Chapter 42
He wanted to immediately press me about what I had said about Pae Maseong's younger sister, but he couldn't, and as if he had to get to a quiet place quickly, Son Eun quickened his pace more and more.
Then, after entering a quiet teahouse, he strode into a room first.
It seemed it wasn't his first or second time here, as the teahouse's waiter didn't even guide him to a place and was just following behind him.
"Tell me what the letter was about."
"How about you tell me, Instructor? Seeing your face, it seems that what I said is absolutely impossible."
Son Eun's expression changed again.
He seemed to think that no matter what, I wouldn't know that he had killed Pae Maseong's younger sister.
"What are you up to, you insolent brat!"
"I came to warn you, Instructor. I know that Pae Maseong is a coveted talent. So you want to hold and shake Pae Maseong by using his younger sister as a pretext. But what can you do? I don't intend to let you do that."
His eyes seemed to be blazing and burning as if he wanted to kill me right away.
"Don't get close to Pae Maseong, Instructor. If you do, your lifespan might be shortened."
"You brat!"
He couldn't hold it in any longer and was about to raise his hand.
Then he realized that his hand wasn't moving and looked at me in surprise.
On the table, three poisonous creatures were already returning after finishing their work.
They were also hybrids created by the children of Nether Shadow Valley, so they were guys whose names I was at a loss to give.
I wasn't the type to give them names one by one, so I carried them around without names.
I would carry them in my sleeve, and if I tapped them from outside my clothes, they would go out as if they thought it was their turn to step up, bite the wrist, shoulder, and waist of the person in front of me, and then return.
Son Eun looked back and forth between them and me with a blank face.
"I'll give you one chance. I'm only doing this because I don't want to complicate things any further, so there will be no next chance. If the story about Pae Maseong's younger sister comes out from you again, what these guys will bite next will be your neck. You must have realized their toxicity yourself now, so you'll also know what will happen if these guys bite your neck."
I stood up from my seat, leaving the surprised Son Eun behind.
And thinking that the story was more or less over, I hoped that Son Eun had understood my words.
As I came out, I saw the people who had been following Son Eun approaching.
Until we came to the teahouse, there had been no one following, and I wondered when they had started following.
'Did he inform others that he was going in that short time when I thought he had come out in a hurry alone when I called him?'
I hadn't expected it at all because I hadn't thought that Son Eun was that meticulous.
They seemed to have seen Son Eun and me go in together.
Then, seeing that Son Eun hadn't come out and only I had come out, and in a perfectly fine state, they seemed to think that something bad had happened.
"Ya Socheong."
The people who recognized me slowly walked over, putting pressure on me, and I realized my mistake.
But if I had realized my mistake, shouldn't I just overcome it and leave?
I set off a highly poisonous smoke bomb and, taking advantage of the moment their vision was blurred, I flew away.
Soon, more people flocked to that place, and a few of them ran to where Son Eun was.
I was watching that from the ceiling.
If the ceiling hadn't been this high, I would have had to escape right away, but since no one had noticed that I was there, I looked into the situation a little more.
If I saw Son Eun talking to his people, I thought I might be able to find out more about what had happened to Pae Maseong's younger sister.
A little later, the people brought Son Eun out.
Son Eun's movements were still unnatural, but it seemed that he was slowly being detoxified.
If it hadn't been for the new hybrid created by the children of Nether Shadow Valley, detoxification with internal energy might have been easy, but he was having quite a hard time.
"Where is Ya Socheong! Did you lose him!"
"I'm sorry. Because of the smoke bomb..."
"We must not lose him. If he tells Pae Maseong about this, we will have no means to pressure Pae Maseong again. His younger sister is Pae Maseong's only weakness! Even if we have Pae Maseong's younger sister, if that brat Ya Socheong says she's already dead, Pae Maseong will also give up. If Pae Maseong gives up, we can't threaten him."
Hearing what Son Eun was saying, my head spun.
'What is he saying? Is he saying that Pae Maseong's younger sister is alive? Really? Is Son Eun really holding Pae Maseong's younger sister?'
It was a story I couldn't believe.
I stayed there a little longer, wondering if I could find out a little more from Son Eun.
I might even be able to find out where Pae Maseong's younger sister was.
'Many things have changed a little because I came to Nether Shadow Valley, but I thought that the death of Pae Maseong's younger sister had nothing to do with me. In the novel, wasn't it that Pae Maseong's younger sister didn't die right away?'
If there had been a little time difference, it seemed that such a thing might not have been entirely impossible.
If the time when Son Eun had started to pay attention to Pae Maseong had been a little earlier, and if he had changed his mind to use Pae Maseong's younger sister more actively, it might have been possible.
I couldn't even properly understand how I was feeling right now.
Whether the fact that Pae Maseong's younger sister was alive would be a help or a poison to Pae Maseong.
Pae Maseong had always been worried about his younger sister, and it seemed that he would do anything if he could just meet her again.
If the younger sister he had missed so much appeared, Pae Maseong would do whatever she wanted.
'This is not good...'
If Pae Maseong's younger sister was a person with a sound mind, it would be different, but if she tried to wield her older brother's power, who would become a Heavenly Demon, as she pleased...
Just the thought of it was dizzying.
The thought of Pae Maseong being swayed by his younger sister and making all sorts of wrong judgments made me dizzy.
'I'll have to advise Pae Maseong a few times so that he understands, but if he doesn't listen, in the end, I'll have no choice but to part ways.'
I had wanted to go with Pae Maseong, who would become a Heavenly Demon, until the end if possible, but it seemed that my plans might be disrupted because of Pae Maseong's younger sister.
"One person, go and check if Maling is safe. And from now on, the security around Maling's residence will have to be strengthened."
"Yes!"
The man who had heard Son Eun's words bowed his head and flew away.
'Maling? Pae Maling? Is that Pae Maseong's younger sister?'
If he had suddenly ordered to strengthen the security and check on her safety in this situation, there was a high possibility that that was Pae Maseong's younger sister.
Since I had been staying here anyway to see if I could hear more about Pae Maseong's younger sister from Son Eun, I flew after him.
The man who had come out of the teahouse rode a horse that was outside and galloped away.
A fine dust began to rise from the path he was taking.
That was not the direction where the Cho family was.
It was not easy to chase after him while hiding my body from tree to tree, using my lightness technique to avoid his eyes.
I was also very worried about what would happen if I lost him on the way.
I also wondered if I had ever taken the lead in such a thing on my own, and negative thoughts continued to sprout.
But even while I was thinking that, the distance between me and him did not widen much.
I thought that if he had done this much, he would stop and go in somewhere, but he didn't know how to stop and continued to ride his horse.
My worries continued, but I didn't get very tired even as time went on.
'What is this? I thought my internal energy was considerable, but is it this much?'
I realized that I still didn't feel tired.
Whenever I had carried out a difficult operation, Pae Maseong or Yeon Cheongha had been by my side, so I had never had to take the lead, but could I do this much on my own? I thought.
The man on the horse galloped without hesitation, his clothes fluttering, and finally, his speed decreased.
Since the distance he had come on horseback was considerable, I also thought it was a little strange.
In this case, wouldn't it be better to keep Pae Maling close and watch her?
'Ah... it must have been to prevent the other people of the Cho family and the Heavenly Forest from knowing.'
When that thought occurred to me, I was convinced.
The man entered a manor, and I also followed him.
There were about ten martial artists there, and when they approached the man, he immediately said.
"The Hall Master has been attacked. It is an order to strengthen the security around Pae Maling from now on."
'Hall Master?'
I wondered why they called Son Eun the Hall Master, and then I nodded to myself.
It was said that assassins did not just belong to an assassin organization and carry out assassinations, but they usually had other jobs and had a dual identity, and it seemed that Son Eun was in charge of the position of Hall Master in the Cho family.
If he, who did not even have the Cho surname, had risen to the position of Hall Master in the Cho family, and if he had already achieved such a feat at that age, Son Eun's skills were not to be underestimated.
Although in my opinion, it seemed that he had risen to that position because he was good at politics.
From now on, I had to meet Pae Maling somehow, so from then on, I climbed up a tree near the manor and hid my presence.
My internal energy had been consumed to some extent from following him, and my stamina had also been depleted.
It seemed better to first get my body in the best condition and then look for a suitable opportunity.
Since there was no need to engage in a fierce battle right now, I was going to start the work after all the people who would leave this place had left.
Since Pae Maling wouldn't be going anywhere else anyway, there was no reason for me to hurry.
* * *
The man who had come here under Son Eun's orders left, and the dim moonlight was faintly illuminating the courtyard.
The time that people could maintain their tension was not very long.
The people who had been assigned to protect Pae Maling here were probably not the most skilled among Son Eun's subordinates.
There was no reason to waste such people by stationing them in a place like this.
"I don't know how long we have to be here. Other people will be accumulating merits, but we don't even have a chance to accumulate merits because we're here."
Even without that, the people were already talking about such things.
"And this is something we can't even tell others about. It seems we're really screwed."
"Damn it! Wouldn't it be better if that girl just died? Who the hell is she that they're hiding her in a place like this?"
The grumbling voices were full of complaints.
(End of Chapter)