The Numbers Don’t Add Up. (2)

The main gate leading into the Kaifeng administration resembled a small castle gate.

Yu Seol stood firm in that narrow space, leaving the Golden Army no way to enter.

“What are you doing!? Break through quickly!”

The commander-in-chief shouted at the top of his lungs, but the soldiers flinched and stepped back.

Only a limited number could enter that tight space at once.

Each soldier who tried to enter was sent flying, battered and bruised.

Who would lead the way, knowing they’d be knocked unconscious by the club?

Dozens of soldiers were already sprawled out.

Seeing how things were, the commander furrowed his brow and shouted.

“Archers, advance positions!”

At his command, about a hundred archers stepped forward and drew their bows.

Sreeee-!!

Normally, archers fire in arcs from a distance and then retreat.

But firing directly at close range multiplies their power several times.

Enough to threaten the body-protecting devices of martial artists.

“Fire!!”

With the order, arrows left the bowstrings.

Papat-! Papapapat-!!

The ferocious volley seemed about to cover the opponent’s entire body.

Yet Yu Seol didn’t even blink; she merely raised her left hand slightly.

At that moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

As if blocked by something, the arrows froze in midair.

The general watching flinched at the sight.

“Th-that’s not possible…”

Yu Seol snorted and twirled her left hand.

Then the arrows that had been frozen in the air tilted to one side and fell with a thud.

Everyone watching widened their eyes in astonishment.

“…What did I just see?”

“H-How do we deal with that?”

The soldiers’ morale plummeted again.

All that remained was hand-to-hand combat, but no one could take on Yu Seol blocking the narrow gate.

The commander sighed heavily, frustrated, when someone from the rear approached and whispered quietly.

A unit leader came up and whispered quietly.

“Captain. A moment ago someone who claimed to be from the Murim Alliance came and relayed some information.”

“What does it say?”

“He said this is the great demon leader of the murim world called the Yin Monster. No one has been able to defeat them so far.”

“If you knew that, why not bring reinforcements? Martial world experts, I mean.”

“He said even the Murim Alliance threw up their hands. At this level, shouldn’t we request reinforcements from higher up?”

No matter how they calculated it, it seemed impossible to handle this with their current forces.

Even if everyone charged in ready to die.

“It’s humiliating, but there seems nothing we can do. However, there’s no need to request separate reinforcements.”

“You mean reinforcements are coming?”

“They should be on their way by now. At least the Gold Dragon Five Generals need to arrive to try anything…”

The Gold Dragon Five Generals were the five most outstanding commanders of the Gold Army, the trusted aides of the provincial commander-in-chief Hwang So-cheon.

The commander trailed off and pulled his soldiers back.

They decided to wait until reinforcements arrived.

They waited for what felt like an age.

Suddenly, a grand bugle sounded from the rear.

Pruuu-!!!

“The provincial commander himself has come?”

“The Gold Dragon Five Generals are all with him!”

Officers and soldiers alike stood at attention, placing their fists over their left chests.

“Loyalty!!!”

Only six reinforcements arrived.

Yet their presence radiated more force than ten thousand soldiers.

At the front was a figure in silver armor with a red cloak fluttering, his bearing tiger-like, his step full of dignity.

He was Hwang So-cheon, presumed commander-in-chief of the Golden Army and leader of the Blue Dragon Troops.

Behind him five generals matched their strides precisely.

Each one could be compared to an absolute master of the murim world.

“Everyone, stand back.”

At his low command, the soldiers hurriedly stepped aside.

Hwang So-cheon strode toward the Kaifeng administration’s main gate with his men.

He stopped with ten paces remaining.

A suffocating silence fell.

The soldiers swallowed dryly and watched.

Because Hwang So-cheon and the Yin Monster were glaring at each other.

It looked like a battle for initiative through a staring contest.

At some point, he broke the silence and spoke first.

“So you are the Yin Monster. Truly your reputation precedes you.”

Yu Seol fixed her gaze and asked sharply.

“Wanna fight?”

Asking to fight outright surprised Hwang So-cheon, and he looked momentarily stunned.

Then he shook his head once and answered.

“I did not come here to fight.”

“Then come with me.”

Yu Seol, club slung over her shoulder, turned her back as if to lead them somewhere.

Hwang So-cheon glanced back and called out.

“Only I and the Gold Dragon Five Generals enter! The rest wait outside!”

The soldiers bowed their heads and shouted again.

“Loyalty!!!”

Qingxin Tower. This pavilion was the tallest building in the Kaifeng administration, used for officials’ banquets.

Normally bustling, it was now completely empty.

The first-floor doors opened and Yu Seol appeared.

“I brought him here just now.”

Inside, Yu Jinsan sat alone at a long table.

Yu Jinsan gestured for his granddaughter to come closer.

“Good work. Come and sit.”

He wanted his granddaughter seated beside him in case anything happened.

Their negotiation opponents were that fearsome.

Hardly had Yu Seol sat down when a group entered in order.

It was Hwang So-cheon and his five commanders.

They moved slowly to the opposite side of the table with expressionless faces.

After a moment, Hwang So-cheon sat back in his chair and looked at Yu Jinsan.

“Now, let’s hear it. What grievance does the Yin Yang Twin Monster hold that makes them torment us so?”

“‘Us’… Are you admitting the Golden Army’s commander is part of the Blue Dragon Troops?”

“That’s right. I am the leader of the Blue Dragon Troops, and the five behind me are members as well.”

To answer so bluntly—his nerve was greater than anyone’s.

And despite being the provincial commander, his tone was unexpectedly polite, even while being addressed with less respect.

There must be an ulterior motive. He needed to talk further.

“So you haven’t figured that out. My entire family was slaughtered by you.”

“I don’t know the full story, and I won’t ask you to understand. We merely carried out orders according to regulations.”

In other words, they too were just following orders.

But that didn’t justify their actions.

Yu Jinsan’s eyebrows twitched.

“Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. I have no intention of sparing any involved.”

Hwang So-cheon’s expression did not change; he merely gripped the scabbard at his waist.

“If you insist on seeing this through, you’ll have to stake your life. At the very least, I can guarantee your death.”

“Perhaps. But you too will surely die by the Yin Monster’s hand.”

Yu Seol clenched her fist on the table—a sign she would charge at any moment.

Both sides had uncertain outcomes; if a fight broke out, mutual destruction was inevitable.

As the atmosphere turned cold, Hwang So-cheon released his hand from the scabbard.

“But I thought today was for negotiations.”

His change of subject cooled the tense mood once more.

Though the Blue Dragon Troops’ leader stood before them, this meeting wasn’t for fighting—it was to exchange prisoners.

Yu Jinsan calmed his anger and brought up the main issue.

“If you clear the charges against Governor Wang, I will immediately release your commander-in-chief.”

“Didn’t your message say you had captured one more person?”

“You didn’t check carefully. It said we had captured them, not that we’d release them.”

Hwang So-cheon was momentarily speechless, as if exasperated.

After a moment he asked with a bewildered expression.

“Tell me what you want.”

“From now on, the Golden Army must pledge not to harm the officials of the Kaifeng administration.”

“You know full well that Kaifeng cannot be permitted to audience His Majesty.”

It was a natural response—if Wang Sa-pyeong were allowed to petition the emperor about the Blue Dragon Troops, trouble would follow.

But this could be resolved easily.

“Of course, Kaifeng must now withdraw from this matter. Then it will be just the war between us and the Blue Dragon Troops as before.”

Hwang So-cheon clasped his hands on the table and lowered his voice.

“We do not wish to fight the Yin Yang Twin Monster. I want to end this feud right here.”

“Then what about the family we lost because of your insane actions?”

“Haven’t you also caused us great pain? If it’s still not enough, tell me. Within my power, I’ll do anything.”

He hadn’t expected the Blue Dragon Troops’ leader to be so conciliatory.

First, he needed to confirm their intentions.

“Why avoid conflict so much even while controlling the great Golden Army?”

“Because we can no longer tolerate losses in the Blue Dragon Troops. Your actions have already severely disrupted our plans.”

He proposed a truce, but Yu Jinsan couldn’t accept sweeping his family’s tragedy under the rug.

The bodies of his cruelly murdered family still haunted his eyes.

“There will be no truce until I’ve torn you all apart. Only then will my family be able to rest in the afterlife.”

Hwang So-cheon sighed, exasperated.

“Do you truly intend to continue hunting the Blue Dragon Troops?”

“Didn’t I already say so?”

“Then postpone it a bit. The invasion from Tien-chu is imminent; at least until that war ends.”

“Why should we?”

“We are also commanders defending the nation from foreign invasion. Must we do this at such a time?”

Yu Jinsan scoffed—he had guessed the man’s intention.

“‘To defend the country’—what a neat justification. Isn’t this just an attempt to mobilize military power in the new outer murim world and the Central Plains’ conflict?”

“It’s not that. Their subjugation won’t stop within the martial world. If we fail, all the people of the Central Plains will suffer.”

He couldn’t be sure how much of that was true, but it left a lingering suspicion.

If true, annihilating the Golden Army’s leadership without precautions could plunge the country into chaos.

‘Avenging is important, but innocent people must not suffer.’

Above all, confronting the Golden Army head-on now was burdensome—their strength posed some threat even to his granddaughter.

He and his granddaughter needed to grow stronger before they could be certain of victory.

There was one thing he needed to clarify first.

“Does your truce proposal include the Murim Alliance?”

“I have no authority over the Murim Alliance. Stop hostilities only against the Blue Dragon Troops.”

“So that means we can have business with the Murim Alliance leader.”

The Murim Alliance leader was ultimately responsible for the Yu family’s annihilation.

Wasn’t the initial strike on the Blue Dragon Troops meant to cut off her hands and feet first?

This might make the path of revenge somewhat easier.

Then a meaningful smile flickered across Hwang So-cheon’s face before fading.

“That would be acceptable, if possible.”

For now, it was a proposal with no apparent downside.

But judging by the other’s reaction, he felt he could extract something more.

“You’ve come a long way. But accepting a proposal without compensation doesn’t add up financially.”

Hwang So-cheon replied with a weary look.

“You really are straightforward. Tell me what you want.”

“…Hmm.”

What more could he possibly get from these men?

Yu Jinsan pondered briefly but nothing suitable came to mind.

A certain silence settled.

Suddenly a telepathic message came from his granddaughter.

• Are you going to forgive them?

• How could I forgive those despicable bastards? Every last one must pay.

• Then what?

• For now, it’s just a delay because the country could fall into chaos. They’re the ones we want now, so we should get something from them.

• Then ask for money.

• Hmm. Not a bad idea. We could get, say, ten coins of silver for travel expenses.

Suddenly Yu Seol held out three fingers.

“Three hundred coins of silver!”