Chapter 154
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Winds Calm, Waves Still (3)
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Flying Tiger thought words were truly fascinating things.
If something was completely erased, to the point where even the fact of its erasure couldn't be proven, had it really been erased at all?
Jin Ga-yong was insisting that the Ghost Mask no longer existed, yet even he himself recognized how difficult it was to convince others of his claim.
"I thought it was gone, naturally. Gone forever."
Jin Ga-yong said, gazing up at the brightening sky. His eyes wavered, and after a moment of silence, he continued.
"But talking with you sparked a sudden doubt in me. Did I really erase the Ghost Mask? If so, why does this pain refuse to fade? So, at least within me, doesn't that mean the Ghost Mask still exists?"
Flying Tiger, who had been listening quietly, couldn't hold back and asked,
"What the hell is this Ghost Mask, anyway?"
"I can't tell you. But wearing it doesn't turn you into a serial killer, nor does it grant you immense martial prowess or demonic sorcery like the jianghu folk imagine."
"Then what does it do?"
"It's just... a mask."
"A mask?"
"That's right. You've seen them before. The kind used in plays or festivals, for dancing and merrymaking. They're everywhere in the world."
"......"
Flying Tiger paused his mind-reading of Jin Ga-yong. It was too chaotic to bear. Emotions surged like crashing waves, foaming white. By the time he refocused, Jin Ga-yong's mind was as empty as a receding tide.
Had there been a profound shift in his heart?
"I know full well. No one—not just you—would be convinced by words like these. So, how should I lend even a shred of credibility to my claims?"
As he spoke, Jin Ga-yong wrapped his hand around the back of Flying Tiger's hand, which gripped the dagger.
The gesture was so natural that Flying Tiger flinched belatedly and seized Jin Ga-yong's wrist with his free hand. He was ready to twist if needed.
Jin Ga-yong shook his head once, then said in a cold voice,
"Enough now. Slash my heart with this blade. If only death can prove my sincerity, I'll gladly accept it."
Sincerity?
Flying Tiger startled, about to shout "Wait," but Jin Ga-yong met his eyes with a gaze too intense to bear and spoke deliberately.
"It seems you're in a bind where if you can't take the Ghost Mask from me, you'll have to take my head instead."
"Uh......"
"Take it then. In return, I trust you'll keep your promise to safely return my junior brothers and comrades. I beg you, Warrior Flying Tiger."
'Begging? He plans to die just like that? Why so resolute all of a sudden......!'
At that moment, Jin Ga-yong yanked Flying Tiger's hand, trying to force the dagger into suicide.
Startled, Flying Tiger tensed his grip on the dagger to resist, while twisting Jin Ga-yong's wrist with his other hand.
It was a sudden turn.
If Flying Tiger hadn't read Jin Ga-yong's mind just in time, it would have been too late.
"Damn it, are you insane?"
Flying Tiger shoved the twisted wrist away in irritation and yanked the dagger from Jin Ga-yong's chest.
Then, fuming, he demanded,
"Are you an idiot? How can you trust an enemy's word? You thought handing over your life like that would make them honor their promise out of guilt?"
"Are you my enemy?"
"What? Well......"
"We drew blades due to circumstances, but if not for excessive demands, I thought we were the type to honor each other's last wishes. Were we not even that close?"
Flying Tiger flinched.
A chill ran down his neck.
"Uh... so you're saying you'd try to grant Leader Jin's last words if possible?"
Flying Tiger replied with an awkward smile. By now, the Soul Spirit Sword was pressed close to his throat—drawn by Jin Ga-yong unnoticed.
The tables had turned.
They glared at each other in standoff.
Their faces were calm, but inwardly, both were shocked. Flying Tiger at how swiftly Jin Ga-yong had drawn his sword, and Jin Ga-yong at Flying Tiger's unflinching composure with a blade at his throat.
"Last words? Let's hear them. I'll listen."
"How magnanimous."
"Hmph, that's exactly the level of our bond."
"Before any last words, one question."
"Ask away."
"How did you know I'd stop you from suicide? What if I had no intention of doing so, or reacted too late?"
"I'd be dead."
"You say it so casually."
"What choice would I have? If you were stabbed and subdued by an assassin, would you have any way to escape?"
"If already caught, probably not."
"Exactly. So do you have some trick to persuade an assassin who's already resolved to kill you?"
"That'd be tough too."
"That's why."
Flying Tiger understood immediately.
Jin Ga-yong must have sensed he might not kill him, given the mood. But at that point, he'd pondered death over survival. Life hung on the enemy, but death was his to choose—no dragging it out, just resolve.
'He probably decided while gazing at the sky. Not a change of heart, but once resolved, the emotional dregs washed away. Fiery fellow, gutsy as hell.'
Meanwhile, Jin Ga-yong's inner thoughts on Flying Tiger were complicated.
He'd only subdued him because Flying Tiger hadn't meant to kill. More than that, he'd genuinely worried for his life—despite being the one who'd stabbed him.
What the hell was this guy?
Jin Ga-yong felt utterly bewildered, as if bewitched by goblin tricks.
"My turn to ask. Are you certain I won't kill you?"
"Not certain. Just hoping."
"Hoping? What if that hope is dashed......"
"Then this is where I die. But if you'll allow it, I'll try persuading you."
"Me?"
"Yes. Please."
Flying Tiger's goal was to obtain the Ghost Mask and deliver it to Hidden Moon. But interrogating his target, Jin Ga-yong, revealed he couldn't get it from him.
Did that end the commission?
No.
If not here, then dig elsewhere.
That's why he'd released Jin Ga-yong so readily after such hard work.
Because he needed him for the next phase.
Until now, he'd borrowed Superficial Blade's power; from here, he'd borrow Leader Jin and the Face Pursuit Squad.
Shamelessly, of course.
So, crossing that line with Jin Ga-yong would be trouble.
Even now, rationally, he'd crossed it far. Forgiveness unlikely, death possible. Just hope and expectation, no certainty.
But he'd steeled himself.
These things weren't for the sane anyway.
This was another gamble.
A frontal assault this time.
"I need the Ghost Mask."
Flying Tiger opened his persuasion plainly.
"Why?"
"I accepted a commission on the condition of fulfilling the client's request."
"Commission? Aren't you part of Face Pursuit Unit Jeong?"
"Yes, Leader Jin. That's why I've been investigating the Ghost Mask's whereabouts on the side while prioritizing Unit Jeong duties."
"......"
Jin Ga-yong stared in shock, cursing inwardly without voicing it.
Flying Tiger mistook the fierce silence—perhaps for going AWOL—and offered an excuse.
"Um... I'm on leave right now? You granted me a two-week break last time we parted."
At the last Face Pursuit Unit Jeong gathering, Jin Ga-yong had indeed announced meeting the main squad in a fortnight.
He wasn't the type to block subordinates' side gigs during leave.
Except when the side gig involved stabbing and threatening him, the boss.
As Jin Ga-yong's eye twitched, Flying Tiger quickly added, gauging the mood,
"Just to avoid misunderstanding: I had no intent to harm Leader Jin unless you were the killer of Ma Yeop Do-u."
"Oh? And if I were the fiend?"
"I'd be sorry."
Meaning he'd kill him.
Ha~ So brutally honest.
"Truth is, this commission also aims at avenging Ma Yeop Do-u."
"I see. And?"
"Yes. So my next move aligns perfectly with what you want. That's why sparing me helps you."
"You mean you want the serial killer too? But you need the Ghost Mask. Chasing revenge but abandoning the commission?"
"No. I'll get both."
"Huh?"
"Really, just one suffices. The serial killer must have the Ghost Mask—one of Shaanxi's Ghost Trio."
"Did you not hear me say I destroyed it earlier?"
"I did. But you also said there's no way to prove it now."
What was this now?
"You don't mean......?"
"That very thing. I'll deliver the Ghost Mask the world knows to the client. If the original's gone can't be proven, how can a fake be proven fake?"
"......!"
"So whether it's a ghost skin or that bastard's face flayed, I'll procure something convincing. With revenge on top."
Jin Ga-yong stared piercingly at Flying Tiger, who spouted such ruthless words. His eyes were sincere, so this time, greater surprise.
He'd sensed it before—this guy was utterly reckless.
Worrying like a child by the water, yet envious of that wild, unbound freedom.
'But the hawk catches the pheasant, right? And not just any hawk.'
Jin Ga-yong finally sheathed the Soul Spirit Sword, sighing.
"I have no idea how to view you."
"Irksome and uncomfortable, I know... but could you look the other way just once? No, just until this operation ends."
"Ha~"
"If you do, as always in our time together, I'll keep my honor this time too. And take the lead in earning merit!"
"......"
And so, Hidden Moon's commission for the Ghost Mask reached a temporary resolution—the promise to deliver within ten days if Jin Ga-yong had it.
It was morning, seven days spent, three remaining.
But the commission wasn't over.
How could Flying Tiger, hearing secondhand what even the claimant couldn't prove, convince the client?
Thus, phase two began. The deadline extended anew, and as mentioned, involving the Face Pursuit Squad this time.
Perfect, since that's what they were built for.
*Winds Calm, Waves Still: When the wind dies and the waves settle. A metaphor for chaos subsiding.