Chapter 55 : A Glimmer of Hope (5)

“Ah!”

“Hoo!”

A few of the Drunken Flower Garden assassins let out a sigh.

They had heard the conversation between Mongseol and Ah Geol.

It wasn’t that they had deliberately eavesdropped. The surroundings were so quiet that you could hear an ant crawling, and perhaps because of that, the conversation between the two sounded as loud as thunder.

The Drunken Flower Garden assassins were very curious about who Ah Geol was.

Ah Geol had displayed martial arts that were close to divine. He had lightly killed men who were absurdly strong, as if they were insects. And he seemed to know the garden master and Mongseol well.

This was more than enough to arouse curiosity.

But as the story continued, instead of joy, only a deep sense of despair seeped in.

They had thought that Ah Geol was a guardian deity who would save them, but now they saw that he was a grim reaper who would guide them to the path of death.

If Ah Geol’s words were true, there was no way to live.

The fact that he had killed his third senior brother did not feel real. Since they did not know who the third senior brother was, they thought that he had killed someone stronger than the men who had died here.

But the moment the words that he had killed Jo Chuhan of the Ten Lesser Swords came out of Ah Geol’s mouth, all hope disappeared like a bubble.

Their breath was taken away.

If he had killed one of the Ten Lesser Swords, he would have to fight a full-scale war with the Sacred Sword Sect.

Since there was no sect in the current martial world that could ignore the Sacred Sword Sect, the entire martial world would eventually become an enemy.

It was not a fight they could handle.

Ah Geol seemed to have thought that if he said this, Mongseol would retreat on her own… but Mongseol had unexpectedly said something strange. That was why she couldn’t break off the engagement.

Of course, Mongseol had said the right thing.

The Drunken Flower Garden had received Ah Geol’s request. To be precise, they had received Ah Sam’s request, but the Sacred Sword Sect or the Living Sword Sect would not care about such things. They would consider it as Ah Geol’s request.

The Sacred Sword Sect, the Living Sword Sect, no, the entire martial world would chase the Drunken Flower Garden as they chased Ah Geol.

The fight had already begun.

From the time the assassins who had disbanded and scattered in all directions were killed without knowing the reason, the ‘Drunken Flower Garden Assassin Annihilation Operation’ had begun.

It seemed right to get a little help from Ah Geol’s side rather than being chased and dying like this. But in a situation where even Ah Geol himself could not ensure his own safety, who could he protect?

It was one mountain after another.

She had thought she had barely escaped the wolf, but it turned out that she was surrounded by fierce beasts.

“Haa!”

A sigh was let out. And that sigh was not strange at all.

* * *

“Hmph!”

The Drunken Flower Garden master smirked.

Perhaps because she had raised her from a very young age, she had always thought of her as just a thoughtless child.

Mongseol, she was all grown up. She was an adult now.

In that short moment, Mongseol had firmly concluded a matter on which the life and death of all the members of the Drunken Flower Garden depended.

Of course, the conclusion Mongseol had made only applied to herself. So she might have said it without any hesitation. If she had known that her story applied to all the members of the Drunken Flower Garden, she would have spoken a little more cautiously.

Currently, there was no other path for the Drunken Flower Garden to take than the one Mongseol had mentioned.

They had to choose whether to seek life apart from Ah Geol, or to walk the path of death together. And even though it was dangerous, they would decide not to go with Ah Geol. Because death was so clearly visible.

It was very difficult to decide to go with Ah Geol like Mongseol.

To make such a conclusion, you had to shake off the fear of death. That’s right. Just the thought of becoming an enemy of the Sacred Sword Sect immediately brought about the fear of death.

Since Ah Geol was so strong, could she be lucky enough to save her life if she went with him?

A childish thought!

Since the name ‘Duke Heo Dogi’ had been mentioned, not anyone else, it was impossible to live.

There were two decisions the Drunken Flower Garden could make, but both could not avoid death. So, they would make the decision that was not scary, the decision to part with Ah Geol.

What Mongseol had said might have been just a light word to the person listening from the side, but the person making the decision had to suppress the trembling fear.

It wasn’t that a thoughtless woman had said she would go with her fiancé because she didn’t want to part with him.

The Drunken Flower Garden master had read this point, so she had thought, ‘she’s all grown up’.

The Drunken Flower Garden master suddenly felt that she had finished her work.

‘Sister, your daughter… she’s all grown up. I think I’ve raised her well. I wonder if you’ll be satisfied?’

In Mongseol’s appearance, she saw the appearance of Namso, who had been strong-willed and shrewd.

She didn’t know about other things, but at least she felt a sense of pride that she had kept her promise to Namso.

Mongseol was wise.

She had inherited an extraordinary mind from Namso, and the blood of an outstanding martial artist from the Single-Instant Sect Master.

She had deliberately blocked her eyes and covered her ears because she thought that if her mind awakened too early, she would do dangerous things. She had made her not even touch books on military strategy, and had also removed books like Go records or the Book of Changes as soon as she saw them.

She had kept away all books that awakened the mind, books that deepened thought.

And yet, Mongseol’s mind had begun to shine more and more. Even though she had not taught her anything, she had always stood out among the Drunken Flower Garden assassins. Her judgment of situations was very fast, and her sense of danger was particularly different.

Mongseol had the experience of six kills before she had gone on the assassination of Gangjo.

She had gone on assassinations six times, and had succeeded cleanly. They were all assassinations. She had not killed them with martial arts. She had created an opening by investing time and effort, and when an opening was created, she had immediately launched a surprise attack.

It was an assassination created by meticulous planning and a decision without hesitation.

Although she had also used the Blood Sword when it was dangerous, she had only used the Blood Sword once among the six kills.

Only the garden master and a few elders knew that Mongseol had killed her opponents by racking her brains. The other assassins only knew that she had succeeded in the assassination.

Mongseol’s martial arts were also developing surprisingly.

Perhaps because she had inherited the blood of the Single-Instant Sect Master, she had not taught her the Dark Shadow Sword in depth, but she handled it very skillfully.

She had awakened the Blood Sword on her own.

Among the Drunken Flower Garden assassins, there was no one who knew the Blood Sword. So there could be no master either. If you wanted to train, you had to rely on the secret manual and polish it on your own. While judging the rights and wrongs on your own.

The result was clearly shown a little while ago when she had fought the man.

Mongseol’s current martial arts surpassed the Drunken Flower Garden master’s.

With a martial art she had awakened on her own, she had defeated a super-class assassin sword that had spent a lifetime in the martial world.

Mongseol was an unpolished gem.

Mongseol had firmly told Ah Geol that the engagement could not be broken. And it seemed that she intended to continue to maintain her position as his fiancée. While acting together with Ah Geol.

Nod! Nod!

The Drunken Flower Garden master nodded her head.

It was a nod whose meaning only she could know.

Although the elders were by her side, even they could not know why the garden master was nodding her head.

* * *

The garden master and four elders, thirteen flower maidens.

Until a while ago, the Drunken Flower Garden family, which had numbered close to four hundred, was now left with only eighteen.

It was the result of a single mistake, the order to disband.

If they had not disbanded and had protected the Drunken Flower Garden, would more people have survived than now?

“I gave the order to disband the Drunken Flower Garden… hoho! I didn’t know that we couldn’t even disband as we pleased.”

Everyone just looked at the garden master.

“Mongseol, you take charge of the Drunken Flower Garden.”

“What?”

Mongseol looked at the garden master in surprise.

“I’m asking you to take charge temporarily, so don’t be too surprised.”

“No. Even if it’s temporary, for me to take charge… I have little experience, and I don’t know the martial world well…”

“Enough! It’s decided.”

The garden master said firmly.

“The highest level of the Dark Shadow Sword is the Fall of Life and Death. You must have seen it when I executed it when I fought that person, but it’s on a different level from the Dark Shadow Sword you’re executing now.”

Ah! So that martial art was the Dark Shadow Sword!

A martial art as quiet as death and as cold as ice!

‘The Fall of Life and Death…’

She had also learned for the first time that the highest level of the Dark Shadow Sword was the Fall of Life and Death. She had also learned for the first time that if you trained and trained in the Dark Shadow Sword, you could wield a sword like a grim reaper.

The Dark Shadow Sword was not a simple assassin’s sword. Depending on how you trained, it could also be transformed into an absolute martial art.

The garden master continued, “Until now, there was no reason to train in martial arts with all my might. My martial arts were good enough. And leading a sect from my position is not about martial arts, but about politics. But now that there is a reason… I have to master the Fall of Life and Death to the tenth level.”

The garden master’s words contained the anguish of the weak.

An assassin sect should not be too strong. If you wanted to be strong, you had to be so strong that no one could carelessly mess with you. If you were not that strong, you had to stop getting stronger at an appropriate line.

The existence of an assassin sect depended on politics.

It could exist when the top master of the martial world turned a blind eye. If it became stronger and seemed dangerous, sanctions would immediately come in. They would destroy half the sect as a warning, or even kill the sect master.

As long as you did not walk the path of righteousness in the martial world, you could become a target for attack at any time.

The garden master had not mastered the Fall of Life and Death to the tenth level. She had deliberately stopped her training in the middle.

If the Sacred Sword Sect started to watch, it would become very tiring.

If she could face the Sacred Sword Sect by mastering the Fall of Life and Death to the tenth level, she would have already mastered it. But even if she mastered it to the tenth level, let alone the twelfth level, she would not be a match.

Duke Heo Dogi was a god of war.

This was the sorrow and anguish of the weak.

“Then, until you come, Garden Master, if the elders lead us…”

The garden master raised her hand and stopped Mongseol’s words.

“This conversation is over. Until I come, Mongseol, you lead the Drunken Flower Garden. From now on, your mission is to run away as much as possible without any more sacrifices. Do you understand?”

Mongseol looked at the garden master.

The garden master’s will was firm. Although she did not know for what reason she was asking her to lead the Drunken Flower Garden, the garden master’s will was already firm.

“I said that your mission is to run away as much as possible without any sacrifices. You have to answer, right?”

“…”

Mongseol did not answer. She could not answer easily.

The garden master had asked her to lead the Drunken Flower Garden temporarily. But the words were wrong. There was no word ‘temporary’ in the Drunken Flower Garden’s regulations. There was a garden master, and there were assassins. There was nothing else.

If she answered the garden master’s question now, it would be a sign of her intention to succeed the position of garden master.

Mongseol said, “You know that my answer has no meaning given the danger we are facing now. Why are you doing this to me?”

The Drunken Flower Garden master’s eyes sparkled.

As expected, Mongseol was all grown up. If she were a thoughtless child, she would have answered right away, but she had found the hidden trick in the question.

There were also four elders in this place. There were no people who knew the Drunken Flower Garden’s regulations as well as them. They had it so firmly engraved that they could recite it even in their sleep.

But the elders had received the word ‘temporary’ without any feeling.

Even if she handed over the position of garden master temporarily, there was no one who would object.

The current situation was too bad. The garden master said she would master the Fall of Life and Death to the tenth level. So, the words to lead the Drunken Flower Garden temporarily sounded legitimate. They also understood that the subject was Mongseol. Hadn’t Mongseol’s martial arts suddenly improved by leaps and bounds, making her on par with the garden master?

Only Mongseol knew the meaning of ‘temporary garden master’.

The Drunken Flower Garden master smiled brightly.

“Hoho! This is why I’m entrusting it to you. Now you can answer, right?”

“Are you sure? Can I do it well?”

“Yes. You’ll do well.”

“…Alright. I’ll do my best. I’ll run away well so that no more people die.”

“Hoho! Yes, you should.”

The garden master smiled brightly and took out a small short blade from her bosom. And she cut off the end of her hair slightly.

“Take it.”

The garden master gave the cut hair to Mongseol.

Mongseol went in front of the garden master and knelt down. And she received the hair politely with both hands.

“Uh!”

“Ah!”

The Fourth Elder and the twelve assassins let out a faint gasp of astonishment.

The garden master had cut off a part of her body and had handed it over to her successor.

This was not a temporary transfer of the position of garden master. It was a formal transfer of the position of garden master.

The elders hurriedly stood up and straightened their clothes politely. And they performed a grand bow towards Mongseol.

“We greet the twelfth Garden Master of the Drunken Flower Garden.”

The four elders… the martial arts instructors who had taught Mongseol the assassin’s secret techniques and had passed on the basic studies, bowed their heads.

“We greet the twelfth Garden Master of the Drunken Flower Garden.”

The Drunken Flower Garden assassins also all stood up and bowed to Mongseol.

Mongseol had become the Garden Master of the Drunken Flower Garden. She had come to lead a sect that was on the verge of collapse, and was also caught up in a huge storm, so its survival was uncertain.

“My biggest mission is to run away, so I will run away well. Please follow me well.”

Mongseol calmly received the grand bow of the elders and her senior sisters.

(End of Chapter)