Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Young Master."

"Chief Steward Dan has arrived."

"Let him in."

Moonlight entered diagonally through strangely shaped windows.

The highest chamber of a tall pavilion appeared almost empty.

No sound.

No movement.

Yet a quiet answer came from inside.

The door opened.

A middle-aged man entered alone.

He wore scholarly robes.

The moment he stepped inside...

He looked around.

The room was thick with perfume.

The smell of women.

His expression tightened slightly.

"Chief Steward Dan Moyong greets the noble Second Young Master of the Divine Cult, Cheon Myeongwol, descendant of the Sacred Moon."

He lowered himself only after reaching the area near the bed.

Behind hanging curtains...

Two naked women lay collapsed.

Thin.

Exhausted.

Almost lifeless.

Dan Moyong paid them no attention.

Apparently...

This wasn't new.

"Ah."

"Chief Steward Dan."

"What brings you?"

The man called Cheon Myeongwol rose.

He loosely fixed his clothing.

Then stepped out from behind the curtains.

His face was pale.

His expression colder.

Arrogance seemed naturally built into his tone.

"A report arrived from the Dark Demon Well."

"The Dark Demon Well?"

"Not directly."

"The basic course apparently ended."

"Those who failed and the bodies of the dead were sent outside."

"The people we placed among the collection teams sent word."

"Right."

"That place."

Cheon Myeongwol poured himself a drink.

"So?"

"Did Cheon Sowol's pathetic corpse finally come out?"

The moonlight shifted.

His face became clearer.

Pale.

Almost sickly.

Yet there was something disturbingly innocent in his expression.

"I regret to report..."

"The bodies of the people sent from the Myowol Sect were recovered."

"Neither of the two Young Masters' bodies appeared among the dead or expelled trainees."

"Failure?"

"Both Cheon Gangwol and Cheon Sowol?"

"...It appears so."

"The wounds on the two bodies differed."

"One clearly died from Young Master Gangwol's sword."

"The other..."

"Was killed by a dagger."

"So someone joined Cheon Sowol."

"That explanation makes sense."

"If someone strong enough to act as his guard approached him..."

"After all, Third Young Master originally used a long sword."

"Unless..."

"He recovered his martial arts..."

"No."

Cheon Myeongwol cut him off immediately.

Gangwol surviving was acceptable.

But Sowol?

He had been certain Cheon Sowol could be eliminated.

The possibility that Cheon Sowol regained martial arts lay outside their imagination.

Especially for Myeongwol.

He had personally seen Sowol's ruined condition.

Touched him.

Confirmed it.

So Myeongwol reached the conclusion arrogance preferred.

Someone else had attached themselves to Cheon Sowol.

Probably hoping to exploit the empty authority attached to the title of Third Young Master.

Myeongwol looked down at his own hands.

Then nodded to himself.

"Does Third Elder..."

"Grandfather know?"

"The report likely already reached him."

"Tch."

"We shouldn't have used trash from the Myowol Sect."

"What happened to the others?"

"Given the location, we had little choice."

"We already sent people to erase the remaining traces."

"Nothing will remain."

"This irritates me."

"My head hurts too."

He grabbed a bottle.

Drank directly.

"And there's nothing else we can do, is there?"

"That damned Dark. Demon. Well."

Dan Moyong swallowed hard.

Cheon Myeongwol's irritation was reaching dangerous levels.

He needed to offer something.

"One person remains."

Cheon Myeongwol's hand paused.

"One more?"

"We originally sent three."

"Did we?"

Fortunately...

Myeongwol's anger softened.

He delegated almost everything.

Naturally...

He barely remembered details.

For once...

Dan Moyong was grateful for that.

"That person's skill was verified."

"His body has not appeared either."

"Hmm."

"Then why hasn't he acted?"

"He is cautious."

"He must be waiting for the right moment."

"Can we trust him?"

"People cannot be trusted."

Dan Moyong answered carefully.

"But his circumstances can."

"Hmm."

Myeongwol didn't ask for details.

Knowing too much meant he personally had to answer to his maternal grandfather...

The Third Elder.

So he allowed Dan Moyong to explain only broad information.

It was a skill he'd learned naturally after years of ordering people around.

That bloodline was like that.

Mother's side.

Father's side.

"Then I leave it to you."

"However..."

"Prepare for failure too."

"Especially regarding Cheon Gangwol."

"We'll place people near the Second Elder's Palace and monitor them."

"Good work."

"Go."

"May your night be peaceful."

Dan Moyong bowed.

Cheon Myeongwol waved dismissively.

The steward left.

The remaining person...

In the end...

They could only trust that assassin.

He had been desperate.

Clearly hungry for advancement.

His situation also fit perfectly.

So...

He probably wouldn't abandon the lifeline Cheon Myeongwol had offered.

Unless he found a better lifeline.

And as far as Dan Moyong knew...

No better one existed inside the Dark Demon Well.

As always...

He hated that place.

The Dark Demon Well.

A place beyond his eyes.

Beyond his reach.

Dan Moyong stopped while walking.

Looked toward the mountain where the Dark Demon Well stood.

Moonlight shone unusually brightly there.

His irritation grew.

"I'm the final assassin sent by Young Master Cheon Myeongwol."

"Hm?"

"Didn't you hear?"

"I received orders to assassinate both Young Master Cheon Gangwol and Young Master Cheon Sowol."

"Ah."

"The person who gave the order was Chief Steward Dan Moyong."

"That zombie-looking middle-aged man who seems to think he knows everything."

"Uh... huh?"

First meetings were difficult.

Things rarely went according to plan.

This time...

Same.

Our newly formed team still felt awkward.

So I started asking questions.

Backgrounds.

Origins.

Why they'd chosen me.

Then...

The first person to raise a hand...

Completely froze my brain.

Yang Myeonghwa.

Former A-grade trainee.

Beautiful foreign archer.

And apparently...

The final assassin.

"So..."

"That's what happened."

I stared at her.

"Are you still planning to do it?"

"Did you join my team as part of the assassination process?"

"No."

"I gave up."

"I judged it impossible."

"Why?"

"Because you're stronger than me."

She answered calmly.

"I thought the second trial was my best chance."

"But it didn't work."

"You also noticed the direction of my arrow first."

"If dawn hadn't come at that moment..."

"I think I would've died."

Well...

She's probably right.

Still...

Was giving up assassination allowed to happen this casually?

I was almost worried on her behalf.

"That's all?"

"The reason you joined me?"

"Not entirely."

"I thought about many things."

"I'm a convert."

"I didn't know much about the internal situation."

"So inside the Dark Demon Well..."

"I listened."

She looked at me.

"I don't think Young Master Cheon Myeongwol would spare me even if I succeeded."

"The promise of advancement also sounded false."

"Many people said he uses people and throws them away."

"Yeah."

"Probably."

"If it's that bastard..."

"He definitely would."

"He's a son of a bitch."

I paused.

"Well..."

"A dog-like person."

"So..."

Yang Myeonghwa smiled faintly.

"I decided to survive."

"Hm?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Didn't you say you'd keep us alive?"

"..."

"Keep me alive."

This was why you had to be careful with words.

I had said it merely to recruit people.

Now it meant protecting someone who had been sent to kill me.

Still...

Her judgment was impressive.

The observation and execution she'd shown during the second trial hadn't been luck.

If this situation hadn't happened...

Our relationship might've developed very differently.

Into the kind where one of us died.

"But why did you volunteer to kill me?"

"Do you have some grudge against me?"

"Not really."

"I didn't volunteer specifically for that job."

"I simply told them to use me for anything."

"I needed advancement."

"My people still live beyond Jade Gate."

"I'm from a minority tribe."

"If I want to bring them to the Heavenly Mountains..."

"I need status."

"I wanted a powerful patron."

She looked directly at me.

"And I found another one here."

"Me?"

"That's my judgment."

"Even after leaving the Dark Demon Well..."

"You seem capable of protecting me from Cheon Myeongwol."

"Am I wrong?"

"Well..."

"I said I'd keep you alive."

"Exactly."

She smiled.

"So please take care of me, Team Leader."

"If you keep me alive, I'll do anything."

Somehow...

I had become responsible for protecting the assassin sent to kill me.

Because when I said keep you alive...

That included protection.

The way she smiled while calling me Team Leader...

Made it obvious she understood that perfectly.

I couldn't contradict her in front of the others.

Women were terrifying.

Especially because the word anything had affected me more than I wanted.

"...Fine."

"Welcome."

I turned toward the twins.

"Next."

"Jin Tae and Jin Su, right?"

"Yes!"

"Older brother Jin Tae uses the saber!"

"Younger brother Jin Su uses the sword!"

"Salute!"

"We come from the Byeongwol Sect!"

"Our sect was founded by soldiers who served on battlefields for generations before joining the Divine Cult!"

"Correct!"

"Salute!"

Thankfully...

Their explanation was normal.

The twins alternated lines almost perfectly.

Military-rooted sect.

That explained the discipline.

"We saw the Young Master's performance throughout the training and were deeply impressed!"

"We volunteered because of that!"

"Training?"

"Which parts?"

"Cliff Wall Climbing!"

"Thousand-Zhang Descent!"

"Cold-Heaven Submersion!"

"Mountain-Moving Log Carry!"

"We watched all of them!"

"Our Byeongwol Sect performs similar training!"

"Correct!"

"The Young Master was better than anyone!"

Their rigid posture and tone revealed the kind of upbringing they'd had.

Since their sect came from soldiers...

They probably knew many similar exercises.

To people like them...

I must've looked unusual.

Couldn't help it.

I'd experienced enough military training for several lifetimes.

"I see."

"Then you chose well."

"Good observation is an ability too."

"You have good eyes."

"That's not all!"

"There's more?"

"Instinct!"

"Instinct?"

"Feeling?"

"Yes!"

"People of the Byeongwol Sect have always possessed excellent instincts!"

"We were taught that our family developed them over generations on the battlefield!"

"Both of us felt that standing beside the Third Young Master would let us survive!"

"Correct!"

"I felt it too!"

"Our sect values survival above everything!"

I nodded slowly.

"You've got good eyes."

"Good instincts."

"Fine."

"From now on, I'll call you Twin Jin."

"That okay?"

"Salute!"

"Salute!"

Instinct was real talent for a soldier.

If they could sense my survival-oriented nature...

Their instincts were excellent.

Their combat ability was best when combined...

But they were always together anyway.

A useful pair.

Next...

Na Gak.

"Na Gak."

"You and I already know each other."

"We can skip your reason, right?"

"As you wish."

"I only ask that you give me time to speak privately."

"Until then, I'll listen."

"We'll talk later."

"Yes."

His reason was obvious.

Only one thing had brought him to me.

The conversation we'd postponed...

Could wait a little longer.

Finally...

The spearman.

"Ma Cheonho from Bukwol Peak, right?"

"Correct."

"Why choose me?"

"Honestly..."

"Either you or Fifth Young Master would've been acceptable."

"Hoh."

"Interesting."

"Advancement?"

"You volunteered for the Dark Demon Well too, didn't you?"

"I simply want to rise."

"Why?"

"There is something I must reclaim."

"To do that..."

"I need power."

His name was Ma Cheonho.

His expression wasn't especially friendly.

The look in his eyes...

Resembled Cheon Gangwol.

Revenge.

Something had been taken from him.

He wanted it back.

Even the way he'd spoken to an opponent during the second trial hinted at old grudges.

"You don't seem to know much about me."

"Unlike the others..."

"I have almost nothing."

"No powerful maternal family."

"If that's your goal..."

"Wouldn't Cheon Gangwol be better?"

"He has too many people."

"It would be difficult to become important beneath him."

"So you chose me because I have fewer followers?"

"That's slightly insulting."

"I'm still uncertain."

"Uncertain?"

"I'm not sure my choice was correct."

"You look like you're asking me for something."

"I want a reason."

"A certainty."

"Give me a reason to follow the Third Young Master."

His tone and expression clearly showed he hadn't fully committed to this group.

Ah.

There it was.

An unavoidable ritual in every organized group.

Hierarchy.

It was time to establish it.

"If I give you that..."

"You'll follow?"

"I want to serve someone who will rise high."

"I know the Divine Cult is a place where strong people rise."

"That's all."

"Good."

"Then I'll give you one."

I stood.

Drew a dagger.

Ma Cheonho raised his spear.

The other team members stepped back naturally.

A space opened.

Then...

We moved toward each other.