Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Foothold (6)
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“You handled the matter in such a sloppy way!”
“Seven Espionage Squad members are dead! Seven!”
“You absolutely had to protect Cheonwi. How could you let a guy with mediocre martial arts act alone?”
“The core is gone. The Countermeasure Project is on the verge of collapse—who’s going to take responsibility for that!”
“Are you in your right mind? Using Espionage Squad agents as clerks, and losing the Shaanxi Yigang annotations?”
“You didn’t even notice a lowly squad member deserting. The pursuit failed too. It’s so pathetic it’s embarrassing to even call it incompetence!”
The rebukes were fiercer than a typhoon and sharper than a steel blade.
Upon returning to the main house, Oho had to endure a barrage of scoldings that felt like being struck by lightning.
Five Espionage Squad members had died at the hands of the Conference Emissary.
One more among those who had gathered at Soyul and Ryu Hang’s rendezvous point was also dead.
Cheonwi was dead, and Soyul had slipped away.
None of it had been anticipated.
In the end, it was Branch Chief Oho’s fault.
He had misjudged the power of the shadow faction.
If he had known in advance, he would have withdrawn the entire Espionage Squad while having Dongpungneung and Hwangryeo duel one-on-one, preventing them from intervening in the chaos.
That very thought was pointed out to him.
He shouldn’t have sent Cheonwi into the fray, and he should have spotted Soyul’s signs of betrayal much earlier.
Since he hadn’t known, the responsibility fell on Oho.
It was a disaster born from insufficient intelligence.
He should have gathered more, analyzed more, and prevented the situation before it arose. He had no words to say, even if he had ten mouths. That was the world of espionage.
Today it was Wa Emperor Pavilion, tomorrow Paecheonyuan, the day after back to Wa Emperor Pavilion. For nearly a month, he was summoned by the higher-ups and subjected to reprimands.
“It was my shortcoming...”
“I don’t want to hear that crap! People died because of your shortcomings!”
He silently bowed his head and took the shouting.
It was a household of such high status that no objects flew across the table. It might have been better if something had been thrown to crack his skull.
“The family head just let out a sigh. How are we supposed to clean up this mess of stupidity...”
Not everyone rebuked him with dignity.
He even felt grateful toward those who did.
Of course, his heart ached just the same.
He had faced pretty much everyone of high standing.
Everyone except the family head.
He lacked the face to see the family head, and the family head likely saw no value in seeing him directly.
No one was without anger. After taking so much abuse, his mind was growing hazy.
The most painful part was visiting the families of the fallen Espionage Squad members.
Unlike the higher-ups, they didn’t blame Oho.
Death in the line of duty was the fate a warrior family had to accept. Not everyone possessed the iron will of a true martial artist, though.
Most accepted it stoically, but some collapsed in tears.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Don’t make that face.”
“My child talked about you a lot. Live well enough for both of them.”
Those words hurt even more.
He wished they’d yelled at him to bring their sons back alive.
But even that would be selfish, just to ease his own heart.
He forced himself to face their grief head-on.
That was his duty.
After visiting many families, the hardest moment arrived.
He had to see Soyul’s father.
Soyul’s father, Pang Yang, lived on the outermost edge of the Peng clan’s extended family quarters.
He should have been the first one visited. No matter that Oho was Soyul’s superior, by clan hierarchy, he was an elder. Word should have been sent first that Oho wished to pay respects, and only after receiving permission could he show his face. But being dragged around by superiors had delayed it. Late autumn had turned to winter, with snowflakes now falling.
“I heard about it. It’s my fault.”
Pang Yang was missing one hand.
Losing one hand could be managed by switching from a heavy double-handed blade to a lighter narrow sword. But Pang Yang’s left leg was also imperfect. In his youth, he had been a prime candidate for the Heaven-Destroying Squad among the Lake Guard members. But after suffering a major injury on a mission, he failed to make a comeback. It had happened while saving a comrade in battle.
He received no small praise and rewards. But as time passed, even great honors faded.
With his martial arts declining, he couldn’t hold on in the Lake Guard. He resigned voluntarily, but it amounted to expulsion. After some generous treatment, he ended up handling the clan’s miscellaneous tasks. Regrettable, but a common tale. An inevitable course.
“I must have passed on my own frustrations to him unknowingly.”
Pang Yang’s eyes were bright and clear.
Soyul had been the same once.
He spoke of passing on frustration, yet Pang Yang himself showed no trace of gloom.
The elimination of the unfit was no injustice. At least in the jianghu martial world, it was the natural order.
Who knew, though.
From a son’s perspective, seeing a father resigned to fate might be even more heartbreaking. Whether that was the cause, only living as Soyul could reveal.
“I’m sorry. He was an agent under my command, and I failed to protect him.”
Oho bowed his head in apology to Pang Yang as well.
“Who’s there to protect whom? In the martial world, you have to look after your own body and mind.”
His tone was calm, but the words carried weight.
It wasn’t a rebuke toward Oho.
It felt like Pang Yang’s own story woven in, leaving Oho’s heart even heavier.
Oho bowed deeply and clasped his hands in respect.
As he turned to leave, he spotted a familiar face.
Entering with an aura sharp as thorns.
It was Pang Deokyeong, Deputy Director of the Inspection Division’s First Bureau, whom he had seen in Taewon Prefecture.
Of all days, today. Or perhaps he had come knowing Oho would be here. That seemed more plausible. The Inspection Division knew the clan’s affairs as intimately as the Espionage Squad. Of course, he showed no sign of it. Pang Deokyeong passed by without glancing at Oho.
He walked straight to Pang Yang and said,
“Long time no see.”
“Indeed.”
Pang Yang returned a cupped-hand salute to Pang Deokyeong.
Even if Oho was lazy about some things, he was still Espionage Squad. He knew the main house genealogy well enough.
Pang Deokyeong and Pang Yang had been Lake Guard comrades. Pang Deokyeong had been at the very scene where Pang Yang lost his hand saving a comrade.
Yet Pang Deokyeong ordered the pursuit of Soyul, Pang Yang’s son, without the slightest hesitation.
That was the kind of man Pang Deokyeong was. That was why he was in the Inspection Division, why he had risen so high.
“You need to be investigated too.”
“I know.”
Pang Yang answered impassively.
“I deliberately left you alone for a while to watch. You seemed far too composed.”
“It’s out of my hands now. I have my own duties to attend to—what can I do?”
“You could’ve run. That would’ve made things simpler.”
“Did you want me to?”
“Half and half?”
“Still the same. Too brutally honest.”
“If the father’s involved, there might be clues, making it easier to resolve. If there’s no suspicion, it’s a dead end and a headache.”
“So, you’re taking me in?”
“Call it a formal questioning. Honestly, I lean toward the latter. If I suspected you, I’d have brought a swarm of agents.”
“I don’t know why that child did what he did.”
“So it seems.”
“Thanks for seeing it that way.”
“You’ll come quietly?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll face a lot of questions.”
“I’ll answer them sincerely.”
Oho left Pang Yang’s dwelling without hearing more.
Pang Yang was taken to the Inspection Division by Pang Deokyeong. He called it not an arrest, but it was.
Oho knew all too well how this process would unfold.
His heart grew more tangled.
Soyul had no mother, just like Oho himself. For the exact same reason: she hadn’t survived a difficult birth. That was why he had paid extra attention to him. Entrusting him with clerk duties for the Countermeasure Project annotations came from that trust and closeness.
For such a guy to betray them.
His father, Pang Yang, would endure great hardship day and night. If his mother had lived, she’d have been dragged to the Inspection Division too.
Throughout it all, there was nothing Oho could do.
That was the way of a great clan.
No matter the sentiments, such matters had to be thoroughly investigated. Regardless of how Pang Yang lived with what gaze, it didn’t prove his innocence in Soyul’s betrayal.
Even if Pang Yang turned out to be Soyul’s backer, it would just mean Oho had misjudged the man. Nothing more, nothing less. Even Espionage Squad made such mistakes routinely. Just as Oho hadn’t anticipated Soyul’s odd behavior at all.
Still, he prayed Pang Yang had no involvement.
And Soyul too. He hoped Soyul’s true heart wasn’t in it—that he’d been bewitched by evil sorcery or had no choice.
He truly hoped so.
Oho prayed.
In that way, Oho treated people with sincerity.
He got along with everyone and maintained good relations with most.
He hadn’t clashed with any of the families of the dead because of his trustworthiness.
The elders had chewed him out because they knew he’d listen. All that criticism was another way of expressing high expectations.
It all boiled down to two words: personal charisma.
It was hard to find anyone who disliked Oho. He himself didn’t easily hate or distance others.
But even for such an Oho, there was one terrifying person in the world.
Immature charisma meant nothing before him.
At last, Oho received a summons from the most feared one. With a stiffened face, he ascended the stairs of the Espionage Pavilion on the left side of Wa Emperor Pavilion.
“Long time no see.”
“I greet the Institute Lord.”
Not the Division Chief, but the Institute Lord.
The Espionage Squad was called a “squad” for operational deployment in major maneuvers. Its formal name as an organization was the Espionage Institute. Formally, it was the Espionage Squad under the Espionage Institute Lord, directly under the Peng family head—a long title.
Oho saluted the Espionage Institute Lord, head of the Espionage Squad, and bowed his head deeper than usual.
The Espionage Institute Lord, Pang Wol, had thick eyebrows and bulging eyes. Bearing the name of the moon, he emanated an aura like the sun.
“I hear there were many mistakes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That phrase is already second nature to you. It pops out like you’ve been waiting. Not pleasant to hear, but understandable. How harshly they must have hounded you.”
Oho already felt a chill sweat trickling down his back.
Of course, no actual sweat flowed. He was an internal arts practitioner. That was how tense he was.