Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Shadows at Yellow Crane Tower
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ah!”
A mountain path where the Shaolin Temple's private gate had long vanished from sight.
Jeok Muryong flinched at Neung So-hwa's sudden exclamation.
“What's wrong?”
“I forgot one thing.”
“What thing?”
“Elder Gongmun.”
“...That old monk, why?”
“Aren't you curious about the records on him?”
“...Hmm.”
Jeok Muryong furrowed his brow.
From what Hong Gak Seonsa had said, Elder Gongmun seemed to have left behind quite a few records.
Reading them might reveal every detail of the circumstances back when Jeok Muryong had been trapped in the Bottomless Abyss.
Either way, Elder Gongmun had lived on for some time even after Jeok Muryong vanished.
‘But...’
Would the Shaolin side really allow him to peruse the records of their former sect leader?
It probably wouldn't be easy.
The records were, after all, private institutional property.
Especially those left by a sect leader from centuries ago—they'd be handled with utmost care.
Permission from the high-ranking monks would be needed, and they weren't all like Hong Gak Seonsa.
Just hearing the name Heavenly Demon would make them try to drive him off.
‘Smashing everything to bits would be easy enough, though.’
That would just lead to all sorts of headaches.
In the end, Jeok Muryong cleanly gave up on the idea.
“Forget it.”
“Jeok Daxia?”
“Even if I read it now, nothing changes. The procedures would be a hassle anyway. Just drop it.”
“You sure you're okay with that?”
“That's not like you. If I wasn't, do you think this lord would sit still?”
“True enough. It's Jeok Daxia, after all.”
“So instead of worrying about me, think about what we're doing next.”
Neung So-hwa nodded.
“As I mentioned back at Shaolin, we're heading straight to reclaim True Heaven Palace.”
“And that reclaiming doesn't just mean me storming in and wiping everyone out, right?”
“Correct. Though there will be times when we absolutely need Jeok Daxia's power.”
The key was figuring out how to position Jeok Muryong to make his move.
As he'd pointed out, it couldn't end with simply beating everyone down.
Betrayers or not, they were still pieces that made up True Heaven Palace.
If she swept them all away, the entire structure would collapse, and True Heaven Palace itself would vanish.
Grabbing just the accumulated wealth wouldn't be bad, but...
“True Heaven Palace is the fruit of Grandfather's lifelong efforts. I want to inherit it as intact as possible and nurture it.”
“Right. So we'll have to think about how to pull that off.”
“I've already decided on the first step.”
“Good start. What's that?”
“We'll recruit those in neutral positions first.”
Jeok Muryong's eyebrow twitched.
“Neutral?”
“Yes. After Grandfather's death, when the infighting broke out, there were those who didn't join in—they just stood back and watched.”
“That's not neutral; that's just cunning. They were probably biding their time to latch onto whichever side gained the upper hand.”
“Exactly. So I'll become the one they want to latch onto.”
“Hmm.”
“Everyone puts their own interests first. There might be the rare purely virtuous soul, but they're extremely few.”
If everyone were overflowing with goodness, there'd be no need to revere the truly good in the first place.
Fitting for True Heaven Palace's Young Palace Lord, Jeok Muryong thought.
Neung So-hwa understood human nature all too well.
“Fine. Then we head to Wuhuan first.”
Jeok Muryong extended both arms.
“Hold on tight.”
Wuhuan.
It was considered the most vital city in Hubei Province, home to countless famous scenic spots and strategic hubs.
Geographically, the Yangtze and Han Rivers converged there, allowing massive volumes of goods to be transported by both land and water.
This meant astronomical sums of money flowing through.
In turn, it fostered a booming commercial district and lively cultural exchanges that drew people in and enriched the streets.
The old phrase “bridgehead between the north and south banks” captured it perfectly.
To the southeast lay the renowned East Lake, one of the great sights rivaling Hangzhou's West Lake.
It was only natural that countless merchant houses and sects coexisted in such a place.
And the fact that True Heaven Palace stood at the top demonstrated its power.
“But that's all over now.”
East Lake, Yellow Crane Tower.
A five-story pavilion built in the Three Kingdoms era, offering a sweeping view of the lake's splendor.
True to its prestige, it wasn't a place just anyone could enter.
Currently under True Heaven Palace's ownership, only those with real influence in the palace could come and go.
On the top floor of that Yellow Crane Tower, a young man was tilting his cup with a self-mocking expression.
Already thoroughly drunk, to the point of spilling half into his lapels.
Only one black-clad figure, face covered by a mask, watched over the youth.
“We're done for ages now. Just hanging on for the money.”
“......”
“True Heaven Palace is finished.”
“You seem quite drunk, Young Master.”
A neutral voice emerged from the black-clad figure.
The youth chuckled and flung his empty cup over the railing.
“Do I? Yeah, I am. How could I sleep easy sober, staring at this mess?”
“Young Master.”
“Heard the pursuit team heading to Heavenly Center Mountain got completely wiped out.”
The black-clad figure froze at the youth's words.
“Young Palace Lord's gone missing, right? They even sent a search party into Death Valley itself and found nothing. Ah, wait—not nothing. They found Gale Division Leader and his lackeys' corpses.”
“......”
“The old fogeys are kicking up a fuss about outside forces getting involved.”
The youth's lip twisted.
“Suspicions are flying everywhere. Luoyang's Hwang Merchant House, Kaifeng's Great Seal Sect—even Wudang Sect and the Zhuge family are under scrutiny.”
“Young Master Im.”
“My take? None of them took the Young Palace Lord.”
“...!”
The black-clad figure's eyes gleamed with deep meaning.
The youth—Im Seohyuk—leaned limply against the railing.
“But that's as far as it goes. I don't know who or which faction took her, either.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Go tell Huanggang Society's vultures that.”
“...!”
The black-clad figure's pupils shook violently.
Im Seohyuk smirked coldly.
“Thought I wouldn't know, Heukran? That you approached me from the start to pry out information.”
“You knew all along.”
“Damn right. Got to hold a beauty like you out of it—no regrets.”
With a slip,
the black-clad figure tossed off the mask, revealing the beautiful face Im Seohyuk had described.
“How'd you know it was Huanggang Society pulling the strings?”
“Chibi Hall and Ezhou Gang's heads are hopelessly dumb. Huanggang's idiots aren't that bad—they at least grasp the value of intel and scouts.”
“You truly have no idea where the Young Palace Lord is?”
“If I did, I'd have dropped everything and gone running.”
“So loyal—then why didn't you follow when she escaped?”
“I'd have just been dead weight.”
Im Seohyuk shrugged.
“Even if I'd thrashed around with my skills, I couldn't have slowed the pursuit team a step. Didn't want her seeing me like that.”
“Fine excuse. In the end, you were just scared of dying.”
“Spot on. It's an excuse.”
“What a shame. A man so afraid of death meets his end here.”
“You gonna kill me, Heukran?”
“No hard feelings, but that's Huanggang's orders.”
“Can't you just go back, fake the report? I'll change my name, face—live like I'm dead.”
“Name, maybe. But changing your face? Mastered disguise arts or something?”
“Just scar up, grow a beard? I'll still look good, handsome as I am.”
“True. Too handsome to let slide.”
“Take that back.”
“Won't.”
“Damn, really living up to that face.”
Im Seohyuk grumbled.
“Friggin' woman.”
“I'll take it as a compliment. Farewell.”
As Heukran finished speaking, her fingertips glimmered.
Gleaming between her fingers was a three-inch long needle.
Strike a vital spot right, and even a burly man drops dead in one hit—but that wasn't all.
‘Something's attached to the end.’
A silver trajectory trailed from the needle's tail.
A silver thread was unmistakably connected.
“Dodge the needle throw, and the thread wraps around to slice you up? Brutal weapon.”
“As expected of True Heaven's Prodigy. Figured that much from a quick glance.”
“Trained that way since I was a kid.”
“But knowing won't help if you can't counter. Farewell.”
“W-Wait!”
Im Seohyuk flailed to stand but staggered—
Feint. He was really hurling a dagger from his bosom.
Whoosh!
The deftly thrown dagger cleaved the air.
But Heukran had already vanished.
It sailed uselessly over the railing.
“Hurling a hidden weapon at a Silver Thread Long Needle master. You've got a gift for comedy.”
“Kuh!”
Im Seohyuk launched forward at the voice behind him, but couldn't dodge the needles embedding in both his shoulder blades.
“Ugh!”
“No need to state the obvious, but resisting just hurts more.”
“You damn bitch!”
“There it is. Pretty face or not, the insides are trash after all.”
“You approached me 'cause of this pretty face!”
“Eh? Well, had my fun.”
Whip!
Heukran flicked her fingers, and the silver thread connected to the needle coiled around Im Seohyuk.
One yank, and his body would tear apart.
Sensing the end, Im Seohyuk squeezed his eyes shut.
That instant.
Scree!
A gust blew between them.
The silver threads fluttered wildly.
Cut clean through in the middle.
“What...?”
Heukran fell back in confusion.
Im Seohyuk, past the brink of death, looked around in bewilderment.
Three people now stood between him and Heukran.
Two women sprawled on the ground, dry-heaving.
One man standing still, ignoring them to gently stroke their backs.
“...Who might you be?”
The man ignored Heukran's question.
He just apathetically patted the backs of the prone women.
That's when Heukran saw it.
A faint light flowing from the man's fingertips into the women's bodies.
And with it, their complexions visibly calming.
“Phew! Now I can breathe. Thanks so much, Jeok Daxia.”
“Yeah.”
The man—Jeok Muryong—replied indifferently and glanced aside.
Heukran, meeting his eyes, flinched and stepped back.
“Anyway, I stepped in 'cause one side was about to kill the other, but I wouldn't know which is the sort you mentioned.”
“Ah, that's...”
“No way... Young Palace Lord?”
Im Seohyuk's cry of shock cut Neung So-hwa off.
“So-hwa!”