Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Exposing the Trap
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“Let's sort out the situation first.”
Yuk Ryul muttered in a high-handed tone as he slowly circled the woman. She let out a snort, as if utterly incredulous.
“The Huangbo Clan plundered the commoners in place of the officials and even used White Lotus Cultists for their own ends. Yet the official who should have stopped them was actually dead, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards were in disguise? How exactly am I supposed to take this?”
“…….”
“Let me rephrase my earlier question. Is the White Lotus Cult's involvement the Emperor's will?”
No answer came. The woman kept her eyes closed, maintaining her silence.
“They say a king can be shameless, but a cult's meddling is another matter entirely. Even as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, you should have the sense to discern that much.”
“…….”
“I could cripple your dantian.”
Despite the threat, the woman's expression remained utterly composed. She narrowed her eyes and flashed a peculiar smile.
“Go ahead and try.”
“What did you say?”
“If you want to cripple my dantian, do it. If it'll make you feel better.”
“You know full well that such an act is no light matter for any martial artist.”
“I do. I'll become a cripple stripped of my martial arts, and maybe even end up a bedridden invalid from the aftereffects. So what?”
The woman smiled defiantly, as if fully resolved to provoke him.
“Do whatever you want. I won't say a word.”
She kept her bold promise to the end. The culprit refused to open her mouth, even under grueling interrogation that would break most people.
Even when they inflicted pain through pressure points, her lips remained sealed tight. If anything, it was they who grew anxious, pressed for time.
Yuk Ryul shook his head as he looked down at the woman, who had finally fainted.
“Definitely an Embroidered Uniform Guard. That's no ordinary mental fortitude. It's clear she was trained for scenarios like this.”
“But that's all we managed to learn.”
Yuk Jin-yang muttered, arms crossed.
The factions reaching into Shandong were excessively powerful. The Five Harmony Alliance, the Huangbo Clan, the White Lotus Cult, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards—all groups capable of influencing the jianghu's power dynamics.
There was no way they'd converged on Shandong just for military grain. Perhaps even the alliance's mission had ulterior motives. What on earth was happening here?
“Uncle, are we really here just to burn the grain?”
“That's our mission.”
“It sounds like you're saying everyone else has different orders. Before that—were there other personnel dispatched to Shandong besides us?”
“It's top secret. I can't tell you right now.”
Yuk Ryul added with a sigh,
“It's not that I was deliberately hiding it. Truth be told, all I got were hints. I don't know the specifics either.”
“So what do we do now?”
Yuk Jin-yang asked casually.
“Hmm. There are too many variables to stick to the original plan. Of all things, who would've thought the Embroidered Uniform Guards were aiding a cult?”
“The Huangbo Clan, the White Lotus Cult, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Three forces we can't ignore as enemies.”
Yuk Ryul rubbed his forehead, looking troubled.
“Abandoning the mission here and heading back doesn't sound so bad. Capturing an Embroidered Uniform Guard should make up for the failure.”
“Dragging her around the whole way would be a hassle anyway.”
Flutter flutter! An unexpected flapping of wings rang out.
Yuk Jin-yang flinched and looked up toward the sound.
A pitch-black eagle was flying in from afar, a letter tied to its ankle.
Yuk Ryul extended his arm, providing a perch. His movements were remarkably practiced, as if he'd done this many times before.
“From the Five Harmony Alliance or the main family?”
“It's from the Shanxi Yi Clan's secret falcon corps. Just as we use homing pigeons, they've tamed eagles that soar the northern skies.”
Yuk Ryul's expression brightened as he checked the letter. He even let out a sigh of relief.
“Good news, I take it?”
“Hm? Yeah, things worked out well.”
Embarrassed by his own excited reaction, Yuk Ryul gave an awkward smile and explained the situation.
“Apparently, the alliance targeted Shandong for two reasons. One was to burn the Huangbo Clan's stockpiled grain. The other was to secure Duke Yansheng.”
“Duke Yansheng...!”
A sudden realization dawned.
Shandong wasn't home to just the Huangbo Clan.
There had once been a sage called Confucius. Revered as the teacher of ten thousand generations, Duke Yansheng was the hereditary title passed down through his descendants.
Emperors across dynasties had admired Confucius and favored his lineage. Even the infamous tyrant Qin Shi Huang had done so. No matter the dynasty, their status remained unchanged. The halo of Confucius's bloodline was that immense.
They were the foremost noble house under heaven. Utterly incomparable to some mere martial clan.
Their seat was Qufu County in Shandong, where their ancestral tombs lay. If they threw their support behind the Prince of Yan's cause, the repercussions would shake the realm.
“There was intel that the Emperor planned to detain Duke Yansheng. We moved first.”
“The Emperor? The court was going after him before the Prince of Yan even made a move?”
Wasn't that a blatant blunder? Yuk Jin-yang swallowed his words. His uncle shrugged, as if understanding the nephew's unspoken thought.
“I've felt this for a while, but the Emperor lacks the timber of a true sovereign. He's far too hot-blooded. That's what sparked this mess.”
“If things worked out, does that mean our allies secured Duke Yansheng?”
“Exactly. Some of the alliance's elites infiltrated Qufu County and successfully rescued him.”
“The journey back should be smoother, then.”
They wouldn't have assigned the rescue lightly. It had to be elite forces. Linking up with them should allow a safe withdrawal despite any interference.
“For such a vital figure, wouldn't it have been better to spirit him away before the court could act?”
“They tried. But Shandong is Huangbo Clan territory—nothing was easy. They faced interference repeatedly until this finally succeeded.”
Yuk Ryul went on to explain the circumstances that had prevented earlier success.
“Besides, Duke Yansheng and Confucius's descendants rarely leave Qufu lands. They have ancestral graves and shrines to tend. Even when Jurchen and Mongol hordes occupied the north, they left part of the clan behind.”
If they wouldn't flee foreign invaders, they certainly wouldn't run from imperial power struggles.
“So, what's the plan going forward?”
“It's gotten tricky. The Huangbo dogs have spread a heaven-earth net and are pursuing the escort team.”
“We going to help?”
“We have to. But we won't link up right away. First, we're to draw their attention elsewhere.”
Yuk Ryul showed him the letter. It included a map along with detailed conditions in each Shandong county. True top-secret intel—nothing short of meticulous investigation could uncover it.
“Keep up guerrilla tactics to harass them, then rendezvous at Chengwu County. It's the junction point we passed earlier, so they've designated it as the meetup spot.”
Yuk Jin-yang muttered as he scrutinized the map.
“The grain's more dispersed than I thought. I figured they'd stockpiled most of it south of the river after the levies.”
“You can't gather that much overnight. And the escort agencies aren't cooperating with them either.”
“If we go around torching the scattered caches, it'll definitely loosen their heaven-earth net.”
“Right. They value the Duke, but they won't lightly abandon the grain to feed the imperial army.”
Yet unease lingered. The more he reviewed the situation, the greater the sense of wrongness.
Why?
An instinct beyond logic was warning of danger. Not as Yuk Jin-yang, but as Jang Un, honed by countless missions.
After pondering deeply, Yuk Jin-yang spoke up.
“But still.”
“Hm?”
“Would the Huangbo Clan's heaven-earth net really be so sloppy that a single hawk could punch through it?”
Yuk Ryul's expression shifted rapidly—from blankness to surprise, and finally to shock.
Setting a heaven-earth net required extensive preparations.
Positioning experts precisely while deploying formations infused with ultimate arts. Sometimes employing sorcery or mechanical traps—a massive exertion of power.
It wasn't something a mere spirit beast could breach. At best, a brief breakthrough by an expert versed in scouting.
“The timing's suspicious too. Right after we killed the White Lotus grain convoy, Huangbo scum appeared.”
“True.”
“And the moment we wiped out their branch family, this letter arrives like they were waiting. As if they'd been tracking our every move.”
“You mean it's a trap? So the Five Harmony Alliance elites we sent into Shandong have been wiped out?”
“Not necessarily total annihilation, but they're definitely in peril. They lost their contact method. And... mind if I take another look at the letter?”
Yuk Ryul readily handed over the alliance's missive.
Yuk Jin-yang's eyes gleamed as he calmly reviewed it. He was drawing on every scrap of knowledge now, thanks to the experience accumulated in his past life.
Coaxing, false reports, sowing discord... the standard playbook of great clans.
Open duels between giant factions were rare. Too much at stake for either side.
Thus, chivalry rang hollow.
That was the reality of the jianghu. Yuk Jin-yang was certain this era, even further in the past than his previous life, was no different.
“The handwriting is neat, and the contents are organized clearly. Like it was written at a desk.”
“……Hm.”
“If a messenger sent it, it'd be a jumble of rumors and intel. Sorting that is upper echelon work.”
Yuk Jin-yang examined the falcon that had carried the letter. A clan spirit beast wouldn't easily fall into enemy hands. Surely some trickery.
Sure enough. Stroking its neck nape revealed a foreign sensation. Closer inspection yielded a hair-thin needle.
The docile hawk suddenly thrashed wildly from his grasp. Proof positive of brainwashing sorcery. Yuk Jin-yang murmured quietly.
“They definitely tampered with it.”