The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 58

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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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Episode 58. The Disappearance of Rim Ju
A command order descended upon the Jeok Sa Jo, which had been laughing and bustling as any other day.
“It’s a posting order for new recruits to the Haeng Sa Gak?”
At Hui Jun’s words as he examined the envelope, everyone’s eyes turned his way.
“They’re sending us another new recruit?”
While suspicion flickered across Jwa Ryang’s face at his question, Jang Min Su, the official leader of Jeok Sa Jo, opened the order.
“First posting order: Hwangbo Jang Seong, Peng Gyeong, and Cheol Ja Ryong are to be reassigned to Jeok Sa Jo.”
As Jang Min Su read through the order, Jwa Ryang let out an exasperated groan.
“What nonsense is this? When did those three even come back?”
“Well… actually, our posting location was never changed in the first place.”
At Peng Gyeong’s answer, scratching the back of his head, Jwa Ryang’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Then how have you been here all this time?”
His question was why they hadn’t been dragged away when they weren’t even supposed to be stationed here.
“Well, that is…”
Peng Gyeong stammered, unable to answer quickly, and Dong Pil threw a reproach at Jwa Ryang.
“Come now, you’re flustering the lad. Let’s keep the teasing reasonable, shall we?”
Jwa Ryang let out a soft laugh at Dong Pil’s rebuke and turned away his gaze.
The truth was, just as Dong Pil had said, he already understood why it had been possible—he’d asked out of mischief, not ignorance.
Watching Jwa Ryang’s expression, Peng Gyeong had softened enough to manage only a faint smile.
From these men came the voice of Jang Min Su, tinged with resignation.
“Second posting order: Sang Hyeon Dojang is to be assigned to Jeok Sa Jo.”
Sang Hyeon Dojang—the Tao Name of Tae Geuk Geom Wang himself.
All eyes turned at once toward Tae Geuk Geom Wang.
They had simply assumed he’d been lingering around Jeok Sa Jo while staying with the Maeng Ui Dan, asking favors from members he knew—but this revealed something different entirely.
In response to their stares, Tae Geuk Geom Wang flashed a broad smile.
“Well then, now that I’m officially part of the family, let’s all get along well.”
At those words, the faces of the Jeok Sa Jo members drained of color in a way that was almost pitiful to witness.
After a moment of chaos passed and the members regained their senses, they clustered around Jeok Sa.
“This won’t do. If we pair him with us, we’ll have no idea what dangerous operation he might throw us into.”
At Jwa Ryang’s conspiracy theory, Yi Song spoke up as if to tell him to ease off.
“That’s not it. They know Jeok Sa’s abilities now. The operations were bound to get dangerous anyway.”
“Right, and when exactly have any of our operations not been dangerous, hmm…”
“So stop talking nonsense and speak plainly: you just don’t want to be a servant anymore.”
Jwa Ryang pouted his lips at Yi Song’s teasing remark.
It was true.
Of all the members in Jeok Sa Jo, it was Jwa Ryang who suffered most at Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s hands.
Every time, he was singled out for errands and made to do all manner of tedious tasks.
Until now, he had endured it with the thought that he’d leave soon enough, but now that the man was being formally assigned, it felt as though the world had come crashing down.
It was not only Jwa Ryang.
Though their reasons differed, the others were equally uneasy.
Their assignment was none other than the Grand Elder of the Muddang itself.
Hwangbo Se Ga Ju, the grandfather of Hwangbo Jang Seong, stood a step above the elders of other families.
And Tae Geuk Geom Wang was the one that even he called brother.
To have such a man join them as a member—and as the youngest, no less.
It was unthinkable.
Under their desperate gazes, Jeok Sa reluctantly spoke.
“I’ll hear you out first—why you wish to stay. If the reason is not sound, I’ll tell you to leave.”
Having spoken, Jeok Sa stood, and the members’ expressions shifted back toward hope.
As Jeok Sa rose and walked out from among the members who were clustered together, shooting resentful glances and muttering amongst themselves, tension settled across Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s face.
Conversely, the faces of the members watching Jeok Sa approach him filled with desperate longing.
‘Please.’
Jwa Ryang in particular, his hands clasped tightly together, seemed to be offering a prayer, his eyes clenched shut.
Carrying both Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s tension and the members’ hopes with him, Jeok Sa asked.
“Well?”
At Jeok Sa’s blunt question, Tae Geuk Geom Wang answered as coolly as he could.
“I told you. I need a Sparring Match with you.”
“I believe now is a time when you must speak the truth.”
At Jeok Sa’s words, Tae Geuk Geom Wang, who had been studying him carefully, answered with a tone that held something like resignation.
“I had no face to show.”
“What do you…?”
“Blood of my disciples stains my hands. And yet I would return to Muddang, pretending nothing happened, as though I deserved to remain among the elders. That was impossible.”
Jeok Sa could not tell him to disregard it—that it happened when his mind was not his own, when he was trapped in a Heart Demon.
But that would not erase what Tae Geuk Geom Wang had done.
Since his own thoughts were thus, Jeok Sa could not offer hollow words of comfort, though he tried.
At last, Jeok Sa, who had been studying Tae Geuk Geom Wang intently, spoke.
“Jeok Sa Jo has its own laws.”
It was a statement that acceptance was possible, and Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s eyes gleamed.
To him, Jeok Sa’s words continued.
“Rank here is determined not by your station before joining, nor by age, but by the order in which you entered.”
“Then I would be…?”
“The youngest member. It will be difficult to endure.”
Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s expression turned uncertain at Jeok Sa’s words, and he asked.
“After a few days here, I’ve seen your law holds in Jeok Sa Jo. Couldn’t you bend it slightly for me…?”
“There are no exceptions.”
The message was clear: let it go.
As Jeok Sa watched him, Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s eyes went still and calm.
“Then the humiliation is better than facing my disciples’ eyes again. I accept it.”
It was an answer Jeok Sa had not anticipated, and his expression hardened.
“You will regret it.”
“That’s something I do every day lately. A little more won’t matter.”
At Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s words—which hinted at the depth of suffering he was enduring—Jeok Sa, who had been watching him for a moment, nodded slowly.
“Then.”
With those words, he turned and spoke to Jang Min Su.
“Register the new recruit.”
In that instant, every member of Jeok Sa Jo’s face fell into stunned bewilderment.
***
After issuing the absurd command that Tae Geuk Geom Wang would be assigned as a new recruit, Yi Hwan, Gong Chan, and Dam In gathered to observe the direction of Jeok Sa Jo’s Internal Affairs Division.
“Remarkably quiet, isn’t it?”
At Gong Chan’s tone of surprise, Dam In spoke carefully.
“You don’t suppose Tae Geuk Geom Wang grew angry and…”
The implication being that he might have beaten all the Jeok Sa Jo members senseless.
“He won’t be angry about something he chose for himself.”
“Still, he couldn’t have anticipated being treated as a common member.”
“You think the Jeok Sa Jo members would treat him the same as before, even if he were a common member?”
At Gong Chan’s words, Dam In muttered as if to himself.
“Those Jeok Sa Jo bastards—they’ve earned far worse than this.”
Though they must have heard his muttering, neither Yi Hwan nor Gong Chan said anything.
At last, Dam In, who had been staring quietly at the Internal Affairs Division of Jeok Sa Jo, claimed he was busy and left.
With only the two of them remaining, Yi Hwan spoke.
“Have you made your decision?”
Gong Chan, who understood at once what was being asked, answered in a heavy voice.
“I will bury it.”
At that answer, Yi Hwan spoke with a faint smile.
“I cannot call it a right decision, but I wholly agree it is the best one.”
“Is it because I followed your instruction to conceal it and keep him near?”
“No. Rather, because you did not commit the folly of casting out a treasure through sheer stubbornness.”
“I believed you trusted Jeok Sa, lord.”
“I do trust him.”
“Yet you speak as though he would leave so easily…”
“My trust in him and Jeok Sa’s trust in the Maeng Ui Dan—are these not different matters altogether?”
Yi Hwan continued speaking, watching Gong Chan struggle to find the meaning in his words.
“Consider what the Cheol Hyeol Maeng and the Maeng Ui Dan have done for Jeok Sa and Jeok Sa Jo. The answer will come simply.”
Yi Hwan’s words were true.
The answer came with startling simplicity.
“Nothing… They have done nothing for us.”
“Yet their demands were many.”
At Yi Hwan’s words, Gong Chan could say nothing, his expression hardening.
To him, Yi Hwan spoke.
“So when I step down in a few months’ time and depart, I entrust Jeok Sa Jo to you.”
At these words, too, Gong Chan said nothing.
Even so, Yi Hwan harbored no concern.
A man of Gong Chan’s character would never commit an act that brought harm to the Maeng Ui Dan.
So he would make every effort to keep Jeok Sa as an asset.
The real problem was Tae Geuk Geom Wang, who now stood at Jeok Sa’s side.
‘What could he possibly want? What is the Sajo after?’
Yi Hwan’s gaze remained fixed on the still-quiet Internal Affairs Division of Jeok Sa Jo, suspecting there was some deeper purpose at work.
***
The headquarters of Ma Gyo, which also served as the command center of Gun Ma Rim, was thrown into upheaval.
Rim Ju had vanished without a trace.
Rim Ju had always despised guards hovering near him, so he’d been left alone in his chambers while the guards withdrew. No one knew when or how he’d slipped away.
Because of this, no one could determine when or how Rim Ju had disappeared.
Emergency alert was raised throughout Ma Gyo immediately, and skilled warriors scattered in all directions, turning the place into pandemonium as they searched for the Cult Master.
In the midst of this chaos, Ma Ryeong found himself fixating on one detail: a letter had been delivered to the Cult Master.
But who had sent it, when, and how—none of it could be determined.
In such a case, it meant someone who wasn’t a Ma Gyo member—one of the Gun Ma Rim personnel stationed within the sect—had made the move.
Ma Ryeong’s warriors moved about busily, searching for those with the most opportunity.
Ma Ryeong’s judgment was that the vanished Rim Ju had gone to somewhere connected to that letter.
***
Dam In examined the personal details of a newly arrived recruit and felt an inexplicable uneasiness settle over him.
“Your name…?”
“Ji Hoon. Ga Ji Hoon.”
“Where are you from…?”
“As it says there—I lived as a wanderer in Seomseo.”
“Seomseo is Gun Ma Rim territory, but your guarantor…?”
“The Yi Hwa Sword, Go Jang Myeong. He serves as a team leader at Nok An Dae. He’s a distant relative of mine.”
As Dam In muttered while reading the Personnel Document, the man interjected answers seamlessly—and indeed, Yi Hwa Sword was the oldest among the team leaders of Nok An Dae.
This Yi Hwa Sword was someone Dam In knew by reputation.
He’d risen from nothing as a nameless wanderer to become the son-in-law of the Je Gal Se Ga family—an overnight elevation in status.
Of course, it was only a hollow gain.
A son-in-law he might be, but not one treated with proper respect.
How else could a son-in-law of the Je Gal Se Ga family head end up as merely a team leader at Nok An Dae?
Yet because he’d remained consistent these past twenty years, he’d at least escaped suspicion, if not earned their full trust.
If such a man was the guarantor, then…
Dam In slowly lifted his eyes to look at the young man—couldn’t be more than early thirties, at most.
Then he lowered his gaze back to the Personnel Document, and…
“What! Twenty-three?!”
Ga Ji Hoon laughed at Dam In’s bewilderment.
“Haha! I suppose I do look a bit older than my years.”
“Well, that’s… not quite the issue here. But you’re requesting assignment to Jeok Myeol Dae?”
“Yes sir. A real man doesn’t care what anyone says—first strike, vanguard position! That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Ahahaha!”
Ga Ji Hoon tossed out those words and laughed heartily, and Dam In asked him a question.
“You understand that’s a dangerous place, right?”
“Of course. But in exchange for that…”
Ga Ji Hoon drew out his words with a hint of cunning and made a circle with his fingers.
“…the compensation is pretty high, isn’t it?”
A man who’d stake his life on money—a wanderer through and through.
Indeed, the letter of recommendation from Yi Hwa Sword attached to the Personnel Document noted that while he had the flaw of being obsessed with money, his skills were decent enough, and he’d certainly earn his pay.
Dam In actually preferred these types.
More than those who applied to the Maeng Ui Dan spouting empty words about honor and reputation.
That was why.
He’d added one more comment.
“Would you perhaps like to go somewhere with even higher stakes? The compensation there would be…”
“No thank you. I’m satisfied with Jeok Myeol Dae.”
“Is that so? Well, money’s only good when you’re alive to spend it. Then I’ll assign you to Jeok Tuh Jo under Jeok Myeol Dae.”
At the end of that statement, Dam In muttered to himself as he was writing something on the Personnel Document.
“Then how do I fill the vacancy in Jeok Sa Jo…”
Ga Ji Hoon’s eyes glinted upon hearing Dam In’s words.
“Um, sir…”
“What?”
Ga Ji Hoon smiled broadly and asked Dam In, who had lifted his head from the paperwork to respond.
“Does the pay really compensate for the danger?”
“Here, the hazard allowance comes with a generous serving fee, you might say.”
“I’m sorry?”
“There’s someone rather particular who serves as the youngest member here. Since they need a new attendant, you’d be taking that position.”
It was Dam In’s way of navigating the situation.
He was sending an extra recruit—unscheduled—to serve as the youngest member alongside Tae Geuk Geom Wang, sparing the old master from the burden himself.
But Ga Ji Hoon, unaware of the calculation behind it, looked thoroughly bewildered.
Dam In pressed on.
“Think of it this way: you’ll be serving a rather difficult senior. The work is attendance, but the pay will be handsome.”
“Well, if the money’s good, then I’m willing. Send me there.”
“I see you know the value of silver. Quite right—earn what you can while you’re young.”
There was the tedium of rewriting documents he’d already completed, but Dam In found such trouble worthwhile now that he could send a youngest member to Tae Geuk Geom Wang.
With the freshly drafted assignment order in hand, Ga Ji Hoon stepped out of Haeng Sa Gak.

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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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