Scholar Demon Venerable

"Young Master Lee has a very noble appearance."

"You must know how to read faces."

"Since the Qingcheng Sect is a Taoist sect, I've studied a little."

Kang Ho-poong was as versatile in many areas as he was in martial arts. Among them, he was quite good at reading faces, so he would sometimes read the faces of people he met for the first time. Although it was one of the acts to gain favor with the other person and get closer.

"Young Master Lee has the innate fortune to rise to the position of being under one person and above ten thousand people if he becomes an official. He has virtue and trust, so people will gather around him."

"Hahaha. Thank you for seeing me in a good light."

Cheongun cupped his hands in a fist.

He himself also knew how to read faces, but he didn't show it.

There was nothing wrong with getting closer to them. Their personalities were also good, and he had also developed a liking for them while dueling.

There was no need to push them away when they were trying to get closer.

Also, who knew when they would be helpful in his work?

[They are good kids.]

The Blood Emperor also seemed to like them.

[Now that you've set foot in the martial world, you are also a respectable martial artist. The martial world is a place where you can't live alone. It wouldn't be bad to form a relationship with them.]

Cheongun responded to the Blood Emperor's words with a smile.

"It's a fate that we met like this, so I hope we can maintain a good relationship in the future."

Cheongun took the initiative and spoke.

As if in response, Kang Ho-poong stepped forward and replied.

"That's good. I'll introduce myself formally. I am Kang Ho-poong of Qingcheng."

"I have been very rude. I am Namgung Ryong, the second son of the Namgung family."

"Brother, I am Zhuge Haemi of the Zhuge family. Please take care of me."

Except for Jin Seolran, everyone formally greeted Cheongun.

Countless people had tried to make even a small connection with the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes. Nevertheless, they did not easily let their guard down.

Cheongun still did not know that it was extremely rare for them to try to get closer on their own like today.

But they also did not know that there were more people who wanted to get close to Cheongun than they thought.

Cheongun stood up from his seat and cupped his hands in a fist.

"I am Lee Cheongun. As I said before, please understand that I cannot tell you in detail about my sect because it is related to a grudge."

Although Jin Seolran and the others were inwardly disappointed, they did not press the issue.

"I don't know what kind of grudge it is, but if you ever need help, please contact the Namgung family in Hefei, Anhui Province. I will help as much as I can."

"Brother Namgung, thank you for just your words."

The initially prickly Namgung Ryong was not here.

He had felt and gained a lot through the duel. His mind and body had already submitted to Cheongun.

"As Brother Namgung said, if you are in Anhui, you must find Brother Namgung. Although he looks so dazed, he is recognized in the family."

At Kang Ho-poong's words, Cheongun smiled brightly and replied.

"Thank you. I will visit you once, even if it's not for help."

"A visit from Young Master Lee is always welcome."

Kang Ho-poong and Zhuge Haemi also asked him to visit them if he passed by the Qingcheng Sect and the Zhuge family.

The conversation continued after that.

Thanks to that, Cheongun was able to hear a lot about the current situation of the martial world.

But in the midst of that, Zhuge Haemi casually asked Cheongun.

"Then are you on your way to Henan, Brother Cheongun?"

"That's right. I'm on my way down because I have business in Kaifeng."

"Heeing. What a pity."

Everyone laughed happily at Zhuge Haemi's cute appearance with her cheeks puffed out.

At that moment, Jin Seolnan remembered something and her eyes lit up.

"When are you leaving for Kaifeng?"

"Since I've seen you, Young Lady Jin, I should be on my way now."

"By any chance, can't you leave in about two days?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"There's an escort mission leaving for Chang'an in two days, and it will pass through Kaifeng. I'm also thinking of going to Huashan with the escort mission. Brother Kang, Young Master Namgung, and Sister Haemi will also be going on that day."

Her sect, the Huashan Sect, was in Shaanxi Province. So once a year, when she went to her sect, she would go with an escort mission to Chang'an.

This time too, since there was an escort mission leaving for Chang'an, she was thinking of going with them.

But she did not know at that time that there was an unexpected item mixed in with this escort mission.

"Alright. Then let's leave together."

Cheongun accepted Jin Seolran's request.

Two days would not affect his work much. In any case, the work in Kaifeng was not something that could be done by rushing.

Moreover, the Jinyiwei members who had been sent to Kaifeng first needed time to gather information. Perhaps if he left in two days, the information he wanted would be gathered by the time he arrived.

"Then do you have a place to rest for two days?"

Jin Seolnan asked Cheongun with a bright expression.

"I haven't decided yet. If there's a good inn, please let me know."

At Cheongun's words, Jin Seolnan smiled brightly and said.

"Is there a need to go to an inn? The best place in this Bazhou is this Jin family mansion."

"Haha, thank you. I'm causing you a lot of trouble in many ways."

* * *

A late night when the faint moonlight caressed the world.

Cheongun sat by the window where the moonlight was pouring in and talked with the Blood Emperor.

[When you duel with a master, you have to pay attention to the flow. You have to break the opponent's flow. My flow must be continuous. But in the duel during the day, you were flustered by the Zhuge family's Heavenly Secret Bewildering Step.]

"I didn't expect her to move like that from that position."

[I also didn't expect you to be so flustered.]

The Blood Emperor clicked his tongue and made a displeased expression.

In the duel during the day, the Blood Emperor had moved with Cheongun. But there were occasional times when he was not satisfied with Cheongun's movements.

Cheongun's movements were not greatly wrong. It was just that the Blood Emperor's thoughts on the movements and Cheongun's thoughts were different.

The problem was that there were several times when Cheongun could not deal with it properly.

[The Heavenly Secret Bewildering Step is a footwork that the smart guys of the Zhuge family created with determination. It has many changes that confuse the opponent, so even if you fight again, it won't be easy to face it with just lightness skill.]

The easiest way to defeat the Heavenly Secret Bewildering Step is to press it down with force.

Cheongun had that much strength.

But Cheongun and the Blood Emperor wanted a more fundamental method, not such a crude method.

[If you just gain experience, you can face it without difficulty, so do well for two days.]

"Yes."

Since they were taking a break, they decided to duel for two days.

How many opportunities would young people have to duel with masters of other sects with all their might?

Everyone knew that it was a good opportunity.

[Try various things and get as much as you can.]

"I understand."

Cheongun knew well what he was lacking.

The time when he had to fight a life-and-death battle was not far away. Before that, he had to gain as much experience as possible and raise his sense of real battle.

* * *

Two days passed without him knowing how they passed.

For Cheongun, two days was a time when he could fill his shortcomings in his own way.

Although he had fought against the Blood Emperor for a year in the Taihang Mountains, since the Blood Emperor's attacks had no effect on him, his tension was bound to drop.

Because of that, there were many parts that he had missed and passed over.

But with the duel with the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes, he was able to fill those parts to some extent.

After two days had passed like that, the escort mission of the Jintian Escort Agency began.

Cheongun left for Kaifeng with Jin Seolran, following the caravan.

There were twelve carts loaded with luggage, and there were over a hundred porters and carriers. In addition, it was a large-scale escort mission with about seventy escort masters attached as guards.

On the third day after leaving the Jintian Escort Agency.

The escort mission had already passed Handan, which was at the southern end of Hebei Province, and was in front of Anyang, the entrance to Henan Province.

Most of the area up to Anyang was a plain. As for mountains, most of them were low hills, so it was not very difficult.

"We'll be in Anyang soon."

Jin Seolran, who was wearing a navy blue martial arts uniform, said.

She was wearing the typical martial arts uniform of the Huashan Sect.

"I'm glad nothing happened on our way here."

"Haha, what could happen in a time of peace?"

"Didn't you hear what the escort masters said?"

"I've heard various stories."

Cheongun had heard many stories from the escort masters besides Jin Seolnan while following the escort mission.

They were mainly stories about the martial world.

The main stories were about who was strong and who had won a duel. There were not many stories that were particularly interesting.

"They say that bandits are appearing all over the Central Plains these days."

"Weren't there always bandits at any time?"

That's right. There were bandits in any era.

Bandits like the Green Forest also gathered and formed forces.

There were even those who had formed such a large force that even the government could not rashly suppress them.

"No. The reason for the formation of the underworld and the evil factions and bandits is different. You can think of it as ordinary people forming groups to survive."

"To survive?"

Cheongun didn't understand at first.

It was not an era of war. The current emperor was ruling well, and the officials also had no major problems.

Also, inspectors were going around the Central Plains and preventing corruption. If it was a problem to the extent that a group of bandits would form, the emperor would not just let it be.

"It's true that on the surface, it's a time of peace. His Majesty the Emperor is doing well. He's not a wise king, but he's not a tyrant either."

"That's true."

"The officials are not the problem. The local powerful families are the problem."

"Hmm..."

In each region, there was a powerful family that represented that region. Those who had taken root in a region for a long time and had accumulated enormous wealth and power.

They would sometimes control the officials from behind while pretending to obey the imperial authority.

There were even those who had officials as their subordinates and wielded absolute power.

"Of course, not all powerful families are bad. In fact, there are many good powerful families. The problem is the corrupt powerful families."

Cheongun nodded his head.

Just because there are corrupt officials does not mean that all officials are like that. But if even a part of them is corrupt, the country can be shaken.

The same goes for the powerful families. Since they are people with power, if even a part of them causes problems, there is bound to be great chaos in that region.

'The problem of the powerful families is not a matter of yesterday or today.'

The problem of the powerful families had been a headache for a long time.

Most of those who became officials were from powerful families or influential families. Because of that, it was not easy to deal with the corrupt ones.

'Well, even the Hyeokryeon family can't be rashly touched by the government...'

So even after driving his father to his death and trying to kill him, he was living well and prosperously.

'After I finish my revenge, I'll have to look into that problem.'

To prevent innocent victims like his father and himself from appearing.

'If you can't boldly cut out the rotten part that can't be regenerated, the healthy part will also rot. If the emperor can't hold the sword, I'll hold it instead.'

Dalgeurak, dalgeurak.

The sound of the carts being pulled continued for a long time, and the escort mission continued.

It seemed they would arrive in Anyang in another hour or two.

But...

Shushushuk!

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Uwaaak"

A scream suddenly erupted from the front. Several people who had been hit by an arrow attack let out a desperate scream and fell.

Shouts like a shrew's erupted from here and there.

"It's an ambush!"

"Protect the goods!"