The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24. A Crazy Gambit
Ryu answered Moyong Jieun’s question.
“Prisoners aren’t under my jurisdiction.”
Catching the disappointment that flickered across Moyong Jieun’s face, Ryu pressed on.
“That said, I haven’t heard that the prisoner is dead.”
“Is that true?”
Watching Moyong Jieun’s eyes brighten again, Ryu gave a small nod.
“It is.”
Observing Moyong Jieun’s relieved expression, Ryu posed an unexpected question.
“Your mother must be beautiful as well.”
While Yi Song and Hui Jun exchanged puzzled glances at Ryu’s abrupt remark, Moyong Jieun replied.
“I’ve never met her, so I wouldn’t know. From what I understand, she passed away after giving birth to me.”
Yi Song tilted his head at Moyong Jieun’s answer.
Moyong Changun was the eldest son of the Moyong Clan head.
If he claimed Moyong Jieun as his true younger sister, then she ought to be a legitimate daughter of the Moyong Clan head.
The problem was……
“As far as I understand, the Moyong Clan matriarch is alive and well.”
When Yi Song voiced his question aloud, Moyong Jieun smiled and answered.
“I’m an illegitimate daughter—brought in from outside.”
An illegitimate child.
That’s what they called it.
Yi Song bowed his head before Moyong Jieun, who spoke of her flaw without hesitation.
“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything by asking.”
“It’s all right. I’ve never been insulted for being illegitimate, and I’ve never suffered discrimination because of it.”
“Discrimination? Ha! If anyone dared try, what wouldn’t he do! The clan head and Changun would never allow such a thing! Neither would I!”
In Dan Rihyeon’s firm voice, one could hear how deeply loved she was by her father and brother.
Yi Song’s eyes widened at Dan Rihyeon’s assurance—it made the truth undeniable.
He had caught sight of Ryu exhaling a breath of relief.
And something else in his eyes: a flicker of resolve.
Uncertain what that resolve might be, Yi Song heard Ryu’s voice reach his ears.
“If he were to return, what punishment would he receive?”
Moyong Jieun, her expression brightening slightly, answered Ryu’s question.
“There would certainly be some punishment. Still, with my brother’s position and background, perhaps just a reprimand? At worst, he might be confined to quarters.”
Ryu shook his head at Moyong Jieun’s answer.
“Not him. You.”
“What do you mean?”
Startled, Moyong Jieun asked, and Ryu explained.
“I’m curious what punishment you would receive if you returned.”
Still not grasping his intent, Moyong Jieun tilted her head in confusion, but Dan Rihyeon stepped in instead.
“The same as me. The Moyong Clan wouldn’t tolerate anything worse. And the same would apply to me! I swear it—I’ll see to it that no one ever lays a hand on her!”
“Can you swear to that?”
“Without reservation!”
At Dan Rihyeon’s answer, Ryu nodded and turned his gaze to Yi Song and Hui Jun.
In that instant, sensing Ryu was about to do something he shouldn’t, Yi Song moved to stop him—but Hui Jun caught his arm.
Startled, Yi Song saw calm in Hui Jun’s eyes.
The questions that had filled them moments before were gone.
It meant Hui Jun had grasped why Ryu was doing this.
And that the reason aligned with what he was about to do.
Yi Song trusted his comrades just as much as Ryu did.
The same held true even for Hui Jun, whose tenure at Jeok-sa-jo was the shortest among them.
That was why Hui Jun’s acknowledgment carried weight.
Though Yi Song did not yet understand the reason, he chose to trust Hui Jun’s judgment.
Yi Song gave a slow nod and stepped back alongside Hui Jun, and Ryu nodded faintly in return.
It was a sign of gratitude.
Having thus confirmed his comrades’ consent, Ryu looked at Moyong Jieun and spoke.
“Then go back and wait.”
“Pardon?”
Moyong Jieun repeated the words, seemingly too startled to comprehend, and Ryu spoke again.
“I’m telling you to return from here.”
“What do you—?”
Yi Song spoke to Moyong Jieun, who still wore the look of someone struggling to comprehend.
“I understand what drove you to surrender, but things won’t unfold as you wish. The Maeng-ui-dan will never keep you at their headquarters. They’ll transfer you directly to the Cheolheol-maeng. You won’t get a chance to save your brother—you won’t even see his face.”
“If I refuse to hand over any information until I confirm my brother’s safety…….”
“Then they’ll likely torture your brother right before your eyes. They could sever his limbs one by one until he yields useful intelligence. Actually, they certainly will.”
Moyong Jieun was struck speechless by Yi Song’s brutal interruption.
“H-how could anyone commit such an abomination…….”
“Believe me. They’re more than capable.”
“Then—then it’s even more impossible for me to leave! I’ve already exposed my brother’s identity, so they’ll never let him go! Oh God! You knew that, so why did you make me speak the truth!”
Yi Song regarded Moyong Jieun with quiet attention as she blamed herself, then spoke.
“Has he treated you well?”
“Treated me well? My brother surrendered rights that were rightfully his, all to shelter me. How could I have risen to such a prestigious position? No matter how practical the military hierarchy might be, they don’t easily place a woman in a position of such power—one where a sharp mind alone could determine the lives of countless warriors—simply because her head happens to be clever.”
It seemed that Moyong Jieun’s ascent to this important post had been made possible by the steadfast support of her half-brother, who had sacrificed his own advancement to enable her success.
Realizing that her own recklessness had only deepened the danger to her brother’s safety, Moyong Jieun’s voice trembled with passion.
As if to declare something that could never be changed, she spoke.
“So I will absolutely go to the Maeng-ui-dan. You’ll have to kill me to stop me!”
The light in her eyes as she steeled her resolve burned with sincerity.
Yi Song regarded her quietly for a moment, then spoke.
“You don’t need to die. And I’m not taking you to the Maeng-ui-dan either.”
“That’s what you’re saying, but you don’t understand. I won’t go back alone and live with myself…….”
“Your brother—I’ll find a way to send him back. You should go.”
Yi Song’s words, blocking her path with an unexpected proposition, made Moyong Jieun’s eyes widen in shock.
“R-really? Why? Why would you go so far?”
“I have no obligation to explain myself to you.”
Yi Song’s gaze, cold and fixed as before, turned toward Dan Rihyeon.
“You don’t strike me as foolish enough to miss an opportunity.”
Dan Rihyeon, after studying Yi Song for a moment, nodded.
But Moyong Jieun shook her head urgently at him.
“No. That man would never release my brother! So I absolutely cannot…….”
Her words scattered and her strength failed; Dan Rihyeon caught her as she collapsed.
Standing behind Moyong Jieun, Hui Jun held up a needle with an awkward smile.
“I stimulated a pressure point with acupuncture. She’ll sleep soundly for about three hours.”
Dan Rihyeon bowed slightly in gratitude and turned back to Yi Song.
“I won’t ask for reasons. I doubt you’d answer honestly anyway.”
“Get going, then.”
Yi Song’s cold voice deliberated turned away from Moyong Jieun as Dan Rihyeon spoke.
“Listen—the dragon at the Yong-un Guest Inn awaits the clouds.”
Confused by the cryptic words, Yi Song regarded Dan Rihyeon with a questioning gaze as the latter continued.
“If you find Moyong Changun, give him this message. And he’ll trust everything you say unconditionally.”
It seemed to be a kind of code phrase.
One would indeed need something capable of establishing trust when approaching someone concealing their true identity.
Understanding in that context, Yi Song nodded, and Dan Rihyeon, without hesitation, turned to depart.
As Dan Rihyeon left, Yi Song’s voice reached her.
“She escaped during the chaos of the mixed battle.”
Dan Rihyeon turned back, confused, as Yi Song continued.
“That’s how I’ll report it.”
Only then did Dan Rihyeon understand, and she nodded.
“I won’t offer some embarrassing platitude about never forgetting this kindness. Let’s meet… again someday.”
With those words left behind, Dan Rihyeon’s figure was soon swallowed by the dense forest.
Yet Yi Song stood gazing blankly for some time before Hui Jun spoke.
“That was her, wasn’t it?”
The question startled Yi Song enough that something like bewilderment flickered across the eyes of someone famous for maintaining an expressionless face.
Hui Jun smiled at him knowingly.
“I’ve seen her a couple of times over your shoulder. The portrait of your mother that the patriarch would take out now and then. Now I remember—Moyong Jieun bears an uncanny resemblance to it. Your sister, the one you’ve been searching for all this time… am I right?”
Yi Song said nothing to Hui Jun’s question.
Understanding that silence was not denial, Yi Song’s eyes widened.
One of the reasons Yi Song had remained in this wretched battlefield was now plainly walking away before his eyes.
“Then why didn’t you stop her?”
Yi Song answered Yi Song’s bewildered question.
“I didn’t want to tell a child who seemed to be living quite well that her father—the bastard who sold her mother, the woman who gave birth to her mere hours after her birth, to a courtesan house and abandoned her; that her mother died unjustly at the hands of some brute because of that—I couldn’t bring myself to tell her.”
Yi Song spoke at unusual length, and Yi Song could say nothing more.
Ryu turned to Yi Song and Hui Jun with an apologetic expression.
“Today’s events…”
“It’s a shame, really. If the enemy’s assault had been even slightly less coordinated, we wouldn’t have let Dan Rihyeon escape with that prestigious position.”
At Hui Jun’s sudden outburst, Ryu caught the meaning and reached out to playfully ruffle the younger man’s hair.
Yi Song nodded at Ryu and spoke.
“True enough—we’ve lost our chance. But there are too many enemies to chase after them, so let’s make our own escape.”
The forest around them held nothing but the three of them; no enemies anywhere.
Ryu offered Yi Song a smile, glanced once in the direction where Moyong Jieun and Dan Rihyeon had vanished, then turned his body.
Hui Jun watched Ryu walk away and muttered anxiously.
“Will it be all right?”
“It’s a pity, but I can’t say it’s the wrong choice. If her true defection was a ruse to rescue her brother…”
Yi Song glanced sideways at Ryu, who was now some distance ahead, before continuing.
“…then it’s no different from throwing yourself into fire with kindling on your back.”
“Still, even if she defected, the Maeng-ui-dan won’t simply abandon their suspicions so easily.”
Yi Song nodded at Hui Jun’s words and spoke.
“That’s why it’s right to let her go.”
Having said that, Yi Song followed Ryu, and Hui Jun asked him a question.
“But will you really manage to get him out?”
Yi Song watched Ryu’s back as he walked ahead and answered Hui Jun’s concern.
“He won’t break a promise made to his brother.”
Hui Jun’s expression darkened as he contemplated what might unfold.
Yi Song spoke quietly to the troubled youth.
“Don’t worry. We’re not fool enough to do anything openly.”
The word “we” made Hui Jun realize that Yi Song himself would be involved in this—his expression shifted to surprise before he let out a small laugh.
“True enough—we’re not fools.”
Whether Ryu heard the conversation of the two trailing behind him or not, he, who had moved some distance ahead, spoke in an even voice.
“We’ll move in earnest now. We’ll need a record of kills substantial enough that a chaotic battle serves as a plausible excuse.”
His words hinted at the blood festival Ryu would now unleash to give substance to the pretext of releasing Moyong Jieun and Dan Rihyeon.
Hui Jun, understanding the implication, could not hide the darkening in his eyes.
After all, he was a follower of Catholicism, which held the doctrine that one must never kill indiscriminately.
For that reason, Hui Jun’s heart, as he hurried after the receding Ryu in quick steps, was filled with anguish for the lives that would soon be extinguished.
***
There was nothing more vile and cruel than one human being killing another.
Some claimed that dazzling martial arts made even the dying and their spilled blood appear beautiful, but to Hui Jun’s eyes, that was simply the delusion of a madman.
“Retch…”
Ryu gazed steadily at Hui Jun, who was already retching near the foot of a tree, while Yi Song offered an awkward smile.
“Forgive him—the lad has a weak stomach.”
Even Yi Song could not conceal his ashen complexion as he spoke.
It was unavoidable.
They were now trapped in a mountain clearing where nearly three hundred corpses lay sliced, split, and crushed.
The reek of blood permeated the very air, and the stench of entrails scattered about was potent enough to overturn the viscera.
Retching in such a place would be the natural response.
“But… how much longer do you intend to stay here? He’s been like this for hours.”
“The stench of blood doesn’t only draw crows.”
He understood. A reek this thick would draw every tracker from the Hyeol-gwi-dae in the vicinity straight to them.
The question was why he was deliberately calling them here.
“Dan Rihyeon may escape the lower-rank blood demons, but against secret demons and dark demons prowling the field—there’s no way that child gets out safely.”
“Surely you don’t mean…”
“If I’ve decided to let her live, she’ll live. If I’d meant to kill her midway, I wouldn’t have sent her off like that.”
“Then… you mean to draw all the trackers who might chase after her and finish them once and for all?”
“There’s a vast difference between them returning by their own will and being dragged back by a pursuit team.”
Yi Song could not refute Ryu’s logic.
The difference in outcome would be as vast as heaven and earth.
So he understood that Ryu’s reasoning wasn’t faulty judgment.
The problem was that the enemy strength he would now draw would be beyond what either Yi Song or Hui Jun could contribute.
The fortunate circumstance that had allowed Yi Song to protect Hui Jun during the last battle while Ryu finished off the lower-rank blood demons could not be repeated.
In short, the coming battle would force Ryu to fight while protecting both Yi Song and Hui Jun.
Worried by this danger, Yi Song found himself grumbling uselessly about his comrades who had yet to arrive.
“Why are these fools taking so long?”
Filled with worry, Yi Song reproached the late arrival of Dong Pil and the others who had split off separately, and Ryu replied to him flatly.
“They won’t come.”
“What……?”
Ryu remained composed, though Dan Rihyeon’s gaze turned bewildered.
Yi Song caught the stubborn glint in his eyes—a refusal to burden others—and understood the situation at once.
In fact, it had struck her as odd when Dong Pil hesitated at Ryu’s command regarding the rendezvous point.
He must have sensed then that Ryu intended to move alone.
“I understand your reluctance to share responsibility for this operation with them, but isn’t it far too dangerous?”
Ryu answered her concern without emotion.
“I’ll handle more of it myself.”
Yi Song could only sigh at his reply.
“Hah…….”
Even if the enemy was a black demon—the strongest of the blood demon ranks—Joa Ryang and Dong Pil would be considerable assets to Ryu.
And with Jang Min-su present, it would be easier for her and him together to shield Hui Jun.
Ryu turned back to face Yi Song, who wore her disappointment plainly.
“That’s why I apologize to them both. But moving alone would be too obvious, and I’d have no excuse to give the leadership of the Maeng-ui-dan afterward.”
Everyone would see it as deliberate.
Deliberately so.
“You needn’t apologize for bringing us. We’re willing to be complicit in that much. It’s no problem at all. The real concern is what comes after. Is it truly all right……? No, it isn’t.”
Yi Song closed her mouth, realizing the question was pointless once the operation had begun. Ryu offered her a faint smile.
Ryu valued this about Yi Song.
She read people’s hearts well.
And knew how to let things pass with grace.
“Don’t worry. Even if the black demon’s grandfather came instead, with these two by my side, I won’t lose.”
No, he wouldn’t lose.
From what Yi Song had witnessed, Ryu in combat transcended human limits entirely.
Now was no different.
He had slaughtered three hundred blood demons single-handedly in less than an hour.
Against a black demon, she saw no difference.
The real question was what price he would pay to win.
Winning while losing an arm or a leg wasn’t victory at all.
But truth be told, that wasn’t what truly unsettled her.
She voiced what truly concerned her.
“The battle itself is troubling, but what comes after is the real problem.”
“You’re worried about the return?”
“It won’t be overlooked. Even if the leadership wants to let it pass, Bong Jin won’t—not after Jeok-sa-jo has shed so much blood for this.”
Ryu had nothing to say to that.
The many fallen of Jeok-sa-jo had accomplished the mission through their deaths, their blood—and he had rendered it all worthless.
So he understood.
That Bong Jin would never forgive him, even though he had saved his life.
“It’s only natural.”
“Yes, it is. I would do the same, and so would you. That’s why I worry—how you’ll manage this, whether you truly believe you can navigate it.”
As Yi Song voiced her grave concern, Ryu rose from the rock where he had been seated.
“First, I’ll deal with these arriving guests, rescue this Moyong Changun, and think about the rest then.”
Yi Song watched Ryu’s retreating figure move toward the enemy beginning to appear, and another sigh escaped her lips.
“Hah…….”
***
In the slanting dawn moonlight, the distant garrison of the Maeng-ui-dan lay wrapped in cold stillness.
Jang Min-su’s gaze shifted from the garrison to Bong Jin, who leaned quietly against a wooden pillar.
Watching Bong Jin stand motionless with his eyes closed, Jang Min-su exhaled a deep sigh much like those within the hall.
“Hah……. I’m not sure this is the right thing to do.”
Had someone been nearby, they would have called it madness rather than wisdom.
Indeed, it was hardly wise that Jeok-sa-jo, the Maeng-ui-dan’s foremost scout unit, was now infiltrating the Maeng-ui-dan itself.
“Waiting never gets easier, does it.”
Jang Min-su had remained here because someone was needed to guard Bong Jin, whom Joa Ryang had put to sleep by striking a pressure point.
Now Joa Ryang and Dong Pil were infiltrating the Maeng-ui-dan garrison.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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