Ten Perfect Assassin No. 50 - Chapter 64: Focus on Key Point Review
As Cheon Il-hae's gaze sharpened, Jo Bang-un mistakenly thought his gamble had paid off.
'Yes! He's asking about it! I went through hell... but I got the result!'
"It's... that the Seongwangbu has already colluded with the Sangyang Taesu and..."
Jo Bang-un relayed what he'd heard from Won Seung, embellishing it in his own style. He didn't mention the source was Won Seung, framing it as his own discovery.
Now all that was left was to be acknowledged. But Cheon Il-hae had no interest. His mind was filling with suspicion and rage.
'The Taesu has made a secret pact with Seongwangbu and decided to back Gwancheonbang? And yet Pung Un-saeng, that bastard, sided with them? Selling me paintings while cozying up over there?'
Did Gu Ja-ang not know?
If the Taesu was already in cahoots with Seongwangbu... then all that fretting Gu Ja-ang had done was just an act?
Gu Ja-ang had dragged him along, insisting they had to win over the Taesu, and made him shell out a whopping two hundred thousand nyang.
And that to a traitor who, despite coming on Seongwangbu orders, was chasing skirts and pushing Cheongsumun... handing him two hundred thousand nyang.
Wait. Did that money even go to Seongwangbu?
What if the two of them were in on it together?
The suspicions swelled like smoke.
'Right, some young punk from out of town suddenly brings up shares in the Northern Wharf Labor Guild. That was suspicious too.'
As Cheon Il-hae rolled his eyes in thought, Jo Bang-un felt relief at surviving, but then a sharp pain stabbed his grilled sole from the chopstick.
Was his foot completely ruined? He tested it slightly. His butt lifted, and unbeknownst to him, a foul shit stench spread through the humid summer night air.
'Huh?'
His rage was already boiling, and now this sudden assault on his nose made Cheon Il-hae's mood even fouler. Waking up in the dead of night to smell shit.
Cheon Il-hae looked down at Jo Bang-un.
What a pathetic worm. A moth flying blindly into the flame, not even knowing it's his grave.
Putting trash like this in the seat of chief steward... Hwa Cheon-un of Cheongsumun was supposed to be clever, but apparently not.
'Gu Ja-ang boasted about recruiting trash like this.'
A sudden thought struck him, and he asked,
"To recruit someone like you, Gu the chief steward must have put in quite the effort. Probably handed over a nice sum too..."
"Pardon?"
Jo Bang-un shook his head in bewilderment.
"Nothing like that. I just agreed to take his position when he steps down, and get my reward later. I swear."
"Then why did you play informant? The Cheongsumun chief steward position isn't for just anyone."
"It was pure loyalty to Gwancheonbang and Lord Cheon. Hwa Cheon-gang is such a brute... Once, he was a bit late to a summons and kicked the guy's shin till it snapped. The number of people that bastard has killed..."
"Enough. Even if they're enemies, I don't want to hear slander."
Cheon Il-hae had a reputation for brutality not far behind Hwa Cheon-gang's. He'd snapped plenty of subordinates' shins himself.
With nothing more to hear, Cheon Il-hae turned away.
His men entered.
"Prepare a meal."
Jo Bang-un jolted at the order—feed him and send him off.
He'd come for nothing, ruined his foot, and gained zilch.
He started to call out to Cheon Il-hae but shut his mouth.
'No. As long as Cheong-san is around, I won't lack firewood.'
Chattering more here might bring who-knows-what disaster.
Surviving was blessing enough. He had to live to plot the next move.
Jo Bang-un regretted it.
'I should've come sooner.'
He figured his info wasn't that useful to Cheon Il-hae because the tripartite martial contest was just three days away.
And he lamented his own indecisiveness.
Even then... he hadn't known.
He hadn't known when two men in pitch-black attire arrived carrying a stretcher.
"Let's go."
He hadn't known even as they loaded him onto it.
Splash, splash... As the river sounds grew near, a rumor from the streets flashed through his mind.
—The fish in the Sang River gather around Gwancheonbang.
Why? They get fed scraps now and then.
"Prepare a meal" meant... that?
In that instant, Jo Bang-un flipped over and tumbled off the stretcher.
But.
"Urk!"
The pain from his grilled sole buckled him with a thud.
Thwack!
A dagger plunged into Jo Bang-un's nape.
Someone's voice drifted over.
"Always such a hassle..."
Gurgle.
Foam bubbled from Jo Bang-un's mouth.
'I should've come sooner...'
Repeating his inexplicable regret, Jo Bang-un's consciousness faded.
After spotting Jo Bang-un scaling Gwancheonbang's wall, Ogu waited at the corpse disposal spot.
Much later than expected.
Splash!
The body hit the water.
Step, step.
As footsteps receded from the cliff above, Ogu extended a pole to drag the corpse close.
Confirming it was Jo Bang-un, Ogu bowed politely to console the departed soul, then pushed the body back into the river.
The corpse drifted briefly before sinking into the dark waters.
The great catastrophe that would shake the martial world... The first casualty of Sangyang's tripartite martial contest was Jo Bang-un.
Won Seung was shocked to hear of Jo Bang-un's death that morning.
"No way. Killing the guy who brought them info after all that effort!"
"Stabbed in the throat. They tortured him too. Grilling from the sole up with a heated chopstick—that's Gwan Ju-gyeon's favorite method, the Sangyang mad dog."
"Brutal bastard!"
Won Seung shuddered.
He'd heard tales of the martial world's cruelties, but hearing someone he knew had endured such vicious torture and died... it hit differently. Horrifying.
'So Jo Bang-un spilled everything he knew to Cheon Il-hae?'
The bit about the Taesu quietly backing Gwancheonbang and him trying to pull Cheongsumun to Seongwang's side—that was bait to make Cheon Il-hae relax and accept the tripartite contest proposal. With it now just three days away, it hardly mattered...
'Geom Yak Jong coming—that he'd have known already.'
Nothing much changed. Jo Bang-un died for nothing.
Something felt off. The bait he'd fed him led straight to this...
'What if he holds a grudge against me?'
Won Seung spoke gravely.
"What a tragic end. Let's hold a rite for him."
He set up a simple spirit tablet for Jo Bang-un, scattered paper money, and burned it.
'Don't hate me too much. It was all Chief Steward Jo's choice.'
After the rite and breakfast, he called Jong Bi and Ogu to check progress.
Lately, they started the day with these morning briefings.
Usually Won Seung asked, and Jong Bi and Ogu answered.
"Secured the emcees for the tripartite contest?"
"Ha Jeong the sect leader, Un Jeong the gang lord, and Hwa Cheong Ru's madam as joint hosts. Ten thousand nyang each in fees."
"Hwa Cheong Ru's madam? A brothel owner as co-host—doesn't that lower the prestige?"
"She's hosting as Sangyang black society's representative."
"Who runs the matches?"
"Ha Jeong and Un Jeong leaders. Another ten thousand nyang for that!"
"Ugh... Why do those two get double-dipped?"
Just hosting and refereeing for a hundred thousand nyang total.
"Hazard pay—they risk injury refereeing peak experts' fights."
Won Seung grimaced and turned to Ogu.
"Teacher O, the arena setup finishes today, right?"
"Yes."
"I'll check it myself. Can't trust some punk didn't tamper with it."
It was a contest thrown together in ten days. So rushed they were pouring money like lightning-cooking beans.
"Selling spectator tickets tomorrow is key. Sell 'em and vanish quick. No face time, got it?"
"Got the sellers lined up, masks ready."
With final warnings given, Won Seung headed to Yong Jo-un.
As the contest day neared, Yong Jo-un's face grew darker by the day.
He might avenge his kin or die trying.
Nothing left but to leave it to heaven.
Scrape, scrape...
Sharpening his blade while reflecting on days fueled by vengeance alone.
But it wasn't the sword he'd carried before. An increasingly wide, oddly shaped blade—thick edge, long hilt. The intricate dragon pattern etched on it was exquisite.
'He's finally drawn his real weapon.'
Won Seung offered the lacquered box with the Cheonghyeol Bogyunghwan.
Yong Jo-un glanced, then resumed sharpening.
"I've been taking what you gave. My internal energy's up a bit thanks to it."
That meant enough.
Figured as much.
"This is the last favor I can do. Two days from now, I might not get the chance. Please take it."
Even begging him to eat the spirit pill.
What a mess this was.
"I have no idea why you're doing this..."
Yong Jo-un popped the box open casually and tossed the pill into his mouth.
"Anyway, thanks..."
Mid-sentence, Yong Jo-un's eyes bulged. He hastily adjusted his posture and began circulating his energy.
'Ah, this reckless hero... I'm swamped as it is.'
Circulating here of all places?
Because Yong Jo-un spent the whole morning circulating after swallowing the Cheonghyeol Bogyunghwan, Won Seung was stuck guarding him.
Around lunchtime, Yong Jo-un finally opened his eyes.
"What the hell kind of pill is this?"
"Cheong... something. Anyway, bought it for a fortune down at the clinic. Worked?"
"Oh, it's amazing!"
Yong Jo-un was overjoyed.
Thanks to his master's aid, he'd opened his Conception and Governor vessels early. With matchless swordsmanship, iron physique, and vengeful obsession, he'd reached peak expert. But his internal energy lagged.
Internal energy grew proportionally with time and effort for everyone, heart method differences aside.
Shortcuts risked deviating paths or demonic arts, turning you into a freak later. Without spirit pills or century ginseng flukes, nonstop daily circulation was the only way.
But the Cheonghyeol Bogyunghwan granted twenty years' worth in one go, filling his longtime gap.
How could he not be thrilled?
Gratitude toward Won Seung welled up genuinely.
What did this guy want in return for such favors?
Hero Yong Jo-un's mind couldn't fathom it.
Staring long at Won Seung, he hesitated before speaking.
"You said you wanted someone dead? Who?"
"Why?"
"Two days from now, I might not be alive."
Yong Jo-un spoke resolutely.
"If it's some world-harming villain like you said, I'll kill them tomorrow."
"Go circulate more in the secret training room."
The renovated next door had a basement secret chamber.
"No chance later?"
"You might not get one, hero, but I've got plenty."
Yi Eon-pae's life would cover Haeyeonmun special assassins' treatment fees.
Won Seung shoved Yong Jo-un into the secret room.
And.
"Two days left! Don't dive into new stuff—relax, review what you've learned. Focus on key points!"
Won Seung shared the ultimate secret from his mountain training log that kept his Gap-ha and Eul-sang exam scores steady.