When the Starlight Descends (1)
The Murim Alliance officially announced Ma Bong-Gi’s death in a sudden declaration.
The people of the Jianghu were swept up in shock. His death itself was shocking, but the fact that the reason was an attack by demonic practitioners delivered an even greater shock.
The first to arrive at the Murim Alliance was Ma Cheol-Gun.
“Father!”
He had learned of his father’s death unofficially through Ju Cheol-Ryong.
However, in front of everyone, he acted as though he was hearing this news for the first time.
He shed tears of grief to such an extent that it could not be seen as acting.
“Father! Uheuheuheuk.”
Because he was so deeply sorrowful, everyone lowered their heads.
In the Alliance Lord’s Hall, the heads of each organization and important figures had all gathered. They were corps leaders and deputy corps leaders, unit leaders and deputy unit leaders. Jong Cheon-Rak, the Heavenly Palace Corps Leader, who had gone out for training, had also hurriedly returned, since the matter was what it was.
I was also there with Gal Sa-Ryang, in my position as responsible strategist.
“Father!”
Ma Cheol-Gun was grieving sincerely. I wondered what kind of tears those were. Were they born from sorrow over his father’s death, or were they tears of apology for betraying his father?
In any case, one thing was certain: he had joined hands with the force behind this. A person’s fate, especially the fate of a person of the Jianghu, is often decided at the very end by a single choice. This was one of those cases too.
Ju Cheol-Ryong stepped forward and said to him,
“This is not the time only to grieve. It is time to move forward and take revenge.”
“That is right!”
The heads of the remaining organizations all voiced the same opinion. There were many suspicions surrounding Ma Bong-Gi’s death, but most of them had already been won over by Ju Cheol-Ryong. Therefore, instead of uncovering the suspicions, the focus was placed on revenge.
Ju Cheol-Ryong spoke loudly.
“We must select a new Alliance Lord as quickly as possible!”
His gaze turned toward Ma Cheol-Gun. It was an action containing clear intent. Ma Bong-Gi’s other children had not even arrived yet.
Iron Banner Hall Lord Ok Dang-Chu quickly said,
“Let us nominate Sect Leader Ma as Alliance Lord!”
It was something that could be said precisely because the other successors were absent, a statement intended to drive the atmosphere.
I could tell. Those words too, in the end, were Ju Cheol-Ryong’s words.
He was using someone else rather than stepping forward himself. Last time, he himself had stood at the very front and nominated Ma Bong-Gi. This time, if he stepped forward again, he would be suspected of having some sort of relationship with the Heavenly Sword Sect.
That was why he intended to put Ok Dang-Chu forward in his place. After the previous incident, Ok Dang-Chu seemed to have become firmly on Ju Cheol-Ryong’s side.
Ju Cheol-Ryong and Ok Dang-Chu.
During my time as Alliance Lord, they had been people who devoted all their loyalty to me. Watching their change of heart before my eyes like this, bitterness came before anger.
Jong Cheon-Rak, the Heavenly Palace Corps Leader, was also here. He had left the Alliance under the excuse of emergency training, but with the Alliance Lord dead, he could not remain outside.
He glanced at Gal Sa-Ryang. Because of the previous incident, his two eyes were filled with goodwill. From now on, he would move according to our will.
Ju Cheol-Ryong did not miss this atmosphere.
“Chief Strategist, please open an emergency meeting for the selection of a new Alliance Lord as quickly as possible.”
Did he still not know of Black Stone’s death? Or did he know and still treat Gal Sa-Ryang so shamelessly like that?
He truly looked at Gal Sa-Ryang as if nothing at all had happened, or as if he knew nothing.
“Understood.”
Gal Sa-Ryang obediently followed his words.
Among the ten important organizations of the Murim Alliance, there were two that could be considered on our side. The Heavenly Palace Corps and the Fierce Tiger Corps.
On the other hand, the remaining eight organizations were all on that side.
The authority to select the Alliance Lord was already in their grasp.
Number One and Number Seven were standing side by side in the courtyard of a manor.
The person Number One chose as the subordinate he trusted most was Number Seven.
“What is our task?”
Number Seven’s question was dry as usual.
Because there had been an incident where Number One had saved her life before, he had been hoping that his relationship with her might change a little.
‘What on earth was I expecting?’
Hiding the self-mocking laugh that flowed inside him, Number One also spoke in his usual tone.
“A woman will arrive shortly. After that, our mission is to guard and assist her.”
“Yes.”
As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Number One casually asked,
“You said you were going to meet someone that day. Did you meet them?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask who it was?”
At that, Number Seven turned to look at Number One. It was because he usually never asked such things at all.
“Why? Is it someone I shouldn’t ask about?”
“No.”
She said it was not, then did not continue speaking.
Even so, Number One did not get angry at all. The way she dealt with people and her clumsiness in expressing emotion were not her responsibility. And most of that responsibility lay with him. The person who had trained Number Seven was none other than him.
After quite a while had passed, Number Seven suddenly said,
“The responsible strategist of the Justice Pavilion bought me dumplings.”
“Dumplings?”
“Yes. I felt I should express my gratitude for that time.”
Number One looked at her in surprise. She was silently looking only at the main gate.
“You met him?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Number Seven looked at Number One once more. Number One asking such questions, and Number Seven going to meet someone because he had bought her dumplings, were both unexpected sides of each other to them.
Right then, the gate opened and a carriage entered.
Stopping their conversation, the two walked toward the carriage.
The carriage door opened, and a woman stepped down. Wearing clothes that clearly revealed the shape of her body, she was none other than Lin Yan-Qing.
Her breasts were large, her waist was slender, and her legs were straight and long. Number One was startled by her intellectual face, which contrasted with her voluptuous body. On the other hand, Number Seven had met her before during the Golden Grand Banquet mission.
“Nice to meet you.”
At Lin Yan-Qing’s greeting, Number Seven lowered her head and said,
“It has been a long time.”
Lin Yan-Qing remembered her too.
“Oh, you are the beautiful one from that time.”
At the time Lin Yan-Qing first met Number Seven, she had greeted her by saying that she thought there were only rough men in this organization, but that there was also such a beautiful woman.
“Since we meet again, let me introduce myself properly. I am Lin Yan-Qing.”
“I am Number Seven.”
“Number Seven? Do you have no other name? Even an old name?”
“I do not.”
“Are you not saying it because of regulations? Or do you not remember?”
Number Seven gave no answer, but from her expression and atmosphere, one could feel that she did not remember.
This time, Lin Yan-Qing looked at Number One.
“I am Number One. If there is anything you would like to entrust to us from now on, please leave it to us.”
Lin Yan-Qing repeated the question she had asked Number Seven earlier.
“Do you remember? Your old name?”
Number One also gave no answer, but unlike Number Seven, he appeared to remember it. Considering the ages of the two, that guess was probably correct.
Lin Yan-Qing said to Number One,
“If that is the case, then you are a very bad person.”
After throwing out those words, Lin Yan-Qing went into the building. Number Seven followed after her.
Number One stood in the courtyard for a while, looking at the building where she had disappeared, then turned away.
His face was slightly flushed.
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That night, Lin Yan-Qing stood in the manor courtyard, looking up at the night sky.
“You have regretted something while living, haven’t you?”
She was asking Number Seven, who stood a little distance away.
“Have you not?”
Only when she asked once more did Number Seven finally answer.
“I have not.”
Truly, no regret came to mind.
Suddenly, such a thought occurred to her.
Does having no regrets mean that I have not lived an independent life? Because regret exists when one has done something one could choose.
I should have done this… or I should not have done this.
She had not even been given any opportunity for regret. She had only carried out the orders she was given.
“Is there something you regret?”
“As for me… there are many.”
Lin Yan-Qing smiled brightly. But she did not tell her what she regretted. Number Seven also did not go out of her way to ask.
“That is the North Star, isn’t it?”
At the tip of Lin Yan-Qing’s finger, the North Star was shining brightly.
“Was it always that large and bright?”
She admired it anew.
On the other hand, to Number Seven, the North Star was a close existence, like a friend. Not only the North Star, but all the stars were like that. When she received hellish training deep in pitch-dark mountains, she had found her way only by looking at the stars in the night sky.
“They say that when people lose their way, they look at that star and find the path, do they not?”
“Yes, that is what I have heard.”
“Have you ever lost your way?”
“No.”
Even with Number Seven’s still brief and dry answer, Lin Yan-Qing did not mind at all. Rather than insolence, she felt favor toward her. At the very least, she could tell that Number Seven was not someone who flattered others.
“I have a poor sense of direction, so I often lose my way.”
Not knowing how to answer, Number Seven smiled awkwardly.
When a mission was given, words came easily enough, but in personal relationships like this, strangely, words did not come out well. She did not know the reason why.
Looking up at the North Star again, Lin Yan-Qing said,
“When I look at you, I think of a certain person. That person had no name, just like you.”
The person Lin Yan-Qing recalled was the Nameless Great Hero. At that time, he had saved her.
“I think of that person suddenly, from time to time. Even though he is someone whose matter is already over.”
While eating, or right before falling asleep.
Number Seven looked at her with suspicion, wondering why she was saying such things to her. But she could not find any intention in Lin Yan-Qing.
“Do you have someone like that?”
Before Number Seven could open her mouth, Lin Yan-Qing answered herself.
“I do not.”
After imitating Number Seven’s way of speaking in a blunt tone, Lin Yan-Qing asked,
“You were going to say that, weren’t you?”
At that, Number Seven answered calmly.
“No, I do.”
Lin Yan-Qing stared at her for a moment as if dumbfounded.
“I also gained one recently.”
At Number Seven’s overly serious answer, Lin Yan-Qing laughed loudly.
“Hahaha.”
Lin Yan-Qing did not ask who he was. For a first meeting, even this much was a sufficiently deep conversation. The fact that they had opened their hearts even this much must have been because of that starlight, which was especially bright tonight.
As the appearance of the Demonic Cult became an established fact, the Jianghu froze stiff.
All sects began preparing for war. They gathered people and bought weapons. They purchased large amounts of medicines for internal injuries and external wounds, and bought large quantities of the medicinal herbs that became the ingredients for them. The prices of those things soared several times over.
The atmosphere of the Jianghu truly became ominous. Public opinion boiled over, saying that an Alliance Lord had to be chosen as quickly as possible.
Gal Sa-Ryang was busy leading the emergency meeting.
Even in the midst of that, whenever we had time, we talked about the Ghost Gate Evasion Book. To be precise, it was closer to me learning from him.
Gal Sa-Ryang mainly learned the side of installing formations, while I took interest in the side of breaking them. In any case, I would not have many occasions to install formations, and what I needed was a way to escape when I fell into one.
I was still outside their guard.
The first reason was my age. Early twenties. No matter how much hidden skill I possessed, I was too young to have done the things that had happened until now.
The second reason was that my identity was certain.
The successor of the Byeok Sword Clan.
What kind of force behind the scenes in the world would act while openly revealing its own identity like this?
The third reason was similar to the second, and it was because I was always with Gal Sa-Ryang. Rather, because we openly moved around together, I avoided suspicion. It was what they call emptiness within reality and reality within emptiness.
And decisively, Gal Sa-Ryang was the Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance. Not only that, he was the Chief Strategist of the unification of the Jianghu, who had smashed the Unorthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult together with Cheon Ha-Jin.
Even if he had cultivated a tremendous expert from long ago, it would not have been strange at all.
“How is the investigation into Cheon Bo-Myeong going?”
“We are still investigating, but strangely, reports have come up saying that information about him is difficult to find.”
“If he was active as a phantom thief, there should be a considerable amount of information left.”
“It seems someone intentionally erased it.”
If that was the case, there was a possibility that it was connected to Cheon So-Seon. Since they had the same surname, the possibility that they were blood relatives could not be ruled out either.
If they were related?
What connection could there be between a former-generation thief who indulged in eccentric behavior and the revival of this Demonic Cult in the current generation?
What was the reason they were trying to make Ma Cheol-Gun the Alliance Lord?
For now, it was something I could not know.
“By the way, because of this matter, they must be quite heated.”
“They likely are. But for the time being, it should be all right.”
“Do you have a reason for thinking so?”
“Judging from their actions until now, they are certainly trying to make Ma Cheol-Gun the Alliance Lord. To make Ma Cheol-Gun the Alliance Lord, the emergency meeting must be held normally. And for that emergency meeting, I am absolutely necessary. In this situation, they will not kill me.”
According to the Alliance rules, the Chief Strategist had to be present. If there was no Chief Strategist, they would have to select a Chief Strategist again, and only then select the Alliance Lord.
There could be several reasons they had left him alive, but Gal Sa-Ryang judged this to be one of the major reasons.
“So you do not need to protect me.”
“When will the Alliance Lord be decided at the emergency meeting?”
“Assuming there are no unexpected changes, if we proceed as quickly as possible according to procedure, Ma Cheol-Gun will be selected as the new Alliance Lord ten days from now. In other words, for the next ten days, nothing will happen. So until then, please rest comfortably.”
Gal Sa-Ryang was certain, and I trusted Gal Sa-Ryang’s judgment. Even conspiracies have the flow of the tide coming in and going out. The person who senses that best is Gal Sa-Ryang.
A rare vacation was given to me.
And one that lasted as long as ten days.
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