Chapter 217: Sleeping on Brushwood and Tasting Gall (5)
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“Are you saying there is still no contact?”
“T-That is correct.”
Fire Ape openly frowned.
‘Has some problem occurred?’
The reporting interval of the Fire Ape Squad does not exceed a minimum of half a shichen and a maximum of one shichen.
It was not only the Fire Ape Squad. All the units of the Twelve Earthly Branches were like that.
The number of reports was excessively high, but it could not be helped. Since the Black Dragon Manor was in a situation where it had not yet revealed its appearance to the world, it was not excessive to be careful and careful again.
That was why they maintained a short reporting cycle even while wasting money and manpower.
But no contact came for almost half a day, exceeding one shijin?
‘Could it be, they were defeated by the opponent?’
She could not believe it.
Of course, the Black Sheep Squad might have been stronger than she thought. Fire Ape 2nd Group might have been helplessly defeated.
Even so, it was normal for a report to come. Unless all the members of the 2nd Group were annihilated in one place, this could not be happening.
“This won’t do. You personally go and find the traces of the 2nd Group…….”
It was then.
“Heok! Fire Ape-nim! Over there!”
Fire Ape turned her head.
‘That guy?’
A young man was walking on the small path leading to the manor.
A height over six cheok. His physique was not sturdy, but from his upright posture like a bamboo, the aura of a stubborn scholar who left no room for compromise oozed out.
It was Yeon Ho-jeong. Having changed into new clothes and even carrying a fairly thick bundle, he had finally returned.
Fire Ape moved.
Pararak!
Fire Ape’s movement technique, which stepped on the roofs of several buildings and landed on the ground in an instant, was truly like watching a stunt.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“It is monkey-like body movement.”
Killing intent soared in the Fire Ape’s two eyes.
“Where did you go and come back from?”
“None of your business. Move aside. I’m tired.”
“Report immediately.”
“I have never had a superior like you bitch. Stop being a hindrance and get lost over there.”
It was a quite rough tone of speech.
Fire Ape smiled coldly.
“It seems you haven’t heard from the Manor Lord. I am your…….”
“Escort warrior. If you are an escort, protect the manor properly like an escort. Do not offend the feelings of the escort target.”
“…….”
“Since we were never acquainted, I will let it slide this once. If you act out of line and climb over me one more time, I will pluck your eyeballs out.”
Cheucheucheu.
A vicious killing intent flowed out from the body of her top trusted subordinate, Ape Leg, who was standing behind the Fire Ape.
The Twelve Earthly Branches under Yang Cheon were top-tier masters of the Black Dragon Manor, and they also held positions befitting their martial prowess. They were not in a position to hear such words from a greenhorn who they didn’t even know where he rolled in from.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s smile deepened.
“He is a subordinate overflowing with loyalty.”
Fire Ape, who had been staring fixedly at him, raised her hand.
Ape Leg painstakingly suppressed his killing intent. Rage surged, but he could not disobey his Lord’s order.
Fire Ape asked.
“What is inside the bundle?”
“That is a presumptuous question. Just open the path.”
“I will state this clearly. I am not a mere escort warrior, but the Escort Captain. I received the order to monitor you along with the order to protect you.”
“So what?”
“……Do you not understand the word monitor? It means that if you do any nonsense, in the worst case, I could kill you.”
“Those are strange words.”
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“You only received the order to kill, but you don’t have the ability to kill us, right?”
“What?!”
“We are currently in a transaction with Manor Lord Yang. Whether we will serve him or kick him away will only be decided a few days later. In other words, we still have no reason to follow Manor Lord Yang’s orders.”
A strange smile appeared on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
“Did that gentleman not tell you even that? I thought you were a favored subordinate, but it seems you weren’t after all.”
At that moment, the Fire Ape felt an abrupt surge of anger.
“This bastard……!”
“But well, fine.”
“……?!”
“There will be times when I have to go out frequently in the future as well. It will be tiring to squabble every time, and even if it’s for Manor Lord Yang’s face, I shouldn’t beat you up.”
Yeon Ho-jeong untied his bundle.
Fire Ape’s eyes deepened.
‘Clothes?’
That was right. In the bundle Yeon Ho-jeong brought, there were several luxurious clothes inside, all of them. Men’s and women’s were mixed.
“These are clothes for my companions to change into. Are you satisfied?”
“…….”
“Move aside.”
“I will say one last word.”
Fire Ape’s eye light spewed fire.
“If you go out without a report one more time, then I will deal with you at the discretion of the Escort Captain.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“I pray you will please do so. If you make a move first, Manor Lord Yang won’t be able to say anything even if I smash you.”
Fire Ape smiled coldly.
“You don’t know the Manor Lord too much.”
“Indeed. If you received Manor Lord Yang’s favor, you wouldn’t have dared to spew such crazy words in front of me.”
“……?!”
“Get out.”
Fire Ape, who had been quietly glaring at Yeon Ho-jeong, opened the path.
Yeon Ho-jeong walked along the small path without a word. And the Fire Ape and Ape Leg followed behind him.
It was then.
‘…….’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
‘Sound Transmission.’
The air faintly trembled.
Someone was sending a sound transmission to the Fire Ape. The surroundings were extremely quiet, and Yeon Ho-jeong’s senses were also sharper than ever, so he was able to grasp it.
Seureuk.
He felt that the Fire Ape’s walking was slightly disturbed.
Sararak.
Fire Ape disappeared.
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke without even looking back.
“It seems there is a busy matter. Why don’t you follow your Lord too?”
Ape Leg glared at Yeon Ho-jeong without a word. However, his eyes were only directed at Yeon Ho-jeong; in reality, he was tremendously flustered.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
‘Those guys who were wielding that item, were they that monkey’s subordinates?’
This situation is turning out quite interestingly.
“Eigo, where did you go and come just now?”
Ga Deuk-sang greeted Yeon Ho-jeong with a sarcastic tone.
Yeon Ho-jeong handed over the bundle.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable to wear the same clothes every day. I procured a few decent clothes.”
“Eh? No, for clothes, you have to wear a single outfit for ten years…….”
Ga Deuk-sang, who unconsciously spoke words dripping with beggar nature, hurriedly lowered his voice.
“Keoheoheoheom! Anyway, you worked hard. Let’s see just how amazing clothes you’ve procured.”
When Ga Deuk-sang deliberately acted cheeky and took the bundle into his dwelling, Pae-yul spoke.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes.”
Pae-yul glanced at the manor’s main gate. Ape Leg had come inside.
“What is it, that small fry?”
“He is that monkey’s direct subordinate.”
Pae-yul openly furrowed his brows.
“Get out.”
It was truly straightforward.
Ape Leg stood with his hands clasped behind his back without a word. He looked as if he wouldn’t move even if a sword came at his neck.
Cheucheucheu.
A fierce killing intent stretched out from Pae-yul’s body.
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“Just leave him be.”
“I don’t want to. I cannot tolerate an unidentified mongrel running wild in my territory.”
“Please endure it just a little. If he acts arrogant first, it won’t be too late to draw your sword then.”
Pae-yul, who silently listened to Yeon Ho-jeong’s words, glared at Ape Leg and growled.
“Anytime is fine, so please attack me. I will blow your neck away with a single stroke.”
Ending with those words, Pae-yul went into his dwelling. It seemed he didn’t even want to see Ape Leg’s sight.
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“He’s an amazing person. It wouldn’t be easy to live like that either.”
Still, wasn’t it something that he obediently followed his words. Even if they had made a promise, under the sentiments of the Central Plains, it was definitely not easy to consistently bow down and yield like that.
At that time, Ape Leg asked.
“What on earth are you believing in to act like that?”
“Hmm?”
“Whether it’s you or that swordsman, what on earth are you believing in to run wild like that.”
Yeon Ho-jeong grinned.
“Skill.”
“Aah! Why are you coming only now!”
Zhuge Ah-yeon was making a quite fierce expression. In the short time, it seemed she had been racking her brain quite fiercely.
“Hurry and come help me put together the organizational restructuring chart! Damn it, my head is about to get a cramp.”
“You worked hard. Go inside and rest a bit. I will do the rest.”
“……Is that okay?”
“Yeah. Is using your head an ordinary matter. To also look over the work you’ve done, I will finish it up alone today.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon smacked her lips.
“Saying it like that again makes me feel bad to rest.”
“Stop spouting words you don’t even mean and go inside and get some sleep.”
“What do you mean words I don’t even mean! What disrespectful words! Huh? But what about the matter you went for?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and nodded.
“It went well in its own way. I think things will get easier in the future.”
“That’s good news!”
Zhuge Ah-yeon flopped down on the bed.
“I’ll sleep just a bit, so wake me up in one shichen. For tasks that require wrapping your head around, it’s better to do it together if possible.”
There wasn’t even time to stop her. Closing her eyes, she fell fast asleep before she could even count to three.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who chuckled while looking at Zhuge Ah-yeon as if he couldn’t stop her, sat down.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was examining the organizational restructuring chart, suddenly fell into thought.
‘It was quite dangerous.’
After completely smashing the guys wearing Black Sheep’s masks, another twenty masters rushed in.
They were not wearing masks like the ones he had annihilated first. However, seeing their insidious internal energy and their momentum thick with the smell of blood, he was immediately certain they belonged to the Black Dragon Manor.
‘To think they would be holding something like that.’
They were quite brutal guys, but burying masters of that level was not a difficult matter.
The problem was the item they were holding.
‘It was similar to the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles.’
Torrential Pear Blossom Needles.
It is one of the extreme hidden weapons that the Sichuan Tang Clan boasts of. It was also an extremely dangerous hidden weapon that would not be handed over unless one was a selected master even within the Tang Clan.
If not managed properly, misfire accidents occurred frequently, so deep knowledge and skilled experience regarding hidden weapons and mechanisms were essential.
Yeon Ho-jeong also knew the power of the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles well.
‘It was tremendous.’
Needless to say for peak masters, even a master who had broken through the Wall of the Martial Arts´ End would find it hard to escape the clutches of the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles the moment they let down their guard.
He could not understand how such an extremely dangerous item ended up in the hands of the hooligans of the Unorthodox.
‘To be precise, it’s not the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles, but something similar to it.’
Could it be that the Black Dragon Manor is mass-producing such items?
‘That wouldn’t be the case. If they did, they wouldn’t have their eyes lit up just to recruit a master of hidden weapons.’
Yeon Ho-jeong stroked his lips.
He brought one just in case, but he didn’t know if it would be okay to show this to Tang Sang-ah.
‘…….’
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been deep in thought, let out a sigh.
“There is still plenty of time. Let’s think slowly.”
What was important now were a total of three things.
First, capturing Yang Cheon’s heart in one shot with the organizational restructuring chart.
In truth, the organizational system was something he had pondered countless times while establishing the Dark Emperor Castle, so there was nothing difficult about it. It was important, but it was an issue he didn’t particularly need to worry about.
Second, Gang-ryang.
He had killed all twenty masters who came subsequently, and he created all sorts of messy traces around the valley. Even if a fairly good expert came and looked, they would judge that two groups had fought and annihilated each other.
And right after that, he made Gang-ryang stay near a wild mountain not far from here. Since he had instilled into him what actions he absolutely must not do until he got a cramp in his head, he would be quiet for the time being.
Perhaps after this matter was over, he might have to take that guy with him as well. No, he absolutely must do so.
And finally, third.
“I trust you.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked out the window.
Murong Jun’s eyes overflowing with ghost-like energy came to mind.
“Just create one proper piece of information. I will strike and enter straight into the deep core of the Black Dragon Manor in one breath.”