Chapter 116: Seolyoung, Flies

This was supposed to be exciting? There is nothing exciting about it at all!

“Aaaaaaah!”

Baek Seolyoung screamed, her face pale as snow.

She had no choice. The two of them were flying across the space between cliffs. And it was not just any cliffs. These were towering walls where, if she fell, not even her bones would be recovered.

“Focus!”

The shout came from Lee Jaseung. The so-called “fun” he wanted to give her because he found her precious and adorable turned out to be focus training, and she was so stunned she could not speak for a long while.

Anyway, soaring across a deadly gap, she had no room in her head for anything else.

All she could do was pay attention to the flow of her inner Qi. A single mistake and she would plunge straight down.

Just then, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept past. Baek Seolyoung’s body wavered. The flow of her Qi faltered, panic seized her, and fear of death struck her like a hammer. Her body froze stiff.

“Agh!”

She lost her balance and began to fall.

The world blurred. The face of the opposite cliff, the monstrous black void opening its mouth below, all of it told her she would never make it across.

Then Lee Jaseung shouted again.

“Focus!”

At the sound of his voice, her mind snapped back. Earlier she had frozen in panic, unable to think.

Now she released the tension in her body and loosened her body to the wind.

Her loosened body reconnected the flow of her Qi. She twisted her form upright.

Swishhhhhh.

Even so, she was still plummeting.

Then, her eyes caught a small ledge jutting out of the cliff below.

There!

She fixed her focus on that point.

Her body moved toward it as if she were flying.

Even as she fell at terrifying speed, she saw it.

The face of Lee Jaseung riding the wind alongside her. His gaze locked on her without wavering for an instant.

Even in that fleeting moment she was able to feel it. His concern, but also his faith. He was not going to interfere. He wanted her to resolve this herself.

She clenched her fist.

‘Yes, I can do it.’

She spread her body wide and adjusted her Qi. She lightened herself, her speed slowing sharply, but it was still too fast. She would be able to land on the ledge, but she might be badly injured or the ledge itself could collapse.

Her body began to spin in midair. As she rotated, she kicked against the air as though walking on nothing. She poured out her inner Qi without hesitation.

As her speed of descent was about to decrease greatly,

Boom.

She landed on a surface.

At the last instant, she had gathered all her strength to shield herself.

Darkness flickered across her sight.

When she opened her eyes again, Lee Jaseung was looking down at her.

She pushed herself upright. Her body ached and felt sore, but she was not seriously hurt.

“Did you help me?”

Lee Jaseung shook his head and replied.

“No. You did it yourself. Well done.”

At that moment, all the tension drained out of her, and she let out a long sigh of relief. She had only fainted briefly from the sudden surge of power, nothing more. Otherwise, it had been perfect.

It felt like a dream.

“If it weren’t for you I never could have done it.”

He shook his head again.

“It was not a matter of me being here or not.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the only question was whether you were someone who could do it. The result proved you are.”

“Thank you, even if it is only words.”

Seolyeong felt as though she had taken another step forward. A new experience, a sense of growth, that joy was beyond words.

She stood up from the spot. Looking down into the endless abyss, she felt dizzy.

“But how in the world do we get out of here?”

“We don’t.”

“What?”

At the same moment, Lee Jaseung pulled her into his arms. She sensed a certain yearning on Lee Jaseung’s face which startled her, and she asked.

“Here?”

She blurted it out as her face was flushing red.

He nodded.

“How could we do it here? If we fall…”

He kissed her. Accepting that there was no stopping him, she closed her eyes. His kiss was unbearably sweet.

Before, she had always been too nervous to focus on the kiss itself.

But now, she had some composure.

The kiss felt sweeter, and more intoxicating.

At first, she had planned to stop him with just a kiss, to deny him when he came on too suddenly, to tease and make him burn hotter and more desperate.

But the kiss changed her mind. The thrill of being alone together in such a deadly place excited her.

So the two of them gave themselves to each other right there.

Lee Jaseung knew. There were countless tasks ahead, dangers that could shatter the heart, unforeseen crises at every turn.

That was why this time with her was so precious.

* * *

That evening, the Black Way Alliance convened a secret council.

“It is not certain, but it seems Jang Wonso may have put his hands on Hwa Su.”

At Lee Jaseung’s words, everyone scowled. Baek Seolyoung was also present in the secret meeting, and hearing this for the first time, she was deeply shaken.

“No way! I cannot believe it.”

She pictured Jang Wonso, his flowing white beard, his benevolent face like a celestial immortal descended to earth.

But she knew it. Lee Jaseung was not a man to make baseless accusations. If he said it, there was a high chance it was true.

The image of Jang Wonso clasping her hand at their first meeting came unbidden to mind.

‘Wait, that day… Perhaps?’

While she struggled to believe it, Mujin spoke, making it sound like he was speaking to everyone, but he clearly aimed at her.

“Of all things in this world, the last thing one should judge by appearances is a person.”

Dan Woobin spoke next, his tone making clear that he believed Lee Jaseung completely.

“We all knew he was filth, didn’t we? But I never imagined he was this vile.”

Baek Seolyoung turned to Lee Jaseung and asked.

“Has the Murim Alliance really fallen to such corruption?”

“Not exactly the entire Alliance. Only the Alliance Leader and his clique.”

Baek Seolyoung sighed lightly at Lee Jaseung’s answer. Then, she spoke while biting her lips.

“If what you say is true, I could never forgive him.”

For the Alliance Leader to molest a young girl he had taken as a disciple was unforgivable.

Lee Jaseung, meanwhile, knew that this was only a glimpse of Jang Wonso’s crimes. He was not merely a lecherous, bribery-soaked politician.

He was something far darker and more ruthless. If he had not been, he would have been devoured by Ban Yeo long ago.

What they saw was just the tip of the iceberg.

Even this depraved lust might have been a calculated ploy, a weakness displayed on purpose to mislead those watching behind the scenes.

“Let’s find a solid proof and strike him down.”

But in truth, that was not Lee Jaseung’s aim.

Of course, he would kill Jang Wonso one day, but only after he had wrung every use out of him.

“To do that you must secure a high position within the Alliance.”

This was a plan he had long held. With Ban Yeo’s disappearance, he had an opening to the core of power.

“Since Ban Yeo faked his death and withdrew, the leadership of the Virtuous Heroes is vacant. The Alliance is already seeking a new head.”

“Who is being considered?”

“A few names, but the strongest is Wang So, Captain of the True Chivalry Hall, one of Jang Wonso’s closest men. You must take that seat instead.”

“How?”

“That is why we invested in a certain man, you know?”

Lee Jaseung guessed immediately.

“Yeo Beom, I see.”

“Yes. We must use him.”

Yeo Beom was the representative Elder of the Alliance Council, a man Lee Jaseung had already swayed with lavish gifts at the Hall of Honored Guests.

“This was exactly the situation we spent that money for. Of course we will need to grease his palms again. Fortunately we have the perfect bribe at hand, don’t we?”

Yeo Beom was obsessed with paintings. Last time they gave him a piece worth a hundred thousand silver coins.

This time Ban Yeo had left behind several works. If they offered him one he fancied, he would surely do as they asked.

“With his influence he could at least ensure you are put forward as a candidate.”

“But would Jang Wonso ever choose me?”

“Of course not. That is why we must shape public opinion.”

“What kind?”

“There is already much whispering about Ban Yeo’s death. The Virtuous Heroes is the Alliance’s most vital arm. People will say the next leader must be a warrior of true strength, not a politician. We will fan that sentiment, and at the same time…”

Dan Woobin smiled slyly and spoke.

“…we will build you up as the great hero of the martial world.”

Lee Jaseung did not ask for the details and approved the plan

“Good. Whatever it is, begin at once.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

When the subordinates had departed, only he and Baek Seolyoung remained.

He asked her carefully.

“Was that uncomfortable for you?”

“What part?”

“The talk with Dan Woobin. Especially about bribes.”

In truth, it didn’t make her feel most comfortable. It wasn’t anything wrong, but it felt strangely awkward and uneasy.

But it had not offended her.

She had steeled herself for this path after all.

And if what he said of Jang Wonso’s crime was true, she would want to help bring him down herself.

“There is no room for elegance in battle.”

Baek Seolyoung calmly waited for Lee Jaseung’s next words. On the surface, it was a statement that stirred resistance. Put another way, it sounded like he was saying to use any means necessary.

Yet, as always, within words that seemed not to sit right, Lee Jaseung would surely reveal something she had never considered before.

“Thinking that way is only self-satisfaction, right? Telling yourself even against evil, that you will win by clean methods.”

She nodded.

Lee Jaseung calmly continued.

“But what truly is dignity? If I take the stain of infamy, but in doing so cut down the guilty sooner, is that not more dignified? Think of the innocents suffering each moment that villain lives.”

“Ah!”

A small exclamation escaped her. She did not wholly agree, but she felt the weight of an angle she had missed.

He added with a faint smile.

“Oh, of course, I’m not such a good person like that. I only offered an example.”

“Then what kind of man are you?”

“One who seeks the most effective path? Whether clean or dirty, if it works, I use it. Though I do have my own limits.”

She faintly smiled at his answer.  

“Why are you smiling?”

“It’s just not like you.”

“What about it isn’t?”

“Before, you would never have added that last part. That you have limits.”

Lee Jaseung made an awkward expression in response.

She was right. He was not one to explain himself. But he didn’t want her thinking he would do anything, no matter how vile.

“Cute.”

The moment Baek Seolyoung finished, Lee Jaseung kissed her.

It was brief yet intense. When it ended, he looked at her with a faint grin and said,

“That was your punishment for calling your husband cute.”

Baek Seolyoung, who had been making a baffled face, suddenly broke into a sly smile.

“Doesn’t feel like punishment to me, more like a reward.”

“What?”

“Cute, cute, cute.”

With that, Baek Seolyoung strode out first. Watching her retreating figure, it was Lee Jaseung’s turn to look dumbfounded.

Then he let out a short laugh and followed after her.

Ssshhk.

As they left, Mook Young revealed himself from his hiding place. His expression was a mix of disbelief, embarrassment, and secondhand shame that made his skin crawl. After all, the Guard Hall was crawling with bachelors and maidens, himself included.

“You two are really cruel.”

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