Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Alpha Order
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The "Dan So-ok Assassination Attempt," as it came to be known, sent shockwaves through the martial world.
The Hunan region was a hotbed of conflict, a place where masters from both the Demonic and Orthodox factions vied for power.
For the daughter of the Lord of the Demonic Sanctum to be targeted there of all places? The incident caused a major uproar throughout the martial world.
—Find them!
The Lord of the Demonic Sanctum was incandescent with rage.
He not only ordered a thorough hunt for the masterminds but also commanded the annihilation of every sect based in Yueyang.
—The culprit was the leader of the Black Dragon Gang!
It was said that the leader, whose arm had been severed by the Lord of the Demonic Sanctum in the past, held a grudge and had hired assassins from the Blood Kill Sect.
Of course, the Lord of the Demonic Sanctum didn't believe it.
No amount of gold would convince an assassination guild to accept a contract that would make an enemy of the entire Demonic Sanctum.
But when clear evidence emerged, the Lord of the Demonic Sanctum gave a short command.
—Annihilate.
The Black Dragon Gang and the Blood Kill Sect vanished from the martial world. Even mentioning their names was forbidden.
The very fact that the two factions had ever existed was erased entirely.
***
Bu Eun-seol continued to carry out missions for the Nine Kills Unit as before.
He always chose the most dangerous and difficult missions, the kind that required him to put his life on the line, and he completed them without a single failure.
He relentlessly integrated the insights gained from real combat into his swordsmanship. Before he knew it, he could skillfully execute the Sword Zenith Stance, the Mind-Splitting Art, and even the Heavy Sword.
Another six months passed in this way.
At the Hoehyeon Bookstore, just as the evening sun began to set.
*Creeak.*
As Bu Eun-seol, dressed as a scholar, opened the door to the old bookstore, Sang-ryang and Ma-un rushed over so fast their eyebrows seemed to fly off.
“Young Master, you’ve arrived!”
“Thank you for coming all this way.”
Much had changed since that day.
First, Sang-ryang and Ma-un now treated Bu Eun-seol like royalty.
By perfectly protecting Dan So-ok from the mysterious assassins, Bu Eun-seol had earned the trust of his superiors.
Over the remaining six months, he had completed missions that were considered nearly impossible.
As a result, Sang-ryang and Ma-un, who managed the branch, also received recognition for their contributions. They had finally received orders to return to the Demonic Sanctum in ten days.
“Young Master, what do you say? How about a drink today as well?”
Second, his relationship with Sang-ryang and Ma-un had changed.
Sang-ryang and Ma-un. The two knew the best taverns and would occasionally bring Bu Eun-seol fine liquor.
What started as a simple gesture had blossomed into a companionship where they would often drink together.
“You want to drink again?”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words, Sang-ryang rubbed his hands together and said.
“You’ll also be leaving this place in ten days, Young Master. Time is precious, so we should have a drink whenever we can.”
Ma-un, standing beside him, quickly chimed in.
“Then I’ll hurry and tell the chef at the Red Pavilion to prepare some dishes.”
But Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
“Let’s drink some other time.”
“Why?”
“As you said, there are only ten days left. I should start cleaning up my hideout.”
During his year in Yueyang, Bu Eun-seol had accumulated a fair number of belongings in his hideout.
He needed to dispose of things like the clothes for his disguise, as well as various weapons and hidden projectiles.
“Aren’t I an expert in that sort of thing?”
But Ma-un took Bu Eun-seol by the sleeve.
“I’ll take care of all of that. For these next ten days, you should just rest comfortably, Young Master.”
Ma-un said with a grin.
“While you were away, my brother here acquired three jars of *fenjiu* brewed by a master in Chang'an.”
“I…”
“I tried it once before, and it was absolutely divine. If you have a taste, Young Master, you won’t regret it.”
“Hmm.”
Bu Eun-seol let out a low hum.
During his time in Yueyang, he had become a man who knew how to enjoy a drink.
Especially when his mind was troubled, he would climb the Gyeongha Pavilion and enjoy yellow wine.
When the strong liquor poured into his stomach, the flames of his myriad thoughts would be extinguished.
“Come, come, let’s not just stand here. Let’s go.”
As Sang-ryang reached out, Bu Eun-seol relaxed his arm as if he had no other choice.
A night bathed in brilliant moonlight.
Three figures sat on the roof of the bookstore.
It was Bu Eun-seol and the Gong Twin Demons.
“Honestly, choosing to be miserable on the roof when there are perfectly good seats inside…”
Sang-ryang grumbled in a low voice.
He had originally booked a private room on the third floor of the Red Pavilion. But Bu Eun-seol had suddenly suggested they bring roasted chicken and climb onto the roof.
“Brother.”
Just then, Ma-un nudged him in the ribs.
“The Young Master likes it, doesn’t he? The Young Master.”
Looking at the pouting Sang-ryang, Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“Try having a drink here. If you still don’t like it by the time we finish a jar, we’ll go to the Red Pavilion.”
“Hmph.”
As if he had no choice, Sang-ryang also sat down on the roof.
“Let’s eat first.”
Ma-un, as if worried someone would steal it, grabbed a well-roasted chicken leg and began to eat ravenously.
“*Chomp, chomp, chomp.*”
After licking the bone clean, he downed a full cup of *fenjiu*.
“Kuh!”
His body shivered as the strong liquor washed away the grease.
As he exhaled the fragrant breath of alcohol toward the sky, the soft moonlight poured down from afar.
The quiet night and the whispering moonlight steeped the onlookers in a strange sentimentality.
“This… this atmosphere…”
Ma-un nodded his head as if he had realized something.
“It really makes the alcohol taste good!”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
As Sang-ryang blinked, Ma-un offered him a chicken leg and a cup of liquor.
“Here, Brother, have a drink first. You’ll understand once you do.”
Sang-ryang reluctantly took the chicken leg and drank the *fenjiu*.
“Kuh.”
For over forty years, Sang-ryang had been a devoted drinker.
But he had never known that alcohol consumed on a rooftop could be so sweet and wonderful.
“Indeed!”
Gazing at the brightly shining moon, Sang-ryang slapped his knee as if he’d had a great epiphany.
“The Young Master must always enjoy a special atmosphere. To have discovered the art of drinking on a roof. Hahaha.”
Watching Sang-ryang burst into a hearty, if somewhat embarrassed, laugh, Bu Eun-seol replied nonchalantly.
“I just dislike crowds.”
That short reply was tinged with a deep solitude that words could not express.
As Bu Eun-seol looked up at the sky with empty eyes, Sang-ryang and Ma-un exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.
*What kind of story does this young man, barely past twenty, carry with him?*
In their eyes, Bu Eun-seol was not a normal person.
He had willingly joined the Nine Kills Unit, which others avoided. Not only that, but he actively sought out life-threatening missions he didn't have to take, all in pursuit of martial arts.
Moreover, his heart was frozen so solid that he seemed to pay no mind to anything.
“Young Master.”
Sang-ryang looked into Bu Eun-seol’s cold, still eyes and sighed.
“The world is, by its very nature, a bustling place.”
After downing a cup of *fenjiu*, he spoke again.
“In this tumultuous world, there is no place untouched by wind and dust.”
As if reminiscing about the past, Sang-ryang looked at Bu Eun-seol with deepened eyes.
“When you too come to understand this one day, Young Master, you might find the world a little more interesting.”
Sang-ryang’s voice seemed to hold some untold story.
“…”
As Bu Eun-seol looked at him with a curious gaze, Sang-ryang scratched his head, looking sheepish.
“I seem to have ruined the mood with my rambling. Come, come, let’s drink.”
Sang-ryang smiled and offered his cup.
“If the Young Master isn’t drunk by the end of the night, I, Gong Sang-ryang, will raid the Red Pavilion’s cellar to make it happen!”
At that, Ma-un grinned widely.
“I like the sound of that! Let’s fill our cups to the brim and drink! Hahaha!”
As the dawn deepened.
The voices of Sang-ryang and Ma-un filled the night sky from the rooftop.
Bu Eun-seol listened to their chatter the whole time, drinking his liquor in silence.
Though he hadn't realized it himself, a faint smile had been playing on his lips the entire time he drank.
***
“Ugh.”
Bu Eun-seol staggered as he walked out of the bookstore.
His hideout was quite a distance from the village, and his cover identity here was that of a down-on-his-luck scholar.
So, whenever he returned after a drink, he deliberately walked with an exaggerated stumble.
*Those foolish old men.*
Bu Eun-seol snorted lightly as he suddenly thought of the Gong Twin Demons.
Sang-ryang, the branch chief, was sensitive to his own interests and a skilled flatterer, but also easygoing and optimistic.
Ma-un, the informant, was hot-tempered and arrogant, but had a surprisingly simple and quirky side.
Bu Eun-seol felt a subtle affection for the two men, who had a certain innocence for men of the martial world.
“Ugh, I’m drunk.”
Having arrived at his hideout, Bu Eun-seol reached out to open the door.
*Creeak.*
As the old door creaked open, subtle vibrations spread through the air.
*There’s an intruder.*
For a fleeting moment, Bu Eun-seol’s eyes flashed in the darkness.
Most spies or assassins would place a fine strand of hair or sprinkle glass powder on the door.
But for Bu Eun-seol, who had mastered the Beast Dao, such devices were unnecessary. The power of the Beast Dao allowed him to sense an enemy’s presence through vibrations in the air alone.
“Hmph.”
As if he hadn't noticed anything, Bu Eun-seol staggered over to his bed and flopped down.
He pulled the blanket over himself, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
How much time had passed?
In the pitch-black darkness, a human-shaped shadow slowly began to form.
“…”
The shadow, reflecting the moonlight, was a masked man dressed in a black assassin’s uniform.
He silently drew the sword from his back and gently pressed it against the neck of the blanket-covered Bu Eun-seol.
“This is disappointing.”
The masked man clicked his tongue and said.
“To think the legendary Nine Kills agent of the Yueyang branch would be so careless…”
The masked man’s voice trailed off.
*Clack-clack.*
Hundreds of hidden mechanisms had sprung from the smooth wall behind him.
“So you pretended to be asleep to lure me to where you’d set up your traps?”
The masked man glanced at the mechanisms and nodded, looking rather pleased.
“If I had stabbed you without a second thought, I’d be dead, looking like a porcupine by now.”
“Identify yourself.”
A cold glint shot from Bu Eun-seol’s eyes as he threw off the blanket.
Sensing that any false move would be met with immediate action, the masked man quickly replied.
“I’m from the Demonic Sanctum.”
“The Demonic Sanctum?”
“That’s right.”
Taking a step back, the masked man sheathed his sword and sat at the table opposite the bed.
“May I light the lamp?”
When Bu Eun-seol nodded, the masked man brought his finger to the oil lamp on the table.
With a hiss, the dark interior brightened slightly, revealing the masked man’s eyes clearly.
*He’s young.*
From the masked man’s eyes, illuminated by the lamplight, it was clear he was a very young man.
Furthermore, his sharply slanted eyes exuded a somewhat sinister aura.
“What is your business?”
“I really wanted to meet you. The legendary Nine Kills agent of Yueyang, Number Eighteen.”
“Say another useless thing and I’ll trigger the mechanisms.”
“Is that so? I was hoping we could talk for a bit.”
The masked man took a yellow envelope from his robes.
“This was sent to you from the Demonic Sanctum.”
*Fwing!*
With the sharp sound of cutting wind, the yellow envelope in the masked man’s hand vanished.
Simultaneously, something sharp shot toward the space between Bu Eun-seol’s eyes. The light, thin paper envelope had been thrown like a powerful projectile.
*Flick.*
In that instant, the yellow envelope was caught between Bu Eun-seol’s index and middle fingers.
“Hoh.”
The masked man’s eyes curved into crescents as he let out a sound of admiration.
“Truly impressive. To so easily catch something I threw like a shadow dart.”
Bu Eun-seol didn’t reply and opened the envelope.
On the front of the yellow paper envelope, the character for ‘Alpha’ was written, along with the red spider crest symbolizing the Nine Kills Unit.
“Alpha?”
As Bu Eun-seol repeated the word, the masked man’s eyes curved again.
“That’s right. The Alpha Order, a mission given only to the top agents of the Nine Kills Unit.”
The Alpha Order.
It was a mission assigned to a specific Nine Kills agent from among those scattered secretly across the lands. As it came directly from the Demonic Sanctum, it was effectively a command.
“To date, the Demonic Sanctum has issued the Alpha Order a total of twelve times. And those who received it were masters whose names are forever recorded in the history of the Nine Kills Unit.”
The masked man’s eyes once again curved like half-moons.
“But there has never been an agent who received the Alpha Order at such a young age. I truly can’t help but be envious!”
He chuckled, finding something amusing.
Feeling a sense of foreboding at that smile, Bu Eun-seol opened the envelope.
As he read the letter, he realized his premonition had become reality.
—Alpha Order 1. To Yueyang Branch Agent No. 18.
Eliminate the Murim Alliance spies, the Gong Twin Demons.
Deadline: Four days, upon completion of the Yueyang Branch handover.