Chapter 380
Chapter 380
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 389
Chapter Title: A Trail to the North
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Pa Ho-un waddled through the interior of the Black Spot, his belly fat jiggling with every step.
The documents piled up inside the Black Spot scattered and fell to the floor in the wind he stirred up.
On top of that, the ground rumbled with thuds and dust rose every time his plump body moved.
He kept rolling his eyes as he glared at Nangong Hyeok, who stood crookedly in front of the stairs.
‘That ghost of a guy. When the hell did he show up?’
Act busy, act busy.
Don’t make eye contact...
‘Damn it, things were quiet for a while!’
The Black Book King had sort of-not-sort-of reminded him to keep close ties, but when had there been time for that?
He couldn’t chase after Nangong Hyeok everywhere he went, gallivanting all over the place.
Hangzhou, Huguang, poking around everywhere—he figured he wouldn’t see him for a while, so why the hell did he drop in like a bolt from the blue?!
If he was gonna drop in, at least give a heads-up!
‘...The good times are over. All over.’
Ah, first things first, let’s tidy up.
My head hurts.
‘He’s not gonna grab me by the collar asking about the demonic sword’s origins, is he?’
Or maybe grab him for some other reason.
How the hell was he supposed to avoid getting grabbed by the collar?
“Hey.”
Pa Ho-un froze and rolled his eyes.
“Hey, hey!”
“...”
“Did you see a ghost or something? Why are you twitching like that?”
Seeing a ghost would be better.
Pa Ho-un wiped the cold sweat dripping from his forehead and forced a grin.
“Heh, heh heh! To what do we owe the pleasure of the busy young master gracing us?”
“Where’s the Black Book King?”
“...The B-Black Book King is not a man of leisure.”
“And I am?”
“...But the Black Book King instructed us to notify him if you came, so we’ve already sent word.”
“Oh, as expected of the Black Spot.”
Nangong Hyeok chuckled and eyed Pa Ho-un.
“W-well then, why don’t you have some tea while you wait. I have things to sort...”
“Why’s there no news from the Black Spot?”
“Heh, heh heh! Aren’t we doing our utmost to fulfill your request?”
“The Beggars’ Gang is practically camping out providing info, but the Black Spot doesn’t have any customer service like that? Do I have to come here every time?”
Then go to the Beggars’ Gang, you bastard!
Fuck, comparing us to those beggar scum!
“Why?”
Pa Ho-un trembled his flabby flesh and rubbed his pudgy palms together.
“You’ve been too busy lately, young master...”
“Man, you guys don’t look busy at all? I’m running my feet off.”
“...Th-that’s not true. Heh heh, how could we take your request lightly? As you know, the Black Spot is a sensitive and secretive organization, so it’s a bit tricky to run around as flashily as those beggar... beggars from the Gang.”
Pa Ho-un grinned slyly at Nangong Hyeok.
“In the end, it’s a battle of efficiency, right? Numbers don’t mean everything.”
“That’s true. The beggars would have to be a bit lazier for that.”
“Of course! The Black Spot’s intel is superior in quality.”
That was true too.
The Beggars’ Gang boasted vast quantities of information, while the Black Spot excelled in finer details.
“So, did you dig up anything? Let’s see that boasted high-quality intel.”
“Heh, heh heh.”
Pa Ho-un grinned awkwardly, sweat beading on his brow.
Fuck, I don’t know shit.
“Nothing?”
“The matter with Wudang...”
“Cut the crap.”
“Even including the Shaolin monks, becoming the world’s top family...”
“Wanna die?”
Pa Ho-un was sweating bullets when his eyes lit up.
A dark shadow flickered on the stairs, slowly descending inside.
Pa Ho-un’s cheeks jiggled as he rushed over.
“Aigoo! B-Black Book King!”
“I’m not too late, I hope? I came as fast as I could.”
“Of course not! Of course not!”
One more step late, and that Mad Dragon’s threat would’ve come true!
Pa Ho-un wiped his sweat and hid behind the skinny-as-chopsticks Black Book King.
Nangong Hyeok stood from his seat.
“Ah, you’re here?”
Anyone hearing that would think a grandson was greeting his grandfather.
The Black Book King nodded lightly, a glint in his eyes.
“This old man hurried over upon hearing word that the young hero had arrived.”
“Yes. You got here quick.”
“Ho ho! Seems the young hero has been quite busy lately.”
The Black Book King sat with a gentle smile.
Nangong Hyeok shrugged as he took a seat opposite.
“I’m the kind of guy who draws attention wherever I go.”
Attention? More like fists!
Pa Ho-un grumbled under his breath but quickly bowed his head when he met Nangong Hyeok’s eyes.
The Black Book King lightly stroked his beard and spoke.
“Is it alright to have crossed swords with Wudang?”
“Crossed swords?”
“Didn’t you have a clash with Wudang’s Taoists?”
“Eh, no one died or anything. Back in the day, I’d have been a goner for sure.”
He’d just asked a bit and polished them up a little, that’s all.
The Black Book King smiled faintly.
Talking about the friction with Wudang like it was nothing.
He certainly wasn’t of ordinary caliber.
Or maybe it truly was a trivial matter not worth his concern.
‘At the center of the turbulent jianghu, this sly fox couldn’t possibly be unaware of the situation.’
The Five Great Sects Alliance was secretly stirring the martial world, and the winds of the realm were far from normal.
‘Whether the ship rides the wind or capsizes, who knows.’
Fate for those living in the jianghu was hard to see even one step ahead.
That’s why they had to predict, prepare, and invest.
So they could advance without being tossed by the wind or overturned.
The Black Book King didn’t want to let go of the line called the Nangong Clan.
“May this old man voice a concern?”
“If it’s advice from the Black Spot’s Black Book King, it can’t hurt to hear it.”
Nangong Hyeok’s beaming smile strangely didn’t grate on the Black Book King.
He chuckled and said,
“The Orthodox Heaven Alliance is watching the Nangong Clan.”
“Oh, really?”
“That’s the reaction you expected?”
“Well, looks like Malgo stuck his nose in.”
The Black Book King’s eyes flickered faintly at Nangong Hyeok’s smirking words.
‘He sees a thousand li while sitting.’
“We don’t know how the Orthodox Heaven Alliance will act, but preparations are in order.”
“Does preparation even work against them? They’re the jianghu’s top dogs.”
“Hmm...”
“Anyway, that reminds me.”
Nangong Hyeok tapped the demonic sword hanging at his waist.
The Black Book King’s gaze shifted to the demonic sword.
“Iron Heart Sect’s craftsmanship must be top-notch.”
“Not bad at all.”
“Looks like it really grew on you. The Iron Heart Sect Leader isn’t one to be easily pleased.”
“It was straightforward enough.”
Nangong Hyeok shrugged and smoothly drew the sword.
“So, did you look into this thing’s origins?”
Previously, Nangong Hyeok had asked the Black Book King to trace the demonic sword’s source.
He was inquiring about the progress.
“Even if it’s tricky, with the Black Book King personally on it, I figured there’d be some results?”
The Thousand-Year Flower might exist or not, but the demonic sword was undeniably real.
Tracing its origins would surely link back to those demonic cultists and Hui.
The Black Book King stroked his beard once more and replied.
“A little.”
“A little?”
“We started tracing back from the Black Dragon Sect where the demonic sword was found. This Black Book King personally mobilized men to follow the trail.”
Nangong Hyeok listened quietly to the Black Book King.
“The traces were cunningly tangled. Like a knotted ball of thread—quite hard to unravel.”
“If it were easy, I wouldn’t have left it to the Black Spot.”
“Hm.”
“So what happened? Did you catch a tail at least?”
At Nangong Hyeok’s question, the Black Book King exhaled lightly.
“We caught a trace.”
“You did? For real?”
“Indeed.”
Oh, Black Book King. Not bad?
Nangong Hyeok straightened up, eyes gleaming with interest as he looked at the Black Book King.
“We caught a trace, but the problem is their true nature seems like phantoms.”
Fuck, Black Book King’s nothing special.
Nangong Hyeok reacted indifferently, prompting a cough from the Black Book King.
“We’ve never encountered anything like this. The Black Spot has never failed to pin down a target like this.”
“Oh, so they’re there but not there?”
“No. They seem absent, but they’re present.”
Did he eat some rat poison today?
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
“...All good, but what about the trace?”
“It leads north.”
“North? You mean the northern frontiers?”
“Correct.”
North meant beyond the passes, the outer lands.
“Is the North Sea Ice Palace involved? I knew those bastards were up to something when I messed with their ice!”
“The outer lands are beyond this Black Book King’s reach. There are limits to our intel. Past the North Sea, it’s completely cut off.”
Nangong Hyeok furrowed his brow.
‘These bastards’ trail goes all the way to the northern frontiers?’
What the hell kind of people are they?
Should he assume the Demon Sovereign’s demonic sword flowed in from the north?
Or that the demonic cultists went north to obtain it?
‘Nothing clicks.’
Indeed, both the Beggars’ Gang and Black Spot lost power rapidly outside the Central Plains.
It was foolish to think their influence reached the wild, crude north.
‘Damn. We need to catch them.’
It felt unresolved.
So damn itchy.
The back of his neck itched, but no one to scratch it.
Nangong Hyeok narrowed his eyes slyly and asked,
“By the way.”
“Speak.”
“Do you feel the cold much?”
“...The northern frontiers are beyond us. Traces were also found in Sichuan and the south, so I’ll look into those.”
“Ah, yes. Please do.”
Damn, the outer lands are calling for some reason?
Looser than the tight-knit Central Plains—perfect for plotting.
‘Wonder if there’s an Outer Blade type around.’
Among the experts who followed Nangong Hyeok, one had stirred the outer lands.
Outer Blade.
That guy knew the outer lands inside out.
Tsk!
Nangong Hyeok smacked his lips.
“Anyway, thanks for the hard work.”
“I’ll pursue it as swiftly as possible.”
“Eh, no rush. Take your time. What’s the big deal? If luck’s bad, I’ll just get a hole in the back of my head and die. Take your time.”
Hurry up or take your time?
Nangong Hyeok chuckled.
“Aigoo, I should head out now. Things might blow up without me.”
“Don’t go far.”
“Yes.”
Nangong Hyeok sauntered out of the Black Spot’s Hefei branch.
The Black Book King, watching his back intently, took a sip of tea and said,
“Impossible to pin down.”
“Aigoo, don’t even start. That’s why he’s the Mad Dragon, right? No sane person gets a nickname like that...”
“Like looking at Old Man Jianghu.”
“Pardon?”
Old Man Jianghu?
That guy?
...An addled geezer?
“Calm. Seems careless, but he grasps the situation.”
“...Well, yeah.”
“Hmm... In any case, the Orthodox Heaven Alliance is the issue.”
Pa Ho-un flinched at the Black Book King’s mutter.
Orthodox Heaven Alliance?
Did that ‘watching’ mean something worse?
“...Uh, is it because of that demonic sword?”
“Probably not unrelated.”
“I knew it! It’s gonna cause trouble, sigh!”
Pa Ho-un grumbled and sighed.
‘He fought Wudang over a sword, and it was a demonic sword!’
It had been floating as top-secret intel, but who’d have thought it was true!
“...What now?”
“How the Orthodox Heaven Alliance views the Nangong Clan will be key.”
“They’ll froth at the mouth over the demonic sword, won’t they? The Alliance will surely... cut them off?”
Pa Ho-un looked at the Black Book King earnestly.
Orthodox Heaven Alliance and demonic sword.
That alone spelled major trouble.
At the center was Wudang, who harbored ill will toward the Nangong Clan.
A big storm was brewing.
Those living in the shadows like the Black Spot had to walk the tightrope.
One slip, and it was an endless abyss.
The Black Book King stroked his beard.
“Cut them off?”
“Yes... No need to get involved in a fight between beasts. Sparks could fly.”
“A fight between beasts.”
A fight between beasts.
Nine Sects and Five Clans.
Nangong Clan and Wudang.
The words flashed through his mind.
The Black Book King wore a subtle expression and said,
“For now, we watch.”
“Pardon...?”
“The Orthodox Heaven Alliance will move soon. Or perhaps they already have.”
The Black Book King sipped his tea and gazed intently at the spot where Nangong Hyeok had sat moments before.