The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 81

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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 81. Troublesome Newcomers
When Gong Chan understood that the fellow Tae Geuk Geom Wang was referring to was someone called Ryu, he said nothing at all.
He’d realized it wasn’t the sort of question that expected an answer.
Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s voice reached him then.
“Watch him carefully. If it looks like he’s about to stir up trouble, report it to me right away.”
“Yes. If Ryu seems likely to cause problems—”
“What are you talking about? Not Ryu. Those men gathering over there. One slip and heads will roll. We need to save them before that happens.”
Gong Chan’s vacant expression shifted as he asked the question.
“So you’re worried those men might be killed by Ryu?”
“Would I worry about a man I can’t even control myself?”
At Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s irritated response—as if the question were obviously foolish—Gong Chan hurried to bow his head.
“I will watch them very carefully, sir.”
“Good. Don’t take your eyes off them for a moment. One mistake and we’re arranging a funeral.”
“Surely it won’t come to that—”
“That man is capable of far worse. I’ve seen it.”
At those words, Gong Chan found himself reconsidering his assessment of Ryu based on everything he’d witnessed so far.
Then Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s sharp bark cut through his thoughts.
“What are you doing standing there? Does that count as watching them?”
“Ah! No, sir. I’m going right now.”
With only those words, Gong Chan hurried out, and Tae Geuk Geom Wang watched his departing figure with displeasure.
“Clever ones always have this problem. They rarely look beyond their own thoughts.”
Tae Geuk Geom Wang didn’t truly believe Ryu would behead the newly arrived men simply because his feelings were hurt.
But if the newcomers violated the rules of the Jeok Sa Jo—
“Then heads would really roll.”
Moreover, that was a lawful punishment set down in the Alliance Rules.
It was a privilege—or rather, not quite a privilege—granted across all of Jeok Myeol Dae, where everyone faced life and death at every moment.
That same privilege applied directly to the Jeok Sa Jo, temporarily stationed at Heuk Ya Dae.
The purpose was to establish strict discipline so that even in moments of crisis, everyone would move as one body.
For the sake of the Jeok Sa Jo and those within it, Ryu would not hesitate to use such measures.
That was what worried Tae Geuk Geom Wang.
The newcomers Tae Geuk Geom Wang worried about were now lined up in the Jeok Sa Jo’s barracks.
Thirteen in total.
Since the Cheol Hyeol Maeng was supported by nine major sects known as its pillars, the remaining four meant they’d been sent from mid-tier sects large enough to rival those nine.
The problem was the aura they gave off.
At first glance, nearly all of them appeared to be beyond Left Rank Level—in other words, Peak Experts, masters of the Yeongha Baekwi tier.
Among the Five Companions, Peng Gyeong and Hwangbo Jang Seong, who’d boasted they could handle anything, now stood rigid with tension.
Among the thirteen lined-up newcomers were people from their own sects.
The problem was that all of them possessed higher rank and skill than Peng Gyeong or Hwangbo Jang Seong.
Well—with exactly one exception.
“Ja, Ja Gyeong!”
At the startled cry from Chul Ja Yong, Ryu, who’d been sleeping in the corner, jolted awake.
When he slowly turned to look at the newcomers, the real Chul Ja Gyeong was standing among them.
As Chul Ja Gyeong, who’d spotted him, began to wave, Ryu barely managed to hold back his answering wave, and through his gaze, Jang Min Su could be seen stepping forward.
“I am Jang Min Su, commander of the Jeok Sa Jo. Before I accept your enrollment, I have preliminary information to convey. If you accept it, your assignment to the Jeok Sa Jo is confirmed. If not, you must return.”
At Jang Min Su’s words, the newcomers nodded to show they understood.
Jang Min Su continued.
“Outside rank, ability, and position mean nothing in the Jeok Sa Jo. Only who arrived first takes priority. The commands of a senior are absolute. No resistance or informal speech will be tolerated, no matter how trivial the matter. Not even a mere nod of the head like that will be permitted.”
Immediately, expressions of displeasure rippled through the group.
Why wouldn’t they? Except for Chul Ja Gyeong, none of the other twelve had a lower rank or weaker ability than the existing Jeok Sa Jo members.
Looking at them, Jang Min Su spoke.
“If you cannot accept these terms, you may return to Haeng Sa Gak. The commander will assign you elsewhere. Does anyone wish to leave?”
At Jang Min Su’s question, the newcomers exchanged uncomfortable glances, but no one stepped forward to say they would go.
Of course not—each of them had surely received their sect master’s solemn command to successfully recruit Ryu.
To them, Jang Min Su drove home his words like a nail.
“Once assigned, the rules I’ve described carry the same weight as the Alliance Rules. Violation means your neck is forfeit. So if you have any doubts, you may leave now.”
Everyone wore an expression of discontent, yet this time too, no one stepped forward to say they would depart.
Among them, two people looked particularly displeased.
By their dress, they were from the Peng Family and the Hwangbo Family.
Apparently, it was because their sect masters required them to treat Peng Gyeong or Hwangbo Jang Seong—who ranked below them—as seniors.
Fixing his gaze on those two, Jang Min Su asked.
“This is my final warning. If you lack confidence or believe this to be unjust, you must leave now. When we speak of severing heads, we do not speak lightly.”
Despite Jang Min Su’s repeated warnings, no one came forward to turn back.
Having confirmed the recruits’ resolve, Jang Min Su turned his gaze toward Yi Song.
Yi Song nodded at Jang Min Su’s glance.
“If that’s their choice, then we have no choice but to accept it.”
At Yi Song’s words, Jang Min Su fixed his gaze on Jeok Sa, who had been dozing.
“Brother.”
At Jang Min Su’s call, Jeok Sa, who had been watching Chul Ja Gyeong intently, spoke.
“Put them through the initiation.”
Thus thirteen new recruits entered the Jeok Sa Jo.
Immediately after the Jeok Sa Jo’s distinctive initiation ceremony—which consisted merely of stating one’s origin sect and name—Peng Gyeong led one of the recruits out of the dormitory.
After confirming that no one was nearby, Peng Gyeong asked the recruit a question.
“What brings you here? Why have you come to this place, Uncle?”
To Peng Gyeong’s question, the recruit from the Peng Family, the Five Tiger Blade Expert Peng Yu Pyeong, replied.
“Brother, your father’s worries run deep. What do you think it means that he felt you alone were insufficient and sent me instead?”
“I asked him for just a little more time…….”
“It was not to be. Your grandfather sends daily entreaties through three separate messengers. He insists that by any means necessary, we must bring you into the fold.”
Peng Gyeong’s grandfather was none other than Peng Mu Yang, the Fierce Tiger Blade Lord who held the position of Vice Master of the Cheol Hyeol Maeng.
He was a man who would exhaust every method to expand his family’s influence, even if it meant recruiting external strength.
It was unthinkable that such a man would simply overlook a master of Hwa Gyeong with no organizational affiliation.
“Ah……. But Brother is the sort of person who will resist if you try to grasp him too tightly.”
“Then we simply don’t grasp. We shall promise him maximum freedom.”
“Uncle…….”
“There is nothing to hesitate about. Look at that cunning Jeok Sa Jo—they’ve already sent a woman to employ the beauty trap, have they not? What use is hesitation in such circumstances?”
At his uncle’s words, Peng Gyeong found himself at a loss for reply.
He too had been quite startled by Chul Ja Gyeong’s arrival.
At the same moment, Chul Ja Yong had also stepped outside the dormitory with Chul Ja Gyeong.
“What is this about? Surely Father didn’t…….”
“No. I came on my own.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Could it be that you……?”
Chul Ja Gyeong answered the bewildered Chul Ja Yong.
“You said yourself that he’s a good person. He appears that way to me as well.”
“Ja Gyeong, but Brother is…….”
“I know he’s difficult. I’ll do my best, but I won’t be greedy about it. I promise. So please don’t worry too much.”
Chul Ja Yong gazed down at his younger sister with a concerned expression as she smiled prettily and clung to his arm, playing the coquette.
Unlike Peng Gyeong and Chul Ja Yong, Hwangbo Jang Seong maintained a distant demeanor toward the recruit from his own sect.
Dong Pil, finding this strange, approached and asked a question.
“There was a Hwangbo Family member among the new recruits, isn’t he your kinsman? Why don’t you take him out and talk with him?”
“My relations with my uncle are not particularly good.”
“Your uncle? That puts you in a difficult position, doesn’t it?”
“It’s fine.”
Dong Pil, sensing a deep story behind Hwangbo Jang Seong’s refusal to so much as glance at the recruit claiming to be from the Hwangbo Family, quietly withdrew.
He had no wish to torment Hwangbo Jang Seong with further questions.
And so, with each member absorbed in their own thoughts, an order came down to the troubled Jeok Sa Jo.
Jang Min Su’s expression hardened as he read the Military Order Document that a messenger from the Cham Myeong Gak had delivered.
“A reconnaissance mission has been issued.”
“Reconnaissance? But we’re still assigned to Heuk Ya Dae. What reconnaissance does Heuk Ya Dae need?”
In response to Dong Pil’s complaint, Jang Min Su held out the Military Order Document.
“Not front-line reconnaissance, but rear-guard reconnaissance. Additional Baek Ui Ryeon martial artists will be arriving, and we are to scout the dangerous elements of the rear regions through which they will pass.”
From Jang Min Su’s explanation, everyone immediately grasped the Cham Myeong Gak’s intent.
It was the intention to humiliate the newly arriving Baek Ui Ryeon martial artists.
Indeed, the current Jeok Sa Jo was brimming with masters of Hwa Gyeong and Peak Experts alike.
Having perceived this intention, Dong Pil began to grumble.
“They certainly know how to extract profit from every quarter, don’t they?”
Yi Song, chuckling softly at Dong Pil’s grumbling, confirmed the Military Order Document that Jang Min Su had been holding out and spoke.
“Whatever the intention, the order has been issued, and time is short, so let us move. The document states we must deploy within two hours of receiving it.”
“They certainly don’t waste time.”
Even as Dong Pil continued his muttering, the members of the Jeok Sa Jo began to move about busily.
Of course, the newcomers could only gaze blankly, uncertain what to do.
No one offered them any guidance—they looked too much like the veterans once had.
The Jeok Sa Jo had its own teaching philosophy: learn through the body, not words. But this time, the intention ran deeper—to let them struggle a little on purpose.
After all, there had been a prior agreement to give the newcomers a proper trial.
With preparations complete, the Jeok Sa Jo departed.
Every existing member of the organization, including the Five Immortals who had become seniors, hoisted their bundles and set out laden with gear.
The newcomers—who had only recently resembled the Five Immortals themselves, staring with twisted smiles—carried nothing.
What was remarkable was that Chul Ja Gyeong alone shouldered a pack nearly as large as her own body.
She had simply copied what her brother Chul Ja Yong was preparing, understanding neither what he needed nor why.
The burden made her stagger as she walked.
Without martial arts training, the weight was far too much for her.
Chul Ja Yong, noting her distress, stepped in and took the pack from her, though no one said a word about it.
Relief crossing his face, he apologized to the guilty-looking Chul Ja Gyeong trailing behind him, then followed the others ahead.
Watching the Jeok Sa Jo depart from the garrison, Tae Geuk Geom Wang grumbled.
“Damn bastard. Leaves without so much as a word.”
“The Jeok Sa Jo has always been that way….”
Tae Geuk Geom Wang cut off Gong Chan mid-sentence.
“So that makes it right?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly….”
“Then shut up and get back to work.”
Gong Chan, bowing his head to the rebuke, offered a wry smile and left the command post.
Behind him, Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s curses followed, grumbled and continuous.
Most of them were not grievances about the tactlessness of launching operations without proper notice.
“Damn it all. The man could’ve stopped by for a cup of tea before leaving. Knows full well that Bin Do’s bored out of his mind….”
That was it.
Tae Geuk Geom Wang was not bothered by the lack of a report—he was hurt that Jeok Sa hadn’t come to see him.
In the Maeng Ui Dan, Jeok Sa was the only one who could speak with Tae Geuk Geom Wang as an equal.
So it was that as the Jeok Sa Jo disappeared beyond the garrison walls, Tae Geuk Geom Wang’s gaze held the tender ache of a lover watching a beloved depart.

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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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