The Uncomfortable Delegation
I'd given my approval, but no one actually told me what to do next. Ak Byeongbi, the nominal leader, should have spoken up, but he kept his mouth clamped shut, glaring at me like he wanted to kill me, without taking any action whatsoever.
I was just thinking how fortunate it was that he hadn't reached the realm of Heart Sword when...
"My, are you planning to make a delicate girl like me walk?"
In the end, Yeom Gwi-bi was the first to speak. At her brazen, shameless words, two of the escorts glanced at Ak Byeongbi before dismounting and offering her their horses.
Yeom Gwi-bi's eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Oh my, how kind. I was saying it was fine to share a ride."
Her actions, laced with a subtle gaze and smile, were plenty seductive, but the escorts only grew more tense, keeping their distance from her. No matter how stunningly beautiful she was, this was a woman who had stained her hands with blood without batting an eye. To these seasoned veterans of the jianghu, she was naturally someone to be wary of.
"......"
I approached the third-rate bandits who were still trembling on the side.
"Are you alright?"
"......Y-Yes? Ah, yes, sir!"
These men, whose names and life stories had been called out before the King of Hell himself, were still dazed, unable to fully regain their senses.
"I understand times are tough with the famine, but banditry isn't something just anyone can pull off."
How many family heads could stand by and watch their wives and children starve day by day? Still, you have to be alive to do anything about it, right?
"Moreover, with the Black Path Alliance forming in Shanxi Province lately, a lot of travelers are likely martial artists. It'd be best to come down from the mountains for good."
"Y-Yes, of course. If you just spare us, we'll never rob again."
I looked at the third-rate bandits. Their gaunt cheeks suggested they'd only turned to banditry after holding out as long as they could.
I pulled a pouch of silver coins from my bosom and handed it to them. But the bandits waved their hands frantically, refusing to take it.
"No, we can't. We swear we'll never eye another person's belongings again."
I forced the pouch into their hands.
"Use this to feed your families first."
It was a hefty pouch of silver—enough not just for their households, but to fill the bellies of the starving villagers too.
Looking at the bandits who still couldn't grip it tightly, I added, "Besides, there are the dead to consider. You should at least give them a proper burial, however modest."
"......"
Finally, they clenched the pouch with resolve. The warm atmosphere was building nicely when one of them hesitated and spoke up.
"Um... actually, those people aren't with us."
"Huh?"
"They're with those two over there."
"......"
Their faces were so battered and bloodied that I hadn't recognized them, but they were actually Yeom Gwi-bi and Hyeol Tu's companions.
"We sensed something off, so we didn't block their path. Then suddenly they started fighting among themselves and... ended up like that."
What the hell? Even for ruthless Black Path heavyweights, why slaughter their own group out of nowhere? And then using these third-rate bandits as hostages—what was that about?
"......S-So, you don't need to give us this..."
The bandit offered the pouch back, gauging my reaction. I looked at him and said,
"......Forget it. Take it and buy some rice for the starving in your village."
I turned my gaze straight to Yeom Gwi-bi and Hyeol Tu.
And the price for not killing these third-rates was simply to let them tag along.
What the hell are they scheming...?
I couldn't fathom what they were thinking.
Maybe they turn people into companions just to kill them later for the thrill? Some kind of perverts?
It wouldn't surprise me. That's what makes them Black Path, right? They follow their base instincts, screw common sense.
And these two were the kings of that sort. They could easily have twisted tendencies.
As uneasy thoughts made me shudder, a clear voice rang out.
"Young master! Time to get going~!"
Yeom Gwi-bi called out to me as if we'd been traveling together forever. I shook off my pounding headache, mounted my horse, and rode.
This was only the third time I'd seen Jegal Somyeong this closely since joining the Murim Alliance. The previous two times, I'd been seated across a table, not even daring to approach.
Even sitting before this terrifying figure, I couldn't hold back the question bursting out.
[Is this... punishment?]
The order to go as the Black Path Alliance delegation. Ak Byeongbi forgot who was sitting before him—the deputy chief of the Myriad Communications Division, Jegal Somyeong—and blurted out the rude question.
A soft rustle. Jegal Somyeong, sipping his tea, lifted his wrinkled eyelids to stare at Ak Byeongbi.
In that instant, Ak Byeongbi shuddered as if his insides were being pierced clean through.
[Why do you think that?]
The words from one who sat at the pinnacle, moving the world itself, carried a weight far beyond a simple question.
Ak Byeongbi swallowed hard against a fear he'd never felt before. Having asked first, he couldn't take it back now. He barely squeezed out an answer.
[Because the mission to ally with the Black Path Alliance seems certain to... no, highly likely to fail.]
[Hm...]
Jegal Somyeong closed his eyes briefly, savoring the tea's aroma. Then he slowly raised his head.
[You know it too. That it will fail.]
Even without drawing on his energy, an indescribable pressure emanated from Jegal Somyeong. Every word he spoke tied to the fate of the world.
[And the Alliance won't judge you for a failure as if it's expected.]
There was no hidden scheme in Jegal Somyeong's words. He was ruthlessly impartial within the Alliance, even harshly so toward his own clan.
Still, Ak Byeongbi couldn't understand why he—a member of the Inspection Hall—had to go to the Black Path Alliance specifically.
As Ak Byeongbi's eyes wavered in confusion, Jegal Somyeong added,
[Think of it as punishment. No matter the outcome, you did meddle with Jin Sowoon and abused the Inspection Hall's authority for personal gain.]
Gulp.
Jegal Somyeong's gaze stabbed like daggers across Ak Byeongbi's body. As expected, he knew everything.
[You're appointed delegation leader, but you won't have much to do. Try negotiating appropriately, and if it fails, just come back.]
But wasn't this issue too grave to brush off like that? As that thought crossed his mind,
Jegal Somyeong continued.
[However, once you leave the Murim Alliance, follow whatever Jin Sowoon wants. That's precisely why we chose you.]
[......]
Ak Byeongbi squeezed his eyes shut, recalling his private audience with Jegal Somyeong.
What could the Chief Strategist be thinking?
Following the Chief Strategist's orders and Jin Sowoon's intentions had led to Hyeol Tu and the mysterious woman joining. He simply couldn't grasp Jegal Somyeong's aim.
If they wanted a figurehead leader, there were plenty of other candidates. Why him, with his grudge against Jin Sowoon, instead of someone favorable to the boy...?
Could it be... he's hiding his intentions too?
The order to unconditionally obey Jin Sowoon's thoughts meant to judge what schemes the boy harbored.
And observing those would reveal if he was a Black Path spy infiltrating them.
It was simple, really. The reason an Inspection Hall member at odds with the Black Path was included in the delegation.
It had to be a special mission to root out the spy!
That's it!
Ak Byeongbi turned to glare at Jin Sowoon. The boy acted utterly unfazed with Black Path heavyweights at his side. How could he be so natural unless he'd grown up rubbing shoulders with them since childhood?
Moreover, during his clash with Hyeol Tu, Hyeol Tu had recognized Jin Sowoon's swordsmanship. Just these clues were damningly suspicious.
Sensing Ak Byeongbi's suspicious glare, Jin Sowoon pointed at the woman and said,
"Leader, do you fancy this lady?"
"My goodness?"
Ak Byeongbi couldn't hide his incredulity.
"......What nonsense is this?"
Jin Sowoon shrugged.
"You keep glancing her way. If I may advise, give up on it. She's one scary lady."
"Y-You! I'll kill you!"
Ak Byeongbi ground his teeth, but Jin Sowoon and the woman paid him no mind. The woman even wrapped her arms around herself coquettishly.
"Young master! What do you mean by that? I'm so frail and delicate..."
Jin Sowoon shot back without missing a beat.
"What kind of ridiculous joke is that?"
"Oh! Busted?"
See that? How could an elite from a prestigious Orthodox sect banter like this with Black Path scum?
I'll rip off your mask on this journey for sure!
As Ak Byeongbi gnashed his teeth, one of the escorts approached and offered him a canteen.
"......What?"
"Your face is red—you look overheated."
"I'm fine!"
"......Ah, yes......"
-What the hell are you thinking?
At first, I'd answered Ak Byeongbi's questions straightforwardly.
-Can't just let people die, can we?
-This is the Murim Alliance delegation! Black Path has no business butting in!
Soon enough, I realized his questions weren't genuine curiosity—they were just him trying to chew me out.
-You seemed to know Hyeol Tu's identity too. How?
-So you are a Black Path spy after all?
-Why won't you answer?
-You are a Black Path spy, aren't you?
Damn, this guy's driving me nuts. If someone's not answering, there's a reason—why keep badgering for answers that won't come?
I whipped my head around to glare at Ak Byeongbi.
"If you hate them tagging along so much, tell them yourself!"
My voice was loud enough to draw stares from Yeom Gwi-bi and Hyeol Tu.
"......!"
Ak Byeongbi shot me a murderous glare before spurring his horse forward.
At that moment, Dang Seohee sidled up beside me.
"......Are those two the root of all evil? Killing them would uphold justice in the jianghu?"
Haa... What now with you?
I warned Dang Seohee firmly.
"Absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely! Do not lay a hand on those two first. Absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely!"
Hyeol Tu aside, Yeom Gwi-bi was a terrible matchup for Dang Seohee. Yeom Gwi-bi's fire energy, built from absorbing pure yang qi via her Yin-Yang Great Law, diverged sharply from standard yang arts. It drew only the hottest male essence, making its power fiercer than typical yang techniques, and so potent that even strong poisons burned away inside her.
The enemy Tang clan incarnate.
And Hyeol Tu... no need to explain. He'd likely achieved immunity to all poisons already.
"......Why can't I join the escort?"
Dang Seohee puffed her cheeks expressionlessly.
"......Let's find some third-rate fool at the next inn."
Grab someone who could serve as a chopstick target, and she'd get bored soon enough. Yeom Gwi-bi's looks were perfect for luring idiots anyway. A few throws, some lines, and even this game would lose its thrill.
Kids are like that, right? Though it was a bit weird that she was two years older than me.
At this point, I couldn't tell if I'd joined the delegation or was just chaperoning a bunch of age-inappropriate brats on a field trip.
At least Ilmyeong was somewhat normal amid the chaos. I was grateful he didn't show open hostility toward Hyeol Tu and Yeom Gwi-bi.
Where'd that guy go, though?
The usual tail behind Ak Byeongbi—the bald one—was missing. Scanning around, I spotted a glint of sunlight reflecting off something at the rear.
He was riding alongside Yeom Gwi-bi and Hyeol Tu.
What the hell?
I sharpened my hearing to eavesdrop.
"......And so, the Buddha abandoned all worldly glory and sat beneath the Bodhi tree in meditation. After that......"
What are you doing? Proselytizing right now? To Black Path heavyweights, no less?
As I stared, our eyes met, and Ilmyeong grinned as brightly as his shiny head.
"Ah! Benefactor Jin. We were just sharing a fine tale. Would Benefactor Jin care to join? I hear from Junior Brother Ilgak that your faith is lacking?"
It was so absurd that even Yeom Gwi-bi and Hyeol Tu stared at him like he was insane.
Getting that look from those lunatics... truly, the Shaolin prodigy was on another level.
Haa... They say too many sighs bring bad luck.
At this rate, I'd lose what little fortune I had left.