Chapter 310
Chapter 310
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 85
>Chapter Title: Reunion (2)
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Rain poured down in the dead of night.
Atop the mountainside, someone wearing a bamboo hat and rain cape gazed down at a small village where flickering lights danced.
As they stared intently at the village, the sound of a staff prodding the muddy ground came from behind.
Soon, a voice followed.
"Indeed, just as you said. They came here in the end. The bait has worked for certain."
"With escape impossible in their situation, they had no choice. But they're no fools—they had no reason to do anything conspicuous."
"True enough. Thanks to you, the wait was worth it, and you've won the bet."
-Ting!
Someone behind flicked a silver coin with their finger.
The man in the bamboo rain cape caught it without even turning his head.
The coin was payment for the wager.
The bamboo-hatted man tucked the accepted coin into his bosom and spoke.
"Are preparations in place for certain?"
"Heh heh heh. Do you doubt this old man?"
"Of course not. If I did, there'd be no reason to come with you, Young Elder. Then let's watch your handiwork."
"Wait and see. We can handle this quietly."
The one called Young Elder exuded strong confidence.
* * *
-Thud!
"Argh!"
Setting down a liquor jar the size of a five-year-old child, the defrocked monk Ja Geum-jeong leered across at Seop Chun with a smug grin.
Seop Chun gripped his own jar with both hands, chugging away just like him—but more than half the liquor soaked his chin and robes instead of going down his throat.
Finally, Seop Chun staggered and set his jar down.
-Thud!
"Damn it!"
"Heh heh, you're no match for this monk."
Ja Geum-jeong gloated after checking the liquor left in Seop Chun's jar.
Seop Chun shot him a defeated look.
He prided himself as quite the drinker and had gone all out, but this was no mere drinking—it was like pouring booze into a living jug.
No internal energy to expel the alcohol haze, yet how was he so unfazed?
"You're really not feeling a thing?"
"You think three jars like this would intoxicate me? Ha ha ha ha!"
Ever since being defrocked, he'd drowned himself in liquor day in and day out.
He didn't want to see the unseen and craved constant inebriation, so he'd drunk relentlessly—becoming one of the Central Plains' top alcoholics.
"Haa haa..."
"Young pup. Now that you know you're outmatched, don't challenge me."
"What's that supposed to mean? You're not done yet. Again."
"I said you're no match."
"Again!"
Fueled by stubborn pride, Seop Chun seized his jar and chugged once more.
After a few gulps down his throat, he couldn't hold it—bolting outside as vomit rose.
"Urp!"
"Young fool. Heh heh."
Ja Geum-jeong sneered at him and resumed drinking.
Mong Mu-yak watched the pair with pitiful disdain, shaking his head—then took a sip of his warmed yellow rice wine.
"Fools who know nothing of the Way of Wine."
What pleasure was there in guzzling like that?
Truly pathetic.
-Clink!
Setting down his cup, Mong Mu-yak's lips curved up, his mood improved.
Since entering the imperial palace for his mission, he'd been in constant tension—no leisure to partake in drink.
"Hoo."
But after nearly five days of nonstop southward travel, this sip to ease the fatigue sent warmth coursing through his veins, soothing his core.
The wine tasted especially sweet.
"Branch Chief, you said this yellow rice wine is Shaoxing wine?"
"Yes. I brought it from the Shaoxing area in Zhejiang Province on this trip down to Jiangnan. How is it? To your taste?"
"Delicious. The six flavors—sweet, fresh, sour, bitter, spicy, and astringent—are perfectly balanced. As expected of the wine favored by King Goujian of Yue."
The Henan region, home to Yue, was a granary, fostering advanced rice wine brewing. Thus, famed yellow rice wines abounded.
Shaoxing wine, Zhejiang's specialty yellow rice wine, ranked supreme—brewed by a method dating to the Spring and Autumn era, famously distributed to soldiers by King Goujian before campaigning against Wu.
"Truly discerning, as befits the vice chief of the Intelligence Division under the Chairman. Most astute."
Mong Mu-yak smiled impassively at the branch chief's flattery.
His father, Vice Chairman Mong Seo-cheon, was a connoisseur who prized the Way of Wine and had let his son sample brews from across the Central Plains.
Thus, Mong Mu-yak had experienced many distinctive wines and held his own expertise.
"Puhaha! Posing all highbrow over a drink."
Then Ja Geum-jeong scoffed, provoking Mong Mu-yak.
At the jab, one of Mong Mu-yak's eyebrows twitched upward.
But he ignored it soon enough.
Stooping to their level would only tire his refined self.
"Chugging like some sanctimonious monk—'Oh dear, I can't drink much,' daintily sipping from the rim. Puhaha ha!"
"...Sanctimonious? Sipping?"
Mong Mu-yak's forehead vein bulged despite his efforts to ignore.
Ja Geum-jeong pulled a ridiculous face to rile him further.
"Feeling offended? But it's true. A big man who can't hold his liquor, unfit for a real drinking bout..."
-Pak!
Before he finished, Mong Mu-yak sprang up, snatched a jar, and chugged without pause.
He drained it in one go.
But he didn't stop.
He grabbed the next jar and chugged that too.
Up to the first,
'Not bad, pup.'
Ja Geum-jeong had smirked leisurely, swallowing dryly as his eyes bulged.
He'd pegged this wine-pedant as a lightweight, but apparently not.
-Thud!
Draining two jars in one breath, Mong Mu-yak sought a full one.
He and Ja Geum-jeong simultaneously barked at the branch chief.
"Bring out all the liquor you have."
"Bring more liquor."
Bewildered by the demands, the branch chief yielded to their urging and gestured his underlings toward the storeroom.
-Snore! Snore!
Amid the raucous scene, Holy Flame Ruler slumbered under a blanket by the warm brazier, snoring away.
Having barely slept, she couldn't resist after filling her belly in this cozy spot.
Someone eyed the Holy Flame Ruler with displeasure.
The masked Mara Hyeon.
Without his pact with lord Mok Kyung-un, he'd interrogate her now on his father's death.
But the pact bound him to wait until Mok Kyung-un's business concluded.
"Hmph."
Mara Hyeon snorted and sipped his tea.
Mok Kyung-un, tilting his cup, pointed to a full one and said,
"If you're in a foul mood, why not have a drink from that?"
"No, thank you."
"First time with warm liquor—it's quite good."
"I'm fine. When everyone's drinking, senses dull. Someone must stay sharp to guard and protect the lord."
Mara Hyeon refused firmly.
Five days nonstop southward, no pursuit so far—but he wouldn't drop vigilance, so no liquor for him.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly at him.
Stiff but diligent, ever vigilant even here—Mok Kyung-un thought well of him.
"Not bad. A sip would warm the body too."
-Clink!
Mok Kyung-un clinked his cup against Mara Hyeon's full one and downed it.
Mara Hyeon reached for a liquor cup briefly, then politely lifted his teacup with both hands toward Mok Kyung-un and said,
"I'll substitute with this."
He drained the warm tea in one gulp.
Mok Kyung-un pressed no further.
* * *
About two hours passed into the dark predawn.
-Shaaa!
Outside remained noisy with rain.
The once boisterous inn was dark, filled only with snores.
From within, a middle-aged man—the local branch chief—cautiously opened a door and emerged.
Outside, he raised a hand, signaled, and snapped his fingers.
-Snap!
Dark shadows appeared from nearby buildings at once.
All wore black masks.
Unhindered by the rain noise, they boldly encircled the inn.
Dozens already, yet more masked figures emerged.
Unlike them, toward the branch chief strode a fierce-faced elder leaning on a grotesque staff topped with a snake's head, clad in bamboo hat.
As he arrived, the branch chief smiled and said,
"As you predicted, Elder—one hour in, they dropped one by one, all asleep."
"Didn't I say? One hour, all out. But one held out nearly two—tenacious."
"I suspected the gold essence tea's dose was light on your herbs, so the masked one slept late. Another drank heavily yet slept latest."
"Some resistance, it seems."
"Resistance?"
"Yes. That herb mix is more tonic than poison—harmless, easing high masters into natural slumber by relaxing them. But prior exposure builds tolerance, delaying sleep."
"I see. Impressive regardless. As expected, Elder—you've reached the pinnacle not just in poisons, but all medicinals."
"Heh heh heh. Enough praise. Confirmed they're truly asleep?"
"Yes. Pressed the points you specified—no stir."
"Good."
The bamboo-hatted elder turned.
From behind, the bamboo rain cape figure approached, saying,
"Worth bringing you, Young Elder."
-Swish!
The rain cape man raised a hand slightly.
Some masked men stepped forward.
Stealth experts, skilled in martial arts—not ordinary.
Six in total; the bamboo-hatted man ordered,
"Bring out just the old crone. Stab the rest through the heart—kill instantly."
"Yes!"
At the command, the six crept toward the inn with careful steps.
-Shaaa!
Rain drowned all sounds—no issue with stealth.
They slipped one by one into the dark, unlit building.
The bamboo-hatted man watched arms crossed, arms folded.
Fortunately smoother than expected.
The body double, his spitting image, reportedly dead in the palace—handle the rest, extract only Holy Flame Ruler.
Then the Heaven-Earth Society branch chief approached cautiously.
"With the mission success, as agreed—you'll recommend me for the Three Realms?"
The bamboo-hatted man replied gravely,
"Don't rush. You've earned an important role; reward follows."
"F-Forgive me."
The branch chief bowed apology and stepped aside.
The bamboo-hatted man eyed him distastefully.
'Vermin.'
A mere Four Realms weakling, greedy after such an easy task.
Pitying him, the snake-staff elder tilted his head and spoke.
"They're late."
At that, the bamboo-hatted man's eyes narrowed beneath his hat.
Indeed late.
Drug-slumber victims won't wake from blows, shakes, or sealed points easily.
Too long to kill such.
-Creeeak!
The inn door swung open.
A figure's face emerged from the dark interior.
Seemed a masked man—
'!?'
The bamboo-hatted man frowned.
Not a full masked man—just the head.
Someone in the dark gripped a masked man's hair, thrusting it out.
'Wh-What?'
The panicked branch chief floundered.
How?
All inside asleep—he'd confirmed, even pressing points himself.
Who now dangled the severed masked head from within?
A voice rang out.
"Mugwort, angelica, jujube seeds aplenty—I thought it a kindness for deep sleep, but apparently not."
'!?'
The snake-staff elder's eyes widened.
'He... figured it out?'
The special refinement masked scents and flavors—yet he'd pinpointed the herbs.
-Splash!
The severed head hit the rain-puddled ground.
From the dark emerged a twenties-faced man with two sword scabbards at his waist.
Mok Kyung-un, wearing the human-skin mask.