By Zephyria 
“I’ll think about that later, so for now…”
“This is enough, Sixth Young Master. Please step back.”
At that moment, Peng Yuan-jin’s subordinates returned. Although they had stepped away for a moment at Seong Mu-jae’s request, they appeared wary as he had taken too long.
Seong Mu-jae clicked his tongue and stood up. He muttered in a low voice so his subordinates wouldn’t hear.
“I’ll find a way to deal with them, so just bear with it for a lit—”
But before he could finish his sentence, a glint flashed in Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes, and he suddenly kicked off the wall and rolled his body.
Clang—!
Unable to withstand the sudden, powerful force, the chains snapped, and the now-free Seong Mu-yeon launched his divine form. It happened in the blink of an eye.
Before they could even process the situation, Peng Yuan-jin’s subordinates’ eyes rolled back, and they slumped to the floor.
“Youngest, you… was your inner force not sealed!”
Seong Mu-jae’s face was stained with shock. Having displayed movements as fast as a flash of lightning, Seong Mu-yeon had already straightened himself up and was dusting off his disheveled clothes.
“Didn’t you know? Because Meridian Disorder twists the acupoints, the positions of the acupoints change subtly compared to ordinary people. It seems Peng Yuan-jin didn’t realize that either.”
Seong Mu-yeon gave a smirk.
Seong Mu-yeon’s inner force had not been sealed from the start. To think he had shamelessly hidden it until the very end.
“To win at gambling, you must not show all your cards. That is why you lost your money, Brother.”
‘No wonder it felt strange.’
Only now could he understand Seong Mu-yeon’s lack of a sense of crisis and his almost bizarre attempts to escape.
“You… you… even so…”
Seong Mu-yeon gave a hearty smack to the back of Seong Mu-jae, who was merely gaping in a sense of betrayal.
“Let’s go! To set some fires!”
* * *
“I’m so glad Young Master Seong Mu-yeon is safe! And the Sixth Young Master as well!”
Gang Woong’s eyes welled up with tears at the good news brought by Bang Gyeom.
When Jegal Un had first tried to send him inside Kilyeon Cliff, Gang Woong had never imagined he would pull it off so well. It was impressive enough that he returned safely without being detected by the enemies, but succeeding in contacting Sixth Young Master Seong Mu-jae and even bringing back the enemy’s strategy was a result beyond expectations.
However, Jegal Un did not seem particularly pleased.
“You did well.”
He gave a short nod and, as he had been doing, remained seated, staring intently out the window.
He seemed anxious because there was still no reply to the request for support. Jegal Un, a man of a sharp personality from whom not a single drop of blood would flow even if pricked with a needle, did not change much on the outside even when anxious. It was only that the intervals at which he adjusted his posture—such as leaning on his arm or switching the direction of his crossed legs—became shorter.
“But… Yak Seon has disappeared again…”
Yak Seon, who had felt close enough to touch, had suddenly drifted far away once more. With a suddenly gloomy face, Gang Woong glanced at Owl, who was sitting next to him. Owl remained motionless like a stone statue, his thoughts unknown.
Thanks to Gyo Hong’s consideration, they had occupied a small room located in a corner of the house of courtesans, allowing them to receive real-time news coming in from various regions through the Haoh Gate.
However, the expected answer came from neither Baek Ryeo-il nor the Zegal Clan.
“….”
Gang Woong also fell silent and sat quietly.
The good news was fleeting; all that remained was once again an indefinite wait.
As the sun steadily sank amidst an eternal silence, the bell announcing the shen hour (3 PM – 5 PM) rang, and Jegal Un finally bolted upright from his seat.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“Wh-where are you going?”
As Jegal Un tried to leave the room, Gang Woong quickly grabbed him and asked.
“Young Master, keep an eye on the Peng Clan, and when they start to move, try to stall for as much time as possible.”
“What? Me? H-how long? Young Family Head? Young Family Head!”
Gang Woong called out desperately, but Jegal Un ignored him and vanished with a gust of wind, leaving only the sound of the breeze behind.
“….”
Gang Woong was at a loss.
‘What does he want me to do…’
He had gone through thick and thin while following Baek Ryeo-il. Thanks to that, he could pride himself on having accumulated experience incomparable to those his age. But even Gang Woong had no idea how to overcome this situation.
To him, who was still young, adults from other sects were beings as high and difficult as the heavens.
Furthermore, the bloodline of the Habeok Peng Clan was famous for their fiery tempers for generations, and having suffered several misfortunes, they had likely arrived in Lanzhou with a hundred blades already sharpened.
How on earth could he stop the footsteps of those going to rescue their family’s heir? It seemed impossible even if he stripped naked and danced in front of them.
Gang Woong looked toward Bang Gyeom with pleading eyes instead of Owl, who showed no will to cooperate. Bang Gyeom was equally perplexed.
“Let’s go near the Peng Clan first and think while we wait.”
The two put their heads together and agonized over it, but no brilliant move came to mind. For now, they headed toward the inn where the Peng Clan was staying.
“Be careful with your words and actions if you encounter the Peng Clan. Even if you are a disciple of another sect, they are currently extremely agitated, so they may react drastically.”
Bang Gyeom advised cautiously. Gang Woong nodded. In a situation where they were about to lose their precious heir, there was a possibility they would disregard everything if an obstacle appeared in their path.
‘Aaaah! What do I really do? Should I actually dance?’
He felt like his brain was cramping. In his agony, he tore at his hair wildly.
‘…If only Master were here, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.’
He suddenly missed his teacher, who always kept him on edge because one never knew where he would bounce. He was too young to handle such a great matter.
‘Master… something really hasn’t happened to you, right?’
Adding worry for Baek Ryeo-il to the mix made his heart feel heavy. Ma Jin-cheon was generally lenient toward his disciple, but others were not. In fact, most people viewed him as a thorn in their side for acting willfully and slipping away with punishments that were like cotton bats. Leaving the sect’s orders and departing on his own was a clear violation of the rules. The sect elders would surely try to seize him by the scruff of the neck this time.
If only Seong Mu-yeon were by his side…
“What would Young Master Seong do in a time like this?”
“Hmm… I wonder.”
The way Baek Ryeo-il handled things always had a slightly violent side. Since his method usually involved trying to remove a lump only to end up adding another, the cleanup often snowballed.
Whenever he faced such a predicament, he naturally thought of Seong Mu-yeon. He was a person with an outstanding ability to evade crises through improvisation; how would he break through this situation?
Gang Woong fell into deep thought. Then, he finally spoke.
“…What if we set fire to the inn?”
“Pardon?”
“N-nothing. I was just saying it.”
Seeing Bang Gyeom’s expression of disbelief, Gang Woong quickly took the words back. No matter how urgent it was, he must not hurt people.
Meanwhile, as the inn came into view, Gang Woong felt like livestock being led to the slaughterhouse.
He felt that cleaning up the mess his teacher left behind would be physically exhausting, but far more comfortable for the mind.
‘It’ll be better to just be honest with the Peng Clan people and cling to their pant legs. If they hear the news that Young Master Peng is safe, they might soften their hearts and let me off.’
The inn was still quiet, with no particular movement. Half a day would not be enough for the Peng Clan people to recover their exhausted bodies.
While hiding in the shadow of a tree far away and quietly observing the movements of the inn, Gang Woong looked up when Bang Gyeom tapped his shoulder.
“Young Master, over there…”
Bang Gyeom pointed toward the wall across the street. Gang Woong tilted his head. There was nothing but the flickering shadow of a tree planted in another house’s backyard.
“Look more closely and concentrate.”
At those words, Gang Woong narrowed his eyes.
Only then could he discover three or four black shadows observing the inn while hiding between the roof and the wall.
Gang Woong recognized them instantly. It was because he had crossed swords with them just a few days ago.
“Aren’t those the Black Shadow Unit?”
The identities of the black shadows were Il-gwang and the Black Shadow Unit.
At that moment, it seemed they had noticed them as well. Il-gwang frowned and stood up. With a single street between them, the two groups stared at each other.
“….”
A chilling tension hung in the air. Unconsciously, Gang Woong gripped the hilt of his sword.