Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Espionage Division (8)
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Cheonwi became aware of the gradual yet dramatic change within himself.
He faced the thought squarely and flipped over the corpse. He hadn’t thought the guy trained that hard, but surprisingly, his muscles were well-developed. That must be why he’d sensed the similar build. He stripped off the upper garments first and examined the area around the man’s right shoulder.
‘Around here.’
He stretched out the man’s arm straight to the side.
The paedo flashed.
The man’s right arm was severed.
Blood trickled down.
Since the heart had already stopped, not much sprayed out.
Next, he needed fire.
He gathered dry reeds and took out his fire starter. Lighting it with one hand wasn’t easy. He wedged the finger-length metal fire striker between some rocks and stepped on it to hold it steady. He struck the flint against it to spark the tinder paper. He set the flint down and tried to light the dry reeds, but in that brief moment, the ember went out. He hadn’t realized how inconvenient it would be with only one hand. He struck the fire striker again to reignite the ember and hurriedly bent down to blow on it with his mouth. The flame jumped from the tinder paper to the dry reeds. He’d leaned in too close. The moment he realized his mistake, embers splashed onto his face.
Sizzle.
A sharp pain stung beside his lips. He’d been burned. It wouldn’t have happened if he’d had both hands. The burn on his face slowly healed. His body could recover instantly even from a hole in the torso, yet he couldn’t properly light a fire. Martial artists were truly amusing creatures. A chuckle escaped him. Feeling the stinging on his face, he came up with an even better idea.
Whoosh.
He brought the bundle of reeds, now a torch, to the man’s face.
He’d originally planned to slash it up with a knife, but fire would be better. Besides, this guy looked nothing like him. To make him unrecognizable, he’d have to mangle the face anyway.
He charred the face until the teeth were visible and set the hair ablaze too. Their hair lengths differed as well. This man had to become the dead Cheonwi. There were plenty of martial artists gathered in Taiyuan Prefecture. Some would be as thorough as the Espionage Division. The sloppy ones might be fooled easily, but he couldn’t count on luck. He needed perfect preparation, not reliance on chance.
Sizzle!
Next came the stump of the arm.
When he applied the fire, the acrid smell of burning flesh and blood rose up. His overly sensitive sense of smell made it agonizing. Heightened senses weren’t always a good thing. He endured it, carefully charring the bone and flesh. It had to look like extreme measures for hemostasis. Even an inner force expert wouldn’t go picking fights in the streets the day after losing an arm. This would make it believable.
Thud!
He had to take care of the shoulder too.
He thrust the paedo with all his might into the spot two inches above the shoulder well, creating the exact same sword wound he’d taken at the bookstore. He tore strips from the white cotton cloth he’d picked up at the fabric shop and bandaged the arm stump and shoulder. Doing it one-handed was no small feat.
Once bandaged, it looked quite convincing.
He wasn’t fully satisfied with the face. He picked up a rock and smashed the cheekbone. The face became a bit more slender. He turned it this way and that. This should do. No need to smash the other cheekbone.
‘Now, where to put this?’
He’d planned on this spot from the start.
It was where a tributary of the Fen River flowed down. The issue was hiding it well.
He hoisted the corpse over his shoulder and headed into the tall reed beds. He laid it face-down where the river water lapped at his toes. He placed the travel sack containing a set of black uniform neatly on the dry reeds beside it.
He memorized the surrounding terrain. It would be hard to find in the dark. He etched into his mind the two trees and the rock jutting toward the river right beside them.
He returned to where he’d killed the man.
The scene was a mess. He’d never trained in killing with a sword attached to his body. Given that he was missing an arm, he rated it as decent.
Cleaning up traces was familiar work.
Manipulation and concealment were core Espionage Division skills. It didn’t even take an incense stick’s time. The site, littered with blood, flesh, and fire, became an ordinary riverbank as if nothing had happened.
As Cheonwi backtracked, he erased even the footprints leading in from that direction. That took the longest. His own footprints weren’t an issue to begin with. The dead man’s were the problem.
Once satisfied, the sun was setting.
Perfect timing.
Cheonwi kicked off the ground and leaped away. This time toward the city center. Torchlights were rising one by one, sharply defining the city’s shadows.
* * *
“Where’s Cheonwi?”
The moment Oho arrived at the safehouse, that’s what he asked.
“Found on the street. He had the no-contact marker on him.”
Danmun answered.
That meant he was alive, at least. As expected. And a relief. Of course. Oho let out a light sigh of relief and spoke again.
“I saw where he crawled out from the alley. Looked like he’d lost an arm or something.”
“Saw it clearly. Right arm’s gone.”
“Out on the street with one arm, no support?”
“Seems he’s handling it himself. He even fought. Opponent was a Black Garment swordsman, paedo. Fled with a sword in his shoulder. Toward the Fen River. That’s the report.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It is. But Cheonwi broke that Black Garment’s leg. Looked like he let him go on purpose. Took the sword hit deliberately too. But as you know, those Black Garment guys aren’t weak.”
“You got the report already? While the sun was still up?”
“Midday.”
“One arm gone, in broad daylight at noon. Sparing the enemy while handling him?”
“Cheonwi fought all night too. There were suspected silver-rank experts and Shaolin murdering monks above the ravine. Losing an arm would’ve meant serious bleeding, but he got stronger instead. Doesn’t add up.”
“Doesn’t add up. That’s why he’s him.”
“So we decided to leave him be. No support.”
“…Let’s go with your call. He’ll manage somehow.”
Oho agonized briefly before agreeing.
Danmun had been in charge of the safehouse, but with Branch Chief Oho here, command reverted to him. He could change orders on the spot. But Oho upheld Danmun’s decision. Leave Cheonwi alone. He’d survive on his own as always. Or die alone. Either way, no connection to the Espionage Division.
Even if the Dark House Tiger had played a major role in last night’s bloodbath, the overt core of the incident was the clash between Daedongjang and Taehaengbang. Whatever the process, the Dark House Tiger had to be seen as having secretly intervened to end the feud between two of Shanxi’s Five Strongholds.
In other words, the motives weren’t impure. So the Five Strongholds wouldn’t dig too deep. They might suspect ties to a major power, but with traces properly erased, any link to the Peng Clan could be flatly denied. That’s how it was structured from the start.
The problem was enemy forces outside the Five Strongholds.
The shadowy force with Black Garment swordsmen—or similar warriors—as mobile units, and a heavyweight like Bang Jung-heon involved, was concerning.
If the Five Strongholds were the surface, they were the essence.
Whatever their full intentions, the fact that after the Daetae duel turned into a massive brawl, Shaolin, White Sword Squad, and various Five Strongholds forces popped up like mushrooms pointed to the original fight being a mere pretext. The real aim seemed to be stirring greater chaos. If the Peng Clan name came up amid that, things could get uglier.
If it leaked that the Dark House Tiger was an Espionage Division subunit, the Peng main house would have to explain. Especially contentious would be Cheonwi’s existence. Cheonwi knew the sects’ vital points and had demonstrated using that info in combat.
A sect’s vital points in their martial arts were life-or-death secrets. Actively collecting them violated jianghu norms. Even scouting enemy weaknesses was fair game, but prioritizing vital points even in direct conflict wasn’t something to flaunt. Much less actively mapping and preparing to use other sects’ vital points in peacetime—that would amply provoke the entire martial world’s outrage. Moreover, prestigious orthodox sects derived their foundation from the alliance council. Their symbols were the Six Great Clans and Nine Great Sects. Counter-techniques were the main house’s deepest secrets, taboos never to be revealed.
“Branch Chief, an inspector has arrived.”
Just then, a subordinate’s report came from outside.
Oho’s face hardened.
It had come. But too soon.
That meant the main house was taking this seriously too.
Soon, a man entered the office.
He appeared mid-forties, with an ordinary look. Lean build, no heavy saber. He didn’t look like a Peng Clan man from Hebei at all.
“Greetings, Deputy Director.”
Oho greeted formally on behalf of them, while Danmun cupped his fists and bowed his head.
The Deputy Director merely nodded lightly.
“I hurried here after the report. The handling was sloppy.”
“My apologies.”
Oho replied politely.
Gone was the swagger of the Dark House Tiger.
The Deputy Director sat in the seat of honor, naturally the branch chief’s chair. Oho stood beside him.
“That kid Cheonwi’s wandering outside alone?”
“Yes.”
“The Espionage Division decided to sit back and watch?”
“Yes.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
His voice was calm, but his aura chilling.
Espionage Division Inspection First Division Deputy Director, Peng Deokyeong.
He was the number two in the organization integrating Northern Murim counterintelligence. A top figure in the entire Espionage Division, rarely seen in person like this.
For him to reprimand directly.
Simply bowing wouldn’t do.
Oho drew breath, steadied his voice, and responded immediately.
“Espionage Division Shanxi Branch, Acting Deputy Branch Chief Candidate Wei, Peng Cheonwi. Publicly known martial prowess below aptitude cultivator level, but actual combat ability lacks nothing compared to elite Paecheondaes. Strategic planning ranks top among all Northern Murim Espionage branches, and execution equals ten or more agents alone. He knows the severity better than anyone, so we judged he’d wrap it up without Espionage Division support.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
The Deputy Director wasn’t satisfied.
Oho tried to add something. The Deputy Director raised a hand to silence him.
He asked again.
“If he’s captured alive?”
“The chance is almost…….”
“If he’s captured alive?”
Deputy Director Peng Deokyeong repeated.
Oho shut his mouth. It wasn’t a question needing an answer. He was demanding a contingency plan.
It was what the higher-ups wanted.
No choice. Oho forced out the words.
“We’ll form a Pursuit Squad.”
“Good. Kill him. If capture seems imminent.”
Deputy Director Peng Deokyeong’s tone was even calmer than before.
“Danmun, prepare it.”
Danmun left without a word.