Chapter 255: “Please Kill ”
The backyard of Seong-un Inn.
Jin Seong-un, Seomun Ak, Moyong Hyeon, and Lee Seowon were standing in a circle, staring at sothing in silence.
It was an assassin who had already died, his forehead pierced clean through by a dagger made of gold.
Seomun Ak scratched his head and spoke.
“Did sothing happen to Seo Yu-gyeom?”
The timing was uncanny. Not long after Seo Yu-gyeom headed toward Deathshroud, an assassin had appeared.
“No, but seriously, what the hell killed him?”
Seomun Ak asked as if he could not believe it. The dagger that had killed the assassin glittered extravagantly under the moonlight.
Jin Seong-un calmly pulled out the dagger and spoke.
“They call it a Gold-Flower Dagger. It’s a dagger the Master of Daepyeong Trading Company brought with him.”
“Don’t tell
it’s actually made of gold?”
When Jin Seong-un nodded, Moyong Hyeon quietly added,
“That’s one hell of a luxury item.”
“…….”
A brief silence followed.
Jin Seong-un wiped the blood off the Gold-Flower Dagger and slipped it into his robe. Since the Master of Daepyeong Trading Company had brought it as a bribe, it had to be returned sooner or later.
After gazing quietly at the dead assassin, Jin Seong-un suddenly spoke.
“Is there any way to tell whether this man was an assassin from Deathshroud?”
Seomun Ak and Moyong Hyeon shook their heads at the sa ti.
Deathshroud left no traces.
The sa went for the corpses of their assassins. Unless one was soone like Seo Yu-gyeom, who knew Deathshroud’s internal workings inside and out, it was impossible to find any trace of Deathshroud at all.
“We’ll have to look into it.”
When Jin Seong-un said that, Seomun Ak nodded. No matter how irritating Seo Yu-gyeom was, he was still a close friend, and they could not allow those bastards to keep sending assassins.
Seomun Ak and Moyong Hyeon planned to investigate the incident through the intelligence networks of the Beggars’ Union, the Hao Sect, or the various clans.
However, Jin Seong-un’s thoughts were a little different.
“I’ll go.”
“…Where to.”
Seomun Ak looked at Jin Seong-un with a dumbfounded expression. He could roughly guess where Jin Seong-un ant, but he asked again just in case.
Jin Seong-un replied with a look that seed to say it was an obvious question.
“Deathshroud.”
“Do you even know where it is?”
“…….”
Jin Seong-un fell silent for a mont.
Moyong Hyeon and Seomun Ak looked at each other.
‘This guy really is hopeless.’
That was exactly the look they shared.
Ignoring them, Jin Seong-un shifted his gaze to Lee Seowon. Were not all the world’s difficult problems this Chief Steward’s area of expertise?
Lee Seowon flinched when he caught Jin Seong-un’s gaze.
As expected, he knew a way.
However, it was rather extre, carried significant risk, and felt deeply unsettling to carry out with the grand plan of developing Eonsa Prefecture looming ahead.
Noticing Lee Seowon’s hesitation, Jin Seong-un said,
“Seo the Chef is the core of Seong-un Inn.”
Lee Seowon nodded. The innkeeper’s words were true. The foundation of an inn was its food. Seo the Chef was nothing less than the main pillar supporting it.
After letting out a sigh, Lee Seowon began to explain his plan.
“It’s a sowhat dangerous thod, and since I don’t understand martial arts well, I’ll leave the judgnt to you. First of all…….”
As Lee Seowon’s explanation continued, the expressions in Seomun Ak’s and Moyong Hyeon’s eyes changed.
‘This guy isn’t just an ordinary madman either.’
That was exactly what their looks said.
At the sa ti, the two of them glanced at Jin Seong-un. Naturally, they expected him to think the sa.
“…….”
Jin Seong-un’s eyes were sparkling.
As if he had just heard an incredible, perfectly reasonable plan, he even gave Lee Seowon a thumbs-up.
Jin Seong-un spoke.
“An excellent thod. Then I’ll be off.”
No one had the chance to stop him.
Jin Seong-un knew perfectly well that Seomun Ak and Moyong Hyeon would nag him endlessly. That was why, before either of them could open their mouths, he unfolded Step Without Shadows and fled.
At the bluish hour before dawn.
Holding a fairly heavy wooden box in his hand, Jin Seong-un walked quietly through the empty streets.
Even the diligent rchants were still asleep at this hour, and the air was unusually silent.
As he walked, Jin Seong-un entered a certain building. It was a rather elegant tavern with a signboard that read ‘Chwiseonru (Drunken Immortal Pavilion)’.
According to Lee Seowon’s confidential information, this was the very contact point through which requests could be made to Deathshroud in the southwestern part of Hubei Province.
Only a very small number of rchants, officials, and martial artists knew this fact. Of course, organizations with exceptional intelligence capabilities such as the Murim Alliance, the Beggars’ Union, and the Hao Sect would also be aware of it.
Even so, the place was left untouched because there was little benefit to be gained from eradicating it.
They were literally just a contact window. Not martial artists, but rely people who managed docunts.
There was no way to make direct contact with Deathshroud assassins through them in the first place. Even if this place were destroyed, Deathshroud would calmly establish another contact point.
In other words, rather than struggling to investigate a new secret contact after a purge, the authorities preferred to simply keep an eye on a location they already knew.
Since the tavern had not yet begun business, it was dark and quiet.
Jin Seong-un did not bother to hide his footsteps and walked straight inside.
After passing through a fairly large kitchen and entering through the back door, he saw an old man nodding off, who noticed Jin Seong-un.
Despite the sudden visit from an outsider, the old man calmly pushed his spectacles up and said,
“Business is over for today.”
“I wanted you to take care of so spoiled at.”
The old man’s gaze sank low.
‘Spoiled at’ was not actual at, but Deathshroud slang referring to soone who was about to beco a corpse.
Pulling over his writing tools, the old man asked,
“Go on.”
“First, let
ask. I ca looking for a close friend…….”
“This isn’t that kind of place.”
“Listen before you shut
down. I want to et the Vice Leader Shinsalgwi or soone called Twin Slaughter Ghost. Or, if possible, I wouldn’t mind seeing the master of Deathshroud himself, the King of Assassins.”
Jin Seong-un believed those people would have information about Seo Yu-gyeom. After all, the assassins who had targeted Jang Gwang on the battlefield earlier were disciples of the Twin Slaughter Ghost.
The old man frowned deeply.
“They aren’t people you can et just because you want to.”
“That’s unfortunate. Then I’ll proceed with a request instead.”
Bang—!
Jin Seong-un placed the wooden box on top of the table.
A truly heavy sound spread faintly through the hall.
The old man, whose eyes shone sharply, checked the contents of the wooden box and let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Hooh, are you planning to kill even the head of one of the Five Great Clans?”
The gold ingot inside the wooden box was so large that the remark ca out like a joke.
Jin Seong-un calmly continued speaking.
“Guest Dragon. Kill .”
The old man looked up at Jin Seong-un with an expression as if he had heard sothing bizarre.
As always, Jin Seong-un t the old man’s gaze with dry eyes.
‘These eyes aren’t ordinary either.’
The old man had spent his entire life working at the contact window of Deathshroud. Naturally, he knew the eyes of countless martial artists, villains, and assassins.
Among them all, the gaze of the young man standing before him was one of the most peculiar and chilling.
The old man continued speaking.
“Do you think this is a place for jokes? Keep that up and you’ll really die.”
“I’m commissioning you to kill . If you won’t take it, then I’ll have to use another thod.”
As he said that, Jin Seong-un lightly tapped the sword hilt at his waist with his index finger.
The old man thought that the other party had so sort of sche. However, regardless of his personal impressions, his course of action was fixed.
Deathshroud killed people once it took money. It was a simple logic that never changed under any circumstances.
“Heh heh, very well then. There are many strange deaths in this world, but yours will be one of the most exceptional among them.”
“I hope you’ll make diligent efforts so that it becos so.”
Soon after, Jin Seong-un turned around and left.
He could feel the old man’s curiosity-filled gaze from behind, but he had no desire to prolong a conversation with people who killed others for money.
When Jin Seong-un returned to the inn, Moyong Hyeon and Seomun Ak looked at him with tense expressions.
The two noticed that, unlike when he had left, Jin Seong-un had returned empty-handed.
It seed that Lee Seowon’s absurd sche had truly been carried out.
“What did he say?”
Seomun Ak asked cautiously.
So Jin Seong-un relayed the old man’s words ??????.
“He said my death would beco one of the most exceptional deaths.”
“That bastard’s crazy. You just let that slide?”
“I’ve always been patient. Besides, it was my commission to begin with, so it was a natural reaction.”
Seomun Ak nodded.
He looked as though his thoughts were complicated.
Deathshroud determined the level of assassins it dispatched based on two conditions: the commission fee and the target’s martial prowess.
There was no need to even speak of Jin Seong-un’s martial prowess. He had already proven it multiple tis throughout Murim.
The commission fee he had offered was also an enormous sum.
If they failed the mission, it would be money they could recover later, but for now, they would dispatch high-level assassins comnsurate with the fee.
“…We’ll be getting new regulars.”
Moyong Hyeon also spoke with mixed feelings.
From now on, Deathshroud’s assassins would continuously co to this inn.
If they killed those who ca, even higher-level assassins would arrive next.
Lee Seowon’s sche was simple. If they couldn’t find the enemies, then make the enemies co to them.
The problem was that the opponent was Deathshroud.
The things people of the Central Plains feared most were the Demonic Cult and Deathshroud.
At least the Demonic Cult was not secretive. They openly proclaid their tyrannical path to the world and acted accordingly.
Deathshroud was different. They brought the quietest deaths in the world into the daily lives of their targets.
Their level was also formidable. Their leader, the King of Assassins, was a master who had reached Huajing, and among the Ghosts of Slaughter under his command were many experts against whom even the heads of clans and sects could not confidently guarantee victory.
Even well-known masters were often dealt with at the level of Deathshroud’s elite assassins.
The expressions of Moyong Hyeon and Seomun Ak grew complicated.
Seeing this, Jin Seong-un spoke indifferently.
“If you’re all worried, you may go stay sowhere else for a while.”
It was Jin Seong-un’s sincere consideration.
However, that sincerity ended up scratching soone’s pride.
“Worried? ? I’m Great Hero Seomun. A man who once fought even Hanma Heaven of the Demonic Cult for the sake of chivalry.”
Seomun Ak referred to himself as a great hero.
By Murim’s common sense, it was truly shaless conduct, but the inn’s mbers had long since grown accustod to it.
Moyong Hyeon cast Seomun Ak a faintly contemptuous look, then spoke as if he couldn’t help it.
“This inn is a bit too cramped for us to fight together. Especially since the innkeeper’s martial arts are so grand and flashy that I might actually get in the way. Therefore, I’ll ‘strategically’ relocate and wait elsewhere.”
He took a very long route just to say that he would avoid the situation.
Everyone wore dumbfounded expressions, but Moyong Hyeon didn’t care in the slightest.
To begin with, he wasn’t particularly close to Seo Yu-gyeom, and waging a war-that-wasn’t-quite-a-war against Deathshroud was extrely irrational.
As always, Moyong Hyeon moved according to his calculations. He confidently stated his opinion and was about to leave the inn when Seomun Ak’s voice ca from behind.
“Chicken.”
“……”
Moyong Hyeon paused for just a brief instant, but he had no intention of taking the bait of such low-level provocation.
Then Seomun Ak continued.
“I should tell Namgung Rin too.”
Moyong Hyeon flinched and turned his head.
He stared at Seomun Ak with wide eyes.
‘How do you know that?’
It was exactly that kind of look, so Seomun Ak spoke with a faint victor’s smile.
“So it’s true.”
The Moyong Clan and the Namgung Clan were originally close.
Both were what people commonly called ‘annoyingly talented jerks.’ The Sima Clan was similar in that regard.
Because of that, no one found it strange that Moyong Hyeon and Namgung Rin stuck together during their ti in the Special Task Force.
However, Great Hero Seomun was different.
He had seen Moyong Hyeon act like a reckless thunderbolt only to stop when Namgung Rin restrained him.
Moreover, most later-generation prodigies tended to harbor feelings for at least one of Namgung Rin or Tang So-yeon at so point.
Moyong Hyeon and Tang So-yeon were closer to bitter enemies. In fact, during their ti in the Special Task Force, Tang So-yeon had even occasionally said she wanted to poison the tea Moyong Hyeon drank.
That left Namgung Rin.
After gathering and combining various bits of information, the conclusion was that Moyong Hyeon ‘might’ harbor romantic feelings for Namgung Rin.
So Seomun Ak casually tossed out so bait, and Moyong Hyeon, startled, bit right into it.
Seomun Ak chuckled and continued.
“I wonder how a forthright woman like Namgung Rin would react after hearing the story of a coward.”
“S-shut up. What nonsense are you even talking about. Whether you tell Miss Namgung or not, what does that have to do with
at all….”
“Then I should send a letter right now.”
Sending a letter out of the blue to the Namgung Clan saying sothing like ‘Moyong Hyeon got scared and ran away. Even abandoned his friends’ was clearly irrational.
However, in Moyong Hyeon’s eyes, Seomun Ak himself was irrational enough that it actually seed possible.
Moyong Hyeon, who had been about to leave, returned to his original seat with a manner as natural as flowing water. He wanted to add so sort of excuse, but no words ca to mind, so he simply kept his mouth shut.
Neither Jin Seong-un, nor Lee Seowon, nor Great Hero Seomun bothered to ask why he had changed his mind.
And so, Seong-un Inn waited for Deathshroud.
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