Chapter 4 ….
Familiar Faces (3)
Seoryeon thought she must have misheard and asked him again.
“What did you just say?”
“Swordsmanship is like cutting through the spring wind. Set aside your impatience and approach it calmly. Didn’t you learn it that way?”
She understood the meaning perfectly. This was the principle that their master always emphasized to the disciples, a phrase posted only inside the training hall of the Assassin Sect—something no one outside the sect could possibly know.
No one outside the Assassin Sect would know this principle, yet he did.
Occasionally, disciples who had left the sect would come to see the master, but most were considerably older. The person in front of her looked no older than herself, or at most, her peer. Moreover, Seoryeon had passed the sect’s trials faster than most her age, so there was no way he could be a senior.
She wondered if there might be another Assassin Sect base she didn’t know about, and slowly lowered the sword she had aimed at him.
“Attacks driven by emotion won’t cut your opponent—they’ll tire you out first.”
He looked down at her as if she were far beneath him.
But Seoryeon was more surprised that he not only completely understood her sword techniques but had also exploited her emotional impulses against her. He was certainly a step ahead.
“Where do you belong? Are you….”
At that moment, a sharp scream rang from a nearby alley.
“Ahhh!”
Without hesitation, he dashed toward the source, leaving Seoryeon behind.
“Where are you going all of a sudden! I asked where you belong! Bobeomsa? Yongamsa? Where are you from?”
Seoryeon, waiting for his answer, found herself instinctively following.
On the Way to the Royal Palace of Gaegyeong
“Move aside!”
With a commanding shout, the crowd parted. Through the gap, a group of men in black uniforms were dragging an empty cart. They all wore the same wrist guards, embroidered with the character “李,” symbolizing Lee Ja-gyeom.
These were swordsmen from the Mokjadan guild, essentially Lee Ja-gyeom’s private soldiers. To oppose them was to oppose Lee Ja-gyeom himself.
“This cart has been passed down in my family for generations. We’ve survived our whole lives using it!”
A ragged man ran forward, pleading.
“Your ancestors would be pleased if you served the state,” the apparent leader of the Mokjadan said, kicking the man off as if brushing off dust.
The other uniformed men began kicking him like he was an insect.
“Without this cart, my family cannot survive! Please, just return the cart!”
Even while coughing up blood, the man crawled along the ground, begging.
“Stop. Do you not obey the orders of the elder?”
The men grabbed the cart anyway, laughing as they prepared to trample him.
“Stop!”
A youthful yet solemn voice made the cart-pullers turn in unison.
The crowd, previously helpless, stepped aside as a man in a blue robe emerged, his long hair flowing behind him. The atmosphere shifted instantly with his presence.
“Clearly, you are from a noble household. If you do not intend to offend Lord Gukgong, step aside.”
The leader warned lazily.
Yet the man in blue confidently walked through them and helped the fallen man to his feet. He then asked as he loaded him onto the empty cart they had been trying to seize:
“Where is your home?”
At that moment, the leader raised a sword over the man’s shoulder.
“This cart will be offered to Lord Gukgong. Step aside.”
Polite words, but a clear threat.
“I have business with this man first. You will step back today.”
A familiar feminine voice cut in.
The leader froze at the sharp awareness pressing against his back.
“Who… who are you?”
“You’d better not know.”
With a playful smile, the sword at his back was none other than Seoryeon.
Tension filled the air as the leader looked around and the black-uniformed men drew their swords, encircling Seoryeon.
“Don’t think too hard. I might just cut you down.”
“Do you not know what happens when you mess with the Mokjadan?”
“I’ve heard the rumors. Those wolves come and wipe out your entire extended family, right? But I doubt they could get me.”
Seoryeon sneered at the men in black, sizing them up with a dismissive glance.
The leader slowly turned to see her face. Seoryeon greeted him.
“We know each other, right? Secretary Jang.”
“Oh… what brings you here, Lady…?”
Secretary Jang recognized her immediately. Working close to Lee Ja-gyeom, he delivered updates on Seoryeon’s training as an assassin.
“I had some business with this man. You’re not seriously pointing those swords at me, are you?”
Secretary Jang quickly ordered his men to lower their swords.
“Lower the swords. I have claims to this man.”
Secretary Jang reluctantly pulled back the sword from the man in the blue robe, and Seoryeon did the same.
It was a relief that she was the adopted daughter—or at least associated—with Lord Gukgong.
Though capable of handling the men alone, fighting here would endanger innocent bystanders.
“Secretary Jang, may I take the cart?”
“Huh? Well… it is intended for Lord Gukgong…”
The man who had opposed Secretary Jang saw Seoryeon as superior and backed down.
“The elder does not lack carts. What’s going on?”
“We were ordered to prepare as many carts as possible for the Jin emissaries.”
“You mean to take the people’s carts—essentially their livelihoods—to offer them?”
“Uh, well, not exactly…”
The previously powerless crowd now glared at Secretary Jang and his men.
Secretary Jang quickly retreated with his group.
“Th-Thank you! How can I ever repay you!”
The man, barely able to rise, thanked Seoryeon with tears in his eyes.
“Repay him…? Huh? Where did he go?”
The man in the blue robe had vanished.
“Damn. Missed him again.”
“Do you know him?”
Yoo Won-seok asked. Observing Seoryon’s unusual reaction, he felt an inexplicable unease about the unknown man.
The sword he carried was one reserved for those of the Goryeo royal family. The hilt was shaped like a dragon, the scabbard like a turtle, the prized sword of General Kim Yu-sin, given to the Goryeo king by the Silla king during the unification.
Moreover, his martial skills were extraordinary—even if only defensive against Seoryeon, he was clearly at the level of the Royal Guard, the Eungyang army.
Hearing the commotion from the alley, Yoo Won-seok chuckled.
“That bastard just wasted my energy.”
Seoryon, drained, murmured in a dying voice.
“I’ll stake my claim on a spot first!”
Before she finished speaking, Seoryon was already running toward the tavern.
Gaegyeong Royal Palace, Changhapmun Gate
A man leapt over the high, sturdy wall effortlessly.
An attendant rushed out, as if waiting.
“Your Majesty! Where have you been?”
“I said I’d get some fresh air.”
“Lord Gukgong is waiting to see you, sire.”
“Me? For what?”
“They need to discuss the arrival of the Jin emissaries.”
“When have I ever discussed state affairs with Lord Gukgong?”
“Even so, Your Majesty is the king of Goryeo. Your approval is needed for matters regarding the emissaries.”
King Wang Hae, the 17th king of Goryeo, spoke irritably. The attendant scrambled to appease him.
“Chan, you always have an issue with your mouth.”
“…Yes?”
Startled by the pointed remark, Kim the attendant lifted his bowed head.
“You need my approval only for emissaries? So other matters don’t require me?”
“Th-That’s not what I meant! I-I’ve committed a grave mistake!”
Kim paled and prostrated himself.
“Enough. You’re not the only one thinking such things.”
“I- I apologize.”
Relieved by the king’s unexpected reaction, Kim blinked in surprise.
“Still, that was good.”
It had been a long time since someone made him feel genuinely pleased.
When Wang Hae smiled faintly, Kim gestured to a court lady nearby.
As she tried to remove the king’s robe, she hesitated, glancing between the robe and his face.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well… the collar of the robe…”
Kim noticed something was off as the court lady fumbled.
“Your Majesty! Who would dare commit such an outrageous act?”
“What on earth happened…!”
Kim watched in horror as Wang Hae took the robe and his face turned pale.
