So-ok and Woomun Hwang delicately placed tiny portions of food on their plates and brought them to their mouths.
They chewed quietly and gently, taking well over half an hour. Their manner of eating even seemed reverent.
‘So that’s how it is,’ Bu Eunseol thought, nodding as he observed their dining habits. Taking small bites and chewing slowly not only allowed them to savor the food’s flavor but was also an excellent way to detect poison.
“Strange?” So-ok asked, noticing Bu Eunseol’s steady gaze, a faint smile on her lips.
“Not at all,” he replied flatly. “Eating small amounts slowly is good for health and the best way to detect poison in food.”
So-ok smiled brightly. “Mr. Tiger, you’re quite experienced in the martial world. Few know this dining method is for poison prevention.”
‘Not just high-born, but someone of significant status,’ Bu Eunseol thought. Since ancient times, the powerful have always guarded against poison in their food. He could now guess why So-ok, supposedly here for leisure, needed an escort.
“You look like you’ve figured me out,” she said, her eyes sparkling with intelligence. “Shall I guess what you’re thinking?”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“This woman is likely of high birth and holds a powerful position,” she said. “That’s what you thought, right?”
He nodded, slightly surprised. “Correct.”
“Unfortunately, your guess is wrong,” So-ok said with a wistful expression. “I’m neither high-born nor powerful. I’m just someone who must fail at many things and live with the guilt that comes with it.”
“Ok, no need for pointless talk,” Woomun Hwang said, shaking his head as he ate silently. “And it’s not all your fault, is it?”
She seemed as pure as a child untouched by the world’s dust, yet she carried deep worries and pain.
“Sorry. It’s just… it’s rare for me to dine out like this,” So-ok said, falling silent.
A heavy silence settled over the table.
Woomun Hwang sighed, realizing So-ok wanted to talk with Bu Eunseol. “If you have something to say, speak freely.”
With his permission, So-ok eagerly spoke. “Mr. Tiger, have you ever felt guilt?”
“Before I entered the martial world, perhaps,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“Not anymore?”
“I haven’t had time to dwell on guilt. I had to survive.” His response carried the weight of his harsh, desolate life.
So-ok pondered his words, then murmured, “They say the longer one stays in the martial world, the more their emotions dry up.”
She looked at him intently. “But you’re still young, yet you feel like a veteran on the verge of retirement. You must have been through a lot.”
Myeong Un had said something similar before. But Bu Eunseol didn’t think his struggles were unique. The martial world was inherently merciless.
“Lady So…” he began, trying to shift the topic, but stopped, sensing something off.
When drunk, people usually grow loud and talkative. Yet the chatter of the tavern’s patrons was oddly uniform, their conversations vague.
‘Assassins…’
Having used the Face and Bone Shifting Art and the Art of Deceptive Enlightenment for the Nine Deaths Squad missions, Bu Eunseol was adept at spotting disguises.
‘I was too careless,’ he thought, a bitter smile crossing his face. So-ok’s voice had a captivating quality, drawing even his typically detached attention.
‘Assassins,’ he mouthed silently. Woomun Hwang’s eyebrows twitched. ‘Where?’
‘Everyone in the tavern.’ At Bu Eunseol’s words, Woomun Hwang stood slowly. Sweeping his gaze over the patrons, he thrust out both palms.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, half the tavern’s furniture and patrons were obliterated.
‘What a master,’ Bu Eunseol thought. To wield such power with bare hands? Woomun Hwang was far stronger than he’d imagined. Bu Eunseol had never seen such formidable palm techniques in the martial world.
“Attack!” the assassins shouted, undeterred by Woomun Hwang’s display, drawing their blades and charging.
“Moths to a flame,” Woomun Hwang sneered, sweeping his arms in a semicircle.
Whoosh.
A massive force field of palm energy formed, sucking in the air.
Bang! Bang!
With explosive sounds, the charging assassins were reduced to bloody pulp.
“No time to waste. Let’s finish this,” Woomun Hwang said, unleashing ferocious palm strikes.
“Scatter!” the assassins shouted.
Crash!
The tavern floor caved in, and the charging assassins fell through.
Swish!
A sharp metallic sound reached Bu Eunseol’s ears. As Woomun Hwang slaughtered the assassins below, hidden ones above launched hidden weapons at So-ok.
Snap.
Bu Eunseol flicked his sleeve, deflecting the projectiles, and said to So-ok, “Stay within three steps of me.”
Whoosh!
Poisoned weapons rained down like a storm, but Bu Eunseol, sword drawn, unleashed the Heavenly Tyrant Sword Momentum.
Clang! Clang!
The swarm of projectiles was redirected by the technique’s overwhelming force.
Flash!
Bu Eunseol’s sword sliced through the air.
“Small fry,” Woomun Hwang muttered, dusting off his hands as he approached So-ok, having dispatched the assassins below.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, thanks to Mr. Tiger,” So-ok replied.
“Hm?” Woomun Hwang scoffed, glancing at Bu Eunseol. “What did he do?”
“Were you protecting her or showing off your skills?” Bu Eunseol said, clicking his tongue at the wrecked tavern. “When enemies are numerous, never leave the target’s side. Understood?”
“Funny guy,” Woomun Hwang sneered, but his expression shifted.
The ceiling above So-ok was stained red, and a wall was embedded with fine hair-like needles. ‘Damn, while I was distracted…’ Woomun Hwang realized another group of assassins had targeted So-ok during his rampage.
“You earned your keep,” he said coldly, though he was inwardly shocked.
‘To handle assassins and projectiles in that brief moment?’ Woomun Hwang had looked away for only an instant, yet Bu Eunseol had neutralized the threat with imperceptible speed. ‘They didn’t send just anyone.’
“We’re leaving,” Woomun Hwang said, slamming a banknote onto the half-destroyed table before turning.
But Bu Eunseol spoke firmly. “We can’t go to the Dan Estate.”
“What?”
“These assassins were prepositioned here. The estate might already be compromised.”
Woomun Hwang laughed. “And what do you suggest?”
“We hide in a secure location until the assassins’ identities and backers are uncovered.”
“Hide? You’re mistaken,” Woomun Hwang said with a smile. “No matter how many of these gnats swarm, they’re no threat.”
“The target is Lady So.”
“Same thing. We’ve faced this before and crushed them all.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head at Woomun Hwang’s stubbornness. ‘He’s not one to be persuaded.’
“Then let’s disguise ourselves. It’ll buy time against unexpected threats.”
Bu Eunseol always carried medicinal pastes and adhesives, allowing him to alter appearances using mud, mimicking the Face and Bone Shifting Art.
“Disguise like rats?” Woomun Hwang scoffed, radiating a fearsome aura. “No matter their traps, I can break through.”
Waving dismissively, he turned. “We’re returning to the Dan Estate.”
***
Bu Eunseol’s prediction was spot-on.
Upon returning to the Dan Estate, assassins had already formed a tight encirclement and launched their attack.
Woomun Hwang was stunned. Even if an entire assassin sect attacked, he was confident he could handle them alone. But this was different.
Human wave tactics. The assassins kept coming, relentless, their numbers rivaling multiple sects combined.
“Hah!” Spotting the onslaught, Woomun Hwang swung his palms like butterfly wings.
Crash.
Dozens of assassins collapsed, their meridians shattered and organs ruptured by his silent, penetrating palm force.
‘These aren’t assassins,’ Woomun Hwang thought, narrowing his eyes. Assassins used killing swords aimed solely at ending lives. But these attackers wielded disciplined, military-trained swordsmanship.
Boom!
Woomun Hwang’s powerful palm strike sent four assassins flying, reduced to bloody heaps. Yet, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, the assassins maintained their encirclement, relentlessly targeting him.
“Hup!” Woomun Hwang unleashed a barrage of palm strikes, creating a net-like barrier to shield So-ok.
But their sheer numbers overwhelmed even his defenses.
“Don’t worry about this side,” Bu Eunseol said, drawing his longsword and cutting down the assassins breaching the barrier.
Slash!
His white lotus steel sword sliced through flesh and bone, eliciting chilling screams and shattering sounds.
“Take him out first!” an assassin shouted.
The number of attackers targeting Bu Eunseol snowballed, forming a formation and swinging as one.
“Hmph.” Despite dozens of swords thrusting at once, Bu Eunseol smiled calmly, shifting his sword stance.
“Ugh!” An assassin’s blade, aimed at his back, veered and struck a comrade’s arm instead.
It was the Heavenly Tyrant Sword Momentum of So Jeon, the Swift Leopard Great Blade.
“Change the formation!” the assassins shouted, panicking as Bu Eunseol manipulated their attacks with his technique.
“Aargh!” Their screams didn’t cease. No matter the formation, Bu Eunseol, having mastered the Way of the Beast to its peak, saw through every flaw.
Then, the apparent leader of the assassins roared in desperation, “No matter what… you’re all dead!”
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