Today's Failure
I looked at the kneeling men and spoke to my subordinates.
"From now on, we are the Yunwoo Association."
"What?"
"Let's change our clothes first. Strip the dead of their clothes, and if that's not enough, take the clothes off the seriously injured. Either bring out what’s inside or change into them all."
I specifically excluded Dokgo Saeng.
"Don't wear it."
"Why?"
"You stand out too much. Clothes won't help. Just stay here and organize things with your direct subordinates."
Upon hearing my words, the other subordinates finally understood my intention.
I planned to transform into the defeated soldiers of the Yunwoo Association and then strike at the Ilryong Army.
Of course, the kneeling men would take the lead role.
I briefly explained to So Gunpyeong.
"Gunpyeong, it's 'using poison to control poison'."
"Understood."
While the men busily changed their clothes, I called for Hong Shin.
"Sister Hong."
"Yes, Great Brother."
"A woman's heart is known by another woman, right?"
"That's right."
"That crazy Dokgo Saeng can kill anyone. You should stay and take care of the people captured here. You can kill the suspicious ones, but there's no need to do that to the weak."
"Understood."
"I'm thinking of sending the women who have suffered here to Il Yang County or releasing them, so keep a close eye on them."
Hong Shin nodded.
"Yes."
Only then did I approach the prisoners again to begin my mental education.
"Those like Seongtae who only waste food..."
"..."
"Should all be killed just for being part of the Yunwoo Association, but since I'm a bit indecisive, I'll be a ray of hope for you. If you don't like it, raise your hand, or bite your tongue and die here. I won't stop you."
"..."
"None? From now on, anyone who doesn't answer properly will be an example for Teacher Su."
The prisoners answered in unison.
"There is none."
I pointed at the prisoners with my finger.
"Now, you and I will join forces to kill the Ilryong Army. You are the ones who have brought poor women here, stripped them of their clothes, and sold them elsewhere while watching the show. Am I right or wrong?"
"You're right."
I suddenly got angry and drew Heukmyo.
"Just. I'll kill all these bastards and go to hell..."
Before I could finish, the white man who had approached stopped me.
"Great Brother, please hold on."
"Let go. I'm going to the scorching hell."
"You can handle it after assigning the role of the sacrificial lamb. There are too many of these bastards. Still, since Teacher Su is dead, let's open a different path to live, like us."
I looked at the white man, who was speaking at length after a long time.
It seemed he had experienced various hardships under the Daenachal and understood the feelings of the prisoners.
I sighed and reluctantly put the sword away.
"Scorching hell is not a good place."
The white man spoke calmly.
"That's right. Great Brother, I will supervise these men well from now on."
Anyway, since the white man said he would take responsibility for them, I recalled Moyeongbaek's words.
I remembered something about not killing alone and killing together with subordinates, but I couldn't recall the specifics.
"Take good care of them."
"Thank you. Great Brother, please continue."
"Where did I leave off?"
"You said these bastards are fools. Before that, you called them like Seongtae."
"Oh, right. Anyway, these fools..."
The white man spoke to the prisoners in a cold tone.
"Answer."
"Yes!"
I scratched my nose with my finger and informed the prisoners of their tasks.
"What you need to do is act. It doesn't mean we will honestly charge in together with my subordinates. We will temporarily become the Yunwoo Association. Your goal is to inform that Teacher Su is dead and to enter the mountain lodge set up by the Ilryong Army without bloodshed. Do you understand my words? From now on, we are defeated soldiers."
The white man interjected.
"Great Brother, I understand the operation. I will give specific instructions."
"Good."
The commander found this convenient.
I looked around aimlessly with my hands behind my back and called So Gunpyeong.
"Gunpyeong."
"Yes, Lord."
"Tell our excellent subordinates of the Heukmyo faction, who have worked hard to get here, to take a rest. They must be tired from running. They need to rest."
"Yes."
"If those bastards follow us, we will be weaker in battle. The more troops we have, the weaker we become. What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Understood."
Now, the officers were wandering around, occasionally chuckling at something funny.
It seemed their understanding of me had increased as they quickly captured Teacher Su.
While my subordinates prepared for today's secondary battle, I whistled as I walked around.
I had nothing particular to interfere with, so I felt a bit bored.
After a while, the leader of the Heukseonbo, who was becoming familiar to my eyes, approached me and handed me the Yunwoo Association's outfit.
"Lord, please change."
Upon inspection, it was a shirt torn at the chest, stained with blood.
"Bring me something cleaner. Where do you see a wound on my chest? I'm fine."
"Got it."
"You're a little brat."
"Why are you cursing? I came to help."
The leader grumbled and went to find another outfit.
Thinking about it, he was the one who had no sense even in the Heukseonbo.
I clicked my tongue and muttered.
"Somehow, he survives. Somehow, he survives..."
After changing into a decent outfit, I was looking at the fish when reports from my subordinates came in.
"Great Brother, we are ready."
"Lord, let's go."
I briefly bid farewell to the fish I had just met and turned around.
"Let's go."
As I headed toward the main gate of the Yunwoo Association, I said, "Later, give those fish some food. They will starve to death. They are going through this mess to survive. They shouldn't die of hunger."
So Gunpyeong replied in a flat tone.
"Understood."
Did the white man choose the actors well?
A prisoner who volunteered for an important role staggered slowly toward the front gate of the Ilryong Army.
I watched the play from a considerable distance with the other subordinates.
The prisoner was acting as if he had been stabbed.
His outfit, posture, and movements were perfect.
But suddenly, in front of the Ilryong Army's main gate, he collapsed.
"..."
I stared at the white man and asked, "Isn't that too much?"
The white man shook his head with a serious expression.
"It's the promised action. And he was actually stabbed."
I couldn't say anything as the white man's expression was too serious.
Turning my head again, the fallen man was struggling to get back up.
'What a great performance.'
The human will to survive is indeed remarkable.
Even without anyone to support him, the prisoner actor put on a heartfelt performance and moved toward the lodge's door.
Knock... knock... knock.
After a moment, an old man came out and supported the nearly dead man from the Yunwoo Association.
I couldn't hear what they were saying.
After a while, other actors, covered in blood, were brought in, panting.
"There's an all-out war with the Heukmyo faction. We came to request reinforcements from Senior Noh."
"Come in."
Another prisoner ignored the previous words and asked the Ilryong Army's subordinate.
"Please give me some water."
...
I watched with my mouth agape and whispered softly.
"Great Brother is good."
The white man's lips curled slightly upward.
"Great Brother, shall we go now?"
I gave a final warning to those who truly belonged to the Yunwoo Association.
"Those who want to die can go in and join the Ilryong Army. I will wipe them all out this time. Let's go."
I was the first to stand up and raised a hand.
"Wait a moment."
I narrowed my brows and listened.
If news of the Yunwoo Association being attacked had gone in, the lodge should be noisy.
However, even though three injured men had entered, the lodge was eerily quiet.
I kept my ears open toward the lodge and observed the expressions of the death guards.
They were, of course, not wearing masks at the moment.
So Gunpyeong and the officers of the Heukmyo faction also looked around in turn.
"..."
Finally, I looked around the prisoners belonging to the Yunwoo Association.
It seemed that no one had pushed through the ambush or betrayed us, but somehow I felt that the ambush had already failed.
Things happening in the Jianghu are never smooth.
I am used to failure.
And it wasn't particularly strange.
The first possibility was that the scouts sent by the Yunwoo Association noticed something wrong and turned back to report to the Ilryong Army.
The second possibility was that the Ilryong Army's scouts had noticed something wrong beforehand.
In any case, the Ilryong Army's lodge remained quiet, and even the main gate the prisoners had entered was still wide open.
It felt as if Zhuge Liang was waiting for Sima Yi with the door wide open.
I clicked my tongue.
"It seems we've been caught."
The white man suggested, "Let's go in and finish this."
"No. I think I underestimated the Jianghu too much."
Suddenly curious about the Ilryong Army, I headed toward the lodge alone.
"Lord?"
"Great Brother."
I waved my hand.
"You all wait here."
"Wait? What do you mean?"
"Wait."
Suddenly, in front of the main gate, I felt embarrassed about wearing the Yunwoo Association's outfit.
I couldn't pinpoint why I felt that way.
I took off my top and threw it aside, then put on a long robe.
As I entered, the inside of the lodge was as quiet as I expected.
Since it was quite a spacious lodge, I walked along a path for a while.
In a wide garden, there was a table where the Ilryong Army sat alone.
As I approached, the Ilryong Army spoke.
"Welcome. Has our truce already ended?"
I looked around as I approached.
"Have you finished everything?"
The Ilryong Army took a sip of tea and nodded.
"As you can see, everything is settled. I only left one servant who opened the door earlier, but I just sent him out the back door. He doesn't know martial arts, so there's no need to follow him and kill him."
"What about your subordinates?"
"I sent those who had somewhere to go. I gave some money to those who had nowhere to go. I said goodbye yesterday and today."
I didn't approach the table but replied.
"You're quite perceptive."
The Ilryong Army looked at me and chuckled.
"How old are you?"
"I don't know."
"Hey, there must be a forty-year difference between you and me. I also stepped into the Jianghu at your age, so I have at least forty years more experience in the Jianghu."
"Experience doesn't accumulate like internal energy."
"That's true. Please sit."
When told to sit, I didn't.
As I stood still, the Ilryong Army asked,
"Don't you have time to come over and have a cup of tea?"
"I am a person who originally has no leisure."
Of course, I wouldn't drink tea with someone like him.
I just smiled, finding it ridiculous.
The Ilryong Army said, "You are very suspicious."
"Old man, what have you prepared? I'm bored, so let’s see."
The Ilryong Army spoke in a calm tone.
"Is there anything a person living in the Jianghu should prepare besides martial arts? Martial arts is something you learn throughout your life, so there's nothing new to prepare."
"You know how I would come out."
The Ilryong Army looked at me.
"You? You killed the Daenachal one-on-one. I've seen many like you in the Jianghu. Your actions, your tone. I recognized your depth and personality as soon as I saw you. After all, it's a fight between you and me. There's no need to spill the blood of our subordinates. That's why I waited alone."
"You were close to the Daenachal..."
As the Ilryong Army listened to my words, he reached for the teacup.
Feeling something was off with his gesture and intention, I pushed off the ground with my left foot.
At almost the same time, the Ilryong Army pressed down on the teacup.
With a click of a mechanism, the place where I stood vanished completely.
Not just where I was, but the entire area around the round table was hollowed out.
The gap seemed to be more than seven or eight zhang.
I may have experience, but this kind of trap where the garden suddenly sinks was new to me.
Using the Yibo Doyak technique, I glided across the ground and escaped, looking back at the pit.
It was deep and dark, making it hard to see.
Just like the Ilryong Army's dark heart.
I spoke to the Ilryong Army, who appeared to be sitting on a round pillar.
"Old man, this isn't the end, is it? The chair and table are mechanisms, and the tea must have been poisoned, and the surroundings are a pit trap filled with burning embers. Since my experience is a bit lacking, please tell me in advance."
The Ilryong Army stood up, closing his mouth tightly, and glared at me.
"..."
I spoke in a calm tone.
"You surprised me. You bastard."