Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: In the End, She Left Like That
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Gui Jegal wiped the blood from his hands with a handkerchief after finishing all the interrogations, grumbling.
“Such a venomous bitch! She really wore me out, seriously!!”
Interrogating Kyo Ilji had been an incredibly exhausting task.
Like most spies or infiltrators, she had undergone brainwashing training, making it far from easy to pry her mouth open.
But as the name "Gui" suggested, Gui Jegal was someone who never knew the word quit.
In the end, Kyo Ilji spilled everything she knew.
The locations and contacts of the South Palace Clan's networks scattered across Sacheon Province, including Gu Ryonghyeon.
Gui Jegal handed the documents to a guard beside him and issued orders.
“Take this to Punghwajung and cross-reference it with the materials Young Master Unhwi provided. That way, we can grasp all of the South Palace Clan's movements and the Demonic Cult's travels.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And tell Jeongpungak to move out immediately. We have to eliminate them all before they sense something's off and flee Sacheon. Oh, and pass along that any mistakes mean a three-month pay cut. They'll run around like wild boars that got paid in advance, right?”
“Th-three months.... Understood.”
The guard vanished, inwardly pitying Jeongpungak.
Gui Jegal fanned himself with his white feather fan to cool the sweltering sweat.
But he couldn't cool the sweat trickling inside his thick, deeply hooded mask.
* * *
“…In the end, she left like that.”
Dang Hoseon murmured softly as he set down the brief report from Gui Jegal that the guard had brought.
It detailed the handling of Namgung San-yeong and the plans going forward.
He removed the eyeglasses perched on the end of his nose as if fatigued, lightly rubbing his eyes with his index and thumb, and said.
“Proceed as is.”
But the guard hesitated, unable to leave right away.
Dang Hoseon's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Why are you still standing there?”
“…It's just that.”
“?”
“Lord Punghwajung repeatedly emphasized to confirm properly if the Branch Leader is all right—”
“I'm fine.”
“But—”
“At times like this, I get confused whether I'm the superior or if it's Zhuge.”
“No, sir! I'll correct that!!”
The guard snatched up the documents and scurried away.
Dang Hoseon stared at the door where the guard had disappeared, then snorted.
“Damn it, every one of them is unnecessarily sharp.”
At times like this, even his old comrades from their battlefield days became a hassle.
No matter how long the marital bond had faded, they had lived as husband and wife for nearly twenty years.
In the end, killing Namgung San-yeong with his own hands was no different.
After all, it was he who had initially decided to use her as bait for the plan.
So he had braced for this bitter aftertaste, but actually tasting it wasn't pleasant at all.
“…No way.”
Suddenly, something flashed through Dang Hoseon's mind.
He opened the bottom drawer of his desk.
The place where he kept only the most critical confidential documents, sorted separately.
But atop those documents rolled an unfamiliar gourd bottle he had never seen before.
“Ha.”
Dang Hoseon let out a hollow laugh in disbelief as he picked up the gourd bottle.
Liquid sloshed inside.
It was baekju, the cheap white liquor he had drunk endlessly back in his days leading the Gale Wind Unit.
Those were times of endless weary routines, so he would knock back this easily obtainable village brew from nearby towns to relieve fatigue, often sharing it with comrades.
When comrades fell, he would pile up stone mounds for them and pour an entire bottle over the top, saying drink your fill.
Gui Jegal had tucked away this baekju for old times' sake.
“No cup... huh.”
Dang Hoseon glanced around for a cup to pour the baekju into, then realized Gui Jegal had cleared that away too.
Just commemorating the departed like in the old days, huh.
Dang Hoseon smiled wryly and uncorked the gourd bottle.
A musty smell wafted out.
It was genuine, unrefined village baekju.
Dang Hoseon turned toward the window and gazed at the sky.
With the new moon visible through the wide-open window as his side dish, he downed the baekju for a long while.
“…Tastes awful.”
* * *
Back in the room.
I uncorked the gourd bottle and filled Dang Gyujin's cup.
Glug glug!
The murky liquid swirled.
Baekju.
“…….”
Dang Gyujin drank it silently.
Perhaps because it was cheap swill, the aftertaste wasn't clean.
Dang Gyujin's face twisted slightly.
But she held out her cup again.
As if asking for more.
I refilled it, and Dang Gyujin drank again.
The wordless drinking session lasted through the night.
* * *
Time flew by.
Gui Jegal had been away for days with his guards, vowing to uproot the South Palace Clan, while I focused on my duties as sub-branch leader.
In particular, I concentrated on pinpointing the exact locations of the North Sea Sect's vanguard already hidden in Gu Ryonghyeon.
As expected, Baek San's death had caused minor shifts in position, but I successfully traced most of their whereabouts.
I instructed the 'eyes' I had planted in advance not to act rashly.
We had to wait and wait until the leader of the group, the North Sea Sect Lord, fully revealed himself.
Only then could we move in earnest.
First, I planned to use Amjon as bait to lure them deep into the Nine Dragons Branch Family.
That's when they would realize.
That the Nine Dragons Branch Family they targeted was actually an antlion pit, jaws wide open, waiting to devour them.
「At a glance, it doesn't seem much different from the original plan.」
'No. It is different. Unlike Punghwajung, I can see through their movements completely. I know how to respond. And I know their habits. That makes a big difference.'
I smiled coldly.
Onma, linked through mind and spirit, radiated positive intent.
It meant that much trust in me.
「The wraiths are continuously monitoring the Gu Ryonghyeon area, so we should hear good news soon.」
'Yeah. Keep watching closely.'
As long as Onma guarded the skies, they could never escape my surveillance net.
I wanted to focus solely on surveillance like this.
The problem was that a sub-branch leader had far more tasks than expected.
Fortunately, Dang Gyujin had sorted her troubled heart and returned to duties, helping by my side.
But the work was still overwhelmingly abundant.
Too much.
“…Sis.”
“What?”
“I thought about it deeply last night. Really, really deeply.”
“Why's your sentence dragging on like that? What do you want to say?”
“The heavy responsibility of the seat I'm sitting in.”
“…….”
“This position doesn't seem fit for a immature kid like me. Someone more mature, sensible, overflowing with responsibility, and above all, the one most loved by the household staff— you, Sis— would be perfect for—”
“What. I thought it was something important, but it's nonsense.”
“Sis, you can't see it that way! The sub-branch leader position is for the Nine Dragons Branch Family that will continue for over a hundred years—”
“You must've rested well. Time to get up. Looks like guests are coming?”
“…….”
She wouldn't listen. She flat-out wouldn't listen!
「It seems Heavenly Leaf Immortal now knows exactly what kind of personality the Young Cult Leader has—」
「Even so, she's the only one in the world who can ignore the Young Cult Leader's words like that—」
Dang Gyujin grabbed my hand and forcibly dragged me to the main gate.
Why were there so many visitors in just one day?
Traditionally, receiving guests was the successor's duty.
The issue was that as the Young Cult Leader of the New Cult, I had always dumped that on my subordinates....
I naively thought I could do the same here, but that was my fatal mistake.
I'd forgotten who was by my side.
Dang Gyujin!
She was the Sichuan Dang Family's proudest late-generation talent, trained in imperial studies for years to become the Nine Dragons Branch Family's successor.
Plus, while cultivating the Way on Cheongsung Mountain with those stiff-necked folks, she had fully absorbed their rigid habits.
She might sneak sips of gokcha (called tea but written as liquor) and show a sloppy side occasionally, but the words defining her identity were all 'strict,' 'stern,' 'serious,' escalating to 'stubborn,' 'inflexible,' 'conservative.'
No matter how I tried to slack off, I couldn't escape her watchful eye(?).
No matter how I wheedled and cajoled, it bounced off like an iron wall. It was driving me insane.
Bulletproof, totally bulletproof!
Save me!
I seriously didn't want to work to death!
「...Ahem! It seems the Young Cult Leader has finally met his worst nemesis.」
「But somehow, it feels satisfying too—」
What the hell, guys?
「Gasp! The Young Cult Leader's glaring with axe eyes!」
「Emergency! Emergency! Everyone, head-dive!」
「Forgive us, Young Cult Leader!!」
「We'll correct it!」
Even as the wraiths put on their comical show, there was no sign of my workload lightening.
At the main gate stood Dang Gon.
Seeing me dragged along by the nape like a sack by Dang Gyujin, his beaming smile was the brightest face I'd seen yet.
“Pfft.”
“…Laughing?”
“Oh dear! I slipped up in front of the sub-branch leader.”
“If you know you messed up, reflect properly, okay?”
“Puhahaha! I should've held it in. Puhuhuhuhu!”
“…….”
Even Dang Gon, once the world's pushover, was now teasing me.
I couldn't fathom how far my authority had plummeted.
“You look great. It was pathetic seeing you holed up in Baekseokjeon alone, wasting away while everyone else was busy. Now finally seeing you work hard fills me with overwhelming emotion—it's overflowing!”
“Seeing me suffer looks good to you, huh.”
“I won't deny it.”
“Agh.”
Were all the people around me just out to mess with me?
Anyway, this was all because of the North Sea Sect heretics and apostates.
If they hadn't stirred up trouble in Sacheon, I wouldn't have to suffer like this, right?
Useless in past life and present, they all needed extermination.
I'd uproot them completely so I never had to deal with this crap again.
And then, I'd dump every single shift on you, Dang Gon. Hmph.
“More importantly, the request?”
“All prepared. They weren't thrilled about overhauling the existing defense system.”
Turning the Nine Dragons Branch Family into an antlion pit wasn't easy.
As Dang Hoseon cherished, Gui Jegal was an outstanding strategist.
The defense plan had elements even I had to admire.
But the problem was it was too outdated.
Drafted based on the New Cult's forces six years ago, it would be full of holes when things went down.
Now that the Assembly's involvement was confirmed, we had to assume maximum forces and redraw the plans.
Thanks to that, 'This much?' complaints erupted everywhere, but I pushed through without batting an eye.
The issue was that poor communication with the ranks below was building resentment.
“So, how'd you handle it?”
Compared to the New Cult, the Nine Dragons Branch Family had different culture, habits, and values in many ways.
Dang Gon had long led the Gale Wind Unit with Dang Hoseon, so maybe he had good advice for leading the branch—
“I handled it your way, Young Master. Clean and convenient.”
“My way?”
“Yes.”
“??”
An answer I hadn't expected.
Did I even have a 'way'?
“Provoked them by asking if that's all they could do.”
“???”
“Scraped their pride raw, and beat the defiant ones a few times—super effective.”
“…….”
A sudden thought here.
Just how did these people perceive me?
「Hmm, both Heavenly Leaf Immortal and Fierce Wind Knight seem to grasp the Young Cult Leader too well now—」
「Shh! Watch your mouth! What if the Young Cult Leader hears!!」
...These guys wouldn't deny it even on pain of death now?
“Fine, whatever... Just handle things without issues.”
“No worries. I'll establish the sub-branch leader's way as the culture.”
I lost the will to respond.
Instead, I turned my gaze to the main gate.
The household staff bustled about, preparing the reception.
I'd handled many guests before, but never with this many people mobilized.
“Who the hell's coming that everyone's in such a frenzy?”
“Didn't you hear?”
“Got dragged out forcibly by Sis.”
“Very important guests. You met them recently, so you should recognize them.”
Someone I'd met?
Who?
“The A미파's Jeongwol Hyeonnyeo and Cheonghwasan Manor’s Baek Geom Mokran.”