The Storm Rages
“Things aren’t going well.”
“……”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I do not.”
“As expected. The fact that he hasn’t shown himself even after things have reached this point means one of two things: he’s lying low, or he’s abandoned us both.”
“……”
“Either way, we can’t afford to sit idle. Yeon Hojeong and Jegal Mun-ho are already tightening the noose. Especially Yeon Hojeong—he seemed to suspect me.”
“……”
“I’ll need your help.”
“What kind of help do you require?”
“How else would you help? Why do you think I risked coming to see you? What is your greatest strength?”
“……”
“We need to buy time first. Create a distraction.”
“Who is the target?”
“Bok-ho.”
“……”
“Can you do it?”
“No one is impossible. The problem is the aftermath.”
“You read the situation well.”
“The faster we divert their suspicion, the faster they’ll uncover the truth. At most five days, at least three, and they’ll realize what we’ve done.”
“Three days… even three would be fortunate.”
“……”
“If Yeon Hojeong’s suspicion toward me is strong, he’ll watch me even while investigating Bok-ho. In other words, this serves only to split their attention—nothing more.”
“Then why ask for my help?”
“Because I intend to kill them. Yeon Hojeong and Jegal Mun-ho both.”
“……”
“Once the job is done, let me know. I’ll kill them the very next day.”
“May I ask one thing?”
“Wondering how I’ll do it?”
“Yes. Yeon Hojeong and Jegal Mun-ho are no easy targets.”
“Set your worries aside. I’ve prepared for this moment.”
“Surely you don’t mean to use that.”
“……”
“That isn’t meant for killing enemies. At best, it’s for destroying evidence in the worst case…”
“Do you want to die?”
“……”
“Is death what you truly desire?”
“……”
“You might, but I don’t. That doesn’t mean my loyalty to the cult has vanished. I want to survive to the end and be of use to the cult however I can. That’s why I’m doing this.”
“……”
“What if you fail?”
“I’ll try until I can’t. If it still doesn’t work, then there’s nothing to be done.”
“……”
“Isn’t that how it is for all of us? The same goes for the martial artists of the Central Plains, drunk on their own arrogance while calling this land the Middle Kingdom. When a gamble on one’s life fails, the end is always death.”
“……”
“Will you take one more chance? Or will you flee with me right now? But even if you run, will you truly live?”
“……”
“Tonight.”
“……!”
“I’ll begin the operation tonight. The incident will break before noon tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
With that, the contact vanished.
Pung-byeok-ja’s eyes turned cold.
“Tomorrow noon is too far away. If I’m going to act, it’s better to finish before dawn.”
Whoosh.
The candle flame flickered in the breeze drifting through the window.
In the dark night, Yeon Hojeong sat alone in his room, sipping tea. His eyes gleamed like a ghost’s.
“Summer is coming to an end.”
The night wind in the mountains was quite cold. Even accounting for that, summer seemed nearly over.
The cool breeze eased his frustration.
With the frustration gone, his mind began to turn once more.
These moments were essential. After clashing with so many people and exchanging words, there were times when his own thoughts refused to settle.
Now, in this hour, was the perfect time to organize them.
Will they move?
Whether it was Seunghyeon Jinin, Bok-ho Satae, or Pung-byeok-ja—whichever one was the spy, their conversation with him would have stirred many thoughts.
Logically speaking, Bok-ho Satae is far more likely than Seunghyeon Jinin.
He had thought about this part so often that the moment Bok-ho Satae came to mind, a neatly organized list surfaced in a corner of his head.
But my instincts tell me Pung-byeok-ja is the suspicious one.
It was a gap between reason and intuition.
Yeon Hojeong usually followed his instincts in moments like this. In his youth—before he earned the title of Black Dark Emperor—his intuition hadn’t functioned properly. But after countless battlefields drenched in blood, his sixth sense had become terrifyingly accurate.
Survival, reconnaissance, slaughter, detection, betrayal.
The environment in which he had lived as a shadow warrior skilled in covert warfare—dodging traps while setting them, killing without being killed—had honed his senses to a razor’s edge.
Yet even with that past and those abilities, he couldn’t simply trust his instincts and proceed.
The spy they sent is extremely skilled. But there are still gaps.
Yeon Hojeong’s ghostly eyes flashed with lethal light.
He has no experience.
Whether the spy was someone raised by the Three Sects before even joining a sect, or someone who had turned midway—
That person had lived their entire life without ever being caught as a spy.
It was proof of their skill, but also evidence that they had never once felt this kind of crushing pressure.
Warriors grow through real combat. Politicians grow by navigating the political arena.
The same applied to spies. Only by enduring the suffocating pressure of a tightening noose countless times could one learn to respond correctly in a crisis.
At the very least, the Martial Alliance’s spy lacked that experience. Of that, he was certain.
But relying on mistakes born from inexperience would be foolish. He’s the best. I have to assume that.
And one more thing.
He won’t just sit still. He’ll almost certainly try to kill me, the military advisor, or both.
Enduring until the final moment and then fleeing?
An ordinary spy might do that. But this one held a position within the Martial Alliance—an elder, no less, and for many years.
It meant he was accustomed to taking initiative, and that he understood running away wouldn’t solve anything.
A spy who had long lain dormant solely to steal information from the Martial Alliance would do whatever it took to maintain that position.
He’ll likely begin preparations before attempting the kill.
Whoosh.
The candle flame swayed precariously in the wind.
He’ll try to shift suspicion onto someone else.
If that person was Seunghyeon Jinin?
He’ll go after Gong Gong Dae-sa.
If that person was Bok-ho Satae?
He’ll go after Pung-byeok-ja.
If that person was Pung-byeok-ja?
He’ll go after Bok-ho Satae.
Yeon Hojeong’s index finger tapped the table repeatedly.
Time is critical. He could move at any moment. The moment his preparations are complete, he’ll try to kill me and the military advisor.
If Pung-byeok-ja had known Yeon Hojeong’s thoughts at that moment, he would have felt terror.
Yeon Hojeong was reading Pung-byeok-ja’s reasoning almost exactly.
This was the difference in experience. If Pung-byeok-ja had endured the turbulent life of a spy, he might have acted the same, but he would have tried to strike first against Yeon Hojeong.
And Yeon Hojeong, who had already accounted for that possibility, had stationed top experts and stealth specialists throughout Pagun Pavilion and the military advisor’s quarters.
Whatever happens, I’ve made every preparation I can.
Now all that remained was to observe the enemy’s reaction. If nothing happened by noon tomorrow at the latest, Yeon Hojeong’s counterattack would begin.
“Hoo.”
Having organized his thoughts, Yeon Hojeong drank his tea. It had gone cold, but the bitter taste still brought a certain clarity to his thick tongue.
“That aside……”
In truth, Yeon Hojeong felt no great anxiety about the process of rooting out the spy.
What truly puzzled and unsettled him was something else.
“Where is the handler hiding?”
Yeon Hojeong unconsciously touched his lips.
“Don’t tell me I misread it. There’s no way the handler isn’t involved in this situation, in this process.”
The operation he had devised while reading the spy’s movements had also accounted for the handler’s existence.
Clearly, even with a handler present, the spy would still attempt to kill him or the military advisor. The problem was that he had no sense of who that handler might be.
“It’s safe to say the heads of the Nine Great Sects or Six Great Clans are almost certainly not involved. That means it’s likely someone the spy meets frequently—or at least regularly.”
And that possibility included the contact.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.
“Who could it be……”
Just then—
“Young Master.”
Dang Sang-ah’s voice came from outside the window.
“A message from my father. He says they’ve moved.”
“Where?”
“An operative from the Eumhyangdan within the inner citadel of the Martial Alliance.”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes blazed.
The Eumhyangdan—the Fragrance-Drinking Group.
It was the organization responsible for distributing tea leaves and liquor to the taverns scattered throughout the Martial Alliance’s inner citadel. They received goods from subcontractors beyond the outer walls and inspected them for poison, which meant many of their members had cultivated martial arts.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
Bok-ho Satae.
Coincidentally, Seunghyeon Jinin, Bok-ho Satae, and Pung-byeok-ja each had regular contacts within other inner-citadel organizations.
Seunghyeon Jinin had the Cheolbang, which handled weapon distribution. Bok-ho Satae had the Eumhyangdan. Pung-byeok-ja had the Uibokdan.
In Bok-ho Satae’s case, she had always been particular about tea since her youth, so it wasn’t strange for her to be close with the Eumhyangdan and receive tea leaves separately.
But what if she was the spy?
Or what if the real spy was trying to cast suspicion on her?
“Tell the Moyong Clan Head to stick with Bok-ho Satae! Send the Dang Clan Head to the military advisor’s quarters!”
“The military advisor’s quarters?!”
“There’s no time. Hurry!”
“Yes!”
Yeon Hojeong shot to his feet.
If Bok-ho Satae was the spy, then the cunning and proactive Moyong Clan Head was the best match for her.
The same went for Pung-byeok-ja. That was why he had to go himself.
Sending Dang Gwan to the military advisor’s quarters was because he predicted the spy’s attack would focus on poison or explosives. The military advisor’s quarters were among the most heavily guarded places in the Martial Alliance. They wouldn’t waste time on something as quiet as an assassination.
And he had sent his father, Yeon Wi, to Seunghyeon Jinin. If it was Seunghyeon Jinin, then Yeon Wi—the embodiment of the Yeon family’s martial arts—would be the best opponent.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong leapt out the window in a single bound and headed straight for Pung-byeok-ja’s residence.
How long had he been running?
“Where are you heading in such a hurry?”
Bang!
Yeon Hojeong halted his movement technique and turned his sharp gaze to the right.
It was the perfect location. Though not a forest, the endlessly stretching alleyway was pitch black.
And there—
stood Pung-byeok-ja.
“If you’re not too busy, would you care to talk?”
At that same moment, the handler whom Yeon Hojeong suspected was gazing out the window.
He’s moving.
He didn’t need to see it to know. The energy of the “mask” embedded in Pung-byeok-ja’s dantian had flared a deep crimson.
Far faster than expected. This isn’t Pung-byeok-ja being hasty. Jegal Mun-ho must have shaken him properly.
Even the greatest under heaven didn’t know that Yeon Hojeong was the true mastermind behind this affair. Like Pung-byeok-ja, he merely thought of Jegal Mun-ho as a shield.
So it’s come to this after all.
There was no helping it.
He had invested years into this spy, but when the time came to discard him, he had to be decisive. In any case, he had already stolen a considerable amount of the Martial Alliance’s most classified information. The higher-ups had seemed quite satisfied.
This much was acceptable, even if a little disappointing.
I should start preparing as well.
Just then, Yong-hwa Jinin spoke.
“Damn it! The moment I get out of here, I’ll chew Yeon Hojeong to pieces!”
Deung Cheon-gyo, his face twisted but his eyes utterly indifferent, nodded in agreement.
“I won’t leave the Yeon family alone either, not after raising a son like that!”