Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Judgment
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After downing the last of the medicinal broth without leaving a drop, the leader's wife gradually regained her strength, as if the long winter had finally lifted.
Color returned to her pale face, and her chest, which had been drawing shallow breaths, drew in a deep one once more.
Though her body was still far from fully recovered and she'd spent the entire day lost in dreams, with her health returning to normal, the crisis could be considered resolved.
"I offer my deepest gratitude for your life-saving grace, more precious than a thousand gold. I will repay this debt until the day I draw my last breath."
Han Do-hyuk, leader of the Black Water Stronghold, bowed his head deeply to me and Baek Eunhwa—now fully our benefactor.
Of course, after handing over a priceless secret manual impossible to find anywhere in the world, this much sincerity was the least he could show.
Naturally, my motives weren't purely altruistic, but he had no way of knowing about my past life.
"I seek no oaths of loyalty. My head's already full with those Waterway Stronghold fools. For now, capture the Shadow Branch Leader, and we'll discuss the rest later."
But if he suddenly suggested folding the entire Black Water Stronghold under the Lower Five Gates, it would put us in an awkward spot. With the precedent of that stronghold leader, better to lay it out upfront.
I planned to keep a healthy distance from the Black Water Stronghold while squeezing every last drop of use from them for life.
"Your magnanimity in considering even a lowly one like me moves me deeply. From this day forward, Han Do-hyuk lives for you, great hero—and dies for you."
He seemed to be laboring under some strange misunderstanding again.
Baek Eunhwa, who had read my intentions, poked me from the side, stifling a laugh. She wasn't mediating at all—just watching the show like it was prime entertainment.
Whatever. The outcome worked in our favor, so no need to correct him.
"Do as you will. First, handle the problem at hand."
"Yes. For now, I judge we should root out the spies hiding within the Black Water Stronghold. There must be agents planted by the Shadow Branch Leader to monitor me."
"If word gets out that you've moved your wife to safety, the Shadow Branch side will suspect betrayal. So masking their eyes comes first?"
"Precisely."
Once we find the spies, we'll probably uncover spies watching those spies. No wonder I could never warm to the Shadow Branch bastards. Not that I ever planned to.
Hah, mountains beyond mountains.
"Leave that to me."
At that moment, Baek Eunhwa rose confidently from her seat, her expression brimming with assurance.
Come to think of it, we had the perfect person for this—the world's top expert in such matters.
"I trust you, Gate Leader."
"All personnel of Black Water Stronghold—assemble in the training grounds!"
At the leader's shout, every soul in the stronghold, from warriors to servants, gathered without exception.
Soon, they paired off in groups of a dozen or so and were sent one by one to the reception hall under the pretext of greeting an honored guest.
"Who the hell could it be, for the leader to be so deferential?"
"Beats me. We just do as we're told."
A few grumbled at having to bow to some unknown figure, but none dared voice it before the leader.
"Welcome."
There, they faced a mysterious woman with her face veiled in cloth and a young man standing guard at her side.
"I am Baek Eunhwa, leader of the Lower Five Gates."
'Why are the Lower Five Gates here?'
She met their gazes steadily, her eyes sharp enough to send chills down the spine.
"I've gathered you all here today to ferret out the rats infesting Black Water Stronghold. Their affiliation is..."
Baek Eunhwa scanned each face with icy precision, utterly calm and composed—as if she could peer straight into their souls.
"The Shadow Branch."
At those words, one man's face—the third in the rightmost row—twitched ever so slightly.
'Damn it, did the leader rat us all out? I need to inform the branch leader now...'
"Right row, third file."
Slash.
With a crisp sound, a blade too swift to follow severed the man's head from his body. His falling expression hadn't changed a whit.
As if he hadn't even realized he'd died.
"Eek!"
A servant girl, snapping to her senses beside the corpse, let out a short scream before clapping a hand over her mouth in panic.
"No need to panic. I've simply dealt with a spy."
The Black Water warriors, swords drawn in the tense moment, sighed in relief upon hearing no hostility in her words.
Had this young man intended to slaughter them all, their heads would have rolled just like that one by now.
The Black Water warriors weren't so dull as to miss that.
"Next."
Like an official dispatching business with swift efficiency, she summed up the situation curtly.
Gazing at the corpse before her without a flicker of disturbance.
And so, the oblivious spies—unaware of the fate awaiting them—pushed open the reception hall door and stepped into the beyond, one after another.
"Well done."
"Whew, reading hundreds of minds one by one really takes a toll on the spirit."
After precisely executing ten spies, she finally showed signs of fatigue. Spending the whole day in constant tension, wondering who might be a spy, would wear anyone down.
"Mind if I borrow your shoulder for a bit?"
The leader would gladly lend her a sickbed if asked, but without waiting for an answer, she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"This much is fine as payment for my efforts, right?"
"I'd grant a request like this anytime, no need to ask."
Our eyes met, breaths drawing inexplicably closer amid the tangled gazes.
"Ahem."
The leader's cough—entering without a sound—startled Baek Eunhwa, who sprang back with a flustered cough of her own.
"Ahem. As requested, all the spies have been dealt with."
Her ears seemed a touch redder than usual as she spoke in her usual tone, but I pretended not to notice.
"Impressive skills. My thanks again for your repeated aid."
"To be safe, move the lady's quarters to a Lower Five Gates branch."
There might be lingering spies, or personnel away on missions. Better safe than sorry.
Especially against the Shadow Branch Leader, who spared no dirty trick.
"I gratefully accept your consideration."
Now, only the Shadow Branch Leader remained to be handled.
"How do you normally receive orders from the branch leader?"
"It varies, but major directives come directly from him in person. We have established contact methods, so luring him out should be straightforward."
"And do you have proof he's tied to the Demonic Cult?"
"Well..."
A shadow of worry crossed his face. Slippery as the bastard was, he'd likely left no evidence—but not even a secret missive?
"Justice without cause is mere slaughter. We need clear evidence of his betrayal that anyone would recognize."
This was a task from the alliance leader himself; it had to be handled cleanly. That position carried weight—even a misplaced step could invite misunderstandings, leaving us to be torn apart by the wolves.
The alliance leader had long suppressed the Five Great Sects, earning him no shortage of enemies.
"...It's not ironclad, but there is one decisive piece of evidence."
With that, he produced a certain item.
"I sincerely thank you for saving my worthless life."
The leader's wife, now with her complexion restored, was unrecognizably transformed. Her skin gleamed like fine porcelain, and her refined features, though not flashy, held the pure clarity of a serene lake.
She seemed far younger than her husband, who must be around the same age.
She could easily be called Hubei's Foremost Beauty.
"I only helped because of the leader. No need for thanks."
"How could I, born human, not cherish my own life? No excuse justifies forgetting a life-saving grace. As long as I draw breath by my own strength, I will always remember this debt."
Watching her express her gratitude in that clear voice, I understood why the leader doted on her so.
She was worth it.
Poke.
Turning at the jab to my side, I found Baek Eunhwa glaring at me, lips pursed.
Good grief—even my thoughts weren't my own anymore.
"I offer my thanks once more as well."
"Good. Keep repaying our unit leader from here on."
Baek Eunhwa tossed out a curt reply, sounding oddly peevish. She usually brimmed with dignity, yet sometimes showed this childlike side.
"Yes! I will serve with all my heart and soul!"
Undeterred by her attitude, the leader raised his voice even higher.
"If you truly wish to follow me, you must share my will."
"Your will—what exactly do you mean, if I may ask?"
His gaze burned brighter, as earnest as ever in all things.
"I want to lose no one."
"Does that mean walking the path of the gentleman?"
"No. Gentlemen sometimes forsake benevolence for righteousness. I have no righteousness or chivalry. I simply wish to selfishly protect my own."
I have no desire to be a hero or a lord. If anything, I just want to live like a human.
"Even if it means treading the Asura's path?"
"Yes. If slaying ten thousand strangers would save my people, I'd draw my sword with a smile."
"That sounds like a hard road. Becoming a gentleman seems easier."
In a world where a word could cost a head, vowing to lose no one was indeed daunting. But I was certain he could do it.
My will was one I'd learned from you in my past life, after all.
"It will be hard. But I will succeed."
"Then I too shall stake my life on that path. You are the one who protected my kin, after all."
In the swaying carriage, he dropped to one knee before me.
It was neither a vow to offer his sword nor to serve me as lord. Just trust in his eyes—trust between men walking the same road.
"Carry on as you have. All arts, be they sword or worldly, converge to the source."
All flowing things reach the sea. Paths of life may differ in direction, but they meet at the end. What matters is the will to advance.
He had the will to protect his wife to the end. This man would see it through without my aid.
That would be my intent—and the heart those who follow me must hold.
For my will springs not from action, but from the heart that cherishes it.
"I shall strive onward."
Simply advancing the path his heart yearns to follow.