Book 28 Chapter 14

Strained partnerships

-Gastric perforation (穿孔)

"ughhhh……."

Frowning as he pressed his fingers deeply into the grain, he rubbed his right hand gently across the midships.

"Why but? Shut up."

In a blunt tone, Binggum cautioned. It was an unspoken warning not to draw attention to himself by making strange noises.

Normally, I would have immediately jumped on that comment, shouting, "You ice cube, are you done?" and engaged in a verbal spat, but for some reason, Yeomdo only frowned further and replied in the same blunt tone.

"It's just my stomach, why?"

He knew full well that any argument here would bring the women's eyes to them, so he forced himself to keep his temper in check. It was indeed a mystery that a man whose temper was so explosive that he had been called a fiery dog, could be so patient, but… this was not a man to be trifled with.

"Hmph, how can a cold, icy man understand the delicate mind of this body, when an insensitive bastard like you has a stomach of steel?"

The tip of Iceblade's sharp blue-silver eyebrows twitched as he gazed at the distant mountains.

"The island must have burned to the ground, there's no way you'd have any of that stuff left."

"What, are you done talking?"

They said they weren't going to argue, but they were. It was a quiet but fierce underwater battle, much quieter than usual.

"Of course I didn't. Don't pretend to be all delicate on your own. It's not fitting. No, it's rather offensive."

"What?! Do you want to give it a try?"

Binggum snorted as he watched the Yeomdo rise in his clenched fist.

"There you go again. You haven't changed at all. I'm asking you to think about the situation. What we've gotten ourselves into. And don't think you're the only one with a hole in your stomach."

"Huh?"

Dye's eyes narrowed as if to ask what that meant.

"I've got two or three holes in my stomach already this evening."

Yeomdo stared into Bing'er's face and suddenly let out an electric sound.

"But why does he look so unharmed?"

A bitter smile formed on Bing'er's face as she stared at Yeomdo.

"Does this look normal to you? It's not normal, it's expressionless. I have a tendency to go blank when I'm in pain. And I'm using an emergency procedure called 'cold pain anesthesia'."

Cold pain anesthesia was a kung fu technique that used cold to dull the pain of a part of the body. It was a technique that only an ice swordsman who had mastered the icy realm of martial arts could perform.

"Iceberg, are you saying you're frozen on top of yourself?"

He looked at Bing'er as if he'd seen it all. He sighed heavily and nodded.

"What can I say, I'm going to go down with my stomach in my throat if I don't, and I probably have more holes in my stomach than you do. Responsibility is different."

Due to his position in the Heavenly Martial Academy, Ice Sword was the rank of Great Martial Master, a position much higher than Yeomdo. Because he was in charge of all the samurai, he had a special responsibility.

"You've been shirking the responsibility that rests on your shoulders, but I haven't. She alone has……."

"Stop talking about her!"

Yeomdo said with a stony face. I forced myself to hold back the urge to yell. He didn't want to dig up old wounds at a moment like this.

"Okay, that's enough."

And they both shut up again at the same time.

A heavy silence fell between them.

They started walking away from each other.

After all, they were like ice and fire, they could never mix.

There was one person who quietly watched this cacophony from afar, and she was the Godfather of the Black Cloth, the Goddess Gutian Muhua.

The journey was a bumpy, nerve-wracking one that punched several holes in the stomachs of Ice and Salt. With each passing day, their stomachs grew more and more bitter.

He was anxious and restless because he did not know what would happen if his identity was discovered by the Three Great Nanglings and the Divine Eight, including the Nine Heavenly Maidens.

Binggum could only hope that his stomach would hold out until the end of this journey.

Moreover, Hyo-hye's lighthearted but meaningful question in the middle of the episode was enough to make their hearts sink, and not just in their stomachs.

"For some reason, this place has a lot of young people among the marksmen."

"We need to develop a lot of young people. We're a young country, so we have a lot of work to do."

"For a place that's so poorly staffed, the spirit of these young people is so devoted and their prayers are so sharp, it's amazing."

"Hahaha, we're not there yet. Hahaha."

Beep, beep, beep.

Cold sweat trickled down the back of Bing'er, who hadn't broken a sweat even in the middle of summer. Time and time again, his gaze sneaked over to the Lady Gu Tian, who stood at the head of the group of women. He couldn't rest assured if he didn't check on her from time to time.

"Indeed, this is an up-and-comer that's been sweeping the mid-tier tablet world lately, and it's definitely worth the investment."

"Haha, if we can get the Shinmaga's investment, it will be like getting a thousand horses, and then there will be no stopping our ascending momentum."

"That's because it's worth it to the Zhongyang Empire, but… you do realize that investments require mutual trust, right?"

Hyo-hye said, her tone soft and her words weighted.

"Sure. Isn't that common sense?"

"Then we shouldn't be cheating each other, right?"

Her tone became lower and more subtle. Bing'er wondered what was wrong with this woman. For some reason, Hyohye's gaze on him seemed to have sharpened.

"Sure."

"Are you sure Guan Feidu isn't playing us a trick?"

Hyo-hye's face, which had a faint smile on it, was extremely serious at this moment. Her wisdom-filled eyes seemed to see right through people's minds. It seemed that no lie could escape those eyes.

It was only after Bing'er had barely calmed her trembling heart with her ice-white heart energy that she was able to speak in a calm voice.

"What do you mean, it can't be?"

"That can't be right, can it?"

Hyo-hye smiled broadly as she dropped her serious expression.

The ice sword silently swept across her chest. Even this cold ice sword was no match for this woman.

Like his wife, she had a knack for playing with his cold heart. The problem was, she was a potential threat to them.

"But the young men here are somehow thin?"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, some people are like girls?"

Binggum couldn't help but feel angry inside.

Is she just asking out of curiosity, or has she already noticed and is pretending not to?

If it's the former, of course, you can say, "Men, hahaha," and you'll be fine. But if it was the latter… their journey was about to encounter a very difficult crisis. When Bing'er was conflicted in her mind, Gal Hyohye laughed.

"Hoo hoo hoo, that's so weird, there's no way women would be working as markers, I guess I was just imagining things."

The answer came reflexively from Binggum's mouth.

"That's right……."

That was it.

"No, if you deny it!"

'Of course you're mistaken,' Binggum almost replied involuntarily, but then he stopped dead in his tracks, the sharp sound of someone's electronic intrusion piercing his eardrums.

"Admit it, they're actually women."

Bing'er soon realized that it was none other than Bi Ryuyeon who had sent the message earlier.

Is it really okay if I do as they say?

As Binggum struggled, he heard the voice again.

"Don't worry, I've got this."

Binggum became even more worried. His worries seemed to increase threefold when he realized that he could take care of everything. Then he heard Bi Ryuyeon's voice again.

"That woman's words just now were probably leading questions. It was probably a trap to get your mind's defenses down so you'd hear the answer she wanted."

Binggum couldn't help but be stunned.

If you think about it, this woman, Hyo-hye, was trying to steer his questions so that it would be easier for him to say, "You must be mistaken.

If she asks the question knowing that he has already included a large number of women in this behavior, his denial of that fact is conclusive evidence that he is hiding something. He would be bragging about his suspicious behavior.

"Why are you speechless, Mr. Coffinhead, did I ask you a question that is so difficult to answer?"

Gal Hyo-hye's intelligent eyes bore into Bing-kun's, as if trying to figure out his every move. Conflicted, Bing'er finally sighed and spoke.

"Hah, you've been busted. It's actually a girl with those guys."

Hearing that, Gal Hyo-hye's eyes lit up.

"Oh my God, is that true?"

She wasn't the only one surprised by the answer. Most of the Heavenly Martial Academy's students, who had been concealing their identities behind their masks, were stunned into silence, especially Yeomdo, whose face was flushed red nonstop.

"What the hell is that ice cube up to?

He couldn't understand why they were digging their own graves. Part of him wanted to elbow him in the side.

"Um……."

When I ran out of excuses to say something again, I heard Bi Ryuyeon's full voice in my ear. Bing'er spoke as if she were reading from a book.

"Well…… So, actually, this is still a secret, but the Zhongyang Bureau has a different appointment policy than other bureaus. One of them is the selection of female scribes."

Saying it was a secret was a manipulation to create the impression that it was natural for them to hide it.

"Ho-ho, I can't believe you're doing that in your home country."

As a woman at the forefront of the martial arts world, Gal Hyo-hye might find this interesting, too, and Bingum added the words that Bi Ryuyeon had told her.

"It is the policy of the Zhongyang Marks Bureau to select marksmen of both sexes as long as they are capable."

"That's a pretty radical policy."

What a ridiculous policy, Bingum thought to himself. If a country really did this, they would be labeled crazy by all the other countries. Bi Ryuyeon continued.

"Certainly, by its very nature, it has been perceived as the work of rough men, but there are stronger women than men in the strongholds, and you don't have to look far to find them. There are at least a dozen women on this road alone who are among the best of their kind."

"Oh, you're flattering me, you have a surprisingly sweet tongue for a Guan Feidu."

Gal humbled herself with a wave of her hand, but her smile was wry.

"Anyway, that's the policy, but it's still too unconventional, so I've been forced to cross-dress. I'm not quite ready for the publicity yet……."

"I think so."

Hyo-hye nodded, saying she understood.

"It's a matter of sovereign credit……."

"Yeah, I mean, if you have a woman in there as a marker, it's going to take a lot of credibility away from that marker, because people are going to think, "Why would you use a woman if you don't have a man?""

Bing'er nodded vigorously. Inwardly, even Bing'er, who was speaking, was thinking, "I wouldn't go there either," but the words that came out of his mouth were different.

"That's why it needs to work. This is a demonstration, and it must succeed, so that strong women may have more career options."

"I didn't realize you had such a good cause, and I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you. Now that you are here, what can I worry about? We will surely reach Wuchang without incident."

"I'll have to make sure my house is actively supporting it. Oh, and I can't wait to see the new female masters of the martial arts."

I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine, and I had to stop it.

"Hahaha, I'll be sure to do that in the future, but for now, since this is your first show, you'd better not let your guard down. I don't want to put unnecessary wind in your sails……."

"Hoo-hoo, the only person who could call our Eight Seers' attention a futile desire would be Guan Feidu."

"This was a mistake on my part, I apologize."

"No, I like people with principles, and that's not easy to come by. Unfortunately, I can't see you now, but I'd love to meet with you later."

"I'll be sure to make that happen after this tabling."

"I'm looking forward to it."

With these words, invented to deflect a momentary crisis, the Zhongyang Marking Bureau was truly frozen in place and forced to select markers based on skill rather than gender. There is no such thing as falsehood in the presence of the Nine Heavenly Maidens.

But that's something to worry about after the fact. Watching Gal Hyo-hye bow slightly and return to her sisters, Binggum and Yeomdo silently swept their hands across their chests.

The immediate crisis seemed to have been averted.

Bing'er glanced over at Bi Ryuyeon, who was talking to Na Yerin as if nothing had happened.

I'm not an eloquent person by any means, but I wonder if I could have gotten through this crisis without Bi Ryuyeon's gift for words.

Binggum didn't dare make any promises.

The reputation of the Eight Masters was immense, and each one of them was a master. Indeed, a tiger's cub was a tiger. Male or female, it didn't matter, they were tigers.

Moreover, they have trained themselves diligently under the Three Great Rangers, the strictest of the strict masters. To protect the honor of the Shinmaga family, not to tarnish the name of Mu Shinma.

There was never a time when Galjoong-hyuk, the shaman, would say anything about the chores. Gal Joong-hyuk was busy extinguishing the remaining embers of the Heavenly Ghost so that it wouldn't reignite, so everything in the Shinmaga household was left to them.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the current strong Shinmaga is due to the strength of the Three Great Nangrangs and their daughters.

Part of me wanted to pull away from them and run ahead to catch up, but I knew that would immediately make me look suspicious.

"And they'll catch on quickly.

I don't know about you, but I don't think the rest of the people's kung fu skills were enough to beat even the Eight Suns, let alone the Three Great Nanglings. Even Yin Dao, who was less skilled in the cultivation techniques, could not help but feel helpless.

"Slow and bursting!

Therefore, they were never to be recognized as a rescue party coming to the rescue of the Nine Hundred Thousand. Even if they were discovered, fighting with them was to be avoided at all costs, for as strong as they were, an accidental wound to one of them in the midst of a fight could make matters worse.

Binggum sighed inwardly.

"May my stomach hold out until then.

For now, we could only hope so.

Whether or not they knew of his troubled state of mind, the only ones who remained nonchalant in the midst of this hyper-tension were Bi Ryuyeon and Mu-ming, who continued to sleep soundly while lying on the marker.

"That guy sleeps well no matter what."

Glancing over the wagon carrying the markings, Binggum spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, you must be possessed."

I felt a little bad that Yeomdo was a similar idea, but I didn't let it get to me.

Mu Ming continued to sleep, not waking up when the leader of the Twelve Swords appeared or when the Color Demon Emperor Chu Yunlac was defeated by the Nine Heavenly Maidens. As if it was none of his business.

"Does this mean I don't care about stupid fights, or am I just dull, or do I have some kind of sleep-deprivation disease?

Ming didn't seem to care if the color horses were burned, torn by the wind, or pierced by water; he just kept sleeping.

"Okay, let's just pretend that sleeping is helping.

Binggum decided it was a good idea.

'If he wakes up and wanders around, he could be a nuisance. You never know what they're going to say.

It's best to avoid encounters between the Eight Eight and Nameless.

Fortunately, Bing's wishes were fulfilled, and the nameless sleep lasted until they reached Wuchang, the seat of the Black Heavenly Blind.

"We're finally here."

They had finally arrived at the gates of the Black Clan, accompanied, of course, by the women of Shinmaga.

Fortunately for them, their identity had not been discovered. Now that they could use their arrival as an excuse to rightfully part ways with them, Binggum and Yin Dao rejoiced inwardly.

The ice sword was not one for merriment, but for this moment it was impossible not to be pleased. If their journey had lasted half a day longer, they would have been blown to bits.

"Shall we go then?"

Just as Ironheart Zhang Yiha was about to lead the group to move, a beautiful voice suddenly called out to them.

"Wait, where are you guys going?"

The voice that stopped them in their tracks was none other than Dan Hye, the second of Shinmaga's three wives, a sumptuous beauty with hair as red as Zhu Dan's.

"To get into the city, of course."

Zhang Yiha politely replied, holding back her fluttering heart.

"Huh? Isn't the south door that way?"

Danhye raised the same finger that had unleashed the fire dragon and pointed to the far left.

"Hahaha, we're going to go alumni now."

Zhang Yiha's heart pounded frantically as he answered, a cold sweat trickling down his spine.

"The south gate is closer to the east gate here. And at this time of year, the south gate would be the only way for outsiders to get in and out."

But why choose alumni, she asked?

"Hahaha, well, yeah, of course it is, but……."

Scratching the back of his head, the iron-hearted Zhang Yiha replied.

Of course, he wasn't oblivious to the obvious. You could tell just by looking at him, but……!

'What do you want me to do about all the facial hair gatekeepers on the alumni side…….'

Zhang Yiha wanted to cry inside.

There were very few gatekeepers at the south gate who were paid; there were very few at the south gate who could be called his people, who had 'special' favor in their conduct; and it was much wiser, especially with these aspects, to go to the east gate, where 'strangers' were forbidden to enter, and to obtain special favor and passage, than to enter the south gate, which was more than three times as heavily guarded as usual.

"I guess I've gotten used to being an alumnus, hahaha."

Like a seasoned powerhouse, he was going to try to get out of it somehow. It wasn't just because he had the same surname as the head of state, Mr. Zhang, that he was in charge of the local government. He had gotten there because of his skills.

"Since you've come all this way, why don't we go in together?"

The "don't linger, go quickly…" part was missing, but it wasn't hard to understand.

"Hahaha, you're in a hurry to get somewhere, you don't need to bother with things like us."

Of course, she didn't say anything suspicious like, "Hahaha, me, through the south gate?" but when Gal Hyo-hye interjected in a casual voice next to her, Jang Yi-ha thought her heart would drop to the ground with a thud.

"Is there any reason you can't go through the south door?"

Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep.

My heart started beating like crazy, to the point where I was worried that it might be fatal to my health. I had a strong feeling that if I got through this safely, I would have to change my nickname to Iron Heart. Instead of iron heart, I'm going to call it cotton heart.

"That's……."

The sudden realization caught me off guard, and for a moment I was unable to react; the twenty-two beautiful eyes that turned to his face were filled with wonder, and the embarrassment was beginning to show in his earthy complexion.

That was it.

Thump!

The sound of something really falling was heard behind the women's backs.

The gazes of Samdanangrang and Eight Suns immediately turned to the back.

"Eek, I rolled over in my sleep."

The man who had fallen to the ground on the cart carrying the tablets woke up with a thump on his back.

'No way, Nameless. Is he awake?

If they did, the worst could have happened. Samdanangrang and the Eight Elders' eyes were also on the man who had fallen from the cart.

What if he recognized the name of a man who had been an instructor at the Temple of Heaven for two hundred years?

How do you explain the fact that the nameless person is in on the act, and what will come out of the nameless person's mouth?

For a moment, tens of thousands of thoughts raced through Bing'er's mind, and when she looked back, she and Yeomdo silently swept her hand across her chest.

"When the hell was it up there?

Rising from the ground and dusting off her dusty clothes, Bi Ryuyeon scowled. He wasn't the only one sleeping on the cart. The cart he had fallen off was the one in front of the one he was riding in.

As a seasoned and experienced Ironheart, Zhang Yi immediately understood Bi Ryuyeon's intentions.

"Did you sneak a nap again, and didn't I warn you that I'd cut your pay if you did?!"

Zhang Yiha pretended to be angry. Bi Ryuyeon smirked.

"Oh, come on, just give me a paycheck. I have to make a living, too, and it's normal to get tired when you're on the road, isn't it? Come on, let's go through the south gate."

Zhang Yiha inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and outwardly clicked her tongue.

"Eh, it's my fault for arguing with you, so we'll take the lead. Let's go."

Keeping an eye on the situation at the water's edge, Lady Gu Tian swept her gaze up and down the young marker who had slept on top of the marker during her travels. Under her gaze, which was like a well-honed sword, Bi Ryuyeon didn't even flinch.

"You have a promising future, child, are you a mark of this place?"

She smiled and replied.

"This place is my bread and butter."

The answer was vague, but there was no falsehood in it. Looking at Bi Ryuyeon, a kind, but somewhat wistful smile formed on the corners of her mouth.

"What a funny kid."

"I tend to hear that a lot."

Without changing a single expression on her face, Bi Ryuyeon said.

"I too had a son to look forward to…… and a grandson to look forward to……."

As sadness spread across her face, Zhang Yiha and the others gasped at the sudden pressure. Fortunately, the third wife, Saran, who was beside her, was talking to herself, and the pressure quickly dissipated.

"There are not one, but two marksmen lying down and sleeping during the performance……. You are indeed an unassuming mark, whether because you have skill or not."

During this journey, he rarely woke up, and when he did, it was strangely weak. It was as if he did not exist in this world, leaving behind only a thin vestige of nothingness, and only the most acute senses could detect his presence. Zhang Ziyi heaved a deep sigh and said to his companions, "It's not like it's not in this world.

"That's his normal state. If he's hiding and sleeping, we'll have to organize a search party."

But it seems that they, the Samdanangrang, had noticed the nameless being sleeping on top of the still-high beacon all along.

"Of course it is, and if you ever need a place to leave your marks in the future, I would be most grateful if you would consider using our trusted and reliable Zhongyang Stamp Office, which is fast and safe."

In this situation, Bi Ryuyeon did not forget about the propaganda of the Zhongyang Bureau, and the last part was more sincere than acting, because the better the Zhongyang Bureau did, the greater the benefit to him.

"I'll think about it. With people of this caliber at the helm, a joint venture might be worth considering. Let's go!"

With those words, Dan Hye began to walk toward the south gate, and the Eight Elders followed.

'Please don't let anything happen.

I prayed to myself and ordered the Iron Heart Master to begin his march.

It was a blink of an eye to the south gate.