Ch. 41
"About Pae Maseong? What do you mean by that?"
The question of why the people of the Cho family were doing that did not come out.
Now, it was more difficult to find a place in the Heavenly Demon Sect that was not interested in Pae Maseong.
"I don't know the details, but did Maseong have a younger sister?"
"Yes."
As I answered, I looked at him, remembering a story I had forgotten.
According to the novel, Pae Maseong would have learned from Son Eun in Nether Shadow Valley and would have been active in the Heavenly Forest with him.
Son Eun recognizes Pae Maseong's abilities early on and uses his younger sister to hold on to him.
Saying that if he continues to carry out assassinations for him, he will let him meet his sister.
In fact, Pae Maseong's younger sister was already dead at that time, but Son Eun, without any hesitation or guilt, lies and ties Pae Maseong to himself.
I had thought that that was all over when I had Yeon Cheongha as my master instead of learning from Son Eun in Nether Shadow Valley, but it seemed that might not be the case.
I couldn't tell Yeon Cheongha such a story and listened to his story.
"The Danli family has been keeping a close eye on the Cho family's movements. Especially because of what you did in Nether Shadow Valley, they will be watching you, so they have been taking measures if there is any movement to target you. But I heard a rumor that the people of the Cho family have Maseong's younger sister. If that's true, shouldn't we rescue that child first?"
'So Son Eun ended up using that method after all.'
While living with Pae Maseong, I had often thought that that would change Pae Maseong someday.
It felt as if the work that had been postponed and postponed had now come to demand payment.
Then I belatedly realized that that would be much more difficult than I had thought.
Among the things I had experienced since coming here, some had gone according to the novel, but some had not.
The things that had changed were mostly changed due to my intervention.
The fact that Pae Maseong had learned from Yeon Cheongha instead of Son Eun was also part of that change.
If so, it would be right for Pae Maseong's younger sister to die.
There was no reason for that to change just because I had met Pae Maseong.
But I wasn't sure what to do if Son Eun had made a different decision because of what I had done.
There was another problem.
According to the original story, I already knew that Pae Maseong's younger sister would die, but I wouldn't be able to make him understand that I knew that.
Pae Maseong would want to believe that his younger sister was alive somehow, and his heart would lean towards the person who told him the story he wanted to believe.
'What should I do?'
The more I thought about it, the more complicated my head became.
Yeon Cheongha, for his part, seemed to be growing more worried as he saw me agonizing over the matter.
"Socheong, what should we do? Looking at your face, it seems you have a way. No matter how difficult it is, I will solve it, so tell me."
Yeon Cheongha was a really interesting person.
It seemed that he was reading the expression on my face like a ghost as time went on.
"What am I..."
"Don't be like that and tell me."
"No, master. I can't think of any way."
"You don't trust me... I don't know why I'm even living. Making my disciple suffer alone because he can't trust my skills."
I really didn't know why he was being like this.
Still, I thought he would stop after a few times, but he seemed to be trying to hold on until the end.
"Do you know how long I have been watching you? And I am an assassin. Do you think an assassin would just look at another person's expression and pass by?"
Hearing that, it was so.
Yeon Cheongha was not a person who observed others casually, and he had been watching me with that concentration until now.
So it seemed that he might know what I was thinking.
"Tell me what's on your mind without adding or subtracting anything. If you still don't tell me, I will know that you are ignoring this master and will never set foot here again."
"Master, that's not it..."
That was definitely a scary thing to say, so in the end, I had no choice but to open my mouth.
"When I first entered Nether Shadow Valley..."
Even after starting to speak like that, I didn't know how to lead it, so I hesitated for a moment, and then a plausible idea came to me.
Since the instructors who had been in Nether Shadow Valley had all been killed by Pae Maseong and me, if I said that I had heard the story from one of them, it would be impossible to confirm the truth.
"One day, I happened to hear the instructors talking. Instructor Son Eun was talking to other people, and it was about Pae Maseong."
"You mean you heard that story? That's strange. Was it about Maseong's younger sister?"
"Yes, master. It seems that Pae Maseong's parents were very bad people. Pae Maseong doesn't think that his parents sold him, but he knows that his parents were deceived and sent him to Nether Shadow Valley, but that's not true."
As he heard those words, Yeon Cheongha nodded.
Whether he thought that might be the case, or whether he also knew something about it, I couldn't tell, but it seemed that he thought that what I was saying was right.
"Even if Pae Maseong's younger sister was brought to Nether Shadow Valley, she probably wouldn't have lasted long and would have died. It seems that Instructor Son Eun killed the child in advance and was trying to use her as a means to pressure Pae Maseong. Since Pae Maseong showed his talent early on, he was trying to raise him and make him his own person."
"So that's what happened. Maseong probably doesn't know that at all, and he probably won't even try to believe it."
"That's probably right. He won't want to believe that his younger sister is dead, so he'll probably fall for what Son Eun says."
"Then what should we do about this?"
Then, as if he had made up his mind, he looked at me.
"I'll have to go and see Instructor Son. Since Maseong is my disciple, I'll have to tell him not to say anything foolish to Maseong."
I thought that Yeon Cheongha would not be a match for Son Eun, and then I had a question.
Even when we were in Nether Shadow Valley, Yeon Cheongha had defeated Son Eun.
Moreover, the Grandmaster of the Blood Martial Force of the Danli family was not only skilled, but he was also on a roll, receiving the trust of the family head.
As if he had noticed that I was thinking that, his expression brightened.
But in the end, I couldn't drag Yeon Cheongha into it.
"You're right, master. If you step up, it might be resolved. But you belong to the Danli family, and Son Eun is a person from the Cho family. You are not in a relationship where you can meet as individuals like before. Even so, are you thinking of meeting Son Eun for Pae Maseong's sake?"
"..."
At those words, Yeon Cheongha also couldn't speak.
If it were just a matter of himself, he would have been willing to do so, but it seemed that he had belatedly realized that the Danli family would inevitably be involved in his actions.
"Then what should we do about this?"
For now, I thought that I should personally meet Son Eun and tell him not to shake Pae Maseong.
I was worried that he wouldn't listen to me obediently, but for now, it seemed that I had to resolve it that way.
It seemed better for me to meet him first before Son Eun met Pae Maseong directly and talked about his younger sister, so from then on, my mind also became busy.
"I'll come and check on you more often from now on, Socheong."
"Yes, master. I'll be counting on you."
"When are you thinking of going?"
"The sooner the better."
"Yes, don't worry about this place while you're gone. I'll be here until you come back."
Since he was in charge of such an important position in the Danli family, I asked if I could really ask him to do that, and Yeon Cheongha nodded.
"You're even going to meet Son Eun yourself for Maseong's sake. As the master of you two, can't I do this much?"
If he said that, it seemed that I could be at ease.
Once the decision was made, I decided not to delay any longer.
* * *
It had been a long time since I had gone to the Cho family after going to find Pae Maseong.
Since the Cho family was in a situation where they were secretly sending out numerous pursuit teams to kill me anyway, it was impossible from the beginning to go in as I was.
I gave money to a person passing by and asked them to go into the Cho family and call Son Eun.
I gave him a letter to deliver to Son Eun and had him show it, and that method worked.
Since I had known from the beginning that it would not fail, I was not particularly surprised to see Son Eun come straight to the main gate.
Son Eun, who had run out, looked around and had a very surprised face.
That was understandable; the letter I had sent had the words 'I have Pae Maseong's younger sister' written on it.
He must have killed Pae Maseong's younger sister himself, so it was natural for him to be surprised to receive such a letter.
I was standing far away and watching him, and Son Eun, who had been looking around for a while and looking for a person nearby, eventually discovered me.
He had a face that said he hadn't expected me to be there, and it seemed he didn't know that I was the one looking for him.
His face was exactly like that of someone who had to see someone someday anyway, but that person had appeared right now, so he couldn't approach and was disappointed.
To that extent, the person who had Pae Maseong's younger sister was more important to him now.
I approached him and quietly nodded my head.
It meant to follow me, and Son Eun's expression changed in various ways.
It seemed that he had belatedly thought, 'Could it be that the one who sent the letter to me is him?'
I slowly moved my steps, and in the meantime, Son Eun approached.
"Ya Socheong, was it you who sent the letter!"
"Is it okay to talk so loudly here?"
I had no intention of treating him with respect, nor did I feel like being polite, but since I couldn't cause a commotion on the spot, I took him and moved.
"Is there a teahouse or something where we can talk quietly?"
At that, from then on, Son Eun led the way.
Son Eun would know the geography around the Cho family much better than I did.
"You've got a lot of nerve. To appear in front of the Cho family."
I had also thought that.
But since I hadn't been noticed by anyone else until Son Eun discovered me, there was nothing to worry about.
If Son Eun hadn't come out, I wouldn't have revealed myself.
He seemed to want to blame me for the events of Nether Shadow Valley, but now there was something more important than that.
(End of Chapter)