At the sight of the man, the martial artist standing guard politely saluted him.
The martial artists’ expressions brightened when they saw him. From their reactions, Seojin could guess what kind of person this man was to his subordinates.
“He asked if you were a newcomer.”
Seojin answered politely.
“Yes. I arrived today.”
The man’s taut skin made him seem young, yet the maturity in his expression and eyes suggested that he was older. His flowing white hair made it even more impossible to guess his age.
“Curious?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked if you were curious about what’s inside.”
Before she could answer, the man strode inside and said,
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you coming?”
“Yes.”
Seojin followed him inside.
She did not even know who he was, but the atmosphere was hardly one in which she could refuse.
The Yellow Dragon Class district was completely different from the outside.
Unlike the other districts, which consisted only of training grounds and buildings, this place was beautifully maintained. The buildings were larger and more elegant, and old ginkgo trees had been planted beside neatly arranged gravel paths. Training grounds for individual use had been built here and there amid gardens filled with beautiful flowers.
The intent was unmistakable: Hurry up and train hard so you can come here too.
The Yellow Dragon Class martial artists passing by politely bowed their heads to the man.
He clearly wasn’t a member of the Yellow Dragon Class, but he didn’t seem to be an instructor either. Was he one of the Seven Masters? Just who was this man?
The deeper they went, the more heavily guarded the area became. At the end of the line of guards stood a building as large as a fortress.
“What is that place?”
A strange emotion entered the man’s eyes as he gazed at the building.
“That is the Academy Master’s Hall of the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy. It is where the master of this place resides.”
At that, a single remark naturally slipped from her lips.
“The master of the academy is its members.”
The man turned to look at her.
“That is what was written at the very beginning of the admission form I filled out yesterday.”
A glint flashed through the man’s eyes. The emotion was clearly closer to curiosity than anger.
“So? Do you think you are the master?”
“I don’t know yet. As I said, today is my first day.”
Since meeting the man’s gaze was uncomfortable, she turned her eyes back toward the Academy Master’s Hall.
The man suddenly asked,
“Do you want to go inside and take a look?”
“Would I dare enter?”
“You don’t seem to acknowledge the authority of the master of that place.”
She politely refused.
“You misunderstand. I have seen more than enough for today. Thanks to you, I had a good look around.”
She did want to enter the Academy Master’s Hall once, but doing so on her very first day would draw far too much attention. No—she had already attracted enough attention as it was.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Just as she politely bowed and turned to leave, the man spoke from behind her.
“Who said you could leave?”
She flinched in surprise and turned back toward him.
“I haven’t given you permission to go.”
Seojin stared directly at the man and asked,
“May I leave?”
Perhaps because she showed no fear, the man did not tell her she could go.
Just then, someone approached them.
“Great Hero Yeon.”
The person who appeared was Giseok, one of the Seven Masters. A short distance behind him stood Pyosan, his trusted aide.
At that moment, Seojin noticed that the man’s expression toward Giseok was far from pleasant. He made no effort to conceal his dislike of the other man.
“It has been a long time.”
Giseok greeted him politely, but the man merely gave a slight nod.
As if this was not the first or second time it had happened, Giseok showed no sign of taking offense.
His calm gaze turned toward Seojin.
“What are you doing here?”
“This gentleman was showing me around.”
Giseok said to the man,
“She entered the academy today. Is it really appropriate to teach her by having her break the rules first?”
Then he turned back to Seojin.
“Leave!”
“Yes, Master.”
At that moment, Seojin realized something.
Giseok had not stepped forward for her sake. If so, it meant he disliked seeing her together with this man.
‘At least he isn’t on this man’s side.’
Of course, she could not jump to conclusions. People in the martial world could pretend to be enemies while secretly working together, and those who fought like mortal foes yesterday could become friends today.
She was about to turn and leave when the white-haired man said,
“I still haven’t told her to go.”
She turned around again and looked back and forth between the two men.
The victor of this clash of wills had been decided from the beginning. Giseok immediately withdrew.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Giseok turned and walked away, with Pyosan following behind him.
After watching them for a moment, the man looked back at Seojin.
“Now, please let me go. It’s my first day, and I’m already quite nervous.”
She remained calm and composed, acting according to instinct. With the man before her, she believed it was better to show confidence than to shrink back in fear.
“At the very least, you should know who I am before you go.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Yeon Baekjin.”
The man added in an even tone,
“I am the man who was born too late to become the master of this place.”
He was Yeon Baekjin, the academy master’s younger brother. At the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy, he was the freest person, the most frightening person, and also the most popular. He was a man who showed a different side of himself depending on whom he faced.
Seojin politely saluted him, then turned away. After walking a few steps, she said,
“Don’t be too disappointed. It was clearly written that the master of this place is its members.”
Yeon Baekjin silently watched her leave.
Two people were watching the same scene from afar. They stood by a corridor window inside the building—Giseok and Pyosan.
“It seems Great Hero Yeon is interested in Seojin. Though there must be quite an age difference between them.”
At Pyosan’s words, Giseok shook his head.
“Everyone thinks Yeon Baekjin is an outspoken and free-spirited man. Someone who likes women and enjoys having fun.”
Many women admired him. He was the academy master’s younger brother and possessed formidable martial prowess, so rumors often linked him with various women.
But this was how Giseok judged Yeon Baekjin:
“Yeon Baekjin is more calculating and ruthless than anyone.”
“Then are you saying he approached Seojin deliberately?”
“Yes. He must have caught the scent of Master Im’s affair.”
Pyosan’s expression hardened. If that was true, it was a serious matter. One was the Ghost Sect Leader’s daughter, while the other was the academy master’s younger brother.
“The final excavation is not far away. What should we do?”
“We need to turn their attention elsewhere.”
Giseok had already reached his conclusion.
“Even so, we cannot kill the academy master’s own kin, can we?”
* * *
That evening, Seojin was drinking alone at an inn.
She was not someone who enjoyed alcohol, but today she had a sudden urge to drink. It was because of Yeon Baekjin, whom she had met earlier.
‘I’ll use him to investigate this incident.’
That had been her first thought. If, as she had seen earlier, he truly was on bad terms with Giseok, it was certainly worth trying.
But she felt reluctant.
She did not know whether it was her instinct for danger or a woman’s intuition, but something inside her warned her away.
Don’t get close to this man. Exchange as few words with him as possible.
Reality, however, was unfolding in precisely the opposite direction.
“Are you staying at this inn?”
She raised her head and saw Yeon Baekjin. Without asking permission, he sat down across from her.
Seojin kept her thoughts hidden and calmly said,
“I didn’t properly greet you earlier, my lord.”
“That goes for you too, doesn’t it?”
Yeon Baekjin already knew her identity.
“You were the Ghost Sect Leader’s daughter.”
He spoke as though he had only learned it after meeting her.
“Can you show me some of the Ghost Sect’s sorcery? I have never seen it before, and I’m curious.”
Of course, Seojin was not someone who would show it so easily.
“I’m still inexperienced. I might even kill you.”
Yeon Baekjin poured liquor into a fresh cup and said,
“How presumptuous.”
“I apologize if that is how it sounded.”
After emptying his cup, Yeon Baekjin stared at her and asked,
“Can the name of the Ghost Sect truly serve as a shield to protect you?”
The words could be taken as an insult to her family. But Yeon Baekjin continued to warn her to the end.
“Human greed cannot even be stopped by ghosts.”
This man knew something.
Seojin had that feeling. And he was not even trying to hide it. What was his purpose in approaching her?
Giseok, Pyosan, and Yeon Baekjin.
All of them were connected to Elder Brother Im Hyeon’s death, whether directly involved or indirectly linked to it.
This time, she emptied her cup before asking,
“Why do you assume the Ghost Sect is the only shield I have?”
“What else is there?”
She wanted to tell him this:
I am the second squad leader of the Ghost Shadow Unit of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
If she said that, would he still be able to look at her with those arrogant eyes?
More than anything, she wanted to come here under her identity as a member of the Ghost Shadow Unit and uncover every detail of whatever these people were plotting.
But she had not yet joined the Ghost Shadow Unit. She had decided to finish this matter before leaving.
Her final task before becoming a demon.
‘Somehow, I will resolve this and return.’
That was when she set her empty cup down on the table.
“Are you people from the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy?”
A young man had approached them.
He seemed to have recognized her because she was wearing the White Dragon Class uniform.
“We came to take the admission examination too! What a relief to meet you!”
A woman walked up behind the young man.
“Since fate has brought us together, please tell us how we should take the examination!”
The two of them naturally joined Seojin and Yeon Baekjin at their table.
Seojin and Yeon Baekjin were both startled when they saw them, though for entirely different reasons. Neither stopped them from taking a seat.
Yeon Baekjin was startled because the young man and woman were exceptionally handsome and beautiful. The woman in particular was breathtakingly beautiful. The moment he saw her, he found himself unable to say something as crass as, “How dare you sit down without permission?”
Seojin, on the other hand, was startled for a different reason. The young man was Geom Muguk, and the woman was Ian. The young master and the commander of the Ghost Shadow Unit had come to find her.
Seojin was shocked, but she desperately tried to remain calm. Through Ian, she already knew that the Geom Muguk she had seen at Elder Brother’s wedding was the young master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect. But this was hardly a situation in which she could properly greet him.
“I only entered the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy today.”
“Then that’s even better. You must still have a vivid memory of the examination, since you took it so recently.”
Geom Muguk’s gaze shifted toward Yeon Baekjin.
“Then is this white-haired gentleman our senior as well?”
Seojin introduced him precisely.
“This is Great Hero Yeon Baekjin, the younger brother of the master of the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy.”
“Oh! So you are an esteemed personage! It is an honor to meet you.”
Perhaps because his words and eyes did not match, Yeon Baekjin asked coldly,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What kind of look was I giving you?”
Yeon Baekjin had felt uncomfortable when his eyes met Geom Muguk’s. That gaze had seemed to peer into the depths of his heart. It was the first time he had ever felt so shaken by someone’s eyes.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I naturally feel competitive whenever I see someone handsome.”
He would never know what Geom Muguk had felt when he saw Seojin sitting across from Yeon Baekjin at the inn.
So this was where their connection began.
Seojin would not die until much later, but the beginning of their ill-fated relationship had been forged here.
Geom Muguk had rushed here in order to sever that ill fate from the very beginning. He was worried that his regression might cause that fate to come sooner.
Seojin, now that I’m here, everything will be all right.
The moment he and Ian had taken their seats beside Seojin, her fate had already begun to travel down a different path.
Geom Muguk’s gaze turned toward Yeon Baekjin.
And you? Will you walk the path of fate that ends with me killing you once more?
“Your hair is incredible. I would like to go around with white hair like that too.”
“Shut up.”
While Geom Muguk was already drawing the words shut up from Yeon Baekjin’s mouth, Seojin and Ian were exchanging secret messages through telepathy.
―Commander, how did you know to come here?
―I told you I was coming here to take care of something, didn’t I?
Of course, she had said that. What she wanted to know was why Ian had come here.
―I came because I wanted to see you as soon as possible. If you resolve this matter even one day sooner, you’ll be able to join the Ghost Shadow Unit that much sooner too.
Had she really come for that reason? No. She had certainly come because she knew Seojin was in a difficult situation. But how had she found out?
―You came to help me, didn’t you?
―Do you need help?
The gazes of the two women intertwined in midair. Seojin answered honestly. To insist on her pride now would not be pride, but foolishness.
―Yes, I need it. Please help me.
Ian conveyed her sincerity to Seojin.
―Commander Seo’s affairs are my affairs too.
That was why she had not come to help Seojin; she had come to handle her own affairs. Ian had already made up her mind.
―This will be our Ghost Shadow Unit’s first mission.
Seojin was happy. When she had wanted to tell Yeon Baekjin that she was the second squad leader of the Ghost Shadow Unit, she had thought of Ian. And now, as if by a lie becoming truth, Ian had come to her.
Ian raised her cup and said,
“Now, let’s have a drink, future comrades.”
How could Seojin not know that the comrades Ian meant were not comrades of the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy, but comrades of the Ghost Shadow Unit?
Following Seojin as she heartily raised her cup, Geom Muguk clinked his cup against hers.
“Let’s take over the Yellow Dragon Martial Academy!”