Chapter 367: Assassination (2)

The Lady of Mount Lu left the Guest Hall and returned straight to her quarters.

Yong Hwarin followed behind and stopped at the door.

“Please, come in.”

At the Lady of Mount Lu’s words, Yong Hwarin entered the room.

“Your stealth technique is truly remarkable. I only sensed your presence after you had already reached the door.”

Recently, after experiencing the Qi-Vision Realm, Yong Hwarin’s Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art had advanced by several levels.

It had begun from the moment he played the flute and felt true qi surging toward his Upper Dantian.

“Please explain what you meant earlier. I will spread a qi barrier, so you may speak freely.”

Yong Hwarin had been about to block sound with his own sound waves, but at the Lady of Mount Lu’s words, he only smiled faintly.

Priestess Saenghui was inwardly greatly astonished.

She had never imagined that the young Yong Hwarin could surpass her.

She was, after all, the disciple of the Lady of Mount Lu.

Yet when Yong Hwarin tried to block the qi waves earlier, the momentum he exuded was in no way inferior to her own.

‘He’s surpassing me. He might even be close to Master’s level. Is that really possible?’

Priestess Saenghui thought that although her master wore a calm expression, inwardly she too must be surprised.

“Senior, please treat me as a junior and be at ease.”

The Lady of Mount Lu smiled warmly at Yong Hwarin.

“Very well. Then I shall speak comfortably. Tell me why you made me say those words earlier.”

“Dojang of Domeng Dojang drank water, but his attendant, Taoist Go Jin, only returned at dawn after his training. That means someone else must have drawn the water and served it to Dojang. Who could that be?”

“Ah, I see. At that time, several Bulumokhani were still working in the Guest Hall. It could truly have been one of them.”

“Precisely. Even at late hours, the Bulumokhani work diligently. That is why I suggested you drop those words in their presence. The culprit will surely come to find you, knowing you suspect them.”

“So what Yong Master means is that if we exposed the culprit on the spot, they might have fled, but instead we should lure them in and catch them.”

“That is correct. And if we catch the culprit ourselves, there is another benefit.”

“What benefit is that?”

As he spoke this far and still the Lady of Mount Lu had not caught on, he thought to himself:

‘My lady is truly innocent.’

He gazed briefly at her graceful aging face before opening his mouth.

“Currently, the Nine Great Sects are moving to support Dong Seonja of the Wudang Sect as the next Alliance Leader. And the heads of the smaller sects will inevitably follow their decision. Of course, recently, you have shown firm resolve, so some forces have begun supporting you. But that alone is not enough. In the end, with weaker influence, you would have to yield the position of Alliance Leader to Dong Seonja. However, if you are the one who catches the culprit who murdered Dojang of Domeng Dojang, the entire balance will shift in your favor. Even the Nine Great Sects will have to reconsider. And Dong Seonja, knowing this, must be busy moving right now.”

The Lady of Mount Lu blinked in surprise.

She found it hard to believe that someone as young as Yong Hwarin could carry out an action imbued with so many layered intentions.

The sharpness to deduce the culprit from only a few clues at the crime scene of Dojang’s death, and the ability to devise a method to draw them out, were not things that someone of shallow experience could possess.

‘This child is a genius of the ages.’

She could not help but think so.

The Lady of Mount Lu began to feel greedy—despite the ten-year age difference, she thought it would be good to tie him together with her disciple.

“Then all I need do is wait here calmly for the culprit.”

“Indeed. The culprit will surely come tonight, knowing that we suspect them. Moreover, the motive behind killing Dojang is suspicious. If he had assassinated a member of a great clan instead, I might have thought differently. But killing Dojang revealed his intent all too clearly.”

The Lady of Mount Lu kept marveling as she listened to Yong Hwarin.

“Whoever ordered the culprit, the fact that they killed Dojang of Domeng Dojang means they do not want you to become Alliance Leader. That is why the culprit will definitely come to you. As I said, if their identity is revealed, your chances of becoming Alliance Leader will soar.”

It sounded like speculation, but on hearing it, she found it made sense.

She suddenly realized that compared to Yong Hwarin, she was naïve.

“That is why I will remain here in this room.”

The Lady of Mount Lu guessed what he was worried about.

“Do not worry. Surely I won’t fall to some mere assassin.”

Yong Hwarin shook his head.

“You must not think lightly of them. I have fought assassins several times, and they always act beyond our expectations. Please allow me to stay.”

His gaze told her he would not leave even if ordered, so the Lady of Mount Lu could not refuse.

Moreover, she thought it would not be bad for her disciple to deepen ties with him, so she found no reason to reject him.

“Very well. Let it be so.”

But her expectations were betrayed almost immediately.

Yong Hwarin went to the corner of the room, sat down, and immediately entered qi circulation training.

Seeing this, she clicked her tongue at his audacity—training so casually in front of others.

Lost in thought, Young Valley Lord Moon Wu frowned as one of his subordinates entered.

Moon Wu hated being disturbed during contemplation, and he fixed a piercing stare on the subordinate.

His gaze said clearly that depending on the answer, punishment might follow.

“Young Valley Lord, the Secret Beyond Secrets’ Secret Lord has made a move. Last night, he assassinated Dojang of the Zhongnan Sect.”

“Really?”

The eyes that had carried irritation now curved into a smile as if it had never been there.

“Since Dojang of Domeng Dojang has been killed, things will be noisy.”

The subordinate bowed and said,

“But before killing Dojang of Domeng Dojang, the Secret Lord killed Taoist Cheongmyeong of the Zhongnan Sect. That was not something we ordered.”

“Hm, why? Did he kill some useless Taoist for nothing? We told him to kill the leaders of the Three Central Alliances.”

“That’s what is strange. The Secret Lord knows this, so he would not have killed someone so insignificant.”

The Young Valley Lord of the Blood Demon Castle, Moon Wu, did not know that Secret Lord Han Jin had also received a commission from Yang Gwak of the Heavenly Demon Castle, so his suspicion was natural.

“Well, as long as he handles our business well, it doesn’t matter. No need to concern ourselves. Next, tell him to kill the Lady of Mount Lu.”

“The Lady of Mount Lu?”

“Yes. It seems that her supporters are rapidly increasing. If this goes wrong, instead of Dong Seonja, the Lady of Mount Lu might become the Alliance Leader. It would be better to remove her entirely.”

“Understood.”

Once the subordinate disappeared, Moon Wu chuckled endlessly, a grin spread across his face.

Sitting in an inn in Deungbong County below Shaolin Temple, he found it very amusing to toy with Shaolin like this.

Finishing his qi circulation, Yong Hwarin stepped out and smiled awkwardly at the two women who were looking at him with disbelief.

Even he admitted that if he saw himself training in such a situation, he would have worn that same expression.

But the assassin they awaited was surely a master who could completely conceal even his aura.

To face such an opponent, Yong Hwarin needed to perfect his own condition.

Advancing the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art further required vast amounts of true qi.

‘Let’s see whether your stealth technique surpasses mine, or if my Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art surpasses yours.’

He trusted the Demonic Master’s words that Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art was one of the greatest stealth techniques in the world.

“The assassin will come at night. Most likely the moment we fall asleep.”

“Won’t he notice? That we are waiting for him?”

At that, Priestess Saenghui replied,

“No. The assassin cannot know. He may realize we know his identity, but not that we are waiting.”

“Then where will Yong Master be? If he sees three people in this room, won’t he be suspicious?”

“I can use stealth.”

“The assassin must also be skilled in stealth. Will yours really work?”

“My stealth is not inferior to his.”

“Very well. Then where will you hide?”

After thinking briefly, Yong Hwarin answered,

“My apologies, but may I lie beneath Priestess Saenghui’s quilt? As you see, the meditation rooms of the Guest Hall have nowhere else to conceal myself.”

As Priestess Saenghui showed an awkward expression, the Lady of Mount Lu spoke.

“There is no choice. Do as Yong Master says.”

Since even her master allowed it, Priestess Saenghui swallowed the words she had wanted to refuse.

All her life, she had guarded the purity of the White Path, and had never been so close to a man.

She had never even shared a room for long—let alone lay under the same quilt.

“Lady, it may seem unpleasant, but when fighting the assassin, it must be done with such clamor that everyone becomes aware. You must show the many gathered in Shaolin that you have the strength to overcome the assassin.”

“I am not confident of that.”

Lady Hao Ran Seonja of Mount Lu shook her head.

“It means you must show in battle that you are worthy of being Alliance Leader. If you show mercy to the assassin, it will have the opposite effect. The martial artists gathered here in Shaolin are filled with fear and anger because Taoist Cheongmyeong was blown apart. If you show leniency and hold back your strikes, they will never support you. You must demonstrate your might with your strongest techniques, and decisively punish the assassin who killed Taoist Cheongmyeong and Dojang of Domeng Dojang, so that the people will follow you. If this succeeds, the position of Alliance Leader may very well be yours.”

Hearing Yong Hwarin’s words, the scene vividly came to the Lady’s mind.

“As one who pursues the Way, my lady may find my words distasteful. They may even sound hypocritical. But right now, some calculation and strategy are necessary. I, too, do not want to see the martial world drowned in blood, with innocents slaughtered.”

The Lady of Mount Lu gazed steadily at Yong Hwarin before asking,

“If I become Alliance Leader, do you truly believe it will not be so?”

Yong Hwarin smiled.

“I believe it, because my lady does not divide righteousness and demon. If you do, then demons must be annihilated, and demonic practitioners become lives unworthy of existence. That is a worldview leading only to mutual destruction. This world is made of both yin and yang. To create a world of only yang is folly. Of course, evil must be destroyed without question—but demons simply follow different beliefs, and must not be equated with evil.”

The Lady of Mount Lu felt Yong Hwarin, with such radical thought, seemed more enlightened than herself, almost like a true Taoist.

“Perhaps my enlightenment is lacking, or perhaps Yong Master’s is higher. I feel much from your words.”

“You flatter me.”

“No, indeed. Such insight into human hearts cannot be possessed by ordinary people.”

After a moment of admiration, the Lady of Mount Lu’s voice turned resolute.

“I have gained much from your words, Yong Master. I will do as you have advised.”

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