Chapter 129: Jaseung, Aims to Kill
Jang Wonso, as expected, once again invited Lee Jaseung to the banquet. Lee Jaseung readily accepted this banquet.
Lee Jaseung stood shirtless in front of the bronze mirror. He rarely looked at mirrors, but whenever he needed to steady his mind, he stood like this.
He gazed at the scar engraved across his chest.
It was the scar that had given him his one and only defeat. Whenever he looked at it, he beca humble.
Inside the mirror, Lee Jaseung’s lips moved soundlessly.
I won’t lose again.
Lee Jaseung donned the Heart Protector. He liked the sensation of the armor clinging tightly to his bare skin.
The original Heart Protector he had worn was now on Baek Seolyoung. What he had put on now was the spare one. There were only two Heart Protectors in the entire Black Way Alliance, and they had divided them between the two of them.
After fastening the armor, he wrapped the waist belt around himself. At his side was the dagger Baek Seolyoung had bought for him from the master craftsman of the iron workshop.
There were twenty of those daggers she had given him, and twenty of his own. Forty daggers in total.
Daggers so finely made they could not be surpassed for throwing. Forty would be more than enough.
Over that, he wore his black robes. As always, he packed the poison-repelling bead, dicine for internal injuries, and wound salves. Along with them, he brought a single ergency firework, the special firework reserved for the Leader of the Black Way Alliance.
This was preparation in every sense of the word.
Even a tiger gives its all to catch a single rabbit. If the opponent was the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance, Jang Wonso whose true intentions could never be seen, then he had to be careful again and again.
Dan Woobin entered the room and reported.
“The carriage sent by the Alliance Leader has arrived.”
“I’m ready.”
“What about the Heart Protector? The poison-repelling bead? And did you pack the ergency firework?”
At Dan Woobin’s fussing, Lee Jaseung chuckled.
“I didn’t say it to make you laugh. Please, check once more.”
“There’s only one thing I need to take.”
“And that is?”
Lee Jaseung pointed to his head.
“My mind.”
“You always keep that sharp anyway.”
The two stepped outside. Before boarding the carriage, Lee Jaseung asked,
“And her?”
Baek Seolyoung was nowhere to be seen.
Dan Woobin hesitated slightly before answering.
“The Lady is… learning to cook right now.”
“Haha.”
Lee Jaseung laughed as he climbed into the carriage.
Baek Seolyoung watched from the window as the carriage departed. She had claid she wanted to learn cooking from Dan Ah.
If she went to see him off, her worry would show too clearly on her face. She didn’t want him to see such a side of her. So she did not go to send him off.
Yet as she watched him leave, she regretted not at least saying farewell.
She soon shook her head and turned back to Dan Ah.
“Today, teach sothing spicy and fiery.”
* * *
Lee Jaseung and Jang Wonso were walking along the forest path.
A few steps ahead of them was the sa warrior who had guided them last ti.
“How did you find the last banquet?”
“It was excellent. I’m curious to see how today will be.”
Lee Jaseung answered with confidence, his face even showing open anticipation.
Jang Wonso smiled warmly.
“Then today as well, I’ll give you reason to look forward to it.”
“I wonder if I’m not just showing you too many unseemly sides of myself.”
“Hahaha. Heroes, as the saying goes, never discriminate when it cos to won.”
“Hehehe. Thanks to you, Alliance Leader, I feel like I can at least pretend to have the bearing of a hero.”
“My friend! Pretend? You are already a hero of the martial world.”
The exchange sounded pleasant enough, but Lee Jaseung’s heart was cold.
He was determined to kill Jang Wonso before this forest path ended.
If he struck here, he would only need to kill two people. But if he let them reach the hidden manor, the number he would need to kill would multiply.
There were still about five li to the manor. He had plenty of ti.
Lee Jaseung readied his Qi.
He planned to strike with a surprise attack and finish it in a single move. He intended to unleash both the Yama's Dagger Art and his body techniques at the sa ti.
If he burst forth with five hundred and forty years worth of Qi all at once, he was confident he could kill Jang Wonso no matter what secret trump card he possessed.
He would strike Jang Wonso first, then kill the escort martial artist.
He could not allow even a trace of preparation to be noticed. His Qi would have to explode out in an instant.
Lee Jaseung envisioned how it would unfold.
The martial world was filled with countless techniques, many beyond imagination. Perhaps Jang Wonso might respond in an unforeseen way.
But no matter what martial art he had learned, it would not be easy for him to stop this ambush.
Most likely, he would try to block with his hand and raise protective Qi.
Lee Jaseung would tear through it and kill him on the spot.
He quietly drew up his Qi, steadying his breath and mind.
One, two…
Just as Lee Jaseung was about to launch his attack,
Whirr—
Soone landed before them.
If it had been anyone else, Lee Jaseung would have attacked without hesitation. He would have killed Jang Wonso first and then decided what to do afterward.
But when he saw who had appeared, he could not.
It was soone utterly unexpected. It was none other than Yim Sayeon.
Jang Wonso was just as shocked. He too knew Yim Sayeon.
“Elder? Elder, how is it that you’re here?”
Lee Jaseung’s eyes sharpened.
Jang Wonso knew her?
Yim Sayeon smiled as she greeted them.
“Have you been well?”
Jang Wonso hurried forward and bowed deeply.
“It has been a long ti. How have you been?”
Though he was the mighty Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance, Jang Wonso treated her with respect due to a great elder.
“Haha, I’ve been fine.”
Outwardly he smiled, but inside Jang Wonso was unsettled. The path to this secret manor was known to only a handful. For her to know it ant she also knew what happened within the manor.
‘I don’t like the feeling of this.’
As he smiled at Jang Wonso, Yim Sayeon turned her gaze to Lee Jaseung.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, it has been a long ti.”
Yim Sayeon spoke as though she already knew him.
Jang Wonso looked puzzled.
“You know Expert Seop?”
Yim Sayeon did not bother to conceal the fact.
“I have ties with Seolyoung, who is married to him. So yes, I’ve t him a few tis.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jang Wonso looked back at Lee Jaseung, and the glint in his eye clearly held lingering suspicion.
Lee Jaseung forced himself to appear calm.
The one who should have been suspicious at this point was not Jang Wonso, but Lee Jaseung himself.
Why did Yim Sayeon appear here? How did she know the secret path to the manor?
And why, of all monts, did she appear at the exact instant he had been about to kill Jang Wonso?
Could this possibly be a coincidence?
As Lee Jaseung worked through the possibilities, he arrived at one conclusion.
She had co to save Jang Wonso!
The forces behind the Murim Alliance had realized that Lee Jaseung intended to kill him.
Yim Sayeon’s son was closely tied to that organization. Which ant the organization knew her well. They must have judged that she was the most natural person to stop this.
Lee Jaseung did not know who had made the decision, but he was impressed. It was the best possible move.
With Yim Sayeon standing there, he could not kill Jang Wonso after all.
His guess was right.
Rain had persuaded Water to move Yim Sayeon.
At that mont, soone ca running up from behind.
It was the commander of Jang Wonso’s bodyguards.
“There is urgent news to report.”
He whispered his report to Jang Wonso, whose expression hardened.
“My apologies, but I must go at once. I’ll formally host you another ti.”
Though he tried to look composed, the shock and confusion were evident.
What kind of report had he just received?
Whatever it was, one thing was clear. It was an excuse crafted to remove him from this place. Soone was determined to protect him.
After bowing to Yim Sayeon, Jang Wonso also gave farewell to Lee Jaseung.
“We’ll have to postpone today’s drinking.”
“As you wish.”
Once he hurried off, only Lee Jaseung and Yim Sayeon remained.
“Why don’t you ask?”
“Ask what?”
“Why I saved Jang Wonso.”
She did not try to hide her intentions.
“I don’t know what you an.”
“You’re angry at .”
Truthfully, he was. Not so angry he couldn’t bear it, but he had not expected her to interfere in his affairs.
Yim Sayeon spoke softly.
“I have sothing to tell you.”
What she said next was astonishing.
“Have you ever heard of the Hainan Sect’s treasure?”
But Lee Jaseung was not surprised. He had long thought that everything began because of that treasure.
“Yes. And what’s more, the Alliance Leader believes to be the successor of the Hainan Sect.”
“So he does.”
“What exactly happened back then?”
“At that ti, a rumor spread through the martial world. Word that the Hainan Sect had obtained a once-in-an-era treasure that could make them rulers of the world.”
Of course. The martial world was always sensitive to rumors. Bloodbaths could erupt from a single whisper.
“The Hainan Sect responded poorly. They should have carried on as if nothing were amiss, but instead they claid they had to seal their gates because the rumor was shaking the disciples’ hearts.”
“To martial artists, it must have looked like they were preparing to use that treasure to build power.”
“Exactly. But in ti, the rumors faded.”
Lee Jaseung’s eyes narrowed. Soone had deliberately buried the rumor.
“Was it Jang Wonso?”
“Yes. Jang Wonso, along with Ban Yeo. Not long after he rose to Alliance Leader.”
The culprits behind the Hainan Sect incident were now revealed.
It was no surprise. The fact that they had held the Limitless Steps Manual had already been proof enough.
“Jang Wonso moved without being noticed by the powers behind him.”
“But weren’t they keeping him under watch? How could he do that?”
After a pause, Yim Sayeon spoke heavily.
“Because I helped him.”
“Because of your son?”
Yim Sayeon let out a long sigh. The mory left her heart heavy with grief.
“Have you ever fought with your family?”
Lee Jaseung shook his head. His mother had died early, leaving no chance of conflict. His father, too, had died when he was very young.
The sa with his grandfather. They had all passed away before he had truly co of age.
“I could not bring myself to cut ties completely with my son. I should have, but I didn’t.”
Her sigh was deep and bitter.
“We fought constantly. The rift between us only deepened. I was consud with anger, beyond re disappointnt. Jang Wonso used that anger. He guided into striking back at my son.”
It was hard to believe Yim Sayeon had fallen for such a trick. But it was her son, and so she had.
“Who destroyed the Hainan Sect?”
Lee Jaseung’s eyes locked on hers. He did not think she had done it.
“I don’t know. Likely one of Jang Wonso’s close aides.”
She sighed again.
“Even if I didn’t do it myself, I am still responsible. I didn’t stop it.”
She was right.
Even if she had not imagined they would annihilate the sect, she must have known they ant to seize the treasure.
She was guilty.
She must have lived a life of penance. But a life of penance did not erase sin.
When Lee Jaseung had once visited her to bid farewell before going to the Murim Alliance with Baek Seolyoung, he had noticed the darkness on her face. Now he understood why.
“What beca of the treasure?”
“There were four items. One was the Iron Chest. One was a pair of Gauntlets. One was a manual of movent techniques. And the last was a map. Not long after they obtained them, soone stole the Iron Chest and disappeared. So no one knows what was inside. The movent manual had no inner cultivation thod, so it was useless. The Gauntlets had so value, but only for soone who used fist techniques.”
Lee Jaseung had already learned these things from Ban Yeo.
And by fate, three of those treasures had ended up in his hands.
Now he understood.
Why they went so far as to send Yim Sayeon to save Jang Wonso.
It was because Jang Wonso had the map.
They had let him live all this ti, despite his treachery, in order to pursue that map. It must be far more important than the other three treasures combined.
Lee Jaseung’s eyes glead as he asked,
“And that last treasure, the map. What does it show?”
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