Chapter 113
Jin Cheong-ak consciously put on an even more delighted smile.
Whenever he wanted to hide what he truly felt, he showed more exaggerated expressions and a more exaggerated way of speaking. It had become one of his new habits.
No—after meeting Yeo Il, he realized it had actually been self-defense he had carried since childhood. It was a truth he learned while wandering around trying to find the cause of behavior unlike himself and the discomforting emotions behind it.
“…….”
Beomjung, who had been looking at Danghong with contempt, rolled his eyes slightly and looked at Jin Cheong-ak with a face that said, You didn’t leak the fact we gathered here to that woman, did you?
As if.
Yeo Il, by her mere existence, exerted powerful influence over Jin Cheong-ak’s life, but that was all it was.
Jin Cheong-ak might be swayed by Yeo Il, but he had no intention of having everything taken from him. Even he—indifferent to everything and living a dissipated life since childhood—still had things he had to protect and take responsibility for.
Looking up at Yeo Il’s ice-cold eyes, Jin Cheong-ak asked,
“How do you find me so well every time? You find me like a ghost—so well that Beomjung’s reached the point of suspecting me.”
“…No, my lord.”
Yeo Il slowly released Danghong’s struggling neck and answered as if it were nothing.
“You stand out too much.”
“Hm. True—handsome men aren’t free from people’s eyes.”
“And every place you pick for ‘secret meetings’ is obvious too. I don’t know who decides it, but if you were my subordinates, you’d already be spanked out and kicked away.”
Danghong, eyes rolling as she rubbed her neck, now sucked in rough breaths like she had become a wild boar. Wi Danghong’s problem was that she couldn’t lie.
After saying everything she needed in a blunt face, Yeo Il’s gaze moved to the assassin whose eyes were still unfocused. She had not even opened her mouth yet, but Danghong hurried to speak first.
“The hypnosis has completely worn off, my lord! Repeated hypnosis loses effectiveness, so it’s better to find another one, or try again after two or three days!”
Well, the eyes were still ruined.
Swallowing what he wanted to say, Jin Cheong-ak stood up. Then, as if it were natural, he started walking out of the old house—yet the way Yeo Il’s eyes followed him was not normal.
Ahem. With a small, forced cough, Jin Cheong-ak also cut in first, like Danghong had.
“Ah. Even if it’s only a moment, going out makes me feel at ease. Shall we head back now, mas—”
He was about to say “master,” when Jin Cheong-ak’s expression suddenly stiffened, as if he had remembered something.
“…So what happened with Jegal Hyeonmun?”
As always, Yeo Il did not give him an easy answer.
When Jin Cheong-ak refused to take his eyes off her, Yeo Il finally moved her feet after a long while and spoke as she passed by.
“Don’t forget the wish bet.”
It was an absurd answer.
Maybe because of that, his mood began to twist, and shallow unease started to seep up from his toes.
What kind of conversation had our master had with that old man that she was hiding it like this?
To hide his twisted feelings, Jin Cheong-ak put on an even more shamelessly sly expression this time as well.
“Hm? A wish? Was there something like that? I can’t remember.”
“…….”
“Hm? When was it again?”
By now, this was when Yeo Il should have vented with a murderous expression, but—
“…Follow me. There’s something we need to do.”
She only walked ahead with a plain attitude.
“Haha.”
That reaction was irritating.
What is it? What is our Yeo Il scheming again…?
Following behind Yeo Il, Jin Cheong-ak sent a voice transmission to Beomjung.
[Monitor Jegal Hyeonmun and Yeo Il thoroughly. If you notice anything, report to me at once.]
[Understood.]
Jegal Hyeonmun let out a sigh.
[Cheonmu Ryeong.]
[…]
[I don’t know what he came looking for… but it’s certainly connected to our Jegal Clan.]
I came to retrieve what I lost.
…Something lost.
It felt like she had heard that familiar voice somewhere, and goosebumps rose across her whole body.
But the cause of that chill was not only the voice echoing in her ears.
[Found you.]
As soon as Yeo Il tried to shake off the unpleasant memories from the Murim Alliance, Jegal Hyeonmun casually proposed—
[Won’t you take my hand, Wolgeom Ilsal?]
[…]
[There isn’t much time left. I can’t wait long. Please give me your answer here.]
[…When are you planning to die?]
“Hm? Die? Heh-heh, you’re getting ahead of yourself… I may be old, but I’m not at the point of closing my eyes yet. It’s only that my concentration has rusted badly compared to when I was young. Time is truly fleeting.”
Yeo Il immediately read the meaning hidden in his words and asked,
[How long can you hold out?]
[At most, three days. At shortest, two.]
Tight.
There was no way Cheonmu Ryeong did not know that Jegal Hyeonmun was losing strength.
With certainty, Cheonmu Ryeong would be calmly savoring liquor alone by a riverside where the autumn breeze drifted softly, waiting only for the greatest sorcerer of the era—the barrier protecting the Jegal Clan—to collapse.
Yeo Il recalled why she had forced herself along behind Namgung Hui-myeong all the way to the Jegal Clan, and opened her mouth.
[You already have a plan, right?]
[Of course.]
[Tell me.]
[Are you accepting this old man’s proposal?]
[I’m not “helping.” I’m “joining hands.”]
[…Then I won’t offer thanks. Tell me your conditions.]
When Yeo Il came out after finishing her talk with Jegal Hyeonmun, Namgung Hui-myeong hurried to support her.
He frowned at Yeo Il’s words.
[Soyo, you found something you need to do?]
[Yes. Jegal Ihwa-nim is very uneasy, so I decided I’ll stay with her.]
[But.]
[Her only sister has disappeared. How sad and worried must she be? I think I can understand that feeling deeply now… I really want to help, even like this.]
[…Well, if you’re saying it to that extent, I don’t have anything to say.]
[I’ll stay with Jegal Ihwa-nim for the time being. They say it’s the safest place in the Jegal Clan, so don’t worry.]
That conversation had happened only an hour ago.
Bringing Jin Cheong-ak back to the Jegal Clan, Yeo Il headed down the corridor toward Jegal Hyeonmun’s residence—then turned west.
At the end of a path with few people, a woman was waiting for Yeo Il.
“You’re Namgung Sojeo?”
When Yeo Il nodded, a suspicious voice followed.
“Just like I heard, you can’t see. And you don’t seem to be a martial artist either… so why did Grandfather entrust this to you?”
The moment she finished speaking, Yeo Il opened the eyes she had kept shut.
A prim face was right in front of her. In the slightly upturned corners of her eyes, she felt stubborn resolve.
The woman blinked her long eyelashes several times. Jegal Ihwa, skillfully masking the confusion that rose over her features, asked,
“Are you really Namgung Soyo? Or is the rumor that you’re blind a lie—”
“Shh.”
At the small but oppressive warning, Jegal Ihwa shut her mouth at once.
“Today will be the first and last time you and I meet, Jegal Ihwa. So if you’re going to open your mouth, think carefully before you do.”
“…….”
“I am the person your grandfather chose. Do you trust your grandfather?”
After a brief silence, Jegal Ihwa slowly nodded.
“Of course.”
“Then stop arguing and start.”
“…I like it when things are simple. Fine. Come inside. I’ll help you change.”
A rare dignity could be felt in the woman’s quiet gesture as she turned her back.
“Because in my place, you have to become ‘Jegal Ihwa’… and be dragged away by the Cheonma Divine Cult.”