Sword God Reborn

Chapter 139 : Let's look at the board anew.

"Umm. I never dreamed that Wudang, which is so close, would be in such a mess."

Although the night was deep, Zhuge Seola could not fall asleep.

In the end, she jumped up from her lying position and lit the lamp.

"If the Wudang forces weaken, would it be good for the Zhuge Clan?"

Normally, that would be the case.

The interests of Hubei Province were divided between the Zhuge Clan and the Wudang Sect.

If Wudang were to falter here, the Zhuge Clan could solidify its position in Hubei Province.

But now was not a time of peace.

"They are unusual guys, to the point of turning the former sect leader of Wudang into a Bidara."

Even when she heard the news that the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero had saved Shaolin by chasing the Blood Demon Valley and had performed various feats at Mount Hua.

Zhuge Seola had never dreamed that the events happening in the martial world would come as a direct danger.

The Blood Demon Valley was a danger that the martial world faced.

In this situation, if Wudang were to falter, the Zhuge Clan, far from consolidating its position in Hubei Province.

Would have to endure the danger alone when the Blood Demon Valley truly moved like the Demonic Cult.

"In the end, is it the Red Scarf Society?"

The actions of the Red Scarf Society seen at the Elder's Hall.

As Cheon Mubaeck had said before he came, the Red Scarf Society was suspicious.

They were inside Wudang, but they were an external force, not of Wudang.

The influence of the Blood Demon Valley could easily reach them.

And yet, they had so much authority that they even had the right to inspect outsiders entering Wudang.

'If I were a member of the Blood Demon Valley?'

Zhuge Seola thought, changing her position.

"If there was an order from above to take down Wudang, even I would use the Red Scarf Society first."

Wasn't the situation too good? Because they were in conflict with Wudang. It seemed possible if they were stimulated well enough.

"Hmm. Then should I find a way to investigate the Red Scarf Society..."

But it was then.

"Young lady, I apologize for the late hour, but could we talk?"

Cheon Mubaeck's voice from outside the room.

"Hiik!"

Zhuge Seola was startled for a moment.

At this late hour? Visiting her quarters?

Even at the Azure Star Escort Agency, Cheon Mubaeck had not been in the same room alone with Zhuge Seola.

In fact, that was right. Even if they were relatively open martial artists, since she was the precious daughter of the prestigious Zhuge Clan, a young man and woman being in the same room together was enough to attract a tail of various scandals.

But Cheon Mubaeck had come at this time of night!

Zhuge Seola, not knowing what to do, fumbled around and then barely cleared her throat and composed her voice.

"Yes, come in."

Although she spoke calmly, she herself could feel the tremor in her tone.

'Ugh. This fool. Shaking all by herself again!'

While she was inwardly blaming herself.

The door creaked open.

"I'm sorry for the late hour. I saw the light was on and came."

Zhuge Seola barely managed to pull down the corners of her mouth, which were trying to go up for some reason.

'Haughtily. Haughtily. As haughtily as possible.'

Let's act like my original personality. Seola!

The moment she was about to open her mouth in a calm, low voice.

At the face of the old man who suddenly appeared behind Cheon Mubaeck, Zhuge Seola's excitement instantly deflated.

"What. Why did you come, old man?"

A blunt voice that came out on its own.

"No... am I not allowed to come?"

Neung-heo's heart ached for a moment.

* * *

Neung-heo, who received Zhuge Seola's sullen gaze, felt somewhat wronged.

He was already angry that Cheon Mubaeck had woken him up when he was about to sleep, and now, even here where he had come without a word, he was not welcomed but was looked at like an uninvited guest.

'I miss you. Seolyeong...'

He knew what that meant. The quick-witted Neung-heo wanted to step aside so that the two could be together, but how could he? If he said he was leaving when Cheon Mubaeck had brought him, he would be told off for slacking off and not working.

Zhuge Seola glared at Neung-heo once and then asked Cheon Mubaeck with a light smile.

At that clear change, Neung-heo was inwardly disappointed.

"What is it?"

"I think we need to re-examine the plan."

"The plan?"

"Let's look at the board anew."

Zhuge Seola tilted her head.

Cheon Mubaeck told her the conversation he had had with the Great Purity True Man without leaving anything out.

In fact, it was not a long story.

But the last words were meaningful.

"It must be the Red Scarf Society... huh."

Strange. Really strange.

Cheon Mubaeck conveyed the expression and atmosphere of that time as he had felt it.

Zhuge Seola was not one to miss the meaning implied in the words. But there was a clear reason why she hesitated to say it out loud.

Zhuge Seola, with a stiff face, barely managed to pull out the thought that had appeared in her head.

"A self-staged act?"

"I think we should keep that possibility in mind."

Neung-heo also let out a hollow laugh.

"Geez. In Shaolin and Mount Hua, even if the Orthodox Faction guys are old-fashioned, I thought their hearts were firm. But it seems that's not the case here."

"It's just a possibility for now."

"Hmph. Well, aren't the Orthodox Faction guys also people who live in the martial world?"

Cheon Mubaeck did not answer Neung-heo's cynicism. It was a silent affirmation.

"Is it a move to cast out the Red Scarf Society?"

"His hostility towards the Red Scarf Society seems clear. I don't know if I should call it hostility, or an inferiority complex. Or a threat."

"It must be a mixture of all of them. In my opinion, I don't think it's a self-staged act."

Cheon Mubaeck's eyes sparkled.

As if he wanted more explanation, Zhuge Seola tucked her hair behind her ear and spoke softly.

"For it to be a self-staged act, at least many elders have to be united."

"The Great Purity True Man alone is impossible?"

"It's common even in prestigious Orthodox Factions for one or two people to have greed and make wrong choices. But not everyone does. Even among those who have fallen and become corrupt, there are definitely people with a sense of justice."

"It would be difficult for all wills to unite."

Just thinking of Venerable Jincheong. It didn't seem like that man would lend a hand in a self-staged act.

"That's right. And it's not a righteous thing to do. Moreover, the Wudang Sect is divided into factions. The Martial Faction has a strong influence from the Red Scarf Society. Without their help, I think it's impossible to turn the former sect leader into a Bidara and kill the Taoist Yusu."

"Then it's the Red Scarf Society's doing?"

"No."

Zhuge Seola thought for a moment and shook her head.

"I still think there's a high probability that the Red Scarf Society's hand was involved, but it probably wasn't the crime of the entire Red Scarf Society."

"Then?"

"The Red Scarf Society Leader is the most suspicious. I also did some research while you were with the sect leader, Young Master. They say the conflict intensified right after the Red Scarf Society Leader, Mucheonak, became the leader."

Although the Great Purity True Man was suspicious, it was not a self-staged act.

It was most likely the work of the Red Scarf Society, but if they were the culprits, it would be the Red Scarf Society Leader, or a part of the group including the leader, not the entire Red Scarf Society.

"Then what do you think the Great Purity True Man's words meant?"

"He suspects the Red Scarf Society in this matter, but it's an attitude of not caring even if they are not. It's an intention to definitely cast out the Red Scarf Society on this occasion."

"Yes. I think so too. If the Red Scarf Society is the culprit, it's the most perfect justification to cast them out of Wudang. Even if they are not, it means it's okay to do so."

"What. Did you ask me even though you knew everything?"

Zhuge Seola pouted her lips.

After she had laid out all her thoughts, didn't he just nod his head as if he had thought of it all in advance?

She suddenly felt wronged. But Cheon Mubaeck just gave her a light smile.

"No, I don't think my thoughts are right. But since my opinion is in line with yours, young lady, it's easy to talk."

"..."

At the soft voice, Zhuge Seola, as if she had never felt wronged, firmly held back the corners of her mouth, which were trying to go up.

Although she managed her expression as much as possible, she couldn't avoid the eyes of Neung-heo, who was watching with his arms crossed.

"Is there a fly on your cheek? Why are the corners of your mouth twitching so much? If it's itchy, scratch it."

"...Old man, you be quiet."

"I've been quiet all this time, what's with the suddenness?"

Neung-heo smiled slyly and stepped back.

Cheon Mubaeck had somehow come to look for Zhuge Seola when he had to use his head.

Was it because Zhuge Seola was smart?

It wasn't wrong. If she wasn't smart, he wouldn't have come to talk like this.

It had been like that since the past. When a situation arose that required complicated thinking, he would look for a Zhuge.

But it was a little different now.

'We're on the same page.'

Even in his past life, he had planned various things and put his head together with Zhuge Seon.

Even then, he had considered Zhuge Seon smart, and he had come up with countless excellent strategies and plans. But he had had frequent conflicts with Cheon Mubaeck, and there were many times when their opinions did not match.

It was because of their respective natures.

Although both had the right opinions, should he say that their direction was different depending on their nature?

But with Zhuge Seola, he felt that they were on the same page.

Rather than their natures being similar, there was just something like that.

And now, Zhuge Seola's thoughts were in line with Cheon Mubaeck's.

"We need to look at the board anew."

Zhuge Seola tied her loose hair behind her neck with a string.

"Is that so?"

"It's a dangerous judgment to go in suspecting the Red Scarf Society from the start. The moment you suspect, it becomes difficult to make a normal judgment. Now, we have to keep all possibilities open."

"That's right."

"Dichotomous thinking is dangerous. The Taoist Faction is justice, the Red Scarf Society is evil. That's not it."

"I think so too."

Zhuge Seola had looked into the Red Scarf Society and the Wudang Sect elders.

Even though she didn't tell him the detailed inside story, she had grasped the general outline.

For example, that there were people who didn't unconditionally hate the Red Scarf Society.

And that in the Red Scarf Society, there weren't only people who were wary of the Taoist Faction.

"The best thing is to treat the Bidara and ask the former sect leader who the culprit is."

"But it's a difficult task. There's no definite guarantee that a cure is possible."

"Because the Red Scarf Society is strongly protesting that if they can't observe, they can't show it to outsiders."

"It's an understandable story from the Taoist Faction's perspective. Since they suspect that the Red Scarf Society is the culprit, they think they might approach the former sect leader and use him as a Bidara somehow."

Of course, the Bidara had to be treated. But it wasn't something that could be done right away, and it was unclear how long it would take and whether it was definitely possible.

"So what we mean by looking at the board anew is this."

Cheon Mubaeck grinned.

Because it seemed they had the same thought.

"May I speak first?"

"What? Yes."

"My idea is to make our own side."

"Oh, that's right!"

Zhuge Seola clapped her hands.

"It's difficult to solve the problem on our own. And to get into it, we are outsiders."

"So we should make the people inside our side."

"That's right."

"Alright. In the Red Scarf Society?"

"The vice-leader, Chuhonsak."

"As expected. You've grasped a lot in that short time! Since Chuhonsak is unusually close to the Taoist Faction elders, they say the vice-leader stepped in to calm things down when a dispute arose."

"Who would be good in Wudang?"

"Venerable Jincheong. Although he is of the Taoist Faction, his nature is gentle yet firm. Moreover, since he is the head of the Law Enforcement Hall, he is strict with the rules within Wudang. Perhaps because of that, he is appalled every time the Red Scarf Society tries to act outside the rules of Wudang."

"Alright. Then, would you take care of Venerable Jincheong, young lady? I will be in charge of Chuhonsak."

Seeing them talking to each other as if flowing water, Neung-heo's face became sullen.

'They're playing the drum and the gong all by themselves. If they were going to do this, why did they bring me? I'm so sleepy I could die.'

Cheon Mubaeck's gaze poured onto that Neung-heo.

"Then Neung-heo, you'll have to go somewhere."

"Yes, yes. I understand. I'll do as you say... Huh? Where?"

"If you go down from Wudang, there will be a Hao Faction branch. Go there, use my name, and contact Shaolin as quickly as possible."

"Shaolin?"

When Shaolin came out, Zhuge Seola's eyes widened.

"What... ah!"

But she soon nodded her head in admiration as if she had understood something.

Only Neung-heo frowned.

"Well, since you're telling me to, I'll do it."

"Then leave."

"At this late hour?"

"It's an urgent matter."

Neung-heo nodded his head in disappointment.

When the talk was roughly over, Cheon Mubaeck stood up from his seat.

"First, since it's late at night, let's stop here for today, and let's do it one by one from tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand."

Zhuge Seola stood up and saw him off.

Neung-heo went out first, grumbling, and the moment Cheon Mubaeck was about to leave the room.

As if he had remembered something, he turned his head and made a somewhat apologetic expression.

"Ah, I'm sorry for coming when you were about to sleep and disturbing your sleep."

"What? No, it's okay. I wasn't sleeping."

Cheon Mubaeck made a curious expression.

"Oh, is that so? I thought you were sleeping since you were wearing comfortable pajamas and had your hair down."

"..."

"Then I'll be going."

After Cheon Mubaeck left, Zhuge Seola flinched and looked down at her own attire without realizing it.

Somehow, the comfortable pajamas she had been wearing since she was a child felt embarrassing.

(End of Chapter)