Seventh Killer, Jeok Mahyeok (3)

Seonu Jin and Jeok Hayeon were climbing the pass.

Jeok Hayeon suddenly misstepped and fell.

“Ouch!”

It was astonishing acting that made it impossible to believe she had fallen deliberately.

Startled by the sight, Seonu Jin turned around and approached her.

“Miss! Are you all right?!”

Jeok Hayeon’s upper garment had somehow become disheveled, exposing part of her shoulder, and she struggled to rise as she answered.

“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing….”

However, as she tried to stand, she seemingly injured her ankle and collapsed again with a scream.

“Aah!”

“Miss! Your ankle!”

Jeok Hayeon sat sideways with one slender leg stretched out and spoke to Seonu Jin with a pitiful gaze.

“I-I’m sorry, Young Master. You were trying to help me, yet I’ve only become a burden….”

Jeok Hayeon’s posture exuded sensuality from her entire body.

Her pose emphasized the graceful curves of her body, her clothes were disheveled enough to reveal part of her shoulder, and she even wore a pitiful expression.

It was truly a posture befitting an expert seductress.

‘Besides, I lightly sprinkled an aphrodisiac on myself, so even a monk who has cultivated for a hundred years would have trouble resisting, wouldn’t he?’

Having seduced countless men over the past two years, Jeok Hayeon was confident.

This was perfect.

At the earliest, he might try to violate her immediately, and even if he did not, his heart would surely be greatly shaken.

Thus, when she glanced at Seonu Jin and saw him approaching with a stiff expression, she smiled inwardly.

It seemed they would be able to finish this immediately.

Whether she finished him herself or her orabeoni, Jeok Mahyeok, who was concealed nearby, did so.

Seonu Jin drew close and called to her.

“Miss….”

Jeok Hayeon also answered with moist eyes.

“Yes, Young Master.”

Seonu Jin looked into her eyes and said,

“Please forgive my discourtesy.”

“Yes, do whatever you—Ah!”

Jeok Hayeon screamed in surprise.

That was because Seonu Jin had suddenly lifted her into his arms.

“I cannot leave you here, so it seems I have no choice but to carry you like this. Please bear with the discomfort for a little while.”

Startled by his completely unexpected action, Jeok Hayeon suddenly felt her heart pounding at the sight of his face directly before her.

He looked even more handsome up close.

‘What is this? Why is he so handsome? And why does he look completely unaffected?’

Even though he was carrying her, there was no trace of lust on Seonu Jin’s face.

That was despite the fact that she had sprayed the aphrodisiac over her body like perfume.

Instead, only her own heart, despite having taken the antidote beforehand, was pounding violently. His unaffected appearance felt so unfair that she nearly became upset.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘Could this man be a true chivalrous hero?’

That seemed to be the case.

Seeing how calmly he resisted the seduction that had overcome every other man, this handsome young master had to be a genuinely righteous gentleman of the sort found only in books.

Then again, someone as impressive as him might indeed be capable of it.

‘But I have to kill someone like this.’

It was unbearably regrettable.

She had reached the point where she even resented the heavens.

However, Jeok Hayeon soon resigned herself.

When had the heavens ever shown mercy to the righteous?

They merely forced the law of the strong devouring the weak upon everyone, making them kill others to survive.

Jeok Hayeon ultimately looked sorrowfully at Seonu Jin and prepared to act.

Both of Seonu Jin’s hands were occupied carrying her, while her own hands remained free.

Moreover, his chest was directly before her, so even though he was a Pinnacle Realm master, it seemed she could kill him easily.

Thus, she was about to subtly aim the tube of poisoned needles concealed within her sleeve at him when—

Seonu Jin suddenly asked her,

“Is something wrong, Miss?”

Slightly startled, Jeok Hayeon asked in return,

“Y-Yes? What do you mean?”

When she raised her head, Seonu Jin was looking down at her with a puzzled expression.

“Your eyes look deeply sorrowful. We are on our way to rescue your orabeoni, so why do you look so sad?”

At that question, Jeok Hayeon stared blankly at Seonu Jin for a moment before unconsciously speaking her true feelings.

“It’s just… because I resent the heavens so much.”

Seonu Jin smiled gently at her answer and asked again,

“Why do you resent the heavens?”

Jeok Hayeon answered with a mournful expression.

“Everything in this world harms something else in order to live. Insects, birds, animals. And… people too.”

As she spoke, Jeok Hayeon slowly changed the position of her hand.

She turned the inside of her sleeve toward Seonu Jin.

However, as though a thought had occurred to him, Seonu Jin looked at her warmly and answered.

“This is merely my own belief, but I think that people, at least, are always given the opportunity to choose. The greatest purposes of animals are to eat and reproduce, but do humans not sometimes starve themselves to death to uphold their convictions or enter the mountains and grow old alone? Is ‘righteousness’ not ultimately such a choice? One may live according to the law of the strong devouring the weak like an animal, but some people care for the weak and sacrifice themselves for what is right.”

Upon hearing those words, Jeok Hayeon’s hand, which had been aiming the hidden weapon at Seonu Jin, trembled.

Jeok Hayeon had always declared with confidence.

It was not their fault that they had come to kill people.

It was merely the fault of those who had forced them into doing so.

However, Seonu Jin was saying something different.

Everyone was given an opportunity to choose.

Ultimately, each person bore responsibility for their own actions.

Jeok Hayeon screamed inwardly.

‘…Bullshit!’

However, she herself knew very well that this was not what she truly believed.

Had anyone else told Jeok Hayeon such a thing, she would have lightly mocked them.

She would instead have seduced them and proudly told them to understand their place before spouting such nonsense.

However.

She could not do that now.

This man was trying to help her without expecting anything in return, and even after she had used every means available, he had remained completely unmoved by her seduction. Jeok Hayeon could not bring herself to mock his words.

Tears suddenly streamed down her cheeks.

“Ah!”

She did not know why the tears were falling.

Jeok Hayeon merely cried as she apologized to Seonu Jin.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Young Master.”

Then she finally pressed the firing mechanism of the poisoned-needle tube hidden in her sleeve.

Press!

Or rather, she tried to press it.

However, for some reason, her body would not move.

‘?!’

As she stared in startled confusion, Seonu Jin smiled and said,

“There is no need to apologize, Miss. You will not be able to kill me.”

Until now, Jeok Hayeon had believed that both of Seonu Jin’s hands were occupied holding her.

However, that had merely been her own misunderstanding.

Instead, she had exposed every acupoint in her body to Seonu Jin.

With only a slight movement of one finger, Seonu Jin had sealed all the acupoints throughout Jeok Hayeon’s body while holding her.

Seonu Jin had already realized that she was an assassin.

At first, he had only been suspicious, but once he detected someone following them while concealed, he had already placed the Poison-Repelling Pearl in his mouth. Thus, Jeok Hayeon’s aphrodisiac had no effect on him whatsoever.

---

Jeok Mahyeok was following Seonu Jin and Hayeon while remaining concealed.

That was because Hayeon had stubbornly insisted on first testing whether the target would succumb to her seduction, as usual, so he had decided to watch for the time being.

However, as always, Jeok Mahyeok was extremely anxious while observing the scene.

Gulp!

Whenever Hayeon did this, Jeok Mahyeok constantly feared that he might fail to intervene in time and his younger sister would be violated by the target, or that her identity as an assassin would be discovered and she would be injured.

And today was even worse.

Was it because of the pressure of facing a master with more than seventy years of internal energy?

Jeok Mahyeok had been experiencing a strange sensation for some time.

They had never once made eye contact, so it should have been impossible, yet he felt the ominous sensation that the other man had detected his concealment.

It was a sticky feeling, as though a spiderweb-like gaze had clung to his body.

‘Something is definitely strange. I need to take Hayeon and flee quickly.’

Jeok Mahyeok finally reached that decision.

However, he had already made it too late.

That was because Hayeon was already in Seonu Jin’s arms, leaving him no way to act.

It was then.

Jeok Mahyeok sensed something strange.

The man called Seonu Jin suddenly lowered Hayeon to the ground.

And although Hayeon looked startled, she was unable to move. Jeok Mahyeok immediately understood what had happened.

‘Acupoint sealing?! She was immobilized!’

It seemed the bastard intended to reveal his lust and violate Hayeon.

Grit!

He felt he had to attack him immediately.

Before the bastard violated Hayeon!

However, just as Jeok Mahyeok was about to launch himself forward, he witnessed another strange sight.

The man did not attempt to violate Hayeon.

He merely drew his sword and prepared to strike her down.

The bastard’s voice reached Jeok Mahyeok’s ears.

“Die!”

Jeok Mahyeok’s vision went white.

The bastard was trying to kill Hayeon.

So suddenly?!

His heart raced with urgency.

If he attacked Seonu Jin from behind now, he might be able to kill him. However, Hayeon would also die.

He could never allow that.

“No!”

He shouted with all his strength and charged at the man.

It was something he had never done even once throughout his career as an assassin.

Jeok Mahyeok desperately hoped that the bastard would hear his voice, stop his sword, and look toward him.

However, the man did not.

As though he could not even hear Jeok Mahyeok’s voice, he continued bringing the sword down toward Hayeon.

Swoosh!

“Uaaaah!”

Jeok Mahyeok let out a monstrous roar and changed his target.

Not Seonu Jin, but Seonu Jin’s sword.

He desperately hurled hidden weapons toward the descending blade and launched his body forward.

Whish!

He prayed desperately.

He prayed that his hidden weapon would deflect Seonu Jin’s sword and allow him to save Hayeon.

‘Please, please!’

However, despite his earnest wish, the hidden weapon failed to strike the sword.

Whish!

It merely sliced through empty air.

And the instant Jeok Mahyeok’s hidden weapon fruitlessly cut through the air, Seonu Jin’s sword changed direction and shot forth like a ray of light.

Straight toward Jeok Mahyeok’s throat.

Swish!

“?!”

For a moment, Jeok Mahyeok could not comprehend what had happened.

Seonu Jin’s sword, which had been descending toward Hayeon, was suddenly resting against his own neck.

The mask he had been wearing had also been cut cleanly in half at some unknown point and was slowly sliding down.

Only after some time passed did Jeok Mahyeok understand the situation.

Apparently, what had just happened had been a trap intended to draw him out.

However, Jeok Mahyeok did not care about that.

All of his attention was focused solely on his younger sister, Jeok Hayeon.

“Hayeon….”

Hayeon was rolling only her eyes as she looked at him, her acupoints still sealed.

She was completely unharmed, without a single injury.

He was so relieved that he nearly burst into tears.

Seonu Jin grinned and said,

“The fact that you charged in to save this young lady rather than to attack me is what spared your life.”

“…Pardon?”

Then Jeok Mahyeok’s acupoints were immediately sealed.

---

Jeok Hagun, Jeok Mahyeok’s younger brother and Jeok Hayeon’s twin, was following them from a considerable distance.

It was unavoidable because his concealment skills had not yet reached Jeok Mahyeok’s level.

Then, at one point, Jeok Hagun suddenly saw it as well.

Seonu Jin suddenly attempted to kill Jeok Hayeon, and his hyung-nim, Jeok Mahyeok, charged at him.

Then he saw his brother being helplessly subdued by Seonu Jin.

“Haa.”

Jeok Hagun let out a sigh.

It seemed today was finally that day.

His hyung-nim, Jeok Mahyeok, and his younger sister, Jeok Hayeon, always dreamed of a future ten years from now.

A happy life they would enjoy after escaping the Sichuan Assassin Sect in ten years….

However, Jeok Hagun had never once believed in such a thing.

That they could escape the Sichuan Assassin Sect,

Or that they could survive for another ten years.

‘It makes no sense. It’s nothing but a dream.’

From the moment they swallowed the gu given to them by the Sichuan Assassin Sect, their lives were already as good as held within the sect’s grasp.

If they wanted to keep living, they had to obey. If they refused, they had to surrender their lives.

What future could such a life possibly have? And after killing so many people merely to survive, what right did they have to wish for future happiness?

Thus, Jeok Hagun wanted only one thing.

For however many days they had left, he wanted the three of them to remain together, laughing and joking together until they died on the same day and at the same hour.

That was all.

Jeok Hagun calmly muttered,

“So that day has finally come.”

Then he began charging toward Seonu Jin at full speed.

“Haaaaap!”

Pababak!

It was an absurdly reckless act for someone far weaker than his brother, Jeok Mahyeok, to charge at a Pinnacle Realm master without even concealing himself.

It looked more like suicide than an attack.

And that was precisely what it was.

Jeok Hagun intended to die first.

He felt sorry toward his hyung-nim, but rather than watch his brother and Hayeon die before dying himself, he preferred to be the first one killed.

He smiled inwardly and thought,

‘Sorry. In our next life, I’ll be born as the eldest and provide for both of you. Just as Hyung-nim did, even if my face is smashed with stones while begging or burned with fire for stealing food, I’ll always smile. I’ll never give up.’

The shocked face of his older brother, Jeok Mahyeok, entered his sight.

Apparently, his mute acupoint had not been sealed yet, because he shouted loudly.

“Hagun! No! Run away!”

Jeok Hagun grinned at him.

Where could he possibly go?

Without the two of them, he would never have existed.

And he would have no reason to exist from now on either.

The man named Seonu Jin watched his reckless charge with an expressionless face.

Then, in an instant, a sword strike flew toward him.

At a speed he could never possibly block.

Shuak!

So this was the end after all.

---

Thud!

The assassin boy struck by my sword qi was violently thrown back in the direction from which he had charged.

The hideously disfigured assassin then shouted desperately.

“Hagun!”

These days, I could control my sword qi according to my will, making it sharp or blunt, hard or soft.

Thus, the boy struck by my blunt and soft sword qi had merely lost consciousness.

However, the disfigured man had no way of knowing that, and thick streams of tears were already flowing from his eyes.

I glanced at him and smirked.

‘It seems this truly is the man.’

In my previous life, I once heard a story about an assassin from Sichuan Province.

It was the story of a disfigured assassin who had been forced to work as an assassin after his younger siblings were taken hostage, and who single-handedly erased the assassin sect he belonged to after his siblings were killed one day.

After killing every last member of the assassin sect, he had taken his own life while weeping beneath the pouring rain. That story had left a powerful impression on me.

I had also thought this.

It would have been wonderful if I had learned of such a talented individual sooner.

Had I obtained the information in advance and helped him, would he not have been a tremendous asset to the Seonu Clan, which had suffered from a severe shortage of talent at the time?

‘And now I have actually encountered him in this life.’

A smile escaped me naturally.

How should I describe it?

It felt like seeing again as an adult a toy I had wanted but could not afford during childhood.

Thus, had I never seen him, that would have been one thing, but now that he had caught my eye, I could never let him escape.

The disfigured assassin glared at me as though he wished to devour me and roared.

“You bastard! I will never let you live!”

I answered with a sardonic smile.

“How amusing. You are an assassin, yet you are angry with me? After trying and failing to kill me? Your shamelessness truly knows no bounds.”

The disfigured man seemed momentarily speechless and could not continue.

Apparently, he was not shameless enough to brazenly turn the situation against me.

“Th-That is… with y-your abilities, you would not need to kill us….”

“Why should I? Why should I spare assassins who tried to kill me?”

Unable to refute me, his hideous face twisted even further.

He was an amusing man to tease.

“Besides… it is not over yet.”

As I spoke, I pointed the tip of my sword toward the immobilized girl lying on the ground.

The man’s face instantly turned pale.

Then he began pleading desperately with me.

“Y-Young Master! No, Great Hero! That child is a pitiful girl who was forced to become an assassin because of her foolish older brother! Please! Please spare only that child!”

I snorted and answered.

“Would the people killed by that pitiful child think the same? How utterly shameless. Then again, I suppose that is why you became an assassin. Had you truly cared for your siblings, you should never have allowed them to do this, even at the cost of your life!”

As I spoke, I held my sword upside down above the girl’s abdomen.

The girl’s widened eyes, fixed upon my sword, shimmered with despair.

The disfigured man screamed as though struggling desperately.

“We had no choice! I said we had no choice! Those bastards forced my siblings to swallow gu as well, and they would die if we disobeyed! What could I possibly have done?!”

I smiled gently.

‘So that was the situation.’

His love for his siblings was certainly genuine, but I had doubted his character because he had allowed his siblings to become assassins. With such circumstances, however, there seemed to be more than sufficient room for leniency.

He had passed.

I suddenly withdrew my sword from above her stomach and asked him as though considering the matter.

“Then… if I do not kill your siblings, will you do anything I ask?”

His eyes widened as far as they possibly could, and he answered urgently.

“Anything! I will do anything!”

I now smiled at him.

Even to me, it felt like an exceedingly wicked smile.

Had Bi Sayoung seen me at that moment, would he not have cursed me as a villain straight out of the Blood Cult?