When Tears Come to Our Eyes (3)
The final words Gal Sa-Ryang left behind were decisive.
“Then I will take it that you have understood my intention and withdraw. Let us meet outside later.”
To Ma Gung-Tae, it looked as if Gal Sa-Ryang and Ma Yang-Hwa had conspired together.
On top of that, the formation had activated, trapping them here.
Ma Gung-Tae glared at Ma Yang-Hwa with terrifying eyes. Ma Gung-Tae knew. Originally, Ma Yang-Hwa was someone skilled at securing her own interests and never did anything that would make her suffer a loss.
Since their relationship had begun from hearts filled with suspicion and wariness, a true alliance had never existed in the first place.
“I am sorry I did not tell you, Little Brother, but…… please believe me. I only came out to hear what Gal Sa-Ryang had to say.”
But Ma Gung-Tae’s heart had already turned cold.
“Fine. I believe you. Hurry and get us out of here.”
“I told you, I do not know how to get out!”
Ma Gung-Tae snorted. Before leaving, Gal Sa-Ryang had clearly said it. Let us meet outside later. And yet she said she did not know how to get out?
The betrayal that made his teeth tremble ultimately led him to one conclusion.
‘She is dragging things out to kill me.’
From the beginning, she must have deliberately leaked the time and place of this meeting in order to kill him.
Ma Gung-Tae sent a sound transmission to the Ten Heartless Guests and the Divine Mystery Spear.
-Launch a surprise attack on those subordinates and eliminate them all. Make that woman kneel before me. She must know the way out.
Feeling the opponent’s aura change, this time One-Eyed Sword sent Ma Yang-Hwa a sound transmission.
-They are about to attack us. I think we must strike first.
Ma Yang-Hwa felt as if she would go mad. Only then did she realize.
‘It was a trap. A trap made from the beginning to create this situation.’
But she had neither the time nor the confidence to persuade Ma Gung-Tae. A sense of crisis that if they did not kill, they would be killed wrapped around both sides.
Feeling the opponent’s aura grow urgent, One-Eyed Sword urged her.
-Please give the order quickly. If we suffer the first attack, we will all die.
In the end, Ma Yang-Hwa gave the order she should never have given.
-Eliminate them all!
Half an hour later, when the formation disappeared, only corpses filled the place.
The only person left alive was Ma Gung-Tae.
The first attack had been made by Ma Yang-Hwa’s side, but the fight unfolded evenly. In the end, the masters on both sides fought desperately and died together.
Ma Gung-Tae, who survived until the end, tortured Ma Yang-Hwa, and unable to endure the pain, she killed herself.
“You bastard! You are on the same side as that bitch too, aren’t you?”
An excited Ma Gung-Tae charged toward Gal Sa-Ryang and me. Covered in blood from head to toe, he was not in his right mind.
Shiiik.
I quickly drew my sword and lopped off his head.
Even if he had charged at me with all his concentration, he could not have won against me. Since he charged while half-mad, he could only become an opponent defeated in one move.
Even when cutting off his head, I did not use a form of the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Art, but ordinary swordsmanship.
Now, there was no one left alive here. Later, when the Grand Martial Alliance came and investigated their causes of death, it would appear that they had died fighting one another.
After removing all traces of the formation, such as stones and pieces of wood, Gal Sa-Ryang and I left that place.
“Damn it! Those stupid bastards!”
When Ma Ryeong-In heard the news that Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae had fought each other and destroyed themselves, he became furious to the tips of his hair.
No matter how greedy and pathetic they were, how could they die while fighting among themselves with the enemy right in front of them?
He checked several times to see whether perhaps they had fallen into a trap, but the medical examiners’ opinions were consistent. It was certain that they had fought one another and died.
Moreover, since Ma Yang-Hwa’s decisive cause of death was suicide, there was even speculation that she might have killed herself out of guilt at the end.
‘There is no way that greedy bitch would do that!’
In any case, it was decided that their deaths would be announced after the inauguration ceremony.
Whether they had fallen into Gal Sa-Ryang’s trap, or whether those stupid things had died while doing something pathetic, in any case, this matter had failed completely.
Only if Gal Sa-Ryang had been killed would he have been able to hear from Cheon So-Seon about the fourth method by which he could become Alliance Lord.
“Damn it!”
What made him even angrier was the fact that the result of this matter was extremely good for Ma Cheol-Gun. In any case, Ma Cheol-Gun would have tried to eliminate those two.
As a result, he had ended up doing that troublesome and difficult task for him with his own hands. He had given him a commemorative gift for tomorrow’s Alliance Lord inauguration ceremony.
Ma Ryeong-In ultimately realized that only one method remained.
“I will have to step forward myself.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind him.
“You must not do that.”
Startled, he turned around, and at some point Cheon So-Seon had entered the room.
“How in the world?”
Ma Ryeong-In had not sensed any presence of Cheon So-Seon entering the room.
“For the time being, take your hands off Gal Sa-Ryang.”
Cheon So-Seon spoke as if giving an order.
“What do you mean?”
“This matter was his work.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am certain.”
If that was the case, then the word “work” could be used. In such a short time, he had made Ma Yang-Hwa and Ma Gung-Tae fight one another and destroy themselves.
“He truly is on a different level.”
“Yes. He is showing what kind of person the Chief Strategist who unified all under heaven is. Hidden beneath the great shadow called Cheon Ha-Jin, we had forgotten what kind of person he was.”
“Damn it! Then in the end, I will not get to hear the fourth method.”
“You may hear it.”
“Even though I failed?”
“Failure is something anyone can experience, is it not?”
Ma Ryeong-In looked at Cheon So-Seon with an expression that said he could not understand.
A moment ago, he had used the expression “on a different level” for Gal Sa-Ryang, but in truth, those words also applied to Cheon So-Seon.
He was young, and Ma Ryeong-In himself was young as well. In terms of schemes, Ma Ryeong-In was proud that he was also among the best, but when he looked at Cheon So-Seon, he somehow felt intimidated. Ma Ryeong-In considered that to be a difference in level.
“Have you ever thought about why I am trying so hard to keep you alive even though you made a mistake?”
“Because I have value to be used?”
“I will say it again, but you are not quite at that level.”
“You do not necessarily have to say it like that and kill my morale.”
“Haha. If that offended you, I apologize.”
With a serious expression, Ma Ryeong-In asked,
“Then tell me the reason.”
“I will tell you later.”
“Damn it! If you brought it up, you should tell me! That is a filthy habit!”
Cheon So-Seon rose from his seat first.
“Wait. A person who intends to do great things must also know how to wait.”
Just as a white light seemed to emerge from Cheon So-Seon’s eyes, he disappeared from that place.
Bang! Bang!
Ma Ryeong-In slammed the table in succession. The shattered table scattered across the floor.
“You son of a bitch. Must be nice to be so composed and mysterious.”
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No. Seven suddenly raised her body. She had had a dream. The final words were still ringing in her head.
“Our Young Lady is engaged to Young Master Byeok.”
She was someone who rarely dreamed in ordinary times, but this was a dream she had had after a long while.
“Huu.”
No. Seven let out a light sigh.
Her mind had been complicated lately, and she thought perhaps this was for the better.
‘He was someone who had no connection to me anyway.’
One strange thing was the tears she had shed that day.
Of course, they were not the first tears she had shed since birth. While receiving training, she had shed countless tears. She had cried while hiding so others would not see, and she had also shed tears because things were truly too hard and painful.
But the tears of that day had been different.
Unlike the tears she had shed before, they had not come because she was in pain, sad, or lonely.
There had been no change in her emotions, yet they had suddenly fallen, and when she looked at the tears, she felt good. Though it had been embarrassing because they were tears shed in front of Byeok Ri-Dan, the tears themselves had definitely felt good.
How should she put it? I can cry for other reasons too. I am not someone who only sheds tears over bad things. Those were the thoughts she had.
At that moment, Lin Yan-Qing’s voice was heard from outside.
“May I come in?”
“Yes.”
Lin Yan-Qing came inside.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes?”
“It seemed like you were having a nightmare.”
Had she perhaps screamed? It seemed her voice had reached the room next door.
“No, I am fine.”
“Did something happen?”
“No.”
She thought she wanted to tell Lin Yan-Qing about what had happened that day. She wanted to tell someone how she felt and receive comfort. She also wanted to talk about the tears.
But she did not. Just as liking someone was unfamiliar to her, telling someone such a story was also far too unfamiliar.
Though she had heard nothing, Lin Yan-Qing spoke to her as if she had heard the entire story.
“Even if you regret it, do not deceive your own heart.”
As Lin Yan-Qing turned around, No. Seven abruptly asked,
“Unnie……”
At the word Unnie, Lin Yan-Qing smiled brightly. It was the moment when, beneath a firmly closed massive iron gate, one tiny side door creaked and opened ever so slightly.
“Did you not deceive your heart?”
It was because what Lin Yan-Qing had said earlier sounded as though it was something she had experienced herself.
“I did not deceive it. I followed my feelings.”
“Do you not regret that decision?”
“No, I regret it.”
The gazes of the two women tangled in the air.
Lin Yan-Qing said,
“It may sound strange, but regretting my choice…… I do not regret that regret.”
No. Seven answered briefly.
“It does not sound strange at all.”
I attended the Alliance Lord inauguration ceremony together with Song Hwa-Rin and everyone else.
Su-Ran glared at me with displeased eyes, but I pretended not to see it. From her position, as someone who cared terribly for Song Hwa-Rin, it was only natural.
“There are really so many people. This is the first time I have seen so many people gathered in one place.”
As Song Hwa-Rin said, an enormous crowd had gathered. We did not bother going close and stood side by side at a distance.
There were relatively fewer people here, but even here, there were many. They were all in an excited state.
“When Great Hero Ma becomes Alliance Lord, he will wipe out all those Demonic Cult bastards.”
“Of course he will. He has to avenge his father.”
“Those damned Demonic Cult bastards! We have to exterminate them completely with this chance!”
“It is finally starting!”
Bang! Baaang! Bang!
Fireworks exploded in the sky. From all directions, along with cheers, the sound of small firecrackers continued without pause.
Gwangdu looked at the distant platform and said,
“It must feel good to become the Murim Alliance Lord, right?”
“It would.”
But that would last only a brief moment. The position of Murim Alliance Lord had too many things to pay attention to and too many things to do. Of course, if one did not do the work properly, there would be no position as good as that one.
Depending on what kind of Alliance Lord Ma Cheol-Gun intended to become, his feelings would differ.
This time, Song Hwa-Rin asked me,
“Do you have no ambition to become Alliance Lord?”
“I do.”
“What?”
She turned to look at me in shock. Even Gwangdu and Su-Ran looked at me in surprise.
“Why are you all so surprised? If one is a person of the Jianghu, it is naturally a position one can dream of, is it not?”
Gwangdu said,
“That is true, but…… when you say it, Young Master, I feel like you might really accomplish it.”
Song Hwa-Rin also looked at me with a similar gaze.
Pretending not to notice, I looked toward the distant platform.
Murim Alliance Lord.
I had not the slightest thought of becoming Alliance Lord again.
But there remained one single possibility. If the power of the Grand Martial Alliance was needed to eliminate them? Well, that was unlikely to happen.
When Ma Cheol-Gun’s inauguration speech began, I moved to a place behind where Gal Sa-Ryang was standing.
Looking at Song Hwa-Rin standing ahead, Gal Sa-Ryang said,
“I had only heard in words that she was the greatest beauty of Shandong, but she truly is beautiful.”
“She is pretty.”
“The two of you truly suit each other well.”
When he said we suited each other well, I did not feel bad.
After speaking for a while about Song Hwa-Rin and me, the topic naturally returned to the force behind the scenes.
“Do you think they accepted our warning?”
“I believe they did.”
They would have realized that we were involved in their deaths.
“Now, at the very least, they will not recklessly try to kill us.”
In my previous life, the way I dealt with villains was this.
Shatter them with greater power.
Reform and persuade villains so that they become truly repentant?
That is nothing more than idealism.
Most villains I had seen did not change. Of course, perhaps one out of ten might turn over a new leaf.
But when considering the harmful consequences of the evil deeds the other nine would commit during that process, my conclusion was that it was better to ignore that one person’s repentance.
That was the reason I had been called the Iron-Blooded Alliance Lord, the Alliance Lord of Punishment.
When dealing with villains, the reason one is defeated in reverse is because one handles them half-heartedly. Because one is half-heartedly strong.
Now that I had recovered all my former Martial Arts, I would handle them as villains. Properly.
“If tears come to our eyes, then bloody tears will flow from theirs.”
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