction.
No surprise there.
"Cheon Seung-i's nephew-in-law. Teamed up with the Blood Cult to betray us. If someone's targeting the Dan Mok house now, it's him and the Blood Cult."
Ha Mu-baek listened quietly.
"Searched the Central Plains high and low, not even a tail. Now traces pop up here. He's slippery as hell. Must've been hiding in the Dan-an Merchant Group."
The Thunderclap Dog shook his head.
No helping it.
Dan-an Merchant Group was based in Zhangsa.
And the Dan Mok Clan's old stronghold? Zhangsa too.
The idea that the traitor had holed up in Zhangsa left the Thunderclap Dog dumbfounded.
No, foolish.
Zhangsa had been combed most thoroughly.
That realization made Dan-an Merchant Group look suspicious as sin.
Their main estate sat on the old Dan Mok Clan grounds.
But recalling Corps Leader Hyung Ui-cheon snapped him out of it.
Appearance, voice—totally different. And no internal energy in Hyung Ui-cheon.
Couldn't be Dan Mok Clan's top genius, Gwang Hoe-cheon.
"So you think he's finally moving for the vault?"
"Yeah. They've been cooped up like rats till now. Why else would twenty warriors target that house? Yeo-hwa was wiser than me by miles. She's been wary of that bastard Gwang Hoe-cheon all along."
The Thunderclap Dog murmured with deep regret.
Despite all his offers to help, Yeo-hwa had stubbornly refused, sticking to her slum shack.
There was a reason.
Just as he couldn't find Gwang Hoe-cheon, the traitor couldn't find the Dan Mok house.
So the Thunderclap Dog believed.
"So they haven't found the vault either..."
Ha Mu-baek trailed off, and the Thunderclap Dog nodded faintly.
"Probably. Makes sense now why they settled in Muchang but never found it."
Ha Mu-baek eyed him.
"Qi barrier's up?"
"Been maintaining it since sending the beggars out."
"The vault's here in Muchang. I only know the spot, though. Yeo-hwa's got the key material."
[That vault's location is...]
The Thunderclap Dog transmitted the coordinates via mental voice.
Ha Mu-baek stared at him, baffled.
Why tell him this?
"Who knows what fate brings. Best pass it to someone trustworthy."
"Don't jinx it. And what if I run off with it? You trust me that easy?"
The Thunderclap Dog laughed at Ha Mu-baek's retort.
"Kekeke. What martial art in this world would tempt you? And didn't you say Un-roe's your student?"
Nothing much to say to that.
"Gwang Hoe-cheon ain't ordinary. Borrowing Cheon Seung-i's words, the Dan Mok Clan's greatest genius ever. Looks that way to me too."
"Hm. Must be worth it, then."
"The art that birthed the Dan Mok Clan's Supreme Under Heaven."
Ha Mu-baek, uninterested in martial history, shrugged it off.
Even if it made a top dog, the practitioner mattered more.
"Anyway, boils down to Blood Cult bastards."
Ha Mu-baek's eyes gleamed coldly.
Demonic Cult last time, Blood Cult now.
He just wanted peace in Muchang, but they wouldn't leave it.
Ha Mu-baek focused his qi sense over Muchang a bit sharper.
Got intel on this Gwang Hoe-cheon.
'Trained in Dan Mok Clan arts, but joined the Blood Cult.'
Dan Mok Clan was wiped out, arts lost.
Not even sole survivor Dan Mok Un-roe knew them.
Still, Ha Mu-baek had fought alongside Dan Mok warriors in the last war, so he knew their energy's traits.
Now, just scan Muchang for anyone trained in Dan Mok Clan internal arts.