The Path to the Death Zone
Clatter, clatter!
Expensive porcelain bowls and ivory chopsticks clashed busily.
Chomp, chew, gulp!
The sounds of tearing, chewing, tasting, and swallowing echoed without pause.
"...Did you merge with a hungry ghost in the dungeon?"
Seeing how voraciously he was stuffing his face, Dok-go Cheon, the Lord of Sadocheon, asked in a mix of wonder and exasperation.
Jeok-un glanced at Dok-go Cheon, swallowed the food in his mouth, and replied, "Something like that. So, while we're at it, why don't you upgrade the food in the dungeon? Do you have any idea how hard it was to choke down that garbage porridge?"
"Why on earth would we feed criminals delicious food?"
"Hmm, that's a fair point. I yield."
Jeok-un nodded readily, while Dok-go Cheon shook his head in disbelief.
More than ten days had passed since the Night Lord incident.
In the immediate aftermath, Jeok-un had been sentenced to solitary confinement as punishment.
However, once the Night Lord was revealed to be a depraved rapist, public opinion shifted. People began to whisper that while Jeok-un's methods were harsh, solitary confinement was perhaps too severe.
"Do you even realize you are currently serving a sentence?" Dok-go Cheon asked.
"Gulp. Geez, they say you shouldn't even bother a dog while it's eating."
"..."
Anticipating this shift, Dok-go Cheon had commuted Jeok-un's sentence from solitary confinement to house arrest within his office. He had then arranged this secret, late-night meeting.
There was only one reason to avoid public eyes.
If Dok-go Cheon summoned him openly, it would look as though he was publicly shielding Jeok-un.
Neither Jeok-un nor Dok-go Cheon wanted that.
"Sigh. How many times does this make? Ever since you arrived..."
"Heh, you call this an accident? You're going to be in for a lot of surprises in the future, old man."
"Good grief."
At Jeok-un's nonchalant reply, Dok-go Cheon shook his head and got straight to the point.
"So, are you and that Do fellow complete enemies now?"
"Well, you could say that. Like the dog he is, he threw a massive fit once I took away his hidden food bowl."
Jeok-un admitted it readily. Dok-go Cheon needed to know that he had completely crossed paths with the Vice Lord.
"A hidden food bowl?"
"He had a slush fund."
"...A slush fund?"
"Yes."
Dok-go Cheon's reaction showed he had absolutely no idea. It was proof of how thoroughly Do Ye-cheon had concealed it.
Jeok-un calmly explained the relationship between the Vice Lord and the Night Lord.
"Ji Dong-tak was a shadow raised by the Vice Lord. The grand title of 'Night Lord' given to a mere thug like Ji Dong-tak was part of the same scheme."
"Mmm..."
Dok-go Cheon groaned softly. It seemed quite shocking to him that the Vice Lord had made such moves right under his nose.
Moreover, given how horrific and vile the Night Lord's deeds were, the depth of their connection was a heavy blow.
He probably thought Do Ye-cheon still maintained some semblance of a moral line.
Now, it was time to show Dok-go Cheon the harsh reality with his own hands.
Jeok-un pulled a stack of bank notes and a ledger from his robes, handing them to Dok-go Cheon.
"Here are the laundered funds and the secret ledger."
"...!!"
"It clearly outlines the flow of money to the Vice Lord, so it should be easy to read."
Dok-go Cheon looked at the secret ledger, unable to hide the trembling in his eyes. Just as Jeok-un said, this was undeniable proof of the deep connection between the Vice Lord and Ji Dong-tak.
"What kind of absurd sum is this..."
"Do you see it now? Sadocheon has been rotting from the very roots."
Dok-go Cheon was even more shocked when he verified the scale of the slush fund. The amount far exceeded his wildest imagination.
But Dok-go Cheon would never guess the truth.
You naive old man, that is only ten percent of the total.
Indeed, what Jeok-un had handed over was a mere tenth of the slush fund he had acquired.
The remaining ninety percent was still in Jeok-un's possession.
It wasn't for personal greed.
He needed this clean, laundered money to resolve the countless incidents that would erupt in the future.
Yes, now that things have come to this, the plot against the old man will accelerate.
Jeok-un closely observed Dok-go Cheon's complexion and thought to himself.
There are no signs of poisoning yet. But judging by the Night Lord's behavior when I probed him, the process has likely already begun. If my intervention causes events to unfold faster than in my past life, I must move quickly.
Before his regression, the Lion Sword Emperor, Dok-go Cheon, had fallen victim to an unprecedented poison, the likes of which Jianghu had never seen.
It was baffling that a master at the peak of the Profound Realm could be poisoned, but that was exactly what had happened.
Strictly speaking, it's not even certain if it was a poison. It was a secret art of the Yukhonbang.
The Yukhonbang was a unique unorthodox sect that belonged to neither Sadocheon nor the Black Hegemony Castle.
They specialized in all kinds of sinister, bizarre, and heretical arts.
In short, they were the unorthodox equivalent of the Mount Mao Sect.
But while the orthodox Mount Mao Sect studied sorcery and talismans to guide the dead home and grant them peaceful rest, the Yukhonbang explored all manner of taboo domains—including human experimentation—solely to satisfy their selfish desires in their den of demons.
Occasionally, they would emerge from hiding to take on commissions.
Even so, commissioning the Yukhonbang was an incredibly difficult task.
First of all, no one knew where their headquarters was located.
Even if one managed to contact them, they did not accept money as payment; they only took specific items they desired.
For now, it's best to keep the poisoning and the Yukhonbang a secret.
Given Dok-go Cheon's personality, the moment he learned he was poisoned, he would draw his sword immediately.
But the Vice Lord was cunning and meticulous.
If Dok-go Cheon acted rashly and startled the snake in the grass...
It would be like opening the lid of a pot before the rice is even cooked, ruining the dish.
Therefore, until he gathered undeniable proof like the secret ledger, Jeok-un had no intention of uttering a single word about the poison.
However, that did not mean he was sitting idle.
That's why what I'm about to say next is crucial.
He had long since devised a plan to save Dok-go Cheon.
Just then, Dok-go Cheon stared intently at Jeok-un before speaking.
"Sigh. In any case, I am worried about you."
Jeok-un chuckled inwardly at Dok-go Cheon's words.
He was worrying about Dok-go Cheon's safety, yet Dok-go Cheon was worrying about him.
"The Vice Lord is a relentless man. Once he bites, he never lets go."
"A dog through and through, indeed."
"The day after he visited you, he began openly plotting to kill you."
Jeok-un nodded, as if he had expected nothing less.
"He..."
"He probably tried to use the Law Enforcement Division to send me on a mission, right? Where is it?"
"...How did you know that?"
Dok-go Cheon looked flabbergasted. Jeok-un was reacting as if he already knew everything before it was even said.
But the surprise was brief. Dok-go Cheon spoke in a grave tone.
"He is insisting that you be assigned a Red Mission."
The warriors of Sadocheon were periodically assigned missions.
These missions were categorized into five colors based on their difficulty.
From easiest to hardest, they were White, Yellow, Blue, Red, and Black.
Among them, the Red Mission—the second highest tier—was an elite-level assignment with a survival rate of less than thirty percent.
Even when dispatched with the expectation of success, only three out of ten returned. That alone spoke volumes of its difficulty.
"From what I gather, he intends to send you to Uichun County."
"Oh?"
Uichun County was located on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.
On paper, it was just a quiet countryside district, but the reality was different. It was a tense border where Sadocheon and the Black Hegemony Castle constantly snarled at each other.
"So he wants me to die fighting the Black Hegemony Castle."
"But do not worry. I will speak to Hu Seong and have him negotiate it down to a Blue Mission."
Blue was one level below Red, and its survival rate was much higher.
While still dangerous, it was far safer than being thrown onto the front lines against the Black Hegemony Castle.
"No, that won't be necessary," Jeok-un said, shaking his head.
"Instead, please assign me a Black Mission."
"...What?" Dok-go Cheon asked in shock.
A Black Mission was the absolute highest tier, even above Red.
Jeok-un was not asking to lower the difficulty; he was asking to raise it.
Moreover...
Black Missions are reserved for tasks deemed impossible to succeed in the first place...
If a Red Mission had a thirty percent survival rate, a Black Mission's survival rate was barely ten percent, and even that was generous.
While Dok-go Cheon stood dumbfounded, Jeok-un continued.
"I will go to Tongseong County."
"Tongseong County?"
Geographically, Tongseong County belonged to Hubei Province.
However, in the world of martial arts, invisible boundaries existed regardless of official maps.
Tongseong County was one such place.
It was a tri-border point in Hubei Province.
Because it was a place where Sadocheon, the Black Hegemony Castle, and the Murim Alliance all clashed, it was an extremely perilous zone where blood spilled daily.
Furthermore, because it was such a highly sensitive area, all three factions frequently covered up deaths to avoid escalating conflicts.
This made it incredibly easy for the Vice Lord to make a move in secret.
And yet, Jeok-un was walking into that hell of his own free will.
He's asking to be sent to a death zone, not just a dangerous territory. What on earth is he thinking?
While Dok-go Cheon grappled with his confusion, Jeok-un had a clear purpose for going there.
It's about time I claim the next of the Seven Divine Weapons.
Near Tongseong County lay the resting place of the second weapon to follow Il-cheon and Wol-ha.
"Sigh. I truly cannot fathom what goes on in that head of yours."
As Dok-go Cheon shook his head, unable to guess his intentions, Jeok-un spoke again.
"Ah, I have one more request. Before I set out on the mission, please give me about a month's time."
"Well, your scheduled house arrest is about that long anyway. But why?"
"There's something I need to take care of before I leave."
Jeok-un grinned.
Even if he was leaving, he had to show them the true value of the abandoned mine first.
Seeing Jeok-un's smile, Dok-go Cheon shook his head in exasperation.
Naturally, the White Night Squad had an office designated for its leader.
However, anyone looking at the office right now would find it rather cluttered.
It felt messy and poorly cleaned.
There was a reason for this.
The office of the White Night Squad Leader was originally located outside the main grounds.
After the squad fell into ruin, the previous leaders had set up their offices elsewhere, complaining that the manor and the office were too shabby.
But Jeok-un did not care about such things.
He had moved back in, deciding it was better for everyone to stay together.
For the most part, only Jeok-un, who was serving his month-long house arrest, occupied the empty office.
But today was different.
"Do you not like tea?"
"...I am fine."
An awkward silence followed Hae-yeon's reply.
As her presence indicated, Hae-yeon had fully recovered.
She had requested an audience with Jeok-un immediately upon her return.
Jeok-un, naturally pleased to see her, had granted it right away.
"..."
"..."
A chilly, awkward silence stretched between them after their brief exchange.
Man, this is incredibly awkward.
There was another reason for the tension.
Come to think of it, is this the first time we've met while she's fully conscious?
Jeok-un was thrilled to see her because of his memories from before the regression.
But those memories belonged to him alone.
Officially, this was their very first face-to-face meeting.
Jeok-un could not show even a hint of his familiarity.
Regression can be a bit bitter when you think about it.
She was someone who lived vividly in his memories, yet he was the only one who remembered.
It was hard for Jeok-un to hide the sudden pang of bitterness.
As Jeok-un was lost in thought, Hae-yeon spoke up hesitantly.
"...Leader, may I ask you something?"
Jeok-un snapped out of his thoughts and slowly looked at Hae-yeon.
Her expression, which had always been as cold as the icy winds of the North Sea in his past life, was now a storm of conflicting emotions.
"Of course. Go ahead."
At Jeok-un's permission, Hae-yeon spoke with difficulty.
"...Why did you help me?"