Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker/Notes : Saphartlantis
========================
Chapter 401: Sorry, but it’s just the beginning
At the words heard from outside, the expressions of the three hostages simultaneously hardened.
Correct answer?
If they had even the slightest ability to think, they would have realized that a rescue team coming to save them would not have knocked so politely. They would have broken down the door and stormed in.[a]
Decisively, joy filled the woman’s face.
‘Damn it! They’re supposed to be on our side!’
Yang Joong let out a deep sigh.
‘But who in the world is she so happy to see?’
Creeeak.
As the door opened, Lee Ahn threw herself toward the person standing there.
"Young Master!"
Without thinking, she jumped into Geom Mugeuk’s arms.[b]
"I missed you!"
Though she had hugged him many times before, there had never been a time when she was so glad and happy as today.
Yes, the correct answer had arrived!
No, even if it were the wrong answer, what would it matter? It was Geom Mugeuk. Geom Mugeuk, appearing at such a difficult time, can resolve anything.
Watching the scene, the three hostages felt a mixture of fear at the arrival of the new people and, at the same time, envy toward the man.
‘Who in the world is he, that such a beautiful woman is so delighted to see him?’
Looking at his face, he was a young and handsome youth.
Lee Ahn, belatedly standing behind Geom Mugeuk, discovered Song Sa-hyk looking at her.
"Ah! Great Drunken Demon!"
Startled, Lee Ahn leaped away from Geom Mugeuk, her face turning red.
The woman who, just moments ago, had been debating whether to cut off their arms or necks was now showing such a shy side!
But that was not the problem for the three hostages right now.
‘Great Drunken Demon?’
The three who had been captured looked at each other with puzzled expressions. They looked at each other with faces saying, ‘Did I hear wrong?’ After all, there was only one Great Drunken Demon they knew.
Their gazes, filled with desperate hope that they had misheard, turned again toward Song Sa-hyuk.
The handsome middle-aged man, despite not displaying any particular aura, somehow possessed a presence that drew attention. As they watched his decadent air and hollow gaze, their eyes inevitably shifted toward the liquor bottle hanging from his waist.
Even if they knew nothing else, they knew that for sure. That Great Drunken Demon’s unique weapon was a liquor bottle.
‘We didn’t hear wrong!’
Their guts turned cold.
‘The Demon Supreme has come? Here? But why?’[c]
In the martial world, the terror inspired by the Demon Supremes was beyond immense. When Song Sa-hyuk glanced at them, the three hurriedly bowed their heads and avoided his gaze.
The Great Drunken Demon looked at Geom Mugeuk. His gaze said:
It’s only you who mistreats me. Outside, I’m this kind of person.
Geom Mugeuk smiled at him. Outwardly he acted calm, but knowing his true feelings, he tried to smile more often for his elder borther.
Geom Mugeuk asked Lee Ahn,
"Exactly who were you trying to rescue?"
"As expected! You knew without me even telling you."
Lee Ahn explained why she had come all the way to this place. It had all started when, on her way to the place where Seo Jin, the younger sibling of the Spirit Master, was, she happened to meet a certain woman.
"......While drinking a glass of water, I ended up hearing her story, and that’s how I got here. You could say it was a very expensive glass of water."
Geom Mugeuk understood. He knew that this incident clearly explained what kind of person Lee Ahn was.
It wasn’t simply because she was hired to guard, or because it was her duty that she threw herself to save him. It was because she was the kind of person who would willingly put her life in danger for others.
"Was handling matters like this always so difficult? I always thought it was easy because whenever I saw you, Young Master, you took care of things just like that."
Lee Ahn sighed as she looked at the three people she had kidnapped. Everything had been fine until she had captured them. She had thought it would be a smooth exchange of hostages, and that she would leave with the rescued individuals.
"Who could have guessed? That they'd even abandon their own children. That’s why I was considering just killing these guys and leaving."
Those words, which did not reflect her true feelings, were said for the ears of the captured three. No matter what, it was necessary to create an atmosphere of fear.
Now, Geom Mugeuk smoothly took over the situation.
"May I take care of things from here?"
"Please, by all means!"
It was Geom Mugeuk — what was there to worry about? It was of course impossible, but even if he somehow completely messed up the situation, what would it matter? To her, Geom Mugeuk was that kind of existence.
Geom Mugeuk approached the three people and whispered quietly.
"You guys were really in big trouble if I hadn’t come. That pretty lady, you don’t know how scary she can be, slicing things clean off."
From behind, Lee Ahn said,
"I can hear you, you know."
At this moment, the three hostages were thinking similar thoughts.
‘Who in the world is this young man? One of the Great Drunken Demon’s subordinates?’
But somehow, it didn’t seem that way. Given that the woman had called him Young Master, he seemed to be of high status....
However, no matter how they looked at him, he didn’t seem to have trained in martial arts at all. His appearance and aura were exactly like that of a noble family’s son. But would a noble family’s son associate with the Demon Supreme and commit such acts?
Anyway, what they had to do was clear. Yang Joong made up his mind to somehow survive by using this variable.
‘I will survive by using this guy.’[d]
Yang Joong asked respectfully,
"Who might you be, Young Hero?"
Suppressing the urge to snap, ‘Who the hell are you?’ he did his best to act polite.
"I am your lifesaving benefactor."
It was incomprehensible, but at least it meant he intended to save them, so now was the time to act.
"If you save me, I will grant whatever you wish."
"Whatever?"
"Yes. If you want money, I will give you money. If you want martial arts, I will pass on our sect’s martial arts. If you want fame, I will help you gain fame."
For now, he made reckless promises, not knowing whether he could keep them or not. His life was at stake—what promise could he not make?
Lee Ahn, standing behind, smiled faintly. Who was he going to give money to, and to whom was he going to teach martial arts? Besides, even if all the members of their sect were combined, they still wouldn’t amount to a smidge of his fame.
"Can’t you give me all three?"
"I will give you all three!"
But soon, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned suspicious.
"But didn’t you say your father refused the hostage exchange? Would someone like that really give money and pass down martial arts?"
"That’s......!"
Truly, that was the most shameful and infuriating point in Yang Joong’s life.
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk casually made a suggestion.
"How about this instead? Tell us where the people we need to rescue are imprisoned. Then we’ll save them. After that, we’ll release you guys. Our goal is to rescue them anyway."
The moment she heard those words, Lee Ahn realized.
‘Ah! That was the right answer.’
Coaxing him to reveal the location where the captives were held, and rescuing them directly.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
It was such an obvious plan that she should have thought of it first. Yet, surprisingly, she hadn’t.
The idea of exchanging this side and that side had consumed her thoughts so much that no other ideas had entered her mind. Their opponent was a heartless figure who could even abandon their own child, yet she had been fixated on making a proper exchange. No wonder things hadn't gone smoothly.[e]
If Geom Mugeuk hadn’t come, she really would have been kicking her blanket in regret years later, muttering, ‘Ah, why didn’t I think of that?’
‘As expected, being with Geom Mugeuk put my mind at ease.’
At that moment, Lee Ahn’s gaze met Song Sa-hyuk’s. The Great Drunken Demon wore an expression that said, ‘I know that feeling too.’
Right now, they were watching so comfortably, but what if the Young Cult Leader had been a reckless fool? If they had to follow after that fool cleaning up the disasters they caused? It was truly something she didn’t even want to imagine.
"We have to survive first, right?"
Geom Mugeuk’s persuasion was also for Lee Ahn’s sake. She surely wanted to rescue the captured woman’s husband, and the others, no matter what.
The problem was, even if they released Yang Joong, the Northern Blood Gate would never release the captives. If they had intended to release them, they would have agreed to the hostage exchange from the start.
According to Lee Ahn, they had gathered people with unusual constitutions, so it seemed they were conducting some kind of experiment.
Surely, they were plotting something taboo that must not be revealed to the outside world.
After hesitating for a while, Yang Joong cautiously spoke.
"They’ve probably already been moved."
By now, he was already half-persuaded.
"You know where they would have moved them, right?"
Of course, Yang Joong had a rough idea of several possible locations.
"Even if I tell you, the guards are too tight. You won’t be able to rescue them."
Geom Mugeuk turned to look at Song Sa-hyuk and said,
"Didn’t you hear who he is earlier?"
Yang Joong’s heart began to pound. He was terrified of the Great Drunken Demon, and afraid he would end up confessing everything.
"Besides, if we get caught after going there, wouldn't that be even better for you? Why? Afraid of being treated like a traitor? Later you can just say it like this — that you told us the location in order to trap us."
Geom Mugeuk even laid out an escape route for him.
"If I really tell you, will you release us?"
"I’ll release you."
"How can I trust that?"
"Because I’m promising you I will."
Looking at those clear eyes and that kind and handsome face, it felt like he really would keep his promise. But could one trust someone just based on their appearance? Come to think of it, they still didn’t even know who this person was.
As Yang Joong’s hesitation dragged on, Geom Mugeuk coldly turned around.
"Then just die. What are you waiting for? Kill all three of them!"
At Geom Mugeuk’s command, Lee Ahn drew her sword and quickly approached the three captives. A dense, unwavering killing intent surged toward them, and Yang Joong hastily shouted,
"I’ll tell you!"
In the end, Yang Joong confessed the locations. Not just one place, but several possible places where they might be.
"If the locations you gave are correct, then when you open your eyes again, you’ll find yourself waking up inside one of Northern Blood Gate’s rooms."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three gusts of internal energy simultaneously shot out, striking their acupuncture points. The captives fell into a deep sleep just like that.
Of course, even if the locations were correct, there were no plans to release them so easily. First, they would negotiate with Northern Sea Ice Palace and squeeze out everything they could get.
And that wasn’t the end. There was still the matter of punishing Northern Blood Gate for whatever plot they had been cooking up.
Lee Ahn let out a sigh and said,
"Why couldn’t I think of this from the start?"
"Even if you had, it wouldn’t have worked then."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"They wouldn’t have confessed. They would’ve stubbornly denied everything to the end. And it’s not like you have the personality to torture people."
"Ah! He confessed after confirming his father had abandoned him!"
"That’s right."
"I didn’t even think about that part! Why does the answer always run away from me?"
Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk with newfound admiration.
Geom Mugeuk didn’t forget to boast.
"Your gaze, full of admiration, always makes me feel good."
After exchanging a few jokes, the three of them stepped outside.
Outside, the snow, which had stopped briefly, was now falling heavily once more.
"We’re really getting more than enough snow to look at."
Lee Ahn looked up at the sky with a bright face. Geom Mugeuk could once again feel that Lee Ahn matched well with winter.
Lee Ahn ran out into the snow-covered yard.
Watching Lee Ahn run around like an excited puppy, Geom Mugeuk spoke to Song Sa-hyuk.
"You take care of rescuing those people. I’m going to meet the Young Palace Master."
The Great Drunken Demon silently nodded and walked away into the snow without a word.
Lee Ahn, who had been happily running around, paused to watch Song Sa-hyuk. Was it because she had never properly seen his back before? Or was it because of the snow falling so heavily? Lee Ahn thought that the sight of the Great Drunken Demon walking alone through the snow somehow looked lonely today.
"Is this the kind of problem that can be solved with just one sentence, ‘Take care of it’?"
"Why do you think the Demon Supreme is called the Demon Supreme?"
"Thanks to that, I’m free now!"
Lee Ahn flopped down into the snow.[f]
Looking up at the snowing sky, Geom Mugeuk said,
"Sorry, but it’s just the beginning."
* * *
At Geom Mugeuk’s message asking for a meeting, Han Seol arrived at the meeting place with Chan.
There, two people were waiting.
The moment Han Seol saw the woman standing next to Geom Mugeuk, she could sense it. That this woman, wearing a bamboo hat and a face veil, was the subordinate who had kidnapped the Northern Blood Gate Lord’s child.
‘So the subordinate was a woman.’
The two were speaking comfortably. Even from a distance, it was clear how relaxed their relationship was. They seemed almost like friends or siblings.
‘As expected, he lacks authority.’[g]
In front of the Great Drunken Demon too, and now in this situation as well.
Naturally, Han Seol began to think that the rumors and achievements about the Young Cult Leader might have been exaggerated. After all, the Demonic Cult could easily fabricate such things.
When Han Seol approached them, Lee Ahn respectfully clasped her fists and greeted her.
"I greet the Young Palace Master."
Han Seol slightly nodded in response, wearing an expression that said a subordinate was nothing more than a subordinate.
From her demeanor, Geom Mugeuk did not sense aloofness or a sense of superiority. What he felt now was emptiness.
"Why did you ask to meet?"
At Han Seol’s question, Geom Mugeuk immediately got to the point.
"I will return the Northern Blood Gate Lord’s child."
With a sense of cautious hope that things might unexpectedly go well, Han Seol asked calmly,
"Of course, there must be conditions, right?"
"Naturally."
"Go ahead."
"First, you must not hold my subordinate accountable for the kidnapping."
Han Seol’s gaze briefly shifted to Lee Ahn and then returned to Geom Mugeuk.
"I wonder if Northern Blood Gate will accept that."
Though she said that, Northern Blood Gate would have no choice but to accept. They could blame and curse the incoming storm all they wanted, but it was not something they could confront head-on out of anger.
"Fine. We’ll accept. Where is Young Master Yang?"
"There’s one more condition."
"What is it?"
"Allow us to stay at the Northern Sea Ice Palace. We wish to stay for a while and investigate the death of the Hundred Liquors Snow Courtyard Master."
Han Seol firmly refused.
"Our palace does not allow outsiders to stay."
"Those are my only two conditions."
"That is not something I can decide. I will discuss it with the Palace Master and inform you."
Just as Han Seol was about to turn away, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
"I think this is something you could decide on your own. How about you make the decision and persuade the Palace Master? As the Young Palace Master, you must have at least that much authority."
It was a provocation if anything, but Han Seol did not let her pride get in the way.
"I do not have such authority."
"Then take this opportunity to gain it."
Han Seol’s gaze grew colder.
"Isn’t that a little too transparent of a scheme?"
"I see it as an opportunity for you, Young Palace Master."
"What kind of opportunity?"
"The opportunity to officially negotiate with the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. The Palace Master will surely pay attention to both the process and the result. She may even be hoping to see you handle this matter proactively."
Suddenly, Han Seol imagined herself reporting back.
I made this decision independently. Please trust and support me, Palace Master.
How would her mother react to those words?
That was the problem. She couldn’t predict it at all. After all these years, she still didn’t understand what kind of person her mother was.
"I will contact you again."
Just as she was about to turn away—
"May I say something?"
It was Lee Ahn, who had remained silent until now, stepping forward. She slowly removed her bamboo hat and face veil.
Han Seol could not tear her gaze away from Lee Ahn’s face for a moment. It wasn’t admiration for her beauty.
One thought crossed Han Seol’s mind.
She is someone of a different nature from me.
When had she last had such a thought? Long ago, toward her mother, perhaps?
At the same time, doubt arose. Why was she having this thought while looking at an ordinary subordinate of the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader? Why was she feeling such a profound resonance? Even she could not understand herself.[h]
"What is it you wish to say?"
It was the moment when the cold and warm gazes of two contrasting women met for the first time.
[a]That just mean you're stupid XDXDXD
[b]Awwww, so cute ^^
[c]To judge you for your sins !!!
Also, to grieve and catch the one responisble for a dear friend's death.
[d]And that's precisely what Mugeuk pushed you to think ^^
[e]Classic case of tunnel vision.
[f]An angel drawing a snow angel ^^
[g]It's not that he lack it, he just doesn't use it often. No need since he have everyone support and loyalty.
[h]Interesting, Lee Ahn might have an easier time to convince her than Muguek.