The private room where Gwak Ji of the Jongnam Sect was staying was located in the center of several private rooms.
Other guests were around, and a large number of warriors were standing guard and patrolling.
The number of people was twice as many as usual.
Even when night came, the number of people did not change. The guards were about five zhang apart and were mainly monitoring the walls and doors.
The patrol warriors were walking around with torches, and they were coming and going around once every hour.
But as the night deepened, the patrol and guards gathered around the gate. In any case, there were no foolish people who would invade the Martial Alliance.
Moreover, there was no way anyone would try to go out from inside.
If there was one good thing, it was that there was still discipline, so there were no people sitting or sleeping.
"I heard that the remnants who were kicked out of the Demonic Cult have crossed over to the Central Plains, and now the area near Luoyang is in an uproar."
"I heard they've already gone down to Huichang, not Luoyang."
"That's fast. Are those guys trying to come here to the Martial Alliance?"
"They'll come if they're crazy enough to want to die. Why would they come here?"
"That's right. If they don't want to die, there's no reason to come."
They were talking about the Demonic Cult, which was a hot topic right now.
As a pudeudeuk! sound was heard, they all turned their heads and looked at the dark space in the east.
It was a place with many trees, so birds often appeared. Convinced that it was the sound of a bird, they started talking again as if it were nothing.
Moving at night was much easier than during the day.
Because he originally liked the night and was comfortable moving at night, Jin Sa-wol carried Wang Hong on his back and jumped over the high wall of the Martial Alliance.
It was the same path he had taken when he had entered and left the prison before, and it was still a place with lax security.
Although numerous lights illuminated the entire area of the Martial Alliance, they could not cover all the darkness.
Jin Sa-wol passed through the field at a fast speed, entered the forest, and then got on a waiting cart. There was a coffin on the cart, and Jin Sa-wol put Wang Hong in the coffin.
"You've worked hard."
"Let's go."
At Jin Sa-wol's words, Geumdo moved the cart. Now, Wang Hong would be able to move to Guryeon Mountain comfortably. It was Seo Mun-ryeon's job to handle her.
"Lee Mak-jeong, the master of the Blood Saber Hall, is leading his subordinates and heading south. It seems the Martial Alliance is busy because of him."
"I know."
"Do you know where his destination is?"
"Where is it?"
When Jin Sa-wol asked with a curious face, Geumdo quickly answered.
"Lee Mak-jeong is going to the leader's inn now."
Hearing Geumdo's answer, Jin Sa-wol let out a laugh as if he were dumbfounded.
"Lee Mak-jeong is Gung Ma-yeop's disciple. There's no way the Demonic Cult Leader would just leave him alone. It seems he was kicked out of the Demonic Cult."
"There are many places to go, so why the inn of all places?"
"I don't know."
It was a question that Geumdo could not answer.
Jin Sa-wol recalled Gung Ma-yeop. Although he had asked him to join hands, Jin Sa-wol had refused.
It was to go a different path from the Demonic Cult.
"I'll have to go to the inn."
"Yes. I will take Wang Hong."
Hearing Geumdo's answer, Jin Sa-wol jumped from the cart, set his direction to the south, and used his lightness skill.
In one leap, Jin Sa-wol's figure disappeared from Geumdo's sight in an instant.
"He's an amazing person. He's not human."
Although Geumdo had not been with Jin Sa-wol for a long time, he highly valued what he had done.
It was said that when he had entered the Salmun, many of the assassins who were hiding in important places here and there were dead.
It was also said that many assassins were hiding in the nine-story grand building of the Salmun Master, but they were all dead.
That was not something anyone could do.
To find out the skill of the Salmun, Geumdo had mobilized the evil sects of the region, but he had experienced a defeat close to annihilation.
Because he had seen that, Jin Sa-wol looked even more amazing.
What about the Martial Alliance?
There was a saying that you had to be a first-rate master in the martial world to become a warrior of the Martial Alliance. It meant that even ordinary warriors had a high level of martial arts.
But Jin Sa-wol was a person who entered and left such a Martial Alliance as if it were nothing.
It was something that Geumdo could not even dare to imagine.
***
Gung Tae-yeong, who had entered the inn's Golden Garden, hurriedly headed for the basement where the safe was, with a complicated face.
Gung Tae-yeong, who had returned to the Martial Alliance and had come down again, was flustered when he found that the inn was empty.
Gung Tae-yeong, who had come down to the basement where the safe was, was dizzy at the wide-open door of the safe and the emptiness inside.
"Did he run away?"
Gung Tae-yeong thought that Jin Sa-wol had disappeared.
He couldn't tell whether he had run away with all the gold and silver treasures of the Thousand Gold Vault or had moved.
If he had moved, he would have informed the Martial Alliance in advance. But since he had heard nothing, it was clear that he had run away.
"There are no inn people, only the Martial Alliance."
"Why is the Martial Alliance here?"
At the loud voice from outside the underground stone chamber, Gung Tae-yeong turned his body and went outside.
Gung Tae-yeong frowned as if he were annoyed when he saw the two men. His subordinates were blocking their front, and they had a difficult expression.
It was Woo Jeong-bong and Yeon-il of Shaolin.
"Isn't it Senior Gung? It's been a long time."
As Yeon-il raised his hand, Gung Tae-yeong nodded. As he stepped forward, his subordinates retreated. Woo Jeong-bong stepped forward.
"It's been a long time. Senior Gung. But what brings you here?"
"What about you? Shaolin and Wudang should be thousands of li away. Don't tell me you ran thousands of li just to drink."
"We were hired as escort warriors for this inn. We left because there was work in Shaolin, and we just came back."
Since Gung Tae-yeong had heard that the abbot of Shaolin had entered nirvana, he nodded.
"There's no one at the inn. Do you know anything?"
"We don't know either. What would an escort know? But why is the Martial Alliance down at the inn? They should be busy because of the Demonic Cult."
"I came because there was something to investigate."
"What is it?"
Woo Jeong-bong asked with a gaze full of curiosity.
Gung Tae-yeong looked at Woo Jeong-bong, turned his body, and headed for the lakeside where the pier was.
"The death of Namgung Yu, the former young master of the Namgung family."
Hearing Namgung Yu's name for the first time in a long time, Woo Jeong-bong frowned and touched his chin. When he died, Woo Jeong-bong was also there.
Woo Jeong-bong was silent and followed Gung Tae-yeong.
Gung Tae-yeong, who had arrived at the pier, examined the small boats and said.
"I heard that the inn recently purchased large cruise ships. But now there are no ships. It seems they ran away on the ships."
"Is there a reason for the inn people to run away?"
"For a while, the martial world was noisy because of the Thousand Gold Vault. Not only that, but the Jo family, who lives below, also came often, and the alliance also showed great interest. It seems they left because the commotion continued."
"They must have run away to avoid the Martial Alliance."
At Woo Jeong-bong's words, Gung Tae-yeong was silent. Gung Tae-yeong's story was that the cause was ultimately the Martial Alliance.
Yeon-il said.
"If we chase the ships, we can find out where the inn people went."
"I'm chasing them now."
Gung Tae-yeong was also chasing the ships with that thought.
***
Lee Mak-jeong, who had knocked down the guards at the main gate and had kicked the door to enter, frowned when he saw the Martial Alliance warriors standing in a semicircle.
"What? Why is the Martial Alliance here?"
Lee Mak-jeong had crossed the Yangtze River in one go and had run to the inn.
His subordinates rushed into the inn with a whoosh!, and their number was about a hundred.
They were Lee Mak-jeong's elite, but now they all looked tired.
Because they had run for three days without a single day of rest, their faces looked as if they would collapse at any moment.
But Lee Mak-jeong was fine. Lee Mak-jeong put his large saber on his shoulder and shouted.
"Go and tell the owner here that Lee Mak-jeong, the master of the Blood Saber Hall of the Demonic Cult, has something to say!"
Hearing Lee Mak-jeong's name, the Martial Alliance warriors retreated with tense faces.
"Heok! Heok! Master!"
"Master! I'm going to die!"
Another group of subordinates who had fallen behind were entering the inn. They looked to be over three hundred.
Seeing the large number of Demonic Cult members, the Martial Alliance warriors swallowed their dry saliva and retreated again.
"Oh my! I'm going to die!"
"Heok! Ugh! Ugh! Cough! Cough!"
The subordinates who had entered the inn began to sit or lie down, leaning against the wall. After that, Lee Mak-jeong's subordinates were continuously entering the inn.
Their appearance, soaked in sweat and dust, was shabby itself.
"My belly fat has completely disappeared. Cough! Cough! Ugh!"
One of the subordinates who was leaning against the main gate grumbled and lay down.
Although Lee Mak-jeong saw the appearance of his subordinates, he did not care much. In any case, they were guys who would get up and fight if a fight started.
Lee Mak-jeong frowned, looked around at the Martial Alliance warriors, and muttered.
"How did these cockroach-like bastards know I was coming here? Don't tell me... is there a Martial Alliance spy among us?"
Feeling Lee Mak-jeong's killing intent, his subordinates shook their heads wildly. In the first place, they didn't even have time to contact the Martial Alliance. Because they had just run.
Gung Tae-yeong, who had appeared in front of Lee Mak-jeong as fast as a bird flying in the empty air, quickly cupped his fists.
"I am Gung Tae-yeong, in charge of the Inspection Pavilion of the Martial Alliance. I greet Brother Lee of the Demonic Cult."
"Brother Lee? It's Lee Mak-jeong. And it's Lord Great Saber Red King. Put 'Lord' after my name."
At Lee Mak-jeong's words, Gung Tae-yeong was dumbfounded, laughed lightly with a pfft!, and said.
"What brings the master of the Blood Saber Hall here to the inn? This is under the jurisdiction of the Martial Alliance, and the inn is also the Martial Alliance's."
"Does the Martial Alliance even manage inns? It seems you have nothing to do. Don't bother me and call the owner here. I have something to say."
"The owner here has disappeared like a ghost. So we are also very flustered."
"What? Don't lie."
"It's true."
"Get out of the way. I'll have to go inside."
As Lee Mak-jeong took a step forward, the Martial Alliance warriors all drew their swords. Seeing that, Lee Mak-jeong showed a killing intent and lowered his large saber.
"Are you looking for a fight?"
Was it because they had felt Lee Mak-jeong's killing intent? His subordinates began to get up from their seats one by one and gather.
Although they looked tired, their eyes were still alive.
Gung Tae-yeong had heard the news of Gok Gwan, the first squad leader of the North Wind Division, who had died in Luoyang.
The number of people was also three times different, and the opponent was Lee Mak-jeong. He was a person called one of the top masters of the Demonic Cult.
"If you meet a master of the Demonic Cult, you have to see blood."
With his words, a person stepped forward in front of Gung Tae-yeong. It was Yeon-il.
"I am Yeon-il of Shaolin. Men are strength! Men are fists. Let's fight with our fists. Don't tell me you're going to swing a saber at an opponent without a weapon like a bitch."
"Hah! Look at this bastard! That tongue of yours is truly ridiculous! Heheheh!"
Lee Mak-jeong, who was dumbfounded, laughed lightly and put his saber on the ground.
Thump!
As a heavy sound echoed, one of his subordinates came, took the large saber, and retreated.
"Bare hands are good. I was missing a fistfight anyway, so this is good."
(End of Chapter)
