Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Establishing a Foothold (11)
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“What kind of house is it that everyone’s acting like this? Even the Haewu Gang boss was grinding his teeth.”
“Huang Jo, that punk?”
“They say everyone in that house has a stiff neck.”
“Doesn’t realize his own head’s about to fly off.”
“Huh?”
“Tell whoever comes out of there—even if it’s a kid—not to make eye contact. If they pick a fight by mistake, the Haewu Gang’ll vanish overnight.”
“Elder, you gotta give me something I can actually say. Telling the Haewu boss not to even look a kid in the eye? Whose head d’you think falls first?”
“Fair point. Then I’ll give the advice myself. Tell him to show his face when we meet.”
“No, Elder, that won’t fly either. ‘Bi Elder wants to see you—come quick.’ Say that to Huang Jo and I’m dead.”
“I’ll avenge you.”
“Said no meeting with the boss.”
“You’ve gotta go pay up in three days anyway.”
“How’d you know that, Elder?”
“You didn’t raise the tribute, right?”
“Course not, not since you told us.”
“Tell ’em not to even dream of asking for more.”
“Elder.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s nothing I can say to Huang Jo.”
“You say plenty to me. Am I the easy mark?”
“You don’t mess with the likes of us, Elder.”
“No one stays the same forever.”
“If they don’t, they die. Simple as that.”
“Getting bold, huh.”
“So, what’s the deal with that house?”
“Mind your own business.”
“C’mon, Elder, spill it.”
“You’ll find out when the time comes.”
The two grumbled and bickered as they turned away from the Peng Clan manor.
The Peng Clan still hadn’t hung up their plaque at the Songgang Branch.
Once that plaque—with calligraphy overwhelming even the hero tablets—went up on the main gate, Songgang would fall under Peng Clan rule.
The day had come.
Bi Elder’s mood soured.
He hadn’t thought it would happen.
Of all places, here.
About to see an ugly sight he didn’t want to.
Memories he’d buried flashed through his mind like a lantern show.
He knew too much, couldn’t forget enough—none of it good.
What was done couldn’t be undone.
Looked like a quiet life in this lifetime was off the table.
Today, he’d take a boat out to the open sea.
The vast ocean would soothe him.
His simple gear felt heavy, impossibly so.
His heart churned with unease.
* * *
“How’d you find a spot like this?”
Oho and Danmun had tracked down Cheonwi.
Cheonwi’s hideout was midway up a wild mountain near the branch.
Behind the thatched hut, he’d dug a tunnel linking to a natural cave in the hillside.
Over the tunnel mouth, he’d built a small wooden shed as camouflage storage. Perfect as a hideout, flawless as an escape route.
“Not bad.”
“You did this solo?”
“Tuno helped.”
Oho and Danmun clicked their tongues in amazement.
Cheonwi had arrived in Songgang ten days ahead of their expectations. In that time, he’d scouted this place and dug the tunnel. Impressive, even with Tuno’s help—it didn’t look easy.
“Only dug this far. It connected naturally.”
The cave stretched long and wide.
The air was fresh. Distant water sounds echoed. A natural secret grotto.
“Entrances?”
“Three. Besides the one I dug.”
“No beasts coming and going?”
“Cleared ’em out. Camouflaged the mouths.”
Cheonwi answered calmly.
He’d planned for safety, of course.
A hideout meant secure. Cheonwi was Espionage Squad, after all. They always did.
“But it’s too damn dark.”
“Bright enough.”
“Even eye-training meditations aren’t this bad.”
A single desk sat forlorn in the pitch-black cave.
One small candle on it provided all the light. Next to it, a hefty stack of books. Danmun flipped through one and asked.
“Medical texts?”
“Needed to check some things.”
“Didn’t you read most of ’em already?”
“Yeah. That’s where I hit the wall.”
Cheonwi’s face looked bitter.
His complexion was pale, unhealthy. But Oho and Danmun didn’t worry. That was his natural color. If he was buried in something, it was a blessing—they’d take brooding in the dark over him stirring trouble outside any day.
“What’re you curious about?”
Oho asked again. Normally he wouldn’t, but he’d decided to nurture some curiosity lately.
“Blood.”
Cheonwi replied.
“Ah.”
Oho, for once, trailed off after asking.
Danmun picked up the thread.
“If you’re diving deep, these basic medical books won’t cut it.”
“Exactly.”
“Want me to hunt some down?”
“Appreciate it.”
Danmun nodded.
Cheonwi was a dead man.
No access to Peng Clan intel archives. Not right now, anyway. “Speaking of, here’s Tuno’s tag and travel permit. You’ll get a new identity soon too.”
Oho pulled a small wooden plaque and a paper document from his bosom.
“Travel permit’s one thing, but a tag too?”
“That’s the word. Tuno’s not your personal servant anymore. Assigned as Espionage Squad support—martial backup and odd jobs for branch agents.”
“They even took Tuno? Dying really tanks the perks.”
“You saw it coming. Deal.”
The tag was simple: identity proof.
Officials carved names and ranks on jade or ivory luxuries. Commoners used wooden slips. Travel permits were required for outsiders entering distant lands. Most murim folk skipped them, and local yamen rarely enforced checks.
Problem was Songgang Branch’s proximity to Nanjing.
In average towns, no tag meant a bribe or two to blind the guards. Remoter spots, a blade did the job.
Not Songgang.
Strongest Ming rule here.
Yamen followed procedures to the letter. To pull anything off, you needed solid cover—even village elder disguises like Tuno’s required tag and permit.
While Cheonwi flipped Tuno’s tag, Danmun closed the medical text.
Now Danmun asked.
“Anything strike you while you’ve been here early?”
Cheonwi tilted his head once.
“Too many people? That’s about it.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. Wasn’t thinking.”
“You?”
“Busy.”
Cheonwi nodded toward the tunnel linked to the cave.
Danmun accepted it for now.
But pressed on.
“Think now. What’s the reason?”
“Hmm. Maybe moving in or something.”
Cheonwi voiced a fleeting thought.
“Moving? Pfft.”
Oho started to brush it off, then paused.
Cheonwi’s words, no matter how odd, couldn’t be dismissed. Hunches turned real too often.
“No way.”
Danmun felt it too.
He scoffed aloud, but his mind raced.
Peng Geumseong, Yeon Gyohwa—his parents—showed huge interest in Songgang Branch. Equipping even low-key Tuno with tag and permit meant big plans. No joking off Cheonwi’s remark.
“We’ll see watching. Let it be.”
Cheonwi cut their thoughts short.
Then to Oho.
“Hand it over.”
“Huh?”
“Unnamed Blade.”
Oho startled badly.
“You knew?”
“My idea from the start.”
Oho startled again. Still, he produced the Unnamed Blade manual. Cheonwi took it, flipped straight to the back. A gleam flashed in his eyes.
“That Fourth Hero elder, always the fun one.”
“Four Heroes?”
“Who else is ‘Fourth Hero’?”
Cheonwi skimmed backward rapidly.
He continued.
“Back pages are recent. Fresh insights, messy and unordered. But original. He could probably use ’em raw.”
“Four Heroes insights? So this is all…?”
“Not just him—First, Third too. Middle here, different paper. This bundled part’s the Clan Head’s.”
“What?”
“Clan Head’s?”
Oho startled a third time. Danmun too.
Danmun raised a brow at Oho.
“Misc blade book, right?”
“That’s what I thought.”
Oho scowled back.
They’d heard it was miscellaneous. But high Peng experts adding verses? Even Blade God Peng Il-gang’s notes? Priceless treasure.
“You flipped through it. It’s misc blades.”
Cheonwi saw different.
He tossed the manual onto the desk.
Thud! It splayed open.
“Hey! Whoa! Careful with that!”
Oho jumped, hands flailing.
Incredible thing, unrecognized. Some diagrams and formulas hinted profundity, but fragmented—he’d skimmed and shelved.
“Peak master level or higher to learn properly. Even then, without Peng Blade essence, it’s worthless. To outsiders? Doodles.”
“So…”
“Below that level. Both of you.”
“…”
“I didn’t study it right either.”
Danmun tried a pointless rebuttal.
“You’re the same.”
Cheonwi shut it down.
He spoke slowly.
“Counter-arts aim isn’t just finding target weaknesses. Know the moves, then refine inversely to perfect arts. Know this? Peng Blade’s essence is riddled with fragments. Incomplete by design.”
“What?”
“How’s that?”
Oho and Danmun couldn’t grasp it at first.
They got the words, not the weight.
Long with Cheonwi, but first time hearing this. No one ever said it. Peng Blade Sect: Central Plains’ top blade art. Not just clan walls—whole murim agreed. Cheonwi upended it all with a few words.