Chapter 334
Kwak Yeon, Hu Gae, and Taoist Cheongmu reached Baotou City, the gateway to the Gobi Desert, in the middle of the night.
The city gates were tightly shut, and soldiers stood watch atop the high walls.
Hu Gae stared at the closed gates with a regretful expression.
“Haa! We hurried as much as we could, but we were still one step too late.”
Baotou City was a frontier fortress. Once the sun went down, its gates were closed and would not be opened again under any circumstances.
Even when there were no particular signs of war, foreign raiders still crossed the border from time to time to pillage the region.
“Brother Kwak, let’s not stir up trouble with the soldiers for no reason. We can spend the night outside the walls.”
If they were caught scaling the walls in the middle of the night, they could easily be mistaken for spies from an enemy nation.
Unlike the constables of the Central Plains, frontier troops were well trained and equipped with full armor.
Even martial experts found elite soldiers like these troublesome to deal with.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Brother.”
When Kwak Yeon shook his head, Hu Gae tilted his head.
“The docks won’t open until morning anyway. Do we really need to get over that wall tonight?”
Since Baotou City was a frontier military garrison, its docks naturally closed at night just like its gates.
Even if the fast boat they had chartered in Chang’an Prefectural City was waiting there with its boatmen, they would not be allowed to depart until morning.
“Well, I can’t deny I miss sleeping under a roof myself.”
A beggar was supposed to be able to lie down anywhere, but the sleeping conditions over the past several days had been miserable beyond description.
“It isn’t because I want a comfortable bed.”
Hu Gae looked even more puzzled by Kwak Yeon’s answer.
“Then...?”
“There’s someone waiting for me inside.”
“Waiting for you? Who?”
“It would be better if you met them yourself.”
“...?”
Hu Gae’s confusion only deepened.
Then he suddenly remembered something Kwak Yeon had said in the Great Demon Prison.
When they were leaving, Hu Gae had worried that Jin Cheongha and the Eight Demonic Venerables would not have enough food.
He had left all their remaining dried rations with Jin Cheongha, but there were so many mouths to feed that the supplies would last only a few days.
Kwak Yeon had merely told him not to worry because he had already made arrangements.
“Is this person connected to the food for Sister Jin and the Eight Demonic Venerables?”
“As expected of you, Brother Hu Gae.”
“Save the empty flattery. If I’m going to get praise like that from you, I’d rather force you to bow to me for it.”
Hu Gae waved his hand dismissively.
“Can’t you just tell me who it is and put me out of my misery? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with anyone you could entrust with something that important.”
“If my arrangement with that person happens to fall through, I’ll only embarrass myself. We’ll meet them soon enough, so please bear with me a little longer.”
“Good grief. That damned cautious streak of yours...”
“I know. I find myself frustrating sometimes too.”
Kwak Yeon knew full well that he had a habit of refusing to say anything until he was certain.
It was a habit that had taken root when he was very young.
For the youngest child in a household perpetually shrouded in gloom, it had been the safest way to live.
“I can’t even joke with you. Tch.”
Thrown off by Kwak Yeon’s earnest answer, Hu Gae smacked his lips and continued.
“Well, then we’ll have to scale the wall. But keep one thing in mind.”
“...?”
“Frontier soldiers aren’t like ordinary constables. You can tell the difference just from the way they carry themselves. And most of their officers have trained in the martial arts of the Six Fan Gate. Of course, none of that would be a problem for you or me, but...”
Hu Gae’s gaze slid toward Taoist Cheongmu, who was staring spellbound at Baotou City.
Kwak Yeon immediately understood what he meant.
“Brother, Taoist Cheongmu is the last person you need to worry about.”
“Huh...?”
Kwak Yeon left Hu Gae’s side and walked over to Taoist Cheongmu.
“Brother Cheongmu, we’re going over that wall now.”
Taoist Cheongmu’s eyes went round.
“Little Martial Uncle, we’re going over there?”
“Why do you look so surprised? A wall like that is nothing to you.”
Taoist Cheongmu had climbed up and down the sheer, smooth cliffs of Immortal Aura Cliff on Samryeong Peak without once using his hands, relying entirely on his feet.
“That’s right!”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Those people up there are soldiers.”
“...?”
“Master told me never to go anywhere near people who work for the government. He said something terrible would happen if I did... He told me that if I ever saw them, I had to stay away.”
Kwak Yeon immediately understood.
Palace Lord Hyeonhae must have explained the principle of Non-Interference between Officials and the Martial World to Taoist Cheongmu in the simplest terms possible.
Kwak Yeon was briefly at a loss, then thought for a moment.
“Brother Cheongmu, you’re good at hide-and-seek, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m really good! Sometimes Martial Uncle Hyeonin would get angry and come looking for me, and I’d hide so well he could never find me. I wouldn’t come out until Martial Uncle Hyeonin said, ‘I’ll forgive you, so come out already.’ Hehe!”
The sudden mention of the late Sage Taoist made Kwak Yeon falter.
Now that the man was gone, even the memories of bickering with him back at Samryeong Palace felt precious.
“Brother Cheongmu, this is hide-and-seek too. Just like back then.”
“Hm?”
“Except the people on top of the wall are the seekers. If you get over the wall without any of them seeing you, you win.”
“If that’s the kind of hide-and-seek we’re playing, I’ll do it.”
After finally persuading Taoist Cheongmu, Kwak Yeon returned to Hu Gae.
Hu Gae gave him a dubious look.
“Brother Kwak, are you sure this is going to be all right?”
“Of course.”
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“You saw him sneak aboard the Cloud-Drifting Boat to Danjiangkou without anyone noticing.”
Hu Gae had been astonished back then when Taoist Cheongmu managed to board the ship and hide without being spotted by any of the numerous boatmen or passengers.
“That’s true, but this isn’t a boat. It’s a city wall, and a damned high one at that.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
Kwak Yeon saw no need to explain that Taoist Cheongmu could scale the smooth cliffs of Immortal Aura Cliff like a mountain goat.
Hu Gae would see it with his own eyes soon enough.
Looking up at Baotou City’s formidable walls, Hu Gae said,
“What worries me is dodging cow shit only to step in dog shit.”
“Excuse me...?”
“When I was here last time, military tents were lined up all along the inside of the wall. We can see the soldiers up top and avoid them, sure, but what if we jump down and land smack in the middle of a military camp?”
Kwak Yeon smiled faintly at Hu Gae’s characteristically graphic choice of words.
“Brother, leave that part to me.”
“You have a way?”
By the time Hu Gae asked, Kwak Yeon had already closed his eyes.
“...?”
As Hu Gae watched in puzzlement, Kwak Yeon activated the Solitary Moon Illuminates Without Hindrance Technique and reached beyond the wall with his senses.
As his cultivation had risen, the capabilities of the Solitary Moon Illuminates Without Hindrance Technique had grown tremendously as well.
Kwak Yeon had already decided that if he ever met the White-Haired Demon Queen again, he would thank her for passing down such an unparalleled sensory divine technique.
After probing the activity inside the city with the Solitary Moon Illuminates Without Hindrance Technique, Kwak Yeon opened his eyes and pointed to a section of wall a little over ten zhang away.
“Brother, it’ll be safe if we cross there.”
Hu Gae looked baffled.
“What kind of trick did you just use?”
“A sensory divine technique I learned from a venerable senior.”
“Hah. In all my life, I’ve never met anyone with as many tricks or as many extraordinary encounters as you.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“That wasn’t entirely a compliment.”
Hu Gae could hardly bring himself to say, You also have the broadest damned meddlesome streak under heaven.
“I’ll take it as one anyway.”
“...”
“Brother, please go first and secure the landing area.”
“Fine.”
Hu Gae walked the ten or so zhang and nimbly scaled the wall with his wall-climbing art.
Then, just as a patrol passed, he vaulted over the battlement and dropped down inside.
TAP!
Hu Gae landed beneath the wall, looked around, and started in surprise.
This place...!
Before him stretched a broad, barren clearing.
There was only one place inside Baotou City where an open space this large would normally exist.
The military encampment.
When I stayed in Baotou City not long ago, this whole place was packed with tents...
Whatever the reason, they were lucky.
Wait. This isn’t luck.
Kwak Yeon had already known the place was empty.
Brother Kwak really does have one astonishing ability after another.
A short while later, Taoist Cheongmu appeared atop the wall, silhouetted against the night sky.
—Taoist Cheongmu, it’s safe. Jump down.
At Hu Gae’s transmitted voice, Taoist Cheongmu simply hopped off.
Softly.
He landed so lightly that Hu Gae could barely hear a sound.
Hu Gae stared in shock.
If an ordinary man of Taoist Cheongmu’s size had jumped from that height, the crash might have awakened the entire city.
What in the world is Samryeong Palace of Mount Wudang really hiding? Producing not one but two monsters like these in the same generation... Hah!
While Hu Gae was laughing incredulously to himself, Samryeong Palace’s other monster appeared beside him like a ghost.
One absurdity after another. Just when I think I’ve seen the worst of it, something even crazier comes along...
This monster had made no footsteps.
Hu Gae had not even heard the whisper of air from his descent.
“Brother, shall we get going?”
They crossed the clearing and turned through several alleys before emerging onto Baotou City’s market street.
“Brother Kwak, where are we going now?”
“We need to find the largest guesthouse tavern.”
“You arranged to meet this person at the largest guesthouse?”
“That’s right.”
Which meant the person Kwak Yeon was meeting did not know Baotou City either.
So it isn’t someone he met here... Damn it, this mystery only gets deeper.
As it happened, they did not have to search for the largest guesthouse.
There was only one in all of Baotou City.
Since Baotou City was a military fortress on the desert frontier, it received very few visitors from outside.
Even the restaurant attached to the guesthouse barely stayed in business thanks to the military officers stationed there.
When Kwak Yeon’s group entered, only two officers occupied one of the tables.
The pair glanced at the newcomers, then immediately looked away.
They spent every day surrounded by grimy men. Three more dust-caked men were probably the last thing they wanted to look at.
“Hey! Serving boy!”
The serving boy had been nodding off behind the counter and only rubbed his eyes and got up when Hu Gae called.
He trudged over to their table and asked irritably,
“What’ll you have?”
Despite the boy’s surly tone, Hu Gae’s eyes gleamed like morning stars.
“What’s the most expensive thing you serve?”
The expense money the Martial Alliance had given them was still overflowing in his pockets.
Can’t spend money if you never get the chance.
They had spent all this time scraping by in mountains and deserts without an opportunity to use any of it.
Traveling with Kwak Yeon had carved one lesson into Hu Gae’s bones:
Money you hoarded might as well turn to shit.
So when a chance like this finally came along, he intended to spend lavishly.
Starting tomorrow, they might not even have time to stop for meals.
And if they returned to the Martial Alliance with all that money still left, this straight-laced Taoist would undoubtedly hand every last coin back.
Even if heaven and earth turned upside down tonight, Hu Gae was going to eat until his stomach burst.
That was why he had asked with such swagger.
“Our restaurant only has one thing that’s both the most expensive and the cheapest.”
Hu Gae stared at the serving boy.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means we only serve one dish.”
“...!”
Hu Gae’s face twisted.
A moment ago, the promise of a sumptuous meal had made even the serving boy’s lousy attitude seem charming.
That illusion vanished instantly.
Suppressing the anger beginning to rise inside him, Hu Gae asked,
“And what is this one dish?”
“Plain noodles. Same basic thing you’d get at any guesthouse restaurant.”
“Noodles?”
“That’s right. Noodles.”
A curse exploded from Hu Gae’s mouth.
“Fuck!”