Chapter 86. Let’s See You Try.

The government, and by extension the imperial family, was a group with military power stronger than the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

As is the way of the world, those with power rule the world.

If the imperial family had no power, could they have maintained the dynasty?

Because they had such power, the emperor ruled the Central Plains as the Son of Heaven, and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance paid attention to their every move.

That meant that the qualitative level of the bodyguards protecting the Prince of Ningjing was considerable.

Other imperial relatives might be kidnapped if the opportunity arose, but not the Prince of Ningjing.

The bodyguards by his side were mostly former Murim people who had once made a name for themselves, and the guards were also martial artists who had properly learned the imperial palace martial arts.

A reckless attempt to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing would end in failure, and ultimately, one would be sentenced to death by dismemberment.

“S-Seventh Young Master. With all due respect… I believe kidnapping the Prince of Ningjing will not be easy.”

“The reason?”

“Considering our current military strength, kidnapping the Prince of Ningjing is out of the question. This branch was established for information gathering, so to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing……”

“I will do it.”

“Yes?!”

“What I need is preliminary information and the design of an escape route, not for you to kidnap him.”

“But it is too dangerous. It is not that I do not trust you, Young Master, but kidnapping the Prince of Ningjing by yourself is a reckless plan.”

“I appreciate the branch master’s concern for me, but I’m attempting this because I think it’s possible. So don’t worry unnecessarily, and just provide the information I need.”

“A-as you command!”

In the end, Go Chang-seop could no longer dissuade Jin cheon and accepted the order.

How dare he question his safety?

In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, power, status, and identity were the law.

In vulgar terms, Go Chang-seop’s position was to do as he was told.

From that day on.

The Lanzhou branch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, under the command of Branch Master Go Chang-seop, was so busy establishing a plan to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing that they didn’t even have time to breathe.

Since they were kidnapping a figure who could be called the biggest shot among the imperial relatives, it was only natural that the members of the Lanzhou branch were racking their brains.

Moreover, they had to figure out an escape route right after the kidnapping, so it would not have been strange for their heads to explode.

In the midst of that, Jin cheon was spending his time leisurely, enjoying tea on the second-floor balcony of the inn, looking down at the streets of Lanzhou.

The very person who had planned the kidnapping of the Prince of Ningjing was just leisurely playing around.

“Young Master, please review this.”

“Later.”

“Yes……?”

“It’s meaningless to look at it now. It’s just that we’ve secured a number of possibilities.”

“What do you mean by that……”

“When the exact date for the prisoner exchange is set, we move then.”

“Ah.”

Go Chang-seop understood Jin cheon’s words at once.

The purpose of Jin cheon’s attempt to kidnap the Prince of Ningjing was to use him as a favorable card in the prisoner exchange.

To do so, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance had to engage in the prisoner exchange without knowing about the kidnapping of the Prince of Ningjing, so the timing was more important than anything else.

Why?

Because even if the kidnapping was successful, if the Righteous Heavenly Alliance found out, the prisoner exchange could be canceled.

“Then I will gather as much information as possible until then.”

“Exactly.”

Jin cheon nodded his head.

***

A few days after that.

Flap!

A carrier pigeon flew to the balcony of Jin cheon’s room.

Jin cheon unfolded the small note tied to the carrier pigeon’s ankle.

Three days later.

Xining, Pure Wind Pavilion.

As soon as Jin cheon unfolded the note, he immediately summoned Go Chang-seop.

“The prisoner exchange will take place in three days.”

“Three days… it will take at least a day to get from Lanzhou to Xining.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we have about two days left. Considering the time it takes for the news to spread… tomorrow evening seems appropriate. The timing is good.”

Go Chang-seop spread out the information he had gathered on the table.

“The Prince of Ningjing is scheduled to attend a banquet tomorrow evening. Here, this is the midpoint of the route from the Prince of Ningjing’s house to the banquet.”

“It looks like it.”

Jin cheon nodded his head.

The place Go Chang-seop pointed to was very sparsely populated compared to other places, and it seemed perfect for an ambush and escape with its many geographical features.

“The escape route?”

“You should be able to go this way.”

Go Chang-seop pointed at the map and explained to Jin cheon.

“Go straight and use the underground waterway, then come out here. After that, if you immediately ride a horse to Xining, there is a high possibility that the enemies will lose your trail.”

“Good.”

Jin cheon was quite pleased with Go Chang-seop’s ability to formulate a plan.

He seemed to have worked his subordinates to the bone, running here and there for a few days, and had produced such results.

“We proceed as planned.”

“As you command.”

The next night came.

Before the kidnapping of the Prince of Ningjing, Go Chang-seop selected a few subordinates with high martial arts skills to assist Jin cheon.

But Jin cheon refused Go Chang-seop’s support.

“I’ll go alone.”

“That is too dangerous.”

“They will only be a hindrance. If we move in an organized manner, the branch could be exposed.”

“But……”

“And I don’t intend to use demonic arts in this operation.”

“Yes?!”

At Jin cheon’s words, Go Chang-seop’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

If the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult didn’t use demonic arts, what would he use?

“Have you forgotten? That I’m from the Righteous Sect?”

“Ah……!”

“The moment I use demonic arts, it will be revealed that it was the work of our cult, and things could get complicated. So I will kidnap the Prince of Ningjing alone, using righteous arts.”

“……Understood.”

Go Chang-seop had no choice but to yield his stubbornness this time as well.

He didn’t know if it would go well, but since Jin cheon’s will was so firm, he couldn’t push any further.

“Still, I will prepare support troops just in case. There is always a ‘what if’.”

“Do as you please.”

“As you command.”

Jin cheon said so and immediately headed for the ambush point.

Late at night.

After waiting for about one period of two hours, the Prince of Ningjing’s party passed by the point where Jin cheon was ambushing.

‘There are at least twenty martial artists at the peak level or higher. The people on horseback around the palanquin also look considerable.’

As expected of an imperial relative, the Prince of Ningjing’s escort force was substantial.

But even so, Jin cheon was not one to back down.

Tahat!

Jin cheon slyly pulled up his mask and jumped into the main street.

“Who goes there!”

“Enemy attack, it’s an enemy attack!”

The Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards responded to the ambush as skillfully as their skills warranted.

The problem was that their opponent was not some mere bandit.

Woong!

A powerful energy was imbued in Jin cheon’s palm.

Peok, peook!

The supreme art of the Beggar’s Gang, the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, burst forth.

Jin cheon had experience researching almost all the divine and supreme arts of the Righteous Sect when he was imprisoned in the Demonic Prison in the past, and it was no exaggeration to say that this included the martial arts of the Beggar’s Gang.

“Ack!”

“Keoheok!”

The Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards collapsed helplessly before Jin cheon’s Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.

“Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms? You! What is your identity!”

One of the Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards recognized the martial art Jin cheon used and shouted.

“You don’t need to know!”

Jin cheon answered so and continued to knock down the Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards.

Hwik, hwiik!

Jin cheon’s movements were truly ever-changing, flexible, and so bizarre that they were difficult to predict.

“Even the Drunken Eight Immortals Footwork!”

“How can a member of the Beggar’s Gang attack His Highness the Prince of Ningjing’s procession!”

While only those who knew would recognize the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, in the case of the Drunken Eight Immortals Footwork, it was the representative footwork that came to mind when one thought of the Beggar’s Gang, so it was no exaggeration to say that there was no one who did not recognize it.

Regardless, Jin cheon only focused on neutralizing the Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards.

The time it took for Jin cheon to knock down all of the Prince of Ningjing’s bodyguards was only a moment.

The martial prowess of Jin cheon, who had reached the state of Extreme Demon, was truly like that of a strange and powerful being, so it was impossible to stand against him unless one had reached at least the ranks of a transcendent master.

Deolkeok, the palanquin door opened.

“Come out.”

Jin cheon said to the Prince of Ningjing who was inside the palanquin.

“I do not know who you are, but are you not afraid of the consequences?”

The Prince of Ningjing, befitting his status as an imperial relative, did not lose his dignity even in a crisis.

Seeing how dignified he was despite being an old man in his early sixties, it was clear that an imperial family member was an imperial family member.

Of course, even so, Jin cheon didn’t even bat an eye.

“I wouldn’t have done this if I was afraid.”

“That’s great confidence.”

“I don’t have time, so come out quickly. Before I beat you up.”

“Alright.”

The Prince of Ningjing left the palanquin meekly without any resistance.

Tuk tuk, tuk tuk tuk.

Jin cheon pressed a few acupoints to subdue the Prince of Ningjing, then slung him over his shoulder.

Then, he immediately threw himself towards the escape route Go Chang-seop had designed.

***

It was only natural that the Prince’s residence was turned upside down when the news of the Prince of Ningjing’s kidnapping was delivered.

The kidnapping of an imperial relative?

It was an unprecedented event.

Thanks to that, Lanzhou was in an uproar as if a hornet’s nest had been stirred, and government troops and Murim people began to pop out from everywhere and scour the area as if combing through it.

But the trail of the culprit, who had already disappeared, was nowhere to be found.

Moreover, to add insult to injury, the fact that they couldn’t even guess the culprit’s identity was also a problem.

Thanks to that, the one who took the blame was, of course, the Beggar’s Gang.

“Will you not confess at once!”

The branch master of the Lanzhou branch of the Beggar’s Gang, the Drunken Beggar, was dragged to the Prince of Ningjing’s residence in the middle of the night and suffered all sorts of hardships.

“This humble person knows nothing! How could a member of the Beggar’s Gang harm His Highness the Prince of Ningjing unless they were crazy!”

“Shut up! The one who kidnapped His Highness the Prince of Ningjing used the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and the Drunken Eight Immortals Footwork, and you’re still denying it!”

The Drunken Beggar was so frustrated he could go crazy and jump up and down.

However, there were so many witnesses that the fact that he had no excuse to refute it was a factor that drove him even crazier.

“I am innocent! Our gang has no reason to harm His Highness the Prince of Ningjing! This is a false accusation! Please allow us to investigate the case!”

“You’re playing innocent to the end! Are you not afraid of the imperial family!”

“Please listen to me just once! Please!”

“What are you all doing! Immediately imprison that man and interrogate him! Also, arrest all the members of the Beggar’s Gang in Lanzhou! Now!”

While the falsely accused Beggar’s Gang was suffering, Jin cheon successfully escaped Lanzhou leisurely on Macheon.

Since he had escaped Lanzhou before the encirclement was even set up, Jin cheon’s travel speed towards Xining was very relaxed.

They wouldn’t be able to catch up with him anyway, so there was no need to push himself to speed up.

“Untie this for me.”

While taking a short break to give Macheon some water, the Prince of Ningjing, who was tied to the saddle, said to Jin cheon.

“Perhaps because I’m old, it’s not easy to endure. I feel like the blood is rushing to my head.”

“Ah.”

Jin cheon, recalling the Prince of Ningjing’s age, untied him from the saddle.

Although he had kidnapped him, he didn’t want to abuse an old man who was almost eighty.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel a bit better.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“By the way, what is the purpose of kidnapping me? There must be a reason why you would risk the extermination of your nine clans.”

“Heh!”

Jin cheon snorted as if it wasn’t even funny.

“The imperial family? Against our cult?”

“……!”

“Let’s see them try. Are they going to mobilize that vaunted million-strong army and invade the Ten Thousand Great Mountains?”

“You, you are a member of the Demonic Cult.”

The Prince of Ningjing, who had finally realized Jin cheon’s identity, hardened his face.

If the opponent was a member of the Demonic Cult, he knew better than anyone that retaliation would not be easy, even for the imperial family.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep