The Dangerous Gamble

Seol Ah-heon forced his dizzy head up. He thought he saw Baek Geon-ha frowning, but his vision was too blurry to be certain.

“To think you would accept such a dullard as your disciple. It is the honor of three lifetimes, Master.”

“……Ha.”

Baek Geon-ha merely let out a breath of disbelief, remaining uncharacteristically silent. Was he calculating what to do with this audacious “disciple”?

Seol Ah-heon struck first.

“This unworthy disciple realized something today.”

“And what is that?”

“That you, Master, loathe the Qingcheng Sect to the extreme. No, it’s beyond loathing—you harbor a deep-seated hatred.”

“Drop the ‘Master’ act. Fine, and?”

“One day, you will surely annihilate the Qingcheng Sect.”

He spoke calmly of something that hadn’t happened yet—a future event. Perhaps his own pride had been wounded; despite knowing he shouldn’t be impertinent, he wanted to rattle Baek Geon-ha’s composure. Then again, his head was in such a mess from the impact that it was hard to exercise proper judgment.

“And?” Baek Geon-ha asked with a hint of genuine interest. When Seol Ah-heon hesitated, the man even prodded him gently, like a child being lured with candy.

“It’s alright. I won’t take issue with it this once.”

“……Young Master, were you by any chance trained in the martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect?”

It was a bland question considering the hesitation. Anyone who had watched the duel during the day would have realized Baek Geon-ha knew Qingcheng techniques. However, the crucial point was how he had learned them.

‘If my guess is right, Baek Geon-ha is…….’

He imagined Baek Geon-ha’s past, which hadn’t even been described in the original novel. He could use the Songpung Sword and seemed to know the sect’s inner nature all too well.

The remark—‘Being unable to admit your own lack of training and instead slandering your opponent is the very essence of Qingcheng’—might not have been said just to provoke Wungyeol. Of course, he could have used underhanded means to steal their manuals, but Seol Ah-heon’s intuition whispered otherwise.

‘……Could he have been a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect in the past?’

Perhaps a secular disciple, if not a formal one. Though the question of how a secular disciple learned the Songpung Sword remained, it was more plausible than him learning it after joining the Demonic Cult.

But Baek Geon-ha cut him off with a sneer.

“Nonsense.”

It wasn’t particularly surprising. Seol Ah-heon hadn’t expected an admission anyway. In the end, whether Baek Geon-ha had trained there or stolen their secrets was none of his business.

‘Knowing that kind of stuff only leads to nightmares.’

The cliché of a villain killing an innocent citizen because “you know too much” was common in all kinds of fiction, not just Murim novels. Bringing up the Qingcheng Sect at all had been a dangerous move.

Yet, Seol Ah-heon didn’t regret his actions.

‘I have to appear useful.’

Not just a fool, but someone who looked like they were hiding a trump card. Baek Geon-ha was slowly getting tired of his perceived dullness. It must be annoying to drag along someone who acted bewildered every time something happened and offered no help. At this rate, being abandoned was only a matter of time. It was better to be perceived as a cheeky but clever fellow. At least that would keep Baek Geon-ha interested.

Did the scheme work? Baek Geon-ha stared at Seol Ah-heon in silence—so intensely that he could feel it even through his hazy vision.

“…….”

Eventually, Baek Geon-ha stood up. Picking up the half-empty bottle of Geumnamchun, he headed upstairs. Only after confirming the man had truly left did Seol Ah-heon collapse onto the table.

“Phew…….”

Somehow, it felt like he had escaped death’s door once again.

*************************************

The next morning.

As soon as he woke up, he touched his forehead and felt a protruding lump. It was accompanied by a throbbing heat. Without a mirror, he couldn’t see his face, but it was bound to look disastrous.

‘It could have been worse.’

If he were in a fragile commoner’s body, he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d suffered a concussion. In moments like these, possessing ‘Seol Ah-heon’ didn’t seem like a total loss.

‘……Wait, wouldn’t it be better to just live peacefully as a commoner?’

Groaning, Seol Ah-heon began his internal meditation. He took a deep breath to calm his cluttered mind. The internal energy starting from his dantian spread through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. As he exhaled slowly, his chest settled flatly.

“…….”

Seol Ah-heon slowly opened his eyes. Having meditated with more focus than usual, the pain in his forehead felt much better, though the lump remained.

He stood up and changed his clothes, not forgetting to pull the bamboo hat low. Until yesterday, it was for hiding his identity; today, it was for hiding the lump.

When he went downstairs, Baek Geon-ha and Mu Il-young were already seated. Seol Ah-heon greeted them tentatively.

“Good morning…….”

It was more awkward than usual because of last night. ‘Right here at this table, I slammed my head nine times.’ The memory made his forehead throb again. He instinctively touched the bump.

“Take it off.”

“……Pardon?”

“The hat. It’s ruining my appetite, so take it off,” Baek Geon-ha commanded. This seemed to be a new form of bullying. Seol Ah-heon had no choice but to remove the hat.

“…….”

Mu Il-young showed no sign of surprise even after seeing Seol Ah-heon’s face. A lump the size of a baseball had appeared, yet he didn’t seem curious about the story behind it. On the other hand, Baek Geon-ha clicked his tongue loudly.

“How tragic. To be so unsightly…….”

“…….”

“Yesterday, he started slamming his own head into the table. He seems to be suffering from madness.”

Though he seemed to be explaining it to Mu Il-young, Baek Geon-ha’s eyes were fixed on Seol Ah-heon. It was a peculiar feeling to have one’s sanity questioned by a madman.

Seol Ah-heon bit his lip and replied.

“Madness? What a thing to say to your disciple.”

Irritation flashed in Baek Geon-ha’s eyes. Exactly what he was hoping for. Seol Ah-heon smiled brightly.

“Did you sleep well, Master?”

“Who said I accepted someone like you as a disciple?”

“Eh? Haven’t you and I already formed a master-disciple bond? I even performed the Nine Bows ritual as you ordered. It hurts your disciple’s feelings to hear you say that, Master.”

The more he insisted on calling him “Master,” the more Baek Geon-ha’s face contorted. In this regard, he was a surprisingly honest man.

“Go ahead, keep flapping that mouth. I’ll give you a ‘lesson’ just as you wish.”

“I’m sorry…….”

Seol Ah-heon apologized, feigning reflection. In truth, he was reflecting, thinking, ‘I’ve briefly lost my sense of fear.’ Yet, the recklessness was so thrilling that he felt he might get addicted to this dangerous game of teasing Baek Geon-ha.

“Breakfast is served!”

The waiter arrived just in time with the food. It turned out to be egg-fried rice, stir-fried until light and fluffy.

‘Looks delicious!’

Seol Ah-heon waited for Baek Geon-ha to start eating. He briefly considered saying, “Enjoy your meal, Master,” but decided against it. Even if he was going to get hit by Baek Geon-ha later, he wanted to eat the fried rice first.

Soon, Seol Ah-heon picked up his spoon. As he made “ah-hot” noises from the freshly cooked rice, a look of disapproval from Baek Geon-ha landed on him before drifting away.

**************************************

The group climbed high into Mount Emei.

Following Mu Il-young and his compass, Baek Geon-ha ascended the mountain like the wind. Struggling to keep up, Seol Ah-heon marveled at them.

‘He looks like a tiger but moves like a deer.’

Furthermore, the man was using both Disguise and Bone-Squeezing Arts simultaneously. That alone should consume internal energy, yet he was performing light-footwork on top of it. He felt like a monster.

Mu Il-young led them deeper into Mount Emei, into a valley where even herbalists likely wouldn’t venture. Dense trees blocked the sky, making it dark even in broad daylight.

“So many trees and rocks…….”

Bizarrely shaped rocks were scattered everywhere. It felt less like a normal mountain and more like a special map in a video game.

Seol Ah-heon ran across the boulders. If there were a flat path, he would have taken it, but in this rugged terrain, this was the best option. At least the rocks were large enough to provide a decent foothold.

“Whoa!”

For a second, his body wobbled. He had stepped on a patch of moss. By the time he regained his balance, the other two were already quite a distance away.

‘No sense of loyalty. Then again, we aren’t exactly friends.’

Grumbling internally, he approached them. This time, the two had stopped.

“The flow of the air is strange,” Baek Geon-ha remarked.

“I will investigate.”

Mu Il-young moved forward. He headed toward a rock that looked like an elephant and began searching it thoroughly, as if looking for something specific.

‘I thought they were just wandering aimlessly looking for the Mad-Blood Demonic Sword. I guess not.’

It wasn’t surprising that Seol Ah-heon had misunderstood. He knew nothing of Baek Geon-ha’s plan. But then again, that wasn’t the only thing he didn’t know. He still wondered why the man was even bringing him along.