Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Misjudgment
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“Ah…… Sorry about that.”
Paeng Se Gi grinned as he withdrew his iron rod and stepped back.
It was only natural for the squad leader to be irritated.
Once Paeng Se Gi had started detecting his stealth, he kept sniffing it out and causing a ruckus.
“Se Gi. That's enough.”
Se Yeong found the whole thing ridiculous and scolded him gently.
“Understood, Brother.”
Wearing a smug look, he twirled the iron rod a few times and sauntered off toward the training grounds.
“Yeong Gak. Come here.”
Se Yeong beckoned to Yeong Gak, who was diligently throwing punches.
Yeong Gak halted his training and came scurrying over.
“What's the matter, Han Daehyeop?”
“You can detect the squad leader's stealth too, right?”
Se Yeong fixed him with a sharp glare.
Yeong Gak flinched and tried to play dumb.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Look at this monk. Ten days ago, you couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but you sensed the squad leader hiding nearby just fine. Lately, though, you've been pretending not to notice at all and letting him ambush you. You trying to get yourself killed, monk?”
Se Yeong laid into him, and Yeong Gak clasped his hands together and shut his eyes.
“Om mani padme hum.”
The way this guy only recited the six-syllable mantra when things turned against him just made everyone even angrier.
“Spar with me today. I'll beat you half to death.”
Only then did he finally admit his mistake.
“My back's hurting today, so I don't think I can spar. It won't happen again, so please take pity on this humble monk.”
“Listen up, monk. The squad leader won't be ambushing you anymore. So cut out the sly fox act.”
“Om mani padme hum.”
Yeong Gak recited his mantra and backed away.
That left Hahu Yeon, Yi Cheon Yeong, Dang Ok, and Sa Sa Un as the remaining squad members.
Yi Hwa and Yi Gu, the siblings, had only just begun their martial arts training, so there were no expectations there.
Hahu Yeon would detect the squad leader's stealth within a few days, but the real issues were Yi Cheon Yeong, Dang Ok, and Sa Sa Un.
Sa Sa Un's one thing, but Yi Cheon Yeong and Dang Ok need to step it up.
The squad leader abruptly materialized before Se Yeong, dropping out of stealth.
“About twenty martial artists are heading this way toward the manor.”
He delivered the message and vanished once more.
After lying low for a while, it's starting up again.
Se Yeong stepped out of the manor alone, without calling the squad.
He opened the gate and looked outside, spotting the martial artists approaching from the distance.
The face of the man leading them looked familiar.
The Strategist?
It wasn't just the Strategist—members of the Elusive Squadron and some unfamiliar faces were there too.
Namgung Seok and Baek Mong were among the twenty or so warriors.
“Brother. They aren't here to subjugate us, are they?”
Paeng Se Gi had shown up late and was eyeing the Strategist and the others as he asked.
“Maybe.”
The warriors catching Se Yeong's eye were five strangers mixed in with the Elusive Squadron members.
They appeared to be in their mid-thirties to early forties, and the auras radiating naturally from them were anything but ordinary.
Paeng Se Gi had sensed their auras too—his expression grew grave.
“Those guys…… they don't look like ordinary warriors.”
The fact that even Paeng Se Gi could pick up on their auras showed just how effective the squad leader's relentless ambushes had been.
“Probably the Alliance Leader's personal guards.”
Instructor Gang had a guess about their identities.
“I heard the late Infinite Sword Immortal took in orphans during his lifetime and taught them martial arts himself. I even instructed them once myself. They're the Martial Peak Squad from the Murim Alliance.”
“It's been a while. Instructor Gang, you haven't changed a bit.”
The Strategist spoke up first with a greeting once they were within about ten jang.
Se Yeong returned the courtesy, and the squad members followed suit.
“Long time no see, Strategist.”
“Greetings, Strategist.”
“Please, come on in.”
As the Strategist and squad exchanged formalities, Namgung Seok scanned them with piercing eyes.
Once the greetings wrapped up, Se Yeong got to the point.
“What brings you here?”
“I have some urgent business to discuss.”
Se Yeong glanced at the unfamiliar warriors, and the Strategist quickly clarified.
“I didn't come with them because of you. So don't misunderstand.”
“I trust you, Strategist. Come inside.”
He wouldn't have believed those words from anyone else.
But the Strategist was a different story.
The Strategist and Elusive Squadron warriors marveled as they looked around the manor.
It was impressive enough that they'd secured such a large estate in a short time, but the fact that they were living even better than they had back in the Tenth Squad of the Elusive Squadron was downright astonishing.
“How'd you get your hands on this manor?”
“Sold a gold mine.”
“And how'd you get the gold mine?”
“Sprinkled gold around until we had one.”
Hahaha……!
The Strategist let out a hearty laugh.
He could easily guess how they'd obtained the manor from those offhand answers.
After laughing his fill, he propped his Judge's Brush against the outdoor table and took a seat.
“Looks like you've set up some formations around the manor.”
“We've had people trying to sneak in.”
The Strategist nodded at Se Yeong's response, then grew serious.
“Did the Heaven Dominating Blade King stop by here?”
Se Yeong immediately caught the meaning hidden in that question.
He's here because he's wondering why I'm still alive.
“He did. Thanks to Se Gi, I barely escaped with my life.”
The Strategist was an upright man, but Se Yeong saw no reason to tell him the full truth.
“When did he come by?”
“Right after we got this manor—so less than a month after leaving the Murim Alliance.”
“Just as I thought.”
The Strategist looked regretful that his suspicions had been confirmed.
The rumor that Han Se Yeong was in Sacheon had undoubtedly been spread by the Heaven Dominating Blade King.
The man had a fiery temper, but he was equally broad-minded.
Thanks to the Heaven Dominating Blade King finding them before the Four Hundred Clans did, they dodged a disaster.
Had he arrived after hearing the Four Hundred Clans' rumors, he might have fallen into the White Master's trap and met the same fate as the Six Net Sword Queen.
“By any chance, did the Six Net Sword Queen……”
As the Strategist started to ask about her, one of the warriors who'd been inspecting the manor hurried over and whispered in his ear.
“There seems to be an assassin hiding somewhere in the manor.”
“An assassin……?”
The Strategist was startled by the report, but so was Se Yeong.
They really are something else.
The squad had only been able to detect the assassin's stealth because the squad leader had been ambushing them nonstop.
There was a world of difference between sensing a known presence and discovering one from scratch.
“We don't know the exact position yet, but there's definitely a top-tier assassin hiding here.”
The Strategist stared at Se Yeong in shock.
“You knew?”
“Yes. It's an assassin the Moyong Family hired to take my head.”
His face twisted into an ugly grimace at Se Yeong's answer.
Renowned clans and sects never dealt with assassins—not even on speaking terms.
Far from it—they treated them like mortal enemies and rooted out their hideouts to wipe them out.
And for good reason: generations of family members had lost their lives to assassin ambushes.
“Why haven't you killed him?”
“In exchange for sparing his life, he's helping train my squad members.”
The Strategist was so flabbergasted he lost his words for a moment.
The fact that Se Yeong and his squad were totally unfazed by an assassin's presence in their manor was mind-blowing.
“First time hearing that assassins can help with martial arts training.”
“Regardless, I promised to let him live, and I intend to keep my word.”
The more the Strategist talked with Se Yeong, the more it pained him.
What a shame. Truly a shame. If only he'd been born into a prominent family—he could've been a pillar of the martial world.
Someone this bold was one in a million.
In truth, Heavenly Martial Squad warriors and the Alliance Leader's personal guards were lying in wait about five or six ri from the village.
The Strategist and Elusive Squadron members had set themselves up as bait to lure out the White Master.
As he sank into thought, Se Yeong observed the Elusive Squadron warriors.
Paeng Se Gi and Yi Cheon Yeong were chatting with Namgung Seok, while the others wandered around inspecting the manor.
Baek Mong, who was looking around alone, crooked a finger at Se Yeong.
Me?
Se Yeong pointed at himself.
She flashed a bright smile and nodded.
“Sa Sa Un, bring some tea.”
Se Yeong stood up.
“Excuse me for a moment, Strategist.”
“What brings you all the way out here?”
Namgung Seok answered Paeng Se Gi's question in a sour tone.
“None of your business.”
In truth, he'd come here on no one's orders but his own.
When Han Se Yeong and the Tenth Squad had left the Murim Alliance, he'd figured Han Se Yeong would be dead within two or three months at most, and the squad would come crawling back.
But not only was Han Se Yeong still alive—he'd even acquired a manor and was thriving.
And as the days passed, his reputation only grew, until the entire Murim Alliance was buzzing about Han Se Yeong and his squad.
What if he'd been a member of the Tenth Squad?
He never could've followed Han Se Yeong.
His father was an untouchable heaven—he demanded absolute obedience.
Yet Han Se Yeong and his squad had rejected that father and were still living just fine.
“Still got that prickly personality, I see.”
Paeng Se Gi and Yi Cheon Yeong gave up on the conversation and turned away.
That's when Namgung Seok spoke up.
“No regrets about that decision, even now?”
He was probably referring to the squad's choice to leave the Murim Alliance.
Paeng Se Gi and Yi Cheon Yeong exchanged glances and smirked.
“The best thing that ever happened to me was meeting Brother.”
“Meeting Han Daehyeop is the greatest stroke of luck in my life.”
“Got some business to discuss?”
Se Yeong asked, and she glanced up at the roof of the nearby building.
“The assassin up on the roof—he's the Black Moon Squad Leader, right?”
Incredibly, she'd pinpointed his exact hiding spot.
“How'd you know?”
“I'm pretty close with Squad Leader Grandpa. Anyway, you're really living it up, huh?”
“You don't die, you find a way to live.”
“Truly impressive.”
She strolled alongside Se Yeong through the manor as if savoring the conversation.
“Who else from the Four Hundred Clans showed up?”
“A guy called the Black-Faced Ghost Venerable.”
Baek Mong halted mid-step at Se Yeong's answer.
Her father had called him the Black-Faced Ghost and dismissed him as worthless, but he'd never underestimated the man's martial prowess.
The only reason he hadn't eliminated him early was because his skills were so formidable.
She'd heard that the Black-Faced Ghost Venerable and the Six Net Sword Queen had crossed paths once before.
They hadn't settled the fight back then because their sword styles were so eerily similar.
No way Father……
Collecting her thoughts, she placed a hand on Se Yeong's shoulder and leaned in close to his ear.
“Never say a word about killing the Six Net Sword Queen. It won't do you any good.”
Se Yeong shivered at the feel of her warm, soft breath.
Hohoho……!
She burst into giggles and pulled back.
“You a virgin or something?”
What kind of woman is this?
Se Yeong recoiled in disgust, scowling.
“What about you, Miss Baek? Still pure?”
Baek Mong flashed a wicked smile.
“Obviously.”
“The Six Net Sword Queen and her disciples have vanished without a trace. Have you run into them here by any chance?”
Yeong Gak clasped his hands and closed his eyes at the Strategist's question.
“Om mani padme hum. How could a servant of the Buddha ever lie? I've never even laid eyes on the Six Net Sword Queen or her disciples.”
He lied with utter confidence.
If he told the truth about everything he'd seen and heard, countless martial artists would end up dead.
A lie was only natural in this case, and the Buddha would surely forgive it.
Sa Sa Un and the siblings, watching from a short distance away, kept their heads bowed and their eyes darting nervously.
If the Strategist asked them, they'd give the exact same answer as Yeong Gak.
If word got out that the Six Net Sword Queen and her Emei Sect disciples were dead, they'd come swarming like angry bees—who could handle that?
“Just as I thought.”
The Strategist nodded along, and Yeong Gak shot a quick glance at Sa Sa Un and the siblings.
“Dinner's almost ready. Better start prepping the food. Lots of guests today—you'll have to work hard.”
Just to be safe, he shooed Sa Sa Un and the siblings off to the kitchen.