Chapter 284 - Not a Probe, but a Strike

Deep in the night, Baek Cheongyeong was crossing the forest.

Fireflies lit the pitch-black darkness, circling him and guiding his way.

Trees and grasses moved of their own accord to clear a path wherever he passed. A trail appeared where no one would ever have imagined one existed. Once he had passed, the vegetation returned to its original place.

How long had he walked like that?

Baek Cheongyeong stopped deep within the forest.

RUSTLE.

Though there was no wind, the grasses swayed and the branches moved.

Figures emerged from the undergrowth. The colors of their clothes and even their skin seemed to blend into the forest.

A man stepped out from among them. His name was Cho Rim, and he gave the impression of a slender blade of grass swaying in the wind. He was Baek Cheongyeong’s true disciple. Or, strictly speaking, the Wood King’s disciple.

Where Jin Hagun had learned swordsmanship, Cho Rim had learned Baek Cheongyeong’s true exclusive martial art, the Wooden Form Thousand Souls Art.

Baek Cheongyeong said to Cho Rim, “The time has come.”

A faint green light shone from Cho Rim’s eyes.

“Isn’t this far earlier than we planned?”

“An unexpected factor has arisen.”

“We aren’t ready yet.”

“We have no choice.”

“What could possibly be the reason?”

Baek Cheongyeong thought of Geom Mugeuk, who had visited him for the past three days.

He had sat beside him, imitating his wood carving.

He made frivolous remarks and pestered him for permission to see Jin Haryeong. Sometimes he brought wine and food and insisted they share them. At other times, he abruptly complimented his appearance, saying how attractive his long, narrow eyes were.

Then he would pass along various pieces of news from Murim. He knew a great deal and possessed both wit and insight. The boy’s mouth never rested. In his company, Baek Cheongyeong lost track of time.

On the third day, when he suddenly found himself wishing he had such an entertaining fellow as a subordinate or disciple, Baek Cheongyeong realized something.

'This boy is poison.'

And not just any poison. It seeped into you without your even knowing it was there, slowly poisoning you until you died. Perhaps it was more frightening than a deadly toxin that killed in an instant. It killed without letting you know why you were dying.

His instincts told him:

'This man knows something.'

How? He had hidden himself so well. He had deceived even the alliance leader all these years.

But once he assumed that Geom Mugeuk knew about him, his behavior made sense.

His instincts spoke again.

'That grinning man is a messenger of death, here to devour you.'

That was when Baek Cheongyeong made his decision.

'If fate has sent him to me, I will accept him as my fate.'

Yes. Ten long years of waiting were enough. It was time to act.

Baek Cheongyeong handed Cho Rim something.

It was the woman’s figurine he had carved earlier.

* * *

Yi An and Jin Haryeong stood facing each other in a field.

Their gazes were sharp. On their third meeting, they had decided to spar.

Agreeing to become friends on their second meeting had been unusual enough. Sparring on their third was even more so.

At first, Yi An had doubted Jin Haryeong’s intentions. What could the Martial Alliance Leader’s granddaughter possibly lack that she would go out of her way to befriend her?

'It must be because of the Young Master.'

To obtain information about Geom Mugeuk. Or to keep her in check.

But during their second meeting, Yi An had sensed that Jin Haryeong genuinely wanted to be her friend.

It was only because she understood that sincerity that this sparring match on their third meeting was possible. Otherwise, she would have suspected an attempt to kill her under the guise of sparring.

The two women drew their swords and charged each other.

The difference in their skill was unmistakable.

Before they had exchanged even twenty moves, Jin Haryeong’s sword flew from her hand.

Startled, Jin Haryeong asked, “What martial art is that?”

She realized her mistake as soon as she spoke. Bluntly demanding to know someone’s martial art after losing a match was terribly rude.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

She respectfully cupped her fist in salute.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

Yi An returned the salute with an apologetic expression.

She wanted to explain her sword art, but she could not.

Even with the Heavenly Demon’s permission, the fact that she had been taught the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art was something best kept from outsiders.

“I knew you were stronger than me, but I didn’t know you were this strong.”

“I thought it would be disrespectful to hide my skill from a friend.”

Jin Haryeong had wanted to win in martial arts, at least.

She had lost to Seo Daeryong at the Young Dragon Tournament, and today she had lost to Yi An. She kept losing to young demonic martial artists.

'If this had been a fight to the death instead of a sparring match, I would be dead.'

Her one consolation was that both of them were extremely close to Geom Mugeuk. That made Seo Daeryong and Yi An special cases.

Forcing aside her sense of defeat, she picked up her fallen sword and sheathed it. She did not pick it up only to stab her own pride with pointless jealousy. Yes, a sword belonged in its sheath, and pride was something others protected for you.

“A pretty face, a lovely personality, and powerful martial arts. Isn’t that cheating?”

She said it as a joke, but she meant it.

Yi An turned the words back on her.

“Aren’t you the one who’s heard that all her life?”

Yi An sincerely thought Jin Haryeong was beautiful. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

Jin Haryeong could tell that this was not a victor’s consolation, but sincerity. She could only marvel that such a beautiful woman considered her more beautiful still.

And so her steps were light on the way back.

“Oh! This path is so pretty.”

“I come here sometimes when I feel stifled. It’s my secret walking path.”

As they walked back, chatting about this and that, Jin Haryeong revealed what was on her mind.

“To be honest, I’m worried about my brother.”

“Don’t be. You’ll never regret calling the Young Master here.”

Admittedly, she had brought it up because she wanted to hear those words.

“You really trust your young lord.”

“More than I trust myself.”

“Having someone you can trust that much in life is a tremendous blessing.”

“You could trust him too, couldn’t you?”

“What?”

“You said you agreed to be friends with the Young Master too. Then trust him.”

Those were the very words Jin Haryeong had said to her brother.

Not to trust Geom Mugeuk halfway, but completely. Now Yi An was saying them to her.

A fanciful image flashed through her mind: in matters of trust, a large fish swallowing smaller fish one after another.

Yi An’s faith put Jin Haryeong a little more at ease. If this all ended with them being taken in by demonic martial artists, they would have fallen for a pair of swindlers, one man and one woman. The fact that she could still think that must mean she did not yet trust them completely.

And yet, saying something like this, she would have only herself to blame if she was deceived later.

“Let’s meet again tomorrow. Once you go back, who knows when we’ll see each other again?”

“All right. See you tomorrow.”

Yi An readily agreed. They might never see each other again for the rest of their lives. Or they might meet on a battlefield where they had to kill each other. That was the nature of her relationship with Jin Haryeong.

“Same time, same place.”

“Sounds good.”

Had Geom Mugeuk known? When he introduced them and told them to be friends, had he known they would truly become friends like this?

How far had Yi An walked after parting with Jin Haryeong? An inexplicable chill made her stop and turn around.

Jin Haryeong had already vanished from the beautiful woodland path.

Yi An gazed for a moment at the path, unchanged from moments before, then resumed walking.

* * *

As always, I went to visit Baek Cheongyeong that day.

But he was not in his workshop. He had been there every time for the past several days. Where had he gone?

At any rate, his absence let me devote the entire day to training.

My main focus was the Secret Art of Heavenly Time.

Was it because the Wood King had appeared?

My concentration was unlike its usual self, and the results of my training in the Secret Art of Heavenly Time were better than usual as well.

I repeated it, over and over. Even when my entire body rebelled against the tedium, I kept at it.

Training is like filling an enormous barrel by adding a single drop of water each day.

You must endure the tedium. You must add the one drop you labored all day to produce, even though it makes no visible difference. You must not sigh as you look into that enormous barrel, unchanged from yesterday. You must resist the temptation to ask whether you intend to spend your entire life filling it, to stop now and find some other pleasure.

Only by enduring can you encounter that one special drop among all the countless others.

Today, that special drop came in the form of a state of complete absorption.

I forgot even that I was training. My entire mind immersed itself in the Secret Art of Heavenly Time.

Complete absorption was truly a gift from heaven.

This time, Hwa Mugi had been the catalyst. The thought that he might appear heightened my concentration still further, leading me into that state. Water poured into the barrel in torrents.

And when ten watches had passed, feeling like a mere quarter of an hour...

'At last!'

The Secret Art of Heavenly Time reached a stage where training within it was more effective than training in reality.

Even accounting for the time needed to recover the internal energy it consumed, practicing martial arts within the Secret Art of Heavenly Time was now more efficient. At last, I had begun to have more time than everyone else.

“I did it!”

A shiver ran through my entire body as I confirmed it. I was so happy I felt I could fly. I was as happy as when Father had taught me the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. Overcome with joy, I bounded around inside the Art of Space-Time Transposition.

Now my training could truly begin. I would have more and more time, for I was practicing the Secret Art of Heavenly Time within the Secret Art of Heavenly Time itself.

* * *

Geom Mugeuk had emerged from the Art of Space-Time Transposition and was resting briefly when Yi An entered the room.

“Oh? When did you get back?”

Since he had been training inside the Art of Space-Time Transposition all along, she apparently thought he had gone out and returned.

“Young Master, have you seen Miss Jin, by any chance?”

“No. Why?”

“We agreed to meet today, but she didn’t show up.”

“Really?”

“Could something have happened? She isn’t the sort to break a promise.”

“And she didn’t send anyone with a message?”

“No. That’s why I’m a little worried. It’s been bothering me.”

He recalled that Baek Cheongyeong had left his workshop. She was not someone who would miss an appointment, and he had no reason to leave his workshop. As chance would have it, both things had happened at once.

“When did you last see her?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Where?”

“We met in the field to the west and sparred.”

“And then you parted?”

“We took a walk along a woodland path together before parting.”

“Was there anything strange then?”

Looking slightly anxious, Yi An told him what had been troubling her.

“On my way back, something felt odd, so I did look behind me.”

One more suspicious detail. If Yi An, at her level, had sensed something, then something might well have happened.

Then came the final piece that completed his unease.

He sensed a large number of martial artists encircling the safe house from afar. A force large enough to surround the safe house would belong to the Orthodox Martial Alliance. Geom Mugeuk could guess what had happened.

“If it was a woodland path, there must have been plenty of trees around, right?”

In a forest, Baek Cheongyeong could have deceived Yi An’s eyes and abducted Jin Haryeong. He was the only person who would abduct her now.

'He hasn’t merely made a probe. He’s struck a blow.'

At his grave expression, Yi An asked anxiously, “Miss Jin will be all right, won’t she?”

“For now.”

After abducting the Martial Alliance Leader’s granddaughter, there was no way to bring this matter to an amicable conclusion. That meant he intended to see it through to the bitter end, one way or another.

The one consolation was that Baek Cheongyeong was cautious. Even if he eventually killed her, he was not the sort to kill her at the outset. But if they failed to rescue her in time, her life could not be guaranteed.

'What does he want? To kill me? Or something else?'

How on earth did he intend to deal with the consequences?

“The Alliance’s martial artists will be here any moment.”

“I just sensed them too.”

Geom Mugeuk opened the door and stepped into the courtyard.

Yi An pulled her mask up over her face, pressed her bamboo hat down, and followed him outside.

Dozens of masters encircled them in layer upon layer on every side. The pressure they exuded was far from ordinary.

This was Yi An’s first crisis since arriving in the Central Plains, but she remained calm. Being with Geom Mugeuk put her mind astonishingly at ease.

A short while later, a group of martial artists entered the courtyard.

At their head was Martial Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon. The masters guarding him followed around him.

“It has been a long time.”

Instead of returning the greeting, Jin Paecheon demanded, “Where is Haryeong right now?”

When Geom Mugeuk had come, and why, did not matter. Jin Haryeong was Jin Paecheon’s priority now.

“I don’t know either.”

“I will ask you again. Where is Haryeong?”

Jin Paecheon’s furious qi presence seemed ready to erupt at any moment. If not for their previous connection, he would already have attacked and tried to subdue Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk sent him a sound transmission.

—Alliance Leader.

—Why are you using sound transmission instead of speaking aloud?

—Because that man may have eyes and ears here.

—Who?

—Baek Cheongyeong.

Jin Paecheon’s expression instantly hardened.

—Do you even know who he is?

—Yes. The master Young Master Jin has studied under for ten years. Young Master Jin felt threatened by that master and asked me for help.

Disbelief crossed Jin Paecheon’s face. How could he believe it? His grandson had felt threatened by his own master and asked the Demonic Cult’s young lord for help.

—I know it is difficult to believe, but it is the truth. Where is Young Master Jin now?

—He is away on Demon-Slaying Squad business.

—So he even timed this for Young Master Jin’s absence. He must have hoped you and I would clash here.

—At the time Haryeong would have disappeared, Baek Cheongyeong was with me.

Now Geom Mugeuk knew why he had not been in his workshop. He had been with the one person who could most conclusively clear him of suspicion in this incident. That meant he had a subordinate skilled enough to abduct her.

—He planned this quite well, but Baek Cheongyeong overlooked one decisive fact.

—What fact?

—That you trust me, Alliance Leader.

Jin Paecheon asked coldly:

—Why do you think I trust you?

—Because you know that if I had plotted this, I would never have put myself in this situation. You must trust me this time, just as you did before.

Looking at Jin Paecheon with utterly clear eyes, Geom Mugeuk calmly added:

—Once again, I am the only one who can save Miss Jin.