The Legend of the Northern Blade novel - chapter 71
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Chapter 70
Chapter 70: Yong Mu-Sung, The Commander of the Iron Brigade (2)
Jin Mu-Won observed the house in front of him carefully, but no matter how hard he stared at it, it looked exactly the same as a typical commonerâs residence in Sichuan.
The only unusual thing about it is the small black flag hanging by the window. Is that some kind of sign?
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In fact, the black flag was so small, he wouldnât have noticed it if he didnât know that there was anything odd about this house beforehand.
After knocking on the door, the two men waited for a while before a short, middle-aged man opened it and stuck his head outside.
âWhatâs up?â
âIâm here to make a dealâŚâ
âYou came to the wrong place. If you want to make a deal, you should go to a shop somewhereâŚâ
âIâm looking for something illuminated by the light of the black moonâŚâ
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âWhatever it is youâre looking for, I donât have itâŚâ
âThe Black Moon Spymaster said that I could visit whenever I wanted thoughâŚâ
âWhatâs your name?â
âI am Yong Mu-Sung, the Commander of the Iron Brigade.â
The moment he heard Yong Mu-Sungâs name, the middle-aged manâs expression changed. He took a quick look around to ensure that no one else was nearby, then said, âPlease come in.â
Yong Mu-Sung and Jin Mu-Won entered the house. Like the outside, the inside of the house appeared perfectly ordinary at first glance. If anything, it felt like he had entered a quiet mountain temple. However, Jin Mu-Won could sense that he was being observed.
As expected, itâs not a normal house.
The middle-aged man guided Jin Mu-Won and Yong Mu-Sung to the innermost room. The roomâs design was simple, with no decorations, and the only furniture inside was a table surrounded by four chairs. It felt like an abandoned house.
âPlease wait here,â said the middle-aged man as he left the room.
Jin Mu-Won turned toward Yong Mu-Sung and asked, âWhat is this place?â
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âItâs one of the Black Moonâs (éťć) branch offices.â
Jin Mu-Won furrowed his brows. He had never heard of the name âBlack Moonâ before. Yong Mu-Sung grinned, as if he could tell what Jin Mu-Won was wondering about.
âTo put it simply, itâs a place that investigates and manages top-secret information.â
âThat means, people can buy information here?â
âYes, but not just anyone can do that.â
ââŚâŚ.â
âThe Black Moon only sells information to sect leaders and those at the same level.â
The only people at the same level as a sect leader are the elders of the large sects. How many people in the whole gangho belong to this level? There canât be many.
âThey take the initiative to obtain crucial information that the murim leaders need, summarize it into an easy-to-understand form, then sell it to their customers. The role they play is so important that even Heavenâs Summit and the large sects depend on them to make decisions.
âOf course, not every leader goes to the Black Moon, only those who understand the value of getting information quickly and accurately. These people also tend to be the ones who wisely plan for the future.â
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âIs it really okay for you to reveal all this to me even though we just met for the first time today?â
âPfft haha! Didnât I already tell you? âThe Black Moon only sells information to sect leaders and those at the same level.â Even if you know about the existence of this place, you canât buy information.â
âI see.â
âI just wanted you to know that places like this existed, and that the gangho is a much bigger, more complex place than you imagined,â Yong Mu-Sung declared confidently.
Now I know why Yong Mu-Sung brought me here. Itâs related to how I ended up clashing opinions with Jong-Ri Mu-Hwan. He wanted me to learn that since there are a lot of unknown dangers in this world, I should take better care of myself and think twice before acting. At least, any normal person who learns about the existence of such a place would carefully reconsider their circumstances from here on.
âThank you for your advice. I will keep it in mind.â
âI hope you do.â Yong Mu-Sung shot a meaningful glance at Jin Mu-Won.
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Just then, a person entered the room and said in a clear voice, âI hope I havenât kept you two waiting for too long.â
The two men looked toward the door to see a woman wearing a veil over her face walking gracefully toward them. Every time she moved, the beautiful curves of her body would be emphasized, giving her a very seductive feel.
The woman looked at Yong Mu-Sung and asked, âI heard that you were the Commander of the Iron Brigade. Is that correct?â
âThatâs right. And you are?â
âI am Mae Wol-Ryung, the Branch Head of Black Moonâs Sichuan Branch.â
Yong Mu-Sungâs eyes glittered with curiosity. From the tone and pitch of the womanâs voice, he had guessed that she was quite young, and it was quite unprecedented for someone around her age to rise to the position of branch head.
âNice to meet you, Miss Mae.â
âWho is the person next to you?â
âHeâs one of my traveling companions.â
Mae Wol-Ryung looked at Jin Mu-Won and asked, âYou must be quite the outstanding person to be allowed to accompany Commander Yong here. Could you tell me your name?â
âMy name is Jin Mu-Won. Iâm a newcomer to the gangho, and I havenât got any accomplishments to my name. Commander Yong only brought me along because heâs concerned for me, so please donât mind my presence,â replied Jin Mu-Won, putting his hands together in greeting.
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Mae Wol-Ryungâs eyes, the only part of her face not hidden by her veil, immediately lit up with interest. She stared at Jin Mu-Won thoughtfully and said, âDonât you know that we are very interested in up-and-coming newcomers, Master Jin?â
Her eyes curved at the edges, as if she were smiling underneath the veil.
No one in the gangho knew who the leader of the Black Moon was, or when and why such an organization was founded. Even the number of members they had, and the identities of the members were complete mysteries. The only thing most people could be certain of was that the Black Moonâs ability to obtain information was terrifying. Somehow, they were always the first ones to find things out.
Heavenâs Summit and the large factions understood that information was power, and as such, they all badly desired the Black Moonâs resources. They felt that if they could take over the spy organization, theyâd be able to gain an overwhelming advantage over their competitors.
In fact, one of those factions, the Hwang-Bo Clan1Â of the Five Great Clans, had indeed made such an attempt before. Among the Five Clans, they had the worst information network, and they wished to supplement their weakness so that they could become the new leader of the Five Clans.
Once their decision was made, the Hwang-Bo Clan had moved swiftly and without hesitation in order to avoid alerting the Black Moon spies. They mobilized not only their own elites, but also borrowed warriors from their allies, and launched an attack on one of the Black Moonâs branches.
Unexpectedly, the Black Moon branch showed no resistance against the Hwang-Bo Clanâs surprise attack. None of the members there fought back, and the branch fell within minutes. The captured members were then interrogated, tortured and killed, however, none of them revealed the identity and location of their leader, the Spymaster of the Black Moon.
Several of the tortured Black Moon members had indeed talked, but they were also the ones who knew nothing about the higher-ups. In the end, the Hwang-Bo Clan were forced to retreat after getting none of the information that they wanted.
However, things did not simply end with just that. The Hwang-Bo Clanâs retreat only marked the beginning of the Black Moonâs counterattack.
The counterattack began by isolating the Hwang-Bo Clan from the outside world. Not only did the Black Moon cut off all of the Hwang-Bo Clanâs information and communication channels, they used it against them by spreading fake news and rumors.
Next, the Black Moon used large sums of money to commission assassins targeting the clan leadership. Dozens of those targets wound up killed or gravely injured, nearly resulting in the destruction of the clan.
Eventually, the Hwang-Bo Clan were forced to surrender to the Black Moon. However, by that time, they had already lost most of their leaders and elites. The clan quickly fell into decline and were humiliatingly kicked out of the Five Great Clans.
It would be decades more before the Hwang-Bo Clan once again rose back to the ranks of the Five Great Clans.
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Through this series of events, the large factions came to the realization that no good would come from aggravating the Black Moon, and to this very day, the legend of the Black Moonâs viciousness continues.
As part of expanding its information network, one of the objectives that the Black Moon was most concerned about was the identification and tracking of newcomers in the gangho. From experience, the Black Moon knew very well that the balance in the gangho was often easily swayed by the appearance of yet unknown talents.
Mae Wol-Ryung carefully observed Jin Mu-Won from head-to-toe.
They may be a small group, but the Iron Brigade is still one of the more influential factions in the gangho. In particular, their leader, Commander Yong Mu-Sung, is one of the strongest martial artists in the world. Not only that, unlike his vulgar appearance, heâs actually incredibly intelligent and has a good eye for people.
A man like that would never allow a random person to accompany them. In other words, although he looks normal, Yong Mu-Sung has already recognized Jin Mu-Wonâs talent.
To conclude, Jin Mu-Won is definitely a warrior worth paying attention to.
Without knowing it, Jin Mu-Won had become a subject of the Black Moonâs observation. This was something that not even Yong Mu-Sung had expected.
Finally, Mae Wol-Ryung turned to face Yong Mu-Sung, asking, âSo, for what purpose are you visiting the Black Moon, Commander Yong?â
âI want to know whatâs happening in Yunnan.â
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âHmm! Thatâs not an easy question to answer.â
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âKnowing the Black Moonâs abilities, it shouldnât be too hard, right?â
âYou overestimate us. Even our information network has limits.â
Despite what she said, Mae Wol-Ryungâs voice was brimming with confidence. Yong Mu-Sung sensed this and grinned, adding, âIâll pay you guys as much as you want, so please tell me about the current events in Yunnan. I accepted a request from the White Dragon Merchant Association related to the unusual happenings there, and Iâm at a loss because I canât get any information on it.â
âI seeâŚâ
âPlease help me.â
Mae Wol-Ryung closed her eyes as she organized her thoughts. As a branch manager, it was her job to memorize all the information. The reason for that was because the Black Moon did not keep any written records, as they wished to avoid a repeat of the Hwang-Bo Clan tragedy.
After some time, Mae Wol-Ryung said, âIâm not sure if youâre aware of how complicated the situation in Yunnan is right now. Most people think that itâs just a simple clash between the Tyrant Fist Sect and the Diancang Sect, but in truth, itâs more like some kind of holy war.â
âAre you trying to say that thereâs more to the conflict than a fight over territory between the two sects?â
âYes. The two sects are indeed waging war, butâŚâ Mae Wol-Ryungâs voice trailed off.
Sensing that she was about to reveal a big secret, Yong Mu-Sung and Jin Mu-Won perked up their ears.
Mae Wol-Ryung whispered, âThe Black Moon believes that a third faction may be involved in the conflict. We havenât yet managed to obtain absolute proof of this, but if we consider the circumstances, it must be true.â
âHmmâŚ!â
âWe have another convincing piece of evidence that a third faction is involved. Heavenâs Summit has dispatched an investigation squad to Yunnan.â
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All details regarding the investigation squads of Heavenâs Summit were top secret. However, the fact that the Black Moon had knowledge of their movements went to show just how far their reach was.
âThen, did the third faction target the merchant associations in order to fuel the war between the Tyrant Fist Sect and Diancang Sect?â
âThatâs what we think.â
âIn that case, there is a very high likelihood that the people with the caravans which disappeared in Yunnan were either detained or killed.â
âIf they had been killed, Iâm sure that we would have already found their corpses, as it is impossible to quietly dispose of that many bodies.â
When he heard that there was a good chance Hwang Cheol was still alive, Jin Mu-Wonâs eyes sparkled with the light of hope.
âWhat is the identity of this third faction?â
âWe donât know yet. However, once we pool our resources together, Iâm sure we would be able to find that out pretty quickly.â
Jin Mu-Won could hear the pride in Mae Wol-Ryungâs voice as she talked about the Black Moonâs capabilities. It was clear how much she believed in the organization.
âOne more thing. Can you give me some details about the investigation squad that Heavenâs Summit sent to Yunnan?â
âHeavenâs Summit is rather good at keeping secrets, so we donât know much about it yet. The only thing we can be sure of is that the people in the squad are carefully selected elites specialized in navigating the chaos of Yunnan.â
âUghâŚâ Yong Mu-Sung groaned.
Heavenâs Summit is an unexpected variable that could change things greatly. Regardless, we absolutely cannot fail this mission. Also, if we break the contract, the reputation that weâve worked so hard to build up will crumble into pieces.
Sigh, I have no choice but to go to Yunnan and do my best to complete the mission with minimal losses.
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âTsk! Looks like weâre in for tough times ahead.â
âYou said that you accepted a mission from the White Dragon Merchant Association, right? Your goal must be to search for the missing third son.â
âThatâs right.â
âItâs not going to be easy. Like I said, even we donât know everything thatâs going on in Yunnan, and without information, it will be impossible to predict what could happen.â
Mae Wol-Ryung looked at Yong Mu-Sung regretfully. Contrary to her appearance, she had worked for the Black Moon for a long time. Long enough to understand that sometimes, the only way to get through a windstorm was to lower oneâs head.
To make things worse, the storm currently brewing in Yunnan was no ordinary windstorm, but a raging hurricane. No one knew how bad things would get.
Yong Mu-Sung rose from his seat. Although it wasnât much, he had indeed obtained some useful information during this conversation. In fact, simply knowing about the existence of a third faction made the visit worth it. Armed with this new information, he was soon going to get very busy with the preparations for the entry into Yunnan.
He took out two gold yuanbao2Â the size of a childâs fist and placed them on the table.
âI hope that this is enough for the information.â
âItâs more than enough. As thanks for the extra tip, Iâll add in one more piece of information.â
âGo on.â
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âCommander Yong, you are being targeted by the Deathshroud.â
ââŚâŚâ
Yong Mu-Sung shuddered. That was not a name he expected to hear. After all, the Deathshroud (çĄĺ˝ąćŽşĺš)3 was an assassin organization. It wasnât the best assassin organization in the gangho, but it was certainly the most vicious and unrelenting one of them all. Not a single one of their targets had been met with a quick, painless death.
Yong Mu-Sung did not bother asking why he had been targeted. The reason was obvious.
âLooks like information about me accepting this current mission has been leaked.â
âDonât you want to know who leaked it?â
âWill you tell me if I ask?â
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Mae Wol-Ryungâs eyes glittered oddly as she answered, âWould you believe me if I said that it was Neung Won-Pyong?â
âAha! As expected, it was him. Haa⌠No wonder I kept having a bad feeling about this mission.â Yong Mu-Sung sighed.