The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 289

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 43

“Uncle Wang, let’s go to the main gate.”

“Lady Dang really taught you well. Tracking is supposed to start from the origin point and follow step by step – that’s the proper way.”

Uncle Wang’s evaluation of me today was quite generous.

Did I act too smart in my eagerness to catch Tam-rang?

If Uncle Wang himself starts encouraging me to join the Martial Arts Alliance, things will get quite troublesome.

Hoping it was just my misunderstanding, I stood with Uncle Wang in front of the Martial Arts Alliance Main Gate again.

“Whew!”

When I activated the Dang Fragrance Soul Tracking Technique, all other scents disappeared and only the familiar powder fragrance became clearly detectable.

‘Found it.’

The fragrant powder continued like a path in one direction.

“Uncle Wang, this way.”

Uncle Wang quietly followed behind me as I led the way.

Tam-rang probably has no idea we’re tracking him, right?

I felt slightly elated with the expectation that we might catch him right away.

‘Hm? But where is this place?’

Following the scent, I came upon a three-story building. About ten similarly built structures were lined up in a row.

“Seolha, is this the place?”

“Yes. But Uncle Wang, what is this place used for?”

The atmosphere looked like a miniaturized apartment complex, which to my eyes looked exactly like a dormitory.

“It’s the dormitory.”

Ah, that’s right.

The high-ranking officials would have separate residences, and this seemed to be living quarters where ordinary martial artists stayed.

“There must be many people residing here.”

“Just counting the regular martial officers belonging to the Martial Arts Alliance, there are easily over a thousand.”

I didn’t know there were that many.

“Let’s go inside for now.”

“Yes.”

When Uncle Wang and I entered the courtyard, the lower-ranking martial artists who had been resting in small groups all turned to look at us.

It was obvious we weren’t from here, so that was understandable.

But Tam-rang hid in a place like this?

That doesn’t quite make sense…

Recalling Tam-rang’s activities briefly described in the original work, it felt like he had a separate independent residence.

‘Ugh, I regret falling asleep without reading to the end.’

If I had, I wouldn’t have to play this game of hide-and-seek.

‘The novel should have been a bit longer.’

I was happy about the large volume when I started, but now I’m complaining – I’m really being hypocritical.

“Uncle, over there!”

Meanwhile, the fragrant powder honestly led me to a wooden building.

“This is the public bath?”

Wow, that bastard Tam-rang went straight to wash himself as soon as he arrived?

Isn’t treating internal injuries first the usual order?

What reason would he have to take a bath first, even enduring the pain?

“Excuse me.”

As Uncle Wang and I lingered in front of the public bath, a man approached us.

“I am Jang Suk-ryeong, in charge of managing Muhongak. May I ask who you are and why you’ve come here?”

“I am Gwang-gwon of Gaebang.”

“I’m called Seolha. Guanyin Bodhisattva.”

Uncle Wang and I quickly introduced ourselves in our respective ways.

“Actually, could I take a look inside there for a moment?”

“Pardon?”

Yes, it’s absurd, isn’t it?

I understand since a grown maiden is asking to enter a public bath, specifically the men’s bath.

“But that place is…”

“We’re in a bit of a hurry. I’ll explain the details separately later.”

Without waiting for Jang Suk-ryeong’s answer, Uncle Wang pushed his way in first.

This is why martial arts masters are problematic.

They don’t understand the hearts of powerless common people.

“Uncle Wang!”

“…Yes?”

“This person is in charge here, so we should get his consent. Isn’t that right, Manager Jang?”

I looked at Jang Suk-ryeong and deliberately smiled brightly.

As they say, there’s no business like a smiling face.

“I just need to look very briefly, would that be alright?”

“It’s not impossible, but…”

Jang Suk-ryeong fell into brief contemplation.

Soon he nodded and gave his consent.

“Since no one should be there at this time, it should be fine.”

“Thank you!”

I was genuinely happy and hurriedly went inside with Uncle Wang.

‘Even in different worlds, people live quite similarly.’

The structure wasn’t much different from Korean public bathhouses.

I walked slowly and concentratedly, following the trail left by the scent.

The changing room?

The place with the strongest traces was the changing room, presumably where clothes were changed.

Similarly, I detected a strong lingering scent in one corner of the bathhouse.

“Hmm.”

“What’s wrong, Seolha? Is there a problem?”

When my expression hardened, Uncle Wang couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Did the scent disappear or something?”

“That’s not it. The scent when leaving is fainter than when entering.”

“What does that mean? Don’t tell me he washed off the fragrant powder? Wasn’t that colorless and odorless? How would he know?”

Exactly.

Tam-rang definitely wouldn’t have known I hid fragrant powder in my palm strike.

That means he always follows this pattern when returning.

“He’s more cautious than I thought.”

That’s how he disguised his identity and infiltrated the Martial Arts Alliance.

“It’s not a fragrance that can be easily washed off. He must have used special chemicals.”

“Can you continue tracking?”

“Of course.”

Though it was fainter, it hadn’t disappeared.

The direction Tam-rang left was completely opposite to where he entered.

“This way is the backstreet.”

It was a path used by maids, servants, or workers who worked at headquarters.

Ordinary martial artists never use this route.

“Think about Gong Ya-chi. Tam-rang would also be skilled at changing faces, whether through human skin masks or beast skin masks. He could easily disguise himself as a servant and move around.”

“Whatever the case, since you say the scent continues, we have to follow it.”

I was confident that the Dang Fragrance Soul Tracking Technique would definitely catch Tam-rang, but somehow I’m starting to feel uneasy.

Was I too overconfident?

As Uncle Wang and I moved through the backstreet, the maids and servants passing by were startled and hurriedly offered their greetings in a flustered manner.

Thanks to that, the quiet path suddenly became chaotic.

“He must have changed his face for sure.”

Otherwise, this would have happened every time.

Uncle Wang scratched his brow and fell into thought.

“Why would he go through such trouble?”

“Could there have been a special reason why he had to use the backstreet?”

I drew upon my experience from my maid days and tried to recall the places connected by the backstreet one by one.

Kitchen, bedroom, laundry room, and so on – there were quite a lot.

People didn’t know it, but the types of work maids did were endless.

“Huh? Wait a minute!”

The reason why Tam-rang absolutely had to insist on the backstreet.

Could it be because of that place?

“Niece Seolha?”

When my pace suddenly quickened, Uncle Wang followed in confusion.

“Do you have somewhere in mind?”

“Yes!”

I nodded more firmly than ever and was almost running by the end.

“Hah, I knew this would happen.”

I barely managed to hold back the curses that were about to burst out.

I had felt uneasy about it, and sure enough, my premonition was right.

The place where the scent trail ended was none other than the incinerator.

That bastard must have burned everything here – his clothes, shoes, everything.

I never thought he’d be this thoroughly vicious.

“So he threw everything in the fire and burned it all?”

“Yes.”

As I replied in disappointment, Uncle Wang looked around as if something was strange.

“But why isn’t there a worker here?”

“A worker?”

“Yeah, usually there’s at least one worker at places like this incinerator. It would be a disaster if the fire spread. Wait here for a moment.”

Uncle Wang didn’t know how to give up.

He set out to find a worker, as if planning to conduct an investigation.

“Who’s there?”

Just then, an irritated voice burst out from the direction of the crematorium furnace.

“Who dares to enter here without permission?”

A young man in scholar’s attire stood up angrily.

“Do you want to be kicked out of the Alliance… Who are you people?”

Realizing we weren’t workers, the man’s tone changed to a neutral one. His eyes were still unfriendly.

“I’d like to ask you something.”

“You seem to be lost, but this isn’t a place you can enter carelessly! I’ll pretend I didn’t see you today, so leave quickly!”

The man just kept shouting for us to leave before we could even ask anything.

“Well now, what is this place that you keep pushing us away? Is this the Maeng-ju Palace or something?”

“It’s more important than that!”

“Where in the Martial Arts Alliance Headquarters could be more important than the Maeng-ju Palace?”

“The Military Department! The Military Department!”

The man easily fell for Uncle Wang’s provocation.

“This is the Military Department’s exclusive crematorium! It’s where all sorts of classified documents are burned! So get out of here!”

Military Department?

Tam-rang was affiliated with the Military Department?

What!

“Uncle Wang, let’s go now.”

We may have missed that bastard, but it wasn’t completely without gain.

“It seems he’s in the Military Department.”

“The Military Department is a place that thoroughly checks identities, yet he managed to infiltrate it… Good heavens!”

“How many people work in the Military Department?”

“Well… I’d say at least over a hundred or so…”

We have to find Tam-rang among all of them?

That’s going to take quite some time.

Woof woof! Woof woof woof!

It was then that the sound of dogs barking came from inside the building.

Awoooo!

Yap yap yap!

It wasn’t just one dog. Dozens of dogs were howling simultaneously.

And at that moment, a scene from the original work flashed through my mind like a light bulb turning on.

“…!”

Why had I forgotten something so important?

Tam-rang’s method of disposing of subordinates whose usefulness had expired was poison.

Each time, scenes of dogs dying were described.

Could the dogs barking inside right now be those sacrificial victims?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————