Chapter 352: The Start of the Cleanup (2)
“I heard Gyu Jeok and Yo-roe died.”
“That is correct.”
The young man sitting in an arrogant posture frowned.
His languid face changed to an annoyed expression for the first time in a while.
“Who is it?”
“We have not figured it out exactly yet. However, the probability of it being the Orthodox Path is low.”
“Didn’t they all die in Henan? The Murim Alliance is in Henan. Then aren’t they from the Murim Alliance?”
“I also thought so at first.”
“What is the reason you think it’s not?”
“The Murim Alliance, no, the Orthodox Path never moves like this. That is, unless you have had your existence discovered.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides that, they said the marks left on the corpses were not from Orthodox Path martial arts. I am a layman when it comes to martial arts, but the informants I employ are all first-rate. If they say so, it is so.”
The young man let out a small laugh.
“What great informants you have.”
“…”
“Did you say it was the Beggars’ Gang? The greatest intelligence organization of the Orthodox Path?”
“That is correct.”
“Those informants you employ, they haven’t been caught by those Beggars’ Gang bastards, have they?”
“They would move if they wanted to wage war against the government.”
“Hmph!”
“Believe it. I hate you guys, but what I hate even more is uncertainty. I am trying to figure out their identities.”
“Yaaawn!”
The young man, who had yawned broadly, smacked his lips and said,
“Well, this turned out damn annoying. Anyway, those retarded things, to be taken down so futilely by the idiots of the Central Plains. This is why those who try to fill their talent with age don’t work out.”
Sarcasm could be felt in his voice.
Listening to that voice, Yeo Sang-do thought. These bastards were not normal.
No matter how bad their relationship was, weren’t they on the same side? If they had joined hands for a single purpose, it would be normal to be angry at a comrade’s death.And yet, there was none of that. There was not even a minimum of mourning for a comrade-in-arms.
“So? When will you be able to figure out their identities?”
“I cannot guarantee how long it will take. However, we have secured the suspects’ location.”
The young man’s eyes instantly sparkled.
“Location?”
“That is correct.”
“Interesting. Are you saying they are openly moving around even after touching our people?”
“That is why I judged them not to be Murim Alliance personnel. Because the Murim Alliance would absolutely not do that.”
“That’s just your thought. You have to leave the possibility open.”
“That’s a correct statement.”
“Enough of that, where are they?”
“They are near Xuchang.”
“Xuchang… Xuchang.”
The young man stroked his chin. The smoothly revealed jawline without a single hair was extremely sharp.
“How many?”
“Two, or three.”
“You don’t know in detail.”
“They are peak masters capable of killing Yo-roe and Gyu Jeok. It’s not easy to approach them.”
“Change the bastards you employ. Since the great Provincial Military Commander employs small fries, his eyes and ears are blocked.”
It was an absurd statement.
Besides, even though he said that, the young man’s eyes were burning with anticipation.
“Two, or three…”
Yeo Sang-do, who had been quietly looking at the young man, asked as if throwing it out.
“Are you thinking of going?”
“Well? Unfortunately, I have to keep a grip on this place. Even if I wanted to move, I can’t easily move.”
“I see.”
“By the way…”
Swoosh!
Yeo Sang-do’s eyes instantly shook.
The young man, who had been sitting in a chair quite far away, appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.
‘…!!’
Yeo Sang-do felt an urge to close his eyes for a moment.
The young man’s eyes that had thrust right in front of his nose. The beastly madness emitting from those two eyes was fierce enough to extremely devastate a human’s mental power.
“Old man.”
“…”
“I could let it slide, but you shouldn’t be like that, should you?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You are a Provincial Military Commander in name, but even if Gyu Jeok is one thing, if Yo-roe died, shouldn’t you be mobilizing the government forces on a large scale? An Assistant Provincial Military Commander being killed by someone from the Jianghu, isn’t this a major incident?”
Yeo Sang-do spoke in a forced calm voice.
“You were the ones who told me not to make the matter big.”
“That was when we hadn’t been revealed. If we do it right, we could even create a justification to stir up the Murim Alliance with this incident, but you didn’t do it?”
The young man smiled.
The protruding fangs shone exceptionally white.
“Do you want to become beast food, old man?”
A terrifying killing intent was transmitted.
Yeo Sang-do maintained his composure even in front of it. His heart beat madly at the pouring killing intent, but he stuck to an expressionless face with superhuman mental power.
“Do you want that?”
Rather, he asked back boldly.
The young man, who had been quietly looking at Yeo Sang-do, soon grinned.
“As expected of a Provincial Military Commander. Your caliber is very exceptional. I like people with courage.”
“…”
“But that’s that and this is this. I’ll overlook it this once, but there won’t be a next time. Do you understand?”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Unleash the government soldiers. Unleash them and have them stir up the Murim Alliance first.”
No matter how you looked at it, he wasn’t normal.
He definitely wasn’t normal, but that didn’t mean he was stupid either. Rather, his ability to strategically resolve conflicts between factions was on par with a veteran general.
Yeo Sang-do asked.
“If that happens, the suspects might escape.”
“That’s why you have to release them after catching the bastards.”
“…?!”
The young man returned to his place.
“Whether it’s the Murim Alliance’s doing or those cute bastards from the Black Dragon Manor, or even the sudden action of a passing hidden eccentric, it doesn’t matter. This place has its own rules, right?”
“…”
“If they run wild carelessly, their necks will fly off, we have to let those bastards know that.”
“Will you dispatch a peak master?”
“Of course.”
“Who…”
It was then.
Slap!
Yeo Sang-do’s face sharply turned to the left.
Even though the distance was quite far, he was slapped on the cheek. He couldn’t tell how he was slapped or when he had returned to his original spot.
“Ptooey!”
Blood was mixed in the spit Yeo Sang-do spat out. The inside of his mouth had burst.
The young man spoke with his characteristic languid expression.
“If you ask useless questions often, it gets annoying. I think I told you before?”
“…”
“Enough, just keep a close watch on those bastards. I have to catch them and slice them into jerky.”
“You’ll have to send quite a large force.”
“That is for me to take care of.”
I will take care of it.
At first glance, it was an answer that would make one think he was the supreme commander who infiltrated this place.
But Yeo Sang-do knew. That this young man was not the supreme boss dispatched by the Divine Fire Cult.
That in this Henan Province, there existed a true peak master whom that young man feared. That peak master was the supreme authority dispatched by the Divine Fire Cult to Henan.
“I will tell my subordinates.”
“You can go now.”
Yeo Sang-do silently left the residence.
The young man, who was sitting with his chin propped up with an apathetic face, giggled as soon as Yeo Sang-do left.
“There has to be at least this much fun in a boring daily life. It’s good.”
Yo-roe, and Gyu Jeok.
Those two had stayed in one position for far too long. Unless they had the potential for development to rise higher, they had sat in the positions of the Eighteen Martial Generals for too long a time.
“It turned out well. Only when the stagnant upper water is blown away can the clean lower water push up.”
In fact, there were over five people waiting to become new Eighteen Martial Generals. Perhaps there were ten by now.
And among them, there were bastards who would jump into an oil field carrying fire if it was his order.
“By the way, if it’s not the Murim Alliance, then who could it be? Even if that old man Yeo Sang-do is a sly snake, he wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Currently, Yeo Sang-do was in a situation where his hands and feet were completely tied. He didn’t even have a means to ask for help from the outside.
Of course, a secret intelligence organization did exist. Because they had allowed him that much breathing room, this kind of investigation was also possible.
Even though the intelligence group leaders were under the surveillance of the Divine Fire Cult.
“It’s interesting.”
The young man’s pupils burned with a golden light.
“Whatever the case, since they killed a martial general belonging to the Cult, shall I go take a look at their faces?”
* * *
“It’s boring.”
Tang Kwan let out a long yawn.
They had already spent nights in various places on the hills for ten days. It was because they feared the enemies would become suspicious if they waited in one place.
Yeon Ho-jeong said.
“How about doing some training at least?”
“Do you call it training only when you move your body?”
“Seeing how bored you are, it seems you aren’t doing mental cultivation either?”
“Just because you meditate doesn’t mean it all becomes cultivation.”
“Then are you saying you can train even while staying still?”
“Of course.”
Unexpectedly, Tang Kwan was serious.
“Just stepping on the earth, feeling the wind, and looking up at the sky, you can feel a newness. Martial arts are scattered everywhere in the world.”
It wasn’t something that would easily come out of the mouth of someone whose main focus was poison and hidden weapons.
Yeon Ho-jeong said with a face of surprise.
“Do you know the Martial Principles of Martial Belonging to Nature?”
He asked because it was fascinating, but Tang Kwan, who actually heard those words, was more surprised.
“Do you know Martial Belonging to Nature?”
“I do.”
“Ha!”
Tang Kwan was dumbfounded.
“How do you know a martial principle that can only be encountered after reaching the ultimate of enlightenment?”
Tang Kwan also came to know the martial principle of Martial Belonging to Nature thanks to his father, Tang Hyeong.
And it hadn’t been long since he actually attempted to melt into nature. It was because although he knew it in his head, he wasn’t at a level to actually attempt it.Even so, he was only at the level of probing it little by little now, so how did this disrespectful bastard know that?
“I just picked it up while coming and going.”
“…Hmm.”
Tang Kwan, who had been looking at Yeon Ho-jeong with disapproving eyes, nodded.
“Anyway, if you feel you have been tempered to some extent, try turning your eyes to nature. In the process of seeing, feeling, realizing, and experiencing, martial arts can grow one more step.”
Yeon Ho-jeong grinned.
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Well, even if you know it, if you can’t properly feel it, it will be of no use.”
Tang Kwan, who had been grumbling, asked in a sharp voice as if he wanted to change the mood.
“So, where do we move to next?”
“We don’t need to move anymore.”
“Hm?”
Yeon Ho-jeong lightly kicked the ground with his foot.
“Right here, we will fight here.”
Tang Kwan looked around with sharp eyes.
“…It’s quite a decent terrain.”
It was a terrain that wasn’t bad for welcoming approaching enemies. The mountain shape was gentle, but the entrance leading in was small, and there was a huge cliff in the rear.It was a terrain that simultaneously held disadvantages and advantages. It would be advantageous to fight at the entrance, and if they were pushed back to the cliff, there was nowhere to avoid.
“Allies will also come to help. Please do not worry too much.”
“I am not worried. By the way, allies you say?”
Tang Kwan glanced at the top of the cliff.
“Are you talking about that little girl?”
Muk Bi was already sitting on a rock jutting out like a railing on the cliff, disguised in bushes. It was a perfect place for sniping.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“There is such a thing.”
Tang Kwan turned his head away as if displeased. He wasn’t a guy who would tell him anyway even if he asked.
Like that, time passed.
After the night passed and the morning sun rose, and when that sun had somehow passed mid-sky and was heading towards the west.
Flap flap flap flap!
A black bird flew towards Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had received the carrier eagle and checked the letter, shouted.
“They are coming! They will arrive here between one shichen and one and a half shichen!”
“The troops?”
“The number is one hundred, and there are at least three or more at the martial general level.”
“Hoo.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shouted toward Muk Bi.
“Do not attack until a chaotic melee breaks out!”
There was no answer back. However, Yeon Ho-jeong was certain that Muk Bi had heard his words.
Vooom.
Yeon Ho-jeong lifted the Crazy Dragon Axe.
“Shall we slowly preheat?”
“That sounds good.”
Tang Kwan loosened his shoulders.
“I’ll have to do some killing for the first time in a while.”
One shichen later.
Swoosh!
A group spraying a terrifying killing intent approached.