The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 72

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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 72. A Person One Never Forgets
Telepathic Communication passed back and forth among the Five Men Gang, following their senior members who walked ahead.
To be frank, three of the Five Men Gang were in quite an awkward position regarding this incident.
From their respective family members stationed at Maeng Ui Dan, inquiries kept flowing in—from their encounter with Dae Heuk to whether Ryu had actually blocked Mo Yong Ji Eun’s defection.
For now they had held their tongues, but they couldn’t maintain that silence forever.
Eventually, when they returned after this operation concluded, they would have to answer the questions being posed to them.
But as each man’s position and thoughts diverged, they couldn’t reach any consensus.
In such a turbulent state, the first thing Jeok Sa Jo did upon entering Saja Plain was climb Aegi Peak and scan the sky.
“There it is. Over there.”
At Jwa Ryang’s gesture, everyone’s gaze turned.
And there, hovering faintly in the sky, they saw an object.
A kite.
From the kite they’d captured in the previous operation, he’d already sensed it—the color was so similar to the sky that even staring hard at it made it difficult to spot.
No wonder the clothing of the martial artists who rode in the kite matched that same hue.
“They’re using Protective Coloration just as before, it seems. The way it keeps disappearing and reappearing even when you stare at it proves as much.”
At Dong Pil’s words, Jeok Sa Jo’s members nodded.
“What do we do? By its position, looks like Janggun Peak again—should we head there again?”
At Jwa Ryang’s question, Ryu shook his head.
“They’ll be prepared. Much more powerfully than before.”
As long as Ryu was present, they could break through no matter how strong it became.
The problem was the damage the other team members would suffer in that process.
In other words, it meant Ryu was concerned for them.
“Even so, if we have to go, we go.”
At Jwa Ryang’s words, Ryu glanced back at him and smiled faintly.
“If it’s truly necessary. But we haven’t received orders to do that. Moreover, it’s not some fatal threat to us.”
“Then…?”
“We leave it be.”
At Ryu’s decision, the tension among the members eased. There was no need to rush headlong into danger when they were aware of it.
Ryu, having made that decision, suddenly set down his bag and began pitching tents.
“Why?”
At Yi Song’s question, Ryu answered.
“We don’t have any other operations to carry out, so there’s no need to wander around.”
“So you’re saying we hunker down here?”
“No point going any deeper.”
It seemed to be more than mere reluctance.
True enough—if they went deeper, they’d draw closer to Hyeol Gwi Dae’s territory, and that meant Mo Yong Ji Eun might visit again.
Understanding that this was what Ryu wanted to avoid, Jeok Sa Jo’s members set about pitching the tents without a word.
Among the members gathered cozily together, a fire was even lit.
They all knew that Hyeol Gwi Dae had pinpointed their location anyway, so by Ryu’s judgment, there was no need to suffer the cold in the name of hiding.
They hunted in the surrounding area and roasted meat over the flames.
Because of the smell that would spread, it was something they’d never done before, and so Jeok Sa Jo’s members were delighted.
As the Five Men Gang laughed and chattered, enjoying what was less a mission than a picnic, Ryu spoke to them.
“I know you’re in a difficult position.”
At Ryu’s words, the voices of those around him suddenly quieted.
“Tell your families the truth. I have neither the intention nor the right to make you lie to them.”
At Ryu’s words, Cheol Ja Ryong spoke up.
“The fallout won’t be simple.”
“I’ve never lived a simple life.”
“After the Provincial Commander barely settled things, it could resurface as a problem.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
To Ryu’s blunt reply, Hwangbo Jang Seong spoke.
“Rather, what if you revealed your true abilities? I suspect that might open up a path forward.”
“I never hid them. I simply didn’t bother to display them.”
That remark meant there was no reason not to reveal them.
At those words of Ryu’s, the faces of Hwangbo Jang Seong, Cheol Ja Ryong, and Paeng Gyeong—who had exchanged glances—brightened.
“Then there’ll be no problem.”
He understood what those men meant. Of course, he didn’t bother to voice aloud that even that wouldn’t completely solve the issue.
To Ryu, Yi Song sent a worried Telepathic Communication.
-I understand what they’re thinking, but that won’t really solve anything. You know that as well as I do.
Ryu nodded silently and replied via Telepathic Communication.
—I know. So just leave it.
Yi Song had plenty more to say, but he held his tongue.
Words wouldn’t solve anything anyway.
That might have been why.
He’d found himself thinking it wouldn’t be so bad if Ryu simply left the Maeng Ui Dan without a word.
But he never voiced that thought aloud.
The Jeok Sa Jo without Ryu was too terrible even to imagine.
Only three people had already completed their Mandatory Service Period and could leave whenever they wished: Ryu, Yi Song, and Jwa Ryang.
Dong Pil had a few months left; Jang Min Soo still had a year; and Hui Jun had three more years ahead of him.
As for the Five Men Gang—they seemed like the sort who weren’t bound by such things anyway, so it didn’t matter.
By that logic, Dong Pil was exempt as well.
Yi Song worried, but given Dong Pil’s skill, he could manage a few months somehow.
Jang Min Soo and Hui Jun, though—he didn’t think either would survive their remaining time.
Jang Min Soo’s character was too rigid to survive on Saja Plain, and Hui Jun, whose martial skill was virtually nonexistent, needed no explanation.
That was why Yi Song couldn’t tell Ryu to leave.
His troubled thoughts seemed to have dampened the usual liveliness of conversation.
And so the group had turned in for the night in stillness.
The crackling of the campfire had been their only companion as the Jeok Sa Jo members slept.
When the sun rose again and light woke the Jeok Sa Jo members, they froze as they emerged from their tents.
Mo Yong Ji Eun was sitting placidly beside Yi Song, who had been on the last watch.
“This is maddening.”
Jwa Ryang had said it perfectly.
This time, Yi Song hadn’t even sensed Mo Yong Ji Eun’s presence. That showed how much his guard had dropped.
Dong Pil, whose senses were keener, seemed to have known already—his expression showed no surprise.
Jwa Ryang’s frown deepened as he caught that.
He’d failed to notice what Dong Pil had detected.
Jwa Ryang was the sort to bristle at the slightest hint that he’d fallen behind in perception.
His practical ability was superior, after all.
Yet falling behind in perception felt like proof of his own dullness.
As if reading such thoughts, Dong Pil dropped a remark as he passed by.
“Still dull, I see.”
At Dong Pil’s needling jab, Jwa Ryang couldn’t smooth the scowl from his face.
Ryu, who’d emerged last, showed no change in expression—he appeared to have sensed Mo Yong Ji Eun’s approach all along.
Instead of acknowledging her, Ryu swept his gaze across the forest and headed in that direction.
Mo Yong Ji Eun’s voice caught him.
“Great One, that place—”
“I won’t kill them.”
With those words, Ryu disappeared into the trees. Mo Yong Ji Eun watched him go, concern flickering across her face.
The Five Men Gang exchanged startled glances at Ryu’s sudden move.
Dong Pil explained to them.
“There are people over there.”
People?
“Ah!”
Hwangbo Jang Seong, followed by Cheol Ja Ryong and Paeng Gyeong, understood.
Mo Yong Ji Eun being here meant the Blood Ghosts who’d escorted her were nearby as well.
Which meant their careless sleep had been far more dangerous than they’d realized.
The Five Men Gang’s faces tensed at the delayed realization.
After leaving the Jeok Sa Jo camp, Ryu made his way through the forest and soon encountered the Blood Ghosts.
But the numbers—
“Did you lose your ranking among them?”
Dae Heuk, standing before a campfire with about half a dozen Blood Ghosts, shook his head at Ryu’s question.
“Since the purpose isn’t combat, there was no need to bring them all.”
“Fair enough. But I want to know why.”
“Why what?”
“Why you keep bringing that woman around.”
At the question, Dae Heuk gave a shrug.
“How would I know? I’m just following orders.”
“I know the standing of someone like you in the Hwasan faction. So skip the nonsense and tell me the truth.”
Dae Heuk fell silent, conflict crossing his face, before he replied in a low voice.
“You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”
“……”
Ryu couldn’t answer. Not because he didn’t know the reason — Dae Heuk was right.
“Do you think it will happen?”
“I haven’t only done things that were destined to happen.”
“So you’re saying you’ll keep trying?”
“That doesn’t seem like something you should be telling me, either.”
It was an argument that the authority to command didn’t rest with him.
At Dae Heuk’s words, Ryu turned without another word.
He understood that no amount of pressing from Dae Heuk would change anything.
As Ryu turned to leave, Dae Heuk caught him unexpectedly.
“Everyone’s relaxed and sleeping — doesn’t look like they came out on a real operation. More like you fled from some complicated business. Were you planning to stay several days?”
At Dae Heuk’s question, Ryu turned back.
“I didn’t know you could speak so openly about the existence of Jeok Sa Jo.”
Whether it was laughter or not, Dae Heuk’s masked face trembled slightly.
Though he’d made various excuses, he’d been caught revealing that he already knew Jeok Sa Jo had come out on this operation without a real objective — and his laugh was self-directed at that.
Perhaps because of that, Dae Heuk didn’t deny Ryu’s point.
“Your side would be the same way, so there’s no need for excuses. But you can answer my question, can’t you?”
“Why do you want to know how long I’m staying?”
“I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Who?”
“Someone you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
At those words, Rim Ju’s face surfaced in Ryu’s mind, but it vanished in an instant.
He had no wish to spend his life remembering that murky face.
Still…….
“Four days.”
After leaving those words, Ryu turned away but felt it incomplete, so he added something more.
“Perhaps.”
With that qualifier left behind, Ryu disappeared into the forest.
He was returning to the camp where Jeok Sa Jo awaited him.
Moments after Ryu departed, one of Dae Heuk’s masked men returned to the Blood Ghost faction’s garrison.
He carried a letter bound for the Blood Ghost faction’s leader.
***
Ma Ryeong approached Rim Ju, who lay sprawled across a cushioned seat with an expression of utter boredom.
“I have something to report, Rim Ju.”
“What is it?”
Rim Ju asked without interest, still in his slack posture, and Ma Ryeong continued his report.
“An urgent report has come in that Hwasan’s movements are unusual.”
“Unusual, you say?”
Perhaps because the place in question was Hwasan, Rim Ju straightened his posture, and Ma Ryeong answered.
“It appears they’re trying to bring Sal Rang over to their side.”
At Ma Ryeong’s words, Rim Ju’s eyes flickered.
But it happened so fleetingly that even Ma Ryeong, famed for his keen eye, failed to catch it.
“Why that one?”
“A rumor is circulating that he’s recently achieved Hwagyeong.”
This time, Rim Ju’s expression didn’t change at all.
He’d already guessed as much when that name was mentioned.
“Where did that come from?”
“Maeng Ui Dan.”
So they were keeping it hidden but had their reasons — and it looked like they were going to cause trouble after all.
Well, that didn’t concern him either way.
If chaos broke out because of it, the likelihood that Ryu, who went by the name Sal Rang, would cross over to Gun Ma Rim would only increase.
“The rumors came from Maeng Ui Dan, but why is Hwasan being mentioned?”
Ma Ryeong answered Rim Ju’s question.
“It appears Hwasan, having learned the information, is trying to take Sal Rang under their wing.”
“What makes you think that?”
“A while back they brought along Mo Yong Ji Eun to try tempting him, and now they’ve called even their own sect’s female disciple to Saja Plain.”
“A female disciple from Hwasan…… Ah! Sam Ma Hwa!”
The beauty of that disciple, known as Yi Hwa, was renowned enough that even Rim Ju knew of it.
“Correct. That female disciple, called Yi Hwa, who created the name Sam Ma Hwa, was reportedly summoned to the Blood Ghost faction.”
“A honey trap. Not a bad strategy.”
“Not bad, you say……?”
“It means there’s no harm in letting them fall into Hwasan’s embrace.”
“Ah, but if that should happen, then the balance of power…….”
“Ma Ryeong.”
At Rim Ju’s cold summons, Ma Ryeong’s head bowed low.
“Yes, Rim Ju.”
“I am Rim Ju. I am Paryeok Ryeom of the Blood Young Demonic Sect. Two Hwagyeong practitioners mean nothing.”
“That’s not what I meant to say…….”
Rim Ju raised a hand to silence Ma Ryeong’s stammering excuse, cold sweat beading on the man’s brow.
“Don’t do anything foolish on a whim. Leave it be. Consider this a warning.”
At Rim Ju’s frigid words, Ma Ryeong had no choice but to bow hastily at the waist.
“I obey!”
As Ma Ryeong withdrew, a flicker of something new passed through his eyes.
‘Rim Ju showed no surprise at the rumor that Sal Rang had reached Hwagyeong.’
It meant he already knew.
And it meant that information was reaching Rim Ju without passing through him first.
He couldn’t shake the nagging sense that something had gone wrong since the matter of the previous letter.
‘Who is it?’
Ma Ryeong’s unease cut deep as he thought of Rim Ju’s other hidden hand—a presence he could not even identify.

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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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