Chapter 49: Shattering Common Sense
“Hmm, so you’re saying we’ll send out a force we can’t control anyway, eliminate the unseen enemy, and request reinforcements at the same time?”
“Yes. I don’t know what that person’s true intentions are, but while they belong neither to our side nor the enemy’s, one thing is certain—they’re a master. Naturally, if they are forced into danger, they’ll reveal their true colors and slaughter our enemies.”
“But tell me this. Do you really think the congratulatory guests will leave the family so easily? Once they realize a Heavenly Net has been spread around the family, no one will try to escape.”
“Family Head, this place where the Namgung Family stands isn’t connected solely by land, is it? If we provide ships, they’ll all compete to leave the family.”
“That may be true, but the enemy may have established a blockade on Lake Chaohu as well.”
“Of course they have. However, it won’t be as extensive as one might think. Lake Chaohu is as vast as the sea itself, and beyond it lies the Yangtze River. The idea that their Heavenly Net could stretch across the entirety of that enormous lake and even reach the Yangtze is impossible—beyond imagination. Furthermore, the Yangtze waterways are under the absolute influence of the Eighteen Yangtze Waterway Strongholds, while control over most of Lake Chaohu belongs to our Namgung Family. In other words, no matter how many ships they gather on Lake Chaohu, they cannot outnumber ours, nor will they possess warships. That means the enemy is most likely only blocking the roads along the lakeshore. If all of the Namgung Family’s ships depart through the South Water Gate at once, the enemy will have no choice but to concentrate their martial artists at the entrance to So-cheon.”
So-cheon.
One of the Yangtze’s tributaries that absolutely had to be passed through to travel from Lake Chaohu to the Yangtze River. If one sailed from the Namgung Family to the Yangtze, this river was an unavoidable route.
What Namgung Bang meant was simple. The enemy could never cover the vastness of Lake Chaohu, so they would inevitably concentrate both men and ships there.
After hearing Namgung Bang’s explanation, Namgung Byeok found it to be a fairly convincing idea. If they did this, then in a situation where both their hands and feet were tied and their vision obscured, perhaps they could at least free their feet.
For a fleeting moment, that thought crossed his mind.
But,
“Listening to you, it does sound plausible. However, if we do that, most of the congratulatory guests will die. The enemy waiting outside is Heavenly Demon Castle, not some minor local sect.”
It was an efficient method, but it would inevitably result in tremendous casualties.
And not the Namgung Family’s warriors, but countless others whose blood would flow into the Yangtze.
With a firm expression, Namgung Bang spoke forcefully once more.
“That cannot be helped. The people who came here as guests did so mostly to gain something, or have already gained something. Rather than remaining here and continuing to be a burden, I believe it’s better if they help the Namgung Family in this manner.”
“……”
It was ruthlessly cold.
Yet because of that, it was also supremely realistic.
Keeping the guests here accomplished nothing for their fighting strength. On the contrary, they had to keep watch over them, which only drained their manpower.
More importantly, there was no visible path for the Namgung Family itself to survive.
From that perspective, Namgung Bang’s proposal seemed to be the best option available.
If everything went well and the congratulatory guests managed to break through the entrance to So-cheon, they could cross into the Yangtze and receive aid from the Eighteen Yangtze Waterway Strongholds, with whom the Namgung Family had an agreement.
Moreover, by using this method, they could finally send that guest who wasn’t truly a guest outside the family.
“When the Moon Is Full, the Emperor Falls; Slowly Advancing, I Become King.”
If only to erase those words from his mind, Namgung Byeok had no choice but to accept Namgung Bang’s proposal.
He pondered a little longer, but no better solution came to him.
Having made up his mind, he looked at Namgung Bang and finally issued his orders.
“Go immediately. Gather every ship we can use, and assemble all the congratulatory guests, hirelings, and servants within the family at the South Water Gate.”
“Yes, Family Head!”
Namgung Bang answered powerfully before leaving the Hall of the Emperor without the slightest hesitation.
Namgung Byeok waited until he had completely disappeared before slowly rising from his seat.
Once again, he lifted his head and looked toward the sky.
Through the gaping hole in the ceiling, the crimson sunset spread across the heavens.
Was it merely his imagination that it looked as though blood had spilled across the surface of water, spreading in every direction?
Not long afterward, Namgung Byeok lowered his gaze once more and left the Hall of the Emperor.
The place his footsteps headed toward was,
The Medical Hall.
● ● ●
As gentle as the scent of medicine drifting through the Medical Hall was the fragrance of tea that filled its inner chamber.
Sluurp.
The quiet sound of someone swallowing tea softly broke the chamber’s silence.
Four teacups rested upon the round table in one corner of the room.
Yet only one person drank from them, while the other three quietly listened.
Namgung Byeok continued speaking, taking a sip of tea every so often.
By the time the bottom of his cup was nearly visible, he had finished saying everything he intended.
After hearing the entire story, Tang Wu drained the tea in his cup, which had long since gone cold, in one gulp before speaking icily.
“When do we leave?”
Pour.
As Namgung Byeok refilled Tang Wu’s empty cup, he answered,
“You’ll leave today.”
At the words today, Tang Hwa, the other occupant of the room, looked up at him in surprise.
She appeared to have something she wanted to say.
But she said nothing and lowered her head once more.
She knew all too well that her opinion held no importance.
Dong Bong-su, on the other hand, remained calm despite the astonishing words continuously pouring from Namgung Byeok’s mouth.
Most of what Namgung Byeok had said was exactly what he’d already expected.
The only things Dong Bong-su hadn’t known were that the force surrounding the Namgung Family was Heavenly Demon Castle and the plan Namgung Bang had proposed.
Moreover, Tang Wu wanted to see him remain composed, which was another reason he maintained such an attitude.
After all, wouldn’t Tang Sam, the once-in-a-thousand-years genius possessing the Body of No Acupoints, remain unshaken no matter what crisis arrived?
Right, right.
Life was half acting anyway.
In that sense, pretending was one of the easiest things in the world for Dong Bong-su.
It also helped that the act wasn’t all that different from his real personality, leaving no sense of awkwardness whatsoever.
Creeeak.
Tang Wu stood.
Dong Bong-su knew he intended to leave immediately.
Then another unpleasant creaking sound followed.
Dong Bong-su had stood up after him.
Looking up at the two of them, Namgung Byeok took another sip of tea before speaking.
“When you leave, please take Hye with you as well.”
Tang Wu, who had already turned toward the door, stopped and looked back.
“Why?”
“I don’t want her to see me fighting that bastard.”
Both Tang Wu and Dong Bong-su knew exactly who that bastard referred to.
“Is that your only reason?”
“I’m afraid that… the Namgung Family might not even last ten days.”
If this plan succeeded, the ten days Namgung Byeok spoke of would be the time it would take Tang Wu to return with reinforcements.
“You crazy bastard. Do you think I’d let that happen? How much do you expect your father to chew me out after you’re dead? Your uncle is the Soul-Chasing Poison Hand, yet you’re cursing yourself so I’ll end up facing that after your death. Tsk, tsk.”
Uttering words far too rough for a renowned senior of the martial world, Tang Wu strode straight out of the Medical Hall’s inner chamber.
Tang Hwa quietly followed after him.
Namgung Byeok watched their backs for a moment before smiling bitterly and taking another sip of tea.
From Namgung Byeok’s lack of confidence, Dong Bong-su realized the situation was even more dire and urgent than he’d expected.
Tap. Tap.
As he walked toward the door, he organized and analyzed everything Namgung Byeok had just said.
It wasn’t long before he discovered several major flaws in the plan.
First.
Namgung Byeok had made a huge mistake regarding the intruder who had left behind the Three Sacred Lights and the Bone Inscriptions.
He intended to use that intruder.
Intruder, intruder, intruder…
The fact that Namgung Byeok mentioned the intruder over and over made it obvious how much attention he was paying to them.
But what truly mattered was that the intruder wasn’t nearly powerful enough to be used in such a plan.
Because the intruder…
…was Dong Bong-su himself.
The Three Sacred Lights had nothing whatsoever to do with his cultivation.
They had merely been a reflexive phenomenon caused by leveling up.
Yet based on that alone, Namgung Byeok had wildly overestimated the intruder’s martial prowess.
‘Namgung Byeok’s first mistake was overestimating me. And…’
There was another point that bothered him.
Would Do Heo-ok and the force standing behind him—whether it truly was Heavenly Demon Castle as Namgung Byeok claimed or not—really have failed to anticipate such a simple plan?
In Dong Bong-su’s most extreme assumption, the Namgung Family could have gathered every ship they possessed, abandoned the family estate entirely, and fled across Lake Chaohu.
In that case, Heavenly Demon Castle, which couldn’t easily mobilize ships, would have had a difficult time pursuing the escaping members of the Namgung Family even if they successfully occupied the estate.
Do Heo-ok had almost certainly accounted for that possibility as well.
If so, then the enemy’s blockade would naturally have been established over a much broader and more heavily reinforced area.
It certainly wouldn’t be confined solely to the entrance of So-cheon, as Namgung Bang and Namgung Byeok had expected.
Of course, Namgung Bang’s prediction made perfect sense according to common reasoning.
But the moment Heavenly Demon Castle had suddenly attacked the Namgung Family, common sense itself had already been shattered.
Shattering common sense, shattering common sense, shattering common sense…
Dong Bong-su repeated the words over and over.
He was convinced the enemy had also used a method that shattered common sense to blockade the waterways.
There were several ways common sense could be broken here.
But wasn’t there one method that stood above all the others?
Dong Bong-su came up with a single highly efficient method that would allow the enemy to cover both So-cheon and the entirety of Lake Chaohu, and considered the possibility.
If his assumption was correct…
Namgung Byeok’s plan could never succeed.
The difference between a probability of zero and one that was 0.000…0001…
The difference between something existing and not existing.
Those differences were absolute.
The plan Namgung Byeok proposed was one that could have been devised even if Do Heo-ok’s original plan had proceeded exactly as intended.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with the disruption caused by the enemy’s original plan failing.
‘The second mistake was underestimating Do Heo-ok and the enemy forces.’
In short, Namgung Byeok’s plan was fundamentally flawed from its very premise.
A plan built upon two false assumptions was unlikely to function properly.
That was how Dong Bong-su saw it.
Rattle.
Having finished his thoughts, Dong Bong-su finally reached the entrance to the Medical Hall.
He opened the door and stepped outside.
There was no way to overturn Namgung Byeok’s plan.
To do so, he’d have to commit the insane act of revealing that he was the intruder.
In that case, he had no choice but to rely on improvisation, just as he had resolved earlier, to overcome this crisis.
Click.
Closing the door behind him, Dong Bong-su thought once more,
‘Even so, there’s still a chance to survive.’
His very existence had already sent ripples through the enemy’s perfect probability of zero.
Once already, however slightly, he had created a crack in their plan.
Because of that alone, the probability was no longer zero.
Now it came down to one question.
Live?
Or die?
The odds were fifty-fifty.
Sluurp.
Even after Dong Bong-su had disappeared, Namgung Byeok remained alone, quietly drinking tea for quite some time.
By the time he finally left the Medical Hall’s inner chamber, a moon nearing its full phase had already risen high into the night sky.
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