The spy sent by the Heavenly Demon Sword, disguised as a nun of the Amipa, stared blankly at Cheon Ryu-yeong.
Tightening the noose around his neck with nothing but a three-inch tongue, then offering him a chance to clear his name?
Cheon Ryu-yeong gave a faint, curious smile and spoke in his characteristically pleasant, low, mid-range voice.
"If you are truly a nun of the Amipa, there is a way you can prove it."
"What is that?"
"To be frank, everything I've said so far points to you being a spy. But, in a sense, it's all just conjecture. The Heavenly Demon Sword and the Iron-Blooded Branch Lord are both human, so they can make mistakes. And so can you."
"Y-Yes, that is true. The donor's words are indeed correct. I truly am a disciple of the Amipa. Please, with your brilliant mind, reveal my sincerity."
Even as she responded to Cheon Ryu-yeong's words, she couldn't help but think how pathetic she was—fawning over a man she would not be satisfied even if she chewed him to bits.
Cheon Ryu-yeong looked at her with interest before speaking again.
"If you were a spy, all your efforts would have gone into deceiving this group. I doubt you would have prepared for such an unexpected situation as this."
"…?"
"If you truly are a disciple of the Amipa, you should be able to recite the Diamond Sutra."
The Diamond Sutra was one of the Buddhist scriptures that every monk of the Amipa memorized day and night.
The moment his words fell, a strange light flashed in the woman's eyes.
"The donor's insight is truly exceptional. Yes, the Diamond Sutra is a text that the black path would never lay eyes on."
Cheon Ryu-yeong looked at her in surprise and asked,
"Can you really recite it? Truly?"
"Listen closely. 'Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was staying in the country of Śrāvastī…'"
She closed her eyes and began calmly reciting the verses of the Diamond Sutra. Cheon Ryu-yeong savored it for a moment—then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Impressive. Yes, that is indeed the Diamond Sutra. I must have read it for leisure long ago, because the memories are coming back vividly."
At his words, the woman opened her eyes in delight. She was overjoyed at her own thorough preparation. How much had her companion mocked her, asking when she would ever have a chance to use her memorization of the Diamond Sutra?
"Have you now cleared your misunderstanding?"
"You're truly a fool."
"…!"
"Pathetic. To think you would just recite the Diamond Sutra to save your own skin. If I hadn't stopped you, were you planning to finish the entire thing?"
"That's because you—"
Cheon Ryu-yeong waved his hand, cutting her off.
"If you were truly a nun of the Amipa, you wouldn't be having this argument with me right now. You wouldn't have time to recite scripture. Your master and fellow disciples are dying this very moment—would you really be doing this so leisurely?"
The woman ground her teeth inwardly, but Cheon Ryu-yeong clicked his tongue and continued.
"You should be losing your mind, begging me to go help them—not calmly scheming to deceive me. That hypocritical behavior of yours is the sixth reason."
Her neck flushed red with fury.
"Seventh—if the Amipa were ambushed by twice their number, they would surely be surrounded. You wouldn't have been able to escape so easily."
"I—"
Cheon Ryu-yeong waved her words away, openly ignoring her.
"Would the Headmaster of the Amipa really send only you as a messenger to request reinforcements? What if you died on the way? It would make sense to send someone who could risk their life to cover you if the enemy blocked your path."
"…"
"Eighth—let's say you escaped a deadly encirclement thanks to your comrades' sacrifice. You've come from such a dangerous place, and yet there isn't a single drop of blood on you. If you're going to put on a show, you could at least have splattered some blood for effect. Ninth—when you arrived here, did you see what Clan Leader Dokgo did?"
She was already looking at Cheon Ryu-yeong with a vacant, defeated gaze. Her air of resignation was obvious. And the eight hundred fifty warriors, including Dokgo Mu-yeong, were now all convinced she was a spy.
"Clan Leader Dokgo contacted the allied Sichuan Tang Clan. In battle, information is vital and close communication is essential. Do you think the Amipa Headmaster would send just one person to the Sichuan Branch? If it were me, I'd send others here as well, not just to the Sichuan Branch."
Cheon Ryu-yeong swept his gaze over everyone watching him.
"If what this person says is true, then based on what I've pointed out so far, it would mean that the Heavenly Demon Sword, the Iron-Blooded Branch Lord, and the Amipa Headmaster are all fools. How likely is it that such renowned commanders would all be idiots at the same time?"
"…"
"But if we assume she's lying, then by now you should all see that everything she's said and done serves one purpose—deceiving you. That the Sichuan Branch and the Amipa are being attacked simultaneously—to split you up. Why? To destroy you one by one."
"…!"
Silence heavy enough that even a dropped needle would sound loud filled the air. Everyone recalled how they had been about to split their forces—Kunlun to the Amipa, the Dokgo Clan and the Black Tortoise Corps to the Sichuan Branch.
Cheon Ryu-yeong looked at the stunned faces, then leaned toward the Invincible Sword Han Chu-gwang and whispered something. Han Chu-gwang slowly nodded.
Cheon Ryu-yeong whispered to him again. Han Chu-gwang gave a wry smile and nodded once more.
Their eyes met, and Cheon Ryu-yeong took a deep breath, stepping toward the spy. Before long, only three jang separated them—close enough to clearly see each other's eyes and expressions.
"The final, tenth reason."
The woman looked at him weakly. By now, the Black Tortoise Corps Leader's blade was already near her, exuding a chilling aura.
"Before I tell you the final decisive reason, there's something I want to say to you."
The woman swallowed a sigh and replied.
"What is it?"
"I think I have a fair idea of how the Heavenly Demon Sword Baek Un-hoe will respond. He is an undefeated general. But today, because of me, he will taste a great defeat. He may even die."
The woman's eyes shook violently. The Heavenly Demon Sword Baek Un-hoe's love for his subordinates was so famous that even the Orthodox Factions knew of it. His subordinates' loyalty to him was equally absolute.
Watching her shifting expression, Cheon Ryu-yeong spoke.
"The tenth reason is…"
"That's enough, you bastard!"
The woman suddenly thrust her hand forward from within her sleeve. Cheon Ryu-yeong shut his eyes tightly and continued speaking.
"…you just look too much like a spy."
Before he could finish, the dagger she flung shot toward him at incredible speed.
Black Tortoise Corps Leader Neung Un-bi, startled, quickly swung his sword, slicing her arm.
The dagger was deflected in midair with a sharp clang right in front of Cheon Ryu-yeong's nose—knocked away by Han Chu-gwang's lightning-fast draw.
In other words, Cheon Ryu-yeong had deliberately provoked her using the Heavenly Demon Sword's name. A subordinate of the Cheonrang Unit, famous for their loyalty, would surely think in that moment: even if I die, I must kill Cheon Ryu-yeong for threatening my master.
He had deliberately approached her to trigger that reaction.
What he whispered to Han Chu-gwang earlier had been a request to protect him. Han Chu-gwang had told him not to worry, but Cheon Ryu-yeong, knowing he might truly die, had repeated the request.
Cheon Ryu-yeong opened his eyes and let out a breath of relief that he was still alive.
Han Chu-gwang patted his shoulder and spoke warmly.
"Didn't I tell you not to worry?"
For some reason, the tone felt like that of an old friend. But Cheon Ryu-yeong was so rattled—goosebumps rising on his arms—that he didn't even register Han Chu-gwang's friendly manner.
From the front, Neung Un-bi spoke in a regretful voice.
"The spy… took her own life."
When everything had fallen apart, she had bitten down on the poison pellet hidden in her molars—to keep any information from falling into their hands.
Dokgo Mu-yeong, Han Chu-gwang, and Cheon Ryu-yeong gathered by her lifeless body.
Neung Un-bi spoke with a look of self-reproach.
"I cut her arm and knocked her down… but I never imagined she'd take her life in that moment."
Dokgo Mu-yeong, after prying open her mouth to reveal the blackened blood, replied,
"She hid poison inside her mouth—how could you have stopped that? This wasn't your mistake."
The moment he finished speaking, the heads of all three leaders turned toward one person.
Cheon Ryu-yeong.
Feeling their gazes, he spoke awkwardly.
"N-No, I really… never imagined she'd kill herself like that. Honestly…"
At that, Dokgo Mu-yeong gave a genial smile and replied,
"Hahaha. We must have startled you by looking at you all at once. We're not blaming you… I think we were unconsciously expecting to hear what you'd say next."
"…What?"
Cheon Ryu-yeong blinked in confusion. Han Chu-gwang followed up.
"Someone like you would know what we should do next, wouldn't you?"
"Ah! Well, that's…"
Cheon Ryu-yeong instinctively took a step back.
This was far enough.
If he got any more involved, he might really die.
In his judgment, the Sichuan Branch had already fallen the previous night. And as for the Amipa—by the time anyone went to help, it would be too late.
Above all… the opponent was the Heavenly Demon Sword, Baek Un-hoe.
Cheon Ryu-yeong knew him.
A long time ago, they had lived together for nearly half a year.
He absolutely, positively did not want to face Baek Un-hoe. Even back then, in his youth, Baek Un-hoe had seemed like the greatest man in the world.
So when Baek Un-hoe later shook the martial world with one astounding feat after another under the title "Heavenly Demon Sword," Cheon Ryu-yeong would simply nod to himself and murmur, "If it's that hyung… of course."
As Cheon Ryu-yeong tried to edge away, a palm stopped him by pressing against his back.
Startled, he turned to find Dokgo Seol watching him with a strange look in her eyes.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Uh! I-I told you last night, didn't I? I'm going home."
"You think it makes sense to just leave like this?"
"W-What are you talking about? I've saved you from falling into the enemy's divide-and-conquer trap. I think I've more than earned the money you gave me."
As he spoke, a strange thought crossed his mind, and he tilted his head.
This woman—the Fifth Squad Leader of the Black Tortoise Corps—
Her voice… had changed.
Wasn't this like a woman's voice? Had she been using a false voice with him all this time? Come to think of it… she had seemed a bit too delicate.
Dokgo Seol smiled brightly at his words.
"You're right—you've more than earned your pay. No, I'd even say a hundred taels of silver is too little. I'll admit that."
At that, Cheon Ryu-yeong looked relieved.
Now, the hundred taels were honestly his. The thought of using them to buy proper medicine for his younger sister made his heart race. He could even treat his mother to meat dishes for a while.
Whether she was a cross-dressing woman or not didn't matter to him. There was no reason to see her again anyway.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
He was about to take a step when the sight of the three leaders watching him intently gave him pause. Their expressions made it obvious they had something they wanted to say.
If he tried to walk away, they looked ready to stop him by force. That meant he'd have to give them something before they'd let him go peacefully.
"The Sichuan Branch was most likely taken by the Heavenly Demon Sword last night. And the Amipa… is probably under attack right now. So going will be too late."
At his words, their eyes trembled violently. Cheon Ryu-yeong quickly wrapped up.
"So I think the wise course would be to retreat for now and prepare countermeasures. Now then, I'll be going."
"No, wait!"
Dokgo Mu-yeong called out urgently. Han Chu-gwang and Neung Un-bi did the same.
"Hey, you there!"
"Just a moment!"
Cheon Ryu-yeong replied with a troubled face.
"I think I've already done everything I can to help. Admittedly, that was partly because I owed the Fifth Squad Leader of the Black Tortoise Corps a personal debt… but in any case, I have no wish to get involved in martial world affairs any further."
To be precise, he had no wish to face Baek Un-hoe, the Heavenly Demon Sword—that was his honest feeling.
Dokgo Mu-yeong spoke with urgency.
"Headmaster Bohyeon of the Amipa is not someone who can be allowed to die. I personally respect him, but more than that—this is no simple matter. If the Amipa falls, Yunnan will be isolated and Sichuan will also be in danger. Losing the Sichuan Branch is one thing—this is on a completely different scale."
Han Chu-gwang added,
"Is there truly no way? With that head of yours, surely you can think of something."
Neung Un-bi joined in,
"Listen. The Amipa's Demon-Subduing Dragon Formation is no ordinary formation—it won't fall easily. They're surely holding out, waiting for reinforcements."
Inwardly, Cheon Ryu-yeong was slightly dumbfounded.
If that was the case, couldn't they just gather their own forces and go? Why lay all this out to him?
Of course, to them, he might appear to be some lofty recluse who had cut ties with the world.
But that was only their misconception. In truth, he was just someone from a ruined family, scraping by to survive.
They might be desperate, but he wasn't. To someone not of the martial world, hearing talk about who mustn't die and which region mustn't be isolated felt faintly ridiculous.
In the end, wasn't it just a turf war between the Black Path and the White Path?
Granted… from a commoner's perspective, the White Path was better. But in the bigger picture, fifty steps, a hundred steps—they were all the same.
"T-Then you should go help them."
"Come with us."
Dokgo Mu-yeong declared firmly. Han Chu-gwang immediately agreed.
"With you along, you'd be a great help."
Naturally, Neung Un-bi chimed in as well.
"Who knows what tricks the Heavenly Demon Sword might pull? Come with us."
Not just the three leaders—every one of the eight hundred fifty warriors nodded in unison, gazes full of expectation fixed on Cheon Ryu-yeong.
They were, in effect, formally inviting him to be their strategist.