Chapter 46

Chapter 46, A Chilling Bastard

Goeui looked at the girl with a strange gaze and asked,

"Isn't the name of that grappling art the Dragon-Binding Cloud Net Art?"

"Huh! How does Grandpa know that?"

The girl stopped speaking and suddenly covered her mouth with her hand.

She rolled her eyes while glancing between Jaha and Goeui.

She looked extremely cute.

She still seemed innocent, untouched by the filth of the world.

"My master said only a few people in the world know about it."

Jaha had never heard of that grappling art before.

Judging by the way Goeui looked into the distance with a nostalgic expression, he seemed to have some connection with it.

"Where is your master?"

Goeui looked at the girl and asked.

"My master is..."

The girl was about to answer, but suddenly shut her mouth and glared at Jaha and Goeui.

"Why do you think I live with my master? Maybe I live with my grandfather."

Goeui looked at the bold girl.

"Divine Thief Gung Cheolmu never married, so he has no descendants."

Jaha's mouth fell open in shock.

"Divine Thief Gung Cheolmu?"

Divine Thief Gung Cheolmu was one of the legendary eccentrics of the martial world.

He was also one of the people Jaha had been searching for.

Jagang had named him as one of the strongest men beneath the absolute peak.

Jaha had followed Hwancheonma here and never expected to encounter a connection to the Divine Thief.

"But why would Hwancheonma come looking for the Divine Thief?"

Goeui rubbed his chin.

"I heard a rumor recently. They say the Divine Thief stole a legendary spiritual medicine."

"Ah!"

Jaha finally felt all his questions being answered.

There had been several suspicious things, starting with Hwancheonma leaving the Demon Cult and continuing with the incident involving Deung Hwahong.

Now it made sense.

Hwancheonma had originally left the Demon Cult to steal the spiritual medicine the Divine Thief was said to possess.

Then he accidentally learned about Deung Hwahong and tried to gain an extra benefit by kidnapping her, only to be betrayed by Ma Gi.

Among the Seven Heavenly Demons, Hwancheonma was considered one of the weaker ones in terms of internal energy.

However, his ambition was greater than anyone else's.

It seemed he wanted to increase his internal power and become the Great Heavenly Demon.

Apparently, Hwancheonma believed that once his internal power increased enough, he could place the other six Heavenly Demons beneath his feet.

Thinking about it that way, the girl's ability to approach without making any presence known and her strange grappling art also made sense.

Jaha felt he first needed to calm the girl, who looked increasingly anxious.

"We're not bad people. Right now, some dangerous men have surrounded your shop because they want to capture your master."

"Really?"

The girl tried to run toward the shop, but Jaha quickly grabbed her.

"Listen first. If you go there now, you'll only put your master in greater danger. Even if those bad men surrounded the shop, your master should be able to escape."

If it truly was Divine Thief Gung Cheolmu, he should have been capable of escaping Hwancheonma's encirclement.

"No. My master is very sick right now. She can barely move."

"What?"

Jaha and Goeui frowned.

"If your master can barely move, then even the Divine Thief can't escape Hwancheonma's encirclement."

Goeui spoke seriously.

"Then wouldn't it work if I pretend I don't know anything, go inside, and bring my master out?"

The girl asked Jaha.

Jaha's honest-looking face and calm eyes seemed to make her feel more comfortable.

"No. If you do that, they'll capture you too. That will put your master in an even worse position."

Jaha shook his head.

"Then what should we do?"

The girl stamped her feet.

She looked ready to run toward the shop at any moment.

"Oh no. It looks like they're about to enter the shop."

At Goeui's words, Jaha fell into thought.

"Don't you have some good idea?"

Goeui unconsciously asked Jaha.

After witnessing Jaha's surprising wisdom again and again, he had begun expecting solutions from him.

Hwancheonma and his subordinates had already surrounded the Divine Thief's shop.

There seemed to be very little Jaha could do.

Jaha scratched the bridge of his nose, then noticed some people approaching from far away.

"There isn't absolutely no way."

Goeui grinned.

"See? I knew you'd have some kind of idea. So, what's your plan?"

Goeui asked with great expectation.

Jaha pointed down the street with his chin.

It was rude to gesture like that in front of an elder, but even that looked amusing to Goeui now.

"Constables?"

Five constables were walking down the street.

It seemed to be their patrol time.

Jaha quickly approached the constable captain.

"Could I speak with you for a moment?"

The constable captain glared at Jaha, clearly about to scold him.

At that moment, Jaha quickly shook a money pouch.

Clink!

The pouch sounded fairly heavy.

The constable captain's wide eyes immediately softened.

"What business do you have with this officer?"

Even his voice became gentle.

"You see that shop over there, right?"

"Yes. Isn't that a shop selling ornaments?"

"If you enter that shop and stay there for about half an hour, I'll give you twice as much as what's in this pouch."

Jaha untied the pouch and handed it to the constable captain.

"Really? Just for entering that shop and staying there?"

"That's right."

"Is there any crime involved?"

"No. Some suspicious men have been hanging around that shop. I'm only asking because of that. Don't mention what I said. Just pretend you're waiting there until the owner arrives."

All the constable captain had to do was stay inside the shop for half an hour, and he would earn enough money to drink at a fine restaurant for several days.

There was no reason for him to refuse.

"Fine."

The constable captain led his men toward the Divine Thief's shop.

As they approached, Hwancheonma and his guards, who had been preparing to rush into the shop and capture the Divine Thief, immediately lowered themselves and hid.

When government constables suddenly entered the shop, even Hwancheonma had no choice but to wait.

Clashing with government officials would only make the matter grow larger.

Waiting until the constables left was the best choice.

"What are you planning to accomplish by delaying them for only half an hour?"

Goeui asked.

"I'm going to set the neighboring shop on fire."

"You're setting a fire?"

Goeui jumped in shock.

"That way, everyone in the neighborhood will gather. During the confusion, we'll sneak the Divine Thief out."

"Even so, how can we harm innocent people?"

"Right now, it's the only method. And Senior Divine Thief should have plenty of hidden wealth. He can compensate them afterward."

Goeui understood the logic in his head.

His heart still resisted it.

"You brat. You're a frightening bastard."

In truth, if Byeok Ho's master had been here, or if Jo Unryong or Han Seol had been present, Jaha could never have carried out a plan like this.

Because Jaha had come from the demonic path, he could think of such ruthless methods.

Even Goeui had to admit that this seemed like the safest method to rescue the Divine Thief.

"If you're planning to start a fire, why did you bring the constables inside? Won't that make things worse for us?"

Jaha smiled.

"No. I brought the constables here so I could blame Hwancheonma's group for the arson."

Goeui let out an amazed sound.

"You really are a wicked little bastard."

Despite his words, Goeui found Jaha's imagination almost frightening.

A normal person would never think like this.

He really isn't an ordinary brat.

Burning down an innocent person's store and framing Hwancheonma for it was not something just anyone could imagine.

Jaha's ruthless yet clever idea gave Goeui chills.

Jaha examined the shops around the Divine Thief's store before approaching the back door of a fabric shop.

There was a reason he chose a fabric shop.

If a fabric shop caught fire, people would surely rush over hoping to steal cloth during the confusion.

Jaha believed the people nearby would not sincerely try to put out the fire.

His way of thinking was still deeply rooted in the demonic path.

Jaha set fire to the cloth piled in the backyard.

It caught immediately.

The fire spread toward the nearby storage building, and flames rose in an instant.

People poured out from the surrounding shops.

"Fire! There's a fire!"

When Jaha shouted, the street immediately fell into chaos.

Jaha headed straight toward the Divine Thief's shop.

At that moment, the startled constables were coming out of the shop.

As Jaha approached, his eyes met Shinbi's, who had been watching from a rooftop.

Shinbi frowned deeply when he saw Jaha appearing during this sudden incident.

Jaha shouted toward the constable captain.

"Sir! Those men on the roof started the fire! I think they caused this confusion so they could steal from the shops!"

The constable captain and his men looked toward Shinbi and Hwancheonma's guards, who were glaring at Jaha.

From the roof, Shinbi glared with murderous intensity.

The constable captain mistakenly assumed Shinbi was glaring at him.

"You lawless bastards! Come down and accept the rope! Men, capture those criminals!"

At the constable captain's command, the constables blew their whistles and began chasing Shinbi and the guards.

From a distance, Hwancheonma's cheeks trembled violently.

His facial muscles were twitching from the absurdity of the situation.

When he realized the same brat who had humiliated him by trapping him inside a formation was responsible, his anger became unbearable.

He still could not forget the humiliation of being forced to retreat.

When had Hwancheonma ever been treated so badly by anyone?

He had ground his teeth so hard while withdrawing from the Vermilion Bird Unit that his molars still hurt.

"That bastard!"

The curse escaped Hwancheonma Shin Jeok's mouth naturally.

Jaha's grinning face seemed enormous before his eyes.

Jaha appeared to be saying something.

Hwancheonma focused on his lips.

Jaha exaggerated his mouth movements.

Hwancheonma unconsciously read the words aloud.

"Hwan. Cheon. Ma. Shin. Jeok."

Up to that point, it was fine.

Then Hwancheonma's face twisted when he read the next words aloud.

Jaha intentionally moved his lips faster at that part to mock him.

"You dog bastard, you're so angry you could die, aren't you?"

After saying the words himself, Hwancheonma became so furious that his hands trembled.

The constables continued blowing their whistles, summoning other constables to chase the supposed arsonists.

The street was filled with people who had rushed outside.

Some tried entering the fabric shop to steal cloth, while others carried buckets of water to put out the fire.

Everything was chaotic.

Goeui approached.

"Haah. Innocent people are suffering because of us."

"Senior Divine Thief will definitely compensate them."

After saying that, Jaha entered the shop.

The girl soon came out carrying an elderly woman on her back.

"Little girl. Where is your master?"

Even after hearing the question, the girl said nothing.

She simply carried the old woman out of the shop.

There were more people trying to put out the fire than people trying to steal fabric.

Because of that, the fire was controlled quickly.

Fortunately, it did not spread to the surrounding shops.

Watching this, Jaha muttered,

"Unexpected."

He truly had not expected everyone to work together and extinguish the fire so quickly.

That was because Jaha fundamentally believed people were selfish and wicked by nature.

"We shouldn't stay here. Let's leave quickly. Hwancheonma may return soon."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the brothel we came from."

"Why there? Wouldn't somewhere else be better?"

"Hwancheonma stayed there himself. He won't expect us to hide in the same place."

"Really?"

Thinking about it, Goeui realized Jaha was probably right.

Jaha looked toward the girl.

"Follow me."

The girl's lightness skill was remarkable.

Even while carrying the old woman on her slender back, she ran without making a single sound.