Chapter 71
The Turning Point Comes with the First Snow
The next day, as promised, Yeomhwasin released Baek Socheon.
“You said you’d keep me here for five days. What made you change your mind?”
“Once things kick off, I’m going to kill them all anyway. What would be the point of keeping you here?”
Once again, it was clear that Yeomhwasin felt no familial affection. If anything, the ill-fated bond between the two of them sometimes seemed deeper than whatever bond he had with his own flesh and blood.
Yeomhwasin climbed into the carriage with him.
“I brought you here, so I should see you off as well.”
“Aren’t you busy? Then again, I suppose you have so much free time that you spend it thinking about starting wars. You should keep yourself busier. Find yourself a hobby or something.”
Baek Socheon deliberately spoke to him in an irritable tone.
“Are you still sulking over the secret manual? Is that how a man should behave?”
“I’m glad you brought that up. Is that how a man should behave? If you said you’d give it to me once, then you should give it to me.”
Pretending not to hear, Yeomhwasin shouted to the subordinate sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Let’s go. Judging by all the complaining, our guest must be missing home.”
At his command, the carriage set off.
“Why are you coming along? Don’t tell me you’ve hidden another woman somewhere.”
“I wish that were the case, but no. I’m coming for your sake. My son isn’t going to simply let you leave without doing anything.”
“You didn’t touch her, did you?”
Baek Socheon was worried that Cheongeuk, who had gone ahead, might have been attacked.
“Don’t worry. That fool at least values his own life.”
In other words, Yeom Sawon wasn’t bold enough to recklessly provoke the leader of the Assassins’ Alliance.
Put differently, however, he believed Baek Socheon had no internal energy and therefore considered him an easy target.
Baek Socheon found that utterly pathetic, but he kept the thought to himself. Yeomhwasin might have no familial affection, but even he probably wouldn’t enjoy hearing someone insult his son.
In any case, although Yeomhwasin’s decision had been made for Baek Socheon’s sake, ultimately it had saved his own son.
If Yeom Sawon had personally led his subordinates out to kill Baek Socheon, he would have died by Baek Socheon’s hand. Hiding his martial arts was important, but Baek Socheon certainly wasn’t going to let himself be killed just to preserve that secret.
That choice didn’t save me. It saved your son.
Not that Yeomhwasin seemed likely to grieve much even if his son died.
But if that happened, he would probably invoke his son’s death as an excuse for an even more terrifying revenge, if only to conceal the emptiness within himself....
“Why aren’t you killing me?”
“Would you prefer that I did?”
“Of course not. I’m simply curious. Before, you knew there was a Gu inside you, so I could understand you keeping me alive to use me against our Alliance Leader. But why let me live now?”
“Because being around you is entertaining.”
There was one thing Baek Socheon had come to understand clearly through this incident.
Yeomhwasin was an incredibly lonely soul.
And that was precisely what made him dangerous.
The thing he had chosen to fill that lonely soul was war.
That made him far more dangerous than someone who started a war merely to seize power.
Even if he won the war, would that unstable soul truly be satisfied?
Baek Socheon didn’t think so.
An even greater emptiness might swallow him whole.
Perhaps a tragedy even greater than the war itself would begin then.
Yeomhwasin dropped Baek Socheon off near the border between Hunan and Hubei Provinces.
“Take care.”
“You too.”
“Hey, Socheon.”
Baek Socheon turned back toward him.
“The day you die by my hand isn’t far off. Put your affairs in order beforehand.”
Baek Socheon could tell that he meant it.
Perhaps Yeomhwasin wanted to personally take the life of the man who had stabbed him through the heart.
Baek Socheon tapped his chest.
“I don’t know where your heart is, but mine is right here. Make sure you finish it in one strike.”
“I will.”
Baek Socheon turned and walked away.
Sorry, but I’m not finished yet.
After parting ways with Yeomhwasin and confirming that no one was following him, Baek Socheon began practicing the Wind God Movement Art.
A movement art had to be trained by running.
Running and running again.
The Wind God Movement Art wasn’t a footwork technique used while executing martial arts. It was a qinggong technique created purely for running.
It was said that once the Wind God Movement Art reached Great Completion, its practitioner could travel faster than a bird. Its instantaneous acceleration was supposedly extraordinary as well.
In a flash, the practitioner would shrink to a mere dot and disappear from sight.
Movement as fast as light itself.
As soon as Baek Socheon began learning it, he found the Wind God Movement Art easier to understand than the other three martial arts.
It simply suited him.
Martial arts had compatibility with their practitioners, and this one happened to suit him exceptionally well. The extreme physical conditioning he had undergone had helped him with every martial art, but it seemed likely to benefit the Wind God Movement Art most of all.
Because of that, Baek Socheon had a good feeling that this might be the first of the four Greatest Martial Arts of All Time that he would bring to Great Completion.
Following the mnemonic formula of the Wind God Movement Art, Baek Socheon circulated his energy and ran.
And ran.
The farther he ran, the faster he became.
Thus, while practicing the Wind God Movement Art, Baek Socheon made his way back to the Martial Alliance.
Upon returning to Wuhan, he went to Cheongeuk’s teahouse before entering the Alliance headquarters.
There were quite a few customers inside, and surprisingly, Cheongeuk herself was preparing tea in the kitchen.
When Baek Socheon appeared, she spoke as if his arrival were nothing unusual.
“You’re back? Pass me that tea set over there.”
“This one?”
“No, the one beside it. Yes, that one.”
Baek Socheon brought her the tea set.
She had been busily brewing tea, but suddenly stopped and let out a sigh.
She had tried to act calm and focus on her work, but in the end, she couldn’t completely hide how worried she had been about Baek Socheon.
From that single sigh, Baek Socheon could tell just how concerned she had been.
“You work here yourself?”
“When I need to clear my head after dealing with Alliance business, I come down here and work for a while. Working without thinking about anything helps get rid of distracting thoughts. Go sit outside. I’ll bring the tea when it’s ready.”
“All right.”
Baek Socheon sat beside the window.
An employee explained the situation to the customers, sent everyone out without charging them for their tea, then closed the doors. The employee disappeared somewhere afterward as well.
Cheongeuk came out of the kitchen carrying freshly prepared tea.
“This is a new tea we recently got. I saved some because I wanted to give it to you when you came back. It tastes good, and the aroma is wonderful too.”
Baek Socheon inhaled the fragrance and nodded.
“It’s good.”
“You came back earlier than I expected.”
“He let me go. He thinks he can kill me whenever he wants.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Were you worried?”
“No. You weren’t going to die there anyway.”
Far from dying, he had even returned after learning one of the Greatest Qinggong Arts of All Time.
If Yeomhwasin had actually given him the Wind God Movement Art manual, Baek Socheon would have taught it to her as well.
Since Yeomhwasin might check, Baek Socheon would have been forced to teach her.
But he couldn’t teach her now.
After all, Yeomhwasin believed Baek Socheon hadn’t memorized the entire mnemonic formula.
Once Yeomhwasin was dead, Baek Socheon intended to pass this qinggong art on to Cheongeuk.
He had only been able to obtain the secret manual because of her, after all.
“I’ll be staying here for the time being. I’ve established the Assassins’ Alliance headquarters in this teahouse.”
“The headquarters of the Assassins’ Alliance right in front of the Martial Alliance’s main gate. People will be talking about this for generations.”
“Does that mean I’ll become a historical figure? I like the sound of that.”
She laughed, and Baek Socheon laughed with her.
The wind blowing in from outside had grown noticeably chilly.
Looking out at the scenery that had begun to wither, she said,
“Winter is coming.”
It would be their final winter before the war.
Somehow, they had to find a way to prevent the war before winter ended.
There was one method that was both the fastest and most certain.
Kill the Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance and the Blood Cult Leader.
If those two died, their respective organizations would descend into internal conflict over succession.
Of course, unexpected developments could still arise.
Someone like Yeom Sawon might immediately start the war under the pretext of avenging his father.
But that wouldn’t be a problem.
If Baek Socheon could kill Yeomhwasin, killing Yeom Sawon wouldn’t be difficult either.
Naturally, other variables remained.
Someone from the orthodox factions might argue that they should seize the opportunity to attack the Cheukcheon Alliance.
“Want to meet on the day of the first snow? It might be our last first snow together.”
“Sure. I’d like that.”
Baek Socheon rose from his seat.
“Be careful until then.”
Her reply came from behind him.
“You too.”
Baek Socheon left the teahouse and headed toward the Martial Alliance.
He told Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon everything that had happened to him at the Cheukcheon Alliance.
The two had assumed he had gone somewhere to train in martial arts, so they were shocked.
“That was far too reckless!”
Zhuge Hyeon still didn’t know that Baek Socheon had regained his internal energy.
Even Ak Sogun, who did know, scolded him, so Zhuge Hyeon’s shock was naturally even greater.
“Strategist Zhuge is right. You were reckless this time.”
“I apologize.”
Of course, both men understood that Baek Socheon hadn’t had much of a choice.
Refusing might have endangered his life.
The Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance had personally come all the way there to ask him, and attempting to kill him instead could have provoked Yeomhwasin’s resentment.
Zhuge Hyeon bowed his head to Ak Sogun.
“I apologize for allowing him to come right under our noses.”
Ak Sogun shook his head.
“If a strike force from the Cheukcheon Alliance had managed to infiltrate this far, then someone would certainly deserve punishment. But if we’re talking about the Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance himself, there was nothing you could have done. If he truly wished to move in secret, no one in the world would know.”
The same was true of Ak Sogun.
If he wished, he could travel all the way to the front gate of the Cheukcheon Alliance without being detected.
That was simply the level of those competing for the very top position in the Martial World Rankings.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“Don’t concern yourself with it.”
Baek Socheon addressed them both.
“The Leader of the Black Heaven Alliance is no pushover. Even after learning that they had planted a Gu inside him, he still accepted an alliance with the Blood Cult.”
Then Baek Socheon revealed one more thing.
“There’s a possibility that the Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance has achieved the Diamond Indestructible Body.”
“What?!”
Ak Sogun shot to his feet.
“Are you certain?”
“My instincts tell me that it’s almost certainly true.”
“This is bad.”
Ak Sogun collapsed back into the Grand Preceptor’s chair.
If Yeomhwasin truly had achieved the Diamond Indestructible Body....
Ak Sogun wasn’t confident that he could kill him.
Given the situation, Zhuge Hyeon realized that his own role had become even more important.
“I’ll find some way to drive a wedge between the Cheukcheon Alliance and the Blood Cult.”
“Please do.”
This time, Baek Socheon had some good news.
“There’s one more thing I learned.”
“What is it?”
“I saw Yeomhwasin’s son this time. He’s the sort who can’t control his temper.”
Baek Socheon had phrased it politely, but Zhuge Hyeon understood what he really meant.
The man was a complete bastard.
“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”
It was certainly something they might be able to exploit later.
Once their discussion about future plans ended, Ak Sogun turned to Zhuge Hyeon.
“Would you give us a moment alone?”
“Yes.”
After Zhuge Hyeon left, Ak Sogun told Baek Socheon about what had happened with On Byeokhwa.
“I see. Congratulations, Alliance Leader.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
Ak Sogun genuinely felt embarrassed in front of Baek Socheon.
He was already over seventy, yet here he was talking about love.
And wasn’t Baek Socheon himself still single?
“That brings me to something else. I want you to become the Hidden Pavilion Master again.”
“I’m fine with my current position.”
“Well, I’m not. Besides, she wants to step down from the position of Hidden Pavilion Master anyway.”
“Then please give me a little more time. I still need further training.”
If he became the Hidden Pavilion Master, Yeomhwasin and the Blood Cult would undoubtedly pay even more attention to him.
“I understand what you mean. We’ll do it your way.”
“And if we manage to prevent this war... there’s something I want to ask of you, Alliance Leader.”
Baek Socheon intended to leave the Martial Alliance completely.
He planned to leave the Alliance behind and wander freely through the martial world.
If he found somewhere he liked, he would settle there for a while, then one day simply pack up and move on again.
That was the kind of life he wanted to live.
Of course, Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon would probably try to stop him from leaving, but Baek Socheon had already made up his mind.
Ak Sogun nodded.
“I also have something I want to tell you. Let’s talk about it when the time comes.”
Ak Sogun had made a decision of his own.
He intended to hand the position of Martial Alliance Leader over to Baek Socheon.
In his mind, there was no one else worthy of succeeding him.
Baek Socheon bowed and was about to leave when Ak Sogun handed him a box.
“Here. Take this.”
Inside were two roots of Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root.
“I can’t keep accepting things this valuable.”
“This is as far as I can help you.”
Even as Alliance Leader, Ak Sogun couldn’t spend unlimited amounts of money on a single person.
Moreover, obtaining top-grade elixirs had become as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.
“I’m sorry to put it this way, but consider it an investment in me and the Alliance. An investment in the future of the martial world as well. That makes me a bad person, doesn’t it?”
“No, Alliance Leader.”
Even without all this consideration, Baek Socheon would never abandon the martial world while it was in danger.
So from his perspective, Ak Sogun truly was showing him tremendous generosity.
Baek Socheon respectfully accepted the box.
“Thank you.”
After leaving the Alliance Leader’s Hall, Baek Socheon headed toward the Heavenly Dragon Secret Grounds.
Growing stronger was always welcome.
But the burden on his shoulders was becoming heavier and heavier.
Still, if he couldn’t avoid it, then he had no choice but to enjoy it.
That was how he decided to think about it.
These trials were simply fate’s way of making him stronger and stronger.
“Keep it up, Socheon!”
Encouraging himself, Baek Socheon entered the Heavenly Dragon Secret Grounds.