—CRUNCH!
Hu Gae tore the meat from a chicken bone and asked,
“Why the Right Military Strategist all of a sudden? Smack!”
“I simply became curious.”
“You simply became curious?”
Hu Gae tossed the chicken bone down onto the table and narrowed his eyes.
“Tell me the truth. You don’t ask things for no reason, do you?”
“.......”
When Kwak Yeon fell silent, Jin Cheongha also looked at him.
Kwak Yeon thought for a moment, then briefly explained what had happened when he had gone to the Right Military Strategist’s hall at the appointed time.
“So although it was a coincidence, the reason I ended up going out to the outer fortress yesterday was the Right Military Strategist.”
Kwak Yeon deliberately did not mention that there had been many Jegal Family warriors in red martial robes on the avenue before the outer fortress gate.
Hu Gae sighed.
“Whew. You’re worrying over something like that......?”
When Hu Gae looked at him with pity in his eyes, Kwak Yeon said,
“Brother, I know very well that I am extremely oversensitive right now. But it is not only yesterday’s matter that bothers me.”
“What does that mean? Something else bothered you besides yesterday?”
At Hu Gae’s question, Jin Cheongha also pricked up her ears.
“The incident in Aju County City.”
“That was the assassins’ doing, wasn’t it?”
The question meant: why was he suddenly connecting those assassins with the Right Military Strategist?
“Brother, what happened when we entered the gate of Aju County City?”
“Hm?”
Hu Gae tilted his head and said,
“Well, we met Unit Lord Myung and exchanged greetings, didn’t we?”
“After that.”
“What happened after that......?”
Instead of Hu Gae, Jin Cheongha quietly said,
“The Martial Alliance gate warriors inspected our luggage.”
“......!”
Only then did Hu Gae’s face stiffen.
The Martial Alliance warriors had been controlling the city gate so thoroughly that they even inspected the luggage of people whose identities had been confirmed.
“Younger Brother Kwak, even so, I think that is going too far. Those assassin bastards were disguised as an Acrobat Troupe, so they could have hidden those wicked things among all sorts of miscellaneous items and brought them in.”
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“That is true. Even if not, they could have brought them in through a dog hole or over the walls.”
“......?”
Hu Gae was dumbfounded when Kwak Yeon instead agreed with him.
“Although the quantity was rather large, counting all the assassins’ various weapons and those items as well.”
When Kwak Yeon spoke in that contrary way, Hu Gae found it even harder to refute him.
“Brother, I am not trying to state anything definitively. I am only trying to erase the points that feel suspicious one by one.”
Hu Gae realized that this was Kwak Yeon’s way of reasoning and nodded.
“It can be considered strange enough. But I still don’t think linking the Right Military Strategist to those evil assassins is right. The Right Military Strategist is renowned for benevolence more than anyone. He is famous for refusing to tolerate even the slightest harm done to commoners by Martial Alliance warriors. He cannot even bear the death of animals, so he has forbidden himself meat. What more needs to be said?”
“.......”
“In any case, since you are curious, I will tell you what I know of the Right Military Strategist’s background.”
Hu Gae gathered his memories for a moment, then continued.
“Right Military Strategist Baek Ri-gi is the third son of Baek Estate of Zhengzhou in Hebei. Baek Estate of Zhengzhou is a distinguished Confucian family that has produced Grand Preceptors of Hanlimwon for generations. I heard the Right Military Strategist studied military texts from childhood, entered official service, and served in the military for a time.”
“If he is from a Confucian family, he should have no connection to the martial world. How did he come to devote himself to the Martial Alliance?”
“They say he fell out of favor with a military governor from the empress’s clan and was driven out of the military. It happened after he became enraged that the governor was taking bribes and extorting commoners, and submitted a memorial about it.”
“.......”
“I heard he lost heart after that, wandered the world, happened to meet the Alliance Leader, and came to stay with the Martial Alliance.”
After hearing all of Hu Gae’s story, Kwak Yeon had no choice but to admit that he had been oversensitive.
“After hearing what you said, Brother, yesterday’s matter does seem to have been coincidence.”
Hu Gae nodded.
“I think so too. Still, there is nothing wrong with caution, so I will look further into the Right Military Strategist as well.”
“I would be grateful if you did.”
“Younger Brother Kwak, but keep that thought inside your heart as much as possible. In other people’s eyes, it will look like a rolling stone trying to dislodge an embedded one.”
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“I understand what you mean.”
His own reputation as the Cave Hermit Taoist who killed as he pleased with every step and Right Military Strategist Baek Ri-gi’s prestige were worlds apart, so it would only invite pointless gossip.
Once the two men’s conversation ended, Jin Cheongha, who had been quietly listening, spoke carefully.
“Excuse me, both of you. I do not think the matter in Aju County City should be overlooked.”
“......?”
“......?”
When Hu Gae and Kwak Yeon looked at her, Jin Cheongha calmly continued.
“That day, I saw one assassin escape. But that assassin went straight in one direction, as though there was a predetermined escape route.”
That meant the assassin had prepared a retreat path.
Hu Gae nodded.
“If Sister Jin saw it clearly, then we certainly need to look into it.”
Even if it was not the Right Military Strategist, they could not ignore the possibility that there was another accomplice.
“They said no assassins were captured alive, so if that one did not die, then it must have escaped. In that case, the Martial Alliance pursuit unit may already have caught it by now.”
“Sub-Branch Master, while you are looking into it, please find out whether there was a one-armed old woman among the dead assassins.”
“Was the assassin who escaped that old woman?”
“Yes. She was an old woman whose face was covered in warts.”
“If she looked that distinctive, finding out whether she lived or died should be quick. All information inside and outside the Martial Alliance gathers at the Jadeite Pavilion. Hup!”
Hu Gae sprang to his feet.
“Younger Brother Kwak, I will quickly go to the Jadeite Pavilion and digest my food while I am at it. Buuurp!”
Hu Gae was partly in a hurry to resolve his curiosity, but he had also risen because he felt stifled.
Why do they nibble so much just to eat one meal?
Watching the two of them slowly poke at the food when he was full up to his throat was torture in its own right.
Hu Gae did not think even the size of a chestnut that this was because he had turned all the food over and mixed it up himself.
—THUD!
When Hu Gae hurriedly visited the Jadeite Pavilion for some air and then returned, Jin Cheongha was alone in the main hall of the guest residence.
“......!”
Worried that Kwak Yeon had crawled back into his cave, Hu Gae hurriedly asked,
“Sister Jin, where is Younger Brother Kwak?”
“The Alliance Leader called for him, so he went up to the Alliance Leader’s Office.”
Hu Gae was relieved that Kwak Yeon had not hidden back inside his cave, but then he flinched.
“Did the Alliance Leader say why he called Younger Brother Kwak?”
“That...... I do not know.”
“.......”
“I’m sorry. I only thought he must have called for him because he is Chief Secretary of the Alliance Leader’s Office.”
“There is nothing for Sister Jin to be sorry about.”
It would have been too presumptuous for Jin Cheongha, who was a guest, to ask.
“And °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° he went to the Alliance Leader’s Office to meet none other than the Alliance Leader, so there should be no reason for anything unusual to happen.”
Feeling awkward before Jin Cheongha, who seemed apologetic, Hu Gae changed the subject.
“By the way, according to what I found out at the Jadeite Pavilion, there was no corpse of the old-woman assassin Sister Jin mentioned.”
“Ah! Then that old-woman assassin escaped Aju County City and got away.”
“It seems so. But there was one strange report.”
“......?”
“The patrol warriors found a large amount of blood outside the walls in one place to the northwest. With that much blood loss, death should have been certain, but even after searching the surroundings thoroughly, they could not find a corpse.”
“That must be the assassin old woman. The direction that old woman went was northwest.”
“Then someone inflicted a fatal injury on that assassin old woman....... Huh. What a strange thing. There would be no reason to kill her and then bother retrieving the body, would there?”
Jin Cheongha carefully said,
“Sub-Branch Master, might that have been to hide the martial art the culprit used? It would not have been someone who happened to run into her and killed her by chance, so it must have been an accomplice who killed her.”
“Mmm! That makes sense.”
Hu Gae nodded, then soon tilted his head.
“But why would an accomplice go to such trouble? Letting the assassin escape would have been quieter.”
Jin Cheongha nodded.
“Now that I hear you say it, Sub-Branch Master, that is true.”
“In any case, it is a fact that someone was there. And as Younger Brother Kwak guessed, that person must be someone inside the Martial Alliance.”
“......!”
“Damn it. Now there are even more things to investigate.”
Hu Gae frowned and grumbled.
“By the way, why did the Alliance Leader call Younger Brother Kwak when his state of mind is hardly at ease?”
*****
“Welcome, Chief Secretary Kwak.”
Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon was waiting at the entrance to Righteous Heaven Hall.
“Unit Lord Myung, it is good to see you again.”
When Kwak Yeon gave a clasped-hands bow, Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon also gave a brief clasped-hands bow.
“The Alliance Leader is waiting. Let us go in.”
“Understood.”
When Kwak Yeon brought his hand to his Blue-Steel Sword to surrender his sword according to the custom when entering Righteous Heaven Hall, Myung Jincheon said,
“Chief Secretary Kwak, carry your sword.”
“......?”
Kwak Yeon looked at him, unable to understand, but Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon turned away without another word.
Kwak Yeon assumed his weapon was being permitted because of his position as Chief Secretary of the Alliance Leader’s Office, and followed Hocheon Unit Lord Myung.
—STEP. STEP.
Only the sound of the two men’s footsteps echoed through the corridors of Righteous Heaven Hall. All around them was silent.
When Kwak Yeon could sense no sign of any people, he knew there was no meeting currently being held inside Righteous Heaven Hall.
Kwak Yeon felt somewhat relieved that the Alliance Leader had not summoned him because of a meeting of sect heads.
That is fortunate.
Standing before the heads of the martial world’s sects at this moment would only hinder him in removing the dark energy.
No, it might even make that dark energy grow stronger.
When Hocheon Unit Lord, walking ahead of him, passed by the hall doors, Kwak Yeon felt puzzled again.
“......?”
He had known that the Alliance Leader always received outsiders in the hall.
Thinking that the Alliance Leader must have something to say in his office today, Kwak Yeon silently followed Hocheon Unit Lord.
But Hocheon Unit Lord passed several inner doors as well.
“......?”
Just when Kwak Yeon was unable to understand, Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon finally stopped walking.
Unlike the other doors of Righteous Heaven Hall, with their splendid dragon patterns and gilding, this was a pitch-black door with no decoration at all.
—Grrrrrrng!
When Hocheon Unit Lord opened that door, the sound of heavy iron scraping rang out.
An iron door!
It was a massive iron door that looked half a chi thick.
“Enter.”
At Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon’s words, Kwak Yeon walked into the open iron doorway.
Shooooong!
The moment he stepped inside, a chill coldness assaulted him.
He was wondering about the pitch-black space with no light at all when—
—Grrrrrrng!
The sound of the iron door closing came from behind him. And then—
—CLACK!
At the sound of a latch dropping into place, Kwak Yeon was dumbfounded.
What in the world is this......?
He had come because the Alliance Leader had summoned him, but to lock him inside a room made no sense at all.
Once the iron door closed like that, the room sank into pitch-black darkness.
Light was not the only thing that had vanished.
Sound had also disappeared completely.
Since he had raised his hearing with the Honwonmusang Technique, even if Hocheon Unit Lord were outside the door, he should have been able to hear the sound of his heart.
And if Hocheon Unit Lord were walking down the corridor back toward the entrance of Righteous Heaven Hall, he should have been able to hear his footsteps even more clearly.
It meant this was a completely sealed space.
Through the senses of his expanded outer-body qi field, Kwak Yeon could tell that this pitch-black space was fairly wide and large.
To learn the nature of the space, Kwak Yeon sharpened his eyesight. But since there was not a single point of light, he could not even see his own hand.
Then there is no helping it.
Just as Kwak Yeon drew up his inner power and true qi to raise the Threefold True Fire—
—SHAAAAANG!
A sudden killing intent attacked from midair.
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