Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Dropping the Disguise
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It was just after sunrise.
Yongcheon, having slept soundly and just left the tavern on his way back to the Heavenly Pillar Gate, let out a yawn so wide it looked like his mouth would tear.
“Uwaaah.”
He had eaten a hearty hangover soup with Neung Un-bi, so he felt no lingering effects from the alcohol. Patting his full stomach, the world seemed utterly at peace.
“Huh? Brother!”
“Hm?”
“Looks like there’s some kind of commotion.”
“A commotion?”
Yongcheon’s leisurely mood evaporated as he blinked at the wide-open main gate of the Heavenly Pillar Gate.
“You fools! Hurry and prepare!”
“Hey! What are you doing over there!”
“…”
Did they seem a bit frantic?
Amid the chaos, the Outer General Manager, the Inner General Manager… all the big names of the Heavenly Pillar Gate were out and about, running around busily.
“…What’s going on?”
“I wonder.”
Neung Un-bi tilted his head along with Yongcheon, though he already knew the full story.
It would be strange if they weren’t busy.
The prison had been destroyed and all the guards on duty killed; it was only natural for the place to be in an uproar, like a disturbed hornet’s nest.
However, Neung Un-bi, the very person who had stirred the nest and stomped on it, put on a serious expression and played dumb.
“It looks like you should probably go see what’s happening.”
“…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter to me since I’m a guest… but aren’t you the Head Team Leader, brother?”
“Huh?”
“It seems all the high-ranking members are out here… If the Outer General Manager finds out that someone with a position as important as yours was away… you’ll be in for it.”
“…!”
Yongcheon’s eyes widened at Neung Un-bi’s words.
“Y-You think so?”
“Of course.”
Neung Un-bi nodded with a grave expression, hiding a smirk.
In truth, considering Yongcheon’s standing, no one would care where he was. The best course of action would be to stay out of sight.
But that wouldn’t do.
“Brother, you should hurry and see the Outer General Manager.”
“Now? I don’t think that’s a good idea…?”
“Goodness, how can you only think of the present and not the future?”
“Huh?”
“Just imagine if you get caught later. It’ll be obvious you’ll receive a heavier punishment for not only being outside but also trying to hide it. It’s better to greet him now and, if he asks where you’ve been, just answer honestly.”
“I-Is that a better idea?”
“I’m telling you it is.”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.”
“Brother, would I ever say something that would harm you?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Go on. Hurry.”
“…”
After a moment of anxious deliberation, Yongcheon nodded as if he had made up his mind.
“Alright. I’ll go on ahead, then.”
“Yes! An excellent decision, brother!”
As Neung Un-bi nodded encouragingly, Yongcheon’s confidence swelled, and he ran off boldly.
*Well done, Yongcheon!*
*Make sure you tell him everything, honestly.*
*You absolutely must.*
Watching Yongcheon rush over to the Outer General Manager and point at himself while explaining the situation, Neung Un-bi smiled faintly.
The Outer General Manager’s face… it was turning all sorts of colors with rage.
“What did you say? You crazy bastard! You were drinking at a tavern? You passed out drunk and are only crawling back now?”
“…”
“You have no idea what the situation is right now… of course you don’t! Get lost. I’ll deal with your transgressions later!”
The Outer General Manager’s furious voice reached Neung Un-bi’s ears clearly.
*Thank you, Yongcheon.*
*My friend, who pretends to be smart but is actually naive and foolish…*
*Thanks to your glorious sacrifice, I won’t have to worry about anyone suspecting my own activities.*
Using Yongcheon, who was now walking inside with his head hung low, as a stepping stone, Neung Un-bi calmly walked through the main gate without a change in his expression.
Who would recognize him anyway? Everyone who saw him was dead.
“Greetings, Outer General Manager.”
“Hmph! You’ve come in early, I see.”
“…”
He was clearly being sarcastic.
Well, he wasn’t wrong. He had returned as soon as the sun rose.
But Neung Un-bi just grinned sheepishly and scratched his head.
“Yes, I had a bit too much to drink last night…”
“Go on in.”
“Yes.”
That was all.
Yongcheon had already taken the brunt of the scolding, so he got a free pass. Besides, what could they say to him? He wasn’t even a member of the Heavenly Pillar Gate.
“Tsk, tsk… This is why your origins are so important.”
But he didn’t hesitate to disparage his background behind his back.
It was a quiet murmur, but he heard it all.
*…Get all your insults in now.*
*Just a prison? Just some people?*
*Those were people who shouldn’t have been there in the first place.*
*The saying ‘see one thing and you know ten’ exists for a reason.*
*These bastards are a plague on society.*
*I may be Neung Un-bi, not Cheok Wol-rin, and I don’t know how you’ve lived your lives until now, but I will uncover every sin you’ve committed and make you pay.*
As he made this cold vow, Neung Un-bi had to fervently chant a demon-subduing mantra. The mere thought of it made his demonic energy surge with anger.
“Head Escort!”
“…Hm?”
As Neung Un-bi was heading towards the guest quarters, Ju Seung and Wang Cheon came rushing towards him.
“Why are you two all the way out here?”
Neung Un-bi tilted his head, then narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice.
“You two didn’t… get into trouble, did you?”
“Trouble? What trouble? Are we you, Head Escort?”
Wang Cheon pouted.
The man who had been wallowing in despair over his defeat just yesterday was already back to his usual self.
Well, he must have been quite surprised…
Seeing the state of the Heavenly Pillar Gate, he and Ju Seung must have been worried sick that something had happened to him.
“You little brat. If you didn’t, just say so. Why bring me into it?”
“Th-That’s not what’s important!”
“It’s not ‘not important,’ is it? I feel like you just hastily dismissed something that popped into your head.”
“Ugh, come on!”
“…”
Wang Cheon shouted in frustration at Neung Un-bi’s playful responses.
*For a loser… he’s got a loud mouth.*
“More importantly, it wasn’t you, right?”
“What wasn’t?”
Wang Cheon stuck close to Neung Un-bi as he entered the guest quarters, asking repeatedly.
“That… it wasn’t you, right? You were just out drinking, right?”
“Hm? How did you know that? I didn’t send word.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“…”
It felt like a crucial piece of information was missing from their conversation.
But how did he really know?
He hadn’t told them he was going drinking with Yongcheon.
“If you hadn’t sent this, we were about to rush out. The moment the sun came up, all hell broke loose.”
“Hm?”
“The sound of the bell, the shouting… I thought a war had broken out.”
A war? It did.
It would be strange if there wasn’t a massive commotion at the Heavenly Pillar Gate.
But then Wang Cheon held out a note.
Written on it were instructions stating that he was drinking with Yongcheon at a tavern and would return in the morning, and that they should hold their position no matter what happened.
“A maid named Sam-hui who works for the Outer General Manager’s office came by at dawn and delivered it. She said you wrote it and sent it yourself, Head Escort.”
“Sam-hui?”
“Yes.”
“…”
At Wang Cheon’s words, Neung Un-bi could only laugh in disbelief.
He didn’t know anyone by that name, nor had he ever sent such a note.
The handwriting on the note wasn’t his, either.
And she came at dawn?
What kind of crazy maid would stay up all night to be summoned to a tavern just to deliver a guest’s message?
This had to be him.
The one who had sent the Heavenly Pillar Gate warriors guarding the outer fence to hell with holes in their foreheads.
First, he was a senile, fraudulent Taoist, then he had the voice of a woman, and now he was a maid? Or she?
He couldn’t be sure of their identity, let alone their gender.
But thanks to them, it seemed Wang Cheon and the Lunar Eclipse Squad had been prevented from making a move.
Hadn’t he been just a little worried, which was why he had returned to the tavern to wake Yongcheon as soon as he had erased the traces of the escaped people?
Under the pretext of getting hangover soup…
But why? Why were they helping him to this extent?
There’s no such thing as kindness without a reason. Just what was that person’s identity?
“Whew, anyway, I’m so glad it wasn’t you. My heart was pounding, wondering if you had gotten into some kind of trouble, Head Escort.”
“Indeed.”
Ju Seung nodded in agreement with Wang Cheon, stroking his chest in relief.
“I never said it wasn’t me.”
“…Pardon?”
As Neung Un-bi grinned, Wang Cheon’s eyes went wide as he scanned their surroundings, and Ju Seung gulped audibly.
“You’re… joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Wh-What on earth does that mean? Don’t tell me you actually caused some trouble?”
“…”
*Just say it.*
*We’re the only ones in the guest quarters, and everyone else is too busy to care. Why are you lowering your voice so much?*
*And trouble?*
“Haven’t you guys heard what happened at the Heavenly Pillar Gate yet?”
“We don’t know. It sounded like they were attacked by someone…”
Neung Un-bi’s brow furrowed slightly at Wang Cheon’s answer.
Just an attack…
Something was strange.
Even if they were framing the commoners, they should have pointed the finger at the Demonic Cult. After all, everyone imprisoned in the dungeon for being demonic practitioners had escaped.
It would have been logical to spread rumors far and wide that the Demonic Cult had attacked the Heavenly Pillar Gate, so why hadn’t they identified the culprit?
There was definitely… something more to this.
He didn’t know the reason, but the instincts of Cheok Wol-rin buried within him began to sniff the air, catching a scent.
The kind of scent given off by those with something to hide.
“Hmph, then I’ll have to sniff it out.”
“…”
With a cold smile, Neung Un-bi spoke to Wang Cheon and Ju Seung.
“First, let’s leave the Heavenly Pillar Gate.”
“What? Leave where? Didn’t you see the situation outside?”
“Escort Ok is right. We might attract unnecessary suspicion. It would be better to lay low for now. Let’s move once the atmosphere has calmed down.”
Neung Un-bi flashed another grin at Ju Seung, who was agreeing with Wang Cheon.
Suspicion?
Our dear Yongcheon has already played his part and gloriously sacrificed himself long ago. By telling everyone he was drinking with me during this whole mess.
“Pack your things.”
“…”
At Neung Un-bi’s command, Ju Seung and Wang Cheon looked at each other and frowned.
But what could they do?
Neung Un-bi was their master, and they were his subordinates…
If he said pack, they packed. Not that they had unpacked much in the first place.
Their preparations to leave were finished in no time, and exiting the Heavenly Pillar Gate wasn’t difficult.
He went to see the Gate Master to bid farewell, but he didn’t even come out. The Outer General Manager just gave a dismissive wave to see them off.
It was less of a send-off and more of a gesture to get lost quickly.
Well, it was no surprise he wouldn't be fond of them.
They were out drinking with Yongcheon while his sect was in an uproar.
Besides, they had been brought in for the sake of the Heavenly Pillar Gate’s reputation for not turning a blind eye to the righteous, not because their contributions were highly valued.
Therefore, as Neung Un-bi’s group left the Heavenly Pillar Gate and departed from the city of Jucheon, no one paid them any mind, let alone watched them.
Well, everyone was probably busy investigating the incident at the prison.
And they would be running around in all directions trying to catch the escapees.
Thus, without any interference, the group walked on until they reached a quiet forest.
After proceeding for a while on an unmarked path, they came upon a small clearing, and the members of the Lunar Eclipse Squad began to set up camp.
Neung Un-bi sat before the campfire lit by his men, organizing in his mind everything he had seen and heard so far.
The subjugation of the demonic practitioners was clearly a fabrication designed to build the reputation of Bae Hap, the First Young Master of the Heavenly Pillar Gate.
*Filthy bastards… If you lack skill, you should focus on training, not pull stunts like that just to make a name for yourselves.*
He would never forgive them.
Neung Un-bi, Cheok Wol-rin.
Using the six characters of his names, and even his identity as the Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult if necessary, he would surely bring them down.
But one question still remained.
They should have spread the word that his actions were an attack by the Demonic Cult, but they had kept it quiet.
And another strange thing: why hadn’t the Crimson Heaven Gate made a move?
They weren’t that far away.
Lost in thought, Neung Un-bi finally spoke.
“Wang Cheon, Ju Seung.”
“Yes.”
“What would you do?”
“About what?”
“If those people framed innocent individuals as members of the Demonic Cult and subjugated them, all just to make a name for themselves?”
“We obviously wouldn’t stand for it.”
“That’s right. How dare they use the noble name of the Demonic Path for such a filthy purpose?”
“…”
They were more concerned with the name of the Demonic Path than with innocent lives.
That made it all the more puzzling.
Why had the Crimson Heaven Gate just watched? It was as if those people had insulted the Demonic Cult.
And what was the identity of the person who had helped him?
His mind was a mess.
“Hmph, to untangle this knot, I suppose I’ll have to shake down the Crimson Heaven Gate first, huh?”
Right, what good would it do for a man who preferred using his body to rack his brain?
He had no choice but to charge in headfirst.
“From now on, we abandon our identities as the Jade-Clear Escort Agency.”
“What? Already?”
He sounded somewhat disappointed.
Well, for men who had only trained within a rigid lifestyle, this might have been a refreshing bit of fun.
“Yes.”
“But if we suddenly disappear, they’re bound to get suspicious.”
“It doesn’t matter. They can chase us for a hundred days, but they’ll never find our trail.”
“Hmm… I understand. Then which identity shall we disguise ourselves with next?”
Wang Cheon took out the false identities that Shin Yerang had provided and began discussing them with Ju Seung.
“How about a merchant troupe?”
“Hmm, that’s not bad. It would be easier for the men to move as merchant guards rather than porters.”
“Shall we go with this one, then?”
Watching Wang Cheon and Ju Seung’s serious discussion, Neung Un-bi chuckled and shook his head.
“No disguise.”
“What? Then?”
“From this moment, we return to our original mission.”
“Our original mission, you say…?”
“Branch Inspector, Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult.”
“What?”
Was it because of the campfire?
It seemed as though a red glint flickered in Neung Un-bi’s eyes.