Chapter 45

Chapter 45, Hwancheonma's True Objective

After hearing Jaha's explanation, Goeui looked genuinely shocked.

"Is that really possible?"

"Yes."

"I didn't even know a technique like that existed. The limits of martial arts truly cannot be understood."

After admiring it, Goeui asked,

"Did you learn that from the Demon Physician too?"

Jaha nodded.

"Yes."

"So it really is true that the Demon Cult is a treasure house of demonic martial arts. With this method, we can listen to their conversation without sneaking directly into Hwancheonma's residence."

"The Demon Physician once told me there are even techniques that create spiritual connections with birds, allowing someone to see what the bird sees. Compared to those, this is nothing."

Jaha unconsciously straightened his shoulders with pride when Goeui praised the Demon Cult's martial arts.

Goeui opened his medical bundle and handed him silk thread used for stitching wounds.

"Will this work?"

"It's enough."

The technique Jaha intended to use to listen to Hwancheonma's conversation was called the Silk-Ear Listening Art.

It was one of the many strange minor techniques Jaha had learned.

The Silk-Ear Listening Art allowed someone to hear conversations through sound vibrations traveling along a thread.

The user tied one end of the thread near the place where people were speaking, extended the thread outside, then used it to secretly listen.

"But how are you going to tie the thread inside Hwancheonma's room? If you enter and attach it yourself, he'll obviously find it strange."

"I have a method for that too."

Seeing Jaha smile, Goeui slapped his hands together.

"Right. You have the Command of All Living Things. You can summon a rat."

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Senior."

When Goeui correctly guessed his plan, Jaha smiled.

"First, we wait until all of them enter the room. Then we send the rat inside."

A short while later, Jaha and Goeui watched Hwancheonma's residence.

After confirming that Hwancheonma, Shinbi, the one-armed Right Protector, and the others had all entered the room, Jaha used the Command of All Living Things to summon rats.

Before even a quarter of an hour passed, rats began gathering around Jaha.

"What is this? Why are there so many? Are you planning to summon every rat in the entire brothel? Keep one and send the rest away."

Goeui nearly jumped after seeing the swarm.

Jaha was not skilled enough with the Command of All Living Things to summon exactly one rat.

He tied the thread around one rat's body and ordered it to climb onto the ceiling beam.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!

The rat cried several times as if it understood, then disappeared toward Hwancheonma's residence.

Even though Hwancheonma's guards were standing watch nearby, the rat avoided their eyes and climbed onto the ceiling beam.

The thread tied around its body continued unwinding from the spool.

Then, suddenly, the thread stopped and became tight.

"It seems to have reached the ceiling beam above Hwancheonma."

Goeui immediately said,

"Good. Hurry and listen. What are they saying?"

Goeui was just as curious as Jaha about what Hwancheonma was doing here.

Jaha wrapped the thread around his middle finger.

Then he curled his hand and placed it near his ear.

This was the most important part of the Silk-Ear Listening Art.

True qi had to flow from the Laogong acupoint in the palm into the thread.

Then the user had to curve the palm so the qi would not escape.

That was the core secret of the technique.

Without understanding this step, someone could copy everything else and still hear nothing.

When Hwancheonma spoke, the vibrations of his voice touched the thread carrying true qi and traveled directly toward Jaha.

Did you confirm it?

It was Hwancheonma's voice.

Shinbi answered.

Yes, Father. We've confirmed their location. The Shadow Trackers reported it, so there can be no mistake.

Good. At last, my long wish will be fulfilled.

Hwancheonma sounded excited.

Hwancheonma's long wish?

Jaha had begun listening in the middle of their conversation, so he still could not understand the situation.

Good. We move tonight. After that, withdraw every Shadow Tracker to at least one hundred jang away and have them observe from there. They're extremely cunning. If the Shadow Trackers come too close, they'll notice the surveillance.

I've already arranged it that way.

Good. And we cannot repeat what happened with Deung Hwahong. She was never our original objective, so I can forgive that failure. But this is different. This matter will decide whether or not this seat becomes Cult Leader.

Understood, my lord.

The final voice belonged to the Right Protector.

So Deung Hwahong really was just someone they happened to learn about and decided to abduct. But what could make Hwancheonma the Cult Leader? Since he came alone, it must be something the other Seven Heavenly Demons aren't supposed to know about.

Jaha continued listening.

However, after that conversation, they stopped discussing the matter.

Jaha used the Command of All Living Things to call the rat back.

"What did they say?"

"They seem to be pursuing someone."

"Not the Deung girl?"

"No. Apparently they only abducted Deung Hwahong because they happened to receive information about her."

"Really? Then Hwancheonma moved for something else entirely. What could it be?"

"I only heard that much, so I don't know yet."

"Good. Let's follow them. I want to see what they're after."

Jaha found it strange that Goeui, who normally had little interest in matters of the martial world, was this curious.

"Senior, you normally don't care about events in the martial world."

"This isn't just anyone. Hwancheonma himself is moving. How could I not be curious? Besides, something useful might fall into our hands."

Goeui was hoping for unexpected benefits.

In truth, Jaha was also extremely curious about Hwancheonma's true objective.

He was already planning to follow him.

Having Goeui suggest it first only made things easier.

After sunset, Hwancheonma's group left the brothel.

Jaha and Goeui followed them.

However, Goeui looked at himself and Jaha, neither of whom had disguised themselves, and asked,

"Are we really going to follow them looking like this? Won't they notice?"

"I've already placed a tracker they can never detect. Don't worry. We only need to follow our tracker."

"Who?"

"The rat."

"Ah. You ordered the rat to follow them."

Jaha nodded.

Goeui exclaimed because he had never imagined such a method.

"This old man should probably learn a few techniques from you too. They're genuinely useful. For example, when I need poisonous insects for medicine, imagine how convenient it would be if I could summon them using the Command of All Living Things."

Jaha laughed inwardly.

Even he had never imagined the Command of All Living Things could be this useful.

And without Byeok Ho's White Spirit, the technique would have been almost useless.

The old Jaha would only have been able to use a small portion of its abilities.

However, because of Byeok Ho's White Spirit, he could now use the Command of All Living Things almost perfectly.

And that was not the only example.

The Flowing Joint Art and Revolving Joint Formula had also transformed into far more powerful ultimate techniques because of Byeok Ho's White Spirit.

Without the White Spirit, they might have remained merely unusual martial arts.

That was why Jaha no longer had any intention of driving Byeok Ho's White Spirit away.

Its ability to detect danger even outside Jaha's own awareness and warn him was something no martial art could imitate.

Even among the countless strange techniques of the Demon Cult, Jaha knew of nothing with such an ability.

"Now that I think about it, it's not simply a technique for controlling animals. Its uses seem almost endless."

Goeui enjoyed following them without having to remain extremely tense.

Then he remembered Jaha's master and asked,

"But if we return too late, won't your master worry? Shouldn't you send him a message?"

Jaha answered,

"My master trusts me. If I'm late, he'll assume I have a reason and quietly wait."

"You and your master seem unusually close these days."

Jaha smiled faintly.

Ha Seonbaek was Byeok Ho's master.

However, even Jaha himself no longer felt like Ha Seonbaek was truly a stranger.

During his time in the Demon Cult, the many martial instructors who taught him had all been cold and distant.

They were not people he could form emotional bonds with.

After living through such a cold childhood, Ha Seonbaek treating him like a son or family allowed Jaha to vaguely understand what family affection felt like.

Perhaps Byeok Ho's White Spirit sensed that feeling.

Jaha's left hand gently stroked his own cheek.

Hwancheonma's group stopped and surrounded a store.

The store sold various ornaments and accessories.

Watching from a distance, Jaha and Goeui looked at each other.

They could not understand why Hwancheonma would surround a store like this.

Hwancheonma's people only established a perimeter from a distance.

They did not move in immediately.

"They seem to be waiting for someone."

"Yes."

That meant the store itself was not the problem.

The real target was a person.

The fact that Hwancheonma had established this kind of encirclement and was waiting for someone only made Jaha more curious.

If someone at Hwancheonma's level is setting up a perimeter, then the person he's targeting must be extremely dangerous.

Jaha watched the store carefully.

Suddenly, his left hand moved by itself.

Byeok Ho's White Spirit had taken control again.

"What?!"

Jaha looked down in shock.

His left hand was gripping someone else's wrist.

It belonged to a girl who looked at most fifteen years old.

She had approached Jaha from behind and slipped her hand into his pocket without him sensing anything.

Even Goeui looked at the girl in surprise.

Apparently he had not sensed her approach either.

Even Goeui, whose strength was close to the peak level, had failed to notice her.

That made the girl's appearance shocking.

If she had been an assassin, both Jaha and Goeui could already be dead.

"What are you?!"

The girl suddenly pulled against Jaha's grip and shouted in surprise.

Jaha laughed in disbelief.

"Little girl, I think that's what I should be asking you."

"What are you, seriously? You're the first person who's ever caught me! And you're so young! I don't understand!"

The ridiculous complaint made Jaha snort.

"This is absurd. You're the thief, yet you're the one complaining? Are you saying it makes no sense that I caught you?"

"Exactly. My master told me that only masters ranked within roughly the top thirty in the martial world should be able to catch me. There's no way someone as young as you is one of those thirty."

The girl looked furious.

Her face was still childish, but her features were neat and cute.

It was easy to imagine she would become beautiful when she grew older.

"A young girl shouldn't steal from people's pockets. If you're unlucky, someone might cut off your hand."

Jaha lectured her calmly.

"Do you even know what kind of person I am? You were the ones who did something wrong first."

The girl refused to back down.

"What are you talking about? What did we do?"

Jaha tilted his head.

"You were secretly watching our store."

Jaha looked at Goeui once, then pointed toward the store.

"That's your store?"

"Yes. You were secretly watching it, so I was trying to check your identity plaque. I thought you might be thieves planning to steal from us."

Jaha and Goeui exchanged serious looks.

Their questions were only growing.

After listening to the girl's scattered explanation, Jaha asked,

"Who do you live with?"

The girl stared at him briefly before answering.

"Why should I answer that? You might be thieves. Let go of me."

When the girl tried to pull her wrist free, Jaha tightened his grip.

"Not yet."

"So you really are bad people."

The girl suddenly slipped into Jaha's chest range and launched a dazzling series of hand techniques.

"Huh!"

Jaha initially believed it was merely some ordinary grappling technique.

It was not.

The girl's grappling art was something Jaha had never seen before.

He had never witnessed such a fast and complicated capture technique.

Their hands struck each other dozens of times in the air.

Before Jaha realized it, the girl's wrist had escaped his grip.

She rubbed her wrist and glared at him.

"You're really bad people."

Goeui stared intently at the girl.

Then he spoke.

"Ho, I think I finally understand who Hwancheonma came here to find."

Jaha immediately turned toward Goeui.

"Who is it?"

Jaha's eyes were filled with curiosity.