Unwanted Secrets
The hunters of the **Murim League** quietly prepared for their expedition to China. Jegal Cheon was buried in work, busy coordinating schedules and various logistics between the Korean and Chinese governments. The hunters selected for the raid party focused entirely on prepping their bodies and gear, ignoring all outside distractions.
"Sigh, to think we'd be heading back to that **Gate** again..."
Naturally, veterans of the previous raid were given priority. As long as their skills were up to par, the value of firsthand experience couldn't be ignored. The remaining slots were filled strictly by merit.
Excluding Namgung Min, Seohui, and myself, twenty hunters were selected for the raid party. The final roster was exceptionally high-caliber: two **S-class**, eleven **A-class**, and ten **B-class** hunters.
"I heard A-class hunters are hard to come by, but this guild has so many of them."
Usually, hunters of that rank ran their own guilds. The fact that they chose to stay with the Murim League instead of going independent suggested they were treated very well.
"It is because we have been active since the early days of the cataclysm," Namgung Min said.
The leader of this formidable group was, of course, the Guild Master himself. Though he spoke with his usual humility, brushing it off as nothing, every single face in the crowd bore the unmistakable look of a seasoned veteran.
"Hehe, this raid might actually be easier than the last."
"Indeed. However, I hear they have no intention of leaving everything in our hands."
Naturally, Chinese hunters would be joining the operation.
"Well, that's fine by me."
As long as the raid went smoothly, it made my life easier.
Once the hunters finished their preparations and the diplomatic negotiations concluded, we quietly made our way to the airport. It took some time to get there, as we bypassed the bustling Gimpo and Incheon airports in favor of Yangyang Airport. The reason for this tedious detour was simple: to keep our departure strictly off the record.
Of course, we couldn't hide it forever, but with such a massive concentration of high-ranking hunters leaving the country, we had to keep North Korea in the dark. Furthermore, the Chinese government was desperate to conceal the fact that they had begged for our assistance.
We boarded a private charter provided by China and flew toward Hunan Province. Even after landing, we had to move in absolute secrecy. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the military, or rather, the *Public Security Bureau*, as they call them in China, had locked down the airport and escorted us directly, sparing us any logistical headaches.
"*Namu Amida Bul*..."
The Rogue Monk kept muttering Buddhist chants, looking deeply anxious as if he knew something we didn't.
"Bo-gwang speaks Chinese," Namgung Min explained. "He has likely overheard something."
"Is that so?"
Namgung Min briefly filled me in on the Rogue Monk's—or rather, Buddhist Monk Bo-gwang's—background. He had originally taken his vows and entered the priesthood, but when the world fell into chaos during the cataclysm, he returned to the secular world to save suffering souls. Along the way, he joined the Murim League. Six years ago, he had even traveled to the Shaolin Temple in China to train and master the *Seventy-Two Styles*. Having lived in China for about two years, he was completely fluent in the language. Besides him, several other hunters in our raid party had been selected specifically because they spoke Chinese.
"Ahem. They say the Party is keeping a very close eye on this situation," the Rogue Monk murmured.
Apparently, many within the Public Security Bureau viewed it as a humiliation to beg a smaller nation for help to clean up their mess. Yet, at the same time, they desperately wanted the Gate resolved as quickly as possible—a hypocritical contradiction.
"Sigh..."
The Rogue Monk looked genuinely saddened by this. The Public Security officers treated us with an ambiguous attitude that hovered somewhere between polite and dismissive, but we chose to ignore it. There was no point in letting it get to us; we just needed to do our job quickly and leave. That was Namgung Min's stance as well.
They said a single Chinese province was the size of South Korea, and they weren't exaggerating. It was massive. Even after driving for hours after landing, we still hadn't reached our destination.
"Everyone looks exhausted," I muttered.
Between the flight and the long drive, the actual travel time wasn't absurdly long, but there was no stopping the inevitable mental and physical fatigue.
"Are we really going to jump straight into a Gate in this state?"
"We can rest while they draw up the battle plans," Seohui said, nudging me to keep my voice down.
She had a point. Since we weren't the only ones raiding the Gate—Chinese hunters were joining us—there were bound to be disputes over the chain of command.
Eventually, we arrived at the site of the Gate. A military encampment had already been established around it, and the atmosphere was incredibly grim. It was only natural, considering the death toll had already surpassed dozens and climbed into the hundreds, if not thousands. To make matters worse, despite those immense sacrifices, they had failed to clear it and were now forced to rely on foreign aid.
After settling into the area designated by the Public Security officers, we began checking our gear and preparing.
"I shall head to the command tent first," Namgung Min said, dressed in his usual modified hanbok and martial arts robes.
"Do I not need to go with you?"
"There is no need."
Well, if he said so... I left the politics to Namgung Min and chatted with Seohui and the Rogue Monk.
"The atmosphere is truly dismal," the Rogue Monk sighed.
"Tell me about it."
The Public Security officers guarding our perimeter seemed intent on keeping us from wandering off.
Hmm?
"What's wrong?" Seohui asked.
Hmm... I feel like there are injured people nearby.
I scanned our surroundings. It was too far, and there were too many walls blocking my line of sight, but I could faintly sense the distinct light of the wounded.
"Ah, found them."
Are they on the opposite side of the camp?
"Sister?"
I stepped out of our designated assembly area, intending to head toward where I sensed the injured, but a Public Security officer immediately blocked my path. He babbled something in Chinese, which only frustrated me since I couldn't understand a word.
"Rogue Monk! Translate!"
"Oh dear, I do not know what is happening, but... please calm down."
"Just translate."
I lightly kicked the Rogue Monk in the shin. He chuckled softly and translated.
"He says we must wait here and not wander around."
Figures.
"Tell him there's somewhere I need to go."
"He says absolutely not."
Sigh. I looked around. There were only two officers blocking our way. Just two...
"Sister? Don't do anything stupid. Come back," Seohui warned.
I flashed her a grin.
"Sorry, but I have to check this out."
I had a strong gut feeling that I absolutely had to do this. And so...
Moving like a flash, I struck the back of both officers' necks, knocking them unconscious.
"Hmph."
Since they were ordinary humans and not **Awakened**, they couldn't even react to my movements before blacking out.
"Sister?!"
"Alright, shall we go? Rogue Monk, follow me."
Since I needed a translator, I decided to drag him along.
"Where on earth are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Leading Seohui and the Rogue Monk, I slipped out of the assembly area and took a long detour toward the opposite side of the camp. Naturally, guards were stationed there as well. But my senses hadn't lied; as we drew closer, the distinct light of the wounded flared clearly in my vision.
"He is asking what our business is here," the Rogue Monk said.
"Tell him we're here to treat the injured."
"The injured? Is that true?"
"Yes."
Hearing my confirmation, the Rogue Monk didn't hesitate to speak to the guard in Chinese. The guard looked suspicious, but in the end, he relented and opened the door.
"Are there really injured people in here?" the Rogue Monk asked.
"Yes."
Stepping inside, we found several makeshift ward-like rooms. Dozens of wounded lay groaning on the beds.
"I knew it..."
"How did you even know about this?" Seohui asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh, I have my ways."
It was simply visible to my eyes. Scanning the room, I murmured,
"These ones don't seem to have life-threatening injuries."
I extended my hand, releasing a wave of **Holy Power** to heal the entire room at once. I moved to the next ward, assessed the patients, and healed them too. I healed, and healed, and healed. By the time I had treated nearly fifty to sixty people, the commotion around us had grown immense, and a small crowd had begun trailing behind us in awe.
"Is it here?"
I headed toward the area where the light shone brightest. There, I found the severely injured. These were people who had lost arms or legs, or suffered such catastrophic wounds that they had been left to rot without proper treatment. Seohui and the Rogue Monk grimaced at the sight.
"Why are they being left like this without any treatment?" Seohui's question was exactly what I was wondering.
The Rogue Monk exchanged a few words in Chinese with one of the staff.
"From what I gather, they were abandoned because their injuries were deemed untreatable," he said grimly.
In other words, the local healers lacked the ability to treat them, so they had simply given up.
"Then they should have sent them to a proper hospital!"
"I asked about that as well... and it seems they feared it would cause a public outcry."
Naturally, the Rogue Monk's expression turned sour. They valued their political optics over human lives? It was absolutely sickening.
"They are asking if you can heal them," the Rogue Monk said.
"Why? Is there a catch?"
"It seems the children of high-ranking Party officials are among them. If you heal them, they say you can hold a massive favor over their heads."
A favor...
"I don't care about any of that."
Simply leaving treatable patients to suffer right in front of me was offensive enough. I walked around the room, systematically healing the critically wounded. Some required me to draw complex *spell circles*, which took a bit of time. It was a sequence of pure miracles. As severed limbs regenerated and fatal wounds closed up, some of the onlookers practically began to worship me.
"Alright, that looks like all of them."
I might have wasted a bit of my energy, but seeing them healed brought a sense of satisfaction.
"They are all expressing their deepest gratitude and wish to repay this debt," the Rogue Monk translated.
"Tell them to forget it. It looks like they got hurt trying to clear the Gate anyway."
"Was that the case?"
This was classic Chinese government behavior. Hiding the wounded just because they didn't want to admit their raid had failed...
One of the patients, who seemed to hold a high status, stepped forward to offer a formal thank-you on behalf of the group. He promised to provide us with whatever accommodations we needed.
"I don't think he realizes we're Korean hunters," I murmured.
"It appears so."
"Well, explain it to them and let's head back. I don't know how long Namgung Min's meeting will take, but it should be wrapping up soon."
"Understood."
The Rogue Monk spoke rapidly in Chinese, explaining the situation. Some of the Chinese officials showed rather peculiar reactions. I watched the exchange with mild boredom.
"We may return now," the Rogue Monk finally said.
"Really?"
"Yes, I have explained everything. There should be no issues."
Since I didn't know Chinese, I couldn't be entirely sure how things had landed, but looking into the eyes of the healed patients... I didn't think we had much to worry about. Back at the Korean hunters' assembly area, I lay down to rest, feeling a bit fatigued. Of course, the two Public Security officers I had knocked out were still fast asleep. I did a good deed and saved lives. Surely nothing bad will come of this, right?