Chapter 171 - Desire Is Like Clothing

I left the situation entirely to Seo Daeryong.

Looking at the curtain, he spoke without a trace of intimidation in his voice.

“I want to make a lot of money and gain fame. And I want an easy path to both. I want to walk a path where I won’t limp or bleed. If I can walk that path, I’ll do anything.”

A smile formed on my lips as I lay prostrate behind him, my head lowered. He had just said the opposite of what he had told me. Even in a situation like this, Seo Daeryong had his wits about him.

The response from behind the curtain wasn’t bad.

“You’re honest.”

Seo Daeryong had safely cleared the first question. Now the gaze behind the curtain turned toward me.

“You want to make that servant your right-hand man?”

“He’s quick-witted and exceptionally handsome. I’m sure there will be something he’s useful for.”

Jo Ibaek asked me a question.

“If your master’s orders conflicted with mine, what would you do?”

“I follow only my young master’s wishes. That would not change even if the Martial Alliance Leader himself came.”

“A man of remarkable loyalty.”

Despite those words, Jo Ibaek was sneering behind the curtain. I could tell he didn’t believe in people’s loyalty—no, he didn’t believe in people to begin with. If even Seo Daeryong looked ridiculous to him, a servant could hardly fare better. That was the extent of his interest in me.

Jo Ibaek questioned Seo Daeryong again.

“Would you kill someone if I asked you to?”

Seo Daeryong flinched, then answered cautiously.

“That would depend on who it was. If they deserved to die, I could kill them.”

“What if I told you to kill someone you knew nothing about?”

He hesitated before answering.

“I’ll kill them! Just entrust the task to me!”

A brief silence followed.

Then Jo Ibaek laughed loudly behind the curtain.

“I was joking. Joking! Come now, we aren’t the Demonic Cult. Would we commit such wicked deeds?”

Seo Daeryong struggled to hide his embarrassment, his expression caught somewhere between laughter and tears.

“I know you were joking too. Would the champion of the Young Dragon Tournament commit such a dreadful act?”

“Of course. I was joking too.”

Seo Daeryong answered awkwardly and wiped away his cold sweat. His performance was convincing. Anyone would have seen a greenhorn from the countryside, crazed with the desire for success. Bringing a servant to a meeting like this and declaring that he would make him his right-hand man must have made him look like a truly simple-minded country bumpkin.

“Desire is like clothing. If you try to wear something that doesn’t fit, either the clothes tear or you end up looking unsightly.”

It sounded like a lecture about keeping one’s ambitions within one’s station. Seo Daeryong lifted his head and abruptly asked,

“Then what kind of clothes are you wearing, sir?”

What are your ambitions? It was an audacious, downright insolent question.

Well done, Daeryong. To find out what kind of person someone is, you have to keep shaking them up.

“If you won’t assign me such nasty tasks, what do you gain by helping me? I may be a country bumpkin, but there’s one thing I do know. The world never offers kindness without a reason.”

Behind the curtain, Jo Ibaek showed no displeasure. His pleasant laughter suggested that he actually liked Seo Daeryong’s attitude. He would feel that this sort of person was easier to use.

Though my head remained lowered, I was sending out qi to sense Jo Ibaek’s emotions. Seo Daeryong was the one facing him, but I was the one fighting the real battle.

“I’m investing in the future. To grow a mighty tree, one must begin with a sapling, mustn’t one?”

“Ah! I failed to understand your grand intentions, sir. I apologize.”

There’s no need to apologize, Daeryong. Most villains I’ve encountered don’t make long-term investments in people weaker than themselves. Use them and discard them. Use them and discard them. To such people, subordinates are always mere expendables.

If they invested in saplings, it would be to use those trees as windbreaks so they themselves could grow into mighty trees.

His reason for investing in Seo Daeryong was no different. He had something he wanted him to do. Whether it was killing someone or stealing secrets from the Orthodox Martial Alliance, he would demand repayment for all the support he gave. No, he would demand more than he gave. That was how villains did business.

This was what I needed to establish.

Are you the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society? Or have you been recruited too?

Jo Ibaek addressed Seo Daeryong.

“I like your honesty. Grow into a mighty tree that will support orthodox Murim in the years to come.”

“Thank you.”

With that, we left the room.

As we walked toward the main gate, Seo Daeryong spoke to So Ok in a dejected voice.

“I think I gave the wrong answer.”

Looking reproachfully at himself, he asked her,

“Did you get that question too, Team Leader So? The one about whether you could kill someone you knew nothing about.”

“I did.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I couldn’t.”

“Ah! I should have said that too. I must have been blinded by my eagerness to impress him.”

I quietly joined the conversation with a question for So Ok.

“Does he really never make you do things like that?”

She stopped walking and glared at me.

Since we first met, she had shown not the slightest interest in me. Most women showed romantic interest when they saw me, but So Ok paid me none at all.

I knew what women like her were like. People who pursued only their goals behaved that way. The mere fact that she treated Seo Daeryong so well while showing so little interest in me revealed the scale of her ambitions. She was trying to wear clothes far too large for her.

“Of course he doesn’t. What are you talking about?”

At first glance, her cold response looked like anger that a mere servant dared ask such a question. But I could sense it. That sudden, razor-sharp reaction came from a different feeling: guilt.

'You’ve done it.'

She had undoubtedly killed someone on Jo Ibaek’s orders.

“I’m sorry. I suddenly wondered.”

I quickly bowed my head and stepped back.

Seo Daeryong stepped in to scold me.

“Don’t speak out of turn!”

“Yes, sir.”

We parted ways with her at the manor’s main gate.

“Thank you so much for introducing me to him. I’ll be sure to repay this kindness.”

“Don’t mention it. People like us have to stick together.”

So Ok gave Seo Daeryong a radiant smile. Then she shot a cold glare at me behind him and left.

Once she disappeared, Seo Daeryong spoke to me.

“I wish all the women in the world treated you and me the way she does, Pavilion Master.”

“Isn’t that rather cruel to me?”

“That’s how I’ve lived my whole life.”

He walked on with his head hanging low.

“Is this acting too?”

“This is my reality.”

“You’ve changed as a person. Your reality will change too.”

Seo Daeryong stopped and turned to me. Looking at that hopeful face, I couldn’t bring myself to say, “Women will still like handsome men, though,” so I nodded vigorously instead.

His expression considerably brighter, he asked,

“Did you learn anything from this meeting?”

For a start, discovering that Jo Sin’s father, Jo Ibaek, was behind this was a major achievement.

Seo Daeryong had noticed something too.

“Team Leader So seems to be doing something bad under that man, doesn’t she?”

When I nodded, he burst out in anger. His fury was directed at both So Ok and Jo Ibaek.

“Damn it! How successful does she want to be, to go that far? And him, exploiting desperate people with no money! Pavilion Master, we can’t leave these people alone.”

Was Seo Daeryong the only one who was angry? I was merely holding back so I could uproot them completely. Otherwise, the master of True Dragon Manor would never have left that manor alive.

“But So Ok will have to pay the price in the process too.”

“Of course she should.”

Seo Daeryong let out a regretful sigh. Perhaps he had felt a certain kinship with her. He might have thought that he, who had plunged into the Cult without money or connections, and she, who had plunged into the Orthodox Martial Alliance, had ultimately felt the same way.

“I’ll send a carrier pigeon to Heaven-Reaching Pavilion before heading back. You go on ahead.”

“Are you calling in the Demon Supremes?”

“I’m only reporting how things are developing.”

I had received permission to seek more of their help, but this was still a succession test. Handling it with my own hands as far as possible was the best course. I missed the Demon Supremes, but I would have to endure that a little longer.

“I intend to handle this with the Martial Alliance Leader.”

Forging a close connection with him was essential for the future too.

After sending Seo Daeryong ahead, I spoke into the empty air.

“You must have heard the voice of the man behind the curtain.”

The concealed martial artist wouldn’t have been able to see through it, but would certainly have heard Jo Ibaek’s voice.

“There’s no need to wonder whether you’re right. It’s the man you’re thinking of. This is urgent. Arrange for me to meet the alliance leader immediately.”

* * *

A carriage stood in an alley.

When I climbed inside, I found Martial Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon waiting there.

“Your subordinate has probably reported that we met the man trying to recruit the Young Dragon Tournament champion.”

“I heard.”

From that point on, I spoke through sound transmission.

—Your subordinate will have given you the broad outline, so I’ll get straight to the point. He was the master of True Dragon Manor.

—For generations, True Dragon Manor has been a distinguished sect, even among those representing orthodox Murim. There is no way people like the Heavenly Mandate Society could have recruited him.

—I confirmed it myself.

—I heard there was a curtain.

—I could see through it. It was unmistakably him.

The Martial Alliance Leader still looked at me with suspicion. Since this was the family with whom marriage discussions for Jin Haryeong had been proceeding, he would find it all the harder to believe. It was easier for him to suspect me than to suspect the master of True Dragon Manor.

—That isn’t all. His son, Jo Sin, may also have been recruited by the Heavenly Mandate Society. And he doesn’t know that his father is in league with them.

The alliance leader’s surprise grew.

—Are you saying the Heavenly Mandate Society recruited them separately?

—I believe so. Or the father may have recruited his son without revealing his identity.

If that was true, the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society was truly formidable. He had recruited father and son separately to use them separately.

The same held true if Jo Ibaek was the Society’s leader. He would have deceived even his own son about his identity to recruit him.

—Because we’re dealing with a lunatic like this, you must not trust anyone until we’ve resolved the matter completely.

The Martial Alliance Leader’s expression hardened. Having to hear that from the Demonic Cult’s Second Young Master must have been deeply frustrating.

—Had it been anyone else, I would have dealt with him discreetly. But since he was even discussing a marriage with your family, I’m telling you.

—Why are you doing me this favor?

—I won’t lie and say it’s because I respect you. Nor is it for Miss Jin’s sake. It’s for the Cult. If trouble erupts in the Orthodox Martial Alliance, it will ultimately affect the Cult too. I don’t want Father to use the Alliance’s crisis as an opportunity to unify Murim.

At the mention of Father, Jin Paecheon’s gaze grew intense. I had even brought up the provocative notion of unifying Murim.

—I’m not bold enough to tell a lie while daring to invoke my father. So please believe me.

I did not avert my eyes from his gaze as it pounced on me like a tiger. Having weathered every kind of hardship, he would have the discernment to see the truth in my words. I believed that.

—Fine. Let us assume, as you say, that he is the master of True Dragon Manor. Why do you think he would do this?

—Pursuing a marriage with your family and recruiting martial artists from the Orthodox Martial Alliance. Wouldn’t that leave only one reason?

Jin Paecheon knew the answer too.

—My position?

—It may be groundwork for placing Jo Sin in the Martial Alliance Leader’s seat in the future. Forgive my disrespect, but it may also be to assassinate you. We would have to hear their intentions from their own mouths to know for certain, but whatever they are, you won’t enjoy hearing them.

Jin Paecheon was not a kindly, gentlemanly alliance leader. He was more domineering than any of his predecessors and had a fiery temper. He was merely exercising the utmost caution because his granddaughter was involved. Once that restraint was lifted, he would be difficult for anyone to handle.

—Understood. From now on, I’ll investigate personally.

He wanted to drag the master of True Dragon Manor before him and uncover the truth immediately.

—You mustn’t. As things stand, he has committed no proven crime. Sponsoring Alliance martial artists is something merchant companies with close ties to Murim and martial sects do openly. We need to find direct evidence connecting him to the Heavenly Mandate Society.

I offered him a proposal.

—Let us resolve this between the two of us, without telling anyone else. If you trust me, I have a way.

—Do not underestimate the Alliance. If you have a way, so do we.

—I’m not saying this because I underestimate the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

—Then why?

—Do you remember? The moment I first risked my life to reveal my identity to you.

I reminded him that we had been able to investigate this affair because I had told him all these facts. Jin Paecheon could not deny that much. He was a man of honor, a true martial artist.

Even so, I understood him. It was only natural that he did not feel inclined to leave the matter in my hands under these circumstances. So I made him a bold offer.

—I will resolve it within five days. If I exceed that deadline, you may handle it yourself.

Jin Paecheon was startled by my words.

“Can you really resolve it within five days?”

“In return, you’ll have to help me actively.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“They tried to use your flesh and blood to carry out their scheme. We should repay them in kind.”

Jin Paecheon smiled coldly.

“That part, at least, I like.”

After a brief deliberation, Jin Paecheon made his decision.

The words that left his mouth marked the beginning of a joint operation between the Martial Alliance Leader and the Demonic Cult’s Second Young Master—something unprecedented in the history of Murim.

“Proceed!”