Chapter 168
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Anxiety Will Breed Distrust (3)
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Whoosh.
Pop!
"Eek."
Today, as always, the Little Young Lady of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had leaped over the wall from her nest—the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Shaanxi Branch—straight into the neighboring Geumhyeon Sect.
Of course, during the day she dodged Geum Sihyeon every which way, but night was a different story.
As a true top executive who dumped all his work on his subordinates, she had no idea what kept him so busy anyway.
- Oh, you're here.
He welcomed her so casually, readily offering her the supreme throne atop his thigh without a hint of hesitation, and never prying into Luri's affairs because he was busy with his own—making him perfect.
Time to satisfy her selfish desires.
Time to vent some of that overflowing demonic energy.
And so, inevitably, accompanied by the cute, bouncy sound effect that only came from that small, soft body, she trespassed into someone else's home.
But.
Today felt different somehow.
The usually serene interior of Geumhyeon Sect felt eerily empty.
No signs of life even from the training grounds, and the light in Geum Sihyeon's office was out.
"...?"
Is he already asleep?
Tilting her head, the Little Young Lady flung open Geum Sihyeon's bedroom door as naturally as ever.
"Mm."
But all that greeted her was a cold, empty bedding lonely on the bed.
Out playing somewhere?
Or maybe some urgent business?
Night raids under the moon were always unannounced by rule.
The Little Young Lady fiddled with her smartphone briefly, pondering, before heading to her backup plan while maintaining her energy concealment.
Thud, thud.
Her steps grew bolder.
Slide, thud!
"Hyak!"
"Mm, Luri's here?"
"Yeah."
Cheon Luri had brazenly infiltrated the home of Geumhyeon Sect's first disciple and the Tang Family's little lady.
And soon.
"You've been skipping student council lately. Something up?"
"Nope."
"You eating properly? Gotta eat well to grow tall, you know."
"Yeah."
If not pheasant, then chicken.
Cuddled in Myo Narang's arms, head resting on her massive peaks, purring and half-listening to the nagging—the Little Young Lady basked in the warmth while satisfying her desires.
A true little tyrant!
The audacity to treat a mid-tier sect like her own bedroom!
After chatting idly for a while.
"When's he coming?"
The Little Young Lady finally revealed her true purpose.
And.
"He said he'd be gone about a week. Didn't you know?"
"...!"
The Little Young Lady's sky came crashing down.
Sensing her dismay, Myo Narang quickly hugged her tight, stroked her hair, and explained everything.
But it offered no comfort to Cheon Luri.
Then, then!
What if he meets Cheon Yuri while she's away!
One might ask what's the problem, but to Cheon Luri, it was a massive one.
Her ideal future self.
What if he saw Cheon Yuri's figure—170cm, nearly 65G?
That fiendish, busty Geum Sihyeon would melt into a puddle.
I won't forgive you, Geum Sihyeon...!
"Arrrng!"
"Kyaaak!"
Cheon Luri's rage pounced on the cheeky milk bags fiddling with a smartphone on the bed, giggling.
Faced with the Little Young Lady of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's relentless assault, the Tang Family little lady could only flail and shoot desperate glances at her little sister for help.
"We'll camp here tonight."
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it."
After a hellish half-day of nothing but silent running, rest time finally arrived.
Well... honestly, I had no real reason to chat up these much older uncles anyway.
Probably the same for them.
At least Uncle Wi, with his naturally jovial personality, cracked jokes now and then to break the silence, but the other two weren't like that.
Ponytail squint-eyes uncle wore a constant villainous scowl, and muscle pig giant uncle only spoke at meals.
This place... is hell...
Even enduring Baek Ri-yeon's contemptuous glares felt softer by comparison.
But duty is duty, personal is personal.
If you take a mission, you carry it out without complaint—that's a man's code.
...But.
Seizing the moment while the other two warriors stepped away.
"Uh, mind if I ask one thing?"
"Hm?"
I sidled up to the group leader, Yi Jong-su, who was pitching what looked like a Type A yurt tent, and tossed out a question.
"Normally, from Tianshan to here, isn't the standard route through Nanju and Bogye? Just curious why we're heading north."
"Ah, I see."
His hands kept steadily erecting the tent—what Central Plains folk called a simple barracks—as he surprisingly explained without hesitation.
"To prevent any unfortunate clashes, the Alliance and Cult notify each other in advance when key figures travel, including routes. Your suggested path is common, sure, but this time the Cult side said they're coming via Eunchun. So our destination is Yeonan."
"Aha."
Not sure exactly where Eunchun is, but Yeonan being a northern Shaanxi city makes sense.
After that, I probed his personality with some newbie-in-the-jianghu questions.
"Orders are orders; we follow. Not thrilled about it, truth be told."
Stickler for rules, borderline hardline Orthodox fundamentalist.
Next.
"Hm?"
"Smelled something delicious from way over here. Mind if I help out?"
I headed to Hwang Dong-seong, the muscle pig prepping the most crucial part of camp: dinner, a bit off to the side.
Bubble bubble.
When primitive ancient uncivilized China goes camping, the most common meal is soaking rations in water and boiling porridge.
A very plain, thick porridge simmered in the portable pot.
"You good at cooking?"
"Cooking's more about ingredients than skill."
I smiled softly, pulling three jars from my pack, and his eyes widened a bit.
Of course.
Pepper, salt, and top-grade dried beef jerky.
"Well-prepared."
"Haha, you're too kind."
I dumped the ingredients in generously, and in the now much warmer atmosphere, chatted idly with Hwang Dong-seong.
"I've spent my life with the Martial Alliance; its cause can't be wrong."
This one: kindly put, upright character.
Harshly put, blindly devoted follower.
"Oh, Brother Geum."
"Brother Wi, let me lend a hand too."
We'd already sized each other up over the last meal together, but I still hung out, chatting idly.
This should suffice.
To leave the impression of a jianghu rookie who respects his seniors.
Of course, if things went smoothly, I'd chalk it up as three new Alliance connections...
But my endeavors never go that easy.
Their common thread.
- Having trouble with that pole? Let me hold it.
- Huh? That on your hand—isn't it a Day Shin? Lemme see.
- Looking forward to working with you, Brother Wi.
Even grabbing their hairy, rough hands with lame excuses.
Nothing popped up over their heads.
...And none of them used smartphones in this modern age.
I hoped it was just paranoia, but with precedents, I had to accept it.
All three.
Azure Heaven Society.
Assuming that explained perfectly why they singled me out as escort.
Welcoming the Cult Leader was just the pretext...
The real target is probably me.
So the question here.
Dan Yu-wol's actions didn't seem hostile toward me.
With our overwhelming skill gap, I couldn't resist much, and during the Lust Demon incident, she could've squashed me like a bug as a "mistake" if she wanted.
But she didn't.
Dan Yu-wol.
Farm Coop. Martial Alliance Leader.
Ally? Enemy?
...No point agonizing over it now.
For now...
These three.
How to handle them most cleanly.
Three days later.
Near Yeonan, Pagoda Mountain.
In the lush mountain path where, in the distant future, Mr. Mo's great campaign—slaughtering the masses of good Chinese folk—a feat unmatched even by the bunglers of the Mangtakjo—would unfold.
"Geum Sihyeon. Sorry, but our companionship ends here."
With a somewhat bitter smile, Yi Jong-su muttered flatly and instantly drew his sword, stabbing at the back of Geum Sihyeon, who led the way.
Or rather, tried to.
"...!"
But Geum Sihyeon, thoroughly drilled in anti-communist education from his past life, hadn't lost his wits even in communism's holy land.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, he effortlessly dodged Yi Jong-su's qi-infused strike, instantly widening the gap.
"So you've made that choice after all."
Geum Sihyeon murmured bitterly.
Old fogey, hairy beast, whatever—he was someone who genuinely liked people at heart.
So inwardly, he swallowed his wish to avoid clashing with those he'd briefly befriended.
"But it won't be that easy."
Slowly drawing his sword, Geum Sihyeon channeled qi into the blade.
"Heh...!"
"At your young age, truly remarkable achievements."
The Justice Sword Squad, now out for his life, couldn't help but gasp in admiration at accomplishments unbelievable for a 21-year-old.
But.
"Outnumbered and outmatched all the same."
No matter the prodigy, how to bridge decades of experience and numerical superiority?
It only deepened the pity.
If not for the Society's orders, he'd surely lead the jianghu at the forefront—a fine, loyal man.
How could fate saddle him with opposing the Society too...?
"Outnumbered?"
"Hm?"
But Geum Sihyeon's innocent question suddenly blanketed the group.
"Two versus two seems pretty balanced, no?"
What did that mean?
In this silent mountain path devoid of other presences, only four people total, including Geum Sihyeon.
Four...
Two versus two...?
Pressing the frozen thoughts, Geum Sihyeon reached into his bosom and pulled out a small case.
"The antidote for Solitude. One's already taken it and pocketed enough wealth for three generations of luxury."
"What—"
"Just one left. Live as the Azure Heaven Society's hunting dog forever, or take the gold, live honorably in wealth and glory. Sadly, the last one to decide misses out."
Geum Sihyeon's tongue flicked like a snake's, sly and venomous.
One had already betrayed—
Faced with that violent premise.
The Justice Sword Squad could only exchange glances laced with sudden suspicion.