Chapter 23
"Everyone here? How many?"
"Besides this guy, there were three of them, right?"
This is another unexpected problem.
'Damn, were the guys after me and the ones who attacked Yurim from the same crew?'
Jin Cheong-ak followed Yeo-il, knelt, and looked into her face with eyes that were anything but serious.
"You look like you've figured something out, boss."
He had a look that suggested he could see right through her.
Yeo-il had never told Jin Cheong-ak about her past.
However, although she hadn't told him, only Jin Cheong-ak, not the old man or the Seol siblings, knew that Yeo-il had the assassin's mark branded on her back.
There wasn't anything she could do about it, and Jin Cheong-ak hadn't said anything about the brand, but he probably figured she used to be an assassin.
Jin Cheong-ak said,
"You can't be sure just from their location, right? These guys didn't call themselves Salmak either."
"I never mentioned Salmak."
He brushed off Yeo-il's weak excuse and continued.
"It's like when Haomun fell, all these copycats popped up. The same thing happened when Salmak disappeared; other groups started mimicking them. Leaving marks like this to identify each other...some of those psychos even had them carved into their eyeballs." His argument was valid.
There's no proof that the group that attacked Yeo-il and Yurim is Salmak.
If there is a definite truth...
'I wonder if they're the ones who actually killed the real Namgung Soyo?'
'Really?'
The more she thought about it, the weirder it got.
If the guys who went after Yeo-il and Yurim were all from the same group, why didn't the Bloodshed Sword Demon have any clue that Yeo-il was a fake?
And it was the same situation with Namgung Hui-myeong and Yeo-il getting ambushed at the same time in different places.
'Something's off. It's all jumbled up.'
She was definitely missing a big piece of the puzzle.
Like...maybe Namgung Jeok-myeong wasn't the only one after Namgung Soyo.
Jin Cheong-ak, who had been staring intently at Yeo-il's face as she sank into deep thought, asked with a smile.
"So, boss? Wanna wake him up for a little chat?"
"No need. And it's Young Lady Namgung."
"Should we get rid of him then, Young Lady Boss?"
Yeo-il glared at him for spouting nonsense she didn't intend, and then stood up.
"Ah, you're not a fan of killing, huh? Should we just leave him then, Young Lady Boss?"
As she turned away without answering, Jin Cheong-ak chuckled softly, left the assassin behind, and leisurely followed.
When they returned to the medical room, Namgung Hui-myeong, who had finished his Qi circulation, was stretching lightly.
"Hui-myeong, you're up. Feeling okay?"
Namgung Hui-myeong, upon seeing Yeo-il, frowned and scolded her.
"You're out here wandering around at night after all that? ...You're weak, but you've got guts. You should be more careful."
"Sorry. I guess I felt safer with Jin here."
At that, Namgung Hui-myeong's gaze turned to Jin Cheong-ak, who was slowly following behind Yeo-il.
"Is that you? The one they call Evil Brother, who helped us?"
"Yeah, well, it wasn't planned or anything. It just kinda happened."
It was a vague answer with an even more ambiguous tone, but Namgung Hui-myeong didn't show any discomfort.
Instead, he immediately bowed to Jin Cheong-ak, clasping his hands.
"Thank you. You saved my sister and my family. I swear on the Namgung name, I will repay this debt."
Just as she was thinking there were many unexpected aspects to his polite expression of gratitude...
"Oh, favors? That's music to my ears. I was planning on settling down. Any chance there's a bodyguard position open for Young Lady Namgung? I'm not cut out to be a servant."
"…A bodyguard for Soyo?"
Jin Cheong-ak slyly lied to Namgung Hui-myeong, who frowned.
"I helped Young Lady Namgung before when she was in trouble with some assassins. Guess it's fate."
"Soyo, is that true? Was Jin the one who helped you?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...What a coincidence. Anyway, I'll have to ask my older brother, Jeok-myeong; he's the young lord of our family. You'll have to wait a bit for an answer."
"Waiting's no problem."
With Jin Cheong-ak's residence being decided as naturally as flowing water, Seol-yeong stared at Namgung Hui-myeong, dumbfounded.
"Whoa... Evil Brother seems alright, but are you sure about deciding this so quickly?"
"Watch your mouth, you insolent brat. Do you think a man goes back on his word?"
Namgung Hui-myeong, retorted coldly, and began to stretch again. Either way, it was a win if Jin Cheong-ak joined the family, so Yeo-il kept quiet.
Not long after, Yurim also appeared, and Jin Cheong-ak, who was lying down in the medical room and fiddling with some long weeds, casually brought up the topic.
"Yurim. So, what's the deal with that precious thing that keeps attracting all these damn assassins?"
Yurim turned to Jin Cheong-ak with slightly surprised eyes, but did not readily answer.
"Huh? Still not gonna spill? How boring. Lucky for you, I'm still around. If I'd left any sooner..."
Jin Cheong-ak trailed off, staring intently at Yeo-il. He seemed to have given up on lying, and was implying, 'If I had left even a little earlier, you would have been annihilated and the object would have been taken. Isn't that right?'
"Even if you don't tell me, Namgung, who practically came back from the dead, deserves to know, don't you think?"
Namgung Hui-myeong also seemed curious about the identity of the secret, precious object that Yurim was protecting, so he stopped moving and turned to look at her.
"You are right. So many people have helped me. I can't keep holding out on you like this."
Then, Yurim pulled out a piece of paper from inside her clothes. It was so tattered it was practically falling apart.
Seol-yeong burst into a hollow laugh as he watched Yurim's fingers carefully touching the paper, which looked like rags.
"That's the precious thing? Is it, like, a map to buried treasure, but with elixirs?"
"Yes."
Seol-yeong was speechless. Not only Seol-yeong, but Namgung Hui-myeong also stared intently at the paper with a surprised look.
Elixir.
Something every martial artist dreams of – extremely tempting, and that's why it's so dangerous.
A legendary medicine that can supposedly bring people back from the brink of death, give you hundreds of years' worth of internal energy, and turn even a complete novice into a top-tier master.
The map Yurim showed them was faded. You could barely make out the writing or pictures, so they had to squint and really try to figure it out, but nobody got too close.
However, unable to hide his curiosity, Namgung Hui-myeong asked in passing.
"What kind of incredible elixir is it that those guys are after this beat-up old map?"
"It's Gongcheongseokyu."
At those words, even Jin Cheong-ak, who had been indifferent, slightly raised his eyebrows. On the other hand, Seol-yeong was so surprised that he jumped up from his seat.
"Gongcheongseokyu! Isn't that the legendary elixir that's supposed to bring people back from death's door? That stuff's real?"
Yurim smiled faintly and put the precious object back into her bosom.
"That's what they say...but honestly, I'm not sure. I've checked out the places on the map a bunch of times, but I haven't found anything."
"Isn't it a diversion? It's not some random group, and if it's a secret treasure passed down through generations of the Mount Hua Sect, it can't be a fake."
"Well, maybe some scumbag swiped it along the way..."
Jin Cheong-ak asked.
"So, that old creep was after Gongcheongseokyu?"
"Yeah. Or, more accurately, the group that the Bloodshed Sword Demon is with."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Seol-yeong, who'd been going on and on, now let out a sigh.
"We're gonna be hounded by those thieves all the way to Mount Hua. Surely...they won't send anyone stronger than that old guy, right?"
"Ahem. So, about that."
Yurim cleared her throat awkwardly and added the next words as carefully as when she unfolded the precious object.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but...would it be okay if I tagged along with you?"
Everyone's gaze naturally turned to Yeo-il. Even Namgung Hui-myeong's.
Yeo-il, feeling the attention focused on her, nodded readily, her expression indicating there was no need to hesitate.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd look out for me for a while."
A while later.
After all they'd been through, the group, which had grown from three to six, made it to their final destination without any problems.
