Chapter 76. Kidnapping (1)

By force?

I opened my mouth in response to Baekreunghwa's words.

"Are you serious?"

Are you suggesting we kidnap him?

When I asked if that was what he meant, Baekreunghwa nodded and added an explanation.

"Yes. We'll sneak into the Fengyun Martial Hall and kidnap the Chief Administrator. Any other method would take too much time."

"Hmm..."

Indeed, Baekreunghwa's argument had some merit. At the moment, there was no good way to bring the Chief Administrator here using other methods.

According to Bukgunglin, the Chief Administrator of the Fengyun Martial Hall usually handles all the administrative work alone and rarely goes out due to lack of time.

'Besides, with the recent discount on entry fees, his workload must have increased several times over.'

It seemed the Chief Administrator of the Fengyun Martial Hall was in a similar situation to the CFOs of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Without a deputy or anyone to take over, he had to handle everything himself, leaving him no time to step out.

'The Chief Administrator's job isn't easy either.'

It was truly a pitiful situation.

In any case, given the circumstances, there was no good way to secretly contact the Chief Administrator and bring him out.

Well, we could try to secretly contact him through places like Haowen, but it would take a lot of time to persuade him.

We couldn't afford to be so leisurely, considering the current state of the Zheng Family's patriarch.

'Surely, kidnapping him would be faster.'

Following Baekreunghwa's suggestion, it would be better to use more forceful means to bring him in and interrogate him to make him a witness.

I nodded and said to Baekreunghwa.

"Then we need to come up with a plan."

Baekreunghwa, with a cautious attitude, pointed to various spots on the map of the Fengyun Martial Hall that Bukgunglin had just drawn.

"Yes. We need to come up with a plan quickly. We can't involve too many people, and this must be kept secret."

"Hmm... That's true."

I nodded.

From the perspective of someone plotting, it might sound a bit awkward, but kidnapping is a crime. A very, very bad crime. It's not something that should be known by many people. The more people who know, the easier it is for the secret to leak.

"Alright, let's come up with a plan."

"Yes, I understand."

Under Baekreunghwa's lead, I quickly gathered people. Since we needed a small, elite team, the number of people Baekreunghwa designated was limited.

In fact, it was just the four of us: Baekreunghwa, me, Bukgunglin, and Weizhyan.

"Should we not call Gang Pyodu?"

When I asked if we should not call Gang Pyodu, who should be here, Baekreunghwa shook his head.

"I'll talk to Gang Pyodu separately. However, I'll have him handle the negotiations with the Zheng Family, so he won't be involved in this."

It was a pity to leave out someone of Gang Pyodu's caliber, but there was no choice. No one else could handle negotiations with the Zheng Family.

'At least the current team is sufficient.'

Based on the plan, the current team's skills were more than enough.

Our plan was simple: start fires in various places in the Fengyun Martial Hall to create a commotion, and during the chaos, Bukgunglin would sneak in and kidnap the Chief Administrator.

'The only problem is...'

Most of the instructors at the Fengyun Martial Hall are only at the second or first-class level. They are mediocre.

On the other hand, our lineup is truly impressive. With the two experts Weizhyan and Baekreunghwa, the first-class Bukgunglin, and myself, the greatest genius in history, we have a formidable team.

It would be a fair fight, except for one issue.

'But what about Jochashik?'

Jochashik was the problem. Despite his questionable character, his skills were almost at the peak level. If he appeared while we were setting the fires, it would be all over.

We needed someone to keep an eye on Jochashik.

While looking at the map of the Fengyun Martial Hall and thinking about what to do, I couldn't come up with a good solution. After much deliberation, I said to Baekreunghwa.

"No matter how I look at it, Jochashik is the problem. We need someone to focus on him."

Recalling the battle with Yoon Junsup, who was at a similar level, it seemed unlikely that Weizhyan, Baekreunghwa, and Bukgunglin could handle Jochashik.

We needed a clever strategy. Northgunglin also nodded and added.

"Cheng Pyosa is right. We need to do something about Chief Administrator Jochashik."

However, Baekreunghwa, with a confident attitude, said.

"Don't worry. I have a plan to lure Jochashik out."

"Really?"

A plan?

We all looked at Baekreunghwa, wondering what kind of plan it could be.

Baekreunghwa then smiled in a way that reminded me of... well, like a group of aunts at a women's meeting.

"I have some very interesting information."

"Interesting... information?"

Curious about what kind of information could elicit such a reaction, I looked at Baekreunghwa, who nodded confidently and continued.

"Yes. I'll use this information to lure Chief Administrator Jochashik out of the martial hall. Hmm... let's see. Yes, it's like a threatening letter. I'll write something like that."

I became even more curious. What kind of secret did Baekreunghwa have on Jochashik? I lowered my voice and asked Baekreunghwa.

"Can you tell me what kind of information it is?"

However, Baekreunghwa only smiled mysteriously and shook her head.

"Not now... I'll tell you later if everything goes well. In any case, you can plan without considering Chief Administrator Jochashik."

"Um... I see."

I was very curious, but decided to let it go for now.

I'll ask her later.

After much discussion, the four of us came up with a rough plan.

"Hmm... Not bad."

"I think so too."

The plan was as follows:

1. Baekreunghwa will send a letter to lure Jochashik out in the evening.

2. Weizhyan and I will set fires in the outer, unused pavilions to draw the attention of the other instructors.

3. During the chaos, Bukgunglin will kidnap the Chief Administrator.

4. PROFIT!

It was a good plan.

Baekreunghwa would wait on the path where Jochashik might return early, just in case.

Now it was time to prepare.

***

The preparations were carried out as quickly as possible. There was no time to hesitate, as Gang Pyodu was running around trying to calm the Zheng Family, but the contract cancellation was imminent.

We needed to secure the Chief Administrator as soon as possible.

Bukgunglin, who was staying at the agency, looked at the agency's state and felt apologetic towards us.

"I feel very guilty. It seems this is all because of me."

However, I shook my head and replied.

"That's not true. This is because Chief Administrator Jochashik hired an assassin, regardless of Bukgunglin."

In fact, without Bukgunglin, we wouldn't have known about the ledger, making the situation even more difficult to resolve. This incident would have been remembered as just another robbery by bandits.

After saying this, I laid out the preparations and said.

"Let's go over the preparations again."

"Sure!"

Bukgunglin nodded.

We had several containers of fire starters and highly flammable oil, a horn, black nightclothes, and masks to cover our faces. After checking again, everything seemed in order.

'I wish I could have gotten another mask.'

I sighed in disappointment. The masks were Korean masks obtained through the Korean Friendship Association, but unfortunately, there was only one mask of the type I wanted, so Weizhyan would use it, and I would use a Hahoe mask.

Looking at Weizhyan, who was wearing the mask and looking at me hesitantly, she asked.

"Is... Is it okay? I feel a bit awkward wearing this mask..."

"Hmm."

Weizhyan, wearing a white mask with black nightclothes, looked truly unforgettable. I nodded and replied.

"It's as I intended."

"Intended? What do you mean?"

"Yes."

I didn't use a hood to cover my face and chose this mask to create an impact.

Human memory is inherently vague, so distinctive features tend to stick in the mind while other details are forgotten.

'If they see this, they'll only remember the mask.'

That's why I chose the most distinctive mask possible. A Hahoe mask is almost unknown in the Central Plains.

Of course, I could have prepared a distinctive mask, but it might be traced back to its source, so I chose a Korean mask from a reliable source.

In contrast, Bukgunglin, who needed to avoid standing out, had her face completely covered with a black hood. She looked at my mask and asked.

"That's a very distinctive mask. It will be hard to forget once