A Splendid Outing (4)

Neung Je-gang was drawing inside the inn room. He sketched out a rough map of the Martial Alliance he had visited a few times before. Then he firmly pointed to the spot where the terrifyingly cold Ice Vault was located.

“This is the place we’re aiming for.”

Majil tilted his head as he looked at the drawing Neung Je-gang had made.

“How far exactly is it from here?”

He needed to know that in order to dig a tunnel.

But Neung Je-gang didn’t know the exact distance either. Back then, he had never imagined he would return this way, so he had only followed Gal Hwi-jeong’s lead.

“That I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, this will be hard, won’t it? If I had at least seen it with my own eyes, that would be one thing, but if I end up digging into the wrong place, we’re doomed. This is the Martial Alliance after all…”

Majil’s words made sense. If they mistakenly broke into someone’s cultivation chamber, they could be branded assassins and chased by the Martial Alliance for life. Even if not that, just tunneling beneath them would already mean being hunted forever.

“Then let’s go inside.”

After a moment of thought, Neung Je-gang came to a conclusion.

“Huh?”

“I mean, go into the Martial Alliance and see with your own eyes.”

“H-how?”

Majil’s tone shook. Was this man trying to get him killed?

“Just go in with me. We’ll say we’re here to meet someone. Which we actually are.”

Neung Je-gang’s words reassured Majil again.

“Wow, boss! You even know people in the Martial Alliance? Amazing!”

Majil still ended up getting smacked by Neung Je-gang.

Secret Shadow.

The guard at the Martial Alliance’s main gate remembered Neung Je-gang’s face. Who could forget such a face after seeing it once?

But since names had to be written in the guest book, the guard handed it over, and Neung Je-gang wrote down “Secret Shadow” as his alias.

But he wasn’t alone, was he?

“Boss, that’s not your real name.”

Majil pointed at the alias “Secret Shadow,” making the gate guards tense. They wondered if this was an imposter sneaking in under another’s name.

“That’s my alias.”

Only after Neung Je-gang said this did Majil nod.

“So you had an alias too?”

“What, you thought you were the only one?”

Next to “Secret Shadow,” Neung Je-gang added three characters.

“Accompanied by 1.”

“Please pass this on to the Chief of the Investigation Unit.”

Majil pouted as he saw “Accompanied by 1” instead of his own alias “Blazing Flame Master.” He thought he had missed a perfect chance to make himself known inside the Martial Alliance. He even reached to write it himself, but the guest book was already taken back by the guards.

A moment later, a guard came up and said to Neung Je-gang,

“Please come in. I’ll show you the way.”

As they followed, Neung Je-gang used a sound-transmission technique to explain the rough layout to Majil. Majil rolled his eyes as he memorized the placement and distances of the buildings.

“Please enter.”

The guard opened the door.

“If you’re not too busy, could you show this man around the Martial Alliance? I must speak with the Unit Chief in private…”

Neung Je-gang left Majil in the guard’s care, then went into the Chief’s room.

“Welcome.”

“Greetings. So, have you found the culprit?”

“You know full well I haven’t, so why say that? Still, you came at the right time. I was about to contact Kuaiji Mountain.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

Neung Je-gang asked, but Go Won-gi didn’t answer.

“First, tell me why you came to me. What brings you here?”

“There’s only one reason I’d come. I’m curious about Dam Ja-cheon and his daughter. Enough time has passed—surely you’ve found something by now?”

“Mm, sadly not. No word yet from the Beggar’s Sect. Even for them, it’s not an easy task.”

Neung Je-gang nodded.

“I only came because waiting was frustrating. If there’s no news, then I’ll come back later.”

He rose to his feet.

Go Won-gi quickly waved his hand.

“Wait! At least hear me out.”

“Please go ahead.”

“I have a request for you.”

“A request? Well, I’d like to help, but I’m far too busy these days. I already have pressing matters…”

It was a polite refusal. He had to steal the Ice Essence Crystal as soon as possible to restore Je So-yeon’s ruined dantian.

“I know you’ve been idling around the tavern for a whole month, so what’s this about being busy?”

Neung Je-gang had no reply. He hadn’t tried to hide it anyway—it was true he had only gone back and forth between the inn and the tavern.

“And that man with you—he’s that newly infamous Blazing Flame Master, isn’t he?”

“How did you know?”

Neung Je-gang looked at Go Won-gi in surprise.

“Ha, why wouldn’t I? Several official notices have arrived. Tsk, tsk. He should have finished the job properly instead of letting people off lightly. That’s how he ended up wanted. If he had just killed a few more, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Go Won-gi slid a few papers across the table.

They were arrest warrants not only from the authorities of Hangzhou and Deokcheong, but also from the Eastern Depot itself. They asked that Majil, as a martial artist, be arrested on sight. And since the Martial Alliance was the largest organization, it made sense.

Neung Je-gang knew that Majil had been sloppy. Even his own life was proof of what happened when enemies were not rooted out completely. Fifteen years ago, his foes had failed to kill him, and now he sharpened his blade for vengeance. Had they “cut the weeds and pulled up the roots,” Je So-yeon wouldn’t have suffered at the hands of Gwan-an.

“There is a way to resolve this, however…”

Go Won-gi hinted.

The Martial Alliance had the power to clear someone’s wanted status.

Neung Je-gang hesitated. Je So-yeon’s matter was urgent, but he couldn’t just let Majil remain a wanted man. The fool had just come out into the world again, trying to live a better life.

“What is it?”

In the end, Neung Je-gang had no choice but to compromise.

“I knew you were a man of loyalty from the start.”

Go Won-gi laughed heartily, pleased at Neung Je-gang’s surrender.

“Spare me the nonsense and speak quickly, before I change my mind.”

“Then forgive my boldness—go to Guangxi Province.”

“Mm…!”

Neung Je-gang let out a low groan before he realized.

Guangxi Province! The Black Alliance!

He was being dragged into something complicated again.

“The Black Alliance sent for aid. As you know, we don’t exactly have the luxury to handle it.”

“Something happened in the Black Alliance?”

“They’re worse off than us. They tried to handle it quietly, but now even their core sects are turning on each other. They finally turned to us for help.”

While the Martial Alliance had avoided internal strife thanks to Neung Je-gang uncovering So-hee’s scheme, the Black Alliance was on the verge of collapse.

“So, the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance are on friendly terms then, helping each other out… But what happened?”

“Three people were killed, one disappeared. Each sect thinks the missing person was hidden by another, so now they’re at each other’s throats.”

“Can I know who the dead are?”

Neung Je-gang’s interest was piqued.

That was his nature—when faced with something suspicious and difficult, his curiosity devoured him. That was why he had been recognized as the best in the Eastern Depot.

“That I cannot say. It’s confidential. But once you reach the Black Alliance, the Lord of the Ten-Thousand-Sounds Hall—Master of the Bells—will tell you. Your task is to find the missing person.”

“Another search, then. And if the missing one is killed before I find them?”

“Then find out who killed them. That person is the one who killed the other three.”

“I see.”

Neung Je-gang already had a prime suspect.

The Necromancer Cult.

There was no other. Go Won-gi surely knew it too. Nam Yeong had already sent word that the cult was moving within the Black Alliance.

Coming here at such a time meant Neung Je-gang had willingly stepped into a tiger’s den.

“Understood. I’ll go to Guangxi.”

In the end, he made his decision. Majil’s problem was part of it, but his entanglement with the Necromancer Cult was also undeniable.

“One thing to remember—the Black Alliance is full of hot-blooded men. If they think you’re weaker than you are, they’ll pounce. To them, the figure of ‘Secret Shadow’ is a mystery, but when they see your young face, they may think you’re nothing.”

“No matter. Secret Shadow has never forgiven those who struck first. If they try to trample me, they’ll be the ones trampled.”

“Haha, I hope so.”

“Thank you. But what about Blazing Flame Master? He must come with me.”

“The moment you leave, I’ll send a letter to the Eastern Depot stating that Blazing Flame Master is on Martial Alliance business. That’s all it takes.”

It was indeed simple—but only because Go Won-gi was Chief of the Investigation Unit.

“Then I’ll be off. Ah, I almost forgot—what’s my payment for handling the Black Alliance’s matter?”

Neung Je-gang suddenly turned back.

“Why ask me? You’ll have to ask the Master of the Bells.”

“No. You’re the one asking me to do this. So the payment must come from you.”

“How can I know what the Black Alliance will pay?”

“Then find out first and let me know.”

Neung Je-gang stood up. He wouldn’t move without compensation—not even for Majil’s sake.

“Wait. In that case, I’ll grant you one favor within my power, in return for handling the Black Alliance affair. If you wish, I’ll even give you ten years’ funding for Kuaiji Mountain.”

Go Won-gi spoke urgently. By the time he sent a message to Guangxi and waited for an answer, the Alliance might already collapse.

“One favor, anything?”

“Yes.”

“Good. But not just from you—the Martial Alliance must guarantee it. Make sure of that.”

“You mean from the Alliance as a whole?”

“That’s right. Forgive my bluntness, but what if you retire or step down as Chief? I’d be left cheated.”

It could have insulted Go Won-gi, but what could he say? The martial world was a battlefield of shadows, where nothing was certain.

“Fine. I’ll bring it before the Council of Elders for approval.”

“I’ll wait. You know where to find me.”

“Mm…!”

Go Won-gi could only groan. Again, Neung Je-gang had turned the tables on him.

“Once the Council meets, everyone will know you’re going to the Black Alliance. The Necromancer Cult will try to interfere. The path will be dangerous.”

“If you want something, you must accept the risk. Even once, to make use of the Martial Alliance as I wish is worth the danger.”

After Neung Je-gang left, Go Won-gi slumped down and stared into space.

“If only someone like him could succeed me as Chief of the Investigation Unit. I raised So-jeong as a spy for that very purpose, but now she insists on formally training in martial arts… Sigh!”

Even as Chief, he couldn’t control his own daughter. He felt pitiful.

“Damn it!”