Cheon Myeong's party continued to head south in pursuit of Man Jeokseon.
And the place they had currently arrived at was Namgang. It was a place located at the southernmost tip of Xinjiang.
'I've come this far while chasing him.'
Namgang was a region located around the border between Xinjiang and Xizang.
Although it was a region included in Xinjiang, since it was located near Xizang, Namgang's position couldn't help but be ambiguous.
In other words, it meant that it was a region where the influence of the Demonic Cult was weak.
"..."
Cheon Myeong, who was taking out the bottle containing the Scent-Chasing Bug and silently examining it.
The Scent-Chasing Bug was flying around in circles inside the bottle.
Although it had not flown around in this way before and had continued to fly in one direction, it had been in this state ever since they had arrived in Namgang.
'It seems the Three Sacred Treasures are here.'
There was only one reason why the Scent-Chasing Bug was flying around in this way.
The Three Sacred Treasures were somewhere in Namgang.
Since what could be found out through the Scent-Chasing Bug was, after all, only a rough location, it seemed that from now on, they would have to go around Namgang to find the whereabouts of the Three Sacred Treasures.
Swish-.
Cheon Myeong put the glass bottle back into his bosom and said to the party members who were looking at him.
"It seems that Man Jeokseon is here."
"..."
"From now on, it would be good to split into pairs of two and search."
"...If that's the case, wouldn't it be faster to find him if we all split up and search?"
Cheon Seong, who had been listening to the story, asked.
Of course, Cheon Myeong also knew that that would be more efficient for the search, but there was a reason why he wasわざわざdividing them into pairs of two.
"That's not possible."
Cheon Myeong, who answered firmly.
The opponent was Man Jeokseon, the leader of the Guard Corps.
Although he didn't know about the other two, it would be difficult for Cheon Seong to handle him alone. And since there was also a possibility that there were enemies other than Man Jeokseon, a pair of two would be the best.
"Namgang is also swarming with martial artists from the heretical sect who have come over from Xizang."
"..."
"There could be a clash with them. So it's dangerous to be alone."
"...I see."
At Cheon Myeong's words, Cheon Seong nodded his head as if he had understood.
"Young Master, should we just find Man Jeokseon?"
At that moment, Soyeon Sang asked.
In fact, the ultimate goal was, after all, not Man Jeokseon, but the Three Sacred Treasures that he had stolen from the Heavenly Demon's secret vault.
Although Cheon Myeong had not told these three that fact until now for security reasons, since the situation had become like this, it seemed that he had no choice.
'It would be better to tell them.'
There was a sufficient possibility that only the Three Sacred Treasures were here and Man Jeokseon had already left Namgang.
Of course, although punishing Man Jeokseon, who had committed a grave crime, was also one of the missions, as he had said before, the ultimate purpose was, after all, the recapture of the Three Sacred Treasures.
For this, it seemed that telling the other three the truth would be helpful for the search.
"There is something I have to tell you."
"...?"
"In fact, our ultimate purpose is not to capture Man Jeokseon. To be precise, it is to recapture the Three Sacred Treasures that he has."
Hearing Cheon Myeong's words, a look of surprise appeared on all three of their faces.
Even Soyeon Sang and Yu Eunseong, whose emotions were not usually revealed, could not hide their surprised expressions when the Three Sacred Treasures suddenly came out of Cheon Myeong's mouth.
So how much more so for Cheon Seong?
Not only was he surprised as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt, but a loud voice also came out of his mouth.
"T-the Three Sacred...!"
"Shh."
As Cheon Myeong gave a warning, Cheon Seong hurriedly covered his mouth.
Fortunately, it seemed that the words 'Three Sacred Treasures' had not been heard by the people around them, but after looking around for a while, Cheon Myeong opened his mouth again cautiously.
"This is top secret, so never tell anyone outside."
"..."
"I'm especially worried about you."
"I-I'm sorry. I'll never say it again."
He really should.
Looking at his reaction just now, it was true that Cheon Seong was a little unreliable.
"But were the Three Sacred Treasures really stolen?"
At that moment, Soyeon Sang asked cautiously. Then, Cheon Myeong nodded his head lightly and said.
"Yes."
"And the person who did that is Man Jeokseon?"
"That's what happened."
"I can't believe it... how could such a thing happen in the Heavenly Demon's secret vault..."
Soyeon Sang muttered to himself as if he were quite shocked.
But his expression soon changed.
As he thought that Man Jeokseon, who was in a position to protect, had instead stolen the sacred treasures of the Demonic Cult, anger arose.
"I can never forgive him. To think that he would dare to lay a hand on the sacred treasures of our cult..."
"..."
"We must find him at once and give him the punishment he deserves."
Cheon Myeong nodded his head lightly and agreed with Soyeon Sang's words.
"Of course, we must also punish him. But as I said before, our ultimate purpose is to secure the Three Sacred Treasures."
"..."
"The Three Sacred Treasures and Man Jeokseon. Keep in mind which one has the priority while you are searching."
At Cheon Myeong's words, the three nodded their heads instead of answering.
"...Good."
"..."
"Then I will divide the teams into me and Yu Eunseong, and Cheon Seong and Soyeon Sang."
If it was Soyeon Sang, it would be okay to entrust Cheon Seong to him.
And since he was planning to keep watching Yu Eunseong throughout this journey, there was also the fact that he had organized the teams in this way.
"I understand."
At the same time as the answer, the people were divided according to the teams.
Although it was not decided in particular, the side they were naturally standing on would probably be the search direction.
Before they split up, Cheon Myeong gave a final request to the people.
"If you find a clue, never overdo it."
"..."
"If it seems too much, we will move after all four of us have joined. Do you all understand?"
Nod-.
The three people who were nodding their heads at the same time.
Looking at them, Cheon Myeong said.
"We will join here in two hours."
"..."
"Anyway... take care of yourselves."
With those words, the four split into two.
Finding a needle in a haystack, no, finding Man Jeokseon in Namgang, it had begun.
***
Although Namgang was located at the southernmost tip of Xinjiang, its scale was by no means small.
Rather, since there was frequent exchange with Xizang, the scale of the city had grown using this.
The main income of Namgang could be seen as the entertainment provided for the heretical sect members who had come over from Xizang.
'It's all just taverns.'
Whether he looked to the left or to the right, there were only buildings that looked like taverns.
Although he had known to some extent that Namgang was originally famous for this kind of thing, to think that it was of this scale even in the past.
As it was a place that sold alcohol and women, splendid-looking pavilions were lined up in a row.
And in front of them, courtesans wearing revealing clothes were soliciting passersby.
"Why don't you take a break for a while~"
"Hey, handsome oppa passing by! Why don't you take a break for a while?"
"Two guests, please come in!"
It was bound to be more difficult to find a person in a bustling place like this.
And in a little while, this street would start to be crowded with people in earnest.
It seemed better to gather as much information as possible before this street was filled with drunkards later.
"Hey, handsome oppa!"
At that moment, a woman approached Cheon Myeong and spoke to him in a friendly way.
A woman who looked like a courtesan who was soliciting at a glance.
As Cheon Myeong turned his head to the woman who was calling him, the woman smiled more brightly and said.
"If you're free tonight, come and play~ Since you're handsome, oppa, I'll give you a special..."
While saying that, the woman was about to naturally grab Cheon Myeong's arm.
However, Cheon Myeong's arm, which had disappeared at some point.
The arm that had been in front of her eyes until just now had disappeared, and thanks to that, as she made a futile gesture, the woman couldn't help but be bewildered.
"It's true that I'm handsome, but I'm not free."
"..."
As she turned her head to where the voice had come from, the woman could discover Cheon Myeong.
'When did he go there?'
While the woman was staring at Cheon Myeong blankly at that question, Cheon Myeong opened his mouth again.
"Instead, let me ask you one thing."
"..."
"Have you seen a person who looks like this?"
Cheon Myeong said and at some point, he was holding out a piece of paper in front of the woman's eyes.
On the paper that Cheon Myeong was holding, the face of a man was drawn, and that was the wanted poster of Man Jeokseon that he had received before leaving the main headquarters.
Rather than explaining with a hundred words, showing the wanted poster like this would be a faster and more certain way to find out Man Jeokseon's whereabouts.
If it hadn't been for this, it might have been impossible to find Man Jeokseon in Namgang.
"...?"
The woman's gaze immediately turned to the wanted poster that Cheon Myeong was holding.
And after watching it for a while, she soon shook her head and said.
"I don't think I've seen him."
As expected, it would be impossible to find out his whereabouts so quickly.
Cheon Myeong said, taking back the wanted poster he had held out.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"If you're thankful, come inside with me..."
"I have a woman who came with me, so I can't drink with you."
"What? Where is the woman who came with you..."
At that moment, the woman's gaze was focused on one place.
It was not just the woman. It was felt that the gazes of the surrounding passersby were also glancing at one person.
"..."
Yu Eunseong, who was walking towards them, receiving the gazes of the surroundings.
Whether she could not feel those gazes, or whether she was used to it, her face was still expressionless.
However, because she was maintaining such an expressionless face, it seemed that Yu Eunseong's beauty was drawing more attention from the surroundings, and to the extent that even the same woman would be captivated, the woman was just staring at her blankly.
"She's coming."
"..."
As Cheon Myeong said that, the woman seemed to have come to her senses.
To think that her companion was a woman with such beauty.
As if she had instinctively sensed that she was no match for her in the first place, the woman ran away from that spot in a hurry.
'It's convenient at times like this.'
Just with the reason that Yu Eunseong was his companion, he could easily get rid of the courtesans who were soliciting.
If it hadn't been for that, the courtesan just now would not have backed down so easily.
Cheon Myeong said with a light smile to Yu Eunseong, who had approached him.
"Thank you."
"Yes?"
"Well, there's something like that."
Perhaps that team over there was having a hard time because of the courtesans who were clinging to them.
Although it was not intentional, since he was able to walk around quite comfortably thanks to Yu Eunseong, Cheon Myeong expressed his gratitude.
Of course, it seemed that Yu Eunseong herself did not know what he was thankful for.
"Did you have any results?"
Yu Eunseong had also been on that side to ask people, holding a wanted poster just like him.
Since this side was a dud, should he put a glimmer of hope on Yu Eunseong?
Of course, he did not have high expectations.
Since he was not a greedy person to the extent of hoping to find a clue in less than half an hour after starting the search.
"Yes, there was someone who saw Man Jeokseon."
"Right? This time, let's go to that side and ask... what did you just say?"
"There was someone who saw Man Jeokseon pass by this street today."
"..."
As expected, was it the right answer to bring Yu Eunseong?
At this moment, it seemed that Yu Eunseong was the most beautiful.
(End of Chapter)