Spy
“Hoo. It seems they are determined to turn the martial arts world into a sea of blood. Amitabha.”
“Boundless life to Buddha. They must be insane to plan something so terrible.”
Everyone present, being long-time members of the martial arts world, recognized the severity of the situation.
The moment Mu-jin killed Namgung Jin-cheon, the direct descendant and young master of the Namgung Family, it would create an irreparable enmity between the Namgung Family and Shaolin.
If the Namgung Family joined this war, several neutral forces might align with them as well.
“Hmm. But why aim for a killing during a duel rather than an assassination?”
It was Jegal Jin-hui who answered the puzzled question from the Southern Edge Sect elder.
“It was probably to deceive even us.”
“Deceive us? What do you mean?”“If Master Mu-jin suddenly assassinated Namgung Jin-cheon, wouldn’t we also find it suspicious? But if it’s a killing that happens accidentally during a duel, Shaolin would naturally try to protect Master Mu-jin, making it a conflict between organizations rather than individuals.”
“Hoo.”
While everyone was in contemplation, an elder from the Tang Clan of Sichuan expressed realization.
“Hoo. Perhaps the very act of gathering the young talents from each sect this time was to cast a spell on the Shaolin Dragon.”
All eyes turned to the Tang Clan elder.
“You said the cult that recently stirred up trouble is likely a puppet of those called the Shinchun, didn’t you? Then the activities of the Four Divine Units and the cult might have been to lure the Shaolin Dragon to the martial arts alliance to cast a spell on him.”
“It’s certainly a plausible story. Amitabha.”
“But what if the Shaolin Dragon or we refused the martial arts alliance’s request for support?”
When the Elder of the Beggar Sect questioned this, Jegal Jin-hui answered on behalf of the Tang Clan elder.
“If Master Mu-jin or we had not participated in this meeting, they would have proceeded with their plan differently. If the Four Divine Units had formed and continued to meet without us, what would have happened?”
“…Friendships would have been established among the other forces excluding us.”
“Not only that, but we would have been labeled as heartless for ignoring the cult’s disturbance for our selfish interests.”
“Hoo. We would have been cornered. If the Shaolin Dragon had consumed the Yin-Yang Gu.”
With those words from the Elder of the Beggar Sect, all eyes turned to Mu-jin.
Destroying the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, the prize of the Yongbongji Conference, because it seemed suspicious.
At first, it seemed like madness, but in hindsight, it was a commendable action.
“Yes. And not only that, Master Mu-jin’s quick thinking to pretend to be affected by the spell was a brilliant move. Thanks to that, we understood the enemy’s intentions and even made them lower their guard.”
“That’s correct.”
“And this is not the end. By discovering that Dok-go Pae and that old man are Shinchun’s minions, we might trace them to uncover the core hidden within the martial arts alliance.”
As Jegal Jin-hui logically praised Mu-jin’s actions, everyone in the meeting looked at Mu-jin with admiration.
They admired his strategic mind.
‘…Why are they praising me so much?’
Mu-jin hadn’t expected his quick thinking to be so highly regarded.
“Hahaha. Rather than capturing Dok-go Pae immediately, I thought it was better to use the enemy’s misconception.”
Mu-jin was not the type to shy away from compliments.
“It was an excellent decision. Shinchun is skilled at cutting ties, so it’s better to use Dok-go Pae to find the bigger connections.”
“Then, we should start tracking the every move of Qinglong Unit Leader Dok-go Pae and the sorcerer old man.”
“Ugh. It’s unfortunate that it’s the martial arts alliance. There are hardly any beggars inside the alliance.”
The Elder of the Beggar Sect, who was usually responsible for gathering information within the alliance, clicked his tongue in disappointment.
In response, Jegal Jin-hui spoke in a calm tone.
“You don’t need to worry. Only a few in the martial arts alliance can orchestrate something of this scale.”
“Why do you say that, Lady Jegal?”
“If our guess is correct, they deliberately placed Master Mu-jin and Namgung Jin-cheon in the same Qinglong Unit. They made Dok-go Pae the leader of Qinglong Unit for the same reason. It means that someone with enough power to organize the Four Divine Units and assign personnel is involved.”
“Hmm. Considering that they hid poison in the prize of the Yongbongji Conference, it’s not something just anyone could do.”
“Yes. The only ones capable of this are the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Wi Ji-hak, General Manager Jegal Muhwan, or their closest associates.”
The Elder of the Beggar Sect scratched his head and spoke.
“Then, we just need to find out who Dok-go Pae secretly contacts among them.”
“Yes. But time is of the essence. After the next duel, it will become apparent that Master Mu-jin was pretending.”
* * *
It was agreed that today’s meeting discussions would be kept secret.
Shinchun’s minions were everywhere, and even among the disciples, there might be spies.
Even if there were no spies, if the disciples talked among themselves, someone else might overhear.
After the meeting, Mu-jin was, as usual, engrossed in weight training.
When his mind was complicated, working out was the best solution.
He spent about an hour in self-training today, teaching bodyweight exercises to the Qinglong Unit members as an instructor.
‘Bodyweight exercises aren’t enough to stimulate my muscles.’
Mu-jin had become someone who couldn’t live without lifting weights of several hundred pounds.
Meanwhile, while Mu-jin was busy with his workout,
“Sss. Hoo.”
The same kind of breathing sound was heard from the Namgung Family’s estate.
The person making that sound was Namgung Jin-cheon.
“Was it like this?”
He had secretly memorized all the moves Mu-jin taught to the Qinglong Unit members during the self-training session.
The reason was simple. He suspected that Mu-jin’s overwhelming strength might be due to this external training method.
The only problem was that his pride wouldn’t allow him to join Mu-jin in training and call him “Instructor!” alongside the others.
Thus, Namgung Jin-cheon was intensely devoted to his training today, driven by a competitive spirit against Mu-jin.
“Sss. Hoo.”
He was unaware that there were those who intended to use his life.
* * *
The next morning.
Mu-jin, Jegal Jin-hui, and Mu-gung headed to the Martial Arts Alliance earlier than the others.
The three of them had been selected as deputy commanders of each unit, so they were attending the military meeting of the alliance.
Mu-gung, who hadn’t attended the previous day’s meeting, was especially confident, oblivious to everything.
“Why does a monk like you love authority so much?”
“W-what do you mean? Loving authority, you say.”
His pretense was amusing.
“Well, it’s better than having that rascal Mu-yul become the commander.”
“Snort. Isn’t it a bit much to compare me to Brother Mu-yul?”
While they had a trivial conversation, Jegal Jin-hui walked between them, smiling softly.
Their steps naturally halted as they sensed an intense killing intent.
Looking in the direction of the killing intent, they saw Il-hwi Dojang, known as the best talent of the Southern Edge Sect, glaring at them murderously.
“Tsk.”
Recognizing the opponent, Mu-jin clicked his tongue lightly.
Since that guy had become the deputy commander of the Suzaku Unit, they would likely encounter each other often in military or leadership meetings.
Anyone who has experienced it knows that dealing with someone who openly dislikes you is tiring in many ways.
‘If only I could just fight him and be done with it.’
But he couldn’t kill someone they had brought as an ally right in the middle of the Martial Arts Alliance, so it would only gnaw at his nerves.
Mu-gung and Jegal Jin-hui seemed to reach the same conclusion, as all three sighed simultaneously and started walking forward again.
Il-hwi Dojang followed a few steps behind, heading to the hall where the military meeting was held.
Because they arrived a bit early, there were quite a few empty seats when they got there.
Among those who had arrived earlier than Mu-jin’s group was Dok-go Pae.
“Deputy Commander. You’re quite early. Have a seat here.”
Dok-go Pae gestured towards Mu-jin. Looking at the seat in front of him, there was a paper with “Qinglong” written on it.
It seemed that seats were assigned for the commanders and deputy commanders of the Four Divine Units.
Jegal Jin-hui and Mu-gung also took their seats at the ones marked Baihu and Xuanwu.
Time passed, and the seats were all filled.
“The Alliance Leader and the General Manager have arrived.”
Finally, Wi Ji-hak and Jegal Muhwan appeared.
‘It’s likely one of these two or someone close to them.’
Mu-jin, careful not to let Dok-go Pae notice, organized his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Jegal Muhwan, standing in front of the map, tapped it with a stick and began speaking.
“Let’s briefly explain the first mission of the Four Divine Units. The traces of those suspected to be a cult’s military force have been found here, near the Chaidamu Basin in Qinghai. The Kunlun Sect is currently handling the preliminary investigation, and our Martial Arts Alliance and the Four Divine Units will depart in two days. If the traces truly belong to the cult’s military force and they are still in Qinghai, we will likely engage in battle.”
Jegal Muhwan continued explaining what each unit needed to prepare in the remaining two days, the route they would take to Qinghai, and what to do if they encountered the cult.
“Regarding the battle with the cult, since the investigation is not yet complete, I’ll briefly explain the main points and conclude.”
Mu-jin listened intently, hoping for any suspicious details in Jegal Muhwan’s explanation, but there was nothing noteworthy.
‘Tsk. Just the usual stuff.’
As Mu-jin clicked his tongue in disappointment, thinking the military meeting ended anticlimactically.
“Ah, and Qinglong Unit, please stay behind for further instructions.”
As the meeting concluded, Jegal Muhwan called Mu-jin and Dok-go Pae.
“Hmm. The members should be gathering in the training ground now, so I’ll leave the command to the deputy commander.”
“Then, only Commander Dok-go Pae needs to stay.”
Upon hearing Jegal Muhwan’s response, Dok-go Pae spoke to Mu-jin.
“Lead the training as you did yesterday, Deputy Commander.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Mu-jin managed his expression and left the meeting room.
* * *
When Mu-jin arrived at the training ground alone, he was warmly greeted by about forty people, including disciples from the Southern Edge Sect.
“Instructor!”
Mu-jin smiled lightly at the juniors who clung to him, asking to be taught exercises.
“Alright, we trained our lower body yesterday, so today we’ll focus on building our arms and chest.”
All the while, he tried to ignore Namgung Jin-cheon’s intense stare.
‘Stop glaring at me, you fool.’
Namgung Jin-cheon was memorizing Mu-jin’s training methods to practice them in his quarters later.
‘He’s not crazy enough to want to die, is he?’
From Mu-jin’s perspective, who had received an order from Shinchun to kill the guy, it was a troublesome look.
At that moment, Dok-go Pae, having finished his conversation with Jegal Muhwan, entered the training ground.
“Hmm…”
He glanced around the training ground and spoke.
“Considering that the competition to select the deputy commander ended in just three rounds, there might be some who are dissatisfied. If anyone is interested in the deputy commander position, you may challenge the Shaolin Dragon Deputy Commander to a duel.”
As soon as Dok-go Pae finished speaking, Namgung Jin-cheon’s eyes, already burning with intensity, flared even more.
Not missing this, Dok-go Pae added and sent a sound transmission to Mu-jin simultaneously.
“I will also give another opportunity to those who lost yesterday, such as the Cheongsu Dojang and the young master of the Namgung Family.”
– If Namgung Jin-cheon steps forward this time, do as we discussed yesterday.
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, Mu-jin felt a burning sensation inside.
He had expected at least a few days’ respite, but to think it would happen right away.
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