260. <Golden Night Journey>
The deputy chief of Maengjujeon glanced over the report again as he headed toward the Alliance Leader's office. The reports that made their way up through Mantongbu were almost always the most critical or urgent matters.
Trivial details like a mere delegation arriving in Muhwan would normally be filtered out by Cheonmogak long before reaching Mantongbu. Yet this report had reached Maengjujeon itself due to a personal directive from the current Murim Alliance Leader, Hyeok Mu-gang.
"Alliance Leader, the delegation will arrive soon."
No sooner had the deputy reported from outside the office than the door swung open, startling him.
And then.
"Is it true?"
The Alliance Leader's strangely flushed expression made the deputy flinch. He looked just like a man who'd hear his nonexistent grandson had brought home a daughter-in-law.
The deputy snapped out of that fleeting thought and replied, "Yes. Cheonmogak sent word."
"Understood."
Hyeok Mu-gang immediately began preparing to head out. The deputy tilted his head in confusion.
"You're going out to greet them yourself?"
For a delegation, it was already immense honor just to be received by Mantongbu's deputy chief. For the Alliance Leader to step out personally?
Hyeok Mu-gang snorted firmly, steam practically puffing from his nostrils. "These are people who rendered great service in this matter. We cannot make them skulk in like some golden night journey."
"......"
Leaving the thoroughly baffled deputy behind, Hyeok Mu-gang bolted toward Mantongbu like a shot arrow.
Bang.
As Hyeok Mu-gang burst through the suddenly opened door, the startled Alliance members snapped to attention in rigid formation.
"Aigoo......"
Watching them, Jegal Somyeong furrowed his brow.
"Didn't I say I'd handle the reception myself?"
He understood the sentiment—it was commendable and heartwarming—but there were eyes watching. An Alliance Leader who moved so casually undermined his own authority.
Yet Hyeok Mu-gang wore an expression that said authority and face meant nothing.
"These are heroes who accomplished something extraordinary. If they don't receive treatment befitting that, who would devote themselves fully to the Murim Alliance?"
Jegal Somyeong could only throw up his hands at that.
"Come in for now. It's not too late to move once we hear they've entered Alliance grounds."
"B-but......"
"Now!"
At the Chief Strategist's bellow, Hyeok Mu-gang sat down with an abashed look. In the meantime, an Alliance member brought him tea, and Jegal Somyeong resumed sifting through the mountain of reports.
"You still have so much work......"
Crumple.
Before Hyeok Mu-gang could finish, the report in Jegal Somyeong's hand crumpled, his brow twisting viciously in tandem.
"What did you say......?"
"Huh?"
"You call that words?"
"Ah, no, I mean......"
Jegal Somyeong held up the crumpled papers one by one into the air.
Sichuan Blood Cult Subjugation and Pursuit Report on Their Remnants.
Casualty Counts and Compensation Plans from the Blood Cult Battle.
Plans for Securing Retreat Routes and Supply Replenishment.
An endless parade of reports unfolded as he displayed them one after another. Hyeok Mu-gang instinctively recoiled from the madness gleaming in Jegal Somyeong's eyes.
"I-is that so?"
Judging he'd misspoke, he tried to calm the Chief Strategist, but Jegal Somyeong, now fully unleashed, showed no signs of stopping.
"Dealing with the countless formations and traps those Blood Cult bastards set up!"
"Support and supply issues for the dispatched warriors' return!"
"The scale of new branches to establish in Shanxi Province due to Sahyeokryeon's founding!"
Mantongbu echoed with Jegal Somyeong's torrent of duties. But that wasn't the end.
"These are just the most urgent matters right now! And do you know what?"
As Hyeok Mu-gang faltered at the sudden question, the madness in Jegal Somyeong's eyes deepened.
"Once these are done, I have to handle ten times this amount of backlog!! And you ask if I have a lot of work???? Yes?? You ask if I have a lot of work????"
"S-sorry, Chief Strategist...... I, I've burdened you too much......"
"Don't just talk—give me actual help! Actual help!"
Hyeok Mu-gang found the Chief Strategist's bloodshot eyes and looming face utterly burdensome. He barely squeezed out a response.
"A-alright. I'll, uh, talk to the Elder Hall and get the budget increased."
"That's not all! Talent! No, I don't even need talent! People! We're short on people!"
"W-well, you're setting the minimum standards too high......"
"What was that?"
"......"
Hyeok Mu-gang gulped, silenced by Jegal Somyeong's sudden icy shift. Truth be told, plenty of talent wanted into Mantongbu. The one who'd turned them away was none other than Jegal Somyeong himself.
But bringing that up now would shatter everything. Hyeok Mu-gang let out a long sigh.
"I'll handle it."
"I. Be. Seech. You."
Dark circles shadowed his eyes more than ever. It was indeed time for change. They maintained a truce with Sahyeokryeon for now, thanks to the common enemy of the Blood Cult, but conflict could erupt anytime.
And then there were those things threatening the martial world. They'd coexisted with the Black Path for centuries despite tensions, but those things were impossible to coexist with. Even their sporadic appearances showed their mindset was utterly alien to the martial world.
Considering that, the entire Murim Alliance—not just Mantongbu—lacked talent.
'Should I go kidnap some scholars from the academies?'
As Hyeok Mu-gang entertained absurd thoughts unfit for an Alliance Leader, a Mantongbu member approached and reported.
"The delegation has entered Murim Alliance grounds."
It was the news Hyeok Mu-gang had longed for.
#
"Pardon?"
I dug in my ear and asked again. The Alliance member's sour expression suggested my attitude came off as awfully arrogant.
Well, no—it was just that I thought I'd misheard, so I was cleaning my ear while repeating the question.
Tsk.
The member repeated himself with a pout. "They said everyone come."
"......"
I glanced at Ak Byeongbi. We were a delegation selected in secret, after all. Normally, the leader handled reports, and the rest got briefed by him, right?
Besides, we were in a bit of a bind right now.
"So...... sleepy...... Zzz...... Mmm......"
Dang Seohee, drooling all over my back while clinging to me in sleep.
......And we had to report to Mantongbu looking like this?
I shifted to hand her off and asked again. "Does everyone have to attend?"
No warm consideration forthcoming.
"......Wake her. What are you doing?"
Tch. As expected, the Murim Alliance was cold and rigid. I jostled the arm carrying Dang Seohee.
"Senior, wake up. We gotta go to Mantongbu now."
"Mmm, zzz...... I'm tired...... Worked too much......"
......You barely did anything! Just ate and slept!
I handled the bandits we met on the way, and I saved those famine-stricken mountain folk with the so-called senior.
"Haa......"
As I sighed deeply, Ak Byeongbi waved it off casually. "Just go. The Chief Strategist knows about Dang Seohee anyway."
Sure, since I'm not the one catching hell. Dang Seohee could use a lesson in 'society' this time.
'But seriously, this drool......'
I ignored the warm dampness on my nape and followed Ak Byeongbi. The escorts who'd planned to split off here ended up coming along due to the luggage.
"Feels kinda empty, huh."
The Murim Alliance grounds, usually teeming with people, felt eerily spacious. Probably because so many warriors were dispatched to Sichuan......
But the members' faces didn't show deep worry. That alone told me things in Sichuan had resolved well.
'Another change from my previous life.'
Sichuan wrapped up over a year early. The Alliance's strength was preserved, no major losses among Sichuan-based sects. No academy student blood spilled, and crucially, no one exploiting it for political games.
Everything had shifted for the better, but new uneasy elements had emerged too.
'Yin-Yang Twin Demons.'
I hadn't expected the ferocious Yin-Yang Twin Demons to be active in the martial world already.
Knowing what I hadn't before could be good, but flip it around: changed events might have stirred beings who stayed dormant originally.
Such shifts were positive yet negative. If the Demonic Cult rose now, the Alliance would fall again, unleashing hell on the martial world.
'Need more drastic changes.'
Changes fierce enough to utterly twist the past. Even if it meant blood another way, big shifts were essential.
As those thoughts swirled, the member stopped before the hall and turned to me.
"Wake her already. Can't be rude, right?"
"......"
No, it's not that I don't want to—
Between getting on the member's bad side or getting poisoned by Dang Seohee's sleepy tantrum...... I'd pick the member.
I ignored him and stood still. The frowning member finally opened the door.
"The delegation to Sahyeokryeon has arrived."
With the member's report, our group entered. A single table sat alone in the modest hall, flanked by two men.
Hm, figured the Chief Strategist would be here, but next to him......
'Hyeok Mu-gang!?'
I'd expected Jegal Somyeong, who'd sent us, to await results. But the Alliance Leader himself?
"Delegation Leader Ak Byeongbi reporting return today."
As Ak Byeongbi clasped his fists in salute, Ilmyeong and the escort flags followed suit. I, with Dang Seohee on my back, just nodded.
"You've all worked hard. Rest easy."
Jegal Somyeong nodded, and the saluting escorts carefully set down the crates before exiting the hall. Once our guide left and the doors closed, Jegal Somyeong spoke.
"The Alliance is still abuzz internally, so we kept your mission unannounced. Forgive us for no grand welcome."
Sahyeokryeon and Murim Alliance relations remained undefined. Elder Hall and each pavilion's input was needed, plus synthesizing opinions from supporting sects. Even if friendly ties made sense now, that was the Alliance's system.
Ak Byeongbi bowed politely. "We sought no credit. No need to mind."
Jegal Somyeong nodded in satisfaction, then scanned our group. His gaze lingered on Ilmyeong, passed the escorts, and fixed on me.
......Should I wake Dang Seohee now? I pondered briefly.
But fortunately.
"......You must be exhausted."
Jegal Somyeong glanced at her and moved on without comment.
He's really letting it slide? Because she's from the Dang family? That'd be kinda sad.
"What you've accomplished saved the Alliance from great peril. We won't gloss over it just because it's not public—don't worry."
"Thank you."
"Hm, still, I've arranged this to hear the details."
Jegal Somyeong's brow twitched faintly.
"......Information flow was spotty while you were in Sahyeokryeon."
He glared at the escorts before composing himself and continuing evenly. "From Cheonmogak's reports, I heard many in Sahyeokryeon wanted to strike the Alliance's back this time. How did you convince them?"
Ak Byeongbi answered the Chief Strategist's question immediately. "We didn't convince them."
"Pardon?"
"Far from it—we nearly died framed for a crime."
"Framed?"
Information from Shanxi had cut off entirely—probably when things went south.
Ak Byeongbi nodded calmly. "Yes."
"Then how?"
Jegal Somyeong tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. Hyeok Mu-gang, listening silently beside him, mirrored the confusion.
"This is all Jin Sowoon's merit."
"......Jin Sowoon?"
"......"
Jegal Somyeong and Hyeok Mu-gang's gazes pinned on me.
Ah, wanna strike a cool fist salute like it's no big deal.
......But Dang Seohee shows no sign of waking behind me.
Whether he knew my plight or not.
"Mmm, zzz...... I'm the boss......"
......Dang Seohee was lost in some dream game of being the big shot.
Ah, wake up already—quit the weird sleep-talk!