Chapter 20

On the outskirts of Luoyang.

Despite the dazzling bright morning sun, a group of figures moved cautiously through the forest. They deliberately avoided the main road, preferring animal trails, as if seeking refuge from the light.

“Hey, isn’t this path getting rougher?” A woman reached out, grabbing the shoulder of the person ahead. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

Though clad in the shabby attire of a porter, her eyes gleamed with a sharpness that betrayed her martial prowess, a quality she couldn’t hide.

The middle-aged man leading the way, unfazed by her imposing presence, responded with a good-natured chuckle. “In times as chaotic as these, no group of experts is more reliable than our merchant guild. You can relax.”

“If things go wrong—”

“Aigoo. Things going wrong?” The middle-aged man waved his hand dismissively, as if the notion wasn’t even worth considering. “That will absolutely never happen.” He thumped his chest with confidence. “We, the ‘Hwallo Merchant Guild,’ are the very first escape specialists founded in this great city of Luoyang, and we are counted among the top escape experts in the entire Central Plains Nation!”

“That is…” Though perhaps exaggerated, his words weren’t entirely false.

The Hwallo Merchant Guild had successfully smuggled out the righteous warriors whom the Third Young Master had deployed even Tamrang to capture. They had also facilitated the safe escape of the mercenaries and assassins who had targeted the Third and Fourth Young Ladies of the Sword Clan. Beyond that, they had accumulated numerous other shining achievements in a short period. Were they not, in recent times, the most promising group in this particular line of work?

“Huhu.” He gave a playful wink. “You esteemed members of the Emei Sect will surely escape the Luoyang region via an exceptionally safe route and return all the way to Sichuan. So please, don’t you worry.”

Their identities were revealed: this group of martial artists was indeed from the Emei Sect. They were currently escaping Luoyang with the Hwallo Merchant Guild’s assistance.

“Aren’t you being a little too optimistic?” the Emei nun warned again. “We are in a situation where the Luoyang Sword Clan’s pursuit squad could catch up to us at any moment, as I told you—”

“Hohoho. Didn’t I tell you to put aside such worries?” he countered, his voice booming. “You ladies of Emei will never even lay eyes on the Luoyang Sword Clan’s pursuit squad!”

The Emei nun was struck speechless by his boundless confidence.

“What’s important now is to keep walking diligently!” The middle-aged man from the Hwallo group clapped his hands, recapturing everyone’s attention. “Alright now, everyone’s had a moment to catch their breath, right? If you want to get out of the Luoyang region today, let’s move our feet!”

At his words, some of the Emei members who lacked internal energy sighed wearily and pushed themselves up, beginning to trudge after him. The sight of their defeated posture, like routed soldiers, made the lead nun frown, but she refrained from chastising them.

In truth, if we aren’t routed soldiers, what are we?

Turning against their direction of travel, the nun moved towards the rear of the group and addressed their leader.

“Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess.”

The old woman, also dressed in shabby clothes and walking silently, lifted the brim of her bamboo hat. Her face radiated a killing intent utterly incongruous with a Buddhist nun. This was the White-Haired Star of the Emei Sect, the Old Gu-Poison Demoness.

“What is it?”

Meeting that chilling gaze, the nun forced out her question. “…Is it truly the right decision for us to leave Luoyang like this?”

They, the upper echelons of the Emei Sect, had been released by the Second Young Master’s faction. His intention had been to secure the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s aid in the confrontation with the Grand Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, knowing her notoriously vindictive nature—she never forgot a grudge.

However, the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess had made a decision completely contrary to the Second Young Master’s expectations. She had seized the opportunity presented by the chaos to escape Luoyang altogether.

“How dare you, in your position, question my decision?” Her aura flared, intense enough to seemingly tear a person apart with killing intent alone. She wore the shabby clothes because she had to, walked the animal trail because she had to, but undoubtedly, the most furious person in this procession right now was this old nun.

“Th-That is not what I meant.” The nun hastily shook her head. “Leaving Luoyang was an excellent decision. However, even if not against the Sword Clan’s Grand Young Master himself, shouldn’t we at least… make Dasunrang pay?”

Grind.

At the mention of Dasunrang’s name, the sound of grinding teeth and leaking killing intent emanated from the surrounding nuns.

“Shouldn’t we at least make those ingrates pay the price for their betrayal?”

The other nuns nearby remained silent, but their expressions showed clear agreement.

“We have already been branded as disposable pawns by the Sect Matriarch Abbess Master.”

With the Dasunrang assassination plot exposed, the Emei Sect had already surrendered via the Grand Young Master. They had relinquished all their lands in Chongqing, and the Sect Matriarch Abbess Master had pinned all the blame on her, the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess.

“If we return to Sichuan like this, it will be like walking willingly onto the execution ground—”

“Foolish, so foolish. How can your vision still be so narrow?”

“Do you mean… there is a deeper meaning to returning to Sichuan?”

[We are not going to the execution ground.] A hideous smile twisted the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s lips. [We are going back to take over the Emei Sect that abandoned us like this.]

The eyes of the surrounding nuns, who heard the mental message, widened as if they would tear.

“Th-That’s…?!” The nun who had spoken aloud quickly switched to a mental message, mindful of the middle-aged man from the Hwallo Merchant Guild at the front.

[Taking over Emei with just our current forces… Is that truly possible?] Her gaze swept around. [Although quite a few high-ranking members are here… still….]

Several nuns nodded grimly. Overthrowing an entire sect was hardly a simple task.

[I teach you one thing, and you barely grasp that, let alone learn the second. How disappointing.] The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess clicked her tongue softly at their reaction before posing a question. [What do you imagine the internal situation of our Emei Sect is like right now?]

Her words struck the nuns like a physical blow.

[Correct.] The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess chuckled darkly. [In her bid to ‘save’ the sect, the Sect Matriarch Abbess Master threw away everything our Emei Sect held dear.]

While that action might have guaranteed the sect’s survival, it was a decision bound to incite tremendous internal dissent.

[Right now, our Emei Sect is likely experiencing chaos no less severe than the Luoyang Sword Clan’s. We will exploit that chaos and discontent.]

[I-I see. But…] The nun, having quickly calculated the implications, voiced her concern. [Even if the coup succeeds… If we make enemies of the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Dali Duan Clan, can our Emei Sect truly survive alone in Sichuan?]

[We are not alone.]

[Pardon…?]

The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess played her hidden card. [The Heavenly Wicked Hegemons has agreed to back me.]

[Th-The Heavenly Wicked Hegemons?!]

If the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons provided support, it would undoubtedly be as reassuring as gaining the backing of a million-strong army. But why would the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons suddenly enter the picture?

[It is almost certain that this affair will end in the Grand Young Master’s victory. If that happens, the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons will have no choice but to be dragged along by the Emperor and the Grand Young Master in their business dealings down the Yangtze River.]

Hearing this much, the nun understood the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons’s angle. [If the downstream is blocked, then they target the upstream! If they disrupt business in Sichuan, the upstream region of the Yangtze, then the downstream businesses will inevitably suffer too!]

That was the role assigned to the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s new Emei Sect, backed securely by the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons.

[B-But, Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess.] The nun, who had been repeatedly expressing admiration, asked as if a thought just occurred to her. […Exactly when did you receive such an offer from the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons?]

[Do you remember the Elder who released us?]

The nun searched her memory. [Ah…! That Elder from the Second Young Master’s Jiangnan faction…!]

The Second Young Master’s side. The Jiangnan faction’s Elder Son. [He was the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons’s hidden agent within the Sword Clan?!]

[Correct.] Elder Son had secretly made a deal with the vengeful Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess.

[B-But! Didn’t that Elder release us long before the outcome between the Grand Young Master and Second Young Master was decided?]

No sooner had the nun posed the question than she realized the answer herself. […The Heavenly Wicked Hegemons made the offer in advance, just in case.]

If the Second Young Master’s side seemed likely to win, the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess could unleash her grudge and hatred freely. If the Second Young Master’s side seemed likely to lose, she would return to Sichuan and plot for the future.

[Precisely.] The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess nodded. [That is how these colossal sects that dominate the Central Plains Nation conduct their affairs.]

A chill ran down the nun’s spine. Preparing for preparations, contingency upon contingency, using their overflowing power and influence to account for countless eventualities that hadn’t even occurred—she felt she had just glimpsed their overwhelming, terrifying depth.

[Right now, I… we… are taking a step back. But I will not forget this grudge.] The mental message carried a killing intent cold enough to induce shivers. [I will not forget the Grand Young Master and Dasunrang, who inflicted this humiliation upon us.]

Opposing the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Dali Duan Clan, even with the Heavenly Wicked Hegemons’s backing, would demand enormous sacrifices and costs. But she felt no fear. Had she not been the one who single-handedly rebuilt the declining Emei Sect to its current state?

[And, someday… I will return to this Luoyang and make them all—.]

Halt.

The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s steps halted abruptly.

“Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess?”

“…The guide’s presence has vanished.”

At those words, the nun immediately shouted towards the front of the group. “What happened?! Where did the guide go?!”

“Huh?” The nuns at the front looked bewildered. “The guide? He just went deeper into the forest a moment ago, saying he’d scout the terrain ahead—”

“Everyone, defensive posture—!”

A thunderous shout erupted from the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess, but it was already too late.

Without a sound, nuns began to crumple silently to the ground, needle-like hidden weapons embedded in their bodies.

“Kuk?!”

Thanks to the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s last-second warning, those trained in martial arts managed to block the projectiles.

“Who’s there?!”

Even as she shouted, the nun already knew the answer. Hidden weapons flying without presence. Ambush skills so refined only the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess, who had surpassed the wall, could detect them. A potent paralytic poison capable of felling someone with a mere graze.

“It’s been a while, Old Gu-Poison Demoness.”

A smooth, middle-aged man’s voice drawled. How many under heaven would dare address the accomplished Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess of the Emei Sect by the derogatory nickname Old Gu-Poison Demoness?

“Disappointing. I thought you’d have gotten further than this by now.”

Seeing the gloves on the man emerging from the shadows, gloves that emanated a distinct green luster even in the dim light, a sharp glint flashed in the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s eyes.

“Expansive Luminous Green Hide…!”

Hearing the name of those gloves, the other nun realized the identity of the middle-aged man and cried out his name.

“Tang Gwi-ho!”

The Deputy Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan. The Commander of the Shadow Corps.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Watching him cover his mouth and chuckle softly, the Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess ground her teeth. “…You bastard! The Hwallo Merchant Guild, all of it… Was it all a trap targeting us from the start?”

Tang Gwi-ho offered a sly smile. “My my.” It was a smile that looked down from above, openly mocking her. “We caught you because the Hwallo Merchant Guild fulfilled its ‘original role.’ But to say the entire Hwallo Merchant Guild was prepared just to trap you…” His lips twisted. “Isn’t that… overestimating yourselves just a little?”

As he said, the Hwallo Merchant Guild was, at this very moment, achieving remarkable success. Officials, Luoyang Sword Clan affiliates, anyone and everyone—as the Grand Young Master’s victory became increasingly certain, countless people desperate to flee Luoyang were willingly seeking out the Hwallo Merchant Guild’s services. Just like the Emei Sect had.

“You bastard, Tang Gwi-ho…!”

“Oopsy.” Tang Gwi-ho made a show of flinching at her booming roar. “If you want to blame someone, shouldn’t you blame the Grand Young Master, the true owner of the Hwallo Merchant Guild, rather than me?” He shook his head slowly. “Goodness. Just how far ahead does that Grand Young Master see? These days, it feels like I’m surprised by him practically every single day.”

When Yeon So-hyeon had used Dasunrang to acquire the Hwallo Merchant Guild and smuggle out the Spring of Luoyang warriors, Tang Gwi-ho had simply thought him remarkably well-prepared. But now, seeing how things had unfolded, realizing the Hwallo Merchant Guild wasn’t just a means of escape but a net designed to swallow enemies who should have successfully gotten away—he couldn’t help but be astonished.

“That Swordless Bastard…!”

The Chief Administrator Reverend Abbess’s flowing white hair seemed to rise on end as she radiated a killing intent reminiscent of a vengeful ghost. “Someday, I will kill you without fail!”

Tang Gwi-ho heard her hate-filled cry and offered only one word in response.

“Strike.”