Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Finding Traces (1)
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“Huh? What's going on?”
A group of people had gathered in front of the instructors' office.
They were all instructors wearing grave expressions, whispering as they stared at the notice posted on the corridor wall.
“Instructor Chu.”
Due to her short stature, Yeo Mae-hong was hopping up and down at the back of the crowd to greet him.
“What's the matter? Why is everyone acting so tense?”
“You haven't heard? There was a big incident last night.”
“Did a war break out or something?”
“Not quite.”
Yeo Mae-hong whispered in an exaggeratedly serious tone.
“They say Squad Leader Instructor Yeom got seriously injured.”
Ah, right.
I roughed up Yeom Gwang yesterday.
He had forgotten about it because it was such a trivial matter.
To be honest, the loss of the bribe from Nangong Yun-ho was a bigger deal than Yeom Gwang's injury.
A family like the Nangong Family probably would have slipped me a golden calf or something.
Just thinking about it made him feel regretful.
“He was apparently too shocked to even speak. Well, even if things were messy between them, he's still a colleague, after all.”
If she wanted to misunderstand like that, he was grateful.
For now, grasping the situation took priority.
Dokgo Yul could handle the cleanup like eating cold porridge, but just in case.
“What exactly happened?”
“Have you heard of the Silver Moon Thief?”
As if he wouldn't know.
He was the one who had lured the wild bandit here himself.
“I've heard of him.”
“The Silver Moon Thief is a famous thief from the unorthodox sects. His signature lightness skill, Floating Shadow Lightness Art, is considered one of the pinnacle techniques in the martial world.”
“A quick-footed thief, huh.”
“He's not someone you can dismiss as just a thief. He's cunning, and his martial arts are said to be quite formidable. Just look at this incident. Even when the senior instructors of Silver Hall ganged up on him, he turned the tables and escaped after injuring them.”
It seemed yesterday's events had been quite a shock to her.
And understandably so, since Silver Hall's senior instructors were experts who could hold their own anywhere in the martial world.
Moreover, even a dog eats half its fill at home, but to get done in right in the front yard of the Divine Martial Academy—how humiliating must that be.
There were witnesses on site, so no excuses either.
If the previous incident where instructors died had been covered up due to a traitor, this one would be covered up out of sheer embarrassment.
“Anyone but Instructor Joo Gyeom—he's no pushover.”
“Is he famous?”
“The Ten-Paces Quick Sword Joo Gyeom is a renowned expert in the martial world. He's one of the top senior instructors in Silver Hall.”
Yeo Mae-hong still couldn't wrap her head around last night's events.
“No matter how elusive the Silver Moon Thief is, to utterly trounce the Ten-Paces Quick Sword...”
Just then, a voice came from beside them.
“I can answer that.”
It was Instructor Yang of the Iron Fist.
The middle-aged, taciturn fist fighter spoke up with a grave look.
“According to Great Hero Dokgo, it has to do with why the Silver Moon Thief appeared at Infinite Castle.”
“Why the Silver Moon Thief appeared...? Ah! It's because of the treasure he stole.”
“Instructor Yeo, you're quick on the uptake. Exactly—the 'treasure' he stole.”
Treasure.
A term for an item in the martial world deemed insufficiently honored by mere 'treasure.'
Every martial artist coveted the world's greatest ultimate techniques and mysterious treasures.
A young instructor listening to the conversation chimed in.
“Instructor Yang. What is this treasure?”
“Don't be shocked. It's the Invisible Thread.”
“Invisible Thread? I've never heard of it...”
In contrast, the older instructors let out exclamations of realization.
“The Invisible Thread! If it's that item, then it makes sense.”
“Isn't it the treasure that can save a whole village with just one strand?”
“You can't buy it even with money. Sigh. A precious relic of the martial world has fallen into a thief's hands.”
The young instructors tilted their heads at the veterans' words.
“What on earth is this Invisible Thread treasure?”
“Do you know about Thousand Spider Thread?”
The young instructor nodded.
“Of course. It's as tough as steel and sharp as a treasured sword—the assassins' treasure used as a hidden weapon.”
“You know it well. The Invisible Thread is an even rarer treasure. Tougher than Thousand Spider Thread and even sharper. They say it can slice through an iron sword like tofu. But the most terrifying thing about the Invisible Thread is that it turns transparent when infused with internal energy.”
“Gasp! It turns transparent?”
“Yes. Who would pay attention to a single thread in the heat of battle? Especially since the Invisible Thread is invisible. It even makes sense how Instructor Joo got done in.”
“It's not called the assassins' legendary hidden weapon for nothing.”
Someone added.
Thanks to that, Yeom Gwang was quickly forgotten, and talk turned to the Silver Moon Thief and the Invisible Thread.
Yeo Mae-hong, standing nearby, also seemed intrigued by the emergence of such an astonishing treasure.
“It's a truly fearsome hidden weapon. Right?”
“Yeah.”
As he casually stuffed the failure deep into his pocket and replied, Yeo Mae-hong asked.
“By the way, what brings you to work today?”
“I need to report to the Hall Master about the Nangong Family visit.”
“Right, you said you were heading to the Nangong Family yesterday. Did it go well?”
Well.
Hard to call it 'well.'
But one thing was certain.
“They won't bother us for a while.”
“Hmm.”
Hall Master Chung-hyun's expression turned peculiar.
Flip. Flip.
He propped his chin on his interlaced hands as he examined the Nangong Family seal stamped on the audience permit.
“You. You didn't cause any trouble, did you?”
He nearly jumped.
Why was he so perceptive?
“Me! Do I look like someone who causes trouble every day? Nothing happened! For real! I'm someone who gets things done when I need to, you know.”
“Hmm. Really? You're denying it so vehemently that it's suspicious.”
His gaze stung.
Sharp guy.
But fortunately, he soon looked away.
“Haha. Well, even a scoundrel like you couldn't cause trouble against the great Nangong Family.”
“Exactly. I'm just a poor salaried worker scraping by on a meager wage.”
“Your words have quite the bite.”
Fortunately, he didn't seem too offended.
Rather, he sighed in relief, as if a nagging toothache had finally been pulled.
“Phew. With the audience matter settled like putting out an urgent fire, this is all that's left?”
“What's all this?”
In just one day, an enormous pile of documents and scrolls had accumulated on Hall Master Chung-hyun's desk.
Chung-hyun replied with a grimace.
“What else? Cleanup from yesterday's incident. Didn't you hear?”
“I heard a few instructors got injured. I didn't realize it was such a big deal.”
“The details are far worse than the rumors.”
Chung-hyun was being terse.
Just as planned.
He clearly intended to hush this up.
“It happened so suddenly that there's a ton to handle. We need to appoint a successor for the squad leader position, and someone to handle the students that Squad Leader Yeom Gwang was mentoring...”
“Sounds tough. I won't bother you then.”
“Even empty words of offering to help wouldn't hurt.”
“I'm an honest man; I don't do empty promises.”
“Couldn't you try a little? Don't you know how society works?”
“I'm a man of conviction, stubborn as a water buffalo's horn.”
“You never yield an inch.”
As if he hadn't expected anything anyway, Chung-hyun pulled out his seal and stamped the audience confirmation form with resounding thuds.
“Then I'll head out.”
As he quickly slipped out of the instructors' office, a low voice trailed after him.
“I need to figure out how to make use of that guy somehow...”
Escaping at the right moment had been the best choice, after all.
After clocking out, he headed straight to the base of the castle.
He had a new routine lately.
Patrolling Infinite Castle's market district to spot students from the Divine Martial Academy out playing during their break.
He entered a bustling inn, and the waiter greeted him.
“Back again?”
“Yeah, got a seat?”
“Hehe. Of course. The window seat on the top floor, right?”
“Yeah, I'll be up there. Bring something decent.”
As he climbed the inn's stairs, he scanned the interior, taking in the diverse crowd.
Laborers already drunk off their heads in the early evening, men in fine silk robes chattering loudly.
Even couples stuck together like cockroaches, whispering sweet nothings.
“Another bust today.”
Creak. Creak.
He settled into the window seat, gazing at the passing crowds.
Observing the throngs of people, scrutinizing each face slowly.
He passed the time that way for a bit.
Thud thud thud thud.
The stairs below rumbled noisily, and the waiter appeared.
“Hehe. Young master, here's the steamed carp and baijiu.”
“Looks tasty.”
“The head chef made it with heaps of his secret sauce.”
“Sure.”
As the food was neatly laid out, he asked the waiter.
“How's business lately? Any Divine Martial Academy students come by?”
Clink.
The waiter swiftly pocketed the silver coin on the table and grinned broadly.
“Hehe. Yes. Among the recent guests, there was one who really stood out. A guy named Cheong-su...”
“Man? Woman?”
“Man.”
Darn, so close.
As he turned away, the waiter waved his hands animatedly in explanation.
“He was impressive. Said he was a senior disciple of the Wudang Sect?”
“Don't care if he's Wudang or tofu gang. No women?”
“I listened closely to the talk...”
The dejected waiter groaned, racking his brains desperately—he knew the better the info, the fatter the tip.
“Ah! There was also a woman with a really striking presence.”
Striking presence? Woman?
His heart skipped half a beat, then pounded.
Thump thump.
“Who was she?”
“Don't know her name. She had such refined elegance...”
Gulp.
A refined woman—has to be my bride-to-be.
The waiter's description continued.
“Her skin was snow-white.”
Yes, yes.
“Her eyes were huge and limpid.”
That's right.
Large and sparkling enough to dive right into her pupils.
Found her, my bride-to-be.
Thump thump.
His heartbeat reached a peak.
The waiter added.
“She had a particularly large butterfly-shaped hair ornament that caught the eye.”
“Ah...”
His heart suddenly cooled.
“Whew.”
His enthusiasm deflated.
“What's wrong?”
Pour.
As he refilled his cup, the waiter tilted his head.
“Nothing, forget it.”
“I haven't finished explaining yet.”
No need to hear more.
Glaring sullenly at his cup, he asked the waiter.
“By any chance, did that woman have a tear mole under her left eye?”
“Come to think of it, yeah, she did.”
“And the butterfly hair ornament had a black border and was red.”
“Yes. Do you know her?”
Know her? All too well.
No need for double confirmation.
They were tied by a long-standing grudge.
The Poison Butterfly of the Sacheon Tang Clan?
A memory surfaced: unusually pale skin, long hair of a light hue, a beauty with a striking red hairpin in her green palace attire.
Tang Ae-hee. That rotten bitch.
Recalling the one who always nagged him endlessly made his throat burn—he wanted to down his cup.
“Kuh. No luck today either.”
“...Today too?”
“You did well anyway. Keep letting me know if you spot anyone unusual.”
Tap tap.
The waiter pocketed a few more silver coins, grinned cheekily, and scurried off.
With no leads and money spent, Chu Un-hwi poked at the steamed carp with a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Yum. Yum.”
The tender flesh somewhat soothed him.
“At this rate, who knows when I'll find her...”
Suddenly, he recalled his recent conversation with Dokgo Yul.
[My lord. Would it be alright to call in Danya?]
[Danya? Why bother?]
[For gathering intel and operating in the shadows, Danya is perfect.]
He had refused back then out of concern for exposing their tracks, but the temptation kept rising.
Among the Shadow Marriage Black Wind Squad, Danya specializes in intelligence and intrigue—she'd definitely help.
But Chu Un-hwi shook his head and turned his gaze back outside the window.
“Don't give up yet. I never thought it'd be easy from the start.”