Chapter 16: Clue in the Flower Garden (1)

Huh? Why aren’t you guys stopping him?

The moment the leader bastard passed by the Black Guards, I blinked a couple of times.

0.1 seconds. My gaze turned to the Black Guards in protest. I brought you guys here for this exact situation, didn’t I? You’re not statues—why are you just standing there?

0.5 seconds. I figured out the reason soon enough.

‘You sons of bitches!’

Every one of the Black Guards avoided my gaze!

Given Sa Biyeon’s usual personality, she wouldn’t act this way on her own. This was definitely the doing of the Young Cult Leader!

‘That damned woman!’

What the hell did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?!

1 second. Regardless, my rationality screamed that my life was in danger.

‘Damn it, it’s too late to dodge!’

The opponent was a Master Level, even if he was past his prime. You can’t just avoid a self-sacrificing strike like that.

So, I only had one choice.

Cheng!

Kwaang!

The blade I quickly drew clashed with the bastard’s axe aura.

“Guh!”

I even pressed my palm against the flat of the blade to block the impact, but it was hopelessly overpowered.

My body couldn’t withstand the recoil of the axe and was hurled backward.

Thunk! Thud!

While I was rolling pathetically backward, I sighed inwardly.

‘At a time when I should be looking cool, I end up in a dismount like this…’

Setting aside how shitty the situation was, this was clearly some kind of test from the Young Cult Leader.

After showing a disgraceful sight like that, how hard would the Young Cult Leader and the others laugh at me?

“I—I can’t believe it!”

“He actually blocked it!”

But surprisingly, not a single person here laughed at me.

Instead, the leader bastard who had swung the axe looked stunned, his shoulders slumping as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“Why… why didn’t you die?”

Twitch!

Unable to control the rage surging within me, I sprang up and pointed my finger at him.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! How dare you say something like that to a person?!”

Even as I shouted, the leader bastard yelled back, almost as if wailing.

“You should’ve had your head split open and died right there!”

From his point of view, that made perfect sense.

Even if it wasn’t the full-strength Axe Might he could only use at peak condition, that strike had gathered every last ounce of his remaining qi.

Leaving aside freaks like that Young Cult Leader, there was no way a mere late-stage First-rate Martial Artist, especially one so young, could block it without so much as a scratch!

“Was there really a monster like that growing up in the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan? If we let him live—”

He never finished his sentence.

Slash!

Before I knew it, Cheon Yura had cleanly severed his neck, then nodded slightly.

“As expected.”

Our eyes met.

“I figured as much, but it seems your skill is enough to withstand this level of attack.”

Sa Biyeon, who had followed behind her, looked at me with a somewhat surprised expression.

“What’s even more amazing is that he blocked a Master Level’s sword qi with only a basic Sword Form.”

Cheon Yura shook her head.

“It wasn’t just blocked. He redirected the trajectory properly at the last moment. If he hadn’t, his head really would’ve been split open.”

As she said, I hadn’t been able to unleash any sword qi.

With my still fledgling level, I wasn’t yet capable of drawing out sword qi in the blink of an eye.

Listening to their conversation, I sighed deeply inside.

“So then, are you satisfied? Now that you’ve seen my skills.”

“Very.”

A slight smile tugged at her lips as she answered.

‘Damn Heavenly Demon Cult!’

Supremacy of the strong. Survival of the fittest.

In the Heavenly Demon Cult, where those two concepts were paramount, these kinds of tests from higher-ups weren’t uncommon. It wasn’t even unusual for such tests to lead to actual assassination attempts.

Maybe I should feel relieved that this test wasn’t on hellfire difficulty?

“Next time, I’d appreciate at least a bit of warning beforehand.”

“Fufu, I’ll be generous.”

With that, she turned and walked away from me.

After all, she was an unexpected guest in this affair. I was the one who took the lead.

And as if passing a baton, Sa Biyeon, who had followed while hiding her identity, now approached me.

“Ahem! Young Master Jin.”

I responded with a sullen tone.

“What do you want, Number Seven of the Black Guards?”

My voice was full of annoyance.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Sa Biyeon’s forehead as she tried to force a smile.

In the end, she bowed her head.

“Um, I’m sorry. I was simply too curious about how you would handle things, so I had no choice but to hide my identity.”

If Sa Biyeon had proposed to come along from the start, I wouldn’t have come here personally. I would’ve found another way, not wanting to expose her to danger.

“It’s fine. Curiosity is only natural. I’m not particularly angry or upset.”

I waved my hand and smiled back at her.

“Oh… I’m relieved, then…”

“However, I do have a bit of a complaint about the Black Guards’ handling of the situation.”

“…!”

Sa Biyeon’s expression stiffened.

Even if the Black Guards had held back under the Young Cult Leader’s orders, strictly speaking, they had abandoned their duty to protect me.

If I were to make an issue of this with the family, the heads of every Black Guard involved in this operation would roll.

And at the peak of that responsibility stood Sa Biyeon.

“T-that is…”

Her expression, which had just been frozen like ice, instantly crumbled.

Did she really think I would take this that far?

Seeing her flustered reaction, I spoke with satisfaction.

“Especially that one you called the Number Seven of the Black Guards? That girl’s got some serious issues.”

“…What?”

Sa Biyeon stood frozen, her expression completely collapsed.

“Despite being sent on your orders, she seemed to have no actual field experience. Watching her snoop around fulfilling her curiosity instead of following orders made her look completely unreliable.”

I enunciated each word clearly to the flustered woman.

“At the very least, I request that she be thoroughly re-trained. Especially—what kind of flower-filled head touches a poppy like it’s no big deal…”

“Y-yes… o-okay…”

Before I knew it, Sa Biyeon’s cheeks were trembling faintly.

Embarrassment and anger.

The two conflicting emotions created quite the spectacle on her face—it was a rather enjoyable sight.

Compared to her usual cold demeanor, always wearing a forced smile at best, this expression was a refreshing change.

“And why are you clenching your fists like that?”

“It’s… nothing.”

She abruptly turned her body away, her face now stiff and icy cold.

Seeing that chill, I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

‘Hm, did I tease her too much? No, definitely not.’

I nearly got killed, after all.

Compared to an attempted political assassination by the Black Guards, this level of teasing didn’t even count as payback. Sa Biyeon probably realized that too, which is why she didn’t argue back and was just swallowing her anger.

And so, the situation more or less settled.

‘I didn’t expect to be attacked by Master Level warriors out of nowhere, but I did get quite a lot out of it.’

Dusting myself off, I walked toward the only surviving attacker.

The Beggars’ Sect man who had failed even to bite his tongue—Gyeon Myeonggae.

‘Whether this guy is really a beggar or not, I’ll find out now.’

Dragging him into a more secluded corner, I crouched down in front of him.

“No matter how I look at it, you seem to know way more than that so-called leader did.”

“D-damn it. J-just kill me!”

“Why would I kill you? You’re about to give some very valuable testimony.”

I raised a finger with a bright smile.

“The guys you brought with you… they were way too bloodthirsty to be part of any orthodox sect. Not the Beggars’ Sect, not even the Murim Alliance.”

The moment our eyes met, a word slipped out of my mouth.

“Black-Spotted Blood.”

Flinch!

For the briefest instant, Gyeon Myeonggae’s pupils trembled.

I didn’t miss it.

“As I thought, you people are connected to them.”

“W-what are you talking about? Black-Spotted Blood, what’s that?”

He was a terrible actor for someone from the Beggars’ Sect. Or maybe he wasn’t a real spy to begin with?

I gave a slight smile and patted his shoulder.

“Come on now. Regardless of your true identity, you must’ve worked here for a few years, right? And someone like that doesn’t know what Black-Spotted Blood is?”

Despite the smile on my lips, my eyes were cold as ice.

“Ghk!”

Only then did he realize his mistake and shut his mouth again, but I continued speaking while channeling my Internal Energy into my fingertips.

“Even though I’ve neglected martial arts a bit, I’ve picked up a few side skills out of interest.”

“…?”

“One of them is torture. I learned Tendon Splitting and Bone Shattering quite diligently and thoroughly.”

The moment his eyes widened—

“If you really are from the Murim Alliance’s Special Operations Unit, then you should be able to endure a little torture. So no need to talk just yet. I want to have a little fun with this—it’ll be my first time trying it in practice.”

One way or another, I guess I really am from the Demonic Cult.

“W-wait!”

Gyeon Myeonggae tried to say something in a hurry, but my finger had already pressed against one of his pressure points.

“Mm! Mmph!”

With a cheerful mood, I tapped a few more of his acupoints.

“Well then, shall we start lightly? We can talk about where you’re from and what your goals are afterward.”

“Mmph! Mmph! Kuuuuugh!!”

And thus, in the innermost part of Eunru Valley, the muffled screams of one beggar quietly began to echo.

***

The Young Cult Leader, Cheon Yura, spoke with rare hesitation, as if gauging the other person’s mood.

“Are you alright, Biyeon?”

Sa Biyeon’s face was filled with anger.

“I… No, I’m fine, Young Cult Leader. You don’t need to worry about me.”

She forced herself to shake off the emotion and maintain a composed expression.

To Cheon Yura, that side of her felt rather unfamiliar.

In truth, it was the first time she’d ever seen Sa Biyeon this shaken.

Due to her various duties and position, she almost never showed her emotions outwardly.

And yet now, just a few encounters with Jin Yeomyung had been enough to stir her feelings like this?

‘Fufu.’

Cheon Yura found her current expression rather amusing.

Of course, she didn’t show it outright.

“My apologies. I ended up troubling you.”

“It’s really alright. Young Master Jin didn’t seem to have any intention of escalating things.”

“Mm.”

In truth, what she meant by ‘troubling’ wasn’t just about the earlier command. There was more.

While she was briefly debating whether or not to say it, Sa Biyeon posed a question.

“I do wonder, though—why did you give such an order?”

Jin Yeomyung’s abilities had already been confirmed during the exchange match at the Lesser Demon Hall.

Among the Six Demonic Dragons—the top talents of the Demonic Faction—he had already proven himself to be among the upper ranks.

Cheon Yura answered her question calmly.

“I wanted to see his reaction.”

“His reaction?”

“To see whether he really has feelings for me… or whether he’s simply using me as a pawn of the Jin Clan.”

“Ah…”

“Even if it looked a little unsightly, it was something I needed to do.”

Previously, Jin Yeomyung had even used the word ‘dear’ when referring to Cheon Yura, showing clear signs of affection.

And she, who wasn’t used to receiving that kind of attention from others, felt a need to confirm the sincerity of that expression.

But even aside from that—

‘…Good heavens.’

Sa Biyeon barely resisted the urge to facepalm.

Wasn’t this an extreme method of confirmation that would make anyone lose their feelings on the spot?

She desperately kept her expression in check, but couldn’t quite stop her voice from trembling.

“S-so… what’s the verdict?”

Whether or not she noticed Sa Biyeon’s inner turmoil, Cheon Yura tilted her head and replied.

“Well, I guess I’m convinced that he didn’t act like that just because of a courtesan’s request?”

It was predictable that Jin Yeomyung would block an ambush from a wounded Master Level.

The real test was what came afterward.

If he had approached her purely for the sake of the clan, then at that point…

‘He would’ve completely masked his emotions and put on a perfectly positive act.’

One of Cheon Yura’s innate talents was the ability to discern subtle emotional shifts in people.

That perceptiveness was sharp enough to rival the sense Jin Yeomyung had awakened using his power from a previous life.

‘What he showed me back then were traces of resentment and dissatisfaction. But beyond that, there were no particular changes.’

And—

‘If he had approached me only for my background, he should have hidden even that resentment.’

At least, that’s what everyone else who had approached her until now had done.

No matter what she did, they would smile, nod, and flatter her. Then, the moment they fell into a trap, they’d reveal their true colors and disappear one by one.

‘Does he… really have feelings for me?’

Or was there some other motive?

If so, what reason could he possibly have to go this far?

As Cheon Yura wavered in confusion, Sa Biyeon opened her mouth.

“Young Cult Leader.”

“What is it?”

Sa Biyeon understood Cheon Yura’s inner turmoil.

She had watched over Cheon Yura for years and had witnessed firsthand everything she had gone through.

But even so—

“What will you do… if he ends up hating you?”

What if Jin Yeomyung truly did have genuine feelings for Cheon Yura?

Then the method she used earlier might have been a serious misstep.

“Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Cheon Yura let out a quiet laugh.

“I’m in a position where I have no other choice.”

A reply filled with countless layers of meaning.

A position where she had to constantly test and doubt everyone who approached her. If a potential relationship broke because of that, then so be it.

That was simply the kind of position she held.

That was what it meant to be someone who stood above all others.

Sa Biyeon, almost unconsciously, opened her mouth.

“If…”

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