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Chapter 389: Ambush (7)
Who would send a message in such a manner?
At first I considered whether it might be a prank, but two reasons made me discard that theory.
If the intent had been to mock the epithet 'Black Flame Dragon,' they wouldn't have bothered leaving a letter consisting of nothing but an incomprehensible string of numbers.
The second reason was the delivery method itself.
[Don't deliver if I come back. Deliver only if I don't.]
W̌е̇b̃nо̄v_ѐ l̂ Е́ ṅ ũm а
This meant the sender had anticipated from the start that he might not return—or rather, might not be able to.
The fact that they had gone out of their way to send me a coded message strongly suggested it was someone who already had prior dealings with me.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
And when I thought about the people around me recently, most had either entered Wuhan or stayed here—almost no one had left.
In other words, the odds of the sender having traveled outside Wuhan were slim.
'Then......'
Ultimately, among those who had come to Wuhan but could not return to their inn—that person had entrusted this package and letter.
Е n umа̌
The only individual who fit all these conditions was—
'Dam Ak!'
If there was someone in Wuhan who had been rendered unable to return to his lodging due to personal circumstances, it could only be the Black Thought Alliance's strategist.
And the deliberate use of the epithet 'Black Flame Dragon' only reinforced it.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Then what was his purpose in leaving this message?
'He's calling me.'
Ẃ e̊b̆ nӧ v́ е̂ l̇ Е̂ n̄ ǔ m̊ а̇
He wants me to enter the Mystic Gate Formation he deployed inside the Murim Alliance.
The problem was that even if I understood his intent, I couldn't act on it as he wished.
If he wanted me to come inside, he should have written proper directions—what am I supposed to do with nothing but these indecipherable numbers?
'Didn't take him for such a reckless person.'
This is the problem with geniuses. If they can do something, they assume everyone else can too.
I refused to submit to this genius's tyrannical expectations and sought another way.
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As it happened, there was one genius in Wuhan who might rival Dam Ak in intellect.
And conveniently, he and I were very close.
"......Brother......"
Even so, I felt bad waking him in the dead of night.
"......Brother."
Jegal Cheon-gi shuffled toward me with half-lidded eyes, then buried himself against my chest and stood there in a daze.
W е̂ bǹ оv̄ е̂ l̃ Еňümа̊
"Cheon-gi, are you asleep?"
"......No. Brother."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He answered in a drowsy drawl, then rubbed his eyes.
Soon, a bright smile spread across his face.
"Did you come in the middle of the night because you missed your little brother?"
Something about the expectation-filled look in his eyes made me nod involuntarily.
Wёb̌ ǹ о̇v́е ĺ E n̆ům̂ ӓ
"Y-yeah. That's right."
"I'm moved. Brother."
Jegal Cheon-gi nestled his face into my chest and hugged me again.
This kid, he's not just using this as an excuse to keep sleeping, is he?
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I'm kind of in a hurry here.
I patted his back to rouse him from his half-sleep.
Е́_ňum̈á
"Cheon-gi, sorry, but...... could you take a look at this for me?"
"What is it?"
When I held out the leather to Cheon-gi, the blank haze in his eyes gradually sharpened with focus.
"Why do you have this, Brother?"
"You know what it is?"
"These are Luminous Moon Numbers."
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"Luminous Moon Numbers?"
Cheon-gi nodded vigorously and launched into an explanation.
"Mystic Gate Formations work by twisting the laws of nature to create illusions. And there are mathematical principles commonly used across all such formations."
"This is one of those mathematical systems?"
"Within the Jegal Clan, the primary systems used are the Five Phases Numbers, Yin-Yang Numbers, Heaven-Earth Numbers—roughly five types combined in various ways. Among them, the Luminous Moon Numbers are a system widely used in the Black Path murim for constructing Mystic Gate Formations and sword formations."
Just as I'd suspected.
Е̄nu̇.m̀а̇
The letter had definitely been sent by Dam Ak.
Genius truly does recognize genius.
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"Then can you use this to find the Gate of Life inside a Mystic Gate Formation?"
"What kind of Mystic Gate Formation?"
"I don't know."
"......"
Е nù m_а
Because since the Hall of Repose incident, the entire area had been designated a restricted zone.
"Even formations based on the same mathematical system can be deployed in completely different ways. Moreover, most practitioners hide the foundational numbers in the deepest layer as a matter of course......"
So it can't be done, is what he's saying.
Disappointment seeped out in a small sigh, and Cheon-gi cautiously asked.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Do you...... absolutely have to go in?"
Honestly, it was hard to judge with certainty.
Ên û m а̌
If Dam Ak had deployed the formation, he should be able to dispel it himself.
If he couldn't easily dispel it, he wouldn't have been able to leave behind a clue like this in the first place.
Then if Dam Ak could come out on his own, why was he specifically calling me inside?
He was someone who, in both his previous life and this one, had planned meticulously for every contingency.
The bundle the shop boy had delivered was just one of many arrangements he'd prepared.
So a man like that would have surely—
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'He predicted that a situation requiring my presence would arise.'
I grew curious.
He knew about the Demonic Cult. He knew which direction the Black Thought Alliance and the Murim Alliance should go.
So why had he deliberately called me inside?
Whatever the reason—
"I have to go in."
Ẃ е̄bṅо̃v̌.ē l̂ Е n um а
I had to.
Cheon-gi studied my resolute gaze, then nodded.
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"Then there is one way."
"What is it?"
He steadied his breathing for a moment and met my eyes squarely.
"You go in together with me."
Ẁ e b̃nо̃ v̈ е̇ ĺ Е̄ňu.ṁ а̀.
"......"
Uh...... that's a bit......
***
What I was about to do was extremely dangerous.
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"......"
Granted, when has anything I've ever done not been dangerous—but this time was especially so.
Еn um ā. і d
Sneaking into a restricted zone of the Murim Alliance was bad enough, and now I'd be dragging Jegal Cheon-gi in with me.
Taking a junior into criminal activity was morally questionable, but the fact that the Grand Strategist was Cheon-gi's grandfather made it an even bigger problem.
"Is there no other way?"
Cheon-gi blinked at me and answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If you memorized all thirty types of Mystic Gate Formations and twenty types of sword formations that can be built on the Luminous Moon Numbers, it might be somewhat less dangerous—but well."
A boy who delivers a refusal with such impeccable logic.
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Memorization itself wasn't the issue—the time it would take was the problem.
And this wasn't the kind of situation where I could leisurely analyze a formation on my way in.
Hmm, what to do......
No matter how much I deliberated, the answer was always the same.
I placed my hands firmly on his shoulders.
"It's going to be a little dangerous, and it might feel a little illegal."
Е̄ ň ũ m̂ ӑ
"Surely...... you're not planning to rob a Black Path gang? You mustn't! I'll work harder and earn the money for you myself. Brother."
"......"
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What exactly does this kid think I am?
No—what do all my juniors think I am?
"That's not it."
"Ow, that hurts, Brother......"
Е̌ n̄ ú mȧ
Whoops, I'd unconsciously tightened my grip on his shoulders.
I gently released my hands and tapped his head instead.
"Where we need to go is the Murim Alliance."
"The Hall of Repose?"
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"Yes."
"It must be related to something important."
Е n.ūḿ а
Cheon-gi nodded as if he understood.
'What? What does he think he understands?'
While I tilted my head in confusion, the boy clenched his small fist.
"Understood. I'll go with you, Brother."
"No, what exactly do you understand?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure what you're planning. But whatever it is, I know for certain that you wouldn't do anything wrong."
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"......"
Didn't you just suspect me of planning a robbery?
"Please wait a moment. I'll go change into my Stealth Clothes."
"Wait—you have Stealth Clothes......?"
I had no idea why he owned Stealth Clothes, but Cheon-gi had already darted off before I could respond.
I mulled it over briefly, then gave up.
W е̂ b̀ n о vе ĺ Ёn̆ ü ma
There was only one answer available right now.
'This is to prevent a war—surely the Grand Strategist would forgive me for this much?'
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The piercing gaze of Jegal So-myeong flashed through my mind, but I shoved it away immediately.
***
Dressed in his Stealth Clothes (just a black martial arts uniform with a face covering—I told him to take off the face covering since it was too conspicuous), Jegal Cheon-gi accompanied me not to the Murim Alliance, but back to my lodging.
"I thought we were headed to the Hall of Repose?"
Е̃ n̊u̇m̆á.іd̃
"The security is too tight."
"I've learned a bit of Concealment Art as well."
I knew that—his swordsmanship was better than most kids' too.
But right now the Murim Alliance's security was at its peak.
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Everyone was practically begging for someone to breach the perimeter so they could pounce.
This kind of iron-clad guard would never be easily penetrated, and getting caught would mean serious consequences.
We̊b̄ n о̊v̀ ě l̄ Ė n̊úm̂ а̀
So I needed a somewhat safer method.
Sliding the lodging door open, sure enough, Dang Seo-hui had collapsed face-down on the table, drooling in her sleep.
I carefully approached and placed a hand on her shoulder.
TAP.
In an instant—belying the fact that she'd just been asleep—her other hand clamped down on mine, and three large needles wedged between her fingers glinted as they were pressed against my vital points.
GULP.
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The prickling edge of the needles tickled at my throat.
"Mmnya...... is that you, Junior Jin?"
Dang Seo-hui squinted, barely opening her eyes to verify it was me.
"Yes, it's me."
"Yaaawn...... I thought you were an attacker."
An intruder accusation in my own quarters.
En um̌а̄. і d
It wasn't important, so I let it go and spoke to Dang Seo-hui as she tucked her needles away.
"I need your help, Senior Dang."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"......I'm sleepy."
She turned her head the other way and pressed her forehead back against the table.
I knew the straightforward approach wouldn't work.
"It's time to become a true chivalrous hero."
Ŵ е́b̈nоv̌el Ӗ nũ m ӓ
"......"
Dang Seo-hui twitched and raised her head. But her heavy-lidded eyes hadn't changed.
"Yaaawn...... I'm already a true chivalrous hero."
And with that, she planted her face back on the table.
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Good thing I brought what I brought.
The moment a rustling sound reached her, Dang Seo-hui's ears perked up and her eyes snapped wide open.
E nu̇ m̈ а̀ . і̇ d̃
"......What is that?"
"Have you heard of Bak Family snow rice cakes?"
"B-Bak Family......! The ones that are always sold out because of limited ingredients......?"
I flashed a cheerful nod.
"Yes. Those very snow rice cakes."
Dang Seo-hui's eyes began sparkling brilliantly.
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I quickly lifted the snow rice cake out of her reach.
"I-I would like you to give it to me."
Dang Seo-hui strained on tiptoe, arms stretching desperately.
I deliberately lowered the rice cake just enough for her fingertips to brush it, then—
"If you'd just give—"
—raised it high again.
Еn̈ u mа̇ .і̂ d
"Not for free."
"Th-then......?"
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"Help me with the job."
"What kind of job?"
"We need to get into the Hall of Repose."
"......"
Еn̄um̀ а̀
Dang Seo-hui's eyes turned cold.
"You're planning to sneak in?"
"Yes. We have to sneak in."
"Breaking the law is not acceptable."
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"A true chivalrous hero must sometimes do things others would point fingers at. All of this is for the greater good."
"......"
Е n ū mа . і́ď
Dang Seo-hui's gaze wavered as her deliberation deepened.
At that moment, Jegal Cheon-gi muttered quietly.
"......Brother, isn't that White-Hand Divine Maiden? You really think this kind of absurd persuasion would work on someone like her?"
"Cheon-gi. When persuading someone, what matters isn't the logic. It's what emotion you appeal to."
"What do you mean......"
"Watch."
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I deliberately shifted my hand so the wrapping crinkled audibly.
Dang Seo-hui's eyes darted between the snow rice cake and my face—and finally, she set her jaw and nodded.
"This is all for the murim......"
While Jegal Cheon-gi reeled in shock, I answered without missing a beat.
"The murim will never forget the Great Hero Dang's sacrifice!!"
Somehow the snow rice cake had already slipped from my hand and been magnetically absorbed into Dang Seo-hui's grasp.
Е̃n um̈ а
***
Once inside the Murim Alliance, we headed for the outer compound.
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Security was strict, but with Dang Seo-hui in the lead, no one barred our way.
Before reaching the Hall of Repose, we ducked into the shadows to avoid prying eyes.
Leaving Jegal Cheon-gi—whose ability to mask his presence was relatively weaker—in the rear, Dang Seo-hui and I crept toward the Hall of Repose's perimeter wall.
Dang Seo-hui produced three mother-of-pearl bottles from within her changshan.
Ёn̄ u m̀ ã .і̄ d̃
"......Senior Dang, please don't kill them. They're on our side."
Dang Seo-hui shot me a withering look.
"Forgetting Herb and Numbing Herb have to be used together. If they become aware that they've fallen asleep, they'll realize there was an intrusion."
Tsk. Trying to teach a pig to sing.
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I clamped my mouth shut.
Sniff, sniff.
Е̊n ǔḿà.і̆ ď
Dang Seo-hui closed her eyes and raised her nose high, as if sampling the air.
Then she appeared to detect something invisible in the air that my eyes could not perceive, and slowly uncorked the bottles.
Hissss......
Riding along Dang Seo-hui's faintly reddened hands, white wisps of vapor from the three bottles drifted silently across the Hall of Repose area.
The sentries, who had been scanning their surroundings with sharp, vigilant eyes, began to blink heavily as though their eyelids had turned to lead.
Then, as if their bodies had simply locked in place, they closed their eyes where they stood.
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"Done."
After giving Dang Seo-hui a pat on the head, I called Cheon-gi over and was about to scale the wall into the Hall of Repose when—
Whoosh—
Dang Seo-hui latched on behind us.
"We'll handle things from here."
"And how will you get out? Are you going to announce yourselves to everyone on the way?"
Е̊n̆ ûm а̊ . і̂ d̆
She had a point.
The deliberation was short, and the action even shorter.
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Refusing her at this stage on the grounds of secrecy would be laughable.
I gave a light nod, then moved again.
Inside the Hall of Repose, the Alliance members were standing ramrod straight—sound asleep.
Having only ever seen people collapse to the ground when hit by sleeping poison, this was a truly marvelous sight to me.
En̄û m̆ а̂
'The true successor who inherited the Poison King's True Inheritance......'
Passing through that eerie scene and stepping into the side courtyard—
WHOOOONG—
The formation in question was active, its black fog billowing.
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"Can you do this?"
"......"
Ẅё.b̌ṅ оv̆ e l̄ E̊ ñu mа̊
Knowing every moment counted, Jegal Cheon-gi skipped pulling out the Four Treasures of the Study from his robes and instead produced several oddly shaped instruments, muttering under his breath.
Before long, he parted the fog with his hand on one side, and the moment he took a single step forward—
WHOOSH—
A section of the fog cleared, revealing an entrance.
"From this point, follow only me."
With Jegal Cheon-gi in the lead, we carefully threaded our way through the formation.
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I had to stop Dang Seo-hui several times from trying to touch things.
Pitch black in every direction, with not even an inch of the path ahead visible—it evoked the same feeling as the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation.
Cheon-gi checked and cross-referenced his instruments against the leather message, methodically opening the way forward.
After what felt like an eternity—
"Brother, we're here."
We had reached the formation's exit.
Ëńū m̆ а̄
"Let me go first."
Accounting for the worst case, the one-in-ten-thousand chance, I stepped forward—
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WHOOOOSH.
The surrounding fog parted with an almost mystical grace, and a side building materialized before my eyes.
And standing in its center—
"......You're late. Young Master Jin."
Е̌ n̂ u ḿ a
Dam Ak, looking somewhat gaunt, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching me with an expressionless face.
Relief that he was alive, and gladness at seeing him—I was about to step toward him when—
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG.
Multiple swords and sabers were drawn simultaneously and leveled at my companions.
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Black Thought Alliance warriors, unmistakably not Alliance members.
They unleashed coarse, menacing killing intent without restraint.
Ěnuḿа̄.і̀ d̆
Then a voice, low and flat as fog clinging to the ground, was aimed our way.
"Are you prepared to pay the price for what the Murim Alliance has done?"
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