Chapter 508: Side Story 28 The Twins (6)
“Luoyang… you say?”
At Cheon Seonha’s suggestion to go to Luoyang, San Dojeon hesitated.
Now that Cheon Yura had given her permission, it didn’t really matter where they went, but still—Luoyang?
Originally, Luoyang hadn’t been geographically favorable enough for a major power to establish a stronghold there.
Although it carried the title of a thousand-year-old capital, for quite some time the heart of the Central Plains had been focused around the regions near Jiangnan and Jiangbei.
That was precisely why the Black Lotus Union, the original predecessor to the current Murim Alliance, had been able to set up in Luoyang—it was essentially an unclaimed territory.
But times had changed.
Luoyang, as it stood under the Murim Alliance, was no longer the Luoyang of the past.
It had surpassed even Beijing, Nanjing, and Kaifeng, becoming what was arguably the true capital of the Central Plains.
“Yeah. Is that a problem?”
“It’s not exactly a problem. If the two of you go, they’ll be happy. It’s just…”
San Dojeon glanced sideways with unease.
Beside the twins stood a boy named Cheon Yuseong, staring blankly up at the sky.
‘I can’t recklessly allow someone of unknown origin near the two of them.’
It had been a while since San Dojeon had felt such unease toward the unknown.
The boy exuded only a hollow emptiness, like a shell. There was no malice or hostility.
And that made it even more unsettling.
“Guardian.”
Yoo Cheong had approached silently and whispered to him.
“I can’t gauge him at all. How about you, Guardian?”
San Dojeon let out a soft sigh after a moment of silence.
“The same. I can’t sense a thing.”
“Will this be all right?”
“Of course not. But…”
San Dojeon’s eyes turned to the twins.
The two had already latched onto the boy’s sides, chatting away non-stop.
As if they’d reunited with a childhood friend—or rather, with a long-lost brother.
“They seem to like him a lot…”
“…”
Normally, someone like that should’ve been brought to the Main Cult for a thorough investigation.
But the so-called ‘runaway’ duo returning to the Main Cult wouldn’t be welcomed.
And if he tried to separate the boy from them now… who knew how the twins would react?
‘It would be chaos.’
Usually, Seonha was the one to cause trouble, but sometimes Seonyu joined forces.
When the two decided to throw a full-blown tantrum, even San Dojeon couldn’t handle them.
Then it happened.
“It’s fine.”
The boy, who had been beside Seonyu and Seonha, suddenly appeared right in front of San Dojeon.
“…?!”
Just a second ago, he was over there.
Displacement Illusion? No, it was beyond that.
It was as if he had folded space itself to appear here.
San Dojeon was horrified at the realization he had almost attacked the boy on reflex.
A glance to the side showed Yoo Cheong’s sword halfway out of its sheath.
Of course. Their opponent merely looked like a child.
As San Dojeon and Yoo Cheong seriously contemplated striking—
The boy spoke again.
“I have no intention of harming those children.”
Gone was the awkward, sluggish tone from earlier. His voice was calm and clear.
“I only wish to see the world, as I said. I have no other intentions. Please, won’t you cooperate with me?”
“…”
“…”
His eyes were still transparent, unreadable.
But for some reason, an irresistible, regal charisma radiated from him.
San Dojeon and Yoo Cheong both immediately thought of Jin Yeomyung—but then shook their heads.
No, this feeling… it was closer to Cheon Yura.
“…Understood.”
San Dojeon found himself speaking in honorifics without even realizing it.
The boy nodded, then turned to Yoo Cheong.
“Thank you. Would you consider coming along as well? You seem quite busy, but I’d be overjoyed if you joined us.”
“Th-that is…”
Yoo Cheong hesitated for a moment.
Unlike other free-roaming Clan Heads, he was tightly bound by responsibilities.
If he even set foot outside the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the Main Cult would go into an uproar.
And yet—
Why couldn’t he refuse?
“…Fine, I will.”
“Thank you.”
Nearby, Yoo Sogyo was shaking her head furiously, eyes wide.
But Yoo Cheong had a strong feeling that if he declined, he’d come to regret it deeply.
Even if there were consequences later, his heart genuinely wanted to grant the boy’s request.
‘Damn it. What, did he cast some kind of spell?’
Yoo Cheong scratched the back of his neck.
Of course, the boy had no reason to use sorcery just to ask them to come along. If anything, he seemed more likely to push them away.
“Then I’ll be in your care, child of the Yoo Clan.”
“…”
With that, the boy returned to the twins.
For some reason, Yoo Cheong was reminded of his father, the lazy drunkard who was always chasing alcohol.
Back between the chatter of the excited twins, the boy looked up at the sky and murmured softly.
“So clear. So very clear.”
And on his lips bloomed a faint but serene smile.
Luoyang, Henan Province.
Once hailed as a millennia-old capital, it had been pushed to the margins after the Song Dynasty.
And now, nearly a thousand years later, Luoyang had finally regained its former glory, thriving more than ever before.
“A report from the Third Military Office. It seems the expansion of the northern water source will exceed the budget.”
Baek Sang-ah skimmed through the document and dismissed it in a dry tone.
“Send it to the City Magistrate’s Office.”
“Urgent news from the Military Office. Some sects seeking alliance membership are causing a disturbance…”
Baek Sang-ah stared at the document with vacant eyes, then crumpled it up just as indifferently.
“Kick them out.”
“Is… is that really alright? There was a report that the Dang Clan was among them…”
Although it was the Dang Clan who had first been provoked, the incident had escalated because they had responded with excessive force.
Baek Sang-ah scoffed.
“What’s so great about the Dang Clan? Just kick them out.”
The clerk who gave the report blinked.
“Do they still think this is Sichuan? They might be kings in their own land, but what are they going to do in Luoyang?”
“Well… that’s true, but still…”
“If they refuse to leave and try to hold out, just crush them.”
Was that really okay?
Truthfully, the issue involving the Dang Clan had been somewhat intentional.
The Murim Alliance didn’t want them joining anyway.
Baek Sang-ah crumpled the already wrinkled report completely.
“If this were ten years ago, I might feel differently. But not now. Do they think I don’t know what those bastards are scheming?”
Ten years. It had been ten whole years.
The Sichuan Tang Clan had plenty of opportunities during that time to join the Murim Alliance.
But they had always refused.
For one reason. Though the merger had been semi-forced, the Evil Overlords of Heaven were already part of the Alliance, and when the Dang Clan expanded into Qinghai, they had devoured a good portion of the collapsed faction’s territory.
If the Dang Clan had joined the Alliance back then, they would’ve had to cough some of it back up.
So they had refused.
“And now that they’re losing the war with the Evil Overlords of Heaven, they come crawling to us looking for help?”
After much back-and-forth, the Evil Overlords of Heaven had managed to recover their power with the Murim Alliance’s secret support.
Of course, it was still less than half of their former prime, but it was enough to drive the Dang Clan out of Qinghai.
“They should’ve let go when they had the chance, like Emei or Azure Star Sect. But they got greedy, couldn’t drop what was in their hands, and now look at them.”
Baek Sang-ah waved her hand.
“Kick them out.”
“Understood, Alliance Leader.”
The clerk no longer protested.
Even without the Dang Clan business, the Alliance Leader was far too busy.
The population of Luoyang had already surpassed a million, and there were even rumors that the imperial court was considering relocating the capital here.
Naturally, the person who had essentially built modern Luoyang—Baek Sang-ah—was always swamped with work.
Her gaze shifted to someone beside her, buried in paperwork.
“Where’s that husband of mine right now?”
“Where else? Hyun’s probably looking after him.”
A similarly flat-toned voice answered.
The speaker was a powerful figure in her own right, second only to Baek Sang-ah in Luoyang's hierarchy…
But so what? They were all about to be dragged into the mess together anyway.
Thinking of someone surely lounging around, Baek Sang-ah ground her teeth.
“That damn husband of mine really needs to get to work…”
By now, he should’ve been dragged into this mess alongside her.
Unfortunately, he had gotten caught up in a whirlwind of external circumstances.
Second-in-command of the Alliance, Supreme Strategist of the Murim Alliance, Jegal Eun let out a sigh.
“He really should hurry up and hand over the Clan Head position.”
“What, is the So Clan that lacking in talent? Normally, people would be lining up to fight over the position of Clan Head.”
She spat in frustration.
Her own clan, the Namcheon Baek Clan, was a perfect example.
From the moment she gave up her claim, more than ten people had set their sights on the position.
“The current Hidden Shadow So Clan isn’t exactly a sweet honey pot.”
“Grrr! Damn Demonic Cult!”
Right now, the Seven Clans of the Demonic Cult were led by the greatest generation in their history.
Except for the Yoo Clan, all six of the existing Clans’ Heads had reached the Extreme Demon Realm before the age of forty.
And it was expected that in just twenty more years, most of them would reach the Transcendent Demon Realm.
That was how fierce the competition between clans had become.
Any ordinary prodigy didn’t even stand a chance anymore.
Even the Demonic Cult’s most promising prodigy, the Six Demon Dragons, weren’t spared from this brutal race.
In the past, reaching First Rate before the age of twenty had been enough to earn the title.
Now? Not even close.
You had to at least touch the peak realm to be considered “worth looking forward to.”
“With just one misstep, you're out. It’s practically a poisoned chalice at this point.”
“Ughhh!”
Considering the current state of competition among the Seven Clans, the fact that So Cheon was still clinging to the position was a miracle in itself.
If not for the title “Husband of the Murim Alliance Leader,” the So Clan Elders would’ve long since dragged him away.
“How are the negotiations going?”
“Somewhat positively. I mean, even they’d rather have someone who’s at least motivated than a totally uninterested Clan Head.”
“What about the ‘two people’?”
“Lady Myeong-oh still isn’t showing much reaction, but So Soryu’s different. Things are about to get interesting.”
Baek Sang-ah and Jegal Eun didn’t bother trying to persuade Gu Chil directly in order to oust So Cheon from his position as Clan Head.
Instead, they targeted the elders currently leading the So Clan and Gu Chil’s wives.
Of course, the best option would’ve been to win over Salma, the former Clan Head, but after passing the position to So Cheon, he had disappeared entirely from public view.
“Well, whatever. If chaos breaks out on all sides, even that old man won’t be able to stay still.”
According to Baek Sang-ah’s assessment, Gu Chil was a man with a strong sense of responsibility.
If the Hidden Shadow So Clan started falling behind the mainstream, he wouldn’t just sit by.
“As for other things worth paying attention to… perhaps the fact that incidents caused by ‘him’ are increasing?”
“Oh, that guy?”
“Yes. The Black Evil Phantom.”
As Luoyang had expanded rapidly over the past decade, side effects had increased just as sharply, including the influx of all kinds of bottom-feeders hoping to snatch up scraps.
Luoyang had become a melting pot of every kind of person imaginable—but even among them, a few stood out.
The Black Evil Phantom, who had made quite a name for himself over the past year, was one of them.
“What does that guy say?”
“They say he’s pretty good.”
“Hehh…”
A small note of admiration crept into Baek Sang-ah’s eyes.
If that evaluation had come from none other than So Cheon, then the man truly ranked among the best thieves in the entire Jianghu.
“They say the Magistrate’s Office can’t handle him anymore and wants to pass the case on to us.”
“He hasn’t killed anyone yet, right?”
“No, if he had, the Magistrate would’ve already thrown a fit.”
“Well… true enough.”
Still, it was about time to catch him.
Leaving him be was starting to put strain on public order.
‘Hmm… but something’s off.’
She hadn’t reported it yet, not fully convinced herself, but Jegal Eun had felt a suspicious sense of incongruity in several reports regarding the Black Evil Phantom.
His methods were… strangely similar to what So Cheon used to do in the past.
‘There’s no way someone who became Clan Head of the Hidden Shadow So Clan would go around pulling low-level thievery now.’
Even if the city’s population had grown, Luoyang was still second only to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s main headquarters in terms of density.
If the person wasn’t at least at Flower Realm level, or hadn’t mastered the So Clan’s secret Biheon Stealth Technique, they would’ve been caught long ago.
‘So who the hell is it?’
Jegal Eun’s eyes grew heavy with suspicion.