Heavenly Inquisition Sword

Episode 126: A Difficult Night for the Young

Shandong.

Menglin.

At dusk.

A four-horse carriage entered Menglin, where the tombs of Mencius and his descendants are located.

It was the carriage carrying Yeon Jeokha and his group.

From the driver's seat, Yeon Jeokha sighed.

Since they left Hahyeopjeomchon Village, they hadn't encountered any inns and hadn't been able to rest properly.

Seeing the sign that said "Menglin" indicated they were in a village, but there wasn't a single inhabited house in sight.

"Sir, it seems there's no inn here either, is there?"

The driver, Lee Sa, looked around and responded.

"Yes, it doesn't look like there are many people around. The houses are scattered and..."

Lee Sa was also from Henan, so he wasn't familiar with the Shandong region.

"Then let's rest here today. There's no point in going any further."

"Good idea. It's better to rest in an abandoned house than to camp outdoors."

"Haa!"

Yeon Jeokha let out a long sigh.

He didn't imagine that wandering through Murim would be so exhausting.

He thought traveling by carriage would be less tiring, but after a month, his rear hurt.

He believed he only had to visit five camps, but the territory was vast.

Lee Sa stopped the carriage in front of the largest building he could find in the area.

Shortly after, people began to get out of the carriage one by one.

The first to complain was Yoo Geunshik.

"Aah, my back! My rear hurts. My whole body aches."

"Brother Yoo, how can you complain already? We've barely visited one camp."

"Wow! It feels like we've gone through ten places. Right, Brother Seol?"

"Tsk, you're young, why complain so much? Even the members of the Namgung Family and Old Shim haven't complained."

At Seol Chaesu's rebuke, Yoo Geunshik closed his mouth, feeling embarrassed for making a fuss in front of Namgung Cheon of the Namgung Family and Old Shim.

Namgung Cheon, who was observing the surroundings, murmured.

"What is this place? There are few houses and not a single person in sight."

Perhaps because it was winter, it didn't seem like a place where people lived.

Namgung Yeon walked towards the building while speaking.

"Menglin is the cemetery of Mencius's Family."

Namgung Cheon quickly followed her and asked.

"What? This is all a cemetery?"

Namgung Yeon, with an expression that seemed to say "What else did you expect?" went deeper into the place.

Yeon Jeokha also quickly followed her.

Upon entering, it became clear that it wasn't a house but a shrine.

Menglin was well-maintained, much larger, and cleaner than the previous Po Family shrine.

Suddenly, he remembered the long journey to Jiangnan with his sworn brothers.

He couldn't understand how he had covered that distance on foot.

Seol Chaesu, Yoo Geunshik, and Jin Seolha gathered dry branches from the surroundings.

Shortly after, Yoo Geunshik lit a campfire in the middle of the shrine.

When everyone gathered around the fire, Seol Chaesu tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

"Ha, ha, at least we're enjoying Mencius's hospitality."

But no one responded to his joke.

Except for Namgung Yeon, most had little to say about Confucius and Mencius.

Only the crackling of the fire was heard in the shrine.

After about fifteen minutes, Seol Chaesu took out dry rations from his backpack and began to eat.

The others also quietly searched for food.

After eating his rations, Yeon Jeokha settled near the fire like the others.

Although he had the body of a Hanseo Immortal, the cold wasn't good for him. His body felt tense when he stood up because he had been expelling the cold all night.

Obviously, those with higher martial skills took the spots closest to the fire. The idea that someone with high skills should yield is something that only happens in families.

Yeon Jeokha, Old Shim, and the Namgung brothers were closest to the fire.

Among them, Seol Chaesu and the others settled as best they could.

After a while, Yeon Jeokha suddenly stood up.

"Ah! It itches! It itches!"

He scratched furiously, unable to endure the itching.

Old Shim, lying down, watched Yeon Jeokha with a smile.

For him, fleas were part of life.

He might have gotten used to it, or his senses might have dulled with age. For some reason, Old Shim could endure it and laugh at Yeon Jeokha.

Seol Chaesu, Yoo Geunshik, and Jin Seolha also felt itchy, but they only scratched in silence.

Namgung Cheon, with more than ten years of experience in Murim, only moved occasionally.

But Namgung Yeon was different. Having grown up with luxuries, she couldn't endure the constant flea attacks and stood up.

It was obvious there was a problem with the shrine.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have started itching suddenly that night.

'Why are there fleas?'

Namgung Yeon frowned as she observed the shrine.

In a corner, she saw some old rags. She hadn't noticed them before, but now that she paid attention, they were there.

It seemed like some beggar had recently used them.

Clearly, they had chosen the wrong place to rest.

'Haa!'

Namgung Yeon sighed and quietly walked out.

Since she couldn't sleep peacefully, she decided to take a walk.

After walking around the shrine, she stopped when she saw four people sitting in front of the door.

They were Yeon Jeokha and Seol Chaesu's group.

Namgung Yeon couldn't help but laugh when she saw the young ones, inexperienced in Murim, having a difficult night.

Yeon Jeokha, seeing Namgung Yeon, jumped up.

"Sister, where did you go?"

"For a walk."

"Wow, I can't sleep because of the itching. Not even in the camps were there so many fleas. This is like a flea den."

"It seems someone used it recently. I saw some rags in a corner."

"It must have been a very dirty person. I've camped many times, but this is the worst."

Yeon Jeokha shook his head.

Jin Seolha, who was watching the conversation, stood up timidly.

"Um, miss, did you go out because of the fleas too?"

"…"

After a brief silence, Namgung Yeon responded.

"Yes."

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have responded.

But that night, they shared the same discomfort, which softened her attitude.

For the first time, Jin Seolha managed to hold a conversation with Namgung Yeon and felt encouraged.

"It's my first time in Murim, and I find it very difficult. How do you handle it, miss?"

"I struggle too."

Although it was a short response, Jin Seolha felt proud of herself.

Namgung Yeon, who used to be inaccessible, was now responding to her questions.

Namgung Yeon, noticing the kindness of the young ones, began to integrate more into the group, although she continued to respond briefly.

Towards dawn, the five, exhausted, returned to the shrine and fell asleep.

The next morning, Yeon Jeokha was awakened by noise.

His eyes were heavy from going to bed late. Forcing himself to open his eyes, he looked around and was surprised. The shrine was filled with beggars, inside and out.

There were more than fifty.

The beggars were scattered everywhere, shaking fleas off their bodies or hunting them.

The scene reminded him of the nightmare from the previous night, and his body started itching again.

"Ah, what the hell!"

Yeon Jeokha grimaced as Old Shim approached.

"Young Master, the beggars have invaded without permission. If you order it, I'll take care of them..."

Old Shim hadn't taken any action because he respected Yeon Jeokha.

As expected, Yeon Jeokha frowned but shook his head.

"Leave them. We were going to leave anyway."

With the commotion from the beggars, the others woke up one by one.

Jin Seolha and Namgung Yeon were startled to see the crowd of beggars. Not out of fear, but from the mental shock.

Yeon Jeokha laughed at Namgung Yeon's vulnerable expression, which he had never seen before.

The itch that had been bothering him disappeared instantly.

As the group gathered their belongings, a beggar in his fifties, dressed in clean clothes, approached and greeted them.

"Haha, my apologies for the intrusion this morning. We use Menglin as the base for the Qucheng Division of the Beggars' Sect. I am Seo Chang, from the Qucheng branch. Who are you?"

Seo Chang, among the beggars dressed in white, acted like the owner of the place.

Old Shim looked him up and down with displeasure and asked.

"You say you're Seo, but you talk as if the Meng tombs belong to you."

"Haha, as I said, right? The Beggars' Sect has been using this place for quite some time. But isn't it rude to talk like that to someone you've just met?"

"Hmph! I don't think you're the one to talk about rudeness, barging in anywhere just because of your numbers."

Seo Chang frowned.

He had endured the insults, but this was too much. And that in the heart of the Beggars' Sect territory.

'Does this old man not see the members of the Beggars' Sect?'

There were more than fifty in the shrine alone and over two hundred throughout Menglin. Although not all were experts, they could raid an entire sect.

And yet, he maintained that arrogant attitude?

Seo Chang, feeling increasing pressure, asked politely.

'Could they be from the Yoomyung Cult?'

He assumed they were members of the Yoomyung Cult since only they could be so brazen in Menglin.

Old Shim shouted angrily.

"Idiot! Do you see us as those fools from the Yoomyung Cult? You're crazy!"

Seo Chang's jaw dropped.

These days, no one dared call the Yoomyung Cult "fools."

"If you're not them, then tell me right away who you are. Who are you?"

Old Shim pointed at Yeon Jeokha and proclaimed.

"Our young master's name is Yeon Jeokha, the Grand Inspector of Nokrim. To the Yoomyung Cult members, he's like an angel of death."

"What? That young man is really the Grand Inspector of Nokrim? Then, are you Old Shim?"

"That's right. How dare you barge into the place where our young master sleeps? If it weren't for his order, you'd already be dead."

With that, Old Shim released his killing intent.

Sssshhh.

Seo Chang, who was close, felt his hair stand on end and struggled to breathe.

The beggars, unable to withstand the pressure, began to faint one by one.

Thud. Thud...

Seo Chang, barely holding onto his energy, pleaded.

"P-Please stop. The Beggars' Sect is not your enemy."

Finally, Old Shim withdrew his killing intent.

Seo Chang, relieved, alternated glances between Old Shim and Yeon Jeokha.

'Nokrim has such an expert!'

He understood that Yeon Jeokha was the Grand Inspector, but Old Shim's skill was surprising.