Chapter 428
Chapter 428
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 428
Chapter Title: A Deception Unraveled
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Four days had passed.
Yet, Yu Su-ryeon remained trapped in the secret manor provided by the Infinite Order.
*How much longer do I have to wait?*
Normally, a pursuit required clues.
But for the Wolf Fang Pavilion to still be tracking her in the city after four days, without leaving…
It meant they knew she was in the city and were searching every nook and cranny.
*I should have hidden in another region.*
Yu Su-ryeon was deeply dissatisfied.
If they had predicted the Wolf Fang Pavilion's movements from the start, they should have moved to a place where they couldn't be tracked.
Instead, they had her stay in a manor within the city, making it impossible to shake off her pursuers.
"The most important thing in shaking off a pursuit is to stay where the enemy least expects you."
This was the answer the Infinite Order's martial artists guarding the manor gave whenever Yu Su-ryeon voiced her complaints.
It was true, of course.
But at this rate, she could be trapped for over a month, not just four days.
“Something isn't right.”
Lost in thought at the table in her quarters, she shook her head.
Staying here any longer felt unsettling.
There were no attendants of her own in this manor, only unfamiliar martial artists and servants belonging to the Infinite Order.
“Hmm.”
Yu Su-ryeon bit her lip.
Come to think of it, the Three Realms were not a faction she could completely trust. If she wasn't careful, she could be devoured with her eyes wide open.
*I have to investigate.*
She was, after all, a high-ranking member of a sect who managed its intelligence network.
Realizing the situation was abnormal, she began to explore the manor's grounds.
The manor was vast, but sparsely populated, and no one stopped her from wandering around.
*Should I check that place?*
In the western part of the manor, there was a dilapidated, warehouse-like building that was the only place off-limits.
Yu Su-ryeon suspected it held some secret.
“……It seems so.”
As she approached the old warehouse-like building, she heard a low voice.
It was the voice of one of the martial artists stationed at the manor.
“Increase the dosage.”
“But if we do that, she might become aware of it when she wakes up.”
“It's fine. As long as she's confined to this manor, her senses are bound to dull.”
The voices were utterly sinister.
“Eventually, she will tell us everything.”
In that instant, her face turned ashen.
*So that's what this was.*
Yu Su-ryeon was shocked.
The truth was, every morning when she woke up, her head felt a little heavy and her body sluggish.
She had simply thought it was because she had been cooped up in the manor for so long.
It was clear now that the Infinite Order had confined her to this manor to administer a mind-altering drug over a long period, all to find the Black Ledger.
*Men are all the same in the end.*
Yu Su-ryeon bit her lip.
Female sects had always been trampled by men. The Three Realms were no different.
*I trusted them too much.*
Yu Su-ryeon regretted it.
No matter how much she trusted the Three Realms, she should never have stayed in a place like this alone.
Trapped alone in a manor cut off from the outside world, without a single disciple to help her… she could do nothing.
*If I continue taking this mind-altering drug, I'll eventually reveal the location of the Black Ledger in my subconscious.*
Yu Su-ryeon bit her lip.
*First, I need to check the situation outside.*
When Yu Su-ryeon tried to leave the manor, the guards there blocked her way.
“What is it?”
“I have some business to attend to outside.”
The guards shook their heads.
“That is not possible. We have orders that you are not to leave, as there are many experts from the Wolf Fang Pavilion outside.”
*Just as I thought.*
Her suspicion snowballed, but she hid it and nodded.
“I understand.”
Now, there was only one option left.
To secretly escape this manor.
She couldn't stay here any longer.
The food, the bed... everything provided by the manor was surely a ploy to find where she had hidden the Black Ledger.
*I'll wait for a chance to escape and then hide in our sect's safe house.*
This safe house was kept secret, staffed only by ordinary servants, aside from the martial artists of the Three Realms.
Escaping at the right moment wasn't entirely impossible.
Then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
*No, this could also be a ploy to make me escape and lead them to the Black Ledger.*
The thought struck her like a blow to the head, jolting her to her senses.
Sold to a brothel as a child, she became a young courtesan, and after becoming a disciple of the Whispering Willow Pavilion, she had always dealt with intelligence.
No matter how weary her heart had become, she was not so careless as to act rashly.
*Then there is only one way.*
Having formulated a meticulous plan, Yu Su-ryeon approached the martial artists guarding the manor.
“I have been away from the Jade Fragrance Pavilion for a long time. My subordinates will be worried.”
She then handed over a pre-written envelope.
“Things won't run smoothly without me, so I'd appreciate it if you could at least deliver this letter.”
The martial artist took the letter from the envelope and read it openly.
The letter simply inquired about the state of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion and assured them of her safety.
After staring at the letter for a while, the martial artist nodded.
“Very well. I will have it delivered.”
The next day, a reply came from Ok-cheong.
It briefly described the situation at the tavern and mentioned that experts from the Wolf Fang Pavilion were still roaming the capital.
Sitting at the table, she read the letter and then gently ran her hand over the back.
*It's there.*
A triumphant smile on her face, she dabbed some oil from the lamp and began to rub the back of the letter.
Slowly, something began to appear on the blank side.
They weren't words, but crooked, playful drawings like a child's, depicting small ducks and vases.
It was the secret code of the Whispering Willow Pavilion.
*As I thought, they haven't deciphered all of our sect's codes.*
In truth, she had used a special solution to leave a coded message on the back of the letter to Ok-cheong.
*If the Infinite Order had checked it, there would be oil stains.*
But the back of Ok-cheong's letter was clean, with no trace of oil.
*They must think finding the Black Ledger will solve everything.*
A sharp glint appeared in Yu Su-ryeon's eyes.
The Three Realms wanted the Black Ledger. If time passed like this, its location would eventually be discovered.
*In that case, I have a way.*
With the Black Ledger, they would know all of the Whispering Willow Pavilion's funding sources, its intelligence network, and where its dark money was hidden.
They could easily control the Whispering Willow Pavilion without her.
But what if the Black Ledger could never be found? The Three Realms would never be able to let her go.
*Swish, swish.*
Yu Su-ryeon took up her brush and ink and wrote a letter with ordinary greetings.
When the ink dried, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her robes, dipped her finger in the liquid inside, and began to draw.
— *...Go to that place. You will see something wrapped in oil paper. Do not open it. Burn it immediately. That is all you need to do.*
A smile played on Yu Su-ryeon's lips.
They would search endlessly for the Black Ledger she had hidden, but it would be gone.
Then, only the Matriarch and she could command the Whispering Willow Pavilion… They would never betray her.
***
After sending the letter, Yu Su-ryeon felt much more at ease.
With the worry of the Black Ledger gone, her mind cleared. She no longer had to fear the Three Realms.
If you wanted to survive in any organization or faction, you had to become indispensable.
Now that the Black Ledger was burned, the Three Realms would never be able to discard her.
To skillfully use the Whispering Willow Pavilion's financial and intelligence networks without the Black Ledger...
...and to command the allegiance of all the disciples, was something only she could do, besides Geuk Hye-ryeong.
But how could she have known?
That things in the world don't always go as planned, and that everything she had been so confident about was a delusion.
*Rumble, rumble.*
Suddenly, she heard the sound of many people swarming outside her door.
Yu Su-ryeon, who had been sleeping in her quarters, shot her eyes open. She instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
*Something has gone wrong!*
This manor was a safe house provided by the Three Realms, and only ordinary people came and went.
The sound of so many people moving at once should not be possible here.
*I have to escape.*
She quickly opened the door and slipped outside.
But her quarters were already surrounded by about a hundred people.
“You are.”
Yu Su-ryeon looked around in disbelief.
The people surrounding her quarters were numerous women dressed in splendid palace attire.
And at their head stood an old woman exuding a stern dignity.
It was the disciples of the Whispering Willow Pavilion and their Matriarch, Geuk Hye-ryeong.
“Matriarch…”
“Yes. How did you enjoy your espionage?”
Yu Su-ryeon's world went dark.
But she had to pull herself together. She could not show any weakness.
“It wasn't espionage, but a justifiable act.”
Yu Su-ryeon said with a confident expression.
“Our sect is one of women, and we have forbidden interaction with men. But just because they treated your granddaughter, you, Matriarch, unilaterally knelt before men, did you not?”
She looked over Geuk Hye-ryeong and the surrounding disciples, speaking boldly.
“I was not acting for personal gain, but merely trying to restore the dignity of our sect.”
“Haha.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong let out a hollow laugh along with a deep sigh.
“You claim you committed treason to sever ties with men, yet why were you cowering in a safe house provided by those very men?”
“That's.”
“If you had come this far on your own strength, I would have considered it the tide of the times. And I would have rightfully passed the position of Matriarch to you.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong shook her head.
“But you colluded not only with our sect but with powers that stir up the martial world as they please, riding on their strength to gain our sect's funds and the disciples' support.”
“What a ridiculous thing to say.”
Yu Su-ryeon said with a cold expression.
“You, Matriarch, sent the men of the Wolf Fang Pavilion after me, trying to suppress me with force. How can you blame me with such words?”
“Do you really think I sent the disciples of the Wolf Fang Pavilion to pursue you?”
“What do you mean?”
“There was never a large force from the Wolf Fang Pavilion. You were scared and holed yourself up in here.”
“What are you.”
*Step, step.*
Just then, the elderly maids who had been working in the manor walked out from among the Whispering Willow Pavilion's disciples.
*Rip.*
They tore off the masks they were wearing, revealing familiar faces.
They were all the branch leaders of the Whispering Willow Pavilion that she had been recruiting.
“Then this place… isn't a safe house of the Infinite Order?”
As Geuk Hye-ryeong nodded, Yu Su-ryeon shook her head.
“That can't be. He was definitely an emissary of the Infinite Order…”
As she spoke, she realized something and her eyes widened.
Geuk Hye-ryeong was a person of excellent martial arts and insight, but she lacked the cunning to devise such a bold and meticulous plan.
Besides, the tremendous energy flowing from the Third Emissary's body...
There was only one person who could imitate that, wasn't there?
The young Grandmaster of the Demonic Path, the one who brought the Whispering Willow Pavilion to its knees. None other than the Spirit Lord, Bu Eun-seol.
“The one who went missing… seems to have returned.”
In retrospect, she had been too flustered since arriving at the manor.
Normally, she would have been suspicious of how clearly the voices carried from a supposedly secret building.
But the fear of the Infinite Order...
On top of that, the prolonged confinement had made it difficult to maintain a clear mind.
And the only person who could grasp human psychology so precisely and weave such a scheme was Bu Eun-seol.
“That's right.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong nodded faintly.
“He said that you wouldn't give up the Black Ledger any other way. Because it was your only lifeline.”
Yu Su-ryeon bit her lip.
*They said he would never return alive.*
She had been able to join the plan to overthrow the Whispering Willow Pavilion because she trusted the information and power of the Three Realms.
But contrary to her expectations, Bu Eun-seol had not only returned alive and well…
...he had used her own anxiety to devise a scheme that made her burn the Black Ledger herself.
“In the end, you received that man's help again!”
As Yu Su-ryeon shouted in frustration, Geuk Hye-ryeong pointed to the disciples around them.
“Look.”
And she put on an extremely solemn expression.
“These are all the disciples who followed you.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong said in a firm tone.
“You told them that the Whispering Willow Pavilion is a place where women must stand tall on their own, and that they should not accept help from others.”
“…”
“But you blindly trusted only the information from the Infinite Order and hid in the safe house they provided. And they saw this with their own two eyes.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong said in a stern voice.
“That is why no one supports you.”
“I!”
Yu Su-ryeon, who was about to shout, bit her lip.
She realized that no matter what she said, nothing would change.
“What is there for the general of a defeated army to say?”
“Come back, even now.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong said with a solemn but sincere expression.
“Isn't our sect, as you said, a sect of women? We have lived until now by embracing each other's flaws.”
“…”
“Unlike men, we do not harm those who have a change of heart. Su-ryeon.”
“Matriarch…”
Yu Su-ryeon looked at the distant sky with a devastated expression.
“I believe it is already too late.”
Gazing at Geuk Hye-ryeong, Yu Su-ryeon's eyes showed atonement.
Then she pulled a dagger from her robes.
*Stab.*
Without a moment's hesitation, she stabbed herself in the heart, taking her own life.
“Su-ryeon.”
Geuk Hye-ryeong looked down at Yu Su-ryeon's cold, lifeless body with a pained expression.
“Who made you this way…”
That single phrase was filled with longing and resentment for Yu Su-ryeon, with whom she had spent so much time.
Yu Su-ryeon had joined hands with the Three Realms, recruited the Whispering Willow Pavilion's financial sources and disciples, and attempted a rebellion.
Despite this, Geuk Hye-ryeong did not hate her.
Because the Whispering Willow Pavilion was a place where flawed people embraced one another.
That was how she had always treated her disciples.
“Was it because of the heartless martial world? Or was it because of this foolish Matriarch?”
At Geuk Hye-ryeong's grief-filled murmur, all the disciples wept sorrowfully.
*Pitter-patter.*
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a heavy downpour began.
But Geuk Hye-ryeong and her disciples stood still, as if turned to stone.
***
An unprecedented storm was brewing in the Demonic Sanctum.
—The disappearance of Spirit Lord Bu Eun-seol was true!
The Spirit Lord, Bu Eun-seol, who had always handled various affairs between the Demonic Sanctum and the martial world.
News had spread that he had suddenly disappeared and his fate was unknown.
Because of this, for the first time since the founding of the Demonic Sanctum, a meeting was being held to discuss the replacement of the successor.
The Sanctum Council.
Normally, the Demonic Emperor, the Ten Demonic Sect Lords, and all individuals within the top ten of the Demonic Sanctum's order of precedence would gather.
It was a meeting where they would put their heads together and discuss matters.
But now, only the Ten Demonic Sect Lords were gathered in the meeting room, presided over by the Grand Commander.
This was because the successor, Spirit Lord Bu Eun-seol, was missing.
Since he couldn't attend in the first place, there was no need for the Sanctum's entire leadership to gather.
In the end, this meeting was to discuss only the matter of whether Bu Eun-seol should remain in his position as successor and Spirit Lord.
They were to decide with a simple yes or no vote.
*Swoosh.*
When the Grand Commander entered the meeting room, seven of the Ten Demonic Sect Lords were present.
Perhaps due to Bu Eun-seol's disappearance, the Wolf Fang Pavilion and the Heaven-Severing Earth-Annihilating Sect, who supported him…
...as well as the Whispering Willow Pavilion, were not in attendance.
Also, from the Fiery Rain Sword Sect, the successor Wi Jihye-sang was present instead of Wi Jimu-a.
And from the Blood Flame Saber Clan, Vice Lord Do Cheon-pung was attending.
“The agenda for today's meeting is to reconsider the Spirit Lord's status as successor.”
Yeop Hyo-cheon said, scanning the attendees.
“Castle Lord Gongya, who proposed this agenda, please speak.”
At that, Gongya Geuk, stroking his toad-like bulging chin, began to speak.
“The Spirit Lord has already lost credibility as a successor. The Whispering Willow Pavilion is currently in a state of internal conflict, its funds and intelligence capabilities halved, and I hear the Heaven-Severing Earth-Annihilating Sect is on the brink of annihilation from attacks by unknown assailants.”
He paused for a moment, then said with a sneer.
“Well, the Wolf Fang Pavilion has never had any money, so that's to be expected.”
The people in the room couldn't hide their surprise.
Even if Bu Eun-seol was missing, his death was not confirmed.
Moreover, he always enacted brutal retribution on those who crossed him.
The White Horse Temple, in particular, had lost all will to resist after suffering his relentless audits.
Hadn't even Gongya Geuk's own Hellblood Fortress raised the white flag during his audits?
Yet here he was, criticizing Bu Eun-seol so sharply.
— *He must have solid information.*
That sly old fox Gongya Geuk wouldn't do something like this without certainty.
He must have obtained definite information about the Spirit Lord's fate.
“Is that enough to discuss the Spirit Lord's downfall?”
Just then, Wi Jihye-sang, representing the Fiery Rain Sword Sect, spoke with a smile.
“I don't believe the state of the Heaven-Severing Earth-Annihilating Sect and the Whispering Willow Pavilion reflects his capabilities.”
“The younger generation may think differently.”
Gongya Geuk said nonchalantly.
“But you must consider this. The position of the Demonic Sanctum's successor is…”
*Creak.*
Just then, the door opened, and two people entered the meeting room.
One was an old man with a refined appearance, and the other was an old woman whose face was as wrinkled as the bark of an ancient tree.
It was Hyeok Gong-baek, the Lord of the Heaven-Severing Earth-Annihilating Sect, and Geuk Hye-ryeong.
“You two… how?”
Gongya Geuk's eyes widened, unable to hide his shock.
“Hmph.”
Hyeok Gong-baek snorted coldly at Gongya Geuk, his eyes narrowing.
“How could we not attend when a Sanctum Council meeting was suddenly convened?”
As Hyeok Gong-baek took his seat, Geuk Hye-ryeong glared fiercely at Gongya Geuk.
Then she too went to her seat.
*Heh. It seems they've come for one last struggle.*
Meeting their sharp gazes, Gongya Geuk actually smirked.
One side had its funding and intelligence network shattered. The other had been attacked by unknown forces, its prestige hitting rock bottom.
Their presence at the meeting would have no effect on the overall outcome.
*They're trying to prevent his downfall somehow. But it's useless.*
Gongya Geuk chuckled and said.
“But no one from the Wolf Fang Pavilion has come. I thought at least Vice Pavilion Lord Dan would show up.”
At that moment, Yeop Hyo-cheon looked around the room and said.
“It seems there is nothing more to discuss. Have you all made your decision?”
In response, everyone, including Gongya Geuk, nodded.
Yeop Hyo-cheon nodded.
“Then, let us vote by a show of hands…”
*Creak.*
Just then, the meeting room door opened once again, and a man in gray robes slowly walked in.
Sunlight passed through his shimmering hair, and his features were dazzlingly beautiful.
Yet his entire being was imbued with an unapproachable dignity, and his steps were as heavy as a moving mountain.
It was Bu Eun-seol.