Chapter 318: The Wheels Roll (6)
Yeon Ho-jeong, who entered the Army-Destroying Pavilion after finishing a light drinking session with Tang Kwan, momentarily felt a secretive murderous intent.
Whoosh! Thwack!
Instinctively turning his head to dodge, a wooden arrow was stuck in the ground before he knew it.
It was such a sharp and intense strike that even the fletching of the arrow was stuck in the ground. Considering the ground was frozen because the weather was cold, it was an intimidating power.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the window on the third floor as if it was absurd.
There, Muk Bi with an indifferent expression was lowering her Red Lotus Bow.
“Are you crazy? Firing an arrow out of nowhere!”
“Hmph. Did you go do something fun behind my back again?”
“What fun. My head hurts to death… Hey! That’s not the problem! Did you aim for my forehead just now? Do you want to die?”
“You dodged well.”
“Are you joking right now. I drank alcohol! I barely dodged it, damn it.”
“A martial artist must always be tense because a fight can break out anytime, anywhere. Didn’t you teach me that?”
“Let me rest a bit comfortably in my own house. Huh?!”
“Tch.”
Rattle.
Muk Bi, who threw her body from the window, landed in front of Yeon Ho-jeong in a single breath.
She spoke bluntly.
“I finished all the Evil-Annihilating Army training.”
“Uh, good work.”
“Are you going to keep wandering outside like this? At this rate, you’ll forget the soldiers’ faces, right?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled faintly.
“I have done everything I can do for now. For the rest, I think I can respond by looking at the turning situation.”
“That lie, is it true?”
“It’s not a lie.”
“You’re funny.”
“Why on earth is this person so twisted? You weren’t this kind of person before, right?”
“It’s all Young Master Yeon’s doing that made me like this. No, and besides, what’s wrong with me?”
Yeon Ho-jeong shuddered.
“I got it. I’m sorry. What should I do for you?”
Only then did Muk Bi giggle and laugh.
“Nothing to do for me, there is a person who wants to meet Young Master Yeon.”
“Mmm?”
“Physician Gi.”
Gi Wu-hui’s residence was located in the south, centered around the middle of the Inner Castle.
At a time past the Dog hour, Yeon Ho-jeong and Muk Bi visited Gi Wu-hui’s residence.
“You’ve come?”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sparkled.
As if she knew he would come at this time, Gi Wu-hui, who had prepared two steaming cups of tea, was sitting wearing antique clothing.
Gi Wu-hui smiled.
Whether she had organized her mind in her own way, her smiling face was very pleasant to see. Since she was a possessor of extremely exotic and beautiful features, that smile alone seemed to make the cold recede a bit.
“Please sit.”
“Sure.”
The two sat opposite Gi Wu-hui.
Yeon Ho-jeong asked directly.
“You said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes. But…”
Gi Wu-hui asked as if in doubt.
“Did you drink alcohol?”
“Mmm?”
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“Does it show? I blew away all the alcohol qi with internal energy.”
Gi Wu-hui smiled and pointed to her nose.
“Because I smell alcohol.”
“You have a dog’s nose.”
“In order to properly see a patient, one must also train their five senses well.”
“That’s something I hear for the first time?”
“There’s a diagnostic method for that too. Though I merely made an effort to look into the patient’s detailed condition more closely.”
Putting aside her ideology or background, she was a super-first-rate physician. And she must have put in efforts hard to describe with a pen and tongue to reach such a state.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“Alright, let’s leave that aside. You said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes.”
“For what matter?”
Gi Wu-hui wet her throat with tea.
It seemed like a story that was not easy to tell. Even so, there was no agitation in her expression.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
‘She has made up her mind properly.’
Her eyes, expression, and aura were all perfectly refined.
It was the appearance of someone who had firmly decided the path they would take. In a way, it was a more convinced appearance than Muk Bi or Gang-ryang, so Yeon Ho-jeong was certain that today’s conversation would be quite meaningful.
A moment later, Gi Wu-hui opened her mouth.
“Army Commander Yeon.”
“Speak.”
“Didn’t you say it before, Army Commander Yeon? That the Three Cults would burn the Central Plains and throw countless innocent people into hell.”
“I did.”
“I also agree. No, I acknowledge it. I already knew that, but I was trying hard to turn away from it.”
She didn’t say she seemed to turn away, but that she turned away. She was speaking with conviction.
Gi Wu-hui’s eyes shone.
“I told the Strategist. I am not working for the Murim Alliance, but I am here for the nameless people who will bleed from the invasion of the Three Cults.”
The corners of Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth went up.
“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll run out at any time if the Murim Alliance goes astray.”
“Yes. I will kick this seat and leave at any time. And I would denounce the Murim Alliance. Of course, if the Murim Alliance goes astray.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“It’s a good mindset. That is exactly chivalry and righteousness. Of course, I am still far from being a chivalrous hero.”
Gi Wu-hui smiled.
“You are saying the same words as the Strategist.”
“Did that person say that too?”
“Yes. He said it was fine to leave at any time if the Murim Alliance goes astray. I felt absolute confidence in that remark. Perhaps the Strategist has conviction that the Murim Alliance will not go astray.”
“It’s not conviction.”
“Pardon?”
“No one knows the future. Isn’t that why we are making this fuss?”
“Then how should I interpret the confidence the Strategist showed?”
Yeon Ho-jeong made a gesture of slitting his throat.
“It means that if the Murim Alliance really goes to that point, he will be the first to die.”
“…!”
“Although he might look like someone who only uses his head in the eyes of others, the Strategist’s chivalrous spirit is also counted on one hand in this Alliance. And the place where that chivalrous spirit heads is the Murim Alliance. By one in ten thousand chance the Murim Alliance goes astray, the Strategist will no longer be a person of this world.”
Gi Wu-hui smiled bitterly.
“That belief towards the Strategist is truly amazing.”
“At least for now. As I said, no one knows the future. No one knows how I or the Strategist will change.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Gi Wu-hui took a deep breath.
“You took Hidden Shadow Number One before, right?”
“And I killed him.”
“Yes, I know.”
Gi Wu-hui, who paused for a moment, looked at Yeon Ho-jeong steadily.
“It wasn’t only Hidden Shadow Number One who came to the Murim Alliance.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
“Yes, I heard that before.”
“A contact person exists in the outer castle of the Murim Alliance. I also don’t know exactly how many people there are.”
“Didn’t they tell you that far?”
“Yes. In Hidden Shadow Number One’s view, I must not have been a very trustworthy person.”
That wouldn’t be the only reason.
Putting aside Hidden Shadow Number One’s thoughts, her existence in the Divine Fire Cult was practically like a chicken rib.
Even if she was an illegitimate child, she was ultimately the Cult Leader’s bloodline, so they couldn’t coldly cast her away, but taking her in could cause a severe seismic shift in the succession structure.
Besides, she herself was acting as a physician in the Central Plains. From the Divine Fire Cult’s perspective, it could only be a headache in many ways.
“Looking at the turning situation, it seems there is no one who knows about the main cult except for a few people.”
“They are sparing their words. Because there is always a one in ten thousand chance.”
“Because someone among the Honored Guests might be connecting a line with the Three Cults?”
“Right.”
“Is there no probability that it’s the Strategist?”
“At least in my view, there wasn’t. And if the Strategist had joined hands with the Three Cults, the conversation wouldn’t even work in the first place.”
“That is also true.”
“So, what do you want to say?”
Gi Wu-hui formed a bitter smile.
“We should catch them. Starting with the contact person.”
Slide.
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s aura changed.
His face was smiling, but his temperament was coldly sharpened. Just the thought of catching those bastards made his true qi try to fluctuate.
Muk Bi grabbed Yeon Ho-jeong’s shoulder.
“Young Master Yeon.”
“…Huu.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who controlled his mind by lightly exhaling a breath. However, his eyes were burning redder and redder.
Gi Wu-hui continued speaking.
“That’s why I wanted to see you, Army Commander Yeon. Actually, I don’t know much about the Divine Fire Cult, and furthermore, I am a layman regarding such secret struggles.”
“I see.”
“However, I know that it doesn’t end with catching the contact person. As you said, Army Commander Yeon, if we want more than that, hastily catching all the contact persons seems like it would also be a problem.”
“That is also true.”
“What I want to say is, namely…”
“Leak false information.”
“That’s right.”
Gi Wu-hui forced a smile.
“If things proceed like that, the Divine Fire Cult side will also find out later. That I betrayed them.”
“They would.”
“Can you protect my life?”
Yeon Ho-jeong tapped his teacup.
“Since we can’t lure out the Divine Fire Cult bastards without you anyway. The moment you made up your mind to join us, we became one organization.”
“I see.”
“Don’t worry. At least I won’t be alive before your life flies away.”
It meant promising absolute protection.
Gi Wu-hui smiled.
“I don’t need such a bloody promise, but okay. I will also protect you, Army Commander Yeon.”
Not only Yeon Ho-jeong but also Muk Bi tilted her head.
“Protect me? Who protects whom?”
“You will have many fights in the future, so there shouldn’t be an incident where your wounds fester and you die.”
“Hoh? Are you saying you will become my attending physician?”
“Treating all patients equally is my creed, but at least to the person who holds and shakes my life, it’s natural to lend a hand at least one more time.”
Muk Bi inexplicably smacked her lips. Somehow, it felt like everyone who formed a friendship or made a deal with Yeon Ho-jeong was turning abnormal one by one.
“So I’m going to move my residence first.”
“Move your residence?”
“You have to protect me, right? I should move to the Army-Destroying Pavilion. Are there any empty rooms there?”
Muk Bi opened her mouth wide.
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
“I’m not only paying attention to the Three Cults. The friction struggle within the Alliance is in full swing. If you come to our quarters now, there will be a lot of talk in many ways.”
“That is not something I should care about.”
“…”
“Besides, I was internally decided as a sponsor for the Tang Clan Head anyway. So to speak, I have become targeted not only by the Three Cults but also by Young Master Yeon’s political enemies.”
“Mmm, that is true.”
“The Medical Immortal Pavilion officially opens in four days. I want to move my residence before then and calm my mind first.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smacked his lips.
The bloodlines of the Yeon Clan, as well as Muk Bi, Gang-ryang, and even Gi Wu-hui. For some reason, he had the illusion that the Army-Destroying Pavilion was gradually turning into a fortress.
“Alright, do so. I will tell my father separately.”
Gi Wu-hui smiled brightly.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
Yeon Ho-jeong stroked his chin.
“By the way, if you plan to leak false information to the contact person, that contact person will also end up approaching the Army Destroying Pavilion.”
“I can be certain of this one thing. The contact person will absolutely not know what kind of place the Army-Destroying Pavilion is or who resides there.”
“Okay, that’s enough.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes spewed fire.
“There were all sorts of things happening with elections and what not. Since my older brother said he would take care of the Murong Clan, shall I slowly start running too.”
* * *
Three days later.
A middle-aged man who looked like a servant secretly entered the Army-Destroying Pavilion.
“Young Master Yeon.”
“I felt it too.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, standing leaning his back against the wall next to the window with his arms crossed, was distorted like an evil ghost.
“…It’s hard to endure. It’s to the point where I want to catch him and twist his neck right away.”