To catch Yang Eun-jik, we first had to find where he’d run off to.
How could we track him down…
Ah, come to think of it, they’d said they really did find a tunnel just like I’d described, and that he’d been hiding there.
If so, there was a good chance some of Yang Eun-jik’s belongings were still down there.
“Escort Guard Seo Wu.”
“Yes.”
“Please tell Warrior Jin Yeong that I’d like to take a look at the tunnel, and that I’ll fully ‘cooperate.’”
“Understood.”
A little later.
Warrior Jin Yeong came back to the physician’s house, just as I’d expected.
His face was slightly flushed; seemed my offer had hit the spot.
“I heard from your escort guard.”
“I thought about it and decided that unless we catch that man, Beijing is never going to know peace.”
I went on.
“Even if the Eunhae Merchant Group branch is finished, how are we supposed to focus on business with someone like that running wild?”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Warrior Jin Yeong nodded.
“Come along. I’ll take you to the tunnel.”
“Thank you.”
We followed behind him and soon arrived at a shop in the marketplace.
Imperial Guards stood there with grim faces, guarding the place.
“This way.”
The moment they saw Warrior Jin Yeong, the Imperial Guards bowed respectfully. It reminded me how high his position really was.
“We really found it by accident. Since we were told there was a tunnel, we were mainly checking the floor, but then I noticed something odd about those bookshelves. Only one of the books had no dust on it.”
“You realized that? That’s impressive.”
When I flattered him, he waved a hand, looking a little embarrassed.
“If you pull the book like this…”
Clunk.
“The whole shelf swings around and opens a passage.”
Just as he said, one of the bookshelves rotated like a revolving door.
Beyond it was clearly an underground passage.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
Warrior Jin Yeong ordered a nearby Imperial Guard to bring torches, and the guard quickly returned with them.
Warrior Jin Yeong lit one, then handed a couple of torches to us.
He went in first, and we followed him into the passage with our own torches raised.
The gently sloping passage was just wide and tall enough for a single person to pass with a torch.
I had wondered why we needed torches; inside, there wasn’t a single ray of light.
A tunnel like this in the middle of Beijing—someone had really gone all in.
After we walked for what felt like about half a quarter of an hour, a wide open chamber appeared ahead.
Warrior Jin Yeong hung his torch on a bracket on one wall.
The chamber lit up at once.
Ah, they had mirrors arranged to get the most out of the light.
They’d put some thought into this.
The whole place was walled with mud bricks on all sides, and it looked like they’d made it rectangular to use the space efficiently.
“This is where they gathered. Looks like they even lived down here.”
Sure enough, traces of that life were everywhere.
Bowls, spoons, and pots lay around, proof enough. Which also meant there was a good chance some of this belonged to Yang Eun-jik.
They say a transcendent master can follow someone’s lingering Qi and pick out that person’s belongings…
I was nowhere near that level, so I had to rely on reasoning instead.
Let’s see…
Yang Eun-jik had been hiding here and must have bolted in a panic when the Embroidered Guard warriors stormed the place.
Would he really have had time to gather all his things?
No way.
Which would explain why personal items were scattered all over.
I could almost picture how frantic it had been, to the point that he hadn’t even grabbed that money pouch over there.
And…
When I saw Yang Eun-jik today, he wasn’t wearing a headscarf.
“…!”
I smiled.
Right there, next to the makeshift bed in what you could call the seat of honor, a headscarf lay on the ground.
The very same headscarf he’d worn to Seon-mi’s wedding.
I glanced at Palgap and subtly tilted my chin toward Warrior Jin Yeong.
Quick on the uptake, Palgap casually stepped in between me and Warrior Jin Yeong.
In that moment, I slipped Geumryeong out of my sleeve.
“Remember this scent.”
“Kui…”
Thud.
I hurriedly clamped a hand over its mouth.
“Quiet.”
After I let Geumryeong sniff it, I rose to my feet as if nothing had happened.
Anything else worth picking up?
I scanned the area, then shook my head.
The Embroidered Guard had probably already searched the place from top to bottom; we could leave it at that.
Right then.
“Young Master, could you take a look at this?”
At Jin Yu’s call, we went over to him, and he pointed at a smooth wall.
A section of stacked brick.
“What’s wrong?”
At my question, he glanced at Warrior Jin Yeong behind me, then continued.
“While I was checking the wall, I unconsciously put my hand here. That’s when I found this. If you press this brick like so…”
Jin Yu pressed one of the bricks.
Grinding.
One brick slid backward, and at the same time, the brick below it popped out.
But the thing that popped out wasn’t a brick at all.
It was a brick-shaped drawer.
Inside were papers. I took one out and unfolded it.
“…”
I handed it to Warrior Jin Yeong, and he read through the document.
“…!”
His eyes widened.
“Looks like we’ve found something crucial.”
“Y-yes, it seems so.”
It was a joint pledge, a sheet where everyone who had agreed to rebellion had signed their names.
The names on the list were more illustrious than I’d expected.
There were the names and seals of the recently dismissed former Minister of Revenue and former Minister of Works.
On top of that, there was an unexpected name.
Prince Chungjin.
The current Emperor’s cousin.
He had once been the strongest candidate for the throne, but when the late Emperor chose the current Emperor as heir, his hopes had been thoroughly crushed.
In any case, the fact that they’d hidden this document here showed just how important it was.
The other papers were just as pivotal.
Things like future plans and detailed instructions.
“I should go report to the Embroidered Guard Commander at once.”
“Yes, please do.”
“I’m truly grateful for what you’ve done today.”
With that, we left the tunnel. I stopped by the physician’s house, picked up Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am, and went back to my quarters.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t just stumble on the fact that pressing that brick makes another one pop out, did you?”
At my question, he nodded.
“No, I didn’t know the exact spot, but I knew the method. It’s one of the ways they hide important documents.”
“I see. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re here with us, Jin Yu.”
“…”
But at my words, Jin Yu said nothing, just stared at me with a blank expression.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No. It’s just… that’s the first time I’ve ever heard something like that.”
To hear that for the first time in a life…
It told me enough about how harsh Jin Yu’s life had been until now.
I’ll have to say things like that to him more often.
“I’m counting on you from here on out too.”
“Those are my words to you.”
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder how the Murim Alliance Leader would react if that venerable figure found out that the assassin they personally raised was now helping get in the way of the Alliance Leader’s own work.
“By the way, this Yang Eun-jik… he doesn’t know your face, does he, Jin Yu?”
He nodded at my question.
“Whenever I was active back then, I always wore a mask. Very few people know my face. He’s not one of them.”
“I see.”
Relieved, I told Jin Yu to bring everyone.
Then I took Geumryeong out and held out a silver tael.
“Kui?”
“Here, eat this and go find the owner of that headscarf I showed you earlier.”
Geumryeong’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the silver.
It hopped up, gulped down the tael from my hand, sniffed the air, and then sprang out the window.
In the meantime, Jin Yu came back with the others.
And about fifteen minutes later.
Geumryeong squeezed back in through the window with a little whine. I quickly caught it with both hands.
Fifteen minutes…
Not extremely far, but not exactly close either.
He’d run farther than I expected.
“All right, shall we go?”
Yang Eun-jik let out a sigh as he looked around the forest.
“If I’ve made it this far, they shouldn’t be able to chase me any further.”
He sat on a tree stump and caught his breath.
“Still… how in the world did they find that place?”
Not long ago, he’d realized someone was tailing him.
It was the Embroidered Guard.
He’d figured they would discover him someday, but this was far too soon.
By his own calculations, they shouldn’t have noticed him until he’d finished his job and cut off all traces.
By then, everything would already have exploded, and they’d be too busy trying to clean up the mess.
In any case, he’d dashed into the tunnel to hide.
The place was so thoroughly hidden that even after many years, not a hint of it had surfaced.
So he’d been relaxed, certain he was safe…
Until Embroidered Guard warriors suddenly burst in, sending him fleeing in a blind panic.
Which was why he now had nothing but his sword on him.
“Phew, this job’s ruined. Completely ruined. How am I supposed to report this to that person…”
Still, the one bit of luck was that there had been no word about the documents he’d hidden.
They must not have found them. How could they possibly know he had hidden them there?
So he couldn’t call it a complete failure yet.
There was still a chance to salvage things somehow.
He was a Hidden Fish planted by the Murim Alliance.
His role this time had been to link the former Minister of Revenue, the former Minister of Works, and Prince Chungjin, the Emperor’s cousin.
Right now, Prince Chungjin’s support base was weak.
The former Minister of Revenue and Minister of Works resented the Emperor who had ousted them, but they lacked a proper pretext.
His mission had been to prod them into joining forces and raising a rebellion.
The goal wasn’t for the rebellion to succeed, but for the rebellion to happen at all.
He understood that.
That the rebellion would never actually succeed.
Honestly, he couldn’t help wondering why they wanted to spark a rebellion that had no chance of success.
But if he had to guess, the Murim Alliance Leader didn’t like the imperial court’s power growing too strong.
‘Well, if a civil war broke out, the Emperor would lose plenty as well. And through this, they could gauge the true strength hidden inside the palace.’
A great many people might die in the process, but he didn’t care.
No matter how many died, why hesitate if it meant he could rise in the world?
His martial arts stood at the first-rate level.
He’d hit a wall years ago and hadn’t been able to progress since.
Then the Alliance Leader had made him an offer.
“If you follow my orders and handle a few tasks, I’ll teach you a martial art.”
“What? A martial art?”
“A martial art I created myself. With it, you should be able to break through your wall and reach the peak realm.”
Peak.
If he crossed that wall, the position of commander would no longer be just a dream.
After resting a bit and steadying his breathing, he stood and brushed off his robes.
‘They won’t keep investigating that place forever. I can just retrieve the documents once they pull out…’
The documents were important, yes, but not something they needed this very moment.
‘First, I need to make my report and clean up the situation.’
It was at that moment.
He felt a chill run up from behind him.
Instinctively, he drew his sword and swung.
Clang!
The blade aimed at him was knocked aside, and at the same time, he caught a glimpse of his attacker’s face.
But it wasn’t a bare face.
A smiling face… mask?
Come to think of it, he’d heard something about a smiling-face mask somewhere before.
‘Right! The White Thunder Division disappearance case!’
Back then, Ma Jeong, the Manor Lord of Taegyeong County in Henan, had invested a huge sum into the Murim Alliance’s escort bureau venture.
But the money had been stolen en route.
At the time, Ma Jeong’s guards, who were named as the culprits, testified that the money had been taken by people wearing smiling-face masks.
But they had been under the influence of drugs, so the conclusion was that they’d simply hallucinated.
Half of the White Thunder Division was dispatched to investigate… and they disappeared.
Yang Eun-jik knew in his gut.
That Ma Jeong’s guards had told the truth. And that the disappearance of half the White Thunder Division…
‘…was these people’s doing!’
But he couldn’t afford to let his thoughts go any further.
The four wearing smiling masks were far more skilled than he’d expected.
He ground his teeth.
‘These bastards… they look to be around first-rate. Damn it, if I were at the peak level…! I could have sacrificed an arm and still managed to escape…’
That was how vast the gap between first-rate and peak truly was.
Clang!
Clang, clang!
Thud!
Sword clashed against sword in a fierce exchange.
He desperately dodged and parried, but he couldn’t stop the wounds from piling up on his body.
‘Good thing they aren’t peak-level. If they were, I’d already be dead.’
Thinking that, he gave a bitter laugh inside.
Peak-level experts weren’t exactly common, and it made no sense for people like that to ambush him out here.
Even so, their coordinated attacks were extremely hard to handle.
The fact that he’d avoided a fatal blow and endured their joint assault for about a quarter of an hour was a miracle.
And that miracle brought another in its wake.
Wuuung-!
Yang Eun-jik’s sword flared with a bright glow. It was sword force, the mark of a peak-level expert.
He exulted.
‘Peak! I’ve finally broken through the wall! I’ve finally reached the peak…’
Thuck-!
But at that very moment, all he saw was the sword blade bursting out through his own stomach.
–TL Notes–
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