Chapter 502: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (136)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 502: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (136)
I used the Namgung Clan's money to buy a luxurious manor on the outskirts of Anhui. I then summoned all of my women from Henan to the new estate.
Now, I had to shuttle between the manor and the Namgung Clan estate, not only satisfying my own women but also managing the beauties I had received from Namgung Hyeok.
Thanks to my name spreading throughout the Central Plains, beautiful women would sometimes just show up on their own. When that happened, the course of action was obvious. I’d drag them away and fuck them immediately.
"Whew... At this rate, I'm going to drown in pussy juice."
On the custom-made, oversized bed, the women I'd been fucking for days lay sprawled out, soaked in semen. I didn't even know their names. There were so many that I couldn't even tell who was who anymore.
Meanwhile, the problems at the Namgung Clan had been more or less resolved—
…Hmm. Joo Hyeon-cheong wants me to stop by the Imperial Palace. On the way, I should find out why those Honcheonhoe bastards suddenly went into hiding.
It was about time to stop fucking around and get moving.
*
The next day, I sent my women to the Imperial Palace separately. I, along with Bi-yeon, decided to first visit the place where the vice-commander of the Honcheonhoe's Eumwol Division, a character from the original novel, was staying.
There's a chance he's already gone into hiding, but…
It was just a short detour on the way to the Imperial Palace anyway.
Our destination was a deserted back alley in northern Anhui Province. Beggars huddled beneath a wall stained with mold. The reek of decay hung heavy in the air of the empty street.
My current appearance fit the scene perfectly. My hair was a mess, and I was dressed in rags made of stained cloth. I had even deliberately rigged one of my shoes so the sole was falling off.
This is it.
I carefully pushed open the creaking door.
Creeeak…
The inside of the tavern was desolate and gloomy.
The layout was suspicious at a glance. A man sitting alone in a corner frowned and looked up.
"Ah, for fuck's sake… Another fucking beggar crawled in."
He slammed his cup down on the table, his voice filled with irritation.
"Hey, there's no food here. Get lost."
I widened my eyes and made my voice tremble.
"P-Please… just a little food… I haven't eaten in days…"
"I told you to get out, you bastard!"
He shot up from his seat and approached me. I kept my head down, quickly scanning my surroundings.
Five on the ceiling. Below the floor… ten presences. There's a basement.
The man continued to curse as he walked toward me.
"Fuck off, you son of a bi—"
In that instant.
Bi-yeon.
On it.
An invisible wind instantly sliced through the assassins hiding on the ceiling.
The man in front of me was still oblivious. Finally, he threw a punch at me and yelled.
"Di—"
Crack!
Before his fist could even reach my nose, my hand was already on his neck, snapping it.
"—Guh… Gck…!"
Snap!
With the sound of breaking bone, the man's body collapsed limply.
Now, time to disguise myself and head down.
I pictured the fallen man's appearance in my mind. In an instant, everything from my skin tone to my hair, eyes, and even the pitch of my voice was perfectly replicated.
Shhhh…
Perfectly mimicking his hunched shoulders, messy hair, and gruff speech, I pushed on a wall inside the tavern, revealing a hidden passage to the basement.
Clunk… Creeeak…
I carefully descended the narrow, dark stairs. The basement opened into a surprisingly large space.
Inside, men dressed in black were bustling about, moving something.
…Coffins?
Long boxes were lined up in rows. Two men opened one of them and checked the corpse inside.
They're all corpses.
Just then, a man from the far side of the room saw me and started walking over.
Go Chung.
The vice-commander of the Honcheonhoe's Eumwol Division, just as I remembered from the original novel. He was known for having a shitty personality.
"Hey, you bastard. Who gave you permission to leave your post upstairs and come down here?"
Pretending to be startled, I hurriedly bowed my head.
"S-Sorry."
Go Chung's face twisted as he spat out a curse.
"Ah, fuck, kids these days are so goddamn lazy. Hey, since you're down here, you can help out. There are still other guys upstairs, right?"
"Yes! I'll get right on it!"
I immediately pretended to get to work, then casually tested the waters.
"By the way… are we withdrawing too?"
"Huh? Did you forget everything we talked about last time?"
"W-Well… I can't remember a thing…"
"Ah, you're fucking useless. How many times do I have to tell you? All hell broke loose up top. The Eumwol Danju is dead, and so is one of the Four Heavenly Kings. On top of that, we were attacked by some weirdos, so things are a mess right now, remember? And because of that crazy bastard Jin Seo-yun, our losses were huge, so a full-scale withdrawal was ordered, you fucking idiot!"
"Ah, I remember now!"
"Hah… and I have to call this guy my subordinate. Shit, how did the Eumwol Division fall this far…"
Go Chung clicked his tongue and turned his attention back to the ledger.
"So, are we… completely ceasing our activities?"
"The plan is to focus on damage recovery for the next few years."
"Then do you… happen to have any more information? For example… the location of the Honcheonhoe leader's hideout?"
"Even I don't know that… Wait a second."
Go Chung's eyes glinted sharply.
"…You bastard, who are you?"
The moment his hand moved toward his waist, mine moved faster.
"Keuk—!"
As I grabbed his throat, the bodies of the men behind me who were drawing their weapons were instantly split in half by a sharp gust of wind created by Bi-yeon.
I slammed Go Chung's body against the wall and slowly returned to my original form.
Shhh…
"Did you just call me a crazy bastard?"
As my face was revealed, the color drained from his.
"J-Jin Seo-yun…?!"
A slow, twisted smile spread across my lips.
"Tell me what you know."
"…You think… I'd… talk? Keuk…"
Go Chung glared at me with eyes full of malice.
"Right, right. I knew you'd say that."
I took four small needles from my inventory and drove them one by one under his fingernails.
"Knggh…!"
I had learned the Heavenly Thunder Qi, the internal energy art of the Namgung Clan that Namgung So-ha had given me. I focused the Heavenly Thunder Qi at my fingertips.
Crackle… Crackle!
Lightning flickered from my fingers, and I sent a current through the tips of the needles.
BZZZZT…!
"—Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
The man's eyes rolled back into his head. His whole body convulsed as drool and snot dribbled from his face.
"Talk."
"…Guhk… Fuck you…"
"Tell me while I'm asking nicely. The next part will be several times more painful."
But in the end, he didn't give up any satisfying information. I injected a bit more Heavenly Thunder Qi, and eventually, his skin charred black as if it were burning.
Go Chung died convulsing.
"…Tsk."
I tossed the corpse aside.
"I had high hopes since he was a vice-commander."
Was it because I killed Baek Ha-rim? The entire Eumwol Division was being ostracized from within.
Of course, the trip wasn't a complete waste.
…So the plan is to distribute the drug that was only fed to the emperor throughout the entire Central Plains.
In the room he was using, I found the location of the Seoncheonhyang cultivation site.
"…I should stop by on the way and burn it all down."
I muttered to myself and stood up.
*
Deep in a valley on Taehyang Mountain in Hebei, the Honcheonhoe was secretly operating a Seoncheonhyang cultivation site.
Simply burning the fields wasn't enough. With Hebei's Commissioner, Jang Yun-gyeom, controlling the area and protecting the Honcheonhoe from behind the scenes, I had to eliminate both sides at once to solve the problem at its root.
'It's time to use my authority as an Inspector.'
I first went to see the military commander of the Henan Province jurisdiction. I planned to use my status as an Inspector directly under the Imperial Family to request military support.
"I've discovered the base of a treasonous faction in the Taehyang Mountain area. We must immediately commence an encirclement operation."
When I showed him my Inspector's jade tablet, the commander's expression instantly stiffened.
"Lord Inspector, in person…? Then this operation will be…"
"It will be a large-scale sweep. Five hundred soldiers should be sufficient."
If this operation succeeded, not only would I cut off one of the Honcheonhoe's sources of funding, but I would also gain greater trust in my official position.
"We will depart as soon as preparations are complete."
*
We secretly divided the troops and headed for Taehyang Mountain. With so many soldiers, we could have easily been spotted on the way.
The plan was simple. The five hundred soldiers would be split into three units to completely surround the Taehyang Mountain area and eliminate any remnants trying to escape. Meanwhile, I would personally handle the enemies at the core base inside.
'It will take about two hours to complete the encirclement. I can clean up the inside during that time.'
As I arrived at the entrance to the Taehyang Mountain valley, a faint fragrance wafted from the distance.
"Bi-yeon, what's the headcount?"
"About five hundred. But…"
Bi-yeon's voice carried a hint of caution.
"There's one master among them. Seems like a Honcheonhoe executive."
"Is he on Mak Gang-woo's level?"
"No, not that strong."
"Then it doesn't matter."
I quietly entered the valley. After walking along a narrow path for about ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up to a wide basin.
The sight left me speechless for a moment.
'I didn't realize it was on this scale.'
The entire basin was covered in fields of Seoncheonhyang. The magnificent view of endless violet flowers was almost beautiful, but the thought of the conspiracy hidden behind it sent a chill down my spine.
A large mansion stood in the middle of the basin, surrounded by warehouses and workshops. Dozens of laborers were busy harvesting the Seoncheonhyang.
'So that's their main base.'
Completely concealing my presence, I approached the mansion. Just then, I heard voices from the front yard.
"…You're saying there's a hitch in the plan?"
I recognized one of the men as Jang Yun-gyeom. I ducked down and peeked over the wall.
In the yard stood Jang Yun-gyeom and two men in black robes. One of them was the master Bi-yeon had mentioned.
"Commissioner… for now… it would be best to retreat."
"Retreat? We're so close, and you're telling me to retreat now?!" Jang Yun-gyeom shouted, fuming.
"The emperor is already addicted to the drug. When that bastard dies, we just have to hand the throne to the prince. If we can just hold out until then… this country will be in our hands."
"Tsk, blinded by power."
The other man clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Hmph! You cowards! The ship has already sailed! Do you think you'll be safe just because you jump off midway? Now is the time to push forward. Why can't you see that?"
"Enough. Commissioner, from now on, you're on your own. We are washing our hands of this."
Just as the Honcheonhoe master and Jang Yun-gyeom were facing off, a soldier came running breathlessly from down the mountain.
"S-Sir, we have a problem! G-Government troops are advancing from the base of the mountain! This entire area has been surrounded!"