Chapter 167: Seolyoung, Tells Him

“Was it perhaps related to Nam Seohyang?”

Lee Jaseung asked because what had played a decisive role in this election had been her visit to the Golden Ants.

“If you are asking whether I made some deal with her, I didn’t.”

She shook her head.

“She accepted this without any conditions.”

Lee Jaseung nodded. If Nam Seohyang had struck a bargain with Baek Seolyoung and attached conditions, he would have been angry.

But Nam Seohyang had already grasped Lee Jaseung’s nature. She understood that refusing outright was better than naming terms.

What Baek Seolyoung said next was something he had not expected at all.

“My father had something he told me.”

“What was it?”

“It was about the treasure of the Hainan Sect. I felt I should tell you now.”

At the mention of the Hainan Sect, Lee Jaseung was startled.

All four of those treasures had ended up in his hands. Now that thread extended even to Baek Seolyoung.

“The head of the Hainan Sect and my father had been close friends in their youth.”

A hidden story finally began to surface.

“And there was another friend they both shared. He was the Wind and Wave Wanderer.”

The Wind and Wave Wanderer’s real name had been Gok Yang, and his title had been the Severing Emotion Sword. He was known by that roving title because he left ripples and disturbances wherever he went.

“When the treasure vanished from the Hainan Sect back then, the iron chest among them came into our family’s keeping.”

“So the Wind and Wave Wanderer brought it.”

“That’s right. Father knew it would bring trouble. So he hid it perfectly. I did not even learn of the chest’s existence until he was near death.”

In the end, the martial art within that chest had been learned by Lee Jaseung.

Yet Baek Seolyoung felt no regret. The iron chest had become the bond that led her to meet him.

Then the most important part left her lips. She had brought this up today exactly for this.

“Before he passed, Father told me this. The Hainan Sect’s treasures were connected to the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

At the words Heavenly Demon Sect, Lee Jaseung’s expression turned grave.

The age of Jianghu currently belongs to the Asura Demon Sect.

In such a time, hearing of the Heavenly Demon Sect was truly unexpected.

Lee Jaseung knew. The Asura Demon Sect lived quietly despite its terrifying power because it still feared the existence of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

“Because it involved the Demonic Cult, he begged me never to speak of it. But I failed to keep that promise. I believed that only with it could I protect my family.”

Lee Jaseung understood her. He would have made the same choice.

“Did he say anything else?”

At his question, Baek Seolyoung shook her head.

“That was all he told me. Perhaps the Wind and Wave Wanderer knew more. I am sorry I didn’t say this sooner.”

There had been chances to speak, yet she had stayed silent. It had not been only because it involved the Demonic Cult. She had hesitated, wondering if she could reveal her family’s secret to him.

She had then forgotten about the iron chest, only to remember it again when Lee Jaseung became the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.

Telling him this now was not merely passing along information. It was a vow that she would no longer keep any secrets from him.

Sensing her heart, Lee Jaseung held her tight.

“Thank you for telling me.”

* * *

“It was the work of Heaven.”

In less than four hours after the first report, Rain had uncovered that the man who had abducted Earth was Cheon Myeongin.

“Heaven knows far too much about our organization. We need to put the whole group on alert right now, and we need to send people to retrieve Earth. If he has divulged secrets, we will have to eliminate him.”

Mountain merely stared down the slope of the mountain.

“We are locating the site of the abduction now. The moment we have it, I will go myself and bring him back.”

“No. Send Heuk Seok and Seo.”

Rain was startled for a moment. He could accept not being sent himself, but Heuk Seok and Seo were men Mountain did not particularly trust. In plain terms, they were out of Mountain’s favor.

It seemed clear Mountain had another intention.

“There is something I need to confirm.”

Rain glimpsed a struggle and hesitation inside Mountain. He felt Mountain was hiding something, yet he did not ask what it was.

Mountain was not a man who revealed everything about himself. At times he was sentimental to a fault, and at times he was violent enough to make one tremble. Rain still did not know Mountain’s true face.

Rain bowed his head.

“Understood. As soon as the location is confirmed, I will send the two of them at once.”

* * *

Rain sat in a shabby tavern, anxiously waiting for a subordinate’s report, when someone spoke behind him.

“Is the ground going to open up if you worry like that?”

He turned and saw Water. She must have seen him sighing in frustration because they still had not found where the abduction took place.

“If you’re down, go drink or find a woman.”

At her mention of finding a woman, Rain’s cheek twitched faintly. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from Water.

“If you are going to talk nonsense, leave.”

Of course, Water had no intention of doing so. She smiled and sat right beside him.

“I heard Earth was abducted.”

Rain nodded.

“It was Heaven’s doing.”

“I see.”

“I see? It seems you don’t grasp the situation. This could put you in danger.”

“What could?”

“In the past, you took Heaven to his mother, did you not?”

“I took a fallen old man, cast out of power and dying alone, to his mother. How is that connected to what is happening now?”

She asked it so boldly that Rain was left speechless for a moment. Of course, there was a connection.

If Mountain chose to make an issue of it, it could become serious. If he branded her as having colluded with a traitor, she could be killed.

There was no way this sharp woman did not know that. Yet she stayed this calm.

Well, perhaps that was exactly her charm.

“So what if I die? There is at least someone who will cry for me.”

“I never said I would cry.”

“Why do you assume I mean you, Senior?”

At that, Rain was flustered.

When Water saw the tips of his ears redden, she let out a small laugh. Only then did Rain realize he had fallen for her tease and gave a hollow chuckle.

Just then, a subordinate entered and delivered a report. Rain gave swift orders, and the man hurried away.

“So you found where Heaven is. Who are you planning to send?”

“Heuk Seok and Seo.”

Water’s eyes went round wondering why those two of all people. Then she grasped it.

“So you think someone else is behind this abduction!”

At moments like this, her quick wits put everyone else to shame.

Rain did not answer, but her eyes sparkled as if she had heard the answer already.

“This is getting very interesting huh?”

* * *

“My Lord, have you been well?”

Despite his courteous words, Yeo Beom kept grinning from ear to ear. His intentions were obvious. Like an old fox, he meant to secure his share.

“I have been a little busy. Have you been well, Elder Yeo?”

Lee Jaseung greeted him with a smile.

“This old man just stays in the Council and idles away the days with a bit of hand talk over a board.”

“It is a great loss to the Alliance that someone like Elder Yeo is tied down in the Council of Elders.”

“Thank you for thinking so.”

Yeo Beom added a gentle nudge.

“But our being barred from front-line duties after entering the Council was the policy of the former Alliance Leader.”

He emphasized that it had been Jang Wonso’s rule.

In order to keep the Council in check, Jang Wonso had thoroughly blocked its political involvement.

By mentioning that part, Yeo Beom revealed his wish for that restriction to be eased. Since it was the personal policy of the former Alliance Leader and not the Alliance Law, the new Alliance Leader could relax it.

Lee Jaseung played to his tune.

“Regrettably, the former Alliance Leader has passed away.”

Understanding that this meant a new era had opened, Yeo Beom’s face brightened.

“Haha, exactly. New wine should be put in new wineskins.”

With a faintly amused smile, Lee Jaseung answered.

“Everything must follow its order, so please wait a little while as you consolidate the Council of Elders.”

“Of course.”

He sounded as if he would grant anything, yet he had promised nothing concrete. Even so, Yeo Beom believed to the core that Lee Jaseung would make room for him.

They had exchanged bribes in the past, and in particular Yeo Beom had been used to receiving. Since Lee Jaseung held that weakness, it was only natural for Yeo Beom to think a seat would be given to him.

‘If I use Lee Jaseung well, I can make the world my own.’

While Yeo Beom indulged in an empty dream he could never achieve, Lee Jaseung had already settled on how to handle him. The solution lay with the Vermillion Bird Hall.

“By the way, the Head of the Vermillion Bird Hall has been quiet lately.”

The Vermillion Bird Hall, led by Sa Jo-pyeong, served as the brain of the Murim Alliance.

Since Jang Wonso’s death, he had kept completely silent. He had taken no part in the election of the new Alliance Leader.

Ordinarily, when a new Alliance Leader took office, the first position to change was the head of the Vermillion Bird Hall.

Because the hall gathered intelligence and planned the Alliance’s operations, its head, who acted much like a chief strategist, was usually replaced with someone who matched the new Alliance Leader’s intent.

This time was a little different.

With an Alliance Leader assassinated, replacing the head of the Vermillion Bird Hall was not easy.

Yeo Beom’s eyes gleamed.

He saw why Lee Jaseung had brought up the hall.

‘So he means a trade.’

In other words, he would pull Yeo Beom out of the Council and give him a heavy post, so in return Yeo Beom should resolve the matter of the Vermillion Bird Hall.

As if to confirm it, Lee Jaseung asked with a meaningful look.

“You did say new wine belongs in new wineskins, right?”

Yeo Beom smiled brightly and answered.

“Of course, since the one who drinks should be someone new in the first place.”

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