Chapter 38: One Step Closer to the Alliance Leader (3)
“Grandpa, look at this. I wrote it.”
The ten-year-old Cheon Ha-young held out a sheet of paper.
Cheon Myeong-jin read the paper his granddaughter offered.
It was about her father.
The content said her deceased father had become a star in the sky.
Cheon Myeong-jin had once told her that. There was an old saying passed down in the Murim: when a martial artist dies, they become a star.
He'd said it long ago so she wouldn't grieve too deeply over her father's death, and it seemed she still remembered those words.
They must have left a deep impression, or perhaps she wanted to hold onto them that way.
“Grandpa.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Dad's doing well up there, right?”
“Of course. He's watching over our Ha-young from the heavens every single day.”
“Hehehe. I miss him.”
The child forced a smile as she said it.
His son's face flashed in Cheon Myeong-jin's mind, and emotion welled up in his chest.
Whenever she asked about her dad like this, he sometimes didn't know what to say.
She seemed so young at times, yet other moments she acted like a grown-up.
Cheon Myeong-jin didn't know how to handle a child well.
His wife had raised her, and after his wife passed, a nanny had taken over.
He had been obsessed with martial arts and becoming the head of the Korea Murim Alliance.
Before he knew it, his son had grown up, and though he'd taken his eyes off him for a moment, their relationship wasn't bad.
If his son hadn't been a Murim man, it might have been worse than others', but his son respected and followed him well.
Still, there was always that lingering awkwardness.
That made him even angrier and more frustrated.
He'd planned to grow closer to his son soon, wrap up these matters, and go on a trip together—just the two of them. But he'd kept putting it off, and now it had come to this.
It was right then.
A red dot appeared and vanished in Cheon Ha-young's pupil, like something crimson was thrusting out from within.
Inside the red dot, multicolored specks dotted the surface, making it all the more grotesque and unsettling.
It appeared and disappeared in an instant, but Cheon Myeong-jin had seen it clearly.
His expression hardened, and a deep sigh escaped him unbidden.
It was a sigh heavy with worry, but Jeong In-sook noticed neither the red dot in her daughter's eye nor Cheon Myeong-jin's sigh.
She sat with her head bowed, lost in thought for a moment.
Every time she met her father-in-law, thoughts of her husband inevitably surfaced.
And with them came guilt.
She couldn't shake the guilty feelings in his presence. No one blamed her for her husband's death, but she blamed herself.
No matter how much others advised her against it, the thought persisted: if he hadn't met her, he might not have died. It was the burden of the survivor.
“Grandpa, see you next month!”
“Yes, listen to your mom.”
“Okay!”
Jeong In-sook bowed politely in greeting.
“Father, please take care of your health.”
“You too. Stay well.”
“Yes.”
The car carrying Jeong In-sook and Cheon Ha-young pulled away. Three SUVs with her bodyguard martial artists followed behind.
As the car departed, Cheon Myeong-jin got into his own vehicle. Vehicles escorting the Alliance Leader flanked his front and rear.
The driver of Cheon Myeong-jin's car was his trusted subordinate, Joo Won.
“Any leads on Im Yeon-sin?”
Joo Won answered while driving.
“We've checked multiple channels, but we couldn't find out who killed him. My apologies.”
Cheon Myeong-jin hadn't expected much to begin with, so he showed no disappointment.
“There are rumors it was a rival in the Murim business, but Im Yeon-sin wouldn't have fallen to them, would he?”
“Absolutely not. He looks ordinary, but he's a considerable expert. And the men he kept were the same.”
“There's one strange thing. As you said, he had over twenty skilled experts under him.
But in the explosion, not a single one of their bodies turned up. Only Im Yeon-sin's did.”
“His organization took him out?”
“We can't rule it out. Or it could be Black Heaven.”
“Black Heaven?”
“Yes. Lately, there have been several issues related to Black Heaven on our Asian intel lines.
Rumors say they sent assassins here to take out the Guwol Sect Leader. It could be their doing.”
“Im Yeon-sin wasn't stupid enough to clash with Black Heaven.”
Cheon Myeong-jin knew Im Yeon-sin well. The man was sharper and more perceptive than anyone.
He'd monitored and bound Cheon Myeong-jin through various means—bribing his martial artists or planting bugs in his home.
And Im Yeon-sin wasn't alone. A powerful force backed him, pressuring Cheon Myeong-jin in tandem.
So now that Im Yeon-sin was dead, this was the perfect opportunity. He had to reclaim the Murim Alliance before Im Yeon-sin's backers sent someone new.
But the problem was that his granddaughter was poisoned with Unique Venom, and they still hadn't obtained the antidote.
“Any word from TM Medical?”
“Not yet.”
Cheon Myeong-jin sighed.
“Ha-young's condition has already entered stage 4. If she doesn't take the antidote within a month, it's irreversible.”
“I'll contact them again and push.”
“What about Doctor Woo's whereabouts?”
“Still nothing. We're mobilizing all external resources to find him.”
Doctor Woo.
He didn't know his real name. Im Yeon-sin had only introduced him as Doctor Woo.
After Ha-young was poisoned, this Doctor Woo had come and given them an interim antidote. It slowed the venom's spread.
He'd had no choice but to give it to her.
Cheon Myeong-jin could tell by instinct: this Doctor Woo was the one who'd created the Unique Venom poisoning Ha-young.
“We have to find that bastard somehow.”
“Yes.”
Cheon Myeong-jin closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. Im Yeon-sin's death gave him a chance to reclaim the Alliance, but it also meant no antidote for Ha-young.
His daughter-in-law, Jeong In-sook, knew none of this. That her daughter had been poisoned for years now. Or that without the antidote in a month, she'd die.
If she found out later, she'd resent him bitterly for not telling her sooner.
But there was no helping it. Telling her wouldn't benefit anyone.
And why hear resentment only from his daughter-in-law?
He couldn't face the Korea Murim Alliance or all the martial artists of the nation. He'd been manipulated by the likes of Im Yeon-sin to save his granddaughter.
But now that things had come this far, Cheon Myeong-jin had no other choice.
Ha-young, I will save you, no matter what.
Jang Cheon was working on his laptop.
He handled the backlog of approvals and pondered the decisions needing his judgment.
If something was unfamiliar, he searched it up. He read articles, commentaries, papers, or even bought and read e-books.
For Murim business, he needed broad knowledge to stay current.
Of course, Night handled the business side as the true expert, but Jang Cheon needed enough understanding to discuss, decide, and make final calls.
He'd just wrapped up the bulk of the backlog when Bishop called.
The list arrived on his phone right away. Jang Cheon's eyes scanned down it and stopped at one entry.
Long-term venoms didn't take immediate effect but eroded the body gradually.
Their hallmark was the lack of obvious symptoms, so most people didn't even realize they'd been poisoned.
Poison users were rare, so he stuck in the memory. Plus, the guy was Korean.
His main venom was the PSV series. He'd been active for about two years before getting scouted and vanishing. Jang Cheon had learned a lot about poisons from him back then.
Of course, Cheon Myeong-jin must have sought ways to save his granddaughter during that time.
But Im Yeon-sin was no ordinary foe, so it hadn't been easy. He'd failed multiple times, paying the price each time.
Jang Cheon had no intention of banking solely on that. Even if developed, side effects were a risk.
Bishop appreciated this about Jang Cheon. He didn't drag out seemingly complex problems.
Nor was he reckless or hasty. But once justification, timing, or reason arose, he acted decisively.
After hanging up, Jang Cheon called Park Gwang-cheol.
“I need your help, friend.”
“What do I need to do?”