The Man in Blue Robes (3)
A moment later, Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam stood face-to-face with the shadowy figure.
The figure was none other than the man in blue robes who had pointed out the Wang Family Fortress's vulnerabilities from the central tent.
Once his startled heart settled, Wang Yi Sam burst into complaint.
"Damn it! Standing there like a statue in the dark—who wouldn't jump?!"
But the man in blue robes merely gazed at Wang Yi Sam silently, without a word.
Facing those coldly sunken eyes, Wang Yi Sam swallowed hard, averted his gaze, and grumbled.
"Tch, got daggers in those eyes or what..."
As Wang Yi Sam backed off, Seo Baek asked the man in blue robes,
"What happened?"
"As you see."
The man replied curtly, nodding toward the fortress gate.
"We should close the gate first."
Wang Yi Sam tried to stop Seo Baek.
"Junior, hold on. Something's off here."
"With the fortress gate wide open, of course something's wrong."
"There aren't any warriors guarding the walls!"
"That's obvious too. If there were warriors, they wouldn't have left the gate open."
Listening, Wang Yi Sam realized every word from Seo Baek made perfect sense.
He felt ashamed for overlooking the obvious and screaming in panic over nothing.
Seo Baek walked to the wall, then stood before the mechanism for closing the fortress's double gates.
The device resembled a horizontal waterwheel, with four handles embedded for four warriors to turn together.
Yet when Seo Baek gripped a handle and applied force, the mechanism began to turn slowly.
Kiiiiik. Clunk-clunk-clunk.
Wang Yi Sam moved to help, but by then the mechanism had already spun several turns, and the gate had descended.
Seo Baek entered the fortress and turned the mechanism for the second gate.
This time, Wang Yi Sam tried to assist, only to see the man in blue robes standing there with arms crossed. He exploded in frustration.
"What the hell are you? Not helping, just watching?!"
"And weren't you just standing there gawking too?"
"That's 'cause the kid turned it too fast..."
"I was gauging the boy's external strength."
"..."
The man in blue robes spoke so calmly and confidently that Wang Yi Sam was left speechless.
"External strength alone at that level—imagine with internal energy. He'd be formidable."
"Hah, only now you see? This kid's been my comrade since Sichuan!"
Wang Yi Sam puffed up with pride at the praise for Seo Baek.
But the man in blue robes continued without pause.
"That windbreaker robe reinforced with beast hide—it's for revenant protection, right?"
"Sharp eye. The boy's the epitome of 'prepare for the worst'."
"The greatsword on his back is oversized for his frame—specially made for cleaving revenants, I assume."
"Never thought of it that way..."
"With a solid internal heart method, it'd be the perfect sword for felling revenants."
"Good instincts. Even if he looks like that, the kid's..."
Wang Yi Sam, chiming in enthusiastically, suddenly trailed off as realization dawned.
Wait. It started like praise for Seo Baek, but it's getting suspicious...
Indeed. Listening closely, it wasn't mere flattery—the man was scrutinizing Seo Baek down to the details.
In the martial world, hiding one's strengths was crucial.
A single sword stroke could mean death against an enemy.
Thus, orthodox sects avoided revealing secret arts unless life hung in the balance, with an unspoken rule against spying on others' techniques.
Yet here was someone probing Seo Baek's advantages?
If he was an enemy after Seo Baek's life?
Strike now if you're gonna.
Wang Yi Sam swallowed, his hand inching toward the broad dao at his waist.
But one word from the man stopped him cold.
"I'm just observing—no need to draw your broad dao."
...How'd he know?
The man stood several paces ahead of Wang Yi Sam, eyes fixed on Seo Baek the whole time.
Yet he knew every move Wang Yi Sam made?
Eyes in the back of his head?
Wang Yi Sam had eaten his share of martial world meals, but he'd never encountered a freak like this blue-robed man.
Seo Baek finished closing the double gates and returned.
"The immediate fire's out."
"Well done."
The man nodded approvingly at Seo Baek.
Watching, Wang Yi Sam inwardly griped.
This guy's all talk, no action—not lifting a finger.
He conveniently forgot he'd done the same while chatting.
As dawn broke, martial artists began emerging from the fortress interior, one by one.
Wang Yi Sam tilted his head.
"Not even breakfast time, and folks are up early. Must be the fortress life."
"Sun's up, and with your senior brother's bellow echoing, who'd sleep through it?"
"Tch, was I that loud?"
The communal barracks near the walls meant his scream and the gates slamming shut had woken everyone.
Not just martial artists—refugees like inn staff gathered toward the walls too.
One asked,
"What the hell happened?"
"The fortress gate was open, so we closed it."
At Seo Baek's answer, the martial artists exchanged glances.
"Where are the guards?"
"No one's here."
"What? I thought the Wang family warriors guarded the walls in three shifts, day and night?"
As murmurs rose, the man in blue robes stepped forward.
"The Wang family patriarch and his allied sects have all abandoned the fortress."
"Abandoned? To where?"
"I don't know either."
The martial artists stared blankly, confused by his words.
Then a clear voice snapped them alert.
"They fled, abandoning the fortress. I half-expected it."
It was Seo Baek.
But no one heeded him—the cold-eyed blue-robed man and a boy not even twenty? Laughable.
Sure enough, one martial artist retorted,
"Wang Chung, the Wang patriarch, values honor—he'd never!"
The man in blue robes nodded toward the walls.
"Then why aren't any of those three-shift guards visible? And there's a stable nearby—why no neighing?"
"..."
As the warrior faltered, another muttered, sensing something amiss.
"Yeah... My bunk's by the stable—I toss and turn every night from the noise, but this morning it was weirdly quiet. No horses left in there."
"...!"
The martial artists jolted.
They sensed the oddity but hadn't grasped the truth yet.
"Nonsense! There must be a reason. Got proof the Wangs fled?"
The man declared flatly,
"Yes."
"What?!"
"I read their lips."
"Read lips? Not heard? That's dogshit..."
"You can discern spoken words from lip movements."
He pointed to his own lips with an index finger.
Seo Baek nodded.
"Lip-reading."
Lip-reading. The technique of deducing words from an opponent's lip shapes.
The man nodded to Seo Baek and continued.
"Yesterday, at the central tent meeting, a warrior whispered to Wang Chung mid-session: 'A revenant horde approaches the fortress—evacuate immediately.'"
"...!"
"Forget the walls—has anyone seen Wang family warriors inside the fortress? Where'd they vanish to overnight?"
Now, the martial artists couldn't deny it.
Someone muttered, starting the realization.
"They fled in the night, scared of the revenants."
Only then did the truth hit: chills ran down their spines.
The Wang Family Fortress, built by the Wangs and allies.
But as the horde neared, they'd abandoned it—and the refugees.
Martial artists who'd praised the Wangs moments ago now spat curses.
"Even officials fled with their troops—turns out orthodox sects are the same!"
"Can't trust the government or the martial world!"
"Orthodox my ass! They mouth honor in peacetime!"
The walls swarmed like a marketplace. Not just martial artists—refugees like inn boys crowded in at the commotion.
"What now? Safe inside the fortress, right?"
"Safe? Bullshit! The Wangs ditched us—who's guarding now?"
Refugees who'd barely settled despaired.
The world's order crumbled under revenant outbreak.
People had hoped martial artists would restore it.
But the Wangs stabbed them in the back.
Martial artists cared nothing for the world's fate—only personal gain.
Realizing the betrayal, fury and despair erupted in chaos.
Seo Baek watched, calculating.
About a hundred to two hundred martial artists. With refugees, over a few hundred.
How to evacuate them all?
The problem: the approaching revenant horde.
Judging by the Wangs' midnight flight, the fortress was a candle in the wind.
If the horde hit, only the strongest martial artists would survive.
No way to save them? Then...
If sacrifice was inevitable, slipping away to resume the Shaolin journey was best.
The cursing crowd snapped to attention at a shout.
"No time—run!"
A thought flashed through minds:
-The Wangs abandoned the fortress, and the horde's coming.
-Flee now or die!
Waaaaah!
Martial artists and refugees alike bolted for the walls.
They swarmed the gate-raising mechanism.
But what Seo Baek turned alone moved sluggishly even with more than four clinging.
"Open the gate!"
They surged forward before it even budged.
Yet one figure leaned against the gate, arms crossed, blocking the way—the man in blue robes.
"What're you doing? Move!"
"Can't."
"Huh? Move or—"
"Leave now, and you all die."
"What?"
The crowd halted, stunned—not just by words, perhaps, but those icy eyes.
One phrase stopped hundreds.
He turned to those cranking the mechanism.
"Stop. Open the gate, and revenants might pour in."
"...!"
They released the handles, aghast.
Revenants outside the gate?
Entirely possible.
The Wangs fled at night with all horses because the horde was nearly upon them.
Paralyzed, only Seo Baek pieced it together.
He read their lips but didn't warn earlier—why?
A realization struck.
That's it.
Seo Baek understood the man's choice.