Chapter 347
Chapter 347
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 347
Chapter Title: Stench and Secrets
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Usually, when riding in a carriage, Cheonhwi would sit in the back, but today was different.
He was pressed right up against the window at the front of the carriage.
The reason was simple.
It was all because of the man sitting directly across from him: the Beggar Clan Leader.
Truly befitting the gang leader of the Beggar Clan.
The stench rising from his body was so foul it rivaled a mind-scrambling sorcery.
Cheonhwi pinched his nose and spoke.
"Wow, that's one hell of a stench. If you planned on riding with me from the start, couldn't you have at least washed up?"
It was practically a jab.
Yet the Beggar Clan Leader didn't seem fazed in the slightest.
No, far from it...
The moment he heard Cheonhwi's complaint, a smile spread across his face as if he were delighted.
"Kekeke, does it smell that strong?"
Baring his yellowed teeth in a grin, he looked utterly pleased with himself.
'That's exactly why I didn't want to ride together.'
Cheonhwi furrowed his brow.
The Beggar Clan Leader's reaction was only natural.
He was the leader of the Beggar Clan, a group of beggars.
To him, words like "dirty" or "stinky" were nothing short of compliments.
"Mmm, nice. Real nice."
Every time the Beggar Clan Leader opened his mouth, the foul air in the carriage thickened.
"Not nice for me."
Unable to stand the pulsating stench filling the carriage, Cheonhwi flung open the slightly cracked window.
Whoosh―
A fierce wind rushed in.
Thanks to it, the overpowering odor that had saturated the carriage finally aired out a bit.
Now able to breathe easier, Cheonhwi let out a deep sigh and turned to the Beggar Clan Leader before him.
"So, what's this talk you want?"
The Beggar Clan Leader's smile vanished at the blunt, no-nonsense question.
The shift in his expression was instantaneous.
Energy then flowed from his entire body, spreading like threads until it enveloped the carriage interior completely.
It was a barrier.
Having isolated the carriage from the outside world in a flash, the Beggar Clan Leader inspected it before speaking cautiously.
"The Military Strategist came to see me last night."
As he spoke, his gaze slowly shifted past Cheonhwi's shoulder.
The lead carriage up ahead.
His eyes upon it were heavier than usual, weighed down with gravity.
Soon, his lips moved again.
"He said he's identified most of the Conference spies who've infiltrated the Alliance recently. Once this agreement wraps up, he'll move to expel them."
Cheonhwi's eyes grew indifferent as he listened.
'That's it?'
His interest evaporated.
It wasn't a topic that had piqued him in the first place.
Spies from the Conference in the Murim Alliance? What did it have to do with him?
Seeing Cheonhwi's utterly bored reaction, the Beggar Clan Leader added more.
"Since so little is known about the Conference yet, he plans to handle the expulsions quietly. He asked that we keep it under wraps."
"Sure."
Cheonhwi shrugged it off.
He had no intention of blabbing anyway.
No one to tell, besides.
"That's the end of it?"
"No, one more thing."
The Beggar Clan Leader's face grew even graver.
"Do you think this agreement will actually go off without a hitch?"
"No clue."
Cheonhwi shrugged again, his tone dripping with disinterest.
The Evil-Black Alliance had made major concessions for this deal, but you never knew.
The other side was the union of unorthodox sects that would stoop to anything for victory: the Evil-Black Alliance.
The whole agreement could be a trap—or groundwork for something bigger.
The Beggar Clan Leader spoke in a hushed tone.
"Right now, it looks promising since the Evil-Black Alliance conceded so much, but who knows what could go wrong. That's why some of the Alliance's forces moved out secretly last night."
"Ah, so that's why there were so few people."
Cheonhwi nodded, piecing it together with a mutter. He finally understood the strange vibe he'd sensed at the Murim Alliance before departure.
"Planning to jump them the second the agreement falls apart?"
The Beggar Clan Leader nodded wordlessly.
"Hmm. So you're actually hoping it blows up?"
Cheonhwi stroked his chin.
"You've already got the high ground and the lay of the land scoped out."
"No, it's just prep for the worst case. If the Evil-Black Alliance Leader signs on, it'll end quietly."
Cheonhwi let out a smirk.
Obvious as day.
Either outcome worked in the Murim Alliance's favor.
"Whatever. More importantly, there's something else I want to hear about."
"What?"
"The Evil-Black Alliance Leader."
"...The Evil-Black Alliance Leader?"
The Beggar Clan Leader's brows knitted.
Just the thought of the man left a bad taste.
"What about him?"
Cheonhwi answered without a second thought.
"His prowess."
His voice turned ice-cold.
"How far has the so-called strongest unorthodox master come now?"
The Beggar Clan Leader's eyes narrowed sharply.
It wasn't a tough question.
There was only one answer to give on the Evil-Black Alliance Leader's prowess.
"In this era where the Eight Divine Martial Masters have secluded themselves, he's the closest to their realm."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The murim world was in absolute chaos.
The war between the Murim Alliance and the Evil-Black Alliance had hit a lull, so things should have been quiet—but instead, a storm fiercer than ever was brewing.
All because of one rumor.
The Nangong Family's raid on Mansu Gate.
Even Bicheon Association, which had held the middle ground among the Three Powers of the Nine Provinces until now, had signaled its intent to join the fray.
It was earth-shattering.
Like pouring oil on the flames of the Murim Alliance-Evil-Black Alliance war.
The tension gripped not just the murim world, but all under heaven.
Warriors, merchants, commoners, even the imperial court.
All eyes were locked on it.
For the eternal reign of the Three Powers of the Nine Provinces might finally be drawing to a close.
Around that time.
Baekun, who had visited the Murim Alliance as the Evil-Black Alliance's envoy, returned to Black Heaven Castle.
The moment he entered the castle's inner grounds, he headed straight for one place.
A secluded garden, centered around a lake with a pavilion in its midst.
"You're back."
A voice devoid of inflection drifted out.
From the pavilion's center.
There sat a man in a lavish purple robe embroidered with a golden dragon, feeding the lake's carp.
He scattered feed from his hand without so much as glancing back at Baekun's approach.
"The result?"
"They accepted."
Baekun replied to the man—the Evil-Black Alliance Leader.
He then grabbed a wine bottle. Liquid sloshed inside, followed by the crisp pop of the cork.
Gulp. Gulp.
Baekun's throat worked vigorously.
After downing several mouthfuls, he lowered the bottle and spoke right up.
"Kuh... But is this really okay?"
Baekun scratched his chin.
His tone was utterly casual.
"Conceding this much for an agreement? You and the Evil-Black Alliance stand to lose big."
And not just any loss.
Unorthodox sects ruled the murim through fear—that was their survival, their very creed.
Yet here they were, offering armistice terms tantamount to surrender.
It would reshape the balance of power for the foreseeable future—humiliating, to say the least.
"Got a better option?"
"...No. None."
Baekun shook his head after a moment's thought.
No other path, just as he'd said.
With Bicheon Association entering the war, the Evil-Black Alliance had exactly two choices.
One: Request this agreement.
Two: Face both Bicheon Association and the Murim Alliance.
And the first, humiliating as it was, remained the safest and smartest for the Evil-Black Alliance.
"It's the scripted path. If we'd crushed the Murim Alliance before Bicheon jumped in, we'd have won—but we didn't."
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader spoke impassively.
Yet his eyes on the lake churned with a chill like the North Sea's legendary ice crystals.
Splash! Splash!
The lake erupted in turmoil.
The killing intent pouring from his body had the carp in a frenzy.
This lasted a moment.
"..."
The lake stilled.
Countless carp corpses now bobbed to the surface.
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader, watching silently, finally turned.
Arms clasped behind his back, he fixed Baekun with a steady gaze and spoke.
"How was the Murim Alliance Leader?"
Baekun's eyes half-lidded at the question.
He'd gone as envoy for three reasons.
First: To impress upon the Murim Alliance how critical this was.
Second: Confidence he could escape even if attacked.
Third: To gauge the top experts in the Murim Alliance.
Recalling his brief private audience with the Murim Alliance Leader, Baekun murmured low.
"Impossible to gauge."
No insights gained.
But that said it all.
Baekun's discernment was unmatched in the Evil-Black Alliance—nay, across the heavens, few could rival its depth.
If even he couldn't read the man, it meant the Murim Alliance Leader had already ascended to the pinnacle.
"I see..."
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader's pupils slit vertically, viper-like.
"So that side's grown as well."
"And there was one more I couldn't even hazard a guess at."
At Baekun's follow-up, the Evil-Black Alliance Leader's eyes ignited like flames.
"Who? Yongcheon Guest? Or did they send those from Wudang and Kunlun?"
He rattled off the Murim Alliance's famed elites, but Baekun shook his head side to side.
"Nah, didn't even glimpse them. Only saw the division leaders and captains of the Three Great Divisions, plus a few elders."
"One of them was that strong?"
"Yeah."
Baekun's gaze turned razor-sharp.
Lightning crackled in his pupils, white light flaring.
"Who?"
"Plum Blossom Divine Sword."
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader's robe billowed.
The pavilion's air grew oppressively heavy.
His unconsciously released energy—his sheer presence—crushed down on the space.
Pat pat―
Dust sifted from the rafters amid the ripples.
"That tiresome nickname I hear everywhere."
His voice rumbled deep.
In the same instant, he reined in his aura.
A mere blink.
Baekun's lips twisted into a savage grin.
The crushing pressure from moments ago had been as overwhelming as when it had once subdued him. And he'd retracted it just like that.
'Hahaha, no one else but the Leader. The only one who gets my blood pumping like this...'
Baekun's eyes blazed with ecstasy upon his leader—
"Leader."
Demon Brain Black Dragon approached from afar.
In swift strides, he ignored Baekun before the pavilion and threw himself prostrate at the Leader's feet, extending a hand.
A single carrier pigeon scroll rested there.
"A message just arrived from the Murim Alliance."
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader gave a glance.
The scroll floated from Demon Brain Black Dragon's grasp, drifting before unfolding neatly in the air.
Nigh-miraculous telekinesis.
"Impression Valley."
Having read it, he named the site and nodded slightly before speaking.
"Summon the remaining Seven Elites."
"Understood."
The moment Baekun smirked and vanished.
Swish―
Black mist coalesced behind Demon Brain Black Dragon, birthing a silhouette.
One of Immortal Death Church's Four Emissaries: Ghost Heaven Emissary.
Aura of unearthly dread pouring off him, he spoke.
"Mind if I tag along to the agreement?"
The Evil-Black Alliance Leader met his impassive gaze and replied softly.
"Reason?"
Having sensed the approach long before, he skipped the appearance and cut to the chase.
Ghost Heaven Emissary answered at once.
"Reason? Obviously."
Grinding his teeth, eyes flashing, he pressed on.
"I want to lay eyes on the bastard who slew our Church's Divine—with these very peepers."