Shut the Door, Then How Do I Leave?
"This rage... I simply cannot bear it!"
Jam Yun stood in the middle of the Inner Sect courtyard, seething as she shouted.
"That Yi Yeok completely ignores you, Eldest Senior Brother — no, he ignores the Inner Sect and all of Nokhyeon Sect! We tried to speak to him nicely at first, and he had the nerve to deny he was even Yi Yeok. Then he ambushed us out of nowhere!"
Before her, a man of about thirty sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Whether he was listening to Jam Yun or not, he simply went on with his deep, measured breathing.
Unable to swallow the injustice of it, Jam Yun raised her voice still higher.
"Eldest Senior Brother, do you know what became of the Inner Sect while we were away? The protection fees have dried up, and we can barely get our hands on spirit stones or elixir pills. At this rate, we won't even be able to cultivate properly."
Beside her, Mok Geom-in stared into the distance with a rigid face. His eyes glinted cold, and anger lay thick across his features. He did not open his mouth, but his grudge ran no shallower than Jam Yun's. It seemed to him that only if that man called Yi Yeok died before his eyes, in the most wretched way imaginable, would this fury ever be quenched.
Ju Uk, Eldest Senior Brother of the Inner Sect and thus of all Nokhyeon Sect, sat without a word. Jam Yun drew a ragged breath and went on spilling her complaints.
"When has the Inner Sect ever suffered a humiliation like this at the hands of the Outer Sect? We only held back because we couldn't casually kill a fellow disciple. If we'd fought in earnest, Yi Yeok would never have walked away alive!"
Mok Geom-in added, carefully.
"They say the Supreme Elder looks on him with favor. It may be difficult to deal with him outright."
At that moment, Ju Uk finally opened his eyes.
"Did you not say he was merely at the Five Spirits Realm?"
"Yes, Eldest Senior Brother. That's why we were caught off guard — a Five Spirits Realm cultivator. But that man clearly has some secret."
"A man of the Five Spirits Realm subdued Dong Pil, and even killed an Outer Sect elder... He is certainly no ordinary fellow."
"He must have used some cowardly trick!"
Jam Yun shot back in a rush. Ju Uk's voice sank, cold.
"A realm is nothing more than a name people invent for their own convenience, a way of sorting one another. There will always be those who surpass such a boundary. You knew only that he was of the Five Spirits Realm and failed to see his true strength. Is that not why you came to grief?"
Jam Yun lost any reply she might have made and swallowed her resentment in silence. The Eldest Senior Brother was always cold. He left no room to excuse their mistakes.
Mok Geom-in spoke quietly.
"Eldest Senior Brother, we admit we were lacking. But we cannot simply let this pass. The dignity of our Inner Sect — and of Nokhyeon Sect itself — is at stake."
Ju Uk nodded slowly.
"And what do you propose?"
Mok Geom-in's gaze turned colder.
"Yi Yeok must be eliminated."
"Yes! Not only him — every last one of his lackeys ought to be cut down as well!"
Ju Uk remained as composed as ever.
"He is no easy opponent. And if he is someone the Supreme Elder cherishes, it would be foolish for us to attack him ourselves."
Mok Geom-in said in a low voice.
"Then... you mean we should deal with him by some other means?"
Ju Uk studied him for a moment, then shook his head.
"There is no need to handle it in secret."
Jam Yun asked, flustered.
"Then what are we supposed to do? Just living on the same mountain as that man makes my skin crawl!"
Ju Uk smiled quietly.
"We give Yi Yeok a mission. He seems the sort who enjoys showing off, so he will gladly take on even a difficult task. I will propose it to the Sect Master myself."
Mok Geom-in's eyes flashed.
"As expected of our Eldest Senior Brother. I pay my respects to your cold, clear judgment."
The next day.
In a hall of the Inner Sect, Yi Yeok spoke with flat finality.
"I refuse."
So Cheon-jeon, Sect Master of Nokhyeon Sect, and Eldest Senior Brother Ju Uk both faltered at the unexpected answer. So Cheon-jeon frowned faintly.
"Why do you refuse?"
"I'm not interested."
Yi Yeok answered without a care. Ju Uk stepped forward with a gentle smile.
"Junior Brother Yi Yeok possesses remarkable talent. You've been in the sect only a short while, and already your name is widely known. If you complete this mission successfully, everyone in the sect, high and low, will surely hold you in even higher regard."
The day before, Ju Uk had held a long conversation with So Cheon-jeon. He had planted unease by pointing out that Yi Yeok's origins were unclear, and yet his skill was extraordinary, and he had even raised the suspicion that the man might be a spy sent by another sect. Perhaps, he suggested, the intent was to obstruct Nokhyeon Sect's promotion to a middle-rank sect. That leap of logic only sharpened So Cheon-jeon's wariness.
In the end, So Cheon-jeon agreed to Ju Uk's proposal: assign a difficult task, and test both the man's ability and his purpose. The mission was to assassinate the Hall Master of Black Phoenix Hall. The Demonic Cult was a vast power commanding countless subordinate organizations, and Black Phoenix Hall was one of them. Even if he failed to kill the man, merely wounding him would count as success.
Through that mission, Ju Uk meant to remove Yi Yeok. A man who did not know how high the sky was would surely accept. And yet, against all expectation, Yi Yeok had refused in a single stroke.
Ju Uk needled him, subtly.
"Surely you aren't refusing because you're afraid?"
"That's right. I'm a coward by nature, and I absolutely hate dying."
So Cheon-jeon knit his brows.
"Yi Yeok, that attitude is improper. You have caused a great many problems of late — serious incidents. And yet I have never once rebuked you."
Yi Yeok looked thoroughly unimpressed. So Cheon-jeon hurried on.
"This mission is certainly a difficult undertaking, but it will also be of great benefit to you. If you achieve something there, the other disciples of the sect will surely come to respect you all the more. In time, your name might even be left in the history of Nokhyeon Sect."
"If it's such a fine mission, the Sect Master or the Eldest Senior Brother should take it yourselves."
So Cheon-jeon pressed down his displeasure.
"As a member of Nokhyeon Sect, you have a duty to contribute to the sect. Do you mean to defy an order?"
Ju Uk slipped in with a soft smile.
"Junior Brother Yi Yeok, disobedience to the Sect Master's command is a grave offense. Bear in mind that, in a severe case, you could even be expelled from the sect."
Yi Yeok waved a hand, utterly unbothered.
"What, an outer disciple doesn't even have the right to refuse a task? Then do as you like."
He shrugged.
"If you want to throw me out, throw me out. Staying here isn't all that fun anymore."
For a moment, So Cheon-jeon had nothing to say. However suspicious the man might be, he could hardly expel a disciple his father, So Cheong-ha, cherished. Yi Yeok had already seen through the bluff.
Yi Yeok turned and started walking.
"I just pack my things and go, right? Oh — and shall I close the door on my way out?"