242. <Today's Fortune>
"Kahahahaha! Feeling great!"
Chaseokdu, supported by Damak as he entered the inner chamber, let out a hearty laugh.
"Alliance Leader, are you alright?"
In truth, it wasn't much of support. The massive Chaseokdu and the diminutive Damak, who didn't even practice martial arts—it was like a young child straining to help their father along, while the father pretended not to notice and accepted the aid.
"Ahh, I'm fine. Just fine!"
Damak's feelings were profoundly complicated as he gazed at Chaseokdu settling into his seat. The man's face had taken on a serene expression, like someone who had just overcome a great ordeal. What troubled Damak was that it was not he who had gifted that peace, but Jin Sowoon.
"How fortunate... How truly fortunate..."
Damak felt both immense joy and a pang of regret watching the faint smile on Chaseokdu's lips as he mumbled drunkenly.
"I'm sorry, Alliance Leader. This was something I should have handled myself."
"Hm?"
Chaseokdu's bleary eyes widened. "How could that be your duty alone, Dam Strategist? It was something we all needed to resolve."
"If only I'd been a bit more astute..."
"Kahahahaha. Even you, Dam Strategist, are talking nonsense."
Chaseokdu, seeming a little more sober, barked out another hearty laugh and fixed Damak with clear eyes.
"Dam Strategist. What have I always wanted from you? For you to preserve my position?"
"...No, of course not."
"Exactly. What I want is for Sahyeokryeon to take root in this land and flourish greatly."
Chaseokdu's gaze was gentler than ever.
"And you've done your job admirably all this time."
"..."
"Everyone has their own role to play. Black Flame Dragon was simply better suited to resolving this matter."
It wasn't just suited—he was the only one who could have conceived and executed it that way. Even the worldly Chaseokdu had clicked his tongue in amazement upon hearing the full story from Jin Sowoon.
"No need for self-recrimination or comparisons. Don't you have your own duties?"
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Chaseokdu nodded gravely, leaning forward with a serious glint in his eyes.
"More importantly... an alliance might still be too much, right?"
The topic from the previous banquet resurfaced.
"Are you considering an alliance?"
"That Jin Sowoon brat yelled at me via transmission. 'How could this be?!' Nearly burst my eardrums."
"...Was there such an incident?"
Damak swallowed a groan inwardly. Even if he'd helped Sahyeokryeon, speaking so boldly to its representative was bold.
Yet Chaseokdu seemed unfazed, continuing casually. "Hmm... Truth be told, I think forming a temporary alliance might be wise. Sahyeokryeon still shines only on the surface."
Comparing a five-hundred-year-old organization to a fledgling one was absurd to begin with, but Damak grasped Chaseokdu's intent.
"Exposing the hidden hand has blunted some opposition from the alliance leadership toward the martial world, but we can't push further. Some joined the alliance under the pretext of war with the Murim Alliance, after all."
After some thought, Chaseokdu asked indirectly, "What do you think? Can we stand against the current Murim Alliance?"
"...We won't go down easily."
"Which means we'd ultimately lose."
"The Murim Alliance's strength isn't limited to its presence alone."
"I know that. That's why I'm so conflicted. I don't want Sahyeokryeon to be a fleeting spark. I want it to be a place where free-spirited souls gather, compete, and sometimes advance together."
Chaseokdu's voice grew heavy. "In the end, it was the power of the righteous sects, not the unorthodox, that resolved the Ma-ryeong Plateau crisis. And such events will happen again."
His eyes blazed as he reflected on the past. "We must unite for one reason alone: to protect ourselves."
Not a hint of hesitation in his gaze. "Not to kill others or seize their possessions."
Damak, who knew the grand vision Chaseokdu had pursued through long years, nodded slowly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"...Tch, got worked up. Sorry. I get talkative when drunk."
Damak understood Chaseokdu's sentiments too. Few in the unorthodox world shared such goals. Most were lawless and ruthless. Harboring a grand dream alone amid them was no easy feat.
"I'll make it happen, no matter what."
"Good... I leave it to you."
Chaseokdu's voice softened after his outburst, his eyelids drooping as sleepiness set in. Damak prepared to withdraw.
"Oh, right—take this."
Chaseokdu pulled a large wooden box from the side with one hand and placed it on the table.
"What's this?"
"Ah, Jin Sowoon said you might be in danger, so assign you guards or give you protective gear."
"Jin Sowoon... said that?"
Opening the box revealed a robe densely layered with thin iron scales like fish armor.
"It's Iron Scale Robe, one of the treasures of Sahwangbong. Wear it under your clothes at all times."
Damak doubted his ears. "Iron Scale Robe... isn't that your treasure, Alliance Leader?"
Meaning Chaseokdu had just handed over the very treasure he himself wore.
Damak hurriedly closed the box. "I'm fine. You wear it again, Alliance Leader."
"Right now, you're the most vital person in Sahyeokryeon—not me."
"..."
Chaseokdu reached out, reopening the box. "If I die, someone else takes my seat. But if you die, Sahyeokryeon's history ends there. So wear it—for me, for Sahyeokryeon. No refusals."
It might just be an excuse. A consideration for the only non-martial artist in Sahyeokryeon. Damak couldn't refuse his leader's heart.
He expressed his gratitude in his own words. "I'll make Sahyeokryeon... a force rivaling, no, surpassing the Murim Alliance."
"Yes—that's truly what I desire! Kehahahaha."
For some reason, this moment felt as warm to Damak as his days in the Blue Crane Academy.
"Groooan... Groooan..."
A gaunt figure, soot smeared across his eyelids, crawled across the room to the table with great effort.
"W-water..."
This bizarre creature spoke human words, desperately reaching for the table. Watching, Ilgak let out a long sigh and handed over a bowl of water.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp. Ahhh...!"
Emptying the bowl in an instant like parched earth drinking rain, the monster was none other than Jin Sowoon.
"Hoo... I'm dying."
Wiping water from his mouth haphazardly, Jin Sowoon earned a pitying look from Ilgak.
"Jin lay disciple... If it's that bad, just expel the alcohol with your inner energy."
Jin Sowoon shook his head like one who had grasped the truths of the universe.
"Senior Ilgak... If you're gonna expel it, why drink in the first place?"
"..."
[Jin Sowoon seems like an 'enlightened one.']
...My ass.
Namua Amitabul...
Convinced words no longer reached him, Ilgak calmly resumed packing.
Watching, Jin Sowoon tilted his head. "What are you doing?"
"Packing, obviously."
"Why?"
"...We have to return to the Murim Alliance."
Jin Sowoon asked the most obvious question. Ilgak felt bewildered instead.
Was he seriously considering accepting Chaseokdu's offer from yesterday to stay as vice leader?
"So you're staying to become vice leader?"
Dang Seohui voiced Ilgak's doubt with eager eyes.
Having drained another bowl, Jin Sowoon scowled. "What nonsense is that? How could a disciple of Tae-eul Gate, pillar of the righteous sects, live among these heinous unorthodox scum?"
"..."
"..."
"Kaaah... Refreshing!"
Wasn't Jin Sowoon the most feared being in Sahyeokryeon right now? Heinous unorthodox... He seemed more heinous(?) than anyone, thriving among them.
Ilgak struggled to regain composure and asked, "Then why tell us not to pack?"
Mid-sip, Jin Sowoon replied, "Kaaah... I still have important business here."
"Business...?"
Ak Byeongbi and the envoy had cleared their false charges, the hidden hand exposed, treaty signed. What more?
Glancing at Ak Byeongbi for any missed details, he shook his head too.
"I heard nothing."
Ak Byeongbi added, "But if he says there's business, it's bound to be crucial."
"..."
What? Back when they arrived in Shanxi Province, hadn't Ak Byeongbi been dead certain Jin Sowoon was an unorthodox spy, refusing even to share a table? Yet now Jin Sowoon took the flipped attitude in stride.
"So that's that. We'll stay a bit longer."
"Jin lay disciple... Mind telling us what it is first?"
"You'll know soon enough."
"..."
Ilgak felt uneasy lingering even a day more in Sahyeokryeon, but...
"So now you're staying as vice leader?"
"Vice leader? Eh, close enough. Kahahaha."
"Can I be vice leader too?"
"Senior Dang, you're not ready. Need more training."
"I wanna do it too! Vice leader."
"..."
...Seemed like only he felt this way. His head throbbed.
Worried their banter might reach Sahyeokryeon ears, Ilgak circulated energy to block sound.
Amitabul, Amitabul.
It was the moment he first regretted learning martial arts.
The grand hall gathered the pillars of Sahyeokryeon: leaders of the Five Gates, Four Rooms, One Peak.
Sahwangbong's representative should have been Chaseokdu, but as alliance leader, Hwang Busik attended in his stead.
Ilgak swallowed hard surveying the attendees. Equivalent to assembling the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families of the Murim Alliance. Unorthodox ones, no less—and summoned at the call of a righteous greenhorn. This gathering shouldn't exist.
What on earth is he thinking?
The others wore sour expressions too, especially the hardliners, faces twisted like they'd tasted shit.
But what truly made Ilgak anxious was Jin Sowoon himself.
"How long must we wait?"
Indeed. Jin Sowoon had assembled these titans and left them waiting idly, not appearing himself.
Amitabul, Amitabul.
After chanting inwardly a dozen times as his patience burned...
The long-awaited Jin Sowoon appeared.
"Ah, sorry I'm a bit late."
Utterly composed.
A...mitabul...
Clutching a sheaf of papers, Jin Sowoon sat casually at the head seat, infuriating the others further.
"Black Flame Dragon... Getting cocky, eh? Why summon us?"
"Huh? If you didn't want to come, you could've stayed home."
Bam! In response to the flippant remark, the Mad Sword Sect Lord slammed the table.
"Didn't you use the Alliance Leader's seal?!"
Ilgak paled at "Alliance Leader's seal." But Jin Sowoon's follow-up calmed his heart somewhat.
"Of course I asked the Alliance Leader for it—because it's important. Didn't you know?"
"..."
Jin Sowoon's voice turned icy. The Mad Sword Sect Lord ground his teeth, silenced.
Ilgak grew curious too. What merited delaying their return to the Murim Alliance and using the seal to summon these giants?
Jin Sowoon began distributing the papers.
Curious, Ilgak snatched a spare sheet and scanned it. Nearly cursed himself.
"...Shit, what bullshit is this?!"
"What? Reward money? What the hell?!"
Before Ilgak could read fully, profanities erupted.
He read quickly—and almost joined in.
"..."
[Hidden Hand Exposure Reward Payment Details]
- The undersigned hereby awards the bounty to Jin Sowoon for identifying the perpetrator of the murder incident on the new moon of the 15th month of Gapja...
Ah... So this was the "important business" in Sahyeokryeon?
Amita...
Chanting to regain calm, Ilgak emptied his mind, gazed at Jin Sowoon, and smiled faintly.
Damn it, whatever.
A warm smile befitting the moniker "Laughing Buddha."