Chapter 79
The Matchmaker Comes (1)
Baek Socheon returned to the teahouse carrying a leather bag over his shoulder. It was the same bag he always took whenever he went somewhere for an extended period.
“You really came?”
“You thought I was joking?”
“Not exactly. But you don’t have to protect me. I’m not a child, you know?”
“I know.”
He knew better than anyone.
He understood just how extraordinary one had to be to maintain the title of Assassin King.
Unless Yeomhwasin personally came after her, even an exceptional master would have a difficult time killing Cheongeuk. On top of that, she was already prepared for an attack, and the Guardian Assassin Saints were with her as well.
“Then why?”
“Are we going to keep talking while you leave me standing out here?”
“Oh. Come in.”
Baek Socheon entered and set down his luggage.
After glancing around the room, he said,
“Come to think of it, there’s only one bed.”
“Well, of course. I sleep alone.”
“Looks a little narrow for two people.”
“It shouldn’t matter how wide it is!”
“True.”
“When you look closely, you really are surprisingly flirtatious.”
“Flirtatious? I came here to protect you. I can just circulate my qi here and stay awake all night.”
“Did you really come here to protect me?”
“No. I’m using you as an excuse to get some rest.”
It was impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.
Cheongeuk assumed he meant it.
“Well, you really do need some rest.”
In truth, Baek Socheon had come to her for two reasons.
The first was Yeomhwasin.
There was always the remote possibility that Yeomhwasin might personally make a move.
Of course, the chances were slim.
Killing Cheongeuk would mean going to war with the Assassin Alliance. With a war against the Martial Alliance already looming, there was no reason for him to create another powerful enemy in the form of the Assassin Alliance.
Baek Socheon knew how meticulous and intelligent Yeomhwasin truly was despite his outward appearance.
He might personally appear at the front gates of the Martial Alliance or reveal the woman he had kept hidden, but the man who behaved in such unpredictable ways and the man who conducted a war could almost be considered two completely different personalities.
He was not someone who would ruin a great cause because of private emotions.
Especially not merely because of affection for his own blood.
That was why the second reason for Baek Socheon’s visit was actually more important.
“There’s somewhere I want to go with just the two of us for a little while.”
At Baek Socheon’s casual suggestion, Cheongeuk shouted,
“You’re the one who’s in more danger!”
Cheongeuk spent quite some time persuading the Guardian Assassin Saints before she was finally allowed to leave the teahouse alone with Baek Socheon.
The place he took her was where he practiced martial arts.
“You can cross it, right?”
“Of course!”
Cheongeuk lightly followed Baek Socheon across the sheer cliff.
After finding the hidden path and reaching the destination, she exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh, there was a place like this?”
“It’s my secret training ground.”
“I’m honored.”
The two had grown considerably closer lately, but Cheongeuk still knew little about Baek Socheon’s private life.
So when he brought her into a place that belonged solely to him, she felt strangely pleased.
“But why did you bring me here?”
“To fight you.”
The brightness immediately disappeared from Cheongeuk’s face.
“Why?”
A sudden sense of fear came over her.
She had never once imagined fighting Baek Socheon.
“Because I haven’t had a chance to fight a master like you.”
“…”
After a brief pause, Cheongeuk asked,
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I’m serious. This isn’t going to be a spar. We’re going to fight for real.”
It was training he needed around this point.
Training alone was no longer enough.
He needed to clash with someone else and receive stimulation from a true battle.
Among the people around him, only the Alliance Leader and Cheongeuk were capable of providing that level of stimulation.
“You’re not trying to kill me, are you?”
Baek Socheon nodded before answering.
“It’ll help you too, not just me. And there’s another reason.”
“What is it?”
“I want to know exactly how strong you are.”
“Why?”
“I need to know your strength so that when I really have to protect you, I’ll know how.”
“…!”
Cheongeuk stared fixedly at Baek Socheon.
Even if those words were merely meant to deceive her, she thought she would gladly allow herself to be deceived if this was how it felt.
“What if I accidentally kill you?”
“If I’m going to die anyway, dying at the hands of a beautiful woman wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Fine. Let’s fight.”
Before she was an assassin, Cheongeuk was still a top martial master.
Her true strength had never been officially revealed, so she did not appear in the Martial Arts Ranking Register, but the Heaven Mystery Pavilion estimated that she possessed enough skill to place within at least the top ten.
Cheongeuk had seen Baek Socheon fight before, but this was the first time she would fight him personally.
Watching someone from the side and experiencing their martial arts directly were entirely different things.
What would it feel like to fight him herself?
She drew her signature weapon, the Death King Dagger.
Baek Socheon unsheathed the Ghost Shadow Sword.
Kihihihihihihi.
A ghostly wail rang from Baek Socheon’s sword.
A chill ran through Cheongeuk, and every hair on her body stood on end.
“Sword Cry!”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve never heard a sword cry before.”
“It’s not exactly something you hear often.”
She lowered her gaze toward her own hand.
The Death King Dagger trembled slightly within her grasp.
It was not merely fear.
Alongside that fear was the excitement of facing a truly powerful opponent.
Cheongeuk raised her head and looked at Baek Socheon.
“Let’s begin.”
The two began their spar.
Though they called it a spar, it was effectively a genuine battle.
At first, Cheongeuk attacked lightly.
Of course, “lightly” was only by the standards of people at their level.
An attack of this degree would have killed the warriors of the Iron Sword Corps or the Secret Pavilion in a single move.
Her dagger sliced through the air.
Death King Dagger Arts.
Bearing the same name as her signature weapon, this martial art was an assassination art that pursued extreme speed, much like Baek Socheon’s swordsmanship.
With each successive exchange, her movements became faster.
Among every martial art Baek Socheon had faced that pursued extreme speed, hers was the fastest.
Yet the person who was truly astonished was Cheongeuk.
Although she continued accelerating, she still could not keep up with Baek Socheon’s movements.
She increased her speed again and again until she unleashed the fastest attacks she was capable of.
Even then, Baek Socheon’s movements completely overwhelmed hers.
Cheongeuk temporarily pulled away from him.
“Were you always this fast?”
“No. The martial art I learned recently pursues extreme speed.”
“That’s even more surprising. You learned it recently, yet you can already use it to this extent.”
“Come again.”
“I’m coming.”
The two shot toward one another once more.
In one flash, they exchanged positions.
In another flash, they crossed past each other again.
Their movements were extraordinarily fast.
It was truly a spectacle of light.
It was almost a shame that no one was there to witness it.
Baek Socheon pushed her all the way to her limits.
Cheongeuk’s martial ability was far greater than he had expected.
There was no question that she belonged within the top ten of the Martial Arts Ranking Register.
From Baek Socheon’s perspective, beneath himself, Yeomhwasin, Meolsaeng, and Ak Sogun, Cheongeuk could easily be considered outstanding even among the remaining six masters.
Eventually, their fierce spar came to an end.
Cheongeuk was drenched from head to toe.
Had she ever become this soaked in sweat while fighting someone before?
As she gradually immersed herself in the battle, she had even experienced a state of complete self-forgetfulness.
Baek Socheon, on the other hand, was not sweating.
That alone made the difference between their abilities clear.
Both of them gained enlightenment from that single battle.
“Did it help?”
Baek Socheon answered Cheongeuk’s question.
“It helped a lot.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing the sincerity in his voice, she sprang to her feet and pointed the Death King Dagger at him.
“What are you doing sitting there? Since we came all the way here, let’s fight some more.”
“Good!”
The two began fighting again.
Now that Cheongeuk had confirmed Baek Socheon’s strength, she no longer hesitated.
She employed every technique she possessed.
Their battle grew increasingly intense.
****
Yeom Sawon glared sharply at Janbaek as the man walked toward him.
Whenever he looked into Janbaek’s small, narrow eyes, goosebumps rose across his body and fear crept into him.
Janbaek was one of the three strongest among the Eighteen Ghost Swords of the Heaven Defying Alliance.
In truth, if Yeom Sawon were not the successor of the Heaven Defying Alliance, he would never even have dreamed of confronting someone like Janbaek in a battle of wills.
“You called for me?”
Janbaek spoke quietly and respectfully, but he did not sincerely follow Yeom Sawon.
He was merely obeying Yeomhwasin’s order to protect his son.
“I called because I have a request.”
“Please speak.”
“I want you to kill two people.”
Janbaek’s expression tightened slightly.
He disliked the very idea of being used as a blade for killing whoever Yeom Sawon desired.
“Who?”
“The leader of the Assassin Alliance and Baek Socheon.”
“No.”
Janbaek rejected the request the instant he heard it.
Yeom Sawon was actually taken aback.
Even if he intended to refuse, couldn’t he at least pretend to think about it first?
“Why not?”
“Because it’s impossible.”
Janbaek answered firmly without explaining.
“It’s an order!”
“It’s still impossible.”
“Are you saying you’ll disobey my command?”
“My apologies, but if you order me to kill someone else, I will obey.”
It was certainly not because Janbaek feared Yeom Sawon.
The problem was Yeomhwasin.
“Then at least tell me why. Why is it impossible?”
Janbaek let out a quiet sigh.
“Must you really hear it?”
“Yes.”
In the end, Janbaek explained.
“First, the Assassin King is stronger than I am.”
“What?”
Yeom Sawon was stunned.
“Are you serious? You’re saying you can’t even deal with one mere woman?”
Janbaek stared at him as though dumbfounded.
“Young Master, just how weak do you think the Assassin King is?”
“She’s nothing more than an assassin, isn’t she?”
“People keep dying to that ‘mere assassin.’”
“She’s a woman!”
“You clearly know very little about assassins. Assassins never obey someone weaker than themselves. In other words, the Assassin King is the strongest among all assassins. If she has managed to maintain the position of Assassin King despite being a woman, that means she must be even stronger.”
“I can’t believe it!”
“You don’t have to.”
“Then kill Baek Socheon instead! His internal energy is sealed right now.”
“Baek Socheon is even more impossible.”
Janbaek’s refusal became even firmer.
“Why?”
“I cannot interfere and kill Baek Socheon. Only two people are allowed to personally kill him: the Alliance Leader and the Young Alliance Leader.”
“You can’t kill him because of my father?”
Janbaek did not answer, but his silence clearly meant yes.
Everyone knew of the relationship between Yeomhwasin and Baek Socheon.
Baek Socheon was someone special to Yeomhwasin.
“I believe that sufficiently answers your question.”
Janbaek bowed and turned to leave.
“Stop!”
Janbaek ignored him and continued walking out.
Bang! Bang!
Yeom Sawon smashed everything within reach.
He deliberately made as much noise as possible, destroying things to demonstrate just how furious he was.
“That bastard Baek Socheon! Baek Socheon! Baek Socheon!”
In truth, his father had never directly compared Baek Socheon with him.
But every time he heard people speak about Baek Socheon, Yeom Sawon felt inferior.
If anything, the fact that they were never compared made him even angrier.
It gave him the filthy feeling that he was not even worthy of being considered Baek Socheon’s rival.
“I’ll tear that bastard apart with my own hands.”
***
Baek Socheon and Cheongeuk returned to the teahouse.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. I gained a lot of enlightenment too.”
Their battle, which had lasted several hours, had been enormously beneficial to both of them.
Baek Socheon in particular gained considerable insight from fighting her because her assassination arts were based on extreme speed.
“Let’s do it again tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
They returned in good spirits, only to find Strategist Sima Iljung waiting in front of the teahouse.
“The Alliance Leader urgently requests your presence.”
The fact that he had personally come all the way here was enough to show how urgent the matter was.
Baek Socheon hurried to the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon were waiting there.
The expressions on their faces immediately revealed the seriousness of the situation.
They looked grave enough that one might assume the Heaven Defying Alliance had already started the war.
Instead, however, the news came from somewhere completely unexpected.
“Someone has come from the Blood Cult.”
“The Blood Cult?”
Baek Socheon was startled.
For the Blood Cult to send someone at a time like this was an extremely significant and suggestive move.
Zhuge Hyeon continued.
“The Blood Cult Leader, Meolsaeng, has an only daughter.”
“I know.”
Meolsaeng’s only daughter, Meol Jiryun.
Baek Socheon had never seen her personally, nor had he heard any rumors about her.
The same was true for everyone else.
She was a woman shrouded in mystery.
“The person sent by the Blood Cult is a matchmaker.”
“They sent a matchmaker?”
It was completely unexpected.
“They want to arrange a marriage for Meol Jiryun.”
Baek Socheon was stunned.
He had never imagined that the Blood Cult would seek to establish a marriage alliance with the Martial Alliance.
Did they not realize that the Martial Alliance had discovered they were the ones who had placed the Heaven Beyond Ancient Poison?
Even setting that aside, what possible intention could the Blood Cult—already allied with the Heaven Defying Alliance—have in sending a matchmaker?
“You mean they want to arrange a political marriage with Young Master Ak? Did they really think we would accept something like that?”
Ak Sogun’s second son, Ak Seopyeong, was still unmarried.
“They didn’t send the proposal for Seopyeong.”
“What?”
Ak Sogun added something Baek Socheon truly could never have imagined.
“They sent the matchmaker because they want her to marry you.”