Episode 130

Baeksukbang, located in the southeastern corner of Sichuan Province, had swiftly taken control of Heungmun—the southeastern edge of Sichuan that once belonged to the Jeonghyeop faction—after Jeonghyeop’s downfall. It had become the undisputed domain of Baeksukbang.

While many areas formerly under Jeonghyeop had turned into battlegrounds for various sects representing Cheongseong and Dangmun, Baeksukbang had firmly secured Heungmun, making it nearly impossible for rival factions to encroach, especially given its proximity to the border with Guizhou.

“Ah, Master of the Sect! You’ve come all the way here again today?”

“Yes. Was everything alright through the night?”

“Yes, thanks to your daily care, Master, we’ve had no problems at all.”

“Good. If there’s anything troubling you, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Understood, Master! Please take care on your way!”

Baek Woon, the Baeksukbang’s sect leader and descendant of Cheongseong’s inner disciple line, was out for his usual morning stroll, quietly observing the mood of the townsfolk. Since Baeksukbang took over Heungmun, this had become one of his daily routines without fail.

At first, the people of Heungmun had worried he might be causing trouble, but seeing him personally witness their hardships and swiftly resolve issues through proactive leadership, they grew deeply moved. His approach was a stark contrast to the hollow leadership of the Jeonghyeop faction.

Within just a few weeks, Baek Woon had become a hero revered throughout Heungmun.

“Wow! Dad! It’s the Master! The Master is here!”

“Master! Did you have a peaceful night?”

“Master…!”

“Master!”

With a gentle smile, Baek Woon returned their greetings as he slowly left the bustling streets of Heungmun behind. But as he moved toward quieter areas, no one noticed his smile shifting into something more excited, his pace quickening.

He swallowed hard and muttered to himself, “Heh heh heh! Today’s the day that little cutie is finally home alone.”

Baek Woon was thrilled beyond measure, believing today was the day he would achieve his grand goal.

Finally!

Today was the day!

He would be alone with Yeon-i, that adorable girl. And in a closed room, no less.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

His imagination took flight, envisioning all the possibilities that awaited.

---

Baek Woon first met the girl named Ha-yeon about a week ago during a patrol of the village.

From the moment he saw her, her beauty was striking. When she first saw him, her face flushed like a ripe apple as she shyly offered him some food.

“Master, please have this. And… you’re so cool!”

Blushing deeply, Ha-yeon quickly fled, leaving Baek Woon staring after her in stunned silence.

Her flushed, fleeing figure was not only adorable but carried an inexplicable allure.

For Baek Woon, who was well into his fifties and had long since settled into a friendly, companionable relationship with his wife, this moment stirred a spring breeze in his heart.

Since then, Ha-yeon had been waiting for him every day in secluded spots.

“Master! You look great today, too!”

What had once been a duty-bound morning patrol became the most anticipated part of Baek Woon’s day.

Then, just yesterday, Ha-yeon shyly approached him.

“Master, tomorrow my brother will be out working, and the house will be empty. I’m really scared… Could you stay with me for a while?”

Baek Woon felt his head nearly explode.

How could he refuse such a request from such a pretty, innocent girl asking him to come to her home?

From that moment, the day stretched endlessly before him.

He couldn’t even sleep properly at night.

And now, finally, today, Baek Woon spotted Ha-yeon waiting in a remote alley, her bright smile welcoming him.

“Welcome, Master!”

Feeling as if he were dreaming, Baek Woon stepped into her shabby home.

The house was so dilapidated that it was hard to believe such a beautiful girl lived there, but none of that mattered to him now.

His eyes were filled only with the sight of Ha-yeon’s back.

Having imagined this moment all day long, Baek Woon could no longer hold back and suddenly embraced her from behind.

“Ah! Master!”

Startled, she screamed, but to Baek Woon, even that was an irresistible thrill.

“Heh heh heh! Yeon-ah, I’ve waited so long for this moment. Come here.”

Ha-yeon struggled to break free, but there was no overcoming Baek Woon’s strength, a master at the peak of his art.

In an instant, her disheveled clothes slipped, revealing her bare shoulder. Seeing that, Baek Woon’s eyes reddened, and he hastily tore off his own shirt.

Then—

Suddenly, someone began pounding loudly on the door.

“Yeon-ah! Yeon-ah! Who are you with in there?! Open the door right now!”

In that instant, Baek Woon’s dream shattered like glass.

Ha-yeon, pale as a ghost, clutched her exposed shoulder and cried out.

“B-Brother?”

Baek Woon’s vision blurred.

He suddenly saw himself shirtless, and Ha-yeon’s bare shoulder exposed.

It was over.

Images of his family, his fellow sect members, and the townsfolk who respected him flashed through his mind.

If this got out, his reputation—the one he had built as a respected leader—would be utterly destroyed.

He hurriedly said, “L-Let me at least put on some clothes…!”

But then—

Bang! Bang! Crack!

The door, already fragile, shattered under the force of the pounding.

And in the next moment, Baek Woon locked eyes with a young man staring at him and Ha-yeon with a stunned expression.

The young man looked exactly like Ha-yeon.

He muttered in disbelief, “M-Master? How… how could this be…?”

At that moment, a dark thought flashed through Baek Woon’s mind.

‘Kill him. If I kill him, the evidence disappears.’

A shadowy impulse born from a lifetime as a wandering swordsman.

As Baek Woon looked at Ha-yeon’s brother with that deadly intent, suddenly—

Thrust!

“Ugh?!”

Baek Woon stared in disbelief at the sword piercing through his chest.

A burning pain flared as the blade emerged from his heart—someone behind him had stabbed him.

But who could it be?

“W-What…?”

He turned around in shock.

There, with cold eyes, was Ha-yeon—the same girl who had always greeted him with a bright smile.

And in her hand was the sword that pierced his back.

“W-Why… why…?”

Blood gushed from Baek Woon’s mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

Thus ended the fate of Baeksukbang’s leader, Baek Woon, the once-hero of Heungmun.

At that moment—

From the ceiling, someone silently dropped down to the floor.

A man with a face half covered in scars and the other half marked by burns, a grotesque visage as if risen from hell.

He shouted at Ha-yeon with fury.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Didn’t I say I’d be the one to kill him?!”

The scarred man’s rage made him look like a roaring demon.

But Ha-yeon waved him off with an annoyed expression.

“Ugh, what does it matter who kills him? If someone else can do it more easily, then so be it. Right?”

The young man who had broken down the door, claiming to be Ha-yeon’s brother, grinned and replied.

“Exactly. If someone else can kill him more easily, then that’s fine. Thanks to that, we were able to kill the peak master Baek Woon without trouble. That’s all that matters, brother.”

Despite their words, the scarred man’s anger didn’t subside. He shouted again with a twisted face.

“You troublemakers! Don’t you understand why I’m working with you? If I have to get my hands bloody because of you, I’d rather do it alone…!”

Ha-yeon cut him off with a look of irritation.

“Brother! I’m not feeling great after showing my bare skin to some old geezer like you! Instead of nagging, why don’t you buy me something to eat?!”

The scarred man’s furious expression suddenly faltered, and he stammered.

“Ah, y-yeah, you’re right, Ha-yeon. Sorry. I didn’t consider your feelings as your brother… I was wrong. What do you want to eat? What should I buy?”

Seeing the man flustered, Ha-yeon smiled slyly and exchanged a glance with the young man standing by the door.

Then, with a resigned sigh, she said, “Well, if you insist, brother, I guess I have no choice. What would be good?”

As she spoke, she winked at Ha-gun, her twin brother standing by the door, who smiled knowingly and nodded.

Suddenly, Ha-yeon exclaimed, “Ah! I just remembered! Alcohol! I want to drink today! Brother, buy me some alcohol!”

Ha-gun clapped his hands in agreement.

“Oh! That’s awesome! Great idea! Alcohol! I want to drink too, hyung! Buy us some drinks!”

Caught off guard by his younger brothers’ sudden insistence, Jeok Ma-hyeok’s expression instantly darkened as he shouted back.

“What?! Alcohol?! No way! You’re only eighteen—what are you thinking wanting to drink?! Absolutely not!”

“Ahhh! Oppa! I’m really upset because I showed my bare skin to that old man today!”

“Me too, hyung! I feel awful! After Ha-yeon saw my bare skin, I suddenly felt like throwing up…!”

“What did you say?! You wanna die, you little punk?!”

“What, man?! No honorifics? I’m your brother too, you know?!”

“What was that? You want a beating?”

Jeok Ma-hyeok looked at his younger brothers—who had gone from begging for drinks to bickering with each other—and his gaze softened with a touch of tenderness.

Ever since their mother entrusted him with these two siblings before passing away, his life had been nothing but devoted days dedicated to them.

That’s why he never wanted these precious kids to become dirty assassins like himself…

As his eyes darkened with sorrow, he suddenly sensed someone’s presence.

“Enough!”

Jeok Ma-hyeok warned his brothers and turned to look toward the door.

Jeok Ha-yeon and Jeok Ha-gun immediately snapped to attention, their sharp gazes fixed on the newcomer as if their earlier quarrel had never happened.

The next moment, a masked figure clad in black stepped inside.

Without hesitation, the stranger checked the corpse of Hyeok Mok-an lying on the floor, then sneered in a sneaky voice at Jeok Ma-hyeok.

“Oh! You succeeded! Even though it’s just the beginning, you actually assassinated Hyeok Mok-an, a top-tier master! As expected of the Chil-sal from the Sacheon-sal clan! I’ll report this to the clan leader right away!”

Jeok Ma-hyeok, the Chil-sal of the Sacheon-sal clan, replied coldly.

“Cut the crap and get to the point, Sip-i-yeong. Why are you here?”

Feeling the intense killing intent radiating from Ma-hyeok, Sip-i-yeong winced but answered in an exaggerated tone.

“Ah, not feeling great, huh? Fine, I’ll keep it brief and leave quickly. The clan leader just sent an urgent order. A man named Bi-cheon Heuk-rang, Seon Woo-jin, is about to pass through here. The order is to find and eliminate him at all costs. They say he’s a master with over seventy years of internal energy cultivation—maybe even more. Apparently, last night he wiped out Samsal, Osal, and Yuksal.”

Ma-hyeok’s eyes twitched at that.

“A master with over seventy years of cultivation who killed Samsal, Osal, and Yuksal? You expect me to handle someone like that alone?”

Sip-i-yeong replied lightly.

“Hey, you’re not alone, right? You’ve got your trusty little brothers with you. Haha!”

In an instant, Ma-hyeok grabbed Sip-i-yeong’s neck with a vice-like grip and spat out through clenched teeth.

“How dare you speak of my brothers with that filthy mouth? You really don’t want to live, do you?”

Despite struggling to breathe, Sip-i-yeong kept laughing.

“Heh heh! If you kill me, you know what’ll happen, don’t you?”

Then he turned his gaze to Ma-hyeok’s brothers and continued.

“You don’t care if your brothers suffer and die because they can’t get their medicine anymore?”

Ma-hyeok’s hand trembled as he tightened his grip.

Sip-i-yeong was the one who had dragged him into the Sacheon-sal clan and, when Ma-hyeok was just trying to make some money and leave, had betrayed him by handing over information about his brothers to the clan.

Because of that, while Ma-hyeok was away, the clan forced his brothers to ingest the same deadly poison insects he himself had taken.

If they didn’t take the antidote regularly, the parasites would kill their hosts.

Ma-hyeok hated the clan with a burning fury for using his brothers’ lives as shackles to keep him bound.

“Those bastards… I will never forgive you.”

But in reality, there was nothing he could do.

To save his brothers, he had no choice but to become their dog.

And the clan’s control didn’t stop there.

His brothers had to be trained as assassins under the Sacheon-sal clan as well.

It was a horrifying fate, but Ma-hyeok accepted it.

Since they had already taken the poison, it was better for them to have the strength to protect themselves.

Eventually, Ma-hyeok pleaded with the clan to allow his brothers to serve as his subordinate assassins so they could operate together.

And that had led to the situation they were in now.

To Ma-hyeok, Sip-i-yeong standing before him was the root cause—the one who forced his brothers to take the poison and become assassins.

“You bastard.”

Ma-hyeok’s eyes burned red with rage.

His grip on Sip-i-yeong’s neck tightened with his boiling hatred.

“Guhk!”

At that moment, his younger sister Jeok Ha-yeon gently grabbed his arm with a look of concern.

Seeing her face, Ma-hyeok barely managed to restrain his emotions.

He released Sip-i-yeong’s neck and threw him against the wall.

Crash!

“Ugh! Gah! Gah!”

Ma-hyeok glared down at the coughing Sip-i-yeong sprawled on the floor.

“Spill the information. And don’t you ever speak of my brothers with that filthy mouth again. If you value your life.”

Sip-i-yeong rubbed his sore neck but chuckled.

“Heh heh! Fine. The target’s route is…”

What Ma-hyeok didn’t know was that the original order had been to just scout and abort if impossible—but Sip-i-yeong had twisted the instructions to insist the mission must be carried out no matter what.

Sip-i-yeong never forgot his grudges.