Beyond the Door (2)
Standing at the door, Lee Ho spoke with utmost respect.
“It’s me. I’m here with Master Ma and the Nameless Hero. May we come in for a moment?”
He made it clear who was entering, a gesture of respect and caution towards the person inside.
When Lee Ho opened the door, it swung open smoothly. This time, it wasn’t locked.
“Please, go ahead.”
Having fulfilled his duty, he didn’t enter with us but left.
Ma and I stepped inside, our senses on high alert, unsure of what awaited us.
The room was filled with objects I had never seen before. Before I could examine them, a strong scent hit my nose.
To most, it would smell like the herbs in a doctor’s office, but I recognized it immediately.
It was a blend of two scents I knew well: the peculiar mix of elixirs and poisons.
Amidst this aroma, various items were scattered. The first thing that caught my eye was a large sphere. Connected to it were a dozen bamboo tubes, each leading to different containers.
The containers were of various colors, likely holding different elixirs or poisons that flowed into the central sphere. It wasn’t just about gathering substances; the setup included mechanisms for heating and cooling.
The mysterious energy I sensed earlier emanated from that sphere, or more precisely, from the substances within it.
To one side, piles of medicinal herbs were stacked, along with boxes containing snakes and centipedes.
On the opposite wall, a large sheet of paper was covered with unfamiliar symbols and numbers, as if someone was calculating something beyond my understanding.
A desk stood against the paper-covered wall, surrounded by a mountain of books.
Amidst it all, a woman sat with her back to us, engrossed in a book, not even glancing up as we entered.
Though I noticed her presence immediately, an ordinary person might not have. The room was filled with so many distractions, and she sat so still, like a doll, blending into the background.
Ma spoke to her.
“When someone visits, it’s polite to at least look at them and say hello.”
Without turning, she replied, “You’re not exactly a person, are you?”
Her voice was clear and resonant.
Ma, having heard such remarks before, wasn’t offended in the slightest.
“That’s why I brought someone who is.”
“Birds of a feather, I suppose.”
Ma glanced at me with a faint smile, a gesture of goodwill towards her. She must be someone essential to him.
“The experiment failed again.”
Suddenly, her voice lost its strength.
“I know.”
Only then did she rise and turn to face us.
I was taken aback by her beauty, far surpassing my expectations. Her attire clung to her figure, accentuating her voluptuousness. Her ample bosom, slender waist, and long, straight legs were striking.
Such a striking appearance seemed out of place in a room like this, making her all the more intriguing.
And there was something else.
Her age was indiscernible. At a glance, she seemed in her early twenties, yet she could easily pass for someone in her thirties. If she were in her thirties, she was remarkably youthful.
Most importantly, she was an extraordinary martial artist.
Far superior to Ma and even to Choo Dochil. Though not quite my equal, it had been a long time since I’d encountered someone of her caliber.
She approached me, sniffing the air.
“A new recruit? You have a pleasant scent.”
Ma chuckled.
“No, he’s a friend.”
“A friend? You have those?”
She cast a sidelong glance at Ma before addressing me.
“Being close to someone like him could get you killed.”
Her words were neither a joke nor entirely serious, leaving me unsure how to respond.
“I’m starting to feel that way.”
“Then why stick around?”
“I’m caught in a trap.”
“Traps are scary, especially his.”
She spoke openly, but Ma showed no reaction.
The woman studied me intently.
“There’s something peculiar about you.”
It seemed she sensed something unusual about me, just as I had about her.
She glanced at Ma, her expression questioning, as if to ask, “This one?”
Ma smiled.
“A friend I’d trap if I had to.”
His response answered both her question and our earlier conversation.
In that moment, I realized that what he had mentioned before was related to this woman. He intended to subject me to the same test he had given those men.
Feigning ignorance, I looked at Ma. He returned my gaze with a friendly smile. The test subjects had died bleeding in the Seven Palaces, yet he smiled as if he intended to kill me.
The woman, seemingly losing interest, returned to her seat and resumed reading.
Ma and I surveyed the room.
Standing before the poisonous substances, I asked, “What exactly are you making here?”
“Medicine.”
“Medicine?”
“A potion to make the user invincible. And a cure to save you.”
“Really? This place?”
“Yes. We’re researching how to replace ‘inevitable death’ with ‘invincibility.’”
In other words, they were working on eliminating the side effects of the Unyielding Demon Pill.
“You deceived me. You made it sound like there was already a solution.”
“Finding a solution for such a potion would be more surprising. But we’ll succeed within a year.”
Ma looked at the woman and asked, “Isn’t that right?”
Without turning, she replied, “With your interruptions, it might take a day longer.”
Ma smiled at me.
“Don’t worry. We’ll succeed within a year. Do you understand why I wanted to show you this place?”
I nodded.
Ma continued, “Trust me.”
Then, without turning, the woman suddenly asked, “Do you drink?”
Uncertain if she was addressing me, I looked at Ma, who nodded.
I replied to her, “Of course. But I don’t drink alone.”
She rose and grabbed a coat hanging nearby.
“Perfect. Let’s have a drink together.”
Before Ma could join us, she added, “Just the two of us. Don’t even think about it.”
Half an hour later, we were at a tavern, drinking. Lee Ho, who had blindfolded me and brought me here, was the one who accompanied us.
Whenever she moved, Lee Ho followed. Even now, he waited outside in a carriage.
It occurred to me that Lee Ho’s primary duty might not be to monitor Ma but to protect her.
She sipped her drink, always taking a bite of food afterward.
“Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you.”
“If you’re concerned about your health, you shouldn’t be cooped up in a place like that.”
“It’s work. I have no choice.”
“Is there really no choice? Couldn’t you just close your eyes and run away?”
“Run away?”
I expected her to say something like “That’s easy for you to say” or “How irresponsible,” but instead, she laughed brightly.
“Just thinking about it feels nice.”
Her expression was so radiant that I knew it was an impossible dream.
She was an enigma. Her intellectual aura didn’t match her sensual appearance. Like the mysterious energy from the sphere, she exuded an air of mystery.
One thing was clear: she was in charge of the underground experiments. Ma’s deference and Lee Ho’s presence indicated her importance in the organization.
“What’s your name?”
“Are you in a position to ask for someone’s name?”
She referred to Lee Ho introducing me as the Nameless Hero when we entered.
“It’s frustrating not having a name, and even more so not knowing the name of the person I’m sitting with.”
I didn’t expect her to reveal her name easily, but to my surprise, she did.
“Im Yeon-jeong.”
“A lovely name. Let’s toast to our meeting.”
She clinked glasses with me, downing her drink in one go. She was quite the drinker.
“What exactly are you researching?”
“Research to make a living.”
But even in her inebriation, she didn’t slip up. She was careful, never revealing anything that might hint at her identity. She didn’t even disclose her age. Yet, she occasionally asked questions.
“How did you meet Master Ma?”
“By chance.”
I recounted how I discovered the dark language through Jo Byeok, who ran a brothel with a young girl, leading me here.
“So, you were a hero from the start.”
“A hero? No, it just happened that way.”
Im Yeon-jeong studied me quietly. At such moments, she seemed far removed from evil. But one should never judge or evaluate someone based solely on appearances and impressions.
“How did you meet Master Ma?”
“My reason is far more mundane than yours.”
Instead of answering, she took a sip of her drink. Like most of my questions, this one fell into the category of things she wouldn’t answer.
She laughed heartily at times, and at others, she seemed melancholic. Her emotions were unpredictable, but one thing was clear.
She seemed to have been feeling quite stifled lately. It appeared she longed to drink, laugh, and chat with someone. Choosing me, a stranger, as her companion suggested her life wasn’t as smooth as it seemed.
When you look at Ma Ryeong-in, he seems completely full. Whether it’s with malice or ambition, he’s brimming with it. Lee Ho is the same way.
But she was different. With her, you could sense a kind of emptiness, like a space in her heart.
It wasn’t until she had downed three bottles of alcohol that she finally stood up. We had been so focused on drinking, almost as if it were a competition, that not much time had passed.
As she was about to leave, she left us with a final remark.
“When you’re dealing with bad people in the martial world, you have to become even worse. That’s the only way to survive.”
“I don’t think Ma Gong-ja is such a bad person.”
She looked at me quietly for a moment before leaving me with one last piece of advice.
“If you can’t see people for who they are, at least keep your ears open.”
When Im Yeon-jeong returned to the manor, Ma Ryeong-in was waiting outside her room.
“Did you have a good time together?”
“Not seeing your face made the drinks go down easier.”
“I’m glad I could be of help, then.”
As she scoffed and was about to go inside, Ma Ryeong-in suddenly spoke up.
“I’m going to have him take the experimental antidote.”
Yeon-jeong froze for a moment, a hint of sadness flickering in her eyes. She knew better than anyone that taking an unfinished antidote could be fatal. It would grant him immense power, but he would eventually die, bleeding from all seven orifices.
“He’s a smart man. He won’t believe a cure was developed in just a few days. Just tell him it’s the first dose he needs to take for treatment.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then drink it yourself.”
Even without Ma Ryeong-in’s veiled threat, she wasn’t in a position to refuse his request. She sighed lightly and asked.
“When is he supposed to take it?”
“Ten days from now, at the opening ceremony of the Golden Grand Banquet.”
“Understood, but before he takes it, there are things that need to be handled here.”
“Isn’t that why you were drinking? I thought that was the plan.”
His slippery words made Yeon-jeong frown.
Ma Ryeong-in stepped back, not wanting to provoke her further.
“I’ll help too. Just proceed as planned.”
When she didn’t respond, he probed further.
“Do you like him?”
“Sometimes you just get a feeling about someone at first sight. You, him, both.”
“And what about me and him?”
“Just know that you’re complete opposites.”
“He’s received quite the generous assessment. Ha ha ha.”
As Ma Ryeong-in was about to leave the room, she spoke sharply.
“Aren’t you supposed to be friends?”
He replied calmly.
“I’m not even human, remember?”
Despite the potential for irritation, he closed the door with a polite, quiet touch and disappeared.