A Just Cause (5)

The two stayed and chatted for another four hours or so and then returned to the Seol Clan estate.

“Phew, I’m starving.”

The sun was setting behind the western hills.

Jin-hyeon washed up, and put on fresh clothes.

Do-min came over.

“Master, you should eat dinner.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of eating out.”

“Again? Geez, eating out so often isn’t good for you.”

Her tone, loose and light as always, showed she’d relaxed.

Jin-hyeon smiled, then looked at Do-min.

She tucked her neck in like a little turtle.

“…Did I do something wrong?”

“Hmm.”

Jin-hyeon stroked his chin, then nodded as if decided.

“Let’s go together.”

“Huh?”

“Remember the place where I bought the dumplings last time? Let’s eat there.”

“Ah!”

“Fresh-steamed dumplings taste best. Want to go?”

“Quarter of an hour — no, give me half a quarter of an hour, please!”

Do-min dashed out of the room.

Do-min, blowing on a steaming dumpling, had the look of pure bliss on her face.

“Ah! I’ve never tasted dumplings this good!”

The filling of the dumplings smudged her cheeks.

Jin-hyeon gave a half-amused scolding.

“Eat slower.”

“Nyom nyom.“

“If someone saw you they’d think I starved you on purpose. Hey, don’t just eat it like that. Dip it in this sauce. It’s made from soybeans.”

“It’s salty and perfect.”

“You food-ignoramus. Just a little dip, idiot.”

The owner laughed heartily.

“Seeing you enjoy it makes me proud.”

They finished the plate, along with the free extras, and stepped back onto the street.

Jin-hyeon pulled out seven coins from his purse.

“Here you go. That was delicious.”

“Thank you! Come again!”

They left with polite farewells. Do-min rubbed her belly with a blissful expression on her face.

“That was amazing. We should come often.”

With your salary, you could afford a fancy place, yet you pick this one?”

“…Master.”

Heh heh.

He looked around the busy marketplace, satisfied.

The marketplace bustled as ever, and among them stood warriors from the Heavenly Will Alliance, and unknown martial artists of Murim.

Yet ordinary folks laughed and chattered on.

‘It seems the Heavenly Will Alliance keeps a clear line between the common folk and Murim.’

“Let’s walk a bit outside the main road. It feels stuffy.”

“Hehe, sure.”

Do-min’s face lit up with happiness, but soon a trace of tension seeped in

“Min.”

“Yes, Master.”

“If something breaks out, don’t freak out. And…”

Jin-hyeon paused, composing himself.

“You can scold me.”

Do-min muttered.

“When has Master ever called me just out of boredom? Even the first time we went out to eat, you only called me along as a guide while looking over the Yeo Family ironworks’ wares.”

“…Well, yeah?”

“Isn’t today the same?”

He laughed at her perceptiveness.

“Do I owe you an apology?”

“Why would you apologize? You’re the master.”

She wore a mock-offended look.

Jin-hyeon tousled her hair and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s something men often get wrong, women really hate having their hair messed with.”

“Really?”

“If you’re handsome, it’s okay.”

“I’m not bad-looking, right?”

“Not just ‘not bad’.”

“When things calm down, let’s go drink at Purple Blue Pavilion. On the fifth floor.”

“Really?”

“I have money! Don’t worry.”

She smiled, then tensed.

“By any chance… is it about the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild?”

He was slightly surprised.

“You planned to surprise me today? How did you know?”

“You were at the center of smashing the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild, weren’t you?”

“Well, it kind of happened that way.”

“Unless every last one of their people’s been caught, I’ve heard some are still wanted. If it were me, I’d run to the ends of the continent. But since you’re saying it’s dangerous… who else could it be but the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild?”

He shook his head in appreciation.

“You could be a strategist somewhere.”

“I didn’t study much, but I’m good at reading situations.”

At that moment, an old man napping by a stall pulled out his long pipe and aimed it at Jin-hyeon.

Jin-hyeon moved faster and struck the pipe down.

A tiny poisoned dart from the pipe’s tip lodged in the old man’s thigh.

The old man’s face turned deathly pale. He struggled to rise from his seat, wavered—and then collapsed back down. His breath had ceased.

Jin-hyeon casually pulled the dart free.

The whole sequence was so smooth no one around noticed.

Do-min peered and saw the faint thread of drool on the old man’s mouth and felt something was off.

Jin-hyeon sniffed the dart tip.

‘There’s Meridian-Severing Water applied on it.’

It was the scent of a poison once used long ago by a seasoned Palace Lord, renowned for his mastery of poison. Its concoction was arduous, and its ingredients all but impossible to obtain

*The assassin was top-notch, but Meridian-Severing Water is a grade of poison only the very best handle…….’

*If it’s Mighty Tiger, they’d want me captured, not immediately killed.

A drunk man nearby was actually an informant for the Black Society. The scrap he’d been given listed assassins’ locations and movements.

‘They’re flailing.’

It turned out the assassins were sent by a high-ranking Heavenly Will Alliance Sichuan Branch official who’d taken bribes from the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild.

‘It’s not for revenge.’

What they sought was a ‘pretext.’

If Jin-hyeon died, they’d have an excuse to raid his place and seize things under the pretext of investigation.

‘That’s why pretexts are dangerous.’

It was unexpected that the assassins moved first, before the remnants of the Mighty Tiger could act. Someone organized and bold was clearly behind this.

“Master.”

Do-min looked sharply uneasy.

“Something feels ominous.”

Jin-hyeon smiled and stared into the alley.

“It’s fine. The venomous snakes snatching at me will be handled by the night cats.”

By “night cats” he meant the elite guards of the Gold Pillar — the top members of Black Society disguised as drunks.

“The real worry is the starving wolves who’ll rush in for the smell of money.”

“Let’s take a stroll until they show themselves.”