Chapter 172 - No Time, Get on My Back

“Where the hell have you been?”

Jo Sin greeted Geom Mugeuk with an angry scowl. He had waited at the inn for ages before finally seeing him.

“I was out getting some fresh air.”

Jo Sin could never have imagined that Geom Mugeuk was returning from meeting his father—and the Martial Alliance Leader as well.

Nor could he have imagined that he himself was Geom Mugeuk’s prey. He had come of his own accord and was sticking his head into a tiger’s jaws.

“You have a lot of leisure for a servant.”

He took a dagger from inside his robes. It was the dagger he had failed to give Jin Haryeong, inscribed with congratulations on her victory.

“Should I stab your master to death with this? That sounds like the perfect ending to this whole affair.”

“The best ending would be you marrying Miss Jin and me getting a hundred thousand taels.”

“Then earn your money.”

“I need to be paid before I can earn it.”

“How much do you think my not sticking this dagger in your throat is worth?”

Jo Sin was growing anxious that the marriage might never happen at this rate. Worse, he had boasted to Cheol Gon when the man came in person to pressure him about it, so he had to move things forward somehow. That was why a man who had never waited for anyone in his life had spent an entire watch waiting for Geom Mugeuk at the inn.

Geom Mugeuk looked down at the dagger on the table.

“Time for one decisive move.”

“A decisive move? What kind?”

“As the Martial Alliance Leader’s granddaughter, how many sons of illustrious families must she have met? They all brag about their families, their money, and their martial arts. Imagine how pathetic and boring that must look to her.”

Jo Sin had been boasting about his wealth and family himself not long ago, so he had nothing to say.

“You need to show her something different from all those other young men.”

“And I’m asking what that is.”

“There’s one move that wins over every woman, whether she’s beautiful or ugly, kind or wicked, young or old. This.”

Geom Mugeuk picked up the dagger and tried to stab Jo Sin. Jo Sin promptly caught his wrist.

“You’re going to kill me? Do you have a death wish?”

“This is what I mean.”

“What?”

“Rescue her from danger. The man who saved her life. What more could you need?”

“!”

Jo Sin’s eyes widened. This was it. Why hadn’t he thought of it? He almost reproached himself for realizing it so late.

“It’s an old-fashioned method that’s been around for centuries, but it’s also the best, and it always works. What could be more powerful than owing someone your life? You’ll have to plan it carefully, though. Miss Jin is perceptive.”

Geom Mugeuk could already tell. Jo Sin was halfway sold.

“Oh, and one very important thing! You must entrust this to someone reliable. If something goes wrong and Miss Jin gets hurt or killed, your life will go with hers, Young Master Jo.”

Geom Mugeuk expected that, if Jo Sin had ties to the Heavenly Mandate Society, he would ask them for help. He couldn’t entrust something this important to just anyone.

“You absolutely cannot use anyone from your family. If that came out, even later, you’d be in serious trouble. Do you know an expert with no connection to you? Someone skilled enough to subdue Miss Jin. And someone trustworthy.”

At those words, one person came to Jo Sin’s mind.

Cheol Gon.

That frightening man was certainly suited to the task. Of course, there was no knowing whether he would agree, but there was hope. His mission was to marry Jo Sin to Jin Haryeong as quickly as possible. He was anxious enough to have come in person to pressure him.

Geom Mugeuk noticed that Jo Sin was thinking of someone.

'Just as I thought! He does have someone close at hand.'

Feigning ignorance, Geom Mugeuk said,

“Don’t drag me into anything that dangerous! I’ve done my part.”

Of course, what he really meant was: please drag me into it. Human nature made people want to do what they were told not to, and Jo Sin even had a reason why Geom Mugeuk absolutely had to be involved.

“You have to help me to the end.”

“I can’t stand dangerous work.”

Jo Sin pictured it: this servant and Jin Haryeong in danger, then himself appearing to rescue them. He would show her how different he was from this incompetent fool. Yes, no need to overthink it. This would settle everything.

“Besides, you have to bring Miss Jin out. If I take her somewhere and a villain appears, anyone would think I’d arranged it.”

“Fine. I’ll help. I need to get paid, too. If you’re going to do it, you must hurry. If this happens after Miss Jin formally joins the Alliance, the Orthodox Martial Alliance will launch an official investigation.”

Even without that reason, Jo Sin was in a hurry.

“Stay at the inn and wait until I contact you.”

“Understood.”

Jo Sin left in haste. Geom Mugeuk quietly followed him.

* * *

Jo Sin met Cheol Gon in a shabby warehouse near the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

“I believe I told you not to contact me unless it was a matter of life and death.”

“This is just as important. You must help me, just this once.”

“What is it?”

“With your help, I can marry Jin Haryeong.”

Just as Cheol Gon gave him a look that asked what on earth he was talking about, Jo Sin continued.

“Try to abduct her. Then I’ll appear and rescue her.”

Cheol Gon was so dumbfounded that he nearly swore.

“Listen, Young Master Jo. Are you drunk?”

“I’ll be honest. I talked big to you, but right now Miss Jin has absolutely no intention of marrying me.”

Jo Sin laid everything bare. He had decided that begging would work better on this cold, frightening man than any trickery.

“If you pressure me to marry her under these circumstances, how am I supposed to manage it? With any other woman, I could make it happen through threats if necessary. But she’s the Martial Alliance Leader’s granddaughter. How desperate do you think I must be to resort to this?”

“Will such a transparent trick work?”

“That’s why I need you. Someone skilled enough to fool Jin Haryeong. Someone who can subdue her without hurting her.”

“So after I subdue her, you intend to appear and rescue her. With your skills, would she believe you could drive me off?”

Cheol Gon considered Jo Sin a cut below Jin Haryeong.

“Why do you think I’m weaker than Jin Haryeong?”

Jo Sin revealed his qi presence. Its sharp force was unlike that of an ordinary rising young martial artist, and it was in no way inferior to Jin Haryeong’s. He had a hidden card of his own.

“Isn’t your mission to marry me to Jin Haryeong? If you miss this chance, you’ll never fulfill it. Honestly, I don’t care. I’m only trying because you people insist that I marry her. What do I have to worry about?”

Cheol Gon weighed the matter. Absurd though the proposal was, if it worked and the two married, his mission would be complete.

“You said you hoped I’d grow into a mighty tree, didn’t you? Then surely you need to fertilize the sapling occasionally if you want it to grow well.”

After a moment’s consideration, Cheol Gon nodded.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

Jo Sin’s face lit up at his acceptance.

“Oh, and while you’re subduing her, cripple that servant bastard. Cut off an arm, and a leg as well.”

Making no attempt to hide his annoyance, Cheol Gon said,

“If you hate him that much, why not just kill him?”

“I want to see how she reacts when he’s reduced to a miserable wreck.”

Jo Sin smiled coldly as he imagined the servant crippled. Would Jin Haryeong pity the bastard and keep him with her for the rest of her life? He was certain she would never do that.

“If she shows that much self-sacrifice, I’ll give her credit.”

He only wanted to see proof that Jin Haryeong was a shallow, worthless woman.

To him, she was still a tainted woman who had taken an interest in a servant instead of him. Even if they married, he would never love her.

Cheol Gon privately found him pathetic. Whether it was stupidity or youth, he didn’t know, but it was a line of thought he himself would never entertain.

“Let me know when you’ve decided on the time and place.”

Cheol Gon left first, followed by Jo Sin.

After they disappeared, two other men emerged: Geom Mugeuk and Martial Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon. Having announced that he would enter seclusion for several days, Jin Paecheon was secretly working with Geom Mugeuk.

Seeing Jo Sin’s true nature left Jin Paecheon appalled. He had barely restrained the urge to rush out and smash him to pieces.

“Why aren’t we arresting that Heavenly Mandate Society bastard here?”

“He isn’t our target. Skilled as he is, he’s ultimately expendable. No amount of interrogation will lead us to the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society.”

From what they had seen so far, the Society’s leader was not someone they could catch by squeezing a single subordinate.

“Then what do you intend to do?”

“Our target is Jo Sin.”

“What do you intend to do with him?”

“Take him to the gates of hell. Let’s see how Jo Ibaek reacts when we push Jo Sin to the edge of a cliff. Jo Ibaek is the one who will lead us to the Society’s leader.”

Jin Paecheon privately admired Geom Mugeuk’s intelligence and fearless drive. Truly, if he weren’t the Demonic Cult’s Second Young Master, Jin Paecheon would have found some way to make him his granddaughter’s husband.

'What a shame.'

But far from a prospective grandson-in-law, Geom Mugeuk was a potential enemy of the orthodox factions of Murim. And an exceedingly dangerous-looking one.

Concealing those thoughts, Jin Paecheon spoke bluntly.

“You have four days left.”

* * *

The next day, Jin Haryeong left her quarters in her favorite martial attire. Geom Mugeuk had invited her on an outing to East Lake.

She was in good spirits throughout the ride. At times like this, she could see just how hypocritical she was.

Her regret was as great as her happiness.

'If only he weren’t a servant.'

Beneath that feeling lay the belief that she couldn’t—or wouldn’t—marry a servant.

And she knew she would never cross that line of social status.

'You’ll regret this later. You pathetic bitch, you snob! Just live alone. Live alone.'

With all those thoughts running through her head, the two arrived at East Lake.

After gazing at the lake in silence for a long while, Geom Mugeuk spoke first.

“Someone once told me that parting well matters more than meeting well.”

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“I’m leaving in a few days.”

“What?”

“Thank you for everything.”

His words startled her.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

She hated to see him go. She liked being alone and had only a few friends, but none had ever made her feel this close to them. The plea for him to stay rose to her throat.

But it wasn’t as though she would take responsibility for his life. Once she joined the Orthodox Martial Alliance, she would be too busy to see him often anyway.

“You should become the Martial Alliance Leader someday.”

“What?”

Just as her eyes rounded in surprise, someone ambushed her from behind. Distracted by Geom Mugeuk, she had failed to notice the attacker’s approach.

As she belatedly turned in alarm—

TAP! TAP!

The masked Cheol Gon struck her paralysis points in an instant. Between the difference in their skills and the surprise attack, she was helpless.

Of course, Geom Mugeuk had sensed his approach from far away. He was prepared for even the slightest possibility of something going wrong. Some other unforeseen factor might intervene.

Having subdued her, Cheol Gon turned his gaze toward Geom Mugeuk.

Jin Haryeong shouted,

“Not him! Don’t kill him!”

She thought the masked man would kill Geom Mugeuk. If she was his target, surely he wouldn’t leave the servant with her alive.

“No! Please! Let him go!”

Despite her desperate cries, Cheol Gon strode toward Geom Mugeuk, intending to cut off his arm first with a single stroke.

At that very instant!

Cheol Gon’s sword stopped in midair. He felt an immense presence behind him. Every fine hair on his body was standing on end, and his survival instinct screamed at him to flee. At any other time, he would have launched himself away without looking back.

But his body wouldn’t move. He was floundering in the sea—an endless ocean with neither a boat to rescue him nor an island anywhere in sight.

Desperately drawing up his internal energy, Cheol Gon turned.

An enormous tidal wave of unfathomable height towered before him. Martial Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon was standing right behind him.

“... Damn it!”

He desperately tried to turn and flee again, but before he could take a single step, his paralysis points were struck. Expert though Cheol Gon was, against Jin Paecheon he was an opponent who could be defeated in a single move.

Cheol Gon couldn’t understand what was happening.

'Why is the Martial Alliance Leader here?'

The plan had been for Jo Sin to appear and rescue her after he cut off the servant’s hands and feet. So why?

If something had gone wrong, Jo Sin needed to appear even now. He needed to smile and smooth things over, saying he had staged this prank to impress Jin Haryeong. He needed to say that Cheol Gon was his subordinate.

But Jo Sin never appeared.

Then one thought sent a chill down his spine.

'A trap?'

Had Jo Sin sold him out to the Orthodox Martial Alliance? Otherwise, why wouldn’t he appear?

Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk noticed Jo Sin hiding in the distant woods.

'Stay where you are!'

A rift between Cheol Gon and Jo Sin was exactly what he wanted.

Jo Sin was watching from his hiding place in the woods. The alliance leader’s appearance had thrown him into a panic.

'It’s all ruined.'

What could he tell the alliance leader if he went out? That he had staged an abduction so he could rescue her? The moment he said that, the marriage would be out of the question forever. And how would he explain who Cheol Gon was?

Yet he couldn’t simply stay here. He couldn’t let Cheol Gon be taken away like that.

He tried to step out, but his feet wouldn’t move. He thought it was fear of the alliance leader, but in truth, the qi Geom Mugeuk had emitted was secretly pressing him back. Flustered and frightened, he never noticed.

'Damn it!'

In the end, Jo Sin decided to retreat for now and sort things out afterward. Once he stepped back and turned around, his body moved freely. He left without looking back.

Jin Paecheon released his granddaughter’s paralysis points.

“Grandfather! How did you come to be here?”

“I’ll explain everything later.”

For now, what mattered was proceeding according to plan.

Jin Paecheon and Geom Mugeuk looked at each other and nodded once.

Tucking the paralyzed Cheol Gon under his arm, Jin Paecheon leaped into the air and vanished in an instant. His supreme lightness arts were truly a sight to inspire admiration.

Jin Haryeong asked Geom Mugeuk,

“What is all this?”

She could sense that something was happening without her knowledge.

“Let’s head back, too. We don’t have time to stand around here. Are you good at handling dizziness when using lightness arts?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Can you handle it?”

“I’ve never felt dizzy using lightness arts.”

“If you get dizzy, keep your eyes shut tight. Don’t throw up on my back.”

Geom Mugeuk turned his back to her and crouched.

“Get on. There’s no time. Hurry.”

Since something serious seemed to be happening, she climbed onto his back for now. He was going to run with her on his back? Why? She wasn’t even hurt. She decided to see just what he intended to do.

“Were you seriously worried I’d get dizzy with you running while carrying meeeeeeeee!”