Chapter 124 : Jaseung, Gets an Invitation

Chapter 124: Jaseung, Gets an Invitation

Jang Wonso’s attitude toward Lee Jaseung had changed.

He treated him as if they were sworn brothers.

Anyone else would have been deeply moved. For the Murim Alliance Leader, the man at the pinnacle of the martial world, to be so informal and friendly.

“Hahaha, drinking with Expert Seop makes the drink taste like honey.”

“You flatter me.”

“It isn’t flattery. Haven’t you heard the saying, stagnant water always rots? That applies directly to our Alliance. For too long, the Alliance has suffered from corruption. The fault is mine for not rooting it out.”

He spoke as though he had tried and failed to purge the corruption.

Anyone even slightly naive would have believed him. His appearance was that of a scholar, a sage. Every word carried a sense of truth.

But Lee Jaseung understood. This was a test. The Alliance Leader was probing him, to see how much he knew, and how he thought of this corruption.

Lee Jaseung answered casually,

“Don’t blame yourself too much. Think of it as a necessary evil.”

“A necessary evil?”

“Stagnant water rots, yes. But too clear a stream holds no fish.”

Jang Wonso smiled faintly.

“Overlook some of it, then?”

“I mean, keep to the middle path.”

Lee Jaseung only said what Jang Wonso wanted to hear.

This contest was one of wit and willpower.

And in such contests with villains, Lee Jaseung was strong.

“You truly have keen insight, despite your youth.”

“Keen insight? Not at all. It’s only selfishness, a desire to keep myself steady.”

“To sustain a great ambition, you must first steady yourself. Hahaha.”

Jang Wonso laughed in delight.

‘Hehe, he really is a very useful man I can exploit.’

With that thought, Jang Wonso planned to use Lee Jaseung to deal with the force behind him.

Seeing through him, Lee Jaseung felt a question arise.

The man Jang Wonso had wanted killed clearly belonged to the faction behind him.

But that man had escaped. The matter must already have been reported to their superiors.

They would know it was at Jang Wonso’s order.

And yet Jang Wonso seemed completely at ease.

He didn’t seem to fear retaliation.

It was as if he thought,

— They can never kill me.

What was it that Jang Wonso trusted so absolutely?

Lee Jaseung knew it was vital to find out.

First he observed Jang Wonso’s surroundings.

The guards were ordinary. Ordinary not in their ability, but in their role. As the Alliance Leader’s guards, they were all elite.

But they were nothing unusual.

There were a few things in the Alliance that never changed, no matter the corruption. The admiration of young prodigies hoping to enter, the skill of the Virtuous Heroes and the Guard Hall warriors, these never wavered regardless of who led the Alliance.

And there didn’t seem to be anyone especially guarding Jang Wonso.

But what if there was someone hidden?

Lee Jaseung’s face grew serious. That would mean a master with stealth skills beyond his detection.

It was unlikely, but possible. Not even a matter of stealth, but simply a martial artist of such great skill that he couldn’t be sensed.

Still, the odds of someone like that hiding in the shadows for Jang Wonso were slim.

If Mook Young searched, he would know. At least in stealth, Mook Young surpassed him by far.

But if such a presence existed, then Mook Young would expose himself. That would mean danger. For now, Lee Jaseung wasn’t willing to risk it.

What was Jang Wonso relying on?

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Lee Jaseung bowed and started to withdraw. Then Jang Wonso called out suddenly, as if remembering something.

“Hey, do you enjoy banquets?”

Lee Jaseung turned with a puzzled look.

Jang Wonso grinned broadly.

“Banquets full of beauties, I mean.”

Lee Jaseung smiled faintly.

“What man would dislike that?”

Of course, the words didn’t match his true feelings.

“Hahaha, true. Keep your schedule free in two days. Share a drink with this old man.”

Two days later. It was the day Jang Wonso regularly held his debauched banquets.

Lee Jaseung smiled and answered.

“As you wish.”

Leaving Jang Wonso laughing heartily, Lee Jaseung departed.

* * *

“So he intends to bring you to that lewd banquet.”

At Dan Woobin’s words, Lee Jaseung nodded.

“He wants to catch me in a weakness.”

“But wouldn’t he be exposing his own weakness as well?”

“Indeed.”

“I don’t understand.”

It was natural that Dan Woobin didn’t. He had been through many experiences with Lee Jaseung.

But he still didn’t grasp how utterly malicious true villains could be. Their mental world was arid, cracked like a desert.

“They know stronger temptation holds you. He’ll keep holding more decadent banquets, trying to draw me in.”

And if that didn’t work, he would try to eliminate him.

A trace of worry flickered on Dan Woobin’s face. He feared this might strain things between Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung.

“What will you do?”

“That’s what I should be asking you, isn’t it?”

Dan Woobin scratched his head sheepishly.

“That’s true. Ugh, this is a very difficult problem.”

“You already know the answer.”

“Don’t overestimate me. You’ll spoil me.”

“Better that than underestimate you and discourage you.”

Dan Woobin chuckled.

Yes, like Lee Jaseung said, he knew exactly what to do.

Excuses might get him out of it once or twice. But if Jang Wonso was determined, the banquet couldn’t be avoided.

And the character he had shown as Seop Mu-pyeong wasn’t one to refuse such an invitation too strongly. To avoid it too many times would arouse suspicion.

If Jang Wonso called him suddenly at night for urgent business?

And when he went, the banquet was waiting? He couldn’t afford to storm out in anger. Better to prepare for it in advance than face that.

“The simplest solution would be to prevent the banquet itself. But...”

Keeping Lee Jaseung from attending would have been an emotional decision. Reason pointed elsewhere.

“You should go and see what kind of banquet it is. It may not end in mere decadence.”

Dan Woobin sensed the same unease that Lee Jaseung did.

Lee Jaseung smiled. This was why he valued Dan Woobin. He had a warmer heart than anyone, but never let them consume his reason.

That was why he was both a man of emotion and the most capable of strategists.

“I’ll attend.”

Lee Jaseung planned to make Jang Wonso regret the invitation.

* * *

That evening, while they walked together, Baek Seolyoung suddenly asked him a question.

“Are you really going to that banquet?”

Lee Jaseung stopped and gave her an incredulous look.

“Can a Chief Strategist of the Alliance really have such a loose tongue like this?”

He had only discussed it with Dan Woobin. So it was clear who had told her.

“Leaking secrets carries heavy punishment, you know?”

“And what’s the reward for loyalty that keeps the Lord from corruption?”

Baek Seolyoung laughed at his astonishment.

“That loyal strategist said he was always on my side too.”

Lee Jaseung gave a wry smile. After all, Dan Woobin had been the strongest supporter of their marriage.

He understood why Dan Woobin had told her.

Partly it was to remind him not to forget he had such a beautiful wife. But there was a much bigger reason.

He would feel sorry for her if he didn’t.

Guilt for not providing a way to resolve the matter without sending her husband into such a place. Guilt for being the strategist who let it come to this.

Baek Seolyoung narrowed her eyes and spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t secretly want to go?”

Lee Jaseung twitched, pretending like he was caught.

“My goodness! So it’s true.”

She played along with his teasing.

They say all men are the same. Perhaps Lee Jaseung was too.

But if there were men who truly weren’t, he would be first in line. He gave that kind of certainty.

He said nothing about the banquet. He could have reassured her, told her not to worry, that no drug or dark arts could affect him. But he said nothing. That silence inspired even more trust.

Yes, she would simply trust this man.

Thinking so, Baek Seolyoung’s mood lifted.

Lee Jaseung glanced her way. She turned quickly forward, flustered after she saw him looking at her.

Then she stole a glance at him the next moment. This time he turned away, embarrassed as well. Seeing her blush had made him blush too.

They walked on, side by side, looking forward.

Someone once said, Love isn’t looking at each other, but looking together in the same direction.

Baek Seolyoung agreed with that deeply.

To look with him, to walk with him. At the end of this road, what would await them?

She remembered something from long ago all of a sudden.

“As a child, I dreamed of the Murim Alliance. To be precise, of the Northern Sky Clan that guarded it.”

She had dreamed of saving the Alliance from crisis herself. That dream came from her father’s influence, who always told her to grow into someone admirable.

“But now I’m not sure anymore. Of what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Lee Jaseung replied.

“Right and wrong are always set. The problem is prejudice. Thinking it must be right because it’s the Alliance. Thinking it can’t be wrong because it’s the Alliance Leader.”

She nodded.

He continued calmly,

“But there are always exceptions. And there are more exceptions than you’d think.”

It was the truth of the martial world, only learned as an adult.

He looked at her and said,

“In this Jianghu, nothing is set.”

She repeated it inwardly. It wasn’t cynicism. It was advice to look squarely at the world.

Yes, he was right.

Anyone looking at her now would let prejudice cloud their eyes.

Who could imagine she was hiding the fact she had married the Black Way Alliance Leader?

Lee Jaseung started walking again. She lingered, watching his back, and thought to herself,

...But there is something that is set.

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