Geom Mugeuk silently gazed at Myeong Shin.
Myeong Shin calmly met his gaze.
They both felt it simultaneously.
That beginning with this meeting, their fates, and furthermore, the fates of many others, would come to be decided.
“Are you surprised?”
At Myeong Shin’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered with an expression that said it was only natural.
“Have you forgotten already? The last I saw of you was the sight of your back as you fled after showering me with steel needles.”
At that, Myeong Shin smiled and said,
“Have you forgotten? You were the one who pulled that handle.”
This time, Geom Mugeuk smiled.
“How about it? Care for a drink?”
Not wanting to let the good atmosphere slip away, he asked, but Geom Mugeuk didn't accept immediately.
“How am I described in your investigation files? Does it say that if a terrifying assassin who tried to kill me asks to go for a drink, I’d follow along like a fool?”
“That’s exactly how it’s written. That’s why I came.”
Geom Mugeuk blinked and let out a deliberately long sigh.
“It’s frustrating, but you’ve investigated me properly.”
Had he ever met someone who would give such an answer in a moment like this? Would he ever again?
Myeong Shin was certain.
This would be the first and last time.
The Young Cult Master was likely the only person who would accept such an absurd meeting.
This time, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze softened as he spoke suggestively.
“But what if I kill you here and create a variable?”
Myeong Shin responded without any sign of being flustered.
“The report on you also mentioned that you would make such a threat.”
It was a joke.
How could such a detail possibly be written down?
Of course, the Underworld had thoroughly investigated Geom Mugeuk, and they knew a great deal about the Demon Sect's Young Cult Master.
Myeong Shin had memorized all of it, but much of it was still hard to believe.
There had never been a Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect like him in the world.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Geom Mugeuk readily accepted the proposal and stepped out of the gate.
It was Myeong Shin who was surprised and asked.
“Are you really going? It could be a trap, you know.”
“Of course, it could be.”
“Then why do you accept?”
“I can't just live inside my house forever, can I? You people can't wait for me to come out forever either. And for you, isn't time money?”
Geom Mugeuk started walking first, and Myeong Shin walked with him.
The hidden Hwi was surely following them secretly.
As he had said, from now on, Hwi was someone who was there, yet not there.
The moment he revealed himself would be the moment everyone’s life and death would be decided.
The two walked towards the marketplace, a few steps apart.
Though they were apart, it was a distance from which they could launch a fatal surprise attack on each other if they so chose.
Myeong Shin imagined launching a surprise attack on Geom Mugeuk.
Being an Assassin, it was natural for him to have such thoughts when meeting a master.
Could that man block my surprise attack? If I attack, he would block like this, then I would follow up with another attack, and I could roughly picture how it would unfold.
But for some reason, he couldn’t paint such a picture with Geom Mugeuk.
Even after reading so much information about him.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk asked abruptly.
“Why you?”
It was a sudden question without any context, but he knew what he meant.
Myeong Shin recalled his conversation with the King of Assassins.
-Why me?
-The Young Cult Master resembles you.
Myeong Shin didn't relay those words.
“I must have been a thorn in the side of the organization.”
Geom Mugeuk corrected his joking self-deprecation.
“Or you’re the most skilled.”
Myeong Shin didn’t deny it.
In the Underworld, after the King of Assassins, he was, without a doubt, the most skilled Assassin.
“I thought there would be others, since it’s a matter of the merchant world. I didn’t expect you to be behind it.”
Myeong Shin knew the reason.
The organization had entrusted its finances to the Underworld probably because they knew the King of Assassins had no greed for money.
What did they promise him?
To Myeong Shin, moving the King of Assassins' empty heart felt like the most difficult thing in the world.
“By the way, I saw that day that your skill in making weapons is that of a master craftsman?”
“It’s just a pastime.”
“Your talent is too precious to be used for killing people.”
If it had been a thoughtless remark, he would have been angry, but the Young Cult Master genuinely praised what he had made.
“If Master Craftsman Gwak from our Main Sect's Iron Workshop saw it, he would have asked me to kidnap you and bring you to him.”
“He might ask you to kill me out of jealousy.”
At Myeong Shin’s display of pride, Geom Mugeuk said with a smile.
“He’s not that extreme.”
That comment, rather, made Myeong Shin realize that Geom Mugeuk’s praise wasn't just to make him feel good.
“Next time, sell me a few daggers you’ve made. I happen to have run out of daggers.”
“To kill me with them?”
“You don't look weak enough to be killed by a dagger my hands aren't used to.”
Myeong Shin didn’t feel uncomfortable at all having this conversation with the Young Cult Master.
The Young Cult Master certainly had a knack for leading conversations comfortably.
Even uncomfortable topics didn't feel so unpleasant when he brought them up.
And so, the two arrived at the marketplace, exchanging bits and pieces of conversation.
The place prepared as a trap was not here in the marketplace.
It was a rest stop between this town and the next.
“Where shall we drink?”
Myeong Shin gave Geom Mugeuk the choice of which tavern to go to.
Geom Mugeuk looked around at the few taverns there and chose one.
“Let’s go there.”
The place Geom Mugeuk chose was the shabbiest among them.
Myeong Shin obediently followed Geom Mugeuk's lead.
The interior of the tavern had a similar atmosphere to the place the King of Assassins was preparing.
'This Young Cult Master really likes taverns with this kind of atmosphere.'
Myeong Shin asked Geom Mugeuk.
“I heard the three-party meeting was also held in a tavern like this.”
“It’s quaint and nice, isn’t it?”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the innkeeper.
“The drinks and food here will be good too.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I can tell the taste just by looking at the innkeeper's face. It's an innate ability.”
But a moment later, Geom Mugeuk put down his chopsticks with a grimace.
The side dish that came out tasted terrible.
Moreover, the drink wasn't great either.
Geom Mugeuk said with a downcast face.
“The innkeeper must have changed his face. It might be a place where a former assassin washed his hands and started a business.”
Myeong Shin smiled faintly at Geom Mugeuk’s joke.
A hint of bitterness tinged the smile that accepted the joke.
The words "former assassin" weighed heavily on him.
Until now, he had carried out his assassination missions according to his own principles.
He would not kill children, nor those who had not learned martial arts.
He would not kill those who were not evil, but at some point, the King of Assassins began to challenge this principle.
Especially the last principle.
—Who can decide what is evil and what is good? If you perform assassinations with such a principle, does that make you a good person?
Myeong Shin couldn't answer yes to that question.
-I'll accept that you don't kill children.
I'll also accept that you won't kill non-martial artists.
But I cannot accept that you will not kill those who are not evil.
It meant that if an order from the organization came down, he was to kill without a word.
-This is for your own good as well.
What if you make a mistake later on by setting up such a useless principle? Are you going to wash your hands of it out of guilt? Or are you going to kill yourself? Why do you try to live a life that's already hard, even harder?
The persuasion of the King of Assassins was gradually pressuring him.
Myeong Shin could feel it.
The moment was approaching when he would have to tell the King of Assassins.
I will break my principle.
Or, I will not break it.
At the end of that dilemma, one doubt always awaited him.
'What if I wasn't the second most skilled in the Underworld?'
Would he have survived this long? Would he have been able to cling to the ice cliff in the King of Assassins' heart? Did he survive because he was a friend? Did he survive because his skills were too valuable to discard?
Lately, as the moment to make a decision regarding his principles drew near, his mind was complicated in many ways.
What he had said to Geom Mugeuk earlier was not an empty statement.
The words about being sent because he was a thorn in their side.
Perhaps they were trying to remove that thorn with the help of a powerful foe like Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk, who was silently looking down at his cup, glanced at Myeong Shin and then out the window.
For a moment, the two were lost in their own thoughts.
The person who broke the long silence was Geom Mugeuk.
“I have a question, may I ask?”
“Ask anything.”
“Why didn't you run away? You must know that several of your comrades have died at my hands by now, don't you?”
And were those comrades just ordinary masters? They were absolute masters who would later become the Twelve Zodiac Kings.
As the right-hand man of the King of Assassins, he would probably know roughly.
Judging by his expression, he did know.
The fact that they belonged to something.
Myeong Shin answered calmly.
“Because we are the people needed for times like these. When it comes to killing people, we are the experts.”
Watching Geom Mugeuk nod silently, Myeong Shin added casually.
“Aren't you all experts at killing people as much as we are? No, you are worse than us. We never move unless we are paid, but you people kill indiscriminately without regard for money, don't you?”
This was how the martial world had viewed the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect until now.
“Indiscriminately? That’s all in the past. The Main Sect has changed a lot recently. It should have been detailed in that report of yours.”
Of course, Myeong Shin knew.
He also knew that the one at the forefront of that change was this Young Cult Master here.
“Alright, since we’re on the subject, let me ask you one thing.”
Geom Mugeuk threw an unexpected question.
“Is the job of an assassin fun?”
It seemed like a casually thrown remark, but it was a question with intent.
“Do you think I do this job for fun? I do it because it’s a job. But why do you ask?”
Myeong Shin thought he had investigated everything about Geom Mugeuk, but in fact, Geom Mugeuk also knew about Myeong Shin.
Myeong Shin knew more of the detailed information, but Geom Mugeuk knew a crucial fact.
His end.
Why he was loyal to the King of Assassins and why he ultimately met his death at the hands of the King of Assassins.
“For some reason, you don't seem to suit being an assassin.”
“I can't trust that feeling of yours.”
Myeong Shin’s gaze turned to the innkeeper sitting at the counter as he added.
“Hasn't it already been proven how poor your judgment of people is?”
Geom Mugeuk laughed pleasantly.
At that genuine laugh, Myeong Shin laughed with him.
At this moment, a thought occurred to him.
Who was more off-guard at this moment?
Geom Mugeuk asked Myeong Shin.
“The drink isn't great, let’s move. Do you know any other taverns?”
Myeong Shin slowly shook his head.
“No.”
He wanted to say that he had a regular spot a little away from here.
But he didn’t.
He judged that Geom Mugeuk was asking to test him.
He had to make him go to that place naturally.
At a moment when he let his guard down, a moment where one would exclaim, "This person, really?"
Instead, Myeong Shin was the first to stand up.
“Let’s call it a day for today, and drink again next time.”
“You want to end it already? Let's hang out more!”
“I’m busy. There are people lined up waiting to be killed.”
Before leaving, Myeong Shin asked.
“Why did you risk the danger and come out to drink with me?”
An unexpected answer came from Geom Mugeuk.
“It’s probably in your report, but I enjoy making friends. But I don't have a single friend who is an assassin.”
Myeong Shin showed a surprised and bewildered expression.
Geom Mugeuk told him.
“Everyone starts with that expression.”
When Myeong Shin returned to the King of Assassins' tavern, the streets were already completely arranged.
The assassins had become the owners and clerks of each building.
The best assassins had become owners of cloth shops, masters of taverns, and even customers.
Even a fellow assassin would not feel any sense of unease.
Moreover, ordinary travelers who were not assassins were also mixed in.
In fact, their presence was the most important.
They would serve as the most excellent shields to hide the assassins.
'If the Young Cult Master comes here, he will surely die.'
Myeong Shin arrived at the King of Assassins' tavern.
There, too, travelers passing through were eating and drinking.
The King of Assassins, who had even joined them at their table and was exchanging conversation, greeted Myeong Shin.
“Welcome!”
Myeong Shin sat in a corner seat and ordered a simple meal and a drink.
After bringing the order, the King of Assassins went back to chatting with the customers.
He looked like a talkative innkeeper one might encounter while traveling through the Central Plains.
Who would think that man was the master of the Underworld?
When the travelers left, the King of Assassins finally came to Myeong Shin.
“Have you met the Young Cult Master?”
“Yes, I have.”
“How was he?”
“Did you say he resembles me?”
Of course, it was not meant in a good way.
It was because he, a demonic practitioner, and an assassin, were trying to walk a different path that he said they were alike.
“Then you have overestimated me.”
He meant that Geom Mugeuk was no ordinary person.
“In what way?”
“He’s strange. It's hard to put into words.”
The King of Assassins poured a glass of the drink on Myeong Shin's table and drank it.
It was as he had expected.
He already knew that Geom Mugeuk was no ordinary man.
“You said you wouldn't kill unless they were evil, right? Is he an evil person? Or a good person?”
Myeong Shin couldn't answer.
Generally, one would think that the Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect would naturally be considered evil.
But was the man he had a conversation with today an evil person?
The King of Assassins tried to persuade Myeong Shin through Geom Mugeuk.
“This is why. It’s a question that can’t be answered. Let that principle of yours be a youthful folly.”
Myeong Shin didn't answer.
Seeing that the last remark made him uncomfortable, it seemed he still couldn't accept it.
“This job, can you do it?”
“I will do it.”
It was a situation where he had been told he would have died several times if they weren't friends.
The assassination mission had already begun, and there was no stopping it now.
“With this assassination mission, we will be remembered in the history of the martial world.”
Myeong Shin didn't answer the King of Assassins' words.
“If you can't just bring him, use the Golden Dragon Clan. Once this is over, they will have to be dealt with and leave anyway. Even if we don't kill them, their clan will be annihilated. The moment the Young Cult Master dies, the Demon Sect will wipe out everyone involved without leaving a single blade of grass.”
Myeong Shin rose from his seat and bowed politely.
“I will take my leave now.”
As he was leaving, the King of Assassins spoke to him.
What he said was the patience of an assassin that Hwi had spoken of, and the resolve of the man who stood at the pinnacle of that patience.
“If you fail to bring the Young Cult Master, I will live the rest of my life as the innkeeper of this place.”