Chapter 79: Seolyoung, Fails to Sleep

That night until dawn, Baek Seolyoung could not fall asleep.

No matter how much she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she remained wide awake. She lay flat on her bed, then on her stomach, rolled around, pulled the blanket over herself, then kicked it off. No matter how she tried, sleep would not come.

She brought over a thick Buddhist scripture she usually read when she could not sleep. Normally, she would fall asleep after one or two pages, but tonight she felt as if she could memorize the entire thing.

In the end, she closed the book and sat at the edge of her bed.

She kept recalling only what Lee Jaseung had said.

“Because you are so beautiful, you would end up ruining everything.”

And then his following words.

“From now on there will be things I cannot tell you before I act. Just know one thing. It is never because I look down on you. Okay?”

She was only able to nod at him.

The moment she heard him say she was beautiful, she felt as though she had been bewitched and could not think of anything else.

In any case, because of that she ended up accepting his words. From now on, even if he handled matters on his own, she couldn’t interfere or feel upset from it.

‘Ah, this isn’t how things are supposed to be.’

She got up from her bed and walked to the window.

She felt as if she had been tricked, yet there was a faint smile on her lips. Being tricked was one thing, but feeling happy was another.

‘Yes, just because we got married doesn’t mean we should suddenly do everything together. Especially since we married through a martial arts tournament. He would do his work and I would do mine..’

Someday the day would come when they would join forces and work together.

In any case, if he was meeting the Elders and division leaders of the Murim Alliance…

Baek Seolyoung knew exactly what she had to do.

* * *

That afternoon, Dan Woobin came with new information.

“Lord Baek is meeting with the Murim Alliance’s great division leaders.”

Lee Jaseung smiled.

He thought that that’s what she’d do. When provoked, she tried to change. He had always given her that push, but now that push was returning to him.

She was making him recall how he used to be in the beginning.

Dan Woobin cautiously asked.

“Should we just leave her be?”

It was not part of the original plan, so he was concerned.

Lee Jaseung nodded.

“It might even produce better results than if we moved.”

“You truly believe that?”

Liking Baek Seolyoung was one matter, but this was strictly business.

“I believe it. She is far more capable than we think.”

Only then did Dan Woobin’s tense expression relax.

“If our Lord believes that, then I believe it as well.”

Dan Woobin knew he was intelligent, but when it came to insight about people, he could not compare to Lee Jaseung.  

“Rumors have spread that the Northern Sky Clan is being generous and spending freely. In this kind of environment, people will naturally begin to expect something.”

It was a tactic possible only because the Murim Alliance was so corrupt.

Dan Woobin then presented the next step.

“It is fundamentally impossible to make the Demonic Cult and the Murim Alliance clash. Both sides know what the outcome would be. Therefore, we must push them into a situation where conflict is inevitable.”

Lee Jaseung nodded. Among the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic Cult, his side was the weakest, so this was the best possible strategy.

“If you wish to take control of the Murim Alliance, you must start from its core. To do that, we must divide the Alliance Leader and Ban Yeo.”

Lee Jaseung nodded again. It was the most certain method, but also the hardest. Moreover, the Alliance Leader and Ban Yeo were much more difficult to deal with than Yeo Beom.

“Do you have a plan?”

“We use the fear that someone is trying to kill them.”

“Shake the Alliance Leader’s mind?”

Ban Yeo was the second most powerful man in the Murim Alliance. He was the only one who could aim for the leader’s seat.

But Dan Woobin shook his head firmly.

“No.”

Lee Jaseung smiled faintly. When Dan Woobin went beyond his expectations, that was when his true value shone.

“Many say Ban Yeo is more meticulous and capable than the Alliance Leader. They believe that if he changed his mind, he could take the seat. But is that really the case?”

“You think it’s not.”

“Yes, I do not.”

He asked why he was so certain.

“What makes you think that?”

“To rise to where he is now, Ban Yeo has seized and destroyed everything that stood in his way. For such a ferocious beast to be content as second-in-command, what could the reason be?”

Lee Jaseung’s eyes gleamed as he answered.

“Because the Alliance Leader is stronger.”

“Exactly. That’s it. He may be utterly corrupt, but he has something even Ban Yeo dares not challenge.”

Lee Jaseung nodded.

What Dan Woobin referred to was not just martial prowess. It was something else, a secret that upheld that immense corruption.

“Therefore, we must shake the weaker side, Ban Yeo. This is how the story should go. Not that Ban Yeo seeks the leader’s seat, but that the Alliance Leader seeks to eliminate Ban Yeo!”

Both rumors aimed to create conflict between the two, but the latter was far more likely to succeed.

Lee Jaseung spoke firmly.

“Do as you have planned.”

* * *

That night, Baek Seolyoung came to Lee Jaseung’s room.

“Shall we have a drink?”

She shook a bottle in her hand and added.

“Of course, you’ll have to be ready to deal with my drunken antics.”

Lee Jaseung chuckled at her joke.

“Come in.”

She entered and looked around the room.

“Where are the disciples?”

“I got a few more rooms. Elder Yeo gave them to me.”

She smirked.

“Seems the alcohol worked.”

Politics through entertainment was not her way, but she was trying not to cling to her own methods. Her visit tonight was related to that.

“I actually came because I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

Lee Jaseung could guess the reason. It was probably about her meeting with the division leaders today.

“I hope you will not misunderstand.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“You said I was in the way.”

“I said your beauty was in the way, not you.”

She looked at him for a moment, then spoke.

“I met with the Murim Alliance division leaders today. I hosted a banquet.”

Lee Jaseung pretended not to know and replied.

“The division leaders? Why?”

“Why else? To bring them to our side.”

This time, he stared at her.

After a moment, he nodded.

“I see.”

“You are not angry? You said being in the way meant I should stay out of it. Yet I went ahead as if to rebel.”

“Was it to rebel?”

“No. I came to say it was not.”

After a moment of looking at her, Lee Jaseung suddenly said this.  

“Shall we have a match?”

“What?”

She jumped in surprise.

“Why are you so shocked? I mean spar.”

“Oh! Ah, yes. Let’s.”

Her face turned bright red. She had taken his words in a different sense.

She kept falling for his sudden advances. It was a string of things uncharacteristic of her… but it could not be helped.

She was beginning to think that perhaps people could also have predator-prey relationships like in the animal world.

As if to hide her embarrassment, she left the room first, and he followed.

They stood facing each other in the training yard.

Having regained her composure, she tried a little counterattack.

“So it was true huh?”

“What was?”

“That you beat your disciples mercilessly. Are you going to beat your wife for disobeying too?”

Lee Jaseung chuckled. It had to be Mujin’s teasing.

“Are you a woman who gets beaten when struck?”

“Of course not.”

They both smiled.

He motioned for her to come. She drew her sword and leaped forward, adding a quip.

“For the disciples’ revenge!”

After a quarter hour later, she lay on the ground, panting.

“Revenge will have to wait!”

She couldn’t even graze Lee Jaseung’s clothing.

Still, it had been a spar intense enough to drench her in sweat. She had never fought so hard in her life.

He lay down beside her.

A breeze blew, stirring their collars.

“Ah! this feels good.”

After watching him train, she had desperately wanted to practice martial arts herself. But she had been too busy, so now she felt relieved.

At the same time, she had felt frustration during the spar. She thought she could do better, but her body would not respond. It was a frustration born from watching his training.

Her good mood was not only from the spar.

She liked the feeling that she was changing. She was starting to make jokes, and in moments where she would once have flared up in anger, she could now calmly assess the situation.

It felt like maturity, and also like becoming stronger in life.

And then there was the cool night breeze refreshing her heart.

While she was looking up at the night sky, he suddenly spoke.  

“Earlier, you asked why I wasn’t angry, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s say I let it slide this time. In return, will you do the same for me once later?”

She sat up and asked.

“What do you mean?”

Looking down at him, she tried to read his expression but could not figure out his intent.

“Exactly what I said. If there is something to be angry about, hold it in for me. Just once.”

She gave him a slightly puzzled look. He shrugged as if it was nothing and spoke again.

“In life, there will be times where you become angry after all.”

She chuckled. Seeing him say such a thing with a shrug felt strangely unfitting, and that made it seem cute.

She lay back down again and said in a good mood.  

“Fine, I’ll give you a pass.”

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