Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The Assassin's Gate (1)
The scorching day had passed, and deep night had arrived.
The bright moonlight scattered silver fragments everywhere.
Whoosh!
With that silver light at his back, a figure dashed through the forest.
Se-woon pushed his movement technique to its limits as he weaved through the towering black bamboo thickets.
After Tang Mu-yeol had ordered all the family's wine jars to be brought out, and both the Tang Elite Unit and household servants had collapsed drunk, Se-woon had secretly made his way to the Black Bamboo Forest.
It was his first time returning since killing Son Woo-gon, the leader of the Huryong Mercenaries.
Crunch.
Only when he reached the deepest part of the Black Bamboo Forest did Se-woon finally stop running.
Despite sprinting nonstop until now, not a single drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Hah, the stronger my poison resistance becomes, the harder it is to get drunk. What a shame."
Just as he muttered to himself—
Hiss...
White vapor, like that of a midwinter's breath, rose from Se-woon's body in a hazy mist.
A pungent scent of alcohol spread through the air.
All traces of intoxication had been burned away.
Once the effects of the poisoned liquor he had shared with the Tang Elite Unit had completely faded, Se-woon slowly lifted his head and gazed at the night sky.
A full moon hung brilliantly overhead.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Though there was no sign of anyone around, Se-woon was clearly speaking to someone.
Yet no matter how long he waited, no reply came.
In the tranquil silence, only the clamor of insects filled the air.
"Many don't know this, but this spot offers the most beautiful view of the moon in the entire Black Bamboo Forest."
Se-woon spoke again.
This time, however, his gaze wasn't fixed on the sky but on a dense thicket of black bamboo.
Silence still lingered in the surroundings, but Se-woon didn't avert his eyes.
Instead, he stared intently—so sharply it might have been unsettling.
Then, at last—
Rustle.
The black bamboo in the direction Se-woon was watching trembled.
"Ah, truly, Young Master Tang's eyes are impossible to evade."
A figure emerged from hiding—none other than Jang Yi, the younger of the Jang brothers who had been assigned to Se-woon's group during the sparring matches.
Though Se-woon's movement techniques didn't match his martial prowess in other areas, it was still surprising that Jang Yi, a mere first-class fighter, had managed to keep up with him.
"Hiding your footsteps and breath doesn't mean you've hidden everything."
"Haha, is that so?"
Despite the thinly veiled mockery in Se-woon's words, Jang Yi merely scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Watching him, Se-woon smiled coldly and posed his question.
"So, why have you followed me all the way here?"
"Hmm... It's just that something felt off."
"Off?"
"Yes."
In an instant, Jang Yi's expression changed.
The eyes that had seemed utterly simple for the past ten days were now completely different.
Se-woon silently waited, and Jang Yi finally parted his lips.
"Everyone received weapons suited to their main armaments."
"......"
"As you know, my weapons are twin short spears. But out of nowhere—"
Jang Yi paused, then pulled out the weapon Se-woon had given him from his robes.
Shing!
A pair of sharply honed daggers glinted coldly under the moonlight.
"—you handed me these twin daggers. Doesn't that seem... more than a little wrong?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Though all that had happened was a meeting of gazes, an oppressive energy surged between them, prickling against the skin.
Yet Se-woon remained composed as he replied.
"That's odd."
"......Huh?"
"I'm certain I gave you your main armament."
"......!"
"Didn't I?"
At Se-woon's question, Jang Yi's face finally twisted in frustration.
Hiss...
A killing intent erupted from him.
"......Since when did you know?"
"Honestly, you really don't know?"
"......!"
"Since when?"
Whoosh!
Se-woon effortlessly dispersed the energy Jang Yi had unleashed and answered.
"Since the moment we first met."
"—!!"
Only then did Jang Yi—no, the nameless assassin of the Assassin's Gate—realize he had been completely played from the start.
But his anger and displeasure didn't last long.
"Heh, damn it. So all that sweat I shed for ten days was for nothing."
The assassin's expression twisted into something almost clownish, like a performer in a circus.
Hiss...
Se-woon watched him closely, circulating the Golden Threads of Heavenly Net through his meridians while drawing upon his innate qi.
Even if his current strength wasn't what it had been in his past life, this was no opponent to underestimate.
'I didn't expect to meet him this soon.'
And so, Se-woon came face-to-face with the past of the assassin who had once been his closest friend in his previous life.
Shriek!
The air split with a piercing sound as two daggers sliced through the void toward Se-woon.
The throwing motion was so fast it was nearly invisible—but.
Twang!
The Golden Threads of Heavenly Net, already unfurled, effortlessly intercepted both daggers.
As if he had expected Se-woon to catch them, the assassin spoke without a hint of disappointment.
"I'll take those back."
"How disappointing. I didn't skimp on craftsmanship just because they were for an assassin."
"I appreciate that, but I still prefer my own."
"Hmph, if you say so."
"But seriously, how the hell did you figure me out?"
Se-woon shrugged at the assassin's question.
"Well, I had a hunch the Lee Merchant Group would send an assassin sooner or later."
"......"
"The tools you used were shoddy, and your disguise was even worse. How could I not notice?"
"Tch, you bastard. If you knew how valuable this thing is in the martial world, you wouldn't say that."
As Se-woon twirled a finger mockingly at his own face—
Riiip!
The assassin tore off the Human-Skin Mask covering his face.
Beneath it was an utterly ordinary visage—the kind one might pass by on any roadside.
But then, Se-woon's next words caused the assassin's expression to twist in shock for the first time.
"Valuable? Please. You had to settle for inferior goods because of the recent infighting."
"!!"
Se-woon had just revealed a disgraceful secret known only to a handful of the Assassin's Gate's top brass.
Currently, the Assassin's Gate was divided between the faction loyal to its leader and the faction supporting the deputy leader, embroiled in internal strife.
Amid this, someone had recently contaminated the highest-grade Human-Skin Masks used by the leader's assassins, forcing them to temporarily resort to inferior substitutes.
The assassin's mind reeled.
Not only did his opponent know the One-Point Kill technique—
He knew his affiliation—
And was even privy to the Assassin's Gate's internal affairs.
What the hell was going on? He couldn't make sense of it.
"......Just what are you?"
"Tang Se-woon, legitimate heir of the Tang Family. Did you not even research your target before coming? Tsk, the Assassin's Gate has really fallen far."
"!!"
Snap!
The assassin's patience finally broke.
Instantly, he dropped into a stance, readying himself to attack in the blink of an eye.
"Hah, fine."
"Hm?"
"If I lop off one of your limbs, you'll talk properly."
Whoosh!
The assassin lunged at Se-woon like lightning, scattering killing intent in his wake.
'Here he comes!'
Se-woon swiftly wrapped the Golden Threads around his eyes.
But it was futile.
Swish!
The moment he saw his opponent push off the ground, he had already circulated his qi—yet the assassin had vanished without a trace.
Only black bamboo and moonlight filled the surroundings.
—Hey, friend. The pinnacle of assassination isn't just about stealth.
As the voice of his past-life friend echoed in his ears—
Ssshh...
The shadows cast by the moonlight rippled faintly, like the surface of a lake.
Se-woon immediately recognized the technique his opponent was using.
'Nether King's Step!'
One of the three great movement techniques of the martial world, rivaling the Wandering Shadow Step of the Divine Thief.
But Nether King's Step wasn't the assassin's technique's true name.
Its proper name was Phantom Slayer Ghost Shadow Step—but at this point in time, Se-woon was the only one outside the Assassin's Gate who knew that.
Since the only thing left behind by the Assassin's Gate's killers was death, the martial world had dubbed it Nether King's Step.
If the Wandering Shadow Step focused on leaving no trace, Nether King's Step—bearing the name of the ruler of the underworld—was a movement technique solely for silently killing enemies.
Hiss...
Then, something abruptly surged from the shadows in Se-woon's blind spot.
Shing!
A pair of daggers, now pitch-black, gleamed in the assassin's hands as he lunged at Se-woon's exposed back.
The Nether King's Step allowed its user to meld into shadows and vanish.
'First, the left arm.'
Swish!
The assassin whipped his arms like whips, sending the twin daggers slicing through the air once more.
But this time—
Not a single sound accompanied the attack.
A higher level of dagger technique, perfected to utter silence.
Just as the soundless daggers were about to sink into Se-woon—
Screech!
Crack!
"......!"
A harsh grating noise erupted as orange sparks flew.
The Golden Threads, spread like a spider's web, had intercepted the daggers mid-flight.
Realizing his first strike had failed, the assassin immediately prepared a follow-up—
Gasp!
But a sudden, instinctive warning made him swing his qi-wrapped hands defensively.
Clang!
Ting!
"!!"
Two daggers were deflected right before his eyes.
That's right—Se-woon, still with his back turned, had thrown his own daggers with the same flawless silence.
In an instant, their first exchange had ended.
Twang!
Se-woon retrieved the deflected daggers with the Golden Threads and turned around.
Their gazes met in midair.
Se-woon's eyes were cold and unreadable.
The assassin's, however, shimmered with intrigue.
'Heh. So he even knows the Nether King's Step's secrets.'
A killer's life depended on composure—yet.
Thump! Thud-thud!
His heart pounded wildly at the appearance of the most fascinating opponent he had ever faced.
Though his twin daggers—his main weapons—lay discarded on the ground, the assassin didn't care.
He had never planned to rely on them or the One-Point Kill technique against an enemy who knew his secrets.
'Fine. If I can't sever limbs—'
Over the past ten days, the assassin had prepared the perfect technique to counter Se-woon's Golden Threads.
And that was—
'I'll reduce you to ashes.'
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from the assassin's hands.
Fire couldn't be blocked by threads.
Whoosh!
Pushing off the ground, the assassin charged at Se-woon.