Chapter 375: Mobile Unit Sortie (5)
“Ho-jeong.”
“Have you returned, Father.”
It seemed the meeting had gone on until late. A subtle exhaustion could be seen on the face of Yeon Wi, who had returned past midnight.
Yeon Ho-jeong stood up from his seat.
“You’ve worked hard. Please go in and sleep now.”
“I have something to say before that.”
“Is it about the expedition destination?”
“That’s right.”
Yeon Wi sighed.
A parent’s worry for their child is not bound by experience. Even if one has won ten battles, the heart that worries for a child going out to fight the eleventh battle is no different from the first time.
Yeon Wi was the same. His worry for his son was the same as before.
However, the man who was usually certain in managing his expressions was now full of anxiety.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sparkled.
“Is it the Black Dragon Manor?”
Yeon Wi asked in surprise.
“How did you know that?”
He laid out his conversation with Murong Yu exactly as it was.
Yeon Wi’s face hardened.
“The Demon-Sweeping Army Commander?”
“That’s right.”
For Yeon Wi, who valued rules, Murong Yu’s remarks could not help but be considered as crossing the line somewhat.
But Yeon Wi straightened his mind. Without putting it into words, Yeon Ho-jeong also occasionally gave him advice or suggested solutions to situations. Looking from that domain, Murong Yu’s words and actions of proposing an operation to Murong Jun were not something to be greatly faulted.
It was just that his blood relative was swept up in the matter, so he did not feel good.
As if reading Yeon Wi’s mind, Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and said.
“Commander Murong is an outstanding talent. Needless to say about his martial arts, he also lacks nothing in strategy. However, what overwhelms all those parts is precisely his character.”
“Character, you say.”
“Murong Yu is the most White Path-like person I have seen. Excluding you, Father, of course.”
Yeon Wi gave a bitter smile.
“I trust your discerning eyes.”
“Thank you.”
“The results of the meeting will be formally announced at noon tomorrow. However, there was an opinion among the honored guests that it would be better to inform you, the Grand Commander of the Righteous Justice Army, first before that. So I am telling you first.”
“I will listen carefully.”
Yeon Wi took a deep breath.
“As you said, the expedition destination is related to the Black Path’s Black Dragon Manor. But you are not touching the Black Dragon Manor directly.”
“I thought it would be so. Because if we rashly touch it, a war might break out.”
“Of course, a war will not break out easily. Even if we launch a preemptive strike, most things can be resolved through diplomacy; the cases where real blood is shed are only a very small minority. However, there is nothing bad about being careful.”
“You are right. So, what is the order that will be handed down to us?”
“Before that, do you know a person named Hong Gwan?”
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“It’s a name I’m hearing for the first time, but…”
“Yes. It’s the same for me. Before hearing the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang’s words, I knew nothing about him at all.”
After pausing for a moment, Yeon Wi spoke as if tossing it out.
“The person named Hong Gwan is one of the disciples of the Combat King Yang Cheon.”
“…!”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face hardened.
“Please explain in detail.”
“I want to do so too, but there is nothing I can explain with certainty about him yet. However, according to what the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang investigated, he is a powerhouse counted on one hand among Yang Cheon’s numerous disciples, and he deliberately did not reveal himself to the world and was moving in the dark.”
Yeon Ho-jeong could not hide his doubt.
‘A powerhouse counted on one hand? A disciple of Yang Cheon?’
He was a man who had already lived one life and returned.
In other words, it meant that he knew in his own way about things that would happen in the future from now, or things that the world didn’t know about yet.
But he knew nothing about the person named Hong Gwan. A disciple of the Combat King Yang Cheon? Of course he had fought with his disciples, but the disciples of Yang Cheon that Yeon Ho-jeong knew were only four people.
The number four is by no means a large number. But his father said he was one of’numerous’ disciples.
Yeon Wi nodded his head.
“Yes, if you had known, such a reaction would not have come out.”
“I engaged in a life-or-death battle with Yang Cheon, killed him, and reigned as the Emperor of the Black Path.”
“I know.”
“The information power of the Black Path even overwhelms the White Path in some areas. And in a war, if you kill the enemy’s leader, it is normal to also find the dangerous figures under that leader and eliminate future troubles. I also did so.”
“…”
“But I know Yang Cheon’s disciples to be four. That is by no means a number that can be expressed as many…”
“Then it is one of two things. Either he holed himself up tightly and plotted something even after Yang Cheon’s death, or… he was never a disciple of Yang Cheon in the first place.”
“…!!”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face hardened with shock again.
Yeon Wi continued speaking.
“Actually, we tried to decide the expedition destination of the Righteous Justice Army this time based on the information you seized from the Black Dragon Manor. The illegal businesses carried out by the Black Dragon Manor were shaking the economy of the Jianghu, and sects that were not revealed to the world were secretly sucking the lifeblood of the common people. We tried to set the primary strike location as such a place.”
“I also expected so.”
“But the situation changed. According to the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang, he said that it was extremely lucky that they discovered the person named Hong Gwan itself.”
The information power of the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang of the Number One Sect Under Heaven, the Beggars’ Gang, discusses the peak of the world.
He said that even such a Successor of the Beggars’ Gang was lucky and was able to investigate the person named Hong Gwan by chance. It was a part where one could tell how well the person named Hong Gwan had hidden himself.
“The person named Hong Gwan, what exactly is he doing and where?”
“He is an assassin.”
“…Yes?”
Yeon Wi’s face hardened.
“The person named Hong Gwan is an assassin. But he is not an ordinary assassin. He said that neither I, nor the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang, nor the entire White Path Murim knew that the Emperor of the assassin world was him.”
“…?”
“And surprisingly, his power is said to be so immense that he dominates the underworld of the Jianghu. In other words, he is the master of all assassins under heaven, and it is said that he is exercising mighty power in the shadows.”
“…!”
“It was unbelievable information. It is difficult to trust because only his name and relationship with Yang Cheon are clear, and there is no detailed information other than that. But… the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang seemed to be certain that he was truly reigning as the God of the Murim assassin world.”
Strength entered Yeon Wi’s eyes.
“The problem is what comes next. The Beggars’ Gang is refining all the information gathered from all over the world in real time and sending only what must be known to the Murim Alliance. Just the amount of that filtered information is enough to make one’s jaw drop.”
“I know.”
“Strategist Zhuge said it. That unusual things were happening in the southern part of the Central Plains. Sects that had flown their reputation in their own way lost their power from a certain point and sealed their gates, or sects and martial families that were exterminated by bandits were appearing one after another.”
“Bandits?!”
“That’s right. Of course, it’s not just bandits. Sect versus sect engaged in local wars, and some renowned old Jianghu masters died of disease or fell from cliffs.”
“Such…”
“The problem is that such things are happening too naturally. The Central Plains is wide. And diseases, deaths, and quarrels can happen at any time. Therefore, even the Beggars’ Gang had been keeping an eye on the events happening in the south, but they didn’t think it was particularly strange.”
Zhuge Wen-hu had pointed out what even the Beggars’ Gang didn’t think was strange. He could tell once again how extraordinary his discerning eyes were.
“And the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang… believes that the person named Hong Gwan is related to the natural but clearly visible reduction in the power of the White Path Murim happening in the south.”
“Hong Gwan… then what is the Righteous Justice Army to do?”
“That’s right.”
Yeon Wi sighed.
“Go to the southern part of the Central Plains with the Beggars’ Gang, investigate why that happened, and if there is a clear cause, find out what it is, and then find and eliminate, or arrest, the person named Hong Gwan.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sank coldly.
A mobile unit is literally just a mobile unit. However, the superiors are telling them to investigate the situation and even find the cause, that is, Hong Gwan, and eliminate him.
It is a task that a mobile unit can take on, but it is also a task that far exceeds the capabilities of a mobile unit. That must be why they were told to receive help from the Beggars’ Gang, but it could not be said to be an appropriate mission for the Righteous Justice Army in any way.
“It would be right to send a small elite group instead. The number of the Righteous Justice Army exceeds five hundred. This is not a matter for an army to handle, but a matter for a special operations unit or special agents to handle.”
“Isn’t there a special operations unit within the Righteous Justice Army?”
“…!”
Yeon Wi sighed.
“Yes, the honored guests highly value the capabilities of the Evil-Annihilating Army. But I also think this is not a matter for the Righteous Justice Army to handle.”
“If so, then all the more…”
“Therefore all the more, they hope that the Righteous Justice Army will take on this matter.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face distorted slightly.
“Is it because of reputation?”
“It’s not simply because of that, but I think there is absolutely no lack of such a reason.”
Yeon Wi is the Clan Head of the Green Mountain Yeon Clan and a member of the Six Great Clans. Naturally, his reputation and presence are immense.
The problem is that all the honored guests have presence and authority that do not fall behind Yeon Wi’s. Even if a small number of honored guests step forward and strongly block it, as long as it does not greatly violate morality, they have no choice but to follow the general trend.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Wi, asked.
“I will ask one thing. Did Strategist Zhuge also approve this operation?”
“Unbelievably, he approved it first.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
Yeon Wi sighed.
“So I also couldn’t show strong opposition. It’s not because I have a close relationship with the military strategist. It’s because I think the military strategist must have his own reasons for approving this matter.”
“I see.”
“However, no matter how much I think about it, I cannot understand this operation. Especially, as the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang said, if the person named Hong Gwan is truly an existence that wields powerful authority in the underworld, finding and eliminating him will be no different from plucking a star from the sky.”
“…Hmm.”
Yeon Wi asked implicitly.
“What do you think? Do you think there is a clear reason why the military strategist confidently approved this matter?”
“There must be. Although I don’t know yet.”
“Huu.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded his head.
“Whatever the case may be, if such an order has been handed down, we also must make our own preparations.”
“I have no face to show you. Even though I am a member of the honored guests.”
“No. I am the Grand Commander leading five hundred and fifty soldiers. I am doubtful and troubled, but if it is an order from the superiors, I must obey.”
That’s what an army is like. Even if an unreasonable order is given, moving first, and achieving that order with maximum efficiency is precisely what an army is.
However.
‘It’s dubious.’
A faint shadow fell over Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
‘It’s dubious. Strategist Zhuge and the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang also know my father’s personality. If it was a matter of this level, they could have given him a hint in advance, but it seems my father also only heard it at the meeting hall.’
At that time, Yeon Wi said.
“Is there anything else I can help you with separately?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“There isn’t anything in particular you need to do. However, may I ask you one favor?””Sure, speak comfortably.”
“Please meet Murong Jun.”
“Murong Jun? Now?”
“That’s right.”
“What should I do upon meeting him?”
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke in a monotonous tone.
In an instant, Yeon Wi’s face hardened like frost.
“…Alright, if your thoughts are truly like that, I will do so.”
Half a shichen later.
A person came into the eyes of Murong Jun, who was looking out the window while drinking tea.
Murong Jun, who had been looking at him for a long time, opened his mouth.
“Is anyone outside?”
“Yes, Clan Head.”
“Bring out a liquor table. A precious guest has arrived.”
“Yes.”