Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Delayed Report
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The martial artists of the Communications Pavilion, responsible for collecting carrier pigeons from all over the Central Plains, had been swamped with work for the past few days.
Carrier pigeons sent from the sects participating in the Heaven and Earth Net, activated by a Code Alpha emergency order, arrived in a constant, urgent stream. Even as dusk began to fall, another flock of pigeons could be seen flying in formation from the distance.
“The Tang Clan, Qingcheng, Emei... Dammit, even two more pairs of hands wouldn't be enough.”
No Gwi-sik, the head of the Communications Pavilion, tirelessly scanned and sorted the information carried by the pigeons.
“This is information from the west! Deliver it to the Strategic Council at once.”
“Sir? Without summarizing the key points?”
At No Gwi-sik's words, as he roughly gathered and handed over a bundle of missives, his subordinate, Jeon Saeng, tilted his head in confusion.
“You idiot. Can't you see this pile? When would we have time to summarize anything? Just sorting them by region takes an eternity. Take them over, and the Strategic Council will figure it out.”
“Understood.”
Jeon Saeng, having earned nothing but a scolding for his question, pouted as he took the missives.
“What are you doing? Hurry up!”
“Yes, sir!”
At No Gwi-sik's roar, Jeon Saeng scrambled out of the Communications Pavilion.
It was obvious he'd get an earful from the Strategic Council for bringing a disorganized mess like this, but what could he do? Orders were orders.
He could just pass the blame by saying the pavilion head told him to do it.
“Damn it, there's no time to rest. What are they thinking, sending reports so haphazardly? Wouldn't it be better if they appointed regional commanders to consolidate the information before sending it?”
Even after sending Jeon Saeng away, No Gwi-sik's irritation hadn't subsided. He grumbled as he stared at the missives piled high on the table.
Of course, all the while, the reports continued to stack up.
“Jang Uk!”
“Sir?”
“Go and fetch a bottle of wine.”
“Wine? At a critical time like this?”
“You frustrating fool. Don't you know the saying, 'haste makes waste'? I've been smelling nothing but pigeon droppings for days, and my stomach is turning! Now go get it!”
“But if the Strategic Council finds out...”
“You damn brat! How will the Strategic Council know if you—no, if everyone in this pavilion keeps their mouths shut?”
“Still...”
“Who said I'd be drinking alone? We'll all have some. Besides, how are we supposed to endure this exhaustion without a drink?”
“Oh? Yes, sir!”
At those words, Jeon Saeng, who had been hesitant, broke into a wide grin and dashed out like an arrow.
“Tsk, look at him run... So reckless. No wonder he hasn't been promoted.”
No Gwi-sik chuckled at the sight of Jeon Saeng's comical retreating figure.
Then again, the lad was probably desperate for a drink himself.
It had already been three days since the Code Bravo emergency order was issued.
Because that fiend, the Third Young Master, had suddenly appeared in Luoyang, the workload at the Communications Pavilion had more than doubled.
Amidst the chaos, a Code Alpha emergency order had been issued on top of that.
With every so-called orthodox sect mobilized, the volume of reports flying in from all corners was staggering.
“Um, Pavilion Head.”
“Hm?”
“You need to see this.”
“...?”
Chu Ja-seong, who had just been checking a missive, held it out with a puzzled look.
“What is it?”
“Well, it's from our contact point in Mengjin...”
“Mengjin?”
“Yes.”
“They're not part of the Heaven and Earth Net, are they?”
“That's true, but... the content is...”
“Tsk, let me see.”
No Gwi-sik snatched the missive from Chu Ja-seong's hand.
“Let's see... Huh? What the...?”
The characters were scrawled unevenly. And the message they contained...
“Neung Un-bi?”
“Right? I didn't misread it, did I?”
“...”
No Gwi-sik stared down at the missive, blinking blankly.
Urgent report. From: Mengjin contact point.
Neung Un-bi attacked Mengjin contact point.
Thirty-two injured.
Neung Un-bi has left Mengjin and is heading towards the Orthodox Murim Alliance.
The content was utterly absurd.
What in the world was this nonsense?
Neung Un-bi, who was last seen south of Luoyang, had suddenly appeared in Mengjin, a considerable distance to the northeast?
If it were true, this was something that needed to be rushed to the Strategic Council immediately.
But wasn't it strange?
The timeline didn't add up.
According to the reports, the message that they had lost track of Neung Un-bi south of Luoyang arrived around noon. He was certain of it because he had reported it to the Strategic Council immediately, leaving his meal half-eaten.
But he appeared in Mengjin about two hours ago?
“So he traveled from Luoyang to Mengjin in just four hours?”
“That's what I found so strange, too.”
Chu Ja-seong scratched his head, as if he had already done the calculations.
Was that all?
Unlike the previous day, the Heaven and Earth Net deployed around Luoyang was a Code Alpha. The sheer number of martial artists involved was on a different level from a Code Bravo net.
For Neung Un-bi to break through such an encirclement and appear to the north was impossible.
If he had appeared to the south or west, perhaps... but not the north.
“Hey!”
“Yes?”
“Who's in charge of the Mengjin contact point?”
“It's Ban Chwi of the Beggars' Sect.”
“Ban Chwi?”
“Yes.”
“...”
Hearing that name, No Gwi-sik's expression soured even more.
Ban Chwi (Half-Drunk).
A name given to him because he spent half the year so drunk he might as well have been pickled in alcohol.
In other words, a sober day for him was a rare occasion.
That was why, despite his considerable martial skill, he had been exiled to a remote contact point.
“What do you think? Does it seem possible for Neung Un-bi to get from Luoyang to Mengjin in four hours?”
“Hmm... Don't you think Ban Chwi probably got hammered and sent some drunken nonsense?”
“Right? That's what it looks like to you, too?”
“Yes.”
“Hah, what a lunatic. Getting drunk and sending this bullshit at a time like this? Is he completely out of his mind?”
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean, what should we do? Just leave it for now. What if we report this nonsense and end up catching heat for it?”
“Hmm, that's true.”
“Let's just bury this one. We're already busy enough as it is... If we report this, we won't get any sleep tonight either.”
“A truly wise decision.”
Chu Ja-seong smiled and nodded at No Gwi-sik's words.
Just then, Jeon Saeng, who had gone to fetch the wine, returned.
“Pavilion Head!”
“Oh! Two bottles.”
“Everyone needs a drink, so I thought I'd get plenty.”
“You rascal...”
Seeing Jeon Saeng shaking a bottle in each hand, No Gwi-sik's mouth watered, and he called his subordinates over.
“Everyone! Let's take a short break.”
“Sir? But the carrier pigeons are still...”
“Idiot, it's almost night. Have you ever seen the Heaven and Earth Net operate at night? Besides, they said they lost track of Neung Un-bi near Luoyang, so for a while, we'll just be getting the same reports over and over. There's no need to report every single one.”
“But still...”
“Hey, you! Don't you know what a Code Alpha Heaven and Earth Net is? Not even Neung Un-bi—no, not even the Leader of the Demonic Cult could break through it.”
Waving his hand dismissively, No Gwi-sik put the bottle to his lips and took a large swig.
“Ahhh... That's the stuff. What are you waiting for? You all have a sip.”
“Yes, sir!”
Once permission was granted, the men lined up for a drink.
As they enjoyed their brief respite, No Gwi-sik's gaze drifted to the window where the carrier pigeons were arriving.
“Hmm, that one's an odd color. Do we have pigeons like that?”
“Sir?”
At No Gwi-sik's murmur, all the men in the Communications Pavilion turned to look at the window.
“A red ribbon... Huh? Isn't that a Demonic Cult carrier pigeon?”
“...The Demonic Cult?”
“Yes, it looks just like the one that came during the last Orthodox-Demonic treaty negotiations.”
“...!”
At those words, No Gwi-sik's eyes shot open.
A carrier pigeon from the Demonic Cult?
In the current situation, a message from them had to be reported to the Strategic Council faster than anything else.
“Hey! Get that pigeon, quickly! And all the others that just arrived!”
“Yes, sir!”
Forgetting all about the wine, No Gwi-sik's urgent shout sent the Communications Pavilion into motion once more.
No Gwi-sik began sorting the piled missives again by region and content, placing the one from the Demonic Cult on the very top.
“Keep working. I'm going to see the Strategist immediately.”
“W-wait a moment, Pavilion Head!”
“What is it?”
“...Th-this just...”
“...?”
Jeon Saeng held out a small note with a trembling hand.
His mind completely preoccupied with the message from the Demonic Cult, No Gwi-sik irritably snatched the note.
Urgent report. Yanshi contact point.
Neung Un-bi attacked Yanshi contact point.
No Gwi-sik wondered if he was so tired that he had misread 'Mengjin' as 'Yanshi'. He rubbed his eyes hard and looked at the note again.
But it was clearly Yanshi.
A place about a hundred li east of Mengjin.
In other words, Neung Un-bi had passed through Mengjin and headed to Yanshi.
Which meant...
“He's... he's really coming to the Orthodox Murim Alliance?”
As No Gwi-sik stared at the note with wide eyes, Jeon Saeng asked cautiously.
“What do we do?”
“...”
No Gwi-sik couldn't answer.
The carrier pigeon from Mengjin had arrived roughly an hour ago.
Its message was an incredibly urgent report.
Yet he had dismissed it as nonsense and ignored what should have been reported the moment it was received.
And now, the wine bottles rolling on the table...
“Men.”
“...Yes?”
“I think... we're screwed.”
“...”
“What do we do?”
At No Gwi-sik's words, the men of the Communications Pavilion stared at him, their lips sealed tight.
Why was he asking them? The pavilion head himself had to make the decision.
He was the one who had ignored the report from the Mengjin contact point in the first place, and he was the one who had ordered the wine.
Seeing his subordinates just staring blankly, No Gwi-sik realized they were trying to pin all the blame on him and roared.
“You bastards! Use your heads! Do you think this is something I'll go down for alone? Given the gravity of the situation, you'll all die with me! Don't you know what kind of man Jegal Cheong-in is?”
“...!”
At No Gwi-sik's words, everyone flinched as they realized their predicament.
The Strategist, Jegal Cheong-in, now the acting Alliance Leader.
He was an extremely cold-hearted man.
Cold enough to not forgive even his own flesh and blood if necessary.
If he found out that a lapse in reporting had caused an error in his plans, the entire Communications Pavilion could be annihilated.
“Pavilion Head.”
“What?”
“Why don't we... sit on it for a little longer?”
“Hm?”
“One sichen. Let's wait just one more sichen, and then report it.”
“...”
“Besides, as long as we keep our mouths shut, no one will ever know, right?”
At Jeon Saeng's words, No Gwi-sik glanced at his subordinates.
They were all nodding in agreement.
The peace of the Central Plains?
To them, their own safety was far more important than such things.
* * *
“What? Neung Un-bi attacked Mengjin and Yanshi?”
“Yes! The report just arrived. It is clear Neung Un-bi is heading for the Orthodox Murim Alliance.”
“...”
Late at night, Jegal Cheong-in's face crumpled like the missive in his hand as he listened to the urgent report delivered by No Gwi-sik, the head of the Communications Pavilion.
The man who vanished in Luoyang had suddenly attacked Mengjin and Yanshi?
“When did the report arrive saying they had lost him in Luoyang?”
“It was around noon.”
“Hmm...”
At his subordinate strategist's words, Jegal Cheong-in's brow furrowed deeply.
According to No Gwi-sik's report, five sichen—ten hours—had passed between when he vanished in Luoyang and when Yanshi was attacked after Mengjin.
Jegal Cheong-in urgently examined a map.
Considering the distance, it was a plausible amount of travel time.
However, the force that had encircled them from the north and pushed south numbered well over several thousand.
Had they really broken through the Heaven and Earth Net? How on earth did they manage it?
And instead of fleeing, they had attacked the Alliance's contact points?
It was as if he was being mocked.
“Dammit... He's toying with me.”
Seeing Jegal Cheong-in grinding his teeth, No Gwi-sik secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“And from the Demonic Cult... this arrived.”
“From the Demonic Cult?”
“Yes.”
“...”
After taking the missive from No Gwi-sik and reading it, the color drained from Jegal Cheong-in's face.
“Th-this...”
The missive, held in a trembling hand, had been sent by Dam Un-cheon himself.
Neung Un-bi was one thing, but the contents of this message were far beyond his authority to judge.
He had to report it immediately.
To the ones behind him.
Only the powerful figures who had manipulated the Orthodox Faction from the shadows for ages could provide an answer to Dam Un-cheon's message.
“Pavilion Head, immediately inform all sects participating in the Heaven and Earth Net of Neung Un-bi's movements and order them to turn back towards the Orthodox Murim Alliance!”
“Sir?”
“What are you waiting for! Didn't you just say that man Neung Un-bi has appeared near the Alliance headquarters!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Jegal Cheong-in's thunderous command, No Gwi-sik scrambled outside.
“What was in that message to make him react like that?”
He briefly puzzled over the memory of Jegal Cheong-in's shocked expression, but No Gwi-sik quickly pushed the thought away.
What did it matter?
Thanks to his deliberately delayed report, not only had he saved his own skin, but the entire Communications Pavilion was safe. That was all that mattered.
“Whew, looks like there's no sleep for me tonight either. Not with all these messages to send to so many sects.”
No Gwi-sik quickened his pace back toward the Communications Pavilion.
He had no idea that his delayed report had just prevented Jegal Cheong-in, a man said to possess heaven-sent wisdom, from seeing through Neung Un-bi's scheme.