Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Mission to Yun County
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After the spar concluded, Yuk Jin-yang was escorted to the Fortress Division's lodgings.
It was a three-story pavilion complete with its own training ground. The scale was truly immense. All the division members lived, ate, and grew attached to the place here, which explained its vast size.
This was the information shared by Yu Baek, who had volunteered to guide him there.
As he toured the building and stepped back out, Yu Baek casually brought up the events from before. It felt like an attempt to break the ice.
"That palm technique you unleashed on Senior Won—even from a spectator's perspective, it looked downright lethal. My own side started aching again just watching it."
"The swordsmanship you displayed back then was equally exquisite, Senior. I'm actually sorry for the delayed thanks. My Sword Shadow Palm Technique is a product of contemplating the principles of the Radiant Martial Divine Sword."
"You mean you came up with that on the spot through insight? Man, why did the patriarch send me to test a guy like you?"
His tone was light, but Yu Baek's demeanor and posture had grown noticeably more serious. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had seemed so utterly indifferent to everything before.
There was even a hint of goodwill in how he treated Yuk Jin-yang. He showed no sign of resenting his defeat at the hands of a junior.
Yu Baek scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed.
"Truth be told, I was pretty shocked that day."
"......"
"Not trying to make things awkward or anything. Haha. Let's just say I learned some humility thanks to you. After losing to you, I realized just how complacent I'd become."
"Hate to say it, but you did seem utterly fed up with everything."
Yu Baek let out an awkward laugh.
"Even you thought so? Embarrassing. Actually, I didn't exactly volunteer to come here."
"Then...?"
"I figured I could just coast along like some carefree playboy. Everyone praised my talent, so I got lazy. I thought even if I couldn't beat my seniors now, I'd surpass them eventually."
It was a type he'd seen all too often before—and one that Yuk Jin-yang's previous life had been the complete opposite of.
'Born under a lucky star, huh.'
Masking his bitter inner thoughts, he asked,
"Did our spar serve as the wake-up call?"
"Something like that. Oh, don't get me wrong—no hard feelings toward you specifically. It was just embarrassing to lose to some fresh-faced junior."
Yuk Jin-yang simply nodded without adding anything. Yu Baek, too, shifted the topic away from the awkward subject.
"Anyway, welcome to the Fortress Division. Let's get along. Who knows? We might end up on a mission together sometime."
Was it those words that planted the seed?
The very next day, a summons came from the division leader. On his way to the office, he crossed paths with seniors who had already finished their business and were leaving. Spotting Yuk Jin-yang, they offered words of consolation.
"Even the maknae got called in, huh?"
"Good luck."
"Is it because you joined during these turbulent times? A mission on your second day—you're really down on your luck."
It made no sense. Tilting his head in confusion, Yuk Jin-yang entered the pavilion and announced himself from beyond the sliding door.
"It's Yuk Jin-yang. I heard you summoned me."
"Come in."
Opening the door and stepping into the office, he saw familiar faces from the day before: Won Young and Yu Baek. They, too, wore expressions suggesting they had no idea why they'd been called.
Yang Jung-ui, seated at the long table, cut straight to the chase.
"I mentioned it to you yesterday. The warriors pursuing the White Lotus Cult branch have been vanishing one after another."
"Yes."
"This mission is related. Head to Yun County in Hubei Province, crush the White Lotus rabble, and rescue any survivors if they're there."
Won Young, who had been standing silently, spoke up.
"What's the likelihood of survivors?"
"Plenty of eyewitnesses saw the White Lotus thugs dragging prisoners away alive."
With that, Yang Jung-ui tapped the stack of scrolls piled in one corner of the office table.
"These are all testimonies gathered by the Golden Eagle Bureau. Incidents like this have happened not just in Hubei, but across the land."
"What the hell are those lunatics up to?"
Won Young spat the words with a scowl. His rough tone laid bare his outright hostility toward the White Lotus Cult.
"Couldn't say for sure. Even the Golden Eagle Bureau says they can't get close to the truth. With the rebellion throwing everything into chaos, they're probably overwhelmed trying to probe the cult's inner workings."
Yang Jung-ui added with a sigh,
"But I have my suspicions. From what I've dug up in the records, back during the chaos of the late Yuan, they captured warriors to eat them or sacrifice them alive."
"......Pardon? What was that?"
Yu Baek, who had been quiet until then, turned pale and asked for confirmation. Won Young and Yuk Jin-yang's faces matched his.
As if understanding their shock, Yang Jung-ui explained gravely.
"They believed devouring inner force cultivators or crafting life-sized Buddha statues from living bodies would summon guardian spirits to aid their cause. Utter madmen."
"Isn't that just sorcery?"
Yang Jung-ui nodded at Won Young's question.
"The ignorant rank-and-file might have seen it as divine power, but it's likely some perverse shamanistic ritual from ancient times. We have to stop it."
"Sounds urgent. They might have already committed their atrocities by now."
"According to the records, even their madness has a schedule. It only works on the winter solstice. Gives us a window, at least."
There were still ten days until the solstice. Only then did color return to Yu Baek's ashen face. He ventured,
"If it's a heretical cult's human sacrifice, shouldn't the imperial army step in? Especially if they deploy cannons—it'd be easy to wipe them out..."
His voice trailed off as he belatedly recalled the rift between the alliance and the court. After a brief hesitation, Yu Baek continued.
"The alliance and court may be at odds, but couldn't they cooperate on something like this? We're not openly declaring for Prince Yan, after all."
Yang Jung-ui waved it off.
"The Yun County magistrate isn't hostile to us."
"Really?"
"Yes. Even after coordinating with him, this mess happened."
His somber tone warned of the mission's difficulty. Yu Baek asked urgently,
"Even gunpowder was useless?"
"Don't count on gunpowder. With the campaign against Prince Yan short on supplies, they're recalling cannons and powder everywhere."
Yuk Jin-yang abandoned any hope of meaningful aid from the magistrate. Soldiers without cannons stood no chance against cultist sorcery.
Won Young, mulling over the conversation, spoke up.
"It's not a trap, is it?"
"No. This is the Golden Eagle Bureau's assessment—you can trust it. The magistrate cooperated as best he could, even at the risk of later scrutiny from the censors."
Yang Jung-ui continued impassively.
"From their perspective, allying with us makes sense. The court has no bandwidth to care about a single county official right now. But if he abandons the town, they'll hold him accountable later."
"A rock and a hard place. Can't hold it alone, can't flee without fearing reprisals. The officials must be tearing their hair out. Problem is, they don't seem much use."
These days, the alliance and local officials shared a peculiar relationship.
The court and alliance were at loggerheads. But local officials were in a different position—especially further south, where many sympathized with the alliance emotionally.
Prince Yan's rebellion felt distant to them. Heretical cults and evil sects, on the other hand, were fires on their very doorsteps.
They naturally preferred the alliance, which offered help amid the court's fixation on quelling the revolt.
"Don't worry too much. The Nangong Clan has stepped up to lend aid if needed. Even if things escalate, we won't lack manpower."
"Nangong?"
Yu Baek and Won Young scowled in unison. The sudden mention of the upstart clan struck them as odd. Yuk Jin-yang, privy to the details, remained unfazed.
Won Young muttered,
"No idea why they'd help us, but hasn't the Nangong Clan's prestige taken a hit lately? I heard they paid the price for brazenly slapping 'imperial' on their family arts and claiming false glory."
"True enough. But Hubei is their turf, all the same. They're not so feeble as to hand it over to heretics without a fight."
As he spoke of the Nangong Clan, Yang Jung-ui shot Yuk Jin-yang a knowing glance—as if aware of the deal between the Zhejiang Yuk Clan and them.
Playing dumb, Yuk Jin-yang asked,
"Isn't Hubei closer to Wudang Sect territory than the Nangong Clan? They'd be the ones to roll up their sleeves for a cult problem."
"We sounded them out, but Wudang lacks the capacity. Their sect leader is preparing for ascension."
Won Young let out a quiet sigh of regret.
"Ah... What a headache. Why ascend at a time like this?"
"Make do and head out. For a Fortress Division mission, the support here's already generous."
"At least give us some good mounts for the trip. The rookies haven't mastered long-distance lightness skills yet, right?"
Yuk Jin-yang and Yu Baek nodded knowingly.
As if expecting as much, Yang Jung-ui chuckled dryly and pulled three horse tallies from his robe.
"I've already prepared swift steeds for you. They'll cover ten days' distance in three.
The group pocketed the tallies and headed to the stables. Won Young asked,
"By the way, maknae—can you ride?"
"I rode one to Shandong before."
"Good. No worries about long journeys then."
Even for lightness-skilled martial artists, horses were invaluable for travel.
The jianghu was a world where fights could erupt anywhere, anytime. Maintaining peak condition was essential.
Exhausting inner energy on lightness功 for long hauls only to falter in battle would be turning the tables on oneself.
The horses the stablehand brought out were exceptional from the start. Their sleek builds and glossy golden coats suggested Western breeds from the famed horse lands.
Won Young whistled in admiration.
"The division leader really went all out. Sweat-Blood Horses? You're lucky, kids. Even alliance warriors rarely get to ride these. They're priceless rarities."
"The divine steeds Emperor Wu of Han waged wars to obtain from the West? First time seeing one."
Yu Baek made a fuss.
Yuk Jin-yang inwardly marveled as he mounted up. Well-trained, the horse accepted the stranger's touch meekly.
The stablehand approached cautiously and pleaded,
"These are steeds worth a fortune—you can't buy them for gold. Please, please bring them back safe and unharmed."
"Don't worry, Old Man Jang. We'll use them well and return them in one piece."
"You said the same last time... Of course, that one wasn't a Sweat-Blood, but it was one I raised with great care."
"Missions get rough—unavoidable losses happen. Should I have risked my life to save a single horse?"
His eyes smiled, but his words did not. The stablehand fell silent.
The group spurred their horses and swiftly left Kaifeng behind. The surrounding scenery blurred into unrecognizability at their breakneck speed.