Kill Me (3)
Cheon-geuk awoke from sleep.
It had been ages since she'd slept so deeply. She'd had a pleasant dream, and her body felt light as if it might float away.
On the surface, she was bright and cheerful, but her soul lay dormant in profound darkness.
She had experienced a single ray of light piercing that darkness. But she wouldn't try to possess it. Darkness was darkness, and light was light, nothing more.
That light was off in the distance, creating yet another light as it cultivated its martial arts.
Baek So-cheon was unleashing the Thousand-Handed Asura God Sword.
Starting with the First Form, Heavenly Pursuit Style, the Second Form, Heavenly Flash Style, followed.
The sword thrusts in all directions transitioned into the Third Form, Heavenly Machine Style. After drawing fourteen sword lines, the Fourth Form, Heavenly Fist Style, plunged vertically from the air, then traced a soft curve to complete the Fifth Form, Heavenly Cycle Style.
The description was long, but the entire sequence happened in an instant. In a flash, dozens of sword lines embroidered the air.
What was that?
She bolted upright, letting out a short scream.
"Ack!"
The sudden movement had aggravated her wound, sending a stab of pain through it.
Baek So-cheon rushed over in alarm.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just sat up too fast."
Baek So-cheon quickly checked her wound.
"Good, it didn't reopen."
"I saw something weird just now."
"Weird?"
"You were wielding your sword, and the sword lines gathered into..."
"What was it?"
Baek So-cheon was curious too. He wondered what the image of his own sword lines looked like.
Cheon-geuk tilted her head.
"I can't quite put it into words..."
It felt terrifying yet awe-inspiring. In the end, she shook her head, unable to describe it.
Baek So-cheon said to her,
"Whatever it was, it's still incomplete. When it's finished, I'll show you first."
"No, show it to Yeom Hwa-sin instead of me."
Baek So-cheon chuckled softly.
"Let's head back now. The others must be worried sick."
"Before that, there's one thing I need to tell you."
"What?"
"Wind God Movement Technique."
Cheon-geuk's eyes widened at the words.
"That Wind God Movement Technique, known as the supreme lightness skill of past and present?"
"Yeah. I was planning to pass it on to you after killing Yeom Hwa-sin."
Baek So-cheon explained how he'd obtained it.
"My god! A martial art from Yeom Hwa-sin himself!"
"If there's even a hint that you've learned it, he'll come for you without fail."
"Why me and not you?"
"He'll kill you first, then savor the thrill of punishing me for my lies."
"That man is truly incomprehensible."
"Tell me about it."
Yet Baek So-cheon was the one person who truly understood Yeom Hwa-sin.
"But why the change of heart?"
"Your martial arts have advanced another level now. You can train in it secretly."
She'd sense anyone watching her far more reliably, and handle crises even better.
"Once you reach the eighth stage or higher, you'll outpace even Yeom Hwa-sin."
"Eighth stage. That's a long road ahead."
"It'll be useful in other situations too. Train carefully."
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I get to learn the supreme lightness skill."
"It's a martial art I saved thanks to you too. If I hadn't used you as an excuse back then, Yeom Hwa-sin would've suspected me to the end."
Baek So-cheon transmitted the incantation to her. She didn't have his prodigious memory, but Cheon-geuk was an exceptionally intelligent woman.
After repeating it three or four times, she had it all memorized.
He shared his own insights from practicing it first, and she absorbed everything like a sponge soaking up water.
* * *
After transmitting the Wind God Movement Technique, Baek So-cheon and Cheon-geuk were returning to the Daroo Tea House.
They'd walked these streets together before, but the feeling was utterly different now. A heart-pounding thrill from another dimension.
Baek So-cheon casually took her hand.
"See? You still have that playboy streak. How'd you know I wanted to hold hands?"
"I was quite the catch once."
"Still full of bravado, I see."
"Haha."
Their future together wasn't clearly mapped out yet. He didn't even know her thoughts on it. What would become of them?
One thing was certain, though.
Moments with her were more enjoyable than with anyone else.
Cheon-geuk pulled her hand away. Wondering why, he looked up to see Myeol Ji-ryun approaching from afar.
"Hero Baek!"
"Miss Myeol."
Myeol Ji-ryun's gaze shifted to Cheon-geuk beside him. She'd spotted Cheon-geuk first, so she hadn't seen the hand-holding.
Myeol Ji-ryun looked at Cheon-geuk and asked,
"And who might you be?"
Normally one introduces oneself first out of courtesy, but she was in a hurry.
Before Baek So-cheon could introduce her, Cheon-geuk spoke up.
"I'm the owner of that Daroo Tea House over there."
Myeol Ji-ryun glanced back, and sure enough, the Daroo stood behind them.
"The peerless beauty behind the veil, owner of the tea house. The Central Plains are full of surprises I never imagined."
"It's right by the Murim Alliance's main gate, you know? All sorts of fun things happen there. Well, I'll be off then."
As Cheon-geuk bowed and turned to leave, Myeol Ji-ryun said,
"I actually had something to discuss with Hero Baek. How about a cup of tea here?"
Refusing would only make her dig deeper into Cheon-geuk, so Baek So-cheon glanced at her. Cheon-geuk smiled and said,
"The more cups I sell, the better for me. Let's go."
And so the three entered Cheon-geuk's Daroo Tea House. Rap-sa and Pa-jeong, who had been trailing Myeol Ji-ryun from a distance, waited near the entrance instead of coming inside.
Baek So-cheon and Myeol Ji-ryun sat by a window with a good view outside.
"I'll bring the tea shortly."
"You don't ask your guests what they'd like?"
"Ah! Sorry. Do you have a favorite tea?"
A tense undercurrent flowed between the two women, invisible to others. Myeol Ji-ryun bristled at Baek So-cheon being with another beautiful woman.
"Bring your house's signature brew."
"Got it."
Cheon-geuk headed to the kitchen. She already knew Myeol Ji-ryun's identity and purpose here. She wasn't bothered by the sharpness, understanding its source all too well.
Myeol Ji-ryun looked around the interior, then asked Baek So-cheon,
"A regular here?"
"Yes."
"Ah, you must love tea. I'll brew it for you often from now on."
She spoke as if marriage was imminent, but Baek So-cheon didn't comment on it.
Just then, Cheon-geuk brought the tea.
"Enjoy."
"Join us."
"I'm good."
"We've crossed paths by fate—sit."
"Alright, just for a bit then."
The three sat together.
"This tea's excellent."
"It's my favorite. I only serve it to special guests."
"Thanks to Hero Baek, I get to taste something fine."
As if conscious of Cheon-geuk, she brought up the marriage topic. Normally not something to mention with a third party present, but she raised it deliberately for her to hear.
"Hero Baek, were you serious about delaying our marriage by a year? Or was it just to escape that moment?"
"I was serious."
Yesterday's Cheon-geuk might have felt hurt by those words. But today's Cheon-geuk felt no disappointment, no matter what he said.
If anything, his declaring it "serious" in front of her sounded like the opposite.
"But the Black Heaven Alliance is unlikely to accept my proposal."
"What if they refuse?"
"Then you and he will have to go back."
"Me too?"
"Yes."
"Don't you like me?"
"I like you, miss. It's just the situation I don't."
Cheon-geuk glanced at Baek So-cheon, then sipped her tea.
Saying another woman pleases him right in front of me!
She knew it wasn't sincere, but it was still a chance to rib him for his playboy ways. Cheon-geuk clamped down on her itching lips.
Right then, an unexpected figure entered the Daroo: Yeom Sa-won.
"There you all are."
He'd spotted the two guards at the entrance while passing by and come in.
The high-level guards on either side had exchanged mere bows from a distance.
Yeom Sa-won's face hardened slightly upon seeing Cheon-geuk.
"Stuck together back then too, and still glued now. You two dating or something?"
Cheon-geuk smiled and said,
"An honored guest has arrived, so I'll take my leave."
Yeom Sa-won barked,
"Sit!"
Cheon-geuk obediently returned to her seat.
"Of course."
Myeol Ji-ryun frowned this time.
"Yelling at a woman? Not attractive."
Yeom Sa-won smiled at Myeol Ji-ryun.
"Women are women, each their own. I lack the knack for sweet-talking the Assassin Alliance Lord."
Myeol Ji-ryun was startled.
"The Assassin Alliance Lord?"
Cheon-geuk said to her,
"Cheon-geuk here. Sorry I didn't mention it sooner."
"Turns out you're someone formidable."
Myeol Ji-ryun looked back and forth between Baek So-cheon and Cheon-geuk.
"I just can't understand it. Is it okay for you two to hang around like this?"
Baek So-cheon calmly countered,
"Do you understand why you're here right now?"
"Fair point."
Yeom Sa-won raised his cup to Cheon-geuk.
"Pour me one."
Cheon-geuk poured with a smile.
"Enjoy."
Yesterday, an awkward silence would have fallen. But Cheon-geuk was smiling. Partly from her dreamlike time with Baek So-cheon, partly from her martial arts advancing a step.
She could have killed someone like Yeom Sa-won anytime before. Now, he seemed downright laughable.
Yeom Sa-won looked at Baek So-cheon and said,
"Your woman pouring for another man, and you just watch?"
"It's not liquor."
At Baek So-cheon's calm retort, Myeol Ji-ryun interjected,
"Shouldn't you have said, 'She's not my woman'?"
Baek So-cheon started to rise.
"I'll take my leave then."
Yeom Sa-won pulled a letter from his bosom.
"Do you know what this is?"
"What?"
"A missive from my father."
Yeom Sa-won declared loudly to Baek So-cheon,
"Father accepts your terms. If you beat me, he'll publicly announce a year of peace to the Murim world."
Incredibly, Yeom Hwa-sin had accepted Baek So-cheon's conditions. Baek So-cheon was inwardly shocked.
He really accepted?
It was his own proposal, but the outcome was utterly unexpected.
"But he added one condition."
"Which is?"
"Kill you without fail."
When he'd read that, Yeom Sa-won had been overjoyed, ready to fly to the heavens.
Until now, he'd thought his father favored Baek So-cheon over him.
But no. This command proved it.
Idiot! I'd misunderstood Father.
Yeom Sa-won was so elated he could hardly contain himself.
"Well, your conditions are accepted—no backing out now. Let's set the duel date."
"Fine. I'll consult the Alliance Lord and get back to you soon."
Yeom Sa-won stood.
Instead of farewell, he warned Cheon-geuk,
"Watch yourself from now on. I'm not afraid of you."
"Yes, I'll be careful."
Cheon-geuk replied politely. Inwardly, she was amused. She could tell he was brazenly voicing a deep-seated fear.
Yeom Sa-won smugly bid Myeol Ji-ryun goodbye.
"See you next time."
"Yes."
As he turned to go, he added,
"I'll forgive the past offense. But from now on, you'd best avoid this guy."
His "forgive" made Myeol Ji-ryun's expression sour slightly.
"I'll think about it."
Yeom Sa-won left first.
Myeol Ji-ryun said to Baek So-cheon,
"Truly unexpected. Delaying the war like this."
She knew from her father that Yeom Hwa-sin planned war in spring—a war he would never abandon. Yet he'd accepted Baek So-cheon's terms?
Does he believe Yeom Sa-won will definitely win?
He wouldn't have otherwise.
Baek So-cheon wore a grave expression, lost in thought.
Deciding it was time, Myeol Ji-ryun rose.
"I should go too. Great tea."
Once Myeol Ji-ryun had left, Cheon-geuk finally vented what she'd held back.
"Whew, catering to their egos is exhausting."
Expecting her to play along, Baek So-cheon remained serious.
"What's wrong?"
At last, he spoke.
"I think I know Yeom Hwa-sin's intent."
His voice trembled faintly.
"What is it?"
"Hard to believe, but that madman..."
Baek So-cheon's prediction was utterly shocking.
"It seems he wants me to kill his own son."