Frontal Breakthrough (1)
Yang Deok-sin was a physician, but he was a man who had survived a lifetime amid a forest of swords.
"Whoever you are, you won't break my will with threats."
He had indeed lived boldly, just as he claimed. But today's opponent was someone who could nullify any life story.
Yeom Hwa-sin casually turned his head back.
The moment Yang Deok-sin saw his face.
"You!"
Yang Deok-sin bulged his eyes wide. This was truly the first time in his life he'd been so shocked.
He recognized the man as the Black Heaven Alliance Lord. He'd seen him recently—at the duel between Baek So-cheon and Yeom Sa-won, to which he'd also been invited.
"I may not break your will, but I can break your family."
"......!"
Too stunned and flustered, Yang Deok-sin couldn't muster a single retort. This wasn't about right or wrong, courage or cowardice.
It was like screaming at an oncoming typhoon that mere wind couldn't threaten a man.
You couldn't reason with a typhoon, so naturally, Yang Deok-sin's gaze shifted to the human.
"What in the world is going on here?"
To Yang Deok-sin's question, Baek So-cheon replied politely.
"First things first—we should save the man's life. I'll explain the details later."
"Hmm."
Yang Deok-sin's hesitation didn't last long. Withstanding the pressure from Yeom Hwa-sin, who looked ready to charge in and unleash a massacre at any moment, was no easy feat.
"Even treatment offers no guarantee of full recovery."
Yeom Hwa-sin silently turned his back toward the outside. The unspoken threat—that he must be saved—only heightened Yang Deok-sin's inner fear.
"I'll step out as well."
Naturally, Yang Deok-sin's glare at Baek So-cheon, who had dragged this grim reaper into his home, held no fondness.
Leaving the treatment underway, the two men stepped out into the courtyard.
Yeom Hwa-sin apologized to Baek So-cheon.
"Sorry about that."
He'd agreed to wait outside, but bursting in like this to threaten Yang Deok-sin could only harm Baek So-cheon. Rumors might spread that he was in league with Yeom Hwa-sin.
But what was done was done, and it had sped up the treatment, so Baek So-cheon brushed it off.
"It's fine. Saving the man comes first, doesn't it?"
"Grateful you see it that way."
The two sat side by side in the front yard before the room where treatment proceeded, falling silent for a time. Disciples bustled in and out repeatedly, brewing and delivering decoctions. Their frantic haste alone revealed how grueling the process was.
Baek So-cheon turned to Yeom Hwa-sin.
"Pretty pissed, huh?"
"Damn right."
"Good."
"Good?"
"If you said you weren't, that'd mean you're really furious."
"The madder I get, the better for you, no? I'd wipe out the whole Sa-do Chil-ga."
"If you're truly furious, think you'd stop at the Sa-do Chil-ga?"
"Spot on. You know me as well as I do myself. Hell, sometimes better."
"You're imagining things. Every time I see you, I wonder who the hell you are. Same this time. Watched you pour inner power into Jong Mu-jin from the carriage the whole way—for his sake. That you? Weren't you the guy who'd say, 'Plenty more where he came from to drive the carriage, even if he croaks'? Someone else hijack your skull back at the inn?"
"Hahaha."
"Funny, is it? Your man's dancing with death. Then again... yeah, that's you. No possession, then."
"Uhahaha!"
After another booming laugh, Yeom Hwa-sin asked,
"What's got you so sour?"
Their assassination bid had slain innocents at the inn too—fathers, sons to someone. Would the puppet masters behind it give a damn?
"You gonna let the ones pulling strings slide?"
"Haven't decided."
Which of the Sa-do Chil-ga was involved remained unclear. One clan? All seven in cahoots? One certainty: Gyo-ryong-mun at the heart. The ambush kicked off right after he'd razed their secret outpost.
"Problem is, no Sa-do Chil-ga means no war with you lot."
"You might forgive 'em. I won't."
"Even with unrelated folk dying for it?"
Yeom Hwa-sin knew exactly why Baek So-cheon was pissed.
"Looking back now, seems I didn't face you to honor some pact."
"Then why?"
"Hated this crap. Treating lives like pawns for your goals. Shameless pricks calling it 'strength.' Selfish bastards forcing the few to die for the 'greater good.' Fought 'cause I despise that. Not some noble justice crap—just wanted to shove it right back down their throats. Exploit the weak? Fine. You try it on for size! That's the rotten heart of my so-called chivalry."
Yeom Hwa-sin chuckled, laced with something peculiar.
"Why the laugh?"
"If our paths crossed a tad sooner... you'd be one of us, no doubt. Pity. Real pity."
Who knew? Even at his age, fate still felt like a shove from behind. Met Yeom Hwa-sin as a kid? He'd be Black Heaven's spearhead by now.
"Journey ahead won't be smooth."
"You and me traveling? Smooth sailing'd be the real shock."
"Fair point."
"Could be more ambushes. Stay sharp."
Yeom Hwa-sin nodded. Once rolling, the hits would keep coming.
The first had been brutally elite: one assassin, supreme hidden weapons, perfect killer. Without Yeom Hwa-sin... who in the world survives that?
"Guard this place. I'll sweep the perimeter."
"Got it."
Yeom Hwa-sin rose and strode off.
Just before passing through the courtyard gate—
Thud.
He lightly slapped the wall with his palm.
Crack!
The wall spiderwebbed like fractured glass, followed by a stifled "Urk!"
A human shadow flickered into view on the wall.
Slither... thud.
A black-clad masked figure tumbled forward from his hiding spot in the wall. Someone had trailed them here to lie in wait.
From beside the wall, Yeom Hwa-sin asked Baek So-cheon,
"You sense him too?"
Baek So-cheon nodded.
"Yeah."
Sensing presences was distinct from inner power prowess, so he answered straight.
"Then why sit on it?"
The words barely left his mouth when Baek So-cheon leaped, slamming Gui-yeong Geom into the dirt some distance away. No inner power needed—the treasured blade sank smoothly into the earth.
Pfshk.
Pulling it free revealed fresh blood coating the edge. Another lurker, buried underground, biding his moment.
Wall camouflage, earth concealment—masterful skills that begged the question: who trained these freaks? Only Yeom Hwa-sin and Baek So-cheon had sniffed them out.
"This spot's compromised too."
"Gotta hold till treatment's done."
"I'll cover the room door."
"Appreciate it. Gonna scout for more."
Yeom Hwa-sin vaulted away.
Baek So-cheon shut his eyes, attuning to the ambient ki. No other hidden auras nearby.
He peeled back the mask from the corpse Yeom Hwa-sin had slain. Barely twenty, if that—still boyish features. Eyes frozen wide in death.
"Damn it!"
The hidden-weapon assassin's dying query echoed: Who sent you?
"Question that's haunted me my whole life."
Like that man, this youth had likely been snatched young, forged into a killer.
The masterminds snatched kids, molded them into weapons, sacrificed them without a blink. Reveling in the wealth and glory reaped from such blood. Baek So-cheon's grip tightened on his sword.
You fools miss one thing. The one you should truly fear isn't Yeom Hwa-sin—it's me. He might spare you for politics. I won't just let it slide!
Adding the puppet masters to his mental kill list, Baek So-cheon gently closed the young man's staring eyes.
Yeom Hwa-sin returned.
"No others."
The commotion must've reached the treatment room too.
Baek So-cheon approached the door.
"We'll ensure no harm comes to the clinic."
Yang Deok-sin's voice replied from within.
"I know the talk—political hack, money-grubber. But I'm a physician. Once I commit to saving him, nothing stops me."
"Thank you."
Treatment pressed on.
Yang Deok-sin emerged near midnight. No further assaults in the interim.
"How is he?"
Sweat-drenched, Yang Deok-sin answered Baek So-cheon, who'd waited by the door.
"Crisis passed, fortunately."
Relief flickered across Yeom Hwa-sin's face.
"But I've only suppressed the toxin—not fully neutralized it. For complete detox, need the antidote from the poison's creator. This blood poison... no ordinary brew."
Yeom Hwa-sin asked him,
"How long?"
Yang Deok-sin produced a small box.
"Toxicity flares when effects wane. Dose one pill each time."
Seven pellets inside.
In other words: find the poisoner and secure the antidote within seven days.
As Yeom Hwa-sin loaded Jong Mu-jin into the carriage, Baek So-cheon climbed to the driver's perch.
Baek So-cheon offered Yang Deok-sin only thanks—no explanations. Their tangled ties were beyond his grasp anyway. Silence might serve better.
Malice would twist any words; goodwill needed none.
Before departing, Yeom Hwa-sin told Yang Deok-sin,
"When my alliance claims Murim, you and your clan live."
"......!"
Yang Deok-sin stood speechless.
Fury blazed, yet relief tempered it. The world's whims were unpredictable.
Baek So-cheon's carriage rolled from Cheon-yang Clinic. Eyes watched from shadows somewhere.
Baek So-cheon called back to Yeom Hwa-sin.
"Where to?"
Decision made, Yeom Hwa-sin didn't waver.
"Gyo-ryong-mun!"
Right call or not, one truth stood firm.
Frontal breakthrough—the choice most him.