Read Novel Full Chapter 1213: It Can’t Get Worse Than This. (3)
Chapter 1213: It Can’t Get Worse Than This. (3)
“Now, the question is how we’re going to get to the Southern Island......”
Tang Pae, who was considered the most reasonable among the party, quietly turned his head and looked at Namgung Do-Wei.
It’s truly awkward.
Judging by their names alone, those who joined the trip to Southern Island are the kind who could, quite literally, overturn an entire stronghold.
The young lord of the Namgung Family, the young lord of the Tang Family, the lord of the Ice Palace and the Green Forest King of Green Forest. Then there’s the Five Swords of Mount Hua, the sect currently said to be the most formidable under heavens. Even Hae Yeon is here—long thought likely to one day become Shaolin’s Abbot unless he tore his monastic robe and renounced his vows.
By reputation and by actual skill, it’s impossible not to say they’re extraordinary. But......
‘Why is there no one to speak up?’
The thought of actually having to discuss things with any one of them made his chest tighten and cold sweat bead down his forehead.
In the end, the person Tang Pae clung to had to be the relatively sensible Namgung Do-Wei.
“What do you intend to do?”
“Why are you asking me that...... “
Of course Namgung Do-Wei, not knowing Tang Pae’s state of mind, was bewildered.
“Doesn’t it strike you as strange? Going to Southern Island is an extremely important matter. Yet up until the day of departure, we haven’t discussed in the least how we will actually get to Southern Island; how can that possibly make sense?”
“No, I mean why are you asking me that......”
Tang Pae let out a deep sigh. Ultimately his gaze turned to the person responsible for this matter.
“...... Taoist Baek Cheon.”
“I was actually going to say a little something about that.”
At that, a slight light returned to Tang Pae’s expression as he looked at Baek Cheon. It meant Baek Cheon had some plan and intent.
“There was someone who kept us from ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) speaking about that, so we should hear what that person has to say. However......”
“However?”
“Well... um, it’s just that...... “
Baek Cheon glanced sideways with an embarrassed look.
“Say that again, you bastard! What? The Mount Hua Sect leader’s succession ceremony is meaningless?”
Smack! Smack!
“Is that ghostly little body worth anything? This body? Huh?”
Smack! Smack!
Seeing Im So-Byeong’s suddenly swollen mouth, Baek Cheon sighed.
“For now, let’s wait until the swelling goes down a bit.”
“...... “
But first, try stopping him from hitting more. You human......
“Well...... “
Im So-Byeong rubbed the corner of his mouth, began to speak, then choked up and wiped his eyes.
Seeing that, everyone quietly averted their eyes. Of course, one could say that all trouble comes from the mouth; you can’t claim complete innocence for speaking carelessly......
Even so, isn’t it embarrassing to stare at someone like the Green Forest King being grabbed like a mouse and wiping a tear?
Besides, isn’t that what human decency demands?
“What are you crying for as if you did something great?”
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone here is humane......
Im So-Byeong, nose swollen, tried to speak but his face contorted sharply. His split lip must be stinging.
“The reason we said not to discuss plans before departure is because there’s a risk words might leak out.”
“Aren’t you trusting people too little?”
Im So-Byeong glared at Tang Pae with a vicious look.
“What comfortable nonsense is that? Do you think this is Sichuan or something? From manor’s servants to all the workers moving in there, how many people come and go!
“Are you saying all those people are so loyal to the Heavenly Friends Alliance that they wouldn’t divulge plans even with a blade at their throat?“
“Th-that’s not what I meant...... “
“Saying such comfortable things is exactly why everything ends up a mess! Do you know how brutal the murim world is? This is what happens to those raised in a greenhouse!”
As Tang Pae visibly sulked, Baek Cheon gave a wry smile and defended him.
“Distrusting people isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“No! Baek Cheon...... “
“Continue. See if any of those damned brain cells survive.”
When Chung Myung growled slightly, Im So-Byeong obediently shut his mouth. The murim world may be brutal, but it’s not more brutal than that man’s fists.
Baek Cheon spoke.
“But it’s true we must be careful. The chance of information flowing to the Evil Sect isn’t that high, but towards the Nine Great Sects there will inevitably be vigilance.”
“Do we really need to go that far...... “
“Ah, you fool! You really don’t get it!”
This time Chung Myung glared at Tang Pae.
“He’s saying that that bald-headed king might hand our information over to the Four Sects Alliance! Our Acting Sect leader!”
“N-no, surely he wouldn’t go that far.”
“‘Surely’ my foot! He was the kind who did whatever he wanted even when we shouted that we were of the same Justice faction! Now that people are even saying you’re not part of the Justice faction, what would stop him?”
“Even so, isn’t he a Buddhist?”
“A Buddhist? Bah! If that bald man is a Buddhist, then I’m the Buddha himself, you fool! There are no Buddhists in Shaolin to begin with! Those bastards who pick up swords and stab people were never pious!”
“Chung Myung... stop. Hae Yeon will cry.”
Yoon Jong patted Hae Yeon’s drooped shoulder.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. He renounced his vows, after all.”
“I didn’t!”
“You didn’t?”
“...... “
In the unsettled atmosphere, Im So-Byeong cleared his throat and continued.
“In any case, that’s why we couldn’t speak separately inside. Now that we must depart, let’s share the plan.”
Rustle!
Im So-Byeong pulled a small map from his sleeve and spread it on the ground.
“......How many different maps do you have?”
“I have them prepared by size! There’s a smaller one too—shall I hand one out?”
“......No, that’s fine.”
At this point, it’s less about preparation more for a hobby, isn’t it?
“First, there’s something we need to agree on.”
“Hm?”
“The most important priority in choosing a route to Southern Island is whether there are places in the region we can rely on.”
At that, everyone tilted their heads.
Im So-Byeong calmly explained the situation step by step.
“As you know, it’s best to move with the minimum number of people for matters like this. But with only the minimum, it’s impossible to properly persuade the Southern Island Sect. So inevitably more than ten of us are heading to Southern Island...... And the more people, the higher the chance we’ll be discovered.”
“Hm.”
Everyone nodded at that.
“Therefore, until the very last moment, it’s better to move toward regions where we have collaborators who can hide our tracks. Considering that, we have three routes. The first is by sea.”
“By sea?”
“Yes.”
Im So-Byeong pointed to one side of the map.
“We’d ride the Yangtze river toward Zhejiang and then take a ship to Southern Island. Since the Namgung Family still has many people in Anhui and Zhejiang, it would greatly help to conceal our movements. We could hide the fact that we traveled to Southern Island by ship.”
“Indeed...... “
Namgung Do-Wei also nodded as if it were feasible.
“The best part of this route is that it conceals our movements most reliably, and above all, we can use the sea route. Four Sects Alliance has influence across the Southern lands, but the sea route is a different matter. They aren’t fishermen selling their catch to live—they won’t venture out to sea.”
Everyone nodded at that. Indeed, no matter how powerful the Four Sects Alliance is, they likely don’t control the sea routes.
“So if we can secure a proper ship, prepare well, and set off, it’s the safest way to reach Southern Island. The drawback is......”
“It will take a long time.”
“Tch. That’s right.”
Im So-Byeong immediately nodded at Baek Cheon’s remark.
It’s already a long journey and we’d have to detour further. Besides, ships are difficult to speed up by manpower.
“Not good.”
“We can’t afford to be so leisurely.”
“If something goes wrong with the ship, we could be stranded off the coast of Jiangnan, which is also a problem.”
At first it sounded like a good option, but upon closer inspection there were many issues.
“Alright, sea route noted. What is the other route?”
“This one.”
Im So-Byeong drew another line on the map with his finger.
“It’s a way of bypassing by land. First enter Sichuan, then head to Yunnan, and finally arrive at Lam Ap to take a ship to Southern Island.
“I mentioned this before.”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t a bad method either. The problem is that the routes toward Sichuan and Yunnan have a lot of eyes.”
“Hmm.”
At that, Tang Pae nodded vigorously.
Although the Tang Family is called the ruler of Sichuan, that’s only formal. The Tang Family’s strong influence is in the north, including Chengdu, while the south, where Emei and Qingcheng lie, is more under the Nine Great Sects’ influence.
And Yunnan isn’t just the Southern Beast Palace; the Dian Cang sect is also present there. It would be difficult to perfectly hide our movements.
“Even if we get through all that safely, it’s no easy task to secure a ship in Lam Ap—where the South Sea Sun Palace might interfere—to go to Southern Island. We might end up causing unnecessary trouble.”
This much has been discussed before.
But on reflection both have their pros and cons, so it’s not easy to conclude which is right. Arrival alone isn’t everything.
“Green Forest King.”
Baek Cheon looked straight at Im So-Byeong and spoke.
“You said there are three routes, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, Green Forest King, what is the third method you have in mind?”
Baek Cheon looked at Im So-Byeong with a meaningful gaze. From their experience of him so far, the unmentioned third route was likely the one he considered most realistic.
Receiving that look, Im So-Byeong grinned.
“Yes. I’ll answer. The third route I have in mind is...... “
Im So-Byeong’s fingertip pressed firmly on one part of the map. It was the river mouth where they were now located.
“Here.”
The finger that had pressed the river mouth dragged down hard as if to tear the map.
Seeing the line the fingertip had drawn, everyone widened their eyes.
“......Are you out of your mind?”
“Are you sane?”
“I knew this fellow would show his true colors someday! How much did Jang Ilso pay you, you scoundrel of the Evil Sect!”
“......Let’s not cross the line.”
Amid those erupting reactions, Im So-Byeong smirked.
“Why are you like that? Surely these formidable folks aren’t scared, are they?”
At that sly question, Baek Cheon twisted his face.
Everyone couldn’t help but react. In fact, not reacting would have been stranger—because the last line Im So-Byeong drew connected the river mouth and Southern Island in a straight line.
The straightest, shortest path cutting directly through the Jiangnan lands dominated by Four Sects Alliance. That was the final route Im So-Byeong proposed.
“The sea route sounds best.”
“No, I think the Yunnan route is more practical.”
“Let’s just go anywhere. Just not the third option!”
Just as those who instinctively sensed something hurried to reach consensus.
“Hooooo?”
A hair-raising voice reached their ears.
“That’s quite.......”
“...... “
“...... “
“Intriguing?”
Everyone turned their heads with a creak. Then an inescapable despair darkly shadowed their faces.
Chung Myung...... was smiling.