Chapter 35
If I Were to Hire You (3)
Shinhwa Gang's headquarters was located in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province.
The nearest Murim Alliance branch was the Pugang Branch, but Jeong Pung deliberately refrained from requesting reinforcements.
If he did, Shinhwa Gang might learn in advance that they were coming. Since the Pugang Branch was the closest branch to Shinhwa Gang's headquarters, there was every possibility that spies had been planted there.
If the Master of Shinhwa Gang escaped, everything would be ruined.
What if he simply claimed to have gone on a long journey and failed to return for several months?
The entire case would eventually fizzle out.
The problem was that his desire for revenge would not.
Standing before the headquarters, Jeong Pung gathered everyone and issued his orders.
“Today, we must arrest the Master of Shinhwa Gang and bring him back to the division.”
“Yes!”
Despite his subordinates' resolute replies, anxiety weighed heavily on Jeong Pung's mind.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that he refuses to comply peacefully.”
If the Master of Shinhwa Gang resisted and attempted to silence them all, everyone present could be slaughtered.
Of course, such a possibility was slim.
Attacking a Murim Alliance Division Chief and Alliance martial artists meant accepting the title of Public Enemy of the Murim World.
That was on an entirely different level from Wang Gon trying to murder Im Chung.
“Everyone, be careful.”
“Yes, sir.”
Baek Socheon, Im Chung, and Beon Saeng quietly followed Jeong Pung's lead.
Two martial artists stepped forward and knocked on the front gate.
“We're from the Murim Alliance. Open the gate.”
Creeeak...
The gate wasn't locked.
The two martial artists exchanged uneasy looks.
In their experience, the main gate of an organization this large was usually either thrown wide open or securely locked.
Jeong Pung, standing behind them, gave the order.
“Proceed carefully.”
“Yes.”
Following the two men in front, everyone cautiously entered the compound.
The moment they stepped inside, they froze.
The place was completely empty.
Every building stood with its doors wide open, as though the occupants had moved out only days ago.
Odds and ends lay scattered across the ground.
Only one person remained.
In the center of the courtyard sat a man dressed in brilliant crimson robes that looked capable of setting the world ablaze.
He was drinking alone.
He sat with his back toward them.
It was an unbelievably broad back.
So broad that none of them had ever seen another like it.
The instant Baek Socheon saw him, his expression hardened.
He knew exactly who it was.
Turning to Jeong Pung, he said,
“Leave.”
His expression was so grave and serious that Jeong Pung asked no questions.
He simply obeyed.
Baek Socheon gestured for Im Chung and Beon Saeng to leave as well.
They worried about him, but they also knew that quietly withdrawing was the greatest help they could offer.
Following Jeong Pung, everyone exited.
Left alone, Baek Socheon looked at the broad back and spoke.
“What kind of damned joke is this? Why are you here?”
The man's shoulders trembled.
He was laughing.
“Hahahaha! It's been a long time.”
Laughing heartily, the man turned around.
He appeared to be in his fifties.
Sharp eyes.
A proud, straight nose.
A square jaw.
His features resembled a statue carved from stone.
Of all the words one could use to describe a martial artist, these suited him best.
Steel.
Diamond.
Ten-thousand-year cold iron.
Hardness.
Everything about him radiated absolute solidity.
He looked like a man nothing in existence could ever break.
Even his skin was extraordinary.
A deep bluish sheen covered it, giving the impression that not even sword aura or sword force could cut through it.
He was none other than Yeom Hwasin, the Lord of the Cheokcheon Alliance—
The man with whom Baek Socheon had fought his final battle.
The man who had left him with the most unforgettable day of his life.
“Why are you here?”
“I heard you were coming.”
“You've been watching me?”
“Watching? Don't use such hurtful words between us. It wasn't surveillance. It was... interest.”
“Enough jokes. How did you know?”
“When you were at headquarters, you kept interfering with your own people. Now that you've come all the way out to this backwater, you've started interfering with our affairs.”
“Your affairs?”
The next instant, Baek Socheon exclaimed,
“Ah!”
“Shinhwa Gang. So it was your doing.”
“Correct.”
“I thought it strange that an ordinary sect could grow so quickly in only a few years.”
“We intended to station some of our people in your rear.”
When Baek Socheon had first visited the construction site of the Iron Workshop, he had noticed that it was ideal terrain for a fortress.
Now everything made sense.
That land had always been intended for a Cheokcheon Alliance fortress.
Using Shinhwa Gang as a front, they had planned to build the backbone of the Cheokcheon Alliance while disguised as a righteous sect.
That was why, apart from the Hall Master and a handful of his closest men, nearly everyone had simply been hired martial artists.
“As of today, Shinhwa Gang no longer exists.”
“This affair has cost us dearly. Had it not been for you, the Munseong Fortress would have been completed before winter. Instead, all we accomplished was wasting a great deal of money.”
“Still, out of consideration for old times, I'll show you special treatment.”
“Come.”
“Have a drink as your punishment.”
Baek Socheon walked over and sat before him.
“You knew I'd come here.”
“Why didn't you reveal yourself sooner?”
“I wanted to see what you'd do. You and I aren't the sort who start swinging swords at each other just because we've suffered a loss.”
“Here.”
Yeom Hwasin poured him a cup.
His forearm was as thick as a man's waist.
Even from across the table, Baek Socheon could already feel the heat.
Yeom Hwasin's aura resembled molten lava.
Just like before.
Baek Socheon immediately realized something.
He's fully recovered.
During their bloody battle three years earlier, Yeom Hwasin had suffered grievous wounds as well.
Now those injuries were gone.
Standing beside the Alliance Leader calmed one's heart.
Facing Yeom Hwasin did the opposite.
He ignited people's fighting spirit.
Even now, despite possessing no internal energy whatsoever, Baek Socheon wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.
Suppressing that urge, he drank.
Yeom Hwasin glanced behind him.
“How about the friends hiding over there? Care to join us for a drink?”
Cheongeuk appeared in the distance.
Behind her, the Guardian Killing Stars emerged from concealment before immediately prostrating themselves.
“We pay our respects to the Supreme Lord of the Unorthodox Path.”
She recognized him instantly.
No matter that she was the Leader of the Assassin Alliance.
Before the Lord of the Cheokcheon Alliance, she could not behave casually.
Likewise, Yeom Hwasin demonstrated his own terrifying ability.
Neither Cheongeuk nor the Four Heavenly Killers had been detected by anyone else.
Yet he had discovered them without difficulty.
“Come. Have a drink.”
“I don't believe this is a place where someone like me belongs.”
“Aren't you one of our kind anyway?”
To Cheongeuk's astonishment, Yeom Hwasin knew exactly who she was.
“We're merely insignificant people chasing after gold.”
“Aren't we all? In that regard, you and I are honest people who simply follow our desires.”
His gaze shifted toward Baek Socheon.
“And what about him?”
“I'm just one of those old-fashioned, narrow-minded righteous sect fools.”
Yeom Hwasin chuckled.
“If that were true, you wouldn't be sitting in front of me.”
Turning back to Cheongeuk, he continued,
“To be honest, this fellow belongs more on our side too.”
“He merely buttoned the first button on the wrong side.”
“Tsk.”
“If he'd joined the Cheokcheon Alliance from the beginning, we'd already have unified the unorthodox world by now.”
He genuinely sounded disappointed.
But Baek Socheon knew better.
Yeom Hwasin was anything but simple.
Behind that seemingly straightforward exterior hid a man capable of endless schemes and calculations in pursuit of his ambitions.
A man who would not hesitate to sacrifice thousands—tens of thousands—of lives if that was what his dream required.
“Well?”
“What about you?”
“Would you join me instead?”
Cheongeuk looked back and forth between the two men before bowing respectfully.
“I'll remain neutral.”
“A refusal?”
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“I am.”
“Terrified.”
“Look.”
“My hands are shaking.”
She raised one trembling hand.
It wasn't an act.
She truly was trembling.
“And yet you still refuse me?”
“Why?”
“Because...”
She kept her head lowered.
“The man sitting across from you frightens me just that little bit more.”
Yeom Hwasin nodded and burst into laughter.
“I can't deny that!”
“Hahaha!”
“Then, since I've managed to entertain someone as esteemed as yourself, this insignificant person will excuse herself.”
Fearing he might stop her, Cheongeuk and the Guardian Killing Stars vanished without a sound.
Refilling Baek Socheon's cup, Yeom Hwasin asked,
“She was someone you placed in that position, wasn't she?”
“You know quite a lot.”
“What is there about you that I don't know?”
“Perhaps you no longer need to know.”
After a brief silence, Baek Socheon asked,
“Why didn't you kill me?”
Ever since losing his internal energy, the Cheokcheon Alliance could have killed him dozens of times if they had truly wanted to.
After all, Baek Socheon had been the one to stand in the way of Yeom Hwasin's dream.
“There are many reasons.”
“There was no need to unite the righteous sects by killing someone who no longer posed a threat.”
“And if I wished to kill you... I could do so whenever I pleased.”
Then he added another reason.
“The three years I spoke of are nearly over, aren't they?”
The words Yeom Hwasin had spoken three years ago echoed through Baek Socheon's mind.
“Three years will be enough. By then, you'll know that what I told you was the truth.”
Those words had remained in Baek Socheon's heart ever since.
“There is still time.”
“Yes.”
“Once this summer passes and winter arrives, the three years will be complete.”
“So?”
“Have you found the truth?”
“...Not yet.”
“The very fact that you're sitting here talking with me already answers that question.”
“Even what appears to be the right answer always has another side.”
“You're making one enormous mistake.”
“You believe you're acting this way because your loyalty to the Murim Alliance still remains.”
“No.”
“You're merely refusing to accept that your entire life may have been built upon a lie.”
“You'll understand soon enough.”
Finishing the final cup, Yeom Hwasin rose.
Baek Socheon could feel it.
War was no longer far away.
The past three years had never truly been a ceasefire.
They had merely been the time Yeom Hwasin needed to recover from his injuries.
Remaining seated, Baek Socheon asked,
“Can't you simply choose not to start this war?”
Standing like an immovable mountain, Yeom Hwasin looked down at him.
“Why should I?”
Baek Socheon knew persuasion was impossible.
Trying to convince him was no different from asking a shark not to eat fish.
Unifying the martial world under the Cheokcheon Alliance was Yeom Hwasin's lifelong dream.
Just as Baek Socheon had dreamed of becoming a Murim Alliance martial artist ever since he was six years old.
Yeom Hwasin would never deny his own life.
So he would never stop.
Can the righteous sects survive this war?
In the last one, Baek Socheon had nearly destroyed himself merely to force a draw.
“I should have killed you back then.”
To his surprise, Yeom Hwasin smiled.
“Have you any interest in serving under me?”
“I'll grant every condition you ask.”
“I'll hand you a blank sheet.”
“Write whatever you wish.”
“Anything except my life.”
“I'll give you everything.”
“But I'm an empty shell now.”
“Even the shell is magnificent.”
“I'm still bound to the Alliance.”
“If they completely cast me aside... perhaps I'll think about it.”
“You don't trust me?”
“I trust that you'd keep your promise.”
“But?”
“I also know why you want to hire me.”
“You'd use my defection to boost the morale of the unorthodox factions.”
“And when the war began...”
“I'd become the greatest sacrifice imaginable.”
“On the day of battle, you'd cut off my head before everyone.”
“Hahaha!”
“That's exactly why I like you.”
“You're not only strong.”
“You're intelligent.”
Slowly, Yeom Hwasin departed.
Baek Socheon silently watched that enormous back disappear into the distance.
***
A little later, the others reentered.
“What on earth happened?”
“Who was that man?”
“You don't need to know.”
“Fine.”
“We'll leave that aside.”
“But why is this place completely empty?”
“Shinhwa Gang no longer exists.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“There'll be no revenge.”
“And no need to worry about what comes afterward.”
“It seems avenging the Yang family will have to wait.”
“Let's go back.”
With that, Baek Socheon strode away.
The others exchanged bewildered glances before hurrying after him.
Once everyone had gone, Cheongeuk and the Four Heavenly Killers appeared atop one of the rooftops.
“Another opportunity has arrived.”
Whenever war engulfed the martial world, chaos followed.
And chaos meant work for assassins.
Compared to ordinary times, the money to be earned was beyond comparison.
For the Assassin Alliance, such an opportunity came perhaps once in a lifetime.
Of course, it also meant unprecedented danger.
Many assassins would die.
Perhaps even the Assassin Alliance itself would be destroyed.
Just as it had nearly been during the previous war.
Cheongeuk looked up toward the blazing summer sun.
Whether she had truly fallen for Baek Socheon's smooth words—or merely pretended to—
Her eyes now carried a depth utterly unlike before.
Eyes that had seen through life and death.
Quietly, she murmured,
“Enjoy this summer while you can.”
“It may very well be your last.”