Chapter 70
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: It's Just a Rat Pup
Deep into the night.
A young man wandered the rear garden, his face etched with worry.
But the thick shadows of moonlight hid his expression from easy view.
'No sign of Dong Ju-san.'
The young man, Yeon Gong-hu, was lost in thought over someone who had evaded even his keen senses.
No one in the Yeon Clan knew the extent of Yeon Gong-hu's cultivation. Not even that he could detect Dong Ju-san when the man was fully concealed.
He was the most irritating of Uncle Baek's subordinates.
A man who gave off the vibe of waiting to sink his teeth into any weakness he spotted.
Whether lurking in hiding or shadowing him openly, Dong Ju-san had always been a thorn in his side.
One might think Yeon Gong-hu should be glad the man had vanished, but he wasn't.
He was worried about where the guy had latched on now that he'd been left alone.
'He's probably gone to Uncle Baek-jin...'
Knowing where he'd likely gone only deepened the concern.
Who would have thought the clan, which paid no mind to the Dragon Training Pavilion—or dismissed it as insignificant—would send one of their own there?
Yeon Gong-hu had considered it a possibility someday, but he'd been certain it wouldn't happen within the next two years.
That's why he'd quietly told that child to hide there.
At least it was the youngest uncle who'd been sent—a silver lining in the misfortune.
Given his uncle's temperament, if he spotted the child, he'd have no choice but to report back to the main family.
'My mistake.'
When Uncle Ho-ryang suggested going to the Dragon Training Pavilion together, Yeon Gong-hu had been so startled that he'd reacted more coldly than usual.
Dong Ju-san must have noticed.
That's how he'd talked Uncle Baek into slipping away from surveillance duty.
The one who'd irked him most was the one Yeon Gong-hu had wanted to keep closest.
Yeon Gong-hu looked up at the sky.
A brilliantly shining moon, utterly at odds with his heavy heart.
'Min-ah. Please be safe.'
Yeon Gong-hu prayed fervently that his only sister wouldn't fall back into Uncle Baek's clutches.
Then he turned and headed for the training hall.
He had to grow stronger.
Only then could he change this damned clan.
Dawn broke.
"I've got the basic intel secured."
Dong Ju-san muttered to himself as he stood before the Dragon Training Pavilion's main gate.
He'd gathered what he could from covert surveillance.
Now he needed to stick close and uncover clues about her whereabouts within the pavilion.
"What brings you here?"
The gate guard eyed Dong Ju-san suspiciously. Anyone could see he was trying to enter through the front.
"I'm from the Yeon Clan. Here to see the Vice Pavilion Lord."
The guard sent word, and soon someone came to escort Dong Ju-san to the Pavilion Lord's office.
Before long, he was face-to-face with Yeon Baek-jin.
Not in the office, but the reception hall.
"What is it, Warrior Dong?"
Yeon Baek-jin hadn't expected Dong Ju-san to show up so boldly.
"The young master sent me to assist you at your side."
Yeon Baek-jin frowned at the shameless reply.
"My father sent me here. Why would my brother send you?"
"Doesn't the young master handle most clan affairs?"
"Did you get Father's approval?"
"For something this minor, the young master's judgment suffices."
"The clan has no interest in the pavilion, so you must not know the rules. No bringing personal clan guards or escorts."
Yeon Baek-jin said with a look of disbelief.
He'd only learned it himself while fending off the mountain of tasks Gi Yu-chan had dumped on him.
Had he known from the start, he wouldn't have invited Yeon Gong-hu along.
"Well..."
"The Pavilion Lord came alone. You think I can just keep you at my side?"
With that, Yeon Baek-jin glanced at Gi Yu-chan, seated nearby.
"The Vice Pavilion Lord's words are correct."
Gi Yu-chan said firmly.
Dong Ju-san looked troubled, racking his brains.
He quickly came up with a plan.
"Then, if I take an official position in the pavilion, that would be allowed? If keeping me personally at your side isn't permitted."
"That wouldn't be a problem. But with the Pavilion Lord away, appointments are impossible. He holds final say on personnel."
"I'll handle that."
Just drop an order from above the Pavilion Lord. That's how Yeon Baek-jin became Vice Pavilion Lord, wasn't it?
Though it meant he couldn't stay by Yeon Baek-jin's side for a few days.
'Tiring, but I'll have to go back to covert surveillance.'
"Understood. For now, you're not pavilion staff, so leave."
A cold tone.
Dong Ju-san gave a wry smile and rose.
He'd long known Yeon Baek-jin didn't care for him.
Leaving the reception hall, he trudged away. The moment he exited the pavilion, he'd hop the wall again.
He'd barely slept last night. Proper rest was off the table for the foreseeable future.
"Aren't you too harsh on a clan member?"
"It's just a rat pup."
Yeon Baek-jin replied coldly to Gi Yu-chan's question.
"Oh, right—Squad Seven of the Fierce Dragon Corps requested field training. They claimed your approval was already given and left at dawn. I'll submit the report soon."
Yeon Baek-jin nodded slightly at the report.
'They moved fast.'
"I, Instructor?"
Dang Jin-san cautiously called out to Ha Mu-baek, who rode at the front.
"What?"
"Where the hell are we going?"
They'd been summoned to the training grounds at dawn, barely packing before mounting up and riding out.
Dragging horses along meant it wasn't nearby.
Even for Summer Combat Festival prep, they'd walked.
"Field training. Or pre-training, maybe."
Dang Jin-san tilted his head, more confused.
But only he and Baek Ri-pyeong paid Ha Mu-baek any mind.
The other three had no attention to spare.
They were pouring everything into staying on their horses.
Yeon Ha-min, Dan Mok Un-roe, Nak Woo-jin.
First time riding for all three.
Ha Mu-baek had given bare basics, plopped them in the saddle, and taken off.
They'd pick it up naturally, he'd said.
Matching their pace, the group moved barely faster than walking.
So only Dang Jin-san cared about the destination.
"Field... you mean...?"
Baek Ri-pyeong's face showed faint unease, catching a hint from Ha Mu-baek's words.
"Probably."
Ha Mu-baek replied curtly.
"Huh? What? Spill it."
Dang Jin-san pressed, seeing Baek Ri-pyeong knew something.
"Field means where we're headed, and pre-training means scouting ahead."
Dang Jin-san's jaw dropped mid-sentence.
He got it now.
He spurred his horse to Ha Mu-baek's side in a panic.
"Instructor, no way, right? Right? You said nothing yesterday and pull this today? That's not how the jianghu works!"
Dang Jin-san blurted desperately.
"Telling you ahead or not doesn't change the trip."
A nonchalant response.
"But you'll get us all killed!!"
Dang Jin-san's voice rose.
The three struggling riders snapped their gazes to Ha Mu-baek.
Death was mentioned.
"You'd die alone. I'm going too."
Grim talk.
"Where are we headed, anyway?"
Dan Mok Un-roe asked Baek Ri-pyeong.
"Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest. Probably."
Her face—and the other two's—stiffened at the answer.
"Are we even ready for that?"
Yeon Ha-min asked anxiously.
"Nope. But regular Fierce Dragon Corps recruits get sent there at a lower level than you now."
Still nonchalant.
"I misjudged. Last spring, instead of just telling you to go, I should've shown you."
The four paled.
Only Baek Ri-pyeong kept his composure.
"Y-you're not sending us home anymore? After that horrific pill?!"
Dang Jin-san wailed, recalling the pill's taste.
"Not sending you back. But you need a taste. Of where you'll deploy in two years. Just the outskirts, so relax."
Ha Mu-baek replied calmly.
"You know it well?"
Yeon Ha-min asked.
"Somewhat."
Ha Mu-baek brushed it off.
What was this instructor's deal?
They'd spent the first half-year in the Fierce Dragon Corps, hearing bits about the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
No mere instructor should dare enter.
Paradoxical to send recruits there.
He'd shown prowess before, but this much?
Clop clop clop.
Hoofbeats thundered from afar.
Ha Mu-baek scowled.
Three riders approached at speed.
He sensed them.
"Huh?"
Dan Mok Un-roe glanced back amid the dust cloud.
Three figures closing in.
"Instructor Ha!!!"
A woman's voice rang out.
Everyone knew her.
"Instructor Han?"
Nak Woo-jin muttered, tilting his head.
"Hoo..."
Ha Mu-baek sighed deeply.
She'd followed? Without knowing where? How'd she learn they'd left so fast?
Han Seol-bing's group caught up quickly.
"How'd you track us?"
"You left so many traces. How could I not?"
Fair point.
With novice riders, traces were unavoidable. Han Seol-bing could follow easily.
"Instructor Ha. Didn't you say you were going alone?"
Han Seol-bing smiled slyly.
"My squad's going."
"So we're tagging along with ours."
"You know where?"
"Field training? With your style, it's obvious. Where else for the Fierce Dragon Corps?"
Ha Mu-baek looked skyward briefly.
"You know it's dangerous and still want to go?"
"Of course not. Not with you there."
Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
Impossible to read her.
Couldn't refuse without barring his own sister too.
Ha Seol-ran couldn't go, but his squad could? Absurd.
"Good for our squad kids to see ahead. Knowing the destination motivates."
"Might make them want to quit instead..."
Ha Mu-baek's words drew incredulous stares from Squad Seven's five.
What was the point of this trip?
Partially to shield Yeon Ha-min from Yeon Clan eyes, but mainly to show his squad the forest's reality.
Killing two birds.
Meant for next March, advanced due to Yeon Clan.
"Fine. Come along."
Ha Mu-baek skipped procedural questions like Vice Pavilion Lord approval.
He didn't fuss over such things himself, so no imposing on others.
The group grew.
Two instructors, seven cadets.
They headed for the cursed land where the Fierce Dragon Corps served as meat shields: the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Southeastern Jerkang Province.
There lay the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.