The Terrifying Pursuer (2)

“Fortunately, you returned safely.”

Go Won-gi quickly came running out when he heard that Cheong Yeon’s group had arrived. Most likely, he had been most worried about whether Go So-jeong was safe.

“We did not gain much. Those who blocked us were unexpectedly too strong, so we had to withdraw.”

Cheong Yeon answered like that with an apologetic heart. Then he immediately asked Go Won-gi.

“What happened to the people who attacked the enemy’s food warehouses?”

“There has been no news from them. They were people who went prepared to die anyway, so whether they failed or succeeded, there would be no way for them to send word.”

Go Won-gi spoke in a sorrowful tone.

“I see.”

Cheong Yeon also spoke gloomily. Because he did not know the result, he felt somewhat frustrated.

‘Would it have been right instead not to return and burn more grain?’

Some people had charged into the enemy camp knowing they would die, yet they had returned just because one person had been injured. He felt so ashamed that he could not raise his head before the dead.

“Still, smoke rose greatly from the enemy camp for a while, so it likely was not a complete failure.”

Go Won-gi was satisfied with just that for now. They had broken through the enemy’s guard network, which he had thought could never be pierced. Since they had already broken through once, there would surely be other methods as well.

“For now, everyone should go back, rest, and recover their strength. Then we shall see.”

“Understood.”

Go Won-gi returned, and Go So-jeong and Je So-yeon also returned to their quarters. Only Ma-jil and Cheong Yeon remained.

“Thank you.”

“Hm?”

Cheong Yeon told Ma-jil that he was grateful. Ma-jil looked at Cheong Yeon with eyes that seemed to ask what he was talking about.

“I mean, thank you for blocking the sword in my place.”

Cheong Yeon looked at Ma-jil as if wondering what kind of person he was. Had he not taken a blade in his place, yet already seemed to have forgotten it?

“Ahh! That? Well, it was nothing. There is someone who would be sad if you died, you see. I absolutely did not save you because I liked you, so you do not have to be that grateful.”

Ma-jil replied in a tone that made all affection drain away.

“Heh! Whatever the reason, gratitude is gratitude. If such a thing happens next time, then I will save your life.”

“Do as you like. Well, I doubt that will happen, though. If something like last time happens again, I may not be able to save you then, so how about diligently training in martial arts?”

Ma-jil said that with a shameless face, as if it were only natural. Cheong Yeon had thanked him and still received nothing pleasant in return, so his face reddened.

“Hehehe! I’m joking, joking. Can’t a person make a joke? My body is sturdy, so I do not die easily even if I am cut by a sword. You do not have to worry.”

Seeing Cheong Yeon’s reddened face, Ma-jil laughed exaggeratedly. Because of that, Cheong Yeon’s face grew even redder. Then he picked up his sword and went outside. Ma-jil’s not-quite-joking remark that he should train more in martial arts kept pricking at his heart.

When Cheong Yeon came outside, for some reason, Go So-jeong was standing there.

“What brings you here……?”

When Cheong Yeon asked, Go So-jeong shook her head and looked at him.

“Nothing. The autumn wind is very cool, isn’t it?”

“Since it is autumn, I suppose it is cool. If there is nothing else, then I will be going…….”

Cheong Yeon answered bluntly and walked past Go So-jeong. Go So-jeong pouted and then walked after him.

“Where are you going?”

“To train.”

At Cheong Yeon’s answer, Go So-jeong stopped walking. Watching another person’s martial practice was not proper etiquette.

Whether Go So-jeong followed or not, Cheong Yeon entered the secluded forest and did not come out for a long time.

Cheong Yeon, who ended his training with breathing cultivation, left the forest to go find nearby water.

“No, have you been here all this time?”

But outside the forest, unexpectedly, Go So-jeong was still keeping her place. Cheong Yeon looked briefly surprised, but he had no particular thoughts about it. Since he knew Go So-jeong liked Neung Je-gang, he did not think her feelings had changed.

“Yes…… Just because the breeze is nice.”

Go So-jeong did not forget her poetic line until the end.

‘The breeze is nice? Well, I suppose the autumn wind is cool and nice.’

Cheong Yeon looked up at the sky once, then simply accepted it as such and hurriedly walked to one side. He had nothing to say about someone’s personal taste.

“Where are you going?”

Go So-jeong asked again toward Cheong Yeon, who was walking away busily and heartlessly. But after hearing Cheong Yeon’s answer again, Go So-jeong had no choice but to stop walking.

“To bathe.”

What could she say? He said he was going to bathe.

In the end, Go So-jeong returned to her own quarters somewhat angry, resenting the indifferent Cheong Yeon.

The next day, Go Won-gi called the group.

“Did you call for us?”

“Come in quickly. I called because I wanted to ask for your opinions. It seems that you, who used to be from the Eastern Depot, would know better about this kind of war.”

“Ask me anything. I will tell you everything I know.”

“Thank you. In truth, after the Alliance leaders held a meeting last night, there was talk that since it is difficult to wage war in winter, we should maintain this stalemate and fight again in spring. What do you think?”

“It is true that fighting in winter is difficult. The winter of Cheonghae Province is even more desolate and cold. Perhaps waiting like that may be the answer. However, we must thoroughly prepare our defenses so the enemies cannot enter the Central Plains.”

“Mm……! Then, in your opinion as well, making this a stalemate through winter is not bad?”

“At present, there is no other way, so it cannot be helped. If the Imperial Guard could be mobilized, we might be able to sweep away the enemies before winter comes, but since the remnants of Mongolia are watching for an opportunity, that is difficult too……. In the end, even if we do not specially try to create a stalemate, we will likely have no choice but to watch time pass in this state.”

Cheong Yeon’s thoughts were not greatly different from the thoughts of the Martial Alliance leaders.

However, that was precisely what Go Won-gi did not like. Leaving things to time was something anyone could do.

“Then is there no other method at all?”

“It is the most basic thing, but there are two things we can do.”

“What are they?”

“First, we return and burn the grain of Hagok Plain that we were unable to handle. It will soon be harvested, so it is something we must hurry to do. And the other is to divert a certain number of people and strike Kunlun.”

“Kunlun?”

Go Won-gi was startled. Since Kunlun was a sacred place of the orthodox martial world, especially of Taoists, they had deliberately avoided talking to one another about striking Kunlun. Later, once everything was resolved, the Central Plains Taoists would bring up the matter of Kunlun.

At that time, the person who had first brought up striking Kunlun would have to take responsibility for trampling a sacred ground. Even if they won the war, it was human nature not to want to suffer such consequences afterward.

“But Kunlun is……?”

When Go Won-gi hesitated, Cheong Yeon spoke coldly.

“Kunlun is currently the base of rebels. Even if the Martial Alliance tries to leave it alone, the Empire will not permit it. Perhaps the Empire may destroy Kunlun Mountain itself. In truth, is the sacred ground not Kunlun Sect, but the mountain itself? If the Martial Alliance lays hands on it first, only Kunlun Sect will suffer damage, but if the Empire lays hands on it later, that sacred ground will disappear.”

“Ahh! I see.”

The Martial Alliance was currently thinking of Kunlun and the Necromancer Cult merely as enemies of the martial world. But from the country’s perspective, they were rebels. Considering that a great empire punished rebels with exceptional harshness, Kunlun Sect had already committed a crime that would not allow even its roots to survive.

“I had not thought of that. Whatever happens later, I must inform the leadership of that point.”

Go Won-gi nodded and asked again.

“Then is there another way to deal with the remaining grain?”

“I have not thought of one yet. They must already know that we dug a tunnel, so the enemies will prepare against that as well. I will have to think about another method.”

“Understood. If you think of a good idea, come and tell me at any time.”

The conversation between Go Won-gi and Cheong Yeon ended. The others had merely sat there blankly like ornaments, occupying their seats, then withdrew without being able to say a word.

Even after Cheong Yeon’s group went out, Go So-jeong was blankly staring only at the entrance through which they had left. She had been watching Cheong Yeon, who spoke confidently with her father, with an entranced expression.

“Leaving that aside, why on earth is there no news from the Vice Alliance Leader?”

Go Won-gi muttered to himself.

“Yes?”

Go So-jeong was startled by Go Won-gi’s voice and asked back.

“Hm? Where were you letting your mind wander? I was talking to myself because contact with the Vice Alliance Leader has been cut off.”

“The Vice Alliance Leader? Did he not go toward Sichuan, saying he would discuss something with the Black Alliance?”

“He did. But there has been no contact from him since. There has also been no contact from the agent we sent to watch the situation…….”

Go Won-gi frowned. Among the people in important positions in the Martial Alliance, the person suspected of having ties to the Necromancer Cult was the Vice Alliance Leader. He could not erase suspicion from the others either, but the Vice Alliance Leader’s movements were especially suspicious.

After Secret Shadow investigated at his request and carefully traced the Vice Alliance Leader’s movements, it was revealed that he had traveled unusually often toward Cheonghae and Gansu Province. Well, since his base was Tianshan, those movements were not particularly strange, but because Kunlun had been revealed as the root cause of all matters, even that natural fact had become suspicious.

But regardless, he was the Vice Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance. Within the Martial Alliance, he held a position of one below one, above ten thousand. Unless there was definite proof, they could not press him, so they had no choice but to merely watch and keep him under surveillance.

But after he left to discuss a cooperative system with the Black Alliance, contact with him had been cut off. The problem was that the Investigation Unit agents who had been secretly watching him were also out of contact.

“If this is how things are, does that mean our suspicion of him has turned out to be true? It seems I must bring up matters concerning him at the leadership meeting as well.”

“What are you thinking about while muttering like that?”

Go So-jeong, who had been staring at Go Won-gi, said a word.

“You go tell the Alliance elders that I want to see them.”

Without answering Go So-jeong’s words, Go Won-gi sent her on an errand.

“To the elders?”

“Yes. Tell them it is urgent, and also send word to ask whether the Vice Alliance Leader has returned to Zhengzhou.”

“Understood.”

Go So-jeong pouted her lips at her father, who only sent her on errands, and went outside. She told a warrior belonging to the Investigation Unit who was guarding the front of the tent to relay what Go Won-gi had said in her place, then trotted off to Cheong Yeon’s quarters. Rather than doing the boring work of the Martial Alliance, being together with Je So-yeon, who was of a similar age, and Cheong Yeon, on whom she had set her heart, was far more fun.

However, when she arrived at Cheong Yeon’s quarters, there was no one there.

“Do you know where the people who were here went?”

She asked the warriors patrolling nearby.

“Ah, the people there were taken away earlier by people who came from the Eastern Depot.”

Fortunately, one of the patrol warriors knew the movements of Cheong Yeon’s group.

Go So-jeong stamped her feet. If it was the Eastern Depot, it was a place where none other than the princess had come as its representative. No matter how immature she was, she could not recklessly visit a place where Her Highness the Princess was present.

Having no choice, she left word to let her know when they returned and went back to Go Won-gi’s quarters. However, Go Won-gi was also not there, perhaps because he had gone out to meet the elders.

Go So-jeong suddenly became very lonely. She felt alone. Amid tens of thousands of people surrounding her, she alone had nothing to do at this moment.