When Bi Sain left, his subordinate Sahon approached the Battle King, pulling a cart.
“I will carry your things for you.”
As Sahon loaded the gifts from the martial artists onto the cart, the Battle King sat down on the edge as well.
Thus, as they left the training ground, the two began conversing through sound transmission.
—So the Young Alliance Leader noticed after all?
The Battle King gave a slight nod. He had already expected as much when the assassins failed to kill Pyo Gigwang.
—Then why did he come to see you?
—A declaration of war. He wanted to boast, too. The likes of the assassins you sent won’t work on me.
—He is still young.
A sneer formed on Sahon’s lips. The Battle King, however, still had a question in his mind.
—He has clearly changed from before.
He simply could not pinpoint exactly what it was.
—Have you found out how he survived today’s ambush?
At Sahon’s question, the Battle King shook his head.
—Could the Alliance Leader be helping him?
—It is not the Alliance Leader. If the Alliance Leader had intervened, he would not have handled things in this way.
—Then the Young Alliance Leader will undoubtedly seek help from Goeak and Gwangseom.
Goeak and Gwangseom. They were among the Seven Great Masters of the Sado, experts Bi Sain had once brought along to a gathering of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions in order to flaunt his power.
—Most likely.
—If we give him time, it will become disadvantageous for us. Before he meets them, I will lead my men and deal with him myself.
—There is no need.
The Battle King lay down among the baggage piled on the cart and said something Sahon could not understand.
—Only if we leave him be will the Young Alliance Leader die.
* * *
After descending from the cliff, Bi Sain immediately sent off a letter, then hired a coachman and carriage. To avoid drawing attention, he left the Thirteen Wolves of Sado behind and headed to his destination with only Geom Mugeuk.
Bi Sain silently gazed at the scenery outside.
He was calming his mind ahead of the great battle to come. He was prepared for death, and this would be more dangerous than any fight he had faced until now.
Of course, part of him wanted to avoid it. In one corner of his heart, a voice kept whispering for him to run to the Sado Alliance Leader.
—Have you already forgotten? You regretted the decision you made earlier in anger, didn’t you? This is the same. Once it passes, you’ll regret this choice. Go now, tell the Alliance Leader, and resolve this matter.
With complicated feelings, Bi Sain looked at Geom Mugeuk.
As always, Geom Mugeuk sat quietly with his eyes closed.
Then Geom Mugeuk suddenly spoke.
“Are you regretting it again?”
“You seem to have eyes on the back of your head, and eyes on your eyelids too.”
“That makes me sound like a monster. Just say I see with my heart.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly opened his eyes.
“Whenever you ride in a carriage, you close your eyes and seem to be reciting something. What exactly are you training?”
“I am training the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art.”
Bi Sain was inwardly flustered, not having expected him to mention the Heavenly Demon’s exclusive martial art.
“Is it all right to tell me such a secret?”
“What of it? It’s not as if I’m telling you the formula. What’s wrong with telling you the name of a martial art?”
There was a realm that could not be imitated no matter how much one learned of it in words. In the end, a single sentence slipped out before he knew it.
“I lost.”
“I think it is fine to admit it like that.”
“So? You want me to be dragged around by you?”
“What of it? While being dragged around, you can look at the stars, the birds, and the clouds. The person doing the dragging may swagger and act superior at first, but with time, he’ll get tired too. He’ll start thinking, Won’t someone drag me for a while?”
Bi Sain wore an expression that said he was truly impossible.
“You say that so easily, when you’ve never lost to anyone.”
“There is my father, isn’t there? Since he reads everything anyway, I don’t bother trying to hide anything in front of him. Ah, you should see my father laughing at me.”
It was hard to believe there was someone who could drive even this Geom Mugeuk onto the defensive. Then again, since it was Geom Mugeuk’s father, perhaps that was possible.
“What kind of person is your father?”
“You people probably have more information about him than I do.”
At those words, half jest and half truth, Bi Sain smiled faintly.
“I’ll introduce you next time. Meet him in person and judge for yourself.”
Would the day truly come when he greeted the Heavenly Demon?
“You’re getting serious again. It won’t be the Young Alliance Leader of the Sado Alliance greeting the Heavenly Demon. You’ll be greeting your friend’s father.”
A friend’s father.
It was a phrase as unfamiliar in his life as the word friend itself.
“By the way, why do you not ask whom we are going to meet?”
Because I already know. Geom Mugeuk had guessed whom Bi Sain was going to ask for help.
“Which of the two are we going to meet first?”
Bi Sain shook his head.
“Do you know that? At times like this, you really seem inhuman.”
After saying it, he felt sorry. Would someone inhuman be helping him like this?
“Let me ask just one more thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you think Senior Goeak and Senior Gwangseom will be insufficient?”
When he had seen Instructor Hwang, his skill had seemed like that of an instructor of the Sado Alliance Academy.
In other words, it meant he possessed strength that overwhelmed Bi Sain.
Geom Mugeuk answered honestly.
“If the two join forces, perhaps. But if either fights him alone, there is absolutely no chance of victory.”
He had expected it to some extent, but Bi Sain could not help being shocked. An opponent who required two of the Seven Great Masters of the Sado to join forces.
Then Geom Mugeuk added something even more astonishing.
“Even the two of them will have a hard time if they are not in harmony.”
* * *
The carriage arrived at the appointed place.
“Young Alliance Leader, welcome.”
“Thank you very much for coming all this way.”
“Gwangseom is waiting inside. Come, let us go in.”
They were two of the Seven Great Masters of the Sado who had deep ties with the Sado Alliance. More precisely, they were followers of the Sado Alliance Leader.
Goeak glanced over and confirmed that there was only one attendant.
“You came quietly.”
He had met Geom Mugeuk before, but he did not recognize him here and now.
Geom Mugeuk was wearing a mask and had lowered his head, avoiding eye contact. On top of that, he revealed only about the same presence as one of the Thirteen Wolves of Sado.
Since he could not possibly imagine that the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult had become one of the Thirteen Wolves of Sado and was guarding Bi Sain, Goeak failed to recognize Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk entered the room with them as well. Since the Thirteen Wolves of Sado always moved with the Young Alliance Leader, no one paid it any mind.
Inside the room, a drinking table had been prepared, and Gwangseom was waiting.
“Senior, thank you for coming.”
Gwangseom was originally a man of few words, so he simply lowered his head slightly in greeting.
As Bi Sain sat at the drinking table, he sent a sound transmission to Geom Mugeuk.
—Will you reveal your identity and sit with us?
—I am fine. I will stay here.
Geom Mugeuk stood a short distance behind Bi Sain.
“We were having a drink first while waiting. Come, Young Alliance Leader, have a cup as well.”
They drank and exchanged light conversation. They spoke of how they had been, of the Sado Alliance Leader, and of various incidents that had recently taken place in the martial world.
Then Gwangseom offered wine to Geom Mugeuk as well. Geom Mugeuk turned his head and drank beneath his mask.
Bi Sain was inwardly impressed.
‘The Young Cult Leader has enough skill to conceal his presence even before them.’
After several rounds of wine, the real conversation began.
“So, Young Alliance Leader, why did you ask to see us?”
“There is something I wish to request of you two seniors.”
Bi Sain was cautious.
Even Goeak, who was treating him with a pleasant face now, was an absolute master infamous in the martial world for his eccentric and cruel temperament.
Gwangseom, too, merely seemed less wicked because his nature was taciturn; he was a man whose sword was faster than his words.
The reason they showed him courtesy was out of respect for the Sado Alliance Leader. Bi Sain had not yet built personal friendship or trust with them.
“This time, I discovered a certain hidden force threatening our alliance.”
At those words, the gazes of Goeak and Gwangseom sharpened.
“Who are they?”
“The leader is Hwang Seokgyeong, an instructor at the Sado Alliance Academy.”
When Hwang Seokgyeong’s name was revealed, the two wore baffled expressions. They seemed more surprised by the fact that it was Hwang Seokgyeong than by the existence of a hidden force threatening the Sado Alliance.
“If you know who the enemy is, you can simply eliminate him. Why did you ask to meet us?”
“He is hiding his true strength.”
“To the point that we are needed?”
“Yes. Both of you must go.”
For a moment, silence flowed. Bi Sain conveyed the enemy’s strength without concealing it. He did not make the foolish mistake of downplaying Hwang Seokgyeong’s ability in a pointless attempt to preserve the two men’s face.
Goeak asked, half in doubt.
“Does the Alliance Leader know?”
“He does not yet know.”
“Why have you not told him?”
From here on, persuasion was important.
“To begin with, he became entangled with me. He even tried to kill me.”
“He tried to assassinate you?”
“That is correct. That is why I want to end him with my own hands.”
Goeak stared at Bi Sain.
“You want to handle this matter well and gain the Alliance Leader’s recognition.”
Bi Sain answered this honestly as well.
“That is correct.”
Goeak turned to look at Gwangseom. Gwangseom merely drank in silence.
Goeak did not readily offer to help.
“If what you say is true, this is quite a dangerous matter. Why should we help you?”
Bi Sain did not say that it was an opportunity to render great service to the Sado Alliance, nor that they would be bestowing a favor upon the next Sado Alliance Leader. He did not say that a mere instructor was dreaming of becoming the Alliance Leader.
“I will not speak in circles. If I become the Alliance Leader, I will give you two what you desire.”
“Do you know what I desire?”
“On the day I ascend to the position of Alliance Leader, I will give you the manual for the Slashing Ghost Shadow Step (斬擊鬼影步) kept in the secret vault.”
Light gleamed in Goeak’s eyes.
The Slashing Ghost Shadow Step was a manual Goeak desperately wanted. When practiced together with his exclusive martial art, the Slashing Iron Blade, it produced far stronger effects, but regrettably, he had never learned the Slashing Ghost Shadow Step.
The reason he had done various tasks for the Sado Alliance Leader all this time was precisely to obtain the Slashing Ghost Shadow Step.
It was a double-edged promise. If he accepted this condition, he would help both materially and emotionally, hoping for Bi Sain to ascend as Sado Alliance Leader even a day sooner.
But once the manual was given, Bi Sain would no longer be able to use him.
“What guarantee is there that you will keep your promise?”
“If you wish, I will write it down as a document.”
Only then did Goeak nod.
“Good. I will accept on those terms.”
This time, Bi Sain looked at Gwangseom.
“Senior, I have not yet learned what it is you desire. Please tell me what you want.”
Only then did Gwangseom open his mouth.
“I want your life.”
In that instant, silence fell over the room.
Soon after, Goeak laughed heartily and said,
“This is why one must usually be sparing with words for a joke like this to work.”
Bi Sain laughed along.
But Gwangseom did not laugh. Words he normally never spoke poured out all at once.
“When you went out earlier to greet the Young Alliance Leader, I put energy-dispersing poison in the wine. They said it was specially made by improving Black Rain, and indeed, even you failed to notice it. Unless you possess a body immune to all poisons, you will not be able to use your internal energy for the next half hour. Of course, I took the antidote beforehand.”
At once, Goeak examined his internal energy. His expression hardened coldly. His internal energy truly had scattered.
“Why are you doing this? What kind of joke is this, so unlike you?”
Instead of answering, Gwangseom continued speaking.
“The one who killed the Young Alliance Leader here today will be you. It will be handled as if you killed him and then vanished from the martial world. A large sum will be deposited into your money house account, and circumstantial evidence that you accepted a commission to kill the Young Alliance Leader will be found as well.”
Gwangseom spoke words that were utterly horrifying from Goeak’s position without so much as blinking.
“You mad bastard! You must be dying to get killed. Do you think I will simply suffer it just because I have no internal energy?”
Unlike the confidence in his shout, he despaired. Fighting Gwangseom without internal energy? It would be a fight between a martial artist and a child.
“I apologize for using energy-dispersing poison. It means I did not underestimate your skill, so do not be too angry. I will bury your corpse somewhere that gets plenty of sunlight.”
Bi Sain was just as shocked and flustered. Gwangseom was an opponent he could not handle even with his internal energy, but the problem was that Geom Mugeuk had drunk the wine too.
Now that he thought about it, the one who had given Geom Mugeuk wine was Gwangseom. When that wordless man had gone out of his way to give wine to his subordinate, he should have been suspicious.
“Did you join hands with Hwang Seokgyeong?”
Gwangseom gave no answer, but it was a silence of affirmation.
“Why did you join hands with him?”
Gwangseom looked out the window for a moment, then said quietly,
“I fought him and lost. We had agreed that if I lost, I would become his subordinate.”
Respect could be felt in the word “him.”
Bi Sain could tell, just as Geom Mugeuk had said, that Hwang Seokgyeong was truly strong. It was surely not merely because of a promise. It seemed Gwangseom had been captivated by Hwang Seokgyeong’s strength and had sincerely become his subordinate.
Then Geom Mugeuk, who had been standing behind them and watching everything unfold, finally opened his mouth.
“The human heart truly is impossible to know, isn’t it? Of the two of you, I expected Goeak to be the traitor.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, everyone’s gazes turned toward him. When he suddenly stepped forward, not only Goeak but even Gwangseom wore puzzled expressions. The exchange between the two had not been a conversation between a master and his subordinate.
“Did you anticipate this situation?”
“Hwang Seokgyeong must certainly have anticipated that you would go to meet them. And yet he did not stop you. Two of the Seven Great Masters of the Sado might become his enemies, but he did not stop it? Does that not seem suspicious?”
Hearing it, Bi Sain thought it was true. Why did such thoughts never come to him so readily at the time?
“Then why did you not prepare for it?”
“Prepare how?”
“You should not have drunk the wine.”
“He was watching me like a hawk and trying to make me drink. How could I not? Should I have spat it out in front of him?”
Sssshhhk!
Gwangseom’s swift sword cut through the air.
Thud.
The mask sliced by the sword fell away. Knowing that the strike had not been intended to kill him, Geom Mugeuk did not dodge. In truth, accurately reading the opponent’s intent and not dodging required even greater courage and skill than evading his sword.
With his face revealed, Geom Mugeuk rubbed his chin and mouth as he said,
“I was having a hard time because the mask was uncomfortable anyway, so thank you for cutting it off. I keep saying we really need to change the cloth on the inside.”
Absolute Regression, Chapter 355