Chapter 9
“Master, I understand what you’re saying, but this isn’t something that should be decided so hastily…”
About ten minutes later, I was watching the deputy director turn pale as he desperately tried to stall.
“I will personally guarantee Hunter Gu Hae-ju’s identity. If her identity is confirmed, is there any reason left to refuse the investigation request?”
Unlike the flustered deputy director, the monk’s gentle, calm voice echoed pleasantly through the room.
He’d been smiling casually in front of me earlier, but now he was sweating bullets, trying with all his might to block this.
Honestly, it was satisfying to watch.
“But Master, relying solely on an individual’s guarantee makes it difficult to be absolutely certain of her identity.”
Oh? That was surprisingly bold of him.
Which just showed how desperate he was.
Still, it wasn’t a wise thing to say.
“Amitabha.”
A quiet Buddhist invocation rang out. Soft, yet deep and far-reaching, like the toll of a temple bell. Even my insides felt gently shaken by it.
“…Hrk!”
Taking it head-on, the deputy director predictably gasped, clutching himself as if the air had been knocked out of him.
“Deputy Director Seo Jeong-pyeong.”
You really should look at who you’re talking to before opening your mouth.
“Do you truly consider a guarantee from the Arhat Hall Head of Shaolin to be light?”
The person I’d brought was the current Head of Shaolin’s Arhat Hall and ranked third among Chinese hunters.
“Must I teach you the weight of that guarantee myself?”
He was Master Hyecheon, known as the Mad Buddha due to his fiery temper.
“N-no! Cough! I’m sorry! I spoke out of turn!”
As the heavy, overwhelming presence unique to Shaolin spread out, the deputy director surrendered, his face twisted as if he might cough up blood.
“Ugh… Please, go ahead. Please!”
I smiled sweetly at him.
“I’m glad this was resolved so smoothly.”
The deputy director shot me a glare as I cheerfully presented the investigation permit, but with urgent matters at hand, I decided to let it slide for now.
“Then we’ll begin the investigation as of this moment.”
In a way, this worked out well for both sides.
Thanks to Master Hyecheon securing cooperation through a “peaceful” method, the deputy director survived.
If the master hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t even have been able to glare at me.
I would’ve obtained cooperation in a far more violent way.
‘This was cheap, all things considered.’
Of course, the deputy director glaring at me had no idea.
‘No… actually.’
Once the investigation turned up anything suspicious, we’d end up tearing this place apart anyway.
‘All that’s changed is the timing.’
With that thought, I took the investigation permit the deputy director reluctantly signed and left his office together with Master Hyecheon.
“Thank you for your help, Master.”
Seeing the monk smile warmly at me as I bowed made my chest feel oddly warm.
“Compared to the debt Shaolin, and this world, owe you, this is less than a speck of dust.”
I felt awkward at the warmth in his words and turned my head slightly away.
I was never good with this kind of thing.
Master Hyecheon’s senior brother, Master Hyegwang, used to speak like that too.
No matter how prickly I was, he’d always laugh kindly and say strange, blessing-like things.
—
“I will open the path. I ask that you walk it.”
—
Even in his final moments, when he sacrificed his soul to use a forbidden martial art to open the way.
—
“This useless monk leaves you with nothing but a heavy burden. I’m sorry.”
—
As his blood dried up and his body failed, he spoke those final words with the same gentle expression.
If he had blamed me instead…
Maybe it would’ve been easier to forget.
“Amitabha.”
The quiet chant snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You look very tired, benefactor.”
I pressed my aching eyes and sighed, grateful that he pretended not to notice.
“I guess so. Sometimes I fall asleep standing up.”
Forcing a smile, I ignored the throbbing headache and bowed once more.
“Then I’ll see you again.”
“May peace always be with you.”
Leaving Master Hyecheon behind as he returned my bow, I walked toward Gi-baek, who was standing some distance away, nervously watching.
“Did it end well?”
Maybe my face looked a little gloomy.
His voice was more cautious than usual.
I nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
The heaviness in my chest pressed down hard.
“Let’s go to work.”
When my head got complicated, it was easier to exhaust my body.
At least then I could forget for a while.
“Yes.”
Gi-baek nodded and walked ahead.
Watching his back, I smiled faintly.
It was time to work again.
***
“It’s an honor to accompany you!”
That stubborn deputy director had ended up sticking a tail on us after all.
As soon as we passed the temporary barricade, a man introduced himself as our guide.
“Hm…”
It was the same man who’d been controlling traffic when we first arrived.
His name was…
Han Wol-ryang, I think.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I have your autograph?”
He shyly held out his sword.
Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be trying anything underhanded.
‘Is he here to keep an eye on us?’
I didn’t sense any trace of Oedo power, like Blood Pellets, so he didn’t seem involved.
At most, he’d probably been ordered to report our movements.
‘What a headache.’
If he’d been involved, I could’ve just knocked him out and dumped him somewhere.
But I couldn’t do that to someone innocent.
“I’d prefer to move around with just Gi-baek.”
At my words, his face turned troubled. It didn’t look like we could easily shake him off.
“What? But… I need to brief you on the investigation progress, and—”
Right. From his perspective, this was his livelihood on the line.
Of course he’d cling desperately.
“Sigh. Fine. But if you show anything suspicious, I’ll knock you out and leave you.”
Even after my threat, his face brightened, which made it hard to say anything else.
In the end, I moved forward with this unexpected tagalong, silently cursing the deputy director.
“Let’s start with the site itself.”
Since we had a guide anyway, we might as well use him properly.
The closer Han Wol-ryang led us to the center of the incident site, the stronger the stench of blood became.
“This is…”
Even Gi-baek, who had seen plenty of horrific scenes in Special Ops, let out a low sound.
“Ha…”
It was familiar, yet never something I could truly get used to.
I muttered a curse under my breath.
“Seriously… this is fucked up.”
Blood-soaked earth.
Corpses that had lost all blood and life, already starting to rot.
And the thick stench of death that stabbed at my nose.
Crunch.
I clenched my teeth and fists, scanning the area.
“This is where the Blood Tree’s roots descended.”
Startled by my killing intent, Han Wol-ryang carefully pointed to the center of the site.
In a massive crater like a pond, dark red blood was still pooled.
“All the blood gathered here.”
Gi-baek was right.
It looked as if all the victims’ blood had flowed toward this basin.
The traces of blood flowing in hadn’t fully faded yet.
This matched exactly what appeared when an Oedo Blood Tree took root.
“So… did the Oedo open a gate again?”
At Gi-baek’s question, I crouched down and brushed my fingers through the bloodstains.
“…No. The Blood Tree’s roots are too small.”
If the Oedo had opened a gate and a Blood Tree had descended, this basin would never be this small.
“Oedo Blood Trees scorch entire regions and absorb all blood and life.”
There wouldn’t be pools of blood left like this.
At most, there would be dried stains.
All blood should have been absorbed.
The bodies should’ve been drained to bare bones.
That’s what a Blood Tree does.
“It didn’t absorb everything.”
But this site differed from that pattern.
“The gate was too small, and it wasn’t open for long.”
If the Oedo themselves had opened it, that wouldn’t make sense.
They were obsessively thorough when it came to stealing life.
“The Oedo didn’t open this gate.”
That left only one conclusion.
A gate less stable and smaller than the one at Oedo would open.
“Someone opened the gate for the Oedo.”
This gate wasn’t opened by the Oedo.
A human contacted the Oedo and opened it.
“That bastard…”
Rage boiled up.
After everything it took to drive them away.
After everything it took to close that door.
How dare they?
“Team Leader Three.”
My voice, heavy with killing intent, made both Gi-baek and Han Wol-ryang stiffen.
“We’re going to hunt the animal that betrayed humanity.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore.
First, I’d grab that deputy director and beat him half to death.
Then I’d ask him.
Why he did this.
Why he brought the Oedo back to this land.
Uuuuuu—
At that moment, a wailing shriek rang out.
Splat!
Red tentacles burst from the pool of blood and wrapped around my arms and legs.
“W-what is this?!”
Gi-baek and Han Wol-ryang, restrained like me, looked shocked, but the tentacles themselves weren’t that strong.
The real problem was that the ground beneath us was opening.
“Brace for impact.”
As I bit my lip and shouted the order, the fully opened red gate swallowed us whole.
Like a giant monster devouring its prey.
