Chapter 123: Ma Chulsoo (2)

“This is the place.”

The cave where Ma Chulsoo was hiding was quite well concealed.

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

“Yes. If properly repaired inside, it could even be used for secluded cultivation.”

Rather than being a lucky find… could it be that he knew about this place beforehand?

Well, whatever the case, I could just ask him directly.

As soon as I entered the cave entrance, I saw figures dressed entirely in black and three men and women who were bound by them.

Judging by their appearance, the black-clad figures were most likely newly inducted members of the Demonic Ghost Slaying Unit.

“These people…”

“They are Ma Chulsoo’s subordinates.”

“They’re younger than I thought.”

As I examined the three individuals, I clapped my hands and exclaimed loudly.

“Ah, right. They’re seniors.”

“Seniors? What do you mean?”

“There’s a story behind that.”

Brushing aside Jeolyeong’s confusion, I approached the seniors who had graduated from the Thousand-Day Pass and entered under Ma Chulsoo.

Even though they had been subdued with all their major veins sealed and were nearly exhausted—

They still gritted their teeth and glared at me with hostility.

“I don’t know who you are… but you can’t lay a hand on our lord…”

“Such tearful loyalty.”

They probably thought I was one of Ma Jeongcheon’s people.

Still, wasn’t this a bit too much loyalty for someone who’d just been beaten by me?

“Can I meet Ma Chulsoo if I go further in?”

Jeolyeong shook his head.

“There’s a temporary formation set up near the entrance. It’s of decent quality, so it’ll take some time to dismantle.”

“Oh?”

“It seems to be the work of those people.”

To think they made such a desperate attempt to protect their lord.

‘The Three Attendants should really learn from this.’

Well, I’d like to believe they wouldn’t fall behind in loyalty, but it’d be even better if they could show this kind of versatility.

“How long will it take to break it?”

“…Apologies. It’ll take at least half a day.”

“Withdraw the subordinates. I’ll break through it myself.”

“…?!”

From their perspective, I probably looked like just a promising young man with a good bloodline.

If they were from Cheon Jumun, they might know my true worth. But the newly established Demonic Ghost Slaying Unit wouldn’t have any idea what I was capable of.

‘The Six Phantasmal Shadow-Chasing Formation, huh? Not bad.’

I examined the unique energy flow of the formation swirling at the cave entrance.

It was one of the formations I had learned during my time as Inner Administrator. If someone got caught in it the wrong way, their mind could be consumed by the formation, making it difficult to return.

‘Still, it’s only at an intermediate level.’

After testing a few combinations of the Six Harmonies, I found the life point of the formation and shattered it.

Crack!

With a sound like breaking glass, the formation installed at the entrance was completely destroyed.

“No way! The Six Phantasmal Shadow-Chasing Formation… broken that easily?!”

The woman who seemed to have set the formation let out a scream of disbelief.

Well, considering that the formation was usually used as a graduation test at the Thousand-Day Pass, her reaction made sense.

She must’ve been shocked to see someone who looked to be her age destroy it so easily.

Anyway.

“Well now, it’s been a while, Ma Chulsoo.”

I stepped into the darkness of the cave.

***

The cave where Ma Chulsoo was hiding was even more spacious than I had imagined.

The uneven and sloped ground made it a place where one could easily get injured.

‘There he is.’

I used Amtoogong (Silent Penetration Technique) to pinpoint the location of the person I assumed was Ma Chulsoo.

‘He’s crouched down and resting. Is he hurt?’

Just by looking at him, I could tell he had the posture of someone who’d lost confidence.

Flinch.

As I deliberately made my footsteps louder, Ma Chulsoo finally sensed my presence and reached toward the sword beside him.

And the moment I called out to him—

“Hey.”

Flash!

Ma Chulsoo suddenly launched a surprise attack.

‘Tch, and this guy’s supposed to be the hope of the Ma Clan?’

I could’ve ended this in a single move, but I decided to go along with it for a bit to see how much he had improved.

Clang!

His first ambush was nullified by a quick draw of my sword, and immediately, Ma Chulsoo unleashed a crimson Sword Qi, attacking with fierce momentum.

‘Oh, Blood Dragon Heaven-Slaying Sword Art!’

A good choice.

Rather than the flashy Blood Flow Demonic Spirit Sword Art, the Blood Dragon Heaven-Slaying Sword Art that could immediately suppress the opponent was more appropriate for this situation.

‘Not bad! You’ve improved a lot!’

I was impressed as I deflected Ma Chulsoo’s sharp strikes.

At this level, he had already passed the peak of First-rate Martial Artist and was approaching Master Level.

If he had met the early version of me from my previous life, I might’ve been the one on the losing end.

But still—

“Huff, huff!”

After just a few swings, Ma Chulsoo was already out of breath, panting heavily.

His blazing sword aura was still there, but his arms and legs holding the blade were shaking uncontrollably.

‘So his stamina was already at rock bottom. I guess it can’t be helped.’

After being ambushed by Ma Jeongcheon and constantly on the run, he probably hadn’t had proper rest.

Both his body and mind were at their limits.

‘At least he doesn’t seem to have any serious injuries.’

At this rate, subduing him wouldn’t be too difficult.

“I will never…”

“Hm?”

“I will never… be defeated by the likes of Ma Jeongcheon!”

‘Did he mistake me for someone sent by Ma Jeongcheon?’

Claaang!

With a smirk, I received his charging strike head-on.

As the two waves of Sword Qi collided, Ma Chulsoo’s movement came to an abrupt halt.

“Calm down, Ma Chulsoo.”

“You bastard!”

I injected a special remedy into Ma Chulsoo, who had lost his mind halfway.

“Where the hell did you leave Yeonghee and hole yourself up in a place like this?”

The response to the remedy was instant.

“…You son of a bitch, Jin Yeomyung! My little sister’s name isn’t Yeonghee, it’s Yeonhee… Wait, what did you say?”

Blank stare!

Suddenly regaining his clarity, Ma Chulsoo opened his mouth wide and looked at me in disbelief.

“J-Jin Yeomyung?”

Ma Chulsoo was too stunned to speak for a while after I suddenly appeared.

The shock must’ve been so great that he could do nothing but stare at me blankly, practically frozen like a stone statue.

His reaction was so over the top that I got a little annoyed.

“Hey, are you going to snap out of it anytime soon?”

“A-Ah! R-Right!”

Only then did Ma Chulsoo start nodding and come to his senses.

“Jin Yeomyung, how are you even here?!”

“Took you long enough to ask.”

Clicking my tongue, I pointed my thumb toward the outside of the cave.

“Let’s get out of here first. We need to do something about your beggar-like appearance.”

“My lord! You’re safe!”

“Myyy loooord!”

As Ma Chulsoo and I emerged together, his subordinates—who had been freed from their restraints—ran to him in tears.

‘…Touching, sure, but this is kind of making me jealous.’

It would be nice if my own subordinates reacted like that.

Just as Ma Chulsoo, now reassured that I wasn’t an enemy, tried to speak to me again—

“Hold on.”

“What now?”

I firmly stopped him from getting any closer.

“Let’s wash, change, eat, and then start talking.”

“……”

After being on the run for days, his cheeks had hollowed from hunger, his clothes were in tatters unfit even to be used as rags, and his skin was grimy with layers of filth.

Even someone from the Beggars’ Sect would cringe at that appearance. Only then did Ma Chulsoo and his subordinates realize the state they were in.

“Y-You’re right.”

So they washed themselves at the nearby stream, changed into the spare clothes prepared by Gu Chil, and devoured the provisions like starving beasts. Only after all that were Ma Chulsoo and his men in a condition to talk.

“There’s no trace of pursuit from the Ma Clan. You can eat in peace.”

“R-Right… Thanks.”

Ma Chulsoo blushed as he cautiously put a rice cake into his mouth.

Gu Chil curled his lips into a smirk.

“For someone who just ate like a starving beast…”

“Shut it, Byeok Cheon-un. You’ve always been clueless, haven’t you?”

The fact that it wasn’t me, but Jeolyeong who said that was honestly a bit surprising.

Once the conversation could finally begin—

“How did you know where I was or what was going on?”

I answered honestly.

Well, partially.

“Ma Jinseong told me. He asked me to help you.”

Ma Chulsoo stammered at the unexpected reply.

“M-Ma Jinseong did?”

“He seems to respect you quite a bit.”

I honestly couldn’t understand why, though.

“That Jinseong… Still, even if that’s true, you’ve got no reason to help me, do you?”

I shrugged and replied.

“Partly, I wanted to build up a little debt. I figured, if I lent a hand to a rat cornered with nowhere to run, I might get quite a lot back for it.”

“W-What did you just say?!”

Ma Chulsoo shot up, pointing a finger at me.

“D-Don’t talk nonsense! I’m grateful you saved me… but I haven’t fallen so far that I’d hand over my clan’s assets to the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan!”

“Hmph, so you’re refusing my hand?”

“I’d rather die than owe you anything more!”

“Really? Then go ahead and die.”

I got up without hesitation.

“Huh?”

Toward the panicked Ma Chulsoo, I muttered coldly.

“I came all this way to throw you a lifeline when you were dangling off a cliff… and all you care about is your pride.”

“J-Jin Yeomyung?”

“Let’s go, everyone. He said he’d rather die, so let’s leave him alone. He’ll get killed soon enough by whoever Ma Jeongcheon sends next.”

Ignoring Jeolyeong’s masked eyes silently asking if I was serious, I turned to leave.

“W-Waaaait a second!”

Halt.

Maybe he sensed my sincerity from my demeanor, because Ma Chulsoo urgently reached out and grabbed my waist.

“What now?”

“I-I spoke too harshly.”

“……”

“Couldn’t we have a more constructive conversation instead?”

Yeah… The fact that he could clean up his own mess this quickly meant that, while he had a short temper, he wasn’t stupid.

Lucky for me that my bluff worked.

“Alright.”

We sat back down at the negotiation table.

Having barely escaped crisis, Ma Chulsoo pressed his hand to his forehead like he had a headache.

“Let me be honest, Jin Yeomyung. I’ve got nothing I can give you right now.”

“I know.”

By the current standards, Ma Chulsoo was at a level where even a Beggars’ Sect member would pity him enough to throw a scrap.

“Even if I manage to return safely to the clan, it’ll be the same. The elders who support me won’t give you anything material.”

“That, I also know.”

Seeing me calmly nod, Ma Chulsoo couldn’t help but explode.

“Then what the hell do you want? Don’t tell me—it’s the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan’s martial arts? I’d rather die than hand those over!”

It was true.

The only tangible thing I could gain from this hobo-like Ma Chulsoo was his martial arts.

However—

“You’re mistaken about one thing, Ma Chulsoo.”

“What?”

“I don’t want anything material from you.”

Ma Chulsoo’s face made it perfectly clear that he thought I was talking nonsense.

“…Then what do you want?”

From the very beginning, there was only one thing I wanted from Ma Chulsoo.

“If you drive out Ma Jeongcheon and become the Young Clan Leader of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, then issue a formal statement of support for the current Young Cult Leader.”

“W-What did you just say?!”

“That’s the only thing I want.”

A statement of support for the Young Cult Leader, Cheon Yura.

To be honest, if he could become the Young Clan Leader in this situation, he could say that statement a hundred times over and it’d still be worth it.

“Wait, did you just say… Young Clan Leader?”

Ma Chulsoo finally grasped the full meaning of my words and gaped in shock.

“That’s right. I’m going to make you the Young Clan Leader of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.”

“W-Whether that’s even possible aside… that’s all you want in return?”

“If you go beyond just a statement and actively cooperate with the Young Cult Leader, that’d be even better.”

Calm words—but filled with firm conviction.

“You… You’re really insane.”

Ma Chulsoo looked at me with trembling eyes.

“To go that far for someone you care about…”

“So? Are you going to accept it or not? Just so you know, once I start this, I won’t stop. I’ll do whatever it takes to see you seated as the Young Clan Leader.”

In any case, Ma Chulsoo had no way of resolving this situation on his own.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ma Chulsoo nodded.

“Fine. I’ve got no reason to refuse.”

“Then we’ve got a deal. I’m counting on you, Ma Chulsoo.”

In our past lives, we were political enemies. But now, for the first time, Ma Chulsoo and I shook hands.

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