Single-Instant Blade

Chapter 83 : Intestinal Ambush (3)

“This… is a waterway?”

A bundle of paper was handed to Ah Geol.

It was the trace of a construction that had been secretly carried out forty years ago. There were twenty-odd blueprints of the waterway.

“That’s right. It’s a waterway.”

Mongseol smiled brightly.

“Did the Drunken Flower Garden find it?”

“My dear, you tend to look down on us too much. Hoho! You thought we couldn’t do anything, didn’t you?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. I know what you mean. I didn’t find this. I found it thanks to the efforts of the previous Drunken Flower Garden masters. Should I say that I found it because the Drunken Flower Garden chose its path well?”

Ah Geol did not understand what Mongseol was saying. But it was certain that the Drunken Flower Garden had found it.

“I decided to kill Ma Guyeong in return for getting this. It’s not free, it’s a contract fee. Hoho!”

Mongseol thought of a man.

He was lying down, curled up like a beggar who had crawled into a stone chamber because he had nowhere to sleep.

A shabby appearance, a distorted face, a small body.

If it hadn’t been for his eyes that blazed like a torch, she would have passed by without even a glance.

That man had given her the blueprints.

Chwarak!

Ah Geol unfolded the blueprints.

First, he looked at where the waterway that the contract messenger had used ended.

It did not end with one blueprint. He found another blueprint and connected the waterway. It still did not end. He found another blueprint and attached it to the end of the waterway.

In that way, a whopping seven blueprints were connected.

“How long is this in distance?”

Ah Geol said, looking at the blueprints with surprised eyes.

“Exactly thirteen li.”

“Thirteen li?”

“The place where the waterway ends is the Nine-Bend Valley.”

Ah Geol could not take his eyes off the blueprints.

The waterway continued for a whopping thirteen li. If the contract messenger put in a bamboo tube, it would have to flow for thirteen li.

If you buried a king bamboo in the ground, it would rot. So you had to treat it with preservatives so that it wouldn’t rot, and you also had to use lime. You also had to adjust the level difference well so that the waterway would continue to flow.

It was not an ordinary job. It was impossible without meticulous calculation and delicate civil engineering skills.

There were not many people in the Central Plains martial world who had this level of civil engineering skills. Among them, if you looked for a person who had made a name for himself around the time the Ghost Gate had begun to stand out, the range would be further narrowed.

‘I see. There was a way to find it like that.’

Ah Geol looked at Mongseol.

Although he had thought that the clue to the pursuit had been cut off, Mongseol had found a clue from another direction.

“The person who was in the stone chamber…?”

“He’s called Dongseok. He’s the son of the person who made this.”

Mongseol told him about the person named Baek Jayeong.

Baek Jayeong was the number one architect in Shaanxi Province.

All the famous castles, manors, and pavilions in the mountainous region of Shaanxi Province had been built by him.

He had disappeared forty years ago.

In fact, it was not a disappearance, but a brutal murder. If you did a secret construction like the Ghost Gate’s waterway, the end was not good.

As if he had foreseen his death, Baek Jayeong had not brought his son, who he had always taken with him to the site, this time.

Baek Dongseok, who was sixteen at the time.

Since he had followed his father to the site and had worked in construction since he was ten, his eye for buildings was no less than his father’s.

The Ghost Gate also knew that Baek Jayeong had a son. But they had not touched the son. Because the son did not know about the waterway construction, and also because Baek Dongseok had kept quiet on his own.

They probably thought, what would a mere child like Baek Dongseok know?

And this fact was buried.

But before Baek Jayeong had left home, he had already finished the design for the waterway. And in case of an emergency, he had left behind twenty-one blueprints of the waterway in detail.

Mongseol said, “I’ve also connected the other blueprints. The pharmacy’s waterway also ends at the Nine-Bend Valley. The Ghost Gate is in the Nine-Bend Valley.”

The Nine-Bend Valley was a very beautiful valley.

When you set foot in the Nine-Bend Valley, you first got the feeling that two dragons were crawling.

High mountains writhed on the left and right. The appearance was as if a dragon were rushing at full speed.

Clear water flowed between the mountains.

The Nine-Bend Valley was never not beautiful in spring, summer, autumn, or winter.

And yet, people did not set foot there.

Because there were so many snakes in the Nine-Bend Valley that it was said that there was a snake den in every tree. So it was also called the Nine-Snake Valley. Because there were so many snakes, even snake catchers were reluctant to enter.

The valley bent in nine bends.

Since the bends were so sharp, you could not see beyond the bends at all.

Ah Geol said, looking at the beautiful valley, “It would be perfect if we just made a road so that we can come and go freely, right?”

“Right? It’s a perfect place for a demonic sect to settle down. The snakes here seem to be worth a hundred top masters. Most people wouldn’t even dare to enter.”

When Ah Geol and Mongseol were exchanging words, a hideous man quietly approached and gestured.

“Over there…”

Ah Geol and Mongseol looked at the place where Dongseok had gestured.

The man pointed to the second valley of the Nine-Bend Valley, the left ridge.

Dongseok said, “Please take me there.”

Baek Jayeong’s blueprints stopped at the Nine-Bend Valley.

The detailed part of where the king bamboo waterway came out was not described.

In the end, he had to search all of the Nine-Bend Valley.

Since he was finding one king bamboo hole in a wide valley, this was also like finding a needle in a haystack.

But Dongseok had made a suggestion. Although he was not sure that he could find it, he had said that if he went to the site and saw it with his own eyes, he might be able to know where the waterway came out.

He had brought Dongseok right away.

He had climbed up to the second peak on the left that he had pointed to with his hand in one go. Although he had been surprised by the snakes that had suddenly appeared every time he had taken a step, as the name Nine-Snake Valley suggested.

Dongseok looked at the Nine-Bend Valley sharply from the second peak.

What he was looking at was not the mountain scenery. He was looking at the waterway. He was looking at the stream that flowed along the valley.

“The most likely place here is over there.”

He pointed to the bottom of the sixth peak on the right.

“I’ll take a look.”

Ah Geol stepped forward.

“No, I think we’re better at searching.”

Mongseol stopped Ah Geol.

* * *

Sreuk! Sreureureuk!

The snakes retreated like a tide, as if they had met a hot flame.

In the Nine-Bend Valley, which was full of snakes, a space without snakes, a safe space where snakes would not enter, was created.

Sreuk! Sreureuk!

The snakes moved.

The snakes returned to the place they had given up. Instead, they opened a path in front.

The snakes retreated and gathered again. At that time,

Swoosh!

Two martial artists with swords descended on the place where the snakes had retreated.

They looked around sharply. They also looked up at the trees, and searched the bushes.

They were looking for the reason why the snakes had retreated.

A moment later, they looked at each other.

They shook their heads at each other.

Although the snakes had acted strangely, they had not found the reason.

Swoosh!

They disappeared again.

The night passed and the day broke. The sun rose to the middle of the sky, and then fell to the western sky again.

The snakes could not approach them.

The Drunken Flower Garden assassins made a very strong snake repellent and carried it on their bodies.

Most of the work they were in charge of could only be achieved by infiltration. So there were many cases where they had to pass through places with many pests, such as bushes, ceilings, and ditches.

There were many things to avoid, such as snakes, rats, mosquitoes, flies, and ants.

“This is convenient, isn’t it?”

Ah Geol fiddled with a small pouch.

The snake repellent was in the pouch.

Although he held the pouch to his nose and sniffed, no smell came out. But the snakes smelled it. Because it was such a bad smell, they didn’t even think of approaching.

Mongseol said, “Why? Are you anxious? I know the Single-Instant Blade is amazing, but a person has their share. We’re much better at this kind of thing. We’ve done it a lot, so we have accumulated experience.”

“Who said anything?”

“Rest comfortably and wait.”

In fact, it was Mongseol who should be anxious.

The Eighth Elder and the nine assassins had gone in to spy on the Ghost Gate.

They were too late. A whole day had passed, but they had not yet returned.

Still, Mongseol looked comfortable.

Although he didn’t know if she was deliberately pretending to be comfortable, she was just practicing energy circulation and breath regulation as if there were no one around.

“Hmph!”

Ah Geol let out a smirk.

She was the daughter of his master’s bloodline. She was the daughter of a martial artist who had obtained the Single-Instant Blade. Where would that bloodline go?

Swoosh!

At that time, one person returned.

As soon as she came, she skipped even a greeting with her eyes and immediately took out a brush and paper and began to draw a picture.

She wrote down the information in her head as quickly as possible before it was altered.

“I confirmed that the Ghost Gate is there, but I couldn’t look inside. I can’t break through with my martial arts.”

She handed the paper with the drawing to Mongseol.

“Where is this?”

Mongseol pointed to a place on the drawing.

“It’s a warehouse.”

Mongseol took a brush and wrote ‘warehouse’ next to the drawing.

Swoosh!

Another person came. She also, like the assassin who had come before, immediately began to draw a picture.

“I looked at the northeast, but there was nothing special. Perhaps because the terrain is rough on this side, the security was also loose.”

The Eighth Elder and the nine assassins had split up and had searched.

Mongseol received the drawing she had drawn and placed it on the northeast side.

The drawing that the first assassin had drawn was the west. It met the northeast drawing at one place.

Perhaps they had promised the most central place.

Ten drawings were completed.

A very large map was spread out on the ground.

Mongseol said, looking at Ah Geol, “From now on, it’s your turn, my dear. We’ve done our part. If even the Eighth Elder couldn’t look inside because he was worried about being discovered, the ones guarding this place are really masters.”

Mongseol pointed to a place on the drawing.

It was the place that was presumed to be the residence of the Ghost Gate Master, Ma Guyeong. Or his office.

“Now we can rest, right?”

Mongseol said with a faint smile.

Ah Geol looked at the ten drawings intently.

The important point that Mongseol had completed the drawing while taking a risk was ‘secret’.

Kill the master, but it must never be revealed to the outside.

She had drawn the picture so carefully, and had even searched, to ask him to do that.

If it had been to just rush in and kill, he would have raised his blade right away.

Ah Geol looked at the drawing and looked again. He considered all the actions that the opponent could take. He also thought about what he should do in preparation for that.

Not everything went as planned. Especially in a killing, all sorts of variables were rampant.

“Ah!”

Ah Geol, who had been staring at the drawing, let out a cry of astonishment.

Now he finally knew why Mongseol was trying to kill the Ghost Gate Master, and why she had said that there was a way to live here. He also clearly knew the reason why Mongseol had not told him.

This was crazy!

“How could you think of this? Hahaha. I think I made a mistake in getting engaged. I was worried if she could withstand the storms of the martial world because she was so weak… haha!”

Ah Geol looked at the place where Mongseol had disappeared.

He could roughly guess what Mongseol would be doing now.

(End of Chapter)