Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Chapter 8: Martial Arts (9)
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What happened to gang leaders who knelt before outsiders?
It all depended entirely on the disposition of each individual master.
Some ruled supreme from the top, treating them like limbs to command. Others disciplined them so they couldn't commit evil deeds, while there were no small number who simply left them be as long as they didn't cause personal trouble.
It was a common tale.
Even so, Cheonwi's mind was more cluttered than ever.
A sturdy back appeared before his eyes.
It was a textbook example. An old master who had settled in a small coastal town, keeping the petty gangs under his heel—a recluse who could be found anywhere. At first glance, that's exactly what he seemed. Clearly.
But why.
Why not.
Doubts swirled in his mind.
"Did you see it?"
"Yes, I did."
The graying man, Bi Elder, asked without turning his head as he walked. Cheonwi responded with proper decorum.
"The forms?"
"Five Classics, Mutual Aid, Laptā, and Variant Forms."
"Sharp. Good eyes, too."
Bi Elder didn't wait for a reply. Cheonwi didn't add more words deliberately.
The sea came into view ahead.
Sunset light shattered at the crests of approaching waves. Songgang's scenery was that of an ordinary beach village, but like all such places, a seaside town at dusk was breathtakingly beautiful.
"You must have a lot of questions."
"Yes."
Bi Elder stopped atop the hill.
Cheonwi watched his final step, his upright stance.
Oho and Danmun had never once mentioned a hidden master who held the Songgang Three Minor Sects by the throat.
Which meant his existence wasn't even in the Espionage Division reports.
The Espionage Division was thorough.
No matter how lacking the insight of lowly agents, it was impossible for them to omit such a figure from their analysis reports on resident martial artists in the region.
Watching him now, the reason became clear enough.
Espionage Division reports targeted complete outsiders. In other words, blood kin of the clan or retainers didn't qualify.
"I have a question, too."
"Please speak."
"Was it you?"
The question carried many layers of meaning.
Cheonwi acknowledged it immediately.
"Yes."
"Did you learn the Left Path Gate's arts?"
"No."
"Then how did you plant the mind enchantment? Huang Jo's an idiot, but not so far gone."
"I merely deceived him巧fully with words."
"No, no."
Bi Elder stared straight at Cheonwi. Even with the bamboo hat brim shading his eyes, Cheonwi could feel the gaze piercing through the bamboo weave.
"Take off the hat. I need to see your eyes."
Cheonwi obediently removed the hat with his remaining hand.
In the flashing gaze, he saw stubbornness and freedom.
Bi Elder furrowed his brow.
"No evil aura, and your features are fine. Breathing like the Peng style, yet your internal energy is pathetic. Yes, you're the one. The ill-fated prodigy with the Heaven-Earth Frame's peculiar body."
He couldn't even nod at being called a prodigy.
His silence affirmed it.
Bi Elder laughed.
It was a familiar smile. The corners of his mouth lifted, but his eyes held no mirth.
"Do you know who I am?"
"No."
He'd heard the name. Bi Elder.
But that alone didn't mean he knew him. The man wasn't just asking for a name.
"Not in the reports?"
"I've heard nothing."
"You need to hear it to know? Not read?"
"Yes."
"You aren't a corpse, are you?"
Corpse.
It had been a while.
Slang for agents processed as dead but still alive and well.
"Corpse. Yes."
It wasn't used anymore. Only those a generation above Peng Jun's branch chief, his father's cohort, tossed it out now and then like a stale joke.
"Funny. Not even in regional reports. Am I a corpse too? I asked to be struck from the registry, and they straight-up kill me off? Their antics haven't changed from back then or now!"
'Expulsion...!'
Now it made sense.
Blood registry removal was rare but not unheard of. It was handled much like death on paper. The difference was outsider status. Marked as expelled, the person was instantly treated as an outsider, not Peng blood. Their name would appear on lists of key regional martial artists. No longer family, they were potential enemies. Judged with red classifications distinguishing friend from foe.
Death was different.
The dead—whether truly gone or not—weren't outsiders. That's why he wasn't in reports. Espionage agents weren't blind. Initial reports on mystery masters surely went up, but higher-ups filtered them. He became a non-entity in official shared documents.
"Your name?"
"Cheonwi."
"Cheonwi... whose son was that? You've heard mine?"
"Yes."
"It's my real name."
Bi Elder, Peng Bi.
Everyone at the Three Little Sages called him that.
Bi (飛).
Peng Bi (彭飛).
Cheonwi had sharp eyes.
He knew at first sight it was clan.
He'd seen him yank Huang Jo's head and smash it into the table.
Eight Views Golden Claw Technique.
Twisted into an extreme variant, only traces of the original form remained. No one else used family arts that way.
Espionage Division.
That was why Cheonwi had been polite from the start.
The Espionage Division had few senior members of note.
Dead, missing, retired to desk jobs pretending normal, or for whatever reason, they all left at some point. Past fifty, active ones were hard to find.
Fifty—they called it knowing heaven's mandate.
Espionage life was grueling. Trust no one, deceive everyone. By the age of knowing one's fate, anyone would tire of it.
Seniors said as much. At forty—not perplexed—they called it pointless.
Past forty, the mind stayed chaotic, judgments forever doubted. Not a lifelong gig. That's why the Espionage Division lacked elders.
"This junior Cheonwi greets a senior Espionage Division agent. Forgive my shallow knowledge."
"Not knowing me is good for me. Means I've lived quietly so far and can keep doing so."
Peng Bi said that.
Cheonwi looked at Peng Bi's face again.
Impossible to guess his age, thus his seniority. Even hearing the name brought nothing to mind. No records recalled.
It happened.
The Espionage Division had no famous figures.
Fame from martial prowess was poison to spies. Once known by martial name, they belonged in the Patrol Division instead. Plenty such cases.
Peng Bi was a master without official records.
A true Espionage Division man.
His speech and aura marked him as an elite agent from the Ming-Chosun chaos era. With sky-high martial arts to boot. Cheonwi had never seen such flawless Eight Views Golden Claw. Replaying it mentally several times, he found no exploitable flaws.
"Did you wash your hands in gold...?"
His first question at last.
Peng Bi countered.
"You're asking if I'm still active?"
"Yes."
"No. Nothing so grand as golden retirement. I just quit. The Espionage Division."
Could you just quit the Espionage Division like that?
That one line sparked endless questions, but Cheonwi held back from asking why.
The emotion in Peng Bi's voice—not very Espionage-like—explained plenty.
When no follow-up came as expected, Peng Bi looked at Cheonwi again. The blade-sharp gaze softened somewhat.
"How'd you lose the arm?"
"Lost it in a combat operation."
"Operation? Here?"
"Taiyuan Commandery."
"Taiyuan's Shanxi, right?"
"Yes."
"From Shanxi to here in days? How?"
"I came in winter."
"What? The arm report was months ago."
"Severed last fall."
"Fall? And you're walking fine? Your balance assumes both arms."
Impressed by the insight.
No easy excuse came to mind.
Couldn't say someone reattached and detached arms at will.
"My low skill meant less impact."
"If you don't want to say, just say so. Don't spout nonsense. You're no clan elder anymore anyway."
"Probably my physical traits as well..."
"Enough."
Peng Bi raised a hand, cutting Cheonwi off.
"After all this talk, I still can't read you. Fundamentally different from the usual house pups. The Three Little Sages mess was you too? Chai targeting the manor?"
"Yes."
"From the clan?"
"Yes."
"To expand and fortify into a proper formation, yeah, clear them first. Haiwu Sect... through Chai for proxy murder?"
"That's right too."
Cheonwi answered honestly.
Peng Bi scowled.
"You really Espionage Division?"
Peng Bi had said it himself.
Requested expulsion.
An outsider.
Espionage agents blabbing clan affairs warranted severe punishment. Even retired, Peng Bi clearly disliked Cheonwi's casual tongue. Espionage instincts.
"Corpse, for now."
Cheonwi replied thus.
That eased the furrow in Peng Bi's brow.
"Right, if I'm a corpse too, then not quite an outsider yet."
"Even as an outsider, it's fine."
"What?"
"No proof my words are true. Espionage ops use truth and lies alike."
"Look at this guy."
Peng Bi's mouth corner lifted.
A glint of real amusement in his eyes. No feigned expression.
"So, one thing I'd like to ask."
"What?"
"Do you still consider yourself part of the Peng Clan?"
"I haven't shed my blood. Left the Espionage Division, but..."
"Then, may I make one request?"
"Hmm. Let's hear it."
"Teach me martial arts."
"Martial arts?"
"Yes."
"Why would I?"
"For nurturing juniors."
Peng Bi's retort was unexpected, but Cheonwi answered without flinching.
Peng Bi's smile deepened.
"A guy who can't even grip a Talbaek Sword aiming for Iron Blood? That body can't handle it."
"Not me learning."
"Then who?"
"Oho and Danmun, my Heaven-Earth Hall classmates and close friends."
Peng Bi heard the names of his distant juniors and paused, brow furrowed, searching memory.
At last.
Peng Bi answered.
"No."