The huge trees blocked out the sky.
Because of this, the Divine Dragon team felt their bodies shrink more than usual in the heightened chill as they entered Hundred Li Mountain.
Baek Woo Jin who was walking ahead carefully scanned his surroundings. He was fully focused and tried not to miss even the smallest footprints of the little animals that had just started to awaken from their winter sleep.
Our goal in crossing Hundred Li Mountain is to reach Qinghai Province.
Most of the missing people had climbed Hundred Li Mountain in hopes of reaching Qinghai Province a little faster.
Paths are usually formed where people frequently pass, following the traces of those who walked before.
Baek Woo Jin decided to follow those traces straight over the mountain.
After a while, they safely reached the other side of the mountain.
“There was nothing strange at all…”
“I didn’t find anything either.”
“Same here.”
None of them had noticed anything unusual.
It was the same for Baek Woo Jin. He had examined everything closely, but there was nothing that stood out as odd.
It took them a little over half a day to reach the other side of the mountain.
“The sun will set soon.”
Tang Seon Yeong said.
Due to the nature of the mountain, darkness descended faster compared to flat terrain.
“Are we going to search at night?”
“We have to.”
“Ah…”
“Good grief.”
As soon as Baek Woo Jin replied, groans filled the air.
There was no other choice.
The daytime search was merely a preliminary to get a sense of the mountain’s terrain and geography.
If it were easy, the opportunity wouldn’t have come to me in the first place.
If it had been an incident simple enough to uncover something in broad daylight, the word “suspicious” wouldn’t have been attached to it.
Only when night fell and darkness fully descended would they finally be able to catch a glimpse of the creature.
Before entering the mountain, Baek Woo Jin had discreetly called Jang Sam and Gu Wang Su aside and muttered to them.
“Once we finish this task, I’ll treat you big time, so hang in there.”
Jang Sam, who insisted he was a light eater despite consuming the most food, perked up his ears.
“A big treat, you say…?”
“The Golden Sun Pavilion.”
“Huh!”
The Golden Merchant Guild, which was known as the greatest merchant guild in the Central Plains, had poured the highest quality materials into the construction of Golden Sun Pavilion from the moment they built it.
It was the finest pleasure house in the Central Plains. A place filled with the best food, famous wines, and famous courtesans.
It was said that spending hundreds of silver taels in a single night was quite common there, which made it a place that even the scions of prominent clans wouldn’t dare to enter unless it was a truly special occasion.
For Jang Sam, a disciple of the poor Huangshan Sect, and Gu Wang Su, a son of a reasonably well-off local family, it was an unknown world they had never experienced.
“Let’s go right away!”
“Yes!”
Jang Sam and Gu Wang Su, who had been slumping their shoulders, suddenly brimmed with energy, as if they could pierce the sky.
Motivating the team members was both a duty and a necessary skill of the team leader.
The two of them hurriedly urged the three women, who were seated at a distance, to enter the mountain quickly.
“What’s wrong with those two…?”
When Shin Ye Hwa asked in confusion, Baek Woo Jin smiled lightly and shook his head.
“I just said a few words, and look at them.”
“…That doesn’t seem to be it.”
When suspicious gazes fell on him, Baek Woo Jin raised his voice.
“Alright, let’s get moving again!”
Tang Seon Yeong caught up beside Baek Woo Jin who was walking ahead with a strange smile on her face.
“How sly.”
It seemed she had heard everything.
***
The night search that started with great enthusiasm led by Jang Sam and Gu Wang Soo ended in vain.
They had thoroughly scoured the mountain surrounding the path they had come from but found no significant traces.
After finishing their camp preparations in a slightly subdued mood, the team members gathered around the small fire and filled their stomachs with dry rations.
“It’s just too clean…”
Jegal Yeon Ji sighed.
Baek Woo Jin nodded his head as if to agree.
He could understand why the Hao Sect’s branch had classified this as a case of mysterious disappearances.
It’s truly full of mysteries.
More than thirty people had disappeared within the span of a few months.
Even with that many missing, not a single trace remained when surely at least one of them should have left something behind. The Hundred Li Mountain was far too clean.
“But that’s what makes it even stranger.”
Tang Seon Yeong responded.
“With over thirty people gone, leaving no trace means that something as meticulous and dangerous as that is lurking here, don’t you think?”
What do you think?
Tang Seon Yeong’s smiling face turned toward Jegal Yeon Ji. She clenched her fist tightly.
“…Senior Tang is right.”
Was this what experience was?
Jegal Yeon Ji, who always wanted to argue against anything Tang Seon Yeong said, couldn’t deny that she was completely correct this time.
She let out a small sigh and continued.
“Instead of focusing on finding traces… what if we work under the certainty that something is here… and adjust our investigation approach?”
It seemed that speaking such a lengthy sentence was challenging for her, as she paused several times before finishing.
“Instead of looking for traces of the creature, let’s search for places it could be hiding?”
“Yes…”
It was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
The area was so unnaturally clean that it only reinforced their suspicion that something was hiding. So instead of looking for traces, they decided to search the entire mountain for places where the culprit might be hiding or spots that looked like good hiding places.
“I agree.”
Tang Seon Yeong was the first to voice her support.
“I think that’s better too.”
When Shin Ye Hwa also agreed, Baek Woo Jin turned his gaze toward Jang Sam and Gu Wang Su, who were sitting nearby, sharing their rations.
“We’re fine with anything.”
“As long as it gets solved, we’re good.”
They were certainly easy to command.
One by one, the group gathered around the fire began nodding off with their heads bobbing down.
No wonder they were exhausted. After spending the whole day searching the mountain on high alert, now sitting in front of a warm fire, sleep would come easily.
Should I let them rest just for today?
Watching them doze off with their heads drooping like sickly chicks stirred a sense of pity in Baek Woo Jin.
“I’ll take the watch tonight, so everyone get some sleep.”
“N-No. I can keep watch too.”
“I’m fine too….”
Jegal Yeon Ji struggled to keep her eyes open and Shin Ye Hwa rubbed her tired eyes and tried to refuse.
“I’ll have everyone take turns starting tomorrow, so just rest tonight.”
“But still….”
“Yes, that’s an order.”
Thanks to the rigorous training over the past few months, Baek Woo Jin’s authority as the team leader was firmly established.
Jang Sam and Gu Wang Su immediately lay down as if they had been waiting for the opportunity, while Jegal Yeon Ji and Shin Ye Wwa hesitated with apologetic expressions before finally giving in to Baek Woo Jin’s stern command and lying down as well.
“I can still help, though.”
Tang Seon Yeong, who still had some energy left, propped her chin on her hand and smiled.
“You know you’re part of my team now too, right?”
This had been agreed upon before they set out for this mission.
Having a split chain of command or uncontrollable members was like holding a thunderbolt that could explode at any moment.
Baek Woo Jin had boldly demanded command authority from Tang Seon Yeong, and she had readily accepted.
“If the team leader says so, I guess I have no choice.”
Even she, who had been smiling seductively, finally got up and lay down on the cloth she had spread out.
Crackle, crackle.
The sleeping arrangements were uncomfortable, but their exhaustion was too heavy for them to care.
Before long, the soft sound of their breathing filled the air as they quickly fell asleep.
Baek Woo Jin sat with his senses extended wide. He would occasionally toss firewood onto the flames to keep the campfire burning steadily.
There’s definitely something here.
The silence was unnerving. Not even the usual sounds of insects could be heard.
It felt as if the entire mountain was being crushed by something unknown.
It’s not human.
When a predator with overwhelming power appears in a specific area, the prey either holds its breath to survive or quietly moves to a new territory.
It was impossible for a human to exert such influence over an entire mountain. It was certainly a demon, a monster, or something of equivalent power.
Baek Woo Jin’s gaze fell on Jegal Yeon Ji, who was sleeping a little distance away. A smile that he couldn’t hide was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She really is a remarkable strategist.
He was quite pleased with the plan she had proposed earlier.
Humans couldn’t do everything on their own. This was true even for Baek Woo Jin, who had spent a long time as a warrior.
Strengths come with weaknesses.
The reason he could cut down the Demon King’s neck was that various talents had gathered around him to cover his shortcomings.
Without her, he might have wandered for much longer.
It was when he checked the weakening fire and tossed in a large piece of firewood.
Rustle.
The sound of leaves crunching was clearly heard through the senses spread around the area.
Crunch, crunch.
Light footsteps.
It was the steps of a creature walking on two legs, not four.
A human.
He quietly stood up and fastened the sword that was placed next to him at his waist.
The footsteps grew closer. To prepare for any possible situation, Baek Woo Jin moved toward the direction from which the sound was approaching.
A small light flickered in the distance.
It was a torch, swaying at about the height of a person’s shoulder.
Soon, what appeared was a middle-aged man dressed in ceremonial robe, the kind one would not expect to see wandering the mountains at night.
The man stopped at a certain distance after he spotted him and spoke.
“I didn’t expect to meet someone at this late hour.”
“Neither did I.”
“Did you perhaps lose your way in the mountains?”
His mind raced.
“Yes, my group took a wrong turn, and we ended up wandering until it got dark.”
“You have companions?”
“They’re sleeping back there. I was just keeping watch.”
“I see.”
The middle-aged man nodded faintly.
Baek Woo Jin asked.
“But what brings you to roam the mountain paths at this hour, especially dressed like that?”
His gaze turned suspicious, filled with wariness, as if he found the man even more suspicious.
The man waved his hand.
“Don’t misunderstand. There’s a village I live in within the mountains. I only came out to find some food and am on my way back.”
At his response, Baek Woo Jin’s brows furrowed.
“There’s a village in this mountain?”
“Yes, that’s right. There aren’t many of us, but when people gather and live together, what else would you call it but a village?”
Baek Woo Jin was inwardly taken aback.
There’s a village in this mountain?
This information wasn’t included in the report from the Hao Sect branch.
He wondered if they had done their job carelessly, but there were too many things that didn’t add up for that to be the case.
If people were living together in the mountains, there would be traces left behind, whether they were few or many, but in this mountain, there were only faint signs of those who had crossed the Hundred Li Mountain, and no other traces could be seen.
This is getting troublesome in many ways.
Baek Woo Jin quickly put on a smile.
“That’s perfect. Would it be possible for my party and me to stay in your village for a night? I will make sure to compensate you generously.”
The middle-aged man also smiled lightly and responded in a casual tone, as if to reassure him not to worry.
“I’m on my way back as well, so it won’t be difficult. Well then, wake your companions and follow me.”
Leave a Reply