Chapter 38
To the Alliance (3)
Once it was decided that they would go to the main headquarters, Im Chung and Beon Saeng became busy.
Im Chung, in particular, had a great deal to take care of. He had to settle matters at the branch, and more importantly, he had to move his household.
Fortunately, his wife and son were accustomed to moving from place to place because of his life as a wandering branch chief, so they did not strongly object to relocating.
There was one part Im Chung found especially difficult to tell his wife, Madam Ju.
“I will have to start again as an ordinary warrior, not as a branch chief.”
The loss of rank was one problem, but there would also be an immediate and substantial reduction in his monthly salary.
Although she understood that perfectly well, Madam Ju did not ask why he had to do it.
“It’s all right. I’ll be more careful with our expenses.”
She was already so frugal that Im Chung wondered whether there was anything left for her to cut back on.
At least when it came to his wife, Im Chung was certain that no man in the world had been more blessed than he.
Madam Ju even encouraged him further.
“Let’s raise our Chan in a wider world.”
When Beon Saeng heard that, he declared in front of Im Chung that when he eventually married, he would find a woman exactly like his sister-in-law.
Im Chung, who considered his family everything and was the foremost fool when it came to boasting about his wife, leaned close to Beon Saeng and whispered,
“Choose a wife with greater care than you would enter a battle of life and death.”
During the several days they spent preparing to leave, Baek Socheon’s routine remained unchanged.
He continued handling work at the branch and trained in martial arts afterward.
He repeatedly practiced the first three volumes of the Beoncheon Nine Fists until they were completely ingrained in his body, while devoting even greater effort to strengthening his physique so it could compensate for his lack of internal energy.
Late one night, after finishing another grueling training session and returning to his residence, he found Cheongeuk arranging liquor and food on the wooden platform in the courtyard.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re back?”
“What brings you here in the middle of the night?”
“Did you forget? I’m an assassin. This is when people like us are most active. You might not like me, but you do like this, don’t you?”
She shook the bottle of liquor she had brought.
“Let’s share a farewell drink. I heard you’re returning to the main headquarters.”
With Im Chung and Beon Saeng openly busy preparing to move, it was hardly a secret.
“You even brought cups?”
She had brought not only cups, but also all the dishes holding the food.
“Liquor tastes better when you drink it from a fine cup. The same goes for food.”
It was good liquor, and the dishes had not been carelessly purchased from some random inn.
They were properly prepared dishes made by a skilled chef.
The two sat facing each other on the wooden platform and drank.
“This is good liquor.”
“I was saving it for a good day.”
To be honest, this was not exactly a good day.
Destroying the Seven Swords Society was already a matter of the past and insignificant compared to what lay ahead.
After watching Baek Socheon’s meeting with the Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance, Cheongeuk had sensed that war was close at hand.
Neither she nor Baek Socheon was destined to avoid the coming upheaval in the martial world.
She simply wanted to share a drink before it began.
“Are you going back as well?”
“I have to.”
“Make sure you uphold the assassin laws properly from now on.”
They emptied another cup each before Cheongeuk asked,
“Are you confident?”
“Confident about what?”
“Returning to the main headquarters means you intend to make a real attempt this time, doesn’t it?”
Baek Socheon smiled faintly.
Ironically, the leader of the organization he had torn apart was, at least for now, the person who understood his feelings best.
“I’m always confident. The problem is that I lack the strength.”
“If it’s you… I believe you’ll find a way. I’m not saying that to burden you.”
Baek Socheon stared at her and suddenly asked,
“What’s gotten into you? I can’t spend a hundred thousand nyang in one night.”
“Hah! Your delusions are nearly as impressive as your former martial prowess.”
Baek Socheon chuckled and drank, and she happily emptied her cup as well.
“Since we’re on the subject, I’ll confess something. Back when you placed me on the throne of the Assassin King, I actually wanted to sleep with you.”
“Are you some kind of lustful woman? At such an important moment, all you could think about was sleeping with a man?”
“Lustful? It was a healthy desire. Besides, you were impressive back then, weren’t you? You were the greatest martial artist under heaven.”
“And now that I’m not, you no longer feel that way?”
After a brief pause, Cheongeuk asked,
“Is there a woman you like?”
“Why? So you can find her and kill her?”
“Neither you nor I are exactly the passionate romantic type. Why? Do you like me?”
“I think you’re attractive enough to sleep with. You’re quite pretty.”
“Attractive enough? Quite?”
She would never have tolerated such words from anyone else, yet with Baek Socheon, it felt natural.
“Do you know something? I’ve never slept with a man.”
“Do you like me or something? Why would you lie and ruin such a pleasant mood?”
“It’s true.”
“Really? Why haven’t you until now?”
“I was named heir to the Assassin King at a young age, so no one dared make advances toward me. Fortunately, the previous Assassin King never laid a hand on me either.”
“And after you became the Assassin King?”
“The previous Assassin King was tolerable in every other way, but there was one thing about him I absolutely despised. He would toy with young women and eventually kill them. I couldn’t behave like that bastard.”
“Then date a man properly.”
“As if that were easy.”
“True. Your standards are far too low. You wanted to sleep with a man like me, after all.”
She laughed pleasantly and rose from her seat.
“We’ll meet again.”
“Thank you for what you did this time.”
Cheongeuk smiled at the sincere gratitude in his voice.
She knew this parting would not be their last.
In the turbulent martial world ahead, under what circumstances would they meet again?
“Don’t die… Who knows? If you stay alive, I might actually sleep with you one day.”
The moment she finished speaking, Cheongeuk vanished without a sound.
Baek Socheon chuckled.
Under the calming moonlight, he had received something that was almost a confession from the Assassin King, and the liquor had tasted good.
He flopped onto his back and said,
“Right. In the worst case, all that can happen is that I die.”
Baek Socheon had fought on the front lines of a brutal battlefield.
He had long since transcended the fear of death.
But there was still one thing he truly hated.
War.
War had turned him into a hero.
At the same time, it had brought about his downfall.
He had endured it once.
He did not want to endure it twice.
Thinking of the Leader of the Heukcheon Alliance, Baek Socheon made a vow.
Your greatest mistake was failing to kill me when you had the chance.
I will not allow that many people to die merely because of your ambition.
As always, only the solitary moon watched over Baek Socheon’s resolve.
***
Ten days later, three carriages carrying Baek Socheon and his companions arrived in Wuhan, Hubei, where the Martial Alliance’s main headquarters was located.
Two of the carriages carried luggage, while everyone had traveled together in the remaining carriage.
Im Chung had sold most of his possessions and reduced his belongings to only the necessities, enough to fit inside a single carriage.
He did not want their departure to be delayed because of his household goods, and he intended to use this opportunity to make a completely fresh start.
He had some money saved, so he planned to rent or purchase an inexpensive house on the outskirts and somehow make a living.
He had no regrets.
Rather, he considered this change in his life an opportunity and welcomed it.
Wuhan was on an entirely different scale from the small city of Munseong.
“Wow! Look over there!”
Beon Saeng was completely captivated by the dazzling city.
The clothes worn by the people passing through the streets were colorful and elegant, and there seemed to be several times more people than in Munseong.
Im Chung was equally impressed, though he did not show it outwardly.
“Where are we going now?”
Baek Socheon gave a brief answer to Beon Saeng’s question.
“Home.”
“Home? Whose home?”
“Mine.”
“Oh, Brother, you had a house here too!”
The carriage carrying Baek Socheon’s group entered a manor located not far from the Martial Alliance’s main headquarters.
Everyone climbed down and looked around the estate in admiration.
“This is amazing!”
The manor had a main residence and a separate annex, large courtyards in both the front and rear where they could train, and even a small garden.
Baek Socheon spoke to them all.
“For the time being, let’s live here together.”
“What?”
This was not the house where he had lived before.
He had contacted Zhuge Hyeon in advance and purchased it recently.
Everything near the Martial Alliance was expensive, not just the property itself.
Even so, Baek Socheon had spent thirty thousand nyang to purchase the large, clean manor.
Had he returned alone, he would have found another small house like the one he used to live in.
But Im Chung and Beon Saeng had come with him, and he had purchased a larger residence especially for Im Chung’s family.
“Did you buy this house?”
“Yes.”
“It must have been incredibly expensive.”
“I have plenty of money.”
“Good heavens! You’re rich too?”
Baek Socheon took the largest room in the main residence and gave the smaller room to Beon Saeng.
He gave the entire annex to Im Chung’s family.
He knew they would feel too burdened if he gave them the main residence, so he assigned them the annex instead. Yet even the annex was incomparably more luxurious than their home in Munseong.
“We cannot accept such an enormous favor.”
“I’m merely giving you rooms that would otherwise be empty. What favor?”
Baek Socheon then spoke to Im Chung’s wife, Madam Ju.
“Branch Chief Im is someone I greatly need. Because of that, I have brought you all the way to Wuhan as well. I apologize.”
“There is no need. I have never seen my husband so happy in all the years we’ve lived together. Please take good care of him from now on.”
Madam Ju bowed politely and sincerely.
She already knew that her husband had begun addressing Baek Socheon as his elder brother.
She also knew that Baek Socheon was the decisive reason they had come here.
She had spoken only encouraging words to her husband, but how could she not feel afraid?
In the end, she had entrusted everything to fate.
“I enjoyed the food you prepared for me before. If you ever have any leftover side dishes, I would appreciate some.”
“Yes. Don’t worry. Leave the household work to me.”
Madam Ju understood.
He was asking this so that she would not feel burdened by his generosity.
Yes.
A man considerate enough to act this way was someone she could place her trust in.
Watching Baek Socheon look after even his wife, Im Chung came to a new realization.
From the moment Baek Socheon first arrived in Munseong until now, he had always acted like a carefree idler.
Yet looking back, he had never once treated anything carelessly.
How could a person accomplish great things if he failed to notice and value the small details?
Along with martial arts, Im Chung was learning how to live from Baek Socheon.
After unloading the carriages and carrying all the luggage inside, Baek Socheon spoke to the two men.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“We should see what your new workplace is like. Someone is waiting for us.”
“Yes!”
While Madam Ju and Chan arranged the house, Im Chung and Beon Saeng followed Baek Socheon outside.
As they walked, Beon Saeng spoke to Im Chung.
“We really came all the way here.”
“We did.”
It felt as though they had been bewitched by a ghost.
Im Chung, in particular, had never dreamed that he would so easily abandon his position as branch chief.
“This is where everything begins.”
“I’m nervous. I wonder who we’ll meet from now on.”
Yet neither of them could have imagined that the first person they met at the beginning of their new lives would be this man.
Zhuge Hyeon was waiting for them at the Martial Alliance’s main gate.
“Welcome.”
Zhuge Hyeon greeted the three of them with a delighted expression.
Baek Socheon introduced the two men.
“These are the people who will be working with me. Pay your respects. This is the Lord of the Hyeoncheon Pavilion.”
“I am Im Chung.”
“I am Beon Saeng.”
The two hurriedly bowed.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Zhuge Hyeon.”
Im Chung flinched and asked,
“Did you just say that you are the Lord of the Hyeoncheon Pavilion?”
“That is correct.”
“The Hyeoncheon Pavilion…”
Im Chung’s voice trembled.
“That’s right. I am the Grand Strategist of the Martial Alliance.”
Im Chung and Beon Saeng recoiled in shock.
On the way here, Beon Saeng had privately worried about something.
He had imagined that one of the warriors guarding the main gate might sneer at him and Im Chung, asking where these country bumpkins had come from.
What would he do then?
Should he ask Baek Socheon for help?
Or should he boldly shout back at them?
Yet all those worries now seemed absurd.
Who could have imagined that the Grand Strategist of the Martial Alliance himself would come out to welcome them?
Naturally, both men turned toward Baek Socheon.
Beon Saeng stared at him and said,
“You kept shocking us after coming to Munseong, and now you shock us again the moment we arrive here.”
An ordinary warrior of the Martial Alliance was returning, yet the Grand Strategist himself had come out to greet him?
Then again, this ordinary warrior was also someone who met with the Assassin King.
“You weren’t really just a squad leader, were you?”
Zhuge Hyeon smiled and asked Baek Socheon,
“You didn’t tell them?”
“No.”
Baek Socheon nodded calmly.
“What do you mean…”
Beon Saeng almost asked Zhuge Hyeon directly, then abruptly shut his mouth in alarm.
Under normal circumstances, the Grand Strategist of the Martial Alliance was someone he would never even dare look directly at.
“Come. Let us go inside.”
Zhuge Hyeon and Baek Socheon began walking side by side.
Im Chung and Beon Saeng followed behind them with trembling hearts.
Their new lives, filled with astonishment, were only just beginning.