The early morning sun cast a faint light over the streets of Hanam, gradually filling with the hustle and bustle of people. Amid the growing crowd, a man sprinted through a back alley, his breath ragged and uneven.
“Hah… hah!”
His entire body was drenched in sweat, likely from running in the midsumr heat.
“Ugh… ugh…”
His chest heaved as he gasped for air. He felt like collapsing, like he might vomit any second, but he forced himself to keep moving.
Stopping ant death.
That stark reality drove him to push his legs further.
Where… where should I go?
Even as he ran, his thoughts raced just as quickly.
Which way could he escape? Where could he go to survive?
Eyes wide, the man made a snap decision.
The Alliance… I have to get to the Alliance.
The Martial Alliance.
It was his only chance. The man steeled himself with that thought and gathered strength in his legs.
He bolted again, weaving through the alleys, searching for the quickest route. Just as he turned a corner—
“Ack!”
He collided with a woman coming from the opposite direction.
“Move!”
Without sparing her a glance, the man ignored the woman sprawled on the ground and continued down the alley.
“...”
The woman, now sitting on the ground, watched him disappear into the alley, her expression displeased.
“Hah… hah…!”
The man’s labored breathing filled the narrow space as he sprinted. He was close—just a little further.
The area was deserted, but if he could make it through, he’d reach the Martial Alliance.
Just a bit more… just a bit more and I’ll be safe!
Hope surged within him as he pressed on. But then—
Thunk.
“Urk!?”
A sharp pain pierced his leg. He stumbled, losing balance, and tumbled to the ground.
Thud!
His heavy body hit the dirt, skidding to a stop. Desperately, he grabbed at his leg.
“Argh… aaagh…!”
A muffled scream escaped him as he clutched at the source of the pain. A dagger had pierced through his thigh and ankle, pinning his leg to the ground.
“Ah… ahh… aagh…”
The searing agony was overwhelming, but he tried to get up, clawing at the ground.
If he stayed like this…
“Muk Doseok.”
“…!”
A voice, calm and chilling, reached his ears, freezing him in place.
“Is the ga of tag over?”
Footsteps echoed in the alley, drawing closer.
“I was mildly entertained by your desperation, but this is the end.”
“Hah… hah…”
“Did you really think you could survive?”
The man turned his head to see figures approaching, their faces concealed by masks.
Realizing who they were, the man scread, his voice filled with terror.
“Please, spare ! Why are you doing this?”
“Hm.”
The figure at the front narrowed their eyes at his plea.
“I warned you, didn’t I? I told you that if you caused any unnecessary trouble, your life would be forfeit.”
“I… I didn’t do anything!”
“Coming from soone captured by the Alliance, that’s hardly convincing.”
“That was…!”
The man trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably.
“That was because of so strange person interfering…!”
“No excuses. You were already reaching your limit.”
“Please, I beg you!”
Muk Doseok tried to shout, his voice frantic, but—
Thunk!
“Gurgh!”
The leader’s dagger silenced him, plunging into his throat.
Monts later, Muk Doseok’s eyes lost their light, and his body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
The masked figure withdrew the blade, wiping it clean as if nothing had happened.
“Erase the traces.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the command, several others moved swiftly, leaving no evidence behind—not even a trace of blood where the body had lain.
The sa applied to the dagger, now returned to its sheath.
The masked leader clicked their tongue.
Perhaps I expected too much from trash.
Even as an outsider, Muk Doseok had been considered capable enough for nial tasks.
But clearly, that had been a mistake.
Not only had he caused trouble, but he had nearly escalated things further.
Getting arrested by the Alliance for an incident at the guesthouse was bad enough, but—
To think he almost got tangled with the Divine Dragon.
That could have been catastrophic. Interacting with them was still out of the question.
At least the situation is handled for now.
Still, the masked figure’s expression remained tense.
This incident might create unforeseen complications. They would need to report this imdiately.
Not just the Divine Dragon.
There were other unsettling matters brewing in Hanam.
While none seed critical, it wouldn’t hurt to proceed with caution.
With less than two months left before the martial arts tournant—
Before then…
The frawork needed to be secured.
The masked figure turned away, their voice barely audible as they whispered:
“All for the restoration of the House of Jegal…”
With that, the figure disappeared into the shadows, leaving Muk Doseok’s rapidly cooling body behind.
*************
Noon had arrived.
After completing the morning’s training and taking a short al break, I found myself walking through Hanam-hyeon with Tang So-yeol and Seong Yul.
The reason was simple:
The Baekhwa Trading Company—specifically, Mi Horan—had summoned .
What’s this about?
It had been a month since I arrived in Hanam. Mi Horan had been in Hanam as well during this ti, yet she hadn’t called for once until now.
In fact, it was rare for Mi Horan to summon directly.
Wasn’t this the first ti? She’d always co to see instead.
I didn’t think too deeply about it.
She called, so I went.
Tang So-yeol insisted on coming along, and since Seong Yul happened to be there, I brought him along as well.
On the way to the Baekhwa Trading Company’s Hanam branch, I strolled leisurely, all the while sending ssages through a transmission technique.
[Any updates?]
The response ca quickly:
[We’ve deployed people across the Hanam area, but we haven’t been able to locate anyone matching the description you provided.]
Hmm.
Ever since parting ways with Cheonma in front of the noodle shop, I had enlisted the Shadow King’s assassins to search the area.
But—
As expected.
I’d held a faint hope, but of course, they hadn’t found any traces of her.
She wasn’t the type to leave evidence behind.
And even if they did find sothing, they wouldn’t be able to approach her.
It wasn’t just about spotting Cheonma.
If they got too close, Cheonma would notice them first, not the other way around.
That would only put them in danger.
[Understood. Call off the search.]
[Yes, sir.]
They’d had enough ti to scout Hanam, and there was no point in taking unnecessary risks.
This left with one option:
The Shadow King himself may need to co.
That was probably the safest and most accurate approach.
At that mont, another ssage ca through:
[However…]
I raised an eyebrow.
What now?
[During the search, we did co across sothing unusual.]
Unusual? After just telling they hadn’t found anything on Cheonma?
[What is it?]
[It seems there was an ambush near an alley leading to the Alliance.]
[An ambush?]
[Yes. One of our operatives witnessed it but couldn’t intervene.]
For the Shadow King’s assassins to avoid getting involved, the attackers must have been formidable.
Even so—
[And how does that matter?]
An ambush in Zhongyuan wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence.
Sure, it was unsettling that it happened so close to the Alliance, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary.
[Does it have anything to do with what I asked for?]
[No, sir. It’s just that when we arrived to investigate, there were no traces left behind. That seed worth reporting.]
[No traces…?]
That ant no bodies were found.
Whoever was behind it had cleaned up so thoroughly that even renowned assassins couldn’t detect anything.
Who could it be?
Or perhaps… where?
For sothing like this to happen in Hanam, near the Alliance no less, it couldn’t have been an ordinary assassin.
I was slightly intrigued.
[Do you have any guesses about who or where?]
[We’re looking into it now.]
They didn’t wait for to ask—they were already on it.
As expected of the top assassins in Zhongyuan.
[Let know if you find anything interesting.]
[Understood, sir. We’ll uncover the truth.]
No need to go that far, I thought, but I didn’t bother saying it aloud.
If they were so motivated, I wouldn’t stop them.
With the conversation wrapped up, I looked ahead.
In the distance, the Baekhwa Trading Company’s building was coming into view.
Already?
Talking as I walked must’ve made the journey feel shorter than it was.
Should I stall for ti before going in?
As I mulled it over, Tang So-yeol spoke in a shaky voice:
“Y-Young Master, what should we do?”
I glanced at her, puzzled by her tone.
“What’s wrong?”
“I-I forgot to buy a gift!”
“…What gift?”
“A gift for Lady Mi!”
I stared at her, dumbfounded.
“And why would you need to buy her a gift?”
Tang So-yeol looked at as if I were the one being unreasonable.
“We didn’t prepare one last ti because it was a sudden eting, but this ti is different!”
“And I’m asking, why do you need to prepare one at all?”
Why bother?
Before I could question her further, Tang So-yeol suddenly disappeared.
Where’d she go?
She’d trained under the Shadow King, so her stealth skills were no joke—it wasn’t easy to sense her presence.
“Young Master!”
I turned to see Tang So-yeol reappear, holding sothing in her hands.
“What’s that?”
I squinted at her hands.
“Flowers?”
A small bouquet of white and yellow blossoms.
Where did she even get those? I glanced around and spotted a flower shop behind her.
Hanam has flower shops?
It felt oddly unnecessary. The mountains were full of flowers; why bother buying them?
I sighed.
“You went and bought flowers?”
“Yes! We need to give her sothing.”
“Flowers? What’s she going to do with flowers? They’re not money.”
Tang So-yeol’s face twisted at my words.
“Young Master… if you said that in public, you’d get hit.”
“Who’s going to hit ? They’d break their back trying.”
“…”
Not just their back—soone might get creative and fold into a pretty animal shape, too.
Well, what’s done is done.
It wasn’t my money, so I didn’t care too much.
The only issue was—
Mi Horan probably won’t like them.
The Mi Horan I knew wasn’t soone who would appreciate flowers as a gift.
But then—
“Oh my.”
Mi Horan’s face lit up with a smile as she accepted the bouquet.
“…Oh my goodness.”
She carefully cradled the flowers, her expression soft.
She was smiling.
Mi Horan… smiling?
It wasn’t a bright smile, but it was unmistakable.
Just from receiving flowers.
I was so taken aback that I almost blurted out that Tang So-yeol was the one who brought them, not .
But before I could, Tang So-yeol jumped in:
“Young Master Gu and I… bought them together!”
Bought them together?
When did I do that?
I’d done nothing but criticize her for buying them.
I opened my mouth to correct her, but—
Pinch.
“…!?”
Tang So-yeol pinched my thigh, just enough to make her point clear.
It didn’t hurt much, but it was obvious she wanted to keep quiet.
What’s her deal?
Not wanting to argue, I closed my mouth. Tang So-yeol would probably glare daggers at if I spoke up now.
“…Thank you.”
Mi Horan spoke softly, her gaze fixed on the flowers.
For the first ti, I saw a tenderness in her eyes I hadn’t thought possible.
And it’s just flowers.
“…They’re so lovely.”
“I’m glad you like them, Lady Mi.”
“I’ll treasure them.”
She genuinely seed pleased, scratching my head as I watched.
Tang So-yeol turned to , her expression practically shouting, See? I told you so!
‘Seriously?’
What could be so enjoyable about sothing as simple as flowers?
I couldn’t understand, but I just nodded.
There must be a reason beyond my comprehension.
While Lady Mi delicately handled the bouquet, I took the chance to ask her,
“I heard you called for for a reason.”
Trying to steer the conversation toward the main topic, I suddenly felt Tang So-yeol’s grip on my arm tighten.
What now?
Her pinch was beginning to sting, and I could feel her intent—she was clearly displeased.
What could she possibly be unhappy about this ti?
“Oh, yes. I should get to that,” Lady Mi said, nodding while still holding onto the flowers.
“I called you here for a specific reason.”
“Yes.”
“Do you recall ntioning that I’d need to ask sothing of you soon?”
“I rember.”
It was sothing she’d said when I first visited the Baekhwa Trading Company in Hanam.
She ntioned she might need a favor from in the near future.
So this is it.
I had been curious about what the favor might be, but I didn’t expect to hear about it so soon.
Listening attentively, I focused as Lady Mi continued.
“This ti, the Trading Company has taken on a new task.”
“A task for the Baekhwa Trading Company?”
“Yes. Originally, it was sothing the Martial Alliance should have handled. But the party involved specifically requested our company instead.”
The Martial Alliance’s task?
I frowned slightly.
And the Baekhwa Trading Company is taking it on?
It didn’t make much sense.
Tasks assigned to the Alliance rarely overlapped with those of the Trading Company.
On top of that—
If the other party specifically requested the Trading Company…
It implied they had enough influence or power to override the Alliance.
The Alliance wasn’t foolish enough to relinquish such responsibilities without reason.
“Who are they?” I asked, voicing my curiosity.
Lady Mi, still cradling the bouquet, answered plainly.
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“…What?”
The na, both unexpected and familiar, caught off guard.
The Northern Sea Ice Palace? Did I hear that right? Why would that na suddenly co up?
“Are you referring to the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
I asked again, trying to confirm.
“Yes.”
Lady Mi’s unwavering affirmation left no room for doubt.
Before I could fully process the sudden ntion of the Ice Palace, her next words made grimace.
“It’s about the Young Lady of the Ice Palace.”
This… sounds like trouble.
Even without knowing the details, it was obvious this was going to be a hassle.
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