Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Chapter 6: Secret Pursuit Squad (9)
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It came back to him.
Inspection Division Chief Peng Zhangwu was a representative figure of the anti-reform faction.
The reform agenda was a top secret handled only by those at the deputy director level or above in the Inspection Division. And by its nature, the reform agenda was bound to create pro-reform and anti-reform factions.
If the division chief Peng Zhangwu was anti-reform, then the deputy director was surely in the same camp. That was why the order to kill came so easily. No matter how much effort had gone into the reform agenda, they saw no issue with halting it. If things went wrong, kill your friends. That was what the pursuit squads were for.
"One more thing."
"Give your orders."
"Assemble another pursuit squad."
"Pardon?"
The deputy director's brow furrowed.
Such questions were taboo in the Secret Pursuit Squad. Oho knew he had made a mistake. And that was the price. The deputy director continued.
"Step down from your branch chief position. Additional disciplinary action will be discussed at headquarters."
"Understood."
"Pursuit Squad Yi Unit, and Il Unit in contingencies, aim for high-level eliminations. Yi Unit's target is Soyul of the Shanxi Branch Secret Pursuit Squad."
"......!"
Oho masked his surprise and cursed Dan Moon inwardly.
'You bastard, you loose-lipped fucker, you left that out?'
The next moment, he thought again.
It wasn't entirely Dan Moon's fault.
The deputy director had walked in mid-conversation, and Dan Moon would have mentioned it naturally.
More importantly, Soyul's name had come from the deputy director's own mouth.
Second-class agent of the Shanxi Branch Secret Pursuit Squad, Peng Soyul.
The guy who had hand-copied the reform agenda's clauses. The martial arts analysis summaries of the Great East Alliance Leader and Taihang Alliance Leader were in his possession. That meant the reform agenda's evidence was with Soyul.
The deputy director had added "in contingencies" to the high-level elimination.
This referred to cases where the high-level target was captured alive by another sect or force, risking a leak of reform agenda information.
Yet for Soyul, no such qualifier on the elimination target. The implication was clear. The information leak had already occurred.
"The lives of our men you killed will be repaid with the lives of your agents. Especially one friend with something particularly valuable. Secure him quickly, and I'll kill fewer of your agents."
Bang Jung-heon's words flashed through his mind.
'Valuable item...! So that's what it was!'
Soyul, and the reform agenda documents. Exactly as he had feared.
Right after seeing his agents' deaths along the Zap River tributary, Oho had rushed to Liuhang, the Secret Pursuit Squad's intermediate rally point.
There was nothing in Liuhang. Not even traces of battle.
That was even stranger.
Whether a fight had happened or not, someone should have been there. No Secret Pursuit Squad members, no cipher markers for the next destination—nothing.
He figured they had moved out urgently somewhere. Praying they were safe, he searched the area but found nothing.
This safehouse was where he had come empty-handed.
The Secret Pursuit Squad members from Liuhang, including Soyul, had vanished without a trace, and now the Inspection Division deputy director had ordered Soyul's elimination. In other words, Soyul had been kidnapped.
In that case, the orders needed changing. They weren't enough.
Oho quickly gathered his thoughts and stared straight at the deputy director. Even stripped of his branch chief position, he had to say what needed saying. A glint flashed in Oho's eyes.
"If the elimination target is Soyul, one Secret Pursuit Squad elimination unit won't suffice. Deploy four from the Heaven-Destroying Squad. At least three elimination units, plus additional support personnel beyond the pursuit team. I request twelve more from the Lake Defense Squad."
The deputy director's eyebrow twitched.
"Evidence?"
"There is unreported information. Due to my incompetence, I only just arrived at the safehouse, so I've only now confirmed the kidnapping situation. However, I encountered the suspected kidnapper. Bang Jung-heon, son of the executed Master Jeong Hak, is with the enemy forces. He's the culprit."
"Who?"
"Bang Jung-heon. Eldest son of Royal Tutor Jeong Hak. He survived the execution."
"How are you certain?"
"Further verification is needed, of course, but he openly gave his name, and his martial prowess and strategy were extraordinary."
"You're basing it on him giving his name? Who approved you as branch chief?"
"His age matched, he spoke with a Nanjing accent and the tone of high nobility. He seemed well-educated, with the aura only a literary cultivator could have. Judging from the enemy warriors' combat styles and organizational structure, I saw it as a coalition based on a unique ideology. Assuming it's Bang Jung-heon fits the incident's progression and outcome to a significant degree."
"Insufficient."
"I know. We crossed blades directly, and he even forewarned of the kidnapping. They recognized us as Peng Clan yet fought without hesitation. Only someone of Bang Jung-heon's stature matches the scale."
"Scale..."
For the first time, the deputy director showed a hint of conviction at the word.
A shadowy force had escalated the situation to this level.
The deputy director would naturally acknowledge that. All reports from the Secret Pursuit Squad upward had detailed the evidence supporting that inference. What puzzled Oho and everyone was that the shadowy force seemed unafraid of even prestigious sects. To challenge the Peng Clan, they'd need to be on par with the Six Great Families. Or one of the Nine Great Sects.
Such groups were rare.
If assuming a hidden major power, having someone like Bang Jung-heon among them wasn't incomprehensible. In fact, it inversely explained the force's secrecy and strength.
"Additionally, the Yangtze Non-Sword Alliance may be involved under the enemy forces or as an allied group."
Oho stopped there.
He omitted the meeting envoy's name.
A fire across the river—don't even look at the reports. He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't ignore the agent's dying advice worrying for his safety.
The deputy director didn't dismiss it.
"Source of the information?"
"Agents were hit in the Zap River tributary area. Traces of Southern Sword style, and in the melee, several warriors suspected to be Non-Sword Alliance. This is definitively short on intelligence. So I'm keeping it as a possibility and preparing accordingly."
"That's why you're requesting pursuit squad reinforcements?"
"Bang Jung-heon is black first-grade, possibly higher. If even Yangtze martial sects are involved, the enemy's capabilities are vast. Thus, even the numbers I'm proposing for the pursuit squad may fall short."
As if tired of hearing more, the deputy director stood.
He spoke.
"I've heard you're lazy plenty. But this is too much. Your report has points that can't be overlooked, but they're still unverified conjecture. Above all, Soyul isn't captured by the unknown force you mentioned right now."
"......?"
The deputy director paused briefly.
Oho nearly blurted out another stupid "Pardon?"
Shaking his head, the deputy director continued.
"Soyul defected alone."
"!!"
"We've tracked his location, no interference factors. Reason for defection unknown. Possibility he was recruited by enemy forces. He's heading toward Pingyao Fortress alone, with two agents pursuing, and the Inspection Division has reinforced trackers following as well."
Oho was greatly shocked.
'Defected alone? Recruited?'
He knew Soyul. Very well.
Treated him like a little brother. Helped train him personally in many ways.
A very kind and diligent guy.
Too much so for the Secret Pursuit Squad.
Why? Before that question came the doubt: Is it true?
Defection—he couldn't comprehend it.
"Secret Pursuit Squad agent Oho. If you want the truth, go find out yourself."
The deputy director didn't call him branch chief.
He opened the door.
With his back turned, he added his final words.
"Go ask. And kill him."
The command boomed like thunder.
* * *
Yangwonbang was small but sturdy.
A typical local unorthodox sect that had amassed considerable wealth by running back-alley businesses under the street's name in Yangwon Street.
The gang leader had solid martial arts and a strong sense of loyalty.
Even so, he had to bow to a single elite warrior from Shanxi's Five Rivers, but he never easily bowed to anyone and took good care of his underlings.
Rumors said his daughters were beautiful.
That made sense, as unorthodox sect leaders tended to chase women, and his wives were pretty. The leader himself was tall and handsome, sometimes looking more like a scion of a noble house than an unorthodox boss. He had four wives and four daughters, with the second wife and second daughter especially famed as beauties.
They said he doted on his daughters, but in reality, he let them run free. If anything, his affection focused on the son from his youngest wife. A sect of this size wouldn't easily pass to a woman anyway. And obsessing over pretty daughters' safety could become a weakness for the organization.
The Yangwonbang gang leader was clever in his own way.
Once they reached marriageable age, find them safe matches and marry them off—that was that. If his daughters brought home partners themselves, that wasn't bad either. Even rumors of them seeing men? He took it in stride. Dating several would help them pick a good one, he thought.
That was the case until this morning.
After last night's chaos, he planned to lay low. When real martial artists rampaged like that, the best was to stay quiet and sell liquor.
He had gone early to the main hall, locked his chambers, and slept. Didn't even sleep with his wives.
He awoke to a strange feeling. All his guard underlings were kneeling.
The black-clad men didn't say where they were from.
They asked in his chambers.
"Where's the guy your second daughter meets?"
"I don't know."
He said it boldly.
They didn't press further. Unexpected.
Instead, they ordered.
"Cooperate."
The Yangwonbang gang leader was reasonably clever.
He intuited they'd act this way even invading Shanxi Five Rivers' chambers.
The gang leader bowed his head. Groveling, but he steadied his voice to avoid seeming too servile.
"Give your orders."
Lives hung on it.
Not just his—all of theirs depended on his decision.
Until dusk, the gang leader pretended calm while handling business. He was an unorthodox sect boss, but he gripped the brush more than the fist these days. The thug who once beat men to death in alleys was now just a merchant running multiple establishments.
That's why he stayed composed.
Even with two black-clad warriors sitting in the boss's office like it was their home, his underlings asked nothing. Fortunately, they had that much sense.
Just before evening, a black-clad man entered like it was his own house and talked with the ones behind.
Seemed the target had appeared on the street, but he didn't eavesdrop on purpose. Better not to get involved in their affairs.