Chapter 52
Reunion (1)
“You’re even richer than I am!”
Although Cheon-geuk spoke lightly, she was tense inside.
Baek So-cheon had just placed his entire fortune before her.
Her instincts told her that this was another moment when both their destinies would change.
“Are you giving me this because you might die anyway? Do you want me to spend it for you? I’m very good at spending money.”
“Something like that.”
“What is it?”
“Use this money to obtain elixirs for me.”
“...!”
Cheon-geuk’s eyes widened.
She had experienced many surprises since meeting Baek So-cheon, but this was the most shocking moment of all.
“You...!”
Baek So-cheon nodded.
Even without that nod, she would have understood.
The fact that Baek So-cheon had withdrawn his entire fortune to purchase elixirs meant that his dantian had been restored.
“My goodness!”
Cheon-geuk shuddered.
More than anyone else, she understood what it meant for Baek So-cheon to regain his internal energy.
At that moment, the greatest variable in the future of the martial world had appeared.
And she was present at that historic and fateful turning point.
“Find something with the greatest possible effect. I don’t mind if it is a spiritual herb based on poison. If two elixirs provide the same result, prioritize the poisonous one.”
Elixirs containing poison generally cost less for the same level of effectiveness.
They were used mainly by practitioners of poison arts, so compared with ordinary elixirs that were in high demand, they offered better value for money.
Even a low-grade Hundred-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root had produced internal energy of astonishing purity.
If he refined the energy of a truly exceptional elixir, he might be able to create even purer internal energy.
From now on, he intended to accumulate internal energy with proper elixirs.
The sum he had given her was an astonishing one million four hundred thousand nyang, but the prices of elixirs were equally astronomical.
When an elixir or spiritual treasure found a buyer who desperately wanted it, the seller could name virtually any price.
If they were unlucky, even this money might not be enough to purchase a single Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
They might be overcharged, or there might simply be none available on the market.
In other words, even buying one with money required luck.
Conversely, with enough good fortune, the same sum might purchase a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Everything depended on whether an elixir was available when they needed it, how urgently the owner needed money, and the current market price.
Small elixirs were bought with money.
Great elixirs were bought with fortune.
“What will you do in your old age after spending your entire fortune like this? You’re already old.”
What use was money accumulated in a bank if he died?
He had never imagined that he would spend his fortune in this way, but obtaining strength was now more important than money.
“I’ll live off you.”
Cheon-geuk stared at him in disbelief.
“I’m the Assassin King, not the King of Fools. The Assassin King!”
“By then, you’ll probably be the former Assassin King.”
“Hmm. The former God of War and the former Assassin King... That combination doesn’t sound too bad.”
The two looked at each other and chuckled.
Baek So-cheon’s playful expression disappeared as his gaze fell upon the promissory notes on the table.
“This money also represents my entire life.”
He had never pursued wealth.
Yet in the end, this money was what remained to him.
Whenever he looked at it, he was reminded of everything he had accomplished in the past.
“If this money is so important, why are you entrusting it to me?”
“Because you are the only person I can trust with it.”
“You told me I had terrible judgment when it came to men, but it seems your judgment isn’t much better.”
Of course, Baek So-cheon also trusted Hwang Il-bi, Im Chung, and Beon Saeng.
None of them would betray him for money.
However, they did not possess the strength to protect such an enormous fortune.
If someone tried to seize it from them, they would be unable to defend it.
“The highest assassination bounty ever placed on you was three million nyang. This is almost half that amount. Listen, what if I simply take this money? What if I kill you afterward? This is more than enough to tempt anyone.”
“Then I will have to pay the price for making the wrong choice.”
There were many moments in life when one had to wager everything.
Seeking out Ban Yun-saeng for the Body Reformation had been one such gamble.
Coming to Cheon-geuk was another.
Perhaps he would have to make several more such wagers in the future.
He could only hope that his judgment was correct.
“Why aren’t you handling this yourself?”
“There are people watching me.”
He said people, not a person.
That meant he did not believe the Cheokcheon Alliance was the only faction watching him.
If anyone discovered that he was searching for elixirs, he would be in real danger.
Moreover, many people throughout the Central Plains knew his face.
“What do I receive if I agree?”
“What do you want?”
Cheon-geuk considered the question briefly before answering.
“Grant me one request as well.”
“As long as it is reasonable. If it is not absurd or unjust, I will grant it.”
“Good.”
She raised her hand.
Baek So-cheon struck her palm three times with his own.
“When do you need the elixir?”
There was no guarantee that waiting longer or bargaining harder would produce something better.
Knowing that the matter ultimately depended upon luck, Baek So-cheon answered without hesitation.
“As soon as possible.”
***
After parting from Cheon-geuk, Baek So-cheon returned to the Murim Alliance’s main headquarters.
He felt uneasy about having left the Hyeoncheon Unit unattended for so long, but decided to leave everything to fate.
If some problem had occurred, perhaps his presence would only have caused an even greater one.
Was that why?
Fortunately, nothing had happened to the Hyeoncheon Unit.
“Commander! Welcome back!”
Beon Saeng greeted Baek So-cheon so enthusiastically that one might have thought someone believed dead had returned alive.
“I was worried.”
“Are you a child? Why were you worried?”
“You may not be a child, Commander, but I still am, aren’t I? I meant that I was worried about myself, not you. How was I supposed to survive if you never returned?”
Baek So-cheon was glad to hear Beon Saeng’s familiar banter after so long.
Despite Baek So-cheon’s absence, both Im Chung and Beon Saeng had faithfully handled all the work entrusted to them.
Afraid that Baek So-cheon might be criticized because of their incompetence, they had worked twice as hard as usual.
Im Chung asked cautiously,
“Did the matter you left to handle go well?”
Baek So-cheon had been absent for nearly a month immediately after the Hyeoncheon Unit was created.
That alone showed how important the matter had been.
Baek So-cheon shook his head.
He did not want to lie to these two, but he had no intention of revealing anything related to his internal energy to anyone.
With a secret this dangerous, keeping it to himself was also better for those around him.
“You are all right, though, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
Was he all right?
He was more fulfilled and happier now than at any point during the past three years.
The mere fact that internal energy existed inside his body made him feel as though he could soar into the sky.
***
After leaving the Hyeoncheon Unit’s building, Baek So-cheon went directly to the training ground.
Twenty-five members of the Hyeoncheon Unit were training diligently under Wang Ho’s direction.
“You have returned?”
The training briefly stopped when Baek So-cheon appeared.
“Welcome back, Commander!”
Their voices were thunderous.
All of them looked exhausted.
Baek So-cheon had designed an extremely difficult and brutal training schedule and handed it to Wang Ho.
At first, curses had naturally escaped everyone’s mouths.
After several days, however, they began to adapt to the training.
They also realized that the regimen Baek So-cheon had created was far more systematic than they had expected.
After nearly a month of being driven relentlessly, they now possessed the kind of gaze normally seen only in warriors who had survived vicious battlefields.
“You have all worked hard.”
“Not at all!”
Baek So-cheon smiled with satisfaction at their resounding response.
He asked Wang Ho,
“How is your body?”
“I have fully recovered. It took exactly one month, as if by magic. Did you plan that?”
“It was a coincidence. How could I possibly have planned it?”
No one there believed him.
Although Baek So-cheon had not intended it, his journey had somehow lasted exactly one month.
From the perspective of his subordinates, it looked as though he had timed everything perfectly.
They felt as though every event was unfolding precisely according to Baek So-cheon’s plans.
“Would you like to inspect the results of our training?”
“Good.”
Baek So-cheon sat nearby and watched them train.
Everyone had accomplished something through the past month of intense training.
Some had improved physically, while others had achieved breakthroughs in their swordsmanship because of that improvement.
Of course, only two or three had made such breakthroughs.
The others had at least properly tempered their minds.
Baek So-cheon had each of them demonstrate their sword arts, then corrected their posture.
They had suffered various disadvantages by joining him, so he believed they deserved compensation.
Every one of them had at least one bad habit.
Some were aware of their flaws, while others were not.
Baek So-cheon pointed out each bad habit and explained how to correct it.
He even examined the posture of Wang Ho, who had been directing the training.
Whether someone was a commander, squad leader, or ordinary martial artist, Baek So-cheon treated them all the same.
He also made no distinction between those who had volunteered to join and the Secret Pavilion warriors who had simply been assigned there.
He corrected everyone’s posture and advised them on their future training.
His attitude changed the hearts of those who had not volunteered.
When they had first arrived, they had carried a lingering sense of discomfort and resentment.
Those feelings now vanished.
They were not so narrow-minded that they could continue harboring complaints when the other man was sincerely teaching them for their own benefit.
Once the lesson ended, everyone offered heartfelt thanks.
“Thank you, Commander.”
Whenever training was involved, Baek So-cheon always gave the same answer.
“Never leave yourself with regrets when it comes to training.”
***
The next place Baek So-cheon visited was the underground prison of the Murim Alliance.
As he approached the cell where Goe Yeo was being held, he smelled alcohol.
It seemed that the promised daily bottle was being delivered properly.
When Goe Yeo saw Baek So-cheon, he reacted with surprise.
“You! You came back!”
“Have you been well?”
Goe Yeo looked Baek So-cheon up and down.
After confirming that nothing about him had changed, he burst into loud laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
He was the one who had mocked Ban Yun-saeng’s Great Body Reformation Art as madness.
Still, because the subject had been Baek So-cheon, a small part of him had wondered whether it might succeed.
Yet Baek So-cheon appeared completely unchanged.
“I never believed it from the beginning either.”
Goe Yeo asked with obvious amusement,
“Did you meet him?”
“I did.”
“What happened? Tell me everything!”
“The spiritual creature required to pollinate the plant used in the Great Art never appeared.”
“The Hundred-Horned Golden Immortal Serpent?”
“So you knew about it.”
“Of course. He talked my ears off about it whenever I wanted him to buy me a drink.”
“Because the Hundred-Horned Golden Immortal Serpent did not appear, I would have needed to wait another three years to perform the Great Art, so I simply returned. Though at least the journey was not entirely fruitless for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Baek So-cheon handed him the wine.
“What is this?”
“Wine that Master Ban asked me to deliver to you.”
“Oh!”
Goe Yeo accepted the bottle with great delight.
He removed the stopper, savored the aroma, then began drinking straight from the bottle.
The wine he received every day was already of fine quality, but it could not compare with the wine Ban Yun-saeng had brewed himself.
Goe Yeo exclaimed in admiration.
“Ah! Just as I expected! That fellow’s skill at brewing wine hasn’t changed at all. Would you like a cup?”
“I will pass.”
Baek So-cheon did not tell him that Ban Yun-saeng had died.
Nor did he reveal that they had actually performed the Great Art.
“Then take care.”
“Don’t stop sending alcohol just because your trip ended in failure!”
“The alcohol will continue coming.”
As Baek So-cheon turned to leave, Goe Yeo shouted from behind him.
“If you see that fellow again, tell him I enjoyed the wine and give him my regards!”
“I will.”
He answered aloud, but his thoughts were different.
I do not know whether either you or I will ever meet him again.
***
When Baek So-cheon left the underground prison and returned to the Hyeoncheon Unit, Im Chung, who had been waiting for him, hurriedly delivered some news.
“What happened?”
“We received an urgent message from the Alliance ordering you to report immediately.”
“From where? Hyeoncheon Pavilion?”
“No.”
Im Chung drew a deep breath before answering.
“The Alliance Leader’s Hall.”