Chapter 138: Chapter 138
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Exiting the Alliance Leader’s office, Jang Geon strode straight out of the Alliance Leader’s Office. Along the way out, servants and martial artists working within the Alliance Leader’s Office could be seen here and there. Not taking their eyes off the unfamiliar Jang Geon until he exited the Alliance Leader’s Office, every single one of them watched him. Setting aside how the Alliance Leader’s faction was structured, the alliance members right here inside the Alliance Leader’s Office appeared exceedingly close-knit.
Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng followed behind Jang Geon as he walked with long strides, unable to utter a single word. Both seemed thoroughly flustered by Jang Geon openly displaying hostility toward the Alliance Leader.
Just before they passed through the main gate of the Alliance Leader’s Office, someone called out after Jang Geon and ran out.
“Hey! Hey, Jang Geon!”
Stopping his steps and turning around, he saw Je Un-seong, who had guided them to the Alliance Leader’s Office.
“Wait, what is this situation? Why are you just leaving? What on earth did you discuss with the Alliance Leader?”
Without saying much, Jang Geon pulled out the Righteous Dragon Medallion given by the Alliance Leader and showed it. Seeing that, Je Un-seong was struck dumb, unable to continue his words.
“See you later.”
“…Y-yeah, see you.”
Je Un-seong was truly so astonished that he simply saw off the departing Jang Geon without even asking how he had received the Righteous Dragon Medallion. He stood there silently watching Jang Geon and the remaining two exit the Alliance Leader’s Office.
Even after exiting the main gate of the Alliance Leader’s Office, Jang Geon walked with long strides for quite some time. Exchanging glances at the sight of Jang Geon merely walking in utter silence, Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng cautiously spoke to him.
“Um, Brother Jang? Where are we going now? Heading back to the Reception Hall?”
“Since you have the Righteous Dragon Medallion, there won’t be an issue entering anywhere… but still, there may be those who block the way on the grounds that you aren’t an alliance member. Regardless of where you plan to begin the investigation…”
Jang Geon’s steps came to a dead stop. When his steps halted, the two following him also froze in their tracks and shut their mouths.
And having stopped his steps, Jang Geon raised his head to gaze at the western sky. Illuminated by the bright afternoon sun against the clouds drifting from the ocean, it shone white. It was such a clear sky that it was dazzling.
Jang Geon had certainly told the Great Warrior of the Tribal Alliance and Flowing Bone that he would do his best. But that literally meant doing enough to make the Murim Alliance clearly recognize the Tribal Alliance’s problem. It did not mean he would drag out the Demonic Palace’s dark machinations deeply burrowed into the Murim Alliance, or solve the situation by smashing through the internal political climate of the Murim Alliance.
He was merely a swordsman, a wanderer roaming the wilderness to replicate a faint shadow. Although he would occasionally step forward to aid the wronged, in most cases, he simply roamed the vast plains. The deaths of hundreds of people and their vengeance was too heavy a burden for a single person to bear.
Gazing at the sky, Jang Geon narrowed his eyes against the stinging sunlight. The sun was particularly intense today. It felt as if it intended to pierce even the clouds and shadows to illuminate every corner of the world. Jang Geon thought that the light seemed to shine into his chest as well.
Closing his squinted eyes and bathing his whole face in the sunlight, Jang Geon muttered.
“…I’ll just do as much as I can.”
“Huh? What did you say? Do what?”
Hearing his muttering, Yang Goeng asked back what he meant. But Jang Geon lowered his head, looked toward Jeok Se-in, and brought up another topic.
“The poison sand I gave you last time. What happened to it?”
“…Are you just ignoring what I say now? That’s really too much.”
Seeing him brush off Yang Goeng’s words, Jeok Se-in hesitated slightly, then slowly opened her mouth at Jang Geon’s gaze urging an answer.
“Well… I left it with the Medical Hall. But since I’ve been quite busy these past four days…”
“Then let us go to the Medical Hall. And you.”
Yang Goeng, who had been grumbling about being ignored, was startled and put on a terrified expression when Jang Geon actually pointed a finger at him.
“Ah, well, that. You can ignore me, of course. Answering all useless talk only eats up time…”
“You said many Dark Dragon Squad members are lying low in the Murim Alliance right now. Then who oversees that? Dark Dragon No. 3?”
“Uh, that man is half the Dark Dragon Squad Leader, so for a big operation like this, naturally…”
“Can you contact him?”
Yang Goeng fluttered his lips and stole a glance at Jeok Se-in. Jeok Se-in, who had been wearing a grave expression regarding the reality of the Dark Dragon Squad, spoke in a low voice.
“…I will let it slide just this once. Once this matter is over, I will scour every inch to find you, so I pray that you all leave the Murim Alliance before then.”
“Heh, hehe. Thank you, Patrol Member Jeok. In any case, it wasn’t some grand operation, just general information gathering…”
At Yang Goeng’s words, Jeok Se-in shook her head and Jang Geon took a step closer to him. Startled, Yang Goeng hurriedly continued.
“Contacting him isn’t hard in itself! It’s just that I can’t know whether he’ll order an operational retreat or appear in person upon receiving the contact!”
“Tell him I’m calling in the debt from last time. Besides, isn’t uncovering the strings of the Demonic Palace originally the Dark Dragon Squad’s job?”
“…That is true. Then should I send the contact?”
“You know where the Medical Hall is, right?”
Yang Goeng stole another glance at Jeok Se-in and nodded his head.
“Then send the contact and come straight there.”
“…Can’t I just leave like this? It’s not like my worthless martial arts are strictly necessary…”
At the instruction to come to the Medical Hall, Yang Goeng tried to weasel out, but soon, as Jang Geon stared steadily at him, he grinned and bowed slightly.
“Ah, of course I should go. Naturally, I must help Brother Jang. How much have I benefited from Brother Jang? Don’t worry. I’ll sprint over like an arrow and return.”
He babbled to himself like that, then turned around and scurried away, disappearing beyond the Murim Alliance pavilions and walls. Watching him recede, Jeok Se-in tilted her head slightly and spoke.
“While it’s good for me to keep a Dark Dragon Squad member I need to arrest close by, is there still a reason you insist on dragging him along?”
“The reason that fellow jumped in at first was because he thought there was some information to extract. Then, seeing it might be dangerous, he tried to pull out. Isn’t being so slick and opportunistic utterly obnoxious?”
“…Are you saying you’re dragging him along simply because you find it grating?”
Jang Geon’s gaze turned toward Jeok Se-in. He was grinning playfully.
“Of course, he is an informant in name, so he might prove useful from time to time. Contacting the Dark Dragon Squad just now was only possible because of him too. In any case, having him is better than not. Now, let’s get moving.”
Jeok Se-in shrugged her shoulders at Jang Geon’s words and began taking the lead. Afterward, the two who left the Alliance Leader’s Office once again passed by the pavilions, pagodas, high and low walls, and busy alliance members of the Murim Alliance, finally arriving before a building bearing a plaque that read ‘Medical Hall (醫藥堂)’. Without even needing to pull out the Righteous Dragon Medallion, Jang Geon was able to enter by presenting Jeok Se-in’s face. It seemed they did not particularly screen people since it was a place where sick patients and physicians came and went.
Stepping inside, beds were lined up in two rows across a spacious area, with three or four people lying on them passing the time. There seemed to be no critical patients.
“This is the space for patients. The physicians’ space is prepared separately over there. Let us go.”
After a brief explanation, Jeok Se-in traversed the ward-like space and opened the door on the opposite side. Beyond that door could be seen large medicine drawers, desks, and physicians sitting at those desks reading medical texts, compounding medicine, or organizing medicinal ingredients.
At the sound of the door opening abruptly, one of those physicians stood up.
“Oh, Patrol Member Jeok. I thought it would take much longer for you to come since you were busy. Who is that beside you?”
The man reading a medical text with a small magnifying glass appeared to be in his thirties or forties. With an easygoing smile hanging on his lips, he seemed quite relaxed.
“Free time opened up sooner than expected. This is Jang Geon. Uh, he is accompanying me as we are currently investigating something together.”
“Is that so? Pleased to meet you, Martial Artist Jang. Just call me Physician Yeom.”
As Jang Geon lightly bowed in greeting, Jeok Se-in stepped forward.
“More importantly, what happened to the poison sand I entrusted to you? Did anything come up?”
“Oh, that? That was truly an exquisite poison. The toxicity itself wasn’t exceedingly lethal, but if a commoner incapable of circulating internal energy inhaled it, it was a poison that could prove fatal to the elderly or weak. Above all, what impressed me was that the raw materials used in its creation were very commonly available medicinal herbs. Although I couldn’t discern the compounding ratio, if this could be mass-produced…”
Looking at Physician Yeom smacking his lips with crossed arms, Jeok Se-in showed a slightly repulsed expression and spoke.
“Stop such horrifying talk. Wasn’t there anything peculiar?”
“Haha. Horrifying talk, you say. In truth, it’s an impossibility. Even if other medicinal herbs are easy to obtain, the most crucial solvent is far too expensive an item.”
“An expensive item?”
Physician Yeom nodded, then suddenly walked over to a nearby medicinal drawer, rummaged through it, and brought over a small wooden box. Opening the wooden box and peeling back the cloth wrapped inside revealed a root that looked like a small ginseng.
“It’s called Harmonizing Heat Ginseng (齊熱蔘), a type of ginseng that can only be obtained here in the New World. If brewed well into medicine, it becomes a fine restorative tonic for both adults and children alike. And depending on the brewing method, it is a medicinal ingredient especially beneficial to martial artists. Do you see why it’s expensive? It is originally a rare ginseng, and whenever it appears on the market, martial artists hastily buy it up, making supply difficult to secure.”
Listening to Physician Yeom’s explanation, both Jang Geon and Jeok Se-in folded their arms and glared at the Harmonizing Heat Ginseng. Was analyzing the poison components to find clues too vague an idea? Jang Geon’s mind grew tangled, having thought that capturing the assassin who targeted Namgoong Cheon back then would allow him to pull out the rest in sequence.
“…First, thank you for informing us of the details, Physician Yeom. I was worried we made an absurd request when you were busy.”
“Busy with what? Tending to fellows whose mouths got crooked from circulating mental cultivation methods, it was rather entertaining handling such an item after a long time thanks to you.”
Just as she was expressing gratitude to Physician Yeom, a bit of commotion was heard from the entrance of the Medical Hall.
“Aah, I told you I was told to come here!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? You have no identification plaque, nor any documents. Knowing who you are, how could I let you in?”
“Aah, damn it, do you think I wanted to come?!”
“Wh-what? Did you just curse? Did you just curse at me?!”
Jeok Se-in hurriedly turned her eyes toward Jang Geon. As Jang Geon happened to look at her as well, the two made eye contact.
“He came fast.”
“…Which means that contact point was also inside the Murim Alliance. Once this matter is over, I truly must overturn and scour the inside of the Alliance clean.”
Jang Geon shrugged his shoulders with a grin, as if telling her to do as she pleased. Slightly irritated, Jeok Se-in kept her mouth shut, greeted Physician Yeom, and turned around. Walking back through the beds they had passed toward the entrance of the Medical Hall, there was Yang Goeng scuffling with a guard in front of it.
“Hey, you fucker! Did you just push me?!”
“Where do you think you are, causing a ruckus, you punk?”
Yang Goeng, who was about to flare up at the overbearing guard, instantly subsided upon seeing Jeok Se-in and Jang Geon appearing behind him.
“Uh, uh, you’re here? I truly came right after sending the contact…”
Jeok Se-in and Jang Geon calmed down the agitated guard and stepped out of the Medical Hall. Even as they cleared the Medical Hall’s wall, Yang Goeng and the guard glared at each other. Jang Geon lightly smacked the back of Yang Goeng’s head and asked.
“So, how long will it take for someone from the Dark Dragon Squad to arrive?”
“…How would I know that? How could I know what judgment that man will make? Still, if word comes quickly, it will be within today. In what manner, I don’t know. For now, waiting a short while should do. More importantly, did you find out anything from that Medical Hall?”
“We only found out about something called Harmonizing Heat Ginseng.”
Jang Geon told him without much thought, but oddly enough, Yang Goeng brightened up.
“Oh, Harmonizing Heat Ginseng! That’s good stuff. If brewed and consumed properly, doesn’t the body grow warm and toasty? Among the old fogies of the Council of Elders, isn’t there someone who demands it as a gift every month, as if knowing its worth…”
At Yang Goeng blabbing on his own, Jeok Se-in’s mouth dropped wide open. She turned her head, met Jang Geon’s eyes, and spoke stammeringly.
“Th-that’s probably… a coincidence, right?”
Jang Geon curved the corners of his mouth and spoke.
“At any rate, this is a situation where we must grab and pull at any clue. And Physician Yeom just said that it’s a poison that cannot be made without Harmonizing Heat Ginseng. It seems reason enough to investigate.”
Staring at him for a moment, Jeok Se-in nodded her head.
“…You’re right. We’re already riding the tiger’s back. We must tear through something to find another path.”
It sounded like words mindful of the fact that the Council of Elders would soon try to apprehend her now that she had stepped outside the Alliance Leader’s Office. Only Yang Goeng, who had just arrived and hadn’t heard the explanation, rolled his eyes uneasily at the two’s conversation.
Jang Geon asked Yang Goeng.
“Who is that elder demanding Harmonizing Heat Ginseng as a gift?”
“Uh, Elder Bae Yang-o… affiliated with the White Forest Sect…”
“Let’s go.”
“…Where?”
Jang Geon adjusted the Azure Dragon at his waist and spoke.
“To that gentleman.”
Yang Goeng’s face turned dark and murky.