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Chapter 118 <Report>

Former Grand Heavenly Sect Master’s disciple, Doeul, eliminated the Chaos. Other affiliated sects have been organized.

No contact with the church so far.

No evidence of large-scale corpse movement in the martial world. If fewer than twenty-nine bodies were moved, they were likely transported simultaneously by the Jinju Sect and Mosan Sect recently.

The report was brief.

I flipped through the short report.

‘This really feels like a sub-sect report.’

Receiving something like this made me feel oddly as if I had become the head of a sub-sect.

I then flipped through the letter Cho-yo had brought. After memorizing the entire contents, I nodded.

“Stoke the fire in the brazier strong.”

There wasn’t much in the letter, so there was nothing to memorize with care.

Even if it had been long, I would have memorized it and burned it anyway. They handled follow-up properly.

I had always had a good memory, one of my strengths.

And a strength is useful in any situation—it’s truly an advantage.

“Yes.”

Flare!

The fire in the brazier blazed fiercely.

I threw the letter directly into the flames and watched until it burned to ashes.

Sometimes, low-ranking idiots fail to properly burn such things and get caught.

But I’m not one of those fools.

I watched carefully until the letter became nothing more than a handful of ash, and then stared quietly at the now-extinguished brazier, lost in thought.

The fact that Doeul and Chaos were dead meant that Gung-gi had secured the Grand Heavenly Sect Master position according to my orders.

That was not strange.

If their lives had remained intact while the hierarchy in the Black Path Sect was being reorganized, that would have been unusual.

But one point was still puzzling:

‘Why didn’t they make contact?’

If they had gone so far as to manipulate even the Grand Heavenly Sect Master, it meant the Blood Demon Sect needed his full power.

Yet, despite their failure, they hadn’t contacted me separately. Strange.

Or did they cut off communication thinking the Celestial Flower Sect Master would intervene?

Or perhaps the only one they really needed was the Grand Heavenly Ghost alone?

There was one more oddity.

‘It’s strange that they specifically said no one else could receive the letter.’

Gung-gi himself didn’t even come; there was no need for such strict precautions.

Of course, if someone intercepted the letter on its way from the Grand Heavenly Sect to me, it would cause headaches.

But if I was caught contacting the Grand Heavenly Sect directly, that would also be problematic.

‘I’ll need to look into this too.’

If they were scheming, it was best to nip it in the bud.

Well, Cho-yo had handled that well, so I could leave it.

Anyway, the important point was this:

‘With the stone tablet destroyed, Baekbu cannot complete the Poisonous River Era Technique.’

I had originally asked Gung-gi to check if a large number of corpses had moved in case Baekbu had already discovered the Technique.

But the tablet was destroyed, and Baekbu could no longer obtain the Poisonous River Era Technique, so it no longer mattered how many bodies had moved.

Moreover, Jinju and Mosan were not unusual places for corpses to be moved—they were both well-known for their corpse techniques. Likely, the transport was for funeral purposes.

‘If I observe a little longer, I can hand the Grand Heavenly Sect over to the Sect Master.’

The plan had been to secretly use Gung-gi to monitor the martial world, but as things stood, it was of little use.

If the rabbit hunt ended before it even started, there was no need to have brought the dog in the first place.

“Brother, come here!”

“Seon-seon! Slowly! If we get separated—!”

“Oh, if we get separated, we can just meet again in front of Dangata, what’s the big deal? Look at this!”

Dang Seon-seon tugged Dang Rip by the sleeve.

Dang Rip, who had brought his younger sister out without the family elders knowing, looked embarrassed as Seon-seon led him along.

“Use it properly; your face is all showing.”

Grumbling, he didn’t forget to hold the veil over his face.

But it didn’t last long. As Seon-seon ran around excitedly like a foal, the veil slipped along her cheek.

The veil, meant to hide her beauty, only ended up accentuating it.

“Alright, what is it?”

Seon-seon led Dang Rip to a group of gamblers. In a corner of the market, dark-circled men held cards, watching each other warily.

This was no place for the young heir of a prestigious family. If it became known that such a person frequented here, it would bring great shame. Dang Rip had never stepped foot in such a place.

“You…!”

Dang Rip narrowed his eyes.

He had brought his sister out to give her freedom, not expecting her to take an interest in this place.

Seon-seon noticed his displeasure and frowned. In truth, she herself wasn’t fond of such places; she knew not to associate with liars and gamblers. She had no intention of gambling.

But being just over ten years old, the gambling den was enough to catch the attention of a teenage girl.

“I’m not here to gamble; I’m just passing through.”

“You’re just passing through to watch, huh? Who are you trying to fool?”

“They say gambling is a test of Heaven’s luck; let’s see how lucky you are, brother.”

“Not a test of luck, but placing your fate on the table. Stop changing the subject.”

The Dang siblings passed the gamblers.

Since they were still inside the city, most of the gamblers were local residents.

That no outsiders had drifted in indicated the city was well-managed, and authorities ensured gambling didn’t get out of hand.

Dang Rip scolded his sister but could not turn back now that they were already inside. He hurried to pass by.

Then:

“Hey there, young master.”

Someone called Dang Rip.

He turned, puzzled, and saw an old man in tattered clothes.

So frail it was hard to tell if he was male or female, the old man looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days, his neck making strange noises as he spoke.

“Young master, young lady. I can read your fortunes for you.”

“Not interested.”

Dang Rip rejected him firmly. He didn’t need to be involved with anyone here.

“I’m very skilled at reading fortunes. Curious?”

“How skilled?”

“Seon-seon!”

Before Dang Rip could stop her, Seon-seon quickly sat in front of the old man. Dang Rip furrowed his brows.

“Can you also see my future?”

“I can easily see whether it is good or bad. If ill fortune appears, I won’t accept payment.”

“I’ll pay in advance; I hope nothing bad shows up.”

Seon-seon chatted amicably with the old man as he read her fortune. Dang Rip sighed and folded his arms, standing behind his mischievous sister. It was strange to have brought her here, but now they were already committed.

The old man drew a lot indicating her future.

“…!”

“Hm…?”

Ill fortune.

A bad omen—the worst he had.

The old man looked troubled, glancing between the fortune and the siblings.

Then, reluctantly, he returned the money Seon-seon had offered.

“As promised, I will not take payment.”

“No… sir!”

“Go on. A fortune is just a fortune. Don’t trust my old words too much… I’d hate for you two to lose sleep over my nonsense.”

With that, the old man left, seeming fearful that the siblings might detain him.

Dang Rip and Seon-seon were left behind, staring blankly at his retreating figure.