Chapter 85. This is Damned!

“A prisoner exchange, are you saying we are exchanging prisoners with the Demonic Cult?”

“Yes.”

“How could such a thing……?”

Dang Cheon-wi could not quite understand the words ‘prisoner exchange’.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that neither the Demonic Cult nor the Righteous Heavenly Alliance would take prisoners.

Once a fight broke out, they did not consider taking prisoners, so there were only fatalities on either side.

Even if they were to subdue someone, it was common to kill them immediately or transport them to their respective strongholds and execute them publicly.

“As I said before, I do not know the details yet. It is just that a prisoner exchange is scheduled to take place, so they have requested support.”

“I see.”

“Therefore, I would like you to take responsibility for this matter and go.”

“……”

Dang Cheon-wi did not rashly say that he would accept the command.

“Why is there no answer? Are you still holding a grudge about that incident?”

“……”

“Now that it has been revealed as a fact that the disciple of the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior is a member of the Demonic Cult, how long do you intend not to accept it?”

“Th-that’s.”

“Would that Iron-Blooded Demonic God have gone to rescue a mere up-and-coming junior if she weren’t crazy?”

At Dang Seong-yeong’s words, Dang Cheon-wi could not offer any rebuttal.

To be fair, looking back at what happened back then, it was an undeniable fact that Jin Yeong-in was a spy for the Demonic Cult.

“This is a golden opportunity to clear your name. If you go and perform the mission admirably, won’t you be able to regain the trust of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance?”

“Do I have to?”

“What?”

“Even if I don’t gain the trust of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance……”

“You insolent brat! The Righteous Heavenly Alliance is the one that leads the order of the world! Why can’t you understand that we need to be in their good graces to contribute to the prosperity of our clan!”

“……”

“It’s a time when you should be working day and night for the prosperity of the clan! A brat who has graduated from the Heavenly Martial Academy is just idling away his time! How long do you plan to be like this! How long!”

At Dang Seong-yeong’s thunderous roar, Dang Cheon-wi just kept his mouth shut and remained silent.

“This is an order not as your father, but as the head of the Tang Clan. I will dispatch Dang Cheon-wi in accordance with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s request for cooperation. Do you understand?”

“……I will accept your command.”

In the end, Dang Cheon-wi accepted the clan’s command.

If he refused the command, he might be kicked out of the clan, so he had no choice but to accept it even if he was unwilling.

“Do not think this will be the end of it. I will no longer condone your idleness. Know that, and you may leave now.”

“Yes, Clan Head.”

After leaving the clan head’s office, Dang Cheon-wi’s mind was quite complicated.

‘Don’t tell me Senior Brother will come out… Nah, no way.’

Dang Cheon-wi saw that possibility as very low.

It’s not like the Demonic Cult lacked people, and in a group said to have a constellation of masters, there would be no reason to send out a defector like Jin Yeong-in for a prisoner exchange with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

However…….

‘If Senior Brother does come out.’

Dang Cheon-wi had no idea how he should act if such a situation were to occur.

In fact, to Dang Cheon-wi, Jin Yeong-in was an enemy.

An enemy who had deceived him for years while acting as a spy for the Demonic Cult, in a way, an irreconcilable foe.

Nevertheless, Dang Cheon-wi could not bring himself to hate Jin cheon.

Perhaps it was because they had spent time together, so the affection from those times was greater than the sense of betrayal…….

‘No, let’s not be swayed. He is a spy for the Demonic Cult. If by any chance we meet… he is an enemy to be killed.’

Dang Cheon-wi forced himself to harden his heart.

***

Jin cheon left the Divine Land before the official deployment order was given.

“I’ll go on ahead, so Commander Dan, you take command in my stead and come to Xining.”

“I heard that the schedule is still being coordinated, where are you going?”

“I want to create a favorable card for us.”

“Yes……?”

“I despise disadvantageous negotiations.”

The reason Jin cheon said that was because this prisoner exchange was very unequal.

The number of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult warriors currently held captive by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was about fifty.

It seemed that most of them were kept alive to study ways to counter their demonic arts, but the problem was that not all of them could be brought back in this prisoner exchange.

This negotiation was scheduled to be a strict one-for-one exchange, so they were in discussion to exchange twenty Taoists of the Qingcheng and Moshan Sects for twenty prisoners of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Looking at it this way, it didn’t seem unequal, but the reality was not so.

The prisoners on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s side were direct disciples of the Qingcheng and Moshan Sects, masters with high levels of martial arts and sorcery.

On the other hand, the prisoners on the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s side were mostly low-ranking warriors.

No matter how much it is said that there is no distinction between noble and humble in human life, the qualitative level of the prisoners being exchanged was extremely different.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was handing over high-level personnel, while the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was showing an attitude of handing over only some of the prisoners who could not be considered high-level personnel.

Since the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was showing a very firm stance, saying they would not agree to the prisoner exchange otherwise, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was agreeing to this negotiation even while taking a loss.

Moreover, wasn’t the place where the prisoner exchange was taking place as good as a land of death for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?

If the Righteous Heavenly Alliance were to pull some tricks, Jin cheon and the Divine Demon Squad members might survive, but the prisoners and the Ghost Soldier Corps members would never make it out alive.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Jin cheon did not like that aspect.

So he came up with a brilliant plan to turn the tables and left the Divine Land early to put it into action.

“We don’t know what kind of dirty tricks those Righteous Heavenly Alliance bastards will pull, so we can’t just naively go to Xining and offer ourselves up to be killed.”

“You are right.”

“I have an idea, so don’t worry and come slowly. I’ll be there in time.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

After entrusting the follow-up matters to Danmok Cheong, Jin cheon immediately mounted Macheon and galloped towards the Central Plains.

“Hiiiiiiing!”

Macheon, who had now reached adulthood, ran at a truly terrifying speed, clearly imprinting on everyone’s minds why he was of the lineage of a famous horse.

“Let’s run a little slower, okay?”

“Hiiiiiiing!”

“I said let’s go slower.”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!”

Macheon, perhaps excited to be carrying his master Jin cheon for the first time, could not seem to control his speed.

It was so much so that it felt as if he was venting his frustration for not being able to run with Jin cheon until now.

‘Well. I did neglect the guy too much.’

It had been about five years since he had received Macheon as a gift from Cheol Yu-ra.

However, since Jin cheon had no reason to ride a horse anywhere, Macheon had been unintentionally living a life of leisure all this time.

Since he understood Macheon’s feelings, Jin cheon decided to just let the guy run to his heart’s content.

It wasn’t intentional, but he felt a sense of guilt for having neglected the horse he was raising, despite being its so-called master.

“I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll let you run to your heart’s content whenever there’s a chance.”

“Hiiiiiiing!”

As Jin cheon stroked his neck, Macheon neighed even louder, as if he understood the meaning of those words.

***

Jin cheon, who had turned his horse towards the Central Plains, passed right by Xining and arrived in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu Province.

In fact, Lanzhou was a more dangerous place than Xining.

Lanzhou was where the Kongtong Sect, one of the core forces of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, was located, and there was also an enormous number of government troops stationed there.

To the north were the nomadic barbarians, and to the west was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, so it was needless to say that the defenses of Gansu Province were extremely well-established.

However, no matter how heavily guarded an area was, it was impossible to control and monitor every single individual.

Jin cheon went to an inn named Onyeong located on the outskirts of Lanzhou and got a room there.

“Young Master, please come this way. I will guide you to your room.”

A young waiter guided Jin cheon.

“This room here is the cleanest room in our Onyeong Inn.”

“Not here.”

Jin cheon shook his head.

“I would like the room at the very end over there.”

“Oh my, Young Master. I’m truly sorry, but that’s not a guest room but a storage room… hut!”

When Jin cheon slyly showed him the Black Dragon Plaque, the waiter’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“Can you guide me to the storage room?”

“Is there any question?”

The waiter, who saw the Black Dragon Plaque, immediately changed his words and guided Jin cheon to the storage room.

“I greet a noble person.”

The waiter immediately prostrated himself before Jin cheon and paid his respects.

The Onyeong Inn was a secret branch established by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for the purpose of monitoring the trends in Lanzhou and collecting information.

“I need information.”

“Yes, of course, we must provide it. However, if you’ll excuse me, may I know your honorable name?”

“My name is Jin cheon.”

“I-I greet the Seventh Young Master.”

The waiter’s face turned deathly pale as if he had seen a ghost.

He had guessed that he was a high-ranking official because he had the Black Dragon Plaque, but he had never expected that it would be the seventh disciple of the Cult Leader, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“Can I meet the branch master?”

“I will bring him right now.”

The waiter left the room like lightning.

The sound of him running down the stairs, dadada, sounded quite urgent.

About a cup of tea’s time later.

“I greet the Seventh Young Master.”

The branch master appeared and paid his respects to Jin cheon with a full prostration.

“My name is Go Chang-seop, the branch master of Lanzhou. Please just give your command. I will find out anything about Lanzhou and offer it to you.”

“Good.”

Jin cheon was quite pleased with Go Chang-seop’s answer.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll be direct.”

“Please give your command.”

“I’m thinking of kidnapping the Prince of Ningjing.”

“……?”

Go Chang-seop blinked his eyes as if to ask if he had heard correctly.

“M-my ears must be bad, so I didn’t seem to hear you well. I’m very sorry, but if you could please give the command once more……”

“I want to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing.”

Hearing Jin cheon’s words, Go Chang-seop’s mind went blank.

The Prince of Ningjing.

He was a member of the imperial family clan, and among the various imperial princes, he was the one with the highest status.

Moreover, he was a figure who held great influence as an elder of the imperial family, so it was said that even the emperor revered him.

To kidnap such a Prince of Ningjing?

The problem wasn’t whether it would succeed or not; just attempting it would make it difficult to handle the aftermath.

Of course, since the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was as good as sworn enemies with the Central Plains Imperial Court, nothing would particularly change.

“Do you really want to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing?”

“Did it sound like a joke?”

“N-not at all!”

Go Chang-seop shook his head as if it were out of the question.

“This subordinate was just surprised by the Seventh Young Master’s words!”

“Is that so?”

“Is there any question? By the way, may I know the reason why you wish to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing?”

“There will soon be a prisoner exchange between our cult and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.”

Jin cheon told Go Chang-seop about the upcoming prisoner exchange.

“Don’t tell me you intend to use the Prince of Ningjing as a hostage to lead the negotiations to your advantage……”

“Is there any reason why I shouldn’t?”

Jin cheon said as if it were no big deal.

“If it’s someone like the Prince of Ningjing, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance won’t be able to act rashly. Am I wrong?”

“Y-you are right.”

Go Chang-seop could not deny Jin cheon’s words.

It was only natural, as the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and the imperial family maintained a very close relationship.

The government and the Murim do not interfere with each other?

That was just a plausible story that only those who didn’t know the ways of the world would spout.

The government and the Murim were more closely intertwined than anyone else, in a relationship that could never be separated.

If the life of the Prince of Ningjing were hanging in the balance, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance would never be able to backstab the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

If the Prince of Ningjing were to die because of the dirty tricks they pulled, wouldn’t it be obvious that they would become enemies with the imperial family?

The problem was that if it was someone like the Prince of Ningjing, kidnapping him was next to impossible.

If he was the most prestigious and influential figure among the imperial relatives, the level of his security would be beyond imagination.

And yet, he wanted to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing…….

‘This is damned! How am I supposed to kidnap that old geezer!’

Go Chang-seop just wanted to cry.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep