Chapter 78
A One-Nyang Assassination Contract
At the Nine Dragons Inn in Nanning, Guangxi Province, a waiter working on the first floor suddenly ran all the way up to the top floor.
His destination was the room at the very end of the corridor.
“What is it?”
“Please take a look at this.”
The waiter who had rushed over handed him a sheet of paper.
The man read its contents and shot to his feet.
“What the hell is this?”
What he was holding was an assassination contract report.
This place was, in fact, the Guangxi Branch of the Assassin Alliance, and the man was the assassin in charge of the entire Guangxi region.
Every person working at this inn was an assassin.
Normally, there were three reasons an assassination contract might shock one of the regional leaders.
Either the client was an extraordinary person, the target was extraordinary, or the reward was astonishingly large.
But the report in his hand was shocking in all three respects.
Client — Yeom Sawon
Target — Baek Socheon
Reward — One nyang
There was no time to simply stand there stunned.
“Send this to the Main Headquarters immediately under top priority!”
***
A carrier hawk flew toward the Assassin Alliance’s Main Headquarters with the assassination report attached to it.
Byeokryeok, a top-class assassin who handled the Alliance’s practical affairs, was equally stunned by its contents.
He immediately sought out Cheon Geuk, coming all the way to the teahouse in front of the Martial Alliance’s Main Headquarters.
And so the assassination report ended up in Cheon Geuk’s hands, receiving her utterly incredulous stare.
Yeom Sawon had brazenly revealed his own name when placing the contract.
And the reward was a measly one nyang.
Cheon Geuk already disliked Yeom Sawon.
The last time they had met, he had treated Nasarin like some kind of monster and behaved rudely toward her.
Suppressing the curses rising in her throat, Cheon Geuk spoke calmly to Byeokryeok.
“How should we interpret this?”
Byeokryeok was someone Cheon Geuk trusted.
During his active years, he had been an excellent assassin. He was also intelligent and possessed sound judgment, which was why she had entrusted him with the practical management of the Alliance.
When Cheon Geuk gave an order, Byeokryeok was usually the one who actually carried it out.
“The fact that he openly revealed his identity should probably be interpreted as pressure telling us that we must accept the contract.”
If the name written there had been Yeomhwasin, Cheon Geuk might have acknowledged it.
He was precisely the sort of man whose stature could justify such arrogance.
But Yeom Sawon?
Absolutely not.
Not even close.
“We have to remember what happened the last time we tried to kill Baek Socheon.”
“Of course, but…”
The hesitation at the end of Byeokryeok’s sentence implied that the circumstances were different now because Baek Socheon no longer had internal energy.
Byeokryeok knew that Cheon Geuk had developed deep ties not only with Baek Socheon, but also with the Martial Alliance itself.
Even putting that aside, if some ordinary client had dared mock the Assassin Alliance with a one-nyang contract, they would have made an example of him.
The only reason they had not immediately done so was because the client happened to be the successor of the Zecheong Alliance.
“We promised that we would never accept another contract on Baek Socheon.”
“Yes, I know.”
Cheon Geuk wrote something on the paper and handed it to Byeokryeok.
“Send this as our reply.”
Byeokryeok looked at what she had written.
Use that one nyang to go fuck yourself.
“Gasp!”
Byeokryeok stared at her in shock.
Cheon Geuk smiled.
“I’m joking. Send a polite letter declining the contract.”
“Phew, Alliance Leader.”
Byeokryeok hurriedly tore up the paper in case anyone else saw it and let out a sigh of relief.
“But… will it really be all right to reject the contract?”
Clearly, the matter still bothered him.
The Assassin Alliance fundamentally existed somewhere between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, but many assassins tended to lean more toward the Zecheong Alliance than the Martial Alliance.
Byeokryeok himself believed that siding with the Zecheong Alliance might prove more advantageous if war broke out.
Most importantly, Baek Socheon, once the strongest martial artist in the world, had lost his martial arts, while Yeomhwasin had become terrifyingly powerful.
“What will we do if the Zecheong Alliance Leader personally gets involved?”
“You think he’ll attack the Assassin Alliance because his son offered a one-nyang contract and got rejected? The whole world would laugh at him. Besides, Yeom Sawon made one fatal mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He made it a one-nyang contract. If he had offered three million nyang again like before, we really would have had difficulty refusing. We wouldn’t have had any justification.”
She was right.
If they rejected an assassination contract worth such an enormous sum, it would effectively amount to admitting that the Assassin Alliance had joined hands with the Martial Alliance.
“He probably thought he was acting arrogantly and showing off, but this is actually his blunder. Who would sympathize with such an insolent attitude? Even within the Zecheong Alliance, people will probably criticize him for acting so recklessly.”
“The Zecheong Alliance Leader is still the problem. As you know, he’s a frightening man.”
“That’s exactly why. He’s not the kind of person who would spare us just because we accepted one contract. He would have already decided how to deal with us in the future, regardless of this incident.”
“What do you mean?”
“If he succeeds in unifying the martial world… he’ll eliminate every assassin in our Alliance.”
Byeokryeok was startled.
“Do you really believe that?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Geuk answered with complete certainty.
Byeokryeok found it difficult to believe.
“The Unorthodox Path and we share the same roots.”
“That’s exactly why they’ll try even harder to eliminate us. They’ll want to show the world that they are the only true Unorthodox Path. That’s the kind of man I believe Yeomhwasin to be.”
Their gazes met in midair.
At least at this moment, there was nothing in Cheon Geuk’s expression suggesting that personal feelings might cloud her judgment and ruin the greater cause.
She was calmer and more composed than ever.
“Very well. I’ll trust your judgment, Alliance Leader.”
Only then did Cheon Geuk formally issue her order.
“Our Alliance rejects Yeom Sawon’s one-nyang assassination contract.”
“I receive the Alliance Leader’s absolute command.”
After Byeokryeok left, Cheon Geuk turned to one of the Guardian Assassin Stars.
“I can get angry now, right? I feel like I’m going to get sick if I keep holding it in.”
“Yes. Please feel free.”
“Ugh, that little bastard swaggering around just because of his father’s power! I should go cut his head off right now. I would’ve rejected the contract even if he offered ten million nyang, but what? One nyang? Should I really go kill him for one nyang? Who wants to pay me the one nyang? No, forget it. Don’t pay me. Even one nyang would be a waste on that bastard. If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll just…”
After unleashing a long stream of curses, her anger finally subsided.
She calmly gave another order.
“Leak this information to the Hyeoncheon Pavilion. They should know that we chose the Martial Alliance even though doing so puts us at risk.”
“Yes, understood.”
Cheon Geuk walked over to the window.
This was only the beginning.
From now on, more and more moments would come when she would have to make difficult choices.
At that moment, Nasarin entered.
She had been staying with Cheon Geuk.
Sometimes she came to help with work at the teahouse, while most of the time she rested at the house across the street while circulating her energy.
“Byeokryeok came to greet me before leaving.”
Apparently, she had heard about the assassination contract from him.
“Elder.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“I may have just made an important decision that could change the fate of our entire Alliance.”
Nasarin remained calm as she asked,
“Do you regret it?”
“No.”
At Cheon Geuk’s firm reply, Nasarin smiled.
“Then that is enough. Continue trusting your instincts, Alliance Leader. That is how people like us have survived until now.”
***
“The Assassin Alliance rejected the contract.”
Yeom Sawon froze at Won Mu’s report.
Won Mu held his breath.
Moments like this were the most dangerous.
Yeom Sawon was probably wondering how best to demonstrate his anger.
Depending on his choice, a maid might die, or a hole might suddenly appear in the wall.
It was practically a habitual response.
Bang!
Fortunately, this time the victim was the desk in front of him rather than a person.
“That fucking bitch must be desperate to die.”
Yeom Sawon had never imagined such a response.
In his mind, rejecting him meant rejecting his father, and by extension, rejecting the Zecheong Alliance itself.
“They also sent a respectful apology.”
“Tell them to shove their apology up their asses!”
Murderous intent surged from Yeom Sawon’s body.
“I should drag that bitch here first and make her kneel in front of me.”
“You should be cautious about provoking the Assassin Alliance.”
Yeom Sawon’s eyes instantly turned vicious.
Won Mu lowered his head.
Still, he had to say what needed to be said.
His immediate predecessor had died because he tried to stop Yeom Sawon.
But the predecessor before that had died because he hadn’t tried to stop him.
Yeom Sawon had beaten him to death while accusing him of being a treacherous flatterer who never offered honest advice.
To survive under this deranged master, one needed to know exactly when to object and when to obey.
“So? You’re saying I should just leave that bitch alone?”
Even Yeom Sawon knew the truth.
He could curse her as much as he wanted, but Cheon Geuk was not an easy opponent.
He wasn’t confident he could defeat her in a one-on-one fight.
And the thought of every assassin in the Central Plains targeting him was terrifying in its own right.
But he simply could not endure the filthy feeling of being disrespected.
Except when matters involved his father, patience was a concept that did not exist in Yeom Sawon’s world.
“Perhaps it would be better to inform the Alliance Leader and ask for his assistance.”
Yeom Sawon snorted.
“My father would never help me. He’d laugh his ass off at me.”
Yeomhwasin’s gaze whenever he looked at him had always been cold.
Not once had his father ever looked at him warmly.
Even the scheme in Zhejiang Province had been something Yeom Sawon pursued because he wanted Yeomhwasin’s recognition.
“My father already knows about this, doesn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Not only Yeomhwasin, but the high-ranking experts within the Zecheong Alliance all knew.
“If I back down now, everyone will think I’m an idiot.”
Sometimes Won Mu felt like running to the bamboo grove behind the mountain and shouting,
‘Everyone already thinks you’re an idiot!’
But regardless, Yeom Sawon was still his master.
Their fates were bound together.
So Won Mu desperately tried to calm his anger.
“I don’t think you should direct your hatred toward a mere assassin organization. The one who ruined your plan in Zhejiang was Baek Socheon.”
He deliberately gave Yeom Sawon an escape route that would make it easier for him to back down.
The Assassin King would be difficult to deal with, but Baek Socheon had lost his internal energy and should have been far easier to target.
Unfortunately, rather than providing an escape route, those words threw the front gate wide open in the opposite direction.
The mention of Baek Socheon became oil poured directly onto Yeom Sawon’s already raging fury.
“I’ll kill both of those bastards while I’m at it! Summon Janbaek immediately!”
Won Mu jolted at the name.
Janbaek was an expert Yeomhwasin had personally assigned to protect Yeom Sawon.
He belonged to the Eighteen Ghost Swords of the Zecheong Alliance and was one of the three strongest among them.
Won Mu was about to protest.
Then he saw that Yeom Sawon had completely lost it.
“I obey.”
After leaving the room, Won Mu sighed.
Calling Janbaek was one problem.
Whether Janbaek would obediently follow Yeom Sawon’s orders was an even bigger one.
***
Baek Socheon came to see her.
“I heard the news.”
“What news?”
Cheon Geuk feigned ignorance.
“You rejected the assassination contract on me.”
“That news reached you already? Your intelligence network is fast.”
Cheon Geuk pretended she hadn’t deliberately leaked the information.
Baek Socheon knew perfectly well that she had.
He simply played along.
If anything, he thought it had been a smart decision.
Things that needed to be known should be made known at the proper time.
That was far wiser than silently doing something for someone and then feeling hurt later because they failed to appreciate it.
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Of who? That ill-mannered brat? Not in the slightest.”
“No. The Zecheong Alliance.”
“Of course the Zecheong Alliance scares me.”
“Then why?”
“I have you, don’t I? I told you before. I’m betting on you in this fight. I probably should’ve said that to the subordinate who came earlier too, but I couldn’t bring myself to.”
“Why?”
“I was worried he might have some prejudice against women. You know the kind. A woman falls for a man and ends up destroying her entire organization because of him… Not that I’m passionate enough about romance to go that far.”
Baek Socheon chuckled.
“You’d better fight well later. If you die, we all die too.”
“If I die, run. Don’t fight a battle you can’t win.”
“Don’t worry about that. Disappearing is something I’m better at than anyone in the world.”
Cheon Geuk smiled faintly, and Baek Socheon smiled with her.
“By the way, why did you come?”
“To thank you. You rejected the contract on me.”
“We had a promise.”
“You said Yeom Sawon was the one who placed it, right?”
“Yes.”
“He’s not the type to let this go. He’ll either try to kill you or try to kill me. He’ll definitely do something.”
“So what should we do?”
“I’ll take responsibility.”
“Oh? How manly.”
“This is exactly when you’re supposed to show off.”
Baek Socheon stood up.
“I’ll go get my things. Do you have a room I can use?”
“There’s only one room here.”
“Then let’s stay here together for the time being.”
Without waiting for an answer, Baek Socheon walked out of the room.
Cheon Geuk sat there blankly for a moment.
At that point, Dongseong and Seoseong—the only woman among the Guardian Assassin Stars—began exchanging sound transmissions.
—Tell her she absolutely can’t agree to share a room that easily!
—Who do you think the Alliance Leader is? She was just caught off guard and couldn’t refuse! There’s no way she’ll agree that easily!
Then Cheon Geuk, her cheeks slightly flushed, asked,
“What time does the market close these days?”