Special Forces
We had relocated the office to the city center and even finished a full renovation, all to welcome more refined clientele.
Yet for some reason, the guests dropping by lately were… not quite up to snuff.
“Hmm. The tea leaves are rather high-grade. Have you been making a lot of money lately?”
A woman in elegant martial robes, a blue-jade treasure sword at her waist, twitched her brows as if surprised. Her black hair reached her shoulders, neatly tied into two braids. Despite her petite frame, she radiated a bold, razor-sharp presence.
“Ilhong, why waste the good stuff on her?”
A faint whiff of pretension drifted over, so I muttered it with a touch of regret at the sight of the expensive tea leaves Eun Hwaran had gifted me steeping in the pot.
“……Boss, look carefully at her clothes and the crest on that sword. She’s definitely from the Namgung Family.”
Ilhong whispered the explanation right against my ear for why she had brought out the precious tea.
One of the pillars of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, the prestigious house that had produced the current Murim Alliance Leader—and raised the unparalleled genius known as the Blue Cloud Sword. Apparently this was a young lady of that very Namgung Family.
“So what? She’s still missing a few screws. Missing a few screws.”
I muttered it into Ilhong’s ear while glancing at the Namgung woman.
“Excuse me. I can hear everything, you know?”
The young lady of the Namgung Family glared daggers at us, both eyes blazing.
“Ahem. Is that so?”
Truthfully, I had said it partly so she would hear. She was the one who had barged through the door and started things off by declaring herself disappointed, wasn’t she?
This Dog-Beating Dragon Dan Mujin—even if you were a client, I had a habit of paying back whatever I was dealt.
“Ha. Just like the rumors. You won’t yield a single word even if the other party is the Murim Alliance Leader himself.”
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. Her eyes said she found it both absurd and interesting at the same time.
Thankfully, it seemed she was the type who didn’t hold grudges for long.
“I am Namgung Sohye of the Namgung Family.”
She puffed out her chest, chin high, and introduced herself.
“Younger sister of my respected older brother, Namgung Jin.”
A hint of pride colored the part where she mentioned her brother.
“……Ah, I see. I’m Dan Mujin.”
Her voice and manner were bold—arrogant, even, in a subtle way.
When you thought about it, being born into a flourishing prestigious family and achieving considerable martial accomplishments yourself made arrogance and cheekiness the more natural outcome.
Namgung Jin, who possessed all of that yet remained humble and true to the spirit of a righteous hero, was the strange one.
Most people grew up like Moyong Hwi—arrogant, self-absorbed, and full of themselves.
“But Young Lady Namgung Sohye, what was that earlier remark? You said you were disappointed.”
I asked with a puzzled look.
Unlike my vagabond days when my small build got me dismissed as a kid, I now had a solid frame, a measure of fame, and the heavy presence of a true master. Yet she had taken one look and called me disappointing.
“Your face! My brother said Young Hero was ‘a man as handsome as himself,’ you know.”
“……What.”
I unconsciously ran a hand over my own face. I had rather prided myself on its refined features and the masculine, angular jaw.
“Seeing you in person… you’re not quite at that level. He exaggerated quite a bit.”
I had always laughed off every provocation and mental attack, but that single line felt like a dagger straight to the heart.
Ever since inheriting Moyong Cheongjin’s looks, I had taken considerable pride in becoming a handsome man.
“Ilhong… am I ugly……?”
A faint tremor ran through my voice as I asked.
“Of course not. In my eyes, you’re the most handsome man in Beijing.”
Ilhong hurriedly soothed my shocked self.
“She’s right, Mujin. You’re manly and good-looking.”
Jo Harang chimed in from the side. What mattered for a hero was spirit and chivalry, she said; facial skin was irrelevant.
“As for that young hero over there…… he’s somewhat decent even compared to my brother. What’s your name?”
Namgung Sohye’s eyes sparkled as if she had discovered a jewel. She looked at Ilhong and asked for a name.
Apparently her taste ran toward pretty boys or the sleek type.
“I’m Ilhong. And my heart already has a destination, so mind your own business.”
Ilhong muttered that, then plopped down beside me and shot me a glance.
“My. That kind of taste…….”
Namgung Sohye’s eyes went round.
“It’s not like that.”
I waved a hand before any misunderstanding could solidify.
Jo Harang, already used to scenes like this, simply shook her head left and right.
“And Young Lady Namgung Sohye, if you use Young Hero Namgung Jin as the standard, there isn’t a single outstanding man left in the Central Plains. Your bar is way too high.”
I nodded along with Ilhong’s opinion.
That guy really did have looks striking enough to make your eyes pop.
Just standing there was like a living portrait, and the space around him seemed to brighten.
On top of that, his martial arts were outstanding, and his character and personality were upright……. Shit. He really had it all.
It made me furious.
Kill!
Salsung suddenly butted in, urging me to eliminate the source of my anger by killing him.
The creature never missed a chance to guide me down the path of slaughter.
Still, he was pretty good to me, you know.
As a fellow hero walking the same path, I seemed to feel a certain kinship.
I had only been accumulating good karma, yet he appeared deeply moved by my actions and held considerable goodwill toward me.
Still, every time we met, I got the sense there was some hidden secret in his eyes.
I supposed no one could be completely perfect.
“So then, what business brings the great Young Lady of the illustrious Namgung Family to seek me out?”
She gave off a slight vibe of Moyong Hwi’s female version. Though she seemed a bit more normal than him, at least.
“Young Hero Dan Mujin, I’m gathering skilled and trustworthy people to strike into the Demonic Cult. Join our party.”
No, correction. This woman was more unhinged than I thought.
At the words “Demonic Cult,” my subordinates’ mouths fell open. I shot to my feet and shouted.
“The exit is that way, valued customer.”
I pointed sharply at the front door of the office, but Namgung Sohye didn’t so much as blink. She stood firm and proposed again.
“My brother Namgung Jin’s life is in danger. I’ve heard the two of you are on friendly terms.”
“We are acquaintances, but not so close that I’d throw my life away and leap into a death trap.”
I now had a business, people depending on me, and those who worried about me like family.
I couldn’t charge recklessly into danger the way I had when I was alone with nothing to lose.
More than anything, I needed to come back alive to collect the commission fee and fill my inner energy with good karma. Suicide missions were a hard pass, no matter what.
“How can that be? My brother praised Young Hero as the greatest hero he had ever seen…….”
Her voice trembled slightly; she had clearly expected me to step forward without hesitation.
I had always wondered why that man Namgung Jin took such a liking to me. His gaze had been a bit intense—almost burdensome, if I was honest.
“Then not for my brother, but for the future of the Orthodox Murim. Please step forward. Even now, countless righteous comrades are losing their lives inside Sipmandaesan.”
Namgung Sohye approached from a different angle, appealing to me.
“It’s unfortunate, but this doesn’t seem like a job for mere troubleshooters like us.”
She was asking us to charge into the Demonic Cult itself, wasn’t she? One misstep and it could spark the fuse of a full-scale war between the Orthodox and Demonic factions.
That was the Murim Alliance’s job to handle. Why come running to us?
“Please reconsider, Young Hero……. Countless gallant heroes of the Beggar Sect have already died, and the core officers of Myeolmade are in danger. At this rate, the Murim Alliance will…….”
Desperation now colored her voice.
“Wait. What’s in danger?”
But a word I couldn’t just let slide had appeared, so I cut her off and asked again.
I wouldn’t have cared what happened to the old Myeolmade, but the recent one had people I was concerned about who had joined its ranks.
“……Who exactly has infiltrated the Demonic Cult right now?”
“W-well, first there’s Captain Jeok Unyeop of the Free-Roaming Sword, and…….”
“Not him. The others.”
My tone had shifted completely. Namgung Sohye tilted her head curiously and continued.
“The Evil-Slaying Divine Maiden and Young Lady Poison Claw Blood Maker are also currently right in the middle of the Demonic Cult…….”
“……Son of a bitch.”
I let out a heavy sigh and smacked my forehead.
I had thought it was someone else’s problem. Turns out it was more my business than anyone’s.
“Mujin, that’s Young Lady Dang Yeohye. We have to go save her…….”
Jo Harang, who didn’t know much about my relationship with Moyong Cheonghye but knew something of my connection with Dang Yeohye, coaxed me as if soothing a child.
“This commission—you’re definitely going to pay properly, right?”
My resolve firm, I asked. She nodded vigorously, her face saying she was confident on that front.
“Of course. The client is the Murim Alliance. There won’t be any shortfall.”
That was some small comfort, at least.
“I’m going with you, Mujin. Even if that place is the heart of the Demonic Cult.”
Even though the path led into a death trap, Jo Harang didn’t hesitate. Rescuing the good from among the wicked was something her nature would never let her ignore.
“Boss, I’m going too!”
Ilhong also shot her hand up, declaring that wherever I was, that was where she would be.
“No. You wait at the office.”
I stretched out a hand and refused firmly. Her face crumpled into pure dejection.
“Why is it always just me…….”
Left behind alone, she meant.
But Sipmandaesan, surrounded by enemies, was far too dangerous and reckless a place to bring even her.
“Hmm. Not just ordinary employees, I see?”
Namgung Sohye looked our way, surprised that everyone was volunteering for such a dangerous commission.
She stroked her chin, regarding us with interest.
“My brother was right after all. You can tell a person’s character by the people around them.”
“Enough. Just guide us to the assembly point. Rescue commissions have a golden window—we need to move fast if we want any chance at all.”
Like a missing-persons search, this kind of job had a golden hour.
Apparently pleased with my momentum, Namgung Sohye smiled in satisfaction and nodded.
“Follow me, then.”
A certain night, thick with densely scattered stars.
Early autumn had arrived, and a cool energy seeped into our bodies as we gathered at an abandoned house on the outskirts of Shaanxi Province, far from any human traffic.
A lantern cast wavering shadows, trembling uneasily in the night wind that slipped through broken windows.
“Everyone is here.”
With a thin mustache and neat attire that screamed of a scholar-strategist, Zhuge Seon surveyed those of us assembled and murmured.
In the faint light, I examined the companions who would head into the Demonic Cult’s den with me.
Myself and Jo Harang, both Transcendental Peak masters; Namgung Sohye dispatched from the Namgung Family; and finally Captain Jang Jin of the Murim Alliance’s Negotiation Unit.
Four figures stood side by side in the darkness.
“These are the people we selected with great difficulty after gathering many opinions.”
Strategist Zhuge Seon explained that only those who had reached a certain realm and could be trusted unconditionally by their respective sects or families had been allowed to volunteer.
“Still, isn’t this too few? Heading into Sipmandaesan with only four people total?”
I opened my mouth with clear dissatisfaction. Even for an elite few, the headcount felt far too low.
The other side would be swarming with furious Demonic Cult members, after all.
The Ming Cult… the fourth…
I’m already annoyed, so shut up for a bit.
……
Salsung flared red for a moment before vanishing again with a soft pssh under my pure white internal energy.
“This is the only way we can infiltrate undetected. And in the worst case, if we are discovered and the operation fails completely……”
“If it fails?”
I echoed the last part. The others pricked up their ears as well, listening carefully to the strategist’s words.
“We can pass it off as independent action, or personal deviation……”
The Murim Alliance strategist spoke with a heavy gaze.
“……”
Silence flowed among the party. It was all to prevent things from escalating into war, he said.
In other words, if we were caught, they would—regrettably—deny any connection to the Murim Alliance.
“So it’s a suicide special forces unit.”
I muttered with a pale face.
In modern terms, this was a special forces unit—specifically, black ops running an unofficial mission.
“I’ve explained everything, so I wish you fortune in battle. Valiant great heroes.”
For someone of his rank to call green young people like us “great heroes”… rather than joy, it only made me more uneasy.
“Why do you keep talking like we’re definitely going to die?”
While everyone else stayed silent, I stepped forward and asked. Zhuge Seon gave a bitter smile.
“……Please come back alive. I mean it.”
Damn it, this bastard wasn’t even denying it.
In other words, the peace of the Central Plains might well rest on our shoulders.
My shoulders felt just a little heavier.