Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 268
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Chapter 268: Surviving While Enduring Insults
In general, thieves tend to have sharp intuition.
Even a minor thief possesses it, so it’s no surprise that the Invisible Hand Baek Gyo, a famous thief in Henan Province, also had it.
Instinctively, he knew something was off about the middle-aged man in front of him.
Once he got that feeling, even without weapons, a chill ran down his spine.
He could be a martial arts master or an expert in hand techniques.
The fact that he wasn’t carrying a sword wasn’t a reason to let his guard down.
Baek Gyo decided not to step down from the porch.
Moreover, he had no intention of letting that unknown man into his house.
“I won’t come down, and I don’t want you coming any closer.”
“Ha! You’re more cowardly than I thought. So, what do you propose? Should I leave and forget about the twenty thousand taels? If that’s what you want, I’ll leave right now.”
Baek Gyo hesitated for a moment at the man’s provocation.
He had to choose between giving up the twenty thousand taels or receiving them.
At that moment, the man made a slight movement.
Sometimes, a small gesture like that can be more effective than pressing for an answer.
Indeed, Baek Gyo reacted immediately.
“Wait!”
“Have you changed your mind?”
With a mocking smile, the man asked, and Baek Gyo responded with a forced grin.
“You know how this works. Leave the notes there on the ground.”
“Ah…”
The man pulled out the notes from his clothes and placed them on the ground.
“Alright, I did as you asked. I hope not to see you again.”
After saying that, the man disappeared into the darkness.
If not for the notes on the ground in the courtyard, Baek Gyo might have thought it was a dream.
Even so, Baek Gyo stayed on the porch, not letting his guard down, as if leaving the porch meant his death.
About fifteen minutes passed.
Finally, feeling secure, Baek Gyo cautiously stepped down into the courtyard.
He quickly grabbed the notes and brought them close to his face to examine them.
At that moment, he detected a strange smell from the notes.
“Damn it…”
With a sense of foreboding, Baek Gyo threw the notes away.
But it was already too late.
His head began to spin, and his limbs became paralyzed.
He had not anticipated that the envoy of the Jegal Family would use poison.
Baek Gyo fell backward.
Then, the man reappeared from the shadows.
He checked to see that Baek Gyo was dead and picked up the notes.
“That was close. If that old fox had waited a bit longer, it would have been a problem.”
The poison in the air weakens over time. If Baek Gyo had waited a few more minutes, the outcome might have been different.
The man carefully placed the notes into a leather pouch.
“Is this the end?”
With a bitter expression, he looked at Baek Gyo’s body and scratched his head.
As he did so, his skin mask shifted slightly.
The man, Jegal Seun, entered the house, messed it up, and then quietly disappeared.
Noon.
About two hundred warriors were marching along a rural path.
They were the experts of the Vermilion Bird Division of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, heading towards Hodu Mountain.
The village guide, Oh Sam, pointed to a sign that read “Yodoo Village.”
“Yodoo Village is just below Hodu Mountain. It’s only half an hour away. I was told to guide you only until Hodu Mountain was visible, right?”
Oh Sam seemed uncomfortable with the task of guiding the warriors of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.
The Sword Emperor Namgung Byeok nodded.
“Yes, you can return once we see Hodu Mountain.”
Hiring a guide was the suggestion of Heart-Reading Solitary Flower Namgung Yeon.
Although they took a longer route, this path offered the best chance to surprise the enemy.
The Leader of the Seonu Family, Seonu Dam, approached Namgung Byeok.
“Namgung Gaju, I don’t feel good about this mission. Do you have any brilliant plans?”
“I’m just following my daughter Yeon’s ideas. As you know, I’m not good with strategies.”
Seonu Dam, being older, received a respectful tone from Namgung Byeok.
“You have a wonderful daughter. My son isn’t perfect, but what do you think?”
“Haha. I’ve told you before, I leave marriage decisions to my children. I’ve seen too many arranged marriages fail.”
Obviously, he was referring to the life of Moon-Splitting Swordsman Yeon Muryong.
Namgung Byeok believed that if Yeon Muryong had married the woman he loved, he wouldn’t have had affairs. Just like himself, who still thought of his late wife.
“Think about it again. Parents should decide their children’s marriages.”
“I’m surprised to hear that you see my Yeon as merely a child-bearer.”
At Namgung Byeok’s cold words, Seonu Dam slapped his mouth.
“Ay! I misspoke. Who in their right mind would see the incomparable Yeon that way? I just meant that marriage is an important event.”
Namgung Byeok knew that Seonu Dam didn’t have bad intentions, so he said no more.
Feeling awkward, Seonu Dam changed the subject.
“I’ve noticed that Yeon Jeokha and Namgung Yeon are always together. What kind of relationship do they have?”
“They’re like siblings. His father was my sworn brother, so their relationship has been special since childhood.”
“Even so, they look good together. Have you not considered him as a son-in-law? If so, tell me, so my son doesn’t have false hopes.”
Namgung Byeok looked back.
Namgung Yeon and Yeon Jeokha were walking together.
His daughter had a glow on her face that he hadn’t seen before.
“Yeon and Jeokha?”
There was no reason to oppose it.
But that would only be possible if they saw each other as a couple.
To him, his daughter saw Jeokha as family, showing compassion for his tragic past.
“I’ve told you before, I won’t interfere in my children’s marriages. I haven’t considered anyone as a son-in-law. The Namgung Family isn’t in a position for such matters right now. You know that, right?”
Seeing that Namgung Byeok was serious, Seonu Dam stopped insisting on the marriage topic.
It was true that the Namgung Family was in a difficult situation.
“But still, Yeon is so desirable…”
In times of crisis, Namgung Yeon became even more valuable.
He looked at Yeon Jeokha with a long sigh.
“Ah! Why is that boy always stuck to her?”
Being from Nokrim, Yeon Jeokha didn’t care about others’ perceptions.
Namgung Yeon, the wisest woman in the world, should know that their relationship looked strange.
“I really don’t understand.”
As he shook his head, Seonu Dam saw a peculiar mountain in the distance.
Oh Sam, the guide, spoke at that moment.
“Ah! There it is. Gentlemen, that’s Hodu Mountain. Doesn’t it look like a tiger’s head? It’s impressive.”
Oh Sam pointed to the mountain and joked.
Namgung Byeok nodded to Sword of Severance Namgung Jin, Leader of the Azure Sky Division.
Namgung Jin took out three taels of silver and gave them to Oh Sam.
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
Bowing, Oh Sam ran back the way they had come.
As they approached Hodu Mountain, the atmosphere became tense.
The Grand Strategist hadn’t said how many Demon Warriors were on the mountain.
He only mentioned that some had moved there.
Those who had faced the Demon Warriors knew that an indefinite number of them was a heavy burden.
Only the warriors who had never fought the Yoomyung Cult seemed indifferent.
Namgung Byeok called Namgung Yeon.
“Yeon, what do you suggest now?”
The experts of the Vermilion Bird Division and the Human Division gathered around her.
“Do you prefer to survive while enduring insults or to die honorably? This applies to everyone. Do you want to survive and be insulted, or die cleanly today?”
The warriors blinked at Namgung Yeon’s unexpected question.
The warriors of the Human Division responded first.
“We want to live!”
The Leader of the Justice Human, Gyeonghonsagun, looked at the Vermilion Bird Division with a cold stare.
“Miss Namgung, let’s do our best to survive. But if anyone wants to die, I’ll kill them right here.”
“Exactly!”
“If you want to die, do it alone! We want to live!”
“Damn it! Let us live!”
The warriors of the Human Division shouted desperately, fearing being dragged to certain death by the righteous ideals of the just faction.
Namgung Yeon turned back to Namgung Byeok.
“Father, what do you think?”
The tension in the air thickened.
The warriors knew their lives depended on the leader’s decision.
After a moment of reflection, Namgung Byeok asked.
“Does dying honorably mean certain death?”
“Yes.”
Namgung Yeon’s firm answer made everyone feel desperate.
They knew her wisdom and trusted her judgment.
“I won’t accept not fighting the enemy to survive.”
Namgung Byeok didn’t want to live dishonorably.
“We’ll fight the enemy. We’ll just be insulted for how we do it.”
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t fear insults if it’s for fighting the enemy.”
With Namgung Byeok’s decision, the warriors of the Human Division cheered.
Even the warriors of the just faction wanted to survive.
“So, what’s the plan to survive while enduring insults?”
The warriors fell silent, waiting for Namgung Yeon’s answer.
“Use the strategy of luring the tiger out of the mountain.”
Namgung Byeok and Seonu Dam exchanged confused looks.
They knew that luring the tiger out of the mountain meant drawing it out of its favorable terrain.
But they didn’t understand how to apply it to their situation.
Seonu Dam cautiously said.
“Miss, we need a simpler explanation for warriors like us.”
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