Chapter 64 : The Insider
'The Strong Sword Squad was not in Hunan from the beginning. They were in the west, probably in Guizhou like the Righteous Sword Squad, or even further west.'
Jang Pangyo was convinced that the Strong Sword Squad had not been in Hunan from the beginning. And at the same time, a question arose.
'Then where were they and what were they doing all this time?'
Jang Pangyo was already convinced that this mission was not to kill the demonic head who had been running rampant in Guizhou and Hunan.
Then the important thing was what the real purpose of this mission was, and why on earth they were using such a troublesome method.
The answer to the latter was simple.
'They must be doing something they're not proud of…'
It was a matter of course, but if their purpose was just, there would be no need to act so troublesomely.
But to act while deceiving even the eyes of their own allies meant that they were committing an unsettling act for an unsettling purpose that they could not tell others about.
'Then in the end, the important thing is their 'real' purpose.'
Jang Pangyo had a guess.
The Strong Sword Squad and the Righteous Sword Squad, which were currently deployed in the operation. Among them, the Strong Sword Squad had to be seen as carrying out this dishonorable mission as a whole unit. And probably…
'Namgung Jeongmin… including that person, some members of the Righteous Sword Squad must also have a foot in it…'
And the information that they had reacted most sensitively to was the story about the group of four who had beaten up Signboard in Guizhou.
In addition to that, not long after the seventh team of the Righteous Sword Squad had sent that information, Signboard had been killed.
There were traces of severe torture on the corpse, and the method was…
'It was the way of the Strong Sword Squad guys…'
Jang Pangyo shuddered, recalling the chilling tradition of the Strong Sword Squad of breaking the fingers first when interrogating an enemy.
'In the end, I have to assume that the ones they are chasing are the group of four who took care of Signboard…'
According to the testimony of the surrounding witnesses, the characteristics of the group of four were as follows.
Two men and two women. One of the men was said to be a handsome young master, and his slightly unnaturally drooping eyes were impressive.
The other was a man with a good build, and it was said that his strangely young-looking appearance, despite his fierce impression, was memorable.
One of the women was a beauty, but her eyes were slanted, and she was said to be a woman with a very strong personality.
The other was a very beautiful woman, but she was said to have worn her bamboo hat strangely deeply and to have avoided making eye contact with people to an awkward extent. And…
'Her belly was a little swollen… is she pregnant…'
According to the testimony of the witnesses, although they seemed close, it did not seem that any of them were lovers or a married couple.
And it was said that the remaining three had acted as if they were protecting the pregnant woman.
This meant that…
'A pregnant woman and three men and women protecting her…'
From a common-sense point of view, it had to be assumed that the three were protecting the pregnant woman, and that the target of the Strong Sword Squad was that pregnant woman. Otherwise, there would be no reason to take a pregnant woman who was a hindrance to their escape with them…
A pregnant woman whom the Righteous Heaven Alliance had to chase even while using such a troublesome method… although Jang Pangyo had racked his brain as much as possible, he had no guess.
'But there must be some reason… looking at the situation, the Strong Sword Squad even killed Signboard to get information.'
To be precise, they had killed him to hide what information they had taken, but it was the same thing.
Although Signboard was definitely a bastard, he was still a precious child to the master of the Signer Family. And because of Signboard's death, Guizhou was now in an uproar.
Although it seemed that they had not been caught yet, if they were caught, the story would become very complicated.
Not only was the Signer Family a problem, but if the alliance of the Unorthodox Faction sects, the Signer Alliance, got involved, there was a possibility that the matter would not just become complicated but would even turn into a war.
'And yet, a pregnant woman whom they have to chase… who on earth… who on earth are you?'
Whether Jang Pangyo was worrying or not, the mission had already been given, and he had no choice but to follow it.
Although the matter had become quite troublesome because of the Signer Family, which was looking for the culprit with bloodshot eyes, it was not to the extent that they, the elite of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, could not escape Guizhou.
Thus, the seventh team of the Righteous Sword Squad, which had come down to Guangxi, began to investigate information again, just as they had done in Guizhou.
Of course, while the other people were still tracking the demonic head, Jang Pangyo had focused on finding the group of four that included the pregnant woman.
'…Judging from the characteristics of their appearance, there is a high probability that they have changed their faces with the Face-Changing Art. I have to search based on their physique, the composition of the people, and the characteristic of being a pregnant woman, rather than their appearance.'
Since he had decided on a direction, all he could do next was to try hard.
Then, Jang Pangyo obtained a piece of rather heterogeneous information.
'A strange phenomenon that occurred on a ship bound for Nanning…'
It was said that a strange incident had recently occurred on a boat bound for Nanning.
There had been a sword fight inside the ship in the middle of the night.
Of course, a sword fight on a ship was not such a rare occurrence. It was a common thing for water bandits to ram into a ship that was going along just fine and plunder it.
But this incident was somewhat different.
According to the testimony of the witnesses, a group of martial artists in black clothes and holding swords had suddenly rushed into the inside of the ship, and another group of martial artists had dealt with them in an instant and had thrown them out of the ship.
'The important thing here is that they suddenly appeared on the ship.'
If they were water bandits whose purpose was plunder, they would have naturally appeared on a boat, so there would have been no reason to express it as 'suddenly appeared'. This meant that they had approached the boat by swimming in the water, and those who did this professionally were called water ghosts.
'In other words, someone had hired water ghosts to assassinate or capture someone on the boat…'
But what was bothering him was that the martial artists who had dealt with the water ghosts were five, not four.
What made it even more confusing was that there was a definite mention of a pregnant woman in the testimony.
'Then what about the fifth person who has newly appeared here? Is it a comrade who has joined at this place? Or is it…'
But Jang Pangyo's question was soon resolved. In the process of gathering more information, he had obtained information about what had happened on the deck after that.
'He flew a huge mass of flame, evaporated the river, and revealed the riverbed… there is only one person in Guangxi who can do such an absurd thing!'
Although Gang Mujeong had tried to keep it a secret, it was impossible to prevent the story from spreading completely after committing such an absurd act.
And through this information, Jang Pangyo learned that the Sect Leader of the current Flame Soul Sect had helped the group of four who were on the run.
'…If the Flame Soul Sect Leader helped, at least they are not evil people…'
Although he was called the Flame Star in the future, in this era, Gang Mujeong was more famous by the name of the Chivalrous Guest.
As the character for 'chivalry' was in his title, Gang Mujeong's righteous personality was famous in the martial world.
While Jang Pangyo was investigating the group of four more deeply, it seemed that the Strong Sword Squad had not been playing around either, and they had succeeded in grasping the whereabouts of the demonic head, no, the group of four, in detail.
"From now on, all troops will head for Mount He."
"Is the demonic head on Mount He?"
"…That's why I called you here…"
The leader of the seventh team of the Righteous Sword Squad answered Jang Pangyo's question with a displeased expression.
'Mount He… did they go straight east from the Jeonyang area, where they met the Flame Star and were attacked by the water ghosts?'
Thus, all the personnel who had been dispatched to capture the demonic head, including the seventh team of the Righteous Sword Squad, headed for Mount He.
"The operation will be carried out after the sun rises tomorrow. Rest comfortably until then."
The members, who were tired from the long mission, were overjoyed at the words of the leader, Namgung Jeongmin. But there was only one person, Jang Pangyo, who was not.
'To just rest with the place where the demonic head is right in front of us?'
No matter how secretly they had moved, since a large number of people had moved, there was a possibility that the demonic head (if there really was a demonic head) who was hiding on Mount He would notice.
If they were to carry out the mission normally, they should have quickly deployed an encirclement to surround Mount He and then rested.
'But the fact that they're not doing that means…'
It meant that there was something they did not want to show or let others know.
'Then why on earth did they call even the Righteous Sword Squad?'
The reason why they had called not only the Strong Sword Squad, which was already in cahoots, but also the Righteous Sword Squad… Jang Pangyo looked around and could see the reason.
'The people of the Righteous Sword Squad who are in cahoots are also planning to move together.'
Namgung Jeongmin, and the leader of the seventh team of the Righteous Sword Squad, and a few other familiar members of the Righteous Sword Squad were seen whispering and talking with the members of the Strong Sword Squad.
'…What should I do now…'
The thought was not long. In life, you can only decide on something after you have seen it with your own eyes!
Jang Pangyo, who had hardened his resolve, told his enlistment comrade, Han Chuyeong, that he was going to a stream to wash himself and left the place.
***
Jang Pangyo, who had entered Mount He, avoiding the eyes of the people, broke through the rugged mountain terrain and quickly climbed the mountain.
If the group of four was really here, they would surely be wary of the pursuit of the pursuers. It was said that the basis of defense since ancient times was to occupy the high ground.
That much, having a wide field of vision was important, and it would be the same for the group of four who were being chased.
That's why Jang Pangyo was also climbing the mountain, judging that they would be on a high ground overlooking all directions and watching the situation.
For a moment!
Swish!
Jang Pangyo instinctively ducked his body and dodged the attack.
Jang Pangyo, who had dodged the attack almost unconsciously, rolled his body to distance himself from the mysterious person who had attacked him. But…
Crack!
"Keuk!"
The moment he rolled on the floor and quickly raised his body, he was caught by the arm that was about to draw his sword and his neck was also caught by a person who had appeared from who knows where.
"Y-you couldn't deal with that in one blow? Young Master Hwa?"
"No, he was better than I thought. And I told you to call me big brother!"
Jang Pangyo, who had been subdued and had his face shoved into the ground, was shocked that the voices of the two men he heard from above his back, or to be precise, that one of the voices was surprisingly young.
Although he had grasped that they were changing their faces with the Face-Changing Art through their appearance, he had not thought that such a young person would be involved.
Moreover, Jang Pangyo could not help but be even more surprised by the fact that such a young person had subdued him, a peak master, so easily.
(End of Chapter)