The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Jeok Biwol’s face hardened at Moyong Do’s calm and composed voice.

Moyong Do looked at such a Jeok Biwol with dry eyes. Jeok Biwol’s brows narrowed.

“Surely…”

“I believe you didn’t think I would be tempted by the offer of the Alliance Leader position and make a deal with the Alliance Leader to personally kill my younger sister.”

“…”

Jeok Biwol felt her heart, which had been pounding, calmly settle down at Moyong Do’s words.

Moyong Do rarely drew a thin smile on his lips. Jeok Biwol, who had been looking at that appearance, let out a small sigh.

Moyong Do said it wouldn’t happen, but the Central Plains were full of beasts who would discard even family for their own greed.

Moreover, it wasn’t just anything, but the position of owner of the Murim Alliance, called the pinnacle of the righteous sects for hundreds of years. Furthermore, it was the Moyong clan that was weakening. If they seized the Murim Alliance Leader position, they could firmly stand as the proud vanguard of the Five Great Clans.

Jeok Biwol stared intently at Moyong Do, who was keeping silent with a thin smile on his lips, then tilted her head slightly. Her eyebrows rose slightly.

‘…But why this man?’

Jeok Biwol crossed her arms and leisurely crossed her legs. A moment of silence passed.

It wasn’t long before her mouth opened.

“Then can we move on to the main point now? Those words just now don’t seem appropriate to think of as just something you wanted to say when meeting me.”

“Was it something I shouldn’t have said?”

“It’s something you can say, but I don’t think you brought it up without any meaning. I think there must be a reason… Am I overthinking it?”

Moyong Do slowly shook his head with a smile on his face. He looked at Jeok Biwol, who was looking at him with serious eyes, and spoke in a quiet voice.

“I came thinking we’re in the same position.”

“The same position?”

“The position of being willing to bear reckless acts for my younger sister… Sowol.”

At the words that fell from his mouth, Jeok Biwol snorted and raised her chin.

“I was wondering what you were saying… You have quite an imagination. Surely, you’re not saying that Jeok Biwol of all people committed reckless acts for the Demon Cult’s Young Madam… Your imagination is excessive.”

“Is it not so?”

“Of course not. I just wanted to cause a commotion and return because I couldn’t stand the sight of the righteous sects that spoke ill of the Golden Blood Sand Sect during the martial arts competition period. I never imagined you would connect that to Moyong Sowol.”

Even at Jeok Biwol’s appearance of laughing with a nasal sound mixed in, Moyong Do was calm. Moyong Do calmly tapped the table. Between the regular rhythm, his voice mixed in.

“If you wanted to cause trouble because you couldn’t stand the sight of the righteous sects, did it have to be here?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you just wanted to vent your anger on the righteous sects, wouldn’t it have been fine even in northern Hubei where the Murim Alliance’s influence doesn’t reach well? Why did you have to do such an act here, not far from Luoyang?”

“That’s my business.”

“That’s right. But I find it strange. If you wanted to cause trouble and harm the righteous sects, I think you’ve achieved your goal with what you’ve done so far. But I’m curious why you’re not returning even in a situation where the Yeonwi Left Army and Geum Hyul have come right up to your nose, desperately trying to find Miss Jeok Biwol. Is there a reason to take risks against them?”

“That’s…”

Jeok Biwol calmly opened her mouth and started to speak, but couldn’t continue after that. Even with Jeok Biwol’s clever mind, there was no suitable excuse or explanation.

Jeok Biwol moved her lips a few times but couldn’t come up with appropriate words and closed her mouth tightly.

At Jeok Biwol’s appearance, Moyong Do smiled faintly. Jeok Biwol wanted Moyong Do. No, to be precise, the Golden Blood Sand Sect wanted him. And now that Moyong Do was sitting in front of her. It was an unparalleled opportunity to recruit him, whether by coaxing him well or making a deal or threatening him.

But Jeok Biwol was very uncomfortable with Moyong Do being in front of her now. Her eyes narrowed at the thought that he didn’t seem to be the Moyong Do she had understood.

“…So. What do you want?”

In the end, it was Jeok Biwol who lowered her tail first.

Moyong Do lowered his finger that had been tapping the table and covered it with his palm.

“Please tell me why the Murim Alliance wants Sowol.”

“It’s not difficult. Moyong Sowol is the Young Cult Leader’s wife and a favored person. From the Murim Alliance’s standpoint, they’re trying to cause discord by touching Moyong Sowol. Simple, isn’t it?”

At her explanation, Moyong Do erased the smile on his lips and slightly hardened his expression.

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

“Then what is it?”

“The Murim Alliance and the Alliance Leader, and the Black Dao Sect. I’m asking about the relationship between these.”

“…”

When Jeok Biwol closed her mouth tightly, Moyong Do’s explanation continued as if it had been waiting.

“When the Murim Alliance Leader conveyed the deal to kill my younger sister to me, he seemed to already know the answer. He was certain that I would never harm Sowol in any way. Yet he made such a suggestion to me, which was probably an explicit warning. That he was aiming for Moyong Sowol.”

Moyong Do’s nose bridge wrinkled deeply as if just thinking about it was unpleasant.

“But even so, Namgoong Baek didn’t back down. He told me to kill Moyong Sowol, to kill my younger sister and bring her. And then he said something very interesting.”

“Something interesting…?”

Moyong Do hardened his expression and spoke in a chilling voice.

“He said if I bring her corpse, I could have a younger sister who would no longer be in pain or suffer.”

“…What.”

Jeok Biwol opened her mouth with a stuttering voice in surprise, but Moyong Do’s voice came out first.

“He said he would revive Sowol who had become a corpse. In a perfectly fine state.”

* * *

In front of a cave about the size that would be full if two people entered, dozens of martial artists were busily moving in and out, doing something.

A man wearing a yellow band was looking at a scroll in his hand and giving instructions to people, then shouted aggressively at a man heading in the wrong direction.

“Be careful there! If you don’t want to die a miserable death by stepping on a mechanism that hasn’t been dismantled yet while loitering around there, you’d better stay still!”

“Eek!”

At his voice, the man who had been heading in the wrong direction screamed and hurriedly retreated. The man with the yellow band sighed at that sight and directed the martial artists again.

After people moved busily for a while, a little later, martial artists came running out from inside with terrible screams along with a tremendous roar.

“Aaaaah!!”

“What was it?!”

The man with the yellow band urgently shouted at the sight of the martial artists who came running out covered in dust all over their bodies.

The man with the yellow band narrowed his brows at their appearance of falling to the ground with a crash after getting stuck in the narrow entrance while trying to escape the narrow cave first, rubbing against each other.

He approached them with an annoyed face and tapped the fallen man’s head with his foot while speaking.

“I asked what it was?”

“Hun… Hundreds of blades. They chased us from the end there to here behind.”

Even at the frightened martial artist’s words, the man with the yellow band nodded calmly. He made a small mark on the scroll in his hand and then rolled it up.

The man with the yellow band looked around at the martial artists collapsed with tired faces here and there, then discovered Namgoong Seolbyeok sitting far away and approached him.

Namgoong Seolbyeok was quietly looking up at the cliff, then rolled his eyes to the approaching man. He stopped in his place and handed the scroll to Namgoong Seolbyeok while speaking.

“We’ve identified the locations of all the mechanisms you mentioned. The dismantling work should be finished within two days if we start today.”

“…Go.”

Namgoong Seolbyeok spoke briefly while unrolling the scroll and examining the map contained inside. When the man with the yellow band retreated, Namgoong Seolbyeok got up from his seat and folded the scroll again. Then he turned his body like the wind and headed somewhere.

Namgoong Seolbyeok, who had moved far away from the end of the Huai River where the cave was and reached a place where the Murim Alliance martial artists were gone, spoke briefly.

“Come out.”

As his voice fell, Hyuk Dojin and Yoo Doha revealed themselves as if they had been waiting.

Namgoong Seolbyeok stared blankly at the two, then rolled his eyes. Hyuk Dojin seemed to read Namgoong Seolbyeok’s gaze and spoke bluntly.

“Sowol didn’t come. So there’s no need to look for her.”

“…Is that so.”

Namgoong Seolbyeok, who was smacking his lips as if pretending to be disappointed, handed the scroll to Hyuk Dojin as if that was fine.

“Is this it?”

Namgoong Seolbyeok calmly nodded his head. Hyuk Dojin stared blankly at him, then unrolled the scroll and examined the contents inside. It was recorded in detail where what mechanisms and geomantic formations were. The structure inside was even kindly drawn, showing no small amount of effort.

Hyuk Dojin carefully examined the map, then nodded his head and folded the scroll before raising his head.

“This is certain this time, right?”

At his suspicious gaze, Namgoong Seolbyeok nodded his head with an indifferent face.

“As I explained about the previous incident, it was unexpected for me too. This time it’s certain.”

At his excuse that wasn’t an excuse, Hyuk Dojin slightly raised his eyebrows and stared blankly at his eyes, then nodded. Hyuk Dojin opened his mouth while organizing the scroll.

“But, if you give this to me, what are you planning to do? It seems like there would be an uproar if the map disappeared.”

“You don’t need to worry. I’ve already memorized it all. I’ll just go back and draw it exactly the same.”

“…You’ve already memorized it all?”

“I don’t forget anything I’ve seen once. Whatever it is. So you don’t need to worry about it.”

Hyuk Dojin made a dumbfounded expression at Namgoong Seolbyeok’s explanation. He rolled his eyes to glance at Yoo Doha standing beside him. He too had opened his eyes wide as if surprised at Namgoong Seolbyeok’s words.

Hyuk Dojin nodded his head with a sour face.

“Well… If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, with this, I’ll consider us even for you putting me and my wife in danger last time.”

If this is accurate, that is. He waved the scroll. Namgoong Seolbyeok nodded his head, recalling that he had said he would take the initiative to investigate the cave and hand over the information.

Hyuk Dojin stared intently at Namgoong Seolbyeok, then frowned.

‘…It feels unpleasant.’

From those empty eyes to that calmly settled expression. Hyuk Dojin felt somehow uncomfortable with Namgoong Seolbyeok’s unmotivated appearance whenever he saw him.

Hyuk Dojin bit his lip tightly while looking at him, then spoke slowly.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

Yoo Doha suddenly tried to stop Hyuk Dojin, asking what he was saying, but he ignored it and asked again.

Namgoong Seolbyeok delayed for a moment at his sudden question, then slowly opened his lips.

“…No. Nothing at all.”

Then please return.

With those final words, Hyuk Dojin’s brows narrowed as he watched Namgoong Seolbyeok’s back as he turned his body abruptly and left.

He thought Namgoong Seolbyeok would surely have something he wanted to say. It would be unpleasant, but it would be words directed at Moyong Sowol. Whether to relay it or not was up to Hyuk Dojin’s discretion, but he had brought it up thinking that maybe the uncomfortable feeling would disappear if he at least heard it.

But Namgoong Seolbyeok closed his mouth. What could that mean?

“…Let’s go back.”

Hyuk Dojin’s face twisted with complexity as he looked at the back of the man who was devoted to Moyong Sowol while turning his back on the Murim Alliance and his master and sect.