Book 25 Chapter 5

Who's the culprit?

-trace

I ran it.

They ran like they were on the run. Time was furiously chasing after them. Not knowing what awaited them at the end of time, they just ran. They ran because they didn't want to know. To make it in time. To stop 'then' from coming.

I was able to carry on a conversation while running.

"Are we even on the right track here, Ryuyeon?"

Hyo-Ryong asked in a slightly anxious voice as he sped away.

"Sure."

As if it wasn't worth the time to answer, Bi Ryuyeon replied briefly.

The scenery around them swiftly passed them by, and though they seemed to be walking normally, their feet were already on the ground.

"Why are we going to King Don's office?"

"Of course we're going to catch the culprit."

"Do you know who did it?"

The answer came as a complete surprise.

"Yeah."

Bi Ryuyeon replied with enthusiasm.

"What! You know the culprit?"

I was just asking," Hyo-ryong replied in surprise, not really expecting him to know.

"Yeah. I told you, a ghost from the past."

"I thought it was just a figure of speech, or the name of an organization."

"No, it's not a metaphor, it's not the name of an organization. I know exactly who he is, and I remember what he's done before. It's just where he's hiding now, that's the question."

"The culprit, could it be the money king?"

Since we're heading to King Don's residence to catch the culprit, it's not unreasonable to assume that King Don is the culprit.

"No, that pig is not a beast, but it is an accomplice."

"Then why are you going there, I can tell by your behavior that you're convinced?"

Jang Hong asked, not slowing his pace.

"Did you hear about the addictive poisonous aroma in the players' locker rooms on both sides?"

"Yeah, I heard that, a while ago."

Before that, they had no idea that such a commotion was happening in the waiting room, much less in the stands.

"The poison came from secret conduits in the arena, both of them. Which means it's been there for a long time. And whoever did this knew about it. How did he know about it?"

"……!"

Both Hyorong and Jang Hong realized something.

"Okay, simple question here: who owns this arena?"

No further conversation was necessary.

Boom!

The door shattered.

The fallen door slammed vertically into the wall, spinning three times.

Bi Ryuyeon lowered her raised foot and walked inside. Jang Hong and Hyorong followed.

At the foot of the stairs they had ascended, countless warriors lay dead. Some were bleeding, some had foam in their mouths, some had broken weapons, some had torn their clothes, but all were unharmed. It was enough for Bi Ryuyeon to endure. But it was clear that their lives would be disrupted for the time being. Their bones and muscles would not survive.

Despite running as fast as I could, my office was empty.

"It's already fried."

After breezing past countless guards, he arrived at the Don's residence to find it empty: not only was the chair where his shaggy, scaffolded hulk was supposedly seated, but the surrounding bookcases and several chests of drawers were all wide open. His hasty departure was evident.

"Good."

When she saw the empty office, a terrifying smile formed on her lips. The smile was severely distorted.

"What's good, Ryuyeon? Didn't we lose him?"

Hyorong, who was next to him, asked in disbelief. Just like the message Jang Hong sent earlier, today's Bi Ryuyeon was a little strange. I don't think it's unreasonable because of Na Yerin's work, but…….

"If he'd just sat here and denied the crime, it might have taken a little longer, but the fact that he walked away like that means he must have something up his sleeve, right?"

If they weren't scared, they wouldn't have packed up and fled in such a hurried manner. Maybe he was more afraid of the other old man than he was of them. But it didn't matter who he was afraid of right now; the fact that he had disappeared from his office, his castle, was all that mattered.

"By not being here, he's giving himself up as one of the killers, so now we'll just have to go after the Don. He'll be a lot easier to find than a mysterious one-armed man."

"One-armed?"

"Yes, the culprit is a cripple, nay, a one-armed man."

But they didn't talk about it anymore. For now, the priority was to follow the Don King's trail, and Jang Hong was the best person for the job. When Bi Ryuyeon didn't say anything else, Jang Hong began to do what he had to do.

"Don't let your guard down. He's absurdly rich, and a rich man can use many means at once."

With a sharp gaze, Jang Hong examined the marks left by the chair on the floor, the fallen body hair, and the traces of dust left behind. His hands never stopped moving as he spoke.

"Pity about their money, he's about to lose his master, let's see if we can buy his life with it!"

"Where do we go from here? We can't stay here, can we?"

Hyo-ryong asked, looking around. It would be nice if there was some kind of clue, but there was little sign of their hasty departure.

"Wait, let's hope Jang Hong finds something."

Wait. It was the last thing he wanted to say, more than anyone else, and he probably would have said it to someone else,

"Are you crazy? Do you think you're going to wait? Time is catching up with you. Are you faster than time? Don't you know that time is a golden ripple, that time is visible? Those who miss the mark, those who can't read time, are eternal losers. Those stupid losers turn time back twenty years. If you can't stay on topic, at least learn to read the time.'

in the past.

But now it was time to wait and trust in Jang Hong and his skills. He was the one who had asked, so it was also his duty to wait. His restlessness was as bad, if not worse, than Hyorong's. But still, he had to wait. Just then, Jang Hong, who had been searching the trail here and there, stopped.

"Wait a minute. Look at this, both of you."

Jang Hong's words stop Bi Ryuyeon and Hyo Ryong in their tracks. They quickly rush to Jang Hong's side, but Hyo-ryong is the first to open his mouth to ask.

"What is it, Brother Zhang?"

Jang Hong's finger pointed to a bookcase behind his desk in the Oval Office.

"Don't you think it's strange that all the other bookshelves are almost empty, but this one is full of books. Why do you think that is?"

"Either you didn't have time or there's a reason you shouldn't have taken it out."

Ryuyeon Bi replied.

"Why can't I get the book out, what is it?"

Hyo-Ryong, who was standing at a distance, his eyes narrowed, hadn't yet been able to follow their conversation.

"Well, do you have any guesses?"

Then Jang Hong smiled meaningfully and said.

"The first thing I can think of is that these books are either worthless or…… have some sort of device behind them."

"Device? What device?"

"Organ Device."

Bi Ryuyeon nodded in agreement with Jang Hong's words.

"That makes sense. I suppose it's possible that if you pick the wrong book, it could go 'poof'."

It was going to be a very unpleasant situation.

"The way the building is configured, it's not just the sky behind that wall; there's a good chance there's a secret passage."

"So that means that bookcase is most likely an institutional device that opens a secret passage."

In response, Jang Hong moved a little closer to the bookshelf and began to examine it with a nervous and serious expression, instead of his usual relaxed expression.

"I think it's a multi-input seagun (lock) device."

"Multiple input… what?"

Call it short, it's a tongue twister," Hyo-Ryong protested.

"In short, it's a structure that explodes if you pull the wrong combination when you pull the book."

"Can you open it?"

Jang Hong shook his head.

"No, it's not just an organ, it's a trap and a key at the same time, and if I make a mistake, it could blow up this whole room, and I don't want to risk that."

It wasn't just a handy dandy that you could open by fumbling with a couple of wires.

"Well, is there any other way to get into the secret passage?"

Jang Hong thought for a moment. He needed a way to enter the secret passage without taking any risks. He knew that he wasn't Bi Ryuyeon, who would give up advancing just because he couldn't open the lock.

"There's only one way to do it. But the problem is, I can't use it right now."

"How do you do that? At least tell me."

"Cut the entrance to the passage through the wall. Cut through at an angle, away from the organ."

Jang Hong's opinion was truly unconventional. It was so unconventional that some people thought he was making fun of them.

"That's stupid, but I like it because it's simple, so let's do it."

Without hesitation, she adopted the seemingly outrageous idea.

"But there's a problem."

At that, Bi Ryuyeon shook her head.

"Problem? What's the problem?"

Jang Hong's complexion instantly turned sullen.

"We'll have to cut through the wall in one fell swoop. You'd need to be able to slice stone like tofu, or at least be able to wield a sword at the level of a martial artist. That's why I say it's impossible."

Looking at Jang Hong, who had a sullen expression, Bi Ryuyeon said.

"What, that's all it took?"

"That's all you've got? I've seen other people do the best they can……."

Ryuyeon Bi cut him off mid-sentence.

"That's just in time."

"What's going well, it seems like everything from one to ten is going wrong?"

"I just happen to have one."

"What?"

"That martial lord."

"That's ridiculous! The Lord of the Martial Kingdom should be in the Martial Kingdom, not on this remote island in Dongzheng Lake."

"I am. On a remote island in Dongzheng Lake, not in the Martial Forest, right now!"

"I can't believe it. You mean to tell me that the martial arts masters have split in two? If a martial arts master is here right now for no reason at all, he's in dereliction of duty, because he's not where he's supposed to be, and he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing."

"That's a nice thing to say. But can you literally say that in front of me?"

"What do they think of me for? Of course they do. If I'm saying the right thing, what's to stop me from putting it in front of you?"

"So you're saying you can do it?"

"Of course!"

Jang Hong had no hesitation in saying that, but the reality was much different.

"……!"

Jang Hong was like a crucian carp with its head above water, unable to say a word.

"What? You're not telling me? You said you could tell me?"

"Words? What words?"

Nie Baiqian, who had been hastily dragged along, frowned and asked. Moreover, he was in a very bad mood right now.

"Oh, no, it's not, it's nothing, ahahahahaha!"

Jang Hong waved his hand and laughed awkwardly. Despite his rhetoric in front of Bi Ryuyeon, how could he have known that the Martial Lord himself would actually show up? He murmured to himself that the speed at which information from the shadows reached him seemed to have slowed down since he had entered the realm of the Heavenly Pavilion. Perhaps a major reorganization was in order.

"You're a clueless person, and more than that, what brought me here so suddenly?"

Bi Ryuyeon's eyes widened, and Jang Hong began to explain.

"You want me to break through this wall?"

Nie Baiqian pointed to the bookshelf with his saber 'White Lightning' and asked.

"Yes, if you can make it an elongated sword cavity, please do it once and for all. There's a good chance I'll be roasted in flames if I do it wrong."

Jang Hong rubbed his palms together and smiled.

"Do you know what I'm phlegmatic about?"

"But please make it as long as possible. I've already marked it out on the wall, so you can just cut it off and go, 'Rot!'"

Jang Hong spoke as if the solid stone walls were tofu. But the person standing in front of him now was none other than Nie Baiqian, the Heavenly Thunder Sword, one of the strongest in the Hundred Sword Martial Realm. Even compared to the three Heavenly Martial Saints, his strength was nothing compared to theirs. Of course, the Heavenly Martial Emperor himself would snort when he heard that. The only thing that could be called a problem for him was that he was unwilling to give up his daughter, but in this situation, it would be the spark that would unleash his potential to the fullest.

"ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……."

With a long exhale, the blade of the Superior Blade rippled and began to draw out a pure white sword qi. The thread-like qi coalesced into a solid mass and began to lengthen, taking on a tighter shape.

One character… two characters… three characters…….

The white qi emanating from the sword grew longer and longer, forming another massive glowing sword.

"That's a lot of work……."

He let out an exclamation of admiration as he watched the sword steel grow longer, stronger, and more powerful.

I can't believe he pulled that much out and didn't seem to struggle…….

I couldn't believe it.

I'm sure you're drowning in it right now…….

However, there was already a person in front of him who had already attained that level and practiced it as naturally as breathing. With this sight imprinted on his retina, Hyorong thought to himself.

'That's a wall too, a wall I have to climb over…….'

White Lightning Sword (白雷震天劍)

Righteousness (奧義)

Thunderclap (雷光斬影)

Full Moon (滿月斬)

A blinding white flash of light raced in a great circle. A wind-splitting sword sound assaulted his eardrums.

Click!

Before he knew it, Nie Baiqian had turned around, the white thunderbolt back in its sheath.

Bi Ryuyeon, Jang Hong, and Hyorong stared at the wall with bated breath. No one was going to argue that the wall was intact. Everyone knew. If you didn't recognize what I just did, you might as well have plucked out those dynamic eyes. It would be much more useful than being stuck there.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

If my eyes were deceiving me, the wall was bulging forward.

"Am I dreaming?"

But it was neither an illusion nor an illusion.

Little by little, but surely.

The walls were bulging forward. In a great circle. Like a giant corkscrew opening.

Thump!

A huge chunk of rounded stone tumbled forward with a loud crash.

"Indeed, that was a great sword technique. I have reformed my eyes again today."

Normally, if you hit someone with a fist, they fall backwards. The same goes for a sword cut. If you fall sideways, you fall sideways, not forward. But what about now? That wall didn't fall backwards, it fell forward.

Not only did he slice through the wall with his saber, but he also adjusted the direction of the force to make it fall forward instead of backward, meaning that he was able to perform four or five different moves in a single second.

"We can save the admiration for later, right? Come on, let's get in there. Time waits for no man."

Na Baiqian, who was now fully aware of Bi Ryuyeon's presence, asked in an urgent tone.

"I've been wondering all along, why are you here, when you should be neatly locked up in the Heavenly Hall by now?"

Bi Ryuyeon shrugged her shoulders.

"Imprisonment? I didn't do anything that bad, I was just falsely accused, a sort of innocent victim, which happens a lot to good people like me."

"Looks like the innocent victims have been wiped out by you."

Bai Xiaochun snorted and replied.

"This is an emergency, and we can talk about such trivialities later, over a cup of tea, perhaps?"

"I still haven't heard your answer, Mr. Bi Ryuyeon."

Bai Xiaochun didn't fall for Bi Ryuyeon's ruse. It seemed like he had to point out the things that bothered him.

"There's no way I'm going to stand idly by while Yerin is kidnapped, and besides, Yunbi asked me for help, and I thought you two had already given her permission?"

I had agreed in a rush to help, but I hadn't thought about how that was possible. But on second thought, she shouldn't have been here.

"I let the little things slide."

"This is not trivial."

"No, it's trivial compared to the problem of rescuing Yerin, isn't it?"

It was as if he was protesting that if he had something to say, he should say it. Bai Chen had always considered himself a fair-minded person who could distinguish between public and private affairs, so he didn't hesitate to speak up.

"Trivial."

Hearing an answer that was tens of thousands of leagues away from the truth, Jang Hong and Hyo Ryong had to pause for a moment.

"But did you two know each other? You just called each other by name, that doesn't sound like a normal relationship."

Nabechuan's interest in his daughter's personal life was unusually high.

"We know each other a little bit, and it's a small thing, but I'm here on a special secret mission, so don't worry, I'm pretty sure I've got clearance, but other than that, don't you think there's something we should be doing right now before this boring interrogation?"

He pointed to a passageway that was heavily carved out of steel.

"Don't we have something we need to get back as soon as possible? One step back is just one step further away."

The implication was that nothing good would come of delaying any longer, and I could only nod in frustration because it was true.

"We'll talk more later."

"Sure. After we get Yerin back."

Seeing eye to eye, the two walked into the secret passage.

"Wait!"

Then, a voice called out to them.

"What?"

Nie Baiqian asked, and Jang Hong stepped in front of them.

"This is the enemy's secret passage. I'll lead the way, and the Mighty One must not be harmed in the slightest."

"Please, Hongshik."

"Hong∼sik?"

Bai Xiaochun's words made Bi Ryuyeon's eyes widen.

"……!"

He realized his mistake with an "Aha!" moment.

"I'm sorry, I must have you confused with someone else, Mr. Jang Hong. I apologize."

Jang Hong shook his head and let out an awkward laugh.

'Ahahahahaha, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.'

With that, he hurried to stand in front of the stairs leading down into the secret passage.

As if someone was following you.

"Okay, non-professionals, stay back, this is professional territory, and if you mess with the wrong organ, you could impale your anus on a bamboo spear or an arrowhead, and you'll suffer from hemorrhoids for the rest of your life. That is, if you're not dead."

Activating his expertly sharp and pointed senses, Jang Hong said in a determined voice.

["You're being smug, that guy."]

["I know. But, Brother Zhang, it's been a while since you've spoken up."]

["So? You want me to turn a blind eye? You're making a fool of me?"]

["Even a dog is king in his own territory. Everyone has one area where they think they're the best."]

["Long Long, you just treated your Uncle Zhang like a dog. He'll be sad when he hears about it."]

["You know what you're good at, don't sweat the small stuff, each other."]

"Hey, I can hear you, stop interrupting his work and shut the fuck up, stop pretending to talk on the phone, I can hear you, you're hurting him!"

Jang Hong shouted, his gaze still scanning the dark passageway. From here, the slightest mistake could lead directly to the Netherworld.

"I get a little nervous at work."

"Sure."

"Shut up, both of you! Everyone gets delicate when they're doing professional work. This work is so delicate and sensitive, it's like dancing on a knife's edge. If you want to get to Na Yerin Sojae quickly, everyone shut up."

"Meh, I'm sorry. I won't bother you, just do your best."

Nabechun was the only one who actually apologized.

In the slightly quieter work environment, Jang Hong went about his business in silence. He examined the traces on the floor, and based on those traces, the types and locations of the organs. Then he took out a pouch from his arm. It was a blue silk pouch with a red string tied to it, and inside was a white powder.

"What is that?"

"It's a trail mix, and if you sprinkle it on the stairs like this……."

When Jang Hong sprinkled the special powder in his possession, the footprints of people treading on the pathway appeared in distinct shapes. It was a curious powder, and he didn't ask where it came from.

"Come on, let's go."

Jang Hong led the way, and the other three followed. When they stepped where Jang Hong stepped, to their surprise, the engine stopped working.

"Indeed, Guru, your age has not been in vain."

Without him, the group would have already had to expend their strength and nerves defending their lives from the organ that had been activated several times.

"That's slow."

Progress was slow. We had to navigate the pitfalls one by one.

-Lighten up!

", Bi Ryuyeon exclaims without thinking,

-Good idea.

The situation could very well have taken a turn for the worst with her idiot dad chiming in…….

Click!

"Oh, sorry. I stepped on it."

The steps she took were caved in.

"Ahahahahaha!"

Bi Ryuyeon scratched the back of her head and laughed, but the other three's complexions turned grim as if they'd seen the dead.

"Run, run, run!!!"

Jang Hong, whose face had turned black, shouted. As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped out like a spring.

Pah-bah-bah-bah-bah!

Shush, shush, shush!

Pooh-pooh-pooh-pooh!

A myriad of arrows, memorizations, bamboo spears, and iron skewers flew, soared, or plunged from the synchronized organs.

Nie Bai Tian unfurled his sword cavity and blocked them all, while Hyorong dazzlingly wielded his twin swords. Bi Ryuyeon dodged the myriad of attacks like a man wading through rain.

"He did it on purpose, he did it on purpose, he did it on purpose, he did it on purpose!"

Swinging, rolling, and running, Jang Hong shouted.

"Mistake, mistake. I'm sorry."

Bi Ryuyeon said as she ran in the direction of the diagonal behind him.

"There's no heart in the apology, heart!"

"Brother Zhang, that's a luxury, a luxury, what do you want from me?"

Still wielding his twin swords like a windmill, he blocked the hail of arrows and spoke. Then, not having done much of anything, Bi Ryuyeon spoke up.

"It's faster anyway."

They were sprinting down the aisle, certainly not as fast as they had been a few moments earlier.

"That's certainly true."

Nabechuan, who is literally the most dazzling of the bunch, nodded in agreement.

"You guys are too positive, too positive!"

He was still alive because he wasn't a normal person; if he were anyone else, he would have been turned into arrow skewers and scattered all over the place. Jang Hong really couldn't understand the spirit world, nor did he want to.

"I did it on purpose!"

Jang Hong's pitiful screams echoed deep into the dark passageways.

"Well, at least I'm alive."

I can't believe I arrived with all my organs intact and not a scratch…….

"Look, mister. We got here safely, so that's good, right?"

It was a miracle, and therefore not something that should be left to chance or arbitrary. In a word, it was a mess, a feast of recklessness. Only when they had made a feast of it, unwittingly risking their lives, did Jang Hong lose his temper and exclaim, "This is a miracle.

"No! Don't try to play dumb! This man's heart has been broken. A wound that can't be healed! My heart is still racing, and I just saw a running lamp!"

It's never a refreshing experience to see your entire life in a flash.

"Don't be timid, don't sweat the small stuff."

"Is it a trifle that your life is nearly over, you mangafa!"

He rushes in to grab her, but she's not one to be taken lightly. She sidesteps the charging Jang Hong.

"Come on, it's time to get back to work."

He gestured to something. At the end of the stairs, they find another door, this one blood-red.

"Another door."

Bai Chen spoke up, sounding bored.

"Mr. Zhang, do you think this is an organ device?"

He turned to Jang Hong, who was looking at the door.

"Maybe."

Jang Hong replied.

"You go ahead and open it. I'll wait here."

Standing where I had retreated, Bi Ryuyeon said.

"If you're going to watch other people's misery from afar, don't do it. Why should I? You should do it."

"No, I told you to leave this kind of specialized work to the experts, and it's disrespectful to Mr. Zhang for a non-technical person like me to step in."

"……."

Jang Hong was openly displeased. Jang Hong wanted to retract everything he had said earlier. There was no telling what might await them once they opened that door. Jang Hong began to examine the area around the red door more carefully, thinking that he should be the guinea pig. Bai Xiaochun didn't like this kind of stalling.

"Get out of the way."

"Yes?"

"Get out of the way, I'm going to chop you up."

There was no time to waste fumbling around here.

Bam!

The sword is drawn.

Oooohhhhhhhhh!

The sword weeps white.

"Oh, wait, wait, wait, dodge, dodge…… eek!"

Jang Hong hastily crouched down and rolled forward once. A white, thunderbolt-like sword cavity sliced through the air above where his neck had been a moment ago.

Jang Hong, who was almost cut down along with the door, jumped to his feet and protested.

"Lord, Lord, you almost killed me! No matter how much you say you're a great God, no matter how much you say you're in a hurry, you're too much!"

At that moment, Na Baiqian tapped him on the shoulder and said with a serious face.

"I was counting on you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't deserve to die like this!"

Quick!

Jang Hong wanted to shout, "I'll soak you," but he was in a salaried position and couldn't help himself.

Thrrrrrrr! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Thump!

The door collapsed into the wall it was attached to, this time falling backwards instead of forwards.

"In case there's an ambush."

If you've been waiting, you've been waiting to kick in the door.

Indeed, there was no recognition for the famous daughter's idiot father, or for those who harmed her.

"Let's go in. Hong, you lead the way."

"Is it me again?"

"You're the expert."

The karma of his words brought Jang Hong back to the front of the pack.

* * *

"Failed? Does that mean the Seven Deadly Sins are still alive?"

Kneeling before his red-robed lord, King Don trembled with fear.

"Yes, but I've been drinking poisoned wine and haven't come to my senses yet. But I haven't stopped breathing due to the interference of the mushinma."

Having failed to do its job, it was left to wait for mercy.

"Destroy this place."

The one-armed man in red ordered in a dignified tone. King Don was stunned, for this was the same as saying that he would not be punished for his sins.

"Please punish me."

King Don asked for punishment for his failure. It would have been unthinkable for him to ask for punishment when he could have been exonerated. But he needed to show his loyalty. He was still useful, and he had faith that his lord would not punish him out of mere anger.

"Forget it. He was only asked to keep his mouth shut anyway, and I didn't tell him why. The rest is up to him. I'm not interested in him anymore. But don't underestimate Gal Joong-hyuk, who is with him now. He will surely find this place. He has the ability."

It would do more harm than good to confront Mu Xinma. Right now, his targets weren't Mu Xinma, but Na Bai Tian and his wife Ye Qing.

"What about the little girl lying on that bed?"

"We're going to have to move. Get people ready."

"Okay."

"And have a heat wave ready. To be activated as soon as we set foot inside this secret room. I'll be disappointed if there are no gifts for those who have come all this way."

* * *

The room at the end of the secret passage was quite lavishly decorated. Contrary to expectations, the walls were lavishly decorated with expensive glow-in-the-dark liquor, and the furniture and fixtures were of the highest quality. Furthermore, the fact that the air was not stifling even though it was underground indicated that great care had been taken to ensure good ventilation, which required a great deal of care and even more money.

"What the hell is this room?"

In the center of the room was the robe, which was decorated with gold and jade and had very delicate carvings on it.

"This is too classy. It's even more luxurious than the Don's office."

It was a room where it was clear that he was trying to figure out how to spend too much money. The atmosphere was completely different from the money king's office we had seen earlier.

"Apparently, the owner of this room is not a money king."

"Why do you think that?"

"This room is tailor-made for a single individual, a specialty made to sit most comfortably in that chair alone. The Don's body type doesn't fit in those chairs, no matter how you slice it, and all the furniture is made for someone other than the Don, and the opulence of this place is wanted in the Don's residence. That means……."

"So this is where King Don's master used to live, and it's ten times more ornate than my office."

"Yes, this must be where the person who organized this kidnapping was. There are traces of people here, as if they were here not too long ago. Let's see if there are any clues left behind."

"Please."

With careful steps, Jang Hong began to examine every corner of the room. There was more than one room. There were passageways in two of the walls that led to other places. There were no doors, just crystal chants. Jang Hong moved on to the gun nut room, wary of the presence of any sort of organ. It was a bedroom. The bed was also quite luxurious, but it was also empty.

"Someone was here. And judging by the faint traces left behind, it's more than one person."

Despite his best efforts at covering his tracks, Jang Hong was still able to make out the occupants from the fallen hair and the dust that had been swept away. There was a lingering warmth to the empty bed, as if someone had been lying there just moments before, and a faint, soft scent, unmistakably that of a woman's body.

"It's Yerin's body odor!"

Bi Ryuyeon, who had just come to Jang Hong's side and examined the bed, frowned and muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I can't be wrong about her body odor, can I?"

In a confident voice, she replied.

"What, what, what, what, what, what!!! Yes, yes, how dare you know Na Yerin's body scent! How dare you know my daughter's scent!"

Bai Xiaochun blushed bright red and stomped away. It was outrageous to hear such words coming from the mouth of a strange man. For a man who arbitrarily believed that it was his duty as a father to exterminate the maggots that crawled on his precious daughter, this was unacceptable.

She pretended not to hear. There was no end to this kind of thing.

"This is……!"

Ignoring the still raging Bai Chen, Bi Ryuyeon's eyes widened when she spotted something. With one hand, she restrained Nabaxian from spewing fire from his mouth, and then cautiously approached it. After cautiously approaching it, she knelt down and stared at it. My outstretched hand trembles slightly. It was such a cautious movement that he wondered if it would disappear before his eyes if he took his eyes off it for even a moment.

She picked it up from where it had fallen on the bed.

"Well, it's……."

It was a small black trinket in the shape of a horn. There was no way Bi Ryuyeon would not remember this trinket, something he had painstakingly crafted with his own hands and handed to her. It was the same trinket he had painstakingly crafted with silver and precious stones from the black fangs of the Muklin bloodsucker he had defeated in the cave to commemorate his safe return after being trapped in the cave for forty-four days. It was one of only two trinkets in the world that he had given to Na Yerin, and the other was still in his possession. There was only one reason it was lying in this place.

"Yerin was here."

Just a few moments ago, it was Na Yerin herself lying on this bed. But now it was empty.

"……."

My heart was pounding in my chest. I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs. I had followed Na Yerin's clues all the way here. I couldn't let it go now.

"Cheer up, Ryuyeon. She's still safe. They didn't have enough time to do anything, either. They were forced to flee in haste by our pursuit."

Jang Hong patted Bi Ryuyeon on the shoulder, encouraging her. The deadpan look didn't suit his friend at all. His ever-present smile was much more fitting.

"A lot of people came in here and moved something. It's big enough to take at least four people to carry, judging by the marks left behind. What could it be, and it's not just one or two, it's at least a dozen, judging by the pressure marks."

"Large object…… pressed traces…… six tropicals…… big place…… Yerin…… kidnapped…… evicted……."

Scattered information is useless. Information is only valuable when it is organized into a flow through a process of selection. The pieces of information Jang Hong had obtained connected in Bi Ryuyeon's mind one by one, forming a ring like beads on a string of thread. When she finished thinking, Bi Ryuyeon opened her mouth.

"They're trying to move her somewhere, but how can they do it inconspicuously? When you're as beautiful as she is, even if you're passed out, you're going to stand out. Even if you cover your face, you can't hide that beauty. So they have to hide it somewhere… What could be a good object to do that with?"

"So, isn't…… um…… a coffin?"

"Yes, and if it's a coffin, you can move it without showing your face, and it fits the story that it's big enough for four strong men to carry."

"Makes sense."

Hyo-ryong then asked a question.

"But the coffin itself is going to be noticeable, and it's going to take a lot of people to move it, so it's going to be noticeable."

Then Jang Hong said.

"What if those coffins weren't one, and they all looked the same?"

"……!!"

"The sixteen things from a while ago, then all……."

If Jang Hong is right, it will be too late to find out which coffin contains Na Yerin.

"So how do we move all those coffins?"

Jang Hong crossed his arms and said thoughtfully.

"At least we'll have to get off this river, it's a small island."

"Then there's only one place."

Yes. I couldn't think of anywhere else. The most obvious escape route is…….

"port……."

Just as Jang Hong was about to open his mouth to say something, Bi Ryuyeon frowned and muttered.

"Something doesn't smell right, does it?"

Jang Hong, flustered, stopped what he was saying, threw up his hands, and shouted.

"Oh, no, I didn't force my anus!"

Then Bi Ryuyeon snorted again and said.

"No, not that stink, the other smell."

Jang Hong, sensing something was amiss, followed suit and sniffed. His face was filled with suspicion, and as the blood drained from his body, he turned pale and muttered.

"空城計(空城計)……."

"Yeah, the siege system, the one that Zebra Resonance used to use?"

"Uh, yeah, right……. This is not the time to say……, this is now! Run! It's a bomb! The enemy is planning to blow up the entire secret passage!"

Without further ado, the four began to run. Pouring all their energy into their kung fu, they ran like the wind.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack!

With a roar that seemed to tear the sky apart, a blaze of flame erupted. The explosion was so powerful that it blew away the secret chamber behind the secret passage and the Don King's residence in one fell swoop.

A "heat wave" has been triggered.