The Blue Ghost Gate Opens Over Beijing
The screams tearing through Beijing announced the chaos of the night. Flames blazed everywhere, and grotesque creatures wandered the streets—monstrosities so bizarre that the eyes could see them yet the mind refused to accept their existence. The once-peaceful capital of the Ming Dynasty was now drowning in the greatest turmoil in its history.
'A Ghost Gate has opened. Inside Beijing itself.'
Namgung Woo witnessed the anomaly unfolding in the capital with his own two eyes. His irises, completely dyed in a blue-white hue, locked onto the Ghost Gate hovering in the sky above the city. There was no suspicious barrier like the one he had seen in Muan County, but the fact that it had appeared without any precursor phenomena made this rift unmistakably alien.
"Eungong! I'll open the city gate!"
Anyone with eyes and ears could tell that the situation in Beijing was far from ordinary. Paeng Ha-ryeong quickly produced an Apae—a plaque that proved her status as a direct descendant of the Paeng Family. Though traditionally carved from ivory or animal bone—hence the name—it could also be made of wood or metal. In simple terms, it was the Ming Dynasty's version of a household identification tablet.
Paeng Ha-ryeong raised the clearly precious-looking plaque high and shouted, "Watchmen on the gate! Beijing is in grave danger! We are from the Hebei Paeng Family—open the gate at once!"
"From the Hebei Paeng Family, you say?"
"Here, examine the Apae!"
Paeng Ha-ryeong hurled the plaque as if every second counted. The watchman, though flustered, caught it deftly. The moment he felt its material, he waved his hands frantically.
"Open the gate! Open it now! It's reinforcements from the Hebei Paeng Family!"
The gates swung open with shocking ease. Namgung Woo caught a glimpse of the influence the Hebei Paeng Family had built up over the years, even while carefully navigating the imperial court's watchful gaze.
"Benefactor, do you intend to head to the inn where the Yo-pyeong Express people were staying?" Paeng Mu-ho asked, his face openly revealing his anxiety.
"Yes. Great Hero Paeng, please help the citizens in the area."
"...I am ashamed."
Though they could open the city gates in the Paeng Family's name, strictly speaking, the Paengs were not free agents. They had an unspoken duty to lend a hand in suppressing the chaos in Beijing.
"Ha-ryeong, you take the five members of the Third Squad and escort our benefactor. The Fourth and Fifth Squads will follow me to prioritize rescuing the civilians!"
"Be careful, Uncle."
"You too. The Ghost Gate that has opened in Beijing isn't particularly high-ranked. It's barely at the blue level. Once the Jinyiwei move in earnest, they should be able to handle it."
Paeng Mu-ho had fully recovered from his internal injuries after sufficient rest at the main house. At the cusp of the late Peak Realm, just one step away from the Transcendent Realm, a Blue Gate would not pose a serious threat to him.
But there was something Paeng Mu-ho had not yet realized.
"Great Hero Paeng, you should be cautious. It's not just the Ghost Gate."
"What? What do you mean...?"
"There are unidentified strange figures mixed in. The ones who set the fires—it's probably them."
The Ghost Gate had only just opened. So why were there already fires? There were clearly people running through the city, deliberately sowing chaos. If they had artificially opened the Ghost Gate in the first place, they were hardly going to retreat now that it had appeared.
"...I will keep it in mind."
As a direct blood relative and Vice Commander of the Bukcheon Squad, Paeng Mu-ho had honed his discernment and judgment. Understanding the weight of Namgung Woo's warning, he took command of his unit with even greater caution.
"Eungong, we should..."
"Of course."
Even as he answered, Namgung Woo's eyes were already gazing into the distance.
'It's still manageable for now.'
The safety of the Yo-pyeong Express came first. Having organized his thoughts, Namgung Woo launched himself forward at high speed.
BOOM!KUUUUNG!
The deafening roar felt like someone was pounding on his skull. Pyeong Cho-yul barely suppressed the urge to cover his ears as he frantically muttered to himself, trying to make sense of the situation.
"What the hell is this madness! What is going on? How did things turn out like this? This is completely insane..."
KWAAAAANG!
"Chief! The door's been smashed!"
"No! Block it! Stack the tables, use anything—block it!"
Pyeong Cho-yul forced the words out in a half-crazed voice. It felt like he'd been struck by lightning on a clear day. He'd been sound asleep when strange noises woke him, only to find the outside of the inn turned into complete pandemonium. Even someone like Pyeong Cho-yul, who prided himself on having seen it all, was momentarily stunned by an event beyond anything he'd ever experienced.
"Damn it, damn it all! What is this in Beijing of all places... I should've just followed Young Hero Nam to Tianjin...!"
His decision to wrap up business with his contacts in Beijing before moving on had come back to bite him. No matter how irresistibly attractive a client like the Paeng Family was, believing that loyalty to his existing partners mattered more had been a colossal miscalculation.
"Chief!"
"What now?!"
"They say we've used up all the tables! We should abandon the inn and head upstairs...!"
KWAAAAAANG!!
The largest explosion yet shook the entire inn. It was so powerful that one might have thought a thunderbolt bomb had gone off.
"Ah... aah..."
One of the escorts slumped down like a man who had lost his soul. Beyond the shattered doorway, a bizarre entity stepped inside. It resembled a monkey in shape, yet it was a monster larger than any human. The moment Pyeong Cho-yul recognized it, he muttered its name in despair.
"Great Ape Ghost..."
A monster that emerged from Blue Gates. Though it ranked toward the lower end among blue-level threats, its combat power was said to rival that of a Peak Realm master, and its persistent cruelty toward humans was second to none among its kind.
The Great Ape Ghost let out a grating, skin-crawling screech as its eyes rolled. Its pupils were so distorted it was hard to tell where they even were, yet Pyeong Cho-yul instinctively realized those eyes were fixed on him.
'This bastard... has it figured out that I'm the leader of this group...?'
The instant the creature vanished from his field of vision, Pyeong Cho-yul shouted on pure instinct.
"Everyone, get away from—!"
It was too late. There was only one Peak Realm expert among the escorts, and even he couldn't match the monster's speed. Pyeong Cho-yul realized his perception had slowed dramatically. He could even see the drool dripping from the creature's twisted maw as it closed in.
'So this... is what the masters call the domain of the supreme...'
They said that before death, a person's life flashed before their eyes like a lantern show. Apparently that wasn't the case for him. Sensing his own demise, Pyeong Cho-yul squeezed his eyes shut, hoping at least the pain would be brief.
But perhaps the reason no lantern show appeared was simply because it wasn't yet his time to die.
SCRRAAATCH!SWIIISH!
The sharp sound of a blade slicing through the air snapped Pyeong Cho-yul back to his senses. Before his eyes could even fully close, he saw the Great Ape Ghost's body split cleanly in two.
"...Huh?"
SPLUUURT!
Hot blood sprayed into the air. Yet the streams parted neatly to either side of Pyeong Cho-yul, avoiding him entirely. Anyone could see that this was a deliberately controlled result.
THUD!
The bisected corpse of the Great Ape Ghost fell like a puppet with its strings cut. Steam rose from the blood pouring from its severed torso. Beyond the slowly disintegrating body that was turning to dust, a swordsman stood before the violently torn-open main gate.
Pyeong Cho-yul strained his parched, cracked throat once more, this time with the pure joy of having survived. Strangely, it didn't hurt at all.
"Young Hero Nam! You've come!"
Namgung Woo. He was wearing the black martial uniform of the Paeng Family, a sight slightly different from usual and therefore unfamiliar, but none of that mattered right now. Pyeong Cho-yul scrambled toward him almost on all fours, his heart overflowing with the relief of having escaped death.
"As expected, as expected of Young Hero Nam! What was that just now? Was that Flying Sword Qi? Good heavens, I knew you were strong, but is this a dream or reality?"
"I'm glad you're safe, Brother Pyeong."
"Yes! Yes, of course!"
Namgung Woo appeared composed, but inside he was greatly relieved. If he had been even a moment later, Pyeong Cho-yul would have been trampled and torn apart by that bizarre monkey monster.
'It was that close.'
Leaving the group behind and rushing ahead alone had been the right call.
"For now, we should leave Beijing as quickly as possible."
"But with things like this outside..."
"The Paeng Family people are with us. Once we join them, we'll have at least some measure of safety. A transport ship is scheduled to arrive via the Grand Canal, so board that and get out of Beijing."
"Through the Grand Canal..."
The young master of the Hebei Paeng Family, Paeng Ja-ryeong, was heading north along the Grand Canal. Once he arrived, even if Beijing burned as badly as the vision had shown, he would still be able to save at least a portion of it. The exact personnel would be up to Paeng Ja-ryeong, but the Yo-pyeong Express would surely receive aid thanks to their connection with Namgung Woo.
"Then... you're not coming with us, Young Hero Nam?"
"I..."
Namgung Woo turned his gaze northward. Just like in Muan County, there was a strange barrier concealing power in that direction. It had a different nature from martial arts. It was likely sorcery. It might be able to fool the senses of others, but it could not deceive Namgung Woo's eyes.
The mastermind behind this incident was there. And if he could not stop that person, Beijing would collapse long before Paeng Ja-ryeong could arrive. He could leave it to the Jinyiwei, but the power beyond what appeared to be a barrier far surpassed even the Ghost Gate that had released the Demonic Transformation Ghost.
Was there truly anyone else in Beijing besides himself who could stop it?
'They said the imperial family has one peerless expert. I don't know how strong he is, but if he's enough to guard the imperial palace, he must be quite formidable...'
But what if he lacked the ability to detect sorcery, unlike Namgung Woo? By the time the energy gathering in that place finally took complete form, even Namgung Woo wasn't sure he would be able to escape Beijing safely.
He had already climbed onto the tiger's back. And he had brought with him a great many people connected to him. Namgung Woo considered this his responsibility. Though the power had come to him easily, he had no desire to wield it lightly.
"There is a place I must go."
Namgung Woo turned his resolve toward the place where power was converging—the peak of Mount Wanse behind the Forbidden City.