Every Fortress Has Its Dog Hole
Seo Baek had never seen such unshakeable confidence on Wang Yi Sam's face.
"What is it?"
"Every fortress in the Central Plains—no, not just fortresses, but every manor and estate has at least one. Why don't you take a guess, junior?"
Wang Yi Sam wagged a finger as he spoke.
Seo Baek didn't mind the bravado. Despite the age gap, ever since they'd met in Sichuan, he felt a bond with Wang Yi Sam like that of comrades who'd shared life and death.
He wanted to pierce through the bluster, but this time, he couldn't read the man's intentions.
Shika Manor, tucked away in the deep mountains of Sichuan.
As an orphan, Seo Baek had no memories before arriving there.
And after joining, he'd never ventured into the jianghu until the revenant horde struck...
How was he supposed to guess the common feature of Central Plains manors and estates?
Seo Baek smiled and replied,
"No idea."
"As expected—only those who've eaten the jianghu's rice would know. What do you find in every place where people live in the Central Plains? A dog hole."
A dog hole. A gap or hole in a wall for dogs or cats to slip in and out of the house.
"No matter how perfect the fortress, there's always at least one dog hole!"
Wang Yi Sam puffed out his chest, reveling in his showmanship.
Seo Baek could hardly believe it.
A ridiculous flaw in fortresses built by the Central Plains' renowned sects?
Yet unexpectedly, Song Hyeon nodded, backing him up.
"Makes sense. Nothing man-made is truly perfect."
With even Song Hyeon agreeing, Seo Baek decided to go along with it.
They'd already scouted the fortress's exterior with the hawk, but Joo Eun-ri prepared Chorang again. If there really was a dog hole as Wang Yi Sam claimed, it would be in some shadow the hawk couldn't spot.
Joo Eun-ri pressed her index and middle fingers to her lips, whispering something before drawing an arc in the air.
"Chorang, go take a look."
The next instant, Chorang burst from her sleeve and scampered up the cliff face.
The cliffs around the fortress were bare of foliage, making stealth impossible for humans. But that only applied to people.
A marten like Chorang, with its long body and short legs, could dash along cliffs and cracks, hiding effortlessly.
Soon, Joo Eun-ri began relaying what Chorang saw.
"Dense wooden barricades block the front. Can't see beyond them."
From Chorang's ankle-height view, the watchtowers behind were naturally out of sight.
Chorang circled the fortress's long north and south stretches. They couldn't see inside, but finding a dog hole was enough for now.
How much time passed? Joo Eun-ri's eyes lit up as she stared into space.
"The base where the barricade's sunk into the ground is rotted through—a hole."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam's words had hit the mark. Chorang had found the dog hole.
The issue was its size.
"Big enough for Chorang to squeeze through... but the barricade around it's weathered and rotten from the elements. A little work, and we can widen it for a person no problem."
"What'd I tell ya? Every fortress has its dog hole!"
Wang Yi Sam crowed triumphantly.
Seo Baek let him have his moment. For once, he wanted to boost the man's spirits. Besides, hadn't a real dog hole proven him right?
But reaching that hole in the barricade was the next hurdle.
Surprisingly, that solved itself too.
"Chorang's turning back, passing through the cliff."
Seo Baek tilted his head.
Passing through the cliff, not climbing it?
"Next to the rotted barricade spot, there's a crack in the cliff. Like a tunnel—roofed and walled on top and sides, but straight enough for a person to crawl through."
"...!"
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon exchanged glances.
This crack Chorang found felt like the key to infiltrating the fortress.
A hole in the rotted barricade. And a cliff crack leading right to it.
With Joo Eun-ri's scouting, guards and watchtowers be damned—they could slip in unseen.
"Chorang's almost at the top. Not far—let's move."
The group followed Joo Eun-ri, staying low to avoid detection from below.
Oddly, she headed to the opposite side of the cliff, away from the fortress.
Upon reaching the crack, they understood why.
Two massive cliff faces met like mountains, with a small gap at the base.
It was walled on all four sides—top, bottom, left, right. But the empty space stretched straight like a cave.
Chorang popped out and climbed Joo Eun-ri's body back into her sleeve.
Seo Baek knelt to peer inside.
Dark, but with Shika Heart Method active, he could see to the end.
He stood and said,
"Light shining through at the far end—definitely connects to the fortress barricade."
"Width?"
"Wide enough for a wild boar. No issue for people."
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon shared knowing smiles.
Crawl the tunnel-like crack, and they'd emerge at the rotted hole. Infiltration route secured.
The ironclad Five Families Alliance fortress had an unforeseen weakness.
Even Joo Eun-ri, who raised Chorang herself, hadn't anticipated the crack or dog hole. She was expert at viewing through its eyes, but not at martens' habits.
This breakthrough came courtesy of the least likely member: Wang Yi Sam.
"Hahaha! See? This jianghu-seasoned body of mine... Mmph!"
"Senior Wang, we're right next to enemy territory."
Wang Yi Sam let out a bold laugh, but Seo Baek quickly covered his mouth. Luckily, behind the cliff muffled it from the fortress.
Wang Yi Sam sneaked a glance at Joo Eun-ri, nose in the air, but she dismissed him coolly.
"Not bad. At least you're earning your keep."
She tossed the barb and turned away. Stung but powerless, Wang Yi Sam fumed silently.
Seo Baek refocused them.
"Let's start the operation."
Inside one building of the Five Families Alliance fortress, three martial artists gathered.
They were Ak Gwanbi of the Shandong Yue Family, Paeng Jagol of the North Paeng Family, and Eon Ja-seong of the Pearl Eon Family.
Before them, Wang Il and Wang Yi sat bound to chairs.
Tortured brutally, their faces were bloodied, but their eyes burned with unbroken defiance.
A warrior clasped his fists in salute and reported,
"No information extracted..."
"What? We gave you plenty of time."
"Well... no matter how much we tortured them, they wouldn't talk. Turns out both are missing their tongues."
"Missing their tongues?"
The three stared at each other in disbelief.
Ak Gwanbi burst into booming laughter.
"Kuhahaha! Tongueless, so they can't talk? That's the ultimate torture dodge in the Central Plains!"
"Namgung Jin really whiffed this time, huhu."
Paeng Jagol chuckled along, his sagging jowls rippling like waves.
Eon Ja-seong, face grim without a hint of mirth, ground his teeth.
"This is why I said no need for hostages—burn the inn and set an ambush instead... Wasted time thanks to Namgung Jin!"
"Not wasted. Got fun toys out of it, huhu."
Paeng Jagol extended a hand; a warrior passed him an axe. He twirled it like chopsticks between his fingers and approached Wang Il and Wang Yi.
"What to chop this time? Arm? Leg? Or, huhu! Pick yourselves... Oh right, no tongues—can't talk, huhu!"
The door opened. In walked a man and woman: Namgung Jin of the Namgung Family and Moyong Hwa-jeong of the Moyong Family.
All warriors inside saluted with clasped fists and bowed as Namgung Jin—the alliance's de facto leader—entered.
His right-hand man pressed a finger to his lips and slid it sideways.
The can't-talk signal.
No info from torture, then.
Namgung Jin scanned the room sharply after his subordinate's report.
Ak Gwanbi and Paeng Jagol smirked, but Eon Ja-seong scowled, glaring between Namgung Jin and Moyong Hwa-jeong.
Ignoring him, Namgung Jin spoke.
"Scouts from Sukju dock returned. Their boat sank, blocking the canal."
"Yeah? Find the Shaolin-bound ones?"
"No survivors—revenants maybe. Boat sank midway, so whether underworld grabbed them or they came willingly, they'd hole up at the inn."
Namgung Jin's logic held, but Eon Ja-seong nitpicked.
"How do you know they came to the inn in this wasteland? Could've detoured."
"With revenant hordes rampant? Around Kaifeng? Or the Great Wall? No revenants up north—nice and safe."
"..."
The Great Wall, built by the First Emperor against the Xiongnu, lay far north of the Central Plains.
To avoid revenant zones meant such a massive detour—Namgung Jin was mocking him.
"They won't detour. Too much time lost."
Moyong Hwa-jeong chimed in coquettishly.
Eon Ja-seong swallowed his rage; the logic was sound.
But his anger stemmed elsewhere.
Why had Namgung Jin and Moyong Hwa-jeong shown up late to the interrogation?
They'd clearly just finished making love.
Eon Ja-seong had fallen for Moyong Hwa-jeong's beauty at first sight. But skinny as a withered tree, with a wild beard, he lacked appeal to women and hesitated to approach.
Then the handsome Namgung Jin stole her.
The scar by his right eye was a flaw, but between him and Eon Ja-seong? Obvious choice.
Parading post-tryst in broad daylight? Infuriating.
'Shameless bastards!'
Namgung Jin noticed the jealous glare but ignored it.
He was used to envious stares whenever he claimed Central Plains beauties.
To him, Eon Ja-seong was just another petty man envious of his conquests.
"Spread rumors to the underworld, but I never fully trusted them. Shaolin-bound aren't dumb enough to get caught easily."
"So what's your next plan, young master?"
Moyong Hwa-jeong purred. Namgung Jin smirked and replied,
"We wait. They have to come here. That's why we built this fortress."