Book 13 Chapter 14

Penetration

The night revealed many things invisible in the light, but it also hid many. Especially a night like today, with faint moonlight, was perfect for concealing oneself.

The old man and the woman were clad in black clothes that clung tightly to their bodies. Such black attire could be considered the basic uniform for those who infiltrate.

The two headed towards the area with the weakest security. They had a place in mind. As expected, the place where the valuables were kept had the strictest security. It would require immense hardship and effort to breach that security. Fortunately, their target was not the valuables. While it would be even better to discover the nature of the valuables, they could easily infer that it would involve great risk. They exuded a dangerous aura, like a rotten corpse hidden in a damp place.

Crossing the wall was not a major issue. Eun Seollan did not do anything to hold others back. She moved her delicate body as agilely and quietly as a cat. Her face alone did not earn her the title of Black Ghost Flower. Corresponding martial arts skills were necessary. If the selection criteria were solely based on looks, she might have been called Thirty-Six Black Ghosts by now, not Black Ghost Flower.

According to their reconnaissance, the entire inn had been rented by the Central Plains Escort Agency. This meant there was no safe zone inside. Caution was necessary.

There were no problems entering by crossing the wall. However, they had not anticipated guards being stationed in the backyard, complete with bonfires. They almost got caught. If the old man had not warned them beforehand, they might have been discovered.

She silently moved towards the backyard rooms.

'Was it the third-floor room in the backyard…?'

The old man was meticulous. During the day, he had slipped money to a waiter at the Fengmei Inn and obtained the information she desired. The most VIP room at the Fengmei Inn was on the third floor of the backyard. He had learned that the young master of the Central Plains Escort Agency and a few others were occupying the entire third floor. Therefore, the person she had seen was likely to be there.

From the deep shadows of the backyard building of the Fengmei Inn, a woman silently emerged. Her face was hidden by a mask, but the smooth curves revealed outside her clothes proved she was a woman. Following her, a man wearing a similar mask appeared. If the mask were removed, it would be evident that this man was, in fact, an old man. It was Eun Seollan and the old man. No one noticed their movements. The two were as fleeting as ghosts and as covert as the night.

The building was three stories high.

Eun Seollan raised a finger and pointed upwards. It meant she intended to climb it herself. The old man then shook his head. He could not agree due to the danger. However, Eun Seollan adamantly rejected the old man's wishes and insisted on her own. Her two eyes, shining like polished gems, conveyed her determination. The old man knew that no words would reach her now. It was unusual for her to be so insistent.

'What could possibly be driving her like this?'

There was clearly a powerful motivation. However, considering his current position, he had no intention of probing further.

The old man nodded. Then he pointed downwards with his finger. It meant he would remain here to assist her. A light of gratitude flickered in Eun Seollan's eyes, visible outside her mask.

With a slight bow.

She bowed lightly and looked up at her target.

'Good!'

Although it was three stories high, it was not a daunting height for her. Using her Qinggong, she leaped lightly and landed safely on the eaves of the first floor. However, there was no sound, as if a feather had softly landed. Even the clinking of protrusions with the slightest movement remained silent. The old man watched with pure admiration.

Eun Seollan lightly ascended to the eaves of the second and third floors, following the first. Soon, she reached her target. Then, to avoid being spotted by the patrolling guards below, she pressed her body close to the roof. This was to prevent her silhouette from being revealed in the moonlight.

'Now, what should I do…?'

There were not just one or two rooms on this third floor. Searching all of them would take a lot of time. Moreover, the risk was significant.

She quietly closed her eyes and maximized her hearing. Her range of hearing began to expand.

The sound of water flowing quietly in the distance, the sound of wind carrying the crisp evening air, the chirping of crickets, the crackling of the bonfire. She even had a comical thought that she could hear the sound of moonlight falling. The quiet night began to become noisy within her ears.

It was then. A sound of the kind she had been waiting for reached her ears.

"Is it ready?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly."

"This is something that permits no error. There can be no mistakes."

"Y-yes, of course."

One person asked, and another answered. However, because all the windows were closed, the sound was not transmitted clearly. Even if she could discern the content, she could not identify the owner of the voice.

'Shall I give it a try?'

It was risky, of course, but it was worth the risk. She moved her body lightly like a cat and approached the window where the sound was coming from. She then grasped one of the beams on the third-floor eaves and spun around it. A smooth, clean rotation. It was a movement as if weight did not exist. She soon found herself hanging from the third-floor eaves. Only then did she let go. She then landed lightly.

However, a slight mishap occurred here.

Click!

The sound of tiles shifting ever so slightly. Eun Seollan quickly held her breath. It seemed the tile she stepped on was loose, unlike the others.

Her heart pounded with extreme tension. Cold sweat trickled down her back. She froze her body like a stone statue, motionless. Instead, she heightened all her senses to the utmost. Then, she poured all her heightened senses into observing beyond the window.

'Surely they haven't noticed…?'

Anxiety squeezed her heart. Her throat felt parched from thirst.

She watched for a long time, but no unusual movement was detected beyond the window.

'Phew….'

Only then did she feel relieved and gently lifted her foot off the tile. This time, there was no sound at all. Pressing her body against the wall of the room where the conversation was taking place, she quietly listened. The young man's voice she had heard on the roof earlier reached her ears again.

"…But the report says they've already lost one carriage!"

A thudding sound was heard from outside the window. It seemed to be an subordinate bowing down on the floor. Something must have gone wrong… But even she could not guess what kind of mistake it was.

"I-I apologize. It was my carelessness. I never expected bandits to suddenly appear and shoot fire arrows from there…"

"I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses!"

The young man's voice cut off his subordinate's excuse resolutely. Eun Seollan thought his voice was devoid of emotional fluctuation, a dispassionate voice. And she was momentarily puzzled. Was the voice of the person she knew truly so emotionless? She thought back. The conclusion was 'no'.

'Did I misunderstand?'

Then, another sound was heard. It seemed to be a subordinate, begging with his hands clasped together.

"I-I have no excuse."

The replying man's voice trembled greatly. Even from her eavesdropping outside the window, she could clearly sense that he genuinely feared his superior. This was a superior-subordinate relationship built on fear rather than trust.

"What is the progress of operation stage two?"

The man with the dispassionate voice asked again.

"Contact has already been made. The identity verification of the planted informant is also complete. The first batch will be moved in a week."

He replied quickly, like a loyal dog wagging its tail at its master.

'Batch? A week? Informant?'

Fragments of incomprehensible words only amplified her suspicion. However, the core of the matter was still not visible.

"Good! Make sure there are no mistakes! I want to see the spectacle of the volcano in full bloom with red flowers."

"Understood!"

The subordinate bowed deeply and replied.

'Red flowers?'

She could not understand why that phrase held such an ominous resonance. But she instinctively felt it.

The conversation ended.

Bang! The sound of the door closing reached her ears, clinging to the outside of the window. It seemed the person who appeared to be the subordinate had left.

Eun Seollan was now agonizing over a severe dilemma. She could not be sure based on voice alone. She needed to confirm his face directly. However, that would require taking on considerable risk. If that man was who she suspected him to be, her martial arts might not be enough.

'Should I go back?'

Just then, a black shadow suddenly rose from behind her.

The pale moonlight faintly illuminated the meager darkness like a guide for a lost traveler.

Tok!

Tok!

Tok!

With every step the man took, a red dot was successively imprinted on the road. The red dots on the ground also appeared as mere black dots under the pale moonlight shining in the darkness of the night.

"Krrrk… I have to report quickly…"

She was too careless. She had underestimated her opponent. With every step she took, her nerves and muscles screamed. Her abdomen burned as if seared by fire.

One on the tree, one on the roof, one in the alley. Three pursuers had already been eliminated. The night silently covered their deaths. But he knew that many hunting dogs were still tracking him, smelling his blood.

However, due to the initial wound inflicted by a certain individual, he was forced to fight at a disadvantage. Therefore, a great price was needed to escape. The wounds on his forearms and thighs were precisely that price.

"Damn it, these brats…"

The pursuers were professionals. They were beyond the capabilities of mere escort agency guards. Having dwelled in this darkness for so many years, he knew. As Eun Seollan suspected, there was a hidden side to things, veiled from the eyes of the world. But she was not by his side now.

'To think that I, who was called Thousand-Faced Concealment, would end up like this due to carelessness… How fitting.'

Blood welled up from his wounds, but the self-deprecating, bitter smile that formed on his lips did not fade.

If anything were to happen to her, he would not be able to face "that person." He had to save her somehow. There was only one method he could employ now.

"I have to report quickly…"

Where his footsteps led, a giant peak that swallowed darkness faintly gleamed like a blade, illuminated by the light of the crescent moon.