Chapter 115: Seolyoung, Decorates

Lee Jaseung purchased several manors on the outskirts of the Murim Alliance and set up a residence.

Now that he had revealed everything to her, he judged they needed a proper place to live, rather than staying inside the Alliance or at an inn.

And since he had confirmed there was a third force behind the Alliance Leader, a new residence was also necessary to protect themselves.

They could have moved into the house he built for her birthday, but Lee Jaseung chose not to. He thought it best to leave that place as the special gift it had been on that day.

On the outside, it was handled as Baek Seolyoung buying the manors. With the Four Dragons of Northern Sky and the Raging Dragons having arrived, that explanation was more than reasonable.

Of course, worrying about outside eyes no longer mattered much. By killing the black-robed man, the enemy had learned of his strength. A crow had watched the black-robed man’s death.

It was even possible they had realized he was the Lord of the Black Way Alliance. That vicious dark art that day had not worked on Lee Jaseung at all.

For Baek Seolyoung’s sake, he lodged the Four Dragons of Northern Sky and the Raging Dragons in the inner compound. As the Northern Sky Clan’s main force, their martial strength was considerable, and because she had always dealt with that organization, it would put her a little at ease.

The force disposition did not end there. Lee Jaseung dispersed the Divine Sword Regiment across adjacent manors.

The operating methods of the Divine Sword Regiment and the Iron Cavalry Regiment, the pillars of the Black Way Alliance, were markedly different. He kept the Iron Cavalry Regiment under the Murim Alliance’s watch, while the Divine Sword Regiment was run in utmost secrecy.

He had moved the Iron Cavalry Regiment earlier at Ban Yeo’s request, and then kept them there waiting in place.

If both the Iron Cavalry Regiment and the Divine Sword Regiment vanished without a trace, the Murim Alliance would naturally grow tense, so he left the Iron Cavalry Regiment’s movements exposed.

Even so, if the Iron Cavalry Regiment pushed their advantage in speed to the extreme, they could strike the Murim Alliance here in less than half a day.

At the center of the inner compound was the residence of Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung. Warriors of the Guard Hall surrounded it in layered rings.

An immense force was deployed around the place. Even so, Lee Jaseung did not lower his guard. With the Murim Alliance so close, this was essentially the enemy’s heartland.

Right then, Baek Seolyoung was in the middle of decorating the room as a bridal chamber.

“Where should I hang this?”

A woman held up a painting and asked Baek Seolyoung. The woman, named Dan Ah, wore a maid’s attire, but she was a warrior of the Guard Hall.

She wasn’t just any warrior either. Among the female warriors, she was the most skilled and the most loyal.

Now that a new residence was chosen, a woman was needed to attend Baek Seolyoung, and Dan Ah had volunteered for the role.

While fastening the curtain by the window, Baek Seolyoung turned to her.

“I think it’d be good to hang the painting over there.”

In her words, Dan Ah brought the picture to the wall she indicated.

“Around here?”

“A little lower. That’s good.”

With the curtain hung, Baek Seolyoung moved a new display cabinet to one side of the room with Dan Ah.

Baek Seolyoung was slightly excited. Since the marriage, she had not properly enjoyed newlywed life, so arranging a bridal chamber thrilled her and lifted her spirits.

She sensed from Lee Jaseung’s temperament that he disliked over-decorating. Clean, orderly, yet with a sense of beauty.

It was easy to say, not so easy to do, but she did her best to arrange it that way.

When the room was roughly in order, Dan Ah spoke with delight.

“It looks wonderful.”

She meant it. The furniture, the paintings, even the bedding on the bed all matched beautifully and felt fresh.

“I’m glad you think so.”

“Please, you can be comfortable around me.”

Dan Ah asked her once more. As the wife of Lee Jaseung, Baek Seolyoung was now her mistress.

“This is comfortable for me.”

But Baek Seolyoung did not treat the Guard Hall warriors like mere underlings and she showed them courtesy.

In truth, the Guard Hall warriors all felt the measure of Baek Seolyoung’s character. They spent every day close to Lee Jaseung, and no one knew the two of them better.

Dan Ah had volunteered to be her maid because her fondness for Baek Seolyoung was high. From what she had observed, Baek Seolyoung was truly a fine woman. She lacked the affectation and vanity one might expect from a beautiful lady.

Knowing full well that the kindness now being shown to her was not pretense, Dan Ah’s regard for her only grew.

“I wonder if he’ll like it.”

Baek Seolyoung smiled a little awkwardly with those words.

Dan Ah replied with a bright smile.

“I’m certain he’ll love it.”

At Dan Ah’s words, Baek Seolyoung smiled brightly as well.

“I hope so.”

She turned her head toward the window. In the distance, to one side of the training yard, she saw Lee Jaseung.

Arrayed before him were about a hundred warriors.

At the very front stood five men, the Four Dragons of Northern Sky and the Raging Dragons’s Captain, Manpo.

Anyone could see at a glance how taut their discipline was.

Already, Lee Jaseung’s aura was overwhelming them. Even without an exchange of blows, his presence alone told them he was on a level beyond them.

Of course, that aura was only a fraction of what he possessed.

Even so, the difference between him and them was like a tiger to a house cat.

Lee Jaseung showed no mercy to villains. Knowing their underhanded nature all too well, he never left them an opening.

Peng So, too, though a member of the Orthodox Faction, fell within the category of villain. He was the one who needed to be handled most roughly among them.

That was why his gaze fixed on Peng So with a cold, disapproving glare, from which frigid energy seemed to seep.

“You must keep your wits razor sharp from now on.”

“Understood.”

Peng So answered with a face tight with tension.

At first, the other three of the Four Dragons of Northern Sky did not understand. Why this arrogant, high-handed Peng So was so cowed before Seop Mu-pyeong, who had newly become Baek Seolyoung’s husband.

But having faced him today, they understood clearly.

From Lee Jaseung, there emanated a force that overwhelmed them. He possessed an authority that made one unable to act recklessly.

Naturally, the Raging Dragons Captain Manpo was taut with discipline, and so were the hundred or so warriors of the Raging Dragons. Among the Northern Sky Clan’s Seven Halls, together with the Flying Tigers Hall, they were among the most skilled.

In roughness and ferocity, they were first among the Seven Halls, yet already they were pressed down by Lee Jaseung’s overwhelming presence.

Lee Jaseung knew that loyalty generally sprang from two sources. Either one was truly moved by another’s character, or one acknowledged another’s strength.

There was no time to move them by character. So he pressed with strength. By radiating an aura that brooked no stray thoughts, he was reinforcing their loyalty.

Of course, that did not mean he intended to use them as expendables. Whether he liked them or not, they were the Northern Sky Clan warriors Baek Seolyoung cherished so dearly.

Watching through the window, Baek Seolyoung’s gaze deepened.

She pondered her own position.

At first, she concluded she should step down from the clan Lord position. Though the place held her father’s blood and sweat, as the wife of the Black Way Alliance Leader she felt she could not continue to serve as a Lord.

But thinking about it again, it wasn’t a decision she could come to so lightly.

Lee Jaseung was advancing with the aim of unifying Jianghu.

If she stepped down, there might come a day when the Northern Sky Clan stood as an enemy.

Such a situation would help no one. Neither Lee Jaseung, nor the Northern Sky Clan, nor herself.

So she resolved for now, to move forward together with the Northern Sky Clan. The matters concerning the clan were worries that naturally followed from choosing Lee Jaseung, and now they were problems she would gladly shoulder.

Watching Lee Jaseung’s cues, Peng So spoke.

“There is something I wish to ask.”

“What is it?”

“What is our job here?”

He did not understand why they had been summoned all the way here. The same was true for the other Four Dragons and the Raging Dragons warriors.

“We originally came to the Murim Alliance to ask for help in capturing those who attacked me and my wife. You know that much, I trust.”

“Yes. We heard that the Undying Ghouls attacked.”

“But we have detected others behind those Undying Ghouls. And they are ones of formidable power. In such a situation, I judged we could not entrust the Northern Sky Clan’s fate to the Murim Alliance alone, hence I called you in.”

Lee Jaseung mixed truth and falsehood to explain. In a situation where they had to obey, that much explanation was enough.

Only then did they show faces of understanding. They could not hide their unease at the thought that the situation was dangerous.

“Are you afraid of dying?”

To Lee Jaseung’s question, they answered in unison.

“No.”

But their voices lacked conviction.

Walking among them, meeting each gaze in turn, Lee Jaseung spoke soothingly.

“No, fear is normal. Even master martial artists fear death.”

He stopped before a warrior and asked.

“Why did you become a martial artist?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, the man then answered loudly.

“I wished to uphold the justice of Jianghu.”

He turned to the next man.

“And you?”

“I wished to uphold chivalry.”

“And you?”

“My father served as one of the clan’s warriors.”

In this way, Lee Jaseung asked each and every one why they had become a warrior. Some answered they wanted to make money, another drew laughter by saying he wanted to impress a woman he had long loved in secret.

They had assumed he would ask one or two and stop, but he asked them all, one by one. For the clan warriors, it was a fresh experience.

The current chief Manpo and their former superiors had said many words of concern for them.

And none here had ever believed those words were sincere. Because they hadn’t been.

But now, it felt a little different. With nothing more than asking everyone present why they had become warriors, they could feel Lee Jaseung’s sincerity.

After asking them all, he stood before them again.

“Some among you will realize your dreams, others will not. Some will die, others will live.”

He did not force them to swear loyalty.

You are the clan’s pride and heart. You must give your lives to protect the Lord and the clan.

He knew well that such words would not conjure loyalty where there was none.

So he said this instead.

“Make sure you survive and realize your dreams.”

It was sincerity by design, but sincerity nonetheless, and it choked the listeners’ hearts.

“You are all dismissed!”

He turned and walked away.

Just then, came a resounding reply from behind.

“We will stake our lives on our loyalty.”

He still could not be sure it was heartfelt, but at least it was stronger than before.

When Lee Jaseung stepped into the bridal chamber, Baek Seolyoung sat on the side, reading a book.

No, she was pretending to read it. She had already seen him crossing the training yard.

She was dying to know how he would react to the newly arranged room.

‘I really pray he likes it.’

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked around.

“Did you decorate the room yourself?”

“Mhm. How is it? Do you like it?”

“It’s nice. It matches my taste.”

“Really?”

Lee Jaseung nodded, then sent a sound transmission.

— Mook Young.

— Yes.

— Similar to this style. Got it?

— I will take care of it at once.

He meant, go and arrange his office in a similar style right away. When Baek Seolyoung saw it later, it would make her happy.

Only then did she relax, smiling brightly.

“Thank goodness.”

He smiled faintly.

In truth, not once in his life had he thought about how to decorate a room. Nor had he ever cared.

When entering a room, his first thoughts were where an ambush might come from, and where to escape in an emergency.

Seeing her nervous over whether he would like a prettily decorated room made him feel both grateful and that she was cute for it.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

Taking her hand and leading her out of the room, he spoke.

“Look forward to it. It’s something exciting.”

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