Chapter 281 : Meeting the White Cat (2)

Chapter 281: Meeting the White Cat (2)

They had found traces of Ha Deokgong and his grandson and were currently tracking them.

There was also information that they had entered Jeongju.

However, the problem was that the mysterious pursuers chasing Ha Deokgong’s grandson were highly skilled in martial arts.

“Just who on earth is chasing them?”

When I muttered, Baekseom responded.

“The pursuit unit of the Blood Green Unit is on their trail, so they should be found soon. If they’re inside Jeongju, it’s only a matter of time.”

“Please make a greater effort.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Since I’m here, I suppose I should ask one more favor.”

I entered a nearby guestroom, quickly wrote a letter, and came back out.

“Please deliver this to my younger brother, Yong Kijoong, at the main house. It’s an extremely important letter, so you must not lose it.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

Even if it were lost, no one would understand its content.

Even upon reading it, one would dismiss it as something from a strange person like me.

It was a request to bring along a large chamber pot-like vase located in the Heavenly Central Sect's investigation hall when coming to Shaolin Temple with Father.

However, since the letter explicitly said that the chamber pot must not be exposed or known to the outside and should be brought in secrecy, no one would consider it significant even if they saw it.

But to me, that chamber pot was of tremendous importance.

That was because the chamber pot was actually the Vermilion Bird Blood Chalice, the treasure of the Jeong Family Manor.

I planned to explain the situation to Father Yong Biyang when I met him at Shaolin Temple and present it as a gift to Jeong Minji.

As I was about to offer Baekseom a few more words of praise and turn away, someone wearing the escort attire of the Sky Ocean Escort Agency rushed in using movement arts.

Baekseom scolded the subordinate for using movement arts inside the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

“Didn’t I tell you not to use movement arts inside the Sky Ocean Merchant Union?”

The use of movement arts had been forbidden because it could cause misunderstandings and be mistaken as an enemy movement.

“I’m sorry. A letter just arrived, and I thought it was for the pursuit unit.”

Baekseom almost snatched the letter out of his hands.

Upon reading it, he immediately handed it over to me.

“It seems the pursuit unit has finally found a trace.”

Even after reading the letter, I couldn’t understand it.

It was written in a code known only to the Blood Green Unit.

“It says they’re currently pursuing them, and that Ha Deokgong’s grandson has been injured.”

“Can we meet the pursuit unit?”

Baekseom nodded.

“Yes, I’ll guide you.”

“No need. You don’t have to go through the trouble.”

“I insist. The letter contains the location, and I’m certain the pursuit unit would’ve left a code there as well. I must go to decipher it.”

“In that case, I’ll be in your care.”

“What are you saying! Helping you is no different from helping the Young Cult Leader.”

As I was about to leave the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, Baekseom asked,

“Are the two of us going alone?”

“Yes, since the pursuit unit is already present, we’ll go by ourselves. If we take the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect along and cause a stir, it could actually endanger Ha Deokgong’s grandson. It’s better to move in a small group.”

“Understood. Then let’s depart now.”

Baekseom, understanding my urgency, moved without delay.

“The pursuit unit left a code up to this point.”

“Can you tell where they went?”

After running for the time of one quarter, the two of us arrived in the busy district of Jeongju.

“Yes, they entered that inn over there.”

“Let’s go.”

I headed toward the inn Baekseom pointed out.

I opened the inn door and scanned the area.

Though dozens of people were dining at many tables, I couldn’t spot anyone who looked like Ha Deokgong and his grandson.

“Could you check where they went from here?”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll see if the pursuit unit left a code in the inn.”

Baekseom walked around the inn, searching for any coded messages left by the pursuit unit.

As I looked around the inside of the inn, I locked eyes with two people sitting by the window.

“We meet again here.”

I turned my head at the voice of a woman who recognized me.

It was the woman I had coincidentally encountered at the animal market.

But at this moment, she didn’t even register in my eyes.

When I ignored her, Hong A-yul gently stroked the cat she was holding.

In a hurry, she had stitched the injured cat’s torn wound and wrapped it in cloth to stop the bleeding.

The cat, seemingly drained of energy, was half-lidded and lethargic.

Then, upon seeing me, the cat lifted its head and cried out.

“Grrr!”

The cat let out a growl like a wild beast, and Hong A-yul looked at it with a curious and surprised expression.

As I scanned the area again and saw the cat in Hong A-yul’s arms let out that cry, I looked over.

“Ah!”

Yong Hwarin was startled.

That cat was none other than Baekseol, the one Ha Cheollyeong had with him on Mount Wudang.

“Baekseol!”

Yong Hwarin walked over to the table where Hong A-yul was sitting.

“Where did you find that white cat?”

Skipping any greeting and immediately asking about the cat, Hong A-yul felt slightly offended.

“It was bleeding and collapsed on the roof of this inn. Why? Is it a cat you know?”

“Yes, it's the cat of someone I know. Baekseol, have you been well?”

When Yong Hwarin held out his hand, Baekseol licked the back of his hand with her tongue.

“Where is your master?”

At those words, Baekseol looked at Yong Hwarin with sad eyes.

Though she couldn’t speak, she was clearly conveying that her master was in danger.

“Young Mistress, I’m sorry, but please let me take that cat. Her master seems to be in a critical situation, and I must find and help him.”

“Really? But this cat is so weak she can’t even walk right now.”

“I have a way. Please hand her over.”

Hong A-yul hesitated, reluctant to give away the cat she had grown fond of.

“Fine, I’ll give her to you. But don’t forget you owe me one. I saved a dying cat and gave her to Young Master Yong.”

“Understood. I’ll grant your request someday.”

When he said that, Hong A-yul asked to confirm.

“A man doesn’t go back on his word, right?”

“I’ve never once done so.”

“Alright. I’ll trust you.”

Yong Hwarin took Baekseol into his arms and sat in the seat right beside.

He began infusing Baekseol with his jin’gi.

Seeing this, Hong A-yul leaned toward Dong Oh and whispered with disbelief.

“Doesn’t he know human jin’gi doesn’t suit animals? Human jin’gi can be poison to them.”

“Just watch.”

Fearing Hong A-yul might interfere, Dong Oh calmed her down.

Then Dong Oh let out a small gasp.

“As expected!”

Moments later, when Yong Hwarin placed Baekseol on the table, she was full of vitality, as if she had never been ill.

She even leapt off the table in one jump—nothing like the cat that had seemed on the brink of death.

“What? What did he do to make that happen?”

Even though she had reached first-rate level, her cultivation was still too shallow to grasp Yong Hwarin’s technique.

When Yong Hwarin chased after Baekseol out of the inn, Baekseom briefly glanced at the two.

He gave a long look to Dong Oh, who was exuding an unusual energy.

Then, as Baekseom also followed after Yong Hwarin, Dong Oh finally spoke.

“As you know, humans and animals are different. If you infuse human jin’gi into an animal, it can kill them. So if that wasn’t the case, what does it mean?”

“That his jin’gi is the same as that of animals?”

“No. It means his jin’gi has harmonized with that of an animal.”

“That’s possible?”

“I can do it too.”

At that, Hong A-yul rolled her eyes.

“Then why didn’t you help earlier?”

“How could I act when I didn’t know who the owner was? It never hurts to be cautious. Besides, I can restore a cat’s energy, but I can’t heal wounds that fast like he did.”

“I found it amazing too. That cat couldn’t even move. I treated it myself, so I know well.”

“He may be more extraordinary than we thought.”

Dong Oh felt he could understand now why Jo Heon had backed off without even fighting Yong Hwarin.

“Should we follow them too?”

“Don’t.”

When Dong Oh replied sternly, Hong A-yul couldn’t argue and lowered her head.

She knew when Grandpa Dong made that expression, no words would change his mind.

Ha Deokgong felt his mind go hazy.

‘I’ve lost too much blood.’

Being pursued and constantly fighting had left no time for him to stop the bleeding.

“Grandfather, are you alright?”

Ha Cheollyeong clenched his teeth as he looked at Ha Deokgong, whose chest was soaked red.

He felt tears welling up but held them back, knowing he’d only be scolded by his grandfather for crying over something like this.

“Your old man’s fine.”

Ha Deokgong and Ha Cheollyeong were hiding and resting inside a Guan Di Shrine.

Their pursuers were so relentless that they had been discovered while entering the city of Jeongju and were forced to flee to the outskirts.

Shaking off the pursuit had proven extremely difficult.

“Earlier, Baekseol was surrounded. I wonder if she managed to escape.”

Ha Cheollyeong was worried about the separated Baekseol.

“She’ll be fine. That one’s no ordinary creature. She’s a spiritual beast that can face off with tigers. Don’t worry.”

As he spoke, Ha Deokgong slowly raised himself up.

“We can’t stay in one place too long. We’ll have to move.”

“Please rest more, Grandfather.”

Ha Cheollyeong, worried about his staggering grandfather, spoke up.

But Ha Deokgong knew that if they were to shake off their pursuers, they had to keep moving.

Staying in one place for too long would eventually get them caught, making it impossible to even run.

“Where are we going?”

“To the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.”

“To Hwarin hyung?”

“Yes, only he can protect us now.”

“Do you think Hwarin hyung will remember us?”

“Of course he will. He’s the one who fought with the Jegal Clan people for our sake. A man like that is usually just. And a just person doesn’t easily forget those he once knew.”

“I don’t think Hwarin hyung would forget us either. He was so kind to me. He gave me this token and told me to come find him no matter what.”

Just the fact that he had given them the token proving they were connected to the Young Lord of the Heavenly Central Sect was enough to show how much he cared for them.

Though their conversation had started with anxious questions, it ended in mutual reassurance that Yong Hwarin would remember them.

That’s how desperate their situation was.

They were in urgent need of someone’s help.

Ha Deokgong, who had been hiding on Mount Wudang for years, fled in a hurry with Ha Cheollyeong when their tracks were discovered and their residence on Mount Wudang was raided by the pursuers.

Ha Deokgong had been secretly investigating the subordinates of the Grand General’s Office and had acquired information that they were hiding out on Mount Pyeongyeo, so he headed there.

After much effort reaching Mount Pyeongyeo, however, he found only a dozen or so bandits remaining.

The problem started there.

Ha Deokgong couldn’t bear the sight of those bandits extorting nearby slash-and-burn farmers and ended up annihilating the group.

But the martial arts he used to kill them were those of the Grand General’s Office, which led to him being discovered by the pursuers.

The pursuers, having received intelligence that generals and martial artists from the Grand General’s Office were hiding out on Mount Pyeongyeo, had come and picked up Ha Deokgong’s trail.

From then on, the two had been on the run.

With no other option, Ha Deokgong began asking around for Yong Hwarin, with whom they had once shared a brief connection, and set course for the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Not that he even needed to ask—just stepping into any inn, one could hear stories of the Heavenly Central Sword Hero everywhere.

Not only in Hanam, but across both the southern and northern regions of the river, tales of Yong Hwarin’s exploits as the Heavenly Central Sword Hero had spread far and wide.

He had become a hero known for saving the Sky Ocean Merchant Union and slaughtering countless masters from the Demonic and Evil Paths—a name that reached the ears whether one wished it or not.

Hearing those stories, Ha Deokgong had been on his way to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

And while entering Jeongju and heading toward the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, they were ambushed.