Chapter 70
The Absolute One’s Pure Love (2)
Baek So-cheon arrived at the thatched cottage.
Grain was spread out to dry in the yard beyond the low wall, while animal meat and hides hung nearby. Various goods were piled in one corner of the courtyard, and judging from the silk wrappings, they appeared to be gifts sent by Yeom Hwasin.
“Is anyone there?”
The door opened, and a woman appeared.
She looked to be in her early thirties and had clearly defined features.
Unexpectedly, she was not exceptionally beautiful. Rather than calling her a beauty, it would be more accurate to say she had an ordinary appearance.
Then again, Yeom Hwasin had probably experienced more than enough women of dazzling beauty. Appearance likely meant nothing to him.
“Who are you?”
Her face was filled with surprise and wariness. Baek So-cheon was probably the first man other than Yeom Hwasin to visit her.
“My name is Baek So-cheon.”
The woman stared intently at his face.
“I belong to the orthodox faction.”
Baek So-cheon quickly added that, but immediately realized it might have the opposite effect.
An orthodox martial artist had no reason to be in a place like this.
Remaining at the far end of the yard without stepping farther inside, Baek So-cheon continued trying to reassure her.
“You may find it difficult to believe, but I belong to the Murim Alliance. My current position is Leader of the Hyeoncheon Unit.”
Only then did the woman speak.
“My name is Yeop Sa-mi.”
She had introduced herself, but she still did not lower her guard.
Baek So-cheon sat on the wooden platform near the entrance to the courtyard.
“I will speak to you from here.”
Standing while talking would only make her more wary.
“I understand that you cannot trust me, but…”
At that moment, she said something he had not expected.
“I know you.”
“What?”
“I know who you are. I also participated in the Orthodox-Unorthodox War.”
“I see.”
Yeop Sa-mi had been so shocked moments earlier because someone who should never have appeared here had come to visit her.
“Why are you here?”
The suspicion in her eyes had come from wondering whether Baek So-cheon had betrayed the Murim Alliance.
“I was captured by the Cheokcheon Alliance Leader for reasons unrelated to you.”
“What happened?”
Her tone was almost accusatory.
Baek So-cheon instinctively understood that he could not win her trust while concealing the truth.
So he told her everything as it was.
He explained that both he and his Alliance Leader had been afflicted by Gu, and that the same was true of the Cheokcheon Alliance Leader.
Of course, he referred to Cheon-geuk and Na Sa-rin anonymously.
“You must never reveal this to anyone outside. For your own safety, do not speak of it.”
Yeop Sa-mi gave a self-deprecating smile.
“As you can see, there is no outside world for me.”
“You must still be careful in the future.”
Her eyes seemed to ask whether she even had a future.
“Why did he send you?”
“He said he wanted to know why you hated him, but… he probably wants me to change your heart.”
Baek So-cheon then revealed his more honest thoughts.
“Now that he has told me about you, he will kill you if this does not end well.”
“…I am not afraid of death.”
Yet her voice trembled.
How could anyone truly be unafraid of death?
Baek So-cheon had once believed he did not fear it, and so had Cheon-geuk.
But when the moment of death truly arrived, anyone would feel fear.
Her claim that she was not afraid likely came from resignation born of despair.
“Do you not miss your family?”
At the word family, tears welled in her eyes.
“My father and mother probably believe I am dead.”
“But you are still alive.”
She stared at Baek So-cheon.
“What are you trying to say?”
“That if you act wisely, you may survive.”
“My body will be defiled.”
“Yes. But you may live. You may see your family again. You may also build a new family in the future. Perhaps you will even have a beautiful daughter who resembles you.”
Her eyes wavered.
Baek So-cheon was not trying to persuade her for Yeom Hwasin’s sake.
He simply wanted to save this woman.
“I know very little about you. I do not know what values have guided your life. But there is one thing I wish to tell you. Surviving is winning. As long as you have somewhere to return to, and as long as there is a family waiting for you to come home, survival should be your greatest priority.
“Purity is important, and so is pride. But neither is more important than living long enough to see your family again.
“And… I am sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“If I had killed him during the war, none of this would have happened. I am sorry.”
“I heard that you lost your martial arts.”
“Yes. That is why I am here. Survival is also the highest priority for me.”
“Why is that?”
“There is someone I long to see even at this very moment. There are things I still wish to do. So I will survive by any means necessary. I will not allow a villain like Yeom Hwasin to ruin my life.”
Baek So-cheon’s words began to move her heart.
“What should I do?”
“I do not know. I do not understand why he likes you.”
“I do not know either. He has never once told me the reason.”
“Then simply follow your instincts as a woman.”
“My instincts?”
“Yes. You do not need to suddenly treat him well, but neither should you completely shut him out. Like women skilled in such matters, capture the Cheokcheon Alliance Leader’s heart and play a game of push and pull.”
“Until when?”
Baek So-cheon paused before answering.
“Until I rescue you.”
Their gazes met in the air.
Seeing the seriousness in Baek So-cheon’s expression, Yeop Sa-mi did not ask, ‘But you have lost your internal energy, haven’t you?’
Instead, she found herself wanting to trust him and wait.
Perhaps it was because he had been a war hero, but there was also a peculiar sense of reliability about him.
At last, she steeled herself.
“All right. I will try.”
She had believed her life was already forfeit, but now she wanted to make one final effort.
Until now, she had been submerged in complete despair.
Throughout her time here, she had thought only of death.
She had resolved not to show fear, so that even if she died, she could preserve at least a shred of dignity.
That had been her only thought.
But as she spoke with Baek So-cheon, longing for the people she had tried to forget began to rise within her.
She wanted to survive somehow and return to her family.
Then she wanted to tell them that she had faced the Cheokcheon Alliance Leader and lived.
Baek So-cheon rose from his seat.
“Then I wish you good fortune.”
As he was about to turn away, she stopped him.
“You cannot leave yet.”
“What?”
“If my heart changes too easily, it will wound the Cheokcheon Alliance Leader’s pride.”
Her instincts as a woman were already beginning to work.
If she could accept and apply his advice this quickly and decisively…
Perhaps one day, Baek So-cheon really would return here and take her away.
He smiled at her.
“Exactly.”
***
Two hours later, Baek So-cheon left the cottage.
Yeom Hwasin was still waiting where the carriage had stopped.
“What did you talk about for so long?”
When Yeom Hwasin barked the question, Baek So-cheon barked back even more forcefully.
“What else would we have discussed? We talked about you.”
“What exactly did you say?”
“I mostly told her to survive you. I said that dying at the hands of a villain like you would be utterly meaningless.”
Baek So-cheon answered honestly.
Yeom Hwasin was not someone who could be easily deceived.
As expected, rather than becoming angry, Yeom Hwasin grinned.
“And what did she say? That she wants to kill me?”
“I do not think you understand yourself very well.”
“What do you mean?”
“When an ordinary person sees you, they do not even dare think about whether to kill you. Even I sigh the moment I see you because I cannot decide what to do about you.”
“And?”
Yeom Hwasin gave him an interested look.
“We spoke a great deal about her family. I told her she must survive, if only for their sake. She said she misses them.”
“Did she say why she hates me?”
“Go and hear it from her yourself.”
“Myself?”
“She said she wanted to speak with you. I spent more than two hours persuading her, so do not ruin everything with some pointless display of temper.”
Yeom Hwasin headed toward the cottage.
Inside, Yeop Sa-mi had brewed tea and was waiting for him.
“This is a first. You have never offered me anything before.”
“It is unfortunate that I could not obtain poison.”
Yeom Hwasin gave a small laugh and drank the tea.
“Why did you change your mind?”
“I did not. I am only doing this because I fear you might harm the man who visited earlier.”
Before leaving, Baek So-cheon had told her that Yeom Hwasin was exceptionally perceptive and that treating him honestly would be to her advantage.
Even without that advice, she had already gained a rough understanding of his personality.
Looking down at the teacup, Yeom Hwasin said,
“So this is the price of that man’s life.”
“He said many good things to me. So do not kill him.”
“Are you really in a position to worry about someone else?”
“I suppose not.”
She smiled faintly.
The instant he saw that smile, Yeom Hwasin remembered a young girl from long ago.
A girl he had loved as a child.
She had been Yeom Hwasin’s first love.
Looking back now, his father had been insane.
He had forced Yeom Hwasin to kill the girl with his own hands.
He had claimed that only by completely severing human affection could Yeom Hwasin rise to become the supreme ruler of the unorthodox faction.
Yeom Hwasin had been so terrified of his father that he eventually killed the girl.
Of course, he later killed his father with his own hands as well.
His father had gotten what he wanted.
Yeom Hwasin had become a monster without the slightest affection for a loved one or family member.
He had become a warmonger.
Looking back now, if he had truly wanted to defeat his father, he should not have killed him.
He should have refused to become the person his father wanted him to be.
But it was all already over.
Yeop Sa-mi resembled that first love so closely.
It was as though the girl would have grown into a woman exactly like her.
The first time he saw Yeop Sa-mi, the resemblance had shocked him so deeply that his entire body froze.
He had been astonished to discover that any emotion still remained within him.
“If you do not intend to kill me today, then give me time.”
“Time?”
“I need time to learn about you, do I not? I do not believe a man like you is doing all this merely because he desires my body. If that is true, then we need time to discover what kind of people we each are.”
“You want to know me?”
“To be honest, I am afraid.”
“Of what?”
“…That as time passes, I might grow attached to you… and come to understand the kind of man you are.”
Yeom Hwasin stared at her for a moment before setting down his teacup.
“I will visit from time to time.”
Yeom Hwasin left the cottage.
Only after he had disappeared into the distance did Yeop Sa-mi finally release the breath she had been holding.
She had been so terrified that she thought she might die.
But she had made her decision.
She would do everything in her power to survive.
When Yeom Hwasin returned to Baek So-cheon, he abruptly said,
“As expected. You are remarkable.”
“Did you not say it yourself? I am the man who once drove a sword through your heart. What did she say?”
“You do not need to know.”
“Surely you did not kill her?”
“What if I did?”
“I would have to say that it was just like you.”
“Is that all?”
“Do you expect me to wail and sob? I cannot even put out the fire burning at my own feet. I am not that good a person. Circumstances merely pushed me along until I ended up standing before you.”
“That is true. Did I not say that you fastened the first button incorrectly? What do you think? Why not surrender to me even now?”
“I have only just reconciled with our Alliance Leader. This does not seem like the best time to persuade me.”
“Ha ha ha.”
Yeom Hwasin laughed in delight.
Had it been anyone else, what happened today would have been impossible.
He had exposed his own weakness.
Yet he did not particularly dislike discussing such matters with Baek So-cheon.
He had wanted to open his heart to someone, but there had been no suitable person around him.
Countless subordinates would gladly sacrifice their lives for him, yet there was not a single one to whom he wished to reveal his private affairs.
The two boarded the carriage and returned to the Cheokcheon Alliance.
That night, Yeom Hwasin visited Baek So-cheon.
“Leave tomorrow.”
“What about your promise?”
“I must keep it.”
He handed Baek So-cheon the martial arts manual he had brought.
It was the final supreme lightness art Baek So-cheon had sought.
The Wind God Circulation Art.
“I will give you exactly half an hour. Memorize as much as you can.”
“Half an hour is far too short!”
“Did you think you could wag your tongue for a mere two hours and walk away with the entire manual?”
“Give me three hours. No, exactly two.”
“The time is already passing.”
Baek So-cheon immediately began reading from the first page as quickly as he could.
He focused every part of his mind.
His sole objective was to memorize the entire manual.
Exactly half an hour later, Yeom Hwasin took it back.
“You memorized it all, did you not?”
Baek So-cheon glared at him and asked angrily,
“Do you think I could have memorized all of it?”
“Ha ha ha ha! You at least got a taste of it. Is that not enough? Giving a woman such a precious gift will only spoil her.”
“Clear away the mountain of gifts piled in that woman’s yard before saying such a thing!”
“Ha ha! Protect your own woman by throwing yourself into danger.”
“You are the greatest bastard under heaven!”
“I clearly kept my promise.”
With a delighted expression, Yeom Hwasin left the room.
Once he was gone, a faint smile appeared on Baek So-cheon’s lips.
By unleashing every ounce of his concentration, he had memorized the entire manual in half an hour.
Yeom Hwasin had underestimated Baek So-cheon’s ghostlike memory.
He did not know that when martial arts were involved, Baek So-cheon’s memorization ability surpassed imagination.
With this, Baek So-cheon had succeeded in obtaining the last martial art known as the greatest of all time.
‘That is right. I will protect my own woman myself.’
Baek So-cheon gently closed his eyes and began engraving everything he had memorized into his mind.