The Hao Mun's Shadow
“What? A spar?”
“That’s right. The Alliance has proposed a match between promising juniors, using the name of the united sects.”
“And you accepted, Father?”
“They touched on unpleasant memories. Still, I don’t believe you’ll lose.”
Baekri Hyeok trusted his son. Even if one scoured the entire murim for talent, no junior could match him. Born with the Heavenly Martial Body, Baekri Hyeong surpassed every other promising youth. In truth, he had long exceeded the level of mere juniors. Only the clan head himself, Han Seol-eun, and Baekri Hyang knew this secret. No one else had realized that Baekri Hyeong had already stepped beyond the junior ranks. Even the Wudang and Zhuge Clan, now allied with them, likely believed him merely outstanding among his peers. In reality, Baekri Hyeong possessed the strength to contend with most adult experts who had passed the age of thirty. There was no reason to refuse a fight he could not possibly lose.
“If you don’t wish to, you needn’t accept. It will become troublesome, however.”
“I don’t mind. Was this your plan from the beginning?”
“I must make it known. Who dared to provoke us, and why the situation had to escalate this far.”
A faint hatred flickered in Baekri Hyeok’s eyes. Baekri Hyeong wanted to ask who his father was looking at, but he held his tongue. He wasn’t yet in a position to pry. In any case, he had already intended to spar with Namgung Suryeon. Now that the stage had been prepared for him, he felt both relieved and concerned about how to face her.
One thing was certain: he must never reveal the Four Guardian Deities Sword. How could he display another sword art under his father’s watchful gaze? Of course, Baekri Hyeong didn’t know that his father was already aware of his secret techniques. As he pondered which art to use, his eyes met his father’s. In that gaze, he understood what Baekri Hyeok wanted. His father wished for him to use this spar as an opportunity to reveal to the world the sword he had honed to its limit while secluded in the clan. Baekri Hyeong smiled faintly and nodded. He would use the Hundred Heavens Three Stances against Namgung Suryeon.
“I don’t know what you lost, Father. But when the time comes, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”
“...”
“I will strive not to bring shame upon the Baekri Clan. Please let me know once the date of the spar is set. I’ll take my leave now.”
Baekri Hyeong offered a brief bow and stepped out of the guest hall. The spar had suddenly grown larger in scale, but that posed no real problem. The only variable was Namgung Suryeon’s true intentions in accepting the match.
I should look into it a little.
He needed to uncover when the enmity between the Namgung and Baekri Clans had begun, and how far that deep, bitter chain of hatred extended. To verify such strange rumors, there was only one place to go. The Hao Mun—the black path sect that monopolized information and would do anything for the right price. He intended to pay them a visit.
“The problem is my appearance… Well, this should suffice.”
Having disguised himself with the Changing Wind Art, Baekri Hyeong cleared his throat and entered the black path’s territory. Even though this area was supposedly saturated with Murim Alliance influence, people were treacherous creatures who exploited the darkness beneath the lamp. This place was a secret black path domain he had only discovered in his previous life after the black-and-white alliance had formed. To enter, one needed a password. Naturally, he had memorized every such code.
“Hey, hold it. What’s your business here?”
“I came to pick the fruit on the night the shadow falls.”
The thug who had spoken to him flinched. The password Baekri Hyeong had uttered was known only to high-ranking executives within the Hao Mun. In other words, the man hidden beneath the Changing Wind Art was connected to their upper echelons.
“M-my apologies! Please follow me!”
The thug immediately changed his attitude, bowing obsequiously as he guided Baekri Hyeong into the Hao Mun’s Anhui branch. The security was so tight that Baekri Hyeong clicked his tongue while observing the mechanisms inside. He couldn’t understand how the Murim Alliance had failed to notice this building.
Or do they know and simply choose not to act?
The Hao Mun existed everywhere and nowhere at once. If they ever decided to strike an orthodox sect, the Murim Alliance would suffer a devastating blow. Perhaps the Alliance had chosen coexistence, knowing full well of their presence. For now, this was an enormous advantage for Baekri Hyeong, and it would remain so in the coming war.
“You may enter here. I’ll bring the branch leader at once!”
After bowing once more, the thug hurried off to fetch the branch leader. Baekri Hyeong wondered how he had known the password reserved for high-ranking Hao Mun members. It wasn’t some grand secret. During the era when the black-and-white alliance had formed the Wandering Swordsmen Corps after their defeat against the Demonic Cult, Baekri Hyeong had served as its commander. One of the Hao Mun’s executives had taught him the code back then. The Hao Mun existed everywhere and nowhere; even in a world overrun by the Demonic Cult, information from them could be trusted. Of course, he had only realized how foolish that belief was when he was on the verge of death. The absurd conclusion that there had been a traitor among the Hao Mun as well.
Just thinking of that madwoman’s face makes my blood boil.
If he dropped a subtle hint now, the Hao Mun would bite and begin hunting for the traitor. Since the priority in information trading belonged to the seller, Baekri Hyeong planned to offer them knowledge the Hao Mun could not possibly possess.
As he pondered what to reveal, a woman appeared before him.
“Greetings. I am Hua Yue, the Anhui branch leader of the Hao Mun.”
“I’ve come to buy information. Everything regarding the relationship between the Namgung and Baekri Clans, from the day their enmity began until now.”
“Oh my. I’m afraid that sort of information is difficult for the Hao Mun to handle. Why not try the Beggars’ Union?”
“I said I came to buy. In exchange, I’ll first tell you that the branch leader of the Sichuan division is a traitor.”
Hua Yue’s eyebrows twitched at the mention of the Sichuan branch. A mysterious figure who had come to the black path to purchase information about the power struggles among the orthodox sects. And this person knew about a traitor within the Hao Mun itself? It made no sense.
“Without evidence, such claims are not credible, sir.”
“Then I’ll provide evidence. West of Sichuan lie only Qinghai and Tibet. But you know what lies west of Qinghai, don’t you?”
“Surely… you’re referring to the Demonic Cult in the Tianshan Mountains?”
“Correct. The Demonic Cult will make a move in the near future.”
“What nonsense is this!”
Hua Yue shot to her feet, striking the table as though she had heard something utterly absurd. The disbelief in her eyes had already branded Baekri Hyeong not as a customer, but as a traitor.
“I cannot trust someone who speaks of the Demonic Cult without any basis! This is your final warning. Leave at once!”
“Why such a violent reaction?”
“That’s because…!”
“Is it because you’re the Hao Mun’s informant feeding information to the Demonic Cult?”
Hua Yue’s eyes darkened at Baekri Hyeong’s calm words. It was the gaze of someone demanding to know how he had figured it out.
“Even if I deny it, it seems you’ve already made up your mind.”
“Looking at your face, I remember now. Hua Yue, was it? Considering the number of warriors the black-and-white alliance lost in battle against the Demonic Cult because of your schemes, I cannot possibly forgive you.”
“What are you saying right now?”
“So you were operating out of the Anhui branch at the time. Well, the Demonic Cult aren’t fools. They wouldn’t stay quiet like this.”
A low rumble shook the Anhui branch office as Baekri Hyeong failed to fully contain his killing intent. Hua Yue’s eyebrows twitched in surprise at his unexpected level of martial prowess, but she quickly regained her composure and pressed him with a smile.
“But you’re too late. The Demonic Cult’s experts have already begun surrounding you.”
“Experts? I doubt I’ll be hearing that from them.”
Baekri Hyeong sneered at Hua Yue’s confident tone. He had sensed faint presences encircling him for some time now. The problem was that he had sensed them at all. The Demonic Cult’s experts were the type to approach without the slightest trace.
“If you want chaos, fine. I’ll play along.”
“Attack!!”
The moment Baekri Hyeong rose from his seat, the underlings disguised as Demonic Cult experts rushed toward him. When he closed his eyes for a brief moment and opened them again, they were dyed crimson with the killing intent of the Vermilion Bird qi.