Chapter 80: Woobin, Discovers a Secret

The work of digging into Ban Yeo’s background began in earnest.

Naturally, it was carried out with the utmost caution and secrecy. Only the very best among the elite of Three-Eyed Pavilion were mobilized, and the elite warriors of the Divine Sword Regiment and the Iron Cavalry Regiment protected their safety.

The first lead came from a completely unexpected source.

When Dan Woobin entered Lee Jaseung’s office with results in hand, Lee Jaseung had been in the middle of discussing matters of the Divine Sword Regiment with Mujin.

After greeting Lee Jaseung, Dan Woobin turned to Mujin with a surprised expression.

“You’re actually working?”

Mujin grinned as he replied.

“You just don’t know me well enough. Work and training are meant to be done where no one can see. Out of sight, I work like an ox.”

“That’s funny. Didn’t you once tell me that love and training are meant to be done where no one can see? That out of sight, you’d only be like a pair of mandarin ducks in love?”

“That’s just your prejudice.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

After exchanging their usual banter, Dan Woobin reported with a serious face. The report began with a man seemingly unrelated to Ban Yeo.

“A few days ago, West Wind Captain Yang Seokwon pawned his sword at the market for money.”

“Is that a big deal? That sort of thing can happen anytime.”

At Mujin’s comment, Dan Woobin replied.

“Of course. But normally, people don’t pawn a treasured sword handed down in the family. Well, maybe you would, just to drink. Wait, what’s with that look? Don’t tell me… you already did!?”

“Hehe.”

Shaking his head as if he really could not be helped, Dan Woobin continued his report to Lee Jaseung.

“It turns out his son was in a desperate situation because of gambling debt.”

Lee Jaseung tilted his head.

“If he’s the West Wind Captain of the Murim Alliance, he should have been able to resolve that without trouble, no?”

“Exactly. A mere gambling den rabble would not dare lay a hand on the family of a Murim Alliance Captain. So why did he have to pawn his sword?”

When Dan Woobin posed the question, Mujin chimed in.

“To take revenge and also try his luck at gambling himself?”

“Yang Seokwon isn’t that kind of man.”

“Then why?”

“It turns out he got tangled up with some truly vicious men. One of them is called Baektong, who makes a living preying on martial artists.”

Mujin interjected as he listened.

“Still, to target a Captain of the Murim Alliance? That’s bold.”

“He’s raising a very capable bear.”

“A bear?”

“He brought in the Bear Tyrant.”

Even Mujin had heard of the Bear Tyrant, a rather famous master-class warrior. He was a master of fist techniques, and he had once swept through the North River Fortress.

“Bear Tyrant? Why would he?”

“I don’t know. In any case, that’s why Yang Seokwon couldn’t resolve it recklessly. But…”

Dan Woobin trailed off again, rubbing his chin in thought.

A faint smile appeared on Lee Jaseung’s lips. This was what Dan Woobin did when he already knew the answer, especially when that answer was very important.

It was his way of showing that the information had been obtained through significant effort, so his intelligence and hard work should be acknowledged.

“Why would such a vile man target Yang Seokwon’s son? The Yang household is poor, with that pawned sword being all they had.”

Lee Jaseung’s eyes glinted as he answered.

“The goal wasn’t money.”

“That’s right. In reviewing all the information on the Bear Tyrant for this case, I found something interesting. When he was young, his mother committed suicide. Do you know why?”

In his work, Dan Woobin was almost obsessive about leaving nothing unchecked. This time was no exception.

If Baektong targeted Yang Seokwon, most people would have focused solely on Baektong and Yang Seokwon. But Dan Woobin had investigated the Bear Tyrant’s family history as well.

“It was because the Bear Tyrant’s father became addicted to gambling, which destroyed the family. Would someone like that really work with Baektong, who makes money through gambling? Especially with his temperament, the Bear Tyrant is not the type to yield to threats.”

“You’re saying there’s someone behind him?”

At Lee Jaseung’s question, Dan Woobin nodded firmly.

“Yes. So I dug deeper.”

From his lips came a piece of information that could be called the conclusion of the day.

“In his difficult youth, the man who took the Bear Tyrant in and raised him was none other than Ban Yeo. Bear Tyrant is absolutely loyal to him. Because it happened when he was very young and because Ban Yeo raised him in complete secrecy, almost no one outside knows about this. He clearly raised him to use in situations like this.”

“What a ruthless man.”

At Mujin’s remark, Dan Woobin replied.

“He’s dangerous. Leaving the Bear Tyrant outside and having him associate with someone like Baektong is to erase any link to himself. If necessary, he can have him eliminated alongside Baektong. And even if things go wrong, the Bear Tyrant would never reveal that Ban Yeo was behind it. He’s protecting himself with multiple layers.”

This time, Dan Woobin addressed Lee Jaseung directly.

“There are probably quite a few people who have been caught in the same way by Baektong and the Bear Tyrant. The moment they give in to blackmail and leak information, they can never escape their web.”

Leaking Murim Alliance information was a serious crime. One could be executed or imprisoned for life.

In the end, information itself was not what they were after. As the second-in-command of the Murim Alliance, Ban Yeo could access almost any information he wanted.

What he needed was not information but loyal pawns within the Murim Alliance who would move according to his orders. Puppets with proper weaknesses.

A strange light flashed in Lee Jaseung’s eyes.

“So the secret to how Ban Yeo became the second-in-command of the Murim Alliance is finally revealed.”

* * *

“Please, just give him a little more time. He’s still a foolish child,”

Yang Seokwon said in a pleading voice. But Baektong’s reaction was cold.

“I hear you even sold your sword. But you haven’t even repaid the interest, let alone the principal.”

“That’s…!”

Yang Seokwon’s face stiffened. He bit back the curses that almost spilled out. The interest was outrageous. In less than a month, it had grown to match the principal.

The problem was that his son had signed a loan note. Not only was the interest absurd, but the note also had a ridiculous clause stating that if payment was not made in time, he would provide physical labor.

When he signed it, he probably thought it simply meant doing some work. But it was not that simple. He might not even have read it carefully enough to realize such a clause existed.

Even with a legitimate loan, he was the West Wind Captain of the Murim Alliance. He was not someone who could be looked down on.

The only reason he endured this was because of the man standing behind Baektong.

It was the Bear Tyrant, glaring at him.

The man radiated killing intent so fierce that it seemed like if Yang Seokwon said a single word, the Bear Tyrant would rush in and smash his skull.

In truth, it wasn’t fear that kept him bowing his head. If he brought the entire West Wind Squad and overturned the place, he could probably kill the Bear Tyrant.

But if things went wrong, his only son might die. For some time now, his son had not returned home. He was certain these men had him.

“If you don’t pay in three days, I’ll sell your son to an assassin organization.”

“You bastard!”

Smack!

Baektong slapped Yang Seokwon hard across the face.

Just as Yang Seokwon’s eyes tore wide with fury,

Smack!

Baektong struck the other cheek.

“Do you want your son dead!?”

The strength left Yang Seokwon’s grip on his sword hilt.

Since becoming a Murim Alliance warrior, he had never suffered such humiliation.

“Kgh.”

A strained groan escaped his lips. His son might have caused this trouble by falling into gambling, but until now, he had been a dutiful child who had never caused any problems.

Baektong’s tone softened slightly.

“What a foolish man you are. If you don’t have money, bring something of value instead.”

Yang Seokwon jerked his head up.

“Something of value?”

“You know what I mean, don’t you?”

Yang Seokwon studied Baektong’s sly expression, then his eyes widened.

“You mean… to steal Murim Alliance information?”

Baektong only smiled, but it was clearly an affirmative smile.

Before Yang Seokwon could shout in refusal, Baektong spoke first.

“Loyalty and honor are nice, but your son’s life should come first, right?”

Yang Seokwon grinded his teeth.

He had lived his whole life as a Murim Alliance warrior, knowing only how to fight, never how to deal with matters like this.

Baektong patted his clothes smooth.

“Come now, let’s settle this nicely.”

Instead of his earlier menace, he now adopted a polite tone.

“Captain Yang, it’s a world run by corrupt men anyway. Trying to stay clean on your own is just foolish. Think carefully.”

Baektong and the Bear Tyrant left.

Yang Seokwon, still stunned, slammed the table to release his pent-up rage.

Bang! Crash! Bang!

The furniture in the room was destroyed under his fists, but that did nothing to ease his anger. If anything, it only grew worse. He was furious.

Just then, someone entered.

Yang Seokwon shouted angrily.

“Who are you!?”

It was none other than Lee Jaseung. He spoke in a calm tone.

“The one who will get you out of this hell.”

* * *

A masked man cut through the air.

The guards who had been mocked for having such skill only to be reduced to doormen collapsed without even managing a single proper move.

As he struggled to cling to consciousness, one of them realized he did not even know who had struck him or how.

He did not yet know that this ignorance was a blessing. If he knew who it was, he would already be a dead man.

The masked man who had taken them down was Lee Jaseung.

He opened the door, and a young man stepped out with fear written all over his face. It was Yang Seokwon’s son, Yang Jeong.

Looking between the fallen guards and Lee Jaseung, Yang Jeong finally grasped the situation.

“Thank…”

Before he could finish, Lee Jaseung struck a point with his Qi, sealing his meridians.

Yang Jeong collapsed unconscious to the floor, and Mook Young appeared. Holding the youth by the waist, he asked quietly.

“What should I do? Take him to Yang Seokwon?”

Lee Jaseung shook his head.

“No, it’s like the old saying that the feeling when you enter the outhouse is different from when you leave.”

Yang Seokwon had promised full cooperation in exchange for saving his son. If things went according to plan, the first strike in dividing the Murim Alliance leader and Ban Yeo would succeed.

But once he saw his son safe, Yang Seokwon would surely change his mind. That was human nature. If he used the West Wind Army to investigate or suppress him, it would be troublesome.

“Since we know that, there’s no need to test him. Keep him somewhere safe.”

“Understood.”

Mook Young disappeared with the young man.

Lee Jaseung drew his Asura and studied his reflection in the blade. The sharp eyes above the mask reflected back at him.

Cold, frightening eyes.

Yes, this was the reason.

The reason he could not grant her request to be included.

If Baek Seolyoung were here, she would say this.

“You’re just taking him hostage too, aren’t you? How is this any different from the villains? You should return him to his father.”

Even if she yielded and went along with him, her heart would not be at ease.

He did not want that.

He did not want to put her in such a difficult position.

Yet in one corner of his heart, there was the opposite feeling.

It was the faintest desire to walk this path with her.

The desire to tell her, to show her.

He wanted to show the path he had walked and the path he was walking now.

But the face reflected in Asura’s blade shook its head.

Her pureness was too far removed from the road he walked. When dealing with filth like Ban Yeo, his way was the right way.

To crush the filthy with something filthier. To trample the vile with something more vile.

This was hell, and he did not want to bring her here.

With the setting sun at his back, Lee Jaseung stepped forward, treading on his own shadow.

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