At the Chieftain’s order, they each grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the place Cheong-gwan had told them about.
But when they got there, all they saw was charcoal still faintly warm and gnawed deer bones.
“What, where the hell did everyone go?”
“Weren’t they supposed to be here?”
Right then, someone shouted.
“The footprints continue this way!”
“So they ran off that way?”
“Could they have heard in advance that we were coming?”
“Heard it from who?”
“From that loudmouth Cheong-gwan, of course.”
“No! He’s not the kind that could play both sides at once. He’s too much of a coward.”
The Chieftain thought for a moment, then spoke.
“From the tracks, it’s barely ten or so people, just like Cheong-gwan said. And no matter how fast they run, these mountains are pretty rough, so they couldn’t have gotten far. Once we catch them and beat the truth out, we’ll know who the traitor is.”
He made his decision.
“We follow the footprints.”
“Yes.”
I approached the mountain stronghold.
I had already confirmed that around a hundred people had left the stronghold.
When I raised my Qi sense and scanned the inside, there were roughly another hundred left.
Cheong-gwan must have told them not to let their guard down and dragged out as much fighting strength as he could.
Well, thanks for that.
Right now, the only outsiders in this stronghold are me and my party.
Since the Elder and Attendant Seok Baek were non-combatants, their bodyguards had to stay with them to protect them.
So the eight of us had to rescue four people.
From what Elder Bang told me about the five people in that safe house—their builds, their habits, the way they lived—one of them had to be Cheong-gwan.
Which meant there were only four we actually needed to rescue.
“How are we doing this?”
“We’re going in as quietly as possible and coming out just as quietly. That’s the goal.”
At my words, Escort Guard Myeong Jong asked:
“You mean we avoid a direct clash as much as we can?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
“Honestly, what I really want is to slaughter every last one of them. And I probably could. But if we do that and end up putting the Embroidered Guard warriors’ lives at risk, that’s no good. Don’t forget, our first priority is rescuing the Embroidered Guard warriors.”
“Understood.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
I gave a few more instructions.
“If we get separated for any reason, pair up like this: me with Palgap, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am with Escort Guard Lee Pil, Escort Guard Seo Wu with Escort Guard Myeong Jong, and Escort Guard Jin Yu with Escort Guard Chang Un. After the rescue, regroup at the place I mentioned earlier.”
“Got it.”
“Also, even if we’re here to rescue the Embroidered Guard warriors, what matters most are your lives. Honestly, I feel bad dragging you into this just because you’re assigned as my escort.”
“Please don’t think of it that way.”
“Hearing you say that helps. Thanks. All right, stay sharp. Let’s move.”
At my signal, we slipped into the stronghold.
Escort Guard Jin Yu took the lead, and Escort Guard Seo Wu covered the rear.
Thanks to assassin experience, Jin Yu could move in complete silence and was exceptional at sensing others’ presence.
Like a gust of wind, Jin Yu slipped forward and snapped the Unorthodox Sect fighter’s neck in front of us.
Then Jin Yu propped the body neatly against the wall so it just looked like someone leaning there.
In just a moment, we were deep inside the stronghold.
I focused my Qi sense and searched for the aura of people who had learned the Imperial Palace Martial Art.
The Imperial Palace Martial Art had a distinctive feel to its Qi, and since I practiced it too, it was easy to pick out.
“Found them.”
I led the group toward the stronghold’s underground. We went down a stone staircase, and a fairly well-made underground space came into view.
No, calling it an underground chamber wasn’t quite right.
They had built the stronghold at the mouth of a cave that stretched deeper into the earth.
Thankfully, the cave wasn’t all that wide.
Its twisting layout made it perfect for a game of cat and mouse.
That place was a prison.
I saw children, skin and bones, staring blankly into space with eyes full of resignation.
They had to be kidnapped kids.
It tore at me, but we couldn’t save them now. Getting them out safely would be almost impossible.
We forced ourselves to look away and quickened our steps. Before long, we reached the place where the Embroidered Guard warriors were held.
Crack! Crack!
“Urgh!”
Whip cracks and groans echoed through the cave.
“It’s useless. No matter what you do—ugh!—you won’t hear a single word… hic… out of my mouth.”
“What a stubborn bastard. As expected of the Embroidered Guard?”
The voice was hoarse beyond recognition, but the tone was familiar. It was Warrior Jin Yeong.
“Tch! Let’s see how long you can keep that up!”
Szzzzzzt!
“Gggghk!”
We couldn’t let the torture continue any longer. We crept toward them.
Four people hung from the wall.
Honestly, it was hard to tell if they were still human or just something that used to resemble one.
How could anyone do that to a person!
Rage surged up inside me, but I forced myself to stay calm, counted the enemies in the room, and gauged their levels.
Once I judged we could storm in and still get Warrior Jin Yeong out safely, I immediately sent a Voice Transmission.
— Now!
At my Voice Transmission, we moved as one. In an instant, our blades were buried in every body in the room.
Thud!
Thunk!
With just a few simple motions, we had taken their lives and laid the bodies down without a sound.
“Warrior Jin Yeong, are you all right?”
“Y-you’re…!”
“Shh. Please keep your voice down.”
At my words, he nodded. Escort Guard Seo Wu drew a sword and sliced through the chains that held the Embroidered Guard warriors to the wall.
The way sword Qi flowed from the blade looked far more natural than before, and the chains came apart with surprising ease.
The others were startled by the display, but Warrior Jin Yeong already knew Seo Wu’s level and stayed calm.
We spread Golden Wound Ointment over their bodies and wrapped them in cloth we had prepared ahead of time.
It was to keep the wounds from worsening and to stop blood from dripping and leaving a trail.
Just like we discussed, we paired up and each pair carried one Embroidered Guard.
We moved just as carefully on the way out.
There was no need to poke the hornet’s nest and make things messy.
But when we had no choice, we simply cut down whoever got in our way.
We exited the cave and scanned the surroundings.
Fortunately, the ones who had gone out to catch us still hadn’t returned.
We left just enough traces to make it look like we had hidden under the cliff.
They were going to have a rough time combing the cliffside later.
Like that, we slipped out of the stronghold and headed for the rendezvous point.
It was a house I had bought specifically for this operation.
Finding a secluded house on a mountainside on short notice wasn’t easy, but once I paid a hefty premium, it turned out not that hard.
This was all spent in the line of duty, after all. His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t just pretend he didn’t see that, right?
“Success, then!”
The moment we stepped into the house, Elder Bang, who had been waiting, greeted us.
“Yes, we succeeded.”
“You turned out to be more capable than I thought!”
“Me?”
I still couldn’t forget the way Elder Bang’s eyes had shone last time he looked at me.
Just like when His Majesty’s eyes had lit up, my instincts had rung the alarm back then.
“There’s no way I saved the warriors because I’m anything special. It’s all thanks to my escorts.”
I hurried to push all the credit onto the Escort Guards as I spoke.
“More importantly, we should get the warriors onto the beds right away.”
Just then, Warrior Jin Yeong looked at Elder Bang, eyes going wide as he forced out a greeting.
“Y-you’re… Minister Bang, aren’t you? Embroidered Guard Jin Yeong pays respects to Minister Bang.”
A Minister was the head of one of the Six Ministries, a second-rank post.
I hadn’t expected him to have been that high up in the bureaucracy.
Elder Bang clicked his tongue and waved a hand.
“I’m just a retired old man now, so forget the formalities. Focus on getting your body back in shape first. Tsk tsk.”
We laid the four warriors on the beds we had prepared and wiped their bodies down with wet cloths.
With no servants or maids around, we had to do everything ourselves. And thanks to that, we learned something.
Their condition made it a miracle they were even still alive.
They had been tortured brutally.
Of course, they were martial artists. Ordinary people would have died long ago from injuries like these.
What was even more incredible was that they had endured all this torture without taking their own lives, certain that someone would eventually come to rescue them.
And because there must be something they absolutely had to pass on.
“This is going to hurt, but you have to bear with it.”
Palgap and I stayed by Warrior Jin Yeong’s side, wiping that body down with a wet cloth.
Then we applied Golden Wound Ointment again and wrapped the wounds with long strips of bandage.
There were so many wounds all over that we had no choice but to bandage almost the entire body.
Once the treatment was over, Jin Yeong finally relaxed.
It was sinking in that they really had been rescued.
He quietly turned his head toward Bang Hyo-myeong.
Bang Hyo-myeong had once served as Minister of Justice, then submitted his resignation to His Majesty seven years ago and retired to the countryside.
How could someone like that be here in a place like this together with Eun Seo-ho?
“But Minister Bang, how are you here? I only knew you were somewhere near here in Nanju…”
“Ah, that?”
Bang Hyo-myeong pointed at Eun Seo-ho as he answered.
“That brat brought me a letter. According to the letter, His Majesty the Emperor asked me to rescue you.”
“What?”
“You’re saying this is His Majesty the Emperor’s order?”
The Embroidered Guard warriors were stunned by that answer.
“You all know this already. His Majesty never abandons his own people.”
The Emperor Bang Hyo-myeong knew was frighteningly good at recognizing talent and squeezing every last drop of use out of it.
Because His Majesty excelled at wringing people dry, serving him had been exhausting in body and mind, yet Bang had no choice but to follow him.
Once the Emperor considered someone his own, he trusted them completely and backed them to the hilt.
And he never threw them away.
Still, Bang had thought, “If this keeps up, I’m going to die working in the palace”, and so he’d retired to his hometown…
‘Damn it! If it’s an imperial order, how am I supposed to refuse!’
A surge of anger suddenly rose within him.
But he couldn’t very well throw a tantrum in front of them.
“So focus on recovering your body. You’ll need to stand before His Majesty and thank him properly, won’t you?”
“Kh…!”
“His Majesty!”
“Khuh…”
Their eyes grew red as they swallowed back tears.
To be honest, the Embroidered Guard warriors had endured that brutal time solely through their loyalty to His Majesty.
Their pride had played a part too.
As His Majesty’s hands and feet, they could not allow themselves to break under pain.
Even when the torture became so unbearable they wanted to die, they refused to take their own lives.
They had to pass on what they knew, no matter what.
But that was all.
They hadn’t trusted the Emperor completely.
Honestly, loyalty and trust were two different things.
But the fact that the Emperor had even sent letters to someone who had retired to the countryside just to save them moved them deeply.
In that moment, they pledged to give His Majesty their bodies, hearts, and very souls.
Meanwhile, Bang Hyo-myeong smacked his lips as he looked at Eun Seo-ho.
Eun Seo-ho was talent among talents.
‘Is this how His Majesty feels when he spots talent?’
Anyway, with just a bit more training, this kid would become truly useful.
‘Maybe I should polish him up a bit more and shove him into the palace in my place?’
If Eun Seo-ho heard that, he’d probably jump out of his skin.
All of a sudden, a chill ran through me and I rubbed my arms.
“What’s wrong, Young Master?”
At Palgap’s question, I shook my head.
“It’s nothing. I just suddenly felt cold.”
“Huh? Young Master, you’re cold?”
Even to me, that didn’t make much sense.
I tilted my head, watching the way the Embroidered Guard warriors looked at Elder Bang.
Their eyes were filled with respect.
Sure, he had been a Minister, so it made sense that the Embroidered Guard warriors recognized him, but that level of reverence was a bit much, wasn’t it?
Anyway.
“There’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know about the others, but Warrior Jin Yeong’s martial skill is at least first-rate, and when he uses the Imperial Palace Martial Art, he can temporarily unleash power at the Peak realm.”
“That’s right.”
“Then how did you get captured so easily?”
At my question, Warrior Jin Yeong ground his teeth.
“Cheong-gwan! It’s because of that bastard!”
He explained that it all began when he discovered Cheong-gwan’s corruption and confronted the man about it.
Cheong-gwan had poisoned the Embroidered Guard, and when the mountain stronghold’s Unorthodox Sect fighters rushed in afterward, they had been helplessly overwhelmed.
“I knew it. That guy really was the problem.”
“Have you run into this Cheong-gwan?”
“We did.”
At Elder Bang’s answer, Warrior Jin Yeong tried to sit up, then clenched his teeth against the pain and spoke.
“Th-then… if they somehow… learned about this place, we’d be in serious…”
“You can relax.”
I grinned.
“They don’t know about this place.”
“They don’t?”
“Right. Luckily, Elder Bang realized something was off with him the moment he saw him, so we were able to take precautions.”
I explained how we’d played Cheong-gwan and the mountain stronghold’s Unorthodox Sect bandits for fools.
“Huh…”
“What a bold way to handle it!”
“Anyway, the stronghold must be in chaos by now… Lord Cheong-gwan is probably struggling just to keep that precious skin of his intact, don’t you think?”
–TL Notes–
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