Infiltration Team's Silent Departure (4)
While the group shared the joy of reuniting with Yu So Un,
Song Hyeon suddenly thought of something and asked Jin Hyeop.
"What happened to the wall with the map of Chang'an drawn on it?"
"What do you mean, what happened?"
"Did you break it down?"
"We left in such a hurry that we just left it as is…"
Jin Hyeop glanced back and forth between Song Hyeon and Mu Hye as he answered.
"It's an inn where no guests have come due to the revenant outbreak. No one else would discover it."
"Hmm."
As Mu Hye remained silent, Song Hyeon spoke up.
"Even if you couldn't smash the wall or burn it, you should have at least painted over it or defaced the drawing."
"…!"
Jin Hyeop fell silent with a startled look on his face, then turned to Mu Hye.
"This disciple has been careless in his duties."
"Amitabha. We have one more reason to hurry now."
Song Hyeon did not press further blame on Jin Hyeop.
Information is like water—it leaks no matter where you store it.
There were surely more than one or two people who knew about the eunuch's diary anyway.
The infiltration team was setting out to stop the revenant outbreak, but others would head to Seo Bul's city in search of immortality.
In that case, the key was speed.
The infiltration team must enter Seo Bul's city first.
With Mu Hye's permission, Song Hyeon examined the shelves of the Geumgang Vault.
He was looking for a weapon suitable for Wang Yi Sam.
Unlike the Black Wolf Castle expedition, every member of this infiltration team was a peak expert with their own unique martial arts.
There was no particular need for standardized weapons, and there wasn't enough time to find ones tailored to each person.
At Black Wolf Castle, unleashing each person's potential had been key, but this mission's success would hinge on coordinating these strong individualists into a cohesive unit.
His eyes landed on just the right weapon.
This should suit a dao swordsman who favors practical battlefield techniques.
Song Hyeon handed the weapon to Wang Yi Sam.
"What's this?"
"Use this weapon for the infiltration."
Wang Yi Sam looked down at the weapon with a puzzled expression.
To be precise, it consisted of two parts: a short-handled ring-pommel dao and a rod of awkward length.
The only unusual feature was that the dao's blade seemed forged from three blades fused together.
"I can tell it's a fine blade just by looking at it, but with this length, I'd be better off sticking with my own pakdo."
"Hand it here."
As Wang Yi Sam spoke with a troubled face, Song Hyeon took the weapon back.
He then aligned the end of the rod with the dao and twisted the notched sections together. In an instant, the rod extended the dao's handle, combining into a single weapon.
"This weapon is meant to be used combined."
"It's convenient to carry around split apart, but do I really need to…"
"Just try swinging it once, even if you think it's a waste."
"Tch."
Wang Yi Sam took the weapon back and swung it through the air a few times with a whoosh.
The next moment, his eyes widened in admiration.
"This is a treasure!"
"Do you like the weapon, Senior Wang?"
"What more is there to say? A pakdo needs weight for destructive power, but too heavy and it's hard to wield. This one's balance is perfect!"
Seo Baek asked, and Wang Yi Sam replied enthusiastically.
Then he noticed a peculiar button in the middle of the rod.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Don't touch that under any circumstances."
As Wang Yi Sam absentmindedly reached for the button, Song Hyeon grabbed his hand to stop him.
"That button can only be used once, so press it only when your life is in mortal danger."
"Got it…"
Wang Yi Sam replied, cowed by Song Hyeon's icy gaze. He then twisted the dao and rod apart as Song Hyeon had done and slipped them into his travel pouch.
Jin-mun and Jin Hyeop emerged from the Geumgang Vault carrying travel pouches filled with rations like wall-grain pills and leather water skins.
The pouches also contained essentials for infiltration: ropes with hooks, fire-starting tools, and more.
These had been prepared in advance by the Shaolin monks at Mu Hye's command.
Soon, the hour of ja arrived.
In the pitch-black darkness without even moonlight, the eleven members of the infiltration team moved silently.
Wherever they passed, the patrolling Shaolin monks turned a blind eye, pretending not to see.
Mu Hye had already made arrangements to allow the team to depart in secret.
The team exited the Shaolin Temple gates, crossed the Yeoncheon Bridge, and descended the long stone stairs.
A considerable time later, they rode the cliffside path down from Xiao Shi Peak.
Thus began their journey toward Seo Bul's city.
Having descended from Shaolin Temple, the infiltration team headed for Luoyang.
Luoyang, one of the ancient capitals of the Central Plains, lay to the west of Song Mountain, where Shaolin stood.
On horseback, it was a one-day ride.
In the past, Shaolin monks had frequently traveled to and from Luoyang.
But after the revenant outbreak, the connection between Shaolin and Luoyang was severed. The hordes wandering around Shaolin were mostly former Luoyang residents transformed…
To avoid the revenant hordes visible everywhere, the team's pace inevitably slowed. Traveling on foot without horses only delayed them further.
On the third day after descending Song Mountain, the team finally passed Luoyang.
Heading further west would bring them to Chang'an.
Southwest from Chang'an lay Hanzhong. Passing the inspection post there led straight to Sichuan.
In terms of distance from Shika Manor, where Seo Baek had begun his journey, Chang'an was actually closer than Shaolin.
Wang Yi Sam realized this and muttered,
"Tch, we came from Sichuan, circled around the Central Plains, and now we're heading to Chang'an after all."
Seo Baek agreed.
If the inspection post hadn't been overrun by revenants, the trip to Shaolin would have been far shorter and easier.
But Seo Baek didn't see it as a waste of time at all.
"Thanks to that, didn't we meet Senior Wang and the others? If I'd gone straight to Shaolin, I might never have met you."
"Tch, true enough."
Unlike Wang Yi Sam, Seo Baek was curious about the situation around Chang'an.
The Hanzhong revenant hordes had likely originated from Chang'an. That meant predicting the scale of the outbreak there was impossible.
Still, there was no point worrying prematurely.
Better to see it once with your own eyes than imagine it a hundred times.
The team slept two si (four hours) each night.
With Joo Eun-ri's talismans, warding off revenants was no issue.
The problem was the risk of being surrounded by tens of thousands of revenants. Escaping would require unnecessary fights and waste time.
Thus, they chose high ground for campsites and took turns standing watch to monitor any horde movements.
They also took two breaks daily, morning and afternoon, each lasting the time for one meal.
During these, they napped to catch up on sleep or handled personal needs. Meals were eaten on the move with wall-grain pills and jerky—no set times.
The day after a week of westward travel,
the team arrived at an inn hidden in a secluded forest grove.
It was little more than a ruined building. Rickety pillars and a half-collapsed eaves—it could crumble any moment without surprise.
"We'll rest here briefly."
At Mu Hye's words, the team spread out and sat.
"Damn, this inn looks just like a black den."
"Spot on."
Song Hyeon replied as if agreeing with Wang Yi Sam's mutter.
"Huh, for real?"
"Of course, they've closed all black dens since the revenant outbreak."
"Tch, who would've thought the mighty Shaolin would use a black den as a rendezvous point."
As Wang Yi Sam grumbled, Yi Gang smirked and said,
"Whether a blade cuts well or dull, as long as it chops 'em up, it's fine. Heh heh heh."
"…"
Wang Yi Sam shut his mouth. Yi Gang's words rang true, but his demonic, unorthodox appearance evoked images of a Sa faction fiend, making conversation unappealing.
Jin Hyeop stepped outside and fired a signal flare into the sky to summon the contact agent.
An hour later, the team awoke on their own, without anyone rousing them.
They had sensed someone approaching the inn.
Moments later, a martial artist entered the inn with swift steps.
Spotting Jin Hyeop, he said,
"It took this long dodging the revenant hordes."
His name was Yang Hyeok-su, one of the contact agents tasked by Shaolin with investigating Chang'an.
But as Yang Hyeok-su casually turned his head, he startled.
The infiltration team's members, seated around the black den and glaring at him, exuded an extraordinary aura.
Each pair of eyes burned with intensity, as if piercing straight through his body!
Before the outbreak, Yang Hyeok-su had been one of Chang'an's top three escorts from a major escort agency. Dodging hordes, hiding, and scouting long distances was routine for him.
And for Shaolin to entrust him as a contact agent spoke to his veteran status in the martial world.
Yet even he had never seen martial artists radiating such overwhelming presence…
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon scanned Yang Hyeok-su up and down, exchanging silent transmissions.
[Is he a revenant?]
[No sword marks on the neck for now.]
[No bite marks on the neck or wrists either.]
[Even without wounds, they can force a Blood Thread Worm down the throat to turn someone.]
[No other way to confirm?]
[Revenant or not, we have to go to Chang'an anyway. He's fine for now. Let's watch.]
[Understood.]
As if reading their thoughts, Yi Gang muttered,
"With two revenant experts here, the world's a safer place. Heh heh heh."
Mu Hye greeted Yang Hyeok-su with a banjang.
"This poor monk is Mu Hye, Shaolin's abbot."
"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you."
Yang Hyeok-su not only cupped his hands in salute but bowed deeply at the waist.
He had met only Jin Hyeop as Shaolin's contact before; this was his first time seeing the abbot. Facing Shaolin's leader, his excessive tension was natural for an ordinary martial artist.
"What's the situation in Chang'an?"
"It's… strange. Or rather, strangely unchanged."
"Unchanged?"
"Yes. Inside Chang'an, people move about as if the revenant outbreak is over."
"Hmm…"
"Conversely, the areas outside have been free of wandering hordes for ages. I have no idea what's going on."
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon exchanged glances.
It was the typical revenant behavior—repeating pre-death routines.
That meant no living people nearby. Revenants turned into blood-starved Blood Ghosts the moment they sensed life.
In other words, Chang'an's multitudes had all become revenants!
Mu Hye realized this too and fell silent, letting out a groan.
Then Yang Hyeok-su tilted his head, recalling something.
"Oh, and while inside Chang'an is like that, there are merchant caravans coming and going from outside."
"Merchant caravans?"
"Yes. At first, I thought they were fools blindly entering a revenant den…"
Yang Hyeok-su explained.
The caravans had few horses but many camels—clearly from the Western Regions.
The merchants had blue eyes, high noses, and long beards covering cheeks and chins. Tall and robust, unmistakably Westerners.
The next day, a second identical Western caravan entered Chang'an.
Too coincidental for ignorant fools stumbling into a trap.
And a week later, today—
"People dressed just like that Western caravan are approaching Chang'an again."
"…"
Chang'an was undoubtedly teeming with revenants.
Yet Western merchant caravans traded in and out—three times now.
The entire infiltration team sensed something suspicious about these caravans.
After a moment of silence, Mu Hye finally spoke.
"We begin the infiltration team's first mission: investigate the Western merchant caravan."