840 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

**Heavenly Best Friend Chapter 840: Northern Rabbit - Web Novel Archive** Tap, tap. He shook off his body left and right. Pain still lingered throughout his body. It usually wasn't this painful, but this time the recoil was severe. "Ugh." He groaned and endured the backlash. His bones still ached, and his muscles were screaming. "Oh, damn it." This was a foolish thing to try. He attempted it once and was deeply regretting it now. "Is it impossible to mimic someone else's body?" While it was possible to modify the existing structure, completely transforming into a different one seemed beyond reach. He had to alter his height, wrinkles, and physical characteristics. A tremendous amount of energy was consumed just to maintain it. If he had hesitated even a little, the transformation technique might have been undone. No, it definitely would have been undone. "...Phew...." He sighed and wiped away the sweat. He thought his skills had improved, but trying to adapt proved otherwise. Perhaps this area was still beyond his reach. Though disappointing, there was at least a silver lining. '...Not yet, it seems.' He couldn't use it yet, but wouldn't it be possible eventually? That was his hope. Crack-! He adjusted his shoulder, aligning the bones. These parts didn’t return to their proper places in time. This also indicated that the disguise he just performed was significantly lacking in perfection. Quite significantly. 'If I had lingered longer, there was a high chance I would have been caught, or it would have completely failed.' Considering the impromptu nature of the disguise, Il Cheonggeom would undoubtedly have noticed it. He was sharper than expected. 'I heard he sensed it right away.' He immediately sensed the anomalies spreading throughout the forest. That alone proved he was quite sensitive. Understandably so, since it was the Dark King playing tricks in this forest. "...You can come out now." "Yes," came the reply from right beside him. There was no need to look—it was the Dark King. "Thank you. It all worked out well." "No problem." As always, the Dark King dismissed it as nothing. Without him, this wouldn't have been possible. As mentioned before, disguising as another person was far from perfect. Even if he managed to make it somewhat similar, the fine details were different. The number of wrinkles, the subtlety of the eyes, even the contours of the body. Nothing could be completely perfect, and to experts who were accustomed to recognizing bodies, it could cause significant dissonance. So, what could he do? Perhaps try a different approach? He considered various possibilities and fortunately found a solution. The solution was simple. If the disguise was easy to detect due to its low completion, why not obscure it so it wouldn't be noticed at all? 'Of course, I can't just use a mask or something.’ Instead of covering his face, he chose to obscure Il Cheonggeom's senses. Not directly blinding him, but... 'Dull his senses.' The goal was to lower the clarity of Il Cheonggeom’s senses, inhibiting proper perception. That was his intention. Various methods could achieve this. Utilizing formations, dispersing pressure to suppress his sensory perception, or even using poison. While numerous possibilities existed, none were applicable in his situation. He lacked the skill for formations, and dispersing pressure would alert Il Cheonggeom immediately. Poisoning was no different. So, what option remained? The answer was simple. 'If it's beyond my capability, I’ll ask someone who can do it.' To prevent detection, he asked someone adept in the art. Luckily, he had an expert by his side, and he promptly approached the Dark King. When he asked the Dark King to subtly lower Il Cheonggeom's sensory perception, the Dark King immediately executed the task. At first, it seemed like he was doing something around the mountain, but the specifics were indiscernible. The crucial part, however, was that... 'Whatever it was, Il Cheonggeom couldn't keep his focus.' The moment he entered this mountain, the process began. His sensory perception gradually declined, unbeknownst to him. 'I was a bit worried when he said he sensed something strange.' Apparently, he noticed something was off, but fortunately, he didn’t fully comprehend it. 'Thanks to that, things went smoothly.' With his senses dulled, Il Cheonggeom failed to detect the inadequacies of his disguise. This allowed him to cover his lacking acting skills as well. However, he was aware that... 'This is not something I can use a second time.' He confirmed that it couldn’t be utilized again for the time being. 'Not bad.' He attempted, and it didn’t end in failure. Moreover, he gained something in the process, which was undeniably a substantial advantage. Yet, there was one thing that worried him. 'Whether he believed it completely is questionable... But it should be fine.’ Even if Il Cheonggeom didn’t buy it entirely, as long as it affected his actions, that was enough. What mattered was that Il Cheonggeom seemed sufficiently shaken. He recalled the moment when Il Cheonggeom's eyes wavered. 'How far will you fall?' It was laughable to suggest he was ever truly "above," but since he seemed to believe he was soaring, he merely observed out of curiosity. Il Cheonggeom, who had clipped his own wings, how far would he plummet? Would he crash to the ground and perish? 'Or perhaps...' Would he eventually realize he was never really flying and choose self-destruction? Of course, whatever the outcome... It wouldn’t change the inevitable conclusion for him. ****************** It was slightly early for dawn to break. The night had fallen, with lanterns illuminating the branch headquarters. Rustle. He sat inside a room, comparing two scrolls. "...Both indicate the east... Their findings are similar...." Was there something different? Or was there something they had in common? As he meticulously examined and compared them, he focused keenly. The scrolls were, in fact, mission reports sent by those tasked with scouting and gathering information. The difference lay in that one was from supporting members and the other from detached members. Since the beginning of the mission, they'd been receiving the reports in such a manner. "Hmm...." Upon reviewing the documents, he had to furrow his brow in discomfort. ‘The information's similar.’ The reason for his discomfort was that the information from both sides was quite alike. "Looks like they've caught on," he muttered with a faint laugh, folding the parchments. Having overlapping reports wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, from his perspective, it demanded careful consideration. He had orchestrated the scenario to prevent cases of information overlap. The reason being: ‘Blurring the information is the easiest route.’ Most of the information that the Meng's side sent was fake anyway. More than half, actually. He didn’t find it strange, since it was intended. This approach was convenient for weeding out those bad actors. Fools would all be filtered out. But now. ‘The information starting to align now means...’ It was one of two options. Firstly, they might have perceived it as dangerous and pulled back. Or... ‘They found out too late.’ If they realized that he had assigned tasks to multiple people for information gathering. In his mind, it was one of these. ‘Hmm.’ Though he had already rooted out the unwanted ones, and there was no need to delve further, one thing nagged at him. ‘How did they find out?’ Just how did they uncover it? That was what itched at him. The fact that he had tasked multiple individuals with gathering information was known only to him. Besides, he had tied up loose ends to ensure they couldn’t compare notes. If someone had figured it out in this situation... ‘Did someone leak the information?’ He pondered whether someone had intentionally leaked the fact. And if the information had indeed been leaked. “Was it you?” There was an individual worthy of suspicion, so he turned and asked directly. “…What?” The man was taken aback by his question. The man in question was Moo Do Hyeok. “Did you spread the word about these scrolls?” “N-no…!” Moo Do Hyeok stammered, visibly startled by the accusation. “Really?” “Yes… I truly know nothing about the reports.” “Hmm…” Flutter. He fanned himself with the scroll he was holding, looking at Moo Do Hyeok, who dropped his gaze nervously to the floor. His apprehension was palpable. “Whether you did or not matters little. I was merely asking.” As he mentioned before, it was too late now. But he’d already scrutinized everyone anyway. Including Moo Do Hyeok. That was why it seemed even more strange. “It’s rather surprising.” “What...?” “Why did you betray them?” “...” Why on earth did this guy switch sides? No amount of reasoning seemed to make sense. “…As I told you….” “No, seriously, I don't understand.” He’d heard the explanation. Yet it remained incomprehensible. “You claim it's because he couldn’t remember your name... That’s somewhat odd, isn’t it?” “...” The reason Moo Do Hyeok betrayed and informed against Il Cheonggeom was simply that. Il Cheonggeom couldn’t remember his name. That was the reason. ‘What nonsense is that?’ It was absurd. To betray just because of a forgotten name. Ah, well, given he was a spy, it might not matter much. Still, it was strange for him to betray the Azure Dragon Division and come to this side. From an outsider’s perspective, this side seemed significantly disadvantaged. At that moment. “…I...” Moo Do Hyeok began to speak cautiously. “…I’ve been part of the Azure Dragon Division for a few years.” “I know.” He mentioned it had been about four years. Not a long time, but not short either. “Though I was just a lowly member, I believed I was diligent in my missions…. But.” “Il Cheonggeom didn’t remember your name?” “…Yes.” Hearing this, he couldn’t even muster a wry smile. What nonsensical whining was this? Not that Moo Do Hyeok was asking for anything, but from his perspective, there was only one thing to say. “That probably means you were useless enough to be deemed unworthy of remembering.” “...” Moo Do Hyeok’s head drooped further at those words. Seeing an aging man in such a state did evoke some pity…. “Even now, it’s clear. The fact you changed sides for such a trivial reason merely shows you aren’t exactly a trustworthy character.” Coming to him simply because Il Cheonggeom didn’t know his name. It was asinine as a reason for betrayal. Did Moo Do Hyeok think switching sides would please him? Well, since there was a use for him, there was some benefit. But as a person, he was nothing but contemptible. Did it show on his face? Moo Do Hyeok glanced at him and hurriedly added, “T-that’s not all.” “What else?” “…I can’t say with certainty, but….” His lips trembled hesitantly as he spoke, and finally, he managed to express his thoughts, “…I felt it would be better to side with you.” “With me? Not Il Cheonggeom?” “Yes…” “For what reason?” “…I’m sorry. It was just a gut feeling.” This caught his interest. So it was merely intuition. Coupled with the forgotten name, he followed his gut and aligned with him. That explanation made him nod in acknowledgment. ‘Hmm.’ Maybe, his intuition wasn’t too bad. The thought crossed his mind unexpectedly.