Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Spy
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"Branch Chief, I have a report for you."
A man spoke to Branch Chief Namgung Hwi.
It was a report about the boy named Cheongun, who had recently joined as a freeloader.
A boy not even twenty had appeared out of nowhere and swung a fishing rod, instantly slaughtering five martial artists in one blow.
Not content with that, he had uttered the true name of Wi Yeong-hwa, Pavilion Lord of Bloodline Pavilion, known as one of the top hundred experts in the martial world.
Even more astonishing, his speech and demeanor screamed black path, yet his inner energy was as profound and pure as that of a Wudang master renowned for virtue.
...Does that even make sense?
Nothing added up at all.
Of course, his obsession with the Gold Ingot Note had saved his one and only little sister, so that was fortunate, but it wasn't easy to take everything at face value.
The one silver lining was that his sister Namgung Yeol had cleverly buried the five bodies near the scene, just as she said.
Bodies were perfect evidence, preserving the traces of battle, and invaluable clues for closely analyzing the boy's martial arts.
Thus, Namgung Hwi had secretly dispatched men to retrieve and transport the bodies to the branch.
The result.
"We recovered five bodies near the Yangtze."
As Yeol-i said, the bodies were there.
Exactly five.
Even their burial spots matched her description perfectly.
"Where are the bodies?"
"Stored in the underground secret room. We've taken measures to keep them out of sight."
"Good. Lead the way."
"This way, please."
Namgung Hwi followed the man through a hidden door behind the warehouse and down narrow stairs.
The damp air grew heavier with each step.
Sporadic torches on the walls pushed back the darkness.
At the end of the narrow passage stood an iron door.
The man pulled a iron key from his pocket and unlocked it, unleashing a blast of cold air.
In one corner of the room, five stone platforms stood in a row.
Each was covered with a white cloth, the outlines of bodies clearly visible beneath.
"These?"
"Yes."
Namgung Hwi strode forward and yanked off the cloth in one motion.
The exposed corpses were remarkably pristine.
Martial artists who met violent ends were usually found hacked apart or drenched in blood, but these were astonishingly clean.
Their pale faces even retained a faint flush of color.
But upon closer inspection, something was off.
Each forehead bore a small, neat hole right between the brows.
Just traces of whatever had pierced through—no significant bleeding.
Yeol's claim of skewering them like human kebabs with fishing line was true.
"A precise strike to the Hall of Impression Acupoint."
Hall of Impression Acupoint.
The vital point located at the center of the brow.
"But isn't the Hall of Impression an external vital? A single hole shouldn't kill instantly."
"It would if sword qi was infused, shredding the nearby brain points."
"Sword qi? Through that thin fishing line?"
"Exactly. It means unleashing rampaging sword qi in that split second to tear the brain points apart. Astonishing control."
"Is that so? Then it's as good as employing Flying Sword Art with a fishing line."
As Namgung Hwi's explanation dragged on, the man's eyes filled with shock.
All martial arts converge at the pinnacle.
Once swordsmanship or spearmanship reaches a certain realm, weapons become mere conduits for qi, their form irrelevant—a twig in a master's hand sharper than any blade.
But even so.
Using a fishing rod as a weapon? Neither Namgung Hwi nor the man had ever heard of such a thing.
To sum it up.
"A freak, huh."
"One of a kind."
A freak.
A reclusive expert hidden in the mountains for years, leaving no trace in the world.
"This isn't ordinary."
"Obviously. Even these fragments alone could upend the martial world."
His brutal hands and reckless nature were concerns, but an absolute expert's emergence inevitably stirred chaos.
He would surely become the rising sun of the jianghu.
Even if he had no ambitions for it, like a nail poking through a pouch, the world would notice him.
Snapping from his thoughts, the man asked softly.
"Shall we gather intelligence?"
"Maintain utmost secrecy at the highest level. Activate our networks everywhere to thoroughly investigate his past and origins. Ensure no leaks to outsiders—especially the authorities. Not even a shadow."
"Understood."
It had been a week since Cheongun joined as a freeloader.
The closed door swung open.
Namgung Yeol, passing by just then, blocked Cheongun's path as he stepped out.
"Ah, Hero Cheong! Where are you off to?"
"Just stepping out for a bit."
"Where to? The latrine?"
"No, thought I'd look around outside the annex."
"Then...!"
"Be right back."
Before Namgung Yeol could finish.
Cheongun was much faster than her intended 'Then I'll come too!'
At his demeanor, Namgung Yeol shook her head in disbelief.
Namgung Yeol had grown up as the Namgung Clan's pampered jewel, showered in affection.
Her exceptional looks matched her unpolished, free-spirited behavior.
Especially, the very concept of being shy didn't apply to her.
But Cheongun was different.
Not exactly shy, but... distrustful of people, somehow.
Like an invisible wall.
Likely a side effect of his isolated life for so long.
"Hmm, not easy."
Namgung Yeol watched his retreating back, thinking that.
At first drawn to his sublime martial arts, now she was curious about him as a person. She wanted to get closer to Cheongun.
What an unusual man.
Above all, she liked his ironclad economic sense.
Many martial artists romanticized wandering the jianghu with just a sword—idiots everywhere. But not Cheongun.
He knew money's importance, and his top priority was always his own safety.
In that, Namgung Yeol—who also loved money not a little—felt a strange kinship.
Moreover, he was her lifesaver!
It was only right to stick by him lifelong and repay the favor.
She tailed him persistently, chattering away.
"Hero Cheong!"
"What?"
"What's fun about fishing?"
"It's a boring kind of fun."
"Aha! Fun to kill time, right?"
"Something like that."
Cheongun chuckled softly and kept walking.
He disliked unwanted attention, but only if the other party harbored malice or was an obnoxious, clueless guy.
No matter how willful or reckless Cheongun was, there was no reason to push away a woman approaching so earnestly like Namgung Yeol.
Plus, benefits aside, a martial artist of her caliber was worth knowing.
She'd later become a powerhouse carrying the Namgung Clan legacy, roaming the jianghu.
Above all, a woman—and a stunning one at that.
Cheongun was a man; he didn't hate women.
"Hero Cheong, what'll you do first when you get the Gold Ingot Note?"
"Buy a house."
"Hehe, land and buildings symbolize power and stability. Wise choice. How about near the West Gate of the capital?"
"Capital's West Gate?"
"Yes. It's the start of the trade route to Yunnan... Lots of herbalists, merchants, and escort agencies, so high foot traffic. And I hear the Escort Agency Alliance HQ is going up outside the West Gate—good security, so land prices should rise naturally?"
"But I hear there are no listings there."
"They're pretending there aren't."
"Can you help?"
"Of course. Just say the word."
His annoyance vanished at her words.
Cheongun smiled brightly—uncharacteristically—and matched her pace.
A beautiful, quick-witted, practical woman was rare in the martial world.
In that moment, Namgung Yeol's favorability in Cheongun's heart soared.
Then.
—Kaang! Kakakang!
The sharp clang of swords clashing rang out.
Cheongun whipped his head toward the sound.
In the training ground's center, two men sparred fiercely, blades meeting.
Cheongun's gaze locked on.
Namgung Yeol tilted her head at him.
Him interested in something besides money?
Not this low-level sparring, surely—what caught his eye?
She followed his gaze naturally.
In a distant corner of the training ground stood a woman watching the spar.
"......"
Cheongun narrowed his eyes, glaring at her.
He had no choice.
The first stage of Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art was Heavenly Qi Sense—feeling heaven and earth's energies through the body.
It transformed his constitution to sense Natural Qi hypersensitively, and thus, its opposite even more acutely.
And now, faint Demonic Qi seeped from that woman.
"Miss Yeol."
"Yes?"
"Who's that woman over there?"
"Hong So-yeon. Newly appointed instructor a while back."
A while back?
His thoughts flowed instantly.
'A spy?'
A faint thread, but Cheongun felt it clearly.
The sticky, chilling, unpleasant... tail end of Demonic Qi from her.
Suddenly, original story knowledge surfaced.
The Justice Alliance branch on Qingcheng Mountain gets annihilated in a Demonic Cult raid.
So, a spy or two hiding out was no surprise.
But how to confirm?
And why weren't his unique traits activating?
Maybe because she wasn't an 'enemy' yet?
Come to think of it, they only triggered against 'enemies'.
Damn. Tricky as hell.
But letting her be without proof felt wrong.
What if the Demonic Cult attacked before he got the Gold Ingot Note?
And everyone he needed for that payout died to them?
Fuck that.
Just thinking it sent chills down his spine.
What to do with her?
Wait, think more...
"Hero Cheong, she made eye contact."
Hm, stared too long; she noticed.
But Cheongun didn't look away.
Instead, he grinned maniacally, playing crazy.
Cheongun strode toward the woman.
Naturally, all eyes turned to them.
Namgung Yeol watched him quizzically.
The suspected spy's face stiffened.
In the heavy silence, Cheongun seized the moment.
"Did you know?"
"Pardon?"
"The Heavenly Demon Cult Leader. That bastard's actually an orphan."
"???"
"And a eunuch. Bald. No hair, no dick, no mom or dad..."
Cheongun's lips curled up ear to ear.
...
Heh.
Gotcha good.