Chapter 165
Underneath Yeoil, the middle-aged man flinched slightly as she energetically moved her body.
“W-who… are you! …Are you Master Wi? Or not? How… ugh!”
Before Yeoil, who lifted her body while covering the man’s mouth, there stood a man mirroring her movements and threatening the young man.
“Ugh! Uugh! Ugh!”
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh—!”
It was Gi-eul, wearing a mask and fully covering his body.
“…….”
“…….”
The two silently stared at each other.
“……Ugh!”
“Kuhp!”
At the same time, they each struck the pressure points of their respective hostages, knocking them unconscious.
“…….”
“…….”
They grimaced and resumed their silence.
Before Gi-eul could say anything, Yeoil transmitted telepathically:
[It’s me, Yeoil.]
Gi-eul showed no sign of surprise. While keeping watch over Bang-woo, he lowered his already quiet voice even further and replied:
“I know. I saw you at the return ceremony. Anyone could tell it was you.”
Gi-eul’s sharp eyes often surprised Yeoil. No matter how much her face changed, his eyes never missed the true person beneath.
She gestured at the young man, silently asking, What are you planning? Gi-eul responded:
“I intended to interrogate them to understand how they plan to oppose Cheon Muryeong.”
“…Weren’t they looking for the second death list?”
If anything, shouldn’t he have interrogated the middle-aged man instead of the young one?
“That was years ago. But not now. The purpose is obvious, so there’s no need to search around.”
“Obvious?”
At Yeoil’s questioning look, Gi-eul nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
Though unspoken, the remark struck her as shockingly clear, making her feel somehow dull-witted in comparison.
“Remember Heukryongwon.”
That single, oddly confident statement hit like a final blow, yet it clarified exactly what Gi-eul meant.
‘…Elixir.’
The second death list… is likely a list of ingredients for creating the Second Nirvana Pill.
It was a plausible hypothesis—no, it felt almost like the truth.
Thinking back on the coffins and their owners in Heukryongwon, the purpose seemed obvious as well.
‘So Heukryongwon is the orthodox side, and the death list is for those trained in dark arts.’
It wasn’t a matter of which was more effective, yet she couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
At that moment:
“Stop.”
Kwangje descended to the main hall, seemingly just observing the situation.
“I will not allow harm to come to our followers in front of my eyes. Put down your sword.”
He said this while naturally clenching his fist, showing that even without a blade, he was ready to fight with martial arts.
Yeoil looked at Kwangje, her expression faintly tinged with nostalgia.
“Seeing that stance reminds me… a long time ago… Kwangbyeok left you a parting message. Surely it mentioned your name, Kwangje.”
At that, Kwangje’s eyes widened for a brief moment.
After a heavy silence had settled, just as he was about to speak, sand spread from Yeoil’s feet, covering his face.
“……Kuhk!”
Now was the moment.
Yeoil took advantage of his stagger, slinging the middle-aged man over her shoulder and leaping over the wall.
She jumped across rooftops and, hiding in the back alley, Gi-eul followed closely, asking:
“Where are we going?”
Yeoil quickened her pace after a brief pause.
“There is a spot even Choi-ryang can’t easily reach.”
Atop the cliff.
Thus, the five—two kidnappers, two hostages, and Bang-woo—gritted their teeth and climbed toward the cliff-side of the old palace.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Following closely, Gi-eul finally reached the destination, wiping sweat from his forehead and gritting his teeth.
“If that bastard… follows us here… I won’t let you off, Master Wi.”
“If you have the strength to talk, go inside Heukya Palace.”
“Heukya Palace? What are you saying? That’s below—”
Ignoring Gi-eul, she moved into Heukya Palace. Light snow began to fall, and it seemed a blizzard would soon follow.
The two men regained consciousness when the snowstorm had grown fierce, and the sky was dimly brightening.
“Ugh… where… is this…?”
The young man stood clutching his head, bewildered, and seeing the groaning middle-aged man beside him, shook his shoulder urgently.
“Master! Master! Are you okay?”
…Master?
So that middle-aged man is the head of one of Cheonmashin’s Oga clans, the Ju clan?
He hadn’t planned to drag someone of that stature along.
Hmph. Going out alone late at night without guards, even for a clan head…
Though the meeting was secret, the recklessness was still shocking. She decided not to comment.
“Ugh! Wait, don’t shake me…”
After catching his breath, the middle-aged Ju clan head slowly lifted himself up.
He carefully pushed the young man behind him, protecting himself, and looked at Yeoil.
“…Master Wi, what business do you have with us? I didn’t expect you to be spying on us while hiding there.”
At the banquet, Ju had been unable to confirm Yeoil’s identity during the Chil-ya Jeon meeting. Yet he recognized the young Wi Dan-oh immediately?
Yeoil asked suspiciously:
“How did you know I was Wi Dan-oh?”
Ju’s expression suggested nothing surprising.
“I heard news that you’d transformed. A gentle face capable of violent action… the only one I could think of was you, Master Wi. And no one else would dare kidnap me from the main temple.”
Though she didn’t know exactly what kind of person Wi Dan-oh had been, it was clear he had been a notorious troublemaker.
“…I can roughly guess. It must be about the Cho clan and Cheon Muryeong. I heard from the master. Yes, Cheon Muryeong is now reaching even into the school. Grand Prince Choi-ryang sacrificed Choi-hyeon and Yejuun as puppets.”
“….”
“While you were away, a certain beloved disciple changed his attitude and faced Grand Prince Choi-ryang. But that won’t last long.”
“….”
“Don’t blame us too much. We aren’t planning to just suffer. But I cannot reveal the reason; understand that this involves dozens of lives…”
Yeoil realized a new truth today.
“I felt particularly pathetic last night. The master must have been watching everything, and yet I ended up showing my bottom-tier side…”
Specifically, it was that the Ju clan head talked too much.
“…The ‘Yongjeongcha’ the master gave me then was particularly fresh and clear. It reminded me of the day I first held hands with my first love, and I couldn’t help but cry…”
Yeoil, exhausted by the Ju clan head’s rambling, turned her head completely, but his mouth did not stop.
Then:
“…Ultimately, Prince Jin Cheong-ak is fated to die at the hands of Cheon Muryeong in two days. If you truly care for your disciple, send him away before misfortune strikes. That is the maximum kindness I can offer.”
The warning hit Yeoil hard.
She answered coldly:
“I won’t give up Jin Cheong-ak.”
Ju nodded solemnly.
“I understand your heart. But it cannot be helped. He must either die or run away. That is his only choice.”
“Let me say it once more…”
Yeoil drew the Black Blade from Gi-eul’s waist and pressed the dark, chilling edge under the Ju clan head’s neck.
“I won’t give up Jin Cheong-ak. Cheon Muryeong dies.”
The seriousness of her tone made both Ju and the young man tense in a way they hadn’t before.
Determined not to waste any more time on the clan head’s chatter, she warned:
“Ju clan head. If you don’t want to die a meaningless death, explain this plan clearly. All of this is the master’s will, and refusal to cooperate will mark you as a traitor.”
“….”
“Don’t believe me? I’ll take you to the master myself. But just your head.”
For now, she would let him speak, and then seek the master’s permission afterward.
[Can I reveal your name?]
Before the master responded, Ju, still tense but strangely enlivened, spoke:
“…No need. I trust you.”
Yeoil was slightly taken aback.
They trusted so easily?
“You must have… communicated telepathically with the master. Yes, the chief always looked to the sky while speaking to the master…”
“They say there’s something called a ‘spiritual line,’ but I’ve never seen it, thought it was a lie…”
Ju’s rambling eyes briefly filled with moisture.
“So… the master… hasn’t abandoned us yet. The sinners who nearly betrayed the doctrine for a single life…”
“….”
“Ah, you are probably not Wi Dan-oh… right? Then the current state of the main temple would be incomprehensible. I will tell you. This story began in the Cho clan and has been mentioned once a year, unsettling anyone who hears it…”
Please shut up…
