Stealth Squad Mobilization (1)
Yi Gang clamped his palms over his ears, waiting for the echoes of the lion's roar to fade.
Then, reading Ilgoe's thoughts, he flashed a sly grin.
'It's over.'
Indeed. With Seo Baek striking Ilgoe's pressure point, the fierce clash of combined assaults had reached its decisive conclusion.
Igoe and Samgoe, peering at the outcome of the duel, were startled to see their eldest brother.
Wasn't their eldest wearing a smile they'd never seen in their lives?
The acupoint he'd been struck rendered him unable to move his muscles and bones despite still being able to speak.
That meant he'd smiled before being struck!
Igoe and Samgoe couldn't believe their fiercely competitive eldest brother was smiling after losing to a boy not yet twenty.
"Please forgive my junior's impertinence."
Seo Baek offered a formal fist-and-palm salute, then extended his finger to release Ilgoe's acupoint.
Ilgoe kept smiling and made no further move to attack Seo Baek.
"Young benefactor, where do you hail from?"
"Shika Manor in Sichuan."
"Sichuan? Is that the western reaches even within Sichuan?"
"Yes. Shika Manor sits at the border where Sichuan meets the Western Frontier."
"Hmm……."
Ilgoe pondered Seo Baek's words for a moment.
'So that's why I sensed that peculiar energy permeating his internal energy circulation.'
A ripple disturbed Ilgoe's calm mind.
The boy's internal art was undoubtedly influenced by the Western Frontier's ice techniques.
And weren't the Western Frontier's ice arts a forbidden martial art long banned by the Central Plains martial world?
As Ilgoe wavered, unsure what to do with Seo Baek, he suddenly recalled words from his long-departed master.
—Remember, all things in this world depend on the mind.
'Indeed.'
Ilgoe gained enlightenment from his master's teaching.
In these chaotic times, what did it matter if it was a sinister art? If it could halt the revenant outbreak, borrowing the power of evil to vanquish demons was the way of things, wasn't it?
Yi Gang, reading Ilgoe's thoughts, chuckled softly to himself.
"Old man finally wakes up to the Dao in his dotage. Poison becomes medicine in a master's hands, eh? Heh heh heh."
Ilgoe's eyebrow twitched at the words, but Yi Gang innocently turned away as if he hadn't said a thing.
Ilgoe turned to Seo Baek and offered a half-bow.
"Please, save the world in our stead."
"Gladly."
"You have permission to leave the Repentance Cave."
"My thanks."
Seo Baek offered fist-and-palm salutes to each of the Shaolin Three Monsters in turn, then descended from the cliff face to the ground below.
Yi Gang leaped down after him, brushing the dust from his shoulders.
"Well then, take care."
Ilgoe's eyebrow twitched again.
"I never permitted you to leave the Repentance Cave!"
"What's this now, baldy? The Shaolin Abbot said he'd release me when the time came."
"……Begone."
Ilgoe's tone was curt, unlike with Seo Baek.
Seo Baek saluted the three high monks once more, while Yi Gang turned nonchalantly away.
The pair departed the Repentance Cave with light steps.
Igoe turned to his eldest brother.
"To think a boy that age wields such profound internal energy. Haven't seen his like in thirty years, have we, Eldest Brother?"
"Not in thirty years—scarcely anyone in my lifetime."
"Come to think of it, Mu Hye was something like that in his youth."
Samgoe interjected into their conversation.
"So, do you elders believe that boy can stop the revenant outbreak?"
"Who knows? But if he can't, no other master will."
Ilgoe replied with a subtle smile.
He turned to gaze at Seo Baek's back vanishing into the forest.
"I hope it's not the fate of the beautiful and talented."
Beauty meets early death. The heavens grant genius talent and beauty looks, but out of envy, claim them young.
"What troubles me is that his internal art isn't pure—it's tainted by the Western Frontier's style. Sustain it past the twelfth meridian, and it'll ruin body and mind one day."
He murmured with genuine concern for Seo Baek's future.
"Amitabha. May Guanyin Bodhisattva watch over him."
Song Hyeon's group returned to their room.
Wang Yi Sam, sitting blankly, exploded in frustration.
"We just gonna sit here twiddling our thumbs?"
"You think anyone's enjoying this?"
"Pups always yap the loudest."
"What'd you say!"
As Wang Yi Sam bristled at Joo Eun-ri and Dang Ryong's icy retorts, Song Hyeon spoke up from his silence.
"The Murim Alliance has taken ages but still hasn't fully unraveled the Black Wolf Secret Book's mysteries."
"Not doubting their skill. But maybe no mortal can fully crack the revenants' secrets."
"Hmph. You were quiet when we handed over our junior, but now you pipe up?"
Wang Yi Sam shot back curtly.
"I never intended to hand Seo Baek over either."
"Easy to say."
"Better to keep him alive for future plans than transfer our internal arts via Body Transfer Skill."
"Th-then……."
Wang Yi Sam's face lit with anticipation at Song Hyeon's words.
"If we fail to uncover the revenant secrets and Seo Baek dies, we're truly out of options, aren't we?"
"Exactly!"
Wang Yi Sam chimed in agreement, not fully grasping the words.
Realizing this, Chorang poked its head from Joo Eun-ri's sleeve and barked kyang!
"You think that guy's ridiculous too, huh? Cherishes his junior like nothing else."
At that moment, the door slid open with a rattle, and Wang Yi Sam whipped around in surprise.
It was a guest-receiving monk bringing tea.
"Please enjoy slowly."
Once the monk left, Wang Yi Sam grabbed a cup. He tilted his head, muttering.
"Huh? Why only three cups of tea?"
Sure enough, the tray held just three cups. With four people, one would go without.
Song Hyeon, glancing idly, narrowed his eyes at something.
The monk had placed the tray not in the table's center, but at the edge by the lantern. It would've been harder to do unless deliberate…….
As Song Hyeon pondered the meaning, Wang Yi Sam snatched his cup, fearing he'd miss out.
"Means one of us goes thirsty. Blame the dim light? Heh……."
In that instant, Song Hyeon grasped the significance of the cups.
"Wang Yi Sam, you're a genius."
"Huh? Me, a genius? Well, folks say I got a quick wit, haha……."
Wang Yi Sam laughed awkwardly at the sudden praise, but Song Hyeon pieced it together.
'Placing the tray at the edge on purpose—means "it's darkest under the lamp."
The flickering lantern cast dancing shadows from the cups across the table.
'Three cups refer to the three luminaries of the Murim Alliance.'
When Seo Baek had gone to the Repentance Cave, excluding Shaolin Abbot Mu Hye and Jegal Seong, three luminaries had been present:
Huashan elder Myeongwol-ja, Kunlun senior elder Cheongheo Jin-in, and Hengshan leader Gu Jung-hak.
Mu Hye had thus sent a secret message to Song Hyeon via the guest monk.
'Using the lamp's shadow to evade the three luminaries' eyes.'
Weighing the context, Song Hyeon understood Mu Hye's intent.
As Wang Yi Sam blew on his hot tea and sipped, Song Hyeon said,
"Stop drinking the tea."
"Why? Captives in Shaolin—gotta fill our bellies with tea water."
"Time to rescue Seo Baek."
"……!"
Wang Yi Sam yanked the cup from his lips in shock.
"For real?"
"No intention of wasting time with a comrade captured."
Song Hyeon replied, subtly eyeing Dang Ryong.
Best to uproot weeds before they grow into poisonous plants.
'Seo Baek wouldn't have overlooked that.'
Then why keep Dang Ryong in the group?
'Means he's essential for the infiltration.'
Mu Hye summoning Song Hyeon meant an infiltration op was needed—likely penetrating a revenant lair for a special mission.
Song Hyeon addressed Dang Ryong.
"You're with Seo Baek, so you're one of us. But the moment you spread your wings like an eagle, your life's forfeit."
A chilling warning that would've made the uninitiated's legs buckle.
Yet Dang Ryong replied with his usual bored expression.
"If I do, you lot won't be in this world anymore."
"We'll see."
This time, even Wang Yi Sam didn't object to Dang Ryong joining.
'Need every hand to save our junior from the Repentance Cave. The guy's skilled—tolerate him for now.'
Joo Eun-ri smirked at Wang Yi Sam's resolute gaze.
"Chorang, some guys wear their thoughts plain on their faces. Amazing, right?"
"Kyang."
Song Hyeon gathered everyone close.
"Now, the plan."
Moments later, after his explanation, Wang Yi Sam asked with a baffled look.
"That's it? We can really save our junior like that?"
Seo Baek and Yi Gang, having left the Repentance Cave, moved through the dark forest.
"Meet the group?"
"An elder to consult for his wisdom."
"That Fourteen Constellations bastard?"
"Yes. Senior Song Hyeon knows the abbot, so he'll recommend we join the Murim Alliance."
"Then go block the revenant outbreak with the group?"
"Exactly."
Yi Gang shrugged at the words.
"Abbot and Jegal Seong aside, the rest of the Alliance might object."
"Didn't you tell us to join the Murim Alliance?"
"Just pitied the whelp's dying face."
"Failure's not an option."
Seo Baek stated firmly.
"I'm the only one who cultivates the Shika Heart Method. They'll have to let me in."
"And if they don't?"
"Make them."
"Bend the Central Plains' righteous sects to your will? Ballsy pup, heh heh heh."
Yi Gang let out his raspy laugh.
Suddenly, he cut off. Seo Baek halted too, turning to him.
The two conversed silently with their eyes.
—Ambush?
—Aye.
They'd sensed presences amid the thick foliage's deep shadows.
Without a sound, they split left and right, distancing themselves.
A pincer from an unexpected angle against the ambushers.
No words or signals exchanged—just seamless coordination, possible because Yi Gang could read Seo Baek's mind.
The pair moved as one, flanking the bushes before launching simultaneously.
But they froze in shock at what they saw.
"Amitabha. You emerged from the Repentance Cave sooner than expected."
Stepping from the bushes was none other than Shaolin Abbot Mu Hye.
"How did you know we'd be here……."
"I awaited only your exit from the cave, benefactor."
"You predicted I'd escape?"
"Indeed."
The Red-Faced Guanyin, Mu Hye.
A man said to wield wisdom manipulating all the Central Plains martial world's intrigues behind his benevolent smile.
"So you were testing me all along."
Yi Gang sneered.
But Seo Baek felt no displeasure.
Passing the Shaolin Abbot's test meant ample qualification for the Murim Alliance, didn't it?
"Then, presuming upon your grace, what is your judgment on me?"
"Amitabha."
Mu Hye returned a half-bow.
"You pass."