Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 321
Chapter Title: Return to the Zhao Kingdom
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A few days later, in the Imperial Palace of the Zhao Kingdom.
Ban Go, having shaken off Yi Hwan's pursuit and returned, immediately sought out Wu Mun-sul.
Wu Mun-sul, who had been preoccupied with grasping the state of the enemy forces, was greatly startled by Ban Go's appearance, his head wrapped in bandages.
"No, why are you here...?"
"It's like this..."
As he listened to the full story, Wu Mun-sul's face grew harder and harder, like a stone. Once Ban Go finished speaking, he stood silently with his head bowed low like a child.
Wu Mun-sul pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
Cha Ryong had been captured. It was something he could neither believe nor disbelieve.
What was even more shocking and absurd was that it was tantamount to him surrendering himself without putting up any fight.
To Yi Hwan, no less.
"If His Majesty learns of this..."
Jo Yun was currently in a highly sensitive state due to the Battle of Jeok-su. The Qin Kingdom's defenses were more solid than expected, leaving the course of the battle unsatisfactory.
Reporting Cha Ryong's situation in such circumstances would make the outcome as clear as day.
But how could he not report it?
"What to do?"
Wu Mun-sul was plunged into anguish.
Though Jo Yun held Ban Go dear, he was not one to spare anyone who hindered the grand undertaking.
In fact, had he not cast aside even his own blood kin to ascend the throne himself?
"Uncle, what should I do now?"
Wu Mun-sul jumped in surprise and scolded Ban Go.
"You fool! Mind your words! The fact that you and I are nephew and uncle is a secret His Majesty must never know!"
"...I'm sorry."
Wu Mun-sul let out a sigh as he watched Ban Go bow his head like a child.
Then he made his decision. Hiding it could make things worse, so he resolved to tell Jo Yun everything as it was.
"Let's go together."
"Will the lord forgive me?"
"You're a very special fellow. He knows your abilities better than anyone, so he will forgive you."
"...Yes."
* * *
Jo Yun's gaze upon Ban Go was no different from usual. If anything, that made Wu Mun-sul even more uneasy.
Having grasped the full story through Ban Go, Jo Yun's first words were these.
"Cha Ryong—if you couldn't save him, you should have killed him for certain."
"...Yes?"
"Yi Hwan will use any means to extract information from him. Has your brain not turned to that extent?"
"..."
Ban Go kept his head lowered. He was trembling in fear. It was a fear starkly different from the primal terror he had felt from Yi Hwan.
Wu Mun-sul bowed his head and cautiously spoke up.
"Since the Yeon Kingdom has declared non-aggression between court and martial world, we could not have anticipated that Yi Hwan himself would move."
"Are you saying we should forgive him?"
"Isn't he too valuable a talent to discard over a single failure?"
"Even if he's valuable, letting it slide when it harms the grand undertaking would shatter discipline—surely the commander knows this better than anyone?"
"...Your Majesty."
Wu Mun-sul's face hardened like stone.
Jo Yun's cold gaze turned to Ban Go.
"I'm giving you one more chance."
"...!"
"Go down to Jeok-su right now. Fight against the Qin forces alongside your comrades. Your fate—forgiveness or not—will be decided by your results there."
"Thank you, my lord!"
Thud!
Ban Go slammed his forehead against the floor.
Wu Mun-sul finally breathed a sigh of relief. But he couldn't show it, so he maintained a composed expression.
Jo Yun stared straight at Wu Mun-sul and continued.
"You must eliminate Cha Ryong by any means necessary. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ban Go's fingers trembled faintly against the floor where his head lay. But Jo Yun did not notice.
* * *
"Must we kill him for certain?"
"The order has already been given. You know well it can't be undone."
"But Cha Ryong is..."
Grip!
Wu Mun-sul seized Ban Go's shoulder hard.
"His carelessness ruined everything. You nearly lost your head too! So put any lingering attachment to him out of your mind!"
"..."
Ban Go's eyes were already glistening with moisture. Cha Ryong was like a brother to him.
Pain filled Wu Mun-sul's eyes as well.
But he soon scolded him in a resolute tone.
"You must go to Jeok-su and fight more bravely than anyone. That's the only way you survive. Understood?"
"...Yes."
A short while later, Ban Go departed for Jeok-su.
Wu Mun-sul watched his retreating figure, his face etched with complex emotions.
'They grew up together since they were mere infants...'
Wu Mun-sul had his own separate worry.
The question of whether Ban Go would quietly accept Cha Ryong's death.
"Go!"
At his call, Ban Go turned back.
Wu Mun-sul spoke with utter sincerity.
"Don't entertain any other thoughts—focus solely on your own safety. Understood?"
Ban Go gave no reply. He soon vanished from Wu Mun-sul's sight.
* * *
Whooosh!
Was it just his imagination?
The winds of the Zhao Kingdom felt particularly fierce and cold.
Yi Hwan paused to catch his breath as he gazed at the distant lands of the Zhao Kingdom.
Behind him stood Ju Tae, Kim Mu-gwan, Park Ji-mun, Go Mi, and Hwa Ryeong.
Park Seon-ha and Kim Suk were not joining this mission, as Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun had strongly objected.
Go Mi approached Yi Hwan's side.
"Shall we go around?"
"How much longer would bypassing take to reach our destination?"
"About two more days."
"Then we cut straight through."
"Understood."
They all entered Zhao Kingdom territory.
Armed soldiers patrolled everywhere, but the streets were far more lively than expected.
"I hear Jo Yun poured a fortune into the people who suffered great losses from the massive earthquake. He's rebuilding or fully repairing collapsed homes at no cost, which seems to be why the city's atmosphere is so upbeat."
Yi Hwan nodded silently.
In truth, for any nation, money was the most crucial element in soothing the people's hearts. Yi So had been able to implement benevolent rule from the start of his reign thanks to ample finances.
Yi Hwan stared toward the Imperial Palace. It was too far to see, but returning to this place stirred strange feelings.
Hwa Ryeong hurried up to his side.
"Are we passing straight through?"
"You must be hungry."
"Yes. Very much so."
Yi Hwan looked around. Nearby stood a fairly large and ornate inn.
"We'll fill our stomachs there."
"Yes."
"Yep!"
* * *
The inn's second floor was far larger and more lavish than it appeared from outside.
Most of the people filling the interior wore expensive silk garments adorned with all sorts of flashy jewelry, making it clear this was a place frequented by the wealthy.
Never one to skimp on food, Yi Hwan had everyone order generously what they wanted, and they began eating. Since Yi Hwan and the others wore human skin masks giving them ordinary appearances, they drew no attention.
It was midway through the meal when new arrivals ascended to the second floor.
Yi Hwan's eyes sharpened when he spotted one man in a blue robe among those climbing the stairs.
He wore glossy silk martial robes and carried a sword that screamed masterpiece at first glance. As he entered, several dining guests hastily rose and bowed their heads.
"We see Your Highness the Third Prince!"
'Third Prince?'
Everyone turned to stare at the blue-robed man. Others who belatedly recognized him also rose as one and bowed.
Yi Hwan sent a transmission to his group.
[All of you, stand and pretend to pay respects.]
They rose and bowed toward the blue-robed man before resuming their meal. Coincidentally, the one called the Third Prince took the table right next to Yi Hwan's group.
Yi Hwan sipped his drink while focusing his attention on the blue-robed man.
Then it came.
"The situation at Jeok-su is favorable, but it's proving more intense than anticipated. It seems the Qin Kingdom views this war as highly important, deploying major experts including the White-Clothed Sword God."
"They haven't even pushed south of Jeok-su yet?"
"Yes. Though the unit under Yeon's Second Prince once advanced twenty li south, they retreated when the White-Clothed Sword God appeared."
"I've heard that man's exploits are remarkable."
"Indeed. His martial arts are one thing, but his brutality has Qin warriors trembling. I hear nearly twenty Qin generals have already fallen to his blade."
"Impressive. Generals surely have skilled guards around them—killing not one or two, but that many. His skills must be extraordinary."
"Rumors in the court suggest he may have hidden his true power all this time due to disloyal intentions."
"Nonsense. He probably never intended to hide it. He simply had no occasion until now. If he harbored disloyalty, why reveal his power so suddenly and slay so many enemy leaders only now? Well, I'll have a chance to meet him once I head to Jeok-su and see what kind of man he is."
The blue-robed man and his entourage conversed in hushed whispers. But to Yi Hwan's group, every word rang crystal clear.
As they eavesdropped for a while, Go Mi's transmission came.
[He's Jo Seok, the Third Prince—once shunned as a bastard but recently enfeoffed—likely because of that.]
Jo Seok was the son born to a concubine during Jo Yun's time as Southwest King. Though of his blood, he had been thoroughly ignored as a potential threat to the legitimate heirs, Jo Gwang-mu and Jo Jeong-mu.
But with the eldest Jo Gwang-mu gallivanting about and the second Jo Jeong-mu suddenly dying, creating a succession crisis, Jo Yun had enfeoffed Jo Seok as third prince.
Though the court buzzed with talk, no one dared challenge Jo Yun's decision.
[He could become an obstacle later—shall we eliminate him when the chance arises?]
[No. Neutralizing the gold mine comes first.]
Eliminating him when possible wouldn't hurt, but it would cause a huge commotion, drawing eyes and potentially derailing the plan to sabotage the mine.
Moreover, Yi Hwan judged that crippling the gold mine would shake the Zhao Kingdom far more than killing a third prince with no power base.
A short while later, everyone finished eating.
As Hwa Ryeong went to settle the bill, the others descended the stairs to the first floor.
Emerging onto the street, they saw numerous soldiers gathered around the inn—likely Jo Seok's escorts.
Yi Hwan headed straight west along the market street. Once they reached a deserted area, they all unleashed lightness skills.
* * *
The next day, afternoon.
Yi Hwan and his group arrived at their destination in utter bewilderment. No mine in sight—instead, military tents stretched endlessly along both banks of the river.
It was a site for panning gold from the river, not mining it.
Go Mi was the most flustered of all.
"There must have been an error in the intelligence. I apologize, Great Prince."
"It's fine."
"..."
Yi Hwan surveyed the tent-covered riverbanks.
From the size and number of tents, he could gauge how many men had been deployed here.
"At least ten thousand, I'd say. Deploying regular troops for this kind of labor—must be due to the disaster, right?"
Yi Hwan nodded at Hwa Ryeong's question.
"Probably. They likely had no other manpower available besides soldiers right now."
Assigning ten thousand trained troops to such menial labor was highly inefficient.
But with the populace still recovering from the disaster's devastation, the Zhao Kingdom had no choice but to mobilize its soldiers.
Then Ju Tae frowned and asked.
"How do we render this useless? Seems even harder than a mine."
"We'll find a way. For now, scout for a place to stay until nightfall."
"Understood."
Everyone scattered in all directions.
Yi Hwan remained alone, sharply scanning the surroundings. His eyes sharpened at one spot.
A massive log house. It was heavily guarded by unusually many soldiers, surrounded by a tall fence.
'A gold storage?'
It strongly felt that way. A road wide enough for two wagons ran behind it, confirming his hunch.
'They transport the gold there, but as Ju Tae said, how do we make this worthless?'
It was tricky. Collapsing a mine was straightforward, but a river?
Just then.
Thud thud thud!
From the east, two wagons approached, kicking up clouds of dust.
The wagons halted before that house.
"Chung!"
Several figures emerged from the wagons, and the guarding warriors saluted them in unison.
Yi Hwan examined those alighting.
There were armored generals, officials in court robes, and women. The last one off the wagon was utterly unexpected.
'Wasn't he heading to Jeok-su?'
It was Jo Seok, the Third Prince from the inn.
At that moment, Go Mi and Hwa Ryeong returned.
"Oh! It's that Third Prince from the inn earlier?"
"He's not going to Jeok-su after all."
"He might have stopped here on the way."
Swish!
Ju Tae, Kim Mu-gwan, and Park Ji-mun returned.
"We found a hunter's shack—will that do?"
"No. There's a fairly clean and spacious cave, so let's use that."
"Ah..."
Yi Hwan withdrew his gaze and turned.
"Rest up fully until nightfall."
"Yes."
Everyone headed for the cave.
Meanwhile, Yi Hwan thought of Jo Seok.
'One more target added.'
Since they were already here, he planned to eliminate him as well.