Chapter 158:

Chapter 158:

Wise Strategist

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going out for a day or two. You all stay here and continue as usual. Especially Mu-gung, please keep taking care of Ga-ryeong.”

After giving appropriate instructions to the children, Mu-jin left the inn and headed to a pre-determined location. It was a place from where he could barely see So-cheongmun, yet it was quite a distance away.

Upon reaching the spot, Mu-jin moved his internal energy and practiced a martial art he had recently learned.

[Dark Shadow Art]

It was a martial art he obtained from the Divine Thief’s Secret Cave, which he had Mu-gyeong analyze. Thanks to his frequent practice whenever he had spare time, Mu-jin could now perform it to some extent.

As he mastered the Dark Shadow Art and the Ghost Step, he realized that the black-clad man he encountered at the Unhyangwon had used these techniques to conceal himself. Of course, Mu-jin, who had just recently learned these arts, couldn’t completely hide his presence and figure like that man.

‘At least, it’s useful against opponents weaker than me.’

His understanding of the Dark Shadow Art and Ghost Step was still lacking, but his experience with concealment techniques from his special forces days helped him compensate to some extent. Hidden, he watched So-cheongmun for a while. When he saw the middle-aged man he had noticed earlier leaving So-cheongmun in a carriage, Mu-jin cautiously started following it using Ghost Step.

* * *

The carriage carrying the middle-aged man, who was called the Grand Elder, and the child named Mun-hyuk traveled for a long time.

“Ah, father, when will we arrive?”

Mun-hyuk, who was still awkwardly calling the Grand Elder “father,” received no reply. Originally a lively child, Mun-hyuk became increasingly timid after being repeatedly ignored. Although his father had treated him kindly at So-cheongmun, his attitude had changed drastically once they left Haju County, leaving Mun-hyuk unsure of what to do. Clutching the gifts from his friends who had wished him happiness, Mun-hyuk had to swallow his sadness.

After passing through several villages similar to Haju County and even larger ones, the carriage turned onto a deserted mountain path. Eventually, it arrived at a lonely inn situated on a mountainside.

“Get down.”

The new father, who hadn’t spoken to Mun-hyuk for half a day, commanded in a stern tone, and Mun-hyuk, trembling, slowly moved.

“Hurry!”

“Hic.”

Startled by the sudden shout, Mun-hyuk entered the inn with hiccups.

“Come here.”

Grabbing Mun-hyuk’s arm roughly, the Grand Elder dragged the child to the kitchen.

“Such a picky eater.”

Muttering to himself, the Grand Elder locked the kitchen door and grabbed a large, sharp kitchen knife.

“Haha. Just thinking about the picky guests who made me travel all the way to Haju County angers me, but thanks to you, I’ll make a lot of money today.”

“Fa-father, why, why are you doing this?”

Mun-hyuk, unable to understand the situation, asked with trembling eyes, but the man didn’t answer. Instead, he approached Mun-hyuk to prepare the special ingredient for tonight’s distinguished guests.

Bang!!!

With a loud crash, the kitchen wall exploded.

“Brother?”

Mun-hyuk saw a familiar young man stepping into the kitchen through the broken wall. It was the young man named Kang-hyuk, who had recently visited So-cheongmun frequently.

* * *

“Damn it.”

Mu-jin cursed as he urgently entered the kitchen through the broken wall.

“I thought you’d head to some black market, but when I saw an inn, I knew something was off. Damn it. Never thought I’d stumble upon a cannibal inn.”

Even in a place dominated by the shadowy forces, this was too much. Eating children’s flesh?

“Who are you?!”

The man, who was about to swing his knife at the child, turned and pointed the knife at Mu-jin, but Mu-jin had no intention of revealing his identity to such a person.

Bang!

With a crash, Mu-jin lunged at the man. Despite the man’s attempts to swing the knife at Mu-jin, the skill gap was too great.

Thud!!

Mu-jin easily grabbed the knife and punched the man in the abdomen.

“Gyaaah!”

The man vomited a mixture of blood and bile from the impact. However, it seemed that this cannibal inn wasn’t managed by this man alone.

Clang!

“Who are you!”

“Do you know where you are?!”

“Those children are innocent.”

Baek Ga-hwan decided to take responsibility for the orphans who had been staying at So-cheongmun, a family he once had, in place of the departing Dao Yuetian.

“I also wanted to get those kids out of there, but they didn’t believe me. Well, when I was young, I thought it was a good place too.”

With those words, they parted ways, and about a year later, when Dao Yuetian collapsed Jegal Family, Baek Ga-hwan reappeared as a knowledgeable person.

Mu-jin’s actions against So-cheongmun, knowing it was a filthy place, were also due to that last conversation.

The children, including Baek Ga-hwan and Baek Ga-ryeong, probably still believed it was a good place.

But now that the evidence was secured, the only thing left was to clear out the trash and rescue the children.

Thus, Mu-jin planned to clean up and leave with Mun-hyuk.

Thud.

With a sense of presence, the door of the inn opened.

“They’re here!”

“Who?”

“The ones who ordered that food from us!”

Upon the earnest explanation from the manager, Mu-jin nodded and spoke to Mun-hyuk.

“Cover your ears and close your eyes for a moment.”

The child, lost in thought, didn’t respond immediately to the words. Thus, Mu-jin had no choice but to put him to sleep by pressing his acupoints.

Smash!!

Then, with all his might, he swung his fist and shattered the heads of the inn workers.

“Hehehe. Looks like the cooking is finally starting.”

“Hahaha. It seems we came too early.”

“Well, it’s hard to hold back after tasting it once. Hey there! Bring us some drinks while we wait.”

Apparently mistaking the sound of shattering skulls for the sound of preparing meat, disgusting conversations came from beyond the kitchen door.

“Hoo.”

Still heated, Mu-jin walked out without wiping the blood off his hands.

“Hm? A new face.”

“Looks like the innkeeper changed in the meantime.”

Ignoring their nonsense, Mu-jin slowly approached them.

“What are you doing! Didn’t you hear the order? Bring the drinks!”

As Mu-jin silently approached, one of the three shouted angrily.

Smash!!

Mu-jin suddenly smashed his head.

“What are you doing!!”

“Do you think you’ll get away with this!!”

As they screamed, guards who seemed to be their bodyguards entered through the inn’s door.

“Kill him!”

Though they wielded their weapons and rushed at Mu-jin, it didn’t take long for them to be reduced to bloody messes.

“He, heek.”

With all the guards dead, one man screamed bizarrely, and the other tried to negotiate with Mu-jin.

“This, this incident will be forgotten, so why don’t you just leave? If you mess with us, it won’t end well for you!”

They babbled about being the local magistrate or the son of a noble family.

Crack!!

But Mu-jin smashed their heads, no longer interested in listening.

“Hah. Spit.”

Disgusted by the encounter, Mu-jin spat out phlegm.

“What a damned place.”

Though he knew it was a realm of the dark forces, experiencing it firsthand was vastly different from merely knowing it intellectually.