Chapter 106: Deciphering the Code

The cheerful man, Gangpae, was a more sociable and talkative man than I thought.

It meant that even while standing guard for Ma Sok, he did not let go of the thread of conversation.

“You may have heard already, but I am Gangpae. May I know your name?”

“I am Myeong, the second son of the Dancheon Clan.”

“Ooh. Are you the famous Divine Dragon of Dancheon?”

“I am called by that empty name.”

One must not forget that this man, who only seemed cheerful, was a high-ranking member of an information organization that divided Jianghu.

In truth, it would be right to think that he had asked knowing the answer.

Gangpae would know that it would be difficult for me to accept it gladly if he showed that he knew about me before I even introduced myself.

It would be right to keep in mind that behind his seemingly just cheerful behavior, there would be his own calculations.

“Young Master Myeong, how old are you this year?”

“It has been three years since I passed the age of maturity this year.”

Gangpae smiled brightly and pointed to his chest with his index finger as he spoke.

“I’m twenty-seven.”

“……So……?”

“Haha. It means I’m the older brother.”

Gangpae’s speech had, at some point, become informal.

However, the fact that I wasn’t particularly offended might be due to the unique cheerfulness that the man called Gangpae exuded.

“Try calling me Brother Gangpae.”

“…….”

“Ahem.”

Gangpae threatened me with a posture that was not threatening at all.

“Brother Gangpae.”

It would be good to just go along with it.

“Hahaha. Nice to meet you, younger brother Myeong. I look forward to working with you.”

Is this the hierarchy of ruffians?

I had ended up with another older brother I never asked for.

“I look forward to working with you too, Brother Gangpae.”

“Hahahaha. Now that we have formed a bond of brotherhood, I will also take responsibility for your safety. From now on, do not worry about walking at night.”

“……Thank you.”

In this short time, Gangpae and I had become brothers.

‘Hmm.’

I should correct myself.

Perhaps there were no calculations at all.

Anyway…….

It seems I have come to know a wonderful person by a chance opportunity.

The one who rules the night streets of Anhui.

The leader of the ruffians, the Magnanimous Wanderer Gangpae.

He was truly a manly man.

“Nothing.”

“I’m sorry, big brother.”

The ruffians, who had made up their minds, were truly swift.

So much so that I could feel the scent of the beggars of the Beggar’s Gang in the way the reports arrived one after another.

“Big brother! Big brother!”

Another subordinate was running over, out of breath.

“You didn’t find anything either?”

“No, big brother.”

“Why did you run as if there was something?”

“Heh.”

However, no good news was heard.

Despite having searched all of Geombigak’s establishments that the ruffians were aware of, they could not find any trace of him.

“Hoo-”

Anxiety began to creep into Gangpae’s face as he chain-smoked cigarettes.

“Brother Ma Sok, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Although Ma Sok’s complexion had recovered a notch after finishing his qi circulation, it was no illusion that his expression had darkened even more.

“I will search again.”

The surroundings were already consumed by darkness, but that fact would not stop Ma Sok’s steps.

“Brother Ma Sok, calm down. This is not a problem that can be solved by rushing.”

“No, there is no time.”

“Geombigak is a petty bastard. He won’t break the law.”

There was no fault in Gangpae’s words, but Ma Sok did not seem to be able to fully agree.

“You know it too.”

Gangpae, who had guessed Ma Sok’s intention, shook his head.

“Sister Wol is not a person who will be intimidated. Is she not the woman I have fallen for? It is also impossible for a bastard like Geombigak to brainwash her.”

I understand Ma Sok’s concern.

With the exception of a very few individuals who use cunning demonic arts to suppress the mind, it could be said that loan sharks are the masters of intimidation and brainwashing.

Ma Sok is worried that Yeo-wol might be suffering.

To the Rogues’ Guild, which deals with information, the weight of a word is like that of a thousand pieces of gold.

If by any chance Yeo-wol were to be brainwashed and declare her withdrawal from the competition with her own mouth, it would become a big problem.

“I have a way.”

I intervened in their argument.

“Young Master Myeong?”

“Hmm?”

Ma Sok and Gangpae’s gazes fell on me.

It would be right to use the final move that I really did not want to use.

***

It is said that information organizations have always put the most effort into acquiring information on their competitors.

It means that the Beggar’s Gang is eager to obtain information on the Rogues’ Guild, and the Rogues’ Guild does its best to obtain information on the Beggar’s Gang.

Leaving the Beggar’s Gang aside, it may be quite surprising that the Rogues’ Guild, which is not interested in anything other than profitable information, actively collects information on the Beggar’s Gang.

In truth, there is no other logic to explain this.

Know yourself and your enemy, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.

That is the only reason.

Many factions know that acquiring information on their competitors is the fastest shortcut to reaching a relative advantage.

In other words, it is called espionage.

If information is based on universality, espionage is a method that focuses on the specificity of hostile or rival forces.

If so, who were the rival forces of the Secret Pavilion, where Myeong-gae belonged?

Those bastards were called the Hidden Shadow.

.

.

.

“Myeong-gae. Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“They say it happened again.”

“Where this time?”

“It seems the strike path of the Azure Heaven Squad was completely exposed to the Hidden Shadow bastards. They say they suffered a great loss.”

“How on earth?”

“……They say a spy from the Hidden Shadow had infiltrated the Azure Heaven Squad.”

“…….”

“…….”

At that devastating news, the Secret Pavilion member and I were unable to speak for a while.

“Is everyone safe?”

“Fortunately, the martial artists managed to escape, but it seems the supplies were completely lost.”

“Heo-”

The Hidden Shadow was a collective term for the intelligence organization directly under the command of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s Chief Strategist, Mashintong Wisu.

The reason why they were so vicious would be the fact that their existence was disguised as spies, hiding throughout the Righteous Faction Murim.

Wasn’t it said that the factor that determines the outcome of a life-and-death battle is martial arts, but the factors that determine the outcome of a war are information and supplies?

Because information was leaked due to the Hidden Shadow, the damage suffered by the Righteous Faction Murim was truly immense.

Especially in the case of the Secret Pavilion, since it was the organization on the opposite side of the Hidden Shadow, the problem of greatly damaged pride and lowered morale could not be overlooked.

“What should be done……”

“When it comes to handling information, where is a place like the Beggar’s Gang? Do you have any ideas?”

At my muttering, the Secret Pavilion member asked me with an expectant look.

I’m sorry to say this to him, but there was no way I had any brilliant ideas.

“The methods of obtaining information in the Beggar’s Gang include surveying, exploring, interviewing, witnessing, eavesdropping, collecting rumors, and purchasing. But as you know, all these methods are useless for espionage, aren’t they?”

“Is that the only way then?”

“That way?”

“We’ll have to give back as much as we received.”

“We should plant a spy too?”

This was a method that had been consistently discussed even within the Secret Pavilion.

“I heard that Singija is already doing it, but is there any progress.”

“I heard it’s actually difficult.”

“Is that so.”

The Demonic Path bastards were truly like fanatics.

It was right to see that it was a pipe dream for a Righteous Faction Murim agent to infiltrate the Hidden Shadow, when it was even difficult for them to disguise themselves as an ordinary Demonic Cult member.

“So, has the spy who infiltrated the Azure Heaven Squad been arrested?”

“Although he was biting on a poison pill, they say they managed to capture him alive.”

“……He won’t be able to go peacefully either.”

“That’s right.”

The spy from the Hidden Shadow will now be interrogated.

Of course, although it was called ‘interrogation’, not only physical methods like bone-breaking and muscle-tearing but also strange techniques like illusion arts would be mobilized.

Wasn’t it wartime?

It was an age of barbarism where some expedients were condoned.

The reason why I could not speak of that fact cheerfully was because the fate of a Secret Pavilion member captured by the Demonic Cult would be no different.

“If he confessed everything, he could at least go peacefully, but they say there are no spies who open their mouths.”

“……Is that the Hidden Shadow.”

The Secret Pavilion was indeed the rival organization of the Hidden Shadow.

But to be honest, it was difficult to deny the fact that the Secret Pavilion was being pushed back by the Hidden Shadow.

“Singija will come up with a way.”

At that time, there was no other way.

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.

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“Myeong-gae! Myeong-gae!”

The Secret Pavilion member with whom I had had a bitter conversation just three days ago came looking for me in a hurry.

“You were right.”

“About what?”

“Singija has prepared a way!”

“Hmm?”

At the same time as those words, my quick-witted insight spun rapidly.

There are generally three methods of espionage.

First is to plant a spy.

Second is to interrogate a captured agent to extract information.

Since both of these had already failed, there was only one method left.

“Did Singija succeed in deciphering the code?”

“How did you know?”

I didn’t answer the Secret Pavilion member’s question and just gave him a grin.

“The tide of the war will change.”

The only way for the Hidden Shadow, a small elite group operating secretly in various parts of the Central Plains, to communicate with each other is precisely through code.

Since being caught with the code would result in severe punishment, it was inevitable that its system was complex and difficult to decipher.

However, the self-proclaimed genius Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance, Singija, had finally succeeded in deciphering the code of the Hidden Shadow.

It is said that language is the essence of existence.

It was a natural fact that the Secret Pavilion, which had deciphered the code, was able to thoroughly investigate the Hidden Shadow.

***

Because the time had passed midnight, everything in the world except for the chirping of insects was asleep.

“Was there a place like this in Anhui?”

Brother Gangpae looked around as if he found it fascinating. Although the surroundings were enveloped in pitch-black darkness, it could not hide the vision of a top-tier master.

“Where are we going?”

Ma Sok, who could no longer hide his anxiousness at the time that was passing by helplessly, asked.

Seeing that he had come this far, trusting only my one word in this time that was as precious as gold, I can see how much Ma Sok trusts me.

“We’ll be there if we go a little further.”

Because my words were not wrong, after walking a little further, a pavilion revealed itself.

We had come to one of the safe houses of the Hidden Shadow, which would be revealed in the distant future.

Since this was the only safe house of the Hidden Shadow in Anhui, if the Hidden Shadow were active, there would be traces left here.

According to what the Secret Pavilion had found out, the Hidden Shadow marks a code at the bottom of the fourth pillar of the safe house. It was a method to provide a guide to the members who would join later.

My gaze, which had arrived at the fourth pillar after going around the pavilion, was directed downwards.

‘As expected, it’s here.’

A strange mark that looked like a letter and also like a picture was visible.

If someone who didn’t know saw it, they would have dismissed it as graffiti and moved on, but I was able to extract a lot of information from that mark.

That’s right.

I, who have returned after living the life of Myeong-gae, can read the code of the Hidden Shadow.

It was an essential quality for a member of the Secret Pavilion.

***

At that time.

Somewhere in Anhui province.

A torch was lit in the underground secret cave, which was usually deserted.

“Kill her.”

A voice, which was rather eerie because it contained no emotion, echoed through the cave.

In the gaze of the owner of the voice, Ma Pyeong-sam, a woman tied up and unconscious and a smiling man were captured.

Ma Pyeong-sam’s voice was directed at the smiling man, Geombigak.

“It’s better not to have any future trouble. Kill her.”

“I cannot do that.”

Geombigak replied in a polite voice that was different from his true intentions.

“The promise is different.”

“What is different?”

Geombigak, who had raised his arms in an exaggerated manner, continued.

“Wasn’t the Hidden Shadow’s promise to make me the leader of the Rogues’ Guild?”

“That is correct.”

“If I kill the Mistress of the Flower Moon Pavilion, I cannot become the leader. It seems you are the one who is different from the promise.”

“…….”

It was the problem that Ma Pyeong-sam was facing.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

At that question, Geombigak pretended to hit his own head in an exaggerated manner.

“Oops! I forgot, you see.”

Grind.

The leader of the Hidden Shadow, Ma Pyeong-sam, wanted to kill that bastard called Geombigak.

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