Regression of the Yong Clan Heir

Chapter 447: Becoming the Bait

Yong Hwarin had the three women hide around Dongwolru and infiltrated it alone.

The three women had promised not to enter Dongwolru until Yong Hwarin gave them a signal.

Shortly after infiltrating Dongwolru, Yong Hwarin could already sense that the Eungga had completely withdrawn from the place.

There were no assassins lying in wait, nor any trace of the Rogues' Guild anywhere.

‘It seems the location was compromised and sold off to someone else. It makes sense—they wouldn’t stay in an exposed place.’

Yong Hwarin felt a wave of futility.

Still, not wanting to take any chances, he pressed himself flat against the rooftop and monitored Dongwolru for half a sijin.

While watching, Yong Hwarin pondered the character Mae Yeongyeong had left on his palm.

‘What was Lady Mae trying to say? What does the lantern have to do with the Rogues' Guild?’

Countless thoughts swirled through his mind.

Then, as he saw the child courtesans of Dongwolru carrying lanterns, a word suddenly came to mind.

‘Could the character “deung (燈)” have been meant to imply “under the lantern, it’s darkest” (燈下不明)? Then why would it be Mae Yeongyeong, of all people, who wrote such a thing? Why?’

As he thought for a moment, Yong Hwarin couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Ah!”

But no one noticed his presence.

Yong Hwarin expanded his qi to scan the area around Dongwolru, but he sensed no signs of danger.

There was not a single person who could be called a martial artist.

As a sudden idea struck, Yong Hwarin muttered to himself.

“Back when I first got information on the Dabie Sect from the Rogues' Guild, their branch was located right next to a government office. I remember being really surprised. So maybe Mae Yeongyeong wrote ‘under the lantern, it’s darkest’ because the Rogues' Guild base is right beside the Imyeong County office?”

He thought that if she had intended to leave a different message, she could have chosen other words. But she specifically chose that idiom to convey everything without having to explain at length.

With that interpretation, everything began to make sense.

‘The Martial Flower Unit must have been investigating the Rogues' Guild branch next to the government office and discovered it was the stronghold of their leadership. Then they were found out and ended up being pursued.’

Yong Hwarin's deduction was spot on.

That would explain why, while fleeing, they couldn’t head elsewhere and instead tried to escape toward the area where Heavenly Central Sect warriors had arrived.

Most likely, in order to meet him.

Yong Hwarin immediately rushed out, taking the three women with him toward the Imyeong County office.

“Gaga, where are we going?”

Jeong Minji asked since he hadn't explained their destination.

“I think the Eungga base is located near the Imyeong County office. The Rogues' Guild branches are usually set up close to government offices.”

“That’s to intercept information coming from the office, right? But even so, that doesn’t necessarily mean their base is in Imyeong.”

Yong Hwarin explained the character left behind by Mae Yeongyeong.

“Since Lady Cho and Lady Mae were together, they were likely carrying out a mission for the Martial Flower Unit. If both of them were assigned together, it must have been important. And since Lady Mae left the character ‘deung’, it likely means their base is near the Imyeong County office.”

“But the area around the Imyeong County office is densely populated. There must be hundreds of households. How are we supposed to find the base? If we investigate randomly, we’ll be discovered.”

Namgung Yoo raised the most critical point.

Yong Hwarin responded immediately.

“If Lady Cho and Lady Mae ended up like that, then the Martial Flower warriors probably died in battle. That means there must’ve been fighting near the Imyeong County office. We just need to look for a place where the sound of fighting was heard or where there are traces of blood or the scent of blood. That’ll be the Eungga base.”

His reasoning was sound.

If they investigated places like that, they would surely find clues.

Namgung Yoo was impressed at how Yong Hwarin could deduce multiple things from a single piece of information.

Even she, who prided herself on her intelligence, was astonished by his insight into things she couldn’t see.

Yong Hwarin climbed onto the rooftops near the Imyeong County office and expanded his qi sense.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t detect a single trace of energy.

‘Strange.’

Just then, he picked up the scent of blood carried by the wind and moved in the direction it came from.

When he leapt into a small manor, there he found five corpses of warriors sprawled across the courtyard.

“This must be the place.”

The situation unfolding matched his expectations, making it highly likely this was the Eungga base.

The three women immediately began searching the manor thoroughly.

After about a quarter of a sijin, they regrouped.

“It seems they evacuated just recently. There are still some leftover documents, so it doesn’t look like it’s been long since they cleared out,” said Mo Biyoung.

Yong Hwarin nodded.

‘They couldn’t have escaped this fast unless someone warned them. Same for Dongwolru.’

Realizing he had underestimated the situation, Yong Hwarin sighed.

But then, a good idea came to him.

“Searching for them like this is a waste of time. I have another method, so let’s return to the inn for now.”

The women tilted their heads at how quickly he gave up. It was unlike Yong Hwarin to abandon something so easily.

‘He must have a plan.’

Whenever Yong Hwarin acted like this, he always pulled out a brilliant trick in the end. So they said nothing and simply followed him.

*

Upon returning to the inn, the first thing Yong Hwarin did was check on Mae Yeongyeong.

She still hadn’t regained consciousness.

Worried about her condition, Yong Hwarin stayed by her side for a moment.

"Even though Young Master Yong detoxified the poison, the venom has invaded her mind, so she hasn't regained consciousness. But she's passed the critical stage, so please don’t worry."

Yong Hwarin watched Mae Yeongyeong for a moment before stepping outside.

‘They’ve completely erased their tracks. But… it’s not like I don’t have a way.’

After some thought, Yong Hwarin summoned Jeong Minji to his room.

“Lady Min, I’m planning to head to the Southern King’s Residence right away.”

“Why are you going?”

“There’s something I need to request from the Southern King regarding the Martial Flower Unit.”

“Then go ahead. I’ll select a few warriors to accompany you.”

To her suggestion, Yong Hwarin shook his head.

“No, there’s no need. I’ll go alone this time.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s better to move alone and fast. I think we need to act covertly this time. I have a feeling the Eungga’s eyes are watching us.”

Seeing the look in Yong Hwarin’s eyes, Jeong Minji didn’t try to stop him.

Once he made up his mind, there was no stopping him.

“Then at least take Sister Mo or Sister Namgung with you.”

“If I were taking someone, I’d take you, Lady Min. But this has to be done swiftly. Anyone else would just get in the way. Even if I step away briefly, I trust you to guide everyone back to the main household. I’m leaving now, so explain things well to the others. At the very least, my women should know I’m away.”

“All right.”

After those words, Yong Hwarin prepared to leave and walked out of the inn.

But instead of leaving the area, he looked around and climbed the tallest tree near the inn.

He sat silently, eyes fixed on the inn.

As instructed by Yong Hwarin, Jeong Minji informed the four women that he had departed for the Southern King’s Residence. Their expressions showed subtle dismay that Yong Hwarin had left them behind.

But someone was listening in on their conversation.

It was Gunwi.

Gunwi had always secretly eavesdropped on Jeong Minji’s conversations with the other women or people.

And when something seemed important, he would contact the Eungga.

‘Yong Hwarin went alone to the Southern King’s Residence?’

Gunwi immediately returned to his quarters and whistled.

A bird landed at his window.

Gunwi tied a message to its leg and sent it off again.

That was exactly the moment Yong Hwarin had been waiting for.

From his perch above, Yong Hwarin saw the bird fly into the inn and then take off again.

He had been waiting in the tree precisely to catch a bird like that, but unfortunately, it flew off in the opposite direction from where he was watching, so he couldn’t intercept it.

It could’ve been a bird that just happened to fly by, but Yong Hwarin saw the message tied to its leg and knew it had come from Gunwi.

The bird had taken off from the guest room where Gunwi and his sister stayed.

‘So he really had a purpose for staying near Lady Min. Now that I think about it, their meeting when Lady Min escaped as a hostage wasn’t a coincidence. He saved her, used that as a reason to stay close, and avoided suspicion. I never doubted them because of that.’

Moreover, it had always felt strange that they had conveniently shown up where Chouhui and Mae Yeongyeong were fleeing.

Not only that, the fatal wound that led to Chouhui’s death had been a stab to the chest with a dagger. The strange men who died alongside her had all carried swords—only Gunwi had been seen with a dagger.

Piecing everything together, he now understood why Gunwi and his sister had never returned to their family and had made up excuses to stay behind.

They were spies.

‘Still, thanks to that, I can use myself as bait to draw them out.’

Confident in his deduction, Yong Hwarin devised a plan to lure out the Eungga.

He believed that leaking information about him going alone to the Southern King’s Residence would make the Eungga come out of hiding to capture him.

‘If they miss this chance, they’ll lose their opportunity to kill me. They’re bound to make a move.’

Once the carrier pigeon was gone, Yong Hwarin immediately dashed toward the Southern King’s Residence.

About two hours after Yong Hwarin’s departure, Gunwi and his sister left the inn and sped off in another direction.

And to his surprise, a warrior from the Blood Green Unit began to pursue them from the shadows—leaving subtle traces behind.

Yong Hwarin arrived at a village and entered the only inn there.

He had sprinted using movement arts for nearly two sijin, so he was hungry—but there was another reason.

This village was one that he had to pass through on the way from where he’d been to the Southern King’s Residence. That’s why he came here.

As he stepped into the inn, Yong Hwarin smiled upon seeing the place packed with guests.

‘So they gathered people already. Well, I did take a few breaks along the way, so they had time to prepare.’

He had deliberately avoided using Floating Petal Steps and had traveled slowly.

It was to give the Eungga time to receive the message and set up their trap.

“Jeomsoi, bring me a roast duck.”

He intentionally ordered a dish that would take a long time to prepare and waited. He figured that would buy enough time for the Eungga’s elite to arrive.

“Understood, sir. But there are a number of pending orders from other guests, so it may take a while.”

“That’s fine. Take your time and make it tasty.”

“Understood, sir.”

Yong Hwarin sat quietly sipping his tea.

More and more people continued to enter the inn.

From time to time, he glanced around and studied the faces of those gathering in the inn.

Then, his gaze met that of a man in gold robes looking down at him from the second floor.

As the middle-aged man in gold robes turned away after realizing their eyes had met, Yong Hwarin smiled.

‘So being the bait paid off after all.’