Fortress Infiltration (3)
A guardian of the Namgung family hurried up the stairs. He stopped in front of Namgung Jin's room and reported.
"Young master, the hour of the Dog has arrived."
The rough breathing of a man and woman from inside the room suddenly ceased, followed by Namgung Jin's voice.
"What of the intruders?"
"Nothing suspicious has been detected yet."
"Understood. Do not slacken the guard even for a moment."
"Yes, sir!"
Once the guardian left, Namgung Jin wiped the sweat from his drenched body and donned his robes.
Moyong Hwa-jeong, still lounging on the bed, asked languidly.
"Are you leaving now?"
"It's time. They'll attempt infiltration after the hour of the Pig."
"Why rush when the watchtowers are keeping vigil?"
Her voice dripped with seduction, the kind that would keep any man glued to her bedside. But Namgung Jin merely fastened his sword to his belt and turned away.
As he moved to leave, a flicker of jealousy stirred in Moyong Hwa-jeong unbidden. A woman always yearned to consume a man's every thought.
"With three hundred warriors forming the Forest of Sword Mountains, do you really need to step out yourself?"
"Those warriors are small fry at best—first-rate if we're generous. If there's a true master among the infiltrators, they could handle a hundred men."
"So you'll face the master personally?"
"Naturally."
Namgung Jin loved embracing women second only to one thing in the world.
What he loved most was severing the throats of enemies trembling in terror!
He couldn't let his underlings steal that pleasure. That was why he turned coldly from Moyong Hwa-jeong.
"You emphasized the number three hundred earlier, yet you don't trust your own warriors."
"Of course not. I meant there are plenty of traps."
"Traps?"
"No matter the master, they can't evade the gaze of three hundred men scattered throughout the fortress. That's over three hundred traps."
"Ah!"
"The ones Shaolin summoned personally will resist fiercely, killing dozens at least. When they're exhausted, I'll claim their head. How could that not be exhilarating?"
"......"
Moyong Hwa-jeong unconsciously furrowed her brow.
For a handsome face, Namgung Jin was excessively cruel and cunning—a flaw, indeed.
"Truth be told, I hope they slip into the fortress unharmed. If an arrow from the watchtowers skewers them, it'd be far too bland."
Namgung Jin flashed a cruel smile and exited the room.
On the watchtower rising beside the western palisade, two warriors huddled against the biting cold.
"Jin Pyeong, aren't you freezing?"
"Freezing? I'm about to drop dead from it! Weren't you the one doing cold-water rubs even in midwinter, Gwak Sim?"
"That was back in my reckless youth."
"Fair enough. Still, why's the relief crew taking so damn long?"
"Tell me about it."
Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong were warriors of the North Paeng family.
Childhood friends from the same village, they'd been hailed as sword prodigies back home. But upon venturing into the jianghu with grand ambitions, they quickly learned their place.
Genius in a rural backwater meant third-rate—or second-rate on a good day—in the Central Plains martial world.
Still, their hard work paid off; by thirty, they'd become North Paeng warriors—a modest success.
Mention North Paeng in a teahouse or brothel, and the girls bowed respectfully. The pay was decent too. They hadn't returned home since leaving, but someday they'd go back in glory...
Reality, however?
Stamping their feet against the wind on a frigid watchtower, waiting desperately for relief...
Something whooshed past the watchtower.
Flutter flutter.
"What was that?"
"Jeez, just an owl."
"Damn, nearly scared me to death."
The fortress in the gorge teemed with wild beasts and birds, so they paid it no mind.
Utterly unaware that the owl had been scrutinizing them...
Moments later, two warriors hurried toward the western watchtower.
They were the relief crew. But with rare meat for dinner, they'd gorged themselves and now ran late.
Paeng Jagol was infamous for his obesity and laziness, yet he brooked no tardiness from his men.
Getting caught late meant severe punishment!
Then, two figures appeared before them—their comrades Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong, who should have been on the tower.
"What are you doing down here?"
"What else? Waiting for you slackers."
"Even so... orders are to relieve at the tower itself."
"Worrying over nothing. We saw you coming and just came down. It'll be fine—hurry up."
"......"
Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong, shivering and hunched, shuffled off.
But they headed the wrong way.
"Aren't they hungry? Why not the mess hall?"
"Probably desperate for the latrine."
"Nah, latrines are the other way. Looks like the north rear gate..."
"Come on, in this cold? What's at the rear gate?"
With that, Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong vanished into the shadows.
The two felt something off but dismissed it as nerves and climbed the tower.
But upon arrival, voices called from above—not Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong's?
"Hey, you bastards! Hurry the hell up!"
"......"
Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong were still up there?
Then who were those two just now...?
The warriors stared at each other, dumbfounded.
Shortly after, the pair mistaken for Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong melted back into the shadows.
But their faces weren't those of men over thirty.
One was a boy not yet twenty.
The other, a young woman just past her teens.
Their true identities: Seo Baek and Joo Eun-ri.
Each had a talisman pressed to their chest.
One bore the character for Gwak, the other's Jin the surnames of Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong.
Joo Eun-ri had eavesdropped on the guards via owl and crafted them on the spot.
To the relief warriors' eyes, Seo Baek and Joo Eun-ri had appeared as Gwak Sim and Jin Pyeong.
"Impressive sorcery."
"Nothing special. Child's play compared to Grandfather."
Seo Baek and Joo Eun-ri had already scouted the two buildings to the west.
Guards were lax, access free—meaning Wang Il and Wang Yi weren't there.
Next challenge: crossing the fortress center.
There stood the tallest of eleven watchtowers, amid the densest cluster of men and buildings.
The center was cleared of brush, offering no cover. Shadows from buildings were scarce.
With their lightness skills, evading warriors would be trivial.
But the goal was total secrecy—no hint of infiltration.
They'd prepared accordingly.
Joo Eun-ri's sorcery!
Its effects were remarkable.
Even Seo Baek, slight of build, fooled them completely.
Yet the sorcery wasn't flawless.
"These improvised talismans last only as long as a cup of tea."
Joo Eun-ri had warned before entry.
"Perfect talismans require three things: First, chicken skin from a bird caught without impurity. Second, ink from dew gathered overnight mixed with that skin. Third, hide from a tiger cub under one year old."
Impossible to prepare at a wasteland inn.
But a teacup's time sufficed now.
"And never speak. I'll handle all talk."
Joo Eun-ri had mimicked Gwak Sim's voice and speech via ventriloquism from the owl's intel. Seo Baek found her mimicry more astonishing than the talismans.
They encountered a few more Five Families Alliance warriors, but none saw through the disguise.
Soon, Seo Baek and Joo Eun-ri pierced the fortress center—the riskiest zone.
The three hundred warriors' eyes detected not even a whiff of infiltration.
A warrior relieved from the eastern watchtower paused en route to the mess hall.
"What's up?"
"Don't you feel something off?"
His comrade asked, and he peered into the shadowed darkness.
"Off my ass—probably a wild animal. Come on, dinner'll be gone if we're late."
Urged on, he shrugged and turned away, head cocked.
Soon after the warriors left.
The nearby building's wall shimmered like spring haze, then rippled downward like shedding skin.
Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam emerged.
They'd held a wide cloth's ends, cloaking themselves against the wall.
The brick-patterned cloth reverted to black as Song Hyeon folded it.
Wang Yi Sam stared in disbelief.
"Incredible—perfect camouflage. Sorcery?"
"Seems like a magical artifact."
"Artifact? You mean the kind immortals use...?"
Wang Yi Sam, fond of tales like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, recalled artifacts as immortal tools.
Song Hyeon gave a wry smile.
"Not immortal-grade, just imbued with spiritual power."
The black cloth was actually a robe-like garment, wide enough to shroud two adults when spread.
Joo Eun-ri called it a deep robe, inherited from her grandfather, and begged them to treasure and return it.
"Immortal or mage-made, it's a marvel."
Wang Yi Sam swallowed hard.
A keen-sensed warrior had paused—yet detected nothing and left.
Their hiding spot wasn't the shadows, but the wall at his back.
He'd never imagine people on the wall, so he'd scanned the wrong darkness.
"With this robe, we're undetectable!"
"No. Those with Mind's Eye might see through."
Song Hyeon countered.
"Mind's Eye is a realm in immortal ascension or Qimen Dunjia arts. It pierces demonic sorcery."
"I see."
Wang Yi Sam looked uneasy, then countered.
"No one here has Mind's Eye, so we're safe?"
"Central Plains arts cultivate similarly."
"Which?"
"Shaolin's Lion's Roar."
"......!"
"Unlikely anyone here masters it. But deep internal energy might sense something amiss, even if not piercing the artifact."
"Meaning...?"
"The Five Families' five masters might detect us."
As Wang Yi Sam gulped, Chorang emerged from the dark.
"Ah, there you are."
Wang Yi Sam extended a hand, but Chorang ignored him, wagged its tail twice at Song Hyeon, then bolted back into shadows.
"Tch, cold as its master."
"Two wags means not found yet. Time to move."
Song Hyeon and Wang Yi Sam breached the center using the borrowed deep robe's power.
Those who sensed Seo Baek's group's infiltration?
None.