“……!”
Truly, after a very long time, Bin Namgung felt a chill down his spine.
He had not felt this “real killing intent” even when he first met Sword Sage or when he faced Pavilion Master.
It was proof that Sword Sage’s rage was that great.
“I must hurry.”
Without even bothering to close the basement door, Namgung Bin walked briskly down the corridor.
All the servants originally stationed in the corridor had fainted, foaming at the mouth.
After checking their bodies in a hurry, no wounds were found.
It meant that they had all lost consciousness solely from the aura emitted by Sword Sage.
‘Shit, the money and reasoning I prepared should have worked…’
Even though he knew this might be his final destination, Namgung Bin did not falter.
When you think about it, ever since he made Namgung Cheolbin his enemy, his life had been akin to walking on a burning blade.
So, turning back at this point would be absurd, Namgung Bin thought, and headed towards the source of the killing intent.
It was the place where he spent most of his days: the head of the family’s study.
But something was off.
“…?”
The killing intent that had filled the place just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
As he approached the head’s study, all he could feel was a gentle and warm energy.
‘Damn it… it’s harder to deal with a madwoman than an evil one…’
Feeling a great deal of fear from this strange phenomenon, Namgung Bin slowly opened the door to the study.
Sword Sage Hong Ryun.
She had originally not been in a very good mood when she arrived at the Namgung estate.
Due to the fact that her meeting with Sword Sage had been disrupted by someone.
So, with a heavy killing intent emanating from her, she stormed into the study of Namgung estate.
There, she found something unexpected.
Items imbued with Sword Sage’s scent.
“Hhuk…!”
Namgung Cheolbin was ousted from the position of head a year ago, and Namgung Bin had taken his place.
Which meant the study had been used by Namgung Cheolbin for over thirteen years as the head of the family.
The scent of him was everywhere and still intact.
“Is this…the Peach Blossom Paradise…?”
The killing intent that had surrounded Hong Ryun just moments ago had melted away like snow.
Instead, there was only a sweet and pleasant aroma that made her nose tingle.
“T-that’s…! Lord Sword’s clothes…!”
It had been nearly ten years since she had first met Namgung Cheolbin, but she still remembered his unique, cool, and faded scent clearly. Of course, she could easily distinguish his scent from Namgung Bin’s clothes.
Puf-.
With agile movements like a flying squirrel, Hong Ryun pressed her nose to Namgung Cheolbin’s coat hanging on the wall.
“Sniff- Ah… Sniff- Ahh…!”
And there she was, deeply inhaling and reveling in her happiness.
Namgung Bin entered the study just as this happened.
“Aa…?”
“……!”
“What are you doing?”
Hong Ryun quickly lifted her face from Namgung Cheolbin’s clothes, but Namgung Bin had already seen everything.
She usually would have noticed his approach, but she had been too focused on sniffing.
“Ahem…! D-does this matter now?”
“…Not really.”
“I explicitly told you not to meddle with Sword Sage! Yet, you dare to collaborate with Pavilion Master to meddle with Sword Sage!”
Shouting fiercely, Hong Ryun threatened Namgung Bin, clearly embarrassed.
Namgung Bin knew it was a reaction born out of embarrassment, but even so, in the face of Hong Ryun’s overwhelming killing intent, he couldn’t help but feel instinctual fear.
‘My Blood Heaven Skill is only at the seventh level… still far from being sufficient.’
Faced with the towering wall of reality, Namgung Bin had to internally swallow his bitter feelings.
Still, he was not flustered.
Namgung Bin was not weak-willed, though his martial power might be lacking.
“Before anything else, let me ask one question.”
“Answer me first…”
“Why haven’t you acted yet on the assassination request for Sword Sage?”
“…!”
Whatever Hong Ryun had been about to say, she stopped. Narrowing his eyes, Namgung Bin stared her down, and Hong Ryun avoided his gaze, clearly prickled by something.
“I’ve roughly guessed it already.”
“…….”
“You’ve failed in your duty as an assassin due to personal feelings.”
Hong Ryun tried to justify herself.
“I-I did try to kill him! I even went as far as nearly killing him!”
“That means you still haven’t completed your mission, right?”
“…I tried to fulfill my mission. It was your news that made me return. How dare you interfere in my business with such despicable calumnies?”
Hong Ryun retorted sharply, showing more brazenness than Namgung Bin had expected.
After all, Hong Ryun lacked any moral conscience whatsoever.
And if you were to examine strictly, none of her statements were entirely false.
It was true that she went to kill Sword Sage, and it was also true that she had turned back upon receiving the urgent letter.
Though whether she would have completed the mission even without the letter is uncertain, there was no lie in her logic.
“…Message carrier?”
However, Namgung Bin was not someone to be easily swayed, at least when it came to rhetoric and logic.
“Did you have me under surveillance?”
“Yes, I did. Got a problem with that?”
“I do. It means you had no intention of fulfilling the mission from the start.”
“You’re trying to disrupt the truth with absurd arguments.”
“….”
Seeing that nothing would work, Namgung Bin shook his head and prepared for the next statement.
“Fine. Since it’s all in the past, I’ll speak clearly now.”
“Hmm?”
“The assassination mission you were assigned to kill Sword Sage. I’ll formally cancel it.”
“Do you even understand what it means to cancel an order?”
“I’ll cover all the default penalties myself. I won’t even ask for the return of the advance payment. On the contrary, I’ll compensate you tenfold for taking up your time.”
Namgung Bin calmly took out a prepared piece of paper from his robe.
A money order. And not just any.
“An order worth ten thousand gold pieces.”
“….”
Hong Ryun understood the meaning behind Namgung Bin’s offered blank check.
“Now that’s some generous offer? Ten thousand gold pieces isn’t some common man’s price.”
“That’s none of your concern. Will you accept it?”
An implied offer to take the money and go back.
It was a risk-free proposition for Hong Ryun.
“Fine, I’ll accept.”
“I deeply thank the Pavilion Master’s generosity.”
Clack-.
Hong Ryun snatched the money order from Namgung Bin’s hand.
At this, Namgung Bin smiled faintly. Though he had several more prepared plans and arguments, now they were unnecessary.
Since things were going well.
“Alright, then….”
So, he thought.
Until a throwing dagger in Sword Sage’s hand began to twirl.
“What do you mean! You accepted the check!”
“How can you refuse what is given to you?”
“…! You can’t say you don’t know what that check means!”
“Well if you didn’t say it clearly, then? I know nothing.”
Hong Ryun was a professional assassin after all.
To expect her to have integrity was already a mistake, and Namgung Bin finally realized it.
“Wait a moment!”
Just as Namgung Bin was about to bring up more prepared words, Hong Ryun’s dagger flashed like lightning.
“Did we have such a space in the main residence…?”
An obscure corridor in the Namgung estate.
While one corner of the estate buzzed with tension between Hong Ryun and Namgung Bin, another event was unfolding in an unseen blind spot.
“Who could have made a basement…?”
Plod-.
Soeun Yu’s soft footsteps echoed along the quiet corridor.
She had been unable to sleep due to an unwelcome dream and had come out to clear her head.
Coincidentally, she spotted a faint light leaking out from the basement, which Namgung Bin had left open in his rush to deal with Sword Sage.
Creak-.
In her small shoes, Soeun Yu’s foot stepped into the basement.
“Dangerous… place?”
Just as she was about to enter, Soeun paused momentarily, first inspecting the exterior of the basement.
She hadn’t realized before, but when closed, it looked almost identical to the wall, and this basement certainly did not look ordinary.
“There’s a place like this in Namgung estate…? I must check.”
Soeun Yu stepped inside the basement cautiously, prepared to deploy her martial arts if necessary.
Once fully inside, the basement was brightly illuminated.
The Night Glow Beads and precious stones embedded in the walls shone brightly.
“……!”
Her breath caught as Soeun Yu was drawn further into the basement.
The beads of sweat dripping from her tightly clenched fists revealed her rising tension.
Just then, a voice echoed from within the basement.
It was a high-pitched, light voice of a woman.
“Hmm? This isn’t the Namgung’s footsteps.”
“Who… who is there?”
“Are you questioning the name and title of this seat?”
“T-this is Namgung estate! I am Soeun Yu, the matriarch of Namgung! Reveal your identity!”
With her back against the thick wall, Soeun Yu screamed as loudly as she could, her fists clenched tightly.
She regretted not having brought her sword, but it couldn’t be helped now.
However, the reaction she received was quite different from her expectations.
“Yu Soeun? Sword Sage’s wife Yu Soeun?”
The woman asked back, without any hint of hostility.
“D-do you know me?”
“Of course I do! How could the wife of Sword Sage not be known to me? I’ve tried capturing you as a hostage thousands of times!”
“…What?”
In a corner of the basement, a journal belonging to Namgung Cheolbin fluttered slightly.
