Chang'an Infiltration (1)
Heating cinnabar at high temperatures extracts mercury.
Mercury is an indispensable metal in alchemy.
And wasn't there a rumor that Seo Bul himself was the originator of alchemy?
The Shaolin Temple had obtained information that Seo Bul, who had been researching immortality elixirs during Emperor Qin Shi Huang's time, had created a city of revenants.
That city was presumed to be Chang'an.
With a Western merchant caravan transporting cinnabar—the ore from which mercury is extracted—straight to Chang'an, Seo Baek was convinced that Seo Bul was there.
"Cinnabar is sensitive to temperature. Even without blood inside, they've coated the crates with pitch and taken every precaution."
Seo Baek examined the crate filled with cinnabar as he spoke.
"If Seo Bul has become a revenant, from their perspective, he's achieved an immortal body. So why would he need mercury?"
"Perhaps he can't let go of his obsession with alchemy."
"Is there no information linking revenants to alchemy?"
"None has come to light yet. Amitabha."
Even Mu Hye, the Shaolin Abbot whose mind turned as swiftly as Seo Baek or Song Hyeon, could offer no solid speculation and merely chanted in response.
"That's what this infiltration is for—to uncover it and stop him."
"Well said."
"Seo Bul won't halt his plans just because we've turned back one Western caravan. We must hurry."
Having completed their mission, Seo Baek and Mu Hye pressed on without a moment's rest to the rendezvous point with the infiltration team.
In a vast plaza somewhere in Chang'an stood two figures: one a scholar in his fifties with a beard reaching down to his solar plexus, wearing a silk-threaded scholar's turban and a crane-feather cloak; the other a boyish disciple of about twelve with a topknot.
Anyone seeing them would mistake them for zombies—their faces were unnaturally pale.
Moreover, their eyes gleamed with an eerie sparkle in the torchlight, obvious even to a three-year-old that they were no ordinary folk.
"Master, all preparations are complete."
"Well done."
Before them sat three crates aligned in a row.
The crates, each about seven feet long, were coffins.
The plaza floor was solid bedrock, grooved lengthwise beneath the coffins.
Through these grooves flowed shimmering crimson blood, coursing across all three coffins.
Arrayed in perfect ranks around the plaza were thousands of soldiers armed with swords and spears.
Like the scholar and the boy, their faces were deathly pale, their eyes gleaming strangely. They neither spoke nor breathed audibly—a sight that would terrify any onlooker into thinking a horde of ghosts had gathered.
"Has the Western caravan not arrived yet?"
"They should arrive before midnight. We'll prepare them immediately upon arrival."
The disciple bowed deeply at his master's question.
"The moment the Western caravan arrives, we begin the Reversing Heaven ritual."
"Who is the one they're bringing?"
"They say he was once the greatest hero of the West."
"With him, the Four Great Dharma Protectors will finally be complete!"
"Indeed."
From the way the master and disciple gazed at the three coffins, it seemed the Four Great Dharma Protectors referred to these three corpses plus the one from the caravan—four in total.
"I hear he was a master of the curved blade and a genius in mounted mercenary tactics during his lifetime. Among the Four Great Dharma Protectors, he'll command the chariot forces."
"A fitting assignment. Heroes from the Central Plains, the West, the Western Frontier, and Tianzhu as the Four Great Dharma Protectors—your safety is assured, Master."
"I already possess an immortal body. What is there to fear?"
"This disciple spoke foolishly. The Four Great Dharma Protectors will gain immortality as well, yes?"
"More than that. They'll attain bodies of indestructible adamant, impervious to all poisons."
"Truly magnificent! Now, conquering the world will be as easy as eating cold porridge for you, Master!"
The disciple cried out in delight, but the master rebuked him sternly.
"Enough. Have I not told you countless times this isn't about greed for the world?"
"Yes, Master."
"All this is to save the suffering masses of the world."
"This disciple will keep it deeply in mind."
The master scanned the three coffins one by one.
"No martial art of the Central Plains will stand against the Four Great Dharma Protectors."
In a secluded forest inn, the first team of the infiltration squad returned.
An hour later, the third team—Seo Baek and Mu Hye—followed.
Another hour passed before the second team arrived.
The second team, having scouted Chang'an's south gate, had the shortest distance yet returned last.
The reason was absurd.
"One! Two! Three!"
Jin-mun had barked commands, and Jin Hyeop and Wang Yi Sam executed the basic forms of the Shaolin Staff Technique with their anti-demon dao and crescent blade, advancing step by step toward the inn.
Each stance propelled them forward a step.
Repeating this through the night, it was no wonder they were last.
Upon reaching the inn, Wang Yi Sam flung his crescent blade aside and collapsed to the floor.
"Whew, thought I was a goner."
"You kept it up the whole way?"
"Yeah! Better to lose a spar than endure that hell."
Wang Yi Sam shook his head, shuddering.
"Senior Wang, you've passed the test. Congratulations."
"Sigh, never again."
"But you learned Shaolin martial arts, right? Shaolin rules are strict—learning their arts might make you a lay disciple."
"W-what?!"
At Seo Baek's remark, Wang Yi Sam stammered in shock.
Entering the laity meant no alcohol or meat—a torment worse than death for him!
Reading his distress, Mu Hye spoke.
"What Jin-mun taught were merely the basic formation stances of the Shaolin Staff Technique. We'll overlook it this once. As a patron, you needn't become a Shaolin disciple."
"Th-thank you..."
Wang Yi Sam sighed in relief, clutching his chest.
Seo Baek smiled at him.
Exhausted as he was, Wang Yi Sam's eyes had changed dramatically.
Basic stances alone couldn't elevate his skill overnight.
What had transformed was the aura emanating from his entire being.
Confidence from overcoming hardship and a fierce resolve gleamed in his eyes...
The old fox schemed to make that fool pull his weight.
Yi Gang sent a transmission, reading Seo Baek's thoughts.
I figured as much when he slotted two greenhorns and Wang into that easy team. Planning to turn the blockhead into a proper fighter.
Your words are too harsh. Calling the Abbot a fox?
That's why it's a transmission, heh heh heh.
Yi Gang sneered in his usual way, but Seo Baek only marveled anew at Mu Hye's foresight.
'Unless he faces a peak martial revenant, Senior Wang should hold his own against blood ghosts now.'
With the full team assembled, Mu Hye told Yang Hyeok-su, who had accompanied them, that he could leave.
"We'll contact you from Shaolin Temple if we need your services again."
"Then this one will take his leave."
Yang Hyeok-su had fretted about entering Chang'an, but at the abbot's prompt dismissal, he bolted.
No one in the team cared.
A third-rate warrior who couldn't fend for himself would only hinder them.
Mu Hye then drew a book from his robes and handed it to Joo Eun-ri.
"Before we infiltrate, I have a request for you, patron."
"You want me to make talismans from the copy?"
"Yes. But this is the original, not a copy."
"...!"
"We'll entrust it to you during the Chang'an infiltration. Keep it safe."
"Of course. Trust me."
At the unexpected windfall, Joo Eun-ri's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the Black Wolf Secret Book.
"This one's for luring revenants! Huh, what's this? Is that even possible?"
She exclaimed repeatedly while reading. Losing her composure, Song Hyeon interjected.
"Select only the essential ones."
"Got it. But with so many in the team, we'll run short on paper and ink..."
As Joo Eun-ri fretted, Mu Hye nodded to Jin-mun, who produced items from his satchel: a thick stack of paper and a leather pouch.
"This should suffice for now. The pouch contains chicken blood."
Mu Hye had prepared in advance via his disciples.
Thorough planning. But one had to butt in: Yi Gang, naturally.
"Shaolin forbids killing, yet chicken blood? Wonder what the chickens say in the afterlife."
"I'll accept the precept violation's penalty later."
"You'd better, heh heh heh."
Joo Eun-ri unpacked brush and inkstone, crafting talismans while consulting the Black Wolf Secret Book.
Song Hyeon nodded for must-haves—she made one per person; he shook his head, and she skipped it.
Thus, she drew for a full hour.
Song Hyeon distributed the vital few, leaving the rest with her.
"Rest an hour, then move."
The team rested—sleeping or tending needs. Their last free time before the op.
An hour later, the refreshed eleven gathered.
All set.
Only Chang'an infiltration remained.
Song Hyeon led them out—not toward the Fu Yong Garden, but elsewhere.
They arrived at Chang'an's south gate, scouted by the second team.
Wang Yi Sam asked, baffled.
"Why here? Fu Yong Garden's the sneaky rat hole, ain't it?"
"Fu Yong Garden's our escape route. We enter via the south gate."
"South gate? With revenant soldiers camped there?"
"Yes."
Wang Yi Sam's jaw dropped.
Song Hyeon ignored him and strode toward the gate. The others followed, leaving Wang behind.
"Senior Wang, shall we?"
"Uh, yeah..."
Snapping to at Seo Baek's voice, Wang hurried after.
Unlike Fu Yong Garden linked to the Qu Jiang Pool, Chang'an's other sides were ringed by ten-chi-high walls.
The team headed for the southern wall.
A massive gate loomed central, flanked by hundreds of guarding soldiers.
"Everyone has the talisman masking living auras—no fear of revenant detection."
Song Hyeon spoke and marched through the south gate, unhindered.
"Black Wolf Secret Book talismans never fail."
"The maker's skill outshines the talismans."
Joo Eun-ri shot back at Yi Gang.
"So it's all your doing?"
"Of course—master calligraphers fetch higher prices than brushes."
"Heh heh heh, one thing's certain."
"What?"
"A bigger viper than that flat-nosed priest joined us. Or is it a high nose? Anyway."
"What did you say?!"
Yi Gang ignored her flared brows and passed through.
As the team filed by, the revenant soldiers repeated their duties, oblivious to the living presences.
Soon, the full infiltration team entered Chang'an.