Toward Qingcheng Sect (3)

When I heard that the women’s abductions were likely the work of the Righteous Chivalry Guild, my first thought was, “Then shouldn’t we rescue them?”

But Lady Jeong-yeon shook her head, her face heavy.

“Regrettably, we can’t devote ourselves to this right now. If they are the same people as before, they will be hiding thoroughly again, and tracking them down will take time. Senior Sister Jeong-in… cannot afford to wait that long.”

She lowered her head.

Saying such words must have felt wretched to her.

I understood. Though rescuing her precious senior sister should take priority, as a disciple of the great Emei Sect—one of the orthodox pillars—she could not proudly declare she would ignore others for her senior sister’s sake.

So we did not argue about the decision.

We only asked about what had happened before.

“Could you tell us how you caught the Guild’s tail then?”

Her account went like this.

“To be honest… it was nothing but heaven’s favor.”

As the abductions repeated periodically, Emei dispatched an elder and many disciples to investigate.

But for over a month they found nothing—until two juniors who had slipped out of the training hall with the Emei Sword Phoenix, Lady Jeong-in, spotted an abduction in progress by pure chance.

“I think they already knew the investigation team’s movements. Since we moved differently from the team, they lacked information about us—and so were exposed.”

Lady Jeong-in almost rushed out immediately, but Lady Jeong-yeon stopped her.

They meant to tail the abductors back to their base.

They followed—and were appalled.

“The abductors entered a place called Guanyin Hall. An old orthodox hall—and even a secular-branch ally of Emei.”

Because Guanyin Hall was the most respected in the area and on good terms with Emei, they could not barge in recklessly.

So they withdrew to dig deeper.

They went to the local Hao Guild office and inquired about Guanyin Hall’s recent activity.

They learned that for about a year Guanyin Hall had done no visible external activity, and its head had not appeared either.

They also learned that just before this change, Guanyin Hall had received a visit from the Guild’s White-Jade Earth Dragon, Gu Yu-sang.

“Even recently, people from the Guild kept visiting Guanyin Hall regularly—despite Guanyin Hall doing nothing else outside. Senior Sister Jeong-in and we were certain the Guild was behind it. She had been placed under movement restriction for denouncing how the Guild was nibbling away at Emei’s territories—and Guanyin Hall’s region was one such place.”

But as they prepared to investigate inside Guanyin Hall, unknown assailants struck and captured them all.

I muttered under my breath,

“The Hao Guild, then. They provided information.”

Lady Jeong-yeon nodded grimly.

“I thought so, while I was held. But I don’t understand. Why would the Hao Guild do that? Were they suborned by the Blood Cult?”

I shook my head.

“Given the Hao Guild’s scale across the martial world, probably not. More likely that branch made a deal: ‘If anyone probes us, inform us.’ The Hao Guild doesn’t choose sides—they trade with all.”

Lady Jeong-an said angrily,

“Outrageous! Even if they’re not orthodox, how could they aid the Blood Cult!”

“To them, orthodox versus unorthodox isn’t a prime value. Anyway, what happened next?”

From what we’d heard so far, we still couldn’t prove the Guild was behind it.

If Lady Jeong-yeon was certain, there had to be more evidence.

Indeed—there was.

Among the attackers was that man.

The White-Jade Earth Dragon of the Guild, Gu Yu-sang, famed in Sichuan as its foremost young lord.

“He wore a mask, but Senior Sister Jeong-in had met him a few times before and recognized him at once—his build, his eyes. When she cried his name, he tore off the mask, grabbed her hair, and said greedily that he’d make her regret recognizing him.”

At that point, Lady Jeong-yeon trembled, unable to continue.

We did not press her; we saw her to her room to rest.

Later, in our room, I sat thinking for a long time.

Bi Sayoung asked,

“What are you thinking?”

I grinned.

“The same as you?”

He sighed, shaking his head.

“I figured. I want to save them too, but won’t it be hard, as Lady Jeong-yeon said? We have too little information. And it is true we must rescue Lady Jeong-in quickly.”

He was right.

We could not spend time here for the local women.

But… what if it didn’t take time?

If, for example, we could do it tonight—then it wouldn’t matter, would it?

Besides, I had another reason not to ignore them.

That “test” mentioned by the one called Black Wolf.

I didn’t know exactly what it was, but whenever I had heard his voice, it was when I moved to save someone.

So perhaps the test concerned comradeship—or rescuing others.

And he had said I was his favorite among the candidates he’d seen.

Surely that didn’t mean I was the greatest wielder of the Black Wolf blade in history.

No way.

Therefore, surely…

I spoke to Bi Sayoung.

“Of course, we can’t waste time; we must save Lady Jeong-in soon. But if we move only tonight, it shouldn’t hurt, right? How’s your body?”

He looked surprised, then chuckled.

“You’ve thought of something. I’m fine now. After, ah, emptying everything, I feel lighter than I have in days. So—what’s your hunch?”

It was good to have a friend on the same wavelength.

I smiled and laid it out.

“From Lady Jeong-yeon’s account, they likely seized the most respected local sect and used it as a base to abduct women. If it’s the same group, the method is probably similar.”

He nodded.

“Possible. But how do we know the most respected sect here? Ask around?”

I smiled.

“We already heard it—from that man. After the authorities, he went to the most respected sect nearby.”

“…Mountain Sword Sect?”

“Yes. That suggests it’s the most trusted here.”

We agreed to check only Mountain Sword Sect without the ladies knowing; if it wasn’t them, we’d drop it.

We dressed, opened the window, and slipped out.

Bi Sayoung landed lightly and sprang forward.

“We must be quick, so—huh? L-Lady Jeong-an?!”

He halted mid-step, startled.

So did I.

Outside the window, Lady Jeong-yeon and Lady Jeong-an were already waiting for us.

Lady Jeong-an smiled brightly.

“See, Sister? I told you they wouldn’t sit still.”

We were genuinely taken aback.

About half a watch later, we hid in the shade of a tree near Mountain Sword Sect, watching its main gate.

Lady Jeong-an, flushed with excitement, whispered,

“What do we do now? Charge in and demand they return the abducted women?”

I suppressed the urge to say “Of course not,” and explained.

“No. First we slip in quietly and confirm the women are there. We haven’t proven the Mountain Sword Sect are Blood Cult agents.”

“Ah.”

She nodded, then asked again at once,

“Then we scale the wall and infiltrate—like thieves or assassins?”

Her eyes sparkled with almost burdensome excitement.

Catching her breath beside us, Lady Jeong-yeon explained,

“My junior has long had a romantic notion of secret missions and clandestine chivalry. Please understand.”

Lady Jeong-an nodded vigorously.

“That’s right! I’ve always wanted to do that. I was thrilled to infiltrate Guanyin Hall with Senior Sister Jeong-in—but we got ambushed and captured before we could even try. I feared I’d die without ever doing that heart-thumping chivalrous deed.”

Clandestine infiltration and chivalrous deeds weren’t quite the same, but…

She must have nurtured dreams from reading odd tales.

Unique, indeed.

Curious about Bi Sayoung’s reaction, I glanced over; he was gazing at her with a look that said “adorable.”

I couldn’t help shaking my head.

Even so, it had been Lady Jeong-an who predicted we’d try to slip out of the inn.

That really surprised me.

I had wondered if I had misjudged her—perhaps she was as sharp as Lady Cheong-yeon, and I had been deceived by her outward quirks.

Apparently not.

She just wanted a chivalrous mission so badly that she bet on our behavior.

We had intended to go alone to give them time to recover.

But they insisted on coming.

“We are Emei disciples. We cannot sit out such a matter! And my Emei nickname is ‘Flying Swallow.’ I’m quite confident in lightness skill, so don’t worry I’ll slow you down.”

That was Lady Jeong-an.

“In truth… I was ashamed that I said we had to turn away from those women to save my sister. I questioned whether I deserved to be an Emei disciple. My senior sister would scold me if she learned I gave up others for her sake. I’m not as swift as my junior, but I’ll do my best not to hinder you. Please let me come.”

After hearing that, we couldn’t refuse.

So we came together—and Mountain Sword Sect turned out to be a large estate, not as vast as the Black Market’s, but sizable.

Its security was tight.

Not only gate guards; we sensed patrols beyond the walls.

Bi Sayoung asked,

“Security’s strict. What’s the plan? One person draws attention while the rest slip in, like before?”

Lady Jeong-an’s face lit up at the word “infiltrate.”

But I wasn’t convinced.

We might have to do as he said, yet drawing attention wouldn’t be easy, and the place was larger than expected. With no intel, how would we find where the women were held?

We needed information…

But we couldn’t use the Hao Guild.

Hmm. Should we bluff our way in, like when Bae Jonggwan “applied for admission”?

As I pondered, Lady Jeong-yeon said,

“What if I approach them alone? If they’re Blood Cult agents, won’t they try to abduct me, too?”

“What?”

Her proposal was tempting.

If she allowed herself to be taken as bait, we could quickly learn whether they were Blood Cultists and where captives were held.

But…

I shook my head.

“Too dangerous. Alone, you could be subjected to anything—and if their strength is greater than we expect, we might fail to rescue you and you’d become a hostage.”

“Ah… you’re right.”

Having rejected that option, we still had no proper plan.

Time ticked by.

Then Bi Sayoung offered,

“Lady Jeong-yeon’s idea is good; it’s just too risky. So, what if you pretend to be a woman instead?”

“Huh? Me?”

I frowned as if he’d spoken nonsense.

Training external arts with Bae Jonggwan had made me solidly muscular, if not hulking.

No one with sense would mistake me for a woman.

But he wasn’t finished.

“You know—the Bone-Shrinking Art you showed us before. Use that.”

“…The Bone-Shrinking Art?”

Among the miscellaneous skills I learned in Father’s study was the Bone-Shrinking Art. I hadn’t had cause to use it, but I’d once shown it as a prank to Bae Jonggwan and Bi Sayoung, and he remembered.

Hmm—reduce my frame with the art and masquerade as a woman?

Not impossible, but…

“No. I could reduce my build, but a glimpse of my face or a single word would give me away. I can’t change my voice.”

Eyes wide at the mention of the art, Lady Jeong-an blurted,

“No! With Young Master Seonu’s face, you’d pass well enough for a woman! You’re very handsome!”

…Thanks, but there’s still the voice—

Lady Jeong-yeon said,

“Alone you’d be exposed, but what if you go with me? We can say you’re injured and cannot speak.”

“No, that—”

Bi Sayoung beamed.

“Excellent. Together, you can aid each other and reduce the risk. If Jin is ‘injured,’ they’ll be less wary of him.”

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

At this rate, I’d have to masquerade as a woman without a chance to object.

“Wait. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have a better one…”

Bi Sayoung smiled meaningfully.

“A better one? What is it?”

…Damn it.

There wasn’t one.