Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Seven Elders - Murim Alliance, Formation (8)
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It seemed like an attempt to lighten the stiff atmosphere.
Sa Baek-un addressed Namgung Jincheon with a gentle smile that didn't suit his ferocious bulk.
“Has the Sword King been well? It's been quite a while since I last paid my respects.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Jincheon gave that short reply and lifted his cup. Just as he brought it to his lips, signaling no intent to say more, bloodshot veins appeared in Dang Hwa-seo's whites of her eyes.
‘Give a longer answer.’
At her glare loaded with that meaning, Namgung Jincheon's shoulders twitched.
He set down his cup with a sullen face and continued.
“…Before coming here, I heard you planned to wander the jianghu.”
“Oh! As expected of the Sword King! It brings back old memories. Even in such chaotic times, you were the one who enjoyed martial exchanges.”
Dang Hwa-seo let out a sigh of relief at Sa Baek-un's smile.
They had passed one crisis. If they kept the mood soft like this, it would be fine.
“Ah, and how has Great Master Won Myeong been?”
The next was Il-un. Il-un replied with a smile identical to Sa Baek-un's, carrying on the conversation.
Only after Il-un, Hye-un, and Jegal San's turns did it finally reach Dang Hwa-seo.
“The Poison Phoenix…”
Sa Baek-un's demeanor grew cautious. Even as an outsider with no ties to the Tang Clan, as the Murim Alliance Leader, he knew her circumstances well. He understood what it meant to ask her about her family.
Dang Hwa-seo smiled bitterly and took up his words.
“I feel honored to lend my strength to the Alliance like this.”
“I see. My schedule is tight, so I won't visit often, but I'll always support you.”
Sa Baek-un finished like that. But for mere courtesy, his tone was quite sincere.
It touched Dang Hwa-seo faintly.
Next, Sa Baek-un's gaze turned to where Mok Ri-won sat. In that instant, his expression changed. More goodwill appeared on his face than when speaking with the others.
“First time meeting, I presume. You must be the Dark Dragon who turned Anhui upside down? I'm glad to meet you like this.”
Mok Ri-won's fingertips trembled slightly. His goodwill stirred guilt in Mok Ri-won for deceiving him.
But he couldn't reveal it. Mok Ri-won smiled as brightly as possible in response.
“You flatter me. The honor is mine to meet the Alliance Leader.”
It was an earnest demeanor unlike Mok Ri-won. The other members would be shocked. Who wouldn't? The usually excitable guy was showing such composure before anyone else but the Murim Alliance Leader—it was bound to seem strange.
Amid that, their conversation continued. Mostly Sa Baek-un, curious about Mok Ri-won, kept asking questions.
“I hear your martial prowess is extraordinary. Your sect… Ah, sorry. There must be a reason you haven't revealed it yet. I understand. It's just that whenever talents like you emerge in the righteous sects, I get so thrilled it's hard to contain myself.”
Sa Baek-un's attitude was almost natural.
In an era where winners of the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament were expected from prestigious sects, wasn't this a master from a minor faction sticking out like a sore thumb?
From the perspective of improving the overall quality of the righteous murim, Mok Ri-won was a treasure to cherish.
Thus, Sa Baek-un's questions dragged on. In turn, Mok Ri-won's responses grew ever more cautious.
In the midst of that odd atmosphere lasting quite a while, the old woman who had kept silent until then finally spoke.
“Alliance Leader, shouldn't you introduce this old lady now?”
“Ah, look at me. My apologies.”
Sa Baek-un gave an awkward smile as if realizing something.
At that, the members' gazes turned to the old woman.
“I brought her here to introduce her, but I forgot. Sorry. Getting on in years, you know.”
Everyone sensed it. For Sa Baek-un to call her “this one,” she was no ordinary person.
“This is Heroine Kang So-so. A master from the previous generation who stood at the vanguard with me on the day of the Blood Massacre.”
“Ah…!”
Dang Hwa-seo let out an exclamation as if realizing now.
“Is she the consultant coming to our unit?”
“Take good care of me.”
Killing Star Yeom So-so, using the alias Kang So-so, smiled.
Dang Hwa-seo belatedly explained to the members. Since the unit was newly formed, consultants from outside would come for various trainings, and this old woman was that Kang So-so.
The members' reactions varied, but none held negativity.
Even introduced as a previous generation master, they detected no presence from her at all—that mystery revealed she had reached the Transcendent Realm.
Training from a Transcendent Realm master? Even prestigious sects couldn't get that easily.
Amid it, Yeom So-so's gaze turned to Mok Ri-won. Seeing him still looking uncomfortable, she smiled gently and subtly moved her lips. No sound came out.
Transmission of Voice (傳音入密).
A technique martial artists used for secret communication.
-Come to the back of the hall after this is over.
Mok Ri-won's eyes widened. He looked at Yeom So-so in startle, but her gaze had already shifted elsewhere.
Next came Sa Baek-un's explanation.
“You may have heard, but your future missions will involve espionage and infiltration. She's an expert in that field, so I hope you learn well from her.”
Much conversation followed, but Mok Ri-won's eyes stayed fixed on Yeom So-so.
Yet Yeom So-so never looked at Mok Ri-won again.
‘…What the heck.’
Who was she to send a transmission and call him out?
Such questions filled Mok Ri-won's mind.
*
“I'll step out for a bit!”
After the banquet ended, Mok Ri-won excused himself from the members and headed to the rear garden of the hall.
Yeom So-so was already there, sitting in a chair gazing at wildflowers.
“You're here?”
Yeom So-so's gaze met Mok Ri-won's. A very warm smile bloomed on her face.
Mok Ri-won swallowed dryly. He clasped his hands in greeting.
“…Greetings, Senior.”
“What senior? Come now.”
Yeom So-so chuckled and waved it off.
She approached Mok Ri-won.
With her neat features and small stature, her head barely reached his solar plexus, yet her unique composure made her feel somehow immense.
Tension rose in Mok Ri-won. A previous generation master he'd never seen in the jianghu. And one who knew him.
This sparked the thought that she might be an acquaintance of his master, Mok Seon-o.
Mok Ri-won's imagination wasn't wrong.
“So, how's that Mok Clan rascal doing?”
Mok Ri-won gasped.
‘…She knows.’
About Mok Seon-o, his relationship with him, and even Heavenly Slaughter Star.
She must be like Sword King Namgung Hyeok, knowing everything already.
From that, Mok Ri-won realized one fact.
“…May I ask your name?”
If a previous generation master connected to Mok Seon-o, Ma Il-seok would have mentioned her. But Kang So-so was unfamiliar. So the answer was clear.
This old woman's “Kang So-so” was an alias.
“Heh, sharp one, aren't you?”
Yeom So-so laughed heartily.
“So, what did that beggar call me? Assassin? Prostitute Assassin? Or Black Dao?”
“…Ah!”
Light dawned in Mok Ri-won's eyes.
Assassin, Prostitute Assassin, Black Dao. Among what Ma Il-seok had said, there was a woman who fit all.
“Killing Star…!”
“Right, you got it.”
Mok Ri-won's face brightened. No, it bloomed with smiles.
Killing Star Yeom So-so.
He'd heard plenty about her.
-Even if I don't like it… yeah, without that woman, you wouldn't have made it alive to western Shaanxi. She was one of the four who voted yes to sparing you right there. That damned Black Dao woman.
One of the four who voted yes among those deciding his fate. With four yeses, two neutrals, and three noes, she held the final deciding vote.
“Greetings, Benefactress!”
Killing Star Yeom So-so was Mok Ri-won's benefactress.
Mok Ri-won bowed hurriedly. He had so many thanks he'd wanted to say if he ever met her someday; trying to sort them suddenly made him flustered.
Yeom So-so smiled warmly at his demeanor.
“You've grown up so fine. Nothing like that Mok rascal in his youth.”
“M-Master?”
“Yeah, didn't the beggar tell you? Back when Mok was young, he was so ugly they called him Ugly Dragon.”
Mok Ri-won blinked blankly. Then he shook his head vigorously.
“Th-that's a lie! Even as an old man, Master has a bold, striking appearance! When young, surely…”
Mok Ri-won's voice trailed off. He had nothing more to say.
Of course. Between Yeom So-so, who had seen young Mok Seon-o, and his disciple who'd only seen the aged face, whose account was more credible? Plain as day.
Yeom So-so chuckled at Mok Ri-won, who couldn't continue, then teased playfully.
“So, when are you answering my question about how that Mok rascal's doing?”
“Ah, he's well! Before I left, he made a small vegetable patch and was tending to it as a hobby!”
“What an unfitting pastime.”
Mok Ri-won was still flustered.
The sudden meeting with his benefactress and her playful attitude left him unsure how to react.
Only then did he manage to say.
“…May I express my gratitude first?”
“What gratitude?”
“When Beggar King spoke of you, I made a vow.”
“Hm?”
“I wanted to tell you how deeply thankful I am for granting me my life.”
Mok Ri-won still had his hands clasped.
His head was bowed deeply.
“Without you, I would have died the day the Blood Massacre ended. I wouldn't have known what chivalry is, how vast the world is, and ended my life ignorant. How unjust that would have been.”
After that, Mok Ri-won paused, then added one more thing.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I could face such a vast world.”
One who doesn't know grace is a beast; one who doesn't know chivalry is a demonic heretic.
Having lived with those teachings etched in his bones, Mok Ri-won finally conveyed the words he'd harbored to one of his benefactors.
Yeom So-so's eyes widened. Then they curved gently.
“What's with all the thanks?”
“It's only right.”
“I just did what I wanted.”
Yeom So-so placed a hand on Mok Ri-won's shoulder as she said that. With a gentle motion, she straightened his upper body.
“But you know. For someone so grateful, you're not living up to saving you.”
“…Pardon?”
Confusion clouded Mok Ri-won's face.
Yeom So-so chuckled.
“That banquet just now. Why were you so cowed?”
Mok Ri-won's body jolted.
“That's…”
“Were you afraid Sa Baek-un would hate you?”
“…”
“Why assume he'd hate you?”
Embarrassment flashed across Mok Ri-won's face.
That was how Mok Ri-won felt. Facing Sa Baek-un, who'd devoted his life to righteousness, he was ashamed of his own caution.
Yeom So-so felt a twinge of pity at his look.
“You fool.”
“…Yes.”
“What wrong have you done to be so meek? Aren't you Mok's son? Aren't you aspiring to be a hero?”
Yeom So-so resolved again at his cautious attitude.
‘I hadn't planned to reveal myself like this.’
But just watching wouldn't do.
“Didn't that Mok rascal always say? The innocent needn't flee.”
Mok Ri-won had committed no crimes yet. And he was a child building not sins but chivalrous deeds.
For such a child to worry first about being hated due to his nature—how heartbreaking.
How painful.
-Assassin or what? If that sword points at vile ones, that's chivalry too.
Yeom So-so didn't want to see the disciple of the man who'd given her hope for living so dejected.
“Do you know?”
“…Know what?”
“On the day deciding your fate, I said I'd confirm what kind of person you'd grown into before voting. If you'd become a killer, I'd cut you down myself.”
And the answer had come.
“And I acknowledged you. You've grown not as a killer but a true hero. So don't preemptively fear.”
Yeom So-so grinned as she said that.
“Sa Baek-un's a coward. But he knows chivalry. So stand tall, chest out, and prove it. That your nature doesn't define you. That you've become a true hero.”
Mok Ri-won's eyes widened hugely at her words.
Yeom So-so added one more thing to him.
“I'll help you with that.”
Repay grace with grace.
A saying from the Sichuan Tang Clan, but one that captured the jianghu's very essence.
Yeom So-so merely followed it.
-A debt? No need to repay me. Just, someday, if someone like you ponders chivalry, help that junior a bit. That'll do.
Decades-old grace; Yeom So-so finally got the chance to repay it now that Mok Seon-o's disciple had entered the jianghu.