In Search of the Head (3)
The successful applicants, including me, waited in the outer compound for about ten days and received basic education.
Before we entered the inner compound, they were investigating us. Our origins, backgrounds, and even our personalities. Only when our identities were certain could we enter the inner compound.
I became moderately friendly with my fellow recruits. We were not people who would see one another for long, but there might be a time when I could receive help once or twice.
In that way, about ten days passed, and at last we were able to enter the Justice Pavilion.
In the outer compound, there were several dormitories prepared for martial artists, and there was also a separate one for the martial artists of the Justice Pavilion.
Excluding married people, most martial artists lived in these dormitories.
I was assigned a room as well. The only things in the room were one bed, a small table where one could drink tea, and a wardrobe where one could put clothing. Fortunately, there was a window through which the scenery of the outer compound could be seen, so it did not feel too stifling.
I did not know how long I would be staying.
“I look forward to working with you.”
The next day, I stood before the place I had been assigned.
Operations Squad Five.
Those small words were attached to the door.
Here in the Justice Pavilion, each strategist led a squad of their own.
Under whom had I ended up?
With a somewhat tense heart, I opened the door and entered.
The gazes of the people inside the room turned toward me. In an instant, I realized there were six people in the room. Four were sitting at desks with partitions and working, and one was writing something on a large map attached to the wall.
And the final person.
Someone was standing with his back turned, looking at the large window directly in front of me. The instant I saw that back, a smile appeared on my lips on its own.
It was none other than Gal Sa-Ryang. I had succeeded in leaving a special impression during the interview.
“I will introduce myself. As of today, I am the new strategist assigned to Operations Squad Five of the Justice Pavilion, Byeok Ri-Dan!”
At my booming voice, those watching laughed. Their expressions said that they had been like that too when they first entered.
At that moment, Gal Sa-Ryang asked with his back still turned,
“What is your dream from now on?”
It was probably a dream that would startle him if he heard it.
It was to sweep away the Murim Alliance Lord and the force behind him together with him.
But right now, I had no intention of becoming the madman who would stand at the center of gossip from the first day by saying such a thing.
“To become a good strategist.”
“What kind of strategist is a good strategist?”
“A strategist who leads the martial artists in the field well and minimizes casualties.”
“Can one win a battle by protecting oneself?”
“At the very least, I do not want to treat my comrades as expendable goods.”
“It will be difficult for you to become a capable strategist.”
“I also want to become a capable strategist.”
“You are a greedy fellow.”
After gazing out the window for a moment, Gal Sa-Ryang turned toward me.
“Good to meet you. Let us do well from now on.”
“Yes. Please guide me well!”
I was assigned as Gal Sa-Ryang’s subordinate. It was the good beginning I had so desperately wished for.
With my arrival, Operations Squad Five now had seven people.
While eating, I was able to hear about Gal Sa-Ryang from the seniors of Squad Five. When about five people gather, there is bound to be at least one chatterbox among them who cannot stand not speaking.
They said that at first, he had suffered all sorts of mistreatment from Sima Tian, but recently, he had begun to receive his favor. He had been confined in a cramped room, but now he had come to lead one operations squad.
And surprisingly, the main mission of Operations Squad Five was to track the Nameless Great Hero.
Good heavens. Gal Sa-Ryang had been working on tracking me.
While it was surprising, in a way, I thought it was natural. In the recent flow of Jianghu, the Nameless Great Hero could be seen as the most important core. The very fact that he had been entrusted with that matter meant that Gal Sa-Ryang had properly found a direction and was moving forward.
Several days had passed since I entered Operations Squad Five.
I was adapting well. I diligently handled the work I was assigned, and I was managing interpersonal relationships without trouble.
There was no one who disguised petty spite as organizational discipline and harassed newcomers.
That also had to do with Gal Sa-Ryang’s personality. If he did not want to keep someone under him, he simply would not; he was not a person who would keep a subordinate with a filthy personality.
Because the whereabouts of the Nameless Great Hero were far too obscure, lately we mainly handled other missions.
Inspection of corrupt martial artists.
While looking over several recent missions related to that, I could infer one fact. Gal Sa-Ryang was trying in every possible way to create his own position.
Six days after I entered, Gal Sa-Ryang called me.
“How is it? Is the work manageable?”
“Yes, everyone is treating me well, so I am adapting smoothly.”
Gal Sa-Ryang entrusted me with one task.
“Investigate this as quickly as possible and bring me a report.”
“Yes, understood.”
I could tell. It looked like an ordinary task, but he was testing me.
First, I would have to show him my ability.
The task Gal Sa-Ryang entrusted to me was to find materials, summarize them, and organize them. The amount of material was not easy. If it had been another fellow recruit, he would have been overwhelmed by this tremendous workload.
First, I quickly found the materials. The materials were scattered throughout the archives and document rooms of the Justice Pavilion.
For one thing, my eyes were good, and my body was fast. In an instant, I went back and forth here and there, finding the materials.
A large pile of materials stacked up on the desk. I began analyzing them quickly.
Over the past two months, I had grown accustomed to reading texts.
What was needed next was concentration. I did my utmost to analyze the materials.
The next morning, the report was placed on Gal Sa-Ryang’s desk.
When he checked the report, Gal Sa-Ryang was startled. No matter how quickly it was done, it was work that should have taken three days. Yet it had been finished in one day.
With a doubtful mind, he checked the contents of the report. He expected it to be very lacking, but surprisingly, it had been organized perfectly.
“Oh-ho, quite impressive.”
Gal Sa-Ryang’s eyes sparkled. He had been working to create subordinates he could trust inside the Justice Pavilion. But that was not an easy thing.
The subordinates of Operations Squad Five were all decent as well. But that was as far as it went. There was no one he could make his own hands and feet.
To them, he was a leader whose prime had passed. In a sense, he was also a pitiful leader who had remained without leaving when it was time to leave.
Therefore, unless he revealed his true objective, it was not easy to turn his existing subordinates into his own hands and feet again.
But this time, they had selected new personnel, and an eye-catching figure had happened to enter. He had entrusted work to him with the intention of testing his ability, and he had handled it better than expected.
Gal Sa-Ryang immediately called Byeok Ri-Dan forward.
“Did you handle all of this alone?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Impressive.”
“My hands and feet are not slow.”
“Now, handle this too.”
Gal Sa-Ryang entrusted him with another piece of work. It was a little more complicated and difficult than the work he had entrusted earlier.
“By the way, you have no sense. Do you not know that if you handle work this quickly, your workload will increase?”
Byeok Ri-Dan smiled and said,
“In exchange, your trust in me will increase as well, Strategist.”
It was more work than yesterday, yet the next morning, without fail, another report was placed on his desk.
‘Look at this fellow?’
Gal Sa-Ryang was sincerely impressed by the speed at which he handled work. It seemed he himself had worked like this in his prime. Back then, it had been a time when he understood things instantly.
However, there was a lacking part in the report submitted today.
“I think you are mistaken about this part.”
Gal Sa-Ryang pointed out the flaw in the report.
After listening to everything, Byeok Ri-Dan asked a question about it. It was not an argument, nor was it a question thrown out unnecessarily to look good. It was the kind of question one could clearly have about this situation.
What pleased Gal Sa-Ryang was that he had been properly listening to his words. Usually, when something was pointed out, subordinates shut their mouths. And when they did ask questions, they were questions meant to prove that they had not done wrong.
But Byeok Ri-Dan’s question was different from that. Gal Sa-Ryang could tell that he was truly curious about this matter and wanted to discover its point of improvement.
‘This one is something.’
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That night, Gal Sa-Ryang bought me drinks.
“I am sorry I could not formally hold a large welcome banquet for you. As you know, because of the Demonic Cult’s movements, the Grand Martial Alliance’s situation has been tense recently.”
“Not at all. I am truly grateful that you have welcomed me like this.”
Come to think of it, I realized I had not often had drinking occasions with Gal Sa-Ryang. Naturally, I had never shared my inner thoughts with him while drunk.
He always tried to show me only an upright appearance. It was partly because of his personality, which disliked showing disarray, and the other half was probably my fault for valuing authority.
Several cups of liquor passed between us. Unexpectedly, Gal Sa-Ryang drank quite well.
“Do you think the Demonic Cult has truly revived?”
“Why? You entered the Alliance because of that, and yet you cannot believe it?”
“To be honest, yes. I heard that the Blood Sky Cult was completely rooted out by the former Alliance Lord.”
“Those Demonic Cult bastards are like weeds.”
I wanted to hear his honest feelings regarding this matter, but he was not someone who would reveal his inner thoughts to me when I had just entered.
“Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask one question?”
“Ask.”
“I heard you served as Chief Strategist during the previous Alliance Lord’s time.”
“I did.”
“Why did you not leave the Alliance?”
Gal Sa-Ryang looked at me. I calmly received his gaze, so this question did not take on any special meaning.
“It was a place where I had spent my whole life, so it was not easy to leave.”
Gal Sa-Ryang did not tell me his honest feelings, that it was for revenge. When I could hear that story, only then would I have truly grown close to him.
“In truth, I worried a great deal when applying this time.”
“What kind of worry?”
“Because the rumors about the Cheondo Sect are not good.”
Gal Sa-Ryang nodded. But as expected, he did not reveal his thoughts about that either.
I tried to remain as calm as possible. When I looked at him, I was seized by the desire to pour everything out.
I am Cheon Ha-Jin. Let us go, Sa-Ryang.
But I could not do that. Heaven had allowed me to be reborn as Byeok Ri-Dan. It probably meant I should live as Byeok Ri-Dan. If not, it would have somehow let me come back to life as Cheon Ha-Jin.
“We need only diligently do the work we must do.”
“Yes, Strategist.”
The drinking occasion that began lightly with one cup continued until quite late.
Though he drank a lot, he did not become disheveled.
“Then I will see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you for today. Please return safely.”
The sight of his back as he walked alone without even one guard felt unfamiliar.
Several more days passed.
I had now completely adapted to life in the Justice Pavilion. I became close with people, and I handled my assigned work without mistakes.
I did not hurry.
There are certainly things in the world that go well when one’s heart runs ahead. But at least human relationships are not like that.
The door of the place where we were absorbed in work burst open. The owner of this rude visit was Chief Strategist Sima Tian.
Gal Sa-Ryang rose from his seat and greeted him.
“You have come.”
All of us stood and bowed politely.
He always opened the door like this without any sign of his presence. Through this rude behavior, he tried to prove that he was above Gal Sa-Ryang and us.
He strode inside and sat in Gal Sa-Ryang’s seat.
At first, Gal Sa-Ryang had found that repulsive behavior extremely unpleasant and difficult to bear, but now he did not feel even the slightest emotion from it.
Gal Sa-Ryang thought of it this way: dogs bark, muddy water splashes, shit stinks, and Sima Tian is that kind of bastard.
“An order has come down from above.”
“What order is it?”
“It is related to the Demonic Cult.”
When the Demonic Cult was mentioned, not only Gal Sa-Ryang but everyone was startled.
“What is the matter?”
“The contents are top secret. The Heavenly Palace Unit will move, and our pavilion must support that mission.”
“Is it a field support order?”
“That is right.”
Originally, the Justice Pavilion was a place that provided rear support. But occasionally, when there was a large operation, a strategist was dispatched in person.
“It is an important operation, so you go personally.”
“Understood.”
When Sima Tian left the room, Gal Sa-Ryang’s eyes sharpened. Top secret missions were usually missions whose details were learned on the day of departure, or upon arrival when the operation was about to be carried out. It meant the mission was that important.
‘But why the Heavenly Palace Unit of all groups?’
The three important units of the Grand Martial Alliance were the Bright Moon Unit, the Iron Cavalry Unit, and the Heavenly Palace Unit. Among them, the Bright Moon Unit led by Zuo Tie-Long had taken the lead in making Ma Bong-Gi the Alliance Lord. In that process, the Iron Cavalry Unit followed Zuo Tie-Long.
The only organization that had opposed Ma Bong-Gi becoming Alliance Lord was the Heavenly Palace Unit.
‘Surely not? No, it cannot be.’
From one side, having heard the entire conversation, I opened my mouth.
“I would like to accompany you on this mission. My Martial Arts will likely be helpful in protecting your safety, Strategist.”
Just as Gal Sa-Ryang had felt it, I also felt that this mission was not normal. It was something where I absolutely had to stick close to Gal Sa-Ryang.
After gazing at me for a moment, Gal Sa-Ryang nodded and said,
“Prepare yourself.”
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