Chapter 252

Though I had seen some descriptions in the original work, Cheongra, seen with my own eyes, was a more developed city than I had imagined.

‘Indeed…’

A splendid city, incomparable to the village near Baekseoksan Mountain I had visited just a few days ago.

The reason for this developmental imbalance was not hard to grasp.

‘It must be the difference between having the military power to protect the surroundings or not.’

At first glance, the scenery resembled that of the Goryeo era or Japan’s Heian period.

However, I couldn’t be sure exactly how many years in the past this was. The original work’s creators never gave a definitive answer on that point either.

‘Among the plausible theories are that history was replaced long ago due to the existence of Specters, or that the Oracle Bone Casket itself came from another dimension…’

That part remains an open ending, with only rampant speculation circulating.

Since there was no particular mention in the sequels either, there’s no point in me dwelling on it.

“What does the Benefactor plan to do?”

“First, I intend to rest a bit and gather information. I’m looking for some people.”

“Understood. If you ever need help, please seek me, Heodu, anytime.”

With that, Heodu led the caravan members and disappeared into the crowd.

Now it was my turn to consider my next move.

‘It’s true that Cheongra is a city mentioned in the original work. But…’

Its significance wasn’t great, and Yoo Haon’s party didn’t stay in this area for long either.

Furthermore, the biggest problem was that later, with the help of a special Specter, they moved through the sky, severing the connection to their next destination.

‘Thinking simply, they would all set out to find Hochoong anyway.’

Since Yeon Jaki told them to find him, their primary objective is the same.

However, given the high likelihood that they are all scattered, their movement route as depicted in the original work is no longer reliable.

‘Clearly, in the past, Hochoong was staying at a place called Jinyeonsan Mountain in Hobuk.’

If so, it was clear that the final destination was that Jinyeonsan Mountain.

But I didn’t know how far it was from here, nor how to get there.

First and foremost, I needed to gather information in various ways.

“Soyool. Where should I go to get information here?”

“Since Oppa is looking for people, asking merchants gathered from various places would be quicker. Of course, I’m not sure if that’s possible in this vast land…”

Calmly thinking, it had only been three days since I fell into this place.

Unless someone was really nearby, expecting information about the party to have already spread was close to impossible.

First, I decided to find out the exact location of Jinyeonsan Mountain and the places that mainly appeared in the original work, then set out with Soyool.

“Jinyeonsan Mountain? I’ve heard of it a few times. But it’s no ordinary distance…”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not even in this region to begin with. Even if you pass through villages along the way, it’s hard to even conceive of making the journey.”

I had roughly expected it, but it seemed I would have to endure considerable hardship to head to Jinyeonsan.

Seeing that many hadn’t even heard the name, it was likely to be an extremely distant place.

‘It won’t be easy…’

I do have the Black Bird and Black Yin, but they aren’t originally flight-type Shikigami, making them unsuitable for long-distance travel.

After pondering deeply, I felt the need to change the direction of my thoughts and let out a small sigh.

In fact, looking at it from a slightly different perspective, there was no need to be fixated on Jinyeonsan Mountain right now.

Unlike me, who knew the original work’s information in advance, it would take time for the other party members just to find Hochoong’s whereabouts.

They would naturally grow during that process, so for now, it was right for me to focus on increasing my own personal martial power as well.

‘It’s not too late to find Jinyeonsan Mountain slowly.’

Rather, it seemed more helpful for growth to set a general direction, move towards it, and hunt notable Specters along the way.

With my goal set, I stayed in Cheongra for two more days and began gathering information again.

This time, I targeted news of the surroundings, particularly related to Specters.

As a result, there were three noteworthy rumors in this area.

First, a rumor that a strange Specter lived in a lake that appeared after a day’s travel west of Cheongra.

Second, a rumor that while walking across the plains stretching east, a non-existent city sometimes appeared and bewitched people.

And finally, a rumor that a city about four days’ travel north was recently gathering Taoist Masters.

All three were quite interesting, so I pondered their contents carefully.

‘Especially the third one is concerning.’

According to what I heard from merchants, Exorcists were already gathering from all over after hearing that rumor.

Perhaps one of the scattered party members might also visit there, looking for the others.

‘I should go take a look.’

There’s no rush. It’s enough to inquire about the other two rumors first and then depart.

So, I targeted the first rumor, which seemed the clearest and simplest, and headed towards the western lake.

And although I actually defeated the Specter residing there, it wasn’t as strong as I thought and wasn’t much help.

‘Well, that figures.’

If anything, the one called the god of Baekseoksan Mountain last time was the anomaly.

Even if they are the protagonists of all sorts of rumors, this level is probably normal in reality.

Somewhat disappointed by the rumor’s substance, I seriously considered skipping the second rumor as well and heading straight to the northern city.

The anomaly occurred right then.

“Huh, what a strange thing indeed.”

“It seems the rumor was true after all.”

For some reason, the surroundings grew noisy, and when I asked why, people unanimously pointed towards the city entrance.

There, several merchants in disheveled states were being supported by citizens as they passed through the checkpoint. From what I could roughly hear, it seemed they had encountered the rumored ghost city.

“Kgh… I still don’t know what’s what. There’s constant auditory hallucinations in my ears…”

“Calm down. I’ll apply some alcohol now.”

Whoosh.

A clear light seeped from the supporting man’s hand, and soon the merchant’s complexion brightened a bit.

After about half an hour, having finally regained some composure, his testimony was this:

“There was still some distance left to Cheongra, so we decided to spend a day on the road. We split the party to scout the surroundings, and when we returned, all the comrades guarding the luggage had disappeared. Immediately after, a sinister city appeared in the fog, and I felt an impulse to entrust myself to that place…”

Fortunately, perhaps because there was some distance and the influence wasn’t strong, the party with the man hurriedly left the spot and moved to Cheongra in a daze.

During that time, illusions and auditory hallucinations continued to confuse their minds, and they had only just regained their senses.

“The disappeared comrades must have all been lured in there. Damn it…”

The man bowed his head with a pained expression and covered his face.

Originally a group of nearly twenty, only six remained, meaning they had effectively lost most of the comrades they had shared hardships with.

And then, a group of people approached that man and began speaking to him.

“It seems we can rescue your comrades.”

“Really?”

“We are Taoist Masters from Daehwarim. We’ve beheaded countless Specters.”

“Ohh, the Daehwarim’s…”

“Of course, there must be a worthy price for taking the risk.”

A middle-aged man with a vulgar smile made a hand signal and demanded payment from the merchants.

The merchants huddled together, exchanged glances, then tightly closed their eyes and bowed to the Taoist Masters.

“We’ll give you the most precious ornaments among our possessions. And if you succeed in rescuing our comrades, you can have their belongings too.”

“Good. Deal settled.”

The merchants rummaged through their luggage and brought out several ornaments made of gold, and the Daehwarim Taoist Masters said they would prepare immediately and left somewhere.

And I, after they had gathered all their luggage and were trudging along looking for a place to stay, approached and spoke to them.

“Excuse me.”

“What is it? Our party is all tired and wants to rest first.”

As their words implied, they showed signs of refusing further private conversation, but I continued regardless.

“I saw you entrust the matter to the Daehwarim Taoist Masters. However, they alone might be insufficient.”

“What…?”

“If everything you said is true, the master of that non-existent city is a considerably powerful Specter. And the Taoist Masters from earlier are a bit lacking in capability to deal with it.”

It wasn’t wrong. The confident Daehwarim Taoist Masters were, by modern standards, around the level of 1st-Rank to 3rd-Rank.

The strongest among them was only Level 56, while the lowest was only around Level 43.

‘It’s a level sufficient to repel an ordinary Specter, but…’

If the Specter of the ghost city was above Level 60, they would have a hard time handling it.

“Huh, so what do you suggest we do? Daehwarim is one of the largest factions in this area, and they were the only ones who offered to help us. We have nothing more to say about it.”

The man wasn’t wrong either.

Certainly, regardless of their martial power, in the earlier situation, they were the only ones to ask for help.

Realizing the conversation had progressed sufficiently, I made them a proposal.

“I heard you are quite renowned in this area. If I rescue your comrades or exorcise that Specter, could you assist me for a while?”

“No need. Now I see you have a suspicious nature. We have nothing left to give as reward.”

“I don’t particularly desire a reward. I’m just talking about what happens if I rescue them.”

In short, it was an offer to help them with payment later.

The man tilted his head as if hearing something absurd.

“Don’t throw your life away needlessly, swayed by youthful recklessness.”

“It’s something I need to do.”

Finishing my words, I summoned a large number of Shikigami from the shadows and showed them.

Then, I could see the man’s expression change instantly.

“After all, you have nothing to lose, right?”

At my words, they could only nod blankly.