Chapter 83: Jaseung, Attends the Banquet

Six hours later, Mujin was sitting in a tea house across the street, where the entire Central Plains Treasury building could be seen clearly.

Seated by the window, he gazed into the distance at the Treasury building.

The sky was growing dark. Soon the building’s gates would close, and Lee Jaseung would head to a banquet with Baek Seolyoung.

At that moment, Ma Young-gi stepped into the tea house. Seeing Mujin’s uncharacteristically serious expression, Ma Young-gi stood some distance away and watched him for a moment.

“Even my side profile looks good, doesn’t it?”

At Mujin’s words, Ma Young-gi approached with a look that said he couldn’t believe this guy.

“You can joke at a time like this?”

“If I don’t joke, how am I supposed to sit here with a clear head?”

When Mujin let out a long sigh, Ma Young-gi’s expression softened into one of slight apology.

“My apologies.”

“It’s not too late even now. Just go to the Lord and say, ‘I’ll do it in his place.’ That’s all it takes.”

Ma Young-gi ignored him and called the proprietor over to order tea.

The sight made Mujin chuckle.

“Still, there’s no one like you, Captain Ma. Coming here just to see me off.”

It was then that a voice came from the entrance.

“Not just Captain Ma. I’m here too.”

Dan Woobin was walking inside. Even though he had entrusted full control of this operation to Mujin, he could not simply sit back and do nothing, so he had come to see him.

“If you need anything, just say the word.”

“Cancel the order!”

Dan Woobin pretended not to hear and ordered tea from the shopkeeper as well.

“What was that you just said?”

Seeing Dan Woobin’s evasiveness, Mujin counterattacked.

“I’ll be needing two people. The Black Way Alliance’s new chief strategist and the new Iron Cavalry Captain. They’re going to be killed soon by the Divine Sword Regiment’ Captain. No, wait, I’ll need three, including the new Divine Sword Regiment Captain.”

“What kind of terrifying joke is that?”

“That’s what happens when you get terrifying orders.”

After that round of banter, the three of them grew serious.

Dan Woobin asked with a serious expression.

“Did you come up with a plan?”

He trusted Mujin’s abilities. Once Mujin had settled on a plan, his focus on it was beyond extraordinary.

“Roughly figured out.”

At those words, both Dan Woobin and Ma Young-gi’s faces brightened. When faced with impossible missions, Mujin always said those same words, “Roughly figured out.” And each time, he succeeded in what had seemed impossible.

The first to teach them that was Lee Jaseung.

Back then too, Lee Jaseung had given him a mission that seemed impossible. Dan Woobin had insisted it couldn’t be done, but in the end, Mujin carried it out successfully.

There had been similar cases since then, and each time Mujin never betrayed Lee Jaseung’s trust. Lee Jaseung absolutely believed in him.

Sometimes, even Dan Woobin envied that unwavering trust. If Lee Jaseung had to choose between trusting him or Mujin, who would he pick?

It was then that Yaso entered, wearing a meaningful smile.

“I got it.”

Mujin immediately jumped to his feet and followed Yaso out.

“Well then, I’m leaving first. As you know, I have to prepare to step into the pot.”

“When you come back, I’ll buy drinks for you! The best liquor I could find!”

At Dan Woobin’s words, Mujin waved without turning back and walked out.

Dan Woobin and Ma Young-gi could only watch him go, silently wishing for the mission’s success.

A short while later, an ordinary looking man from the Divine Sword Regiment entered the Central Plains Treasury.

After waiting in the long line for some time, he finally stood before the iron bars.

Handing over the documents needed to deposit money along with the prepared note, he grinned.

“This is precious money, so please take good care of it!”

With the deposit slip placed in the Treasury custody, the operation had begun.

* * *

Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung were on their way to the banquet.

“A banquet in a situation like this?”

She could not understand it. Now was not the time for banquets. They should be focusing all their strength on capturing the Undying Ghouls.

“Banquets are politics too. Everything that happens here is just another masquerade.”

Baek Seolyoung’s expression turned slightly troubled at his words. Of course she understood what he meant. It was simply the discomfort of experiencing firsthand what she had only vaguely known before.

“Fine, if we have to play politics as you say, which side should we take?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Obviously it should be the Alliance Leader… but when I met the division captains, I got a strange feeling. It seemed they were more favorable toward Ban Yeo than the Alliance Leader.”

Lee Jaseung thought she had read the situation correctly. Some of those division heads were surely Ban Yeo’s puppets. It did not take many people to shake an organization or steer its sentiment.

Even two out of ten would be enough.

Among the remaining eight, some would naturally side with them, and adding in those who were neutral, that small fraction could be enough to sway the whole organization.

For someone capable, it was something that could be done alone.

Among the division leaders she had met, there were certainly some of Ban Yeo’s subordinates, whether one or several.

“What’s your thought? The Alliance Leader or Ban Yeo?”

She smiled as she answered.

“We should have both.”

“I thought you said you had let go of greed?”

After hearing his joke, she responded with a smile.

“I was imitating you.”

“Imitating me?”

“I figured that’s how you would have answered. Was I wrong?”

He admitted it easily.

“Not far off.”

In truth, she had guessed the process exactly. He planned to use both, but his ultimate conclusion was the opposite. He intended to eliminate them both.

By then, they had arrived at the banquet hall.

At the door, Lee Jaseung took her hand. She looked at him, but he kept his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Was he holding her hand because he truly wanted to, or to put on a show for others? Perhaps, as he had said, this too was part of the masquerade.

Baek Seolyoung took his hand in return. Maybe it was because she remembered the day he had held her hand when they were under the Thunderclap bomb attack, but holding it now brought her a sense of calm.

As they approached, the guards at the door greeted them politely and opened the way.

Inside was bustling with those who had arrived earlier. The noise gradually quieted as all eyes turned toward Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung.

They were not the only ones invited tonight. Others included well-known figures of the martial world from around the Murim Alliance, some warriors, and wealthy merchants who led large trading companies.

From the curiosity in their gazes, Lee Jaseung immediately understood the banquet’s nature.

It was partly to indulge those who wanted to see him and Baek Seolyoung in person, but more importantly, to create the impression that the Murim Alliance was taking an active role in this matter. It was also a chance for people to gather information about them.

Such banquets were common when running an organization, even if the details differed. The Black Way Alliance held similar events.

Baek Seolyoung, however, did not feel as comfortable as Lee Jaseung. Many of the gazes followed her. She was used to being looked at, but the attention tonight felt unsettling.

Not long after arriving, she leaned toward his ear and whispered. To others, it might have looked like a display of intimacy, but her words were quite the opposite.

“Can we leave early?”

“Why?”

“This place feels uncomfortable.”

Lee Jaseung glanced toward the window. Right now, Mujin was in the middle of carrying out the operation at the Central Plains Treasury. They needed to wait until they received word that he had retrieved the item before leaving.

He whispered back.

“If you want to be a capable Lord, you need to be able to enjoy gatherings like this.”

“If that’s the kind of skill required, I really don’t want it.”

“It’s worse to be under an incapable leader.”

It was not for his sake, but for the sake of her subordinates and the Northern Sky Clan, that he told her to endure it. The words were harsh, but they hit home.

Just then, a woman approached them.

She was wearing a crimson palace dress and was strikingly beautiful. Her allure was strong, but it was not a cheap kind of seductiveness.

“You’re even more handsome than the rumors said.”

Saying that with Baek Seolyoung standing right there was an outright provocation, and one that suited her well.

It was as if she were saying, “Surely I can challenge you with my looks, right?”

In her suggestive gaze, Lee Jaseung sensed a certain desire. He knew exactly what it was, the urge to conquer. The compulsion to claim something and never let it go.

‘This woman is the same kind as me.’

And because of that, he felt both kinship and aversion.

“Would you care to dance a sword dance with me?”

In the banquet setting, a man and woman performing a sword dance together was much like an ordinary couple dancing. It was a provocation and an invitation even stronger than her earlier words.

Though she had been ignored, Baek Seolyoung remained composed.

She let the anger that welled up in a corner of her heart subside naturally. In the past, she would have flared up and asked what the woman thought she was doing.

But she was different now.

She smiled at Lee Jaseung and spoke.

“Go ahead.”

Perhaps displeased by her calm demeanor, the woman started to speak but stopped midway.

“How quite…”

Her unfinished sentence was enough for them to guess her meaning, “How quite bold you pretend to be.” She knew how to deal with people and how to tease them.

For a moment, Baek Seolyoung felt a flash of irritation but suppressed it again.

Lose your temper, and you lose.

“As you can see, my husband is rather handsome. I get requests like this often.”

Lee Jaseung then said,

“Let’s do the sword dance another time.”

And Baek Seolyoung added with a pleasant smile,

“And he often refuses. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

It was nothing much, but it was a small, satisfying strike. Naturally, the woman’s brow furrowed slightly.

But she was no pushover either. Her displeasure quickly vanished into a smile.

“That’s fine. I get refused often too.”

It was a comment that did not suit her at all.

A subtle tension crackled between the two women, though its exact nature was unclear. Then someone approached them, the Leader of the Murim Alliance himself.

“Hahaha, she’s my youngest disciple. Please understand her, she’s still a bit immature.”

Only then did the woman give a broad smile and formally introduce herself.

“My name is Hwa Su.”

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