noveltune Chapter 258:
Chapter 258:
spy
as expected, none of the regular members dared to challenge mu-jin to a duel. the overwhelming disparity in skill discouraged any from even attempting it. both dok-go pae and mu-jin were confident that no one would dare challenge them.
‘what should i do? damn. should i send a message to namgung jin-cheon and ask him to pretend he’s dead?’
mu-jin, hiding his anxious thoughts, kept glancing at namgung jin-cheon.
‘damn, he’s staring me down.’
indeed, namgung jin-cheon was glaring at him with even more intensity than before.
mu-jin quickly looked away, muttering to himself like a prayer, ‘please don’t come. please don’t come.’
contrary to his hopes, the sound of footsteps drew closer.
‘damn it.’
resigning to the situation, mu-jin looked up to see cheongsu dojang drawing his sword with a bright smile.
“then, please, once more! mu-jin do-woo-nim.”
mu-jin, puzzled, glanced again in the direction of namgung jin-cheon. namgung jin-cheon was still standing there, glaring fiercely but not moving.
* * *
after mu-jin’s duel with cheongsu dojang, no new challengers emerged. as with the previous day, mu-jin emerged victorious.
as mu-jin continued his training at the martial arts arena, dok-go pae met with namgung jin-cheon in private.
dok-go pae took a sip of tea, hid his true feelings, and began speaking with a soft expression.
“honestly, it was unexpected, namgung soga-ju.”
“what do you mean?”
“i mean the duel. judging by your eyes, i thought you wanted to fight the shaolin dragon.”
namgung jin-cheon sneered at dok-go pae’s words.
“i’m not a fool like cheongsu of wudang. i’ve already fought and confirmed the gap. there’s no need to show myself losing again.”
“...it seems you were frightened by the shaolin dragon.”
dok-go pae said this to provoke namgung jin-cheon, but the response was a derisive laugh.
“that’s a narrow-minded thought. i confirmed the gap yesterday, so i plan to narrow it and then fight again.”
had he been his usual self, he might have challenged mu-jin to another duel out of pride.
however, when namgung jin-cheon returned home after losing to mu-jin at the yongbongji conference, he had a conversation with his grandfather and supreme leader, namgung muguk.
‘jin-cheon, encountering someone stronger than oneself at a young age is a joyous event.’
‘why is that, grandfather?’
‘a king is a lonely being. on that lonely path, having a rival is a great comfort. and as a warrior, there is no greater joy than defeating a rival.’
‘but our namgung family is the best in the world. isn’t defeat unacceptable?’
‘you’re right. our namgung family is the best. and you, who carry its blood, are destined to be the best in the world someday. enjoy knowing that there is someone stronger than you now. one day, you will have no more rivals.’
namgung jin-cheon found his grandfather’s words to be true.
that’s why he refrained from dueling today.
recalling mu-jin’s level from yesterday, he planned to intensify his training until he was confident he had surpassed mu-jin.
but that was only from namgung jin-cheon’s perspective.
from dok-go pae’s perspective, it was a frustrating story.
‘damn. i thought he’d step up if i set the stage.’
judging by his words, it seemed he had no intention of fighting mu-jin for at least a year.
should he change his plans? or should he force a situation where they had to fight?
dok-go pae stood next to the banner labeled [qinglong], with mu-jin right behind him. namgung jin-cheon then came and took his position beside mu-jin.
it was an incredibly uncomfortable arrangement.
the person who had ordered him to kill namgung jin-cheon was in front of him, and the person he was supposed to kill was on his right.
despite mu-jin’s inner turmoil, as time passed and all the later generation masters took their positions, wi ji-hak stepped onto the podium.
“first, let me express my gratitude to the young heroes of murim who have stepped forward in this time of crisis!”
wi ji-hak saluted his juniors, much younger than himself, with a clasped fist greeting and delivered a short but weighty speech.
after wi ji-hak stepped down from the podium, jegal muhwan, the chief military officer, took his place.
“the chief military officer, jegal muhwan, will be leading this expedition as the supreme commander.”
“nice to meet you. i am jegal muhwan, and i will be the supreme commander for this expedition.”
unlike wi ji-hak, jegal muhwan kept his speech brief, focusing on the schedule, before stepping down from the podium.
“may boundless glory accompany your expedition!”
at wi ji-hak’s final words, the leaders of the four units shouted in unison.
“four divine units! march out!!”
at their command, over three hundred later generation masters from the murim sects set off for qinghai.
* * *
all the members of the four divine units were martial artists, so their pace was swift.
the four divine units departed from the murim alliance in xi’an, shaanxi province, and reached lanzhou, the capital of gansu province, by the end of the first day.
on the second day, they arrived in xining, the capital of qinghai, and on the third day, they reached do-lan, halfway between xining and the
chaidamu basin.
in do-lan, they met with taoist priests from the kunlun sect, who were responsible for preliminary investigations.
a military meeting was held to receive their report, and as the vice-captain of the qinglong unit, mu-jin also attended.
the representative of the investigators, heo-do zhenren of the kunlun sect, stepped forward and briefly explained the situation.
“based on our investigation of the chaidamu basin over the past few days, it is estimated that at least a hundred martial artists stayed there for several days. however, we were unable to track where they moved.”
“hmm? you mean there are traces of over a hundred people staying there, but no signs of where they moved?” jegal muhwan asked curiously.
“that’s correct.”
“that is indeed strange.”
“we believe it might be a deception by the demonic cult. although they have the ability to erase their traces, they deliberately left evidence of their stay and battle.”
“you mean they wanted us to know they had been there?”
“the arrogant demonic cult could certainly do that.”
heo-do zhenren’s eyes were filled with anger towards the demonic cult.
however, unlike heo-do zhenren, jegal muhwan, the one responsible for the operation, waved his fan with an unreadable expression.
“it could be for that reason, or it might not be.”
“...do you have another reason in mind, supreme commander?”
jegal muhwan responded to heo-do zhenren’s question.
“first, it could be for the reason you deduced. second, it could be a strategy to mislead us. they might have left traces intentionally to draw our attention to the chaidamu basin.”
“what could the demonic cult gain from drawing our attention to the chaidamu basin?”
“when something happens in the chaidamu basin, where would the largest number of people move to?”
“...could it be?”
heo-do zhenren’s face turned pale as he realized jegal muhwan was referring to the kunlun sect.
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