SYM 107

Cheong-un moved around, shaking off the pursuit.

How long had it been since Cheong-un held him like that?

Just when the sounds of the soldiers could no longer be heard, Cheong-un put Eun-hyeon down.

“Here is…”

Cheong-un put Eun-hyeon down in front of a splendid house.

It was not difficult to infer that the person living here was of considerable status.

[Master, I will briefly explain before entering that place.]

Eun-hyeon’s eyes widened as he heard the sudden Telepathic Transmission and looked at Cheong-un. Judging by the use of Telepathic Transmission, there seemed to be others around.

[If we go to the Demonic Sect branch in Beijing, we may be exposed to them, so I came here. This place is the Third Prince’s residence.]

Eun-hyeon’s eyes widened as much as they could.

Third Prince. Wasn’t he the one they had been expecting to be a member of the Hongbaek Sect all along?

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Cheong-un, but he was quite doubtful as to why they had come here.

[The Third Prince was not a member of the Hongbaek Sect.]

“What?”

Eun-hyeon made a sound out loud, then was startled and covered his mouth with his hand.

[The Third Prince knew that the Hongbaek Sect was secretly contacting the Imperial Family, and he was secretly tracking the Hongbaek Sect. I will tell you the details inside.]

Cheong-un held Eun-hyeon and lightly crossed the fence. After hearing that it was a royal residence, he felt a sense of oppression that was different from ordinary wealthy houses.

Cheong-un stepped on the roof with elaborate carvings and went down to a quiet garden where no one was around.

“Your Highness, Third Prince.”

Cheong-un put down Eun-hyeon, whom he had been holding, and took a fist salute towards the person in front of him. Eun-hyeon also took a fist salute following Cheong-un and glanced at the person in front of him.

The person in front of him was the very one who had called himself Young Master Yi-hwa in Seoan.

What was different from then was his attire. At that time, he wore luxurious but plain clothes, but now he was dressed in splendid attire that revealed that he was a member of the Imperial Family.

“It is a pity to meet you like this. Come inside.”

* * *

Eun-hyeon, who followed the Third Prince into the inner chamber, was bewildered by everything.

From Number One Building Under Heaven, he was suddenly dragged to prison, and now he was in the Third Prince’s residence.

“May I ask what in the world is going on?”

Eun-hyeon, who had been watching Cheong-un and the Third Prince, opened his mouth first.

It was ambiguous how much the Third Prince knew and how much he could say, so it seemed better to ask a question first.

“I heard you had a rough time. I’m sorry. Have some tea first.”

The Third Prince picked up the teapot himself and poured tea, placing a cup each in front of Eun-hyeon and Cheong-un.

When Eun-hyeon saw the tea, he realized that he was quite thirsty. He couldn’t even bother with etiquette and hurriedly picked up the teacup.

As he had thought in Seoan, the Third Prince’s taste in tea was very luxurious. The luxurious and fragrant tea scent brushed the tip of his nose, and he felt as if the muscles that had been tense until now were loosening a little.

“Your Highness, will you tell me now? What happened? And I was not the only one who was imprisoned. My father, my younger brother, the Head of the Kunlun Sect, and his disciples were also there. I am very worried about what happened to them now.”

The Third Prince nodded at Eun-hyeon’s words.

“Yes, I heard that all of your party came to Beijing like that. You don’t have to worry about their safety. The Hongbaek Sect was aiming for Eun-hyeon, Young Master, you, and they don’t care about the others.”

“……Me?”

The Third Prince nodded, looking at Eun-hyeon’s dumbfounded face.

“Yes. The Hongbaek Sect seemed to think very highly of Eun-hyeon, you.”

“Why me…….”

“Well, only the Sect Leader would know that. Anyway, all they want is you, so you don’t have to worry about your father or the others.”

“Especially if you’re worried about Head Jeong-hyeon, you don’t have to be.”

Cheong-un suddenly interjected into the conversation between Eun-hyeon and the Third Prince. Eun-hyeon looked at Cheong-un.

At that moment, Cheong-un began to undo his disguise. He slowly returned from a rough-looking guard to Cheong-un with a handsome and splendid face.

“Ho, I guessed it, but it’s amazing. To be able to perform disguise to that extent. I have someone under me who is quite good at disguising, but that skill is incomparable.”

“Since we’ve all revealed each other’s identities anyway, it doesn’t seem to make sense to disguise anymore. Thank you for your help this time, Your Highness, Third Prince.”

The Third Prince stared at Cheong-un intently, then covered his face with a fan and burst into laughter.

“Interesting, interesting. His Majesty said that the Martial World would have more interesting things than the Imperial Family, and indeed it does. I am honored to see your face like this, Heavenly Demon.”

Eun-hyeon unknowingly looked at the Third Prince in surprise, then clenched his fists tightly.

He was just surprised today, and he felt like his whole body was creaking.

“I have decided to join hands with the Third Prince to eradicate the Hongbaek Sect. Young Master Eun-hyeon, please keep that in mind.”

“……I understand.”

Cheong-un seemed to be planning to reveal that he was Cheonma, but to hide the relationship between Eun-hyeon and himself. Eun-hyeon nodded and matched Cheong-un’s words.

Well, who would believe the fact that Eun-hyeon was originally Seo Eun-hyeon, and now only his soul is in the body of Namgung Eun-hyeon? It would sound like a ridiculous story, so it would be better not to say it from the beginning.

“But you don’t have to worry about Head Jeong-hyeon. What does that mean?”

Eun-hyeon carefully opened his mouth.

The coldness that Cheong-un felt when he mentioned Jeong-hyeon a little while ago was unusual.

“Ah, Young Master Eun-hyeon doesn’t know that fact yet?”

“I didn’t have time to talk because I was avoiding the pursuit. And……, in fact, if the Third Prince hadn’t told me, I would have found it hard to believe.”

The more Eun-hyeon listened to the conversation between Cheong-un and the Third Prince, the more complicated his head felt.

What in the world did Jeong-hyeon do to make them say that?

“Well, Young Master Eun-hyeon. First of all, to put it briefly, I was ordered by His Majesty to track down the Hongbaek Sect’s group that had secretly infiltrated the Imperial Family. The Hongbaek Sect had been secretly infiltrating the Imperial Palace for several years and slowly expanding its power. Deceiving all those eyes and ears in the Imperial Palace.”

The Third Prince’s voice was low.

Even when he first caught the tail of the Hongbaek Sect, he couldn’t imagine that there would be so many Hongbaek Sect spies in the Imperial Palace.

Originally, there were many spies in the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace was always swarming with spies from various forces who had infiltrated the selection of concubines or Eunuch.

But none of those spies could escape the eyes of the Eastern Depot.

The Eastern Depot even grasped the power of the spies sent from each palace and secretly reported it to the Emperor, but from one day on, spies whose origins were unknown began to appear.

It was impossible to know which force had sent them, and if they were caught or in danger, they would commit suicide without hesitation.

As their numbers became larger than expected, the Emperor specially summoned the Third Prince and ordered him to investigate the matter.

“At first, I didn’t even know they were the Hongbaek Sect. But the more I investigated them, the more I felt like I was falling into a maze. When I dug up the upper echelons, I found them among the Eunuch and maids I had been quite fond of since I was a child, and even among the court ladies who had received the Emperor’s favor.”

Eun-hyeon became more and more anxious as he listened to the Third Prince’s long words.

The fact that he was talking about the spies of the Hongbaek Sect for so long meant…….

“You can’t even imagine how many Hongbaek Sect spies I caught in the Imperial Palace. From high-ranking officials to maids who did odd jobs, countless people came out. I couldn’t wipe them all out. If I did, they would cut off their tails and run away, and I would never be able to catch them again. As I caught the spies one by one, I realized that this was not just a problem in the Imperial Palace. I eventually went to them and decided to infiltrate the Hongbaek Sect.”

“Yes?”

Eun-hyeon was so surprised by the Third Prince’s words that he shouted.

He had infiltrated the Hongbaek Sect. The Prince looked like a scholar who only read books, but his boldness was extraordinary.

“I was scolded a lot by His Majesty because of that, so don’t say too much. But thanks to that, I found out something. That is the identity of the Sect Leader.”

“……Did you face the Sect Leader of the Hongbaek Sect?”

“Yes. No matter how much the Sect Leader claims to be a mysterious person and does not reveal his face, wouldn’t he have to reveal his face when the Prince came? I saw his face instead of participating in the Hongbaek Sect’s strange ritual.”

Eun-hyeon swallowed as he looked at the Third Prince’s mouth.

He thought he knew what would come out next, but at the same time, he couldn’t believe it.

“That person was, yes, the very Head Jeong-hyeon you were talking about. The Sect Leader of the Hongbaek Sect.”