Chapter 113
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Meticulous, Aren't You?
"He's not coming."
The third floor of the Black Goat Tower.
An old man sat by the window with the best view, sipping his drink alone as he took in the scenery of Lake Dongjeong. He muttered softly to himself.
The execution date that the Three Spirits Lord had mentioned was three days ago.
In the meantime, he'd confirmed the rumors coming out of Wuchang.
Something about two fire dragons piercing the darkness and ascending into the sky late at night.
"Not one, but two..."
A bitter smile formed on the old man's lips.
The promised three days would be up soon.
If there was no word by then, it meant they'd failed.
The old man placed an empty glass on the seat across from him, where no one sat.
Pour, pour.
He filled the glass to the brim with liquor.
A moment later.
"Well then. A failure it is. Farewell to a better place, Three Spirits Lord."
The old man rose from his seat, muttering to himself.
Then he left the Black Goat Tower without a backward glance, vanishing without a trace.
The messenger hawk belonging to the Myriad Alliance alighted on its handler.
In a deep forest where no one ever came.
Gong Do-hyuk, who visited this spot at the same time every day, spotted the hawk.
"Is it over?"
He was a plant he'd placed without even telling the Three Spirits Lord.
Wuchang was a city teeming with martial artists, thanks to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Hiding one spy of his own was no big deal.
He'd given the man secret orders.
To monitor the inn where Gong Mu-hyuk was staying from afar and send word if anything happened.
Gong Do-hyuk raised his arm and whistled. The hawk glanced at him.
Then it spread its wings wide, soared up, and landed on his outstretched arm.
Its sharp talons tore at his clothes and tried to dig into his flesh, but the arm protected by his protective aura was unscathed.
He pulled a letter from the small tube on its leg.
<Failure. The attackers on the Alliance Leader were wiped out. He is unharmed. A bloodbath has swept through the Alliance. Take care of yourself.>
It was short, but more than enough to make Gong Do-hyuk frown.
His gaze lingered on the final part: "Take care of yourself."
"Heh. Planning to flee the Alliance to save your own skin?"
It wasn't hard to read between the lines.
If he'd truly intended to share his fate, he wouldn't have sent a hawk—he'd have come himself.
Gong Do-hyuk's eyes returned to the words "wiped out."
"So he's an opponent even the Three Spirits Lord feared that much..."
When that man spoke of Ha Mu-baek, he'd trembled in extreme terror.
And he'd brought ten Myriad Heaven Blood Thunders and one Myriad Heaven Golden Chain Explosive Thunder.
"Even that wasn't enough."
He muttered in disbelief.
He knew better than anyone the power of the Myriad Heaven Golden Chain Explosive Thunder.
He'd witnessed the prototype's test firing himself.
The moment he saw it, he'd felt both terror and exhilaration.
The thought that this was a weapon that should never see the light of day, and the thought that it would make the Myriad Alliance the supreme sect under heaven.
His brother had only felt the former and sealed it away afterward.
He still couldn't believe it.
An opponent you couldn't beat even with that thing.
"I need to prepare."
His quiet mutter carried a resolute determination.
Along with the thick scent of blood.
A few days into the eleventh month.
Was that recent rain a herald of winter's arrival?
The weather was now cold enough to call it winter.
"Ugh. It's cold."
Nak Woo-jin muttered as he rubbed his arms and headed to the training grounds.
"Hey, Wuchang is still pretty warm compared to other places. You can't complain about this much."
Dang Jin-san chuckled.
Nak Woo-jin, about to retort, remembered that Dang Jin-san's home was in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and shut his mouth.
It was a land that sweltered unbearably in summer and froze you to death in winter.
The East Tournament was now just a little over a month away.
The cadets gathering on the training grounds had increasingly serious looks in their eyes.
"Where's the instructor?"
At Nak Woo-jin's question, Dang Jin-san nodded toward a spot.
"Over there."
Ha Mu-baek was still lounging against the boulder that was his designated seat, leaning back casually.
Ha Mu-baek lay on the icy cold rock without a care.
'Doesn't it feel cold to him?'
That was the thought that crossed Nak Woo-jin's mind at the sight.
He'd come from a warmer region than Wuchang, so this first taste of the city's winter chill was hitting him hard.
Ha Mu-baek paid no mind to how the cadets saw him.
He was lost in thought, replaying the conversation he'd had with Gong Mu-hyuk at the new inn that day.
"It seems my younger brother is the one behind this."
The people's eyes widened.
His own flesh and blood had caused trouble.
"Before the Escort Corps Leader died, he sent me a transmission saying my brother was the one who recommended Un Yeol to the Escort Corps."
"Un Yeol—the traitor?"
Ha Mu-baek asked, recalling the name.
"Yes. It's been over two years since he joined the Escort Corps. My brother has been preparing for this for that long."
Gong Mu-hyuk's face darkened as he let out a deep sigh.
"Alliance Leader, isn't that a bit hasty? The Vice Leader could have been deceived too."
Gong Son Mu-oe ventured carefully, but Gong Mu-hyuk shook his head.
"The Myriad Heaven Golden Chain Explosive Thunder. One of the two people who possess it is him. I have two, and Do-hyuk has one."
No one spoke.
"Unless the Demonic Cult killed my brother and stole it... And I gave it to him specifically for use in a life-or-death crisis, so it wouldn't still be around otherwise."
His voice was laced with self-mockery.
He seemed at a loss for how to accept it.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Ha Mu-baek asked.
"I don't know yet."
And that was the end of it.
The culprit had been identified, but no decision had been made on how to deal with him.
'If I think only of what happened to me, I'd tear him apart right now...'
Grind.
Ha Mu-baek ground his teeth.
The cadets jumped and turned at the sudden sound, but Ha Mu-baek remained deep in his own thoughts.
'What to do.'
He couldn't decide easily.
It was an internal Myriad Alliance matter, after all. And he owed them a debt from the last war.
This incident was just a clash in the process of repaying that debt.
'Even so, I can't just let it slide. At least both his arms.'
He'd truly come close to death.
Because of that weapon—no, that infernal device—the brother had given the Three Spirits Lord.
He'd almost left Seol-ran behind alone.
That was why Ha Mu-baek was quietly seething.
What had kept him surviving so tenaciously through the last two wars?
His younger sister, Ha Seol-ran.
If Gong Mu-hyuk decided to execute his brother to clean up the Alliance's internal strife, he'd lend a hand.
For his own revenge as well.
But if he chose to cover it up for the sake of family ties...
Then he'd go to the Myriad Alliance alone.
He had to at least return what he'd received.
That was how Ha Mu-baek had lived since leaving his sect.
The moment he resolved himself, a faint killing intent rippled outward.
The cadets all turned to Ha Mu-baek at the sudden chilling sensation.
He felt their gazes.
'Damn.'
Ha Mu-baek hurriedly reined in his killing intent.
Then he casually turned his head, pretending not to notice.
The cadets tilted their heads for a moment before returning to their training.
With the excellent motivation of the East Tournament, they were diligently practicing on their own.
'Whew. I still need more time to adjust.'
His strength had suddenly multiplied several times over.
His senses hadn't yet adapted to his current empowered state.
That was why he'd unintentionally leaked killing intent like just now.
Something he could have perfectly controlled before was slipping out.
"Hm."
A soft hum escaped him.
"For the time being, I need to deal with this first."
Ha Mu-baek muttered to himself like a self-promise.
He pushed the Myriad Alliance matter aside for now.
"Have you made your decision?"
Gong Son Mu-oe asked Gong Mu-hyuk, whom he found breathing in the chilly morning air in the annex courtyard.
"Yes, Father-in-law."
Gong Mu-hyuk answered surprisingly calmly.
"What will you do?"
"Blood ties or not, a sect's laws must be strict. He's committed patricide—rebellion against his superior. He must pay the price."
"Evidence?"
At Gong Son Mu-oe's question, Gong Mu-hyuk pulled two small cylinders from his bosom.
"What's that?"
"The launch tubes containing the fuses for the Myriad Heaven Golden Chain Explosive Thunder."
"Ah."
Only then did Gong Son Mu-oe recall their visit to the ruins.
He'd given ample compensation to the innkeeper.
Enough to build four annexes like the one destroyed.
It wasn't a loss for the innkeeper.
Of course, clearing the debris and rebuilding would take time and effort, but Gong Son Mu-oe had accounted for that and paid four times over.
Gong Mu-hyuk, who'd gone with him, had asked the innkeeper about something and seemed to be searching.
"So that's why you went looking for it?"
"Yes, Father-in-law. That evening, after calming down and thinking about what to do next, it hit me. To punish Do-hyuk, I needed evidence. And I figured the launch tube would survive even the explosion, so I went to search the ruins before they cleared them."
"The innkeeper was diligent."
They'd returned to the inn the very next day after leaving.
In just one full day, the ruins had been completely cleared.
There were no bodies to find, after all.
And nothing else.
The innkeeper had gathered and organized everything.
A single solitary leather shoe. And one metal cylinder of unknown purpose.
The other one had been the one Ha Mu-baek fired, which he'd gotten back from him that day.
"But what do you plan to do with that launch tube? Will it serve as evidence?"
"Only two people possess these: me and Do-hyuk. There are three in total. Of course, he could claim it was stolen from the secret vault. But it was stored in the innermost hidden chamber."
"That's impossible."
Gong Son Mu-oe replied.
At Gong Mu-hyuk's request, he'd taken measures at the Myriad Alliance's secret vault in Senyu Valley.
"And on top of that, here."
Gong Mu-hyuk pointed to one spot.
It was the part that would be completely covered by a palm when pressing the launch button.
"Please infuse a bit of internal energy."
As requested, Gong Son Mu-oe channeled a tiny amount of qi.
A faint light glowed from that spot, and letters appeared.
Do-hyuk.
Gong Do-hyuk's name.
On the other tube.
Owner.
Gong So-yu’s name appeared.
"We made them with hidden marks for the intended recipients from the start."
"Heh, heheheh. Meticulous, aren't you?"
Gong Son Mu-oe let out a hollow laugh.
Gong Mu-hyuk simply maintained his calm expression.
"However, to do that, I need to get healthy first. In this state, I can't do anything."
Only then did emotion flicker across Gong Mu-hyuk's face.
It was indignation.
Because his body was weak, and his daughter was weak too, his brother had harbored rebellious thoughts.
"Right. Let's focus on treatment first. There's plenty of time. Besides, from the look on Instructor Ha's face, he won't let this slide easily."
Gong Mu-hyuk nodded slightly at Gong Son Mu-oe's words.
On the day Ha Mu-baek's treatment fully restored his body, he would return to the Myriad Alliance.
And his brother would pay the appropriate price.