“Then I’ll go.”
When Unhwi nodded, Hwa Muryeong turned around with an awkward expression.
As she slowly walked away, Unhwi’s voice ca from behind her.
“Don’t worry.”
Hwa Muryeong turned her head.
“I don’t know anything about a man nad Dong Yuseong, but once this matter is finished, his wandering soul will find release.”
He ant it.
Hwa Muryeong left, and Unhwi, left alone in the Annex, stared out at the garden and sank into thought.
All sorts of possibilities surfaced in his mind.
He had never t Shin Jueon in the past, but he could guess what kind of person he was.
The information he had obtained from Seo Hyo and Jang Seok, and even Han Murin’s past.
It wasn’t difficult to grasp.
He quietly closed his eyes.
The Heavenly Alliance was a placent.
Before coming to the Heavenly Alliance, he had told Noh Cheonmyeong that he would not be returning for at least a year.
That was true.
Unhwi had no intention of being buried here.
Just as he had told Hyun Sim, who had visited not long ago, he intended to return to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace soday.
Before that, he intended to finish everything he had to do.
Han Murin’s revenge.
His promise with Fla King Hwa Munyeom.
He opened his eyes.
Unhwi’s ultimate purpose had not changed for a single mont.
The Snow Palace’s eternal peace.
And the destruction of the demon-path Preceptor, Yucheong.
“Chief Seong.”
At Unhwi’s call, Chief Seong, who had been waiting nearby, ran to his side at lightning speed.
“Prepare paper and brush, and the finest carrier pigeon.”
Seeing how much healthier Unhwi looked, Chief Seong smiled.
“Of course, young master. I’ll bring it right away.”
***
Shin Jueon, who was in the Palace Lord Hall of the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace, was reading two letters back and forth.
He sends his regards to Palace Lord Shin Jueon, the Fla-Illusion Sword Sovereign.
According to the letter you recently sent to our alliance, you said that Han Murin at my side resembles the blood relative of Vice Lord Dong Yuseong who was purged in the past by the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace.
I, too, have thought deeply about that possibility, but the truth is that it is difficult to conclude.
As more than ten years have passed, his appearance could have changed, and above all, I understand that Dong Yuseong’s family all lost their lives at the ti.
However, if you wish to confirm it in person, I will gladly arrange that opportunity.
Please co to the Heavenly Alliance and judge for yourself.
Heavenly Arbiter Seol Unhwi.
At the end of the letter, Seol Unhwi’s seal was stamped.
He read the next letter.
Hwa Muryeong sends her respects to the Sect Master.
I have given deep thought to the suspicion delivered by Han Cheolsu.
In truth, I cannot be certain whether Han Murin at the side of the Heavenly Arbiter is indeed the youngest son of Vice Lord Dong Yuseong.
Because countless sages throughout long history have proven how drastically a person’s appearance can change as the years pass, I cannot give you a firm assertion.
Above all, I do not believe a matter of such gravity can be judged by conjecture alone.
I hope you will co in person and confirm it. That will be the surest way to resolve all doubts.
The letter sent by Seol Unhwi, and the letter sent by Hwa Muryeong.
The contents of the two were almost identical.
They said they could not be sure whether the existence called Han Murin was truly Dong Murin, Dong Yuseong’s youngest son, so he should co and judge in person.
It was absurd.
Seol Unhwi was one thing, but Hwa Muryeong—that arrogant bitch.
“Ha.”
He had told himself maybe, just maybe, but it was clear she had betrayed him.
For more than ten years, he had shoved her into a corner and excluded her from everything.
And yet, because she endured stubbornly, he had given her a chance by sending her as a dispatch to the Heavenly Alliance.
And this creature, worse than garbage, dared.
Crunch, his fist clenched hard.
More than anything, the content of the letters was a spectacle. They had things to hide, stains they didn’t want exposed, yet they were telling him to co in person?
Ha.
A hollow laugh burst out.
He had nothing to say.
‘Do these bastards really think I’m an idiot?’
How was this any different from saying they had dug a pit and wanted him to step into it?
Shin Jueon was not that stupid.
Then, by his ear, he heard a man’s voice.
“Sect Master, it seems the contents of the letters have upset you.”
Shin Jueon raised his head. In front of him was a man placing stones onto a go board.
It was the Vice Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance, Jegal Yeonghyeon.
In middle age, with a beard, he always wore a gentle smile, but his gaze alone was sharp to the extre.
Worthy of soone who served as the brains of the Martial Alliance, he possessed an observant eye that missed nothing.
“What do you think of Seol Unhwi?”
Shin Jueon asked as he lifted a go stone.
Jegal Yeonghyeon wore an expression as if thinking for a mont.
“I think he’s an insolent, arrogant man without equal. His talent is certainly outstanding, but intoxicated by that talent, he overestimates himself—the typical image of a young prodigy. The sort who mistakes the world for sothing that turns around him.”
Shin Jueon nodded and handed the two letters he had been holding to Jegal Yeonghyeon.
“I think so as well. Read these.”
Jegal Yeonghyeon read the letters in order, then let out a snort of laughter.
“A trap. No, it’s such an obvious snare that calling it a trap is almost embarrassing. Asking you to co in person and confirm it—this childish provocation is a sche they couldn’t put forward without an ulterior motive, and it’s nothing but disappointing.”
As if truly regretful, Jegal Yeonghyeon sighed.
Shin Jueon set a go stone down and continued.
“As you know well, the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace has joined hands with the Heavenly Alliance, but that hand is ford from a light promise {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} that can be shaken off at any ti. Far too shallow a relationship to call a true alliance.”
Jegal Yeonghyeon smiled.
“I know that very well. The relationship between you and ‘our Alliance Lord.’”
Shin Jueon and the Martial Alliance’s Alliance Lord, Gun Mugyeol, had an old friendship.
On the surface, they were separate beings leading their own forces, but in truth, they were the sort of pair who could see straight through each other’s thoughts.
“Is the Alliance Lord well?”
“He always stands at the pinnacle of the Martial Alliance, looking down upon all. He’s also taken a deep interest in the recent movents of the Heavenly Alliance.”
Jegal Yeonghyeon looked at the go board for a mont, then spoke again.
“Then, Sect Master—how about taking this chance to bring the entire organization called the Heavenly Alliance under the Martial Alliance?”
Shin Jueon’s eyes flashed.
“An interesting suggestion.”
“Think about it. Mae Wuidong is dead, and Seol Unhwi is severely injured, in no condition to properly command. So of the martial artists of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect said he struggled even to stand... Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to pull that enormous power called the Heavenly Alliance over to our side?”
Certainty filled Jegal Yeonghyeon’s voice.
“Besides, it would benefit everyone to maintain order under the proven system of the Martial Alliance, rather than letting an insolent bastard like Seol Unhwi toy with the martial world.”
Shin Jueon slowly nodded.
“Then... even this trap may have its own aning.”
“What will you do?”
A cold smile ford on Shin Jueon’s lips.
“If Seol Unhwi is so insistent that I co in person, I should go and at least see that bastard’s face once.”
“Are you serious?”
“But I won’t go alone. I have the pretext of going to confirm the existence called Dong Murin, so I should bring appropriate attendants.”
Jegal Yeonghyeon gave a aningful smile.
“An excellent idea, but may I dare to say one thing?”
“Say it.”
“It would be better not to go.”
A slight frown ford between Shin Jueon’s brows.
“Why?”
“There is soone protecting Seol Unhwi.”
“Soone... are you talking about that ‘unknown master who has reached No-Extres Incarnation’?”
“Yes. We still haven’t identified who he is. We also don’t know what martial art he uses.”
“Hm... couldn’t he be soone from the Snow Palace?”
“According to what our Martial Alliance has determined, he is not from the Snow Palace. In the Snow Palace, there are a total of two martial artists at No-Extres Incarnation. One was at Snow Mountain, and the other went so ti ago to et Seol Unhwi, who had been injured, then returned to Snow Mountain. In other words, it ans he is another person we do not know.”
In that mont, a na suddenly brushed across Shin Jueon’s mind.
‘...No way... and Hwa Muryeong too... No. It can’t be.’
It had to not be.
‘He’ was soone who had gone into seclusion twenty years ago and had not shown his face even once since then.
Even if Shin Jueon had only recently reached No-Extres Incarnation, if that man had revealed himself within the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed.
Right then, Jegal Yeonghyeon continued.
“As you said, Sect Master, this trap has aning, but it’s a trap you don’t need to step into.”
“Then what would be better?”
Jegal Yeonghyeon smiled.
“It’s simple. Make him co in person.”
“Hmm?”
“Listen. In the past, Dong Yuseong, who had been a Vice Lord of the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace, plotted a rebellion, but it was discovered early and exterminated. However, Dong Yuseong’s youngest son had survived. He changed his na to Han Murin, and from the side of the Heavenly Arbiter, he plotted for the future. This ti as well, Palace Lord Shin Jueon discovered his sche early and politely requested the Heavenly Arbiter. But the arrogant Heavenly Arbiter shielded his man, who could beco a seed of future unrest. In the end, as he was about to co to the Soul-Dao Demon Fla Palace in person and begin his explanation, the wound he had suffered before reopened, and he collapsed on the spot, coughing blood.”
Shin Jueon’s eyes glittered.
“I moved to take action, but it was too late, and in the end the Heavenly Arbiter died right there. What do you think?”
Shin Jueon ford a strange smile.
“If he dies, the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace won’t sit still.”
“Killing him and having him die in an accident are different matters, aren’t they. The Heavenly Alliance after Ye Wonje died, and the Heavenly Alliance now that Mae Wuidong is dead—there’s no problem putting those two on the sa line. The Heavenly Arbiter knows that better than anyone, which is why he ‘overreached.’”
“Overreached... because he is smarter than anyone, he prioritizes his achievents over his recovery...?”
“Exactly. What the Heavenly Arbiter has done is sothing neither I nor anyone in the Central Plains can deny was shocking. That’s why he won’t want to let it go. Martial artists are, in the end, the sort who live and die by honor.”
There was no choice but to see it that way.
Otherwise, he would never have gone all the way to the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect with an injured body to help Shin Gang take revenge.
Shin Jueon liked Jegal Yeonghyeon’s words far too much.
But.
“He won’t co alone.”
“Then silence them. If you win over even one of them, things beco easy, and if that one is ‘Han Murin,’ there’s nothing more to think about.”
Shin Jueon was quick to catch on.
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