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| Chapter 312 |
When they returned to the inn, Yul-ah-yeon and Tarha looked at the two people.
Tarha asked, "Who is that young friend?"
"My little brother."
"Weren't you also a first-time visitor here? How do you have a little brother here?"
"We just happened to meet."
"I see."
Tarha's gaze fixed on Tae Mu-sang. His eyes seemed ordinary, but they were not light enough for ordinary people to handle. However, Tae Mu-sang did not avoid his gaze, gritting his teeth.
Tarha admired Tae Mu-sang's unflinching gaze, even as his eyes turned red and bloodshot while staring at him.
Ha! That guy's venom is really impressive."
I've met quite a few people who could be considered talented in martial arts. Among them were many who possessed venom. However, none of them gave off the same intense feeling as Taemu Sang.
I couldn't take my eyes off Taemu Sang.
His venomous appearance was pleasing to me.
"Have you learned martial arts?"
"No."
Taemu Sang tilted his head.
"Hmm! You haven't even learned martial arts, but you have such eyes?"
Tarha stood up and approached Taemu Sang. Then he began to grab Taemu Sang's body on his own.
"Kuk!"
Taemu Sang tried to escape Tarha's grasp, contorting his face. However, it was as if he had entered the depths of the sea, and a huge pressure crushed his body so that he couldn't move.
Only then did Taemu Sang realize that the old man in front of him was a formidable master from a foreign land.
"Kreuk!"
A muffled groan erupted from his mouth.
It was because an intense heat was felt from the part where Tarha grabbed him.
If it were an ordinary person, the pain would have been so severe that they would have already lost consciousness. However, Taemu Sang never lost his mind.
Rather, he glared at Tarha with a fierce look in his eyes. Tarha was pleased with Taemu Sang's response.
He removed his hands from Taemu Sang's body and said, "Your bones are very strong. You're a little old, but if you learn martial arts, you'll progress quickly."
"What the hell are you doing?"
However, having experienced extreme pain, Taemu Sang cursed and glared at Tarha.
"Hehe! I really like you"
Despite Taemu's rough reaction, Tarha didn't waver and instead looked at Taemu as if he liked him even more.
Taemu seemed like he was about to charge at Tarha with his fists clenched, but then his eyes widened as he saw Yul-yeon behind Tarha.
Taemu had seen quite a few women here, but he had never seen a woman as mysteriously beautiful as Yul-yeon.
The young boy fell in love at first sight.
Tarha noticed the psychological change in Taemu towards Yul-yeon.
"Hehe! It looks like my granddaughter is to your liking."
"Your granddaughter?"
"That's right! More precisely, my step-granddaughter."
"Oh!"
"You, I mean."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any thoughts of becoming my disciple?"
"I will."
"What?"
"I'll become your disciple."
"You have to go to Seoyeok if you become my disciple."
"I'll go. To Seoyeok!"
Taemu replied without even taking a breath.
Tarha looked at Taemu in disbelief at his response.
Taemu also realized what he had just said and was embarrassed.
"Seoyeok?"
"That's right! Seoyeok."
"The place beyond the sea, far away?"
"Yes! That place."
"I won't go. I won't be your disciple!"
"It's too late. The word of a disciple carries the weight of ten million gold coins. To retract now is nothing but denying yourself as a disciple."
Tarha's words left Taemu at a loss for what to do and he looked towards Pyowol for guidance.
Ignoring the gaze that was asking for help, Pyowol spoke to Yura-yeon.
"Have you returned now?"
"Yes! I came back about half an hour ago."
"You move around busy."
"We don't have much time. But thanks to Pyo Daehyeop, we were able to save a lot of time."
"Did you meet the Jukgeonhoe?"
"Yes, they were very helpful. They were very useful."
Yura-yeon smiled slightly at this.
The expression on Tae Mu-sang's face crumbled again when he saw her.
Tarha put his arm on Tae Mu-sang's shoulder and asked, "So you're not going to take her as your apprentice?"
"No, that's not it..."
"I can tell you're not sure what to say. You're not a good liar."
"I'll take her as my apprentice. But..."
"But what?"
"Give me time. I have to take revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yes, I have to avenge my siblings."
Tae Mu-sang's previously loosened expression hardened again.
Although he was briefly fascinated by Yura-yeon, he had not forgotten the last moments of his siblings, who had to die miserably because of him.
The memories of his siblings' deaths, which had tormented him, were still haunting him.
"What happened?"
Tae-musang looked at Pyo-wol in response to Tarha's question.
He was asking for permission to speak.
Pyo-wol nodded silently.
Only then did Tarha tell Pyo-wol about what had happened to him.
"As a matter of fact..."
Pyo-wol's expression became serious as he listened to Tarha's story.
"About twenty or so strangers came in secretly?"
"Yes!"
"And you're sure they weren't fishermen?"
"I've lived here for a long time and I know that there are no fishermen with such a menacing atmosphere here."
"Hmm!"
Tarha's gaze turned to Pyo-wol.
"Do you happen to know who they are?"
"...."
Pyo-wol did not answer.
Tarha noticed that Pyo-wol didn't trust him from his attitude.
Tarha suddenly let out a sigh.
It was because he himself didn't fully trust Pyo-wol yet. But they couldn't keep living with walls between them forever.
"Let's be honest about why we came here. It's better to build trust between us if we're going to stay together."
"You go first."
"Right, that's why we came all the way to this faraway land of Jungwon, to recover the lost treasure. During the war, we lost one of the treasures of the Mara Order, the Mahondo. At first, we thought it was simply lost, but later we found out that someone had stolen it systematically. So we searched high and low and traced the clues here."
"Is the Mahondoh an important item?"
"Just looking at its appearance, it's nothing more or less than a beautiful work of art. Furthermore, it's not in the typical form of a sword, but extremely curved, making it difficult for those who aren't familiar with the use of a unique weapon to utilize it properly."
"There's no way we came all this way just for a work of art, so there must be some hidden martial use to it?"
"Exactly. The Mahondoh is an item used during the ceremony. It has almost no use as a weapon, but it has great political and symbolic significance. After the Mahondo disappeared, there was chaos within the Mara Order. We must retrieve the Mahondoh to calm the turmoil within the order, even if it means doing so by force. That's why both I and my granddaughter came all the way here. Now it's your turn."
"I don't have any special reason for coming here. I just wanted to see the sea. Then I met this guy and got swept up in this whole thing."
"Are you saying it's just a coincidence?"
"That's right!"
"Hmm!"
Although Tahrhaka looked stunned, Pyowol looked at him without any change in expression.
"They're called the Ghost Fleet."
"What do you mean?"
"The ones who killed this guy's siblings. They're a group of outlaws who secretly infiltrated the harbor."
"Wait a minute! Did you just say the Ghost Fleet?"
Suddenly Tahrhaka's face stiffened. The same was true for Yura-yeon.
"Is it possible?"
"That Ghost Fleet?"
The two looked at each other's faces.
Pyowol asked them, "Do you know about them?"
"Well..."
"Although I'm not sure if they're the same group, there was a place in Seoyeok that also used the name Ghost Fleet."
"Are you sure?"
"I haven't seen it myself. I've heard stories about the Ghost Fleet on and off for decades, but I've never met anyone who claimed to have seen it. That's why we just dismissed it as a legend."
The coast was the place where stories about the Ghost Fleet were most often heard. For the people living on the coast of Seoyeok, the Ghost Fleet was a terrifying presence.
The mere mention of the Ghost Fleet made many people shudder. But people living inland didn't believe in the Ghost Fleet.
Not only were the stories too fantastic, but they also had no chance to see the Ghost Fleet with their own eyes.
The Mara sect was also located deep in the inland.
That's why they regarded the Ghost Fleet as a fanciful legend, or a false creation of people's imagination.
The same was true for Yulayeon and Tarha.
They had heard about the Ghost Fleet many times, but mostly just in passing, so they didn't pay much attention to it. But hearing the name again here made them think differently.
Even if the Ghost Fleet here and the Ghost Fleet of Seoyeok were different entities, they had to see them in person to confirm.
"If they're really the same group as the Ghost Fleet of Seoyeok, then it's no coincidence that Mara's treasure has flowed here as well."
There was already a ominous feeling in Tarha's eyes.
Their descendants had put in an unbelievable amount of effort to find Mahondo.
They barely found out that the smugglers, robbers, and thieves of Seoyeok had all been killed and tortured, and Mahondo had been exported. And it was also true that the ship carrying Mahondo had left for somewhere in the Central Plains.
At that time, there were more than a dozen ships that had left Seoyeok for the Central Plains. They checked the route of every single ship, and in the end, only one ship that had arrived near the Haemun area remained. But when they arrived and checked, there was no such ship. That's why the name Ghost Fleet had caught his ear in embarrassment.
"Where could they be hiding? I'll go and check it out myself."
They were full of energy to charge in right away.
"Calm down."
"Have I calmed down? It took almost a year to get here. A whole year...."
"I know. I was with you too. But moving forward like this would only lead to disaster. And there's no guarantee that the phantom fleet is really there. We need to investigate more thoroughly."
"Well..."
Tarha couldn't help but calm down at Yura-yeon's measured words.
That's when it happened.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a scream was heard from outside.
The first to react was Taemu-sang.
"Gyeomyeona!"
He got up and ran outside.
He couldn't mistake Gyeomyeon's voice, whom he had heard since he was a child. Although it was only a short scream, it was clear that it was Gyeomyeon's voice.
Taemu-sang rushed to Gyeomyeon, who was leaning against a wall.
"Gyeomyeon!"
He ran to him urgently.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, Gyeomyeon's face twisted.
Taemu-sang quickly examined his whole body and discovered a wound on his shoulder.
Blood was pouring out of the long gash on his shoulder.
Taemu-sang quickly used a cloth to cover the wound.
"Dammit!"
"They were prowling around looking for a sponsor."
"Then you should have shouted inside."
"Ha! Damn it. I approached and asked who they were, but they attacked me outright. One of them is definitely identifiable."
"Damn it! We must have erased all traces...."
Taemusang looked around with bloodshot eyes, but he couldn't see any attackers. It seemed like they had already fled.
Yuryeon, who came out late, said to Taemusang,
"Step aside."
"But..."
"Step aside unless you're going to treat the wound. I'm much better at treating people than you are."
"Yes!"
In the end, Taemusang stepped back and Yuryeon treated Geomyung's wound instead.
Taemusang suddenly realized that Pyowol and Tarha were nowhere to be seen.
"What about those two?"
"They've already gone to track them down."
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