Why Did You Kill Osa?
The temperature had been dropping day by day until snow finally began to fall.
Dok Sabu tidied up his medicine room. He discarded what needed to be thrown away and kept what should be preserved, all the while pondering how to avoid implicating Won Seung.
"Take this."
Dok Sabu handed over his precious herbs and poisons to Won Seung.
Won Seung watched with a heavy heart as Dok Sabu sorted through everything. He didn't show it, but he sensed his master had made some grim resolve. What he didn't realize was that it was all for his sake.
If he'd known, Won Seung would have stopped him without hesitation. He was not the type to let his master die, even if it meant becoming a Ten Perfect Assassin himself.
That was why Dok Sabu kept his plans secret. He spoke casually, as always, about the martial world or poison techniques that came to mind.
After spending a fortnight organizing his quarters, Dok Sabu rose early one morning, donned his official robes neatly, and summoned Won Seung.
In Dok Sabu's hand was a small dagger. The blade, sheathed in its leather scabbard, was about the length of a palm.
"I don't have much in the way of weapons to leave you. Take this knife at least. The handle's cap is hollow—perfect for carrying poison."
Won Seung accepted the dagger.
The two sat facing each other, sipping tea as they gazed out at the snow-covered garden. When the tea was finished, Dok Sabu spoke.
"Go down to the lower dorms now."
Won Seung knew this was the last time he'd see Dok Sabu.
"Where are you headed? If I'm going to find you later, shouldn't I know?"
"You'll learn in time. Take it slow."
At Dok Sabu's words, Won Seung bowed silently, gathered his things, and descended to the lower dorms. On the way, he didn't forget to pick up the poison bottles and toxins he'd prepared earlier.
Dok Sabu shouldered the bundle he'd prepared and set out, leaning on his staff.
Halfway to the lower dorms, Won Seung glanced back. The lonely sight met his eyes: an old man trudging down a path blanketed white with fresh snow.
'What's the old man carrying that makes that bundle so heavy?'
The bundle slung over Dok Sabu's shoulder looked impossibly weighty. Won Seung wondered if he should go back and help, but as if sensing his thoughts, Dok Sabu turned, waved him off, and gestured for him to hurry.
"Take care. I'll come find you for sure."
Won Seung muttered his reply and turned away.
As Won Seung unpacked in the lower dorms with a heavy heart, Dok Sabu sat in Jang Gyo-du's office.
The wooden buildings, their windows shuttered against the winter chill, were dim inside. But Jang Gyo-du's office blazed with light from the lanterns on the walls and the thick candles on the desk.
"The winter cold in these mountains is too much for this old body to bear. I'm leaving today."
Jang Gyo-du had already heard about Dok Sabu's recent actions. He'd prepared thoroughly for this day.
"Have you forgotten your promise to headquarters? I thought you agreed to get permission before leaving. And there's still some advanced poison training left in the curriculum, isn't there?"
The abrupt end to the lessons had left a bit of the advanced poison course unfinished. Dok Sabu cackled.
"I've made arrangements for that. I instructed No. 50 on what to teach for the remaining half-year. He'll handle it."
Jang Gyo-du gave a strange smile.
"No. 50 will surely become a Ten Perfect Assassin. Guiding poisons before even leaving the training camp—quite the master he's become."
"The boy served me diligently. He deserves that much."
The two danced around the point.
"As you know, being in the mountains, I don't have much to offer. But some fine tea just arrived—have a cup before you go."
"Heh heh, you dare share tea with me?"
"What reason would you have to poison this junior of yours?"
Jang Gyo-du personally prepared the tea set and brewed the tea.
As he handed over the cup, he asked outright.
"What have I done to deserve death at your hands? I truly can't fathom it."
Resolve and menace flickered in Jang Gyo-du's eyes.
Dok Sabu sipped his tea calmly.
"People die for all sorts of reasons. How many in the martial world truly know why they meet their end?"
Jang Gyo-du hardened his heart. Dokgoe truly intended to kill him. He sighed deeply.
"That's why they say even in death, the eyes won't close. I can't go like that. I need to know why I'm dying."
Dok Sabu glared at Jang Gyo-du.
"Why did you kill Osa?"
Osa had been Dok Sabu's poison boy before Won Seung.
Before coming here, Dok Sabu had taught poisons at the fourth assassin training camp, where he'd taken Osa as his apprentice and brought him along to the fifth.
Osa had died one day after mistakenly ingesting the wrong poison.
Jang Gyo-du burst into laughter.
"Is it really about Osa? You know he wasn't fit to be your successor, and so do I."
Jang Gyo-du neither admitted nor denied killing Osa. Dok Sabu sighed deeply.
"He may have been lacking, but he served me with devotion. As I prepared to leave the mountain, his grudge weighed on me."
"I can't understand why you're holding me accountable for Osa's death."
Dok Sabu narrowed his eyes. His cold gaze pierced Jang Gyo-du.
"I realized it the moment I heard you'd make No. 50 a Ten Perfect Assassin. You wanted me to take him under my wing and teach him poisons. So you lured Osa away and killed him."
Jang Gyo-du didn't deny it and changed the subject.
"No. 50 is certainly smarter than Osa. Hasn't he served you well? And inheriting your legacy, he could make a name with poisons."
"Hmph! Do you think I was your puppet? No matter how clever No. 50 is, he'd become your pawn. Do you think I'd teach him properly? With his skills, he couldn't even handle a Dang Clan servant."
Jang Gyo-du scowled, gulped down his tea, and said,
"You saved No. 50 from death and gave him a spirit pill granting twenty years of inner energy. You expect me to believe that? You taught him well—that's why you're having him take over your duties."
"That was just reward for his loyal service. I settle scores clearly. That's why you must die."
Dok Sabu cackled.
"I see."
Jang Gyo-du set down his cup and straightened his back.
The fox bared its teeth before the old tiger.
"So how do you plan to kill me? You didn't poison the tea, did you? If so, it was all for nothing."
Dok Sabu flinched, his face hardening, and Jang Gyo-du laughed loudly.
"I know your poison skills are renowned. But the poison ingredients you brought to these mountains were limited. How many lethal toxins could you make from them?"
As soon as Jang Gyo-du finished speaking, he kicked the floor and slid back in his chair.
Three men burst from behind the ceiling panels, screen, and bookshelf, swinging their swords like lightning.
Dokgoe was a poison master, but his martial arts were those of a peak expert. Even on the brink of death, he wouldn't fall easily to first-rate assassins' ambush.
Still seated, Dokgoe leaned back, kicked the table flying. Lamps crashed, candles rolled, oil spilled, and flames erupted.
Dokgoe parried the sword dropping from above with his staff, then crushed the assailant's skull with the tip. Spinning, he smashed the head of the one charging from the right with a spinning kick.
Thud! Thud!
Two heads exploded. Meanwhile, the sword from the left closed in on Dokgoe's face. He twisted away, aiming an elbow strike at the chest, but
Thud!
A metal spike embedded in his elbow. The man had blocked with a small hand shield, its spike shattering the joint. Ignoring the pain, Dokgoe circulated his inner energy and spun.
Silently, a sword thrust forward, piercing Dokgoe's chest.
Squelch!
The blade impaled his heart.
Jang Gyo-du now stood before him, sword buried in Dokgoe's chest.
"Kuh! Ptooey!"
Blood sprayed from Dokgoe's mouth in a fountain.
Dokgoe's blood splashed across Jang Gyo-du's face.
"Keh heh heh."
Having captured a Ten Great Expert rival, Jang Gyo-du wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and laughed triumphantly.
"Your fangs are gone. Just a paper tiger."
Dok Sabu gripped the sword in his chest with both hands, eyes bloodshot.
"Did you forget I'm a Jeokhyeolsan assassin? You never suspected. This trap was set expecting two sacrifices. You moved as I hoped. And this is the result."
Jang Gyo-du twisted the blade.
Dokgoe vomited another mouthful of blood amid the agony of his heart tearing.
"I prepared for your poisons too. My mouth's full of blood poison brew, and I swallowed enough antidote to burst my gut. You can't kill me here."
Dok Sabu tried to speak, but blood surged, silencing him.
If Jang Gyo-du had heard, he'd have been horrified.
-Your plan was mine too. You'll die as well!
Even if he'd heard, fate was inescapable.
Thud.
As Dok Sabu's knees hit the floor, Jang Gyo-du felt his face burn and dizziness hit, staggering.
The assassin with the hand shield cried out in shock.
"Instructor! Your face...!"
Incredibly, Jang Gyo-du's face, splattered with Dokgoe's blood, was melting away.
In his final moment, Dok Sabu had unleashed the poisons stored in his body as a poison expert, spraying them like a fountain onto Jang Gyo-du's face.
Blood poison brew and antidote or not, he couldn't block the horde of skin-piercing toxins all at once.
"Argh! My face!"
Jang Gyo-du clawed at his face, screaming as he wiped the blood. Dok Sabu's blood ate like acid, dissolving skin, melting bone, and scorching brain.
"Aaaagh!"
Jang Gyo-du collapsed in frenzy, his head liquefying in seconds.
Kneeling in a pool of blood, Dok Sabu cackled, turning to the remaining assassin.
The assassin had killed countless times, but this horror was new. Fearing another blood spray, he shattered a window and flung himself out with a yell.
Dok Sabu gazed at Jang Gyo-du's headless corpse and murmured,
"I told you. Before spring comes, I could kill even one like you. You should have known I keep my word."
It had been a private vow to kill before spring—Jang Gyo-du never knew. Even so, Dok Sabu had warned him, then tossed his bundle toward the spreading flames.
The bundle ignited.
Boom!
Something exploded, and flames engulfed the entire wooden building in an instant.
The instructors rushing at the commotion couldn't approach the fierce blaze.