Chapter 69
Chapter 69
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Foothold (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I've kept it safe, sir."
He bowed his head like a loyal servant.
It was strange. Strange, yet it felt perfectly natural.
The scent of submission.
That was it. Cheonwi instinctively sensed the shopkeeper's condition.
It was the awakening of his ability.
Cheonwi possessed a natural talent for charm. Any woman would open her heart to him easily. When it went a step further, it became like this.
Enthrallment, submission, domination.
Call it whatever you like.
The shopkeeper hadn't left the wooden box at his store. He'd taken it straight to his bedroom and kept it close at hand.
Keep it safe. Don't look at anything.
The shopkeeper probably hadn't even opened the lid. He'd brought it home like it was his own life, clutched it to his chest, and slept that way.
"Take it back."
His mind wasn't at ease.
It was because he'd treated an ordinary commoner with no ties to the martial world like a servant.
He'd always made good use of his entrancing ability for meaningless pleasures, but he'd never wished for something like this. Seducing women was one thing—dragging civilians into the world of martial artists was entirely different.
If someone backtracked Cheonwi's movements in reverse, even fabric shops and general stores could become targets of investigation. Interrogating the owners would be a natural next step.
But if the target was already dead, it was a different story.
To dig that deeply into the movements of someone already eliminated, the target would have to be extremely important. Cheonwi wasn't that kind of figure. Even in the same situation, the Covert Squad wouldn't go as far as tracking down shopkeepers.
That's how he'd calculated it.
Since he was faking his death anyway, he'd chosen to entrust valuables to someone like this shopkeeper. Of course, it was still a gamble.
But he hadn't expected the outcome to turn out like this.
The shopkeeper's expression still looked dazed. Even after safely retrieving the wooden box, Cheonwi felt uneasy. Even if the man's body was transforming into something other than human, his mind hadn't changed much from that of a warrior from the prestigious Hebei Paeng Clan of the Six Great Orthodox Sects of the Central Plains.
He was, after all, a scion of a noble house, one who had to live upholding righteousness. He resolved to carry this unpleasant feeling with him for a long time.
"You never met the owner. Live your life normally, without worry."
Cheonwi chose his words carefully.
If he said "go to sleep," the man might just sleep and die.
"Yes, sir."
The shopkeeper gave the same response as he had in the shop. He stared blankly at Cheonwi for a moment, then lay back down on his bed. He closed his eyes like a man deciding to sleep at his usual time, in his usual way.
Cheonwi slipped out of his bedroom.
The wooden box was heavy.
He pulled a length of white cloth from his travel pack, twisted it into a strap, and wrapped it around the box. Carrying it on his back was much more comfortable. Soon, his figure melted into a single shadow.
A warm darkness welcomed him.
* * *
Honghwa Stream was swarming with government soldiers.
They'd arrived late to the party, which only made them more boisterous.
"What's all this about?"
"Someone died."
"Fell into the river again?"
"I don't know—do you?"
"It looks shallow, but it's deep out there. The current's strong once you get in. People drown now and then."
"Aren't the boatmen down there pulling them out?"
"Not every time."
"Hey, you lot. Haven't you heard? It wasn't drowning."
"What're you talking about?"
"Someone said there was a brutal swordfight. More than one witness. Pointed swords, blades this long! And the body was even set on fire—total chaos!"
"That's why all this fuss."
"It's scary—how's anyone supposed to live like this?"
Amid the clusters of people murmuring in groups, Danmun turned away.
Danmun had taken off his red wig for once. He'd changed into different clothes too. That alone made him look like a completely different person.
"Pulling out."
Not just Danmun—the eight Covert Squad members assembled as the pursuit team had scattered to listen to the same stories.
Cheonwi was dead.
Several people claimed to have seen the moment of his death vividly.
Blood everywhere, gruesome.
Even the second daughter of the Yangwon Guild was familiar to Danmun's eyes. She was weeping bitterly among the soldiers. She kept repeating the scene of her lover dying—three, four times over.
It meant nothing.
It only tormented the poor girl.
The government soldiers wouldn't solve it anyway.
She knew that too. And yet she clung to her grief.
Danmun quietly turned back onto the main street.
He didn't grieve at all upon hearing of his friend's death.
Dead, but fine. It was fine that he was dead.
That was so like Cheonwi.
Inspection Agency scum.
What a ridiculous order.
Pursuit team? He could disband it right in their faces.
A friend.
He'd died so convincingly.
After all that chaos, who would suspect?
What a guy. Praise came naturally.
A faint smile played on Danmun's lips as he headed back to the safe house.
* * *
Danmun's side had wrapped things up neatly with no loose ends, but Oho's was different.
He ran at full speed.
The Covert Squad members picked for the pursuit team once again couldn't keep up with Oho's pace.
"Follow slower!"
Oho broke away from the formation again.
Last time, moving separately like this had caused trouble.
Squad members had died in the Yapcheon tributary. Of course, it wasn't Oho's fault.
Even if they'd moved together, there would've been only two outcomes.
Either clashing with the enemy forces led by Bang Jung-heon.
Or running into the Shadow Emissary alongside Oho.
In the former case, they likely wouldn't have even encountered Bang Jung-heon amid the melee. In the latter, they'd have been smashed by the Shadow Emissary, forcing Oho to take Paeng-eon's role as he lay dying.
This time was different.
As Inspection Division Deputy Director Paeng Deok-yeong had said, his opponent wasn't some shadowy hostile organization—it was just one Covert Squad member, Soyul. Oho's request for reinforcements to the pursuit team had been ignored; they'd only attached eight Covert Squad members. A number that meant nothing if they faced a real enemy elite.
'What if it really is betrayal?'
Oho couldn't fully trust the deputy director's judgment.
He'd spoken of recruitment.
Betrayal and defection implied someone else pulling strings. Within what Oho knew, no one came to mind besides Bang Jung-heon. In fact, Bang Jung-heon had even tried to sway Oho himself, with eloquent arguments that carried real persuasion.
Still, he couldn't imagine Soyul falling for it. Soyul was a man he'd trained himself. Not the type to fold over a few words.
Whoever had lured Soyul away, it wouldn't be some ordinary foe.
That's why Oho had to go ahead.
If there was an elite near Soyul that even the Inspection Agency couldn't detect, the Covert Squad members would all die pointless deaths. Better if it was just Oho who died. That's why he put even more power into his toes.
Pararararak!
Oho didn't suppress the sound of his movement.
In the pitch-black night, his body swiftly traversed the official road.
He spotted Covert Squad codes carved into tall trees at intervals.
The target was already inside the old Pingyo Fortress. He'd veered off into the outer forest path.
'Target.'
The word grated.
They always used it that way, but this time it particularly rubbed him wrong.
Forming a pursuit team against a Covert Squad member?
It wasn't entirely unprecedented.
If a Covert Squad member left the intelligence zone without prior notice for any reason, the protocol was to form a pursuit team first.
Despite the name "pursuit and execution," they never actually hunted down and killed comrades.
If such serious incidents happened often, that itself would be a massive problem.
It was just a standardized procedure.
Even low-ranking Covert Squad members often held key information from headquarters.
That was the biggest reason.
If they couldn't pinpoint a location or make contact, they had to assume the worst—betrayal—when searching for the agent. That was basic.
When the pursuit team found the target, if it was just a temporary deviation or unavoidable circumstances preventing contact, it ended with light discipline.
In truth, pursuit teams were investigation squads, not killers. The "execution" in the name was more a warning.
Oho himself had run three such teams before.
The targets had all been Cheonwi.
Booze, gambling, women.
He'd chased him down three times for those reasons.
When he learned Cheonwi had vanished from the Covert Squad network for such trivial causes, even Oho had wanted to kill him.
He fully understood the agency's choice.
Considering the value of the information in Cheonwi's head, a few lives wouldn't suffice. The guy's mind was stuffed with all sorts of secrets.
Cheonwi even knew the passwords for enemy camps and escape routes. If betrayal was confirmed, an execution order wouldn't be excessive.
But Soyul was different from Cheonwi.
Completely different.
He wasn't the type the words "kill target" suited.
Honest character, impeccable manners. A prime example of the younger generation from a prestigious clan.
'Was that why?'
The thought made Oho anxious instead.
Soyul was a man of fine character.
He didn't fit with schemes and dirty tricks. Oho remembered questioning if he was even suited for the Covert Squad.
His staunch sense of justice might have ruined things.
Subverting duties was hardly the righteous path.
Soyul wasn't jaded enough by the world's harshness to compromise with contradictions. Suddenly, that worried him.
Shaaak!
He heard the rush of air.
He saw a golden signal flare rising into the sky ahead.
It had a white tail.
The white-tailed signal meant the situation was stable. Very low chance of combat. Good news. Oho didn't want to draw his sword.
Tadadak!
He sped up even more.
A little farther, and the old fortress came into view.
It was exactly what it sounded like—an ancient castle ruin.
An old capital lay within walls that had stood who-knows-how-long. Weathered battlements crumbled in places, awaiting endless repairs. Though walled, the poor condition meant it no longer functioned as a fortress. More like ruins.
He passed through a collapsed wall section and entered the forest.
The woods were eerie, shrouded in night fog. The kind of night where anything could emerge.
He found the final code.
He paused to circulate his qi and build inner energy. His breathing steadied. His mind calmed.
A promising kid.
He knew his skills well. Still very green. He followed training well but lacked standout martial talent. Even so, Oho didn't underestimate him. He checked his condition thoroughly and prepared for surprises.