Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Coded Message
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#097: Coded Message
When I returned to the Black Snake’s house with Myo Hyang, Cheong So-so was fiercely berating the members of the Ten Demon Alliance.
“Who in the world are you people?!”
“W-Well, that is…”
Faced with her likeness to a feisty Maltese, the eleven members of the Ten Demon Alliance were at a loss.
In the past, they were masters of the demonic path who made the mountains and rivers—well, maybe not that far, but at least their surroundings—tremble in fear. But now, having lost their internal energy and with broken limbs, they were worse off than common neighborhood thugs.
Just then, she spotted us and immediately rushed over to confront me. I briefly explained the series of events that had occurred.
“How could you just move without saying a word?!”
Seriously, what business is it of a tenant whether the landlord sells the house or not?
“And you, sis! This is too much! After all the time we spent together, how could you betray me like this!”
“So-so, I’m so sorry. I guess I was so excited about moving to a new house that I wasn’t thinking straight…”
“Hmph!”
Come on, people can forget things.
Seeing her berate Myo Hyang, who had taken such good care of her throughout her secluded cultivation, was more than I could bear.
‘It’s about time I taught her a lesson.’
I’d let her be for a while, and it seemed the rude personality of a general hospital chairman’s daughter had returned.
“Ahem! Lady Cheong, even so…”
Just as I was about to administer this lesson.
“First, my arms are getting tired, so take these.”
She held out two small wooden boxes.
The moment I saw them, I remembered the conversation we had before she went into seclusion.
‘Squad Leader Jin, please entrust the Millennial Snow Herb to me. I’ll give you two bottles of the Snowmelt Essence we make.’
That was it.
The wooden boxes Cheong So-so was holding out undoubtedly contained the Snowmelt Essence, worth a fortune.
Two bottles of it, no less!
Sure enough.
‘It’s cold.’
When I took the boxes, a chill spread through my hand as if I were holding ice.
Cheong So-so said to a bewildered me.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly. Just looking at you two makes my blood boil.”
“I wanted to apologize for moving without telling you, Lady Cheong. It will never happen again, so please, calm your anger.”
“Ahem, w-well… Hmph! You think a mere apology like that is enough to appease me?!”
“Then please tell me what I must do. I will follow your instructions.”
“Hmm, then maybe you can… you can run some errands for me later.”
“Errands?”
“I-It’s nothing major. Just act as my porter when I go shopping. And if I get hungry or thirsty along the way, we can eat and have some tea.”
“…That won’t be difficult. I’ll be ready when you need me.”
What wouldn’t I do for someone who just handed me a pile of gold?
Thanks to the successful negotiation, I seemed to be off the hook, as Cheong So-so turned her nagging solely on Myo Hyang.
Myo Hyang, unlike a moment ago when she was apologizing, began to counterattack.
Leaving the two bickering women behind, I approached the members of the Ten Demon Alliance, who were staring blankly in our direction.
“Hey, this.”
*Thump.*
I tossed the bundle of coded messages I’d brought to deal with on my way here.
“You know what this is, right?”
“Yes? Yes…”
“Translate every last one of them. Everything, down to the smallest detail.”
Since they fell into my hands, I might as well find out what they say.
“W-Well, that is…”
“What? Don’t want the antidote? You want to die in agony as your fingertips start to decay?”
“Not at all! We’ll do it as quickly as possible.”
After my quiet persuasion, the men procured some ink and paper from somewhere and began translating the coded messages.
Perhaps the sound of the two women bickering served as white noise, for the men wrote without so much as a sigh.
About two hours later, the entire pile of coded messages, enough to fill a book, had been deciphered.
“Good work. From now on, under your new master, survi— no, serve her well.”
“...Yes.”
I went to stop the two women, who were still arguing.
“Sis. Hurry up and apologize to Lady Cheong.”
“I already did, but she keeps going on about it.”
“Ahem! Haven’t you heard that a true apology is one you repeat until the other person’s anger has subsided?”
“That’s right! That’s right! I’m still not over it!”
It was two against one.
Seeing me take Cheong So-so’s side, Myo Hyang bit her lip in anger and said,
“Whose name is this house under right now?”
Ah… right.
I immediately took a step back.
“But I understand how you feel, sis. You two should talk it out.”
And so, the battle between the two tigresses began.
* * *
The two women argued for a long while before finally making up.
When we returned home with them, Cheong So-so, who had been pouting with her anger still simmering, was now beaming as if nothing had happened, exploring the house.
I thought she wouldn’t be very impressed, being the treasured daughter of the Cheong family, but living in a nice house… Wait a minute.
‘Now that the Snowmelt Essence is done, she can go back to the Cheong family, can’t she?’
A sudden question arose, and I asked her.
“...You’re telling me to go all alone in this bitter cold? My, I never took you for someone so heartless.”
Cheong So-so mumbled, making a strange excuse.
“But… it’s spring now…”
For reference, spring in Sichuan is similar in weather to early summer in Seoul.
“Anyway, I’ll send a letter soon, and someone will come for me. I can leave then. Hey, I can use that pavilion, right?”
“Sure, do as you please.”
It was late, so I didn’t press the matter and returned to my room.
“Ugh… I’m dead tired.”
After the major event of moving, I was exhausted to the bone.
I wanted to dive straight into bed, but.
‘In a world without mattresses, that’s a good way to break your back.’
In a world where even a thick blanket, let alone a latex mattress, was a luxury, I couldn’t do such a thing. So I sat down meekly on the edge of the bed.
Then, I took out the decoded messages from my robes.
“Let’s see here…”
I wonder what’s written.
A quick scan revealed that the contents could be broadly divided into three categories.
Reports from spies on the activities of the Nine Dragons Fortress to the Ten Demon Alliance, directives sent from the Alliance, and finally, information shared by other spies.
Some of the information was over three years old.
‘They’ve been at this for a long time.’
Most of it was peripheral information that didn’t get to the core of things. However, the sheer volume was immense.
But just because the details are minor doesn’t mean they can be overlooked.
By compiling these seemingly insignificant facts, one can arrive at the heart of the matter.
That was how the Beggars' Sect of the past was able to operate as the largest intelligence organization in the Central Plains.
As I slowly went through the contents.
‘Hm?’
I noticed that the recent intelligence exchanges were consistently focused on one area.
- Observe the supplies going out through the South Gate.
- Identify the supplies coming in from the South Gate.
- Dispatch agents to monitor the activities on Mount Diancang.
A significant number of the directives from the Ten Demon Alliance were focused on the south.
So it was only natural that the corresponding reports were also concentrated there.
- Overview of Yunnan's military strength.
- Map of Mount Diancang.
- Martial arts sects of Yunnan.
- Situation in the Nanman region.
‘Why, of all places…’
…the south?’
What could be there?
After much thought, the answer came to me.
‘Don’t tell me, these bastards?’
There are no particularly noteworthy bases in the southern part of Sichuan. However, south of Sichuan, at the northern tip of Yunnan, lies one of the Nine Dragons Fortress’s most important strongholds.
‘The Diancang Branch!’
That was it. The enemy’s target was likely Mount Diancang—the Nine Dragons Fortress branch that oversaw all of Yunnan.
If this assumption was correct, the Ten Demon Alliance planned to capture the Diancang Branch, sever the link between Sichuan and Yunnan, and swallow Yunnan Province whole.
I started to get up to report to Bukgung Baek immediately, but then I hesitated.
‘I can’t just report this as is, can I?’
Complicated thoughts filled my mind.
There were too many complications, from the source of the information to the ownership issue of the Jo Family Merchants.
‘Should I… just pretend I don’t know?’
My affiliation is with the Outer Hall, after all.
Even if the Diancang Branch is attacked, the chances of me being sent to the battlefield are relatively low.
Unless it’s an all-out war where the fate of both sides is at stake, they’d have to leave some personnel behind to defend the fortress.
And those left behind would most likely be the warriors of the Outer Hall.
In any case, pretending to be ignorant seemed like the better option in many ways.
The problem was.
*Throb.*
‘This damn conscience of mine.’
The fact that the Black Dragon Hall and I are not strangers.
Mount Diancang had already been burned once in the fight against the Southern Heaven Palace.
Though it was an unavoidable choice, the disciples of the Black Dragon Hall must have felt indescribably miserable watching their mountain burn.
And now, for Mount Diancang to burn again?
‘That can’t happen.’
If I didn’t know, that would be one thing. But now that I do, I can’t just let it go.
In the end, I resolved to warn them of the coming threat.
However, I needed to figure out how to do it without getting myself into trouble.
If I reported this to my superiors as is, I would surely be investigated about how I obtained the information and how the Jo Family Merchants ended up in Myo Hyang’s hands.
‘I’ll have to find a spy.’
Now that the spies disguised as the Blood Flame Gang have been caught, the others must have gone deeper into hiding.
They might have even left the fortress entirely.
So how do I find one?
What’s there to worry about?
If there isn’t one, I’ll just have to make one.
* * *
Just in case, I met with Bukgung Baek’s servants to confirm the existence of other spies.
“According to the Alliance’s rules, they would have all left the Nine Dragons Fortress the day the Jo Family Merchants affair went south.”
“Any idea where they went?”
“It’s been three days since we were caught, so they should have almost reached Qinghai Fortress by now.”
Qinghai is one of the Ten Demon Alliance’s major strongholds.
Chasing them all the way there was impossible.
‘Just as I thought.’
I hadn’t expected to be able to catch them anyway, so I turned away without any lingering regrets.
Toward the place where my ace in the hole was.
Of course, I had to take care of something first.
“Hey, if you have a Ten Demon Alliance token or something, give me one. What? You lost it? Does your life in Nine Dragons Fortress end if you lose it? You should have made a new one, you bastard.”
A short while later.
“I still haven’t received payment for the last job…”
I stood face to face with Yong Ma-san, whose head was still shining.
“What? You still haven’t billed for it?”
“How can we, a group from the underworld, request money from the Outer Hall? Please, think for a moment.”
“That’s your problem.”
“...Have you no conscience?”
“What did you say, you punk?”
“That’s enough. I will no longer be doing business with Squad Leader Jin, so please be on your way.”
“If you say that now, what am I supposed to do? My body can no longer live without you.”
“...Are you insane?”
From then on, another battle of dragon versus tiger ensued—Yong Ma-san, determined to collect his overdue payment, and me, determined to welch on the debt.
And.
“It’s not a difficult request. I’m just asking you to tell me about the one person in the Outer Fortress who most deserves to die. You can’t even do that?”
“...Fine. Since it’s for the public good, I will accept this request. However, keep in mind that I cannot accept any other jobs until the payment is made in full.”
As always, the final victor of this battle was me.
“You petty bastard. Fine, fine. This is why you’re bald.”
“I’ll say it again, I only shaved my head for training. My hair is naturally thick.”
Yong Ma-san conceded defeat and gave an order to his subordinates. Not even fifteen minutes later, a report was brought to him.
“Let’s see just how much of a scoundrel this guy is…”
I immediately checked the paper, and moments later, unable to contain my surging anger, I tore it to shreds.
“A bastard like this has been living in the Outer Fortress?”
“He’s been established for over ten years.”
The name written on the paper Yong Ma-san had handed me was Yang Ho-jan.
He was known for running a teahouse outside the Outer Fortress, but in reality, he was a vicious loan shark.
Truth be told, loan sharking is a common business in this world.
The murderously high interest rates might be because the lenders have the hearts of thieves, but in many cases, it’s also difficult to sustain the business without charging that much.
This was because defaults were so common.
In the modern world, failing to repay a debt would get you registered as a defaulter and your bank accounts frozen, among other penalties. But this was the medieval martial world.
If you fled to the other side of the continent, you could assume you’d never be caught.
So, being a loan shark wasn’t the problem. The real problem was.
“He’s been doing this for ten years and still hasn’t been caught?”
This guy was following the classic loan shark cliché.
The cliché where they force people into debt, and if they can’t pay it back, they sell the daughters to brothels and send the sons to the mines.
To be doing this not in some remote country village, but in the great Nine Dragons Fortress.
He either had guts swollen enough to burst out of his stomach, or.
“Four years ago, the then-leader of the Outer Hall’s Third Squad, who is now the leader of the Second Squad, couldn’t stand his atrocities and had him arrested.”
“And?”
“He was released in a day. The Third Squad Leader who arrested him was reprimanded instead. After that, people kept quiet about him, and Yang Ho-jan himself stopped acting in the open, using his subordinates to do his dirty work. That’s probably why you’ve never heard of him, Squad Leader Jin.”
“Does he have someone backing him?”
He must have someone to rely on.
“Yang Ho-seon, a first-class secretary in the Military Affairs Department, is his younger brother.”
“Well, that’s some solid backing.”
A first-class secretary is one of the top five positions in the Military Affairs Department.
You could say it’s just a notch below a Vice Hall Master of the eight inner halls.
With a younger brother like that, it’s understandable how he could get away with so much.
“Are you going right now?”
“What’s the point in letting a bastard like this live?”
He needs to be sent to hell as soon as possible.
With the words ‘Ten Demon Alliance’ carved on his forehead.