Chapter 57: Have You Been Well
Jang Hong held his breath as he observed the situation.
At first glance, the warriors of Twilight Pavilion seemed frightened. Yet, he knew there had to be far more Unorthodox Path men scattered all over Deyang.
“Soon their comrades will come rushing in.”
Jang Hong pressed Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom. The two appeared far too relaxed, which only heightened his unease.
Jin Seong-un gave a slight nod, his gaze shifting briefly toward a certain spot.
‘Assassins?’
The faint presences of two people lingered in the shadows of the alley. They were assassins of Azure Wild Valley, drawn here after hearing the earlier shouts of the Twilight Pavilion warriors.
Jin Seong-un glanced at Seo Yu-gyeom. Though no words were spoken, their eyes exchanged a mutual understanding.
In an instant, their roles were set.
Jin Seong-un lightly leaped toward the Twilight Pavilion warriors. He didn’t even need a blade. Using sheer speed, he thrust his fist forward.
The warrior at the front gasped and swung his sword.
Jjjeong—!
The fist shattered the sword. Without pause, it buried itself deep into the man’s abdomen.
“Keugh!”
The warrior spewed dark, clotted blood.
The remaining two swung their swords at the same time.
Jin Seong-un calmly picked up the broken blade.
With ease, he deflected the sword slashing from the left. Pushing aside the other sword coming from the right, he drove in close.
Puk—!
The broken blade pierced into the man’s chest.
At the same moment, Jin Seong-un grabbed his arm and swung it to the left. The sword in that hand instantly slashed across his comrade’s neck.
Before even two breaths had passed, the three men lay dead. The entire sequence flowed as naturally as if it were a single movement.
Jang Hong’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t caught every motion, but he understood that something extraordinary had occurred.
Then, it happened.
Two shadows fell silently on either side of Seo Yu-gyeom. Jet-black daggers lunged for his throat and heart.
No sound, no presence—only the swift and secretive movements of assassins.
Yet, just before the daggers touched him, both figures collapsed, lifeless. Two assassins lay on the ground, throats punctured clean through.
In Seo Yu-gyeom’s hand gleamed the Heaven-Slaying Dagger.
Clicking his tongue as he flicked off the blood, he muttered,
“You shouldn’t come with the wind at your back.”
Assassins of Deathshroud were always taught to account for the direction of the wind when striking.
A master with sharp senses could detect even the faintest changes in the air.
But such a level was far beyond the assassins of Azure Wild Valley.
Jang Hong blinked in disbelief.
It had all happened in but an instant.
Five men lay dead in the alley.
To Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom, it seemed as effortless as breathing.
Watching it all, Jang Hong realized,
‘This is the boat I must board.’
He was already marked by the Unorthodox Path of Deyang.
Whether he revealed what he knew of Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom or kept silent, death awaited him either way.
Jang Hong survived this long because he was quick-witted and had sharp instincts, despite his weak martial arts.
And from what he could see, Jin Seong-un held more of the initiative in their relationship.
So, he respectfully clasped his fists toward Jin Seong-un.
“Pickpocket… no, the so-called Gentleman Thief, Jang Hong. For this great hero’s lifesaving grace, I pledge my very life…”
Before he could even finish, Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom were already leaving the alley.
“W-wait, let me come with you!”
Jang Hong hurriedly followed.
Every fiber of his being screamed that stepping off this boat would mean certain death.
.
.
.
The three naturally made their way to the Deyang Inn.
No grand reason—only that it was the most comfortable place in Deyang.
The innkeeper welcomed Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom warmly. Ever since the Four Dragons River Gang incident, he had secretly regarded them as benefactors.
But when his gaze fell upon Jang Hong, his cheerful expression soured.
“Ah, so you’ve come too.”
It seemed Jang Hong was already notorious around town.
Jin Seong-un, watching this reaction, spoke up.
“Have you considered taking your family on a trip?”
“A trip?”
The innkeeper looked puzzled.
Jin Seong-un continued,
“Yes, you’ve been working tirelessly without rest…”
He hesitated for a moment. Honesty seemed best.
“I think something is about to happen in Deyang. This pickpocket here was already being chased by the Unorthodox Path. Likely because of us.”
The innkeeper’s expression grew grave. He wasn’t a martial artist, but decades of running an inn had taught him well about their ways.
He wasn’t worried for himself—but for Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom.
“Will you be alright?”
“I don’t know. But if they target those around us instead, things could get troublesome.”
Just as they had tried to kill Jang Hong.
If their pursuit intensified, they might even attack the Deyang Inn.
The innkeeper understood immediately.
“…The inn will be destroyed, won’t it?”
Inns often ended up destroyed.
Especially in a place like Deyang, where Unorthodox Path martial artists were common, it was even more frequent.
As a former inn waiter himself, Jin Seong-un understood the sentiment. But lying wasn’t an option.
“We’ll be careful. If it does get destroyed, we’ll compensate you.”
“Haha… no need for that. I do have a conscience. I doubt I could intervene, so I’ll just step aside when needed, yes?”
Jin Seong-un smiled bitterly and nodded.
The innkeeper, in turn, deliberately laughed more heartily and patted both young men on the shoulders.
After all, these two had saved him from that hellish Flame King Loans. Even if the entire inn were reduced to rubble and ash, he hoped they would remain safe.
An inn could always be rebuilt. But lives lost could never be restored.
The innkeeper packed a few belongings and left the inn.
Jang Hong glanced at the kitchen for a moment before speaking.
“Shall I make some food?”
“Now you’re even trying to steal someone else’s job?”
Seo Yu-gyeom, who said that, entered the kitchen.
He quickly checked a few utensils and then began cooking skillfully.
Watching this, Jang Hong carefully approached Jin Seong-un and asked.
“What did he used to do?”
“He was our inn’s cook.”
“……Cook? Our inn?”
“Oh, and I’m the waiter.”
“……”
Jang Hong blinked in confusion.
Since Jin Seong-un’s expression was so dry, there was no way of telling whether he was joking or being serious.
The office of the Master of the Hwa-un Trading Company.
The room was filled with a hazy smoke.
Hwa Yeon-seol was gazing out the window. Recently, she had started smoking Mangwoo Grass.
The first time she smoked it, her throat burned terribly and she wondered why anyone would do such a thing, but afterward, she often found herself craving it.
Especially on days like this, when the sky was gloomy and her mood sunk even lower.
‘So this is the end.’
No one else but the Vice Leader of the Heavenly Poison Alliance had personally come. From that moment on, all hope vanished completely.
The Hwa-un Trading Company was finished.
No matter how much she agonized through the night, as long as the Vice Leader sat entrenched, there was no countermeasure.
And there was no one to help. From the beginning, the Hwa-un Trading Company had kept its distance from the Orthodox Faction and instead drew closer to the Unorthodox Faction.
The Orthodox Faction had no justification to risk clashing with the Heavenly Poison Alliance just to save a trading company they weren’t close with. And the Unorthodox Faction feared the Heavenly Poison Alliance too much.
Hwa Yeon-seol slowly closed her eyes. Who would have thought that the Hwa-un Trading Company would disappear in her generation?
“Master.”
From outside came the voice of Ho Yeon-baek.
He was the only one who truly cared for her.
But lately, seeing him flatter the Vice Leader and struggle to gain his favor had been distasteful.
Even though she knew he did so forcibly, for her sake and for the Hwa-un Trading Company, it still pained her.
Hwa Yeon-seol promptly put on her outer robe and went outside. There, Chief Manager Ho Yeon-baek looked startled.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes, my heart feels stifled.”
“The Vice Leader will surely have you watched.”
Hwa Yeon-seol looked at him.
Since when had the Master of the Hwa-un Trading Company been unable to go out as she pleased?
Today, she would go out no matter what. She might soon die anyway, and she wanted to walk through the streets of Deyang where she had been born and raised, to etch the sight into her eyes one last time.
“Tell them to watch all they want.”
Ho Yeon-baek’s gaze wavered slightly.
She walked down the corridor, leaving him behind. After a brief hesitation, he followed and said.
“I will accompany you.”
“Why?”
Ho Yeon-baek scanned the surroundings and lowered his voice.
“Because it will be dangerous.”
There was no need for long explanations.
Hwa Yeon-seol wasn’t foolish enough not to understand.
From the perspective of the Heavenly Poison Alliance, quietly killing her was certainly one of the available options.
She let out a faint sigh. Still, he had been the Chief Manager who looked after her since she was a child, so she could understand his concern.
.
.
.
The two of them walked the streets of Deyang.
It had been a long time since Hwa Yeon-seol had stepped outside the trading company, and she felt her mood lift somewhat.
The air felt fresher, and people’s faces brimmed with vitality. Walking through the bustling marketplace brought back childhood memories.
She used to walk the streets holding her father’s hand. In her other hand, she always had candied hawthorn.
Now, her father was gone, and so was the candy.
Her heart felt heavy for no reason.
“Shall we buy some candied hawthorn?”
“……As you wish.”
Ho Yeon-baek was too busy staying alert to pay attention to anything else.
Soon, Hwa Yeon-seol turned her steps toward the direction where the candy shop was.
It was a shop she had often visited as a child. She didn’t know if it was still there.
After walking for some time, they reached a familiar street.
Several shops stood just as they had before. A hope grew in her heart that the candy shop might still be there too.
Narrowing her eyes, she peered into the crowd ahead.
“There it is!”
It was astonishing. Back then, an old woman had run the shop, and incredibly, she was still there selling candied hawthorn, looking just as Hwa Yeon-seol remembered.
Hwa Yeon-seol quickened her pace.
“Grandmother!”
The old woman recognized her and smiled brightly. More than ten years had passed, but Hwa Yeon-seol’s face wasn’t one that was easily forgotten.
As she chose her candy, Hwa Yeon-seol suddenly felt someone’s gaze and turned her head.
“……”
“……”
Her eyes locked with a man’s.
The candy she held slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.
Countless people bustled about the street, but the two of them seemed to exist in another space, staring only at each other.
It was as if time had stopped.
A storm of emotions flickered across Hwa Yeon-seol’s face. After much thought and turmoil, she spoke one word.
“Why……”
The bastard who had killed her father and fled.
The very one who had caused the crisis of the Hwa-un Trading Company.
For more than ten years, she had searched everywhere to kill him, but he was nowhere to be found.
Yet here he was, calmly eating candied hawthorn in Deyang.
Why?
She simply couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.
Seo Yu-gyeom’s reaction was no different.
He just blinked. Hwa Yeon-seol still carried traces of the girl she had once been.
Seo Yu-gyeom, who always seemed unshaken, was utterly flustered by this sudden encounter.
He wasn’t ready for this.
After a pause, he managed to say.
“……How have you been?”
In that moment, Hwa Yeon-seol’s expression twisted violently. It was not merely displeasure but the face of someone whose very life had been insulted.
Seo Yu-gyeom felt a sudden urge to slap his own mouth.
From afar, Jin Seong-un was approaching. Seo Yu-gyeom hoped he would rescue him from this situation.
“……”
But upon spotting them, Jin Seong-un immediately turned and walked the other way.
Jin Seong-un’s sense of timing often improved selectively.