Chapter 605
Hidden Moon Hall, Gongson Dan-gyeong's office.
Gongson Dan-gyeong, who had summoned Bu Eun-seol, smiled brightly and nodded her head.
"As expected, you turned crisis into opportunity."
Then, with an expression that suggested she found it utterly unexpected, she continued.
"Though I never would have guessed you had ties with Honorary Guardian Bukgung."
Bu Eun-seol sat silently in his seat, listening to Gongson Dan-gyeong's explanation.
Everything that had happened to Bu Eun-seol up to now.
How the Jade Wall Hall Master had been able to uncover the circumstances suggesting that Seon-u Jin might be a spy for the Demon Hall.
All of it had been information Gongson Dan-gyeong deliberately leaked through the Elders' Hall.
And she had predicted everything—how this incident would provide Bu Eun-seol the opening to pursue the factions of the Three Realms lurking within the Martial Alliance, while simultaneously elevating him to a position so secure he would never again be suspected of being a spy.
'So this was the extent of it.'
Bu Eun-seol had realized his mistake on Ghost Island early on and preemptively mobilized the Death Soul Squad to fabricate evidence and erase traces.
But the Jade Wall Hall Master, who had been a pawn of the Three Realms, anticipated that possibility and brought forth Bukgung Ryeong as a witness.
This, in truth, was something even Bu Eun-seol hadn't foreseen.
What if Bukgung Ryeong hadn't recognized him?
What if he hadn't used his quick wits to craft a story perfectly matching the events on Ghost Island at that moment?
A commotion would have erupted, and Bu Eun-seol would have had to leave the Martial Alliance immediately.
Yet Gongson Dan-gyeong had trusted him unshakably, without a trace of concern?
"It's hard to believe."
Bu Eun-seol voiced his honest feelings.
"To think the Chief Strategist predicted every situation and leaked information to the Elders' Hall... That's quite something."
"You don't have to believe it."
Gongson Dan-gyeong smiled faintly.
"After all, the outcome explains everything."
What if Gongson Dan-gyeong had believed that evidence and doubted him?
She wouldn't have leaked information to the Elders' Hall—she would have sought even more irrefutable proof to ensnare him.
But she had trusted him.
And that trust had yielded the correct result.
"Didn't the Chief Strategist always suspect me before?"
Bu Eun-seol wore an expression of incomprehension.
"Why go so far as to trust me now?"
"Trust Commander Seon-u? Of course not."
Gongson Dan-gyeong laughed, revealing teeth as white as peeled bamboo shoots.
"I'm fundamentally not the type to place trust in people."
"What do you mean?"
"I simply believed this was the only way to make Commander Seon-u my person."
Gongson Dan-gyeong spoke calmly.
"You must have been exhausted, no? If the Chief Strategist kept doubting you, you wouldn't have been able to stay on the same ship any longer. Isn't that right?"
Bu Eun-seol was startled.
"That's true."
"How refreshing that you admit it."
With a satisfied smile, she picked up a book resting on the table.
"Now, let's hear Commander Seon-u's honest explanation."
Then she held it out to Bu Eun-seol.
"How you discovered the secret passage in the Pratyekabuddha Hall... and how you came to master the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style."
When the book was opened, it precisely recorded the exact moment Bu Eun-seol had revealed himself in the supply warehouse.
"Chief Strategist."
"From now on, you'll need to choose your words carefully. As I said, I fundamentally don't trust people."
With those words, the presence of masters with overwhelming momentum, stationed around the Hidden Moon Hall, became palpable.
They likely weren't regular Hidden Moon Hall guards but elite masters directly under Gongson Dan-gyeong's command.
"Then what does the Chief Strategist trust?"
"Ability."
Gongson Dan-gyeong explained composedly.
"I don't trust Commander Seon-u—I only trust Commander Seon-u's ability."
"It seems I'll have to explain everything properly."
Bu Eun-seol muttered as he took a deep breath.
"Without a single lie."
"I'll listen with my ears cleansed."
The phrase "listen with my ears cleansed" was something a subordinate would say to a superior.
Though Gongson Dan-gyeong had made the remark as a friendly joke, Bu Eun-seol's expression remained unchanged.
"I discovered the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style while resolving the Heavenly Human Cult incident, when I ascended to this floor of the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
He calmly recounted the situation—how he had obtained half of the secret manual from the bookshelf on this floor at the time.
Gongson Dan-gyeong, who had been silently listening, suddenly brightened her eyes.
"You memorized all the variations in your mind for three days because the manual was missing its conclusion?"
"That's correct."
"Then you should be able to write them all down one by one."
She exhaled through her nose and pointed to the writing implements.
"Prove it."
If Bu Eun-seol had obtained a complete sword manual and memorized its conclusion, would he have needed to painstakingly memorize every variation? Of course not.
She was determined to thoroughly verify whether Bu Eun-seol's words were true or not.
"Understood."
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol picked up the brush and began meticulously sketching each variation of the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan.
Finally, he handed Gongson Dan-gyeong a sheet of paper filled with all three hundred and ninety-five variations.
"But can the Chief Strategist truly verify their authenticity? What if I simply scribbled random sword forms and matched the number?"
At that, Gongson Dan-gyeong curled the edge of her lips into a faint smile.
Then, she opened a drawer and retrieved another thin manual.
To his astonishment, it was—
The very same Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan secret manual Bu Eun-seol had discovered atop the bookshelf in the Pratyekabuddha Hall.
"How did the Chief Strategist come to possess that?"
"I looked for it. In advance."
Gongson Dan-gyeong wore a composed smile.
"If Commander Seon-u had coincidentally learned the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style, I wondered where such a thing might be found."
She shrugged lightly.
"So the answer came easily."
If Bu Eun-seol wasn't an outside infiltrator—
Then where could he have learned the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan techniques? After pondering this, she eventually discovered the hidden manual in the Pratyekabuddha Hall.
"It seems the Chief Strategist is also aware of this manual's origins."
"Of course. Otherwise, how would I know about the secret passage connected to the armory?"
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brows.
Then, did that mean her arrangements had led him to discover the manual in the first place?
"Are you saying the Chief Strategist secretly placed that manual in the Pratyekabuddha Hall?"
"Not at all."
Gongson Dan-gyeong shook her head.
"I merely knew that the variations written in this sword manual contained the method to locate the hidden passage within the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
She continued calmly.
"Originally, this manual had been lost during the reign of the previous Alliance Lord, Iron Lord, when an intruder infiltrated the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
"..."
"Yet, for some reason, it was found—torn in half—on the second-floor bookshelf of the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
"That, I do not know either."
"Hmm."
Gongson Dan-gyeong shook her head again before continuing.
"Regardless, Commander Seon-u happened to learn from this manual, and thanks to that, he discovered the hidden passage in the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
She exhaled softly, then shook her head.
"Should this Chief Strategist believe such a story?"
"Even if I were in your position, I wouldn't have believed it. But..."
Bu Eun-seol stared directly into Gongson Dan-gyeong's eyes.
"Every word is true."
There wasn't a single lie in his words.
Truly, Bu Eun-seol had stumbled upon the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan manual by chance and learned from it.
"I knew you were telling the truth, actually."
Gongson Dan-gyeong's response was unexpected.
"Had it been otherwise, the place for this private meeting wouldn't be here—it would've been the cold depths of the Underground Prison."
"You believe me?"
"I told you. I don't trust people by default."
Her tone remained detached.
"If Commander Seon-u had already mastered the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan manual from the start... he would've used it when he entered the Pratyekabuddha Hall as a reward for annihilating the Heavenly Human Cult."
Gongson Dan-gyeong had already predicted everything.
Including the fact that Bu Eun-seol had only just now learned the secrets of the mechanisms installed in the Pratyekabuddha Hall.
After the subjugation of the Heavenly Human Cult, Bu Eun-seol had naturally gained access to the Pratyekabuddha Hall.
There was no need for him to go through the trouble of requesting entry from Yuk Jang-cheon as he did now.
"If you already knew everything, why did you question me?"
"I told you. This Chief Strategist doesn't trust people by default."
A peculiar smile played on her lips.
"And yet, the crucial connecting thread was missing."
"Connecting thread?"
"How, all of a sudden, at this very moment, did you discover the mechanisms installed in the Pratyekabuddha Hall—and why did you decide to investigate them?"
'Hmm.'
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
In the end, Gongson Dan-gyeong didn't deeply trust him.
She had merely coldly analyzed and predicted every possible scenario.
But because she couldn't find a plausible "connecting thread" to tie everything together, she summoned him to confirm the facts.
"At the time, the lord of the Dragon Coil Hall—who was in the underground of Gangok District—told me."
Bu Eun-seol had no choice but to reveal the truth.
"As he lay dying, the lord of the Dragon Coil Hall urged me to seek out the underground mechanisms of the Pratyekabuddha Hall."
"The lord of the Dragon Coil Hall..."
Gongson Dan-gyeong's eyes gleamed as she murmured softly.
"Then why didn't you relay that message to this Chief Strategist at the time?"
"First, I had to verify whether the lord of the Dragon Coil Hall was telling the truth. Reporting to the Chief Strategist was the next step. But..."
Bu Eun-seol answered honestly.
"Even if I had uncovered all the secrets, I wouldn't have reported them to the Chief Strategist."
"Why not?"
"For the same reason as the Chief Strategist."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes, which had been courteous and polite until now, turned icy cold.
"Because I fundamentally don't trust people either."
As Gongson Dan-gyeong stared blankly, Bu Eun-seol continued.
"You may act as though you trust me, but in reality, you have no faith in me at all. You've doubted me endlessly until now."
"This Chief Strategist trusted you enough to leak information to the Elders' Hall."
"That wasn't trust in me—it was trust in your own intuition and intellect, wasn't it?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was frigid.
"If you had even a shred of trust in me, you would have discussed that matter with me first."
"..."
"You keep insisting we're on the same boat, yet in truth, you're aboard a different one, aiming an arrow at me. Ready to loose it at any moment."
The emotion in Bu Eun-seol's voice faded further.
"Would there be any point in reporting secrets I barely managed to uncover to a Chief Strategist like that?"
Gongson Dan-gyeong had no retort.
Even if their positions were reversed, she would have made the same choice.
"Fine."
In that instant—
The ever-gentle, ever-composed light in Gongson Dan-gyeong's eyes and expression sharpened slightly.
She had cast aside the thin Mask that had concealed her true temperament until now.
"Let me make myself perfectly clear from this moment onward."
Even her perpetually warm voice had turned cold as ice.
"After today, I will acknowledge Commander Seon-u as one of my people in truth."
"Suddenly saying this now?"
"No. I've been considering it all along. Commander Seon-u has always possessed abilities far beyond my expectations."
From Gongson Dan-gyeong's long, large eyes flowed a solemn, razor-sharp light—one never seen before.
"And since you've now investigated the Heaven and Earth Pavilion... you must already have an inkling of the current Alliance Leader's true identity."
'The Heaven and Earth Pavilion?'
For a split second, sparks flashed in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
That the Martial Venerable was acting as the Murim Alliance Leader in place of Jeong Cheon-je was hardly earth-shattering news.
The most crucial matter was the authenticity of the corpse inside the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin beneath the Pratyekabuddha Hall—in other words, whether Jeong Cheon-je was truly dead.
If he was dead, the balance of power in the Murim world would shift entirely.
Yet she was only mentioning traces of the Martial Venerable in the Heaven and Earth Pavilion—nothing more?
"Chief Strategist, have you not entered the underground of the Pratyekabuddha Hall?"
"Even if we speak of the underground... there's nothing there but branching paths of secret passageways."
Gongson Dan-gyeong frowned slightly, as if sensing something amiss.
"Was there something else there?"
Bu Eun-seol swiftly redirected the conversation.
"Fragments of Repelling Field Stone were scattered about, so I merely wondered."
"Those must be remnants from the mechanisms installed in the passageways. A few defensive traps from the past still remain to block intruders."
Bu Eun-seol was inwardly stunned.
'She hasn't seen the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin stored beneath the Pratyekabuddha Hall.'
Since she knew of the secret passageways, he had assumed she must have seen the Ice Jade Coffin containing Jeong Cheon-je's body.
But judging from Gongson Dan-gyeong's expression and gaze, she had not seen the coffin holding his corpse.
"So, because I discovered traces of the Martial Venerable in the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, I've earned the right to become one of your people?"
At Bu Eun-seol's redirected question, Gongson Dan-gyeong answered firmly.
"Of course not."
"Then—"
"Commander Seon-u has kept these secrets to himself all this time, without informing anyone."
Gongson Dan-gyeong spoke with conviction.
"If you were a Spy planted by some faction, you would have undoubtedly reported this to your superiors by now."
"Couldn't I have secretly sent an Assignment Slip without the Chief Strategist's knowledge?"
"Impossible."
Gongson Dan-gyeong's reply was absolute.
"Commander Seon-u has contacted no one."
Bu Eun-seol tensed.
Could it be that Gongson Dan-gyeong had skilled experts and a surveillance system capable of monitoring him around the clock?
"How can you be so certain?"
Suppressing his unease, Bu Eun-seol spoke calmly.
"Even if not now, I might inform someone eventually."
"With information like this, its value lies in immediate disclosure."
Gongson Dan-gyeong's confidence was unshaken.
"If there's even the slightest delay? The traces of the Martial Venerable in the Heaven and Earth Pavilion could be erased in an instant."
'So she doesn't have a surveillance system after all.'
Now it was clear—Gongson Dan-gyeong hadn't been observing him all along. She simply trusted her own Analysis and judgment absolutely.
"Then let's put an end to this tiresome tug-of-war of mutual suspicion, shall we?"
Gongson Dan-gyeong's expression softened as she looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"To be honest, as long as Commander Seon-u has no intention of harming the Martial Alliance, whatever his purpose may be—that's enough for me."
She was a woman whose words and actions aligned.
Not because she trusted Bu Eun-seol outright.
But because she had analyzed his motives and behavior and concluded that he was no threat to the Martial Alliance.
"And now, I'll tell you the truth."
Rumble.
As she pressed a hidden spot on her desk, a bookshelf slid open, revealing a secret passage.
"From now on, all discussions with the Chief Strategist will take place here."
Bu Eun-seol followed her inside.
The concealed chamber, completely enclosed, was even more spacious than her actual office, filled with books and various furnishings.
The office in Hidden Moon Hall was merely a facade.
This secret room—this was where she truly conducted her work.
"As you've likely deduced, the Martial Venerable has been acting in place of the Alliance Chief," Gongson Dan-gyeong began gravely.
"And this fact is known only to me."
Bu Eun-seol's expression shifted subtly.
From her tone and demeanor, it seemed as though Jeong Cheon-je was still very much alive.
'Better to ask directly instead of dancing around it.'
Having made up his mind, Bu Eun-seol spoke immediately.
"Why is the Martial Venerable acting as the Alliance Chief?"
Gongson Dan-gyeong blinked her large eyes before answering.
"I was told the Venerable took on this duty at the Chief's request—that he had no choice."
'So he's alive.'
Just as Bu Eun-seol inwardly registered his surprise, she continued calmly.
"Fortunately, there's a secret passage connecting to the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. The Venerable has been using it to flawlessly carry out the Chief's duties."
'She's merely relaying what she heard from the Martial Venerable. She hasn't actually met Jeong Cheon-je.'
"It seems something has befallen the Alliance Chief," Bu Eun-seol probed carefully.
Gongson Dan-gyeong nodded.
"I heard the Chief was ambushed within the Alliance while attempting to break through to a new martial realm. He suffered grave injuries."
"Someone dared to ambush the Alliance Chief?"
"The Three Realms, most likely."
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
"So the Chief is currently in secluded closed-door cultivation to recover from his injuries."
"Since I haven't seen it myself, I can't say for certain. I only know what the Martial Venerable told me."
'A lie.'
If Jeong Cheon-je had entered seclusion to heal his wounds in secret—why would there be a need to place a corpse inside the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin?
Just then, Gongson Dan-gyeong added,
"The Martial Venerable and Jeong Cheon-je were closer than blood brothers. He always said the Chief was the benefactor who saved his life."
Bu Eun-seol feigned concern.
"Even if it's the Martial Venerable, if word gets out that he's acting as the Chief, the Martial World will plunge into chaos."
"But if the truth about the Chief's severe injuries were revealed, the chaos would be far worse."
Her expression turned deadly serious.
"At worst, the balance of the Martial World could collapse in an instant. That's likely why this choice was made."
Jeong Cheon-je was, without question, the Number One of the Righteous Path—a pillar of the orthodox faction.
If such a figure were critically wounded? The Demonic Martial World would never let such an opportunity slip.
The orthodox factions would descend into turmoil, and the demonic sects would seize the moment to rise.
Thus, they had concealed his injuries and entrusted the Alliance Chief's duties to the Martial Venerable.
"In the end, after much deliberation, the Martial Venerable accepted the Chief's request," she explained. "And for that purpose, I was appointed as Chief Strategist."
For the Martial Venerable—a man who once wandered the Rivers and Lakes without purpose—to suddenly become the Alliance Chief and govern the world was no easy task.
After much contemplation, he had chosen someone who, despite knowing the truth, could assist and support him.
That person was Gongson Dan-gyeong.
"So this is the real reason the Chief Strategist became the youngest in history," Bu Eun-seol remarked.
Gongson Dan-gyeong nodded.
"Correct."
Then, her eyes gleaming, she added,
"And it's also the reason Commander Seon-u can become the youngest Leader."
Bu Eun-seol inhaled deeply, as if finally understanding everything.
"So what you're saying is—if there were a Leader who knew the truth and could support the Martial Venerable, it would be ideal."
Then, meeting her gaze, he said,
"Because the existing high command of the Martial Alliance can't be trusted."
"Exactly."
Gongson Dan-gyeong nodded lightly.
"Especially the Leaders—the probability of their involvement in the Chief's ambush is even higher."
Bu Eun-seol nodded as well.
If someone within the Alliance had attacked Jeong Cheon-je, high-ranking officials would inevitably be implicated.
In the end, the Martial Venerable needed not only a new Chief Strategist who knew the full truth—
But also a Leader who, despite knowing he was a false Chief, would still lend his aid.