Chapter 954

The funeral was set to take place in Hongcheon.

Considering Seong Hyeong-woo, I thought it wasn’t necessary to go to Hongcheon. He would have likely preferred a quick cremation after all the information had been extracted from his body. Those attending the funeral knew well of the deceased’s character, but no one spoke up about it. There’s a saying that a funeral is a ceremony for the living. The survivors wanted to send him off from his hometown, especially since the deceased had wandered far in life. That’s why I decided to go to Hongcheon without hesitation.

“I was planning to go alone,” I said.

“How long has it been since your eyes healed? Why would you think of going such a long way by yourself?” Huang Ji-ho responded.

Huang Ji-ho accompanied me on this trip to Hongcheon. Given that Seong Guk-eon and the Hojok had aligned on the previous matter, it wasn’t strange for the leader of the Hojok to attend Seong Hyeong-woo’s funeral. But since it wasn’t a public funeral, there was no need to worry about outsiders, and Seong Guk-eon likely wouldn’t care whether the leader of the Hojok attended or not. Huang Ji-ho knew this, but still insisted on coming along.

The primary reason was my health.

“You thought of going alone? Did Eun-ho’s nagging during the dormitory period not suffice?”

“It was enough.”

“Haha! I guess it was pretty intense, huh?”

During the dormitory period, Eun-ho, under the guise of Cheon Eun-ha, had joined and expressed concern for my health. There were frequent sparring requests during breaks, but Eun-ho would step in, often citing the need to adjust interview schedules. As a result, the sparring sessions were reduced, but I definitely had more time to rest.

I appreciated Eun-ho’s concern as a junior, but I wasn’t comfortable knowing I was taking up her time.

‘But thanks to Eun-ho’s efforts, the dormitory members grew more during this period.’

Eun-ho helped by analyzing the players participating in the dormitory training for her interviews. She identified their strengths and weaknesses, and even the instructors were impressed by her sharp analysis. An Da-in’s parents praised her analysis multiple times.

Eun-ho humbly credited me, saying we analyzed together, but most people likely recognized her talents.

I felt guilty for taking away her precious time, and now, I was taking up Huang Ji-ho’s time and energy, but there was another reason for me being here beyond just my health.

“If Seong Hyeong-woo’s body falls into the enemy’s hands again, it’ll be a headache. All the visitors are excellent players, including you, so it’s unlikely anything will be taken, but someone could still get hurt. If I accompany you, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

With that reasoning, it felt wrong to let him stay behind. In the beginning, Huang Ji-ho had considered sending Jeok-ho instead. Jeok-ho had also analyzed the information left on Seong Hyeong-woo’s body, so he wasn’t without connection to the deceased, making him a suitable choice. However, Jeok-ho was currently on an important mission in China, so he couldn’t attend.

‘Jeok-ho is the only one in the Hojok who has excellent information-gathering skills and can operate freely overseas. Huang Ji-ho and Baekho-gun can’t do much abroad, and the other Hojok members are lacking in ability compared to him.’

Still, Huang Ji-ho coming himself might cause some discomfort. If he suddenly appeared in Hongcheon, there were people who wouldn’t be pleased.

As I expected, trouble arose immediately.

The air limousine, heading toward our destination, abruptly stopped in midair.

“Seems like they noticed my arrival. Quite sensitive, aren’t they?” Huang Ji-ho clicked his tongue and looked down.

Three white horses and a dark-skinned woman were standing on the empty road, looking up at us.

They were Heukma, the leader of the Ma-tribe, and the white horses I had seen before when I visited Hongcheon.

Huang Ji-ho rolled down the window and cast an opaque barrier, and Heukma spoke.

“Huang Ho, why have you come to our territory? You should have said something before coming.”

“Is there really a need to say anything? I didn’t come to see you,” Huang Ji-ho replied.

“Hojok members, except for Jeok-ho, don’t speak very nicely, do they? How about sending Jeok-ho next time?”

Jeok-ho wasn’t exactly the most polite speaker either.

Maybe it would have been better to send Juk-ho? But Juk-ho rarely leaves the forest, so sending him to Hongcheon would have been difficult.

Anyway, the other Hojok members were rough around the edges.

“You have company, don’t you? I’d like to see their face.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Since there was no need to hide my visit to Hongcheon from Heukma, I ignored Huang Ji-ho and rolled down the window.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Huang Ji-ho narrowed his eyes at my actions but didn’t stop me or say anything. I immediately greeted Heukma.

“Hello, sorry for the late greeting.”

“Well, aren’t you polite? Hello. Is there anyone else with you besides Huang Ji-ho?”

“Yes, just me.”

When I answered, the white horses made a sound: “Purr-ru!”

Heukma nodded at the sound, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

“Strange. Seems like the white horses mistook something again.”

“I don’t know what kind of mistake, but don’t bother me with it.”

“It’s not for you to worry about. I think the white horses mistook someone for one of the five heroes. They rushed to get up when the white horses woke up, so I hurried too.”

Were they talking about the five heroes of Oum Mountain?

After the typhoon last year, before heading to Joo Island, I visited Hongcheon with Ju Su-hyeok to inform Maeng Hyo-don and Bang Yun-seop. At that time, Heukma came to thank Maeng Hyo-don for saving the Ma-tribe’s subordinates and said something similar.

“Strange. I felt one of the ‘five heroes’ of these kids was coming, but now there’s no sign of them?”

The Ma-tribe has settled in the Oum Mountain area of Hongcheon, just as the Hojok has settled in Eun-gwang.

Choosing this rough area likely had something to do with the white horses’ five heroes.

Perhaps it wasn’t a misunderstanding last time, but this time, I wondered if the confusion was related to the players attending Seong Hyeong-woo’s funeral.

Seong Hyeong-woo was from Hongcheon, and many of the players attending the funeral were likely from here.

‘Seong Guk-eon said there wouldn’t be more than ten people attending the funeral, but it looks like there will be more.’

After some bickering between Huang Ji-ho and Heukma, Heukma and the three white horses also decided to attend the funeral. Heukma said that Seong Hyeong-woo was one of the five heroes of the white horses.

“Since Seong Hyeong-woo is gone, we won’t see the five heroes gathering for a while.”

“It seems it will take time for someone to succeed the five heroes.”

“Seong Hyeong-woo’s life may have ended a long time ago, but he exerted a lot of influence on this land. It will take time for someone to follow in his footsteps.”

The white horses lowered their heads in sadness.

They looked far less energetic than when they first forced the air limousine to stop.

“Well, I’ll go prepare the flowers for the funeral. I don’t want to go with you, so I’ll go separately. You go ahead.”

“I had planned the same.”

With that, Huang Ji-ho released the barrier without hesitation, and the air limousine started moving again.

Even though the Hojok and Ma-tribe had solved several incidents together, it seemed they didn’t quite get along.

Looking at the 12 Zodiacs’ meetings, it didn’t seem like Huang Ji-ho and Heukma were particularly unusual, but rather that everyone didn’t get along well.

‘I’m just glad they’re not hostile...’

When I think about the issues with the Don-tribe and Woo-tribe, it feels a little dizzying to think of the efforts we put into proving their betrayal and breaking their plans.

Still, should I just be thankful and move on?

While we’re not getting along, at least we’re not in open hostility, but looking ahead, I wonder if we’ll be able to stand against the huge plans of the masterminds with this loose alliance.

“Yi-shin, you’ve come. It’s been a while since I saw your face. Did you come with Ji-ho?”

I encountered Seong Si-wan in front of Seong Guk-eon’s family home, where the funeral was held.

The funeral was to be held at the deceased’s family home. The yard was large, and the house was far from the neighbors, making it a perfect place to hold a quiet funeral thanks to its excellent ability to handle superhuman powers.

Seong Si-wan smiled warmly, just like when I saw him at the graduation ceremony, though he looked much more mature than before.

‘Oh Hye-ji and everyone else seem to have suddenly grown up.’

They might insist that they’re the same as last year, but they certainly looked different.

After greeting me, Seong Si-wan and Huang Ji-ho briefly spoke to each other.

Seong Si-wan had probably heard about the Hojok from Seong Guk-eon, so there was no need for Huang Ji-ho to explain much.

Huang Ji-ho finished the conversation by saying that he was from the 2nd year, Class 0 at Eun-gwang High and should be treated as a junior.

“Oh, and there’s a junior I’m with. Ji-ho, you know him, right?”

A figure appeared from Seong Guk-eon’s family house as Seong Si-wan mentioned him.

It was the current president of the Gyi-tribe, Gye Idam.

He had passed the trials of the old simulator and was one of Seong Guk-eon’s trusted agents, so there was a valid reason for him to attend.

But even so, I didn’t find his presence particularly welcoming.

‘It’s a day for the deceased, so I’ll ignore Gye Idam’s presence and not show my displeasure.’

I tried to ignore his presence as if he didn’t exist, but just as I was about to move on...

“…Hey.”

A dry, raspy voice called me to a halt.

It was the kind of voice that seemed nearly devoid of strength, as if it hadn’t been properly hydrated.

Was that really him calling me?

As I stared at the source of the voice expressionlessly, I heard it again, quieter this time.

“Why?”

I didn’t want to respond, but I did.

Seong Si-wan watched the scene in silence, and Huang Ji-ho also remained still, not interrupting.

Upon hearing my answer, Gye Idam flinched slightly and then spoke again.

“About Da-in…”

Not “An Da-in,” but just “Da-in?”

In an instant, my mood soured, and then the device let out a screeching alarm.

BEEP!

I thought it might have been an illusion due to my worsening mood, but it didn’t seem to be.

Huang Ji-ho and Seong Si-wan immediately activated their holograms to check the alarm’s content, and I followed suit to read the message.

When I saw the message, my eyes widened.

The alert was an emergency summons from the association.

A vicious criminal with powers had escaped while being transported and was requesting assistance from nearby players.

After checking the alarm’s content, Seong Si-wan pulled out a weapon item card from his holster and opened a map.

“Did you check the message? You probably don’t know much about this area, so let me guide you. This region has few players, so there won’t be many people who can move.”

Seong Si-wan spoke with concern, but I wasn’t too worried.

Among the funeral guests, there were many highly skilled players who knew this area well.

The real problem was elsewhere.

‘Is this coincidence, or was this planned by someone?’