Chapter 61
The incident known as the 'Dan So-ok Assassination Attempt' sent significant shockwaves through the martial world.
The Hunan region was already a chaotic battleground where masters of the Demonic Path and Righteous Faction clashed in power struggles.
But for the treasured young lady of the Demons-Control Department Director—of all people—to be targeted by assassins? This created massive ripples throughout the murim.
—Find them!
The Demons-Control Department Director erupted in fiery rage.
Not only did he order a thorough investigation to root out everyone involved in the plot, but he also commanded the complete annihilation of every sect based in Yueyang.
—The Black Dragon Hall leader was the culprit!
Rumors spread that the Black Dragon Hall leader—who had lost an arm to the Demons-Control Department Director in the past—had nursed a grudge and unleashed assassins from the Blood Slaughter Gate.
Of course, the Department Director didn't believe that.
No matter how much gold was offered, there was no way an assassination sect would accept a contract that would turn the entire Demons-Control Department against them.
But when irrefutable evidence surfaced, the Department Director issued a brief command.
—Extinction.
In the martial world, the Black Dragon Hall and Blood Slaughter Gate vanished. Even mentioning the names of these two factions was forbidden.
Every trace of their existence was utterly erased.
Bu Eun-seol continued carrying out missions for the Slaughter-Seeking Squad as usual.
He consistently chose the most perilous and challenging assignments—the kind that demanded risking one's life—and completed them without a single failure.
Moreover, he continuously integrated the insights gained from real combat into his sword techniques. Before he knew it, he had mastered the Sword Pinnacle Stance, Divided Mind Utilization Art, and even the Heavy Sword Art.
Another six months passed in this manner.
At dusk, when the crimson sunset gradually deepened, at the Hoehyeon Old Bookstore.
Creak.
As Bu Eun-seol, dressed in scholar's robes, opened the bookstore door, Sang-ryang and Ma-un—who had been inside—rushed over so quickly their eyebrows seemed to flutter.
"Young Master, you've arrived!"
"You must be weary from your journey."
Much had changed since that day.
First, Sang-ryang and Ma-un treated Bu Eun-seol with the deference due to an imperial envoy.
Having flawlessly protected Dan So-ok from the mysterious assassins, Bu Eun-seol had earned the trust of their superiors.
Over the remaining six months, he accomplished every mission deemed nearly impossible.
As a result, even Sang-ryang and Ma-un—who managed the branch—received recognition for their contributions. Finally, they received orders to return to the Demon Hall in ten days.
"Young Master, what do you say? Care for a drink tonight?"
Second, his relationship with Sang-ryang and Ma-un had transformed.
Sang-ryang and Ma-un were well-acquainted with taverns that served excellent liquor and occasionally brought drinks to Bu Eun-seol.
What began as simple courtesy had, before they knew it, evolved into a camaraderie where they often shared drinks together.
"Drinking again, are we?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, Sang-ryang rubbed his hands together and replied,
"Young Master, won't you also be leaving this place in ten days? Since time is short, we should savor every opportunity for a drink."
Ma-un, standing beside him, hastily interjected,
"Then I'll hurry and instruct the cook at the Scarlet Tower to prepare dishes in advance."
But Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"I'll pass on the drinks for now."
"Why is that?"
"As you said, with only ten days left, I should start organizing my hideout."
After a year in Yueyang, Bu Eun-seol's hideout had accumulated quite a few belongings.
There were disguises for concealment, various weapons and concealed weapons—all of which needed to be disposed of promptly.
"Am I not also an expert in such matters?"
Yet Ma-un tugged at Bu Eun-seol's sleeve.
"I'll take care of all that myself. Young Master, you should spend these ten days resting comfortably."
Ma-un grinned broadly.
"While you were away, Sang-ryang managed to procure three jars of Fen Wine brewed by a renowned artisan of Chang'an."
"I..."
"I had a taste once before—it clings to your palate exquisitely. Once you try it, Young Master, you'll never regret it."
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol let out a low hum.
During his time in Yueyang, he had unwittingly become a man who appreciated fine liquor.
Especially when troubled thoughts arose, he would ascend to Gyeongha Pavilion and enjoy their aged yellow wine.
When strong liquor poured into his stomach, the flames of countless restless thoughts flickering in his mind would gradually subside.
"Come now, no need for this—let's hurry."
As Sang-ryang reached out, Bu Eun-seol reluctantly relaxed the resistance in his sleeve.
Under the bright moonlight of the night.
Three shadows sat atop the bookstore's roof.
They were Bu Eun-seol and the Gong Twin Demons.
"Honestly, abandoning a perfectly good spot just to mope on a rooftop..."
Sang-ryang grumbled under his breath in a low voice.
Originally, he had reserved the special suite on the third floor of the Scarlet Tower. But then Bu Eun-seol had suddenly appeared with roasted chicken in hand, proposing they climb onto the roof instead.
"Elder Brother."
At that moment, Ma-un nudged him sharply in the side.
"Young Master likes it this way. The Young Master."
Bu Eun-seol spoke flatly, watching Sang-ryang, whose lips were pursed in displeasure.
"Try a drink here first. If you still don't like it by the time we finish a jug, we'll go to the Scarlet Tower."
"Tch."
With a reluctant sigh, Sang-ryang climbed onto the roof as well.
"Let's eat first."
Ma-un, as if afraid someone would snatch it from him, greedily tore into a well-roasted chicken leg.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
After licking the bone clean, he downed a full cup of Fen Wine in one go.
"Haaah."
The strong liquor washed down the greasiness, sending an involuntary shiver through his body.
As he exhaled the fragrant liquor-scented breath toward the sky, the pale moonlight spilled down from the distant heavens.
The quiet night, the whispering descent of moonlight—it all seeped into the onlookers, filling them with an inexplicable melancholy.
"This... this atmosphere..."
Ma-un nodded as if realizing something profound.
"It really makes the liquor taste better!"
"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Sang-ryang blinked in confusion, and Ma-un handed him a chicken leg and a cup of wine.
"Elder Brother, just take a drink first. You'll understand once you do."
Sang-ryang reluctantly accepted the chicken leg and downed the Fen Wine.
"Haaah."
Having indulged in liquor for over forty years, Sang-ryang was no stranger to fine drinks.
But this was the first time he realized how sweet and magnificent liquor could taste when drunk atop a roof.
"Indeed!"
Staring up at the bright moon, Sang-ryang suddenly slapped his knee as if struck by revelation.
"Young Master, you've always had a taste for the extraordinary, haven't you? To master the art of drinking on rooftops—hahaha!"
Laughing awkwardly, as if embarrassed by his own outburst, Sang-ryang glanced at Bu Eun-seol, who replied impassively:
"I simply dislike crowds."
Those few words carried an unspoken loneliness too deep to articulate.
As Bu Eun-seol lifted his hollow gaze to the sky, Sang-ryang and Ma-un exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.
What kind of past could a young man barely past his coming-of-age have?
To them, Bu Eun-seol was anything but ordinary.
He had willingly joined the Slaughter-Seeking Squad, an organization most avoided. Not only that, he pursued the Martial Way by taking on life-threatening missions he didn't even need to undertake.
And his heart—frozen so harshly that it refused to linger on anything.
"Young Master."
Sang-ryang sighed as he studied Bu Eun-seol's cold, motionless eyes.
"The world is supposed to be crowded."
After downing another cup of Fen Wine, he spoke again.
"In this storm-tossed world, there's no place untouched by wind and dust."
His gaze deepened, as if recalling something from his past, as he looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"If the Young Master comes to understand that one day, perhaps the world will seem a little more interesting."
There was something unspoken lingering in Sang-ryang's voice.
"..."
Bu Eun-seol studied him with an odd expression, and Sang-ryang scratched his head sheepishly.
"Ah, I've gone and ruined the mood with pointless talk. Come, let's drink."
He laughed and raised his cup.
"If the Young Master doesn't get drunk tonight, I, Gong Sang-ryang, will empty the Scarlet Tower's wine cellar myself to make sure he does!"
Ma-un grinned widely.
"Now that's a plan! Let's drink until we're stuffed full! Hahaha!"
As dawn wore on, Sang-ryang and Ma-un's voices filled the sky as they laughed and drank.
Bu Eun-seol quietly sipped his liquor, listening to their chatter all the while.
Unbeknownst to him, a faint smile had lingered at the corner of his lips the entire time.
"Haaah."
Leaving the old bookstore, Bu Eun-seol staggered slightly as he walked.
His hideout was quite a distance from the village, and his current disguise was that of a failed scholar.
So whenever he returned after drinking, he made sure to exaggerate his drunkenness as he walked.
Foolish men.
The faces of the Gong Twin Demons flashed in his mind, and he let out a quiet scoff.
Sang-ryang, the easygoing and optimistic branch leader, was sensitive to profit and skilled at flattery.
A hot-tempered man prone to arrogance, yet unexpectedly simple-minded and eccentric—that was the informant Ma-un.
Though the two men were unusually innocent for martial world figures, Bu Eun-seol felt an odd fondness for them.
"Ugh... I'm wasted."
As Bu Eun-seol reached out to open the door of his hideout, his hand wavered slightly.
Creak.
The old door groaned, sending faint shockwaves rippling through the air.
An intruder.
For the briefest instant, Bu Eun-seol's pupils flashed in the darkness.
Ordinary spies or assassins might leave a strand of hair or a sprinkle of glass powder on the door as a trap. But for Bu Eun-seol, trained in the Way of the Beast, such crude methods were unnecessary. The sensory mastery of his art allowed him to detect an enemy's presence through the slightest disturbance in the air.
"Hmph."
Feigning obliviousness, Bu Eun-seol staggered inside and collapsed onto the bed. He pulled the blanket over himself, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
How much time had passed?
In the pitch-black darkness, a human-shaped shadow slowly began to take form.
"..."
Moonlight glinted off the figure—a masked man clad in the black garb of an assassin. He silently drew the sword strapped to his back and pressed its tip against Bu Eun-seol's throat beneath the blanket.
"What a disappointment," the masked man clicked his tongue. "To think the legendary agent of the Yueyang Branch would be this careless..."
His words cut off abruptly.
Click-clack.
Hundreds of hidden weapon mechanisms had silently emerged from the smooth walls behind him.
"So you lured me into a room rigged with hidden weapons while pretending to sleep?" The masked man tilted his head slightly, studying the devices before nodding in approval. "Had I recklessly thrust my sword, I'd have been turned into a pincushion and died on the spot."
"Identify yourself."
A glacial light spilled from Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he threw off the blanket. Sensing Bu Eun-seol would act without hesitation if he made a foolish move, the masked man answered swiftly.
"I come from the Demon Hall."
"The Demon Hall?"
"Indeed." The masked man retreated a step, sheathing his sword before seating himself at the table opposite the bed. "May I light the lamp?"
At Bu Eun-seol's nod, the man passed his finger over the oil lamp on the table.
Fssst.
As the dim glow illuminated the room, the masked man's sharp eyes became clearly visible.
Young, then.
The lamplight reflected in his pupils revealed a man unmistakably youthful. Yet his sharply arched brows exuded an oddly sinister energy.
"State your business."
"I simply wanted to meet you. The legendary agent of Yueyang—Number Eighteen."
"One more pointless word, and I'll fill you with projectiles."
"Is that so? I'd hoped to chat a little longer." The masked man withdrew a yellow envelope from his robes. "A delivery for you. From the Demon Hall."
Fwing!
A razor-sharp gust of wind tore the envelope from his hand.
Simultaneously, something lethally precise shot toward Bu Eun-seol's forehead—the thin paper envelope launched with the force of a steel projectile.
Snap.
In that instant, the yellow envelope was pinned between Bu Eun-seol's index and middle fingers.
"Hoh." The masked man's eyes curved into crescents as he exhaled in admiration. "Magnificent. To casually catch something hurled with the One-Hand Hidden Shadow technique..."
Ignoring him, Bu Eun-seol opened the envelope.
On its surface were the characters for "Grade A" and the red spider emblem symbolizing the Slaughter-Seeking Squad.
"Grade A?" Bu Eun-seol murmured.
The masked man's eyes crinkled again. "Indeed. A Grade A Mission—reserved only for the Slaughter-Seeking Squad's most elite operatives."
A Grade A Mission.
These were directives issued secretly to select agents scattered across the realm. As they came directly from the Demon Hall, they were effectively orders.
"Only twelve Grade A Missions have ever been issued by the Demon Hall. And those who received them... were all masters who left their mark on the Slaughter-Seeking Squad's history." The masked man's crescent eyes gleamed. "But never before has one been given to an agent so young. How enviable!"
He chuckled, as if amused by some private joke.
Bu Eun-seol, unsettled by that laughter, unfolded the letter inside. As he read, his unease solidified into grim reality.
—Grade A Mission. To Number Eighteen of the Yueyang Branch.
Eliminate the Gong Twin Demons—spies of the Martial Alliance.
Deadline: Four days. By the conclusion of the Yueyang Branch's handover.