Gwak Do-jin, the gang leader of the Black Bear Gang, tilted his head after receiving the report from his vice gang leader, Jang Myeong-cheol.
"The Yi Family Manor is preparing to transport tea?"
"That's right."
"If they're sending out another shipment after being raided that many times, they must have some kind of countermeasure......... Could there be any word of the Namgung Family making a move?"
If the Yi Family Manor was going to borrow anyone's strength, it would be the Namgung Family's.
If the Namgung Family had sent support, that would explain the Yi Family Manor's movements.
Gwak Do-jin was nearly certain the Namgung Family had sent reinforcements.
But Jang Myeong-cheol shook his head.
"There's been no confirmed movement from the Namgung Family so far."
"You sure?"
Gwak Do-jin asked with a look of disbelief.
"If the Namgung Family had moved, the Underworld Gate would've sent word."
The Black Bear Gang received intelligence support from the Underworld Gate.
If the Namgung Family had dispatched reinforcements, the Underworld Gate would have reported it immediately.
Of course, it was possible the Namgung Family had moved while evading the Underworld Gate's eyes.
But the Namgung Family had no reason to go to such lengths.
"If it's not the Namgung Family, then what's giving the Yi Manor Lord the confidence to move?"
"From what I hear, the Yi Manor Lord hired wanderers."
"Wanderers?"
Gwak Do-jin made a baffled expression.
He never expected wanderers to enter the picture.
"That's right. The Yi Manor Lord apparently brought in fewer than thirty wanderers."
"He hired wanderers instead of relying on the Namgung Family?"
The Yi Family Manor was under the Namgung Family's sphere of influence.
If they needed help, they could request it from the Namgung Family at any time.
Yet they had hired wanderers instead—it made no sense.
"It seems the Yi Manor Lord couldn't afford to wait for the Namgung Family's support because time was too short."
"Time was too short?"
"I looked into it, and they have to deliver their stock to the Taeho Tea House in Namgyeong within five days."
If the set delivery date passed, penalty fees would kick in.
So to avoid losses, they had no choice but to get the goods delivered within the deadline.
"So you're saying they hired wanderers out of desperation because they need to rush the tea to Namgyeong?"
"That's right."
Even after Jang Myeong-cheol's explanation, Gwak Do-jin still didn't understand.
If the Yi Manor Lord had requested support from the Namgung Family just a few days earlier, this wouldn't have been a problem.
Yet he had delayed requesting support and was now scrambling to hire wanderers—it was suspicious.
"Did you look into the wanderers?"
"Most of them are young—barely past the Age of Twenty, apparently."
"In this situation, he hired greenhorn wanderers with no experience?"
Gwak Do-jin wore an expression of disbelief.
"Doesn't that just show how desperate the situation is?"
Jang Myeong-cheol said without thinking too deeply.
'Something's off about this.......'
Gwak Do-jin found the Yi Family Manor's movements suspicious.
Above all, he couldn't understand why they had hired wanderers instead of requesting support from the Namgung Family.
"When is the Yi Family Manor's tea shipment?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
Gwak Do-jin furrowed his brow.
There was no time to investigate the details.
"That's right. Shall we proceed the same as before?"
Just as Namgung Geom had predicted, the ones who had been raiding the Yi Family Manor's tea were none other than the Black Bear Gang.
"Of course."
If the Yi Family Manor succeeded in delivering its tea to the Taeho Tea House this time, everything they had worked for would go up in smoke.
They had to stop the tea shipment.
Judging by the manor's tea production, this was very likely the last batch of stock they had.
If they could block just this one shipment, the Yi Family Manor would be driven to the edge of a cliff.
At that point, if the Black Bear Gang Leader stepped in, he could seize the Yi Family Manor's wealth and business.
There were certainly suspicious aspects, but Gwak Do-jin could not afford to let this chance to take the Yi Family Manor's wealth and business slip away.
Still, they needed to take at least minimal precautions.
"This time, the vice gang leader goes in person."
"Me?"
Jang Myeong-cheol wore an unenthusiastic expression.
"It'll put my mind at ease."
If he could, Gwak Do-jin would have gone himself.
But an important guest was due to arrive tomorrow.
Gwak Do-jin had to receive him and could not leave.
***
Namgung Geom and his peers from the Azure Dragon Pavilion moved with the Yi Family Manor's transport convoy, disguised as wanderers.
What made it interesting was that the Yi Family Manor's transport crew did not know the true identities of Namgung Geom's group either.
They believed Namgung Geom's group were genuinely wanderers.
Perhaps because of that, their faces were full of anxiety.
How skilled could wanderers barely past the Age of Twenty really be?
They believed the wanderers would be unable to fend off the raiders' attack.
Unlike them, Namgung Geom and his peers wore calm expressions.
They did not know the raiders' level of skill, but they did not think them stronger than themselves.
Above all, their trust in Namgung Geom was immense.
This was Namgung Geom, who had defeated the Captain of the Celestial Wind Sword Corps' Third Sword Company.
That victory had given them faith that he could overcome any opponent.
Of course, if a master whose realm surpassed Namgung Geom's appeared, even he would be powerless.
But considering the factions near Mount Huang, the likelihood of such a master appearing was virtually nonexistent.
And it was not as if Namgung Geom was alone.
The three squad leaders and Namgung Seol were no pushovers themselves.
If the Black Bear Gang or a force of similar caliber was behind this, they could handle it.
"But will the Black Bear Gang actually make a move?"
Namgung Chang, walking beside Namgung Geom, asked.
"Unless they've figured out who we are, their greed alone will bring them out."
"What if the Black Bear Gang isn't the one behind the raids?"
This time it was Namgung Cheon-sang who asked.
Without solid proof that the Black Bear Gang was responsible, they needed to keep open the possibility that another faction had carried out the raids.
"Whoever it is, they'll try to stop this shipment. We catch them and confirm their identity. That's all there is to it."
Namgung Geom spoke as if it were no problem at all.
Namgung Cheon-sang nodded in understanding.
After instructing his peers to keep a sharp eye on their surroundings, Namgung Geom moved to the side of Yi Hong-baek, the man in charge of the Yi Family Manor's tea transport.
"I heard the raids have always happened at the same place."
"That's right. It's a gorge you have to pass through to descend Mount Huang, so even though we knew, we got raided every time."
Yi Hong-baek let out a bitter smile.
Knowing a raid was coming yet having no choice but to pass through the gorge—it was an infuriating situation.
"You won't have to worry this time."
Even with Namgung Geom's assurance, Yi Hong-baek was not convinced.
But at this point, there were no other options.
Unreliable as it may have seemed, they had no choice but to trust Namgung Geom's group.
Before long, Namgung Geom's group and the transport convoy entered the gorge Yi Hong-baek had mentioned.
Known as White Dragon Gorge, the path wound and curved like the body of a dragon.
"Everyone, get ready!"
Namgung Geom divided his peers into three groups and positioned them at the front, left, and right flanks of the convoy.
Namgung Geom took the front position himself.
The front was the most dangerous, as it would be the first to encounter the enemy.
Seeing Namgung Geom volunteer for the most perilous position, his peers trusted him all the more.
Namgung Geom walked with his qi sense spread wide open.
WHOOSH!
Just as they rounded a bend, arrows came whistling through the air with a sharp shriek.
"Halt!"
Namgung Geom stopped the group and swiftly swung his sword, deflecting the arrows.
The arrows he failed to block flew past, but his peers, who had not yet rounded the bend, were able to avoid them.
After fending off the arrows, Namgung Geom surveyed the front.
Roughly fifty black-clad figures had formed a line.
The distance made it hard to gauge their exact strength, but none of them seemed like a serious threat.
"I'll break through first—follow me!"
Namgung Geom shouted to his peers and launched himself toward the black-clad figures.
"Loose the arrows!"
The black-clad figures quickly fired another volley at Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom pulled off the cloak he was wearing and swept it wide in front of him.
The cloak unfurled broadly, shielding the space ahead.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
The arrows struck the cloak and bounced away.
Namgung Geom's inner arts, channeled into the cloak, had formed a barrier of inner qi around it.
The black-clad figures were stunned at the sight.
Namgung Geom withdrew the cloak and immediately launched himself forward.
A gust of wind rose as his form lifted into the air, closing the distance in an instant.
Alarmed by Namgung Geom flying toward them like the wind, the black-clad figures frantically loosed more arrows.
Namgung Geom dropped to the ground to evade the arrows, then slid forward in a rush toward the black-clad figures.
"Stop him!"
The black-clad figures shoved their bows aside and drew their sabers.
In that opening, Namgung Geom closed to arm's reach and thrust out his sword.
The Sword Wind that erupted from his blade crashed down upon the black-clad figures before him.
The black-clad figures flinched at its force and scrambled to mount a defense.
CRACK—!
But the moment their sabers met the Sword Wind, their blades were knocked away as if a latch had been thrown open.
The Sword Wind tore through the gap.
The black-clad figures struck by the Sword Wind spewed blood and collapsed.
Jang Myeong-cheol, the Black Bear Gang's vice gang leader, was stunned by Namgung Geom's skill.
This was not the ability of a mere wanderer.
More than anything, Namgung Geom's swordsmanship looked familiar.
The Celestial Wind Sword Art.
It was unmistakably a sword art of the Namgung Family.
'Don't tell me the Namgung Family sent them?'
The sword art aside, no one could reach that level of skill at the Age of Twenty unless they were from the Namgung Family.
Jang Myeong-cheol realized they had been duped by a ploy from the Namgung Family and the Yi Family Manor.
'What am I supposed to do now?'
If Namgung Geom and the other wanderers were in fact Namgung Family martial artists, then there was no chance of winning.
He could pin his hopes on the fact that they were barely past the Age of Twenty, but looking at Namgung Geom's skill, even that seemed hopeless.
He could not even handle Namgung Geom alone.
In that case, there was only one option.
He had to run.
Jang Myeong-cheol slowly edged backward, hoping Namgung Geom would not notice.
Then he quickly launched himself in the opposite direction.
He assumed Namgung Geom would not be able to chase him immediately.
But that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Namgung Geom had been watching him from the very beginning.
Seeing that his qi was the strongest of the group, Namgung Geom had identified him as the leader of the black-clad figures.
Even while fighting the other black-clad figures, Namgung Geom had kept an eye on Jang Myeong-cheol's movements.
And when he saw him fleeing, he gave chase at once.
The other black-clad figures tried to hold Namgung Geom back, but he employed the Celestial Wind Movement Art and slipped past them in an instant.
He then became a streak of wind, closing in on Jang Myeong-cheol.
Namgung Geom caught up in the blink of an eye and cut off his path.
"Die!"
Jang Myeong-cheol thrust his saber at Namgung Geom.
The saber's edge flashed as it fell toward Namgung Geom's head.
Namgung Geom did not dodge. He swung his sword upward to meet it head-on.
CRASH—!
The instant Jang Myeong-cheol's saber clashed with Namgung Geom's sword, white frost crept down the saber and a biting cold seeped in.
"What is this?!"
Cold qi in the Namgung Family's martial arts—that was unheard of.
Jang Myeong-cheol frantically raised his inner arts to push the cold out.
"Ngh!"
But the invading cold was far too powerful.
His right arm, the one gripping the saber, felt as if it were freezing solid.
Jang Myeong-cheol clenched his teeth and fought off the cold penetrating his body.
Under the force of his inner arts, the cold that had crept up to his shoulder was gradually pushed back.
But while he focused on blocking the cold, he could not spare any attention for Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom lightly struck Jang Myeong-cheol's paralysis point.
Jang Myeong-cheol stared at Namgung Geom with a stunned look.
"Let's save the talking for later."