The Chase (12)
The Chase (12)
"The Flying Dragon Sect Leader wasn't the Hao Sect Leader. To think he really couldn't use his legs."
Zhuge Yeong-yu frowned at the words of Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Je Gang. He had pieced together the clues and believed the Flying Dragon Sect Leader was the culprit, but that man was not the Hao Sect Leader. Amusingly, most of the reasons he was suspected of being the Hao Sect Leader stemmed from the fact that he was too clever.
"Ah, no... I mean... You mentioned the Hao Sect was going wild over the Heavenly Demon's treasure, so I immediately thought: if the Hao Sect Leader had entered Shaanxi, what would he disguise himself as? Naturally, he'd disguise himself as one of those who bought a sect by dealing with Venerable Geumbok. I mean... since I've been living quietly and have no prior martial connections, I figured I'd be the one suspected..."
Zhuge Yeong-yu let out a sigh. He was clever, no doubt, but the problem was that his cleverness was pointed in the wrong direction. Because of that, two suspects had emerged, and they had been led completely astray. Zhuge Yeong-yu said,
"The Phoenix Blade Sect must have already withdrawn."
"That's likely. They're quick to pick up on rumors. They've probably already prepared to flee after hearing we raided the Flying Dragon Sect."
"And Mount Hua Sect? What is Mount Hua doing?"
"From what I hear, they identified Docheol of the Crimson Ring Sect as a strong candidate for the Hao Sect Leader, and Gwak Ryong personally made contact."
Zhuge Yeong-yu tilted his head momentarily at those words. Rubbing his chin, lost in thought, he finally sorted it out in his mind and nodded.
"...Now that I think about it, that does seem plausible."
"It depends on how you look at it. From our perspective, Sect Leader Docheol's movements are clear, but if we only consider his public activities, since the martial arts tournament he made a brief trip to Sichuan and has had almost no public activity since."
"Sect Leader Docheol must be very disappointed. He confidently pinpointed the Flying Dragon Sect in this matter. Even a wise man can err, as the old saying goes—there's truth in it."
"Still, it's fortunate that Mount Hua Sect also acted in vain."
Je Gang said that and turned his head. An intelligence agent from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had brought new information, was hesitating, looking around nervously. Je Gang left the pensive Zhuge Yeong-yu alone and approached the agent to ask.
"What is it?"
"Well... new intelligence has come in. While we were gathered to strike the Flying Dragon Sect, it's said that Sect Leader Docheol made contact with the Phoenix Blade Sect."
Je Gang's face stiffened. Zhuge Yeong-yu was still lost in thought, rubbing his chin. He was chuckling to himself, then composing his expression, and repeatedly glancing around.
The agent said,
"What should we do? Should I tell him...?"
"No, let's watch the situation and decide."
Je Gang raised a finger to his lips and said that.
******
It was easy. So easy.
In the end, everything went as we wanted. The Zhongnan Sect couldn't bring themselves to admit they'd raided the Hao Sect and destroyed the Bedroom Arts manual, so they kept their mouths shut. The Hao Sect slipped out of Shaanxi while everyone was pointing arrows in different directions. The rumors of the Heavenly Demon's secret treasure that had stirred Shaanxi vanished without a trace, as quickly as they had billowed up like clouds.
Everything was easy.
Sannyeo smiled and gave her assessment of what I had done this time.
"Heavenly Demon must be burning up inside. He must have been searching so desperately."
"I know. He was probably willing to become a laughingstock just to find it."
I said that and laughed. I could partly understand the Heavenly Demon's complicated feelings. It was a keepsake from someone precious, but he didn't want the contents to be exposed. So he had them search for the manual in a roundabout way, but in the end, he couldn't even find it.
He'd be fuming for sure.
"Still, does this mean we can breathe easy now?"
"Not yet. Since I talked with the Phoenix Blade Sect, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will eventually come after me for it. If I can just get through that, then this matter is truly over."
Since the incident was wrapped up neatly, I intended to bluff my way through with a flimsy excuse. After all, the Hao Sect hadn't found the Heavenly Demon's treasure, and Mount Hua Sect hadn't consolidated its position in Shaanxi.
There were plenty of justifications I could make if I had to force one.
The Zhuge Family couldn't find another cooperative sect like mine, and with so many problems still plaguing the Central Plains, they couldn't afford to simply cast me aside over this. I enjoyed the brief respite, stretching my back and looking up at the sky. Sannyeo, sitting beside me with her manacles on, tilted her head and said.
"Someone's here."
"Who?"
When I turned my head and asked, Sannyeo's figure disappeared. Then from beyond the main gate, a hearty old man's voice was heard.
"Junk for sale! Come buy!"
A completely different voice and manner of speaking. But the aura he blatantly exuded told me who it was. The attendant said to me,
"Shall I chase him away?"
"No. Let him in."
At my gesture, the main gate opened. An old man in a straw hat with a long beard came in, hunched over. His wrinkled, dull skin looked as if it had been ruined by long years of labor to become a grandmaster. But the moment he met my eyes, he straightened his bent back and puffed up his frame himself.
Like a hot air balloon catching fire, the hunched old man's appearance instantly transformed into that of a sturdy adult male.
It was the Hao Sect Leader. He tilted his hat in greeting and said,
"I have to get out of Shaanxi for now, so I came to say goodbye. Since we pulled it off safely, let's get in touch later. I'll decide on a place to contact you and send a letter."
"You're quite relaxed, considering you were so confident about fleeing."
I was a bit taken aback by his appearance. Didn't he say he was fleeing to avoid the Demonic Cult's assassination squad? Yet here he was, showing up so leisurely?
The Hao Sect Leader nodded and answered my question, wearing an expression that even he couldn't quite understand.
"The bastard just went back. That's why."
He just went back? I'd expected him to interrogate me, so I had prepared all sorts of excuses. We'd even discussed several countermeasures just in case. And he just turned and left after being told that the Zhongnan Sect burned the manual?
"What did he say?"
"He didn't say much. He'd sent a low-ranking member, willing to risk losing him, but the man came back alive. When told that the Zhongnan Sect burned it, he just said 'that's fine then' and didn't even try to confirm the contents. There were no questions."
It was too easy.
In other words, it was too easy.
The Hao Sect Leader's expression said that since it was resolved so easily, wasn't that a good thing? But I thought differently.
This was too easy.
Something was definitely wrong. A thing that important, and he just leaves without a single question? Doesn't even get angry, as if he's seen all he needs to see?
I had been thinking about something fundamentally wrong from the start.
Let me think it through again.
What had I missed?
[Heavenly Demon won't come. If he thought the invasion was imminent, would he bother making the Hao Sect run around looking for his own treasure?]
That was it. He wasn't sure the invasion was imminent, so he had the Hao Sect retrieve his treasure. But why did he do such a thing?
The premise itself was strange. What reason was there to suddenly retrieve the manual like this? The Heavenly Demon himself had no reason to come personally, but was there any reason to have the Hao Sect search for the manual now? It wasn't that urgent a manual.
And the location was tightly hidden.
[No matter how well the Hao Sect kept its security, rumors would inevitably leak. Someone who's risen to be the head of the unorthodox faction is no stranger to scheming; there's no way he wouldn't know that.]
Moreover, the rumors that leaked from within the Hao Sect itself stirred up all of Shaanxi. Sects moved as they pleased to find the Heavenly Demon's treasure, and Mount Hua and Zhongnan moved separately, each aiming to become the king of Shaanxi.
[Think about it, Sect Leader. Until now, no one thought the Heavenly Demon's treasure was in Shaanxi, but because of the Heavenly Demon's orders, Shaanxi is in turmoil, and the orthodox sects of the martial world have started eyeing each other warily.]
Sects watching each other warily.
What had I missed?
What in the world did the Heavenly Demon want with this incident?
Let me think again. The reason the Heavenly Demon sought such a treasure at this particular time.
The contents of the manual I read were nothing but a laughingstock or pathetic to anyone. The Heavenly Demon was searching for a martial arts manual that just slobbered at empty air and babbled like an idiot?
Even if they had actually found the manual, the story would have played out the same.
[The best time to strike is in an unexpected situation, so why would he do something like this?]
Why did he announce his presence by doing this?
What was he aiming for?
[It's different now, but back then, the notion was widespread that the martial world had to unite to save the suffering people. Even those who fled their sects were viewed sensitively as traitors. Maybe fleeing all the way to Shaanxi was the right answer.]
What was he trying to confirm?
[Do you know what they tout as they grab the hair of the Hao Sect Leader, renowned as the best in intelligence warfare among the unorthodox? Who will become the master of Shaanxi? Over a piece of land that's barely a speck on the map, giants' lives are at stake.]
Ah.
I felt goosebumps run down my spine.
The Heavenly Demon's goal wasn't the manual.
In a situation where the Heavenly Demon was searching for an unknown object, he wanted to see how each sect would move.
He wanted to see if that tight unity he had witnessed in his youth still remained.