Chapter 21
How Much Is My Life Worth? (1)
“Gwangsal.”
Cheongeuk was startled when an unexpected name came up.
“Why are you looking for him?”
“So he really is alive.”
Cheongeuk immediately realized that she had made a mistake. She should have answered, Why are you looking for a dead man?
“He has already passed away.”
There was no chance that such a belated excuse would work on Baek Socheon.
“It’s already too late, so don’t waste your breath. Take me to him.”
Cheongeuk knew Baek Socheon well enough to understand when to give up.
“Why are you looking for him?”
“It’s personal. You don’t need to know.”
“If you want to meet someone that important, you should at least tell me why.”
“He may be important to you, but to me, he’s nothing more than an old assassin.”
Cheongeuk’s lips twitched. She forcibly swallowed the curse that was about to burst out.
She was the one in need right now. If this went well, it could become the perfect opportunity to wipe out the Seven Swords Society.
“Fine. Let me ask you just one thing.”
As long as his reason was not this, it would be fine.
“You’re not trying to find him so you can kill him, are you?”
“How could I kill Gwangsal in this condition? Besides, you’ll be there with me.”
“Promise me anyway. Swear on your name.”
“My name isn’t worth enough right now to stake on an oath.”
“Swear it!”
“Fine, if that will put your mind at ease.”
“You promise?”
“I swear on my name.”
“Good. If you find the evidence, I’ll take you to Gwangsal. I swear on my name as well.”
Just then, Beon Saeng and Im Chung’s voices came from outside the house.
Beon Saeng’s excited voice could be heard even from inside.
“Wow, how can a person possibly be that beautiful?”
Cheongeuk was the most beautiful woman Beon Saeng had ever seen in his life.
Realizing that she was the subject of the praise coming from outside, Cheongeuk pointed at herself.
“I’m that kind of woman.”
This time, Im Chung’s voice came through.
“You didn’t even see her face.”
“I’m certain her face is beautiful too! Absolutely certain! I want to see that young lady again.”
“Hyung said she was the most frightening person in the martial world.”
At those words, Cheongeuk slightly wrinkled the bridge of her nose.
Perhaps she was displeased that Baek Socheon had described her that way. Perhaps she was wondering why Beon Saeng was acting so boldly despite knowing that. Or perhaps she simply disliked the connotations of the word frightening.
No one could know exactly what she was thinking.
“Hyung, we’re back.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Im Chung and Beon Saeng entered.
Both men flinched when they saw Cheongeuk inside.
Just before they entered, Cheongeuk had put her veiled bamboo hat back on. Ironically, that was how they recognized her as the woman they had seen earlier.
Beon Saeng stared blankly for a moment before greeting her as though possessed.
“I am Beon Saeng, and I work at this branch. I’m Brother Baek’s younger brother.”
“Younger brother?”
She turned to Baek Socheon with unexpected surprise.
“You make younger brothers too?”
“What part of him looks like my younger brother?”
So this was how Baek Socheon intended to act in front of a beauty one might meet only once in a lifetime?
Beon Saeng launched his counterattack.
“Hyung said that you were a very frightening person. He called you the most frightening person in the martial world. That was slander, wasn’t it?”
“Of course it was. What about me could possibly look frightening?”
When she casually played along, Beon Saeng gained courage.
“Hahaha! I knew it. Our hyung is a good man in every other way, but he has a slight tendency to exaggerate. Please be understanding.”
“I know. He not only exaggerates, but he curses a lot and can sometimes be violent.”
“Oh, you know Hyung quite well.”
“Well enough.”
“How? No, rather, may I ask what you do, young lady?”
“I’m the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance.”
“Hahaha, very nice. The Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance. You’re beautiful and good at telling jokes too.”
“I’m not joking.”
“You’re a good actress too.”
“If it isn’t a joke, then naturally, it isn’t acting either.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not joking.”
“...You really seem to be telling the truth.”
When she nodded, Beon Saeng pulled his neck in like a turtle and slowly backed away.
Only after retreating all the way to the wall did he speak with a tearful expression.
“...Why is the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance meeting the squad leader of the Martial Alliance’s Iron Sword Unit in his room?”
A smile appeared on Cheongeuk’s lips beneath the bamboo hat, but no one else could see it.
She rose from her seat.
Beon Saeng jumped in fright, thinking that she might approach him, but she merely smiled and said goodbye.
“I’ll see you again.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader! It was the greatest honor of my life to meet you!”
Beon Saeng bowed so deeply that his waist nearly touched the ground.
By the time he raised his head, she had already left the room.
Im Chung looked at him pitifully.
“You probably wouldn’t bow so politely even if you met our own Martial Alliance Leader.”
“Our Alliance Leader wouldn’t kill me just because I gave him a half-hearted greeting.”
Beon Saeng turned to Baek Socheon.
“Is that woman really the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance?”
“She is.”
“How do you know someone like that?”
“I’m the one who put her in that position.”
Under normal circumstances, this would have been the moment when Beon Saeng started joking, Our hyung’s boasting has finally reached the level of alliance leaders.
However, Beon Saeng could not say anything.
He was still overwhelmed by the fact that he had met the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance.
Judging from the way the conversation had unfolded, the woman from earlier truly appeared to be the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance.
He could hardly believe that he had shared a room, exchanged greetings, and even spoken with someone whom most people would never meet even once in their lives.
The fact that she was a young woman had also been a fresh shock.
“I really can’t believe it.”
Baek Socheon had said earlier that he would summon someone connected to the assassin world, but Beon Saeng had never imagined that person would be the Leader of the Assassins’ Alliance herself.
He felt pleased, shocked, and confused all at once.
Ah! Were those two dating?
Yet compared to such speculation, Baek Socheon’s evaluation of her was remarkably harsh.
“That woman is the leader of people who kill others for money. So you must never admire her.”
“Yes!”
Beon Saeng answered energetically.
Far from admiring her, he intended to avoid going anywhere near her.
He would not even boast that he had met her.
He had already imagined himself bragging about it everywhere, only to wake up one night and find a masked assassin slicing his throat with a dagger while saying, A worthless man like you has no right to speak her name.
***
Cheongeuk was drinking wine aboard a boat drifting down the river.
She preferred floating on the river like this to staying inside some house. For some inexplicable reason, her heart felt at ease whenever she was here.
Dongseong cautiously asked,
“Who is this person called Gwangsal?”
“He is a very famous senior in the assassin world. They called him Gwangsal because he completed his assassinations as swiftly as light. He has since retired and now lives quietly.”
When the Alliance raised Guardian Killing Saints, they kept them completely isolated from the world.
All problems were born from desire.
That was why Guardian Killing Saints were kept separated from society.
The more connections they formed with the world or with other people, the greater the danger to the Alliance Leader’s life might become.
For that reason, they were told nothing about internal assassin affairs, nor were they taught how the world worked.
They were taught only the skills necessary to kill people and protect the Alliance Leader.
In that sense, the Guardian Killing Saints were unfortunate people.
They had been raised like dolls for someone else’s purpose.
However, Cheongeuk was different from the previous Alliance Leaders.
She taught the Four Heavenly Killers about the world.
She taught them about people and emotions as well.
As a result, the current Guardian Killing Saints possessed both hearts and individual personalities.
Despite those around her warning that there would be adverse effects, she pushed forward according to her own beliefs.
The result was that she obtained the most loyal guards in the history of the Guardian Killing Saints.
“Why does Baek Socheon want to meet him?”
Cheongeuk shook her head at Dongseong’s question.
She could not even begin to guess.
She knew only one thing: Baek Socheon had said it was personal.
What sort of personal business could he possibly have with Elder Gwangsal?
She would learn the answer once the issue with the Seven Swords Society was resolved.
Cheongeuk raised her cup and spoke quietly.
“We’ll find out soon.”
She viewed the outcome of this matter positively.
That confidence came from Baek Socheon, a man who casually disregarded whether or not he possessed internal energy.
***
The son who had been ordered to bring Heuksu returned with unexpected news about Cheuksu instead.
“Father, Cheuksu has disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“He isn’t at his residence, and he’s nowhere else in the manor.”
Wang Gon’s expression hardened.
He had been keeping a close watch on Cheuksu in case the man caused trouble.
“Did he go to see a physician?”
“No. I checked, and they said he never came.”
Wang Gon flinched and shouted,
“Don’t tell me he went to take revenge on that man!”
Cheuksu’s pride in his martial arts had once reached the heavens.
Yet this time, that pride had been completely shattered.
“I sent people to investigate, but they said nothing happened at the Martial Alliance branch.”
“Damn it. Then where did that bastard go?”
“Could he have run away out of shame?”
“Cheuksu? Never.”
His humanity might have been at rock bottom, but his loyalty to Wang Gon was strong.
He would never simply vanish.
“If Baek Socheon had done something to him, news of Cheuksu’s death would have spread.”
“What if he disposed of him without anyone noticing?”
“A Martial Alliance warrior? Surely he would never do such a thing.”
“Hmm. Then where in the world did Cheuksu go?”
There was no way Wang U could know the answer, which was buried deep beneath the earth.
“Tell Cheon Yangho to investigate the man newly dispatched here and report back.”
“Yes, Father.”
After Wang U left, Wang Gon frowned.
Now that he had suddenly grown tense, pain surged through the gum where his tooth had been broken.
A series of unexpected hardships had descended upon his formerly peaceful life all at once.
He had been beaten, arrested, and now Cheuksu had disappeared.
It’ll be a disaster if the Gang Leader finds out.
Being arrested by the Martial Alliance branch was conspicuous enough, but now Cheuksu had gone missing as well.
If both incidents were reported together, it would look as though some major problem had occurred.
He had to settle this matter before it grew any larger.
Naturally, his anger turned toward Baek Socheon.
You bastard. You look like someone who used to be a big shot somewhere, but this time, you chose the wrong person to mess with!
***
Baek Socheon, who indeed looked like someone who had once been a big shot, had not slackened today either.
He was once again climbing a cliff with his bare hands.
Not long ago, this same cliff had been so difficult that he felt as though he might die.
Now, however, he climbed it while carrying a leather pack on his back and wearing heavy weights around his wrists and ankles.
Even though he ascended faster than before, his breathing was not as labored.
He did not collapse onto his back.
He did not even remove the leather pack from his shoulders.
His physical endurance had advanced to the next stage.
During the past three years, Baek Socheon had experienced such growth no fewer than twenty-seven times.
Naturally, the first changes had not been remarkable.
Simply progressing from lying down all day to walking had counted as reaching the next stage.
Advancing from walking to running had been another breakthrough.
Sometimes, he crossed a stage after only a few days. Other times, it took several months.
How many stages could he continue to surpass?
Whenever he thought he had finally reached his limit, his body opened up yet another new realm.
Paradoxically, this had been possible precisely because he lacked internal energy.
Had he possessed internal energy, he would never have felt the need to train his body to such an extreme degree.
A refreshing breeze swept across the cliff’s edge, stirring Baek Socheon’s hair and the hems of his clothes.
The wind almost seemed to ask him what he intended to do next.
“I will return!”
Baek Socheon’s shout echoed through the mountains.
The sky, the clouds, the forest, the mountain birds, and the flowing stream all became witnesses to his resolve.
He had a reason why he absolutely had to return.
His fall from grace had been a fall meant to prepare him for his return.
In the end, he might still fail.
If the cause of that failure came from outside himself, then it could not be helped.
Whether he was beaten to death by someone stronger or deceived by someone more intelligent, he could accept it as his fate and let go without regret.
This life would simply end there.
However, he never wanted the reason for his failure to come from within himself.
He absolutely refused to lose because he had failed to work hard enough.
Baek Socheon shouted once more.
“I will return, no matter what!”
It was a vow to return to two different positions.
One was a physical location.
The other was a symbolic position.
To the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
And to the number-one position in the martial world.