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Chapter 22
“Ugh, what a pain.”
I grumbled as I neatly stacked the latest guy who had gone down like a sack of potatoes.
Seriously, how come every single one of these fools is the type to get knocked out with one punch?
And not a single one of them noticed the ambush.
Train your skills, why don’t you.
Instead of cultivating themselves, they come up with stupid plans to kidnap kids and lure women. The thought annoyed me, so I smacked each of them a few more times—fairly distributed, of course—then tore the place apart like I was hunting for lice.
After meticulously searching the cobweb-covered storage room and the dust-choked drawers…
There was nothing.
“Is it even possible for there to be this little?”
Aside from the pill the first guy had, there was absolutely nothing else.
Unable to believe it, I searched the unconscious guys’ clothes.
Then I was certain.
‘These guys aren’t Blood Sect.’
Blood Sect? Hah. They didn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath.
Sighing deeply, I shook the little pouch of pills.
“So I guess I need to go back to that big guy from the Amhon Society?”
There was no one conscious to hear me, but I still groaned out loud.
I went to the trouble of investigating, and for what? What a letdown.
“Amhon Society, huh.”
It wasn’t an organization I remembered. But even from the name, it felt… too petty to be the Blood Sect.
Kidnapping a child and luring women? That was it?
If they were real Blood Sect, they wouldn’t use pills— they’d just drag people off.
They were the type to capture spirit beasts for experiments. Kidnapping normal humans would’ve been child’s play.
I stopped paying attention to the heap of knocked-out men. This was enough. It was time to go back.
“…Ah.”
Then I noticed my body.
…My clothes, which had crawled through every nook and hidden crevice, were an absolute disaster.
Cobwebs and pieces of dried straw clung to me everywhere.
My neatly brushed hair was a mess, my robe was grimy and dark with dirt.
I tried shaking out the dust and cobwebs, but the fabric didn’t look any cleaner.
Should I go home in tiger form?
I imagined it for a moment, then shook my head.
No matter how I looked at it, a little tiger running home carrying a pouch of pills in its mouth would be way too suspicious.
And humans are afraid of tigers.
Even if I looked like a cub, I still had a core. Ordinary humans would instinctively shrink back.
“…I’ll just go back.”
Since I didn’t know how to clean my clothes, I’d ask Sehwa. Besides, I handled everything—what did a bit of dirt matter?
None of them saw my face except the first guy I hit, so even if they talked, it didn’t matter.
Can they even talk?
‘I tried to scare a kid and got knocked out’?
…Even for spirit beasts, that would be too embarrassing to admit.
I glanced at the guy crumpled at the bottom. Remembering how he had been curled up and sniffling in the corner, I could only think: pathetic.
I should ask the fox.
He was the leader of an intelligence clan. He could easily silence them.
I needed to hurry back to Cheonwolru.
I grabbed the pill pouch and stood up.
If I didn’t hurry, I’d change into tiger form on the way back, so I had to move quickly.
Meanwhile…
Cheonwolru was in complete chaos.
The rare visitor who had managed to pass the entrance guards lay collapsed in a corner, beaten to a pulp.
But Sehwa had a different concern.
‘The Mountain Lord is gone…!’
Neither his tiger form nor his child form was anywhere to be seen. Her face turned pale.
When she informed the others, their complexions went blue as well, and everyone began desperately searching for the child.
But there were no traces.
“Don’t tell me the one who beat up the customer… kidnapped him?”
“Th-this is bad!”
“Assemble a search party immediately. We must ensure Lady Hyeryeong’s safety.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At Sehwa’s cool commands, Cheonwolru’s warriors bowed respectfully.
“What’s going on? Why all the noise?”
A voice Sehwa really didn’t want to hear right now sounded out.
“L-Lord.”
“Why are you all looking for Hyeryeong? And what happened to the customer who looks like a rag?”
The master of Cheonwolru had just returned, scratching the white fox mask in confusion.
Sehwa squeezed her eyes shut and explained everything.
“…”
The Lord gave no verbal answer. But everyone felt the air turn icy.
“First, keep that customer under watch.”
“Pardon?”
“Customers aren’t always decent folk. We can’t let him leave before hearing his side.”
Sehwa bowed at the cold command.
“And find Hyeryeong. Now.”
“Yes.”
Everyone instinctively felt it—
If they failed to find the child, they would not leave unscathed.
The warriors stiffened and were about to move when—
“Uncle. You’re quick.”
A voice too calm and dignified for a child echoed across the hall.
Everyone turned toward it.
A grimy, filthy child stood there.
Thud.
“Hyeryeong!”
The Lord dropped what he was holding and ran to scoop the child up.
What on earth happened for her to end up this dirty?
She looked messy enough to be taken for a street beggar.
“Where did you go?! Are you hurt?”
He practically shouted. The child blinked slowly.
“I’m not hurt. Someone just took me.”
“Who? Who took you?”
“They said if I ate sweets and waited quietly, they’d let me see Sehwa-unnie, so I followed.”
At the innocent answer, everyone went rigid.
“…Hyeryeong. Was the man with him big and carrying a huge blade?”
“Hmm… Ah, yeah, he was.”
The child nodded vigorously. The Lord’s head snapped around.
“Lock that bastard up.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But why are your clothes this dirty?”
“We played hide-and-seek. But then I thought unnie would be waiting, so I came back…”
The child checked his expression.
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no. You did great.”
“Really?”
“Really. But next time, before following someone you don’t know, ask unnie or the guards at the entrance first, okay?”
The Lord instructed gently. The child nodded.
“Okay. Got it.”
“Good girl.”
He carefully patted her messy hair.
“Sehwa, prepare bath water.”
“Yes.”
“And you all—go find wherever Hyeryeong was taken. There must be accomplices.”
“Yes!”
“Hyeryeong, do you remember where you were?”
“I didn’t forget what happened earlier. It was… like this…”
The child explained the path back with surprising clarity. The warriors nodded.
Their mission was to capture the group that tried to use the child as bait to kidnap Cheonwolru’s courtesan.
Eyes flashing, they hurried out.
The Lord didn’t even watch them leave. He held the child and headed inside.
Later…
“So… the one who minced that big guy is the Mountain Lord?”
“Mm. Yes.”
“And then she stormed the hideout and wrecked all of them?”
“They were weaker than their size suggested. No endurance either.”
The fox held his forehead.
Meanwhile, Sangun lay against Sehwa, looking relaxed and drowsy.
[But seriously… why are you back so early? Where’s Jimjo? Is he up in a tree somewhere? Do you hate him that much that you came home early?]
He grumbled silently at her sooner-than-expected return.
If she’d come a little later, he could have handled everything quietly without raising suspicions.
[One question at a time. I just finished early. And Jimjo hates being around humans—that’s why he’s like that.]
When the fox spoke, Sangun pretended not to hear and twirled her damp bangs.
Her cheeks were flushed from the warm bath, skin dewy.
Sehwa was gently drying her hair.
“But I couldn’t help it. That big guy attacked me first.”
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll make sure he’s dealt with properly.”
“I already handled him though… Ah, right. Check this.”
“Check?”
“Yeah. That guy seems to belong to some group called the Amhon Society. The problem is this.”
Sangun untied a small bundle from her waist and handed it over.
[…What’s this?]
[He gave it to someone in the hideout. And it’s from the Blood Sect.]
[…What?]
[So it’s worth investigating.]
[Fine. I’ll look into what’s inside the pill too.]
They needed to know what herbs were used and what effects the pill had.
The fox’s expression darkened at the unexpected appearance of the Blood Sect’s name.
It really existed? Then why didn’t Hao Clan’s information network detect them?
His thoughts raced.
No matter how weakened, Sangun is Sangun. For her to personally step in at a time she should be keeping a low profile…
His instincts warned him.
They must never underestimate the Blood Sect.
If their influence had reached Luoyang, where Cheonwolru stood, lowering their guard would expose their vital weakness.
