"Thank you."
Yeo Ungi scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression at Pyo Gukju, who had been repeatedly expressing his gratitude since earlier.
"It was something we had to do."
"Thanks to Young Hero Yeo Ungi and Young Lady Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa, there was no damage despite Suryongchae's attack."
"It was just luck."
Pyo Gukju looked at Yeo Ungi in front of him and Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa, who stood quietly in the corner.
Thanks to the two of them, the ships of Dancheong Pyoguk were able to cross the Janggang without any incident.
"I will definitely report this to the Maeng."
At that moment, Yeo Ungi broke into a wide smile.
It was the result he had wanted more than words of gratitude.
"Hahaha, thank you."
Around the time Yeo Ungi answered loudly.
"Thank you so much. Thanks to Hero Yeo, I saved my insignificant life."
"I won't forget this grace."
In front of Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa, there was a crowd of escort guards and fighters.
A beauty so dazzling it hurt the eyes.
On top of that, she possessed outstanding martial prowess.
In their eyes now, Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa was the incarnation of the female hero they had only heard about in stories.
"I only did what I had to do."
Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa felt burdened by the escort guards and fighters who took turns expressing their gratitude one by one.
'...It's always uncomfortable.'
This wasn't the first or second time this had happened, yet she never got used to it.
All she could do was put on an awkward smile that didn't suit her, which was the best she could manage.
After a while, Dancheong Pyoguk departed.
"The energy is drained."
Yeo Ungi let his shoulders slump.
Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa agreed with those words.
She would rather fight; this kind of thing was an ordeal for her.
"More importantly, where on earth did Young Hero Cheonhwi go? We were in the middle of the river."
"Hmph. He's probably just swimming around."
Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa said dismissively.
She didn't like Cheonhwi.
Running away in the middle of a fight—was that what a martial artist does?
However, unlike her, Yeo Ungi didn't think he had run away.
'He possessed skill superior to mine.'
Cheonhwi's martial prowess was outstanding.
Of course, he had never seen him wield a sword, but just from the footwork he had seen in that brief moment, it was enough to estimate.
It was then.
Whish—
Suddenly, a hawk swooped down from the sky.
"That's the Vice Commander's messenger hawk."
Yeo Ungi smoothly extended his arm.
Then the hawk landed gently on his forearm.
"What's going on? They don't send messenger hawks for trivial matters."
After Yeo Ungi untied the paper tied to the hawk's leg and lightly waved his hand, the messenger hawk immediately soared again.
As he watched the rapidly receding messenger hawk and unfolded the paper to read.
"Y-Young Lady Cheonghwa! They've confirmed the location of Suryongchae!"
He shouted loudly.
"Is that true?"
"Yes! And..."
Yeo Ungi, who had been speaking vigorously, froze in that state.
"What is it?"
Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa, who had been waiting for an answer, couldn't hold back any longer and snatched the paper.
"Suryongchae location confirmed. And..."
Soon she too was reading the paper and her expression stiffened at the final words written.
"Exter...minated?"
At that moment, a person's face came to mind for both Yeo Ungi and Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa.
"Don't tell me!"
"Don't tell me!"
* * *
Bang!
Seolgeom, who was processing documents as usual, raised his head at the sound of the door suddenly opening and inadvertently flinched.
The person who had opened the door and appeared was someone who shouldn't be here.
"Young Hero Cheonhwi, why are you here?"
"I finished the mission, so I came."
"Excuse me? What do you mean?"
At Cheonhwi's blunt manner of speaking, Seolgeom was beyond bewildered—he was dumbfounded.
"The mission I gave you was clearly to prevent Suryongchae's attacks for a month..."
"There won't be any more attacks from Suryongchae now."
Cheonhwi cut off his words.
"No more attacks?"
"Yes."
Seolgeom couldn't understand his words at all.
Was there even a way to resolve Suryongchae's attacks?
If there had been, they would have done it long ago.
However, the solution he was doubtful about soon flowed from Cheonhwi's mouth.
"I eliminated Suryongchae."
"What?"
Seolgeom's mind momentarily stopped.
Suryongchae suddenly disappeared—what kind of nonsensical talk was this?
"What do you mean by..."
"Goodness. You really can't understand what I'm saying."
Cheonhwi looked at Seolgeom as if he were pathetic.
"I wiped them all out."
"You mean Suryongchae?"
For a moment, Seolgeom wore a blank expression.
It was a method he hadn't thought of at all.
But soon, his face turned cold as he came to his senses.
"That's hard to believe as it is."
Seolgeom said coldly.
Suryongchae was counted on one hand among the eighteen Janggang water bandits, and even their base location was still unknown.
And he said he eliminated them?
"Young Hero. The location of Suryongchae has never been known."
He spat out the words, telling him not to tell useless lies.
But.
"That makes sense."
Cheonhwi agreed.
Not only that, he took it a step further.
"Who would have thought they'd set up their base in a cave."
"A cave?"
It was a location he hadn't thought of at all.
And because of that, he was momentarily convinced.
If it was a cave, it made sense why Hyeopwidae hadn't been able to find it even after searching multiple places along the Janggang.
"H-How did you find Suryongchae?"
"I rode their ship."
It was an answer that struck at the blind spot.
At the same time, it was a perfect answer.
All they had to do was follow them as they returned, wasn't it?
But the reason they had failed to pursue them all this time was because their counterattacks were fierce every time they chased.
'Even so, to board their ship alone.'
He had an amazing nerve.
Boarding a ship full of enemies to go to Suryongchae was completely like sticking one's neck into a tiger's maw.
"Didn't they attack you?"
"They did."
"Then how?"
"Did you hear what I said earlier?"
Cheonhwi looked Seolgeom up and down with eyes that said he was pathetic.
"I said they were annihilated."
Seolgeom swallowed hard.
'Is this actually true?'
Seolgeom's eyes wavered slightly as he looked at Cheonhwi, who was brimming with confidence.
"Is there a way to confirm that those words are true?"
"Why would I tell a lie that would be immediately discovered?"
Seolgeom lost his words.
As he said, if Suryongchae attacked again, it would be immediately discovered.
"And I told the Vice Commander of Hyeopwidae where it is. He'll probably send a letter later once he confirms."
Cheonhwi recalled the middle-aged man he had met at the Janggang ferry on his way back to the Murimmaeng after destroying Suryongchae.
Seeing the same martial uniform as Yeo Ungi and Hyeokryeon Cheonghwa, he thought it was a good thing he had told him, whether to have him handle the corpses or not.
"The Vice Commander?"
Seolgeom's eyes widened.
When Cheonhwi mentioned none other than the Vice Commander of Hyeopwidae, he felt his doubts about Cheonhwi gradually tilting toward conviction.
'Did he really eliminate Suryongchae!'
When he realized that Cheonhwi's words were true, surprise struck his chest.
Suryongchae was a place notorious for its infamy.
Not only had all the water bandits learned martial arts, but the leadership roster was brilliant.
Including Heukyano, who had once thrown Cheonghaeseong into chaos, and Hyeolgwibu (Blood Ghost Axe), who was originally a bandit chief of Nokrim but had voluntarily submitted to the Suryongchaeju after being won over by him.
And the one who led them all—the Suryongchaeju.
Sohogeodo (Small Tiger Giant Blade) Jakryang.
He was a master who had grown the once-weak Suryongchae to its current position overnight with his high charisma and astonishing skill.
If he had ambition, the common assessment was that he would become a master whose name would resound throughout the Central Plains beyond Suryongchae.
'...To have killed such people.'
If this was truly true, he would have to revise his thoughts about Cheonhwi.
'I already thought he was dangerous based on the skill he showed when meeting the Gaebangju...'
He had thought him worth watching just for withstanding the Gaebangju's aura, but in reality, he was displaying something beyond that.
'Perhaps even superior to the great disciples of the Gupailbang.'
A martial genius who appeared occasionally.
Cheonhwi seemed to be such a person.
'Is this a good thing for me?'
A faint smile line was drawn on Seolgeom's lips as he organized his thoughts.
Right now, he had joined hands with the Hwasanpa.
For someone like him, having such an outstanding person in the Hwasanpa was a great blessing.
'And if the Hwasanpa's influence grows like this, the balance of the Maeng will also crumble.'
He held back the laughter that was about to burst out.
To become the strategist himself, he needed to draw out the hidden strategists.
What was needed for that.
They needed someone who would shake the Murimmaeng.
And right now, Cheonhwi before him and the Hwasanpa were the perfect fit for that.
"Then I will believe your words, Young Hero."
Seolgeom took out a document from the drawer.
When he flipped over the paper densely filled with writing, a drawing of a pavilion appeared.
"You can sign here."
Cheonhwi looked at the pavilion.
It was clearly an old-fashioned and fine pavilion, but.
"This isn't the right place."
It wasn't the place he wanted.
"I'm trying to move to the quarters that the Hwasanpa used before."
"If it's the quarters that the Hwasanpa used before..."
Seolgeom's smile went awry.
"That is the Jongnampa's quarters."
Seolgeom said in a fluster.
"I heard it was originally the Hwasanpa's quarters."
"That was in the past."
"That's why I'm trying to take it back."
The flustered Seolgeom quickly changed the subject.
"Haha. Young Hero, instead of that, how about the eastern pavilion this time? It was newly renovated this time..."
"Oh, that works out well then."
Cheonhwi smiled brightly.
But Seolgeom, seeing that smile, felt a sense of unease.
And that wasn't wrong.
"You'll give that to the Jongnampa, right?"
"Excuse me...?"
"You said it's a better pavilion."
"Ha, but that is..."
"Why? Did you just lie?"
A sharp drop of sweat formed on Seolgeom's forehead.
"That's not it. The newly renovated pavilion is certainly better, but..."
"Then that's settled. We actually preferred our old quarters even if they were worn. Well, this worked out nicely."
While making eye contact with the awkwardly smiling Seolgeom, Cheonhwi twisted the corners of his mouth.
"Isn't that right?"