Chapter 320: The One Who Lights the Sacred Fire (2)
Dong Gak’s eyes brightened.
“It is coming.”
Flap flap!
The bird that landed by the window chirped as it looked at Dong Gak.
An old man carefully held the bird in his hand and untied the message tied to its ankle.
Dong Gak, who had been puffing on his tobacco, frowned.
“Damn wench, if she went in as a spy, she should have handed over even trivial reports quickly.”
She would have to send information again within the next forty-five days. In the unlikely event that she did not keep that rule, he planned to report it to his superiors and have her severely punished.
The old man opened his mouth.
“It is a letter from Number Seven of Sogangdan.”
“Hmm.”
Currently, there was a total of four liaisons residing in the outer castle of the Murim Alliance.
They were each working in the iron smithy, stable, clinic, and food ingredient warehouse, and all of them possessed super first-rate skills.
The leader among them was none other than Number Seven, who was hiding in the food ingredient warehouse, Sogangdan. It seemed that the leader had sent the message personally since it was the first report.
Dong Gak tapped out his smoking pipe and spoke.
“What kind of information is it?”
“It is detailed information about the Army Commander of the Evil-Annihilating Army, a mobile unit of the Murim Alliance.”
“Is that all?”
“That is correct.”
Dong Gak’s face distorted noticeably.
“No matter if it is the first report, to think she only sent personal information about a mere mobile unit captain bastard instead of even one of the Honored Guests?”
He wasn’t unaware that the Army Commanders of the Evil-Annihilating Army and Demon-Sweeping Army were being called the greatest young talents in the Central Plains.
But even so, they were nothing more than young talents. It was a martial prowess that would not work against true masters.
And they were as young as their martial prowess, so they were not even bastards to be concerned about right away.
To send information about such a figure, and picking just one instead of both? He was so dumbfounded by Gi Wu-hui’s way of handling work.
The old man handed the letter to Dong Gak.
“It does not seem to be information that can be simply ignored.”
“What?”
“For information about a single person, the amount is quite large. The contents are also more serious than expected. It would be better for you to read it yourself.”
“Hmm?”
Dong Gak looked at the old man with wondering eyes.
The old man’s face was serious. Unlike his appearance, which looked like an ordinary slash-and-burn farmer, the old man was the owner of an outstanding brain. He wasn’t carrying around an old man who hadn’t learned a single ounce of martial arts for nothing.
Dong Gak received the letter without a word and read it.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
“What is this? He is the core of the political strife in the Murim Alliance?”
The old man’s eyes shone.
“Just looking at the contents written in the letter, it is no exaggeration to say that he is the top core figure of the numerous political strifes that have occurred within the Murim Alliance so far.”
Dong Gak was dumbfounded.
“Does this make sense? The core of the political strife in the Murim Alliance? At the mere age of his early twenties?”
“…”
“Could this perhaps be a smokescreen?”
The old man’s thoughts were also similar to Dong Gak’s.
However, he couldn’t cut it off clearly by saying yes or no over a matter he couldn’t be certain about.
“Whether it is a smokescreen or what, the Holy Maiden would not have sent such a letter for nothing. It is information with too great an unexpectedness to just overlook.”
“Hmm.”
“I think investigating the figure named Yeon Ho-jeong in detail should come first.”
Dong Gak frowned.
“I know about him to some extent. Didn’t they say he was a young master who suddenly distinguished himself after living as a fool for over a dozen years? I was told he took the lead in taking down the Nine States Myeong Clan, and even made distinguished contributions to annihilating the Gray Wolf Squad connected to Evil Lust.”
Unlike his somewhat hasty words and actions, Dong Gak was also second to none when it came to his head. His personality was just like that; when he became serious, he showed above-average brainpower.
It meant that he had memorized all the major incidents and key information in the Central Plains. And in recent years, the one who caused the most noisy incidents in the Central Plains Murim was Yeon Ho-jeong, known as the Tiger General of Green Mountain.
“Even so, the core of political strife…”
Dong Gak, who was muttering to himself, asked the old man.
“If we use our strength within the limits of our Cult not being exposed, to what extent can we mobilize intelligence capabilities?”
“It will be much better than the half-baked intelligence groups in the Central Plains. And…”
The old man’s eyes flashed.
“If the Inspector General makes a move, we could find out quite in detail, even if not to the extent of the Beggars’ Gang.”
Dong Gak shook his head.
“The Imperial Secret Service will not do. The imperial palace currently is an even worse pandemonium than the Murim. Complete control will take two to three years at the shortest, and up to ten years at the longest.”
“It is unreasonable, as expected.”
Dong Gak clicked his tongue.
“Evil Lust is a pity. If we had handled Yang Cheon properly, we could have already put the Black Dragon in our hands. If that were the case, we would have been much more well-versed in the political situation of the Murim.”
Recently, he heard that Yang Cheon’s movements were unusual. Looking at the flowing situation, it was said that he seemed to have seen through Evil Lust’s intentions.
‘Evil Lust will have no choice but to move more cautiously.’
If they fought strength against strength, how could the likes of the Black Dragon Manor be a match for Evil Lust?
However, the Black Dragon Manor was not the only thing existing in the Murim. The Murim Alliance was a massive faction that couldn’t even be compared to the Black Dragon Manor, and they couldn’t even grasp how many hidden old masters of the Nine Sects One Gang and the Six Great Clans there were.
In other words, the Three Cults had not completely grasped the combat power of the Central Plains Murim.
If they waged an all-out war, they could expect victory, but the damage to allied forces would also be devastating. Rather than obtaining such an ambiguous victory, it was better not to fight in the first place.
The old man spoke cautiously.
“If so…”
“Do you have a good idea?”
“How about trying to receive help from Mad Blood’s side?”
Dong Gak’s eyes deepened.
“Mad Blood will not do either. No, rather, it is much more dangerous than receiving help from Imperial Secret Service.”
“That is right, as expected.”
Mad Blood Cult.
It was difficult to discuss superiority among the forces of the Three Cults. If strength didn’t only mean martial prowess, the strength of the Three Cults was clearly equal, and each had distinct special characteristics.
Among them, the Mad Blood Cult could be said to be the most violent and rough group of the Three Cults. In a sense, it could also be said to be the sect that most thickly inherited the blood of the Blood God, who was defeated by the Martial God of the Central Plains 300 years ago.
“Mad Blood is a den of beasts. Our Divine Fire and Evil Lust became human holding the nature of demons, but not Mad Blood. They are still the demons themselves from 300 years ago.”
“…”
“Even in the worst of the worst situations, the group that must be pondered over until the end is Mad Blood. Of course, this is just my thought.”
The old man nodded.
“Since you said we still have time, we will try approaching it a little more slowly. Even if it takes time, we will investigate as cautiously as possible.”
“Yes, that is better.”
The old man folded the letter.
“After transcribing it, I will send it to the next stronghold.”
“Do that.”
The old man took out a fine brush and wrote down the letter in an instant.
Surprisingly, even the handwriting was exactly the same without an inch of error. It was an intelligence agent’s brushwork that blocked the author’s information remaining in the handwriting.
The old man whistled.
Ppi-ik!
The old man’s whistle sound was extremely peculiar. It was so quiet that one would miss it if they did not listen closely, but if one listened carefully, it was a strangely sharp sound.
Flap flap.
A moment later, a pitch-black crow sat by the window.
The crow had a bronze-colored beak and red eyes. Even at a glance, it was not an ordinary crow.
When the old man tied the letter to the crow’s leg, the crow flew up vigorously.
Flap flap! Saaak!
At that moment, Dong Gak’s eyes flashed.
Clatter!
At the same time the crow flew up, Dong Gak, who opened the door and dashed out, looked around his surroundings.
The old man looked at him as if wondering.
“What is the matter, Group Leader?”
“…”
“Group Leader?”
“…Hmm, it is nothing.”
Dong Gak frowned.
“It seems it was just the sound of the wind.”
He heard a somewhat heterogeneous sound. He rushed out right away just in case, but he couldn’t feel any presence.
“It seems I was sensitive.”
His senses were as sharp as a beast’s. He could notice the stealth of a decent assassin from five zhang away.
There was no way someone was there.
Dong Gak closed the door and entered the thatched cottage.
“I will be guarding this place, so you go and find out about Yeon Ho-jeong in detail.”
“Understood.”
* * *
“The tea tastes good.”
“Hehe, right?”
Zhuge Wen-hu spoke with a pleasant face.
“I have drank countless teas, but as expected, the tea my daughter brews is the most delicious.”
“Hmph, then stop by my residence often. I want to brew you a cup of tea, but it is hard to see you.”
“Hoho, what can I do when work is busy? You too haven’t been able to sleep well because of the formation training for the Evil-Annihilating Army, haven’t you?”
Zhuge Ah-yeon smiled.
“Fortunately, it was all finished as of yesterday. Now they move organically on their own even without me setting the positions or timing for them.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
Zhuge Wen-hu was surprised.
“Didn’t you clearly say before that you would teach a part of the formations that disassembled the main family’s Heavenly Gate Forbidden Formation, Four Phases Wind and Clouds, and Great Luo Nine Palaces?”
“That is right.”
“Each of those formations is a famous formation that is difficult to use in actual combat even if one trains for three years. To unfold them freely, one needs more than five years of training. No matter how easily you simplified and taught them, are you saying they already move on their own without a Formation Master?”
Zhuge Ah-yeon shrugged.
“Perhaps because they are people who learned from prestigious families, their comprehension is good. Furthermore, since they are skilled in fighting like one body, looking at the time it takes to learn, they are several times faster than the martial scholars of our main family.”
“Heo!”
“Besides, it is not the complete formation but a part. Anyway, it would take too long to learn it properly, and we couldn’t do that since it is our main family’s secret art. Just this much is enough.”
“If you say so much, make sure to call this father too when you demonstrate it later. I want to see it once.”
“That’s good.”
Seeing his daughter’s confident smile, Zhuge Wen-hu also looked forward to it greatly. Because he knew well how much of a perfectionist his daughter was in these matters.
The father and daughter continued their harmonious conversation like that for a long while after a long time.
“Strategist.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon was startled. It was because it was a familiar voice.
Zhuge Wen-hu spoke calmly.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Yeon Ho-jeong entered.
Zhuge Ah-yeon-yeon blinked her eyes.
“What are you doing here at this hour?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled at her once and spoke to Zhuge Wen-hu.
“I found them all.”
Zhuge Wen-hu’s eyes shone.
“Is it Divine Fire?”
“That is correct.”
“How many places?”
“A total of four places.”
“There are quite a lot.”
“It means they are paying that much attention.”
“You weren’t discovered, right?”
“On the way back, I checked three times each in reverse order. They didn’t notice.”
“Truly amazing.”
Zhuge Wen-hu took out a document from his desk and handed it to Yeon Ho-jeong.
“These are the people I selected in my own way. Because the matter is what it is, I couldn’t help but make the majority people from our main family.”
“It does not matter as long as they have the ability.”
Yeon Ho-jeong skimmed the document, and Zhuge Wen-hu fell deep in thought with his fingers interlocked.
In the middle, Zhuge Ah-yeon blinked her eyes.
“What in the world kind of conversation is this?”
“Hmm?”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was skimming the list, looked at Zhuge Wen-hu and spoke.
“Strategist. One person is missing.”
“Who are you talking about?”
Yeon Ho-jeong pointed at Zhuge Ah-yeon.
“Her.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon-yeon frowned.
“I’m asking what the situation is!”
Zhuge Wen-hu smacked his lips.
“Ah-yeon is your subordinate anyway, isn’t she? Since you will roll her well on your own, I didn’t bother putting her on the list.”
“I see. I understand.”
“…Ahem, please do not roll her too harshly.”
“She wouldn’t die. Her abilities are outstanding.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon finally let out a shout.
“I’m asking what you guys are talking about!!”
“You, you’ll have to set up some watchtowers with me.”
“…Eh? Watchtowers? What watchtowers? But why should I set up watchtowers?”
“Be quiet, brat.”
Yeon Ho-jeong grabbed the nape of Zhuge Ah-yeon’s neck and lifted her up just like that.
At the overly absurd act, Zhuge Ah-yeon just blinked her eyes. Her two feet floating in the air looked strangely pitiful.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and said.
“Then, please take care.”
Zhuge Wen-hu coughed dryly and waved his hand.
“Always be careful.”
Zhuge Ah-yeon shouted furiously.
“What kind of act is this!!”