Return
Behind Mangwon Haomu Market, on the second floor of the old Three-Way Intersection Detective Agency. The signboard was dark.
Before Lee Kang opened the door, he checked the stairwell below first. There was no trace of anyone tailing him. Even so, he did not go straight inside. He made sure the thin thread he had strung across the door gap was still intact, then checked the dust he had scattered beneath the windows for any unfamiliar footprints.
Nothing out of place.
Only then did Lee Kang open the door.
“Come in.”
The girl walked in without a word. The room was old and cramped. It bore the sign of a detective agency, but inside it was closer to a hideout than an office.
As soon as Lee Kang closed the door, he slid the inner bolt into place. Then he listened for a moment.
Quiet.
He could hear the faint commotion from the direction of the market in the distance, but nothing had followed them this far.
At least we’re alive.
Only then did Lee Kang let out a long breath.
Today’s haul had been enormous. Ridiculously so. He had brought back a girl with the aptitude for Transcendence / Realm of Transformation, and he had also secured Seok Yuha’s sword and the Cosmic-Direction Pouch. The worst variable possible had also landed on his head, with Mak Daehan now marking him for death, but even so, this had been worth the risk.
Of course, it still wasn’t over. Lee Kang looked at the girl.
She stood in the middle of the room, still caked in a mixture of mud and blood. She was holding the small stabbing sword in her hand, and her eyes remained full of wariness.
Lee Kang did not try to take her weapon first. Instead, he slowly raised a hand.
“I’ll ask you one thing first.”
The girl gave no answer.
“Can you yield me one thing?”
Then, without pause, he said, “We need to form a blood pact.”
[???'s affection level has decreased.]
[???'s affection level has decreased.]
Transparent text rose up in succession. Lee Kang clicked his tongue inwardly.
As expected.
The girl’s reaction was just as he had anticipated. She tightened her grip on the stabbing sword. The faint easing in her eyes vanished, and her gaze sharpened again.
“Blood pact...”
Her voice was rough.
Lee Kang did not avoid her stare.
“Yeah. The kind you’re thinking of. A contract that binds you so you can’t betray your master. The same thing they used on the slaves in the Wicked Sect Alliance’s market.”
The girl’s shoulders stiffened, very slightly. Lee Kang continued in a calm voice.
“That doesn’t mean I’m planning to bind you for life. If there’s a way to release it, I’ll release it.”
Her expression said she did not believe him.
That was only natural. Even Lee Kang himself would have had trouble believing it. He was asking to form a blood pact and then saying he would let her go later. Depending on how it sounded, it could have been the most rotten lie imaginable.
So Lee Kang did not dance around it.
“Think about it.”
The girl looked at him.
“Why would I bother saying something I knew would put you on guard?”
“...”
“I just brought you here. I know you’re exhausted, and I know this is my hideout. If I wanted to, I could have scared you or tricked you. But I didn’t. I brought up the blood pact first. Truthfully, I could have just knocked you out and forced one on you, but I didn’t.”
Lee Kang remained standing. He kept his eyes level with hers.
“Why do you think that is?”
The girl was silent for a moment. Then, in a small voice, she said, “So I wouldn’t... run away.”
Lee Kang smiled.
“That’s one reason.”
Her brows twitched slightly.
“But it’s maybe the tenth most important one.”
“...Then?”
“There’s a more important reason.”
Lee Kang did not answer immediately.
“You’re smart, so think it through.”
The girl looked at him, unable to read him. She was angry at the suggestion of a blood pact, yet at the same time she seemed unable to understand why he had brought it up first.
Lee Kang pointed deeper into the room.
“Go wash up first. The bathroom’s over there. Water’s limited, so use it sparingly. And leave the change of clothes by the door.”
The girl did not move right away.
“...Why?”
“You smell awful.”
“...”
“And I need to check your injuries. If you stay covered in mud too long, the wounds will fester.”
She kept watching him warily, but eventually she walked slowly toward the bathroom.
At the doorway, she looked back once more.
Lee Kang did nothing. A moment later, the bathroom door closed, and the sound of running water came from inside.
Only then did Lee Kang loosen up a little.
“Haa.”
A short breath slipped out. Then he immediately took out Seok Yuha’s Cosmic-Direction Pouch.
Let’s see what we’ve got.
As soon as he focused his awareness on the pouch’s contents, they rose into his mind one by one.
Six hundred nyang.
A packet of paralytic powder.
Several small needle-like hidden weapons.
Ten cans of tuna.
And the short sword he had just taken.
Lee Kang’s mouth curled up before he could stop it.
“That’s a very nice haul.”
Six hundred nyang was a tremendous sum. Combined with the money he had already saved, it made for a very substantial amount. The paralytic powder and hidden weapons would be useful for ambushes, and the tuna was worth mentioning on its own.
In a world like this, canned food was not just food. It was secure, long-lasting provisions.
The sword wasn’t bad either. It was a live blade, as one would expect from something Seok Yuha used. It was a little long for Lee Kang, but it was more than enough to sell or keep as a backup weapon.
Without realizing it, Lee Kang grinned.
“Seok Yuha. Thanks.”
Of course, he did not mean it sincerely.
Then he checked his martial arts mastery.
[Moonlit Night Killing Sword: Beginner 950 / 1000]
[Shadowless Nightwalk Step: Mastery 50 / 1000]
[Black Moon Heart-Calming Art: Introductory 305 / 1000]
Lee Kang froze the instant he saw the status window.
He wanted to shout.
Shadowless Nightwalk Step is at Mastery?
He had only failed to check the system window for a while, but apparently Shadowless Nightwalk Step had advanced another level before he noticed.
No wonder.
It had seemed strange when he chased Seok Yuha. Seok Yuha was a third-class martial artist, while Lee Kang himself was not even a true third-class fighter yet. And yet he had not been completely overwhelmed.
At the time, Lee Kang had assumed it was because Seok Yuha was injured. But that was not all. It had been because Shadowless Nightwalk Step had reached Mastery.
Now, the only thing left before he could reach the level of a third-class martial artist was Black Moon Heart-Calming Art. Of course, that was something he could solve through pure grinding. He had plenty of money now, so he could stock up on food and shut himself in for closed-door training.
Being a third-class martial artist isn’t a pipe dream anymore.
The Black Moon Sect, which had only been pretending to have a sect leader, might actually become a real martial sect.
Lee Kang’s mouth lifted on its own. Just then, the bathroom door opened, and the girl stepped out.
She had finished faster than expected. Rather than having taken a proper wash, it was closer to having quickly rinsed off the mud and blood on her body. Water was still dripping from the ends of her hair, and the wet edges of her clothes clung to her skin.
Lee Kang lost his words for a moment.
Black hair.
White eyes.
Pale skin with a faint jade-like cast.
The face hidden beneath the mud was absurdly beautiful. That said, it did not have the gentle softness of a heavenly maiden.
It was more like a blade. Cold, slender, and sharp enough to cut the tips of your fingers if you touched it wrong.
For a moment, Lee Kang thought he might be dreaming. The girl looked at him.
“Why do you look so happy?”
Only then did Lee Kang come back to himself.
“Hmm.”
He cleared his throat.
“Because the haul was good.”
Lee Kang deliberately spread the items he had taken from Seok Yuha across the desk.
Six hundred nyang.
A packet of paralytic powder.
Several small needle-like hidden weapons.
Ten cans of tuna.
A short sword.
“These are the spoils I got from killing Seok Yuha. Plenty of money, poison, hidden weapons, and food. The sword’s usable too. What’s not to like?”
The girl’s gaze lingered on the desk for a long time. It stopped especially on the tuna. Lee Kang noticed her look and cleared his throat again.
“Dry off first.”
He took a towel from the shelf.
The girl reached out, but her fingertips were trembling slightly. After a brief pause, Lee Kang walked over himself.
Her eyes sharpened again.
“Stay still. Water’s dripping from your hair.”
“...”
“It’d be a problem if the floor rotted.”
As he spoke, Lee Kang pressed the towel against the ends of her wet hair. He did not rub hard. He carefully blotted away the moisture, then wiped the droplets that had run down onto her shoulders.
The girl flinched, but she did not pull away. She was still holding the small stabbing sword in her hand. Lee Kang did not take it from her.
After a moment, the girl spoke.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Why we have to form a blood pact.”
Lee Kang’s hand stopped. Through the damp strands of hair, the girl looked up at him.
“I still don’t get it. You said making sure I can’t run away was only like the tenth reason.”
“I did.”
“Then what’s the more important reason? Tell me everything.”
Lee Kang folded the towel and set it down on the desk. Then he met her eyes.
“Fine. Then I’ll explain.”
Lee Kang took the girl’s right hand.
It was cold.
That was partly because she had just washed it, but more than that, it was the chill of a body running on empty. The girl instinctively tried to pull away, but Lee Kang did not grip her hard. He simply lifted her hand carefully so the back of it was visible.
There was a dark red mark on the back of her right hand.
The distinctive brand carved into those held in the Wicked Sect Alliance’s slave market. A black circle with a red slash of a blade through it.
“This is a slave mark made by the Wicked Sect Alliance.”
The girl’s eyes dropped to the back of her hand. Lee Kang went on.
“If the master’s blood essence is dropped here, a blood pact is formed. And the mark disappears.”
“...”
“In other words, if you don’t form a blood pact, that mark stays forever.”
The girl’s expression tightened a little.
“Then I can just cover it up.”
Lee Kang looked at her for a moment.
Then he smiled.
“Ha.”
It was a short laugh, but there was no mistaking the contempt in it. The girl’s brows moved almost imperceptibly.
Lee Kang let the smile fade and stared straight at her.
“Do you really think that?”
The girl did not answer.
“You think it won’t be visible if you wrap your hand in cloth? Or that it won’t be noticed if you wear gloves?”