Wings Are Not Heavy (1)
Cheon So-Seon was playing the flute.
A beautiful melody flowed out. How could someone so young contain such sorrowful emotion in his music? It was a performance of such skill that everyone could not help but admire it.
When the performance, short yet somehow long, came to an end, applause burst out from the people gathered around to watch. The place was a corner of the marketplace.
“That was wonderful!”
“You’re the best!”
“Please play one more song!”
The women in particular wore expressions as if they had fallen in love.
Cheon So-Seon smiled and left his spot. The people who had been watching also dispersed in all directions with regret.
Cheon So-Seon entered a teahouse not far from there. He sat by a window on the first floor and ordered a pot of tea.
When he had drunk one cup of tea, a woman came and stood beside the table.
The woman who approached carefully was none other than Black Stone. She did not sit down, and instead spoke while standing.
“Your playing skill is still the same.”
“Since I only pick it up from time to time, my skill does not improve.”
“It was so good that it nearly brought me to tears.”
“Because I killed Ma Bong-Gi in your place?”
For an instant, Black Stone flinched. She did not feel killing intent, but she trembled in fear. Cheon So-Seon possessed the skill to kill her, and what was even more frightening was that he had an unpredictable personality.
“I apologize for making you act personally. I have handled it so that Ma Cheol-Gun, who was supposed to come, is sent back.”
Her voice trembled.
Cheon So-Seon had warned her. If she failed again, it would become a loss by resignation for Black. The meaning contained in those words was that she might be removed.
Cheon So-Seon was someone who received the Elder’s full trust and support. There was no future in this organization for anyone who fell out of his favor. Even if she was an important figure in the organization together with White Stone.
Fortunately, the finger that had released the terrifying finger wind toward Ma Bong-Gi was not pointed at her.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
Cheon So-Seon poured tea into her cup. Black Stone was still tense.
“You sent Whip Elder, but he did not return?”
“Yes.”
Cheon So-Seon tilted his head.
“Then that means he is dead. Surely he did not fall to Ma Bong-Gi this time as well?”
“Absolutely not. Someone like Ma Bong-Gi could not kill Whip Elder. There is definitely someone helping from hiding.”
“There is a hidden helper?”
“I believe the one who killed Elder Go is the same person.”
Cheon So-Seon slowly drank his tea as if savoring it.
“If that person could kill Elder Go, then they could also have killed Whip Elder.”
“That is correct.”
Cheon So-Seon’s eyes narrowed, and he pointed to one person.
“It must be Gal Sa-Ryang.”
“I think so as well. He must have brought an expert with him.”
“Could that expert have been among their party?”
“I do not think so. If he had been there, you would have noticed.”
Cheon So-Seon nodded.
The only person who had stood out to him somewhat was Byeok Ri-Dan. Excluding Ma Bong-Gi, he was the one with the greatest Martial Arts skill. That was exactly the level of skill Byeok Ri-Dan had revealed, and that was how far Cheon So-Seon had grasped him.
The two of them were equal in skill. That was why neither of them had been able to grasp the other’s true ability. If they had been ordinary Jianghu people, they would have noticed each other because they were equals, but the realm of both men was far too high, so ordinary principles did not apply.
In any case, Cheon So-Seon was certain that someone as young as Byeok Ri-Dan could not possibly possess enough skill to deceive his eyes.
“Find out who the hidden helper is.”
“Understood.”
“Do not forget. Fortunately, you avoided a loss by resignation, but Black’s great dragon is still dying.”
Black Stone rose from her seat.
“Do they not say that a great dragon never dies? That great dragon will not die.”
At that, Cheon So-Seon smiled faintly and said,
“As expected, there is no life in Go.”
He had said something similar before when he met Zuo Tie-Long. That was why Go was not very interesting.
“Unlike in Go, in reality, even great dragons often die.”
Though she feared that those white fingers, which seemed better suited to playing Go, might stretch toward her, Black Stone calmly walked out of the place.
We immediately left the Namhyeon Escort Agency.
Capturing Cheon So-Seon, or investigating how deeply the Namhyeon Escort Agency was involved in this matter, was something to be done later. For now, we had to leave this place and return to the Grand Martial Alliance.
We loaded the corpse onto a carriage and left the escort agency. Fortunately, no one interfered with us.
Cheon So-Seon had said it. Go back and tell them that the Blood Sky Cult had begun its revenge.
In other words, his purpose was not to kill us. The purpose of this meeting was to kill Ma Bong-Gi.
The revived Demonic Cult had killed the Murim Alliance Lord.
Once this news spread, the Jianghu would truly be turned upside down.
What that meant was one thing.
War.
This Jianghu would be swept up in war once again.
But if that was the case, it was strange. If the person behind Ma Bong-Gi wanted war, then there seemed to be no need to go through such a complicated process.
What exactly did that bastard want?
One fortunate thing was that Cheon So-Seon had not discovered my true martial ability or identity. In other words, that meant his martial level was not above mine. He was currently equal to me.
If so, that meant the person behind him was an even greater expert than I was. Moreover, there was no guarantee that there were no other experts besides them.
They would try to find out who had killed the two old men. For now, I must not reveal myself on the front stage.
I had to become stronger. The enemies who were appearing one by one were no joke.
Throughout the journey back, everyone remained silent.
Ma Bong-Gi’s corpse was loaded into one carriage, while Gal Sa-Ryang, I, and Ma Bong-Gi’s woman rode in another carriage.
Because of the woman, Gal Sa-Ryang and I could not exchange various conversations either.
She did not say anything, but I could feel that at the very least, she was not grieving. No, rather, she was relieved and even happy about Ma Bong-Gi’s death.
On the other hand, Lim Jung-Tae and the Fierce Tiger Unit warriors were gloomy. Though he had not been the Murim Alliance Lord whom they respected, their mission had been to protect him. That mission had failed.
I wanted to tell them. That they did not need to grieve so deeply. That Ma Bong-Gi had been a far more evil man than they knew, and that he had not been someone worth protecting.
There were no further surprise attacks.
During our return, the things we had seen and experienced began to spread as rumors.
The rumors said that the Demonic Cult had attacked a village and cruelly killed people, and that they had massacred a Grand Martial Alliance branch.
Most people said that could not possibly be true.
Even as we heard those rumors, we showed no reaction.
Like that, we safely returned to the Grand Martial Alliance headquarters in Wuhan.
We returned secretly, just as we had left. For now, the Alliance Lord’s death had not been announced.
Even when I died in the past, the announcement had been delayed for quite a while. This time as well, Ma Bong-Gi’s death might not be announced until after a new Alliance Lord was chosen.
If my death truly had been their doing, then they had already killed two Murim Alliance Lords. It was an unprecedented great incident since the creation of the Grand Martial Alliance.
In the Alliance Lord Hall, which had lost its master, Bright Moon Unit Leader Zuo Tie-Long was waiting alone.
He no longer hid his true colors.
Gal Sa-Ryang knew that Zuo Tie-Long was connected to the force behind the scenes. Zuo Tie-Long also knew that Gal Sa-Ryang knew. Now there was nothing left to hide from each other.
“You have committed something that should never have been committed.”
When Gal Sa-Ryang spoke as if scolding him, Zuo Tie-Long answered shamelessly.
“From the very beginning, Ma Bong-Gi was not fit to become the Alliance Lord. Was that not why you opposed him so much?”
“Then why did you support him so strongly?”
“Because there is no law saying only perfect people can become the Alliance Lord.”
“Your words do not fit together.”
“I admit that. In any case, killing the Alliance Lord was not my intention.”
“If you belong to that organization, then your intentions are the same.”
“Absolutely not!”
This time, Zuo Tie-Long refuted in a strong tone.
“They are clearly different. Since you remained in the Grand Martial Alliance, can you admit that you held the same intentions as Ma Bong-Gi?”
Gal Sa-Ryang could not answer. If he dug into it and refuted the point, he could prove that the two cases were completely different, but he did not bother.
The conversation they needed to have was of this sort.
“Will you kill me as well?”
To discover the other party’s intentions and what would happen afterward.
“If that had been our intention, Strategist, you would also have died there together with him.”
“Why are you keeping me alive?”
“You will know soon.”
He did not know the reason, but he could at least understand this much. It was not something Zuo Tie-Long decided. Everything was decided by that Cheon So-Seon, or the person behind him.
There was definitely a reason they had kept him alive. How exactly did they intend to use him?
When he had first remained in the Grand Martial Alliance to avenge Cheon Ha-Jin, he truly had not imagined that such grand matters would be waiting for him.
“Who do you intend to recommend as the Alliance Lord this time?”
It was at that very moment.
The door opened, and someone ran into the Alliance Lord Hall.
“Father!”
It was none other than Ma Cheol-Gun.
Using Lightness Skill, he flew through the air and landed before us in a single breath.
“What on earth does that mean? My father has passed away?”
Zuo Tie-Long spoke mournfully.
“The Alliance Lord passed away at the hands of the Demonic Cult bastards.”
Ma Cheol-Gun, who had been standing blankly, collapsed to the ground.
“Father!”
Ma Cheol-Gun’s whole body was trembling. It was not simply because Ma Bong-Gi had died. The words of the woman in the darkness had come true.
He had belatedly tried to inform his father of the danger. But by then, he had only heard that his father had already left the alliance.
“Even if I had come immediately, Father had already left the alliance secretly.”
He rationalized it to himself like that, but the clear fact was that he had not come immediately. He had a feeling that this fact might torment him for the rest of his life.
At the same time, his heart pounded. He remembered what she had said in the darkness.
I will make you the Murim Alliance Lord. As quickly as possible.
“I will become the Murim Alliance Lord?”
Just thinking about it made his heart feel as if it would burst, and his whole body trembled.
Ma Cheol-Gun lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. It was because he must not let anyone discover that this intense emotion was not only because of anger and sorrow.
Zuo Tie-Long’s gaze as he looked down at Ma Cheol-Gun was strange. It was not the gaze of someone looking at a child who had lost his father. There was an unknown intent contained in his eyes.
Gal Sa-Ryang had a feeling of unease.
“Surely, Ma Cheol-Gun?”
If that was the case?
He was an even more unexpected candidate than when they had previously pushed Ma Bong-Gi. No, even more unexpected than that time.
An emergency operations room was established inside the Justice Pavilion.
Now that the Alliance Lord had died, Gal Sa-Ryang, the Chief Strategist, had once again become the one in overall command of the Grand Martial Alliance. He, who had suffered to the point of death under Sima Tian until recently, had once again seized real power within the alliance.
Information related to the Alliance Lord’s death was provided only to a small number of trustworthy strategists of the Justice Pavilion. When they heard the situation, they were horrified.
The Alliance Lord was dead, and the Demonic Cult had revived.
The worst situation since the creation of the Justice Pavilion had occurred.
Of course, Gal Sa-Ryang and I knew very well that this was not simply the revival of the Demonic Cult, but an incident deeply involving the force behind the scenes.
What if the current Chief Strategist had been Sima Tian?
Truly, the chaos he would have created would have been beyond words.
At the same time, that also meant Gal Sa-Ryang was in that much danger. To them, Gal Sa-Ryang must be a thorn in their eyes. And yet they had spared him, which meant there was some sinister intent behind it.
The fact that none of the other children except Ma Cheol-Gun arrived allowed me to understand.
“It seems the next Alliance Lord they have chosen is Ma Cheol-Gun.”
At my words, Gal Sa-Ryang seemed to be of the same mind, and nodded as he said,
“Do they think that because he is young, he will be easy to use?”
“I do not think so.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because there must also be parts of him that are hard to use because he is young. Moreover, Ma Cheol-Gun is not such an easy person, is he? They could find any number of people easier to use than Ma Cheol-Gun.”
Gal Sa-Ryang nodded again as if agreeing. There were certainly old men who would even sell their souls if they could become the Murim Alliance Lord.
“On top of that, there will be many people who think Ma Cheol-Gun is still too young to become the Alliance Lord.”
It was different from when I had become the Alliance Lord. At the time, I had been the Strongest Under Heaven and the most famous person in the Jianghu.
But Ma Cheol-Gun was different. How on earth would they persuade the Jianghu people? Once again, the question returned to its starting point.
“Then why did they choose Ma Cheol-Gun?”
The answer to that question was partially solved by one piece of urgent news that flew in that afternoon.
One strategist ran in and reported to Gal Sa-Ryang.
“The Demonic Cult has attacked our alliance’s Jingmen branch.”
“What?”
“Send the Bright Moon Unit immediately!”
“Yes!”
A short while later, another strategist entered and reported.
“Before the Bright Moon Unit could move, Sect Leader Ma led his subordinates and departed first.”
Upon hearing that report, Gal Sa-Ryang and I understood. That attack was meant to allow Ma Cheol-Gun to earn merit.
After he earned merit several times by defeating the Demonic Cult, they would reveal it at a decisive moment later. That Ma Cheol-Gun had risked his life to avenge the Alliance Lord.
The fact that the Alliance Lord had died at the hands of demonic practitioners would paralyze everyone’s reason. In such a situation, if important organizations of the Grand Martial Alliance, including Zuo Tie-Long, supported him, Ma Cheol-Gun would be able to sit in the Alliance Lord’s seat.
Someone had to lead the Grand Martial Alliance and the Orthodox Faction Jianghu people to face the Demonic Cult. And no one would suit that place more than Ma Cheol-Gun, who had drawn his sword to avenge his father.
I felt extremely unpleasant.
Putting aside what their intention was, they were controlling the Grand Martial Alliance and the Jianghu as if they belonged to them. For that purpose, they were killing innocent people.
If you are going to come at me like this, then I will also have to find a way to oppose you.
At last, I felt that the time had come.
The time had come not for me to become Gal Sa-Ryang’s person……
But to make Gal Sa-Ryang my person.
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