The Jegal Clan's Invitation (3)
The Jegal Clan had long been renowned, now counted among the Five Great Families of the Central Plains martial world.
Yet its clan leader, Jegal Myeong-jae, had vanished from the murim for over a decade.
Rumors abounded—that he was secluded in cultivation, pursuing ascension to immortality, or developing new martial arts in closed-door meditation—but no one knew the truth.
Without a clan leader, the role naturally fell to the first young master.
The Jegal Clan's first young master was Jegal Seong, one of the Murim Alliance's esteemed elders, bearing the moniker Jade-Faced Scholar.
But Jegal Seong had left the clan in his youth to serve the Murim Alliance, holding a key position there. Even when the clan leader went into seclusion, he couldn't fulfill the duties of acting head.
Guarding the clan in their absence was the second young master, Jegal Hyeok, standing before them now.
While his elder brother Jegal Seong was famed for his womanly beauty akin to the Jade-Faced Scholar moniker, Jegal Hyeok exuded the refined air of a seasoned scholar, his age lending him a mature poise.
His long chin beard and scholar's turban made him look as if the clan's progenitor, Zhuge Liang, had risen from the grave.
Indeed, uninformed murim folk often mistook Jegal Hyeok for the first young master.
"Please, have a seat."
Three chairs awaited before the table.
As Seo Baek's group sat, Jegal Hyeok skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point.
"What brings you to the Jegal Clan?"
Seo Baek elaborated on the brief account he'd given before the stone lion statue.
They'd taken brief refuge at Wang Family Fortress, only for the Wang Clan to abandon the refugees and flee. Then, evading the revenant horde, they'd come to nearby Yongzhong.
And that the Jegal Clan, descendants of the famed prime minister Zhuge Liang, were considered the foremost of the Five Great Families, or so he'd heard.
The last bit he'd tacked on slyly.
Mentioning Zhuge Liang and the Five Great Families meant they couldn't casually cast out refugees without besmirching their honor.
"So, no specific business with the Jegal Clan, then?"
"No. I'm en route to Shaolin Temple."
"Shaolin? Alliance business, perhaps? To combat the revenant outbreak, I assume."
"Yes."
"I've heard Shaolin is awaiting guests from Sichuan. Might that be you?"
"...Yes."
"If it's not too rude, may I ask the nature of your errand?"
"I cannot disclose that."
Seo Baek, who had conversed smoothly until then, flatly refused Jegal Hyeok's request.
Jegal Hyeok smiled gently, as if to assure no offense was intended.
"I am the Jegal Clan's second young master. My brother, the first young master, is at the Murim Alliance. If I knew, I could assist you."
"My master instructed me to deliver the message directly to Shaolin's abbot. He said absolutely no leaks along the way."
"I see."
"Providing shelter for the refugees is help enough already. Thank you."
As Seo Baek wrapped up, Jegal Hyeok seemed content not to press further.
"We'll prepare separate quarters for the three of you. Rest well."
At Jegal Hyeok's nod, a servant led Seo Baek's group out.
They followed the servant down winding corridors, turning corners repeatedly.
Like Seo Baek and the blue-robed man, the servant's steps made no creak on the wooden floors.
A lightness skill practitioner's gait.
His silent, gliding steps marked him not as a mere servant, but a Jegal Clan warrior.
The room he showed them to was spacious, at the corridor's end.
Once they entered, he explained the location of the privy, bowed, and shut the door. Soon, his footsteps faded swiftly away.
"Phew, now I can breathe."
Wang Yi Sam sighed in relief, tension easing.
It had been hours since arriving in Yongzhong, but breaching the stone lion statue and riddle garden had kept them on edge.
Then the blue-robed man dropped a bombshell.
"Regrettably, don't let your guard down."
"We're guests of the Jegal Clan—what's that supposed to mean?"
Wang Yi Sam figured the prickly blue-robed man was spouting nonsense again.
But then the blue-robed man and Seo Baek exchanged glances and spoke in unison.
"The Murim Alliance has a Jegal Clan spy."
"Jegal Hyeok has planted a spy in the Murim Alliance."
"What? A spy?"
"Yes."
Seo Baek nodded and explained.
"Only Shaolin's abbot and the Murim Alliance elders know I'm heading from Sichuan to Shaolin. The Jegal Clan's second young master has no way of knowing."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam swallowed hard, face tense.
The Murim Alliance, formed by the Central Plains' famed orthodox sects and Five Great Families for the decisive battle against Guryun Temple in the Western Frontier.
Over a decade after that war, its prestige had waned, but it remained the Central Plains' paramount coalition.
A spy in the Murim Alliance? Unthinkable.
"The first young master is at the Alliance—maybe he heard from his brother?"
"Spot on. That's the biggest issue."
The blue-robed man replied.
Wang Yi Sam was baffled. He'd nailed it, yet why was that a problem?
"The Jegal Clan's first young master is young but an Alliance elder and the abbot's right hand."
"And?"
"He wouldn't carelessly leak Alliance secrets to his brother. Meaning Jegal Hyeok intends to usurp his elder brother's position."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam's mind cleared in a flash.
A longtime murim man, he'd seen plenty of family infighting over sect leader or faction head roles. Hadn't the Long River Three Gorges Waterway Gang and Iron Palm Gang done the same?
Clans, where blood ties mattered most, saw the fiercest strife.
Siblings vying for clan leadership often schemed to kill each other—countless cases. One might think blood made for harmony, but reality was the opposite.
So Jegal Hyeok planting a spy to undermine his first young master brother? Not surprising at all.
Zhuge Liang himself would tsk and scold from the grave!
"So that's the situation."
Wang Yi Sam nodded, half shocked, half impressed by Seo Baek and the blue-robed man's insight.
But Seo Baek had deliberately stayed silent, gauging the blue-robed man's reaction.
When Jegal Hyeok asked about the message for Shaolin, Seo Baek had withheld it, implying it must be delivered verbally in person.
The reason? The letter.
If the Jegal Clan killed him and searched his clothes, the letter would be found easily.
But if they believed the message was memorized in his head for the abbot, they'd hesitate to strike rashly.
Hiding the letter's existence from Jegal Hyeok was key.
But if the blue-robed man probed like this?
"What is the message for Shaolin's abbot? Better to entrust it safely."
A perfect leading question, striking at the unguarded flank!
Then the blue-robed man would be Jegal Hyeok's double agent.
Planting a double agent, then coaxing secrets when the target relaxes—basic stratagem.
'We met the blue-robed man at Wang Family Fortress, but I can't fully trust him. Jegal Hyeok might have scattered spies beforehand to find someone heading from Sichuan to Shaolin.'
Fortunately, the blue-robed man hadn't asked Seo Baek a word about the message.
Seo Baek figured he knew he was under suspicion.
'He must know the Wang Clan was left to lure the revenant horde.'
Probably avoiding the topic to dispel Seo Baek's doubts.
Seo Baek pondered silently.
'Not Jegal Hyeok's spy, then.'
At least not yet.
Of course, Wang Yi Sam had no inkling of the psychological chess match between them.
Realizing Jegal Hyeok's lie, he erupted in his usual fury.
"Then we can't just sit here! We gotta bail from the Jegal Clan now!"
"Their reputation and the refugees' eyes will stay their hand for now. We'll overnight here and leave at dawn tomorrow."
The blue-robed man nodded silently in agreement.
"A comfy bed and good meal for once won't hurt."
"...Want some booze?"
"Booze talk even now?"
"What's wrong? We're not leaving right away—might as well squeeze what we can."
"Gutsy as ever."
Seo Baek's group finally unpacked and rested properly.
Like soldiers feasting heartily and bedding down early the night before battle.
Meanwhile, Jegal Hyeok sat at the table, brush in hand, inscribing something.
Before him gathered some thirty servants.
They knelt on one knee toward the second young master.
During the day, they'd posed as servants guiding guests. Now, they revealed their true faces.
Swords at their waists, leather belts across their chests holding three daggers each.
The Jegal Clan warriors, famed for their swift actions in the murim, showed their mettle.
Their captain reported the day's intelligence to Jegal Hyeok.
"...Among the named refugees, about one in four carry swords or blades—martial artists."
"Any noteworthy ones?"
"Mostly third-rate wanderers without sects."
"Good. But high experts might lurk, so watch closely."
"Understood."
"So the ones to watch are just those three."
Jegal Hyeok had Seo Baek's group in mind.
"The blue-robed man and boy seem high-level experts, hard to gauge. The middle-aged one wields a broad dao—first-rate at best, generously."
"Excellent. Monitor those three rigorously."
"Understood. When do we act, sir?"
"After midnight, one hour past. First, separate the blue-robed man and middle-aged one from the boy."
"Then... kill them?"
"No. Capture alive."
"Yes, sir."
"Wait. No need for live capture. Just drop him underground."
The captain's cold expression cracked into a sly grin.
"That method, sir?"
"Of course. We learn the Shaolin message and experiment—one stone, two birds."
"The boy seems stubborn. Will he talk easily?"
"He'll have no choice."
Tak. Jegal Hyeok set down his brush.
What he'd inscribed on the paper wasn't letters or drawings.
Nor was the brush dipped in black ink, but thick crimson fluid.
Jegal Hyeok had drawn a blood-written talisman.
Qimen Dunjia sorcery!
"To think they'd send a mere boy. The Murim Alliance has fallen far. Show these Alliance lackeys the Jegal Clan's might."
"By your command!"
The warriors bowed with clasped fists, accepting orders in unison.