Chapter 237

: Assembly Point of the Goguryeons
Night fell, bringing silence to the bustling capital.
Since his little sister wasn’t around, Wang Chong chose to meditate in his study. Breathing and exhaling deeply, wisps of Origin Energy gathered and flowed into Wang Chong’s body.
Peng! After an unknown length of time, Wang Chong’s body suddenly jolted, as though something had been knocked open, and his aura intensified. It felt as though his strength had just been brought up a notch.
Chi!
Wang Chong opened his eyes and raised his finger. Chi! A cold, blinding surge of light appeared from the tip of his finger.
This cold surge of light was only half a chi in length, but it carried an incomparably sharp aura.
Opening the Guanyuan acupoint really allows me to release the Sword Qi of Slaughter!, Wang Chong thought as he stared at the sword qi lingering above his finger.
Martial artists within the 9 dans of Origin Energy were not capable of emitting internal energy, but of course, there were exceptions, too. Wang Chong knew a small trick; by opening a hidden Guanyuan acupoint, he would be able to release the Origin Energy within his body.
But there was a flaw with this trick, as well; Origin Energy could only be released by the few meridians around the Guanyuan Acupoint.
Currently, Wang Chong could only release sword qi through his forefinger.
But even so, this might prove to be valuable under certain circumstances.
Ss!
Suddenly, indistinct footsteps reminiscent of a cat sounded from outside. If one didn’t pay careful attention, it would be impossible to notice it.

Miyasame, come in!
Wang Chong retracted the sword qi and turned his gaze to the door.
Jiya, the door opened and a veiled, black-clothed figure walked in: Miyasame Ayaka.

Gongzi, we’ve located their base!
Miyasame Ayaka dove into the main issue at hand as soon as she entered.
Wang Chong’s shoulders trembled slightly. He abruptly raised his head and stared at Miyasame Ayaka.

In the far southeast of the capital, near the border of the city wall where lush trees grew, a residence stood alone amidst the greenery.
It wasn’t uncommon for rich merchants to purchase the land of remote locations such as this to build their personal residence.

Is this the place you tracked them to?
Amidst the darkness, Wang Chong was hidden in the crown of a camphor tree. From his angle, he could see several candles lit in the courtyard, and silhouettes were walking to and fro. However, there didn’t seem to be many people gathered.
Still, it was clear that the people in the courtyard were exceptionally wary. There were many open and hidden sentries across the residence. Wang Chong was very familiar with such a formation.
The first thing a military scout had to do was to identify and get rid of the enemy’s open and hidden sentries.

Un. Some of those that we tracked down eventually gathered up here,
Miyasame Ayaka replied softly. With the exception of her eyes, all of her features were concealed, making is impossible to discern her current emotions.

This doesn’t seem to be their main lair. Where are the others?
Wang Chong frowned slightly.

There’s no news at the moment. It isn’t easy to stalk those people, and many of them were still delighting themselves in the casino,
Miyasame Ayaka reported with a hushed voice.
Following the Goguryeons proved to more difficult than expected. Nearly all who dared to pass off as Han were formidable experts, and they were familiar with the layout of the capital, as well.
Besides, having spent so many years here, they had already formed a complete system.
The Goguryeon merchants would establish gambling dens, taverns, inns, and other businesses in the city’s west whereas the Goguryeon assassins (or rather, soldiers) would pass themselves off as rich Central Plain merchants, bodyguards, and tourists to frequent these businesses.
When Miyasame Ayaka first learned of it, she was astounded. The Goguryeons were far more cunning than she could have imagined.
With one’s attention preoccupied with the Goguryeons working in these establishments, who would pay attention to the Han customers and tourists?
The Goguryeons had made full use of this opening.
It was then that Miyasame Ayaka finally understood why the Great Tang royal court wasn’t able to make any progress despite their efforts.
Turning to look at Wang Chong, she felt her awe for the latter deepening.
It was as if Wang Chong had known the answer from the very start. Recalling the matter with the Spectre Steps, Miyasame Ayaka found the young man beside her becoming more and more unfathomable.
If not for Wang Chong’s age, she might have heralded him as a deity.

Did you scout the interiors?
Wang Chong asked.

Un. There are around thirty people inside, and amongst them, there’s an exceptionally powerful expert. I dared not approach too near,
Miyasame Ayaka replied.

Thirty people?
Wang Chong frowned, falling into contemplation once more. Sou! In the next instant, Wang Chong leapt down from the tree and disappeared abruptly.

Gongzi…
Before Miyasame Ayaka could react, she found that she had already lost sight of Wang Chong’s silhouette. Gritting her teeth, she also slid down from the tree and hurriedly chased after him.
—
The surrounding walls of the residence were covered with tall grass. Taking a brief look around, Wang Chong carefully kept himself out of sight from the open and hidden sentries and took a detour.
Chi liu, like a nimble cat, Wang Chong climbed up a tree and jumped over the wall of the residence, landing softly on the other side. His movements were so nimble that even Miyasame Ayaka was left astonished.

I’m here!


Two along the corridor, two in the bushes, two on the trees, and three in the open. A total of eleven of them.

This courtyard looked much bigger on the inside, and scattered around the area were eight Goguryeon martial artists.
But due to the sheer size of the courtyard, it wasn’t too difficult for Wang Chong to sneak in.

Gongzi.

A gust of wind blew, and a familiar voice sounded from behind him. Miyasame Ayaka followed Wang Chong, and she was currently crouching amidst the bush beside him.

Gongzi, it’s too dangerous here. I advise that we should leave here immediately,
Miyasame Ayaka said worriedly.
As an assassin skilled in Spectre Steps, she had no issues escaping from these assassins. But Wang Chong was different. Given the number of Goguryeon experts here, even she would be hesitant to make a move, less to say Wang Chong. If they were to be discovered and surrounded, death would be what that awaited them.

Don’t worry, it’s safe here!
Wang Chong chuckled.
It was true that the sentries were on their guard, but Miyasame Ayaka was severely underestimating his capabilities. Without any guarantee, how could Wang Chong possibly barge in alone?
Sou sou sou. Wang Chong’s gaze swept across the region, and a few moments later, he suddenly walked along the outer perimeter of the courtyard before sneaking inward.
Unlike Miyasame Ayaka, Wang Chong proceeded slowly by making use of the shadows, the temporary lapse in the attention of the sentries, and exploiting blind angles.
Watching the sight, Miyasame Ayaka was dumbfounded for a long moment.
Around seven to eight breaths later, Wang Chong had already successfully penetrated the depths of the courtyard and hid behind a fake hill.
Clearly, the Goguryeons couldn’t understand the aesthetics of the gardens that the Han liked to construct. Viewing it as a hindrance, they knocked it down, turning it a convenient cover for Wang Chong.
Wang Chong scanned the courtyard with a sharp gaze. Even though it looked ordinary, he could still see various vague signs.
On a pillar along the corridor, there was a picture of fiery red flames. A picture of a red child was pasted on the window paper.
And through the doors of a room opposite to him, Wang Chong saw an insignia made up of a quiver and a cluster of arrows.
This is the temporary base for the Goguryeons. However, it doesn’t seem to be highly-valued; the person in-charge here is only True Martial realm 5-dan, Wang Chong thought. Having come into contact with the Goguryeons and captured some of their assassins, he knew a thing or two about their rules.
Flames represent the sun while the red child was a symbol for the Three-legged Crow. Goguryeons believed that the Three-legged Crow could morph itself into a red child.
As the Three-legged Crow insignia was a little too conspicuous in the Central Plains, it might incur the suspicions of some. Thus, they decided to assume the insignia of the red child instead.
On the other hand, the quiver and the cluster of arrows reflected the tier of the base. Up to a limit of nine arrows, the more arrows there were in the quiver, the higher ranked the base was.
Also, the quiver also had another meaning: There was a master archer here, or to be more exact, a Goguryeon
Condor Sniper
!
The Goguryeons’ Condor Snipers were even more formidable than the Turks’ master archers. In a base, a Condor Sniper could be viewed as a high-speed, mobile cannon.
No matter how numerous the attackers were, forty to fifty arrows shot off would be sufficient to deplete their forces. At this point, Wang Chong couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Miyasame Ayaka didn’t understand the meaning behind these symbols, so she brought him over to take a look. If she hadn’t done so and an order to attack the base was issued, it might have resulted in severe losses, or even worse, the Goguryeons might even have managed to escape under the strong covering fire.
These Goguryeons sure are audacious. To think that they even dispatched a Condor Sniper here, do they really think that this is their own military base?, Wang Chong thought furiously.
There were spies from ü-Tsang, Mengshe Zhao, Abbasid Caliphate, Charax Spasinu, the Turkic Khaganates, and the other nations in the Central Plains, but only the Goguryeons had gone this far.
The Goguryeons had already lodged itself into the core of Great Tang by spreading its force across it, forming a fearsome threat.
These Goguryeons were no mercenaries, but soldiers under the command of their empire. Even Condor Snipers, prized assets of their military, were dispatched to the grounds of the Central Plains, it was unimaginable how far their forces had penetrated the country.
It seems like I’ve to find some way to root all of them out!, Wang Chong thought.
The Goguryeons in the Central Plains formed a frightening force. They might not be gathered together, but they were capable of assassination, destruction, scouting, and spying… It was this group of people who caused the greatest damage during the wars with Goguryeo back then, thus eventually resulting in Great Tang’s defeat.