The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 194

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 194

Song Ha’s eyes trembled at Namgung Hyeok’s words.

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

He looked at Namgung Hyeok and shouted with a moved voice.

Namgung Hyeok smiled brightly and looked around.

“You all heard, right? It seems I’ll have to leave Seonghwa Sect for a while.”

“We should organize troops to escort our Lord.”

“No, there’s no need for that. Taking too many people might draw unwanted attention. I want to handle this matter quietly.”

“Then I will accompany you.”

So Geomlip stepped forward and spoke.

Namgung Hyeok showed a surprised expression.

“Geomlip. You?”

“I’d like to travel with our Lord after such a long time. Would you permit it?”

“Of course. I can trust you.”

Namgung Hyeok nodded happily at So Geomlip’s words.

Watching this, Jeon Wook sighed as if troubled.

“Geomlip. Make sure to assist our Lord well.”

“Yes, Elder Brother.”

“When will you depart?”

“This is an urgent matter. The sooner, the better. We’ll leave as soon as preparations are complete.”

“Then I’ll prepare immediately. In my opinion, traveling by boat to Wuhan first, then riding horses through Shaanxi and Gansu to enter Qinghai would be the fastest route.”

“Right. Then we need to find a boat heading in that direction first. If anything happens while I’m away, the executives should hold meetings to handle it.”

“Understood. I’ll inform the other executives as well.”

“Send messages through merchant groups or the Beggar’s Sect along the way. It won’t take too long.”

Namgung Hyeok concluded the meeting with those words.

There wasn’t much to prepare anyway.

Just some dried food, clothes, and a hefty pouch of silver coins.

He planned to buy most of what they needed while traveling.

The emergency rations were only prepared in case they had to camp outdoors.

“Let’s depart then.”

Namgung Hyeok greeted a few people he encountered on his way out and left Seonghwa Sect.

Their destination was Qinghai.

The place where Seongchang’s faction was waiting.

*   *   *

Arriving at the dock, Namgung Hyeok’s group looked for a boat heading to Hubei.

Finding the boat they wanted wasn’t difficult. Thanks to Namgung Hyeok’s policies supporting commerce, an enormous number of merchant groups were active in this vicinity.

“I didn’t know Jiangsu Province was such a vibrant place.”

Song Ha spoke with wonder as he watched them.

So Geomlip smiled and explained to him.

“It’s all thanks to our Lord. Originally, Nanjing was famous as the center of an ancient dynasty, but trade ships truly began increasing like this after our Lord subjugated the Yangtze Water Bandits.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. Isn’t it amazing? Our Lord had planned for this to happen from when he first established his base here.”

So Geomlip excitedly grabbed Song Ha and chattered away.

Surprisingly, Song Ha also listened to the story with interest.

He seemed curious about what Namgung Hyeok had been doing all this time.

Namgung Hyeok left the two chattering men alone and climbed onto the deck.

He planned to spend time here until departure.

However.

“Sir. I’m terribly sorry, but could you please disembark? We’ll refund all the money you paid.”

Suddenly, the ship owner came to Namgung Hyeok, who was standing alone, and made this request.

“What’s the matter?”

Instead of getting angry immediately, Namgung Hyeok asked about the situation.

The ship owner answered hesitantly.

“I’m truly ashamed. It’s just that the new passengers strongly requested it…”

“A request? New passengers shouldn’t have the authority to make existing passengers disembark. Did some high official come from somewhere?”

Of course, even if a high official had come, Namgung Hyeok had no intention of getting off.

No matter how high the other party’s official position, he had no intention of giving up this boat.

‘This is the fastest boat to reach our destination.’

Namgung Hyeok thought this as he looked at the ship owner.

The ship owner answered with a truly ashamed face.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that martial artists from the Martial Alliance requested our cooperation…”

“From the Martial Alliance?”

Namgung Hyeok’s expression became a bit sharper.

Even if it was the Martial Alliance, they couldn’t make people disembark.

Moreover, wasn’t this Seonghwa Sect’s territory?

The fact that the Martial Alliance was making such an attempt was displeasing.

“Yes. They said they have a criminal to transport. So they asked us to recommend other passengers to disembark for safety.”

“A criminal. What kind of bastard?”

“A demon cult member who harmed our alliance members and fled.”

It wasn’t the ship owner who answered, but someone else behind him.

A woman dressed in elegant red martial robes.

Was she about the same age as himself?

Judging by the subtle aura she emanated, she seemed to possess considerable skill. Namgung Hyeok looked at her and asked.

“And you are?”

“I am Jin Hyeyeon, Vice-Captain of the Martial Alliance’s Suzaku Unit.”

“Ah, so you’re the famous Red Butterfly.”

Namgung Hyeok showed recognition.

Red Butterfly Jin Hyeyeon.

A prodigy of the Martial Alliance who had made a name for herself with outstanding swordsmanship talent since childhood.

As she introduced herself, she was also the Vice-Captain of the Suzaku Unit, one of the Martial Alliance’s Four Great Units.

But why was she here?

“I didn’t hear any report about the Suzaku Unit coming to Nanjing.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. But you said a demon cult member just now?”

“That’s right. A vicious bastard who killed three Martial Alliance members and fled. Our Suzaku Unit was able to capture him after days of pursuit.”

“Hmm. Why didn’t you ask Seonghwa Sect for help? The Martial Alliance and Seonghwa Sect are allies, after all.”

“That, how did you… Are you perhaps from Seonghwa Sect?”

“Answer my question first.”

Confusion appeared on Jin Hyeyeon’s face.

An expression that said it was difficult to speak.

Namgung Hyeok let out a light sigh.

He could roughly see what had happened.

‘They probably didn’t want to owe Seonghwa Sect a debt.’

It was said that many people in the Martial Alliance found their alliance with Seonghwa Sect uncomfortable.

Moreover, since the opponent wasn’t that big a fish, they probably calculated they could quickly capture him and leave.

Indeed, her answer wasn’t much different.

“We didn’t want to cause trouble for Seonghwa Sect with something we could handle ourselves. After all, it was only a matter of time before we caught the bastard who was running away with Thousand Li Tracking Incense buried in him.”

“Still, from next time, please send at least a letter. There might be strange misunderstandings otherwise.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But may I know who the young hero is?”

“Very well.”

Namgung Hyeok took out a gold plaque from his chest and flicked it with his hand.

Jin Hyeyeon’s face filled with shock as she caught it reflexively.

“!?”

A gold token with the characters for Sacred Fire engraved prominently on it.

It was an identification that only the Seonghwa Gate Master could possess.

That meant…

“I-I greet the Seonghwa Gate Master!”

Jin Hyeyeon bowed in alarm.

She never imagined she would meet the owner of the place she had secretly entered to avoid Seonghwa Sect.

She couldn’t have imagined it. Beyond surprise, she was flustered.

“Keep it quiet. It’s not particularly a secret that I’m here, but I have no intention of spreading rumors around the neighborhood either.”

Namgung Hyeok said this while looking at the ship owner beside him.

“I-I’ll excuse myself.”

He too, not lacking in tact, immediately closed his mouth and withdrew.

Soon, only the two of them remained on the deck.

“How is it that the Seonghwa Gate Master is here?”

“I had some business that required me to step away briefly. But more importantly.”

Namgung Hyeok looked into her eyes and said.

“Do you still intend to make me get off the boat?”

“Sigh. That wouldn’t be possible. No, rather, if a master like the Seonghwa Gate Master were to accompany us, it would be reassuring.”

Jin Hyeyeon said with a sigh.

Namgung Hyeok nodded.

“Then that’s settled. We’ll be together for a few days, so I ask for your cooperation.”

“We also ask for your cooperation. I’ll explain to the other members myself.”

Jin Hyeyeon spoke in a strangely disciplined voice and performed a cupped fist salute.

Namgung Hyeok also returned her cupped fist salute. Soon she bowed her head and disappeared with hurried steps.

“You’re saying those Murim Alliance bastards came?”

“Yes. It seems all the other passengers except us have disembarked.”

Namgung Hyeok also took this opportunity to inform So Geomlip and Song Ha about what had just happened.

So Geomlip’s expression darkened after hearing the story.

“To think we didn’t know until the Murim Alliance members entered Nanjing…”

“I have no intention of blaming you, so don’t be too hard on yourself. However, we’ll need to reorganize the Main Gate’s information system once more.”

“Understood. I’ll relay that immediately.”

So Geomlip quickly wrote a letter and commissioned a nearby merchant to send it to Seonghwa Sect.

And some time later, the vessel they were on departed.

Namgung Hyeok spent his time leisurely in the cabin assigned to him.

But while he was doing so.

Knock knock.

“Seonghwa Gate Master. This is Jin Hyeyeon of Suzaku Unit. May I come in?”

“Please do.”

Creak.

With permission granted, the door opened and Jin Hyeyeon appeared.

She bowed lightly and stood before Namgung Hyeok.

“What brings you here?”

“I felt I didn’t properly greet you earlier.”

“That’s fine. A simple introduction is sufficient.”

Namgung Hyeok pointed to a chair inside the cabin, inviting her to sit.

Namgung Hyeok asked Jin Hyeyeon, who obediently followed his words.

“But the Suzaku Unit Leader didn’t come along?”

“Yes. Suzaku Unit is busy, you see. No matter how important hunting the demon head is, we couldn’t all move together.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

‘If they had, we would have detected them long ago.’

He knew Suzaku Unit numbered over two hundred members.

While they might have missed a small number of Suzaku Unit members entering Seonghwa Sect’s territory, if the entire Suzaku Unit had come, there was no way they wouldn’t have known.

“Then the dozen or so who entered Nanjing with you are all there is.”

“Yes. The personnel currently on the boat are all of them. Again, I apologize for not sending word in advance.”

“That’s enough. It’s already past anyway. Just be careful from now on.”

“Of course. Thank you for understanding, Seonghwa Gate Master.”

Jin Hyeyeon answered with a smile.

It seemed she had realized that Namgung Hyeok harbored no hostility.

The two of them spent some time sharing tea and various conversations. Mostly about the state of Murim and how the world was turning.

But while they were doing so.

“Lord. I have something to report.”

So Geomlip, who should have been staying in another guest room, entered Namgung Hyeok’s guest room.

Had he recognized his skill?

Jin Hyeyeon looked at So Geomlip with a slightly surprised expression.

But So Geomlip didn’t even glance at Jin Hyeyeon and looked at Namgung Hyeok.

“What is it?”

“A report from the ship owner. He says two suspicious ships are following us.”

“Suspicious ships?”

Namgung Hyeok’s eyes narrowed.

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