Martial Artist Lee Gwak - Chapter 56: The Return of the Weapons (3)

Light Novel: Volume 3 Chapter 6

Manhwa: Chapter 54

Go Jeon-ok was diligent.

Even when he was with the Outer Hall, he never rested from spying, and if he saw anyone slightly suspicious, he immediately followed them.

Because of this, Squad 13 was tired to the point of exhaustion. It was because they had to pick up the slack for the personnel missing from the Heavenly Intelligence Hall.

At one moment, Go Jeon-ok’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

“That person, he looks suspicious.”

Where his gaze was directed, there was an ordinary man.

A man with a common face and ordinary clothing that one could easily see on the streets. He was choosing clothes from a street vendor.

Lee Gwak followed Go Jeon-ok and looked closely but he couldn’t find anything peculiar.

“He looks so ordinary, what’s suspicious about that?”

“It’s exactly because he looks ordinary.”

“What?”

“Gwak! The very fact that there’s an ordinary person in the Jade Heaven Alliance is strange.”

“Mm!”

Lee Gwak let out a hum of realization at Go Jeon-ok’s words.

He had never thought about it that way before.

Go Jeon-ok’s eyes shone like a fierce beast.

“An ordinary warrior like you sees differently from us, who work with information. Our enemies wouldn’t appear in noticeable attire. They disguise themselves as ordinary people living among us, trying not to stand out.”

“Hmm!”

“The ones we’re looking for are those types. It’s funny if you think about it deeper. Does it make sense for an ordinary person to loiter around super huge sects like the Jade Heaven Alliance or the Ten Supremes?”

Lee Gwak nodded in agreement with Go Jeon-ok’s explanation, thinking his words made sense.

Indeed, the perspectives of Lee Gwak, walking the path of a warrior, and Go Jeon-ok, growing his position in a department that collects information like the Heavenly Intelligence Hall, had to be different.

Go Jeon-ok had always been very ambitious, and he made no secret of his career-oriented tendencies. Although this led to him being ostracized by many, he steadily worked and climbed his way up the ranks, expanding his influence.

Lee Gwak suddenly thought of Nam Woo-gyeong.

‘I wonder if Brother Woo-gyeong also sees the world in the same way as Jeon-ok?’

Lee Gwak then became curious whether Nam Woo-gyeong, the young leader of the Hao clan, a sect that encompassed the world, would have the same perspective and insight as Go Jeon-ok, a low-ranking member of the Heavenly Intelligence Hall.

When Go Jeon-ok marked someone, his subordinate followed.

Occasionally, while walking on the street, he would meet other members of the Heavenly Intelligence Hall. Each time, Go Jeon-ok slightly bowed his head in acknowledgment. Such behavior of his was so natural that someone who didn’t know him couldn’t tell he was greeting. Only Lee Gwak, who had known him for a long time, could notice it.

‘So many!’

Lee Gwak only now realized that the Heavenly Intelligence Hall was larger than he had expected. Their eyes and ears covered the entirety of the Jade Heaven Alliance.

Although Lee Gwak didn’t know all of them, he remembered those who Go Jeon-ok acknowledged.

Whether he knew of Lee Gwak’s complex feelings or not, Go Jeon-ok chattered beside him.

“Hehe! The Jade Heaven Alliance is in complete chaos right now. Countless martial artists and spies have entered, actively wandering around. If I can just weed out even one spy from the Celestial Demon Union among them, it’ll be a real jackpot. I could instantly take a key position in the Heavenly Intelligence Hall. If that happens, you should come and work for me, Gwak. Let’s combine our strengths and take over the Jade Heaven Alliance.”

“Take over? Is the Jade Heaven Alliance such an easy place?”

“Hmph! It’s not that impossible. After all, even the Alliance Leader started no differently from us.”

Go Jeon-ok snorted.

Although it wasn’t well known to the world, the current leader of the Jade Heaven Alliance, Ja Hong-cheon had also started out as a lowly warrior.

But even if he was a low-ranking martial artist, he was a genius of his era and so it wasn’t long before he caught the attention of the high-ranking officials of the Jade Heaven Alliance, who then mentored him in martial arts.

Compared to him, Go Jeon-ok’s martial talent was merely somewhat superior but could not dare to compare with Ja Hong-cheon. However, his ambition was in no way inferior to Ja Hong-cheon’s.

Lee Gwak understood Go Jeon-ok’s ambition. However, he did not wish to sympathize with it.

What Lee Gwak wanted to walk was the path of a martial artist, not that of an ambitious schemer.

Even at that moment, Go Jeon-ok was unabashedly speaking of his ambition. Of course, he only did so because he thought Lee Gwak was close enough to him, but to Lee Gwak, such behavior also seemed precarious.

As Go Jeon-ok said, the Jade Heaven Alliance was no different from a den of chaos. They couldn’t be sure that someone in the immediate vicinity wasn’t a spy from the Celestial Demon Union. If such people realized Go Jeon-ok’s intentions, they would undoubtedly try to use him somehow.

The biggest lesson Lee Gwak learned in the Jade Heaven Alliance was to never reveal everything about himself, and the second lesson was that he must look after his own safety.

When he was paralyzed from the waist down by Gwan Il-hyeon, a high-ranking member of the Celestial Demon Union, the Jade Heaven Alliance did not take any special action. They did not even give him any minimal compensation or proper medical treatment.

Had Han Socheon not save him by providing him with the Yoga Secret Manual, he might still be lying in bed, contemplating his despair. That’s why Lee Gwak did not trust the Jade Heaven Alliance.

Still, the biggest reason he remained in the Jade Heaven Alliance was because of his promise to Han Socheon, and the second reason was that staying in the Jade Heaven Alliance provided him with a stable source of income.

With a stable livelihood, Lee Gwak could focus and push harder in his martial arts training for greater leaps forward.

Lee Gwak let Go Jeon-ok’s babbling go in one ear and out the other. He did not believe Go Jeon-ok when he said he would take care of him.

During his time bedridden, Go Jeon-ok had not visited him once. There was nothing more foolish than trusting the promises of someone like that.

Go Jeon-ok continued to talk, oblivious to Lee Gwak’s true feelings. Even Seok Yi-cheon, who was generally quite oblivious, frowned at his chatter.

“Everyone has done a good job today.Let’s continue to work hard until the Jianghu Conference.”

Only after the day’s work was finally done and Go Jeon-ok had said his farewell did Squad 13 breathe a sigh of relief.

” Jeon-ok has really become even more ambitious since joining the Heavenly Intelligence Hall. But he should still be careful about what he says. If he’s such a chatterbox, who would take him seriously?”

After parting from the Heavenly Intelligence Hall, Seok Yi-cheon shook his head.

Though he hadn’t said it before, he too had been displeased with Go Jeon-ok.

Lee Gwak sighed inwardly.

“Still, he has a good knack for socializing, so he’ll find his place.”

“Indeed, when it comes to reading the room and lining up, he’s unmatched. Hehe!”

“Let’s go have dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

They headed towards the dining hall operated by the Outer Court.

* * *

After having a meal with the members, Lee Gwak stepped outside. Following him closely was Ki Jinhwi.

“Let’s go together, squad leader.”

“Are you heading out?”

“Yes!”

Even after their previous conversation, the relationship between Ki Jinhwi and Lee Gwak hadn’t changed much. Ki Jinhwi treated Lee Gwak with the respect due to him being the squad leader, and Lee Gwak treated him as a fellow squad member.

Although there were many suspicious things about Ki Jinhwi, Lee Gwak didn’t press the issue.

There was a line between Lee Gwak and Ki Jinhwi. They respected each other without crossing this line. Crossing it would have required improving their relationship further, but neither of them wanted that.

The two walked along, casually chatting about this and that.

“Are you finding the dormitory comfortable?”

“It’s comfortable and nice. I get to eat on time, receive a generous salary, and have place to sleep for free. Where could I find a better place than this? There’s probably no better place to work than the Jade Heaven Alliance in the current world.”

Lee Gwak smiled at Ki Jinhwi’s response.

He felt similarly to Ki Jinhwi.

It was then.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Ki Jinhwi exclaimed in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought I saw someone I know.”

Lee Gwak looked in the direction of Ki Jinhwi’s gaze.

Among the crowd, a woman wearing a large hat was disappearing. Behind her back was a long object wrapped in white cloth, which looked like a sword based on its shape and length.

“Mm!”

At that moment, Lee Gwak shuddered as if he had been struck by lightning.

His whole body tingled as if he had been pierced by a thunderbolt.

He hadn’t felt anything before he became aware of her presence, but as soon as he did, he felt a suffocating pressure, as if his whole body was being crushed.

He hadn’t felt this way since facing the Lunatic Pugilist.

‘Could she be a master comparable to the Lunatic Pugilist?’

It was when Lee Gwak unknowingly clenched his fists tightly–

“Squad leader, you go ahead first.”

Ki Jinhwi gestured to Lee Gwak and then hurriedly ran towards the direction of the woman with the hat.

The two disappeared into the crowd in an instant.

Left alone in the street, Lee Gwak stood still, dumbfounded, for a moment. The woman with the large hat had disappeared, but the overwhelming pressure he felt from her still seemed to weigh down his entire body.

At that moment, a large snake unwound and coiled around Lee Gwak’s body. Only then could Lee Gwak get out of the pressure that had been binding his body and let out a sigh.

“Phew!”

Lee Gwak’s face was filled with exhaustion.

After his enlightenment not long ago, Lee Gwak had inwardly thought his martial prowess was quite remarkable within the Jade Heaven Alliance. However, that confidence was shattered into pieces by the woman who disappeared into the crowd.

“I still have a long way to go.”

He had heard that the Jianghu was filled with countless martial masters and eccentrics like grains of sand, but this was the first time he truly felt it.

“Who could she be?”

He became curious about the identity of the woman. And he was also curious about the true identity of Ki Jinhwi, who seemed to know her.

“Hoo!”

Lee Gwak let out another deep sigh.

He felt that he still had a long way to go.

Only now did he realize how much of a frog in a well he had been, satisfied with just this level.

Lee Gwak finally took a step forward.

He was still reeling from the shock he’d felt a moment ago, but he couldn’t just stand here in a daze forever.

Just when Lee Gwak thought he had received the right stimulus at the right time–

“Big brother!”

A familiar voice suddenly called out.

Startled, he turned his head and saw familiar faces.

A young girl smiling brightly at him and a boy who resembled her.

“Sobo, Ji-moon.”

“What have you been muttering about earlier? I’ve been calling you, but you didn’t hear.”

The girl walking towards him while chirping like a sparrow was Lim Sobo, while the boy at her side was her younger brother, Lim Ji-moon.

“What were you thinking so deeply about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s nothing. Tell me, maybe I can solve it for you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Tsk! But why are you alone?”

“What?”

“Where did that handsome big brother go? Why did he leave you alone?”

“Who? Cheon-wol?”

“Yes!”

“Well, he’s probably resting at the quarters.”

“Don’t go around by yourself next time. Bring Brother Cheon-wol along with you. I want to see him.”

At Lim Sobo’s words, Lee Gwak chuckled, while Lim Ji-moon walked away with his head lowered, seemingly embarassed.

“Hey! Where are you going? Why aren’t you staying here?”

“Sister, please—”

“Why? Am I embarrassing you?”

“Yes! Very much—”

“You–!”

At the moment Lim Sobo’s eyes flashed with determination, Lim Ji-moon spoke to Lee Gwak.

“Brother! It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yeah, you look good too.”

“Hehe, I had a good rest after that incident.”

“By the way, where are you siblings off to?”

“We’re going to meet someone. My sister said she couldn’t go alone.”

Lee Gwak smiled at Lim Ji-moon’s response. He somehow felt like he knew who they were off to meet.

Lim Sobo said,

“We’re on our way to meet Uncle Woo-gyeong. Do you want to come with us, brother?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to buy something.”

“Buy what? Do you want me to go with you?”

“It’s okay.”

“Tsk! You always say it’s okay. Humph! Well, I’m okay too.”

Lim Sobo snorted at Lee Gwak’s refusal.

“I’ll go ahead. See you later.”

Lee Gwak waved his hand and left.

Lim Sobo stared intently at Lee Gwak’s back as he walked away. Then Lim Ji-moon tapped her on the shoulder and said, “You’re going to put a hole in your brother’s head.

“You’ll bore a hole in brother’s head if you keep staring like that. What are you looking at so intently?”

“I’m curious!”

“About what?”

“Just everything…”

Lim Sobo’s eyes shone sharply.

The innocent expression of a young girl was no longer visible on her face.

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