Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 39
>Chapter Title: Infiltration (2)
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Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly as he took the scroll that Bi held out and asked,
“How’s the new body? Demon Monk.”
In response, Bi answered with a satisfied look on his face.
“It seems usable.”
Indeed.
Surprisingly, the body of the man called Bi already had the Demon Monk possessing it.
This had happened just three days ago.
After the third replacement of the escort warriors and servants, Bi had sneaked into Mok Kyung-un’s annex, perhaps to inspect it.
But this was not his first time—this marked his third visit.
Mok Kyung-un had already sent the Demon Monk four days earlier to scout the entire Shadow Clan compound, grasping how it operated and the extent of its forces.
[Good.]
Mok Kyung-un had figured out that this man named Bi was practically the Shadow Clan Lord’s right-hand man and confidant.
That was why, when the opportunity arose with Bi infiltrating the annex, he had subdued him.
No matter how much his martial prowess had reached the peak of the pinnacle or how skilled he was at concealing his presence as a member of the Soundless Grief Killing Sect, there was no way he could withstand the Resentful Soul Eye and Mok Kyung-un’s own skills.
Mok Kyung-un judged that the captured Bi had high utility.
Thus, he had the Demon Monk possess his body.
In this way, the Demon Monk who had taken over Bi’s body had been monitoring by the Shadow Clan Lord’s side for the past three days on Mok Kyung-un’s orders.
“Hmm. Is this the thing the Shadow Clan Lord looks at every day?”
Mok Kyung-un asked, holding up the worn scroll.
The Demon Monk possessing Bi’s body nodded and replied,
“Yes. Without fail, at the hour of the Dog, for about half a shichen.”
After receiving his initial report, Mok Kyung-un’s curiosity had been piqued by this scroll, so he had ordered it brought to him temporarily.
No matter what was written on it, he could memorize everything with a single glance.
At that moment, the Demon Monk glanced at the man whose head was gripped in Mok Kyung-un’s hand and asked,
“Master, but who is this one?”
-Ah, you mean that mortal? He seems to be the one sent by that blind bastard last time. Sigh.
The one who answered was none other than Cheongryeong.
Within the annex, she was free from the wooden doll, lounging around and smoking her pipe tobacco leisurely.
“The blind guy, you mean that one?”
-Yeah. That annoying prick.
It was the blind Wi Maengcheon, one of the Five Evils under Second Disciple Jang Nungak of the Vice Leader.
Unlike the retreating Jang Nungak, he had shown an odd wariness, so Mok Kyung-un had anticipated some troublesome scheme in the near future—and his prediction had proven correct.
Bold as brass, he had sent someone to Mok Kyung-un’s annex in the Shadow Clan compound in the dead of night.
Of course, he had been caught the instant he entered the annex.
“Pretty tight-lipped guy.”
At those words, the Demon Monk looked at the fainted man’s hands.
Both hands were a mangled mess.
Every finger had been bent backward, and needles were even driven into the nails.
He had been properly tortured.
“I’d hoped he’d hold out longer, but he cracked at the sixth nail.”
Mok Kyung-un smacked his lips in disappointment.
He had planned to rip out the fingernails and toenails after stabbing them with needles.
No matter how strong-willed someone was, with their internal energy sealed, enduring the ongoing torture was no easy feat.
Mok Kyung-un released his grip on the man’s head and said,
“Do you know what this guy claimed when he first approached?”
“······.”
“He said he was from the Justice Alliance’s Dark Heaven.”
‘!?’
From the Justice Alliance’s Dark Heaven?
Did he really think that would fly?
It would have been far better to name someone from within the Heaven-Earth Society—that might have avoided deeper suspicion. Why on earth had he answered that way?
To the puzzled Demon Monk, Cheongryeong exhaled a long plume of pipe smoke and said,
-Sigh. Can’t you tell? He was playing a clever little game.
“A clever game?”
-He was probably banking on the fact that you’re known as an orthodox faction hostage. Unlike his master, that blind bastard suspected you and kept his guard up.
“Ah······.”
-Tsk tsk. Use your head. Use your head.
Chided like this, the Demon Monk scratched his head.
He was straightforward to a fault, far from the type to scheme.
Cheongryeong said to Mok Kyung-un,
-But I can’t figure out what kind of guts that blind bastard had to send this guy right out in the open like that. He could’ve been caught red-handed.
At her words, Mok Kyung-un stroked his chin.
“Hmm.”
Come to think of it, she had a point.
This place was none other than the Shadow Clan compound.
As an organization handling secrets, intelligence, and spies, even the inner castle had ironclad security.
And yet, how had he slipped into the annex undetected···.
“Ah······.”
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un’s eyes sharpened.
-What is it?
“They left the granary door open on purpose.”
-Left the granary open?
What did that mean?
Shaking his head at her puzzled expression, Mok Kyung-un explained,
“Leave the granary open, and you can see what the thief inside wants. Hell, follow the thief, and you can even find their hideout.”
-No way?
“Yeah. They let him in deliberately.”
There was no way the security of a place handling classified information could be breached this easily.
Not unless they allowed it.
Which meant they had already noticed this guy’s intrusion but let him in to learn his objective.
“No wonder it’s the Shadow Clan. They turn invasions around like this······.”
-Rumble rumble rumble!
A multitude of presences could be felt outside.
Soon, the paper windows and doors lit up with torchlight starting from the south, one after another.
The sudden influx of presences had already surrounded the annex, leaving no avenue of escape.
Cheongryeong looked at Mok Kyung-un with intrigued eyes.
His prediction had hit the mark exactly.
* * *
A dark alley between walls some thirty zhang from the Shadow Clan compound.
On the opposite side of the wall stood a middle-aged man with long hair, his eyes covered by a black cloth, leaning on a bamboo staff.
He was none other than Wi Maengcheon, one of the Five Evils and the Blind Demon.
Why was he here, not far from the Shadow Clan?
Soon, someone wearing a mask whose identity was unknown vaulted over the wall and approached him, whispering,
“As you said, they’re swarming toward his annex.”
“Everything’s going according to plan.”
“Yes.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Wi Maengcheon let out a low chuckle.
All was unfolding exactly as he desired.
By now, he could picture Mok Kyung-un in a state of bewilderment.
The kid was excessively cunning, so he had likely realized his true scheme by this point.
Just a few shichen earlier,
[You sure that’s alright?]
[Yes. But don’t do it right away—hold out as long as you can. It’ll be painful and grueling, but it has to be done.]
[As long as I can?]
[Until his suspicions ease.]
[······Understood. But wouldn’t it be better to disguise it as from the Eldest Young Master’s side or that woman’s faction, just in case?]
[No. He’s sharp—if you mention someone with no direct connection to him, he’ll catch on quick.]
[······.]
[If you say I sent you, he won’t kill you right away.]
[You really think so?]
[Trust me.]
[Understood. But if he finds out you sent me, how will he react?]
[If he’s truly defected to the Society and become one of the Shadow Clan, he’ll report it to his master, the Shadow Clan Lord. If not, he’ll have to agonize over how to respond. Either way, it doesn’t matter.]
[Since the Shadow Clan will move first anyway.]
[Exactly.]
The Shadow Clan handled classified matters, so its external and internal security was airtight.
Not the entire compound, of course, but any intrusion from outside would be detected immediately.
Once inside, getting caught was only a matter of time.
[If the Shadow Clan’s guards mobilize in force······.]
[Yes. Then I’ll revert to being a Justice Alliance Dark Heaven spy and die.]
This was Wi Maengcheon’s true scheme.
To paint a picture of Mok Kyung-un making contact with a Justice Alliance Dark Heaven operative.
That would leave the Shadow Clan Lord no choice but to suspect Mok Kyung-un, who was an orthodox faction hostage.
[I leave it to you, Ji Hang.]
[I will complete the mission without fail.]
[······I’ll never forget this loyalty.]
[Yes. Please take good care of my family in Dan Yang.]
[I will.]
It was a scheme prepared from the start with the readiness to lose his life.
The confession of truth to Mok Kyung-un midway was merely to buy time until the Shadow Clan warriors mobilized.
If he died before then, the plan couldn’t proceed.
‘Forgive me, my lord, but Mok Kyung-un is not a man to be trusted. Taking him in would only bring poison, not gain.’
Better for him to fall as an orthodox faction spy.
Even better if he obligingly died in the process.
Even assuming he had truly defected to the Heaven-Earth Society, Wi Maengcheon could never trust Mok Kyung-un.
“Then let’s head back.”
Having confirmed the Shadow Clan warriors swarming toward Mok Kyung-un’s annex, the Blind Demon Wi Maengcheon promptly departed the area with the masked figure.
* * *
Wi Maengcheon lay down on his bed with a somewhat eased mind.
He trusted his instincts.
Nothing was as accurate as the sound of his heart.
Anyone whose heartbeat remained steady through any event, showing no emotional fluctuation, was far removed from an ordinary human.
Such a being was undoubtedly twisted somewhere.
He had conveyed this opinion to his liege, Second Young Master Jang Nungak, multiple times, but the man’s greed for Mok Kyung-un had grown too great, dismissing it every time.
What choice did he have?
He had no option but to resolve it within his own power.
Fortunately, his blindness had not only heightened his hearing and other senses to the extreme but also deepened his observational acuity and insight.
It was a scheme crafted over seven days through dozens of simulations.
No matter how cunning, he couldn’t escape, and in the end, he would be dealt with by his own master, the Shadow Clan Lord.
‘My heart feels so much lighter now.’
With that, Wi Maengcheon drifted into pleasant sleep.
How much time had passed in slumber?
‘!?’
Soon, Wi Maengcheon quietly lifted his head from the bed.
Blind from the start, his senses did not rely on sight and had reached twice that of an ordinary person, with his hearing even sharper still.
Even in sleep, these honed senses always alerted him to danger.
‘What is it?’
At some point, the outside had gone silent.
Too silent—eerie enough to raise alarm.
Four warriors were supposed to be rotating night watch around his residence.
Yet their presences were gone.
-Swish!
Killing his presence, Wi Maengcheon rose from his seat and gripped the handle of his bamboo staff containing the Death Command Sword.
He cautiously opened the door and stepped out.
Wi Maengcheon slowly made his way, presence suppressed, toward the spots where the warriors stood guard.
-Hiss! Hiss!
Breathing could be heard.
The steady rhythm was not that of someone awake.
‘Are they sleeping?’
Wi Maengcheon frowned.
They rotated shifts and never slacked off.
Yet every one of them was unmistakably asleep, judging by their breathing.
For some reason, this filled him with unease.
Did it make sense for all the escort warriors around his residence to be asleep?
As he puzzled over it, footsteps approached from somewhere.
They were doing their utmost to suppress presence, but to his hearing, they rang out clearly.
-Thud thud!
Wi Maengcheon gripped the staff’s handle and assumed a drawing stance.
These footsteps.
He had heard them once before and remembered them perfectly.
‘No way?’
That bastard should be locked in the Shadow Clan’s Golden Prison by now, undergoing interrogation.
How could he···.
-Pop!
In that instant, a presence rocketed toward him at tremendous speed.
-Clang!
In a flash, Wi Maengcheon drew his sword and blocked the sharp blade aura flying straight at him.
The clash of steel rang harshly in his ears.
-Tremble tremble tremble!
The two who had crossed blades exchanged several clashes in a burst of lightning speed before pulling apart.
-Clang clang clang! Boom boom!
Once some distance had opened, Wi Maengcheon spoke.
“······How did you get here?”
“You seem pretty shocked.”
The owner of that voice was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
Wi Maengcheon simply couldn’t comprehend it.
He knew the Shadow Clan guards on duty had mobilized and surrounded Mok Kyung-un’s annex.
So how had he come here?
As Wi Maengcheon puzzled in bewilderment, he promptly circulated his internal energy.
‘Subdue him first.’
He had no idea how the kid had gotten out of the Shadow Clan and reached his residence, but capturing him took priority.
However,
“Ah! Oh, before that, you should take this.”
“What?”
-Whoosh!
Something heavy slicing through the air.
It felt far too weighty for a hidden weapon, so Wi Maengcheon lightly stepped back two paces to dodge whatever Mok Kyung-un had thrown.
It tumbled across the ground and came to a stop right at his feet.
“What game is this?”
“I’m just returning your gift. Got a problem with that?”
“My gift? What the hell do you······!?”
In that moment, Wi Maengcheon cut himself off mid-sentence.
After losing his sight, his senses had doubled compared to ordinary people.
Naturally, that included his sense of smell.
At the blood scent wafting up from his feet, Wi Maengcheon had a bad feeling and extended his foot to flick up what Mok Kyung-un had thrown.
He caught it in his left hand.
-Thunk!
‘!!!!!!!’
In that instant, Wi Maengcheon’s expression hardened.
Coincidentally, the sensation against his palm was unmistakably facial skin.
And the owner of that face was none other than,
‘Ji Hang?’
The very man he had sent to frame Mok Kyung-un as an orthodox faction spy.
More precisely, it was Ji Hang’s severed head.
[39화 Infiltration (2)] End