Chapter 204
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Black Mountain Stronghold
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Seol Hwa-un frowned. An unwelcome memory had surfaced.
Three years ago, on their way back to the North Sea after a trip to the Central Plains, a barrage of arrows had rained down on Seol Hwa-un and his group.
The arrowheads were identical. Especially the small ring attached to the upper part of the arrowhead—it was distinctly different from others.
‘The Green Forest attaches gunpowder pouches to these for explosive arrows.’
There couldn’t be many places that used arrows of this shape.
Hong Seong-chil asked,
“Fortress Lord, did you say Green Forest?”
“That’s right. These are the same arrows I saw during a Green Forest ambush in the past.”
“I see. Come to think of it, I heard you had a conflict with them during your last trip to the Central Plains.”
Sa In-gyeol chimed in.
“Then they’re here for revenge?”
“Probably.”
A question arose in Seol Hwa-un’s mind.
‘I know the Green Forest has been grinding their teeth. But why now, of all times?’
The Green Forest Eighteen Bandits were the next group after the Evil Cult that Seol Hwa-un had been keeping a close eye on.
Yet over the past three years, they had been strangely quiet.
‘Considering the Green Forest Overlord’s pride, it’s suspicious.’
The Green Forest had plenty of opportunities to provoke the North Heaven Fortress.
But to strike just as Seol Hwa-un had triumphed over the Fist Demon, when the North Heaven Fortress’s momentum was soaring like the rising sun—it was odd.
‘Is there some reason? Or...’
Seol Hwa-un’s eyes flashed.
“For now... we’ll assume it’s the Green Forest and investigate accordingly.”
He immediately contacted the Haomen. That very night, a Haomen operative visited the inn where Seol Hwa-un was staying.
A man in his mid-thirties with an ordinary face clasped his hands politely toward Seol Hwa-un.
“I greet the North Heaven Fortress Lord.”
His attitude toward Seol Hwa-un, who was only in his twenties, was exceedingly courteous.
It was proof of just how great Seol Hwa-un’s prestige had become.
“I am Jang Mu-gwan, branch chief of the Haomen’s Beipiao branch.”
Beipiao was a small city north of Liaoning Province, not far from Seol Hwa-un’s current location.
“Pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming so quickly after my urgent summons.”
“The Hwacheon Hall Leader instructed us to provide full cooperation to the North Heaven Fortress Lord.”
Seol Hwa-un looked surprised.
“The Beipiao branch chief directly?”
“Yes. Ah, he didn’t come in person, of course. It was a letter a few days ago.”
“Interesting. It almost sounds like Hall Leader Jo anticipated I’d show up here.”
“Haha, is that how it seems?”
Even setting aside Jo Il-pyeong’s personal interest, Seol Hwa-un’s rising fame meant he was under intense scrutiny.
‘I thought I was moving discreetly... but it seems the Haomen has their eyes on my movements.’
He wasn’t particularly displeased. The Haomen was just doing its job.
Moreover, famous intelligence networks like the Open Faction or the Shadowless Gate would likely be doing the same.
“Has there been any request regarding my location?”
“It’s confidential, but I’ll tell you especially, Fortress Lord. Nothing yet.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll make a request now.”
“Please do.”
“I need information on the activities of the Green Forest Eighteen Bandits over the past two months. As detailed as possible.”
Jang Mu-gwan’s eyes gleamed.
“Understood. Give me a few days.”
“We plan to head to the Weichang area in Hebei Province. It’d be ideal if you could send it there.”
“Consider it done.”
Seol Hwa-un handed over a bill of exchange.
“This is for the information fee.”
Jang Mu-gwan’s eyes widened slightly upon checking the amount.
“This is too much.”
“If you investigate in that much detail, it’ll be sufficient.”
“......Understood. I’ll do my utmost.”
Jang Mu-gwan pocketed the bill and departed.
Sa In-gyeol, who had been watching silently from the side, asked,
“Fortress Lord, wouldn’t it be better to request more specific data on the Green Forest?”
“Vice Young Master Seomun would have already grasped their situation during his investigation. Asking for that won’t yield anything new.”
“Ah.”
“We need to examine the raw data closely. To see if there’s anything suspicious.”
“Then heading to Weichang...”
“It’s one of the ambush sites. We can’t just sit idle while the Haomen prepares the data, can we?”
Of course, he didn’t have high expectations.
Seol Hwa-un’s group promptly moved to Hebei Province, but as expected, they found no clues at the Weichang ambush site.
Hong Seong-chil shook his head.
“These guys are thorough. A battle should leave traces, but they clean up perfectly every time.”
Sa In-gyeol added,
“The fact they can clean up this spotlessly means they had quite a few people.”
His eyes sparkled.
“At least this area has many nearby villages and plenty of passersby. How about we do some questioning?”
Seol Hwa-un nodded.
“Good idea.”
The three agreed to meet at the inn that evening and dispersed in all directions.
* * *
That evening, Seol Hwa-un and his two retainers gathered at the inn and shared what they had learned.
The questioning had yielded more results than expected. Going separately rather than in a group had proven effective.
Seomun Gong’s investigation team had tried questioning too, but failed due to local wariness of outsiders.
However, Seol Hwa-un and Sa In-gyeol’s striking appearances had eased that wariness, allowing them to obtain useful information.
Hong Seong-chil, for the same reason, had failed and was feeling dejected.
Around thirty warriors who looked like bandits had headed west after the attack.
They carried various weapons, and three among them stood out distinctly.
All wore tall hats or large bamboo hats, so their exact features were unknown.
‘The most useful info is that they went west...’
Weichang was in northern Hebei Province, so heading west from there meant toward Liaoning Province.
And on that border was a region called Black Water, where—coincidentally—a mountain stronghold belonging to the Green Forest Eighteen Bandits, Black Mountain Stronghold, was located.
‘The stronghold run by Yang Mu-seung, son of the Green Forest Overlord.’
Three years ago, he had pursued Seol Hwa-un’s group and crossed paths with him once.
‘He looked frustrated right in front of us when we slipped away.’
Of course, the bandits might have gone west by coincidence. But the possibility was certainly there.
‘Black Mountain Stronghold.’
That evening.
As if he knew somehow, another Haomen operative visited the lodging where Seol Hwa-un’s group was staying.
“I greet the North Heaven Fortress Lord.”
After the greeting, he presented a thick bundle of papers.
“The information you requested.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope it proves helpful.”
The Haomen operative who delivered the data left immediately.
“......”
Seol Hwa-un stared at his retreating figure.
‘It seems the Haomen knows what I’m after.’
If so, it was only a matter of time before the other side caught on.
‘We need to hurry.’
The volume of data was larger than expected.
‘As expected of the Haomen’s intelligence capabilities.’
The three moved to a guest room and began analyzing the information right away. The two retainers found the vast amount burdensome but had no choice.
Seol Hwa-un particularly scrutinized the data on the suspicious Black Mountain Stronghold.
‘Hmm.’
He read through meticulously, but there was nothing out of the ordinary from their usual activities.
‘Did I guess wrong?’
Seol Hwa-un didn’t give up and started over from the beginning.
After wrestling with the information for over two hours, Sa In-gyeol discovered something.
“Fortress Lord.”
“Found something suspicious?”
“Yes. The leaders of Angry Dragon Stronghold, Great Tiger Stronghold, and Jewel Peak Stronghold all left their posts around the same time.”
Interest sparked in Seol Hwa-un’s eyes.
“That’s intriguing.”
The Green Forest Overlord, leader of the main faction, resided in a stronghold whose location was a closely guarded secret.
But people generally speculated it was one of those three: Angry Dragon, Great Tiger, or Jewel Peak.
“Ho.”
Hong Seong-chil also listened intently, his eyes gleaming.
“The Haomen knew the three leaders had moved, but not exactly where they went.”
Tracking mountain bandits who used trails would naturally be difficult.
“......”
Of course, it might be nothing. But such coincidences didn’t happen easily.
Seol Hwa-un pulled out a Central Plains map, marked the locations of the three strongholds, and drew lines in the direction the leaders had traveled.
Hong Seong-chil clicked his tongue upon seeing the map.
“Huh!”
“This is really...”
Coincidentally, all the lines converged on one place.
The Black Water region, home to Black Mountain Stronghold.
* * *
One month after pursuing the attackers who raided the merchant caravan.
Based on various circumstances, Seol Hwa-un’s group was heading toward the most suspicious Black Mountain Stronghold.
Sa In-gyeol asked,
“Fortress Lord, the situation points this way, but we haven’t found any solid evidence. What’s your plan?”
“For now, I intend to scout Black Mountain Stronghold.”
Seol Hwa-un had a hunch. The three leaders had visited Black Mountain Stronghold, and something had happened.
However, the three leaders hadn’t disappeared.
They had returned and resumed leading their strongholds. They had only been away for about half a month.
‘That doesn’t prove nothing happened, though.’
Seol Hwa-un’s group finally arrived in the Black Water region.
Black Water had no large mountains.
Instead, between two small mountains lay a narrow gorge with a fairly wide plain inside.
Black Mountain Stronghold was established right there.
The terrain was so advantageous for defense that even the imperial troops hesitated to subjugate it.
When they were about a hundred paces from the gorge, Seol Hwa-un stopped. His two retainers followed suit.
“......”
He narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
‘Sentries start from here.’
Not only on the gorge cliffs but also on several nearby hills, inconspicuous sentries were standing guard.
‘Getting closer would expose us to them.’
No matter how quickly they moved, evading the watchful eyes from the high ground would be difficult.
Hong Seong-chil and Sa In-gyeol sensed it too, scanning the area with sharp gazes.
“It’ll be hard to approach undetected now. Let’s wait until dark.”
“Yes, Fortress Lord.”
They quietly withdrew to a hidden spot out of sight.