Chapter 60

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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**

It was the second mission setting out as the Murim Alliance’s mobile unit.

Since they were the members of Group Bing who had stuck together all summer, their cooperation was perfectly in sync.

From preparing camp on wild mountains to the order of standing night watch throughout the night, there was no need for words.

The night watch was stood in teams of two.

The one who stood the watch shift with me was Namgung Hyeok, who came from the Namgung Clan’s Firmament Sword Squad.

He was the benefactor who had stepped forward when I was in crisis against the Young Spirit Slayer.

“I heard you are practicing the sword, Taoist Yeon.”

At the words of Namgung Hyeok, who had seen the sword slung on my back, I nodded.

“Because I felt many deficiencies while facing the Young Spirit Slayer and the Great Sage Who Overturns Seas. I also thought that if I had mastered sword techniques, wouldn’t it have been a bit easier to face them?”

As I spoke, a faint sense of expectation arose.

Since Namgung Hyeok was someone who occasionally received my advice, I hoped that he too would give me advice.

Although I had advised him on a few problems in his swordplay despite my own lack of deep knowledge in sword techniques, that was a matter of physical mastery and not a matter of theory; I thought that a swordsman from the Namgung family, who held a wooden sword before holding chopsticks, would at least be far ahead of me in the theoretical depth of sword techniques.

“By any chance, is there anything you would like to advise me on regarding sword techniques?”

At my words, a bizarre expression flickered across his face for a moment.

An expression I had seen somewhere before.

That was, I recalled a memory from inside the butterfly dream, at the moment when I was not myself, where the expressions of the students who visited my office were similar to that.

-This is a research project I’ve been working on lately, what do you think of it?

-Pardon?

-Do you see any logically lacking parts? Or any interesting parts? Do you have any thoughts of doing research together?

The student’s counterquestion that had returned in response to the question the dream-version of me had posed back then was repeated exactly from Namgung Hyeok’s mouth.

“Me?”

Along with a tingling sensation in my spine from the déjà vu, I replied softly.

“Never mind.”

After a brief, awkward silence, Namgung Hyeok spoke to me.

“Um, Taoist Yeon, are you not worried?”

His question.

It was a worry about their fellow disciples who belonged to the missing Group Jia.

“Of course, I am sure nothing like that would happen, but… I cannot fall asleep, wondering if my elder cousin, the Affectionate Swordsman, might have been heavily injured or fallen into danger; otherwise, he is not a person who would have communications cut like this.”

As he spoke, Namgung Hyeok took his eyes off the bonfire, locked eyes with me, and asked.

“I heard that Taoist Nun Baek-song of Group Jia also belongs to the same True Martial Pavilion unit as Taoist Yeon, and that you have a close friendship. Are you not worried?”

At his eyes and his words, I nodded.

“I am worried.”

“Yet, you are truly calm. Perhaps Taoist Yeon has a greater talent as a swordsman than as a boxer.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Because the elders of my family, and also my elder cousin, the Affectionate Swordsman, always said so. A swordsman must maintain a calm mind like still water, no matter who is dying in front of their eyes. In that respect, I am saying this because it seems Taoist Yeon’s middle dantian achievement is much deeper than mine.”

As in Namgung Hyeok’s words, I was not in a completely calm state.

My worry for Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang was not small.

However, rather than being seized by such worry, I had judged that focusing on the Tai Chi Sword Manual I was practicing to raise my skills further would be more helpful when entering the mission; because I thought that way, worry simply did not take precedence.

Of course, I did not spit this out in words.

For in the dream where I had carelessly spat out such words, I had not gained a very good reputation.

“It seems that as I practiced the sword, a swordsman’s heart was naturally developed.”

So saying, I cast ’empathy’ on the other party.

“It seems Brother Namgung is very worried.”

Just like my words, impatience was etched on his face.

It was a face I had not seen during the last mission.

“Isn’t the land of Xining a borderland? I heard that black path sects hold sway in such borderlands. A significant number of the notorious devils in the Jianghu are from such borderlands. It is a place with a different atmosphere from the Central Plains. Since elder brother’s communications were cut in such a place…”

Although the influence of the righteous path, the Nine Sects and One Association, and the Seven Great Families was strong south of the Great Wall and in the center of the Central Plains, the borderlands seemed to be different.

In Namgung Hyeok’s words, there was much information to take to heart, since he knew information about the missing personnel in addition to matters regarding the geography.

“Above all, if I only consider Brother Hyo-sin’s skills, I wouldn’t be worried even if immortal blood ghouls raided them, but because his personality is so soft…”

Namgung Hyo-sin’s nickname, ‘Affectionate Swordsman’, was truly a nickname that did not suit a martial artist, but it was not a name attached for no reason.

“Since he is a person who would throw his body in without a second thought if a fellow group member fell into danger, that is what worries me.”

At his words, I recalled Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang’s character for a moment,

‘There probably isn’t any need to worry too much.’

As the image of Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang badgering Senior Brother Myeong-hun flashed by, I was able to relieve my worries a bit.

Rather, my mind was put at ease.

**

Leaving Henan, where Mount Song was located, and passing through the Shaanxi and Gansu regions, traces of humans became more and more sparse, because we gradually entered mountainous terrain after passing the Central Plains plains where the population was concentrated.

However, the peculiar thing was that as the altitude became higher, it actually became easier to spot people.

“The Xining and Hehuang areas are connected to the path of caravans coming in from the Western Regions, the southern route of the Silk Road. Even if it is a village established halfway up a mountain, resources are relatively abundant.”

Those were the words of Su-gyo, who was born and raised in Sichuan.

Since this Xining was the place that appeared when breaking through the northwestern mountainous region from Sichuan, Su-gyo was well-versed in the geography of this place.

While procuring supplies from time to time like that, and reducing contact with commoners to a minimum, we were finally able to arrive at Ak-do, a small city near Xining.

There, we headed toward a small inn.

“Won’t we stand out?”

To Namgung Hyeok’s inquiring question, Martial Aunt Hye-won shook her head.

“Since we must gather information here before entering Xining.”

As soon as we pulled back the bead curtain of the inn and entered, an errand boy hurriedly approached us.

“Welcome, what brings you…”

To the speaking waiter, she covertly presented a small jade plaque so that the other people in the inn could not see.

It was a jade plaque symbolizing the True Martial Pavilion.

“I know very well that this place is a branch of the Hao Sect. Guide us to the Ak-do Branch Leader.”

If one were to choose the sect most well-informed in information under heaven, the Beggars’ Sect would definitely be chosen.

However, such borderlands of the Central Plains were different.

Martial Aunt Hye-won’s sound transmission struck the ears of all Group Bing members.

intelligence power holds the upper hand.]

Since the Hao Sect was said to span between the righteous and unorthodox, providing information to both sides.

[Won’t our information be leaked as well?]

To my question, Martial Aunt Hye-won shook her head.

[It is fine. The Ak-do Branch Leader is a person loyal to us.]

It was a matter regarding the gratitude and grudges of the Jianghu.

For even if it was a sect between the righteous and unorthodox, they were distinct when it came to gratitude and grudges.

Just like her words, the waiter, who saw the jade plaque presented by Martial Aunt Hye-won, scanned the surroundings for a moment, bowed deeply, and spoke.

“Please follow me.”

The waiter led us to the largest room on the second floor of the inn. And soon, the room door opened and a middle-aged man with a clean appearance entered.

“I am Won Tae, the Ak-do Branch Leader of the Hao Sect. I greet Wudang Sect’s Immortal Hye-won.”

Even though the Ak-do Branch Leader had likely never met her before, Won Tae recognized Martial Aunt. This was a point where the Hao Sect’s intelligence power stood out.

“Also, you probably know that some time ago, the warriors sent by the Murim Alliance went missing in the Xining area?”

At her inquiring words, Won Tae nodded immediately.

“Of course. It was a bloody battle rarely seen in the borderlands.”

At Won Tae’s words, I felt Namgung Hyeok’s body, standing next to me, stiffen slightly. In addition, I too was not in a good mood, since I was worried about the safety of Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang.

On the other hand, Martial Aunt Hye-won continued speaking with a calm expression.

“Any survivors?”

“It is not clear, but according to what our children confirmed, none of those dispatched from the Murim Alliance had died.”

“Does that mean there could be injured ones?”

“What we confirmed was the scene after the matter had ended. It was the forest around the north gate of Xining. We could not find the bodies of the young martial artists from the Murim Alliance, but we cannot know if they were injured.”

“Then you do not know their whereabouts either?”

“I am sorry, but yes. However.”

The Ak-do Branch Leader, who had paused for a moment, glanced at us and spoke calmly.

“The bodies found at the scene did not belong only to the Blood Cult warriors.”

“Then?”

“The bodies of the warriors of the three major sects of Xining were mixed in as well. From the Datong Sect, the Huangzhong Association, and even the Qinghai Sect. Especially among the bodies of the Qinghai Sect disciples, there was also the body of Yi Seup-pyeong, the Chief Administrator of the Qinghai Sect.”

The information of Won Tae, the Ak-do Branch Leader, went only that far.

“Thank you.”

Along with those words, Martial Aunt Hye-won handed over a heavy pouch from her bosom. Won Tae, the Ak-do Branch Leader, ultimately declined it and spoke.

“Please kill even one more blood ghoul. The head of a single blood ghoul is more valuable to me than this silver coin.”

At his words, Martial Aunt Hye-won nodded,

And after taking a good rest at the inn that day, we set off for Xining once more.

**

Before entering Xining, we first stopped by the north gate forest, in order to confirm the traces of the fight. However, when we arrived, no bodies were visible, so we could infer the traces of the fierce battle through the scars carved into the trees.

“These are the sword scars of the Namgung Clan’s Firmament Unimpeded Sword.”

Namgung Hyeok was speaking while caressing the trunk of a tree on the slope entering the mountain path.

It was a situation where chaotic footprints ran rampant despite the passage of time.

“It seems some of them fled.”

For a significant number of the imprinted footprints were heading up the mountain slope.

We tried tracking along the footprints, but upon reaching halfway up the mountain, we could no longer find any footprints.

In the midst of that, the secret signal that Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang commonly left caught my eye,

And I called Martial Aunt over and showed her the secret signal.

“It seems Senior Sister Yi is safe. In addition, she marked the direction of their next destination…”

That direction was pointing toward Xining Castle.

I could tell intuitively.

“Some of Group Jia must have been captured as prisoners.”

At Martial Aunt Hye-won’s words, I nodded.

Some were captured, and those who had fled headed back toward Xining Castle to rescue them.

The secret signal was saying as much.

In addition,

“If it were Brother Hyo-sin, he would never have abandoned his group members.”

With Namgung Hyeok’s words added to the mix, the situation became certain.

Martial Aunt Hye-won spoke with shining eyes.

“In that case, the safety of the prisoners should be secure for the time being. If the members of Group Jia who fled were to launch a surprise attack, the damage would not be small. To prevent this, they would keep them as hostages.”

On top of that, if they murdered the rising stars of the righteous path, dealing with the aftermath would not be easy. However, the situation was that the Dawn Sky Blood Cult was behind them.

“It is clear that they captured the members of Group Jia in order to hand them over to the blood ghouls. The blood ghouls must also be coming from the Dawn Sky Blood Cult’s headquarters. It seems we must rescue them quickly.”

Although the exact location of the Blood Cult’s headquarters was unknown, it was roughly known to be in the area of Tianshan Nanlu.

The fortunate point was that the distance from Tianshan Nanlu, where the headquarters was likely located, to this Xining was actually farther than the distance from Shaolin to Xining.

Everyone thought the same thing.

They had to rescue the prisoners before the blood ghouls from the Blood Cult’s headquarters arrived.

“In that case, our priority should first be to make contact with the Group Jia members who must be hiding in Xining.”

“Yes.”

While everyone was thinking along those lines, I spoke up.

“Um, may I say a word?”

“?!”

To them, who seemed to raise questions, I put myself in Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang’s shoes and continued speaking.

“Perhaps Senior Sister Yi and the rest of the Group Jia members also had similar thoughts to ours. That before the personnel arrive from the Blood Cult’s headquarters, the prisoners will be safe. Furthermore, if Group Jia lost contact, it is an obvious fact that support will come from the Murim Alliance. The Group Jia members will be waiting for our support.”

Before anyone knew it, the group members were listening intently to me.

Even Martial Aunt Hye-won.

Gaining confidence, I continued my reasoning.

“The reason the three sects that cooperated with the Blood Cult have not been able to escort the prisoners to the Blood Cult’s headquarters is also likely due to the concern that the other members of Group Jia might rescue them during the transfer.”

I locked eyes with all the group members and said,

“So instead, why don’t we attack the three sects right now?”