Chapter 230

Chapter 230
## Chapter 230. Tomorrow’s Fortune (5)

Crimson stains traced long paths across the chamber floor.

The metallic tang of iron stung the nostrils.

It was clearly the aftermath of a brutal slaying, yet no one acted with unnecessary haste.

‘So this is how it concludes?’

I had anticipated as much from the moment Ak Byeong-bi began creating a scene in the great hall.

Ultimately, our Envoy Delegation was fated to serve as the pretext for igniting a war—

“Cough…….”

Hm?

What? Why is he still breathing?

Looking at the volume of blood pooled around him, the injuries were grave enough that he should have perished at least twice over.

Perhaps that massive frame possesses remarkable resilience.

“Wait.”

I restrained Il-myeong by the shoulder as he started to advance.

“Let Senior Dang handle this first.”

If we all crowded in at once, we would compromise the integrity of the crime scene.

Il-myeong grasped my meaning and inclined his head.

Dang Seo-hui stepped carefully between the blood smears and began to assess Ak Byeong-bi’s wounds.

“His condition is dire.”

“What caused this?”

“The damage is jagged…… as if made by a saw blade. He was struck by that type of armament.”

Dang Seo-hui pressed a hand against the wound to staunch the flow, then drew a long silver needle, drove it into his abdomen, withdrew it, and scrutinized the tip.

“There is no toxin present.”

“Was it a targeted strike?”

I scanned the room once more.

I painstakingly compared the layout to the state of the room when we departed, searching for any signs of disturbance.

Based on the long trail of blood, Ak Byeong-bi had seemingly mounted a counter-offensive, yet strangely, I saw no shattered furniture or signs of a struggle.

Furthermore, this assailant.

They had been bold enough to exit directly through the threshold.

I had assumed that regardless of the nature of the Black Thought Alliance, they wouldn’t commit such an overt act.

……Or should I conclude that someone within the organization had acted on their own initiative?

There were too many variables to weigh, and my mind was on the verge of splintering.

“……Urgent medical intervention is required. He will not…… expire immediately, but we cannot leave him in this state.”

Dang Seo-hui had applied initial treatment, yet the hemorrhaging persisted.

In a way, it was staggering that he remained alive after losing this much blood.

Even a beast of burden would have likely succumbed to such a loss.

Regardless, if he required immediate care, we would have no choice but to entrust him to the physicians of the Black Thought Alliance.

Would this be wise?

“There is no time to seek alternatives.”

If Dang Seo-hui held that view, then we had no other choice.

“Let’s summon help.”

Il-myeong nodded at my words and moved with urgency.

He shoved the door open to exit, only to stumble backward as he was pushed back inside.

No, he was forcibly ushered back in.

Rumble—

A phalanx of men shoved Il-myeong aside and surged into the room.

Among them, a towering, armored figure clad in steel stood out prominently.

I leveled my gaze at him and demanded,

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

Hwang Bu-sik peered down at Ak Byeong-bi with the same detached, icy eyes he had displayed upon our first meeting at Four Emperors Peak.

I followed his stare and challenged him.

“You have arrived at a fortuitous moment. You owe us an explanation for this situation.”

Observing him, as he still refused to acknowledge me directly, I issued a warning.

“Otherwise, be prepared for a conflict with the Murim Alliance.”

“…….”

Hwang Bu-sik, who had been studying Ak Byeong-bi with unreadable eyes, shifted his gaze to me and prepared to speak.

Crash.

A commotion erupted outside, and a fresh wave of people rushed in like maniacs.

Hwang Bu-sik turned back and ordered tersely,

“Block them.”

“Understood.”

As the iron-clad warriors accompanying Hwang Bu-sik barred the intruders, vile epithets began to fly.

“Get out of the way, you scoundrels!”

“You bastards are conspiring with them!”

“Move, or I will slay you where you stand!”

Hwang Bu-sik muttered a low command toward the uninvited guests.

“If you do not maintain order, I will place all of you under arrest.”

The intruders, who had drawn their steel and charged in with killing intent, faltered for a heartbeat under the weight of Hwang Bu-sik’s frigid aura.

“It is not us who should be arrested, but those villains.”

A man shoved past the others to the front.

It was a face I had seen only moments ago.

“Those wretches murdered our Sect Leader…… They dared to assassinate our Sect Leader!”

Jegal Cheon-gi of the Yellow Sand Sect.

He gnashed his teeth and shrieked.

“A man claiming to be a disciple of the Orthodox Path dared to attempt a murder!”

“Quiet yourself! This is the Black Thought Alliance, not the Yellow Sand Sect!”

When Hwang Bu-sik unleashed his internal energy and roared like thunder, the warriors of the Yellow Sand Sect who were causing the disturbance froze in place.

However, it was not out of cowardice; rather, they seemed to be tempering their rage to prepare for a full-scale assault.

Hwang Bu-sik let out a soft sigh, turned toward me, and declared,

“Do you possess a rough understanding of the situation now?”

“…….”

Then, in a tone loud enough for everyone in earshot to hear, he announced,

“I hereby place Envoy Delegation Leader Ak Byeong-bi under arrest on suspicion of murdering the Yellow Sand Sect Leader.”

“…….”

I looked down at the form of Ak Byeong-bi, who remained prostrate on the ground.

Ah, so he wasn’t the victim of an attack. He was the perpetrator?

Remarkable.

“For now, you must cooperate with the investigation.”

At Hwang Bu-sik’s decree, the steel-armored soldiers moved to surge into the room.

Slash—

I carved a line into the floorboards with my Black Dragon Sword and stated,

“Should you step beyond this mark, I cannot guarantee your continued existence.”

Hwang Bu-sik’s brow furrowed heavily.

“……What are you playing at?”

“For the moment, we serve as the Envoy Delegation. Unless you intend to declare open war, you cannot forcibly detain us.”

“A forced detention is permissible when there is definitive suspicion.”

“…….”

I could not fathom the reason, but even ignoring the rabble from the Yellow Sand Sect, Hwang Bu-sik appeared convinced that Ak Byeong-bi had committed the assassination.

Why? By what logic?

“Do you possess evidence?”

Hwang Bu-sik replied instantly.

“I can show you the wounds on the cadaver.”

Was he asserting that this constituted irrefutable proof?

Even so, I had no intention of retreating without a struggle.

“The injuries sustained by our side are not exactly minor, for this to be framed as a simple assassination attempt.”

The retort came from Jegal Cheon-gi instead of Hwang Bu-sik.

“Dammit! Of course, even if Orthodox Path scum attempted a hit, that is the best their pathetic skills could manage!”

Truthfully, considering the long smear of blood and the lack of broken furniture, the hypothesis that he had returned after carrying out a hit seemed more plausible than an ambush.

I asked Hwang Bu-sik,

“First, his treatment is paramount. Will you provide it?”

“……We require his testimony, so I will assign him our finest physician.”

“Then I shall insist that one of our own accompanies him.”

Hwang Bu-sik didn’t offer a verbal answer, merely a slight nod.

As the armored warriors removed Ak Byeong-bi and Dang Seo-hui from the room, Jegal Cheon-gi rolled his eyes, appearing on the verge of a seizure.

“Damn it! What are you doing?! Do you not see that those bastards are all in league together?! Why have you not detained them?!”

“Nothing has been proven. Furthermore, they remain members of the Envoy Delegation.”

“You call that an explanation……!”

I offered a few words of consolation to the grieving Jegal Cheon-gi.

“You idiot, we were with you. Naturally, we are exempt from the list of suspects. Try utilizing the intellect sitting on your shoulders for a change.”

“…….”

However, perhaps due to the loss of his esteemed sect leader, Jegal Cheon-gi’s expression remained sour.

“Damn you, Jin So-un! I will personally see you dead!”

I had gone out of my way to offer comfort, only to be met with a death threat.

Tsk, this is why I loathe interacting with the volatile denizens of the Black Path.

“How did it come to this?”

Il-myeong heaved a long sigh.

“Well, even if we are not suspects, they will not believe us innocent. They are merely keeping us under guard as a pretext for surveillance……”

“Benefactor Jin…… I am aware of that much.”

I understood that wasn’t the essence of Il-myeong’s query.

I might appear reckless, but if I did not resort to humor in an environment like this, I could not bear it.

It was a survival mechanism from my days in the Sojeong Squad.

In dire straits, if I didn’t make light of the situation, I would succumb to insurmountable anxiety.

That was why a quip, however inappropriate, had slipped out before I could stop it.

The current situation was grim enough that it rivaled the darkest hours of my Sojeong Squad days.

Il-myeong, his face drained of color, let out a moan.

“Did the Delegation Leader truly…… do it?”

“He is certainly a man capable of such an act.”

“Benefactor Jin…….”

“Understood.”

This is why those coddled in safety are so useless.

I am at a loss for words.

Regardless, in this predicament, I had no answers myself.

Even if we were not present when Ak Byeong-bi supposedly committed the deed, it hardly confirmed our innocence.

To put it plainly, every person here had been so desperate to claim our heads that they had been itching to find an excuse.

And now, a justification had been delivered to them on a platter.

Moreover, Shanxi Province was a territory where the Murim Alliance held little sway.

To elude the grasp of the Black Thought Alliance, we would have to reach as far as Henan Province.

“Henan Province is quite distant……”

“Benefactor Jin…… Are you entertaining thoughts of flight?”

Il-myeong overheard my mutterings and could not mask his alarm.

Regardless of our decision to flee, the pressing matter was whether Ak Byeong-bi had truly slaughtered Gu Gye-ak…….

“Senior Il-myeong, can you state with certainty that the Delegation Leader did not kill him?”

“…….”

See? You cannot answer.

I pray that he is innocent, but in truth, I cannot declare it with conviction.

Even Il-myeong, who had cultivated the Immovable Mind, could not easily claim he wouldn’t seek vengeance under similar circumstances.

Ak Byeong-bi, specifically, was a man who harbored deep loathing for the Black Path.

It was entirely plausible that he had unleashed the resentment he had nurtured in his heart for all these years.

At any rate, our immediate concern was who would lead the Envoy Delegation from this point forward.

One might question the significance of this, but it was more vital than it appeared.

If we misjudged the situation, not only Ak Byeong-bi but all of us would perish.

With the Delegation Leader under arrest for murder, the line of succession dictated that Il-myeong should assume command.

“If the Delegation Leader truly did commit the murder, what will you do?”

“Benefactor Jin……. That is impossible……”

I shook my head firmly.

“We must prepare for the worst-case scenario. If we bank only on optimistic outcomes, we will all die here.”

I could empathize with Ak Byeong-bi’s yearning for retribution, but that did not mean I was willing to sacrifice my life on his behalf.

The same applied to Dang Seo-hui and Il-myeong.

Il-myeong pondered for a long time, eventually bowing his head.

“……I will defer to your judgment, Benefactor Jin.”

And thus, the mantle of leadership fell to me.

Procedurally, I should have sought Dang Seo-hui’s consent, but she never displayed a particular desire for the authority of an Envoy Delegation Leader.

If she took issue with it, I could always allow her to act as the righteous heroine on our journey home.

That is, provided we managed to survive the return journey.

Even through the dead of night, the presence of guards outside our door never wavered.

As dawn broke, I perceived them being replaced by fresh shifts.

Furthermore, I detected guards not merely at the entrance, but stationed near the windows and within the courtyard.

‘This is quite grim.’

The greater concern was that the cacophony of the banquet, which had lasted until dawn, had ceased abruptly.

The sounds of drunken men brawling or shouting were gone.

This confirmed that the news of Gu Gye-ak’s death had permeated the Black Thought Alliance.

And in all likelihood, the identity of the culprit—Ak Byeong-bi of the Orthodox Path—was public knowledge.

As the narrative took hold, the cries for vengeance would only intensify.

At this rate, we might be decapitated and mounted on pikes before we even had the chance to resist.

‘Should we flee now?’

Left to my own devices, we would have vanished from the Black Thought Alliance last night, but had we done so, regardless of whether Ak Byeong-bi lived or died, war between the Murim Alliance and the Black Thought Alliance would be unavoidable.

‘But even if I want to act, there must be a path to take.’

Originally, I had planned to meet with the leaders of the Black Path Alliance today, beginning with the Four Emperors Peak Lord.

But with one of our members branded an assassin, who would consent to an audience?

We were hardly on intimate terms to begin with.

Just then.

Thump, thump—

Exuding a heavy presence, Hwang Bu-sik strode into the room.

“Will you accompany me to identify the remains?”

I rose to my feet and addressed him.

“May I inquire why the surveillance has intensified?”

“It is for your protection.”

“To protect us……”

I could not determine if those words held any sincerity, but the immediate priority was verifying if Ak Byeong-bi had truly committed the act.

We were escorted(?) by ten iron-clad warriors and led to the site where Gu Gye-ak’s corpse lay.

And then.

“…….”

Upon observing the wounds on Gu Gye-ak’s body, Il-myeong’s expression remained grim.

“Phew…….”

I was no different.

A hole the size of a fist punctured the area near the heart, the surrounding flesh charred black.

It was an unmistakable spear wound, accompanied by the signature of flame.

Even an amateur could identify it as the mark of the Ak Family’s Raging Fire Spear Art.

“This…… cannot be disputed.”

Il-myeong’s comment earned a nod from me.

If one had to quantify the number of corpses I had witnessed, they would need the experience of an undertaker.

Particularly regarding wounds inflicted by martial arts, I had likely seen more than most morticians.

Even to my expert eyes, there was no sign of tampering on the body.

Had someone attempted to manufacture such a wound post-mortem, it would have displayed a distinct shape.

The injury that ended Gu Gye-ak’s life was indisputably this hole.

Hwang Bu-sik observed Il-myeong and me, both of us at a loss, and explained.

“The physician attending to Ak Byeong-bi reports that the pattern of the Yellow Sand Sect’s blade is evident in his own wounds.”

Correct. Naturally.

How many people wield weapons that tear flesh like a saw?

It was impossible to miss.

I barely suppressed a sigh.

“It certainly appears as though our Delegation Leader sustained these injuries during a botched assassination attempt.”

Forget agreements or diplomacy now. We had reached the point where our primary concern was whether we could retain our lives.

I looked at Hwang Bu-sik.

“What is to become of us?”

“You will remain in custody until the investigation concludes.”

“Confined to our quarters?”

If we were to be held there, with this level of security personnel surrounding us……

Once Dang Seo-hui returned from overseeing Ak Byeong-bi’s care, perhaps the three of us could find a way to slip out of the Black Thought Alliance.

As I mentally retraced our route to the Alliance, formulating an escape strategy, two familiar voices drifted into the room.

“Keh-heh-heh, you truly have managed to stir up a grand incident.”

“Young Master, it seems we have met again quite soon, have we not?”

No, why are Blood Battle and the Flame Ghost Consort here?

Hwang Bu-sik’s voice delivered the final blow.

“These two will remain with you.”

Ha, so they are explicitly telling us not to harbor dreams of flight?

Just as Gun Yu-hyeon had warned, drawing the Five Heavenly Kings had indeed been a mark of wretched luck.

In my past life, every individual I had drawn the Five Heavenly Kings against had expired the following day.

Damn it all.

Hwang Bu-sik spoke, his expression as blunt as ever.

“……It is a tragedy.”

He likely intended it as a form of comfort, but it offered me no solace whatsoever.

Was this the same sensation Jegal Cheon-gi felt?

Regardless, I had to find a solution.

Was I not the man who had fought to the bitter end even in my previous life?

“Then may I request one favor?”

However, Hwang Bu-sik shook his head without a flicker of hesitation.

What a rigid man.

I could not retreat so easily.

“It is not an unreasonable request. Please, simply hear me out first.”

At length, Hwang Bu-sik emitted a groan and yielded.

“Speak.”

“Once our Delegation Leader regains consciousness, can you permit us to meet him first?”

“…….”

It is said that even the final wishes of the condemned are granted; surely you can grant a request from a man about to die.

Is that not so?