The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 29

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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 29. Deception
“Of course. So how long will it take? Until everything sinks completely?”
“How much time remains on the Ui Gi Ryeong issued to Jeok Sa Jo?”
“Two months.”
“Two months… If you could just announce that timeframe, I’ll have them caught within a fortnight.”
“Then I’ll distribute Jeok Myeol Dae’s assignments to Heuk Ya Dae and Cheong Jeong Dae during that period.”
The concern was that deploying an unstable Jeok Myeol Dae into an operation might result in unnecessary casualties.
Hwang Cheol, who had been worried about precisely that, bowed his head with visible relief.
“Thank you, sir.”
For him, not only the members of Jeok Sa Jo, but also all the fallen Jeok Young Jo operatives and even those who had caused problems were precious subordinates of Jeok Myeol Dae.
Understanding Hwang Cheol’s concern, Lee Hwan’s face bore a faint smile as he saw him out.
“A good man.”
Lee Hwan spoke with quiet satisfaction, and Gong Chan regarded him in silence.
From where he stood, Lee Hwan seemed every bit as virtuous as Hwang Cheol.
Yet in the Jianghu, such men had little chance of survival.
That troubled Gong Chan deeply.
***
Under the assumed name of Ga Seung In, Yeo Jeong and her group lodged in the Ui Gi Dae dormitory on the outskirts of Maeng Ui Dan—a party of three men and one woman.
Given that those accompanying Yeo Jeong as her escort were the Shin Ki Sam Geom master Yong Hyeon and the female swordmaster So Yeo Woon, the composition seemed inexplicable.
It should have been two men and two women.
That mystery dissolved when, seated around the table, Yong Hyeon posed a question to the plainly dressed young scholar beside him.
“Scholar Yeo—or rather, I should say Scholar Yeo now. That disguise suits you remarkably well, I must say.”
“It has to. Female strategists are rare enough, and female scholars are hardly common either. So both of you will need to be mindful of how you address me from now on.”
“Escort… Oh! We were escorts for Il Ja Seo Won, weren’t we?”
Yong Hyeon replied playfully, but Yeo Jeong’s expression grew serious.
“We won’t conceal our identities forever, so everything we do here will eventually carry the name of Baek Ui Ryeon with it.”
Even as Yeo Jeong continued her warning, Yong Hyeon’s smile never wavered.
“I can’t accept failure, but I won’t tolerate being called careless.”
“Ah, ah! Scholar Yeo has me so frightened now I can hardly speak freely.”
Yeo Jeong understood Yong Hyeon’s lightness of spirit well enough.
His nature was bright and playful by habit, yet not so much that he confused work from leisure.
This behavior now was a sign of his nervousness.
It made sense—his real combat experience amounted to little more than a few skirmishes suppressing pirates in Nam Hae, and now he was setting foot on Sa Ja Pyeong, a battlefield tempered by the blood of true warriors.
She understood that feeling all too well.
Yet given the weight of the mission entrusted to this small band, even that was beyond tolerance.
That thought emerged in a voice gone cold as ice.
“Yong Hyeon!”
Seeing Yeo Jeong’s voice and expression turn as hard as frozen stone, Yong Hyeon let out a small, embarrassed cough.
“Ahem! Understood. I’ll cast aside all jest and keep my mind sharp and focused.”
Though his tone still carried a note of petulance, his eyes had grown cold and alert.
Yeo Jeong, confirming that he grasped the gravity of their situation, chose not to press the point further.
Instead, she turned to the task at hand.
“We’ve succeeded in our first step—gaining entry to Ui Gi Dae as planned. But don’t forget that their verification remains, as the name Ga Seung In itself makes clear. Be mindful in all your actions.”
Only then did Yong Hyeon set aside his playfulness and ask, “That’s fine for us, but can Il Ja Seo Won be trusted?”
“They’re one of our secret operatives who haven’t been exposed to Cheol Hyeol Maeng. It was arranged before we came here, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
At Yeo Jeong’s answer, Yong Hyeon’s expression clouded with concern.
“Once we finish gathering intelligence, we’ll eventually have to reveal our identities. Won’t Il Ja Seo Won come under suspicion then?”
“Just before we reveal ourselves, they’ll close the academy and withdraw.”
“A precious operative lost to the wind, then.”
“The mission is important enough to warrant that sacrifice. Which is why the three of us must stay sharp.”
“I understand.”
But Yong Hyeon’s grave demeanor and resolute tone lasted only so long.
“Well then, shall we go eat? We have to eat to survive, after all, and we’ve already blown past lunch.”
“Yong Hyeon!”
Even as Yeo Jeong’s voice carried reproach, Yong Hyeon rose from his seat with an undiminished grin.
“I know, I know. Stay serious. But looking grim and skipping meals won’t make anyone more serious. If we act that stiffly, we’ll only draw more attention.”
Faced with this unexpected observation, Yeo Jeong’s expression hardened.
Yong Hyeon pressed on. “The cover we’ve built is of hired swords worn thin by the academy’s meager wages, drifting into the warzone of Sa Ja Pyeong. Such gravity would only seem more suspicious. You don’t think so?”
Yeo Jeong found no argument to counter Yong Hyeon’s words. He was absolutely right.

“I was so focused on the importance of the mission that I overlooked it. Thank you, Yong Hyeon.”
“Don’t mention it. Speaking of which, shall we grab something to eat? You look like you’re about to faint from hunger.”
At Yong Hyeon’s persistent teasing, Yeo Jeong smiled this time rather than retorting.
“Perhaps. Oh! I’ll need to change my voice too. How about like this?”
“Try making it a bit deeper.”
“Ah, like this?”
“But do you really have to disguise yourself as a man?”
“The barrier between scholars and martial artists is surprisingly higher and more rigid than between martial artists themselves. If someone without martial prowess like me is to work here, I have no choice but to pose as a scholar—and a woman in that role would draw far too much attention.”
“I see. Well then, let’s adjust your speech pattern along with that final voice tone.”
“My speech pattern? How so?”
“Consciously add ‘—da’ or ‘—kka’ to the end of your sentences. It’ll make you sound rougher that way.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. And lower your voice a touch more…”
“Is this enough?”
Perhaps because he knew her true nature as a woman, the disguise seemed slightly awkward and incomplete.
Yet knowing she’d pushed as far as she could, Yong Hyeon nodded his approval.
“Yes. You’ll need to maintain that consistently.”
“Understood. I mean—understood.”
“Good. That’ll do. Shall we head out to eat then?”
So Yeo Woon—or rather, So Woon as she would now be called—watched Yeo Jeong leave the room with concern in her eyes as she quietly followed behind Yong Hyeon.
***
The Ui Gi Dae nominally fell under the jurisdiction of the Nok An Dae.
All matters concerning rear-echelon security fell within their purview.
Yet due to the Ui Gi Dae’s distinctive character and the exclusivity of its personnel, it operated as a practically independent institution.
For this reason, the Ui Gi Dae was positioned outside the main rear lines of the Maeng Ui Dan.
In other words, it sat in the rear of the rear.
And so the Ui Gi Dae had fallen beyond the Maeng Ui Dan’s security network—which is why it required its own guard squad.
However, given the Ui Gi Dae’s nature, relations with Maeng Ui Dan members could never be good, so rather than selecting guards from within the organization, they recruited outsiders just as they did for all other positions.
This precaution stemmed from concern that frequent joint operations among Maeng Ui Dan members might breed resentment.
In any case, for one reason or another, the Ui Gi Dae was staffed entirely by outsiders.
Even the director of the Ui Gi Dae was chosen from among these external recruits.
As a result, the Ui Gi Dae, though an organ of the Maeng Ui Dan, operated with such distance that it seemed almost completely separate.
It was into this Ui Gi Dae that the Jeok Sa Jo members entered.
After a cursory verification of their information, the quarters assigned to the Jeok Sa Jo were a ramshackle hovel with a burlap sack pinned across what had once been a doorway.
Though the Jeok Sa Jo’s usual barracks were far from luxurious, they paled in comparison to the squalor of this place.
“Compared to a prison cell, this isn’t half bad.”
It seemed the others shared Jwa Ryang’s blunt assessment, for the Jeok Sa Jo members lodged no particular complaint about their accommodations.
To be honest, it wasn’t because the quarters were acceptable—it was because of Ryu.
They feared he might take offense at their grievances.
Sensing this, Ryu, who had been watching the members settle onto burlap in place of proper bedding as though they were in their own home, finally spoke.
“I’m… sorry.”
The members turned toward him in surprise, exchanging bewildered glances with one another.
It was the first time any of them had heard Ryu apologize.
Pushed by their astonished stares, Lee Song broke the silence.
“You’ve nothing to apologize for. No one here went along with that business unwittingly, and we didn’t extract anyone from a cell under false pretenses. In truth, I count myself fortunate it ended this way. But what we’re truly concerned about… is you. Are you alright?”
When Ryu offered no reply, Lee Song continued.
“You realized that the sister you barely found might not actually be your real sister.”
Lee Song was right.
It was Dong Pil’s concern about Mo Yong Chang Un—whom Ryu had left in a place conspicuous enough to catch the eyes of the Hyeol Hyeol Gwi that prowled about Sa Ja Gwan—that they had conveyed to him.
Only once the situation had clearly come to an end did they finally tell him.
Ryu had to admit Dong Pil’s words held merit.
There was no reason Mo Yong Chang Un should resemble his mother.
Which meant both Mo Yong Chang Un and Mo Yong Ji Eun might resemble not Ryu’s mother, but someone else who resembled her.
That possibility was far more likely to explain why the two siblings shared such similar features.
Seeing Ryu sink into dejection, Hee Jun ventured carefully.
“It’s too much of a coincidence for Mo Yong to bear such a striking resemblance to his mother.”
The others nodded at Hee Jun’s words.
“That much is true.”
It really was.
There wasn’t a single member of the Jeok Sa Jo who hadn’t seen the portrait Ryu carried with him.
By anyone’s measure, that portrait was drawn from Mo Yong Ji Eun with such fidelity that one could believe it without reservation.
Perhaps for that reason, Jang Min Su ventured another possibility.
“What if the younger sister is indeed her, and Mo Yong Chang Un simply grew up alongside her and came to resemble her?”
“I’ve heard the saying that people come to look alike when they live together…”
To Lee Song’s uncertain reply, Jang Min Su offered yet another hypothesis.
“Or it could simply be that Mo Yong Chang Un happens to look like her.”
When one compared the portrait with Mo Yong Chang Un, that explanation seemed plausible enough.
But when one set Mo Yong Ji Eun and Mo Yong Chang Un side by side, that theory crumbled.
The resemblance between them was simply too striking.
In such cases, the likelihood that the two siblings had been born of the same parent was far higher.
Among the members of the Jeok Sa Jo who had been debating these possibilities, Jwa Ryang abruptly spoke up.
“What does it matter either way? It’s already done. If the captain was willing to let it pass like that, doesn’t that mean he has no further intention of pursuing it?”
As Liu hesitated briefly at his words, Jwa Ryang saw the faintest nod and pressed on.
“If that was his intention all along, let’s just forget about it. We helped someone who may or may not be a sister—the world won’t crumble for that. Wouldn’t you say?”
Though some members grumbled that Jwa Ryang’s easy logic made no sense, Liu rose to his feet with a quiet nod of acceptance.
“You’re right.”
With those words, Liu pushed open the door that had been barred with burlap, and without looking back, he spoke.
“That said, we need to get our strength back—which means we need to eat. We haven’t had a thing since yesterday evening.”
Liu’s voice drifted back from outside the quarters after he had left those words behind.
“Thank you… or I shouldn’t say that, right?”
The trailing remark born of his own embarrassment drew quiet smiles to the lips of every member of the Jeok Sa Jo.
From their midst, Jwa Ryang suddenly stepped forward.
“Of course! When have we ever put such things into words? Just buy us a bottle of wine!”
With that, Jwa Ryang rose, rolled up the burlap, and headed out, the rest of the Jeok Sa Jo streaming after him in a rush.
And the voices that tumbled out in the distance…
“I’ve never been fond of wine poured by another man.”
“Hmm… that’s the same as what Dong Pil thinks. When Lee Chung, the captain of the Jeok Tup Jo, came back from Mae Hwa Ru recently, he was spitting all over the place bragging about it…”
Behind Jang Min Su’s trailing words came the voice of Lee Song, who customarily denounced spending money at pleasure houses and had been adamantly against it.
“I heard their sweet osmanthus wine is exceptional.”
At that point, Hee Jun took up the thread of conversation.
“Shall we make a reservation? They say nowadays you need to book two months in advance to secure a proper courtesan?”
Liu’s voice broke the brief silence that followed.
“Do it. Make the reservation. On the day the Ui Gi Ryeong ends, let’s drink until our noses are bent crooked.”
“Huzzah!”
Crackle of laughter.
The laughter of the Jeok Sa Jo members that burst forth after Dong Pil’s cheer was gradually fading into the distance from the quarters.

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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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