Chapter 17. One Big Score
The masked man had impressive determination.
Even after an arrow pierced his calf, he still tried to keep running.
However, there was no one who could limp away from Bi Anso and escape.
“Playing hard to get.”
“You clearly like me.”
Not long after hitting him with the arrow, I caught him.
The first rule after capturing a suspicious bastard.
Seal his acupoints to restrict movement, then check whether he has any means of committing suicide.
The classic method was hiding poison behind a molar.
“Open your mouth, bastard.”
As expected.
This one had poison hidden in his mouth too.
If I had not immediately sealed his acupoints, he would probably have bitten down and killed himself.
Then again, maybe not.
A truly well-trained assassin would have swallowed the poison the moment the arrow hit him.
Perhaps this bastard valued his own life more than I thought.
If that was true, extracting information would be easier.
Enough useless thoughts.
First, remove the poison.
“Raise your right hand if it hurts.”
I pulled out his right molar, poison and all, without using anything to dull the pain.
His eyes opened wide, and a painful groan escaped his throat.
“I told you to raise your hand if it hurts.”
The masked man looked at me as though asking, Didn’t you seal my acupoints?
“I should check whether you have any other ways to kill yourself.”
Did he have a Gu parasite planted near his heart?
I checked his pulse.
No.
Then again, Gu techniques were so difficult that even in the Three-No Sect, only my eldest senior sister had mastered them.
Blades.
There was a throwing knife hidden inside his belt.
Not bad quality either.
I carefully placed it into my own pocket.
Good.
This should be enough to prevent suicide.
Now then, shall we begin the fun interrogation?
“I’m going to remove the internal energy sealing your acupoints.”
“If you try to run or make too much noise, unpleasant things will happen.”
“Understand?”
“...”
“Why is this bastard not answering...”
Ah.
Right.
I sealed his acupoints.
Thump!
I flicked his forehead hard.
He was making me look stupid.
“Even if your acupoints are sealed, answer when I ask you something, bastard!”
“Spies these days have no determination.”
“Anyway, if you get noisy, you’ll be punished. Understand?”
I released the seal.
The man did not cause unnecessary trouble.
Instead, he glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
“You! I do not know who you are, but do you believe you will survive after doing this?!”
“Would you look at this crazy bastard?”
“Who exactly is backing you?”
“If you do not want to get hurt, stop asking questions.”
“If you still wish to preserve your life, release me immediately and I will forget everything...”
I punched him repeatedly in the face.
He tried to say something while being hit, but I did not feel like giving him another chance to speak, so I kept punching.
How stupid did this bastard think I was?
Forget everything if I released him?
“Even our Deputy Leader would not believe that.”
“Not even a stray dog would.”
“Kugh!”
“Listen carefully.”
“From now on, every time you open your mouth without permission, I’ll peel a layer of skin from your tongue.”
“Very carefully, so you do not bleed to death.”
“Very slowly, very delicately, and as painfully as possible.”
“...”
“If you do not believe me, try speaking.”
“I’ll prove that torture happens to be one of my specialties.”
The masked idiot silently nodded.
Good.
Now he was ready for conversation.
“What is your name?”
“...Mo Eon.”
“Good, Mo Eon.”
“Jang Gal's camp had a great deal of food.”
“Far too much for rebel remnants that had been isolated in the desert for this long.”
“That means someone has been supplying them.”
“Is your master the traitor responsible?”
Mo Eon nodded.
“Tell me his name.”
“Kill me!”
“If I reveal it, I will die anyway!”
“That is the one thing I will never answer!”
As expected.
Should I torture him?
Hmm.
I was not sure it would work properly.
I had already threatened him with torture.
Of course, I knew countless ways to inflict pain worse than peeling his tongue.
Even then, he might refuse to speak.
Then what should I do?
In situations like this, the best method was finding a weakness.
“There are sewing marks on your clothes.”
“They do not look like the rough stitching of a man.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The hand seems to have shaken occasionally while sewing.”
“A tremor, perhaps?”
“An elderly person must have done this.”
“Not your wife.”
“Your mother.”
His eyes shook violently.
His heartbeat accelerated too.
I had only guessed from a few clues, but it seemed I had hit the truth.
“You said you would die if you revealed your master's name.”
“Your master sounds rather kind.”
“He is only going to kill you.”
“What?”
“Listen carefully, Mo Eon.”
“If I truly decide to search for your mother, finding her would not be difficult.”
“N, no!”
“My mother has nothing to do with this!”
“I decide whether she has anything to do with it!”
Good.
Time to play the greatest bastard under heaven.
“Listen carefully.”
“I will not kill you.”
“Instead, I will kill your mother right in front of you.”
“I will use every method I know and give her suffering you cannot even imagine.”
“And at the very end, I will whisper something into her ear.”
The reason this is happening to you is your son.
By the time I finished, Mo Eon was trembling violently.
Countless thoughts and conflicts were probably crossing his mind right now.
“...I, if I tell you willingly, will you leave my mother alone?”
“I promise.”
What a relief.
Now I did not have to torture some innocent old woman.
“Speak.”
“Tell me the name of your master, the man who supplied the remaining rebels!”
“H, his name is...”
Just as Mo Eon was about to say the name, an arrow suddenly flew from far away and pierced through the back of his head.
“Damn it!”
This was bad.
I quickly moved Mo Eon's corpse aside and focused on the direction the arrow had come from.
On top of a distant high dune, I could barely make out the tiny figure of an archer.
Damn.
He was so far away that I had failed to sense his presence.
Another arrow came flying toward me.
This time, it aimed directly between my eyebrows.
Judging by the unusual speed, a considerable amount of internal energy had been placed into it.
I twisted my body and avoided the arrow, then quickly drew my own bow to counterattack.
But the man was already gone.
He had realized that killing me would not be easy and immediately fled.
“The skill to hit a target accurately from that distance, and the judgment to retreat without hesitation.”
Whoever he was, he was a properly trained assassin.
And his archery was one level, no, perhaps two levels above mine.
He had definitely been sent by the traitor supporting Jang Gal.
To command someone this skilled as a subordinate.
I had already suspected it after learning that someone was supporting the rebel remnants, but this hidden traitor must have been quite powerful.
Perhaps the rebellion of the Black and White Demon Venerable itself had been secretly directed by this traitor from the beginning.
“...I hope that is true.”
I needed to earn a great achievement and become the Prince Consort of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
If I captured the mastermind who had secretly stood behind the Black and White Demon Venerable's rebellion, would that not be an achievement worthy of the position?
“Whoever you are, wait for me, traitor.”
“The first gift I offer my father-in-law will be your head.”
Several days later, inside the office of the Guangming Left Envoy at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Military Strategy Department.
The Left Envoy read the report submitted by the Deputy Leader of the Black Blood Unit and tilted his head.
“Is everything written in this report true?”
“Yes.”
Deputy Leader Yeonhwa stood before him with obvious tension on her face.
She was famous for being a complete madwoman, but in front of the Guangming Left Envoy, she looked like a harmless puppy.
“You are truly saying that the plan to infiltrate Jang Gal's camp, poison all his men, and kill Jang Gal was created by you?”
“Yes, well... something like that.”
“Then what did this Bi Anso who accompanied you do?”
“He did almost nothing.”
“You could say I earned practically all the credit.”
The Left Envoy silently stared at Yeonhwa.
She began sweating heavily before finally letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Damn it.”
“Do you think I wanted to steal another person's achievements?”
“That report was written by the lunatic, no, by Bi Anso.”
“Is that true?”
“You can put the three of us face to face if you want.”
“Bi Anso was the one who removed his own name from the report.”
“He was also the one who gave all the achievements to me.”
The Left Envoy carefully studied Yeonhwa as she complained.
No matter how much he looked, she did not appear to be lying.
“I may be uneducated, but I am not some bastard who steals another person's achievements!”
“That crazy bastard said he would fight me to the death if I did not do what he said!”
“...Tell me exactly what happened during the mission.”
“I will not leave it in writing.”
Yeonhwa told the Left Envoy everything that happened in the desert.
She did not leave out a single detail.
After hearing the full story, the Left Envoy fell into deep thought.
Then he nodded.
“Go and rest.”
“You worked hard eliminating the remaining traitors.”
“Please understand, Left Envoy!”
“I did not steal that lunatic's achievements!”
“You should first learn how to control your language in front of your superiors.”
“I understand. Leave now.”
“You really must understand!”
“I am a crazy woman, not a cowardly one!”
Yeonhwa repeatedly insisted on her innocence.
In the end, she was physically dragged out by the Left Envoy's direct guards.
The Left Envoy remained inside his office and rubbed his aching head with a sigh.
“Now I understand why the Black Blood Unit Leader suffers so much.”
“She is even crazier than this old man expected.”
“She is entertaining from a distance.”
“Up close, she makes me want to kill her.”
The Left Envoy turned toward the source of the voice.
Bi Anso was already sitting on the office windowsill.
“Entering this old man's office without permission.”
“Do you truly wish to die?”
“You were going to summon me anyway.”
“I simply came first so you would not have to waste your voice calling for me.”
“Then explain.”
“Why did a bastard obsessed with achievements give his credit to someone else?”
“I am aiming for one big score.”
“What?”
Bi Anso grinned.
“Before returning, I tortured Jang Gal and extracted as much information as possible.”
“Apparently, when the Black and White Demon Venerable launched his rebellion, there was a traitor inside the Heavenly Mountains who had promised to support him from within.”
“...”
“That man was probably also the one helping the remnants escape and supplying them with food.”
“This part is only my guess, but the rebellion itself may have been guided by that traitor.”
The Left Envoy did not show it on his face.
But inwardly, he was surprised.
Bi Anso's conclusion was almost identical to the Cult Leader's.
“I am targeting that man.”
“If I take the head of the hidden mastermind who has still avoided capture, would that not be enough merit to become Prince Consort?”
“Why did you give every achievement to the Deputy Leader?”
“It is better not to spread my name until I capture the traitor.”
“If I attract unnecessary attention, he will become cautious of me.”
“Are you certain?”
“If you continue hiding yourself and fail to capture him, the position of Prince Consort will be beyond your reach.”
“Uncle Left, you must like me quite a bit.”
“You are even worrying about me now.”
“Did I not clearly tell you not to call me Uncle Left?”
The Left Envoy released overwhelming killing intent.
Bi Anso immediately positioned himself more firmly on the windowsill so he could escape at any moment.
“No matter how hard I work in the Black Blood Unit for two years, I cannot earn merit worthy of the Prince Consort position.”
“Forty-point missions do not appear every day.”
“Hmph! If you understand that, give up and leave the Cult immediately!”
“Running away is one of the few things you are excellent at!”
“You speak well, but you already knew from the beginning, did you not?”
“The only path for me to become Prince Consort is capturing this hidden traitor.”
The Left Envoy fell silent as if struck directly in the weak point.
“There is no way the Left Envoy and Cult Leader do not know what I discovered through a single mission.”
“This mission was meant to test my judgment and ability, was it not?”
“...”
“If I had been tempted by the small achievement directly in front of me, I would probably never become Prince Consort.”
“But aiming for one big score happens to be another one of my specialties.”
Bi Anso grinned and gave the Left Envoy a fist-and-palm salute.
“Please wait just a little longer, Uncle Left.”
“It will not take me very long to bring back that traitor's head.”
“Stop calling me Uncle Left!!”
The Left Envoy threw a flying knife at Bi Anso.
Bi Anso fled through the window in alarm.
“That damned bastard!”
“He keeps calling me Uncle Left just to anger me!”
“I should tear out that disrespectful tongue!”
Watching Bi Anso quickly run away, the Left Envoy ground his teeth.
He swore that one day he would chew that insolent fox to pieces.
I refuse to accept it.
Even if dirt fills my eyes, there is absolutely no possibility that a bastard like you will become the Prince Consort of this Cult!
He wanted to shout curses with everything he had.
However, those were not words he could say aloud.
The Left Envoy had no choice but to suppress his anger internally.
After some time, he finally calmed down enough to close the window.
“...Still, the bastard does seem to know how to use his head.”
“That does not mean he can ever become the Prince Consort of this Cult!”
The Left Envoy clenched his fist while imagining the day he would finally drive Bi Anso away.
