Chapter 174 : Pursuit
Pursuit
Zhao Gang's face, rushing over in a hurry, was flushed red—an unusual sight for him.
It was a stark contrast to the calm expression he had maintained over the last few days while scouting the surroundings.
Jeong-un was somewhat surprised.
Even after the captive had died so miserably, and time had passed with little to show for it, Zhao Gang had not shown much anxiety.
'What's going on?'
Thinking that, Jeong-un unfolded his legs from lotus position and stood up.
This place was a small outdoor training hall that Zhao Gang had lent to only Jeong-un and Baek Il-gang.
A few guards stood at its entrance, but seeing Zhao Gang running in directly like this, without alerting them, meant it was an urgent matter.
Jeong-un took a few steps toward him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"T-the thing is..."
Up close, Zhao Gang's face was pale, his pupils shaking in confusion.
He composed himself for a moment with a deep breath, and then blurted out words he had been holding back.
"Yeong-ryeong... My younger sister is missing. She said she'd walk outside the city and went out, but...!"
"She's missing?"
"It's not just a simple disappearance. This isn't the first time that wild girl has roamed outside. But this time, a guard who went with Yeong-ryeong returned covered in blood. He said the Demonic Cult suddenly ambushed them... that he barely escaped with his life. Then he immediately collapsed..."
Jeong-un's eyes widened.
"The Demonic Cult?"
"A-anyway, I have to go. I just came to let you, young hero Yu, know before I leave. I might not be able to see you for a while..."
"Let's go."
"...?"
Zhao Gang's expression showed surprise for a moment.
It seemed he hadn't expected Jeong-un to immediately offer to come along.
"It's only natural,"
Jeong-un said.
"The reason I'm here is to pursue those people."
"Ah..."
"Let's not delay further. Let's go."
"Very well."
With his reply, a powerful ki wave surged at Zhao Gang's feet.
He instantly burst forth internal energy through his soles, sending out an explosive energy.
The recoil was channeled into a lightness skill that launched his body in a flash.
Paaaah─!
Jeong-un lightly lifted his own feet to follow closely behind.
At that moment, men began popping out from around the estate, joining their pursuit.
They were the house's own guards.
As if prearranged, they followed Jeong-un and Zhao Gang with disciplined movements.
They seemed well-trained to respond to such situations immediately.
Saaaak!
But soon they fell behind, unable to match Jeong-un and Zhao Gang's pace.
It was because Zhao Gang was displaying an incredibly swift lightness skill.
Not yet knowing where they were headed, Jeong-un ran right beside him.
Zhao Gang asked, "Where is Young hero Baek?"
"He'll come on his own. There's no way he wouldn't sense this much ki wave."
"I see."
Then Zhao Gang pressed off a wall with his foot, accelerating even more as if piercing through the air.
It was truly an incredible body-strengthening art. He seemed to have grown far more than when he'd dueled at the Shaolin Assembly.
It made sense—back then he'd left the dueling platform with the look of someone who'd gained enlightenment.
"This way."
They dashed across the rooftops of estates, with the sprawling city center marketplace at their feet, and even leaped clear over the city wall itself—a feat that would normally be unthinkable.
No matter how superhuman a martial artist acted, jumping over the administrative city's wall at will was nearly like breaking national law.
But right now, such things meant nothing. It was his own younger sister in danger.
Jeong-un followed without saying anything more.
- She's been combing all the nearby mountains recently. She must have had the enemy's stronghold in the mountains in mind. After personally subduing them and capturing one alive, she seemed quite confident. To be honest, I wasn't especially worried either.
Zhao Gang sent a message via sound transmission.
Using his lightness skill to the fullest, the wind whipped violently past their ears, making normal conversation impossible.
Jeong-un recalled the sight of Zhao Yeong-ryeong from the past few days.
She had not only actively guided him through the area, but—as Zhao Gang said—she had personally led the guards, going out to investigate the surroundings each day.
She said it was to check if anyone else went missing.
It was admirable.
It was rare to see the precious daughter of a martial noble clan that controlled such a great city move so diligently.
There was no reason to see her in a bad light.
'Something's off.'
She was attacked by the Demonic Cult? And only one guard returned, injured?
'I should have spoken with that man.'
Ideally, he should have heard the story from the surviving guard before leaving.
If many martial artists had fought to the death and only one survived, badly wounded, that was uncommon—it was more likely he had been purposely let go.
Jeong-un, who'd experienced a number of battles large and small, knew just how difficult it was to escape from martial artists while wounded.
That meant they needed to find out exactly what had happened. Only then could they correctly grasp the situation.
But he couldn't bring those doubts up to Zhao Gang, whose mind was in turmoil.
When a person vanishes, the wisest course is to search at once, without wasting more time—the longer it takes, the less likely you'll see them again.
Zhao Gang surely knew that too.
The very fact that he'd rushed to tell Jeong-un was already a testament to his patience.
Jeong-un asked,
- Have you reported to the clan head?
- I haven't had the chance, but he likely knows by now. He'll be preparing in his own way, but I can't wait for that...
- Understood.
As Jeong-un gave his brief answer, a sudden ki wave stormed in from the side.
Without even turning his head, Jeong-un could tell who it was.
"Young Hero Yu─!"
It was Baek Il-gang.
He was indeed coming at full speed, using his lightness skill.
The next moment, he joined up beside them as swiftly as a bolt of light.
He didn't even try using sound transmission; throwing his mouth open wide, he practically shouted,
"Follow me! I know the routes Yeong-ryeong frequented...!"
"Routes?"
"I followed her for a few days just in case! I thought, if the enemy came for revenge, they might target Yeong-ryeong, who fought them herself...!"
"......"
Jeong-un glanced sidelong at Baek Il-gang with a strange look.
He recalled how, when they had first met Zhao Yeong-ryeong, Baek Il-gang had brusquely turned his head away.
Even though he'd said he played with her as children, perhaps he'd been more concerned than he let on.
He would occasionally disappear without a word and then show up again—perhaps in those times, he'd been secretly watching over her.
Thus, Baek Il-gang smoothly guided them along the very route that Zhao Yeong-ryeong always took.
He seemed to know it even better than her own brother, Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang soon shouted loudly, "In that case, we can move through the area even faster! Father will no doubt be searching thoroughly behind us anyway."
"Understood!"
Guided by Baek Il-gang, they combed along the mountain ridge.
They covered an incredible distance in a flash, spreading their senses wide as they ran, but nothing was detected.
Zhao Gang's face gradually grew more anxious.
He was whipping his head around, rushing this way and that, desperate not to miss a single movement.
But each time, it was only some small animal, and his previously calm face was increasingly drawn with anxiety.
No less urgent was Baek Il-gang.
The cool indifference he'd shown to Zhao Yeong-ryeong the last few days had vanished.
Zhao Gang was surprised, but even Jeong-un found Baek Il-gang's current expression unfamiliar.
Several more moments passed.
By the time the sky turned crimson,
Baek Il-gang's body came to a halt.
"... This is..."
He'd been moving without rest, but now, the astonishing scene before his eyes made him freeze in place.
It was a rare clearing in these deep mountains, where few trees grew.
Now, the ground was marked by corpses and stained with dark red blood.
Baek Il-gang slowly spoke. "... It looks like a battle took place right here."
"......"
Zhao Gang looked around, his face white as a sheet. He had always held a steely, military bearing.
Not now.
His face was so distorted by emotion it was plain for all to see.
Of course, it was understandable.
The corpses, a mix of both Zhao clan of Changshan and Demonic Cult members, told of how ferocious and desperate the fight had been.
Zhao Gang began examining each body one by one, his face pale. Baek Il-gang, next to him, was the same.
Eventually, Baek Il-gang said, "She's not here."
"... So it is."
Zhao Gang nodded, his face a mix of many emotions—a blend of relief that his sister's corpse wasn't among them, and certainty she had been taken by the enemy.
Meanwhile, Jeong-un was slowly stepping across the clearing, looking around.
"Yeong-ryeong─!"
Zhao Gang's shout echoed from behind.
It was pointless. They were not searching for a lost child.
The Demonic Cult were not ordinary villains; they were deviants even among unorthodox villains, the worst of the worst.
If she'd disappeared in a battle against them, there was no finding her by shouting her name.
"We need to widen the search from here, combing every inch,"
Baek Il-gang said.
"If she's not unconscious, I'm sure she would have left some trace,"
Zhao Gang replied.
Their urgent conversation echoed behind him.
Jeong-un, having walked to the center of the clearing, stood among the scattered corpses.
'This...'
But it was not the corpses that Jeong-un was focusing on.
He no longer relied on the body itself to uncover the traces left behind by martial artists.
Every one of them cultivated their own unique internal power, and each person's energy had subtly different characteristics.
Especially Zhao Yeong-ryeong.
Even when he'd first entered her room, he'd sensed that unique presence from her.
A woman who carried a truly upright and pure energy.
And even now, remnants of that energy were clear in this place.
Jeong-un turned and spoke, "I found it."
"...?"
The two men, who had been discussing their next step, stopped and turned to him, faces pale with shock.
"What do you mean, you found it?"
"What...? Don't tell me..."
Zhao Gang faltered, his face deathly pale—the very look of someone fearing his sister's body had been discovered and he'd just missed it in his panic.
Shaking his head, Jeong-un said, "I can feel Lady Zhao's energy."
"Feel her energy?"
Zhao Gang looked at Jeong-un with an incredulous expression.
On the other hand, Baek Il-gang wore a face of rough acceptance—he'd experienced something similar the previous year.
Though at that time, the target had not been a righteous figure like Zhao Yeong-ryeong, but a scholar who had kidnapped children to hand over to unorthodox villains.
Still, the principle of sensing a particular person's energy was the same.
And now, Jeong-un was beyond just 'growing'—he had become a formidable martial artist. The ki sense, always sharp, was now in an entirely different realm.
In a calm voice, Baek Il-gang asked, "Where does it lead?"
"This way."
With a short answer, Jeong-un set off at once.