Chapter 71
Translator: uly
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Invitation - 1
‘Why did the killing intent surge again?’
Cheon Sal-seong regained her mental composure and sank into thought in the corner of the alley.
‘The killing intent has never surged like this before.’
Cheon Sal-seong’s killing intent was like water slowly filling a large vessel. If she did not kill, the water would gradually fill the vessel and overflow.
Indiscriminate killing was the same. If she killed while losing her mental composure, the inner killing intent would not disappear but would boil over.
In the end, whether she refrained from killing or killed indiscriminately, the conclusion was the same. It led to losing reason to the killing intent, beyond the level where she could control her inner murderousness.
That’s why Cheon Sal-seong had learned assassin martial arts and carried out assassinations.
The process of maintaining mental composure through martial arts while shedding her inner killing intent. That way, she could vent the murderousness that filled her without becoming intoxicated by killing and letting the killing intent boil over.
When she felt the killing intent gradually rising within, she would perform an assassination mission. That was her usual routine.
But this time, the surge of killing intent was different from usual.
‘There were no warning signs.’
Normally, there were warning signs in both cases. Just as one feels hunger before overeating, she should have felt the killing intent slowly rising.
But this time was different.
It felt as if an ember she thought had disappeared suddenly shot up to the height of a blast furnace pillar with a strong blast of bellows.
‘Why can’t I feel it?’
Cheon Sal-seong calmly and meticulously observed her inner self. If the killing intent had surged, at least some trace should remain within, but she couldn’t feel any killing intent at all.
It wasn’t that the killing intent had been building up, nor was it a situation where she had lost her composure and was killing.
What on earth caused the killing intent to surge so abruptly that it dyed her brain white?
‘Could it be?’
With one thought, Cheon Sal-seong used her stealth technique and disappeared from the street.
------
“So-hee. You’re a bit late today.”
Yun-ho greeted So-hee as she entered the house, holding food in one hand.
“Yeah. There was some work.”
“What happened that your expression is so dark?”
“Is my expression dark?”
It should have been her usual expressionless face. So-hee’s eyes widened at Yun-ho’s words.
“Is something worrying you?”
A considerable amount of time had already passed since Yun-ho started living with her.
As someone who always checked her complexion to survive, it wasn’t hard for Yun-ho to find worry in her expressionless face.
“It’s nothing.”
It was a worry she couldn’t tell him. So-hee slowly shook her head from side to side and then handed Yun-ho the food, like a breadwinner who had bought fried chicken after a hard day’s work.
“Okay. Tell me when you want to talk.”
Was it because of the Assassin’s Den’s work? Yun-ho had just spoken lightly, as if making polite conversation, but that one kind word pierced So-hee’s heart.
So-hee watched Yun-ho’s back as he took the food she gave him and headed toward the living room, desperately holding back the frown of agony that threatened to crease her brow.
‘There was a radius where the killing intent disappeared.’
She had found the cause.
Just because she had found her benefactor didn’t mean Cheon Sal-seong’s fate had disappeared.
When she moved away from Yun-ho, the killing intent returned. And it wasn’t the old state where the killing intent slowly accumulated.
Herself, when her reason had been devoured by killing intent in the shantytown.
It was trying to return her to Cheon Sal-seong, craving slaughter.
‘The killing intent wasn’t completely gone.’
It had been hiding. To a degree that Cheon So-hee couldn’t find it.
The cause was probably her benefactor. Was Cheon Sal-seong’s killing intent afraid of him?
Only after she had moved far away from his side did the killing intent raise its hidden head again to dominate her.
Cheon So-hee continued to look at Yun-ho with anxious eyes.
Even now, Cheon Sal-seong’s killing intent was holding its breath, targeting her like embers biding their time before starting a great fire.
‘I just need to stay by Yun-ho’s side.’
She had identified the cause. Then the solution was simple.
She just needed to stay by his side.
He would live his life as a storyteller, and she would live alongside him as his guard warrior. Then she could live without worrying about Cheon Sal-seong’s killing intent.
However, one fact fueled her anxious heart.
‘That inn was a place I visited occasionally.’
She had been to that inn several times, but until now, the killing intent had never surged. So why did it surge today?
So-hee tried to calm her anxious heart by looking at Yun-ho, who was laying out the food.
“So-hee! Let’s eat!”
“Okay.”
It must be a temporary phenomenon.
Yun-ho is my benefactor.
If I’m with my benefactor, the killing intent disappears. I can overcome Cheon Sal-seong’s fate.
It has to be that way.
Please.
With a fragile smile that seemed like it would crumble if touched, she approached Yun-ho.
******
A storyteller performance that began as usual.
“Heavens!!! Without travel expenses, I cannot go to the scene of my father’s murder!!!”
In the end, the ominous premonition had come true.
It feels like a popular movie theater just before the final screening. It’s not that there aren’t latecomers or repeat viewers, but the atmosphere is strangely subdued.
I raised my voice and roamed among the audience, but the money falling into the bowl wasn’t much.
This is really serious.
I fought hard to liven up the performance throughout, but the audience’s response wasn’t great, and not many people were immersed. In the end, I had to bitterly admit to myself that today’s business was a bust and quickly wrap up the story.
“You. I hear you’re completely failing these days.”
When I visited the fabric shop to exchange money after finishing the storyteller work, Mr. Wang abruptly asked about my recent situation.
“How did you know?”
“People all pass in front of our shop after your story ends. How could I not know?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
I nodded with a bitter smile.
It was particularly bad today, but the audience had noticeably decreased over the past few days.
Moreover, new audience members had decreased even more. Since paying the storyteller fee is not an obligation but decided by the atmosphere, the recent decrease in audience numbers is fatal for me.
I didn’t take the risk of telling new stories for a stable income. Now I’m in a situation where even telling the story of Lord Ha Mu-rin is a risk.
“It seems people are tired of your Lord Ha Mu-rin story. Don’t you have any thoughts of telling a different story?”
“I have some in mind, but I don’t know which one to choose.”
I’ve prepared several, but I’m actually debating which one to bring out.
“How about a story for female audience members?”
“Female audience members?”
“It seems word of your story’s popularity has spread among the women’s associations of Chilgok County. The men are active outside, so they’ve already heard and gotten tired of your story, but the women who stay mostly indoors seem to have only now heard rumors about you and come out to watch. Haven’t female audience members increased a lot lately?”
“Yes. Male audience members are decreasing, and the proportion of female audience members is increasing.”
So that’s why the number of female audience members wearing nice clothes has increased lately. Lately, it’s the female audience members among the dwindling crowd who have been reacting, allowing me to make a living.
“Don’t you have any storyteller story that can dig into the hearts of those women?”
“I do.”
A very interesting one.
“Then how about trying that?”
“Then, as Mr. Wang suggests, I’ll try a story that female audience members would like. Could you spread the rumor that the storyteller is telling a new story?”
Since he suggested it, I should ask for advertising too.
No need to specifically say it’s a story women would like. Just spread the rumor that I’m telling a new story.
“That’s not difficult. I was worried because female customers at the fabric shop have decreased lately. I guess I’ll benefit from you a bit.”
I gather customers thanks to Mr. Wang, and Mr. Wang’s shop attracts customers thanks to the increased foot traffic. That’s mutual aid.
I kept praising the uncle, saying I trusted only him, and asked for promotion once more, and Mr. Wang saw us off, telling us to just trust him.
-------
“Look, the storyteller is coming!”
“I hear he’s telling a new story?”
As I entered the vacant lot where I usually perform storyteller work as usual, many people greeted me. To get an immediate reaction just from saying I’m telling a new story.
As expected of the trusted Mr. Wang’s advertising. In Chilgok County, it’s portal site advertisement-level effective.
“Oppa! It looks like a storyteller performance.”
“I’ve already heard it ten times. I’m tired of it now.”
“This is my first time today! You have no idea how much my mom nagged me not to go.”
It’s not a movie about drinking beer on a prison roof, but hearing something ten times can make you tired of it.
I slowly climbed onto the platform and briefly observed the audience’s reaction.
“I hear the storyteller is telling a new story this time.”
“Even if a barbarian storyteller tells a story, he’ll probably just tell another story similar to Ha Mu-rin. Whatever.”
“The barbarian just happened to know one interesting story and milked it. Does he have another interesting story?”
“Will I get sick from listening for a moment? Let’s just listen for a bit and go!”
Clearly, there are a lot of negative reactions now. Even for milking it, it feels like I milked it too much.
This time I’ll tell a new story. Listen and then go.
“Hello! I am Kang, the storyteller from Joseon! Today, I will tell you a new story from Joseon!”
Snap! As always, I unfurled the folding fan without fail and drew the audience’s attention.
“You’re really not doing Lord Ha Mu-rin? Then shall we listen for a bit and go?”
“You’re lucky, Oppa. I came to hear Lord Ha Mu-rin. I’m ruined because of my mom.”
“Huh! A new story? How on earth does he plan to fleece money this time!”
“Hold your money pouch tight. It gets emptied in an instant.”
“If it’s not Lord Ha Mu-rin, what kind of story is it? Tell us the title!”
“If it’s a story I’ve heard, I’m going home! Say it quickly!”
People began clamoring for the title upon hearing about the new story.
Ignoring the clamoring people, I slowly looked around the audience.
“If Father finds out I came here, it’ll be a big problem. Father told women not to go to places like this together.”
“I heard it last time too, but it’s a waste of time to hear it again.”
“Let’s listen for a bit and leave if it’s boring!”
‘The female ratio is indeed high.’
Mr. Wang seems to be right.
It seems male audience members tired of my story didn’t come much even with the news of a new story, while female audience members who heard the rumors late seem to have increased.
This seems like a good enough time to try that story.
Immortal romance.
A tragedy whose ending everyone knows, even if they don’t know the story.
A legendary story paid homage to in countless media.
The story I will tell today is…….
“The story I will tell today is the story of Lord Romeo and Lady Ju!”
Romeo and Juliet.