Chapter 74
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Chapter 21. Ambush (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ye Dok-du scratched his head awkwardly, and no sooner had Jin Ga-yong finished pointing it out than he bowed deeply in apology.
"The squad leader is right. I apologize for speaking so thoughtlessly."
"No need for that with me. But if you're truly sorry, shouldn't you at least apologize to the person involved?"
As Jin Ga-yong said this and turned, No Song-seo stood a short distance away with his arms crossed, sneering—having returned unnoticed.
Wang Baek-gun, the eldest of the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong, quickly stepped forward to greet No Song-seo, while Flying Tiger gave the hesitant Ye Dok-du a subtle shove to make him apologize promptly.
Once the minor commotion settled, Jin Ga-yong called No Song-seo aside for a private word. Then he gathered the entire squad.
"The Face Pursuit Unit Jeong's next move has been decided."
"……!"
Jin Ga-yong's words answered the question Wang Baek-gun had asked moments earlier.
And from the implications, it seemed No Song-seo hadn't simply fled the battlefield and returned—he had gone on an errand for Jin Ga-yong.
The next move has been decided, after all.
No Song-seo shot Ye Dok-du a sharp glance, and Ye Dok-du flushed with embarrassment.
The squad members clicked their tongues at the sight. Serves you right for running your mouth, they thought.
"We were delayed dealing with the enemy's vanguard, but we'll proceed with the original plan."
"Meaning?"
"A lightning ambush. To that end, we'll move to the outpost near their main base and lie in wait. We'll await contact from the Ten Cats there before launching the operation."
"……."
It was news to ponder deeply.
A lightning ambush? Was that even feasible now? If the enemy hadn't known of their presence, maybe—but they'd already fought a major battle.
The squad members' troubled gazes turned to Flying Tiger one by one, and the vice squad leader finally spoke up on their behalf.
"Squad leader, hasn't the element of surprise already been lost? If we'd wiped out the vanguard bandits completely, we might have bought a day or two. But more than seven escaped, didn't they? And the bandits left in Yi-gu Village are a problem too."
"Reinforcements will arrive soon to handle that."
"Reinforcements?"
"Who else in this situation? A few of the Ten Cats that the Great Leader is sending should arrive shortly."
So that's where No Song-seo had gone—to contact the Ten Cats who had infiltrated the enemy lines first.
Flying Tiger was puzzled.
Reinforcements, but not a combat unit—instead the Ten Cats? What can they do? Chase down and kill every fleeing bandit? That's a stretch... No, there's a more pressing issue.
"Whatever help the Ten Cats provide, there's a prior problem we must address first, isn't there?"
"Speak."
"The Yellow Locust Brigade knew we were coming here. They had full details on our identities and numbers. What do you make of that?"
Flying Tiger pointed out that information about the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong had leaked to the enemy.
This question had occurred to him the evening before, the moment he learned a horde of Yellow Locust bandits was approaching.
But Flying Tiger hadn't raised it then.
The fight was imminent, demanding swift action. Why unsettle the squad by dredging it up? Better to focus on the battle at hand.
Now that the fighting was over, it was time to ask.
Unfortunately, the battle's chaos and their victory had made him forget momentarily.
"Here's the situation with those scoundrels."
Rather than hiding it, Jin Ga-yong simply revealed what he hadn't mentioned before.
The Face Pursuit Unit Jeong had unexpectedly met the Great Leader, Gwak Nan-hoe, in a valley of Mount Sohwa. There, along with the three favors Jin Ga-yong had requested in advance, she provided additional support.
Gwak Nan-hoe explained that they were meeting so secretly because internal information from the Face Pursuit Squad had leaked.
This led to reasonable suspicions that the Face Pursuit Subunit Jeong had been ambushed by the Yellow Locust Brigade.
She added that the hunt for spies was proceeding smoothly, with some success already.
She was largely correct.
The one unspoken fact was that the core of this smooth spy hunt was the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong.
In other words: When the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong moved, the spies would move too. Prepared personnel would trace them back and root them out.
"So our squad was bait after all."
Flying Tiger sighed.
"Exactly. That's why the Great Leader is mobilizing the northern alliance members under the pretext of issuing a muster order. Officially, that is. While handling things from the shadows."
"Rooting them out means there are more than a couple of traitors, huh?"
"We suspect at least one sect has colluded with the Yellow Locust Brigade. And several high-ranking members of the Martial Qin Alliance connected to that sect. Possibly even Face Pursuit Squad executives."
"Ha~ It's rotten to the core."
"The Great Leader moves cautiously for good reason."
"Any gains?"
"We'd need details straight from her, but it seems they've grasped the main culprits."
"……!"
Flying Tiger thought for a moment.
The higher-ups' plan made sense and was convincing. But using the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong felt excessive. Was a major clash with the Yellow Locust Brigade necessary? And if so, why give away valuables like the Thunderclap Pearls?
So Flying Tiger asked.
"Have we achieved our goal now? Is our mission over?"
"Not at all. We're running two operations in parallel. The Great Leader her way, the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong ours."
"Pardon?"
"The leaked info exposed our roster and movements up to yesterday."
"……."
"They know nothing of our true objective, preparations, or what we do next."
"Hm, but they know we're here. How can we possibly ambush them like this?"
"That's why I called in some Ten Cats. What could they accomplish even if they came all the way here?"
"……?"
Called the Ten Cats for the ambush?
What for?
Right now, the Yellow Locust Brigade would trust their spies' intel implicitly. They'd never imagine the Ten Cats' existence.
If they exploited that...
Flying Tiger's mind raced, and he exclaimed in realization.
"Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell."
Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell—the 21st stratagem of the Thirty-Six Stratagems—meant "the cicada discards its carapace."
To avoid pursuit during retreat, make it seem like your forces remain in place while secretly withdrawing the main body. Like a cicada molting and flying off.
This stratagem applied not just to retreats but also to attacks.
Feign otherwise to secretly move main forces to a strategic goal for a counterstrike—or an ambush.
In essence, Jin Ga-yong's plan was this:
While the Ten Cats impersonate the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong and retreat to draw the enemy's eyes afar, the real unit sneaks right under their noses for a decisive blow.
Less than two hours later, five men arrived at the ruins of Guwangjin.
But not all were Ten Cats.
Word was, Four Cats and Nine Cats were participating in this operation, while the other three were locals conscripted from a nearby village—acquaintances who served as informants.
When Jin Ga-yong asked the reason, Four Cats replied smoothly.
"As you know, it's peak season. Short-handed, so I'll guide you back while escorting the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong members. Thus, Nine Cats and the other three will impersonate you and draw the bandits' attention."
Ye Dok-du was puzzled.
"Isn't the number short? We had eight. How can four pull it off?"
Four Cats glanced over the squad and shrugged.
"Well, four died in battle, apparently. Honestly, it's more suspicious that you fought a hundred bandits without a single casualty."
"Huh?"
"Listen: You won the battle, but half died—one badly wounded, forcing mission abandonment. So you're fleeing desperately. Doesn't that sound more convincing?"
"Uh... If so, shouldn't we prepare corpses to replace our 'dead' squad mates?"
"Sure, if needed, just stop in some village nearby and make a few."
Ye Dok-du accepted Four Cats' casual remark without a second thought. Guess so.
But Jin Ga-yong frowned, visibly displeased. Four Cats had so offhandedly suggested killing innocents if necessary.
Flying Tiger, watching, clicked his tongue and blew a low whistle to draw Four Cats' gaze.
Whistle~
Four Cats instinctively looked at Flying Tiger and flinched at the feral intensity in his eyes.
What'd you say, you bastard? Say it again. Speak properly if you don't want to die flapping your gums.
Four Cats' usual jovial, slippery expression stiffened. Snapping to, he forced an awkward laugh and backpedaled.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Just a joke, a joke! Why would those bandits have such loyalty to sift through piles of corpses for their own? Not just one or two, right? So a rough scatter here, and they'll buy it."
"Eh? A joke? You're no fun."
Ye Dok-du's quip, after getting scolded for his earlier loose talk.
Afterward, they moved.
Nine Cats and his three began disguising themselves to resemble the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong squad.
They first handed clean clothes to the squad members to change into. Then, donning the squad's ragged outer garments haphazardly, they bandaged and bloodied their healthy bodies appropriately. No one mimicked a specific person exactly, though Nine Cats vaguely resembled the elderly Wang Baek-gun at a glance.
The four then mounted horses and departed.
The plan: Visit nearby villages first, feign treatment and fuss, then head south—dropping traces along the way.
"Shall we head out too?"
Jin Ga-yong nodded at Four Cats' words.
Thus, the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong set off under Four Cats' guidance.
Their destination: A place called Nakcheonwon, not far from the Yellow Locust Brigade's main base.