‘Who asks permission to make counterfeits?’
Geom Muyang had not expected Gwak Yeong to ask such an impudent question. It flustered him all the more because she was right.
“If the materials had been the same, you wouldn’t even have known they were counterfeits.”
What is this? This shamelessness?
She was far too different from what he had expected. This was a situation where she should have been prostrating herself, begging to be spared.
Is it a trap after all?
Geom Muyang calmly surveyed the surroundings again. Still, he could find nothing suspicious inside the teahouse.
Gwak Yeong picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip. Her palms were covered in calluses, and her hands were rough. Not only were there burn marks, there were so many scars that one hesitated to call them a woman’s hands.
Her hands laid bare the life she had lived.
Sensing Geom Muyang’s gaze, Gwak Yeong raised her hand so the back of it faced him.
“Scars of glory!”
She was proud of those scars.
“Thanks to these hands, several people survived that day.”
Gwak Yeong asked Geom Muyang,
“Do you have scars like these too?”
When he remained silent, she found the reason for that silence in a strange place.
“Are you angry because I called you a fool?”
Only then did Geom Muyang open his mouth.
“If I were angry, it would be because of the counterfeits you made.”
“It’s a world overflowing with fakes!”
Of course, it did not work on Geom Muyang. Rather, when she sensed his gaze growing colder, she avoided his eyes and lifted her teacup.
She sipped her tea, then looked out the window.
It was the same scenery as always, yet today it felt especially lively.
As she watched the people passing by, she bit her lip slightly. Her lips were trembling. She was acting as if she were bold in front of him, but in proportion to that boldness, she was afraid.
She sighed as if talking to herself.
“They said there was absolutely no way I’d be caught, so what is this?”
From the feel of it, she had not known she would meet him here today.
If so, there was something that did not make sense.
They were meticulous enough to eliminate even the witnesses. They were people capable of drawing in Han Wolgaek and the Byeoksan Sword.
So why had they left her so defenseless? She should have been the most important person of all.
Still looking outside, she asked,
“I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?”
The crime of making counterfeits was not so light that she could afford to act this relaxed. If there had been no reason to uncover the people behind her through her, she would already have been dead. Even after they extracted information from her, her life would still be hanging by a thread.
Geom Muyang rose from his seat.
“Follow me quietly.”
She did not get up.
“I haven’t finished my tea yet.”
Did she think she would die if she were dragged away? The hand holding her teacup was trembling.
It was right then. Someone passing in front of the teahouse stopped and called out to her.
“Craftsman Gwak!”
He was a middle-aged martial artist dressed in the uniform of the Murim Alliance. Behind him, more than ten martial artists followed in attendance, each with nimble steps and sharp gazes.
The middle-aged man was none other than Do Insu, the leader of the White Dragon Squad, an elite organization of the Murim Alliance alongside the Blue Dragon Squad.
“Squad Leader Do!”
Gwak Yeong rose from her seat, then said quietly to Geom Muyang,
“What should I do? If I don’t go, that man will come over here.”
Without waiting for Geom Muyang’s answer, she went outside.
“How was the sword I sent you last time?”
“It was excellent. Since Craftsman Gwak made it, how could it not be?”
Everyone acknowledged Gwak Yeong’s skill, and all were certain she would become the youngest person ever to be in charge of the Iron Workshop.
There was a reason the White Dragon Squad Leader treated her so warmly. Every organization within the Murim Alliance tried to maintain good relations with the Iron Workshop. Only then would they be sent weapons that were even slightly better than those of other organizations.
The White Dragon Squad Leader’s gaze turned toward Geom Muyang. For some reason, he was a man who drew the eye.
“And who is that great hero?”
Gwak Yeong looked at Geom Muyang. Her eyes seemed to say,
What should I do? Should I just reveal that you’re from the Demonic Cult?
But for whatever reason, unexpected words flowed from Gwak Yeong’s mouth.
“He’s my friend. A friend who’s helped me a lot with my work for a long time.”
Geom Muyang rose from his seat and greeted him politely with a cupped-fist salute.
“I am Jang Hyeong of the Sunggeom Sect.”
“Oh, so you are Great Hero Jang.”
At the word that he was Gwak Yeong’s friend, the wariness in his eyes eased. That alone showed how much he wanted to stay in Gwak Yeong’s good graces.
“I still have something to discuss with the Squad Leader. Friend, let’s meet again next time.”
At her words, Geom Muyang nodded.
He had no choice but to let her go. With the White Dragon Squad Leader and the White Dragon Squad martial artists watching, he could not forcefully take her away.
And so Gwak Yeong left the place with the White Dragon Squad Leader. As she walked off into the distance, Gwak Yeong turned back. After looking at Geom Muyang for a moment, she quickened her steps and disappeared.
When Geom Muyang left Hyanghyang and began walking, Homyeong quietly came up beside him. He, too, had watched Gwak Yeong use the Murim Alliance martial artists to slip away.
“I will inform Tongcheon Pavilion that Gwak Yeong is likely to go into hiding again. I’ll tell them to cast a tight net this time so we don’t lose her.”
Then Geom Muyang gave an unexpected answer.
“Gwak Yeong will not run.”
“Pardon?”
“She will probably come again tomorrow.”
She had fled like that, and yet she would come again tomorrow? Homyeong could not understand Geom Muyang for thinking such a thing.
“May I ask why?”
It was Geom Muyang’s instinct. For some reason, he had a feeling she would not simply leave like this.
If he had to give Homyeong a reason,
“If the ones behind her intended to hide her, they would not have let her return.”
And yet they had done the opposite. She, who had vanished, had returned precisely on the day they arrived.
* * *
The next day, Homyeong kept an even sharper watch around Hyanghyang.
Through Tongcheon Pavilion’s marked agents, he tried to grasp the movements of the Murim Alliance’s masters and elites as much as possible, and the martial artists of the Earth Corps strained every nerve. The peace in which nothing happened only made them more uneasy.
Geom Muyang entered Hyanghyang alone.
Then he sat in the seat he had occupied yesterday and ordered tea.
“You’ve come again.”
The owner recognized Geom Muyang and greeted him warmly. According to Tongcheon Pavilion’s investigation, he was not suspicious. He was an ordinary man who had run this teahouse here for a long time.
Tongcheon Pavilion had been thorough enough to investigate even all the regular customers. But they could find no guests they needed to be wary of.
Geom Muyang sat alone and drank his tea.
Even as time passed, she did not appear.
‘Was my intuition wrong?’
Perhaps it was. He might have misjudged her, confused by her overly confident and bright demeanor.
Just as a full double-hour passed and Geom Muyang was about to rise from his seat—
—She has arrived.
Homyeong’s voice transmission reached him, and shortly afterward, Gwak Yeong entered the teahouse.
She had fled yesterday as if running for her life.
This time, she came first to the seat where Geom Muyang sat.
“The quality of the iron that came in today was the best since I entered the Iron Workshop. Truly, we’ve never had such good iron before.”
She behaved as if yesterday’s flight had never happened, as if she were dealing with a real friend. She even smiled brightly.
“You don’t know, do you? On days when good iron comes in, good things happen. It’s an old belief of the Iron Workshop.”
“A superstition, then.”
With that cold reply, Geom Muyang stared icily at her and asked,
“Why did you not run and instead come back?”
He had expected it, but he was curious about the reason. Moreover, she had come alone again today.
He had examined the surroundings even more thoroughly than yesterday, but still there were no hidden masters in ambush.
“Where could I run when people like you have marked me?”
If that reason was sincere, then she had made a clever choice. Just because she had left like that yesterday did not mean they would have lost her if she tried to run.
“Unless I hid deep in the mountains somewhere.”
“Then you might save your life.”
After ordering her usual tea from the teahouse owner, she said to Geom Muyang,
“My life isn’t so grand that I’d have to hide in the mountains just to protect it.”
Her words were bold, yet tinged with sorrow.
“And what would I do alone in the mountains? A life where I can’t work at the Iron Workshop would be…”
She did not finish, but he could tell she meant death would be better.
“If you like your work so much, why did you do such a thing?”
She only toyed with her teacup and did not answer. He could clearly sense that there were circumstances behind it.
In any case, she would be interrogated using a confession drug, so it did not matter if she refused to speak now.
“Let’s get up.”
“I’ve only taken one sip!”
But Geom Muyang rose first and left the teahouse.
After sipping down the tea left in her cup, she followed Geom Muyang outside.
A carriage was waiting in an alley near the teahouse.
“Let’s walk.”
“Who are you planning to meet today to slip away?”
When Geom Muyang climbed into the carriage first, she had no choice but to climb in with him. It was a carriage whose windows were covered so she could not see where they were going.
“I’d like to look outside as we go.”
The carriage set off, but Geom Muyang did not open the closed window for her.
And then came a blunt sentence.
“You’ll have a chance to see the sky once before you die.”
After a brief pause, she answered,
“Why would I look at the sky on the day I die? I should look at people.”
Geom Muyang gave no reply.
After a moment of silence, Gwak Yeong cautiously asked,
“Who are you?”
From the way she looked at him, Geom Muyang could tell. The woman did not know who he was. The people behind her had told her nothing.
Geom Muyang did not answer.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the manor.
They had circled the outskirts several times to check whether they were being followed, but there was no one pursuing them and no one trying to protect her. She was utterly alone.
Just as Geom Muyang opened the carriage door and was about to step out—
Srrk.
Gwak Yeong aimed something at Geom Muyang.
Amazingly, what she held in her hand was a Jingyeok. But it was not the counterfeit Jingyeok Geom Muyang had seen earlier.
It was far smaller. So small it could be perfectly hidden in the palm of one’s hand.
“It’s a Jingyeok that fires only one shot. I made this too.”
Because they were sitting face to face inside the carriage, the Jingyeok was aimed right before his face.
But Geom Muyang did not look frightened at all.
“I asked who you are.”
From the moment she first saw him, she had sensed that he was not just an ordinary demon cultist. He did not feel like a butcher who hunted down and killed those who made counterfeits. He spoke very little, but there was a certain authority about him.
Even now, with the Jingyeok aimed before his eyes, he did not so much as blink.
“You are going to kill me without even knowing who I am?”
A heavy silence flowed.
“Why don’t you shoot? All you have to do is move your finger.”
Gwak Yeong’s eyes trembled, while Geom Muyang’s eyes remained calm.
“You’ve never killed a person, have you?”
“Is that something to boast about? Having killed people?”
Though she trembled, she tried to remain bold.
“It would be my first time, but I can kill you.”
“Then kill me.”
But she did not fire the Jingyeok.
“I didn’t take it out to kill you. I took it out to live.”
Gwak Yeong slowly lowered the Jingyeok she had been aiming.
“I will stake my life and fate on you.”
Her eyes were more solemn than ever.
“You said you don’t even know who I am. What do you believe in, to stake your fate on me?”
Gwak Yeong stared at Geom Muyang and said,
“I don’t believe in you. I believe in myself. I believe in my own choice.”
Gwak Yeong gazed intently at Geom Muyang. When they first met in the teahouse, she had bowed her head slightly toward him and smiled without realizing it.
It had not been a smile offered simply because their eyes met. The instant she saw him, there had been some resonance rising from deep within her heart. She could not explain what it was.
“I spared your life, so grant me one request. After that, you may kill me if you like. If you are a person with honor, promise me here and now.”
The look in her eyes, resolved for death, spoke the truth.
It was right then.
Whip.
The Jingyeok she had lowered was once again aimed at Geom Muyang.
The one more surprised was Gwak Yeong, who was holding it. Her finger moved on its own and tried to pull the mechanism that would launch the hidden projectile.
“No!”
She tried to turn it aside, but her arm would not move.
“Dodge!”
She shouted, but the Jingyeok fired.
Shaaaak!
Pak!
In that instant, Gwak Yeong squeezed her eyes shut. She knew better than anyone that at this distance, it could never be dodged. She had made it herself.
‘Ah! What on earth just happened?’
She had absolutely not meant to kill him. And yet her hand had moved on its own and fired the Jingyeok.
Chiiiiik.
She heard the sound of something melting away.
She squeezed her eyes even more tightly shut.
Then she heard a single sentence.
“Open your eyes.”
At Geom Muyang’s voice, she snapped her eyes open.
Geom Muyang was sitting there. There was a hole right beside his head. It seemed that at the final moment, her hand had moved and shot beside him. She had been so shocked and flustered that she had not realized her hand had moved.
Greatly relieved, she asked,
“What just happened?”
Geom Muyang had moved her fingers and arm according to his will, as if manipulating an object through the air. They were extremely close, and she did not know martial arts, so it had been an easy matter.
He had shown her directly that even if she had tried to kill him, she could not have done so.
Geom Muyang opened the carriage door and stepped out first.
“Enough nonsense about fate. Get down.”
Geom Muyang gave an order to his subordinate.
“Take her to the interrogation room.”
Gwak Yeong stepped down from the carriage with an awkward sigh.
“But today was definitely a day when good iron came in.”