Chapter 103: Jaseung, Asks Ban Yeo

“The Iron Cavalry has reached within ten li.”

The Virtuous Heroes warrior delivering the report was stiff with tension. No matter how elite Virtuous Heroes might be, their opponent was the Iron Cavalry, the core force of the Black Way Alliance. If an all-out battle broke out, mutual destruction would be unavoidable.

“At this rate, a clash could occur within a quarter of an hour at the earliest, and an hour at the latest.”

In contrast, Ban Yeo remained calm.

“Strengthen the alert posture and hold your positions.”

“Understood.”

He knew better than anyone else that this battle would not actually happen.

Once his subordinate left, Ban Yeo picked up a bottle of liquor from the table.

Just then, the door opened again.

“What now?”

As Ban Yeo turned around, his eyes widened.

The person who stepped in was none other than Lee Jaseung, wearing the human mask he had worn during their previous meeting.

“You are…?”

Lee Jaseung walked straight past the startled Ban Yeo and sat down at the head seat.

His actions were so natural that Ban Yeo could not even bring himself to stop him. He shrank back out of fear, realizing that if the man intended to kill him, he could have already done so.

Though Ban Yeo considered himself a seasoned martial artist who had survived countless battles, something about this man’s presence made him feel completely powerless.

“What brings you here?”

“Of course, I came to see you.”

Ban Yeo felt a wave of foreboding.

The old saying goes, those who come are not kind, and the kind do not come.

If someone who should not have come did, it meant a serious issue had arisen.

Ban Yeo forced a smile and lifted the bottle he had tried to pour earlier.

“Would you like a drink?”

Lee Jaseung shook his head. He never drank what his enemies offered. That was his rule. Though he did enjoy offering poison to his own enemies.

He had come alone.

He had left Baek Seolyoung under the protection of Mook Young and the warriors of the Guard Hall, and had instructed Mujin and Ma Young-gi to keep close watch. As long as they were guarding her, she would not be in danger.

Ban Yeo poured himself a drink and downed it. His throat felt dry from inexplicable tension.

It did not matter how Lee Jaseung had gotten in. The event was already happening, and wasting this precious time by thinking about it would do no good.

His mind was spinning.

There could only be one reason this man had come.

‘Betrayal.’

Then why had he betrayed?

‘It has to be them.’

Most likely the Leader of the Murim Alliance had made a move. No, more precisely, those behind him had made the decision.

‘This isn’t good. Not good at all.’

As if confirming that, Lee Jaseung spoke calmly.

“The situation has changed.”

Ban Yeo tried to respond with composure.

“Situations can change twelve times in a single day. The only things that never change are the promises and trust of reliable people.”

Lee Jaseung replied with a grin.

“I am not a reliable person, you see. As you know, we are not exactly the most loyal bunch, are we? That is why you people curse us so freely. If we are going to be called dirty outlaws, we might as well act like it.”

Ban Yeo bit his lip. The anger that surged was not aimed at Lee Jaseung, who had broken his promise, but at the Leader of the Murim Alliance.

‘Stupid Leader! In trying to drive away one wolf, you summoned a tiger from across the mountain. You should not have brought this man into this matter too!’

Lee Jaseung drew a dagger.

“Do not resent me too much. That is just how this world works, isn’t it?”

In a hurry, Ban Yeo spoke.

“Wait! Please hear me out.”

Even with him raising his voice, no one came from outside. The Virtuous Heroes guards must have already been neutralized. He could feel the reaper standing right behind him.

“Please!”

At Ban Yeo’s desperate plea, Lee Jaseung stopped his steps and said graciously,

“Speak.”

“What did he offer you?”

“Something similar to what you did.”

“I will give you more.”

Lee Jaseung pretended to hesitate. Ban Yeo did not miss that chance.

“You will never regret it! You will receive something beyond your imagination! So please, just let me live!”

At the desperate appeal, Lee Jaseung made a troubled face.

“That is difficult. What would people say about me? They would call me a petty man who cannot keep his word.”

Ban Yeo nearly shouted in frustration.

‘You bastard! Aren’t you already doing that? What about the promise you made with me!?’

But now was not the time to reveal such thoughts.

“How would anyone know? Will the Alliance Leader who hired you speak out? Or do you think I would go around bragging that I am still alive?”

Lee Jaseung nodded.

“You have a point.”

Hope flickered in Ban Yeo’s eyes. A single beam of light shone through the darkness.

‘Yes, I could survive this if I play it well.’

What he did not realize at that moment was that Lee Jaseung never intended to kill him in the first place. He was not here to kill. He was here to take.

Staring at him like a predator, Lee Jaseung spoke.

“I will not ask twice. If you try to test me or play games, that will be the end. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand. I will never do such a thing!”

Finally, Lee Jaseung revealed a sinister, killing intent and asked coldly,

“Now then, if I spare your life, what will you give me?”

* * *

Baek Seolyoung was in a trance, immersed in her cultivation.

Vast inner Qi surged through her body, flowing through her meridians. Ever since her Ren and Du vessels had opened, her Qi flowed without obstruction.

She had never imagined that simply performing breathing techniques could feel this refreshing and pleasant.

Now that her body felt light, she could not sit still. She wanted to get up, move around, and fight someone. In short, she felt restless.

But instinctively, she knew. She had to control this excitement.

So she focused entirely on her internal cultivation.

Like ink soaking into paper, she slowly and steadily guided her Qi. Like drifting down a river on a raft, she let her inner Qi guide her through her body.

Despite the immense power surging within, she remained calm. Like rowing down a calm river before a typhoon, she moved slowly, steadily.

Two people were watching her from a distance.

Seated side by side on a wall, Mujin and Dan Woobin looked through the open window at Baek Seolyoung. Her building was surrounded on all sides by the Guard Hall’s elites, led by Mook Young.

On top of that, Mujin guarded the front. Ma Young-gi guarded the rear.

“She caught the training fever.”

Mujin’s joke made Dan Woobin laugh. It was the perfect description.

“He really knows how to influence people after all.”

Everyone was affected by Lee Jaseung, and the effect was powerful. People found their lives turned upside down.

“Lord Baek is no exception.”

But there was one person Dan Woobin believed to be an exception. The one least affected by Lee Jaseung. It was Mujin.

“You’re a strange one. How do you remain unaffected by our Lord?”

“Is that what it looks like?”

“You’re saying I’m wrong?”

“Hmm. So that’s how it appeared huh?”

Mujin tilted his head seriously.

“Do you think it’s maybe because I was so affected that I appear unaffected?”

Dan Woobin blinked. He should have laughed, but Mujin was being sincere.

“How exactly were you affected?”

“In every way.”

“Give me one example.”

After a moment of thought, Mujin said,

“I can’t express my feelings well.”

Dan Woobin looked dumbfounded.

“You?”

Mujin nodded. Dan Woobin repeated it back.

“So, the Lord cannot express his feelings, and you were influenced by that, so now you can’t express yours either?”

“That’s right.”

“So you’ve been bottling everything up until now?”

“I have.”

When he lowered his head with a sulky face, Dan Woobin smacked him on the back.

“You’re the biggest chatterbox I’ve ever met. What do you mean you can’t express your feelings?”

He smacked him again.

“Cut it out! Don’t express anything anymore!”

“Ow!”

Mujin rubbed his back and acted dramatically.

Though they joked around, Dan Woobin was still thinking about Mujin’s words.

He had felt that way about Lee Jaseung too. That he did not express his emotions well.

Maybe he was not hiding them. Maybe he simply could not express them.

If so, was Mujin doing the same? Hiding a shadowy side behind his sunny exterior?

He turned to look at him with a bit of compassion, just as he stared open-mouthed at a passing female warrior’s body.

‘Shadowy side my ass!’

Smack!

“I said that hurts!”

Mujin flopped flat on the wall to avoid further hits.

“Put that fiery hand away and look up there. It’s amazing.”

Dan Woobin followed his gaze. The sky was unseasonably clear, with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily above.

“You’re right. It’s beautiful.”

As they both looked at the sky, Mujin yawned and asked,

“On a day like this, where do you think our Lord is and what is he up to?”

Dan Woobin lay back on the opposite side.

“He went to make money, so I’m sure he’s doing exactly that.”

* * *

“To avoid wasting time, I will hear only one thing.”

Lee Jaseung’s words meant no tricks, no games, just the most valuable offering.

Ban Yeo realized he stood at the most important crossroads of his life.

In Lee Jaseung’s gaze, he saw death. It wasn’t the kind of killing intent he had encountered before. This was different. This man would not be swayed by cheap tricks.

‘Then what should I offer?’

No. One thing would not be enough.

What had those others offered him? It must have been something so valuable that it invalidated everything Ban Yeo had given before.

‘Then what do I give now?’

‘If only this had happened a day earlier. I could have prepared, weighed what I could afford to lose, and minimized the damage.’

But now, with death staring him in the face, it was too late.

There was only one thing he could offer.

His most powerful card.

The one he never wanted to give.

No, it was one he never should even consider giving.

Ban Yeo’s eyes trembled in disappointment.

‘It’s there. No matter what else, that must never be…’

‘I’d rather die.’

He seriously considered it.

Lee Jaseung saw the deep regret in his eyes and increased the intensity of his killing intent.

This was the moment to strike.

His killing intent was not a bluff. It was real, and it was terrifying.

Ban Yeo began to tremble.

In battles like this, victory came from seizing the exact right moment.

Lee Jaseung had found the perfect moment.

“In the next life, I hope we don’t meet like this!”

As if passing judgment, he marched forward, aiming to stab Asura into Ban Yeo’s heart.

Shhhhhk.

“I will give it to you!”

The Asura stopped just short of his chest.

Ban Yeo let out a sorrowful sigh. He had finally handed over the one thing he never wanted to give.

From within his robes, he pulled out a key. It was worn around his neck, clearly never removed.

“This is more precious to me than my own life.”

Lee Jaseung took it and spoke.

“There is nothing more precious than life. You are proving that right now, aren’t you?”

Ban Yeo sighed again.

Lee Jaseung looked down at the key with an intrigued expression and asked,

“What is this?”

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