Cornered by Jeongeumdae
Go Ji-han broke into a swift run and began tracking Yoo Eunhyeon, yet Eunhyeon had no way of sensing it.
Compared to the clumsy pursuers sent by the Wonjeong Merchant Guild, Go Ji-han’s stealth and infiltration skills—honed as an elite of the Heavenly Martial Alliance and specialized in intelligence gathering—were far too refined for Eunhyeon to notice.
“Hm?”
The moment Eunhyeon reached Uiryungak, however, something brushed against his senses. He turned his head.
It felt as if someone’s gaze had swept over him, but the presence vanished in an instant, no more than a fleeting ripple.
“Just my imagination…?”
Figuring he was jumpy after being chased all day, Eunhyeon gave a light shake of his head and stepped inside. Watching every bit of it, Go Ji-han frowned.
“Kid’s ridiculously sharp. So Gu Pyo wasn’t just whining for nothing.”
The instant he confirmed Eunhyeon was entering Uiryungak, Go Ji-han’s concealment wavered for a breath. Eunhyeon seized on that sliver of opening with startling keenness; Go Ji-han flinched and instantly smothered his presence again. He had drawn a flicker of suspicion, but at least he had not been exposed.
“That aside… damn it. Of all places? This one’s a pain to infiltrate alone…”
Knowing full well that Uiryungak was managed by the Uiseon Suga, Go Ji-han clicked his tongue. Even for a veteran who had spent years in Jeongeumdae, slipping into Uiryungak alone was little short of suicide.
Even at a glance the auras of experts within were plain to feel; in truth, far more would be lying in wait.
“Don’t tell me that kid’s connected to the Uiseon Suga?”
Go Ji-han muttered, then shook his head.
Uiryungak might be under Uiseon Suga management, but ordinary guests still made up the bulk of its traffic. And given that the Uiseon Suga was a neutral power, both righteous and demonic martial artists used the place as a matter of course.
Suspecting everyone who stayed there of ties to the family would be pure foolishness.
“He’s definitely no ordinary civilian… but we’ve got almost nothing on him.”
The nature of the mission left Go Ji-han no room to move on uncertain information. More decisively, someone else held overall responsibility for this affair; he lacked the authority to make the call himself.
Still, now that he knew where Yoo Eunhyeon was, he judged it enough. He turned on his heel. A superior was already present in the city; the decision could be left to him.
Around the time Go Ji-han turned back, Yoo Eunhyeon was bowing his head before Yeo U-hui.
“Mm… what kept you out so late?”
“It’s my first time here. I got curious and wandered around, then lost my way.”
He had briefly considered telling her the truth, but decided against it. Doing so would almost certainly force him to explain the internal energy method he had been lying about to Sa Yeo-un as well; there had been no real choice.
“Is that so? Well, kids wanting to stay out late isn’t exactly rare. Fine.”
Yeo U-hui looked less than pleased, yet she nodded as if she were used to it and let the matter drop.
Sensing that further talk would do no one any good, Eunhyeon claimed fatigue and hurried back to his room. In truth the chase had worn him out thoroughly; he fell asleep almost at once.
The next morning he woke earlier than expected. After a quick wash he sat down to breakfast with Yeo U-hui and Chae Eun-seol.
“I think we’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Go ahead. Since when do you need my permission?”
“Still ought to give notice. Just so you know.”
“We’ve already finished our business together, so there’s no real need. Everything wrapped up on your end?”
“I’ll get the materials from Deputy Gong this morning and sort them. Might be an all-nighter. Still, I’ve had a couple of solid days of rest…”
Before returning to the Uiseon Suga, Yeo U-hui had to put the outside affairs of the past stretch in order, so the day ahead would be brutally busy. On top of that she needed to gather the compiled records from Uiryungak itself, which only piled more work onto her plate.
“Nephew. You heard? Rest up today and leave the departure prep to me.”
“Huh? What is there to prepare?”
“Nothing. Just prepare your heart. Eun-seol will pack whatever you need to take with you.”
“Um… once we leave tomorrow, I won’t be able to come back, will I?”
“Who knows? The Uiseon Suga isn’t that far. If you set your mind to it you could return. I’ll be even busier once I’m back, so I won’t be visiting for a while… but you, nephew, are another matter.”
Yeo U-hui shook her head. Chae Eun-seol smiled faintly and turned to Eunhyeon.
“You’re welcome anytime. I’ll put a room on my own tab if I have to, so don’t worry about the cost. Be sure to drop by.”
“Ah. Thank you, Pavilion Master.”
Eunhyeon bowed his head in genuine gratitude.
After breakfast he packed the personal belongings in his room, then eventually stepped outside in the afternoon. He had told Yeo U-hui he had spent the previous day sightseeing, but in truth Sa Yeo-un’s entanglement had left him no real chance to look around.
Now that he had sold the tiger’s-eye stones and had money in hand, he meant to stroll the streets at a more leisurely pace.
She said she was leaving, so she shouldn’t be around.
Sa Yeo-un had her dangerous, rough edges, yet to someone who had lived his whole life farming in the mountains those very traits felt strangely familiar. Turning the thought over, Eunhyeon wandered through Taiyuan.
Whenever something looked tasty he bought and ate it; whenever something caught his eye he weighed whether to purchase it. But he was not born to extravagance, and in the end he bought almost nothing.
“So I ended up with just this one thing…”
What he held up to the light was a small hand-axe.
Raised in the mountains, an axe was the tool that fit his hand best and saw the most use. Until now he had simply sharpened and re-sharpened whatever old ones lay around the house; a gleaming new axe was a first, and he had bought it almost without thinking.
“Who knows when I’ll even get back to the mountain. Still, this much should be fine to keep.”
The short blade Yeo U-hui had given him was meant for travel, so he had not bothered bringing it out. Weapons of that sort always felt a little awkward in his grip besides.
No matter how free of weapon restrictions Mudong Hwanmu might be, using a tool that already lived in one’s hand was better. That was why So Biwon himself carried both sword and saber.
Comforted by the thought, Eunhyeon slipped the axe into his sash with practiced ease and set off again. As he walked, taking in the sights, something snagged on his senses.
Huh? Feels like someone’s following me… Don’t tell me it’s yesterday’s tracker?
The presence trailing him now felt uncannily similar to the one that had attached itself after the clumsy first pursuer the day before. Eunhyeon’s eyes narrowed.
Was he tailing me yesterday too? Then it really is the Wonjeong Merchant Guild? I never expected them to latch on again…
Sunset was not far off. He needed to return to Uiryungak before it grew any later; in the end he decided he would have to shake the man off.
He had managed it easily enough while traveling with Sa Yeo-un the day before. Surely he could do it again.
“This should be far enough.”
Drawing on yesterday’s experience, he picked a route suited for losing a tail and headed toward the quieter streets.
Then he drew internal energy into his legs, kicked off the ground, and broke into a run.
He meant to weave through the alleys at a speed no ordinary pursuer could match, confuse the trail, and break free.
Learning light-footwork really does help… Wait. Something’s off.
Yet even as he sprinted hard, Eunhyeon felt a growing unease. The man was not being shaken. Worse—despite Eunhyeon’s best efforts to flee, the distance between them was shrinking.
The approaching presence was now blatant; if he simply glanced back he would see the pursuer with his own eyes.
And as he ran, the situation itself began to feel wrong.
At first he had thought he was choosing his own path, but in the rush he had strayed several times. Without realizing it he was being funneled into ever more deserted back alleys.
Have I been lured?
In matters like this Eunhyeon’s experience was essentially zero; proper countermeasures were all but impossible. Biting his lip lightly, he finally stopped and turned.
“You run rather well.”
The man who revealed himself was somewhat broad-shouldered—Gu Pyo. Of course Gu Pyo recognized Eunhyeon; Eunhyeon did not recognize him in return.
“You’re the one who’s been following me since yesterday.”
“What, surprised it’s different from yesterday? Deciding who someone is after a single encounter is a bad habit.”
“Are you from the Wonjeong Merchant Guild?”
“Wonjeong Merchant Guild? Ah. Right—you’d have to think that. Hmm… believe whatever you like, but it would only make things troublesome. For the record, no, I am not.”
Unlike the tone he used with Go Ji-han, Gu Pyo spoke with deliberate dignity. Eunhyeon frowned. He had been certain it was the merchant guild; being told otherwise left him oddly hollow.
At the same time a cold unease spread rapidly through his chest. If not the Wonjeong Merchant Guild, then who?
The mere fact that he had been drawn into a place empty of people was enough for even Eunhyeon to sense that nothing good was intended.
“Not the Wonjeong Merchant Guild? Then what do you want? If it’s money, name your price.”
“I do like money, but I’m on a mission right now. Might I trouble you to accompany me?”
“Accompany you?”
“Yes. As it happens, we have a few questions for you, young hero.”
For someone who had inspired such a bad feeling, Gu Pyo’s manner remained impeccably polite. But a courteous invitation was no guarantee that the invitation itself was welcome.
“And if I refuse?”
“If refusal had been an option, I wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble simply to ask, would I?”
“…”
At Gu Pyo’s blunt words Eunhyeon fell silent. The man had a point. Had a peaceful approach been possible, a peaceful approach would have been used.
In the end he had to decide whether to go or not. Eunhyeon shook his head.
“I refuse all the same.”
“Heh… From the look of you, you don’t seem ignorant of what that means. Honestly, my delicate conscience aches at the thought of using force.”
It sounded like idle muttering, yet Gu Pyo’s eyes had already sunk into cold focus.
Eunhyeon watched him, searching for an opening to slip away, but every time he so much as shifted Gu Pyo’s gaze locked onto him head-on.
Unable to find a clean escape, Eunhyeon grew more and more restless. In that pause Gu Pyo spoke again.
“No help for it, then. Young hero—I am Gu Pyo of the Heavenly Martial Alliance’s Jeongeumdae. You’ve at least heard the name of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, I trust? I swear upon that name: nothing harmful will befall you. So would you simply come along quietly?”
Having reached what he considered the limit of what he could offer, Gu Pyo fell silent and fixed Eunhyeon with a sharp stare.
The Heavenly Martial Alliance? Why would they be looking for me?
Eunhyeon, for his part, was reeling inside. Given what had happened on Mount Taesan there were more than enough reasons to seek him out, yet he kept his face carefully blank.
Truthfully, Gu Pyo’s courteous tone had almost made him consider going along—until the words “Heavenly Martial Alliance” changed everything. After what he had endured on the mountain, there was no way he could feel kindly toward them.
“May I ask just one thing?”
“I can’t promise an answer, but go ahead.”
“There must be a reason you want to take me with you. What is it?”
“Hmm… Fair enough. Follow me and I’ll explain in detail, but roughly speaking… it concerns the Demonic Cult.”
Eunhyeon nearly spat a curse under his breath and forced it down. If the Heavenly Martial Alliance was seeking him over Demonic Cult matters, the reason was obvious.
It had to be because of what happened on the mountain.
His resolve hardening, Eunhyeon summoned his internal energy and closed his hand around the axe at his waist.
“If you’d rather not fight, step aside.”