Chapter 212 Secret Mission (1)

Scrape scrape.

The hull of the boat scraped against the shore as it moved up.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The anchors attached to the left, right, and rear of the boat were lowered, but the boat still shook due to the rough current.

However, they succeeded in crossing the river in less than half an hour.

Seop Chun, Ja Geum-jeong, and Mong Mu-yak, who had woken up by the time they arrived, seemed to be in a dazed state, with blank expressions on their faces.

They couldn’t even properly recognize when they had fallen asleep and woken up.

They only had the feeling that they had taken a short nap.

‘Hmm.’

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been looking at them strangely, approached the resentful soul Ha-yoon standing in front of the rudder and greeted him with a polite bow.

“Thanks to you, we were able to cross the river safely. Thank you.”

“I only kept the agreement, so there’s no need to thank me too much.”

“An agreement is an agreement, and gratitude is gratitude.”

“I understand. Then be careful as you disembark.”

“Ah! Before you go, may I ask you one more thing?”

“…What is it?”

“By any chance, did you see an old man carrying a bamboo fishing rod? No, do you know him?”

At these words, the resentful soul Ha-yoon momentarily hesitated.

But he soon shook his head and replied,

“I don’t know.”

“Do you really not know?”

“…That’s right.”

At the resentful soul Ha-yoon’s answer, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and lightly bowed again, then turned to leave.

Watching Mok Gyeong-un’s back, the resentful soul Ha-yoon recalled what had happened earlier.

[If he asks about me, tell him you don’t know anything.]

There was a request from the elder, so he hid it, but that cunning young man seemed to have noticed.

At least the fact that the elder and himself had a connection.

However, unless the elder wanted it, it was better not to know his identity.

‘…If he truly possesses talent exceeding his, as the elder’s discernment suggests, surely the connection will be made again someday.’

***

Around the beginning of the evening hour.

In front of an abandoned temple of Guan Yu on the east side of Mount Giju in Annak County of Henan Province.

There, sitting around a bonfire, were three men eating roasted deer meat.

Among the three men who appeared to be in their mid-twenties, one man stood out in particular. His face was white as if he had applied powder, and his lips were red as if he had applied rouge.

He was even eating the meat by daintily tearing it off instead of biting into it in one mouthful.

Seeing him like this, a man with droopy eyes and a blue headband around his forehead clicked his tongue and said,

“Yoo-bong, you’ve completely become a eunuch.”

“Hohoho. I’ve been living as a eunuch for nearly two years now, so it’s only natural to say that.”

“Putting other things aside, can’t you do something about that laughter?”

“How can I change what’s already ingrained in my mouth? Please bear with me a little, Master Gan-yang. Hohoho.”

“Haa.”

The grating laughter was so annoying that the man with a blue headband around his head, called Gan-yang, let out a sigh.

Across from him, a man with a beard, who was tearing off and eating the meat, stopped and called out in an irritated voice,

“Gan-yang.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve waited long enough, so how about we start heading back?”

“Head back, you say?”

“That’s right. Anyway, the rear unit won’t be arriving today.”

“But Ok-gi…”

The man called Ok-gi interrupted Gan-yang, who was about to say something, with a raised voice.

“It’s not just one day, but it has been raining for nearly half a month. Rivers are overflowing everywhere, and there have even been landslides. How can they possibly meet the deadline?”

As he said, the damage caused by the rain that had continued for half a month was indescribable.

Especially around the rivers, they had heard that it was impossible to even launch boats.

Considering this, Ok-gi judged that even if they were masters, it was impossible for them to gather at the rendezvous point by the deadline.

“Hmm.”

Gan-yang stroked his chin with a troubled expression.

The Imperial Guard Martial Examination was three days away.

They had to arrive in the imperial capital, Kaifeng, within two days before that and fully brief them on the true purpose of the secret mission and the necessary requirements.

Moreover, this wasn’t the end. There was also someone they had to meet before taking the martial examination.

“It would be difficult with just us.”

“It’s not about being difficult. We’re already late. Even if they arrive tomorrow, at that point, it’s no different from the mission being disrupted.”

“…”

“Didn’t we already consider the situation where the advance team wouldn’t arrive on time? Let’s just head back.”

At Ok-gi’s words, Gan-yang sighed.

No matter how he thought about it, it was unreasonable.

Due to the heavy rain, the rivers had overflowed, and they probably couldn’t even cross for several days.

In fact, the probability of them reaching this place in three days, let alone tomorrow, was slim.

“Phew. Alright. You’re right. Let’s withdraw now.”

At Gan-yang’s decision, Ok-gi finally showed a satisfied expression.

From the beginning, he hadn’t been too keen on the rear unit coming.

The ministry had said they would dispatch capable recruits as requested by ‘that place,’ but they were nothing more than rookies who lacked real combat experience or even assassination experience.

On the other hand, they had been trained for this day.

They were waiting for the day they could make a significant contribution and return to the society in glory.

But to carry out the mission with those rookies as the main force?

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t accept it.

‘I’ll show them that we can do it well enough without those bastards.’

With that thought, Ok-gi removed the remaining deer meat from the wooden stand and was about to extinguish the bonfire.

Right then,

Rustle!

The presence of someone was felt from the bushes to the southwest.

At this, everyone, including him, hurriedly reached for their weapons and turned their heads.

Then someone emerged from the bushes, revealing their appearance.

“Ah. It seems we arrived on time.”

‘!?’

Seeing the face illuminated by the bonfire, Ok-gi couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly.

That was because he was momentarily surprised by the beautiful face that seemed like a woman’s.

Then, three more people appeared behind him.

The one who particularly stood out was a man with a muscular and sturdy physique, though not very tall, wearing a broken rosary around his neck and having a fierce impression.

On either side of him were a man in his late twenties who appeared to be holding a somewhat light sword, and a youth with a tall and handsome appearance but giving off a cold feeling.

‘Could it be?’

At their appearance, Ok-gi’s expression stiffened.

Could these people be the rear unit?

‘No way.’

No matter how much they hurried, it was difficult for the rear unit to meet the deadline.

In the first place, they couldn’t even cross the river, so how could they arrive today?

At that moment of bewilderment, the leader of the advance team, Gan-yang, said to them,

“Heavenly Mandate.”

This was a pre-arranged code phrase.

At Gan-yang’s words, Mong Mu-yak stepped forward and replied,

“Earthly Fate.”

At those words, Gan-yang’s expression brightened.

That was because the rear unit, which he thought wouldn’t arrive on time, had arrived at the point when they were about to withdraw.

Clap!

Gan-yang clasped his hands together in a polite bow and was about to greet them.

“Welcome. The leader of the advance team, Gan…”

Then Ok-gi interrupted.

“It’s not certain yet if they are the rear unit or not.”

“What are you talking about? How can those who know this location and the code phrase…”

“What if something goes wrong because of that? We need to be sure of everything!”

Gan-yang couldn’t hide his embarrassment at Ok-gi’s firm attitude.

He had been filled with dissatisfaction ever since receiving the notification from the society about the rear unit.

“Listen, Ok-gi…”

“The society informed us of three people. But they are four. Moreover, they even met the deadline that was impossible to meet. Doesn’t this seem strange at all?”

‘He has a point.’

At those words, a hint of wariness appeared on Gan-yang’s expression.

It was indeed strange to dismiss it as just dissatisfaction with the rear unit.

Shing!

Then Ok-gi drew his sword, aimed it at the rear unit, and said,

“We were told by the society that the rear unit consists of three people. What is your identity?”

Mong Mu-yak, who became upset by his attitude of interrogating while even pointing a sword at them, stepped forward.

“Who are you suspecting now?”

“If you’ve done something suspicious, you should explain it. Are you arguing about it now?”

In a normal situation, even if the other party acted sharply, he would have first clarified the circumstances.

However, like all members of the rear unit, Mong Mu-yak was currently in a very sensitive state.

In order to meet the deadline, they had arrived here after enduring heavy rain for nearly ten days without even getting proper rest.

But being confronted with such a tone, he couldn’t help but feel irritated.

“Argue? Who…”

“Ah. Please calm down.”

Mok Gyeong-un stopped him.

“But My Lord…”

‘My Lord?’

At the word ‘My Lord,’ Ok-gi and the entire advance team frowned.

Of course, without minding this, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“The three of us came as the rear unit, and this person is my servant.”

‘What? Servant?’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong made a dumbfounded expression.

He had intended to watch and see how to handle the situation if a problem arose, but he never thought he would be introduced in such a way.

Ok-gi, who couldn’t hide his displeasure, looked at Ja Geum-jeong and snorted.

“You brought a servant on a secret mission? Do you expect us to believe that now?”

“He’s not someone I brought from the society, but a servant I acquired along the way.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s nonchalant reply, Ok-gi’s expression hardened fiercely.

He had asked for an explanation, but Mok Gyeong-un was only spouting nonsense.

Even Gan-yang, the leader of the advance team, found this unacceptable and half-drew the sword at his waist.

“Does this situation seem like a joke to you? Do you think we’ll just let it slide if you say you brought an unknown servant on an important secret mission given by the society?”

“Is it because of this person’s identity?”

“No, that’s not the point…”

“Have you heard of Ja Geum-jeong, by any chance?”

“Whether it’s Ja Geum-jeong or whoever… What?”

Gan-yang’s expression, which had been about to raise his voice thinking the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, suddenly stiffened.

For a moment, he doubted his ears.

The Ja Geum-jeong he knew was an exiled monk of Shaolin and was more notorious as one of the Three Madmen in the martial arts world than by his nickname, the Demon Subduing Fist Master.

‘Impossible!’

There was no way.

How could the crazy exiled monk that even Shaolin had expelled become this person’s servant?

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

However,

‘…’

Gan-yang’s gaze turned towards Ja Geum-jeong.

From the moment he first saw him, he thought he had seen that appearance somewhere before.

The broken rosary, sturdy physique, and fierce impression were all exactly as he had heard in the rumors.

Although the situation didn’t make sense, the thought that it might be true left Gan-yang at a loss for words.

But Ok-gi was different.

“Ha! Do you think we’ll believe such nonsense? Even if Shaolin expelled him, do you think the Ja Geum-jeong, notorious as one of the Three Madmen, would become a servant to a greenhorn who hasn’t even reached his prime? If you have common sense, such words…”

Grab!

“Urk!”

Before he could even finish speaking, someone grabbed Ok-gi’s neck like lightning and lifted him up.

It was none other than the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong.

‘Th-this bastard…’

Ok-gi, who thought he had let his guard down for a moment, tried to use the sword he was holding to slash Ja Geum-jeong’s arm.

But before he could do that, Ja Geum-jeong twisted his wrist.

Crack!

“Kuuk!”

Clang!

As a result, he dropped the sword.

Regardless, Ja Geum-jeong, with veins bulging on his forehead, panted and said,

“Whether someone becomes a servant or a slave, who the hell are you to run your mouth? Should I break your neck right here and send you to Buha’s side?”

“Urk urk…”

Ok-gi’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit.

‘I-It’s really Ja Geum-jeong?’

Ok-gi’s martial arts had reached the pinnacle of perfection.

He prided himself on being ranked relatively high among his peers in the righteous faction.

However, if someone possessed the strength to grab his neck with one hand, lift him up, and render him immobile, it had to be Ja Geum-jeong.

In the midst of this, Mok Gyeong-un said to Gan-yang, the leader of the advance team, with a smile,

“If the number of people has to be exact, why don’t we reduce it by one person on this occasion?”

‘!!!!!!’

Hearing those words, Ok-gi’s face instantly turned pale.