Book 21 Chapter 21

There's no turning back

-For traps

Each of the dormitories in the Heavenly Palace had a conference room for the leaders to meet efficiently. The thirteenth dormitory, assigned to the officials of the Heavenly Martial Academy, was also fully equipped.

There were three people in the room now. Namgungsang, Long Tianming, and Maharishi.

"What do you want me to do, Captain?"

Long Tianming asked, looking toward the Southern Palace.

"No, that title is a bit……. You're still here, and……."

Namgungsang scratched his head, uncomfortable with the title.

"You're our captain now, even if only temporarily. So you need to act like one. It's bad enough that you're being disrespected, but it's even worse that all of us are being disrespected, isn't it?"

"I agree with Confucius the Dragon."

Since then, I've been more inclined to agree with Yong Tianming's opinions.

"Well, it looks like the boss has changed hands. If two people say so, then so be it."

He sounded half-hearted.

"That's what a troop leader is supposed to do."

"Isn't the job of a company commander to fill in for the captain? Don't make a big deal out of it."

"No, I'm very concerned, but……."

In the Cheonmu Hakwakwan, people who had disagreed on everything were killed overnight as if they had always done so, and it was rather the Namgung Sang who were caught in the middle and died.

"Come to think of it, shouldn't we hire some more interim heads besides us? Because we're going to need a lot of hands."

This time, Long Tianming nodded in agreement.

"I agree, and since we have two commanders, I think it's safe to say that the staff and intelligence officers will be appointed by the captain. What do you think, Captain?"

Namgungsang's head was spinning with his growing responsibilities. Unfortunately, they weren't wrong. If they didn't hire the right people soon, the workload would fall on the three of them.

"I see."

As expected, even after the two nodded in agreement, their eyes remained fixed on the mouth of Namgung Sang. It was an unspoken pressure to recite the list of candidates quickly.

'Chamorra…….'

A few people came to mind in Namgung Sang's mind. Yong Tianming, Baek Muyoung, Hyorong, and Yan Bi……. Yong Tianming was obviously out of the question as he was the immediate commander of the troops, and Hyorong, although he was familiar with the affairs of the Heavenly Palace, was in many ways unsuitable to be a member of the staff.

Yeonbi was immediately dismissed because it was just a face that popped into my head without any evidence. That leaves one person.

"What about the Ji-Rong?"

"Hmph, Moo-young… what an appointment."

Upon hearing the Southern Palace Master's words, Long Tianming immediately agreed. The Maharishi didn't seem to disagree.

"I'll do that, but what about the intelligence officer?"

It was a question he had already anticipated, but he didn't have to think too hard about the answer that came to him in an instant. As soon as he heard the words 'intelligence officer', there was only one candidate that came to mind.

It's not an exaggeration to say that he was born for this job.

"I'll make it a non-commutative senior."

"ugh……."

The Maharishi frowned slightly in disapproval.

"That's a great idea, and I'm sure he'll be able to pull it off. He's always been the one to get his hands on the most difficult information."

Long Tianming nodded, though with a bitter smile. It was a clear sign of approval.

"I'm sure the Asociation members will be happy to hear that, but I'm going to have to refrain from collecting unnecessary ancillary information."

It was a stinging remark, but it was an acknowledgment of his ability to gather information. Long Tianming gently put the matter to rest.

"Let's make the appointment then, and just discuss it amongst ourselves for the day."

"Sure. I'll let them know later today."

It was decided that Baek Moo-young would join the leadership team as chief of staff and Bie Yeon-tae as intelligence officer.

"By the way, about this inspection I received……."

"Let me see it."

The Maharishi hadn't seen it yet. The Namgung Sang hastened to hand over the scroll he had just received to the Maharishi.

"A grand reception for the Heavenly Martial Academy's envoys?"

The tail of the horse naturally rose.

"That's a pretty suspicious title."

"I agree, there's no way they'd actually welcome us."

It was a real prize.

"You'd have to look very closely to see it, but you've already started a fight. You think faster than you act."

"That's right, you act like you've been thinking about it."

Yong Tianming chimed in.

"This is the circle, it can't be subtracted……."

Namgungsang's brow furrows slightly. He wants to say no, but he can't, given his position.

"If I did, I'd be called a coward."

He was right.

"I can't do this, I can't do that… I can't do this, I can't do that."

"I know. It's a quandary, yes."

Namgungsang sighed.

"You're the boss, so you make the call. We'll go along with it."

At first glance, it was a gesture of trust, but Namgungsang was not pleased. All he could think of was that he had brought the problem on himself.

"I can't help it, even if it's a trap, I'm going to walk into it, and I don't want to be called a coward, do I?"

Namgungsang said, steeling his resolve.

"I agree."

In this case, backing down meant losing.

"If there's a trap waiting for us, shouldn't we be prepared for it? I'm all for it. We need to show them that it's not a walk in the park."

Maharishi said, his voice rising with determination.

"So that's it, then."

The only question was how to prepare for it.

* * *

"Are you all packed?"

An old man lying sprawled out on a cart, looking up at the sky, asked.

"Yes, sir. I've got it all loaded."

Zhang Wuyang, the head of the Zhongyang Mark Bureau, bowed politely and replied, the white tiger flag fluttering countless times behind him.

But Zhang Wuyang was well aware that the old man wasn't really interested in their whereabouts, or even in their behavior. He just wanted to make sure it was time to leave.

"You can leave at any time."

The old man nodded once to show he understood. Zhang Wuyang bowed once more and politely retreated.

He was now to lead the parade, and as he stepped onto the dais, his trusted men straightened their postures. They looked up to him with the crest of a majestic white tiger and the crest of a lotus and a sword, both worn simultaneously on one breast.

The reputation of the Zhongyang Stamp Office would be enhanced by the completion of this task, for it had always been the work of the Zhongyuan Stamp Office.

A world he had never seen before, not even in his dreams, now stretched out before him. He had already set foot in it. There was nowhere to go but forward, and nowhere to turn. Of course, he had no intention of turning back.

"Is everything ready?"

Zhang Wuyang asked in a booming voice.

"Yes, we're ready!"

A thunderous reply came back.

"When we're done with them, the Zhongyuan will be in tears. Is that what you want to see?"

"Yes, I want to see it!"

"Do you want to have a good laugh at that?"

"Yes, it is!"

The fraud had reached such a level that I was worried that I was incurring the wrath of the heavens.

"I trust you. Do you trust me?"

"I believe it!"

A chorus of answers erupted.

Zhang Wuyang raised his sword high.

"Okay, let's go to Dongjeong Lake!"

<Continued from Volume 22 of "Fault Tolerance"