Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Chang'an Book Street
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Mount Tai Sect. And Red Bandit Sect.
Now that suspicions linked them together, I couldn't just ignore it.
The problem was that I only had circumstantial evidence—no hard proof.
And on top of that, I had no clue where to even start digging for that proof.
Still, the best approach was observation. Nothing beat seeing things with my own eyes.
Hiding my presence and aura, slipping past the experts' senses to watch what those guys were up to.
There probably wasn't anyone who could detect me anyway. So yeah, I had to go check it out myself.
The issue? The distance.
Mount Tai Sect was exactly where you'd expect: on Mount Tai, in Shandong Province.
Even farther than Qing Mountain. Nearly twice as far?
It'd take a full day just to get there—if I ran like hell.
Well, covering that kind of ground in a day was absurd to begin with.
That was double the distance from Seoul to Busan. Even driving a car for a round-trip day jaunt would be a nightmare.
And Red Bandit Sect was the same deal. They were down in Jiangnan.
Dongting Lake. That massive lake as big as a sea. The hottest spot in this world alongside Suzhou.
Cutting straight through the mountains, it might be closer than Mount Tai, but going around? Even farther.
Not that I'd be taking the scenic route anyway...
I pondered for a moment. Two places to check. One body.
Which one first? Which made more sense?
As I mulled it over, it hit me that I was overcomplicating things for no reason.
Just visit both. No need to pick one over the other right away.
I could go, scout it out myself, and see which seemed more promising. Which would yield easier intel.
I called for Sohye.
No matter what she was doing, she came running the second I called.
Her face was still stoic, but her eyes had softened a lot.
She was getting better. Already way more ladylike than before.
Watching a tough-as-nails woman gradually blossom into femininity was a treat.
"You... called for me, Great Hero?"
"You called for me, Great Hero?"
"Ugh..."
Sohye hesitated for a second, then tried again, a bit awkwardly.
"You called for me... Great Hero?"
"Good girl."
I gave her butt a light pat, and she blushed as she spoke.
"S-Still, maybe not too much of that..."
"It's just how I show affection. You don't hate it, do you?"
Sohye turned her head away without a word, sneaking a glance.
So fun. What a cute one.
"Anyway, I need you to pull together everything known about Mount Tai Sect and Red Bandit Sect. Doesn't matter how much there is. No need for a formal report. Just bring whatever—raw notes, compiled docs, whatever. I'll read it once and put it back."
"If it's old records, we have an archive. I can prepare them right away. Should I bring them here? Or... is that okay?"
"An archive? You have one? Makes sense—if you're in the info business, you'd have files organized. How far is it? Can I go there myself?"
"As the Tang Family's benefactor, of course you can enter... um, visit. But a lot are in family code, so it might be inconvenient for you..."
"Code? Oh, right. Can't just leave intel lying around in plain text. So, could I learn the code? That wouldn't be too much, would it?"
"Of course. As I said, you're the Tang Family's benefactor and friend. You've already been granted the same level of info access as the patriarch himself, so sharing the code is no issue at all."
"Nice. Good friends are a blessing. Teach me the code first, then I'll head to the archive myself."
"Yes, Great Hero."
Sohye left and returned shortly with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
I'd half-expected a guidebook or manual, then realized how ridiculous that was and inwardly cringed at myself.
Who'd keep a cipher decoder lying around? That'd defeat the purpose.
Sohye taught me how to decode the cipher. It was a bit tricky, but I picked it up fast without issue.
Her explanation was spot-on. Delivered with such care, how could I not get it?
Plus, even if it was complex, I'd had a modern college education. My wits had sharpened with my martial arts training too.
So it wasn't beyond me. Just took a little practice to get fluent.
"Shall we head to the archive now?"
"Yeah. Let's go. Gotta know where it is anyway."
And so, Sohye and I left Ink Sword Grove.
A short walk later, we arrived at what looked like a book street.
Shops selling ancient tomes. Or dealing in handwritten copies.
Hm. Not bad. Like hiding a tree in the forest, huh?
Sohye led me into one old bookstore, and the owner-looking guy just gave her a slight nod—no words.
We went inside, and shelves crammed with ancient books stretched out.
The scent of aged ink. Of paper. Of time itself.
No telling when these were made. Or what secrets they held.
We kept going deeper, more books appearing endlessly.
How big was this place? We'd already passed plenty.
Eventually, we entered a room, and Sohye pushed an entire bookshelf.
A hidden door slid open. Neat trick.
"Cool. Didn't expect a spot like this."
It really was. Not some elaborate mechanism, but intriguing enough.
Secret room, secret files. The stuff of everyone's fantasies.
"I'll pull the files on Mount Tai Sect and Red Bandit Sect."
"I'll get them for you."
"Sorry."
"Sorry about that."
"Agh..."
"Get used to it quicker. How long you gonna stay so stiff?"
"...Got it."
With that, Sohye started pulling books. But... what? So many?
She kept stacking them higher. Dozens of volumes already.
"You were gonna haul all this back to Ink Sword Grove? That's a ton."
"Pardon? Oh... yes. It is a lot. And this is less than half. Haven't even touched Red Bandit Sect yet."
"...I see. Good call having me come here. But if I'd asked for a report on all this, you'd have decoded everything first?"
"Yes."
"Just so we're clear—never do that. Cut out the inefficient stuff on your end. Or tell me directly."
"Yes, Great Hero."
Anyway, with that settled, I dove into the books.
Luckily, despite the volume, nothing too convoluted.
Lots of trivia and minor rumors I could skim.
Even some entertaining bits. Like reading a novel.
I spent the next few days commuting back and forth, absorbing the intel.
Pre-Righteous-Demonic-Evil Great War, records on Mount Tai Sect and Red Bandit Sect were sparse.
Probably 'cause they weren't noteworthy back then—no one cared much.
Anyway, the 12 years post-war were well-documented. I got a decent sense of how both sects grew.
But on paper, nothing suspicious or off jumped out.
The Tang Family's hunches were recent discoveries anyway—no major flags in these files.
The one oddity? Something they shared.
Mount Tai Sect Leader, Heavy Heaven Sword Baek Seong-ung.
Red Bandit Sect Leader, Cruel Blade Chae Yeom-dal.
Before the Great War, both were nobodies.
Just like their sects, no flashy nicknames.
Mount Tai's Baek had been Virtue Yang Sword up to then.
(Virtue-themed aliases? Dead giveaway they're harmless.)
Means no real martial prowess to brag about, so they lean on 'good character' instead.
Red Bandit's Chae was the same. Dongting First Blade before.
Place-name aliases? Another sign they're small-time.
Shaanxi Greatest Sword or Hubei Top Blade? That's respectable.
Dongting First Blade? Best swordsman around the lake. Local yokel champ.
In other words, the guy who farts the loudest in a tiny pond.
But post-war, both skyrocketed. Heavy Heaven Sword. Cruel Blade.
Heavy Heaven Sword: A blade heavy as Mount Tai itself, overwhelming enough to scrape the heavens.
Cruel Blade: Brutal as advertised. Foes dropping to their knees, helpless.
Sure, martial enlightenment can hit anytime, turning veterans like them into monsters overnight.
Not weird for old-timers to breakthrough and earn new monikers.
But too coincidental.
A few "could happen" piling up? Raises eyebrows.
Unknown poison. Great War. Sudden booms. Now top dogs of white and black paths.
No way that's all chance. Coincidences stack into certainties.
Something's there. Definitely.
Smells artificial. Orchestrated.
My take after piecing the big picture.
This scenario was engineered. Odds of it happening naturally? Slim to none.
This ain't some shonen manga.
"Sohye."
"Yes, Great Hero."
"Something to check. Those two are the biggest in white and black paths now, so they're raking in the most benefits. Right?"
"Yes."
"But they're not the only winners. Others must be cashing in too. Look into those. Bonus if any link to both sects."
"Understood."
Sohye paused, then got it—nodded like she saw where I was going.
Yeah. That was my angle.
Something's up. Reasons for their meteoric rises.
The leaders' sudden power-ups too.
Mount Tai could be Red Bandit's underling. Vice versa.
Or both the same outfit. Or both subsidiaries of some bigger player.
Nothing concrete yet.
Time to dig. Tang Family intel's solid. Might uncover it.
Maybe even a guy like me's behind it.