novelraw Chapter 144 : A Map Written with Footsteps
Chapter 144 : A Map Written with Footsteps
“It’s a failure again.”
While Seolpyeong did not hide his disappointment, Mu Yu raised his teacup and moistened his throat.
“The opponent is the Martial Alliance. For a plan to succeed, heaven’s luck must follow. But this time, heaven’s luck just didn’t follow.”
“Didn’t we almost succeed this time?”
“Well, there’s no need to dwell on a failed matter.”
Seolpyeong seemed to feel anxious about the continued failures, but Mu Yu did not seem to care much.
Curious about that point, Seolpyeong carefully asked.
“Are you okay, Chief? You might lose the Alliance Leader’s trust.”
“Trust…”
Mu Yu held the cup and swirled it.
“Seolpyeong.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Do you know why we keep provoking the Martial Alliance, even setting failure as a constant, from the long-planned Acheon until now?”
“I do not know.”
Thud—!
Mu Yu slammed the cup he was holding down hard.
The cup cracked due to the strong impact.
The remaining tea flowed out through it.
“It is to create a crack in the solid wall of the righteous martial world.”
Seolpyeong’s expression became serious.
“By crack, you mean… to weaken their solidarity?”
“Yes. The righteous martial world, on the surface, looks like a group of righteous martial artists gathered under the pretext of protecting the martial world. But the reality is not so.”
Mu Yu’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were cold.
“It is a deformed group where a small number of the strong hold all the power and command the majority. Nevertheless, the reason many do not leave the fence of the righteous martial world and the Martial Alliance is because they are strong.”
The solid wall called the Martial Alliance.
The firm belief that one would be safe inside it.
“But if it becomes known that there is a crack in that wall.”
Mu Yu asked.
“What will happen?”
Seolpyeong nodded his head and answered.
“Distrust will build up, solidarity will weaken, and defectors will emerge.”
“The strength of the righteous path is, after all, a bond and solidarity that cannot be easily broken. They are all closely connected, but because of that, they are not free. On the other hand, the heretical path is different.”
The freedom to betray each other at any time.
The strong being the only rule.
Because of this, there was no limit to the cards Mu Yu could use.
The righteous path was connected to each other and could be held jointly responsible, but the heretical path was not connected to each other, so even knowing that the Heretic Path's Alliance was behind it, they could not be interrogated.
“Everyone says the Central Plains martial world is wide, but the world of martial arts is not wide. Where can those who have left the righteous path go? Those who realize that the righteous path can no longer protect them will gradually turn their eyes to the other side.”
Mu Yu cackled.
“First they lose the late-stage prospects, then they lose the sects.”
His gaze turned to a distant place.
“What will they lose next… the Alliance Leader’s head must be complicated. Hehehe!”
***
“If you just spare my life, I will do anything! Please ask me anything!”
The bound Ju O shouted, spittle flying.
The three temple masters who had gathered to interrogate him looked at the boy begging for his life with complicated faces.
“How much… can we believe his words?”
At Yeom Yoa’s question, Beom U furrowed his brow.
“It could all be true, or it could all be false. It’s difficult.”
“But we can’t torture someone who says he’ll say anything.”
Gwak Myeong stood in front of Ju O and asked.
“From beginning to end. Tell me everything you know.”
“Yes!”
Ju O laid out the stories of how the Namrangbang and the Poison Sect had joined hands to plan the assassination of the late-stage prospects and how it was executed.
Most of what he said was revealed to be true, and a sense of desperation could even be felt in Ju O’s eyes, so Gwak Myeong was contemplating what to believe and what to consider a lie.
‘The important thing is that, after all.’
Gwak Myeong glanced at the positions of Yeom Yoa and Beom U once and then opened his mouth.
—From now on, I will ask you through telepathy. If you answer yes to my question, just nod your head slightly.
Ju O, who heard the telepathic message, nodded his head very slightly.
—Is it true that the poison the Poison Sect used was the Formless Earth Killing Poison?
As Ju O nodded his head, Gwak Myeong’s eyebrow twitched.
‘How?’
As far as he knew, the five exterminating poisons of the Sichuan Tang Clan were stored in a place where no outsider’s hand could reach, under the thorough surveillance and protection of the Tang Clan.
For such a Formless Earth Killing Poison to be passed on to the Poison Sect meant.
‘Did someone from the Tang Clan leak the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison?’
Did a traitor emerge from the Sichuan Tang Clan, which prioritized the well-being and interests of its blood relatives above all else?
‘No. There is no confirmation yet that it is the Formless Earth Killing Poison. Rather, the Soul-Chasing Poisonous Snake and this fellow might be trying to confuse us.’
While Gwak Myeong was organizing his thoughts, Ju O, who had closed his mouth, stealthily opened it.
“I don’t know how they obtained the Formless Earth Killing Poison, but it was definitely… the Formless Earth Killing Poison.”
At Ju O’s answer, Gwak Myeong’s face contorted, and Yeom Yoa and Beom U, who were standing behind him, changed their expressions.
The two, who were shocked, looked at Gwak Myeong at the same time.
“What do you mean by that? The Tang Clan’s Formless Earth Killing Poison?”
“Didn’t the Beggars' Sect say it was a poison similar to the Formless Earth Killing Poison?”
“Calm down.”
Gwak Myeong tried to calm the two down and glared at Ju O.
At his sharp gaze, Ju O tucked his neck in and watched him.
‘Did he do it on purpose?’
Is this fellow’s role to bring confusion to the Martial Alliance?
Without even giving Gwak Myeong time to organize his thoughts, Ju O poured out his words.
“The Poison Sect created the Iron Poison Pills with the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison they received from the Sichuan Tang Clan. Otherwise, how could an exterminating poison similar to the Formless Earth Killing Poison, which has never been leaked before, have been created?”
The history of poison is long.
Nevertheless, the reason there were only five exterminating poisons for which no antidote had been created was that they were that difficult to make.
“Shut up. You only answer what I ask.”
“Didn’t you just ask? Through telepathy.”
At Ju O’s retort, Yeom Yoa and Beom U stepped forward.
The two stared at Gwak Myeong with faces that seemed to demand an explanation.
The first to speak was Yeom Yoa.
“What do you mean by this? Master Gwak.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I will explain everything.”
Beom U also chimed in.
“Tell us without hiding anything anymore. Before distrust builds up between us.”
Gwak Myeong ran his hand through his hair, sent Ju O back to his original prison, and then spoke to the two temple masters who wanted the truth.
“The Soul-Chasing Poisonous Snake said something before he died.”
That the poison they had used was the original form of the Formless Earth Killing Poison.
That meant that the Sichuan Tang Clan had given them the recipe.
But why?
This question tormented Gwak Myeong.
As the three, who had become serious, were contemplating what to say, Dokgo Jeokmyeong came to them.
“You were all here.”
At the appearance of the External General Manager of the Martial Alliance, the three temple masters gave a light bow.
At that, Dokgo Jeokmyeong, unlike his usual self, hurried and said as if he had no time.
“There is a place you must go with me.”
The place where Dokgo Jeokmyeong took the temple masters had Gwak Doyeop and a strange man standing there.
The man was kneeling on both knees with his head bowed, and Gwak Doyeop had a sorrowful face.
“Alliance Leader.”
At Dokgo Jeokmyeong’s call, Gwak Doyeop said.
“You may rise.”
The man slowly stood up.
As the three temple masters who had arrived by their side in the meantime bowed their heads and offered greetings, Gwak Doyeop introduced the man.
“He is the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect.”
“I am Gu Yong.”
In reality, the names or faces of the leader or deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect were rarely known.
This was due to the secrecy that an intelligence organization possessed.
The common thought of the temple masters who had met the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect for the first time was.
‘He’s young.’
But no one showed it.
“Tell them what you told me.”
Gu Yong bowed his head once more and then stared at the three temple masters.
At that, Gwak Doyeop said.
“They are trustworthy people. That is why they were chosen as the masters of the Daoist Temples.”
“Then, I will speak without reservation.”
Gu Yong took a deep breath once and then continued.
“The poison that the Poison Sect and the Namrangbang used was indeed the Formless Earth Killing Poison. Also, the one who stole their recipe was one of our people.”
At Gu Yong’s shocking explanation, the faces of the three temple masters hardened.
“That means… the one who handed over the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison to the Poison Sect was… the Beggars' Sect!?”
As Beom U asked excitedly, Gu Yong nodded his head.
It was an unbelievable thing.
Why would the Beggars' Sect invade the Sichuan Tang Clan, steal the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison, and then offer it to the Poison Sect?
As the temple masters were confused, Gu Yong spoke again without delay.
“To be precise, we handed over the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison to the Hao Sect, and it seems they handed it over to the Poison Sect and planned this incident.”
Yeom Yoa’s voice was sharp.
“Then why did the Beggars' Sect hand over the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison to the Hao Sect!?”
“It was to gain their trust.”
“Trust?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Saying this, Gu Yong took out a large parchment from his bosom and spread it in front of everyone.
What was contained in it was a kind of martial arts manual.
“This is… a footwork manual, isn’t it?”
A footwork manual that detailed the order of the steps, the position of the feet, and the movement of the body to teach footwork easily.
Gwak Myeong, who was looking at it, briefly admired it.
“Ah! It’s a code.”
“That’s right. This is a code that I and our person who is undercover in the Hao Sect share. And in this code…”
Gu Yong looked at everyone and opened his mouth.
“The location of the Hao Sect is written.”
***
“A failure…”
Ok Myeon couldn't easily understand.
The operation he had set up seemed almost perfect.
Using the Namrangbang’s specialty of handling birds and the Southern Eagles, they would drop the Formless Earth Killing Poison manufactured by the Poison Sect and spread it to everyone.
If the Formless Earth Killing Poison had exerted its full power, hundreds of late-stage prospects would be eating the food of the underworld by now.
But.
It had failed.
Most of the Namrangbang martial artists who had been in charge of and executed this plan were dead or captured, and the master of the Poison Sect, the Soul-Chasing Poisonous Snake, was missing.
According to the information that came in intermittently, the reason the plan had failed was because of a single person.
A man in black.
He, whom even the Martial Alliance could not properly identify, had shot down the flying hawks with short spears.
As if that wasn't enough, he had wrapped the falling Iron Poison Pills in a huge net and made them explode at once, annihilating them.
‘If the information wasn’t leaked… it’s an impossible countermeasure.’
It was proof that there was a spy from the Martial Alliance in the Hao Sect.
Knock— Knock—!
“Are you inside?”
“Ah, Elder, you’ve come. Please come in.”
The one who opened the door and came in was Bieunggaek.
“I heard things went wrong. What happened?”
“There was a variable.”
“A variable… well, there’s nothing more difficult to control and predict than a variable.”
“That’s right. And above all.”
The eyes of Ok Myeon, revealed through the jade-colored mask he wore, and Bieunggaek’s gaze crossed in mid-air.
“It seems there is a spy sent by the Martial Alliance here.”
“Hm! Is that true?”
“Otherwise, there’s no way the plan would have failed. So I’m thinking of finding out.”
A sly laugh leaked out from behind the mask.
“Who the spy is. And… I’m thinking of finding that bastard, tearing him to shreds, and then sending him to the Martial Alliance as a gift.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Once again.
The two stared at each other.
(End of Chapter)