Chapter 35: San Dojeon and Baek Sang-ah (4)

He… turned this down?

I stared at San Dojeon in a daze.

Advanced martial arts, spiritual pills, and the guidance of a master.

Even if I had made such an offer not to someone from the Thousand-Day Pass, but to someone from the Demon Dragon Hall, they would have jumped at it without hesitation, one hundred out of one hundred times.

“I’m… really grateful for the offer, but…”

San Dojeon clenched his eyes shut and tilted his head back.

No, what’s with that face overflowing with regret, and yet you still say no?

“I really am grateful! But—!”

“…You should just accept it,” Baek Sang-ah, who had been watching from the side, chimed in softly.

San Dojeon’s expression was so serious that even she had to speak up.

“Still! I can’t betray the one I serve.”

“The one you serve… is that the Seventh Elder?”

“Yes.”

‘San Dojeon’s loyalty to the Seventh Elder is this strong?’

Granted, if he was the one who opened his path, that was understandable.

But as far as I knew, the relationship between San Dojeon and the Seventh Elder wasn’t particularly close.

‘He was sent to the Thousand-Day Pass in the first place.’

If he was truly going to be made a close aide, they would have sent him to the Demon Dragon Hall instead.

If it was a matter of San Dojeon blindly offering his loyalty, that would make things a bit complicated.

‘No, it can’t be that. If that were the case, he wouldn’t look so full of regret.’

There was some other connection.

Some relationship I was missing.

For now, I continued trying to persuade him.

“If it’s the Seventh Elder, I’m sure he’d understand. A subordinate brought in from the outside has a chance to spread his wings in a bigger pond—he wouldn’t refuse that, would he?”

In other words, I was indirectly telling him, “You’re not even the elder’s close confidant, so why cling to this so stubbornly?”

But it seemed San Dojeon had already made up his mind.

“I can’t. I was ordered by the Elder to serve the senior.”

Senior?

“When you say ‘senior,’ who are you referring to?”

“Senior Han Muyeon.”

What?

Did he just say Han Muyeon?

“You said… Han Muyeon?”

I had known that San Dojeon belonged to Han Muyeon’s faction.

But I never imagined they were this close.

San Dojeon nodded.

“Yes. He is the true heir to the Seventh Elder. I entered the Thousand-Day Pass with the mission of protecting him.”

The second reason why the older San Dojeon had joined the Thousand-Day Pass.

Realizing that, I was momentarily taken aback.

‘What’s going on? This wasn’t mentioned in my past life.’

In my previous life, the one who succeeded the Seventh Elder was a man named Heuk Gumyeong, wielder of the Thunder-Splitting Demonic Sword.

And naturally, the name “Han Muyeon” never once appeared among the high ranks of the cult.

‘Ah… or maybe, even after twenty years, he still hadn’t grown enough to be offered the position.’

If not that, maybe he was already expelled. Or he changed his name.

If my suspicion about who Han Muyeon really was turned out to be correct, then any of those scenarios could be plausible.

“I’m sorry. I can’t go with you.”

“Ah…”

Well, that’s the end of that.

If San Dojeon was this firm, there was no way to convince him—at least not right now.

Unless something huge happened to shatter his loyalty entirely.

‘No, there’s still a possibility. Just… not today.’

More importantly, discovering that the person he currently served—Han Muyeon—had a connection to the Seventh Elder, was an unexpected windfall.

‘The Seventh Elder…!’

I recalled how the Seventh Elder would visit the Jin Clan every New Year to pay his respects to Jin Gun-ak.

A lower-ranking elder, yes—but still the top-ranked among that group.

And this person had chosen to back the one I suspected most?

“I understand. But please remember that the offer I gave you remains valid.”

Suppressing my emotions, I bowed my head to San Dojeon.

“Thanks… even just for the words.”

He gave a bitter nod.

“Seems the young lady has something to discuss with you as well. I’ll leave you two.”

With a ‘tsk,’ San Dojeon left the scene with a face full of lingering regret.

And just like that, only I—left standing in rejection—and Baek Sang-ah, who had been watching with a surprised expression, remained.

“Th-that was quite the scene.”

“Ugh!”

A groan of shame slipped out.

“What a pathetic sight I’ve shown you.”

“N-no, it’s not like that. Being rejected after making such an offer—that’s what’s strange.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Still got rejected though, so I had to move on and do what I needed to do.

“So, it seems you have something to discuss with me as well?”

Baek Sang-ah looked at me with a slightly hopeful expression and said,

“By chance, were you going to make the same offer to me?”

“Keep dreaming.”

Her face deflated in an instant, like a frog caught in the rain.

“T-then… what is it about?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s about the squad.”

“Ah…”

Perhaps because the conversation with San Dojeon had been so intense, she hadn’t even considered that.

“Don’t you think it’s about time you start taking things seriously?”

Flinch!

“I’ve been suppressing the dissatisfaction of the other squad members. So I’d appreciate it if you stopped making judgment errors on purpose.”

“You… noticed?”

“Took me a while. You mixed in quite a few actual misjudgments.”

“…”

Baek Sang-ah’s face twisted in agony.

What, did she think I wouldn’t notice just because she tried hiding it here and there?

Normally I might’ve sugarcoated it a little, but being rejected left me a bit salty.

Baek Sang-ah bit her lip slightly.

“I still… can’t do that.”

“Is it because of the Thousand-Day Pass’s policies?”

“You even know that? Yes. That’s right. The instructors ordered me to stir up discontent among the squad members until the mock battle begins.”

“But is it really necessary, now that the squad members have caught on?”

“Um, that’s…”

Baek Sang-ah trailed off, seeming to think my point was valid.

“You’re right. In some ways, Young Master Jin, you were the first to grasp the purpose behind this training.”

“Then?”

“Yes, starting tomorrow’s training, I won’t be giving incorrect orders on purpose anymore. But…”

She averted her gaze and mumbled under her breath.

“Please go easy on actual mistakes…”

…

She still hadn’t realized that lacking the decisiveness to ruthlessly exploit an enemy’s weakness at a crucial moment would only lead to harm among her own.

‘She’s exactly like a noble lady who grew up without a single hardship.’

Surely she’d learned something while participating in previous mock battles as a squad member.

Or maybe this was her first time ever leading others?

“Don’t worry. I’ll make up for the squad leader’s mistakes as much as needed.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ll become the vice-leader. That way, no one will dare challenge the authority of the squad leader.”

Because they’d have to go through me first.

“Th-thank you, Young Master.”

Baek Sang-ah bowed her head.

“It’s nothing. Just don’t hesitate when it comes time to make decisions. Like you did when you blew Ma Jinseong away.”

Whoosh!

Perhaps embarrassed, she kept her head down and didn’t raise it again.

“T-that was just me trying to get into the spirit of my grandfather’s teachings…”

“Let’s be thankful all you did was get into the spirit.”

I casually voiced something I had only suspected before.

“If you’d had one more sword, it might’ve been a fatal blow.”

“…What?”

“Am I wrong? From what I saw, it was the perfect sword form for striking down instead of using palm techniques.”

At that moment—

The shy flush on Baek Sang-ah’s face froze instantly, like a ghost had possessed her.

“Who are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How… do you know that?”

The way she glared at me now, there was actual hostility in her eyes.

And in that moment, I was sure of one thing.

Baek Sang-ah wasn’t someone from the Cult.

If she were some spy or agent, she wouldn’t show such blatant hostility over a single pointed observation.

‘Though of course… even that could be deception.’

Still, I decided to trust my gut.

“Ahem!”

I cleared my throat lightly.

“Do you take me for some fool who doesn’t even know the basics of twin swordsmanship?”

I put on an offended face and glared at her.

“There’s a limit to treating someone like an idiot, don’t you think?”

“N-no, I just…”

“It’s not that strange for a female martial artist to learn twin sword techniques. And when a dual-sword user switches to using only one, the opening created is something any seasoned martial artist could catch.”

That’s true.

But still—

“Are you saying, Young Master, that you’re one of those seasoned martial artists?”

There it is. I knew she’d say that.

“Of course.”

“Can you… prove that?”

Her tone had returned to formal speech, but the suspicion in her eyes had only grown deeper.

“If you’d like, I can prove it by subduing you right here.”

“Interesting. You’re going to subdue me, Young Master?”

“Why not?”

I casually broke a branch off a tree in the courtyard and held it in my hand.

From the branch, a dark black light began to rise.

“…Sword Qi? With… with a branch?!”

Baek Sang-ah was visibly shocked.

Naturally.

Drawing Sword Qi through a tree branch was just as difficult as producing Sword Force among martial artists.

A single misstep in Qi infusion, and the branch would explode. It required an incredible level of focus and control.

“So, how about it? Care for a match?”

Gulp.

Baek Sang-ah swallowed a little.

Her level wasn’t far below mine, so she could probably put up a fight. But after seeing something like that, she wouldn’t see a way to win.

She slumped her shoulders and sighed.

“You must be… one of the Six Demonic Dragons.”

“…?”

“One of the most powerful of the Demonic Faction’s rising stars. So the rumors weren’t false after all. I don’t know why someone like you is here, but…”

A noble lady who didn’t even know who was in the Six Demonic Dragons?

The more she spoke, the more convinced I became that she was just a clueless noblewoman.

“No, that’s my younger brother.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The one in the Six Demonic Dragons—Fist Overlord Dragon, Jin Yeowoon—that’s my younger brother. I’m not one of them.”

“W-what? You’re not… with that level of skill? Then just how strong are the Six Demonic Dragons…?”

Before she could get the wrong idea, I corrected her.

“They’re all below me.”

“…Huh?”

I raised a finger to my lips.

“Please keep this a secret. Even within the Cult, only a few people know this.”

“…”

“You don’t want people to know you use twin swords either, right? Since we’ve each got a secret now, how about we call it a draw?”

Smirk.

I gave her a gentle smile and made the offer.

“Let’s both keep our mouths shut.”

“Ah…”

She stared at me blankly for a moment, as if taken aback by the unexpected suggestion.

“L-let’s… do that…”

For some reason, blushing deeply, Baek Sang-ah couldn’t meet my eyes and fled back to the dormitory.

“Th-then I’ll be going now!”

As I watched her retreating back, I thought to myself—

Well, with a name like mine, she probably won’t break the promise.

No, more than the promise itself—

“Gu Chil.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

At some point, Gu Chil had appeared right in front of me.

“Keep a close eye on Baek Sang-ah for a while. Until I head out for an external mission. Think you can do that?”

Gu Chil looked up at me in surprise, as if the command was unexpected.

“If you’re suspicious, want me to just kill her? I can do it without leaving a trace.”

“What kind of crazy talk is that? Why would we kill her?”

I frowned and smacked him on the head.

“Ow!”

“We need to keep her alive.”

“Alive… why?”

“Because someone might try to kill her. No, the chance of that happening is actually very high.”

If my prediction was correct—she was fated to die soon.

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