Chapter 85: Ban Yeo, Cuts Off the Tail

The Bear Tyrant was entering an old bookstore in the Murim Alliance marketplace. The inside was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Ten or so large and small bookshelves were filled with old books.

Passing by the elderly shop owner dozing at the entrance, the Bear Tyrant walked toward the corner. Pretending to browse as if he had come to buy a book, he looked over several volumes, then a low voice came from beyond the bookshelf.

“It has been a while.”

The voice belonged to none other than Ban Yeo. Through the books, his figure could be seen, wearing his bamboo hat pulled low.

“Yes, it has been a while. Have you been well?”

“What brings you here?”

It was the Bear Tyrant who had sent an urgent message requesting a face-to-face meeting. Since it was a signal reserved only for emergencies, Ban Yeo was inwardly tense.

“The evidence I was keeping in the Central Plains Treasury has been stolen.”

“Wait, you mean?”

Ban Yeo had already heard rumors that something had happened at the Central Plains Treasury. When the urgent message came at such a time, he had suspected as much.

“How did it happen? Was it lost together when everything was looted?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“Only my vault was robbed.”

A moment of silence fell. As soon as he heard those words, Ban Yeo felt a cold chill run through his whole body.

‘Someone targeted us? Even to the point of raiding the Central Plains Treasury?’

Could that even be possible?

Under the brim of his bamboo hat, Ban Yeo’s eyes gleamed with suspicion. His first suspicion naturally turned toward The Bear Tyrant.

‘Could this man have betrayed me?’

It was not an unreasonable thought. The Central Plains Treasury’s secret vault was one of the most secure places in the world. He could hardly believe it had been breached. Perhaps the Bear Tyrant had colluded with someone inside the building to orchestrate the theft.

Ban Yeo hid his suspicion and asked calmly.

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“There was someone I had been working on recently.”

“And who is that?”

“West Wind Captain, Yang Seokwon. I was putting pressure on him using his son, but just before the incident, his son was rescued.”

Ban Yeo lifted his bamboo hat to look at the Bear Tyrant. Though The Bear Tyrant was trembling, he was not hiding the truth.

‘Then…?’

Ban Yeo fell into thought.

If the Bear Tyrant had not betrayed him, then could it have been West Wind Captain? Could a mere Murim Alliance Captain raid the Central Plains Treasury? The likelihood was slim.

Some other party must have been involved if the Bear Tyrant didn’t betray him.

Someone with enough skill to breach the secret vault of the Central Plains Treasury.

And their true target would be him. Such a figure would not have gone to such lengths just to harm the Bear Tyrant or Baektong.

An intense sense of crisis made Ban Yeo’s whole body tingle.

Ban Yeo pulled his bamboo hat low again.

“Go back, eliminate Baektong, then disappear far away and hide.”

“Understood.”

By the time the Bear Tyrant finished his respectful bow, Ban Yeo had already vanished.

* * *

After returning from his mission, Mujin slept as if dead. Only after sleeping for half a day did he wake.

Lee Jaseung patted Mujin’s shoulder in his office.

“Well done.”

Those words alone were enough.

There was no need to explain how the traps had been dismantled, or the life-threatening situations faced along the way. He would understand without being told.

There was no need for rewards or vacation either. That single “well done” from Lee Jaseung was sufficient. The reverse was also true.

If Mujin had failed the mission and died?

A single “I’m sorry” would have been enough. That was the nature of Mujin’s relationship with Lee Jaseung, and that was Mujin’s ideal Jianghu.

Mujin grinned.

“Are you sure you’re not disappointed because I escaped the pot?”

Lee Jaseung played along with the joke.

“The water is always boiling after all.”

“Because you said it, it became a terrifying joke.”

“Is it really a joke though?”

“Oh! A perfect finish too!”

Dan Woobin and Ma Young-gi were watching with pleased expressions when Ma Young-gi suddenly took an unexpected action.

He strode over and pulled Mujin into a hug. The sudden move surprised everyone.

“You worked hard.”

Mujin could tell how guilty Ma Young-gi felt for not being able to accompany them.

Mujin smiled and replied.  

“Alright, let’s work on curing your claustrophobia first.”

“No. We should work on curing your habit of lying first.”

“Hahaha.”

Because jokes from Ma Young-gi were rare, Mujin laughed heartily.

Dan Woobin handed Mujin the booklet he had recovered.

“When the Alliance Leader sees this, he’ll be furious. The more corrupt someone is, the less they can tolerate corruption in others. And with this content, he’ll likely think Ban Yeo is plotting treason.”

The rift with Ban Yeo would begin with this booklet.

“But the problem is how to get this into the Alliance Leader’s hands. If we just slip it to him, he’ll be suspicious.”

Lee Jaseung agreed. It had to be delivered in the most natural way possible, leaving no room for doubt.

“For now, you should keep it with you, my Lord.”

Dan Woobin handed over the booklet. He had already memorized its entire contents.

Lee Jaseung tucked it into his robes.

“What about the Bear Tyrant?”

“He returned after meeting Ban Yeo. He’s supposed to meet Baektong in an hour.”

“Meeting Baektong right after seeing Ban Yeo? He’s going to cut the tail off I see.”

“What will you do?”

“The tail must be cut off.”

Lee Jaseung answered firmly. The Bear Tyrant was nothing but a scoundrel who had done every vile thing imaginable. There was no reason to spare his life or use him.

After a brief pause, Lee Jaseung asked a sudden question.

“Will Ban Yeo keep the Bear Tyrant alive?”

“The Bear Tyrant too? He raised him from childhood. Would he really throw him away so easily?”

Dan Woobin thought it a waste to just kill him.

But Lee Jaseung thought otherwise.

“Ban Yeo will kill him. The item from the Central Plains Treasury is gone. He’ll either think the Bear Tyrant betrayed him or that someone capable of raiding the vault has appeared as an enemy. In either case, the Bear Tyrant staying alive would be a disadvantage to him.”

“Now that you say it, it makes sense.”

Planning operations and reading the flow of the game was something Dan Woobin was good at, but judging people and predicting their actions was something Lee Jaseung surpassed him in.

Lee Jaseung’s gaze sharpened.

“Who will he send to kill him, I wonder?”

If it turned out to be the person he had in mind, this matter might resolve more easily than expected.

“Leave this to me.”

Mujin grinned and spoke.

“Alright then, let us go have a drink. You promised me expensive liquor, remember?”

“Did I? When?”

Dan Woobin feigned ignorance, but it was no use.

Mujin linked arms with Dan Woobin. Then Ma Young-gi took the other arm.

“You definitely said it.”

Dragged away, Dan Woobin protested with a shout.

“No! We have to deal with the Bear Tyrant!”

Mujin looked at Lee Jaseung and asked.

“You can handle it alone, right?”

Lee Jaseung smiled and nodded. From here on, this was something he had to handle personally anyway.

Mujin spoke with a cheerful face.

“See? We’re going to go out and have fun.”

Mujin and Ma Young-gi lifted Dan Woobin and carried him out.

Lee Jaseung, still smiling, suddenly addressed Mook Young, who was concealed.

“Why don’t you go with them?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“I do not.”

He was human too, so there must be times he wanted to join in. To laugh, talk, and drink together. That was why Lee Jaseung sometimes invited him out, but Mook Young never accepted.

“I’m happiest when I can see you safe, my Lord. If I went now, I’d spend the whole night worrying about you. I’m more comfortable here.”

“Am I that untrustworthy?”

Mook Young smirked faintly. If only that were true, his work would be easier.

But Lee Jaseung was close to perfect. Too intelligent, too strong, with exceptional insight. Wouldn’t that make guarding him easier? Far from it. It made the job much harder.

When Mook Young didn’t answer right away, Lee Jaseung spoke.

“I see. You do find me untrustworthy.”

“N-Not at all.”

Mook Young hurried to deny it, but Lee Jaseung’s teasing continued.

“Sorry for making you worry. Maybe one day I’ll be acknowledged by you.”

“That’s not it at all. Please don’t say that.”

As Lee Jaseung left the room, he replied.  

“Now, your untrustworthy master is going somewhere dangerous, so keep your wits about you and follow closely.”

* * *

Less than an hour after meeting Ban Yeo, the Bear Tyrant carried out his order. The blood on his hands was Baektong’s.

Killing him was child’s play.

The Bear Tyrant’s martial arts were superior, and he struck him by surprise. Baektong, who had bullied and tormented people his whole life as if he would live forever, died instantly when the Bear Tyrant’s palm strike shattered his skull.

Looking down at the corpse, the Bear Tyrant murmured softly,

“You’ve worked hard.”

After more than ten years together, he had felt both fondness and resentment, but the Bear Tyrant remained cold.

Just as he turned to leave without regret.

Puk!

A burning pain erupted in his chest, and the Bear Tyrant’s eyes went wide. The sword lodged in his chest had already pierced through.

“Keughhh.”

Blood spurted from the Bear Tyrant’s mouth. Recognizing the fatal wound, despair filled his eyes. Beyond the surging despair, he saw a familiar gaze.

Though the man wore a mask, the Bear Tyrant knew him. It was Yang Jo, Ban Yeo’s right-hand man.

“Y-You… why?”

Yang Jo removed his mask.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The Bear Tyrant’s expression twisted. They were the very words he had just said to Baektong. Those words were enough. It meant they had always seen him as nothing more than a disposable tool.

Ban Yeo had taken him in when he was young. The Bear Tyrant thought he had been given a new life. Out of gratitude, he had done many distasteful things without complaint.

If Ban Yeo had simply told him, “You need to die now,” he would have gladly done so. That he was denied even the small dignity of such a farewell filled the Bear Tyrant with emptiness.

“I never thought… you’d betray me like this…”

Yang Jo slowly drew the sword from the Bear Tyrant’s chest.

“In Jianghu, never swear on anything.”

When the blade came free, the Bear Tyrant collapsed in a gush of blood. In his fading vision, he saw Baektong’s grotesque corpse.

A pathetic man who had run rampant without knowing his place until he died.

But the Bear Tyrant realized he was no different. No, perhaps even more pathetic. With that final thought, his life ended.

Yang Jo looked down at the corpse and said coldly,

“In Jianghu, it’s eat or be eaten.”

Just then, a voice came from behind him.

“Which side are you on?”

Yang Jo whirled around in surprise. Someone was standing there, someone he knew very well.

“Seop Mu-pyeong!”

It was none other than Lee Jaseung. With a strange smile, he spoke.

“Are you the one that’s going to eat? Or the one who’s about to be eaten?”

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