Chapter 236: Conflict (6)
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“A contact came from Young Master Yeon.”
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes sparkled for once.
“It seems the situation is turning out very interestingly, doesn’t it?”
A moment later, the party couldn’t help but admire after hearing his explanation.
Pae-yul grumbled.
“That guy, it’s clear he was a nine-tailed fox in his past life.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon smirked.
“Jeong must have been on edge too, right? To think Yang Cheon would collapse so suddenly.”
Tang Sang-ah spoke with a serious face.
“What on earth happened? Yang Cheon is a rare master treated on the same level as my grandfather. For such a master to lose consciousness and collapse is…….”
“Sister, I’m curious about that too, but. Let’s just think about our safe return for now.”
“Ah…….”
Tang Sang-ah spoke awkwardly.
“Because it’s so unexpected.”
“Well, that’s true. Come to think of it, depending on Yang Cheon’s state, the landscape of the world could flip.”
“Honestly, for me…… it’s purely out of curiosity but…….”
“The people who change the world always move out of trivial curiosity.”
Pae-yul clicked his tongue.
“Let’s stop the useless talk here.”
“Yep.”
“If so, when should we move?”
Ga Deuk-sang shook a document.
“I think we just have to move on the day Young Master Yeon and Murong Jun meet. Looking at the situation, it seems Murong Jun would make contact at least within today.”
“If so, it would be within three days at the latest.”
“You can think of it as two days later.”
“Good. And they?”
“……They are waiting.”
“Hmm.”
Ga Deuk-sang’s expression immediately became uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just him. Not only Tang Sang-ah but even Zhuge Ah-yeon had an expression that seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
“Um, Senior.”
“What is it?”
“Will it really be okay to leave it like this? Frankly speaking, what crime do those people have. In a way, they are victims.”
“I know too.”
“It would be a different story if we were risking our lives to screw Murong Jun over but…… using them in this way is…….”
In an instant, Pae-yul’s eyes became sharp as if to cut.
“Do not insult them.”
“Yes?”
“They are not being used, but rather they chose their own end themselves. Not only you, who is a mere beggar, but neither I nor these girls have the right to disparage their choice.”
“…….”
“Even if it weren’t for us, they wouldn’t last a month before dying. Didn’t they willingly participate in this plan because they know that too?”
“…….”
“Although they committed countless mistakes in the past, at least reaching their final moments, they repented for their past lives. Consider it an honor to be able to be with such people even for a short while.”
Pae-yul, who spoke as if scolding, stood up from his seat.
“I will be thinking of it as two days later. You all should rest well until then.”
“Understood.”
Thus Pae-yul left the room.
Zhuge Ah-yeon smacked her lips.
“I think I know why Jeong brought Senior along.”
“…….”
“Honestly, I thought he was just a martial arts maniac who likes to fight, but I was wrong.”
Tang Sang-ah nodded.
“It seems he’s someone with great enlightenment before learning.”
“That’s right. That’s probably why they say there’s no knowledge in front of wisdom. He is truly a person worth emulating.”
Ga Deuk-sang sighed.
“To be honest, I still don’t really know.”
“Is that so.”
“Seeing things like this, it seems I’m definitely not a guy who will become big.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon smiled.
‘That can’t be true.’
Yeon Ho-jeong, who can become colder than anyone depending on the situation. Pae-yul, whose wisdom in life is as outstanding as the countless battles he has fought.
There aren’t many people who can make such outstanding discernment and cold judgments as those two people even with considerable experience.
But what is even more difficult than that is exactly Ga Deuk-sang’s good nature. Ga Deuk-sang feels frustrated with himself for not being able to keep up with Yeon Ho-jeong and Pae-yul, but in this rough world, keeping and living with a good heart like Ga Deuk-sang is a thousand times harder.
‘I see why the Dragon Head Chief placed this person as the Successor of the Beggar’s.’
A person who handles information inevitably becomes distant from chivalry and morality.
But Ga Deuk-sang didn’t do that. He looked at people rather than information, and because he looked at people, he might make a wrong judgment, but he tried not to make people unhappy.
Zhuge Ah-yeon hoped he wouldn’t lose that good heart in the future either.
“Young ladies, rest for now too. The day to return home is not far off.”
* * *
“You came.”
Yeon Ho-jeong went straight to White Rat.
“A contact came from the Murong Clan Head.”
“…….”
“It seems we have to depart this evening to arrive by the appointed time.”
White Rat silently looked at the Black Dragon Manor.
Yeon Ho-jeong patiently waited for his answer.
A moment later, White Rat opened his mouth.
“Department Head of Information.”
“Please speak.”
“As you know, I cannot leave my seat. While the Manor Lord hasn’t regained his senses yet, it’s impossible for me to empty my seat as well.”
“I know.”
White Rat was one of the Twelve Earthly Branches, but he was in a completely different position from the other Twelve Earthly Branches.
Frankly speaking, even if he moved as the Manor Lord’s proxy, no one in the Manor would be able to say anything to him. White Rat was a person who received that level of trust.
“If it were up to my feelings, I’d want to cancel everything like the appointment with the Murong Clan Head. When the Manor Lord has collapsed, what is the use of meeting a mere head of the Six Great Clans?”
White Rat’s eyes became chilly.
“So I cannot understand the Department Head of Information’s urgency.”
“I understand.”
He understands, he says.
He doesn’t try to persuade him, but just says he understands.
White Rat thought that this very aspect was extraordinary. The new Department Head of Information was as rough as anyone, but on the other hand, he was a person who fully recognized the other party’s circumstances.
White Rat nodded.
“I am a trusted subordinate of the Manor Lord. Whether the Manor Lord grasps the world or wanders the wilderness alone, I just follow behind him, that’s all. But you are not.”
“…….”
“You are a part necessary to achieve the Manor Lord’s dream. And a part has its own usefulness as a part. Just like me.”
“…….”
“I will protect the Manor Lord. You do what the Manor Lord desires.”
Yeon Ho-jeong took a fist-and-palm salute.
“Thank you for understanding.”
White Rat turned his body.
“And the physician?”
“The Ghost Life Divine Physician responded. He will arrive within five days at the latest.”
“Faster than expected. That is a relief.”
White Rat looked up at the ceiling.
What he was thinking was hard to guess even for the worldly Yeon Ho-jeong.
“I will attach the Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Monkey, and Dog of the Twelve Earthly Branches.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
He was saying he would attach the Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Monkey, and Dog among the Twelve Earthly Branches.
It wasn’t simply five masters following. If combining the organizations under them, no less than over three hundred masters would additionally follow.
“With that level of combat power, even if the Murong Clan Head set a trap, there will be no problem in saving your life.”
“It is sufficient.”
White Rat turned his body.
“I won’t receive a separate departure order. Depart whenever you are ready.”
“I understand.”
“Department Head of Information.”
“Please speak.”
“I wish you martial luck.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who stared blankly at White Rat, took out three neatly folded documents from his embrace.
“Please take this.”
“What is this?”
“It is detailed information regarding the traitor inside the headquarters.”
“……?!”
In an instant, White Rat’s face hardened like stone.
“Did you just say traitor?”
“That is so.”
“……Who on earth is it?”
Yeon Ho-jeong brought his index finger to his lips.
“You will know in detail if you look at this. After the Manor Lord became like that, I didn’t want to add unnecessary confusion to an already chaotic situation, so I postponed it until now.”
“……!”
“When I called him to my residence and interrogated him, he revealed his true colors. Unavoidably, a fight broke out, and I managed to subdue him somehow.”
Surprise lingered in White Rat’s eyes.
“You subdued him?”
“That is so.”
Yeon Ho-jeong lowered his voice even further.
“I made contact quite naturally and dragged him to my residence. The reason I am telling you this only now is partly because the Manor is chaotic, but also because I do not view the probability of another traitor existing as zero.”
“……Mmm.”
“Perhaps even the Manor Lord collapsing like that could be a scheme of the traitors.”
Tssssts.
Intense killing intent spewed out from White Rat’s body.
“How dare these things……!”
Even knowing it was just an assumption, he couldn’t control his killing intent. He was someone who found it hard to maintain coldness when it came to matters related to Yang Cheon.
“I will prepare right away, so I will depart within one shichen.”
“…….”
“After we depart, go straight to my residence. Because I locked the traitor up there.”
“……I understand.”
“I will say it once again. It would be better to move quickly. If by chance there is an accomplice, they will try to grasp the traitor bastard’s final movements, and after that, they will try to escape this place.”
“I see.”
“Therefore, as soon as we leave the Manor, forbid entry and exit to the entire Black Dragon Manor. And go to my residence and catch the traitor. Next…… I trust Senior will handle it well on your own.”
White Rat took a fist-and-palm salute.
“You went through a lot of trouble in places I didn’t know. Thank you.”
Yeon Ho-jeong took a fist-and-palm salute in return.
“It was something I had to do, naturally.”
“I have one thing I am curious about.”
“Please speak.”
“How did you know that person was a traitor?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Because he was an excessively detached existence among the Twelve Earthly Branches.”
“……The Twelve Earthly Branches!”
“A first-rate spy tries not to stand out in all aspects including personality, position, and location. However, a spy classified as top secret grabs a prominent position with eye-catching moves, and naturally lingers in eye-catching locations.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled bitterly.
“Well, it’s a bit much to call him a spy when he’s just a traitor.”
He turned his body.
“I will leave the Manor Lord in your care.”
White Rat nodded with a heavy face.
“I do not doubt that you will finish the work well and return.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who turned his back, smiled bitterly.
I’m sorry, but there won’t be a time we see each other again.
* * *
Splash!
“Keuheok!”
With the sudden splash of water, Black Sheep felt his mind wake up with a flash.
“Heokheok! Uuugh!”
As soon as he regained his senses, terrible pain rose from various parts of his body.
He couldn’t move his upper body because of the broken ribs and collarbone. His right arm, whose cartilage was torn and joint was crushed, had no sensation at all.
Dull pain also rose from his thighs and abdomen. Every single one was a part hit by the Department Head of Information.
‘Jeong!’
Black Sheep ground his teeth furiously.
“How dare this rat-like bastard do a surprise attack……!”
It was then.
“Are you talking about me?”
Black Sheep felt like his heart dropped abruptly.
“You shouldn’t look down on it too much just because it’s a rat. Because there are fierce rats like me in the world.”
Black Sheep barely moved his stiff neck and lifted his head.
In front of his eyes, there was White Rat wearing an expression more bloody than ever before.
“Traitor Black Sheep.”
“……!!”
“You have a quite gruesome appearance. The Department Head of Information, I thought he wasn’t an ordinary hero, but I didn’t know his means would be this venomous.”
White Rat bent his upper body.
“But you know too, right? That there are many torture experts in the headquarters who would consider the Department Head of Information’s means as nothing compared to a child’s punch.”
“……Gulp.”
“Now, I think the mood is all set by this point.”
White Rat smiled coldly.
“If you answer the questions obediently, it will be quite painful but I will kill you. But if not…….”
“……!!”
“I will make it so you can neither die nor live. Do you understand?”