The Numbers Don’t Add Up. (1)

The grandfather-granddaughter pair crouched down and examined Jeon Chung.

Judging by his complexion, he looked gravely ill.

They had to save him to learn the circumstances of the incident.

Yu Jinsan asked his granddaughter with a grave expression.

“Can you save him?”

“I’ll try.”

At that moment, Yu Seol’s entire body was enveloped in a golden light.

Fwaaah-!!

The dazzling radiance was almost painfully beautiful.

A peerless divine technique known to only one person in the world.

It was the aura of the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique that the field monk risked his life to obtain from the Western regions.

The majestic light began to flow into Jeon Chung’s wrist like a wave.

As time passed, his body trembled and convulsed.

Seeing that, Yu Jinsan asked in surprise.

“What’s happening? Why all of a sudden?”

“Grandpa, this man’s organs are all twisted right now.”

Suddenly Yu Seol released his wrist and offered both hands lightly.

Then Jeon Chung’s spirit body floated up on its own and folded into a lotus posture.

“What are you doing?”

“If I stimulate the surrounding acupoints, his organs might return to their proper places.”

Immediately, Yu Seol’s fern-like hands began to tap his back incessantly.

Tap-tap! Tutatata-tat-!!

The way she pressed dozens of points in a single breath was astounding.

Yu Jinsan, watching, muttered in astonishment.

“…Pushing Acupuncture Points?”

Pushing Acupuncture Points is a healing method that strikes an injured person’s acupoints to restore them to their original state.

It consumes innate qi and requires immense internal qi; unless one is an absolute master, attempting it is impossible.

What surprised him was that he had never taught this to his granddaughter.

Then she must be performing it by instinctive sense gained through insight.

After tapping for a long while, Yu Seol pulled back her right hand and inhaled.

The golden aura wrapped her right hand, emitting a fierce qi.

In that instant, her palm sliced through the air and struck the center of his back.

It was the final strike.

“Ghhk!!”

Black blood gushed from Jeon Chung’s mouth.

He had finally expelled the congestion.

Seeing his color gradually return, it seemed to be effective.

“Did it work?”

“Yes. He’ll be fine soon.”

“Good job. As expected, our granddaughter is amazing!”

“Hehe. It’s nothing really.”

Even after the qi-draining Pushing Acupuncture Points, her breathing remained steady.

The sight of his smiling granddaughter felt very reassuring. At least with her along, he wouldn’t die of internal injuries.

Jeon Chung’s unfocused pupils slowly began to find focus.

His ashen complexion quickly returned to normal.

“Hey there. Are you coming to your senses?”

“…P-please help me.”

“We need to know what happened to help. What on earth occurred at the palace?”

Jeon Chung took a moment to steady his breath.

With Yu Seol replenishing his qi at his side, he rapidly steadied.

“…He came when we were waiting in Reception Hall.”

Officials must go through intermediate procedures to have an audience with the emperor.

The place where they waited through that complicated process was Reception Hall.

“He came? Who?”

“It was Commander-in-chief Hwang So-cheon.”

“From what I heard, a Commander-in-chief is the supreme commander of the Golden Army. Why would such a heavyweight be here?”

Among the Golden Army, he would be the head of the palace guards, effectively the military’s top commander.

Why would one of the country’s top powerholders come to see Wang Sa-pyeong?

Yu Jinsan waited gravely for Jeon Chung’s next words.

“He demanded we stop our current investigation and release the Blue Dragon Troops’ unit leader. In other words, to back off from this matter.”

Yu Jinsan let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You don’t mean that bastard is even one of the Blue Dragon Troops?”

Jeon Chung nodded without hesitation.

“I’m certain. Since the head of Information Center Courtyard was the unit leader, a higher Commander-in-chief would be the commander of the Blue Dragon Troops.”

It was absurd that Information Center Courtyard, the state’s intelligence agency, had been taken over.

And now the Golden Army? It was beyond imagination.

Even though they had identified the probable leader of the Blue Dragon Troops, there was no joy.

Yu Jinsan sighed and lamented.

“It seems they’ve half-consumed the country already. So how did you respond?”

“We refused their demand. The lord was deeply resentful and had no intention of compromising.”

“You could’ve at least pretended. A figure of that stature revealing himself means both urgency and confidence.”

“We judged it would be fine since we were soon to have an audience with His Majesty.”

“He came in person to stop that, didn’t he? He must have prepared contingencies. Anyway, what happened next?”

Jeon Chung clenched his fist as if angered just thinking about it.

“It was exactly as you feared. He returned after the solar eclipse, accompanied by his personal guard.”

“Of course, he had to prevent the audience. He framed them for treason and suppressed them by force.”

“Yes. I tried to stop them somehow… but I was outmatched.”

Jeon Chung’s eyes reddened with guilt.

The commander-in-chief of the Golden Army would possess tremendous martial skill, and his guard would surely be packed with elite fighters.

No matter how great Jeon Chung was, he couldn’t have handled them alone.

“Don’t blame yourself too much. You did your best. But how did you escape here in that state?”

“The lord told me to find you. Please help us.”

Yu Jinsan crossed his arms as if perplexed.

“What can I possibly do? He’s the commander-in-chief of the Golden Army.”

He was a far more dangerous figure than Wang Sa-pyeong, the governor of Kaifeng.

As the military’s top power, he commanded tens of thousands of elite troops, and under him were countless terrifying generals.

He was someone not to be feared even by the whole martial world combined.

Then suddenly Jeon Chung dropped to both knees before Yu Jinsan.

“In my life I have never knelt before anyone. I beg you, sir.”

“Ha, well…”

“If you help me, I swear on my honor to repay you.”

He was a warrior known by the epithet ‘Kaifeng’s Best Sword.’

For him to set aside his pride and plead like this…

Yu Jinsan reluctantly sighed and asked.

“So what is it you want?”

“Get the lord out. That alone will be enough for now.”

If this continued, Wang Sa-pyeong would be condemned as a traitor and executed.

His priority was to prevent that above all.

“If we smuggle the lord out, what will that achieve? It would look like admitting guilt and make things worse.”

“Isn’t there another way if it’s you, sir?”

Yu Jinsan couldn’t help but chuckle; Jeon Chung’s tone and expression were full of conviction.

“He certainly has grievances with us too, but he’s not the only answer. Catching him won’t end this.”

“…Yes. To capture me the Commander-in-chief personally brought five subordinates. Astonishingly, they were all men who had reached the Supreme realm.”

“Hm. No wonder you ended up like this. And then?”

“The Commander-in-chief watched from the rear; even at a glance he was a master whose martial might couldn’t be gauged.”

It meant he was at least vastly stronger than himself.

It was exactly as he had feared.

No matter how capable the granddaughter was, fighting all of them alone would be reckless.

“We must abandon the idea of solving this by force. There is only one option left.”

“What is that?”

“I’ll meet him personally and negotiate.”

“Would the Commander-in-chief comply willingly?”

Yu Jinsan nodded with confidence.

“He’ll have no choice. He’s not the only one holding hostages.”

At that moment Jeon Chung’s eyes snapped open; for the first time hope appeared in his dying gaze.

“You mean the Blue Dragon Troops’ unit leader? It seems possible, but you left him incapacitated — is that okay…?”

Earlier, Yu Jinsan had shattered that man’s dantian.

That meant the hostage’s value had been significantly reduced.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll tie up one more man and hand him over.”

“What? You’re going to give them one more person?”

“We caught an extra lively Yin Monster beside you.”

When Jeon Chung glanced over, Yu Seol shrugged proudly.

“Impressive as always. Now we’ll be in a stronger position.”

The Blue Dragon Troops numbered only a hundred in an era.

More than half of them had fallen to the Yin Yang Twin Monster, so each remaining person was precious.

If they handed over the two, Lord Wang’s release should be assured.

“However, we shouldn’t end it with a simple hostage exchange. To avoid being exploited again, we must gain something more.”

“You’re right. If we clash with the Golden Army, we won’t be able to hold out…”

“Indeed. In any case, go in now. There’s no time to spare.”

Inside the huge gate of the Kaifeng administration, where tall pavilions rose.

There, the armory chiefs and guards had gathered and were uneasy.

If the magistrate’s treason was confirmed, how could his subordinates be safe?

Jeon Chung reassured them in a strong voice.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry! Everyone, stand by!”

His shout was of no help.

How could they not be worried with the Golden Army massed opposite them?

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

“Open the gate!!”

“Hurry, can’t you open this gate!”

It was only a matter of time before the main gate was breached.

Everyone was on edge.

Chief guard Jang-ho came running, out of breath, and reported to Jeon Chung.

“Preparation is complete, escort guard.”

Jeon Chung nodded, drew his sword from its sheath, and shouted.

“Open the gate, and everyone fall back to the sides!”

The frightened guards hesitated in front of the gate.

They were asked to open the gate with no plan; it was natural they’d fear what would follow.

“What?”

“Are we really supposed to do that?”

“What if they open fire on us after we open it?”

As time dragged on, Jeon Chung infused his shout with inner power.

“Be quiet and open it, now!!”

At that point, they had no choice.

A guard at the gate squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the gate’s lock, the key.

Kreek-!!

No sooner had the lock come free than the Kaifeng administration’s gate began to open.

Creak-creak-!!!

Through the opening, the Golden Army armed with swords and shields could be seen; their numbers teemed beyond sight.

The officials who stepped aside wore expressions of despair.

Just as the soldiers began to enter, a little girl’s humming came from above.

Though small, everyone heard it clearly.

What level of internal qi must be behind such a sound to emit that kind of pressure?

Everyone stopped and looked up briefly.

Yu Seol, clutching a cudgel, was stomping down from the sky toward them.

She looked as if an immortal had descended on clouds from the heavens.

“W-what is that?”

Everyone instantly sensed it: the girl before them was a peerless master disguised as a guard.

Contrary to the startled soldiers, the Kaifeng officials trembled.

“…Wow.”

“Um, the Yin Monster great hero has arrived.”

“…Ohhh.”

Ignoring everyone’s astonishment, Yu Seol blocked the Kaifeng gate.

She then slanted her cudgel downward and gave the Golden Army a sly smile.

Humming an eerie little tune as she did.

“Welcome~ Enter ten at a time~ Ten at a time~ Enjoy a refreshing steam~ The cudgel steam treatment awaits you~”

No one dared to move.

All stood in stunned silence watching her.

Yu Seol, who had been swaying her shoulders to the tune, suddenly slid to the right.

At that moment someone appeared from behind and shouted.

“Everyone, make way!!”

The man wearing a helmet adorned with red tassels was an officer of the Golden Army.

He had been freed alone from the Kaifeng administration’s prison.

After passing through the gate he barreled through the soldiers and ran frantically.

A commander who had been directing the soldiers grabbed his shoulder and asked.

“What’s the matter!?”

He looked toward the palace with urgency and said.

“Clear the way — I have urgent news to report to the Commander-in-chief!”