Intelligence Handbook
Mu-jin and his party, carrying one or two people each, managed to escape from the Gyerim Black Market. They first washed themselves in the Li River.
Since their bodies were covered in blood from the fierce battle, they had to clean themselves and their clothes to minimize any traces.
While the party members dried their clothes and treated their wounds, and the rescued individuals regained their composure, Mu-jin took the opportunity for interrogation.
“Do you think you’ll get away with this? Our organization will chase you to the ends of hell!”
The branch chief, unable to move due to his acupoints being suppressed, shouted threats at Mu-jin.
“If I was scared of that, I wouldn’t have acted in the first place. You piece of trash.”
Oh. Comparing these human traffickers to trash might be an insult to trash.
With that trivial thought, Mu-jin pressed the branch chief’s acupoints.
The branch chief, unable to speak due to his suppressed acupoints, looked at Mu-jin with shocked eyes.
The branch chief had only seen this fight as a mere territorial dispute among the shadowy forces.
Just like how the head of the Bukpoong Escort Agency had viewed it as mere bandit plundering.
Thus, the branch chief hadn’t even considered suicide as an option.
And now, with his vital and acupoints suppressed, he couldn’t even commit suicide if he wanted to.
“Now, it’s time to spill everything you know.”
Mu-jin kindly shoved a Simnyeong Pill into the branch chief’s mouth, who had a desperate look on his face.
He didn’t have the luxury of torturing him slowly, and he knew the branch chief wouldn’t easily give in to torture or interrogation, so he used the Simnyeong Pill right away.
“Do you know any names or identities of the leaders?”
To his surprise, the branch chief answered the probing question.
“Heehee. I haven’t heard directly, but I suspect someone.”
“It’s the Sa-doryeonju.”
Thanks to the Simnyeong Pill, the branch chief, with a languid voice, explained briefly.
He said that after growing the Gyerim Black Market through the slaves provided by Shinchun, he was ordered to become a patron of the Sa-doryeonju.
This part was already known from the novel, so it wasn’t particularly special.
“So, why do you suspect that the Sa-doryeonju is just one of the leaders and not the main one of Shinchun?”
“Because the orders were disrespectful towards the Sa-doryeonju.”
“…Isn’t it just that all orders are disrespectful?”
“I once saw an order using honorifics.”
“Honorifics? Towards whom?”
“I don’t know the details. I just saw an order that said, ‘By the command of the In-ju.’”
Mu-jin tilted his head at the branch chief’s answer.
‘The organization is called Shinchun (New Heaven), but the highest leader’s title is In-ju (Master of Humans)?’
The In-ju could be the head of the shadowy forces, but something felt off.
At least one thing was clear: there was someone higher than Sa-doryeonju, Hyeok Jin-gang. It was somewhat expected, but now confirmed.
“And is there anything else you know about the higher-ups?”
“Sometimes orders came from the Chil Dae-ju.”
Mu-jin asked with an uneasy feeling, wondering if the Wolf King was nearby.
“Yes. The orders were delivered directly by a servant, and the letters had a faint scent of the sea and powder, so I think the Chil Dae-ju might be a woman living by the sea.”
But the strange answer made Mu-jin frown.
‘The sea is one thing, but there’s no way the Wolf King is a woman.’
While pondering the contradiction, Mu-jin recalled some recent information.
“Are you sure it’s the Chil Dae-ju? I heard one of the leaders recently died.”
“Ah. Yes. I received a letter that the position was taken over by Yu Uk Dae-ju.”
Mu-jin, feeling like hitting the branch chief for trying to mislead him, held back because the Simnyeong Pill had already taken effect.
Mu-jin asked a few more questions, and by the time the day had passed, the branch chief collapsed, bleeding from the seven orifices due to the side effects of the Simnyeong Pill.
To erase any traces, Mu-jin threw the branch chief’s body into the Li River for the fish to eat, then returned to his group.
“Did you find out the locations of the other branches?”
As soon as he returned, Cheongsu Dojang, with a murderous look in his eyes, asked Mu-jin, who flinched involuntarily.
“I did find out a few places, but it seems difficult to go there immediately.”
Mu-jin looked at the people they had rescued in response to Cheongsu Dojang’s pressing question.
“We can’t take them to such dangerous places, can we?”
With a voice full of disappointment, Cheongsu Dojang replied, and Mu-jin asked with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, what’s wrong with you? You’re not acting like yourself.”
It was too quiet for Mu-jin to shout, “Of course!” so he just nodded.
Seeing Mu-jin’s nod, Cheongsu Dojang, with a complicated expression, spoke up.
“I see. I’ll be careful. Amitabha.”
There was definitely something going on, but it was awkward to pry further, so Mu-jin sighed inwardly and spoke to the group.
“Let’s move now. If we delay any longer, we might be tracked.”
“Where are we going?”
In response to Mu-gung’s question, Mu-jin pointed southeast with his finger.
Ha-ju County, located on the border between Guangxi Province and Guangdong Province, was where Dao Yuetian’s path to becoming the number one in the demonic sect began. The intelligence handbook was buried there.
The intelligence handbook was one of the reasons Mu-jin had come to Guangxi Province along with the Gyerim Black Market.
Although both Gyerim and Ha-ju County were located in the eastern part of Guangxi Province, it was only close in terms of the vast continent’s standards.
If it were just Mu-jin’s party moving, they could have reached there in half a day using their qinggong, but since they had the rescued people with them, the journey took longer.
They bought clothes in a small village on the way to Ha-ju County, disposed of the bandit and slave clothes, and then procured a wagon from a nearby county to move to Ha-ju County.
“Ha ha ha! If you want to pass through here, you must pay a toll to these elders!”
As one would expect from an area dominated by outlaws, bandits would occasionally pop up as an added nuisance.
“Spare me, and I’ll mend my ways and live righteously, Great Hero!”
Dealing with the bandits didn’t take much time.
After swiftly dispatching a dozen bandits, Mu-jin glanced over his group.
‘They’ve certainly improved, likely due to their accumulated combat experience.’
Mu-yul and Ling-ling. And while Mu-gung’s growth was noticeable, Mu-gyeong showed the most remarkable progress.
It was perhaps expected given the difference in their innate talents.
‘But why is he acting like that?’
From this perspective, the movements of Cheongsu Dojang when dealing with the bandits were rather odd.
Just like the previous night at the Gyerim Black Market, Cheongsu Dojang seemed intent on slaughtering the bandits blocking their path.
However, after Mu-jin, who thought a moderate amount of disciplinary action (meaning, turning them into cripples) was sufficient, stopped Cheongsu Dojang, Cheongsu Dojang noticeably slowed down.
It was as if the swordsmanship he had honed over the past decade felt like an ill-fitting garment.
While his skills seemed to have advanced a few levels during the kill last night, his level of skill with the Soft Sword had plummeted several levels instead.
As Mu-jin watched Cheongsu Dojang, puzzled by his behavior, Mu-gyeong suddenly spoke to him.
“Why are there so many bad people here? The Gyerim Black Market last time was the same.”
“I told you, Guangxi is an area dominated by outlaws.”
“Still, even if it’s an outlaw territory, it’s strange. Normally, the authorities wouldn’t leave bandits and human traffickers alone, right?”
The other kids seemed curious about that part as well, their gazes shifting to Mu-jin.
With a bitter expression, Mu-jin decided to tell the innocent kids the harsh truth of the adult world.
“Because the authorities aren’t doing their job.”
“Huh? Is that allowed?”
“Normally, it shouldn’t be, but that’s how the world works. Many people think it’s not a crime if they don’t get caught.”
Like the army saying that every Korean reserve soldier would know: ‘A command that doesn’t get caught isn’t a command,’ as long as they aren’t caught, everything works out fine.
And this area provided the perfect conditions to avoid getting caught easily.
“The Imperial Court should oversee the regions, but Beijing, where the Imperial Court is located, is too far from here in Guangxi. The same goes for Guangdong and Fujian.”
Thus, in those three places, local nobles and officials acted as if they were the Imperial Court.
“Due to the lack of oversight, corruption is easy, and the corrupt officials love bribes and tributes. So, the outlaws commit crimes and pay bribes to coexist with the authorities.”
“Are the bandits paying bribes too!?”
Mu-yul asked, wide-eyed with surprise, and Mu-jin shook his head.
“No, they’re just rampaging because the law enforcement is weak.”
Would corrupt politicians care about the lives of commoners?
Whether their money gets stolen or not, the soldiers of the government are only concerned with maintaining their own money and power.
“Although Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian are particularly severe, Guizhou, Zhejiang, and Hunan aren’t much different. The capital cities of each province and the northern areas closer to Beijing are less affected, but the southern regions are almost in the same state.”
“Then, can’t the righteous factions come and fight in place of the authorities?” For original chapters go to novel⟡fire.net
Mu-gung, who held a fascination for heroic tales and the term ‘Great Hero,’ asked, and Mu-jin laughed bitterly.
“Because of the Amcheonhoe and the Muja Trio, it’s difficult.”
Although they were the apparent problem, the real issue lay within the righteous factions.
Though they had formed an alliance under the name of the Martial Alliance, the major powers within the Nine Great Schools and Five Great Families were more concerned with expanding their own power, each forming and breaking alliances as they saw fit.
If any sect tried to confront the Amcheonhoe, the others would retreat and cheer them on from behind, ready to seize any opportunity once the attacking sect lost strength.
On the other hand, the situation wasn’t any better for the outlaws.
Unlike the righteous factions who at least cared about appearances, the outlaws were blatantly selfish and disunited.
The Amcheonhoe was merely a temporary alliance to resist the righteous factions.
When the righteous factions weren’t attacking, they were busy fighting among themselves for territory in the south.
‘That was the point exploited by Dao Yuetian’s plan.’
In the early to mid parts of the novel, Dao Yuetian, who went on a rampage, smashing heads of both righteous and outlaw factions, eventually became a ‘Public Enemy of the Martial World’ after destroying the Jeonggal Family following the Cheonryu Sangdan.
However, Dao Yuetian didn’t care.
Through the war with the Jeonggal Family, he learned a critical piece of information: Pa-cheon Sword Emperor Hyeok Jin-gang, one of the Three Greatest Swordsmen, had deep ties with the shadowy forces.
The Jeonggal Family, in league with the shadowy forces, was planning to destroy the Wudang Sect with Hyeok Jin-gang’s help to monopolize Hubei Province.
Naturally, Dao Yuetian tried to clear his name by exposing this fact, but he eventually gave up and chose a different path.
Thanks to a certain character who later became his advisor in the latter half of the novel.
After secretly rescuing Dao Yuetian, who was critically injured after defeating the Jeonggal Family alone, this advisor spoke to him as he rested.
– Given that you are now a public enemy, no one in the righteous factions will believe your words. So, take advantage of this situation.
– Take advantage? What do you mean?
– Your current goal is the Amcheonhoe’s leader, isn’t it? No matter how skilled you are, facing the entire Amcheonhoe alone is too much. So, you should create a new faction among the outlaws. Use your reputation from single-handedly defeating the Jeonggal Family to your advantage.
– ……Isn’t that unnecessarily troublesome?
Forming a faction, and an outlaw faction at that.
For Dao Yuetian, who was from the righteous factions, it was a difficult pill to swallow. However, he eventually nodded after hearing the advisor’s continued explanation.
– Raise a faction as an outlaw and challenge the Amcheonhoe’s leader. If you approach as an external force, the outlaws will band together to block you, but if it’s an internal struggle, it’ll just be a fight for leadership.
Thus, Dao Yuetian began his path as an outlaw.
‘I need to recruit the advisor as soon as possible.’
An exceptionally talented individual who would be beneficial in many ways, and who was destined to face a terrible fate within a few years.