A Sister's Path
I left the banquet hall and headed toward a rather secluded corner.
It was a dead end at the end of an alley. Judging by the stacked crates, it looked like some sort of makeshift warehouse.
"Did you sleep well?"
Sitting atop those stacked crates was Bang Seo-jin, greeting me.
She was slightly taller than me, and her legs looked even longer.
Sitting there with her legs elegantly crossed, she might have looked somewhat alluring to anyone else.
...What a joke.
But since we shared the same blood, she just looked like she was putting on ridiculous airs.
"What's with that look? Do you have something to say to your big sister?"
She was quick-witted. Before she could catch me cursing her in my head, I quickly smoothed my expression and spoke.
"Yeah. I came to see you because I have something to say."
I glanced at the emblem emblazoned on her chest.
The Murim Alliance. Specifically, the symbol proving she belonged to the elite of the main headquarters.
Looking at it, I asked,
"...What's the deal here?"
"What is?"
"Why are you wearing that, Sis?"
What did it mean to be a member of the main Alliance headquarters? It meant you were the symbol and the absolute elite force of the Murim Alliance.
Even among martial artists of the orthodox sects, it was incredibly difficult to get in.
In terms of difficulty...
...it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was on par with the Sowol Squadron.
...And my sister is a member of the main headquarters?
I was utterly bewildered. What on earth had she been doing during the years since she ran away from home?
When I asked out of sheer confusion,
"Haha."
Bang Seo-jin burst into laughter.
"Look who's talking."
She smiled with her eyes as she spoke, causing my body to stiffen slightly.
She had a point. Setting her aside, my current situation was probably even harder to comprehend.
"My little brother. I guess you were more talented than I thought. In the Sowol Squadron at your age? Do you have any idea how shocked I was?"
"...Hahaha."
"And the successor of the Sword Saint? What exactly happened while I was away from home?"
"...Just a fair share of things, I suppose."
"Can I give you the same answer then?"
"If we're calling it even, that works for me—"
Thwack!
Something flew past my head. Glancing down, I saw a tree branch embedded in the ground right next to me.
Crazy bitch.
"Still playing cheeky word games, I see?"
"...And you're still as violent as ever, Sis."
"Violent women are the ones who get all the popularity."
"No, pretty women get all the popularity."
"Then we're good. Since I'm pretty."
"...Where does that self-esteem even come from?"
I couldn't deny it, though. The family bloodline was incredibly strong; if you were born a Bang, you were guaranteed to be good-looking, if nothing else.
"Hmm..."
Seeing my awkward expression, Bang Seo-jin kept her smirk.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk. I have plenty of things I can't talk about either. And..."
Tap.
Sitting high up, Bang Seo-jin lightly hopped down to the ground.
"Honestly, I didn't come here to ask you about that anyway."
"Then why...?"
She slowly approached me, stopping right in front of my nose before asking,
"How have you been?"
"Huh?"
"I've been doing pretty well. What about you?"
"...Me? Well..."
It felt wrong to say I'd been doing well. My days had been a non-stop cycle of getting beaten to a pulp.
"...Just okay, I guess?"
But it wasn't like I'd been doing terribly either, so I tried to brush it off vaguely.
"Is anyone picking on you?"
"I'm not a kid, Sis."
Oh, I was definitely being picked on.
The problem was that the bully happened to be a ghost, and the former World's Greatest at that.
"If anyone does, tell me. Your big sister is pretty strong."
"Ah... is that so?"
I knew full well she couldn't do anything to him even if I told her.
And that would have been even truer back when he was alive.
"...So, what are you actually doing here right now?"
Setting aside how we had survived up until now,
what was the current situation?
Why was she wearing that uniform and standing there earlier? At my question,
"Ah, that?"
Bang Seo-jin replied nonchalantly.
"I'm one of the Strategist's bodyguards. I belong to the Guard Unit."
"Ah, so that's why... Wait, what? A bodyguard?"
The realization hit me late, and my eyes widened.
Jegal Jin's bodyguard?
"Yeah. Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'...? Getting into the Guard Unit is a huge deal."
Even among the various units of the main headquarters, the Guard Unit held a prestigious position.
Since they had to protect high-ranking figures, I heard you had to be at least at the Peak Expert realm to get in.
"Hmm."
At my surprise, Bang Seo-jin said,
"I haven't been in it for very long either. They had to draft a lot of new personnel recently because of an incident."
"An incident?"
"Yeah. Apparently, the Captain of the Guard was killed."
"...What?"
What kind of shocking news was this now?
The Captain of the Guard was dead?
"I didn't hear the details, but... I think they said he was a spy?"
"...What the hell?"
The Captain of the Guard, a position chosen from the absolute cream of the crop, was a spy?
"Are you allowed to tell me this kind of stuff?"
"Who cares? Just don't go around saying I told you."
"...Right, okay."
"Anyway, they had to quickly clean house and fill the vacancies, so I got lucky and made the cut."
"...And then you ended up as the Strategist's bodyguard?"
"Exactly. I heard the Strategist picked me out himself."
"..."
My head throbbed slightly. It was weird enough that Bang Seo-jin had entered the main headquarters, but Jegal Jin personally selecting her from the Guard Unit?
Could this...
...be because of me too? No, to be precise...
...because of her last name?
I wondered if he had chosen her simply because she belonged to the Yoryeong Bang Clan.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Since I couldn't read Jegal Jin's mind, it was just a passing suspicion.
"Anyway, it's good to see your face after so long. Are those bastards doing well?"
"Those bastards."
It was obvious who she meant.
"They're doing alright."
She was referring to our father and older brother.
When I answered with them in mind, Bang Seo-jin's face scowled.
"They shouldn't be doing well."
"..."
She looked completely sincere.
I would have thought that was a bit harsh for family, but honestly, I felt the same way.
"They need to go completely bankrupt."
"More than they already are?"
They had already hit rock bottom and dug straight through to the basement. I didn't know how they could possibly ruin themselves any further.
"You should get out of there too when the time is right. Oh, wait, did you already leave?"
"..."
If she meant running away from home like she did, it was half a failure and half a success.
"...I'll try."
"Good. Oh, and my master said they wanted to meet you."
"Your master?"
Bang Seo-jin's master?
Well, she couldn't have become a martial artist without a master.
"Who is your master?"
Wondering if it was someone I knew, I asked. Bang Seo-jin replied with a slightly reluctant expression.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't know. Anyway, I'll come find you later."
"Wait..."
Coming to find me when I didn't even know who they were? I smelled a massive hassle.
Just as I was about to buy some time by saying I needed to prepare myself mentally,
Fweeeeeeeet!
A piercing sound echoed from a distance.
"Oh, they're calling. I'm off!"
"Wait, Sis—!"
At the sound of the whistle, Bang Seo-jin immediately leaped away. I had noticed it last time too, but she was incredibly fast.
By the time I turned around, she was already long gone.
"Ha."
She vanished after only saying what she wanted to say again.
It was absurd.
"Seriously, what is her deal?"
In the end, she had only talked about herself before leaving.
She was a stubborn lone wolf, now just as she had been in the past.
Afterward, I walked out into the prefecture.
Normally, I would have left with the companions who were supposed to be waiting for me.
They... left me behind?
But no such companions existed.
They had ditched me long ago.
I thought they would at least wait a little bit, but they had taken off without a second thought.
I knew exactly where they had returned to anyway, but thanks to them, I had to walk through the prefecture alone.
"Ugh."
There were so many people. Part of it was because this was the heart of Henan, but it was especially packed due to the upcoming Yongbong Association.
It was almost impossible to squeeze through.
As I struggled to push my way through the crowd,
Whoosh.
Huh?
Someone brushed past me.
Of course, with such a large crowd, there was nothing strange about someone passing by.
But what is this?
Their appearance was rather peculiar. A figure wearing a black cloak pulled all the way down over their head.
Their face wasn't visible, but catching a brief glimpse of their chin, I could see it was pale to the point of being bloodless.
It was certainly an unusual look, but...
...Who is that?
It nagged at me.
I cast a quick glance and then looked away.
Right then,
[That is...]
Yoo Chun-gil spoke.
Since I couldn't speak out loud, I just looked at Yoo Chun-gil. He was staring backward with a visibly startled expression.
What was it?
Following the direction of his gaze, I saw the cloaked figure who had just passed me.
The figure quickly vanished into the crowd.
Only then did I ask quietly,
"...What's wrong?"
[...]
Yoo Chun-gil did not answer my question.
"Old man?"
When I asked again, the silent Yoo Chun-gil finally spoke.
[It is nothing. I must have misseen.]
Even as he said so, his gaze remained fixed on the crowd.
What was that about?
Curious, I asked one more time, but
[Let us go.]
Yoo Chun-gil refused to give me an answer.
I didn't know who he had mistaken them for, but from his trembling eyes and unusually stiff expression, it was clear he had recalled something highly unpleasant.
A quiet room. Light streamed through the window frame, illuminating the darkness. Silence hung beneath stacks of letters.
Beyond the messy office, the desk was strangely pristine.
Upon it sat two teacups.
One of them floated in the air for a moment before landing with a soft click.
Clack.
Trickle.
Water filled the empty teacup.
As he carefully poured the tea, the person sitting across from the old man asked,
"How was he?"
A pause.
The person pouring the tea,
Jegal Jin, looked up at his companion.
"What do you mean?"
"Your impression of meeting him."
"You ask useless questions."
Jegal Jin spoke with irritation, but the other man remained completely unperturbed.
"Alliance Leader. I tell you again, it was an entirely pointless endeavor."
His companion was none other than the Alliance Leader, Sinchang.
"What reason do I have to look upon the child of that wretched bastard?"
"..."
Sinchang nodded silently. Even that attitude displeased Jegal Jin.
"Mind your own business."
"..."
"What about you? What was your impression of seeing him in person? You went so far as to exert your influence just because you were curious."
"..."
At the question, Sinchang fell silent.
Knowing that this silence meant the man was contemplating, Jegal Jin did not rush him.
After waiting a brief moment,
"Not yet."
A short reply came.
Not yet.
Did it mean it was too early to judge?
Or,
...did it mean he wasn't even worth evaluating?
If it was the former, it was a compliment; if the latter, it was meaningless. Jegal Jin did not pry further.
It would be ridiculous to dwell on it.
Tsk.
Explaining the second preliminary round himself.
He had only done it because Sinchang pushed him into it, but there could hardly be anything more absurd.
What a waste of time.
He found Sinchang's meddling, knowing his personal circumstances, highly uncomfortable.
He had severed ties with that place long ago.
Just as he had with his youngest daughter's final ties.
He had truly cut all ties after writing that recommendation letter, which he only did because that bastard to be torn to shreds had begged on his knees.
And now, of all times...
...he had to cross paths with him.
Facing the child of his youngest daughter, a descendant of the Bang family, Jegal Jin had only one thought.
His eyes resemble hers.
Lamentably, the boy resembled his daughter more than his father.
He recalled the eyes that had looked at him in surprise.
Seeing them, he knew.
He knows.
It seemed the young lad knew exactly what their relationship was.
That was why.
That was why he had childishly vented his anger, unbecoming of his age.
"Sigh."
He let out a sigh and sipped his tea.
"...Enough of that."
He deliberately changed the subject.
There was a reason they were meeting in the first place.
"Let's get to the main point."
"..."
At Jegal Jin's words, the look in Sinchang's eyes shifted.
"Alliance Leader. Information has come in."
The moment Sinchang focused his gaze on Jegal Jin,
"It seems the Patheongung is plotting something. Their target appears to be Henan... but what is more important is..."
A sharp light flared in Jegal Jin's eyes.
"...that their plot seems to be connected to the Demonic Cult."
Crash!
The moment the words left his mouth, the teacup Sinchang was holding shattered into pieces.
At that moment,
"Ah!"
Jegal Jin shouted, looking at the ruined cup.
"I told you to hold it gently! Did I not tell you to stop breaking them?!"
Jegal Jin vented his anger fiercely at Sinchang.
"...My apologies."
Sinchang spoke awkwardly as he began to clean up the broken pieces.