Chapter 485 : Side Story 5 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
Chapter 485: Side Story 5 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
I quietly observed So Cheon’s whole body.
“You look like you’ve had a rough time.”
His entire body was in tatters, with traces of dried blood from what seemed to be cuts by something sharp.
Those must be marks left by Nine Heavens Sword.
However—
“I figured someone like Murder Demon would be well within your ability to handle.”
So Cheon smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
“Aren’t you underestimating Father a little too much?”
“It’s not that I’m looking down on Murder Demon. It’s just…”
I rested my chin on my hand and grinned.
“I simply hold you in high regard.”
“…Well, thanks for that.”
So Cheon snorted and returned the smile.
As I watched him, a thought crossed my mind.
His manner of speaking had changed.
So had his demeanor.
The soft and light-hearted attitude was still similar to before, but the subtle distance he used to keep from everything was no longer there in the current So Cheon.
“What happened with Gunggi?”
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you. That was part of the agreement…”
For just a fleeting moment, a killing intent passed through So Cheon’s eyes.
“In the end, it’s something that Lady Baek and I have to settle.”
“…Is that so?”
No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like things were resolved with Gunggi back on Mount Tai.
‘Hmm…’
Gunggi. If he’s still alive, he’s the greatest threat at the moment.
Truth be told, I was quite relieved, yet equally surprised, when I heard that So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah had returned alive and well.
‘If what Eungnyong said is true, then maybe it’s not something to worry too deeply about…’
Well, he’s being that firm about it. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to trust him and let him handle it.
“Alright, if you’re determined to fulfill your duty as the Young Master of the Hidden Shadow So Clan, then I have no reason to oppose it.”
To think the So Cheon of all people had reformed.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if the sun rose from the west tomorrow.
“I know your lazy nature well, but you’ll have to stay as Clan Head for at least twenty years. You should start attending Elder Council meetings properly, too.”
I already knew the reason why So Cheon suddenly targeted the position of Clan Head.
Later, there might be a major succession dispute between the Namcheon Baek Clan and the Hidden Shadow So Clan, but that was a problem for another time.
‘If he ends up having a child, I’d become a long-distance father overnight… but I’ll have to accept it.’
For now, he could somehow stay by Baek Sang-ah’s side, but once he took the Clan Head’s seat, things would be different.
Then—
“Huh? Twenty years? Why?”
“…Huh?”
“……Huhh?”
I blinked at So Cheon’s sudden question.
It was something I could feel instinctively.
He didn’t say ‘twenty years’ with a tone that implied it was short.
Which meant—
‘This bastard, don’t tell me—’
That 'don’t tell me' hit the mark.
“I was planning to hand the Clan Head position back to Father later, though?”
“…Later when?”
“After I marry Lady Baek?”
“…….”
“…….”
Silence instantly fell over the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
Every Guardian Lion hiding around turned their gaze to So Cheon at once.
Their stares all conveyed one meaning: ‘Are you insane?’
“Ah, is that not allowed?”
“…You think it is?”
For a brief moment, I genuinely felt pity for Murder Demon.
He was probably overjoyed, thinking he could finally retire… only to find out his successor harbored such thoughts…
A flustered So Cheon pointed a finger at me.
“Why not?! You’re planning to hand the Cult Leader seat back to Cheon Sojeo too!”
“…Don’t tell me, that’s why you did this?”
Trying to use me as a convenient exception to justify his own actions?
“You little shit!”
I instantly launched a kick to So Cheon’s gut using the Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step.
So Cheon tried to evade in a hurry, but—
“Gah!”
Thwack!
He took the full brunt of the blow and was slammed into a pillar of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
Having just fought a fierce battle with Murder Demon before coming here, his reaction was sluggish, and he couldn’t withstand my accelerated strike.
“Just when I thought you’d matured a bit…”
I looked down at So Cheon, buried beneath the pillar, pressing my fingers to my temple.
‘Still… while impure, the idea itself isn’t bad.’
The moment I return the position of Cult Leader to Yura, the Cult will undoubtedly face a period of considerable chaos, and if something were to be instigated during that window, it could easily be buried under the confusion.
That is, of course, if Murder Demon agreed to such an idea.
‘There’s absolutely no way that would happen.’
Even if it doesn’t go that way, there are plenty of methods to keep So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah together.
If nothing else works, I could simply dispatch him to the Murim Alliance as a representative elder on behalf of the Divine Cult.
I asked So Cheon, who was still recovering.
“Well, we can think about that later. When do you plan to return to the Alliance?”
“Not right away. I’m planning to prepare a bit first.”
“Prepare?”
“I needed the Clan Head position to match the stature. Going back empty-handed would be pointless.”
“Oh….”
Still, I’m relieved he at least has a plan.
Hmm, maybe I should mess with him a little.
“Ah, by the way.”
I pulled out Saber King’s letter from my robes and waved it at him.
“The Imperial Family offered Lady Baek the position of Crown Princess.”
“…What?”
Zap!
In an instant.
My skin reacted to the single word that slipped from So Cheon’s mouth.
“What did you just say?”
“Crown Princess.”
I handed the letter to So Cheon.
It detailed how the current Emperor and the Imperial Family were acting ungratefully and showing signs of insubordination, and it requested a strategy in response.
“……”
As he read through the letter, a palpable black killing intent began to emanate from So Cheon’s body.
Some of the lower-level Guardian Lions began reacting sensitively to that black aura.
If Gu Chil hadn’t held them back, they would have drawn their swords without question.
Reading So Cheon’s level from that ominous energy, I was slightly impressed.
‘He’s better than I thought.’
Even someone like Sword Demon or Saber King couldn’t take him lightly now.
Unless one was a natural counter like Jin Gun-ak, few among the previous Six Great Clan Heads would be able to avoid So Cheon’s sword.
“I’m just saying, don’t kill the Crown Prince. If you do something like that, even I won’t be able to handle the aftermath.”
“…I know.”
His face, however, betrayed no such awareness.
I proceeded to thoroughly explain the consequences that might fall upon Baek Sang-ah, trying to reason with So Cheon.
He nodded along to the drawn-out scolding, but…
‘He’ll be fine… right?’
No matter how I looked at it, his expression screamed he was about to kill someone.
The Crown Prince’s visit to Nakyang.
The heir to the Imperial Throne himself was visiting the Royal Court.
Under normal circumstances, the Lord of Nakyang Fortress and nearby officials should have been thrown into a state of emergency…
“The Crown Prince’s visit is scheduled to be completely unofficial.”
After reviewing the full contents of Bong Seo’s letter, Jegal Eun gathered the top brass for a meeting.
“The visit is scheduled for about a month from now. He will be accompanied by a hundred elite soldiers of the Royal Guards, ten direct guards from the Imperial Palace, and five warriors from the Divine Cult’s Extreme Pa Clan.”
“…An enemy force.”
Roughly a hundred.
An unbelievably small number given the scale.
Traditionally, at least ten times that number would have been mobilized for such a visit.
“He’ll have to detour through the north and head south…”
Several members sighed upon hearing the word ‘north’.
“As you know, the northern region of the Empire is currently the domain of the traitor Prince Yeongsa.”
“However, I don’t think Prince Yeongsa will pose much of a threat. He’s probably too busy playing emperor in Beijing.”
Especially since the current Emperor is openly preparing for a campaign against Beijing, all attention is inevitably focused in that direction.
“I do have a question.”
At that moment, someone raised their hand.
“If, by some chance, the Cult Leader really becomes the Crown Princess, what happens to the Alliance?”
“Ah, about that.”
Jegal Eun nodded and responded.
“Even if Beijing is reclaimed and imperial authority is restored, it is said that the Cult Leader would have no need to enter the palace.”
“Huh? Is that even possible?”
“It’s an extraordinary exception. As long as there’s a proper heir, it doesn’t matter.”
In truth, what the Imperial Family offered Baek Sang-ah was an unprecedented, nearly humiliating concession.
At that point, Monk Myeong Un of Shaolin, who was seated at the head, let out a small chuckle.
“Well, it just reeks of them giving away everything at a loss. Although it may not have immediate practical benefits…”
As he said, most of the conditions presented by the Imperial Family were essentially deferred payments.
Granted, the scale of those future benefits was enough to make even prestigious clans lose their minds.
“If the Imperial Family truly keeps their word, we could move up the Murim Alliance’s reconstruction plan by at least a decade. Even just what would be given to the Cult Leader’s family, the Namcheon Baek Clan, is more than enough.”
Murmur, murmur!
The leadership couldn't hide their surprise and began whispering among themselves.
Although the distribution network had gradually been recovering since Cheonsi ended… Nakyang was still impoverished.
Monk Myeong Un looked at Baek Sang-ah and grinned.
“But you’re going to refuse, aren’t you?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Baek Sang-ah let out a sigh.
At that, Monk Myeong Un laughed heartily.
It was the chuckle of a seasoned veteran, as if predicting what would come.
“As Alliance Leader, you’d be better off praying for the Crown Prince to suffer an accident on his way here. Hahaha!”
“…Master.”
“Getting assassinated by a crazed Young Master So would be a hundred times worse. Hah!”
“……”
At that un-Buddha-like remark, her sigh deepened.
The bigger problem was, in Baek Sang-ah’s opinion, the probability of his words coming true was far from low.
Just then—
“Alliance Leader! An immediate report has arrived from the Fifty-Fourth Silver Intelligence Division stationed in the northwest of Henan!”
A military strategist from the Department of War burst into the conference room in a hurry.
“What is it?”
“The Crown Prince’s party was reportedly ambushed by a horde of Demonic Beasts near Handan!”
“…Ambushed?”
In an instant, the atmosphere in the chamber turned cold.
It was already strange news that the Crown Prince, who was scheduled to visit in a month, had suddenly been ambushed.
“Wait, did you say Handan?”
“Y-Yes.”
Handan, the former capital of the Zhao state during the Warring States period.
It was located at the southern edge of Hebei.
“That’s much farther south than expected.”
Not north, but the southernmost edge—essentially right next to the border of Henan Province, where Nakyang was located.
On a normal schedule, that distance could be covered in seven nights, let alone a month.
“Whether they departed early or had other plans along the way, things have taken a nasty turn.”
Monk Myeong Un quietly muttered ‘Amitabha’ under his breath as his words had just become reality.
Baek Sang-ah asked the strategist with a cold gaze.
“So? What of the Crown Prince’s status?”
“The Silver Intelligence Division only observed from afar, so they aren’t certain. But considering the Demonic Beasts continued their wave attacks right up until the report was filed, the Department of War estimates there was a high probability the Crown Prince was still alive at that time.”
“What shall we do?”
To Jegal Eun’s question, Baek Sang-ah made her decision immediately.
“Organize a rescue team. I’ll go personally.”
“…The Alliance Leader, yourself?!”
“At the very least, I need to make it seem like we did everything we could to rescue him.”
Whether the Crown Prince lived or died, it was better that she stepped forward herself for this matter.
However—
‘Something’s not right…’
Wave attacks?
Unless someone was commanding the Demonic Beasts, such coordinated assaults shouldn’t have been possible.
‘Unless someone was intervening.’
It wasn’t Gunggi…
If Gunggi had shown up, the Crown Prince would’ve long since had his name entered into the underworld’s register.
She gripped the Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword, once the symbol of the former Alliance Leader of the Justice Alliance.
She would know the identity of that something soon enough.