Kill Me (1)
Yeom Sa-won's rude question, hurled without so much as a greeting despite it being their first meeting, was meant to serve as an answer to why she had rejected the marriage proposal.
Fortunately, Myeol Ji-ryun wasn't as reckless as Yeom Sa-won.
She smiled and replied.
"I'm a pacifist."
Yeom Sa-won barely suppressed the urge to snap that such nonsense from the Blood Cult's heir was ridiculous.
"What do you mean by that?"
"If we were to marry, war would break out, wouldn't it?"
With the Black Heaven Alliance and the Blood Cult joined, war was already taken as a foregone conclusion among the gossips of the jianghu.
"I don't want war to happen?"
"That's right."
"That's a half-baked notion—you only know one side and not the other."
"What do you mean?"
"If you marry that Baek So-cheon, war will come even sooner."
"Why?"
"You can see it just by looking at me."
It was a pointed remark implying that his furious charge here should make it obvious.
Myeol Ji-ryun stared straight at him and asked.
"Alright, then may I ask you a question?"
"Ask ten if you like."
"One will do."
She posed a question that cut straight to the heart.
"If I marry you, Young Master Yeom, can you ensure no war breaks out?"
Yeom Sa-won flinched for a moment. He had no power to stop a war. No one knew better than he how desperately his father craved to unify the jianghu.
When he couldn't answer, Myeol Ji-ryun smiled and said.
"That's why. That's the reason I sent the matchmaker to the Murim Alliance. If it can't be stopped anyway, my thought is to at least balance the power between the two sides and try to prevent war that way."
Whether sincere or not, she had deftly sidestepped Yeom Sa-won's pressure with clever logic.
But Yeom Sa-won wasn't one to back down meekly after losing an argument.
"Fine. I've got your flimsy pacifism figured out. But that's your opinion, and I won't allow it."
"So what do you propose?"
Yeom Sa-won's gaze turned to Baek So-cheon.
"Let the winner of a duel with him marry you."
"You're completely ignoring my wishes."
"You ignored me first."
Baek So-cheon had been listening to their exchange with keen interest.
Intentionally or not, both of them were selfish. They gave no thought to anyone else's position—only their own.
Of course, that was their parents' failing. They'd poured effort into seizing and holding power, but not into raising their children properly.
Yeom Sa-won bellowed at Baek So-cheon.
"What say you? Let's settle this fairly, man to man."
"Fairly? Do you plan to fight without using your internal energy?"
Yeom Sa-won scoffed at Baek So-cheon's question.
"Of course not. Weren't you once at the top of the world? I'll use mine, and you won't use yours. That'll be fair enough."
A brief silence fell.
Baek So-cheon had to accept the proposal. Not because of Yeom Sa-won, but because of Yeom Hwa-sin. The man had used Black Lightning to summon him here and even sent his son, spreading rumors across the jianghu in the process.
It was pressure to accept without question.
And if he refused?
There would surely be an example made. The problem was that it wouldn't be aimed at him. It would target something that would hurt him deeply—killing some innocent to wound him.
If he had to accept anyway?
"Very well. I accept."
Everyone present was startled by Baek So-cheon's response.
But Ak So-gun and Je-gal Hyeon trusted him and assumed he had some plan in mind.
Sure enough, Baek So-cheon added one condition.
"But I'll stake something else."
Myeol Ji-ryun's expression hardened instantly. The "something else" Baek So-cheon mentioned didn't mean her.
"Something else?"
"If I win, promise no war for the next year. And your father, the Black Heaven Alliance Lord, must publicly announce it to the jianghu himself."
"What?"
"Refuse this condition, and there's no duel."
"The people of the jianghu will mock you as cowards."
"Let them. I've heard plenty of mockery before. But will it just be me they're mocking?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you back out of a duel against a man without internal energy just because of one added condition, the mockery aimed at you will be immense."
Yeom Sa-won's face twisted in fury.
'This damn bastard!'
Baek So-cheon quickly built him up.
"I've heard you're the only one who can persuade the Black Heaven Alliance Lord. I trust you can secure this condition."
With so many watching, Yeom Sa-won couldn't bring himself to say he couldn't.
"And if I win?"
"Marry Lady Myeol."
This time, Myeol Ji-ryun exploded in anger.
"Why are you deciding that for me?"
Baek So-cheon told her.
"You sent the matchmaker on your own whim in the first place. This situation is of your making. I'm staking my life—shouldn't you stake something of equal weight?"
It was irrefutable, so Myeol Ji-ryun had no retort. Instead, she asked something else.
"And our marriage if you win?"
"You said you want to preserve peace, didn't you? The peace of the jianghu is worth far more than our marriage. Let's postpone ours by a year."
Since it echoed her own words, she couldn't argue. Besides, she was the one who had sent a matchmaker to a total stranger.
"I'm not refusing. Just delaying it by a year."
Of course, Baek So-cheon had other intentions. He planned to train relentlessly for that year, achieving Great Success in the supreme martial arts of past and present if at all possible. Anyone so much as uttering the first syllable of "war" would be cut down, and then he'd leave the jianghu behind.
Unaware of his true motives, both Myeol Ji-ryun and Yeom Sa-won fell into contemplation.
Baek So-cheon subtly provoked Yeom Sa-won.
"No need to be scared. Win, and everything's settled."
Yeom Sa-won took the bait as expected.
"I'm not scared of the likes of you!"
Yeom Sa-won glared at Baek So-cheon.
'Right, yeah. There's no way I'll lose anyway.'
Yeom Sa-won was confident. In his mind, no one without internal energy could block or evade his attacks. He'd just kill Baek So-cheon in that fight.
This wasn't about wanting to marry Myeol Ji-ryun. It was about wanting to kill Baek So-cheon.
"I'll send a letter to my father and consult him."
"Good. We'll talk again once you have his answer."
Yeom Sa-won left with Jan-baek and Go-gong. So lost in his emotions, he even forgot to bid farewell to Ak So-gun.
Myeol Ji-ryun, by contrast, politely greeted everyone before departing.
Once everyone was gone, Ak So-gun finally asked.
"What's your plan?"
"To delay the war somehow."
"Do you think Yeom Hwa-sin will honor the promise?"
"I don't know."
Even after a public announcement, he could just break it and start the war. All Baek So-cheon could do was seize this chance and make the most of it.
On Byeok-hwa interjected into their conversation.
"But can you win?"
Unaware that he had regained his internal energy, that was her greatest worry.
"I'm confident."
If the duel happened, he truly intended to fight without using it. Plenty of people would be watching.
And if he absolutely had to use it, he'd do so without anyone noticing. Evading Jan-baek's eyes would be the key.
"For now, let's see if Yeom Hwa-sin accepts the proposal."
Everyone nodded.
"You mustn't accept."
Yeom Sa-won snapped irritably at Go-gong's words.
"Why not?"
"It's falling for their scheme. Accepting the duel means he has confidence in winning."
"I know that much!"
But Yeom Sa-won couldn't back down. This fight was fated from the start. He knew his father's heart—the wish that Baek So-cheon were his son instead.
If his father had just yelled, "I'd rather have Baek So-cheon as my son than a fool like you!" it might have hurt less than this quiet regret.
'I'll kill him for sure!'
No matter how skilled the man once was, without internal energy now, Yeom Sa-won was sure he could win.
"It's a bet, but changing the terms will enrage the Alliance Lord."
"Father might think differently. Send the letter now."
Go-gong glanced at Jan-baek, his eyes pleading to help dissuade him, but Jan-baek pretended not to notice.
"Send it now!"
Yeom Sa-won stormed off ahead.
Go-gong asked Jan-baek.
"You'll just stand by and watch?"
Jan-baek replied.
"If the Lord thought we should stop him, he wouldn't have sent him in the first place."
Unable to argue, Go-gong could only nod.
Baek So-cheon and Cheon-geuk were sparring.
Cheon-geuk's form vanished, then reappeared as she thrust her dagger.
Shiiik!
But Baek So-cheon was already gone from where he had been.
Two sword arcs sliced through the air again.
Sword clashed against dagger. The ear-splitting impact rang out from a strike infused with powerful internal energy.
The two trained in real combat like this whenever they found a moment, in this secret spot.
These practical spars stimulated and benefited them both.
Through it, Baek So-cheon gauged her exact level.
She was two to three stages below the top four in the Martial Rankings.
That spoke to the overwhelming prowess of Yeom Hwa-sin, Myeol Saeng, and Ak So-gun's arts.
Baek So-cheon hoped her skills would rise just one more stage. That would narrow the gap to one or two stages. At that point, she wouldn't die easily in any situation.
Cheon-geuk, for her part, gave her all to help Baek So-cheon, fighting him as if it were a life-or-death battle.
The spar ended, and the two lay side by side on the ground.
"Haa, haa."
Cheon-geuk's ragged breaths echoed in the air.
She turned to Baek So-cheon.
"Are you even human? How are you so calm?"
"I'm on the boundary."
"Boundary?"
"Yeah. Once you push up just a bit more, my breathing will get rough too."
Baek So-cheon held up his thumb and forefinger to show how small the gap was.
"You can see that? It feels like I could break through with just a little more?"
"I can see the wall blocking you."
"And you're seeing beyond it?"
"Yeah."
"Can I break that wall?"
Cheon-geuk's heart surged as Baek So-cheon nodded.
"I'd given up, thinking I couldn't improve anymore. I figured reaching this level had used up all my luck."
"Looks like you still have some left."
"So I really can get stronger?"
Baek So-cheon answered with utter conviction.
"Yes."
He could say it with such certainty because both their arts pursued extreme speed. Through these near-real-battle spars, he'd spotted her wall first—and figured out how to shatter it.
"You have to break it in actual combat."
"In actual combat?"
"Your art is assassination based on extreme speed. You've probably trained only in ambushes your whole life."
"That's right."
"Now you need to smash that wall in a formal confrontation, not an ambush. But it'll mean taking a huge risk."
"How huge?"
"Not just any duel. Forget these spars—I'll come at you for real, trying to kill you. Survive my attacks, and you'll break through."
It was extreme speed, but also a practical combat art. The way to surpass its limits had to come from real battle too.
"I might end up killing you."
"...!"
Cheon-geuk's voice trembled; she knew it wasn't a joke.
"You're just saying that to psych me up, right? You can hold back if needed."
"No. If I could, I would've done it already without telling you."
"Oh, I see."
"There's one more problem."
"What?"
"Even if you survive, you might not break the wall. It's fifty-fifty."
"So even staking my life, I might not make it?"
"Your level is so high that advancing even one stage isn't easy."
"Can I think it over?"
"Of course. Take months if you need."
"No, just a moment."
Cheon-geuk fell deep into thought.
As a martial artist, she craved greater strength. But not enough to risk her life.
That had changed now.
With war against the Black Heaven Alliance looming, her future was uncertain.
If she could grow stronger?
Anyone else might have refused. She wasn't one to bet her life on uncertainties.
But this was Baek So-cheon speaking—that made her hesitate.
She'd said just a moment, but half a shichen passed in contemplation. At last, she sat up, decision made.
"Okay. Kill me."