Chapter 148: The Ihwa Palace’s Branch (2)
Our group decided to stop by a small inn located just outside of Myoseon Mountain.
Since it was a good three hundred jang away from the mountain, there was no need to worry.
"Are you sure it’s safe? This place could also be connected to Ihwa Palace."
Yong Hwarin smiled lightly as he looked at Jegal Yeongcheon, who was staying cautious.
"It wouldn’t make sense to say it’s completely unrelated. That’s why we have to start putting on an act from here on. Even when we eat, we should pretend we’re looking for another place, and we need to complain as if we’ve co all the way from Myoseon Mountain only to find nothing. If we act too stiff, they might beco suspicious, so everyone must act as naturally as possible."
After entering the inn, they deliberately spoke loudly about how they hadn’t been able to rest for two days, only chasing after leads, and they also made sure to openly discuss where to head next.
They even ordered the innkeeper to prepare hot water for as many people as they had in their group.
After bathing, each of them went to their rooms to rest.
At that mont, serving girl headed sowhere, and soon, a carrier pigeon flew into the air.
Watching the pigeon fly away through the guest room window, I smiled softly.
"Everyone, make sure to get so sleep. That way, they’ll really believe us. And I’ll be circulating my qi until nightfall, so make sure no one enters my room."
Right now, there wasn’t anyone more reliable than Yong Hwarin, so nobody dared to disturb his circulation of qi.
"We’ll stand guard."
When Mu Iso spoke, I shook my head.
"You, Heavenly Central Flying Dragon Blade, should also circulate your qi. There might be a fight later tonight."
After Yong Hwarin said that, not a single person actually went to sleep.
Just as he had advised, everyone began circulating their qi in preparation for the possible battle later that night.
Confirming that most of the group had entered qi circulation, Yong Hwarin leapt out through the window.
Just as Namgung Yoo was about to chase after him, soone else flew through the air, following after Yong Hwarin.
"Looks like I was one step too late. If three people go missing at once, it’ll seem suspicious. I’d better stay here and continue the act."
Namgung Yoo closed the window and entered true qi circulation.
After running about a hundred jang using lightness skill, Yong Hwarin noticed soone following him and turned back.
"Hmm."
Yong Hwarin stopped and waited for the person approaching.
"How did you know?"
Jegal Cheongyeong smiled brightly as she spoke.
"Did you really think I wouldn’t know, Brother? We spent a lot of ti together when we were younger, rember?"
I never expected Jegal Cheongyeong to see through my intentions and follow .
"This mission is dangerous. And if too many of us move together, we’ll get caught quickly. That’s why I’m going alone."
"You were like this even when we were kids. You always tried to take the dangerous tasks on yourself first. People used to call you a fool for that. But they didn’t understand that you just didn’t want others to face that danger. I only realized that after growing up… so I guess I’m just as foolish as you."
"You have to listen to . There might be formations ahead. It could get dangerous."
"Even so, I carry the blood of the Jegal Clan. I studied formations before I even finished the Five Classics. Sure, I might not match Jegal Yohye or Jegal Byeok, but I have quite the depth of knowledge in formations. I probably know more than you, Brother. You’ll need ."
I let out a soft chuckle.
She had that look in her eyes—the kind that never backed down once she made up her mind.
"Alright, fine. Let’s go together, then."
I realized it was already too late to shake her off, so I moved along with Jegal Cheongyeong.
As we moved, Jegal Cheongyeong asked,
"Why are we moving now instead of waiting until night?"
She couldn’t shake the feeling that I was matching my lightness skill to her level.
‘Who would’ve thought Brother Hwarin’s internal energy was this profound.’
While performing lightness skill, I spoke as if it was nothing.
"They probably haven’t completely shaken off their suspicions. They might think we’ll sneak into the mountain at night. That’s why I’m aiming to slip in right now, before they expect it."
"I really had no idea you were this clever, Brother."
"Feels pretty good hearing that from a prodigy of the Jegal Clan."
"Really? You should take pride in it. Even Jegal Yohye once said that you might be soone she couldn’t outmatch in intelligence. She’s never praised anyone’s mind before—yours was the first."
"Is that so?"
"Every action you take is beyond ordinary. Most people our age can only think two or three moves ahead, but you act like you’re already tens of steps ahead. It surprises sotis."
Since I moved with knowledge of future outcos, it probably seed like I could foresee dozens of steps in advance, making such misunderstandings inevitable.
"But are you sure it’s okay to go without knowing what kind of formation we’ll face?"
Properly dismantling or breaking through a formation required ti and careful thought.
"We’ll just charge in first, and if it seems impossible, we’ll retreat."
"You still say things so easily, just like before."
I smiled as I watched her treat as comfortably as she used to in the past.
Then, out of habit, I reached out and patted Jegal Cheongyeong’s head, just like I used to.
That made Jegal Cheongyeong’s qi stir so violently that she nearly tripped over her own feet.
For , after all these years, Jegal Cheongyeong no longer appeared as a woman.
"How cute."
Jegal Cheongyeong couldn’t understand why those words sounded so bitter to her.
Yong Hwarin approached the village that had claid there were no missing people and first climbed a tree to observe the area.
The village didn’t appear any different from an ordinary one.
Naturally, if they were trying to deceive outsiders, they would make it look like real daily life.
"What are you trying to see by climbing up here?"
Jegal Cheongyeong asked, and Yong Hwarin replied.
"Do you really think people with no martial arts can pass through a formation?"
"That’s impossible."
If a formation like the one hiding the true face of Ihwa Palace was deployed, ordinary people who didn’t know martial arts wouldn’t be able to find the life gate.
A formation carried its own pressure, and people without internal energy could end up vomiting blood and dying midway.
"Then how do you think those villagers pass information?"
At Yong Hwarin’s question, Jegal Cheongyeong smiled brightly.
"You an there must be a secret passage."
"Exactly. If we can find that secret passage, we won’t need to bother with the formation."
"I didn’t think of that."
"That’s what you call experience."
"Geez, acting like a wise old man just because you’re one year older."
I smiled as I watched Jegal Cheongyeong speak without a hint of suspicion, even though it had beco a habit to say such things.
"Look over there."
"Five old n have gone into that tiny hut already, and none of them are coming out. And that hut is only big enough for one person to live in, isn’t it?"
"You’re right."
"Based on my experience, I’d say that’s the entrance to the secret passage."
"Hehe, my instincts are telling the sa thing."
"Good. Let’s head over there."
Yong Hwarin descended from the tree and began to approach the hut.
Avoiding the villagers’ gazes, Yong Hwarin stealthily approached the hut, observed the inside for a mont, and then quickly entered.
Inside the hut, Yong Hwarin stood still for a mont, sensing the airflow.
He released his energy at the strength of one turn of the first ridian and let it spread out in all directions, sensing a cool current.
Yong Hwarin stood in front of a large jar.
When he opened the lid, he saw a hole with no visible bottom.
"This is the entrance."
Jegal Cheongyeong was startled inside, seeing how Yong Hwarin had already found the entrance while she was still thinking about how to locate it.
‘What kind of life has Brother lived to figure everything out so easily like this?’
Shaking her head, she followed Yong Hwarin into the jar.
The passage was narrow and long.
After crawling through it with bent backs for about ten jang, they ran into an old man returning toward the hut.
Startled, the old man tried to scream, and Jegal Cheongyeong instinctively drew her sword to strike him down.
But Yong Hwarin pushed her hand aside and quickly struck the old man’s pressure point, making him collapse.
"Wouldn’t it be better to kill him?"
Yong Hwarin shook his head.
"Are you seriously showing sympathy for these people? If we leave him alive, they’ll quickly discover we’ve infiltrated."
Yong Hwarin gave a bitter smile.
Though she was clever, she was still young.
She could deal with what was in front of her, but she lacked the foresight to anticipate what ca next.
"If you cut this old man down, the sll of blood will travel through this passage. That would be the sa as announcing ‘we’ve infiltrated’."
Jegal Cheongyeong fell silent at that.
There was nothing she could say.
Yong Hwarin carried the old man through the passage and hid him in a secluded spot.
With the pressure point sealed in a way that would keep him unconscious for a full day, the old man wouldn’t be able to move.
In truth, Yong Hwarin’s years of living had given him the experience to handle things cleanly. Had he been the sa age as these companions, he wouldn’t have thought much differently from Jegal Cheongyeong.
Fortunately, they made it through the passage without encountering anyone else.
"Wow!"
Even soone as composed as Jegal Cheongyeong let out a gasp at the breathtaking sight that unfolded before them as they exited the passage.
From behind the village, the visible landscape had appeared to be nothing but the forested slope of the mountain.
But here, a small open plain stretched out in all directions.
Neither Yong Hwarin nor Jegal Cheongyeong had imagined that such a place could exist within the infamously rugged Myoseon Mountain.
Five pavilions stood neatly lined up in that area.
"Judging by the scale, this isn’t Ihwa Palace’s main base."
"Right. This must be the main branch in Anhui."
"From here on, we have to be careful. The fact that the tracking hound ca this far ans the minor lords from the clans are here. Let’s not create a situation that puts them in unnecessary danger."
Yong Hwarin once again cautioned Jegal Cheongyeong before moving stealthily.
Jegal Cheongyeong followed him using her own stealth techniques but was astonished inside.
‘How is it possible that I can’t sense any presence even when he’s right next to ?’
It was bizarre.
She closed her eyes.
‘Unbelievable.’
She opened her eyes again.
With her eyes open, she could see Yong Hwarin right in front of her. But when she closed her eyes, his presence completely vanished.
Jegal Cheongyeong didn’t realize that Yong Hwarin had used the Yong Euncheon Art to erase all signs of life.
Yong Hwarin transmitted his voice using sound transmission.
-Since this is just a branch, there aren’t that many warriors. Let’s start checking the pavilions one by one.
When Jegal Cheongyeong nodded, Yong Hwarin moved toward the pavilion on the far left.
The first pavilion seed to be the warriors’ quarters; there was no sign of the minor lords.
It was the sa when they entered the second pavilion.
Sensing the presence of about twenty warriors inside, they quietly backed out.
Now was not the ti to fight, so they didn’t provoke them.
"Make sure to circulate your qi thoroughly in preparation for tonight’s battle. Based on the information from the village and the inn, the enemy might infiltrate tonight or during the night."
Seeing soone say that confird that Yong Hwarin’s prediction had been correct.
If they were this prepared, trying to enter without knowing the life gate of the formation would be extrely dangerous.
Jegal Cheongyeong continued to marvel at Yong Hwarin, who was moving so stealthily that she couldn’t sense any presence at all.
She still didn’t realize that Yong Hwarin had intended to infiltrate alone using the Hidden Heaven Dragon Art, a stealth technique.
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