As I headed to the place prepared for my lodging, a middle-aged man wearing the Martial Alliance’s unit uniform greeted me.
“It has been a long time.”
It was Beom Dong, whom I had seen last time.
“Yes. It has been a while.”
When I returned his greeting with a displeased look, Beom Dong gave a short laugh.
“I apologize for coming so suddenly.”
He certainly didn’t look sorry in the slightest.
“So you do. You came right at mealtime, too. I’m hungry as it is.”
I didn’t bother with the customary lie that it was fine.
Because it really wasn’t.
“I don’t believe I properly introduced myself last time, so I came to see you.”
“Then you should’ve come a little later. Why now of all times…?”
“I am Beom Dong, commander of the Martial Alliance’s Flying Dragon Unit. Young Hero Soyeomra.”
“...”
I had been about to show my irritation, but I changed my expression.
That was because he had used a title I hadn’t heard in a very long time.
‘Well, well.’
I had wondered why Beom Dong had come to see me. It seemed he had gathered some information and come looking for me.
‘He found out who I am. Is that it?’
Well, seven days and nights was more than enough time.
And considering the capabilities of the Information Bureau….
‘He probably found out more than just my identity.’
I was beginning to grow slightly curious about why he had come.
Creak.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. Then I spoke to Beom Dong.
“I am Gu Yangcheon of the Gu Family.”
“Now I finally hear your proper name. You initially called yourself Pajeolyeop, so it took us some time to track you down.”
I let out a short laugh at Beom Dong’s words.
‘He isn’t even trying to hide it?’
Pajeolyeop was the alias I had used when Bihyeonhwa approached me.
Yet for Beom Dong to mention it so openly meant that he had no intention whatsoever of hiding the fact that he had investigated me.
“I was surprised. I never imagined that you would be Young Hero Soyeomra.”
I quietly stared at Beom Dong without answering, and he continued.
“They said you were a rising master who had once stirred up the Central Plains…. To be honest, I didn’t put much faith in those claims.”
“Why? Were they too absurd?”
“They were. The youngest person to reach the Transformation Realm…. That you slew a great demonic fiend by yourself. Those are difficult things to believe.”
Half of it was true, and half of it was wrong.
“But seeing you in person, I find you even more remarkable.”
“Why do you keep offering me such insincere praise? It’s irritating.”
“I heard that you had only just passed the age of twenty….”
To have overwhelmed him at that age—
Beom Dong seemed to swallow the words that would have followed.
“This is purely out of curiosity, but are you perhaps a senior who has undergone Rejuvenation?”
“...”
I nearly spat out the tea I was drinking from the cup on the table.
“No matter how I look at it, I simply cannot understand how someone your age could have reached such a realm.”
“You must be aware of the side effects of Rejuvenation, Commander?”
“I am.”
Rejuvenation was a technique that reduced a martial artist’s physical age, but weakened their blood pathways and diminished the size of their vessel.
Unless one underwent Metamorphosis several times, it was impossible to regain the body of one’s previous life.
“Knowing those side effects full well, what kind of brainless martial artist would do such a thing?”
“That is true.”
“A complete idiot. A monumental fool. Unless he were some moronic, spineless piece of seaweed of a man….”
“Ah, I understand, so you can stop now.”
“If such a person really existed, he’d have to be both stupid and hopelessly inadequate.”
“...”
At the sight of me cursing so vehemently, Beom Dong gave a slight cough.
I watched him for a moment before asking,
“Why have you come?”
Click.
I set down the teacup in my hand and asked,
“If you’ve already learned the information, shouldn’t you investigate me a little more? What exactly is your purpose in coming here now?”
“Haha.”
Beom Dong laughed.
For some reason, that laughter felt as though it were tickling and scraping at my insides.
“We are still gathering information. About you and the Hundred Blossom Merchant Group, of course, and several other matters that have become entangled with them. The investigation continues without pause.”
“Then why are you here?”
“It seems there has arisen something for which I had to come and meet you in person.”
He openly admitted that he was investigating me, yet claimed there was something else he needed to look into personally?
I was staring at Beom Dong, wondering what it could be, when he continued.
“Several strange incidents have occurred around you of late. Do you know anything about them?”
“That sounds interesting. I’m listening.”
Around me?
“The first concerns the woman who approached you.”
“Hm.”
At the words Beom Dong brought up, my eyes widened slightly.
I was genuinely surprised.
“I didn’t expect you to bring that up so openly.”
He was talking about Bihyeonhwa. I hadn’t expected him to reveal it so bluntly.
“I was certain you already knew. That became clear after gathering the information. It is a curious matter. Men of your age should not have been able to resist her easily.”
Bihyeonhwa was certainly beautiful.
As Beom Dong said, she was beautiful enough to leave ordinary men senseless.
It was just that—
‘The girls around me were overwhelmingly beautiful.’
I was not merely immune to such things. I was practically wrapped in immunity.
“How did you know? That she was one of the Alliance’s people?”
“I didn’t particularly think she belonged to the Alliance. I simply kept my distance because she seemed suspicious.”
I had already known everything and played along with her, but that was naturally a secret.
“Was there some problem with that woman?”
She had left as though fleeing, so I hadn’t bothered to stop her.
Had something happened to her?
At my question, Beom Dong stared at me silently.
Then—
“…So that is how you intend to play it.”
He suddenly muttered something to himself.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What are you talking about? Why are you muttering to yourself? Let me in on it.”
Had he gone mad…?
“The second concerns the fact that members of the Alliance have been disappearing one by one.”
That was the first I’d heard of it.
“Disappearing?”
“That is correct. In particular….”
Beom Dong looked at me, narrowing his eyes.
His gaze was gradually becoming more and more unpleasant.
I watched those eyes, let out a weary breath, and asked,
“Do you suspect me?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it suspicion. I’m merely keeping an eye on you.”
“That is suspicion.”
It was absurd.
If he suspected me of some incident I had actually caused, that would be one thing. But to suspect me of some matter I had never even heard of was ridiculous.
‘Besides, I don’t think any report came in about me.’
Perhaps others had caused the incidents, but no such report had reached me yet.
“So you came here because you suspect me. Is that it?”
“That is not the case. I came partly to pay my respects…. Besides, even if not today, the Alliance will soon grant us investigative authority.”
‘Investigative authority?’
My brow twitched at Beom Dong’s words.
“Especially now that circumstantial evidence has been uncovered.”
Circumstantial evidence? There was evidence?
What was he talking about?
Just as those questions arose in my mind—
“The attitude you showed me earlier may also become a problem.”
My brows shifted at Beom Dong’s next words.
‘So that’s what this is.’
I had spared him and sent him away last time, but it seemed he intended to hold a grudge after all.
“In that case, before the investigative authority is granted…. Why don’t you come to the Alliance yourself and submit to questioning?”
“It wasn’t my doing, yet you suspect me and want me to go to the Alliance and obediently undergo an investigation?”
“Once investigative authority is granted, it will only make things troublesome for both of us. Wouldn’t it be better to settle this easily?”
“Wow….”
I expressed my admiration as I listened to Beom Dong.
It wasn’t admiration for his method.
‘This bastard was exactly the same back then.’
First, he spoke as though he knew everything about me. Then he brought up the Alliance’s investigative authority and the circumstantial evidence, emphasizing his own position within the Alliance.
In other words, this was a battle of wills.
No matter how strong martial artists were, the orthodox factions were bound beneath the banner of the Martial Alliance.
Even if they acted recklessly, the Alliance’s intervention could create more than a few problems.
That was how Beom Dong had pressured people whenever he handled matters in my previous life.
‘What a load of bullshit.’
Naturally, none of that would work on me.
“I’m not going.”
Screech!
I rose as I spoke.
“If you want to find me, come back with some evidence first. You’re handling this like absolute trash. I couldn’t even eat because I heard a guest had arrived. Should I sprinkle salt on you and be done with it?”
It was a rare thing for a unit commander to come in person, but there was no need to spend any more effort on such a ridiculous meeting.
If he simply waited, I would have gone to him eventually.
Why did he keep trying to shorten his own lifespan?
‘I can’t kill him yet. I still have use for him.’
He was testing my patience, but I had to endure it.
As I said, I still had to leave him alone for now.
Beom Dong had to be used at the decisive moment—
“You seem to have quite a few women around you.”
I stopped dead.
I didn’t turn around, but I opened my ears.
The presence behind me was one only I could sense.
“I count four in total. Three daughters of prestigious families…. No, one of them no longer qualifies as such, so exclude her.”
The sound was rotting my ears.
Should I turn around now? No. Be patient.
If I turned around now, I might kill him. I tried to summon up my patience, but—
“It also appears that the heir of the former Alliance Leader is at your side.”
“…Haha.”
At those final words, I had no choice but to turn around.
“And?”
“It’s nothing remarkable…. It simply seems that you are quite close with those young ladies.”
“No, I mean—”
Creak.
I dragged the chair I had stood from toward me, placed my hand on the table, and stepped closer to Beom Dong.
“So what?”
“Hahahaha.”
When I met his eyes and asked, Beom Dong laughed.
“No, I didn’t mean anything by it. I merely think you may be laboring under a slight misunderstanding.”
“What do you think I’m misunderstanding?”
“Since the Martial Alliance upholds justice, surely you do not intend to engage in any foolish behavior, Young Hero Soyeomra?”
I gave a slight nod at Beom Dong’s words.
“If that is the case, then you are correct. The Alliance upholds justice, so it does not engage in acts that go against it.”
After listening to him, I asked,
“What exactly do you mean by foolish or improper acts?”
“I mean criminal acts.”
“Oh, I see. Go on, then. You mean that the Alliance does not commit such criminal and despicable acts. But?”
“Under the Alliance’s name, that may indeed be the case…. However, as members of the Alliance have recently been disappearing, there have also been occasional incidents in which those who refuse to cooperate with the Alliance suffer misfortune.”
“Misfortune?”
“Things such as their families coming to harm…. Their loved ones being injured.”
The longer Beom Dong spoke, the colder my gaze became.
How had these bastards not changed at all?
Perhaps that was why dealing with them felt so easy.
“And?”
“I’m telling you this out of concern. Since you insist on being so uncooperative…. Something unpleasant might happen to the important people around you.”
“So what you’re saying is—”
Click.
My hand moved, brushing against the teacup.
At the same time, I sensed a presence behind me.
A presence only I could feel.
“Stop making a scene and keep your head bowed. If you keep acting up like that, we won’t leave the people around you alone. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
“Haha, it seems you have misunderstood again…. This is not the Alliance’s position. Truly—”
“Honestly, you orthodox bastards are fucking scum.”
“…What?”
The curse slipped out before I could stop it, and Beom Dong’s expression twisted.
“Young Hero Soyeomra, what did you just—”
“I heard you perfectly, so don’t ask again. You fucking bastard.”
It seemed I was past the point of being able to hold back.
“The so-called orthodox sects have absolutely no principles. The demonic factions at least do it openly. But you bastards can’t seem to evolve at all, can you?”
At the harsh curses, Beom Dong rose as well.
No—he tried to rise.
Grab!
Crash!
“Guh—!”
I seized Beom Dong by the hair as he moved and slammed his head into the table.
The impact spilled the tea from the cup above, and it ran across the floor.
Fortunately, the table did not break.
I had protected it with sword qi beforehand.
“What the—!”
Before Beom Dong could shout anything else, my fist slammed into his face.
Boom!
“Ghk!”
The impact split Beom Dong’s lips, and several of his teeth flew out.
“I’m already pissed off enough to die. And what? You’re threatening me with misfortune?”
“Ugh… How dare you… the Alliance—”
I lifted him slightly by the hair I was gripping, then slammed him down again.
Bang! Bang, bang!
As I repeated the motion, I whispered behind me,
“Nahi.”
“Yes, Master.”
“…!!”
By the time Nahi appeared behind him and answered, Beomdong’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“Close the doors.”
“I obey.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the windows and doors around them began closing one by one.
Wooooong—!
Once they were all shut, a barrier of qi flowed out and filled the room.
It had sealed the room so that no sound from inside could escape outside.
Bang—! Slam—!
I continued smashing Beomdong’s head against the table. Only after the number of blows had surpassed the count of my fingers did I finally stop.
“Gueegh….”
In the silent room, the only sound was Beomdong’s groan.
Drip… drip….
Blood trickled from the corners of Beomdong’s mouth, staining the tabletop.
Looking at him, I said,
“I was trying to avoid laying a hand on you and let things pass quietly, as much as possible. The time isn’t right yet, after all.”
It was true.
The time to make use of Beomdong had not yet come.
I needed to use him at least until after the Martial Arts Tournament.
“Why do you keep getting on my nerves? You’re making me want to kill you.”
“Urgh….”
“Huh? I’m asking you. Why are you acting like this?”
“Ugh… ugh….”
After groaning for a while, Beomdong spoke to me through trembling lips.
“…D-do you really think you can… get away with this…? How dare you… do this to a great leader of the Alliance…!”
“Of course. Yes, yes. Great Leader. The Alliance’s great and mighty leader.”
Unable to bear listening to his nonsense any longer, I grabbed his face with one hand.
The blood running from him soaked my hand, but I paid it no mind.
“I know. I know very well that it’ll be difficult to let this pass after what I’ve done. I know that better than anyone.”
I knew all too well what kind of organization the Alliance was.
Just as Beomdong had said, the Alliance was quite thorough when it came to dealing with its own members.
And if the person in question was a leader of his rank, the matter would be even more serious.
“But you see.”
I looked into his eyes and said,
“If someone acts like this despite knowing that so well, doesn’t that mean either he doesn’t care about such things—or that he has a way to make this all right?”
“…!”
Beomdong’s pupils trembled for an instant.
“So don’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself.”
Worry about yourself for now. That would be best for you.
Thinking that, I gave him a bright smile.
Tap.
At the same time, I grabbed the water glass beside me.
“Gueegh!?”
I seized his cheek, forcibly opened his mouth, and shoved the glass inside.
Beomdong tried desperately to spit it out, but he lacked the strength to break free.
“Keep your eyes open from now on. If you close them even once, you’re dead.”
After giving Beomdong that brief warning,
I raised my fist and slammed it straight into his cheek.
Crack—! Smash!
“Gaaaaaah!!”
The glass shattered into pieces inside Beomdong’s mouth.