Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Guests from Sichuan (1)
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Two days later, early in the morning, it was the day the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong was set to gather again.
Flying Tiger finished his preparations and approached Gong Won-yeong, who was still fast asleep. Her complexion looked peaceful. It seemed like at any moment, she might open her closed eyes, bloom into a bright smile directed at him, and tell him to come back safe.
His gaze rippled like a gentle wave on still water. After a moment, he pressed his lips softly to her forehead.
"Yeah, I'll be back. You have sweet dreams too."
As he left the inn, Flying Tiger thought to himself.
A dream, huh. Her waking up would be like something out of a dream. So he figured he was living in a good dream right now. And for the sake of making this dream come true, he could do anything.
Anything at all!
The flicker in Flying Tiger's eyes cooled into something cold and resolute.
Flying Tiger left the capital, mounted the horse he'd prepared, and after an hour's ride, arrived at Red Lantern Temple. It was the place where he'd first met the squad leader Gwak Nan-hoe and the unit captain Jin Ga-yong.
This was the headquarters of the Face Pursuit Squad.
To be precise, it was the temple grounds behind the main hall and the attached buildings. They lay beyond a narrow path forbidden to ordinary folk, another dozen zhang in, so most people passed by without even knowing they existed.
Still, how did a temple devoted to Buddha end up hosting a murim force?
In truth, Red Lantern Temple itself had long upheld the tradition of training warrior monks, making it inseparable from the jianghu. Among them, its ties to Lion Hall, the overlords of Shaanxi, were especially close. On top of that, the Face Pursuit Squad claimed to serve a "greater cause," which gave them solid justification. And above all, it was a temporary arrangement—a six-month lease with repayment terms—which made it feasible. In short, this half-year rental deal had been quite profitable.
Be that as it may.
If Flying Tiger had urged his horse faster, he could've made the trip in half an hour, but he'd taken his sweet time, meandering like he was on a scenic tour of the hills and streams.
Even after entering the temple grounds, he didn't head straight to headquarters. Instead, he lit incense and offered prayers beneath the statue of the Medicine Buddha, said to heal all the world's ills.
Of course, it was for Gong Won-yeong.
It was also to survey the surrounding area with his own eyes.
'Scouts say the local village militias all hire Red Lantern Temple's warrior monks as instructors? So we can count them as allies in a pinch. That means to avoid leaving traces, we'd need to infiltrate from the village outskirts... but from what I can see, plotting a clean route won't be easy.'
This was around the time Flying Tiger was walking the narrow path behind the temple, taking in the buildings where the Face Pursuit Squad would be staying for the time being.
Up ahead, voices were raised in argument. There were three men: one was Ye Dok-du, the bald, fierce-looking Iron Arm from Flying Tiger's own unit, and the other two were strangers.
Flying Tiger wanted no part of it, but there was no easy way around, so he hesitated. Just then, Ye Dok-du spotted him and lit up.
"Little brother! Come on over."
"Brother Ye, what's going on?"
"Beats me. These bastards tried to pass by, and now they're smirking and talking shit?"
Smirking? Was that really worth making a fuss?
Flying Tiger tilted his head, eyeing the strangers' faces. Instantly, he understood Ye Dok-du's gripe. The two were grinning unpleasantly, their smiles twisted.
It was mockery.
"Huh, now that you mention it, they do have faces that scream for a fist."
Flying Tiger stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ye Dok-du, appraising them like some exotic specimens. Ye Dok-du burst out laughing at the remark.
One of them bristled, clenching his fist and stepping forward, but his companion grabbed his shoulder and held him back.
"Hey, lots of eyes around. Hold it in. When you think about it, what's their crime? They're just stuck with a shit squad leader."
"What about our squad leader? Spit it out straight, you son of a bitch."
This time Ye Dok-du lunged, but Flying Tiger held him back and addressed the opposition.
"I'm Flying Tiger of Unit Jeong. Who are you?"
"I'm Daesan of Unit Eul. This is Jang Il-wook. Look, I told your buddy the same—why not call it here? If you really want to play, pick a time and place."
"Fine. But watch your mouths from now on. Keep flapping those tongues like that, and I'll rip 'em out."
"...!"
Daesan, the one who'd named himself, glared coldly for a moment before spitting on the ground.
"Hmph. Fine, I'll hold back."
The four shot glares at their respective pairs before parting ways.
Ye Dok-du laughed heartily, venting his frustration.
"Little brother, if you ever wanna throw down with those pricks, let me know. We'll have some fun together."
"You got it."
"By the way, what's their beef with our squad leader? Some grudge? You got any idea, little brother?"
"Who knows."
Flying Tiger had a pretty good guess but saw no point in bringing it up—it wasn't good news anyway. He changed the subject, chatted idly with Ye Dok-du about other things, and they entered the private quarters assigned to Face Pursuit Unit Jeong.
It was his official first day on the job.
The Face Pursuit Squad's headquarters consisted of seven buildings in total. It didn't seem large, since the combat personnel numbered fewer than forty, and even including support staff, they barely reached a hundred.
Among them, four private quarters were assigned one to each unit: Gap, Eul, Byeong, and Jeong.
The grand five-story building towering in the center was the main hall. It housed offices for the squad leader and her two deputies, a records archive, private interrogation and interview rooms, and a large conference hall on the first floor.
Of the remaining two buildings, one served as both mess hall and warehouse, the other as barracks for the guards.
Three other unit members were already in the conference room: Invisible Hand Choi Ong, Myriad Transformations Sword Hwa Yeong, and No Use A Jeok-gang.
The mood was far warmer than at their first meeting. They'd fought side by side once and deemed each other's skills reliable. For mercenaries like them, a comrade who could block an enemy's blade was priceless. A single blocked strike often meant the difference between life and death.
When Flying Tiger entered, Choi Ong greeted him casually, Hwa Yeong gave an arrogant nod, and A Jeok-gang welcomed him warmly.
Ye Dok-du followed, bellowing his usual booming greeting. Flying Tiger escaped the racket, took a seat in the corner, and closed his eyes. He'd exchanged greetings—that was enough for the boundaries he'd set with his comrades.
Clunk.
About an hour later, the conference room door opened, and two more entered: unit captain Jin Ga-yong and a stranger.
"Everyone get some good rest?"
"Yes."
"Let me introduce him. This is our new comrade for the mission. Fire Ox Ma Yeop."
"Pleased to meet you."
Ma Yeop cut an intense figure. His face was scarred with blade marks. He wore a black eyepatch over one eye, and the remaining one gleamed precariously, like a madman's. His voice was eerie, scraping like rusted iron—his vocal cords must have been badly damaged.
Fire Ox?
With looks like that, he was hard to forget at a glance. Had there been someone like him in the jianghu?
All the unit members glanced at deputy captain Choi Ong. As the eldest and most well-connected, he was their go-to.
But even Choi Ong seemed puzzled and just shrugged. Speaking for the group, he asked the captain.
"Ahem. Whether it's my narrow knowledge or failing memory, I don't recall ever hearing of Warrior Ma Yeop. If it's not too rude, might I ask which sect or...?"
"You can trust him. His background checks out, and so does his skill. The squad leader vouches for him."
From Jin Ga-yong's words, the unit got the message: Don't pry too much—just trust and follow. It implied the higher-ups knew Ma Yeop's true identity but were keeping it under wraps for some reason.
Choi Ong gave an awkward smile and pivoted to another question.
"In that case... uh, does 'joining us for this mission' mean he's only with us for this one?"
"Exactly. And he'll play a key role."
"Oho~ So what's the mission?"
"That is..."
Jin Ga-yong glanced at Flying Tiger. Flying Tiger met his gaze, curious about what came next.
Two days prior, Jin had briefed Flying Tiger on the mission, but it differed from what Ban Chung of the Yin Shadow Squad had said that night at the brothel. Meaning one of them was lying—and soon, they'd find out who.
The previous day, Flying Tiger had passed this discrepancy along to Hidden Moon's side.
"So you're saying Face Pursuit Unit Jeong's next target is one of those two places? And the other is likely a trap?"
A Ryuk of Serukdang posed the question to Flying Tiger. He'd already met Flying Tiger twice as the liaison between him and Hidden Moon—this was their third encounter.
"That's right."
"So basically, it's useless intel."
"Depends on how you look at it, doesn't it?"
"...?"
"Hidden Moon will like this info."
"You think so?"
"Probably."
"I can't imagine how to make it useful. Any hints?"
"No idea."
"What?"
"But from the perspective of someone handling info like Hidden Moon, it might have its uses. Raw ingredients like this could give you indigestion if you swallow 'em whole."
"..."
He was saying Hidden Moon was the expert in that line of work.
Flying Tiger brushed it off vaguely, but inwardly, he figured it could help Hidden Moon for a few reasons. He himself had thought of at least a couple ways to use it. Of course, without knowing Hidden Moon's exact situation, that was another matter. So he'd avoided pretending to know too much.
Jin Ga-yong shifted his lingering gaze from Flying Tiger, scanning the other members naturally as he spoke.
"Yeonpyeong Shadow Troupe. More precisely, the three leaders of this upstart black path organization."
"Their identities confirmed?"
"Of course. They're survivors of the Sichuan Eight Fiends."
"...!"
Jin Ga-yong's intel was true.
Which meant Ban Chung had lied.
And in that case, Ban Chung's intent was glaringly obvious. A throwaway pawn to chew once and discard. To him, Flying Tiger was nothing more, nothing less.
So Flying Tiger smirked inwardly.
'Look at this guy.'
Meanwhile, the other members' faces soured for different reasons. They'd zeroed in on the moniker "Sichuan Eight Fiends."
Even from another province, everyone had heard of them at least once. They were nationwide demons, infamous beyond regional lines!
"Wha... I thought they were all dead. Three of them survived?"
"Yeah. Our intel confirmed it twice over. Guess they've got tough lifelines—or at least they look fine on the surface."
"Hah~ Not saying I doubt you or the squad, captain. But come on, us taking them on alone?"
Choi Ong groaned, and the unit buzzed uneasily.
Flying Tiger eyed Ma Yeop. His single eye already looked dangerous, but now it glistened unnaturally, like he was possessed.
It was intense enmity.
Fire Ox Ma Yeop harbored a grudge against the Sichuan Eight Fiends so deep he couldn't live under the same sky as them.