Chapter 147 : The Ihwa Palace Branch (1)

Chapter 147: The Ihwa Palace Branch (1)

Upon hearing Yong Hwarin’s words, Jegal Yeongcheon asked.

“Why are you telling us to investigate that? What does the disappearance have to do with Ihwa Palace?”

Hearing Jegal Yeongcheon’s question, Namgung Yoo laughed inwardly.

‘If Young Master Jegal takes over as the head of the Jegal Clan, we might witness the clan’s downfall. How could he not grasp Young Master Yong’s intention? Even if others don’t, the heir of the Jegal Clan should have issued such orders before Young Master Yong had to. I can’t tell if Young Master Yong is simply brilliant or if Jegal Yeongcheon is just that slow.’

As Namgung Yoo smiled, Yong Hwarin turned to her and asked.

“By any chance, does Lady Namgung know why I gave such an order?”

“There’s one thing that comes to mind.”

“Is that so? I’d like to hear it.”

In truth, Yong Hwarin was disappointed that Jegal Yeongcheon, whose wit paled in comparison to Jegal Yohye, had failed to grasp it.

Namgung Yoo initially had no intention of speaking, but since everyone was looking at her, she opened her mouth.

Judging by their expressions, it seemed none of them understood why Yong Hwarin had given such instructions, so she thought it better to explain.

“Young Master Yong asked to investigate the disappearance of people from nearby villages to determine whether a formation has been set up on Myoseon Mountain. If Ihwa Palace is located there, they likely deployed a formation to deceive people’s eyes. And those who entered the formation would not have come back out. Most would have died, or they might be held captive inside Ihwa Palace within the formation. That’s why you asked us to investigate the disappearances. If there are missing people, it supports that hypothesis.”

Jegal Yeongcheon, who had been listening, snorted as if slightly offended.

The fact that he hadn’t thought of such reasoning himself and had to hear it from someone else hurt his pride. He was the heir of the Jegal Clan, yet he had failed to consider something so basic, making him feel like a fool.

“Villages near mountains often lose people to wild beasts or people getting lost. How could we determine the existence of Ihwa Palace based on such things?”

Admittedly, this was a question any ordinary person might ask. But for someone of the Jegal Clan, it was far too foolish.

‘Young Master Jegal may have martial skill, but his mind is painfully average. His future looks rough. His mind is inferior to Jegal Yohye’s, and his martial skills fall short of Jegal Cheongyeong or Jegal Byeok. No wonder there’s so much internal noise in the Jegal Clan about passing the leadership to him.’

Just as Namgung Yoo suspected, there was significant internal conflict within the Jegal Clan regarding Jegal Yeongcheon’s succession.

He had even gone into seclusion to train, but still couldn’t surpass Jegal Cheongyeong, who hadn’t secluded herself.

Despite coming all the way to the Namgung Clan to play a part in forming the Orthodox Alliance, things weren’t going smoothly, and he felt frustrated inside.

What annoyed him even more was that everyone seemed to rely solely on Yong Hwarin, and even Jegal Yohye seemed to take cues from him.

And what about Jegal Cheongyeong?

The fact that the woman he subconsciously recognized as superior to himself acted like a loyal dog clinging to Yong Hwarin was infuriating.

But he merely endured and hid his feelings.

Namgung Yoo explained calmly.

Though she had every reason to be annoyed, she showed no sign of it.

“Regardless of future reports, Young Master Yong will likely suspect the villages with no disappearances, not those with many. If Ihwa Palace exists nearby, they wouldn’t draw attention by falsely reporting disappearances. Also, villages near Ihwa Palace would likely be under its influence or control. Such places wouldn’t risk suspicion by making such claims. That’s why it’s reasonable to suspect the place with no missing people as the location where Ihwa Palace has concealed itself with a formation. The real problem, however, is how to break through the formation if Ihwa Palace truly exists. At that time, we’ll get to see the famed formation-breaking skills of the Jegal Clan.”

As she spoke while looking at Jegal Yeongcheon, he averted his gaze.

Even in matters of formations, he was inferior to Jegal Cheongyeong.

Yong Hwarin took another good look at Namgung Yoo.

She had seen through his intentions exactly and knew how to subtly draw people toward him.

‘She may be a woman, but she’s truly remarkable. Why can’t the Namgung Clan recognize such a treasure? All they think about is selling her off cheap.’

To Yong Hwarin, arranging a marriage between Namgung Yoo and himself felt like buying her at a bargain.

The Namgung Clan probably thought they were making a great deal by handing her over to a rising post-generation genius.

But in Yong Hwarin’s eyes, she was worth pairing with any heir of the prestigious clans.

‘Perhaps that’s why Namgung Yoo studied the Left Path’s arts on her own—to deflect attention and lower her perceived value. That way, she might have a chance to live her own life.’

Otherwise, marriage proposals from other clans would keep coming, and as a daughter of a prestigious family, she would have no choice but to marry.

‘She’s a clever woman.’

When Yong Hwarin looked at her with eyes that seemed to see through everything, Namgung Yoo felt a chill in her chest.

‘Yong Hwarin truly is different. I feel like I’ve exposed myself too much this time. He manipulated me so subtly that I didn’t even realize it until I was already caught.’

Normally, she wouldn’t have revealed her abilities in a situation like this.

Yet, he had set things up so she couldn’t escape, displaying his skill.

“Lady Namgung is right. My thoughts align perfectly with hers. I was wondering if I was mistaken, but hearing Lady Namgung agree reassures me that I’m not.”

After subtly praising Namgung Yoo, Yong Hwarin turned to Jegal Yeongcheon.

“To be honest, I’m sure Young Master Jegal had the same thought but didn’t mention it because the possibility seemed slim. That’s probably why you questioned it to point out potential flaws.”

“Hmm, yes, that’s true.”

As Yong Hwarin spoke in a way that salvaged Jegal Yeongcheon’s pride, the latter reluctantly nodded.

At least in this moment, he was grateful to Yong Hwarin for preserving his dignity.

Jegal Cheongyeong, watching this, felt disappointed.

‘Seeing him fall for such transparent flattery shows how small-minded he is. He should be offended, but instead, he’s pleased. When he becomes the head of the clan, he’ll probably welcome all sorts of nonsensical flattery without question.’

However, Jegal Cheongyeong didn’t show any of this outwardly.

That was a matter for the future, and right now, her head was filled with her own tasks and the thoughts of the heirs.

Even so, just having Yong Hwarin by her side put her at ease, which surprised her.

‘I thought I had completely let him go from my heart… but have I not?’

She couldn’t seem to settle her own heart, leaving her confused. As she let out a long sigh, the Heavenly Central Sect’s scouting team returned after completing their inquiry.

“There are five villages nearby. Most of them reported people going missing on Myoseon Mountain. They advised us not to climb the mountain if we could avoid it. I suppose they thought we looked like we intended to climb.”

Yong Hwarin asked while listening to the report.

“Was there any village that reported no disappearances?”

“Yes, there was one.”

Yong Hwarin nodded and spoke.

“Isn’t it strange? Four villages have reported several disappearances, yet one claims none at all.”

With everything unfolding exactly as Yong Hwarin had predicted, Jegal Yeongcheon had nothing to say.

When Yong Hwarin explained to the team that the village with no missing people was likely the place where Ihwa Palace had hidden itself with a formation, Mu Iso tilted his head.

“Young Master, that village was full of old people, but I didn’t sense any martial energy from them.”

“That’s to be expected. If a martial artist showed their presence, it would raise suspicion. The people living in the village are likely not martial artists. Those old folks are probably just holding the information.”

Jegal Yeongcheon cautiously asked a question.

“There’s another issue. If that place is handling information, haven’t we already made a mistake by stirring the grass and scaring the snake? Ihwa Palace would now know we’re searching the area, wouldn’t they? That puts us in danger.”

“I believe this Ihwa Palace is not the main base, but rather a branch.”

“Why do you think so? We don’t even know where Ihwa Palace’s main base is—how can you be sure this is just a branch?”

Jegal Yeongcheon asked, and Namgung Yoo replied.

“If this were the main base, they would’ve taken action when we got this close. Also, Myoseon Mountain is too small to host the main base of Ihwa Palace. They say Ihwa Palace has over a thousand warriors, but it’s impossible to construct a facility on this mountain to accommodate that many. The ravines here are too narrow and the terrain too rough for such large buildings.”

“Isn’t that exactly why they might have chosen this place for their main base? That’s what I mean.”

“We can confirm that tonight.”

Jegal Yeongcheon frowned and replied.

“Wait. We can’t manage this with just our numbers. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until the Namgung Clan’s pursuit team arrives?”

“By then, it’ll be too late. And with more people, it’s easier for the enemy to detect us. We should pretend to leave now so the enemy thinks we’ve given up. That way, we can infiltrate quietly at night. We’ll retreat about three hundred jang (about 900 meters) and then ascend the mountain using light footwork.”

“Infiltrating a formation at night? That’s suicide. It’s hard enough to understand how the formation works during the day—how could you possibly figure it out at night? If you understood the basics of formations, you wouldn’t suggest entering one at night.”

For once, Jegal Yeongcheon stood his ground.

“You’re right. But if we move now, we’ll be the ones getting caught. We have to move at night to deceive the enemy’s eyes. For now, let’s fall back and rest. We’ll move again tonight.”

Since Yong Hwarin’s reasoning was sound, everyone followed his lead.

As they began to withdraw from the mountain, the eyes that had been watching them started moving swiftly.