Chapter : 34
My Opportunity Is a Status Window (34)
I returned to Luoyang.
Brother was waiting far better than I’d feared.
Meditating and training on his own…
Well, he’s lived long enough.
I guess I rushed back for nothing.
Wonjong Monk’s second cremation.
The reincarnation Reverend Myeongwon spoke of.
I explained it all.
He let out a small sigh and looked relieved.
“Black Kill Gate?”
“Yes.”
“A shame. Your mission can no longer travel with me.”
“That’s right.”
Lie.
I’m sorry, Brother, but honestly?
I’m a little glad.
There’s no way I can measure up to those terrifying ascetics.
I’m still just a second-rate fighter.
How am I supposed to handle monks who could beat masters in the Transcendence Realm?
We all have our own paths, right?
“What kind of people are these Black Kill Gate?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, yet you’re doing the mission?”
“I’ll have to find out now.”
Right. Have to find out.
Same old, same old.
Not surprising anymore.
“How long is the duration?”
“It’s long. Status Window.”
[Objective: Become an assassin of the Black Kill Gate and complete 10 missions]
[Time limit: 1175 days 4 hours]
[Rewards: Thousand-Year Spirit Mushroom, White Tiger Golden Pellet]
[Failure: No penalty]
1175 days.
Roughly three years.
Thousand-Year Spirit Mushroom, White Tiger Golden Pellet…
The reward was a divine herb and a golden core.
Names that screamed prestige.
Maybe that’s why there’s no penalty…
With rewards like this, how could you not do it?
That kind of feeling?
“About three years.”
“You’ll be staying long, then.”
“Yes.”
Hyegong sighed again, disappointed.
Surely… he wasn’t hoping that if the mission were short he could wait and see my next mission?
Brother, please don’t.
Let’s go our separate ways.
“You said you don’t know about the Black Kill Gate?”
“Yes.”
“Then this is a job for Secret Shadow Gate.”
“Oh—like that Hongmae woman?”
“Right.”
“We going to Kaifeng?”
“No. There’s one in Luoyang too. Let’s go.”
Hyegong shot to his feet.
Once he decides, he acts immediately.
That’s what I like about him.
I like moving fast too.
* * *
Yuncheong Pavilion, Luoyang.
The finest inn in the city—also a brothel.
According to Hyegong, Secret Shadow Gate runs this place too.
He strode in like he owned the place.
They’re going to stop us for not having a reservation again…
As before, we looked like beggars.
A stark contrast to the elegant patrons entering.
“Who goes—!”
The guard at the door nearly shouted Who are you but swallowed the words.
Another guard dashed inside.
Huh? Different from last time.
Definitely different.
They recognized us—
In a good way?
Or a bad way?
Even as Hyegong marched straight through, no one stopped us.
Only when we reached the center of the main hall did a man in green silk cut us off.
“Greetings, Master Hyegong. I am Cheongu.”
“Good. Is Hongmae here?”
“Yes. She expected you might come soon and has been waiting for days.”
“Khehehe. The rumor-seller hag’s instincts are sharp.”
“Thank you. This way.”
Rude words, but Cheongu smiled politely and guided him.
I followed.
The building layout was similar to Misty Moon Pavilion in Kaifeng.
Through a courtyard, into a hidden chamber, and there Hongmae waited.
“Heeheehee, we meet again.”
“How have you been?”
Hyegong flopped into a jade-inlaid chair.
I slipped into the seat nearby.
“Quite well, thanks to you. And how went your task?”
“Why ask when you already know?”
“We don’t know everything outside the realm. Please enlighten us.”
“Didn’t catch him. He was strong.”
“Did he enter the Primordial Realm?”
“No. But his energy was extraordinary…”
What the.
He’s spilling top-secret intel just like that?
Brother Hyegong.
What’s your relationship with this woman?
Do you maybe… meet her at night too?
Come to think of it…
The way he barged in, demanded answers—
Yeah, this was suspicious.
Not a normal relationship.
“What condition is he in?”
“Alive, I’d say.”
“Then northern Yuan’s power balance will shake.”
“It’s a matter of time.”
“But Master Wonjong’s relics returned safely to Shaolin. We heard there was a second cremation. That’s only possible because you held the advantage, isn’t it?”
“No. This brat here earned that.”
Hyegong laughed and smacked my back.
I gave an awkward smile.
“Heeheehee. I’ve wondered for a while, but I’ll finally ask. Young sir, who might you be?”
“I’m Dancheon.”
“Ah—Sir Dancheon. A pleasure. I am Hongmae of Secret Shadow Gate.”
“Yes.”
She smiled with her eyes.
Something in me melted.
My heart fluttered.
Head swam.
“You wench! None of that nonsense. What are you doing to a child?”
“Heeheehee, don’t be angry.”
“Dancheon! Snap out of it. She’s past a hundred. Don’t fall for appearances.”
Over a hundred?
Right… a martial artist.
Damn it.
Suddenly I felt disgusted.
Might puke.
“We came today because Dancheon needs help.”
“Of course. Speak.”
“Do you know Black Kill Gate?”
“If it’s Black Kill Gate…”
Hongmae squinted then glanced at Cheongu at the door.
“There are multiple sects by that name.”
Cheongu answered her.
Fair.
Black Kill Gate was a common name among demonic sects.
“Write the characters.”
“Yes.”
Cheongu brought brush and ink and handed them to me.
I wrote the exact characters from the status window: 黑殺門
“It seems to be an assassin group. He says he must take assassination commissions…”
I gave them all I knew from the Status Window.
Better detail means better intel.
Less risk of chasing the wrong sect.
“There is a group using those characters—but they’re not a demonic sect. They’re a cover.”
“A cover?”
“Yes. And just as Sir Dancheon said, assassination is their main trade.”
“A cover for who?”
“The Demonic Sect.”
“…!!”
The Demon Cult.
One of the two vast forces that made up the martial world.
Curled in the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range, but always sharpening claws for the Central Plains.
“Black Kill Gate is a covert arm of the Demonic Sect. It operates cell-to-cell.
Originally used to purge traitors, now deployed widely for targeted assassinations.”
“As in…?”
“To remove anyone hindering the Demon Cult’s secret business in the Central Plains.”
Oh god…
Why is my new mission like this?
I’m becoming a demonic assassin?
Sure, I grew up a wastrel—not exactly righteous hero material—
but I don’t want to become a devil killing innocent people.
Is that why there’s no penalty?
Do it only if you want?
“Hahaha…”
Hyegong laughed hollowly.
No surprise—
he believed the Status Window was heaven’s punishment for monks.
Now heaven gives him a mission to wipe demon asses?
Of course he’s dumbfounded.
“If you wish to enter Black Kill Gate, we can help.”
“How?”
“We’ll swap you in for our operative already embedded.
Since it’s cellular, they won’t notice.”
Wait.
They already have a spy inside?
What are these people…
“You see how big I am… doable?”
“Our man is tall too. Just slim down a bit and you’ll match. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh… thank you.”
Just incredible.
These Secret Shadow Gate folks—
terrifying.
Need to stay friends.
Heh.
* * *
“A cup, in your honor.”
“To you.”
Outside Luoyang,
under blossoms of a peach tree.
Hyegong and I laid out wine and simple snacks.
“Wine tastes bitter today, Dancheon.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Today is farewell.
I will infiltrate Black Kill Gate using the identity provided.
All thanks to him.
Without Hyegong’s introduction to Secret Shadow Gate—
without him pressuring Hongmae—
this would never have happened.
“Where will you go now?”
“Changbai.”
“The Changbai where the Mountain Spirit King was written on the tablet?”
“Yes.”
“Jurta is said to be dangerous too… isn’t it too risky?”
“Of course it’s dangerous. But I have to see.
Who knows? The Mountain Spirit King might be reasonable.”
“Reasonable?”
“As in—not walking the path of carnage,
but truly walking the path of cultivation.”
Hmm…
Seems unlikely.
Most of those freaks are clawing and scheming for personal ascension.
“It’s too dangerous. If you die—”
“Dancheon.”
“Yes.”
“If I feared death, I shouldn’t have stepped into the rivers and lakes.”
“Yes…”
Can’t argue.
The martial world is the same—
death always a step away.
Fear never made him the master he is.
“I’ve lived long enough.
The rest of my life follows my will—not instinct.”
Suddenly, Venerable Myeongwon’s words echoed.
You choose austerity again.
You really mean to become a Buddha.
Living by will—
easy to say, nearly impossible to do.
Amazing, Brother.
“Dancheon.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“I’ve lived so long I have no kin left.
Never married, no children.”
“Yes…”
“The time I spent with you—long if long, short if short—
but it’s the first time in ages I’ve felt genuine human affinity.
So I propose—
let us be true sworn brothers, not just in words.”
Sworn brothers.
My chest tightened.
He had no family.
I’ve had none for as long as I remember.
I too felt real warmth with him.
“I accept, Brother.”
“You’re not thinking this old fool is rushing to find someone to handle my funeral?”
“Haha, no.”
“Not thinking I’m begging for someone to bury me before I wander to my death?”
“Khahaha, no!”
“Good. Then let us drink as brothers.”
“With pleasure.”
I heard Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swore brotherhood under peach trees.
Ah—
so that’s why he brought wine here today?
This brother of mine—
secretly sentimental.
“Brother! Please survive!”
“And you—don’t kill innocent people.”
“Haha. I’ll do my best.”
Yes, Brother.
I’ll kill moderately.
Judiciously.
Though if one or two slip by mistake…
Ah—no, no. Heh.
