**Chapter 117**
“Don’t be ridiculous. Even the Dang Clan are in a dire situation; why would they look into this?”
“Even so, people have gone missing. Shouldn’t they at least make an effort to find them?”
“Oh, the trouble those underclass people cause. If they disappear, the Dang Clan would actually find it more convenient, wouldn’t they?”
The old man poured more liquor as he continued.
“Honestly, those high-ranking folks probably wouldn’t even blink at a few commoners going missing.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re making a fuss over nothing, tsk tsk.”
The old man clicked his tongue and focused on his food and drink.
Meanwhile, Hyuk Min-woo realized that the Dang Clan were not investigating the disappearances at all.
And the Dang Clan were essentially the rulers of the city.
If such a powerful family were being so passive about the situation…
‘…It’s almost like they’re complicit in the cover-up.’
Hyuk Min-woo felt a chill down his spine.
* * *
The letter concluded with inquiries about the well-being of the two people.
Yerin and Doyul remained silent side by side.
There were various suspicious signs.
The indifference toward the disappearances and the avoidance of external activities, as if they were trying not to attract attention.
Moreover.
‘Goeamjeong.’
The conversation between the servants kept echoing in Yerin’s mind.
“I actually heard about a place called Goeamjeong earlier.”
“Goeamjeong?”
Yerin relayed the story she had heard from the servants to Doyul.
It was said that whenever someone approached that place, they would feel chills and have disturbing dreams, naturally avoiding it.
Doyul’s expression became immediately serious.
“Is that… perhaps some kind of barrier technique?”
“I think so.”
Yerin nodded heavily.
Such barrier techniques existed to prevent outsiders from entering a place.
They would cause nightmares, evoke unpleasant feelings, and confuse the senses.
However, such techniques were akin to dark magic, an evil method used by practitioners of malevolent arts.
‘The disappearances happening in the city and the hidden Goeamjeong within the Dang Clan.’
Yerin pressed her lips together, instinctively sensing that they were related.
“We need to find out where Goeamjeong is.”
Yerin’s statement made Doyul nod seriously in agreement.
* * *
Taking the initiative, Yerin and Doyul immediately set out to find Goeamjeong.
Yerin strode ahead confidently.
Her demeanor suggested she already knew where Goeamjeong was, leaving Doyul somewhat perplexed.
“Madam, wait a moment.”
Doyul, who was following Yerin, cautiously called out to her.
“Instead of searching aimlessly, wouldn’t it be better to first find out where Goeamjeong is located?”
“Oh, that.”
Yerin turned back to Doyul with a sudden realization.
“I suspect it might be in the main residence where the direct descendants live. More precisely, in the garden attached to the main residence.”
Doyul looked puzzled by her nonchalant response.
“Do you have a reason for thinking that?”
“Well, it’s just that…”
Yerin paused briefly before speaking.
“I mentioned earlier that I overheard the conversation between the servants, and that’s where Goeamjeong was first mentioned.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Those servants were not high-ranking officials but just ordinary servants.”
Yerin continued rapidly.
“The fact that even such servants could access the place led me to speculate that it’s an external location.”
“Ah.”
Doyul’s eyes widened a bit.
“When I was at the Dang Clan, I had never heard of a place called Goeamjeong. So, if Goeamjeong was established after I left the Dang Clan…”
Even as Doyul explained slowly, Yerin’s steps did not falter.
“During that period, the only new building that was added was the garden attached to the main residence.”
Yerin smiled mischievously.
“And the name Goeamjeong itself suggests a pavilion, doesn’t it?”
“Well… now that you mention it, it does sound like that.”
Doyul nodded reluctantly.
Yerin gestured to Doyul as she surveyed the surroundings.
“The main residence is this way. It’s a bit of a distance, so it would be better to use light footwork.”
“Ah, understood.”
Under Yerin’s guidance, they moved quickly to avoid being noticed by others.
They arrived at the deepest part of the Dang Clan.
It was the main residence, a place forbidden to anyone not recognized as a member of the family.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, it is.”
Behind the grand buildings, a path leading to the garden was visible.
As they headed that way, Yerin murmured with a touch of nostalgia.
“By the way, I didn’t expect to come to the main residence.”
“…What do you mean?”
Doyul paused and looked back at Yerin.
“I wasn’t even allowed to visit the main residence.”
“What? Why…?”
“Well, the main residence is only accessible to the head of the family and those direct descendants approved by the head.”
Yerin answered as if it were obvious.
“Servants can come and go because they’re serving the household, but I’m just a daughter of the family with only half the bloodline of the Dang Clan, aren’t I?”
Doyul’s face scrunched up in frustration.
“…Listening to the pettiness of the Dang Clan makes me feel that the name of the Five Great Families is being demeaned.”
“Oh dear, with Doyul getting so worked up on my behalf, I can’t really get upset myself, can I?”
Noticing that Doyul’s mood had worsened, Yerin deliberately tried to lighten the mood.
Swallowing his sigh, Doyul glanced at Yerin’s expression.
“So… Are you okay?”
“Me?”
“I’m concerned that you must have had a hard time when you were with the Dang Clan.”
Yerin blinked at his concern.
It was true to some extent.
At that time, she wasn’t even fully recognized as a member of the family.
But Yerin no longer dwelled on those days.
Because…
“Of course I’m okay. I’m no longer a part of the Dang Clan but a member of the Northern Sea Ice Palace now.”
Yerin held Doyul’s hand tightly and continued.
“The people of the Northern Sea Ice Palace care about me, and even Somi, despite pretending otherwise, follows me well.”
Yerin spoke softly, and she really did seem alright.
She looked into Doyul’s eyes and smiled brightly.
“Above all, you’re here with me, aren’t you?”
Her answer eased the tension on Doyul’s face, and he also managed a faint smile.
“Yes, don’t worry about the Dang Clan.”
“Of course.”
Just as the warm atmosphere seemed to settle in.
‘Huh?’
Yerin suddenly turned around.
They were standing at the entrance to the garden.
The place was completely deserted, and the silence was eerie.
Even the usual sounds of insects were absent.
The garden was bathed in the moonlight that hung like a silver mirror, casting its light equally on everything.
The trees rustled in the night breeze, casting dark shadows on the ground.
All these things created a strangely unsettling feeling.
And the cause of that…
“…This place, the energy flow is twisted.”
Yerin’s eyes narrowed sharply.
An odd, unpleasant sensation overwhelmed her, like a tightly pulled thread being gnawed by gold flakes.
Doyul seemed to sense it too.
He looked into the garden with a tense gaze.
“It seems the distortion starts from the center of the garden…”
The area visible to them was shrouded in complete darkness as if covered by a curtain.
It felt as if there might be some monster lurking within.
Most people would not know why this place felt so off.
As evidence, people would avoid it, thinking it brought nightmares or was an unlucky spot.
Yerin had never seen anyone question the place itself.
‘Even the martial artists of the Dang Clan didn’t suspect this place…’
Yerin frowned.
While servants avoided the place, it seemed that martial artists didn’t even notice the unease of the place.
Yerin thought she understood why.
Typically, the more skilled one became in martial arts, the more sensitive they were to distortions in the energy flow.
Thus, the one who twisted the energy flow likely aimed at disrupting those ‘sensitive senses.’
The distortion was designed to make those senses become numb under overload.
So, only those with a certain level of skill would even recognize the anomaly of this place.
‘A very clever method. What could they possibly be hiding so desperately?’
Just then.
Yerin spotted a familiar figure walking from afar.
‘That person…?’
It was none other than Dang Yejun, who seemed to have just emerged from the garden.
