Chapter 87: Infiltration (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: Infiltration (2)
"Haa."
Her face gradually flushed, and hot breath escaped her lips.
Breath?
The inside of the tent was warm, but because the martial arts Seol Baek practiced carried a deep chill, her breath became visible.
She was already wearing thin, fluttering light armor that accentuated her skin, and seeing her like that with a feverish face made her look... suggestive.
She spoke to me.
"What... what did you do to me?"
"..."
I hadn't done much.
I had simply used the secret art of Ju Sarlen, the Palace Master of the Fragrant Flower Pleasure Palace, which stimulates human instincts.
It was said she used this technique to stimulate and confuse the emotions of countless people, breaking their spirits and turning them into slaves.
-Did it work?
I wasn't sure.
She was a master who had broken through the Wall. Her mental strength couldn't be compared to that of an ordinary expert.
However, since this woman named Seol Baek harbored strong affection for the Thousand-Man Commander I was disguised as, I thought it might work and deployed the technique.
I didn't even hope to make her a slave. I just wanted to confuse her enough so she wouldn't feel hostility toward me.
-Her cheeks are really red.
Looking at her current state, it seemed she wasn't entirely unaffected.
Seol Baek grabbed my wrist, her voice trembling.
"Are you really my dear Kang?"
A woman's intuition is truly terrifying.
The Body Transformation Art is on a completely different level from ordinary human skin masks or bone-shifting techniques. It changes muscles and skeletal structure to become identical to the target.
Of course, that didn't mean it was without weaknesses.
...It's hard to deceive someone who has had a lot of physical contact with the person.
If Seol Baek had been intimate with this commander and truly loved him, she would know everything from the placement of a single mole to his every habit.
Therefore, while she was confused by Ju Sarlen's secret art, I had to avoid further contact.
"Vice Governor... no, Seol Mae. The Grand General will be looking for you soon."
I emphasized that point on purpose. She would know well enough that the Emperor might call for her at any moment.
Seol Baek stared at me intently, her face full of a rosy glow. Then, she finally spoke.
"My dear Kang could never hold a kiss with me for long."
"What do you mean..."
"Because I was born with the Heavenly Sound Body. Unless it was a master with profound internal power, just touching my skin was painful for him."
Ah...
No wonder it felt chilly just touching her. Even now, a cold energy was seeping into the wrist she held.
However, as cold as it was, it couldn't affect me. I had inherited the Snow Sound Flower Sun Dance from Master Jo, the one who always carried the Yin-Yang Plate.
There was something my master told me when he passed it down.
[There is something called Adaptation.]
[What is that?]
[All things are divided into the Five Elements and Yin and Yang. Usually, people believe they must counter an opposing energy with its opposite, but if you instead adapt to the same energy, you can handle it with very little strength.]
That was Adaptation.
Whether she had the Heavenly Sound Body or had learned martial arts from the North Sea Ice Palace that manipulated cold energy, I had been taught the Snow Sound Flower Sun Dance, which was nearly a divine art.
Because I could also manipulate cold energy, I could adapt to her aura.
Seol Baek said to me, "My dear Kang couldn't endure it, yet he accepted me and came to me anyway."
"Seol Mae... I think there's a misunderstanding..."
I tried to make an excuse, but she cut me off.
"My hand touching yours feels nothing."
Of course it didn't, since I was adapting to her cold energy.
Should I have countered with Yang energy instead? If I had, it would have turned into a contest of internal power, and she would have been in pain.
"My dear Kang isn't like this."
Tsk.
Since her suspicion was deepening, I had to recite the oral formula for the secret art. Even if I couldn't dominate her mind, I had to confuse her to buy time.
"Aah!"
An erotic sound escaped her lips as she held my wrist.
-Un-hwi, it's working.
...This is strange. Something's wrong.
-What is?
With her level of mental strength and internal power, she should have been able to force herself to endure it. Yet, she was simply accepting it.
I felt like I should stop reciting the formula. It seemed like it was going to have the opposite effect.
"Seol Mae. I think I must leave now. I have to report if His Majesty calls..."
Just then, she breathed out a hot mist and spoke to me in a softened voice.
"You were the man I was looking for."
"!?"
In that moment, she pulled me toward her while still holding my wrist.
I could have resisted, but after a split-second of hesitation, I went along with her rhythm and moved closer. Since it had come to this, I would wait for her to let her guard down and then suppress her pressure points.
-Seriously?
It might actually be better to disguise myself as her. Given her rank as Vice Governor of the Special Army, she seemed to have free access to the central tent. Even that Ghostly Bow Chosa guy went right in after saying a few words.
Since I had to surge my internal power instantaneously, I had to wait for the moment she let her guard down.
Then, she kissed me aggressively.
"Mmph!"
Her tongue pushed into my mouth. It seemed this woman didn't care whether I was Commander Kang or not anymore. She was only interested in satisfying her own desires.
Well, that worked out.
If I quietly moved my hand behind her and aimed for the Stun Point on her neck...
-Grip!
"Ugh!"
I flinched in surprise. I was so focused on suppressing her pressure points that I never imagined her hand would head straight down there.
There was no foreplay; she was burning with lust. Her eyes, clouded with a red flush, looked as if they wanted to devour me.
-What are you doing! Hurry up and hit the pressure point!
I wanted to, but her cold hand was gripping that spot. If I didn't hit the Stun Point now, my life as a man might be ruined in an instant.
Then, Seol Baek pulled the hand she was holding toward the chest of her thin armor, where her skin was visible.
...Ah.
I suppose I am a man after all. When my hand touched that soft, supple place, the part of me she was holding couldn't help but react.
The corners of Seol Baek's mouth curled up suggestively. She whispered to me through ragged breaths.
"You want it too."
-Rip!
With that, she tore her own skirt, leaped up, and wrapped her exposed white legs around my waist. The moment our lower bodies touched, a moan escaped her.
"Hnghh."
The sound was incredibly provocative and lewd. She seemed ready to have her way with me right then and there, trying to pull down my pants like a wild beast.
However, her hand was forced to stop.
From outside, the clanking sound of armor approaching the tent could be heard.
"Aah..."
She couldn't hide her disappointment.
In that moment, I struck the Stun Point on the back of her neck.
-Tap, tap, tap!
"You!"
Because I applied Seven Stars internal power instantaneously, even she couldn't withstand it. Her eyes widened as she tried to say something, but then her lids fluttered shut, and she went limp.
-Are you going to disguise yourself as her?
That seemed impossible. Judging by the sound outside, they were only ten or twelve paces away.
Supporting Seol Baek, I looked around. There was a bed in what I assumed was her room. I laid her down, covered her with a blanket, and pretended to stroke her stomach.
-Swish!
The entrance to the tent opened, and someone stepped inside.
It was General Yeom.
General Yeom looked at me and then at Seol Baek, who was lying there breathing softly as if asleep. He clicked his tongue.
"You two are really something. Tsk, tsk. Let's go. His Majesty is calling."
"Understood."
General Yeom gestured toward her and asked, "Is she sleeping?"
"Yes. She must have been tired; she fell right asleep."
"Come out."
General Yeom told me to follow him without another word. Fortunately, he didn't seem suspicious.
Then again, who would imagine that a mere Thousand-Man Commander could do anything to a master who had broken through the Wall and was counted among the Twelve Peaks of the World? Of course, if she hadn't let her guard down, even I would have found it difficult to hit her pressure points.
I cautiously followed General Yeom out of the tent.
As we walked toward the central tent, General Yeom spoke in an irritated voice.
"I've been in the military for over twenty years, but I don't like any of these people from the martial world."
"..."
"If it were up to me, I wouldn't have recruited such a willful girl, Twelve Peaks or not. It ruins military discipline. Tsk, tsk."
He must have really disliked her. To say such things openly to me, Commander Kang, who was supposed to be her lover. Wasn't he worried I might tell her?
Then, General Yeom looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes.
"You haven't actually fallen for that girl, have you?"
"Pardon?"
"Your mission is to cater to her whims and maintain a favorable relationship. It's not to actually fall in love with the wench."
Ah!
So that was the secret. They weren't actually lovers.
-Then that woman is being deceived too.
Well, I wasn't sure about that.
From what I saw, Seol Baek's intuition was better than expected. There was no way to know if she was truly deceived or if she was just pretending to be while satisfying her own emotional needs.
If it was the latter, their relationship had devolved into using each other. However, hearing her voice, she seemed like someone trying to fill a hollow void in her emotions.
-Anyway, it's a relief. You almost got 'done in.'
Lesser Conversation Sword chuckled.
Done in? What are you talking about? I was just responding to the situation.
Regardless, the Emperor had called, so I could now confirm the location of the Dharma Tool hidden inside that tent.
I checked the Needle Board hidden in my robes. The needle pointing toward the central tent was trembling violently.
The Dharma Tool was definitely inside.
-That Emperor guy and Ghostly Bow Chosa are in there too.
Not just them. The other masters of the Twelve Peaks, excluding Seol Baek, were likely inside that tent as well.
Still, it was a good thing I had knocked Seol Baek out. I had reduced their total strength to some extent.
I would enter the tent, wait for an opening, steal the Dharma Tool held by Jagyeongjeong, and lure them away.
-You're going to use that to lure them, right?
Yes.
Inside the Bottomless Pouch, there was an unexpected item. It was a replica of the Dharma Tool, Cheondun. Master Sword Immortal must have packed it for me.
It was the perfect item to lure Jagyeongjeong. Even if it was a fake, if I performed the ultimate technique of the Great Dao Heavenly Thunder Sword Method, the Thunder Sword Cheondun, his eyes would flip.
As we stepped onto the wooden platform of the tent, General Yeom said to me, "You know you are only to answer when His Majesty asks, right?"
"I do."
I had no intention of making small talk with the Golden Emperor either.
General Yeom lifted the bamboo blind of the tent and entered first. Following him inside, I saw the Grand General kneeling on one knee in front of another set of bamboo blinds, his head bowed low.
Can we not go further in?
I hadn't expected bamboo blinds to block the inner area.
General Yeom went inside and knelt on one knee behind the Grand General, bowing his head. He signaled me with his eyes. I followed suit, kneeling behind him.
It's meaningless if I can't get inside.
If the report ended right here in front of these blinds, my effort to disguise myself and infiltrate would be for nothing. If that happened, I might have to push my luck a little.
For now, I had to watch the situation.
However, I could hear voices from within. Although the entire tent was surrounded by True Qi, the sounds were audible once I was inside.
"There is still no sign of that place. I haven't been deceived by that man's trickery, have I?"
Jim? (The royal 'We')
Was this the voice of the Golden Emperor? Only an Emperor would refer to himself that way.
"There are still about 4 li left until the location he mentioned. I believe it would not be too late to decide on his punishment then, Your Majesty."
...This voice.
I had heard it before. It was strangely polite, which felt out of place, but it was definitely...
In that moment, the voice of the Namcheon Iron Sword echoed in my head.
-Woon-hwi! It's him!
What?
-How could I ever forget the voice of the man who killed my previous master!
Thump!
My heart began to race.
If so, was the one-eyed man, the Golden-Eyed Man—the Jonju—inside this tent?