Episode 334

“Damn it…”

Countless corpses lay scattered around Yun Gong. They were the bodies of those captured from the Lower District Sect, and not a single one survived.

Breathing heavily with a flushed face, Yun Gong held a sword in his hand, so drenched in blood that crimson droplets dripped steadily from the blade.

“What on earth is happening here? These aren’t the Lower District Sect’s people, are they?”

“…They are definitely the ones who were working for the Lower District. Also, Gu Mu-ack was captured from the place Yun Gong mentioned.”

Yun Gong glared icily at Ja Hak-sang.

The situation was infuriating as it was, and now his subordinate spoke as if challenging him, causing blood to rush to his head. He swung his hand without realizing it.

Smack-!

With a violent sound, Ja Hak-sang’s head turned.

He couldn’t bring himself to defy Yun Gong, and just rubbed his reddened right cheek while silently watching.

That gaze was even more displeasing.

Slap slap-!

Yun Gong slapped Ja Hak-sang’s cheek several more times.

His plan had gone up in smoke, and he had wasted his strength for nothing. It seemed he was venting his anger on Ja Hak-sang.

Yun Gong kept slapping Ja Hak-sang until his own hand hurt, then stepped back with a frown.

“Fools…tsk tsk.”

“……”

Ja Hak-sang remained silent. However, his eyes were full of discontent.

He had only handled the task as instructed, but to be humiliated like this just because the outcome was unsatisfactory.

A gaze as sharp as a blade swept over Yun Gong, but no sword was drawn.

It just seemed that dissatisfaction was slowly building up within him.

“Tsk, only ended up with more useless corpses.”

Thud!

Yun Gong kicked the corpse sprawled on the floor.

He didn’t know who it was.

They were crying and pleading, claiming they weren’t from the Lower District Sect. The one who seemed to be Gu Mu-ack’s double had committed suicide almost as if someone had mentally subdued him to do it, as soon as he tried to force his mouth open.

“Zhuge Yun… Was he plotting behind the scenes while acting as if nothing was wrong?”

Yun Gong felt he finally understood why people in the vast Central Plains gave a thumbs-up to the Zhuge family. Zhuge Yun’s blade, which was as sly as a snake, could strike unexpectedly from any direction.

Admitting his defeat, Yun Gong raised his hands.

“Alright, alright, so this is how it’s going to be?”

In the end, capturing the Lower District Sect became impossible. They knew that those who had been caught once would not fall for the same trick again.

That’s why Yun Gong’s gaze deepened even further.

Directly confronting the Hunan Dan family was not an option. They acknowledged that their power was a step above their own.

Then?

What about those around them?

If those connected to the Hunan Dan family began to experience misfortune one by one, how despairing would they become?

A smile spread across Yun Gong’s lips.

“We’ll have to resort to some extreme measures then.”

Having been struck first, it was time for retaliation.

They also needed to show that the Tons of Gold Merchant Union was more dangerous than the Hunan Dan family.

“Hurry, hurry-!”

“Fetch the water!”

Ho Yeon-ji gazed at the blazing fire, lost in thought. In broad daylight, not even late at night, a fire had broken out at the Golden Ring Inn she was running.

The rising flames showed no sign of subsiding, and no matter how much people tried to extinguish it by pouring water, the fire only grew fiercer, engulfing the entire inn.

Thud-

Ho Yeon-ji, who was watching the scene with numerous others, collapsed to the ground.

Just when she thought she had finally found her sanctuary, it had burned and disappeared—how desolate and empty her heart felt!

She had poured everything into that inn.

Inside were the drinks she had brewed with her own hands, but with the fire and the inn collapsing, they had all become worthless.

This was akin to a crisis for the Golden Ring Merchant Union.

“How did this happen…?”

Ho Yeon-ji trembled, sending an incredulous gaze, her hands shaking. Not a single candle was lit, so how could a fire have started in the inn?

“Unnie…”

Dan Somi, who had approached unnoticed, embraced Ho Yeon-ji, who was on the verge of tears.

At the same time.

Swoosh-!

“Aaah!”

Blood suddenly splattered from her back.

No one knew what had happened. Along with the suddenly surging blood, Ho Yeon-ji collapsed powerlessly.

“Sa, someone! Someone’s been cut!”

The moment someone shouted loudly, the eyes of the people who had only been watching the flames naturally turned to Ho Yeon-ji. She had fainted, clutching the small Dan Somi, without even a twitch.

“Physician… Call a physician! What are you all doing!”

Some shouted loudly, urgently searching for a physician.

Tears streamed down Dan Somi’s cheeks as she felt the weight of Ho Yeon-ji, who hung limply amidst the chaos.

Dan Somi, holding Ho Yeon-ji, found her hands stained with blood.

“Unnie… Waaah!!”

The cries of a child echoed endlessly. Dan Somi, repeatedly calling Ho Yeon-ji’s name and urging her to come to her senses, appeared to be in great shock.

Everyone watching the scene couldn’t hide their sorrow.

At that moment, someone came running from afar.

“What on earth has happened here!”

Boom-!

The one approaching with a loud voice was Hong Won-chang.

Accompanied by guards, he looked at the burning Golden Ring Inn and the fallen Ho Yeon-ji, his expression hardening.

“Quickly, take her to a physician!”

As the guards moved Ho Yeon-ji, Hong Won-chang hurriedly approached Dan Somi and embraced her small body. Dan Somi, trembling and bursting into tears, seemed to be out of her mind from the shock.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Sob, sob, b-but my unnie is…”

“Don’t worry. This uncle will surely try to save her.”

Hong Won-chang gently patted her head. It was the method Dan Woo-hyun used to comfort Dan Somi.

Fortunately, Dan Somi, who stopped crying, nodded slightly.

Dan Somi reached out and tightly grasped the cuff of Hong Won-chang’s sleeve, clinging to him like a leech and not letting go.

Hong Won-chang looked at the scene and smiled bitterly.

“Let’s head back for now.”

Hong Won-chang led Dan Somi to the government office. With the Golden Ring Inn burned down and Ho Yeon-ji attacked and collapsed, this was certainly not a good situation.

Moreover, if anything were to happen to Dan Somi, it would escalate into something more terrifying than a natural disaster.

Just thinking about it made Hong Won-chang tremble with fear.

‘Of all times, such a thing happens when the elders are absent.’

Sa Dohak, Namgung Chun, and even Jeok Mu-seong were not in Yueyang. They had just left the Hunan Dan family for work, which made him feel a foreboding sense that this incident was timed to take advantage of their absence.

“Do you think…unnie will really be okay?”

“Don’t worry. We’ve entrusted her to a skilled physician, so she’ll be fine. Just trust this uncle!”

“Yes…”

Dan Somi nodded weakly in response. However, her voice lacked strength, as if she hadn’t yet escaped the shock.

As Hong Won-chang sighed, they soon arrived near the government office.

The strange thing was that there wasn’t a single soul in a place that should have been bustling with people.

Hong Won-chang felt a moment of unease but quickly brushed it off.

Thunk!

At that moment, something pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.

‘Huh?’

As he looked at the blade, Hong Won-chang turned his head. He saw a man wearing a hat smirking.

“Sir…”

As the startled Dan Somi was about to scream, the man swiftly withdrew the sword and touched Dan Somi’s pressure point.

As she slumped and fell, the man caught Dan Somi.

He turns around to disappear.

However, he couldn’t achieve his goal.

This was because Hong Won-chang, who had fallen to the ground, reached out and grabbed the man’s ankle.

“Ugh… Put the child down.”

Thud!

The man swung his foot without even listening. Although Hong Won-chang’s face was struck and his body jolted violently from the impact, he still did not release his grip on the ankle.

Drip-

Blood trickled down his face.

“You…crazy fool… If you take that child… You won’t die peacefully.”

“……”

Even though his vision was blurring, Hong Won-chang did not forget to warn the man. While others might not know, kidnapping Dan Somi was not something that could end with a smile.

Thud thud thud thud-!

But the man did not listen either.

He extended his foot and struck Hong Won-chang’s face directly. The blow was so powerful that his face became a mess in an instant. Hong Won-chang’s hand, which had been gripping tightly, fell away, and he rolled on the floor like a corpse, seemingly unable to maintain his consciousness any longer.

The man watching this snorted with disdain.

At that moment.

“Kuhuh… Huhu…”

The sound of Hong Won-chang’s laughter, who still maintained his consciousness, was heard. His face was grotesque, covered in blood, yet he mustered his remaining strength to glare at the man.

That sight was truly ghost-like.

“You will never…die peacefully. You bastards…absolutely…absolutely, I swear…”

Hong Won-chang uttered those words and laughed again.

Did that not sit well with him?

The man slowly approached Hong Won-chang.

The blade in his hand gleamed fiercely.

The moment it strikes, this life hanging by a thread will be cut off immediately.

Grrrr-

And at that moment, the man was at a loss for words.

Why is such a creature in a place like this?

Even seeing it with his eyes, he couldn’t comprehend it in his mind.

A massive figure that didn’t look like a simple tiger. Its overwhelming aura naturally intimidated people.

Roar-!

At the roar, he unknowingly stepped back three paces. His ears rang, and goosebumps rose all over his body. An intense alarm rang in his head.

Run away from that.

You cannot defeat it.

It seemed as if giving such a warning.

The man swallowed hard and turned his back to flee.

Meow-

A clear sound stimulated his ears.

It was a beautiful resonance, enough to forget the fact that he had to escape. Despite knowing in his head that he should flee immediately due to the sense of crisis, he unknowingly turned his body to look at it.

A small cat, a white feline at that.

The moment he looked at it, the man was gradually being drawn in.

Even though he struggled in every way, telling himself to escape and break free, he was mesmerized by the cry of the white feline again and couldn’t move.

Both legs were gradually approaching the White Tiger.

As if it had been waiting for this, the White Tiger swiftly ran, opened its mouth, lightly bit the edge of Dan Somi’s clothes, and swung its massive front paw.

Thud-!

The sight of the body being torn to shreds was so horrific that it was unbearable to watch. The White Tiger, still unsatisfied, swung its claws again at the remaining intact parts.

Slash, slash, slash!

Hong Won-chang etched the entire scene into his memory and laughed.

“Heh heh… See, I told you…that you wouldn’t die peacefully, didn’t I?”