Yin Monster Is A Jester. (3)

They did not know the exact location of the White Flower Blood Cult.

All Storm Rider had passed to Soyo Mountain Villa through his investigation was only a rough estimate.

The clue was that it was somewhere in Giaeak Mountain.

It was a mountain range of harsh, steep peaks that stretched endlessly, and thus a place people rarely ever trod.

Now, a group was racing through that place.

Taht-! Taat-!

Four shadows leaped in sequence, running across the trees.

A short while later.

The small shadow leading the way reached one hand back.

“Wait a moment.”

At the Yin Monster’s instruction, the warriors of Soyo Mountain Villa gathered at one spot.

It was a flat space behind a large rock.

Then one of the attendants brightened his eyes and asked.

“Did you find something?”

Yu Seol patted her stomach and replied in a mock-dying manner.

“I’m too hungry to go on.”

“…Ah. Then it’s best we fill our bellies here before moving on.”

They hadn’t eaten anything until noon, so it was only natural they were peckish.

The crouching attendants took out the cloth bundles they’d each prepared and unfolded them.

Inside were rice cakes, dried meat, and various local traditional snacks.

Not only that — even a bamboo tube filled with sweet drink. It was truly a combination you couldn’t taste in the mountains.

“Please, have some, Great Warrior.”

Yu Seol nodded, quickly popped a rice cake into her mouth, and chewed.

Immediately, a happy smile spread across her face.

“Try it. It’s really delicious.”

The attendants of Soyo Mountain Villa looked at the Yin Monster’s innocent smile, stunned.

At that moment, Cheol-woong signaled to two others and grabbed some jerky.

“You three disciples eat quickly too. That way you’ll have energy to find the elder.”

“Yes, senior brother.”

The taste of snacks eaten in the mountains was exceptional.

The warriors stuffing their mouths suddenly had smiles bloom on their faces for a moment.

“See? Wasn’t it good I told you to buy snacks? If we’d come empty-handed it would’ve been a disaster, right?”

A martial arts master going a day or two without food wasn’t usually a problem.

But who would reveal their true intentions so plainly?

The Yin Monster before them was the only hope the Soyo Mountain Villa could lean on.

Each of them buttered her up and matched her mood.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re truly amazed by your foresight in anticipating this situation.”

“Maybe it’s because we’re in the mountains, but the food tastes even better.”

“It feels like a picnic, it’s really nice. But why haven’t you taken out what you packed, Great Hero?”

At his question, Yu Seol patted her bosom and said.

“This is something I specially packed to give to my grandpa.”

It didn’t really matter — after all, everything had been paid for with the Yin Monster’s money.

Besides, there was more than enough food to spare.

“Ah, I see. Yin Monster, Great Hero, you are truly generous.”

Yu Seol smiled slyly and began handing out food to them.

“Eat a lot. Once you’ve finished, I’ll definitely find them for you.”

Cheol-woong, the highest-ranked attendant, clasped his hands together to show his thanks.

“Thank you so much for helping us like this. But could the White Flower Blood Cult really be here?”

They had already spent an hour searching Giaeak Mountain.

Although they had combed the area, there had been no results. So doubts were inevitable.

Everyone looked tired, but Yu Seol remained lively as ever.

“I’m sure. There are traces of people passing through.”

“Traces? We couldn’t see anything…”

Yu Seol, looking around, pointed somewhere with her index finger.

“Do you see that tree over there?”

Ordinary martial artists emit explosive qi beneath their feet when they leap.

Therefore, unless one had reached the level of walking on air, traces would inevitably be left.

Like the half-broken branch before their eyes.

“Th-that can’t be…”

“You thought I came this way without thinking? I had a plan.”

She had been moving along, following traces all this time.

The warriors of Soyo Mountain Villa admired her and praised Yu Seol.

“Truly, the world-renowned Yin Monster, our Great Warrior.”

“We respect you. It’s really amazing.”

“Then this area must be the route the White Flower Blood Cult members usually take, right?”

Pleasure from the shower of praise made Yu Seol lift her chin and shrug her shoulders.

“Exactly. Now we just have to wait here.”

“So we’re ambushing them? That’s really a clever plan.”

Why bother wandering around when it’s unnecessary?

If this was a chokepoint, cultists of the White Flower Blood Cult would pass through.

The four, having finished eating, hid in the brush and waited for them to appear.

They didn’t need the cult people to pass right in front of them; within three hundred meters, the Yin Monster would notice immediately.

Thus an eclipse period passed, and another hour went by.

Boredom was beginning to grow.

“Phew.”

At the Yin Monster’s sigh, Cheol-woong suggested with a grave expression.

“Let’s wait a little longer, Great Warrior. Not even a two hours has passed yet…”

Yu Seol nodded and stretched one hand out to the side.

“Take out my emergency rations, please.”

Cheol-woong rummaged through her bosom and took out a long paper-wrapped item.

It turned out to be sugared fruit candy — fruit coated with honey and hardened.

“…H-here it is.”

With candy in her mouth, Yu Seol refocused and scanned the surroundings for signs.

She didn’t miss a single thing: the movement of a squirrel a hundred meters away, the chirping of a bird echoing five hundred meters out.

A little while later, an attendant named Wang-jin asked softly.

“Do you feel anything?”

Yu Seol slid the candy she was holding to the side and asked.

“Want to take a bite of this? Then I’ll tell you.”

“…Yes?”

When he looked bewildered, Yu Seol giggled and clutched her stomach.

“I’m joking. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“A- alright, Great Warrior.”

As Yu Seol had predicted, it didn’t take long.

It was when she had nearly finished the candy in her hand.

“Gentlemen, do you hear that sound now?”

At Yu Seol’s quietly asked question, the attendants snapped to attention.

Cheol-woong whispered back like an ant’s voice.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Listen closely to the sounds around you.”

They focused all their senses on hearing and listened intently.

Only after some time did they notice something amiss.

“The mountain— the wild animals are fleeing.”

Someone had finally appeared.

Yu Seol grinned mischievously and put her finger to her lips.

“Quiet, just follow me.”

The three nodded and followed behind the Yin Monster as she moved onward.

They were supposedly the instructors who guided the warriors at Soyo Mountain Villa, and perhaps for that reason there was no sound from their footsteps.

After advancing for quite a while with their presence concealed.

Yu Seol suddenly extended one hand far back.

“Stop. Do you see over there?”

Everyone swallowed dryly and focused their gaze.

About thirty meters ahead.

A swordsman in black clothing was pacing in front of a massive rock wall.

“Yes. What is he doing?”

“He’s masked the entrance with an illusion formation. I’ve seen something similar on an island called Sea Dragon Island.”

“Th-then is that the entrance to the White Flower Blood Cult?”

“It seems so. And do you see over there and there?”

Wherever Yu Seol pointed, cultists in the same attire were visible.

They were on the opposite side from the direction they had come.

They were looking around as if patrolling.

“They seem to be searching for something. Searching the courtyard of their own base…”

It was incomprehensible, but the Yin Monster seemed to sense something.

Then Yu Seol pointed her finger in another direction and murmured.

“It looks like a fight happened over there.”

The attendants who examined that area were considerably surprised.

Unlike other places, a radius of about twenty meters had been laid to waste.

Uprooted and snapped trees and rocks shattered into pieces.

It looked as if celestial gods had descended to the earth and fought.

“Could it be that the elder fought there?”

“It seems likely.”

“What on earth happened…”

“First, we should catch someone and ask them.”

Yu Seol looked around, searching for a suitable target.

They were scattered about, so choosing wasn’t too difficult.

The cultist chosen by the Yin Monster was someone hiding and resting between trees.

Pushing off the ground, Yu Seol shot toward him at lightning speed.

Taat-!

It was a staggering movement technique they hadn’t seen before.

The attendants watching it gripped their hands in tension.

In the blink of an eye, the Yin Monster closed the distance and suddenly launched a flying kick at his back.

Crack-!!

Yu Seol grabbed the nape of his neck and was already back in her original position.

Plop-!

It had truly happened in an instant.

The White Flower Blood Cult cultist, captured with no idea why, only blinked his eyes; he couldn’t comprehend the situation.

He soon saw a girl in front of him pull her fist back behind her shoulder.

“Did you see Storm Rider or not? Tell the truth.”

“Y-you’re crazy…”

They had set up a sound barrier around them, so their conversation couldn’t leak out.

Yu Seol and the Villa warriors questioned him, but gained no useful information.

His training seemed intense, but he appeared thoroughly brainwashed by the cult.

If so, he was of no further use.

Crack-!!

The cultist’s body went limp after Yu Seol’s fist struck his head.

He would likely not regain consciousness for at least half a day.

Cheol-woong asked with a worried look.

“What do we do now?”

“They’re definitely hiding somewhere on this mountain. We’ll have to find them first.”

“…Then, Great Warrior, we’ll trust you.”

Yu Seol led them and began moving somewhere again.

They mobilized all their senses to search for traces of Storm Rider.

Roarrrrr-!

It was the sound of a waterfall pouring down somewhere in the mountain valley.

And in a small crevice inside, a boy of about seven sat cross-legged hiding.

Cobwebs draped over his shoulders and head; he must have been motionless for a very long time.

‘The Soul Manipulation Technique… In one hundred and eighty years of life, I’ve never seen such a vicious martial art.’

It was Storm Rider, wounded by Cult Leader Yeom Hwi’s brutal demonic arts.

How much time had passed?

He had sat in the same position for many days and nights, healing his internal injuries.

His injuries were severe and several times during treatment he passed through crises.

‘If not for the Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique, ten lives wouldn’t have been enough.’

The Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique was a wondrous martial art that, as long as life remained, could heal any internal injury.

However, once one begins circulating qi with this method, one cannot move and it’s difficult to stop.

Currently he couldn’t move or even speak, meaning he would be helpless if an enemy found him.

How much anxiety he had endured until now.

With the end not far off, a variable had inevitably occurred.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

Storm Rider was startled — suddenly a girl’s voice sounded right behind him.

He was so flustered he nearly fell into demonic possession.

‘Who is it? How did I not notice someone approach this close?’

Even if he had been careless, someone able to sneak this close had to be at least his equal in skill.

What on earth was going on?

Then a playful voice continued from behind.

“How did you get here? If big sister asks, you have to answer.”

“…”

Even if he wanted to respond, once using the Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique he could not open his mouth.

There was nothing he could do.

Soon he felt someone tug at his ear.

“You look really cute~ So cute.”

Did she not know who he was? Or was she teasing him intentionally despite knowing?

In any case, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

Who this sudden girl was and what intentions she harbored would decide his life.

Storm Rider, confused, tensed at the touch of the hand stroking his head.