Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: I Saw It Clearly This Time
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"We've received separate communications from the three Horned Moon Inns and the three New Moon Inns."
Hwaok reported this as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
She had assumed that if Byeok Taesan stepped forward, Nah Heontak would naturally fall under his command.
But now that it had actually happened, she couldn't help but be impressed.
Nah Heontak had been that stubborn, after all.
Honestly, Hwaok wouldn't have found it strange at all if Nah Heontak had rejected Byeok Taesan's offer to the very end.
Yet, not only did Nah Heontak place himself under Byeok Taesan's command, but he also took it upon himself to bring in the other Secret Heaven Group members connected to him.
They were likely all people who could never have been recruited had Byeok Taesan not personally intervened.
She guessed that they were somewhat different from the other Secret Heaven Group members, given that they all ran inns and the names of their inns were similar.
That was why they had so stubbornly refused the offer.
In any case, after making her report, Byeok Taesan seemed all the more remarkable to her.
"We've contacted the Underworld Sect and established a close network with them as well."
Byeok Taesan nodded.
"Fundamentally, they are all quite skilled, so the quantity and quality of the information they've gathered are tremendous."
"Well... they do seem useful."
Hwaok smiled gently at Byeok Taesan's words.
"I will tell them the Young Master praised them. They will likely be delighted."
"Praise? Hardly."
Byeok Taesan said that, but he didn't tell her not to.
"Have you looked into the treasure map?"
At Byeok Taesan's question, Hwaok quickly answered.
"We are in the process of confirming. However, we've found a great deal of circumstantial evidence pointing to the Golden Moon Trading Company as the source of the rumor. Furthermore, another rumor has begun to circulate about people seeking the treasure map, and its source is also the Golden Moon Trading Company."
Byeok Taesan let out a smirk.
"What a bunch of clowns."
This meant they were plotting something using the treasure map.
"Soon enough, a story will come out about someone stealing the treasure map."
"I anticipate as much."
"Keep watching. Don't bother intervening."
The moment you intervene in a situation, danger follows. If it's not just the Golden Moon Trading Company acting alone, but other bastards are involved, it becomes even more dangerous.
"I will keep that in mind."
As Hwaok answered, Byeok Taesan nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"We'll leave that be for now... What about the thing we were originally planning to do?"
"All preparations are complete. You may begin whenever you wish, Young Master."
Byeok Taesan grinned.
"Is that so? Then let's go now. How many places did you say there were in Changsha?"
"There are three. Two are certain, and one is a bit ambiguous."
When Byeok Taesan looked at her as if asking for more details, Hwaok continued her explanation.
"The way they established their base is a little different. Nevertheless, there were enough overlapping points that we marked it."
"So what's your judgment?"
"I judge it to be another faction of Nameless."
We've already determined that Nameless is divided into at least three or more factions.
It seemed highly likely to be one of those factions.
"Come to think of it, I've found out a few new things myself."
Byeok Taesan grinned.
He then told Hwaok the information he had extracted from the lingering thoughts of Yeong Seocheong.
This time, he had seen it clearly.
Since he had seen most of it as scenes, it wasn't easy to explain in words, but if Hwaok received it, it would likely be transformed into high-quality intelligence.
As she listened to the explanation, Hwaok's eyes widened.
What Byeok Taesan was saying contained a great deal of information that would be impossible to know unless one was at the core of Nameless.
Having grasped this level of information, depending on how Hwaok organized it and directed their movements in the future, she could obtain much deeper and more extensive intelligence.
After hearing everything, Hwaok's expression quickly turned serious.
"They're a... larger organization than I thought."
Hwaok composed her expression and looked at Byeok Taesan.
"First, after I guide you to the Nameless base, Young Master, I will calmly organize this information."
Through what she had just heard from Byeok Taesan, she confirmed that the one location she had marked as ambiguous was indeed a Nameless base.
Byeok Taesan nodded and rose from his seat.
"Then let's go. Call the others, too. It's a good opportunity."
Hwaok bowed her head.
"Yes. I'll relay the message at once."
* * *
Nah Heontak was sitting across from a man from the Underworld Sect.
The Horned Moon Inn's intelligence network in Changsha was excellent, but the same couldn't be said for other regions.
Nah Heontak wasn't the only one.
The other Secret Heaven Group members Nah Heontak had connected with Byeok Taesan were all the same.
Their intelligence on their respective regions was outstanding, but they were in the dark about the outside world.
It wasn't that they knew nothing, but their knowledge was very crude. It was limited to gathering a few rumors.
And there were even some who felt that even that was unnecessary.
Nah Heontak was one of those who felt it was unnecessary.
In fact, the first one to bring him the offer to join Byeok Taesan was the Underworld Sect.
After that, Secret Heaven Group members from other regions stepped forward.
So he had guessed that Byeok Taesan and the Underworld Sect were connected in some way.
But he never imagined the entire Underworld Sect would be under Byeok Taesan.
There was a separate sect leader, but since that leader was Byeok Taesan's man, it meant Byeok Taesan was effectively the master of the Underworld Sect.
Honestly, he was surprised.
And he was even more surprised to learn that the Underworld Sect's recent rise was due to Byeok Taesan.
"Then we will create a cooperative system like this."
At the Underworld Sect member's words, Nah Heontak snapped back to his senses and nodded.
"That should be enough. It seems unlikely that any information or rumors circulating in Changsha will escape our grasp."
The Underworld Sect member couldn't hide his admiration at Nah Heontak's words.
"Frankly, I'm surprised. I didn't realize you had built such an outstanding intelligence network. It's several times better than what we anticipated and understood."
"I'm surprised as well, to be honest. I never thought the Underworld Sect's capabilities would be this great. If time passes and support continues like this, it seems you could weave a net that covers the entire world."
The Underworld Sect member grinned.
"It's something we've dreamed of for a long time."
Nah Heontak nodded at the confidence on the Underworld Sect member's face. It was good to see.
Once their discussion concluded, Nah Heontak hesitated for a moment before asking the Underworld Sect member.
"By the way... earlier, it looked like the Young Master was rushing somewhere with his companions. Do you happen to know what's going on?"
The Underworld Sect member nodded.
"Yes, I do. Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know, Elder. We haven't begun formally exchanging information yet..."
"Is it something important?"
"Yes, it is. Elder, have you perhaps heard of an organization called Nameless?"
"Nameless? Hmm, I don't think so."
"You need to know about them from now on. They're a bunch of nasty bastards who have recently been getting on our Young Master's nerves."
He probably wasn't calling them nasty bastards just because they were annoying Byeok Taesan.
Besides, Nameless. He had never heard the name before.
To be able to contend with Byeok Taesan—the master of the Underworld Sect who had also brought several Secret Heaven Group members under his command—they couldn't possibly be a crude organization.
But for an organization of that caliber to still be unknown by name meant they were bastards who had been secretly amassing power.
"Are you aware that there are people secretly plotting to throw the martial world into chaos?"
Once again, Nah Heontak could only shake his head.
But he did have something to say.
"I know that the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, and the Five Great Families have been a bit restless lately."
Nah Heontak wasn't talking about anything overt, but about how their movements had become more frequent and different from usual.
"That's exactly what those bastards are doing now. And that's just a tiny fraction of it. Have you heard about the Half-Jiangshi or the Blood Augmenting Pills?"
"I think I've heard a little about that."
The Underworld Sect member's eyes gleamed. That was, in fact, a matter being handled with extreme secrecy.
But the fact that he knew about it showed his intelligence-gathering abilities were indeed extraordinary.
Especially since Nah Heontak was practically in the dark about information outside of Changsha.
"I heard it from someone I'm connected to who knows about it."
"Ah, I see. In any case, that too is the work of those bastards from Nameless."
Nah Heontak's expression grew a little more serious.
"They're no ordinary group."
"The Young Master has gone to strike their base in Changsha today."
"They have a base in Changsha?"
Nah Heontak's eyes flashed. It was as if lightning sparked in his pupils.
It meant that bastards who dealt with Half-Jiangshi and used Blood Augmenting Pills were active in Changsha, and he hadn't known about it until now.
Of course, it was possible if they had been extremely cautious. But Nah Heontak found even that hard to accept.
No, if those bastards had been active even slightly within Changsha, he absolutely should have known.
"The only ones in Changsha who can escape my notice are the Golden Moon Trading Company. These Nameless bastards, could they be connected to the Golden Moon Trading Company?"
The Underworld Sect member nodded.
"That is our current understanding."
Then it makes some sense. If the Golden Moon Trading Company helped them, they could have easily avoided his notice.
Nah Heontak had found out about the treasure map this time, but that was because the Golden Moon Trading Company had intentionally spread the rumor.
If not for that, even someone like Nah Heontak would not have been able to discover it.
The Golden Moon Trading Company's power in Changsha was just that formidable.
"You said the Young Master went to strike their base?"
"Yes, that's right. He should be arriving soon."
"Things are about to get noisy."
"Well, that depends on how the Young Master handles it."
"If the Golden Moon Trading Company is involved with Nameless, they'll make a move one way or another. Don't you think?"
"That's highly likely."
Nah Heontak rose from his seat.
"I must be going."
"What? So suddenly?"
"I can't just let an opportunity to exploit a potential opening slip away, can I?"
The Underworld Sect member quickly stood up as well.
"We have also made our own preparations to move, but..."
"The situation is urgent, so it would be better for each of us to act independently. Let's be careful not to get in each other's way."
The Underworld Sect member nodded with a slightly reluctant expression.
"Yes, of course."
As soon as he heard the reply, Nah Heontak hurried outside.
A series of urgent movements could be heard from the surroundings.
* * *
Byeok Taesan's group moved out together.
Their first destination was a slum in Changsha.
There were five slums in Changsha, and the one Byeok Taesan's group arrived at was the smallest of them.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Doctor of the Ages muttered.
"So this entire slum is a Nameless base? Ha, these bastards are really something else."
"This slum was formed over a hundred years ago. They took control of this place by killing the residents one by one and replacing them with their own people."
Everyone was stunned by Hwaok's words.
Since it's a slum, no one would have suspected a thing. Besides, if anything happened, they could just cut their losses.
Even that would be a common occurrence in a slum, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.
"In truth, Nameless is located in the center of the slum. They are simply controlling the entire slum by force. They've also placed their members here and there to control the residents and prevent them from acting rashly."
Everyone nodded at her words.
It was certainly an efficient method.
Moreover, if needed, they could feed the residents Blood Augmenting Pills and use them as combatants, or use them to procure materials for Half-Jiangshi. It was killing three birds with one stone.
As Hwaok's explanation continued, everyone shook their heads with weary expressions.
After listening to everything Hwaok said, Byeok Taesan spoke as if it were nothing.
"Then we just need to pick out those bastards and deal with them. It would be easier to wipe them all out in one shot, but it's a hassle. Can't be helped."
Everyone stared blankly at Byeok Taesan.
Surely, he didn't mean he was going to wipe out the entire slum in one shot, they thought.
But the fact that they couldn't be sure was a little frightening.
"I'll take care of anyone who tries to escape."
At Byeok Taesan's words, the rest of the group knew exactly what they had to do.
They just had to go into the slum and cleanly take out the Nameless members.
The problem was that they had to find each and every one of them.
Was that even possible?
Everyone wore skeptical expressions. If even the slightest commotion broke out and blood was shed, the residents would likely panic.
They might all flee from here in a rush.
If the Nameless members escaped by mixing in with them, there would be no point in attacking this place.
Byeok Taesan looked at Hwaok and asked.
"Are the other two places like this?"
"One place is similar to this one, and the other is a bit different."
Hwaok began her explanation, then added a few more details.
The similar one was like the place Yeon Harin dealt with in Wuhan. They had turned an entire street into a base.
It was even the same in that the Nameless members there had not learned martial arts.
And the last one was a martial arts academy of a decent size.
Everyone who frequented the academy was a member of Nameless.
In fact, even Hwaok hadn't considered it, but while investigating, she happened to discover that one of the academy's trainees was a Nameless member. After digging deeper, she found that all the trainees were actually members of Nameless.
In other words, all the martial artists and workers running the academy, as well as the trainees and their families, were all members of Nameless.
Byeok Taesan listened quietly and then changed the plan.
"I'll take this place. As for the other two, reorganize the plan to split our forces and strike them simultaneously."
Everyone stared at Byeok Taesan with surprised eyes.
A sense of unease filled their gazes. They weren't confident that they could destroy the Nameless bases even after splitting their forces in two.
Byeok Taesan spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"They're just a bunch of nobodies. I won't even permit a scratch."
Everyone stared blankly at Byeok Taesan.
< I Saw It Clearly This Time > End