Book 3 Chapter 17

Obtaining intelligence on Bi Ryuyeonon

Bi Ryuyeon tucks one sleeve of Wei Zichen into the

Same view as if made with a bloody rag,

Baek Moo-young, one of the brains behind Kujungkyeon, is the founder of the

I was in the middle of a headache with two guys.

Between the two of them, he was taxing his brain with more than three times the usual amount of thought activity, and he was about to explode with yet another piece of new information that had just come in.

"Is this true?"

It was true, of course, but it was so outrageous that Bai Muyoung stared at Ilvi standing in front of him for a moment. There had never been an error in the information brought to him by the intelligence officer directly under Bai Yingqing, and he himself was a firm believer in his abilities. After all, he was the head of the Ten Secret Squads under Bai Yingqing, the premier intelligence organization of the Heavenly Martial Academy.

He soon meekly admitted his mistake.

"I'm sorry, I misspoke."

Elvie nodded in silence. It was a sign that she didn't think much of it. Baek Moo-young slowly looked over the report with a sullen face again, as if he didn't like the fact that the little report contained facts that would shock him. He didn't want to torture his brain any further, but his surroundings didn't seem to allow it.

"I never imagined that he had anything to do with the salt works, and that he, who hates to associate with others so much, had an incident with him……."

Bai Muyoung was referring to Yan Dao as an old master because he had already become one of the masters of the Heavenly Martial Academy. The report was about a very unsavory incident in Hoa Jiang not long ago. He had suspected that the incident in Hoa Jiang had something to do with Bi Ryuyeon, but he hadn't expected it to be so deeply intertwined, and with such an unexpected character.

"So should we see him as the successor to Mr. Yeomdo?"

First, I assumed that the man named Bi Ryuyeon might be a disciple of Yidao. But that seemed unlikely.

"Eyewitness accounts say it didn't look like that."

"That's true, but there's no indication in his hair color that he's trained in the spirit arts, and if he's ranked first in the special selection test, he must have some level of martial arts, but it's clear that his martial arts aren't spirit arts. The martial arts he used in the special selection test weren't spirit arts, and the weapon he's holding now isn't a sword……."

As my mind wandered to that point, I remembered that she never carried a weapon.

"It's probably best to assume that he's a master of the physical arts at this point, and if he isn't, he could be a really scary guy."

"Why is that?"

Elvis, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth to ask, knowing full well that the man in front of him sometimes enjoyed answering questions like this. It was one of the duties of a subordinate to respond to his superior's amusement.

"Of course it is. What kind of person would be able to hide their true identity and still be able to get into the Heavenly Martial Academy, much less rank first?"

"I don't think so."

Ylvi readily agreed with him. As always, Baek's opinion was irrefutable.

"I hope this prediction is wrong. I'd love nothing more than for it to be a fluke, because if it is, we'll have another strong competitor, and that's a sad, sad tragedy."

Mo Yonghui alone had complicated the current situation, and if another competitor of similar weight were to appear, the situation would become a tangled mess that would be impossible to sort out. The chaos of the current situation would mean their defeat. He wanted to prevent the worst from happening.

"Right now, the situation is unclear with just the Seven Deadly Sins, and if there's another big variable besides him, we might not be able to fix it. Should we just get rid of him?"

Baek Moo-young looked at Ilvi and said, "I can't. He said it, but both Ilvi and Baek Moo-young knew he couldn't do it. They couldn't make things bigger than they needed to be. After all, they were the descendants of the orthodox, prestigious Gu Family. If they tried to use their cowardly asses to change the situation, they would be no different from the Black Swords. As long as they were in their right minds, they had no intention of doing anything that would shit in their own faces.

"We'll increase surveillance, and……."

"You need to do a better job of gathering information. You still don't have nearly as much information as the others."

Baek further instructed.

"Okay, we'll mobilize non-English speaking agents and focus more on intelligence gathering."

He'd promised to do it once, and in a few days Baek would be able to face the stack of reports on his desk. He trusted her, and so far she had never let him down.

"He must really like to hang out with wacky characters, because there's not a single one he's met that's not worthy of being ignored."

His words didn't make her vomit; she just melted into the darkness and listened.

"The people he's met so far are enough to qualify him as a dangerous person. Jin Seong-gon Im Seong-jin, Heavenly Spirit Dang Cheol-ki and Cheon So-hae, Bi-yeon-tae……. This is a man who is seriously lacking in the knack of meeting the right people."

He wondered how it was possible to meet and socialize with such a group of dangerous, mentally unstable people. But Baek Moo-young was in no position to welcome such bizarre social skills. This was because her behavior gave him the impression that she had stitched together a long string of wall bombs. It was common knowledge, even without experimentation, that the power of a group of bombs was dozens of times greater than if they were separated.

Bai Muyoung pondered for a moment as he recited the names of the Heavenly Pavilion masters who were considered dangerous to the state. There was no telling where this situation would go if he left it at this. If he made a mistake-although it was extremely unlikely-all of the woven wall bombs exploded simultaneously in a blinding blaze of fire, the Nine Ordinaries would not be able to escape unharmed. The mere possibility was reason enough. It was imperative to minimize the risk of something that was so dangerous and had so much potential to go wrong.

"Let's impose some sanctions."

He finally made a decision. It was a much more constructive idea than sitting on the sidelines and getting stabbed in the back. Besides, there's a lot more to be gleaned from poking around.

"Who would you like to send?"

"Since they're from the swordsman's office, let's send Chu Il-tae, who's no secret."

"You mean him?"

Ilvi's brow furrowed slightly. She couldn't give Baek Moo-young's opinion much support.

"Are you nervous about entrusting him with the job?"

Baek asked if she could read his displeasure. He was not a man who showed his emotions so easily. Ilbi replied as if she had been waiting.

"That man is too frivolous to be called a lunar new year. Have you already forgotten what he is like? Perhaps you should be more careful in your appointments."

Ilvi was cautious up to a point.

"I've heard that he's forgotten his swordsmanship and has taken up the art of stealth. He's even got a star sign associated with him. It's called 日隱無影……. I guess it's a sign of confidence that you can hide in broad daylight without a shadow."

"He is a descendant of Gu Fei, but he has neglected the sword and indulged in miscellaneous arts, and I fear that if we entrust him with the task, he will once again bring dishonor to Gu Fei."

"You mean you don't trust his character and integrity."

"Sure. I'd rather trust his character than……."

She was about to say that she'd rather trust the induction of a passing dog, but she barely chewed and swallowed.

"He really is a man built on distrust, but isn't that what makes him more interesting?"

"Yes?"

It's an odd statement to make, coming from someone who knows better than anyone that this is not a fun job.

"There's a saying about counteracting poison with poison, and if both sides are hurting each other, I can't think of a better way for me, or for us, to do it. It would be a waste not to take advantage of what's available."

Even if his character and personality were unsavory, one could not criticize his skills. In terms of martial arts, he had skills that no one could ignore. If he had a good personality, it would have been great, but things don't always work out the way they should.

"Okay."

Elvie nodded, suddenly understanding. She secretly hoped that this time he would be dealt with together. If that was the case, she couldn't ask for more.

"But I'm curious about one thing, right?"

Baek Moo-young, who had finally convinced Ilvi, asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't realize that you, a non-Army agent, held stealth in such low esteem. I'm surprised to hear you call it a job."

Come to think of it, yes. For an off-the-books intelligence operative who made a living from secrecy, stealth was the most important skill of all. It was a matter of life and death. And to dismiss it as a fringe skill…….

"I, too, am a member of the Council. Compared to the infinite dao contained within the sword, stealth is just one of those insignificant discharge techniques. I've learned it out of necessity, but I don't love it."

Elvie was adamant.

"What a contradiction, you're the most skilled stealther in the teenage world and you hate stealth the most……. You're really the opposite of Ilmu-young Chuil-tae, and it's no wonder you hate him so much."

"You don't want to get into the details?"

It wasn't a good topic to drag out, so Ilby changed the subject. Baek Moo-young was no longer biting his tongue.

"Tell him I'll leave the tricks to him. You're not the kind of person who's going to go off on a tangent if I tell you how to do it anyway, so it wouldn't do any good to tell you the trick."

She didn't want to waste her time turning her head in vain. Ilvi strongly agreed with Bai Muyoung on this point. She hadn't thought that the unruly human would be able to carry out his instructions. After all, the best brains in the Heavenly Martial Academy had a good eye for people. And he knew how to use it to best advantage.

"Okay."

"Good luck, then."

It was her cue to leave. When he was done, Ilvi disappeared like his old trickster self. Even if he himself downplayed his stealth, no one would be able to downplay his skill.

"The pillars of the party are only our old school. We have no intention of giving it to anyone else, so it's time to make up our minds."

He muttered to himself in the darkened office. Bai Muyoung's desire to rest in peace was as strong as a chimney, but a moment later, his ears reported another clash between Bi Ryuyeon and Wei Zichen, and he wrapped his head around it again. The rest he was taking now was a brief and precious respite. For the time being, he would be in the pitiful position of not being able to rest even if he wanted to stretch out his feet and relax, and it all started with Bi Ryuyeon.