Chapter 53: There Is No Such Thing As Retreat (3) (2/2)

“Who are you?”

Ma Jung Soo didn’t know who the other person was.

That was to be expected since I was wearing a new face-alteration mask.

I told him coldly, “There are some things in Kang Ho that you shouldn’t have touched.”

What I truly meant by this was, he should have never touched my father, Song Hwa Rin, the Kang Ho-in of San Dong as well as others who had to suffer due to Ma Jung Soo.

However he would only think of it as, “There is no one who can survive after touching the money of the Dark Guild”

I knew that the woman was observing us from a distance.

“Son of a b*tch! As if giving us the fake bank wasn’t enough! You dare to threaten me?! Hey punk you came at a great time!”

Ma Jung Soo’s killing intent raised while he drew his sword. He was truly an expert. Regardless of being drunk, being able to show off that much ki at such a young age was truly amazing.

This showed how much resources one could get just by being in one of the five major clans. However that wasn’t enough to face me.

I could have killed him quickly but since there were other eyes watching us I didn’t.

Clang Clang Clang Clang Clang!

Our fight had come to a stalemate. Since I was hiding my Ashura sword art and the Brightmoon sword art, I fought him using the sword skills that were common amongst the bandits and mercenaries.

It was a technique with no extravagance, designed only to kill others.

After having exchanged around fifty blows, I determined that it was about time. I put my true speed and strength into the sword.

When the two swords exchanged blow once more…

Ma Jung Soo’s sword pierced the empty s.p.a.ce, but my sword pierced his chest.

Stabbbb!

“Uahhhhhhh!”

He opened his eyes wide and stared down at his chest. The pain was only secondary to him. He was afraid. Afraid of death. He was always the one who ordered others to their death, this was his first time being the one facing death.

“…what…is…this?”

I twisted the blade mercilessly.

“Ahhhh!”

Ma Jung Soo gave another painful scream then said, “It hurts! Please stop!”

There were tears in his eyes. If they were tears of repentance I might have finished him painlessly, but they were tears of fear and anger.

“Please…I don’t want to die like this…”

I wanted to say, ‘there is no need for you to think that it is unfair. I will finish this in a decent way.’

He might have wanted to say something along the lines of ‘I was born from a concubine and lived a hard life. To survive I had to turn into a monster.’

So what, not everyone will turn into a monster. It was just an excuse. An excuse for his actions and personality.

Slas.h.!.+

Stab!

Slas.h.!.+

Stab!

I slash and stabbed him multiple times. Although he died after my second stab I just kept stabbing him. Because this was the way of the mercenaries and bandits.

Ma Jung Soo fell down and there was a puddle of blood.

As I put the sword back into my sheath and turned around, I was able to see the women looking at us from atop a tree.

Her cold and expressionless stare.

She was truly strong. She could have even been stronger than Si Gon, but she didn’t make a move. If she had the thought to, she could have intervened during my fight with Ma Jung Soo.

I stared at her coldly and warned her, “If you touch us you will die.”

After giving her the warning I left the premise.

She didn’t follow me.

It was as I expected, she was just there to observe. But I saw that she was smiling while carrying Ma Jung Soo’s corpse.

I quickly went back to my room to change my clothes and put on the original face-alteration mask. It was because I had a feeling that she would visit my room before she was going to leave.

As expected, she came to see me.

Smack.

A small rock hit the window.

When I opened the window I saw her standing outside, it seems that she had put the body somewhere outside.

Was she here because she was about to leave? Or was it because of she some other motive?

She looked at me with a complicated expression.

I could have been the first person in her life that she had a proper conversation with.

She didn’t say whether she was leaving nor about the death of Ma Jung Soo. Instead, she said “My name is … Number Seven.”

This was the moment that she revealed that she was part of a secret organization.

Saying her name was not an easy thing for her.

My chest was murky and depressed, but I didn’t show and emotion and replied with a smile, “It’s a good name.”

Whether her name truly was ‘Number Seven’ I would never be able to discover. My name, Kal Pyo, was fake, and this face was also fake. Although this meeting with her was ambiguous, it showed how much she had changed.

From her mouth, I could see that she was trying to say something but she couldn’t. So she turned around without any farewell.

“Wait.”

She stopped her steps.

“Why were you looking into the pond?”

She turned around and told me, “I heard that lotus flowers bloom inside a muddy pond. I just wanted to know if that was true.”

The thing that she was looking at wasn’t the fish nor the reflection on the pond but it was the lotus flower.

“That is what I have heard as well.”

“So it truly is true.”

She had a smile on her face. This was the first time that I saw her this calm and happy.

After our conversation, she disappeared into the darkness.

Would we be able to meet again?

I would never know.

Even if we won’t be able to see each other again, I will always remember her name. Number Seven.

Then I looked up towards the moon.

This was when I saw Jung Yeo look at me carefully. I smiled at his direction.

Jung Bangju you have done well.

With this, the storm that Ma Jung s...o...b..ought with him had finally ended.

However I knew that compared to the real typhoon, Ma Jung Soo was just a light shower.

I needed to be stronger.

Since I will have to face more dangerous and more vicious men in the future.

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