Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Chapter 37. Kidnapping (1)
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Flying Tiger opened his eyes to the sound that roused the dawn. He threw open the window, and a rush of cold air poured in. Far off, lights flickered on in the buildings as the faint noises of people stirring reached his ears.
Flying Tiger pulled out the tea set provided by the inn, brewed himself a cup, and savored it while taking in the breaking dawn. The hazy look in his eyes gradually sharpened, and by the time he drained the last mouthful and set the cup down, his gaze had cooled into something hard and unyielding.
"A fine day."
It was the perfect day to set something in motion.
A message arrived that morning.
Flying Tiger straightened his robes and strolled leisurely into the Upper Purity Hall, where Ho Ye-hwa greeted him warmly.
"Come in. You're the last one."
"Is that so? But..."
Flying Tiger glanced around, taking stock of the faces. There was one unexpected attendee and one notable absence.
His searching gaze must have looked anxious to someone, who proceeded to voice an odd concern.
"Hmph. If you're looking for the Elder, he's not here. He has his dignity, you know—would he stoop to something like this? Stop searching and take a seat already. You're late as it is..."
The man muttered the last part as if to himself, adding with a tsk of his tongue, 'What kind of mangy mutt tails after someone like that? Tsk tsk!'
It was the Gon-son Monk of True Victory.
The unexpected attendee was explaining the absence of the one everyone had anticipated.
Flying Tiger nodded and headed straight for Gon-son. The others already seated—Il-gwang, Lady Bong Yeon, Sama Gul-gi, Jeung-geum, and Ho Ye-hwa—watched the pair with keen interest. Gon-son had picked a fight right in front of everyone, so they were eager to see how Flying Tiger would respond.
Gon-son glared at the approaching Flying Tiger with venomous eyes, grinding his teeth.
But nothing happened.
Flying Tiger simply bypassed the empty seats to deliberately take the one beside Gon-son, saying only, "Then let's get started."
The onlookers felt a bit deflated. Lady Bong Yeon voiced their shared disappointment.
"My, I thought our Flying Tiger warrior had quite the temper, but you're surprisingly even-keeled."
"Lady Bong Yeon, they say even feed is too good for a fish already caught."
Il-gwang, ever the blunt monk, chimed in to curry her favor.
Banter flew back and forth, but no one so much as mentioned the crippled Gon-son. He was treated as nonexistent—or just another fish.
Until the day before last, they had been comrades, with Gon-son subtly afforded the respect of leader. How ruthless. But this was a slice of jianghu life, the way of the world.
So why had Gon-son shown up, knowing full well the reception he'd get?
There must be a reason. And to endure humiliation for it—remarkable, in a way. But does he realize that very reason piques my interest too?
Flying Tiger watched Gon-son's crumpled face and seething eyes from up close, sorting his thoughts.
Once the awkwardness passed uneventfully, Jeung-geum rose to lead the meeting.
"We got word at dawn today. They've been lying low, sensing something amiss, but the target is finally on the move."
"The target... Jin Ga-yong, right?"
"He's our ultimate goal, but not today. Think of today's mark as bait to hook Jin Ga-yong—or anyone of comparable standing from Zhao Family Manor."
Flying Tiger intuited the target was one of Jin Ga-yong's senior brothers. Ho Ye-hwa had subtly hinted at it yesterday during his test.
And Flying Tiger's hunch proved spot on. The target was...
Go Dan-o, the Remote Mountain Sword.
He was the third among Jin Ga-yong's senior brothers. Flying Tiger hadn't crossed paths with him during his stay at Zhao Family Manor with Ma Yeop, as Go Dan-o had been away on business.
Word was he wielded a greatsword.
He was said to possess the second-highest martial prowess among the brothers.
Moreover, his sword style closely resembled that of their late master, Jo Ban-san, the Benevolent Righteous Sword.
In other words, no one to take lightly.
At least, that's how Flying Tiger saw it.
The others fixated on "second to Jin Ga-yong," which made Go Dan-o seem manageable, leaving them with smug expressions. They probably mistook Jin Ga-yong as being on their level. Flying Tiger, however, took it as a given that Go Dan-o fell short.
If Go Dan-o truly matched Jin Ga-yong, then maybe with the Shandong Elder present... but without him, this gathering would amount to plotting suicide.
What caught Flying Tiger's attention was the resemblance to the Benevolent Righteous Sword. An expert acknowledged by Hidden Moon. Even in the past tense, he was a name that inevitably came up in discussions of Shaanxi's finest. A style like that couldn't possibly be second-rate.
Flying Tiger posed his question with caution.
"Any known weaknesses for the Remote Mountain Sword? Say, lack of real combat experience?"
"Hard to say. Not as seasoned as you lot, but no greenhorn either. He held his own on the enemy side during the clashes with the Martial Qin Alliance. Still, nothing to lose sleep over. Ten months ago, he was just noteworthy among his peers—nothing more."
Ten months...
Flying Tiger smacked his lips. It was ambiguous. Just look at himself: nine months ago, he'd made leaps and bounds. Sure, luck had played a part, and he'd hit a prime growth phase, but... what about this guy?
At that moment, Lady Bong Yeon spoke up.
"Fine for Remote Mountain Sword, but anyone else we should watch?"
Jeung-geum glanced back, and Ho Ye-hwa shook his head with a look.
"Yang Ji, the Martial Guest. He's got some reputation, so some of you may know him. He's volunteered as Remote Mountain Sword's escort. So far, they seem to be traveling together."
"What? The Martial Guest? That fake gentleman slithered into Zhao Family Manor?"
Il-gwang's eyes blazed with fury. There was clearly bad blood.
"Oh~ You know him?"
"Hmph, know him? Too embarrassing to go into details, but mark my words: any house that takes in that worm is doomed."
Seeing Il-gwang tremble and mutter 'Don't ask anymore,' it was clear he'd been badly burned—maybe even sold dog meat as mutton. Why else shut down even Lady Bong Yeon, who finally showed interest for once?
To rile that thief up so much... is he some kind of righteous knight?
Flying Tiger found the whole thing amusing on multiple levels. And us, about to contribute to Zhao Family Manor's doom by taking in the Martial Guest? He let out a chuckle, and Sama Gul-gi wore a similar smirk.
Sama Gul-gi quickly wiped away his smile and asked gravely.
"So our targets are the Martial Guest and Remote Mountain Sword. Kidnap the latter, kill the former. Correct?"
"Well, we don't strictly need to kill the Martial Guest. Scaring him off might work just as well. So don't push needless fights."
"Pardon?"
"Someone has to tip them off that we've got Remote Mountain Sword, right?"
Jeung-geum offered the excuse with an ambiguous look.
Flying Tiger shook his head. If the goal was to inform them, they could wrap things up cleanly and send a blackmail letter later.
Exposing their own forces for what... Aha!
Lady Bong Yeon tilted her head, muttering, "Masks, maybe? Such a hassle." Sama Gul-gi, deep in thought, ventured his own conclusion.
"Is the Shandong Elder's absence for that reason? To let them misjudge our strength?"
"That's one aspect."
One aspect implied others.
Sama Gul-gi caught the nuance and glanced at Flying Tiger, the sharpest mind present. Maybe he'd figured it out.
Sure enough, Flying Tiger voiced his thoughts.
"Sounds like they want Zhao Family Manor scrambling chaotically after the kidnappers."
"What's the difference from notifying them after the kidnapping?"
"This creates urgency. The longer after the incident, the harder it gets to catch culprits. They'll panic—no time for proper vigilance."
"Vigilance meaning the pursuit team they'll form?"
"Partly, but more the worry that dispatching warriors leaves the base open to other enemies. Ye Mountain isn't just us, after all."
"...!"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Ho Ye-hwa applauded heartily. "Brilliant." Even Jeung-geum, who'd eyed Flying Tiger with displeasure, nodded in approval.
True to Flying Tiger's words, the enemy had committed three full units to Ye Mountain for this operation. That meant two more batches just like the group gathered at Zheng Haoguan under Jeung-geum.
They were geared to turn Zhao Family Manor upside down.
Yet from another angle, this was the kind of force you'd need to take on Zhao Family Manor.
Was it some fly-by-night sect? Even in decline now, just a year ago it had been hailed as Shaanxi's premier clan. Elite to a fault, even with their lord and young lord both crippled—it was no empty saying that even rotten herring held value.
So how had Flying Tiger guessed as much?
It stemmed from the Yun-seong Chil-rang, who had crossed Flying Tiger and died for it. Upon joining this group, he'd learned they had been stationed at other outposts from the start.
He'd inferred from there.
Meanwhile, Flying Tiger had known the enemy was scheming against Zhao Family Manor, but he'd never imagined such a massive, audacious scale.
Apparently, one of the three units consisted of high-paid mercenaries scraped together from everywhere, much like Flying Tiger's own at Zheng Haoguan.
The remaining unit was made up of the enemy's own elites. That had to be their core striking force for this op.
They'd been nibbling at the edges before... change of heart? This scale means serious investment from their side. What's driving it?
A lone jianghu drifter could flip moods like boiling gruel.
But this was an organization.
Sure, a madman could ascend to leadership and wreck a solid group—but that was the rare exception.
So there had to be a convincing reason. One only possible at this juncture... one that demanded this timing.
And perhaps that reason held the key to unmasking the enemy's true nature—what Choeo-jin really was.
Flying Tiger had such a hunch.