Chapter 114: Love, Comes

At that perilous moment, as if awls had dropped from the sky, men descended all around her. They were none other than the warriors of the Guard Hall, led by Mook Young.

Mook Young gave her a polite bow and sent his voice through sound transmission.

— I am Mook Young, Captain of the Guard Hall. We will protect you.

Startled by their sudden appearance, she looked around as Mook Young blocked the front and the rest formed a ring around her.

“Be careful!”

Baek Seolyoung cried out. What came flying was not hidden weapons or Sword Qi, but formless smoke. Blocking the front alone would not stop it.

But then something astonishing happened.

Swaaashhhh!

The encroaching darkness could advance no further and scattered in all directions.

Baek Seolyoung was shocked. How was this possible? Then, she saw that some kind of barrier had unfolded around them.

She realized at last that the warriors of the Guard Hall had not simply landed at random around her.

They had taken precise positions, forming a formation.

Because of that formation’s barrier, the darkness swirling around them could not approach.

The black-robed man recognized it at once.

“Could it be, that technique is the Great Anti-Evil Formation?”

His eyes opened wide.

“But that’s a formation used by the Black Way Alliance, isn’t it?”

The next moment, he was struck with horror.

Lee Jaseung was standing exposed within the center of that darkness. And yet nothing was happening to him.

It was impossible. The Great Anti-Evil Formation blocking his attack was believable. After all, it was the strongest defense against this sort of force.

But to withstand it without any formation at all?

The darkness he unleashed was on an entirely different level than what his subordinates had displayed earlier.

It was wrought from his entire reservoir of True Origin Qi, a terrifying technique that melted not only protective Qi barrier, but even the marrow upon contact. How else could it serve as a technique of mutual destruction?

Lee Jaseung slowly approached until he stood right before the black-robed man.

The man stared in disbelief, as if in a dream.

“…How is this possible?”

Lee Jaseung turned his head slightly. Upon a distant branch perched a crow, staring this way. Lee Jaseung could sense it. Someone was observing the scene through that crow.

In the trembling eyes of the black-robed man as he looked toward the crow, was a plea for vengeance.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, he will…”

Thrust, thrust!

Asura pierced his heart in succession, as if unwilling to hear another word. The man collapsed, and with his fall the darkness he exuded and that which shrouded the surroundings all vanished.

Lee Jaseung looked once more at the crow. It still sat there.

Beyond its black pupils, he felt a presence.

A vast conspiracy and malice.

Lee Jaseung shaped words silently with his lips, looking at the crow.

You too will die by my hand.

He waved his hand once.

Thud!

With the gust of force, the crow turned to dust and disappeared.

Lee Jaseung turned back toward Baek Seolyoung.

At that same moment, Mook Young and the warriors of the Guard Hall vanished as soundlessly as they had appeared.

What lay around them now was only corpses.

“This is who I am.”

Baek Seolyoung lifted her eyes to the sky again. The eclipse was over, and the bright moon shone above.

She realized that it was time to give him her answer.

Further hesitation was meaningless.

Would ten days of thought bring a conclusion? A month? A year?

No. The more time passed, the heavier her torment would become.

Baek Seolyoung looked at Lee Jaseung.

She recalled their meetings.

From the first day they met at the inn, to meeting again at the lakeside, to sharing their first meal together at the inn, to seeing him enter the martial tournament, to the day he won, to the day they married, to their first kiss… every moment stood clear in her mind.

She closed her eyes.

No longer seeing him, she looked into her own heart.

The question she asked herself was not whether she truly loved him.

Could she bear everything for his sake? That was what she asked.  

At last, having answered that question within herself, she opened her eyes.

Lee Jaseung was still standing there, watching her.

“Promise me one thing.”

“If it’s within my power.”

He wanted to say he would do anything. But he feared she might demand he abandon the Unorthodox Faction. Please, let it not be that.

“I won’t ask you to quit the Unorthodox Faction. But instead… Can you become a good one?”

“What’s a good Unorthodox Faction member supposed to be?”

“I don’t know either. Just someone whom others might say, ‘He’s Unorthodox, but he’s decent.’, I guess?”

“Isn’t that what they already say of me?”

She laughed softly.

‘Yes, even as one of the Unorthodox Faction, you are shaking my heart like this.’

Baek Seolyoung spread her arms wide and smiled brightly.

She had resolved to accept him.

‘Fine, I’ll bear all the love and the storms that come with him.’

At her words, Lee Jaseung’s face lit with joy. But he himself did not realize how much his expression had changed.

Only she, watching, could see it.

He was truly happy.

Lee Jaseung strode forward and swept her into his arms. He said no words of thanks or love.

Still holding her, he leapt into the sky.

Swooooosh.

In an instant, the two of them vanished from that place.

Swish…

Mook Young reappeared.

Around him, the warriors of the Guard Hall descended. His subordinates looked at him as if to ask whether they should give chase.

But Mook Young was relaxed.

And he never imagined he would say this in a good mood.

“Today’s guard duty is done. Let’s go have a drink.”

* * *

Under the gentle moonlight, the two were sharing love.

They were atop a rugged mountain peak where ordinary people could not easily climb. Lee Jaseung had flown there holding her. No words were needed. Embracing each other, they released the feelings they had long held back.

His hand slid from her breast down her slender waist to her pale thighs.

Baek Seolyoung’s body shivered under his touch, her entire body was so tense it was nearly cramped. Just the fact that his hands caressed her body excited her so much.

Lee Jaseung was just as aroused.

She was so beautiful. Her bare body was perfection itself. A beauty so overwhelming it was almost violent, enough to make one lose their mind. At this moment, nothing in the world could compare to her.

Her body made him forget everything. To hold such a woman in his arms brought him bliss.

She clung to him tightly. His physique was no less perfect than hers.

Her fingers traced the hard muscles of his back. The muscles wrought by battle were firm yet supple, giving a strange stimulation.

Their breaths grew rough. Feeling each other’s breath, they fell deeper into one another.

Thus the two became one.

The storm of passion passed.

They lay side by side, gazing up at the night sky.

For her, what had just happened felt like a dream.

Though it was closer to pain than pleasure, she was happy having shared love with him. She was overjoyed to at last be truly his wife.

Lee Jaseung felt the same.

Now they truly felt like they could call each other theirs.

They lay in silence for a long while, staring at the sky.

To share a bed with one you love is the greatest happiness in the world.

The happiness of mere physical relations is limited. When it ends, it leaves only emptiness, breeding craving, degradation, and corruption.

But to share love when the time is right, with one you truly love, that is the love that makes two into one.

Baek Seolyoung turned on her side toward him.

Lee Jaseung turned toward her as well.

“You have a lot of scars.”

Her long fingers traced the lightning-shaped scar that stood out most.

“How did you get this one?”

His gaze deepened as he looked at the scar.

“I lost just once. That’s when I got it.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know either.”

Sensing the depth of that fight, she asked no further.

He drew her into his arms.

“How did you endure until now?”

Lee Jaseung smiled faintly.

“With all my strength.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, his lips closed over hers.

Just then, clouds veiled the moonlight, as if embarrassed by the sight of their rekindled passion.

* * *

When they returned, the subordinates came forward with formal greetings.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Dan Woobin, Chief Strategist of the Black Way Alliance.”

Starting with Dan Woobin, the others gave their greetings.

“I am Mujin, Captain of the Divine Sword Regiment. Forgive my late introduction.”

“I am Ma Young-gi, Captain of the Iron Cavalry Regiment.”

Baek Seolyoung was taken aback at their introductions. She was astonished to find these fearsome figures she had only heard of were so young.

And another surprise was those who had sung and performed the sword dance at her wedding had been these very men. To think such renowned figures of the Jianghu had sung and danced, she almost laughed aloud at the thought.

She now truly felt the reality that Lee Jaseung was Lord of the Black Way Alliance.

The three were certain that the relationship between Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung had reached a new turning point. The two had grown much closer.

Now the moment had come to truly welcome Baek Seolyoung, not only as Lee Jaseung’s wife but as the First Lady of the Black Way Alliance.

“Allow me to offer you a drink.”

Mujin stepped forward and filled her cup.

“And please grant us one as well.”

Baek Seolyoung poured for Mujin, then for Dan Woobin and Ma Young-gi.

“Captain of the Guard Hall, please join us too.”

She did not forget Mook Young.

So Mook Young appeared. For other matters he would have declined, but her first request wasn’t something he could refuse.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“It is only my duty. I will protect you with my life, whenever needed.”

At his words, Baek Seolyoung smiled.

Seeing that, Mujin and Dan Woobin both spoke at once.

“I’m jealous.”

Then Ma Young-gi spoke in a serious tone.

“From now on, the Iron Cavalry Regiment will protect the First Lady.”

Mujin teased him after.

“If you become a guard, you’ll be stuck all day in tight quarters. You’ll find it hard with your claustrophobia.”

“I can overcome it.”

“Oh you can overcome it that easily? Then why didn’t you on that day?”

Ma Young-gi pretended not to hear, and Dan Woobin laughed heartily.

When their banter subsided, it was Baek Seolyoung’s turn to speak to them all. She felt shy, but knew it was necessary.

She did not yet know them well, but one thing felt clear.

“I know that this man cherishes you all like his brothers, if not more. Please continue to aid him.”

At her brief words, they all bowed with fists clasped.

“We will give our utmost loyalty.”

Baek Seolyoung looked at Lee Jaseung.

As always, he watched her silently.

She understood. From now on, the true trials would begin. The hardships would only grow.

And she was able to feel it.

A new season had opened in her life.

Spring has passed. Now the blazing summer has come.

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