Chapter 128: Chapter 128
Wang Woo-pyeong, Branch Head of the Martial Alliance Sichuan Branch.
For a martial artist, he was a man who pursued a rather comfortable and cozy life. Whenever a fight broke out, he would quietly slip away except when he absolutely had to step forward, and he did not struggle to curry favor with higher-ups needlessly.
Historically, if one grabbed the right connection, they would soar into the sky to a dizzying degree, but if one chose wrong, they would fall to the ground and suffer grave injuries.
No, in the first place, there was no connection that rose forever.
That was precisely the philosophy of the man named Wang Woo-pyeong.
At any rate, for such reasons, he had intended to return to the branch as quickly as possible regarding this incident as well, write an exquisite report, and send it to headquarters.
Until he saw Cheol Ji-ak, his peer from entering the alliance.
“Hey, punk! Why are you here?”
“Since when did a branch head speak so casually to a hall master of headquarters?”
Wang Woo-pyeong instantly changed his attitude.
He was originally such a man.
“Aiyo, Hall Master. I forgot for a moment. But just what in the world happened?”
“I just said it for fun. No need for pointless honorifics.”
Cheol Ji-ak was also not one to care much about rank.
Of course, in the current situation, he could not treat Wang Woo-pyeong merely as a peer and friend.
Cheol Ji-ak asked point-blank.
“I hear people have been disappearing in Dujiangyan recently?”
“Uh, yeah. That did happen.”
Wang Woo-pyeong’s expression changed subtly.
Not only Cheol Ji-ak but Cheon Woo-jin also read an ambiguous emotion in his expression. It was true that he was hiding something, but there was no sense of him being particularly flustered or anxious.
Cheol Ji-ak’s words continued.
“We found all of them. They were at the Qingcheng Sect.”
“As expected.”
Wang Woo-pyeong wore an expression that said he knew it. At the same time, his face grew much more relaxed.
“The Qingcheng Sect did that to monopolize the merit, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Reports kept coming in, so I was about to hand it over to headquarters, but Elder Cheong-un came over and said this. He told me not to needlessly increase the Alliance Leader’s worries and leave it to them.”
Cheol Ji-ak’s eyes narrowed.
Seeing this, Wang Woo-pyeong quickly continued.
“Lately, the relationship between the Alliance Leader and the Qingcheng Sect hasn’t been great, right? A case where dozens disappeared is quite large in scale, so I thought the Qingcheng Sect was trying to resolve it and take the credit. To use that as an excuse to grease the wheels of their relationship with the Alliance Leader… isn’t that it?”
“…”
An awkward silence flowed.
At any rate, since turning a blind eye to the case was the branch head’s fault, Wang Woo-pyeong, feeling embarrassed, changed the subject needlessly.
“By the way, what on earth is all this? Why did the Qingcheng Sect end up like this? Don’t tell me the Heavenly Demon Cult made a move?”
Wang Woo-pyeong’s voice trembled slightly. Such was the inherent presence the name Heavenly Demon Cult carried in the current martial world.
However, Wang Woo-pyeong was mistaken.
He thought that some faction had attacked the Qingcheng Sect, and that the Daoists of Qingcheng had been defeated, abandoned the main complex, and fled somewhere.
He never imagined that hundreds of Daoists had been slaughtered on the spot. Not just Wang Woo-pyeong, but anyone would have thought the same.
“The Qingcheng Sect was exterminated.”
“…”
Wang Woo-pyeong looked steadily at Cheol Ji-ak.
Soon, he burst into a chuckle.
“Don’t joke. You will receive heavenly punishment, punk.”
“The Qingcheng Sect already received the heavenly punishment.”
Cheol Ji-ak did not smile at all. Naturally, it was not something to talk about while smiling.
Only then did Wang Woo-pyeong’s expression also turn serious.
“…What do you mean by that?”
Cheol Ji-ak soon began his explanation.
The vanished Dujiangyan people, the Pyeonghae Merchant Guild, the Gu Clan, and the Qingcheng Sect.
By the time the explanation reached its end, Wang Woo-pyeong’s face was not merely white, but completely drained of color.
“Th-Then, that the Dujiangyan people are here…”
“Follow me.”
Cheol Ji-ak brought Wang Woo-pyeong to the place where the corpses lay.
Wang Woo-pyeong covered his mouth. For a moment, without a word, he stared at the corpses with trembling eyes, and then…
“Bleaaargh!”
Hastily turning his head away, he vomited repeatedly.
Wang Woo-pyeong was such a man. Though a martial artist, he could not handle the sight of blood, and corpses were even worse. Furthermore, upon realizing that he was deeply involved in this affair, nausea surged all the more.
“I-I really didn’t know. Ji-ak, it really wasn’t me.”
“I know.”
Cheol Ji-ak knew. The Wang Woo-pyeong he knew never had the guts to get involved in killing and burying people.
Cheon Woo-jin, who stood beside him, also nodded. With a very slim probability, he could be someone exceptionally skilled at lying. But either way, taking him to headquarters for investigation would uncover the truth.
“You will have to come to headquarters with us. This is not a request as a peer, but an order issued as the Inspection Hall Master.”
“Of course. Naturally, I will. Because it really wasn’t me. No, those disgusting bastards. Just what were those so-called Daoists… wait.”
Wang Woo-pyeong suddenly stopped speaking.
If so, did that mean it was the Inspection Hall that made the Qingcheng Sect like this?
Wang Woo-pyeong looked at the martial artists. Leaving aside Cheol Ji-ak whom he knew better than anyone, he also knew Zhuge Rin to some degree. He had also heard that Jin Un, Song Yi-yeon, and Namgung Jin were extremely outstanding rising stars of this cohort.
However, even if all of them fought risking their lives, they could not do anything to the Qingcheng Sect. No, even if they launched ambushes, released poison, and did all kinds of dirty tricks, they could not even face them.
If so, then what remained was…
Wang Woo-pyeong’s gaze slowly turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
The moment their eyes met, goosebumps erupted all over his spine.
“You said you’re a hidden dragon.”
“?”
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head.
Whether he did or not, Wang Woo-pyeong still could not break free from the shock.
He had heard rumors that there was a truly remarkable hidden dragon at the Martial Alliance headquarters. The fact that he was the disciple of the White Flower Sword Immortal accompanied the rumors, increasing their credibility.
Yet what kind of hidden dragon was that?
He was already a yellow dragon that had ascended and looked down upon all people from the heavens. Where in the world was there a hidden dragon capable of exterminating one of the Nine Great Sects all by himself?
“…Oops.”
Come to think of it, a yellow dragon signified the emperor, the ruler of the world.
It was fortunate that he had not uttered it aloud.
“Let’s go. Let’s go quickly, Ji-ak.”
Wang Woo-pyeong’s stomach was turning and his head throbbed merely from being involved in the incident, making him want to leave quickly.
However, the Inspection Hall still had work left to do.
* * *
Only after returning all the corpses to their families’ embrace and holding a joint funeral through the Martial Alliance Sichuan Branch did the Inspection Hall leave Chengdu.
Normally, Jin Un, as a Daoist, would have prayed for their repose, but he could not muster the courage to step forward as a fellow Daoist before those who had lost family members to the Qingcheng Sect.
Thus, the Inspection Hall and Wang Woo-pyeong headed straight for the Martial Alliance headquarters without resting.
Although a situation occurred where Wang Woo-pyeong became exhausted before the youngest members of the Hidden Dragon Squad, whenever Cheon Woo-jin glanced at him, Wang Woo-pyeong never stopped running even while retching.
They ran for several days and nights.
Their thought was to take their rest upon arriving at headquarters.
At any rate, once an assignment was completed, they could rest for at least half a month or more.
.
.
.
Thus, upon arriving at headquarters,
Wang Woo-pyeong was immediately escorted to the Disciplinary Hall.
When facing the Mad Dog of headquarters whom he had only heard about through rumors, he felt like he might wet his pants, but thanks to the courage tempered by the Hidden Dragon, no, Yellow Dragon, he fortunately managed to avoid making such an unsightly scene.
Branch Head Wang Woo-pyeong was not the only one who remained silent in this matter. The residents of Dujiangyan had continuously submitted reports not only to the Martial Alliance but also to the government office.
Even so, the official in charge had refused to accept the reports. Naturally, it was because the Qingcheng Sect’s influence had come into play.
Fortunately, because Chief Strategist Sima Hwi had connections in the Imperial Palace, they decided to report that official.
Thus the situation was sorted out,
And rumors regarding the Inspection Hall’s first mission spread so rapidly and widely that they could hardly be contained.
There was a man who lived with his usual expression even if the world were to collapse. It was Cheon Woo-jin.
Even though people whispered, murmured, stared, and walked on eggshells around him, Cheon Woo-jin stood in line holding his meal tray as usual.
Now, as if it were natural, Song Yi-yeon, Jin Un, and Namgung Jin were also with him.
Yet, the martial artist standing in front discovered Cheon Woo-jin right behind him, was startled out of his wits, and yielded his spot.
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head.
“Are you not hungry?”
“…Haha, come to think of it, I’ve gained a bit of weight recently.”
Cheon Woo-jin thought he was a strange person. If one was a martial artist, they trained every day, so how could they gain weight? Was he someone who ate a lot? Or perhaps his constitution was just like that.
At any rate, having received the yielded spot, Cheon Woo-jin scooped up food first.
From behind, Jin Un lowered his voice and spoke.
“That person is a Daoist of the Zhongnan Sect.”
“Ah, Zhongnan Sect.”
The Zhongnan Sect was also one of the factions that had plotted the Righteous Heavenly Alliance plan.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at the person who had yielded the spot.
In an instant, the man whose eyes met his hastily feigned nonchalance and left the dining hall. At any rate, thanks to Cheon Woo-jin, his weight loss seemed likely to succeed.
While Song Yi-yeon and Jin Un did not even know whether the rice was going down their throats or through their noses due to people’s gazes, Cheon Woo-jin and Namgung Jin continued their meal no differently from usual.
Surprisingly, Namgung Jin was feeling a comfort in his life with Cheon Woo-jin that he had never experienced in his life before.
* * *
Several days passed after returning to headquarters.
The front of the Hidden Dragon Squad’s courtyard, which had always bustled with young martial artists, had now become deserted. Everyone had stopped visiting out of fear of Cheon Woo-jin.
Whether that was the case or not, Cheon Woo-jin pondered while looking at the training grounds with a serious expression.
It seemed he really should decide on the vice squad leader position soon.
First of all, those three were stronger than the vice squad leaders of the other martial squads.
Song Yi-yeon, Jin Un, and Namgung Jin never skipped training for a single day. No, to avoid Black Elder’s training method, they continued their self-directed training to a desperate degree. It was as if they would give Cheon Woo-jin no opening to strike up a conversation.
It was the same right now.
‘It is just like real combat.’
It was a sparring match between Song Yi-yeon and Namgung Jin.
Song Yi-yeon landed a punch on Namgung Jin’s face.
Then Namgung Jin kicked Song Yi-yeon in the stomach.
Song Yi-yeon, who fell, bit Namgung Jin’s ankle, and Namgung Jin grabbed Song Yi-yeon by the hair while screaming.
“Do I still look like the Song Yi-yeon of the past to you!”
“Shut up! Even so, you are merely a merchant’s child!”
Cheon Woo-jin sighed. It was not training that felt like real combat; it was truly real combat, was it not?
The moment Cheon Woo-jin stood up to stop the fight with an expression of sheer exhaustion,
Clatter.
Someone opened the gate of the manor at will and entered.
Ever since the Qingcheng Sect incident, there were very few people within the Martial Alliance who dared open the door carelessly.
About as many as the Inspection Hall Master, the Black Tortoise Squad Leader, and the Alliance Leader and Chief Strategist.
Yet, the one who entered was a man seen for the first time.
Though tall, he was scrawny overall, and his face was so exceptionally gaunt that it even looked haggard.
At the same time, his eyes contained a strange sharpness, as if blades had been driven into them.
Between the open doors, one could even see the figures of the Courier Hall Master and Chief Strategist Sima Hwi bowing their heads.
No, just who in the world was he?
It was a situation where such a question could not help but arise spontaneously.
Even the two who were engaged in real-yet-not-real combat watched the atmosphere and slowly let go of each other.
Soon, the approaching man looked down at Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin was also quite tall, but this man was tall just like a chopstick. No, the expression that he was long suited him better.
“Are you the Heartless Wanderer?”
“No, I am not.”
“…”
The man turned his head and looked at the Courier Hall Master and Chief Strategist.
At that, the two spoke in great astonishment.
“Squad Leader, is your moniker not the Heartless Wanderer!”
“Ah.”
Cheon Woo-jin wore an expression indicating he had forgotten.
Ever since the Qingcheng Sect incident, a bizarre moniker had been attached to him.
Originally in Jianghu, those with monikers containing Venerable, Saint, King, or Wanderer were called martial artists of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Yet, Wanderer had been attached to Cheon Woo-jin’s moniker.
Furthermore, Heartless, meaning having no affection.
Apparently, such a moniker had been attached because he had carried out a massacre, but Cheon Woo-jin did not like it very much.
Master Black Elder would surely be delighted, while Master White Elder would be sorrowful.
While he was having such thoughts, the eyes of the man standing in front narrowed. They were sinister eyes, as if intending to inspect everything about Cheon Woo-jin.
“I am Cheon Woo-jin.”
Cheon Woo-jin specifically referred to himself as Cheon Woo-jin, not the Heartless Wanderer. Perhaps due to that manner of speech, the Chief Strategist and the Courier Hall Master let out silent screams.
However, the man himself did not pay much attention. Rather, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, but like someone who had never smiled in his entire life, that appearance was awkward in the extreme.
“Just as I heard. Come with me.”
“Where to.”
“The Son of Heaven is looking for you.”
Son of Heaven.
The son of the heavens.
In other words, it was a term signifying the emperor.
Cheon Woo-jin, having looked at the man for a moment, smacked his lips.
Soon, as he was about to say something,
Everyone on the grounds except the man and Cheon Woo-jin wore anxious expressions. It felt as though precisely these words would come out of that mouth:
“I don’t want to, though.”
“…”
Inherently, sad premonitions mostly turned out to be correct.