When Starlight Falls (1)
The Martial Alliance made an unexpected announcement: Ma Bong-gi was dead.
The martial world was thrown into chaos. The death itself was shocking, but the revelation that it was due to an attack by demonic forces was even more so.
The first to arrive at the Alliance was Ma Cheol-gun.
“Father!”
He had already heard the news unofficially through Ju Cheol-ryong.
Yet, he acted as if he was hearing it for the first time in front of everyone, shedding tears of grief that seemed all too real.
“Father! Oh, Father!”
His sorrow was so profound that everyone else lowered their heads in respect.
In the main hall, the leaders and key figures from various factions gathered. There were the heads and vice-heads, the chiefs and deputy chiefs. Even Jong Cheon-rak, the head of the Heavenly Bow Unit, had returned urgently from training due to the gravity of the situation.
I was there too, alongside Gal Sa-ryang, in our roles as responsible military officers.
“Father!”
Ma Cheol-gun’s grief seemed genuine. I wondered what kind of tears those were. Were they tears of sorrow for his father’s death, or tears of guilt for betraying him?
One thing was certain: he had allied himself with a hidden power. In the martial world, a single choice can often determine one’s fate. This was one of those times.
Ju Cheol-ryong stepped forward and spoke to him.
“This is not the time for sorrow alone. We must seek revenge.”
“Indeed!”
The other leaders echoed his sentiment. Although there were many suspicions surrounding Ma Bong-gi’s death, most of them had already been swayed by Ju Cheol-ryong. Thus, the focus shifted from uncovering the truth to seeking vengeance.
Ju Cheol-ryong raised his voice.
“We must elect a new leader without delay!”
His gaze fell on Ma Cheol-gun, a move filled with clear intent. The other children of Ma Bong-gi had not even arrived yet.
Ok Dang-chu, the head of the Iron Flag Unit, quickly spoke up.
“Let’s nominate Ma Cheol-gun as the new leader!”
It was a statement meant to sway the atmosphere, taking advantage of the absence of other heirs.
I could see it clearly. That statement was also Ju Cheol-ryong’s doing.
He was using others to speak for him. Last time, he had been at the forefront of nominating Ma Bong-gi. If he did so again, it would raise suspicions about his ties to the Heavenly Path Sect.
So he put Ok Dang-chu forward instead. Since the last incident, Ok Dang-chu seemed to have firmly allied with Ju Cheol-ryong.
Ju Cheol-ryong and Ok Dang-chu.
They were people I had once served with utmost loyalty during my time as leader. Watching their betrayal unfold before my eyes, I felt more bitterness than anger.
Jong Cheon-rak of the Heavenly Bow Unit was also present. He had left the Alliance under the pretext of emergency training, but with the leader dead, he couldn’t remain outside.
He glanced at Gal Sa-ryang. After the last incident, his eyes were filled with goodwill. He would act according to our wishes from now on.
Ju Cheol-ryong didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Chief Military Officer, please convene an emergency meeting to elect a new leader as soon as possible.”
Did he not know about Heuk-seok’s death? Or was he pretending not to know while addressing Gal Sa-ryang so casually?
He looked at Gal Sa-ryang as if nothing had happened, or as if he was unaware.
“Understood.”
Gal Sa-ryang complied without resistance.
Out of the ten major organizations within the Martial Alliance, only two were on our side: the Heavenly Bow Unit and the Fierce Tiger Unit.
The remaining eight were all aligned with them.
The power to elect the new leader was already in their hands.
In the courtyard of the manor, Il-ho and Chil-ho stood side by side.
Il-ho had chosen Chil-ho as his most trusted subordinate.
“What is our task?”
Chil-ho’s question was as dry as ever.
Il-ho had hoped that their relationship might change a bit, given that he had once saved her life.
‘What was I expecting?’
Suppressing a self-deprecating smile, Il-ho replied in his usual tone.
“A woman will arrive shortly. Our task is to escort and assist her.”
“Understood.”
Il-ho, as if remembering something, asked casually.
“You mentioned meeting someone that day. Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask who it was?”
Chil-ho turned to look at Il-ho, surprised by the question, as he usually never asked such things.
“Why? Is it someone you can’t talk about?”
“No.”
Despite saying no, she didn’t elaborate further.
Il-ho didn’t get angry. Her difficulty in dealing with people and expressing emotions wasn’t her fault. Most of the responsibility lay with him, as he was the one who had trained her.
After a while, Chil-ho spoke up.
“The chief military officer of Justice Pavilion bought me dumplings.”
“Dumplings?”
“Yes. I felt I should express my gratitude for that time.”
Il-ho looked at her in surprise. She was staring silently at the gate.
“Did you meet him?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Chil-ho looked at Il-ho again. Both Il-ho’s questions and Chil-ho’s visit to thank someone for dumplings were unexpected for each other.
Just then, the gate opened, and a carriage entered.
They stopped their conversation and walked towards the carriage.
As the carriage door opened, a woman stepped out. She was Im Yeon-jeong, dressed in clothes that accentuated her figure.
Her voluptuous body contrasted with her intellectual face, which surprised Il-ho. Chil-ho, on the other hand, had met her before during a mission at the Golden Banquet.
“Nice to see you.”
Chil-ho bowed her head in response to Im Yeon-jeong’s greeting.
“It’s been a while.”
Im Yeon-jeong remembered her too.
“Oh, you’re the beautiful lady from back then.”
When Im Yeon-jeong first met Chil-ho, she had been surprised to find such a beautiful woman among the rough men of the organization.
“Since we’ve met again, let’s introduce ourselves properly. I’m Im Yeon-jeong.”
“I’m Chil-ho.”
“Chil-ho? Do you have another name? Perhaps your old one?”
“No.”
“Is it a rule not to say, or do you not remember?”
Chil-ho didn’t answer, but her expression and demeanor suggested she didn’t remember.
Im Yeon-jeong then turned to Il-ho.
“I’m Il-ho. If you have any tasks for us, please entrust them to us.”
Im Yeon-jeong repeated the question she had asked Chil-ho.
“Do you remember your old name?”
Il-ho didn’t answer either, but unlike Chil-ho, he seemed to remember. Given their ages, it was likely true.
Im Yeon-jeong said to Il-ho,
“If that’s the case, you’re a very bad person.”
With that, she walked into the building. Chil-ho followed her.
Il-ho stood in the courtyard for a moment, watching the building where she had disappeared, before turning away.
His face was slightly flushed.
That night, Im Yeon-jeong stood in the manor courtyard, gazing up at the night sky.
“Have you ever regretted something in your life?”
She directed the question to Chil-ho, who was standing a little distance away.
“Haven’t you?”
When she asked again, Chil-ho finally answered.
“No.”
Truly, nothing came to mind.
She wondered if having no regrets meant she hadn’t lived a life of her own choosing. Regret usually comes from making choices.
I should have done this… or I shouldn’t have done that.
But she had never had the chance to regret anything. She had only ever followed orders.
“Do you have regrets?”
“I have… many.”
Im Yeon-jeong smiled softly. But she didn’t share what she regretted, and Chil-ho didn’t press her.
“Is that the North Star?”
The North Star shone brightly at the tip of Im Yeon-jeong’s finger.
“Was it always this big and bright?”
She marveled anew.
To Chil-ho, the North Star was like an old friend. Not just the North Star, but all the stars. During grueling training in the pitch-black mountains, she had often found her way by looking at the stars.
“People say they find their way by looking at that star when they’re lost, right?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that.”
“Have you ever been lost?”
“No.”
Despite Chil-ho’s brief and dry response, Im Yeon-jeong wasn’t bothered. She found it endearing rather than rude. At least she knew Chil-ho wasn’t someone who would flatter her.
“I’m terrible with directions, so I often get lost.”
Not knowing what to say, Chil-ho gave an awkward smile.
When it came to missions, she could speak easily, but in personal interactions, words didn’t come as easily. She didn’t know why.
Im Yeon-jeong looked up at the North Star again and said,
“You remind me of someone. He didn’t have a name either.”
The person Im Yeon-jeong thought of was the Nameless Hero. He had saved her life once.
“I think of him often, even though it’s all in the past.”
While eating, or just before falling asleep.
Chil-ho wondered why Im Yeon-jeong was telling her this, but she couldn’t detect any ulterior motive.
“Do you have someone like that?”
Before Chil-ho could answer, Im Yeon-jeong answered for her.
“No, you don’t.”
Im Yeon-jeong mimicked Chil-ho’s blunt tone and asked,
“Isn’t that what you were going to say?”
Chil-ho replied calmly,
“No, I do.”
Im Yeon-jeong looked at her in surprise.
“Recently, I’ve found someone like that.”
Im Yeon-jeong laughed heartily at Chil-ho’s earnest response.
“Hahaha.”
Im Yeon-jeong didn’t ask who he was. For a first meeting, this was already a deep enough conversation. Perhaps it was the unusually bright starlight tonight that made them open up this much.
With the emergence of the Demon Sect becoming an undeniable reality, the martial world was on edge.
Every sect began preparing for war. They gathered people and bought weapons. They purchased large quantities of internal and external medicine, and the prices of the herbs needed for these medicines skyrocketed.
The atmosphere in the martial world grew tense. There was a clamor to quickly elect a new leader.
Galsaryang was busy leading emergency meetings.
Amidst all this, whenever we had a moment, we discussed the Ghost Gate Formation. To be precise, I was more of a student in these discussions.
Galsaryang focused on setting up formations, while I was interested in breaking them. After all, I would never be the one setting them up; what I needed was a way to escape if I ever got caught in one.
I was still on the outskirts of their circle.
The first reason was my age. In my early twenties, no matter how much hidden skill I had, I was too young to be involved in what was happening.
The second reason was the certainty of my identity.
I was the heir to the Byeok family sword sect.
What kind of hidden force would operate so openly with their identity exposed?
The third reason was similar to the second: I was always with Galsaryang. By being so overtly together, we avoided suspicion. It was a classic case of hiding in plain sight.
And most importantly, Galsaryang was the chief strategist of the Martial Alliance. He was the one who, along with Cheonhajin, had crushed the evil sects and the Demon Sect, unifying the martial world.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he had been training a formidable master for a long time.
“How’s the investigation on Cheonbomyung going?”
“We’re still looking into it, but strangely, there’s very little information available.”
“If he was active as a thief, there should be plenty of records.”
“It seems someone deliberately erased them.”
If that were the case, there might be a connection to Cheonsoseon. Given the shared surname, a familial link couldn’t be ruled out.
If there was a connection, what could it mean?
What was the relationship between the notorious thief of the past and the current revival of the Demon Sect?
Why were they so intent on making Macheolgun the leader?
It was still a mystery.
“By the way, they must be quite upset about this situation.”
“Probably. But for now, we should be fine.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Based on their actions so far, they are determined to make Macheolgun the leader. For that to happen, the emergency meeting must proceed as planned. And for that meeting, my presence is essential. They won’t kill me in this situation.”
According to the alliance’s rules, the chief strategist had to be present. If there was no chief strategist, they would have to elect one before choosing a leader.
There could be many reasons they kept him alive, but Galsaryang believed this was a major one.
“So, you don’t need to worry about protecting me.”
“When will the leader be decided at the emergency meeting?”
“Assuming there are no unexpected events, if we proceed as quickly as possible, Macheolgun will be elected as the new leader in ten days. In other words, nothing will happen for the next ten days. So, take it easy until then.”
Galsaryang was confident, and I trusted his judgment. Even in conspiracies, there are ebbs and flows. Galsaryang was the one who sensed these currents best.
I was granted a rare break. A whole ten days of it.