Here is the **revised version of Chapter 178: Hair’s Breadth from Crisis (2)** with **Namgung Yoo changed to female** and all gendered references adjusted accordingly:

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**Chapter 178: Hair’s Breadth from Crisis (2)**

Yong Hwarin’s group couldn’t possibly be familiar with some obscure scholars.

Everyone nodded at those words.

In truth, in various regions, many groups had raised rebellions, and the military forces had been dispatched in response.

Even Bukri Sogun flinched and backed away at the fierce glare of the military officer.

His eyes warned that he would punish anyone who dared to question him again, so even if there were more questions, no one could ask.

As soon as the military officer finished speaking, Yong Hwarin said,

“If they head to Kaifeng, they won’t survive. They look quite starved—couldn’t we offer them some jerky, thinking it might be their last meal?”

As Yong Hwarin spoke, the serious criminals all lifted their heads and looked at him.

Then, Yong Hwarin looked them up and down slowly.

The ten serious criminals, who had been staring at Yong Hwarin, quickly lowered their heads.

But Yong Hwarin had already seen all of their faces.

His heart began to pound.

‘Jang Muui was indeed a scholar who raised a rebellion in Shandong. But he’s not among these men. Not a single one of them resembles the Jang Muui I saw in my past life—which means that military officer is lying.’

Yong Hwarin had met Jang Muui twice in his previous life.

‘Back then, he started the rebellion a few years later than now. He had stopped by the Sky Ocean Merchant Union to raise military funds and met Hoi Unkyung. I had met him then while following her. He visited twice, and I still remember his face clearly. It was the first time I had seen someone who led a popular uprising, and he left a strong impression.’

While recalling the past, Yong Hwarin surveyed the surroundings.

The military officer, ignorant of all this, had brought up Jang Muui, claiming he had started a rebellion in Shandong.

He must have assumed that neither Yong Hwarin nor his group would know who Jang Muui was.

And with no one voicing any doubts, the officer revealed a triumphant smile.

To capture Yong Hwarin and Bukri Sogun, the assassins of Secret Beyond Secrets had disguised themselves as prisoners and military officers.

The Three Slaughters had been seeking an opportunity to ambush Yong Hwarin, but due to heightened vigilance, they couldn’t find the chance.

Then, upon seeing the military transporting Jang Muui’s group, who had allegedly started a rebellion in Shandong, they devised this plan.

The timing was perfect, and there was no reason for suspicion, allowing them to disguise themselves flawlessly as soldiers.

The assassins of Secret Beyond Secrets had thoroughly trained for such situations.

They would appear to be real military officers and genuine criminals.

There had been a good opportunity to ambush Yong Hwarin earlier, but they couldn’t obtain military uniforms in time. It was only upon reaching Douun County that the preparations were complete.

Yong Hwarin sent a telepathic message to Mu Iso.

– Squad Leader Mu, something is off with these soldiers. Without drawing attention, immediately prepare the Dragon Scale Finger and ready your hidden weapons. When I launch the attack, strike with the Dragon Scale Finger at the same time.

Mu Iso, with his head lowered, replied through telepathy.

– Understood.

Recently, the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect had mastered the technique of flicking with the Dragon Scale Finger and had no trouble using hidden weapons.

Aside from them, Yong Hwarin didn’t alert anyone else via telepathy.

He wanted to avoid provoking the disguised soldiers with a tense atmosphere.

Yong Hwarin stood up and approached one of the officers.

“Who are those people approaching?”

When he pointed with his finger, the officer turned his head.

At that moment, Yong Hwarin struck the officer’s pressure point and brought him down.

“Keuk!”

A small groan escaped, and all the soldiers simultaneously turned to look at Yong Hwarin.

And as Yong Hwarin’s body swiftly shot forward and struck down two of the soldiers with Acupoint Sealing, the others all reached into their sleeves to hurl hidden weapons at him.

Yong Hwarin saw their hands go to their sleeves despite holding spears and swords—and that confirmed for him they weren’t real soldiers.

"Attack!"

At Yong Hwarin’s command, the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect fired their needles at their designated targets using the Dragon Scale Finger.

Pipipipipipipipiping!

The Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect rapidly shot their needles with the Dragon Scale Finger.

"Urgh!"

"Keuk!"

"What the—!"

"Dodge!"

Cries of shock rang out as ten soldiers collapsed.

As Yong Hwarin and the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect engaged the soldiers, the rest of the group recoiled in surprise.

Not knowing what was going on, they stood frozen for a moment before drawing their swords at Yong Hwarin’s shouted words.

"They’re enemies!"

Perhaps thinking their plan had failed, the assassins disguised as prisoners also drew daggers from their sleeves and charged in.

But already exposed, their daggers alone were no match for the Three Chivalrous Sisters and the elite warriors of the Namgung Clan.

What’s more, thanks to the suppression from the Dragon Scale Finger, not even one assassin made it near Bukri Sogun—they all ended up sprawled along the stream.

"What is happening?"

"These men are assassins who targeted the young master."

Seeing even the supposed prisoners draw daggers to attack, no one could deny Yong Hwarin’s words.

"If we had been completely fooled and stood closer to them, we’d have been the ones struck down."

Namgung Yoo spoke with a gravely serious expression.

If the assassins had gotten the first strike, it wouldn’t be them lying on the ground—it would have been the group.

They once again felt the perilous danger that filled the murim.

The Three Chivalrous Sisters, Namgung Yoo, and the escorts all sent grateful looks to Yong Hwarin and the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Just imagining what would have happened if they hadn’t uncovered the true identity of the soldiers was horrifying.

"But how did you know these weren’t real soldiers?"

Namgung Yoo hadn’t doubted them in the slightest, and she was curious how Yong Hwarin had realized it.

"I once met a man named Jang Muui. But the officer claimed these people were Jang Muui and his men—that’s when I became suspicious."

"Ah, I see. That was truly fortunate. For them, it might’ve been better to ambush directly. Instead, they tried to scheme and ended up digging their own graves."

Just as Namgung Yoo said—if they’d used the assassins’ signature ambush tactics, Yong Hwarin’s group might have suffered injuries.

After two assassins were exposed, Yong Hwarin’s group became more alert, so the enemies tried a deceptive plan—but it ended up sealing their fate.

From Yong Hwarin’s perspective, it was a tremendous relief.

Yong Hwarin woke the assassins who had been struck by Acupoint Sealing and began to interrogate them.

But when they refused to speak, one of the Namgung Clan escorts said,

"Young Master Yong, let us loosen their tongues."

He assumed Yong Hwarin wouldn’t torture them out of concern for propriety.

However, Yong Hwarin didn’t believe that torture would get them to speak so easily.

He intended to inject the Demonic Master’s spirit into their minds and extract their memories.

"I’ll give it a try."

Namgung Yoo stepped forward and spoke.

In that instant, Yong Hwarin realized Namgung Yoo was familiar with sorcery from the unorthodox Taoist sects.

"If you just answer a few simple questions, I’ll let you go."

At Namgung Yoo’s words, the assassin’s gaze wavered slightly.

"I swear it on the name of the Namgung Clan."

When the name of the Namgung Clan was invoked, the assassin trusted Namgung Yoo’s words.

"Where are you from?"

"Secret Beyond Secrets."

Yong Hwarin’s expression showed slight surprise.

He hadn’t expected the assassin to speak just from a few of Namgung Yoo’s words.

‘Do they truly trust the name of the Namgung Clan that much?’

At that, the expression of the Namgung Clan escort hardened.

To aid Yong Hwarin, who wasn’t yet familiar with the assassin world, Namgung Yoo explained.

"They ruled as the top assassin organization in the murim for a long time, but a few years ago, they were pushed down to second by another group. They are extremely dangerous."

Namgung Yoo thought that defeating such individuals without any casualties was nothing short of a blessing from heaven.

"Why did you target us?"

"To take Bukri Sogun."

"Can you tell us who the client was?"

"That I don’t know. Only the leadership has that information."

Namgung Yoo nodded.

She understood that this was likely the most they could extract.

"Are there other comrades lying in wait?"

"Only we were dispatched from the main division. No one else is coming."

"If this mission fails, will there be another attack?"

"That, I don’t know either. It’s not something I have the authority to decide."

Even though the answers were brief, the assassin responded too easily, which made Yong Hwarin suspicious.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that the assassin’s eyes were dazed, staring blankly at a single point in the air.

"Did you perhaps use Soul Reaping Art?"

"Yes."

"When did you do it?"

"When he swore on the Namgung Clan, the assassin’s mind wavered for a moment. I cast the Soul Reaping Art then."

Yong Hwarin was impressed by Namgung Yoo’s sorcery.

"That’s impressive."

Namgung Yoo smiled softly and said,

"Is there anything else you want to ask him?"

Yong Hwarin asked a few more questions, but there was nothing else he could learn from the assassin.

He was just a hired killer sent under orders to carry out an ambush.

Though he had played the role of a military officer, suggesting a high position, he didn’t even know who the client was—indicating his rank was low.

Disappointed, Yong Hwarin saw no reason to keep them alive any longer.

"Destroy their dantian."

At Namgung Yoo’s order, the Namgung Clan escorts destroyed the dantians of the few surviving assassins.

In any case, by sparing their lives, they could still keep the promise made to the assassin.

"Once their dantian is destroyed, they won’t be able to act as assassins again. They’ll have to live hidden away for the rest of their lives."

Yong Hwarin was quietly impressed by how decisively Namgung Yoo handled the situation, showing no mercy when necessary.

‘She truly has the heart of one who can lead a household.’

Most women would have spared the assassins out of misplaced sympathy.

Once the assassins were out of sight, Yong Hwarin spoke.

"Even without a dantian, they’ll still continue to act as assassins. There’s plenty of work in that world that doesn’t require internal energy."

"Ah, now that you say it, I see."

"If we truly wanted to prevent them from acting again, we would have needed to sever an arm or a leg."

"You should’ve said so earlier. If you had, we would’ve cut off their limbs just as you suggested, Young Master Yong."

"I merely watched since you invoked the name of the Namgung Clan in your oath."

Because of Namgung Bi, Yong Hwarin had favorable feelings toward the Namgung Clan.

For that reason, he withheld his words to preserve the clan’s honor.

"Thank you."

Sensing Yong Hwarin’s respect for her family, Namgung Yoo respectfully cupped her hands in a martial greeting.

Yong Hwarin looked at Namgung Yoo with approving eyes.

A person who listens and accepts the advice of others is one with a great vessel.

A man watching from afar murmured to himself,

"Those assassins ended up like that because they tried putting on a play instead of staging an ambush."

The man scoffed at how the assassins of Secret Beyond Secrets had been taken down.

"But if Yong Hwarin had been fooled, it could’ve been a flawless plan."

"If the assassins of Secret Beyond Secrets had focused more on assassin training, they wouldn’t have ended up like this. Wasting time on such pointless tricks is why they can’t compete with us. An assassin should carry out ambushes like an assassin."

The man behind him couldn’t refute what the middle-aged man said.

It wasn’t just anyone—it was the very man who had pushed Secret Beyond Secrets out of the top and become the leading figure in the assassin world.

He had been about to hand over the bundle of documents in his hand but gave up.

If he handed them over, the squad leader would probably beat him into looking like the assassins from Secret Beyond Secrets.

The man was supposed to gather information on the people listed in those documents and devise a plan—but the squad leader preferred frontal ambushes, not piles of paperwork.

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