Book 10: Chapter 11: Tiger in the Front, Wolf in the Back

“No. Even if passing through the grand waterway is the fastest way to return to Luoyang, still…”

“To go back in there…”

The Life-Snatching Ghost Sword's action, which borderlined on an eccentric stunt, was enough to make the martial heroes shake their heads in amazement.

“That is enough.”

An elderly martial hero drew the attention of the crowd.

“There is no need for us to gossip about the actions of someone whose martial prowess we cannot even dare to imagine.”

Everyone nodded their heads.

“In fact, it is not the Great Hero Life-Snatching Ghost Sword, but rather ourselves that we should be worried about right now.”

“That is true…”

One of them asked the elderly martial hero.

“Now that I think about it, did Eldest Brother not give separate instructions to Brother Gam?”

The elderly martial hero called Brother Gam nodded.

"He did."

And then he shook his head.

“However, Eldest Brother only spoke a single name to me, and simply told me that we just needed to stay here.”

Clear signs of bewilderment appeared on the martial heroes' faces.

“A name?”

“That we just need to stay here?”

"What does that mean—?"

At that moment, a martial hero who had been standing guard on the outskirts out of habit sent a warning telepathic message.

[A presence is approaching!] "……!"

Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons and lowered their stance.

[Is it an enemy?!] the thought that there might be a squad of the Greedy Wolf unit that had quickly detoured and waited in advance crossed their minds.

[Damn it, we barely have any internal energy left to even transmit voice messages…] however, their anxiety ended quickly.

“Y-you do not need to be so wary! Fellow martial heroes!”

At that harmless appearance, one of the martial heroes tilted his head.

[I don't sense any internal energy?] at that, the elderly martial hero observed her with a cautious gaze and asked in a careful voice.

“…By any chance, do you carry the surname An?”

“Yes, that is correct!”

The tall woman introduced herself.

“My name is An Song-gyeong!”

A smile hung on her face.

“I am a member of the Tea Fan Maidenss, and one who follows the Eldest Young Master.”

The crowd stirred at the mention of the Tea Fan Maidenss.

“If it is the Tea Fan Maidenss, isn't that the name of that famous merchant group?”

“Eldest Brother has ties even with the Tea Fan Maidenss of Sichuan?”

Since there were naturally women among the martial heroes, they reacted even more strongly to the name of the Tea Fan Maidenss.

For the Tea Fan Maidenss was currently the name drawing the most attention in the field of accessories within the State of Zhongyuan.

“Everyone, please quiet down a bit.”

The elderly martial hero called Brother Gam stepped forward to quiet the small commotion and spoke to An Song-gyeong.

“That name and appearance certainly match what I heard from the Eldest Young Master. However…”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“The Eldest Brother I know is not someone who would send a woman with no martial arts to such a dangerous place all by herself.”

A martial hero who had been keeping his mouth shut and carefully observing the situation chimed in.

“We must check if you are perhaps wearing a human-skin mask, or if you have changed your face using disguise techniques or bone-shrinking arts.”

It was a completely reasonable suspicion.

For there were as many eccentric figures in the Jianghu as grains of sand, and among them, many possessed bizarre skills.

“Ah, that is…”

An Song-gyeong spoke with an awkward expression.

“Actually, I am not alone?”

The martial heroes of the Spring of Luoyang jumped in their places. "……!"

“Wh-what?!”

For no sooner had her words ended than unrecognizable presences were felt from the surrounding rocks, bushes, and tree trunks.

[Everyone, watch out!] of course, there was no way the shadows of the Shadow Group would answer.

[They are no ordinary figures!] the figures who revealed themselves as if rising from the shadows and darkness had their entire bodies wrapped in black robes.

“Everyone, calm down!”

[They are not showing any hostile intent!] while a few martial heroes restrained their hot-tempered companions who tried to react reflexively, why on earth were those who should be roaming around Sichuan present here in this distant Luoyang?

[They were right under our noses, yet we did not feel even a trace of their presence? They must possess a level of stealth at least equal to or greater than that of the Greedy Wolf.] a few who had good observation skills and were well-versed in Jianghu rumors examined them and exchanged opinions.

[Look at their weapons. They are of an unusual shape rarely seen in North China.] why on earth?

[The black clothes they are wearing also have an extraordinary quality.] for the conclusion they had reached was extremely absurd.

[Furthermore, look at that faintly visible green light in their eyes.] one martial hero sniffed and frowned.

[…And this pungent smell.] they looked at each other.

“…The Shadow Group of the Sichuan Tang Family?” "……."

Only the green glow in their eyes flashed a bit more eerily.

'First the Greedy Wolf, and now the Shadow Group…!'

How often would one meet the most famous organizations operating in the darkness of the State of Zhongyuan in succession?

However, their surprises did not end there.

“Uh, hum, hum. Since the time given to us is not very generous, prior to the explanation, first.”

An Song-gyeong cleared her throat to gather their attention.

“I will tell you what you need to do after you briefly reorganize yourselves.”

Having said that much, she shut her mouth.

“……?”

An Song-gyeong scratched the back of her head with an awkward expression.

“Ah, this is really…”

As the curiosity in the gazes of the Spring of Luoyang's martial heroes grew deeper, cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

'Why did the Eldest Young Master entrust me with such an awkward mission…'

When she did not speak properly, one martial hero pounded his chest in frustration.

“Miss An! Just what is this task that we are supposed to do?!”

“…It is the Eldest Young Master's command!”

As if she had no choice, An Song-gyeong closed her eyes tightly and shouted the command of the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon!

“From now on, you fellow martial heroes must become a 'highway robber band'!”

At the words 'highway robber band,' everyone's eyes grew wide. "……?!"

* * *

“A highway robber band…!”

A young woman burst into a roaring laughter, almost falling backward.

Her hair, streaked with green strands, tossed back along with her head, releasing a pungent fragrance.

If she had not received rigorous imperial education since childhood, she would have spat out the alcohol in her mouth.

“Young Patriarch, is it that funny?”

Despite Yeon So-hyeon's question, she, the Young Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family, Tang Eun-rang, chuckled and laughed for a long time.

“Oh my, thanks to the Eldest Young Master, I have the chance to laugh like this in my life.”

Wiping away the tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes from laughing too hard, she spoke.

“The Eldest Young Master naturally wouldn't know well, but the members of the Shadow Group are very proud people.”

Yeon So-hyeon stroked his chin.

“I understand since they are naturally one of the top intelligence organizations in the State of Zhongyuan, but…”

“No, no. It is not just to that extent.”

Tang Eun-rang waved her hand.

“Unless it is a major mission, they are the type of people who wouldn't even fetch water with their own hands.”

She let out a strange giggle again.

“When I accepted the Eldest Young Master's request and handed down the command myself, the Eldest Young Master should have seen the expression my Tang Uncle made back then…”

The Tang Uncle she spoke of referred to Tang Gwi-ho, the Vice Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family and the head of the Shadow Group.

He was also the closest confidant of the Patriarch.

Yeon So-hyeon recalled his face from the day they met and showed a bitter smile.

“The Vice Patriarch must not have liked it.”

“Of course!”

That lukewarm expression of Tang Gwi-ho, who was famous for his thick skin, would not be erased from her mind for the time being.

“To ask that Shadow Group to assist in highway robbery…!”

Once again, she laughed heartily.

“Who else in the Central Plains besides the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family could make such a request?”

“…It seems you had a lot built up against your uncle normally.”

Yeon So-hyeon lifted the liquor bottle, filled her empty cup, and then filled his own cup as well.

“Well, there is that too.”

She drank the liquor Yeon So-hyeon poured in one gulp and set the cup down with a thud.

“Above all, I could not help but accept because I was in awe of your unfathomable resourcefulness.”

The gaze with which she looked at Yeon So-hyeon was so clear that it was hard to believe it belonged to someone who had already finished several bottles of alcohol.

“To target the Yeon family blood relatives who are smuggling away their illegally accumulated assets to escape the investigation of the Central Inspection Department.”

Although their faces were close since they were sharing a table, there was no smell of alcohol from her mouth at all.

“In the first place, you must have been behind the movement of the Central Inspection Department from the very beginning, Eldest Young Master.”

In front of others, I would say that the Main Family's Central Inspection Department is an organization that strictly maintains political neutrality, but…

Yeon So-hyeon smiled faintly.

“I will not go so far as to deny it in front of the Young Patriarch.”

“Amazing, truly amazing.”

The Young Patriarch of the Tang Family, Tang Eun-rang, licked her lips and spoke in a low voice.

“In order to smuggle the wanted martial heroes out of Luoyang, you used the Yeon family blood relatives to prevent the Third Young Master's faction from blockading Luoyang.”

That appearance felt less like seductiveness and more like the tension of a swordsman facing a duel with a lifelong nemesis.

“And this time, you have the martial heroes you rescued intercept and rob the Yeon family blood relatives as they try to smuggle away their illegally accumulated wealth.”

“Isn't it too sweet an opportunity to just pass by?”

Yeon So-hyeon raised his cup, savored the aroma of the liquor, and smiled.

“It is the moment when assets, which are hard to even keep track of regarding how many places and by what methods they were hidden, are all moving at once.”

The aroma of the liquor was exceptionally sweet.

“It is to the point where the Central Inspection Department has not even been able to grasp the total amount of corruption accumulated over the past ten years yet.”

“Furthermore!”

Tang Eun-rang struck her knee.

“It is also the time when their guard is at its weakest!”

Yeon So-hyeon took a sip of the liquor and nodded.

“Originally, the hardest reason to touch the Yeon family blood relatives is—” tang Eun-rang snorted and cut off Yeon So-hyeon's words.

“Isn't it because they are the Yeon Clan, that is, the Sword Family itself?!”

She nodded repeatedly and admired.

“Yet they are moving on their own to avoid the gaze of the Sword Family!”

“I heard they consumed immense political resources to draw away the attention of the Main Family's intelligence departments.”

Tang Eun-rang laughed loudly once again.

“With a tiger blocking the front gate and a wolf entering through the back door, there is no way to survive!”

Tiger in front, wolf in back.

The Central Inspection Department began the investigation in front, and Yeon So-hyeon caught the scent and appeared from behind.

To the Yeon family blood relatives who had been accumulating wealth through corrupt means, it was literally that situation.

“And the most interesting point of this story is…!”

Tang Eun-rang's green eyes flashed.

“Those Yeon family blood relatives still do not know that a wolf has entered through the back door!”

She clapped her hands with a childlike smile.

“Since you have set up such a feast, how could I, Tang Eun-rang, not join in?!”

Yeon So-hyeon slowly shook his head.

“In the first place, it would have been impossible without an intelligence organization capable of tracking them while deceiving the eyes of the henchmen employed by the Yeon family blood relatives.”

Yeon So-hyeon's intelligence organization, the Crescent Moon Pavilion, was currently blocking the attacks of the Great Immortal Merchant Group, the intelligence organization of the Second Young Master's faction, which continued in the darkness.

Since just holding them down like that was a situation that could be called a miracle.

“Now, it is about time…”

Tang Eun-rang looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

“It is time for the martial heroes to move.”

Yeon So-hyeon took out a pocket watch from his robe, looked at it, and nodded.

“Indeed.”

Although she had no watch and even the stars and the moon were not visible in this space the accuracy of her ability to discern the time was astonishing.

In the jungles of Sichuan where the sky was not even visible the blood relatives of the Tang Family had engraved a secret method inside their bodies to measure that time precisely.

“Then, Eldest Young Master.”

Yeon So-hyeon's gaze turned toward her.

“I will ask you just one last thing.”

Her eyes sharpened.

“Just what do you plan to do with the massive amount of money obtained in that way?”

Yeon So-hyeon did not answer, but only smiled faintly.