Chapter 14
The two of them spent about an hour there together.
When Cheon Ha-seong stopped moving, Gi Mun-yong collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. The saying 'not even having the strength to lift a finger' was a perfect fit.
He was barely even breathing, and his body felt as heavy as lead.
“That's enough, Gi Mun-yong.”
“…?”
Gi Mun-yong, wondering what was enough, moved only his eyes to look at Cheon Ha-seong. Then he realized that Cheon Ha-seong was speaking informally to him again.
“Head Instructor…?”
“You passed.”
“Passed… what?”
Gi Mun-yong asked, wondering what it was that he had done well.
“Your spirit passed. And you've built up your body quite well until now and haven't neglected your Mind Method training, so it is sufficient.”
“Sufficient for what…?”
Still not understanding, he asked, and Cheon Ha-seong grinned.
“Sufficient material to be made into a martial artist. Can you finish the work you are doing now within three days?”
“Yes, Head Instructor.”
It felt as if someone inside Gi Mun-yong was fiercely shouting that he absolutely should not answer like that. However, Gi Mun-yong answered anyway.
It seemed there would be many times in the future that he would regret this very moment, but he didn't care.
It was a life you only live once, after all.
Since leaving the Martial Arts Academy, how many moments had there been when he felt he was truly alive?
It would be fair to say there were none.
It had been a life always filled with regret. But the Head Instructor he respected the most, no, the only one he respected, had come to find him in person. Therefore, he could never let go of the hand he had extended.
“Three days from now, come find me at the time the Martial Arts Academy closes for the day. Explain things well to your mother, too. It is best to tell her that you will be leaving on a long journey and will not be able to return within a year.”
“Yes, Head Instructor.”
Cheon Ha-seong gave a nod, then helped Gi Mun-yong up, had him lean against him, and immediately performed his lightness skill.
Gi Mun-yong's mother, unable to rest her heart after her son said strange things and went outside, had come out to the front gate and was waiting.
Then she saw Cheon Ha-seong bringing her son, who looked like a corpse.
“Mun-yong-ah!”
Thinking her son was dead, she screamed and approached, and Cheon Ha-seong bowed his head before her.
“Your son is safe.”
Then he gave her a packet of medicinal herbs.
“This works well for both internal and external injuries, so feed it to him for three days. Well then.”
He finished his farewells cleanly and left the spot. Gi Mun-yong's mother, wondering what all this was about, dragged her son inside.
It was a series of utterly incomprehensible events.
***
Pant— Pant—
The sound of harsh panting cut through the darkness.
It was unclear who had attacked him, but his body was covered in serious wounds, and the clothes he wore were already soaked in blood.
Blood dripped everywhere he passed, so no matter how hard he tried to flee, it didn't seem like it would be difficult to track him.
His level of lightness skill was not low, but the skills of those following him were no less. In fact, their skills far surpassed his, so his capture was a foregone conclusion.
About an hour ago, he had been in the Cult Leader's bedchamber.
Hearing that the Cult Leader seemed to be injured and that today was the opportunity, he had received an order from his family's leadership and launched a surprise attack, but the Cult Leader's counterattack was fierce.
He hadn't even managed to attack a few times before he hastily fled, but the Cult Leader's personal bodyguards were chasing him to the end without tiring.
However, he did not let go of the thread of hope until the very last moment. This was because one of the personal bodyguards who had followed him was a man who moved on a secret order from his family.
“There he is!”
When that shout came from behind, the masked man stopped fleeing and turned towards them.
“Gwak Won! I will take care of this bastard, so you hurry back to the Cult Leader.”
The one who had been chasing the masked man shouted to the one who had come with him.
“Understood.”
However, Gwak Won, who had seemed to turn back as if obeying, swung his sword. The man who was about to attack the masked man was ranked within the top fifty in the Divine Cult in terms of martial arts level. For that reason, he was not someone who would be easily defeated by others, but he had not expected a trusted colleague to swing a sword at his back. Even for anyone else, it would have been difficult to defend and protect one's life in such a situation.
“Gwak Won! How could you!”
The dying personal bodyguard shouted, unable to hide his rage, but in the end, his throat was slit, and he could not continue his words.
“What is going on! I already told you that now is not the time to act rashly, did the Family Head send you!”
“It's not that, the Marquis…”
Gwak Won knew that the Marquis the masked man was talking about was the Third Marquis.
“What would you have done if someone other than me had been there! Go back at once and tell everyone that they must not do anything rash for the time being! You must keep in mind that if my identity is discovered because of this, everything we have worked for until now will come to nothing!”
“Understood.”
“If you keep wearing those clothes, there will be bloodstains, so go to a civilian's house and change, even if you have to steal someone's clothes. Are you going to go all the way to the Cho Demonic Clan leaving a trail of blood!”
“Understood.”
As the masked man was about to leave, Gwak Won stopped him.
“This man's martial prowess is greater than mine. If he is dead and I return unharmed, they will find it strange. So, attack me. Make it look like you aimed for my heart, but the attack missed its mark. The Cult Leader is very suspicious, so he might even check the wound. Do it properly in one go.”
“Yes…”
The masked man injected internal energy into his sword and swung it as if engaging in a life-and-death struggle with Gwak Won. In the process, Gwak Won blocked with his sword and received a plausible-looking wound.
When Gwak Won nodded, the masked man, as if thinking he had finally finished the day's difficult task, vanished from the spot.
Gwak Won hoisted the corpse of the colleague he had killed onto his shoulder and headed for the Cult Leader's Hall.
At the Cult Leader's Hall, everyone had been woken up by the sudden surprise attack and were on iron-tight security.
The Captain of the Honor Guard, Cho Seok-myeong, was greatly shocked that an assassin had made it into the Cult Leader's Hall and had strengthened the security.
It was impossible to gauge what would have happened if the Cult Leader hadn't woken up immediately and cut down the assassin.
When the Cult Leader summoned him, Cho Seok-myeong thought it would be difficult to avoid responsibility for this incident. He didn't feel it was unfair. He just felt guilty for failing to complete his assigned task.
“Cult Leader…”
Upon entering after being summoned, the Cult Leader spoke from his seat on the bed.
“Go home and bring your wife and child. I will be in the Cult Leader's office, so bring them there.”
“…Yes?”
Not understanding, he asked, and the Cult Leader spoke again.
“I said to bring your wife and child.”
He still couldn't understand what was happening, but it seemed he shouldn't ask for the reason. He thought he should be by the Cult Leader's side, but it didn't seem likely that the Cult Leader hadn't thought of that.
“Do not speak with anyone on the way; just go and bring them here. If you do not return within one hour, I will kill you and your entire family.”
Cho Seok-myeong finally snapped to his senses.
“As you command!”
When Cho Seok-myeong returned, the Cult Leader was in the office, just as he had said he would be.
Cho Seok-myeong's wife and young son, not knowing what the situation was, had terrified looks on their faces.
The Cult Leader, even while knowing they were terrified, did not ease their minds and spoke to Cho Seok-myeong.
“From now on, take the Young Supreme One to Cheon Ha-seong. If you try anything foolish, the two people here will have their heads cut off.”
Only then did Cho Seok-myeong realize why the Cult Leader had given him that order.
It seemed he thought that since he, the Cult Leader, had been ambushed, it would not be strange at all for assassins to go after the Young Supreme One. Therefore, he must have wanted to send the Young Supreme One to a safe place, and the place that came to mind was apparently by Cheon Ha-seong's side.
Cho Seok-myeong felt a sense of regret. It was because the Cult Leader did not trust him, even though he would have carried out the order with his life if he had simply been commanded.
However, it was not something to be upset with the Cult Leader about. Weren't there already traitors among those guarding the Cult Leader's Hall?
“I will be back, Cult Leader.”
Cho Seok-myeong, not wanting to delay any longer, bowed his head.
Before fifteen minutes had passed since then, Seo Hyo-eun left the place with Cho Seok-myeong.
Although it was late at night, he was not worried about visiting Cheon Ha-seong's house with the Young Supreme One.
Seo Hyo-eun did not say a single word on the way. Her mind was extremely complicated.
She had thought that something like this could happen one day, but now that it was actually happening, her heart was beating like crazy.
In a situation where she didn't know who had betrayed her father, she felt anxious leaving the Cult Leader's Hall by herself, but her father had been firm.
As things had come to this, it might be better to find a way forward with Cheon Ha-seong. Thinking that she might be able to return to the Cult Leader's Hall with Cheon Ha-seong, Seo Hyo-eun forced herself to get a grip.
“I am sorry for failing to protect the Cult Leader, Young Supreme One. Please go inside. I will dedicate my life to ensuring nothing more happens.”
“I understand.”
Seo Hyo-eun spoke and entered Cheon Ha-seong's house. It was the first time she had come to his house. As she lightly jumped over the negligible wall and entered the yard, Cheon Ha-seong had already opened the door and was coming out.
Seo Hyo-eun felt Cheon Ha-seong's sword touch her neck and let out a hollow laugh.
“It's me, Head Instructor Cheon. Are you trying to kill me?”
Startled by the familiar voice, Cheon Ha-seong quickly withdrew his strength.
“Were you trying to cut my head off without even seeing who it was?”
When a quite surprised Seo Hyo-eun asked, Cheon Ha-seong made a face as if to say, 'Isn't that obvious?'
“What brings you here?”
“An assassin got into the Cult Leader's Hall. My father was shocked. It seems he wanted me to be in a safe place for the time being. So he took the Honor Guard Captain's family hostage and had him bring me here.”
“…”
Cheon Ha-seong, wondering what all this meant, grabbed Seo Hyo-eun's hand.
There was no need to ask why he did that. Watching Cheon Ha-seong immediately perform his lightness skill, she knew she was about to go back to the Cult Leader's Hall.
Even as she was coming here, Seo Hyo-eun had been worried about her father the whole time. So she was grateful that Cheon Ha-seong was taking her back to the Cult Leader's Hall without asking any questions.
***
The Cult Leader let out a hollow laugh by himself upon seeing his daughter, whom he had just sent away, and Cheon Ha-seong reappear so quickly.
“Why have you come?”
“Because of what happened due to me…”
However, Cheon Ha-seong could not finish his words.
It was because it seemed that while he could tolerate other words, he would not be able to tolerate those words.
Cheon Ha-seong wasn't entirely clueless either, and he did not try to finish his sentence. It seemed that even an apology would not be permitted.
“Was the assassin caught, Cult Leader?”
The Cult Leader shook his head.
“Of those who gave chase, one was found dead with his throat slit, and the other returned injured.”
“Did two of them go?”
“They did. Because I also needed people by my side. And it seems they thought two would be enough since the assassin was alone.”
“How were they chosen?”
The Cult Leader didn't know why Cheon Ha-seong was asking that, but he recalled that moment.