Repay Only What Was Received (1)
Pa-jeong had been visiting exactly eight directions around the Alliance Lord's hall, Mengju-jeon, with precision.
"We've discovered a total of five sites, but we believe he visited other directions when we weren't watching."
From Baek So-cheon's estimation, Pa-jeong had visited six locations in total, leaving only the southwest and northwest among the eight directions. If he needed to orchestrate something at the central Mengju-jeon, that bought them a little more time.
Je-gal Hyeon wore a grave expression.
"A formation, perhaps?"
"Or some kind of sorcery. Whatever it is, once completed, it will pose an enormous threat."
"Those damned bastards!"
Je-gal Hyeon, who rarely uttered profanities, was seething. Having failed with their plot to implant the Cheon-wi Won-go, they were now scheming against the Alliance Lord once more.
"Ah, forgive me. I lost my temper."
"Not at all. I feel the same."
Though he spoke calmly, Baek So-cheon was truly furious.
Yeom Hwa-sin, at least, was the type to fight head-on. He might sacrifice his son for honor and morale, but he wouldn't resort to such underhanded tricks from the shadows.
Bam!
As if unable to hold back any longer, Je-gal Hyeon slammed his fist on the desk.
"I cannot forgive those scum."
It was utterly unimaginable. Who could have guessed that the escorts accompanying the Blood Cult Lord's daughter for a marriage alliance would plot something like this?
Had Baek So-cheon not uncovered it, they would have fallen victim helplessly.
"First, we need to determine what this is."
Only then could they devise countermeasures—whether to turn it against them or exact punishment.
"Elder Councilor Meng-sa, our senior expert on such formations, has unparalleled insight. I'll summon him immediately."
"Very well."
Je-gal Hyeon quietly instructed Sa-ma Il-jung.
"Bring him to the Hyun-cheon Pavilion office, but do so discreetly."
"Yes, sir!"
Sa-ma Il-jung left the strategy command center.
Meng-sa lacked clearance for the strategy command center, so the two waited for him in Je-gal Hyeon's office at Hyun-cheon Pavilion.
Baek So-cheon stared silently out the window.
Was it because he'd heard the man wanted to leave?
Today, his back view seemed especially lonely, stirring a pang of melancholy in Je-gal Hyeon.
There must be times when even Baek So-cheon wanted to abandon this tangled reality and walk away, yet he endured without a single complaint.
Je-gal Hyeon admired him for it. At the same time, he felt his own age keenly. His mind no longer turned as sharply as before. Back then, he could pull all-nighters for three days straight and devise strategies that astonished everyone... Now, even staying up one night was a struggle, let alone crafting strategies.
Just look at the Blood Cult's schemes. They kept getting battered by one plot after another.
The one who should step down is me.
Once matters with the Black Heaven Alliance concluded, he resolved to retire from his position as Grand Strategist. It was time for a young, sharp successor to lead Hyun-cheon Pavilion.
A thought suddenly struck him.
Come to think of it, the Alliance Lord wants to pass the throne to Captain Baek... So all three of us yearn to leave.
Three men who wished to depart, facing off against those desperate to seize their positions. It was the bitter irony of life, drawing a hollow smile.
Moments later, Meng-sa from the Elder Council arrived.
Turning eighty next year, he was the Murim Alliance's foremost expert on formations. He had designed many of the alliance's installed formations. Beyond formations, he delved deeply into mechanical traps, ambushes, concealment, and sorcery, boasting profound knowledge in those fields. Now retired from active duty, he spent his remaining years in the Elder Council.
"Welcome, Senior."
"It's been a while."
Unusual as it was, Meng-sa felt inwardly flustered. Moreover, Baek So-cheon, at the center of recent buzz, was there too.
"I watched the sparring match. Truly impressive."
"Thank you."
After a brief exchange with Baek So-cheon, he turned to Je-gal Hyeon.
"But what brings you to summon me?"
"Please take a look at this."
They showed him what Baek So-cheon had presented earlier. Meng-sa eyed the go stones on the outer compound map.
"What are these?"
"That's what we've come to ask you."
"Hmm."
He peered back at the map. The next instant, he startled. The center was Mengju-jeon.
"No way? This? A formation?"
"Does it look like one?"
"If the center weren't Mengju-jeon, it'd be mere stones on paper. But since it is... yes, a formation."
Otherwise, they wouldn't have called a formation specialist like him—and discreetly at that. The central building explained why.
Only then did Baek So-cheon ask.
"If it's a formation, what harm could it cause?"
"Depends on the type. Typically, it affects those inside the central structure."
Meng-sa pointed at the stones with a finger.
"Can you show me these sites? I need to inspect them in person to identify the formation."
"Yes, come with me."
Baek So-cheon requested of Je-gal Hyeon.
"If they notice, it'll be trouble. Strategist, please detain Myeol Ji-ryun and her two escorts."
"Understood. I'll report to the Alliance Lord and invite them to Mengju-jeon."
Je-gal Hyeon asked Meng-sa.
"How much time will the investigation take?"
"Half a shichen should suffice."
"Got it. And Senior Meng, please treat this as top secret."
The wrinkles around Meng-sa's eyes deepened with a smile.
"The Elder Council, you see, is just a gathering of old men with nothing but sharp wits left."
While Myeol Ji-ryun, Rap-sa, and Pa-jeong were invited to Mengju-jeon, Baek So-cheon and Meng-sa moved out.
Their first stop was the stables.
Personnel had been preemptively sent away to other areas.
Meng-sa circulated his qi to probe the surroundings.
"I can't identify the exact formation, but it feels oppressively heavy. This is no ordinary one."
It was the kind of aura only a lifetime formation researcher could sense.
Meng-sa examined the horses in the stables. They appeared normal at a glance.
He pulled incense from his bag and lit it. Not ordinary incense—the smoke was bluish, spreading rapidly through the stables.
Soon, the horses began to whinny.
Baek So-cheon could see it: the horses' eyes turning blood-red as they thrashed.
Meng-sa approached one particularly agitated horse.
He mixed liquids from vials in his bag, then smeared the concoction on the horse's enclosure. A bizarre sight unfolded.
Blood-red characters densely covered the fence—ancient script, illegible, written not in red ink but actual blood.
"According to the watcher, the intruder didn't write these characters here."
It wasn't just one or two. Cheon-geuk couldn't have missed him writing them on-site.
"These weren't written directly."
"Pardon?"
"He merely flicked a drop of his blood on the wall and left."
"And that blood formed the characters on its own?"
Meng-sa nodded.
"He prepared meticulously beforehand, then came here pretending to stroll, all while reciting incantations."
A formation rooted in grotesque sorcery.
Meng-sa extinguished the incense, and the horses soon calmed.
"Later, all these horses must be put down. Their blood vitality has been corrupted. They'll seem fine normally but go berserk when excited."
"I'll handle it."
These were mounts for Cheol-geom-dan warriors; they couldn't be left as is. Innocent horses sacrificed to the enemy's plot.
"This site's done. On to the next."
Baek So-cheon led Meng-sa to the next location: the southern warehouse.
Meng-sa circled it slowly, then splashed his prepared elixir on the wall. Characters began emerging on the blank surface.
Twisting ancient script filled the vast wall, writhing as if alive and ready to burst forth.
"Next site."
"Yes."
Baek So-cheon guided him onward.
Meng-sa surveyed Baek-ryong-dan headquarters. Orders had secretly cleared the area; all were out training.
Meng-sa circled the building with incense.
"Characters engraved on the walls again?"
"No."
He followed the drifting smoke to a small pond.
Meng-sa mixed another elixir and poured it in.
The water turned to blood, revealing the same ancient characters on the swimming carps' bodies. A shocking, eerie scene.
He poured another elixir, restoring the pond.
Turning away, Meng-sa staggered.
"Are you all right?"
"Fine."
It looked simple—lighting incense, splashing elixirs—but the invisible drain on mental energy was immense.
"Have you identified the formation?"
"I have a rough idea, but need more checks for certainty. To the next—time's short. We have only half a shichen."
"Yes."
At the next site, an astonishing sight: the incense revived dead flowers, blooming not in their natural hue but blood-red.
The instant they bloomed, Meng-sa vomited blood.
"Senior!"
"I'm fine. Really."
He lit more incense to wither them back, knowing they couldn't leave traces.
Baek So-cheon helped him retreat far from the flower garden.
Catching his breath, Meng-sa spoke.
"The formation is the Pal-bang Gwi-hyeol Jin—Eight Directions Ghost Blood Array. The Blood Cult's supreme formation, notoriously difficult to master, said to be usable only by Jeok Pa-rap. To see it here!"
Pa-jeong, Jeok Pa-rap's disciple, had inherited it.
"What happens when activated?"
"The target becomes the formation creator's slave. Total mental domination."
Just like the Cheon-wi Won-go.
Baek So-cheon could guess the Blood Cult's motive.
Among Murim Alliance, Black Heaven Alliance, and Blood Cult, the latter was weakest.
They aimed to bolster themselves by turning the Murim Alliance Lord into their puppet.
Control the Lord, and they could provoke the alliance into attacking Black Heaven first. When both sides mutually destroyed each other, they'd reap the fisherman's profit—their grand plan for Murim unification.
"When does it activate?"
"Originally, after preparations in all eight directions, the final step: meet the target directly and smear a drop of blood on their body."
"Ah!"
Baek So-cheon realized the finale.
As Myeol Ji-ryun departed the alliance, Ak So-gun would bid farewell with clasped hands—a traditional gesture for esteemed guests.
That's when the drop of blood would stain the Lord's palm. A rare chance to touch the Alliance Lord's body officially.
Impossible under normal circumstances. Roaming eight alliance sites undetected? Touching the Lord? Unthinkable.
But as honored guests, feasible.
"Can we dismantle the installed formation?"
"Not complete yet, so pre-made arrays can be broken. I can prepare immediately if needed..."
"No. Dismantle slowly."
Baek So-cheon escorted Meng-sa home.
He helped the elder to bed, expressing gratitude.
"You've expended much mental energy—rest fully for days. Thanks to you, Senior, we've averted a great crisis for the alliance. My deepest thanks."
Baek So-cheon clasped his hand.
"This old man could help—I'm relieved."
A day showcasing the Elder Council's true strength.
"Rest well."
As he rose, Meng-sa asked.
"What now?"
Baek So-cheon met his gaze calmly.
"What we received, we return. Not more—just exactly as much as received."
No matter how keen the old ginger's instincts, he couldn't pinpoint it. But whatever it was, it weighed heavy. Meng-sa smiled faintly.
"That should suffice."