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“Which side do you consider precious?”

There was no question about it — it was obviously the side of the seven companions. That wasn’t even something worth contemplating. It was a no-brainer that those with whom I had formed precious bonds were far more important than some complete strangers. Anyone who disagreed with that must be nuts.

However, I sensed that there was a deeper meaning behind Zhuge Sa’s question. After a moment’s silence, I replied.

“That’s a different issue.”

Zhuge Sa immediately countered.

“No, it’s the same issue. If you’re going to rescue those people, it’s inevitable that we’ll be dragged into a major incident, becoming entangled in the whirlwind of cause and effect along with you. That’s as good as you killing us.”

“It’s a different issue.”

I raised my tone slightly and continued.

“Because you’d know a way to prevent that from happening!”

At that, a glimmer of intrigue appeared in Zhuge Sa’s eyes. He leaned forward to look at me.

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“Of course, your side is far more valuable than five thousand strangers. But I can’t just let five thousand people be sacrificed. They would suffer horrific deaths or be eaten, and they wouldn’t be saved in the afterlife. I can’t just stand by and let that happen.”

I crossed my arms as I spoke.

“And really, if all I was meant to do was train, you wouldn’t need to involve me in this matter at all. So Zhuge Sa, you either already have a solution for it or you’re trying to test me.”

“……”

“You have a method, right? Don’t you?”

“Hmm.”

“Now, that’s the Zhuge Sa I know.”

As I spoke firmly, Zhuge Sa looked at me with an expression of displeasure. Standing beside him, Mangnyang chuckled and said to Zhuge Sa,

“I told you, Baek Woong is not the Baek Woong of old.”

“Haha, don’t act like you foresaw everything. You came out to see Baek Woong’s reaction because you were half in doubt yourself, weren’t you?”

“Well, that part is accurate…”

Mangnyang shrugged, and Zhuge Sa turned to me.

“That’s right. We do have a plan.”

“So you were indeed trying to test me?”

His tone turned somewhat chilly.

“Yes. I wanted to see if you’d waver in the face of such challenges. If you were someone who could be easily shaken, then no matter how powerful you are as a reborn person, neither Mangnyang nor I would ever sacrifice our lives for you.”

So that’s how it was.

After letting out a breath of relief, Zhuge Sa clasped his hands under his chin, sharp-eyed.

“As you say, we’ve thought of a solution. A plan that allows us to keep our identities hidden while containing the Imperial Palace. With this level of talent, treasure, and wealth accumulated, wouldn’t it be odd if we couldn’t manage that?”

“Phew, thank goodness…”

Suddenly, Zhuge Sa interrupted.

“But what I just asked was true, so I want your answer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just now, you kept ahead of my intentions, but as you go through this rebirth, you’ll face an incredible number of choices. Whether it’s humanity or practicality, justice or efficiency, intervention or inaction, rescue or slaughter…”

“……”

“There have been many choices like these so far. I trust you understand that you can’t avoid answering just like you did just now?”

I nodded gravely at Zhuge Sa’s words.

“I know.”

After pausing for a moment, I said,

“I won’t give up all practicality because of some ideal in my head. If necessary, I might give up some things. Just, I believe you and the companions will help me with that.”

“That sounds like a line for a politician…”

“Sorry.”

“How did I end up with such a dense lord?”

Zhuge Sa grumbled before saying,

“Then tell me your plan for preparing against the slave sacrifice.”

At last, Zhuge Sa began to outline the strategy. Listening to the method, I felt utterly amazed and my jaw dropped.

“Uh… what?! Isn’t that a bit over the top?”

“You used a similar method before, so what’s the problem? And it’s just you getting your hands dirty.”

“That’s true, but will it even work?”

“It’ll work and then some. Plus, for any post-operation work, Mangnyang will use Bancheon Alliance’s connections with Luoyang, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

Mangnyang added an explanation from the side.

“Using this method, we could buy at least five years. Moreover, our identities will be exceptionally hard to expose. The only downside is that we might be low on explosives, so we’ll need Miho to help purchase some from Dongyoung.”

“Understood. Then let’s proceed with that plan.”

“And about Yeon Jong-hwi…”

Mangnyang trailed off as he looked at me.

“We can’t keep him locked up in Jangryeong Valley indefinitely. So we need to either completely win him over or…”

He was talking about killing him. While Mangnyang didn’t directly mention it, I understood the context. Given that the world would surely know about Namgung Clan’s destruction, it was clear that if Yeon Jong-hwi witnessed that tragedy, we could never let him go free. Hence, we only had two options: kill or win over.

Zhuge Sa said,

“I suggested we brainwash him with the Soul Exchange Technique and make him a subordinate, but Mangnyang rejected that, fearing he could still potentially join us. If he has memories of being manipulated by the Soul Exchange Technique, he would never trust us.”

“So you want my opinion, Baek Woong?”

“Are you asking if we should mind control him or kill him?”

“To put it plainly, yes. What do you want to do?”

I pondered for a moment before responding.

“I agree with Mangnyang. He’s a future great master, so he might know something we don’t.”

“But we have no reliable relationship to give him the obsidian.”

“I’ll talk to Yeon Jong-hwi directly.”

“Do as you wish.”

Boom!

Moments later, I entered the secret chamber of Jangryeong Valley. When I saw Yeon Jong-hwi, bound by chains, I spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Yeon Jong-hwi.”

“……”

Yeon Jong-hwi looked at me blankly. I pressed a pressure point to suppress his internal power, then loosened the chains. After he was freed from the shackles, Yeon Jong-hwi bluntly said,

“So what’s this about? What do you want to do to me?”

“First, I assume you haven’t eaten today. Here, have this.”

I offered him dumplings, pickled vegetables, and a bit of water. Yeon Jong-hwi accepted the food and ate it silently for a while. Although I hadn’t neglected his meals, he still looked like he was enjoying it. Seeing him eat so well piqued my curiosity, so I asked,

“You don’t think I’ve poisoned anything or anything, do you?”

“If you had, I’d have been dead long before now. I can only hope you’re not such a low life.”

Chew, chew.

Watching him munch away with his blunt responses, I truly felt it.

‘This guy is certainly a hero.’

Even when dragged to a place he’d never seen before and kept captive for months, his spirit was unbroken and even bold. Yeon Jong-hwi was no ordinary martial artist. Once he finished eating, he pushed the empty dishes aside and said,

“I’m going to ask a few light questions. After that, I’ll determine your treatment.”

“What kind of questions?”

“First… you were staying as a guest fighter with Namgung Clan, but were looking to leave. Where were you planning to go?”

Yeon Jong-hwi replied,

“Like I told someone else before, my answer remains the same. I was just wandering aimlessly in the Central Plains.”

“Is that so? Then which sect do you belong to?”

“I belong to the Sole Inheritance Sect, known as the Sunstriking Gate.”

He was lying.

Everything he was saying was a lie.

This was exactly what Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa had said when they interrogated him earlier. They had a knack for reading people’s psyches, so they could infer from Yeon Jong-hwi’s subtle reactions and every answer. Furthermore, by repeating similar questions, they could even grasp his true intentions.

‘It seems he has no trust in us and is just waiting for a chance to escape.’

That was to be expected. Why would he open up honestly with the very people who had just brutally destroyed the clan he used to rely on? Not to mention there had been no torture or threats up until now, so it’s only natural he’d hide his personal affairs.

But I didn’t have the time or energy to engage in a psychological battle with Yeon Jong-hwi. I let out a short sigh and said,

“Truth is, my companions and I have had a serious discussion. We’ve reached the decision to either kill you or attempt to win you over.”

That made Yeon Jong-hwi scoff.

“Ha! If you’re going to kill me, then just do it. Why go through all this hassle? And win me over? What gall!”

“The problem is, either way, your future is hell.”

What Yeon Jong-hwi didn’t know was that being manipulated by the Soul Exchange Technique meant spending a living hell for him. If Zhuge Sa toyed with him, he might even think dying would be a better option. I spoke in a slightly gloomy voice.

“But I don’t want to go that far. After all, you’re a potential absolute master for the future, so I don’t want to wield my power capriciously.”

“So what do you want?”

“Last question. If you answer this one correctly, I can promise you fair treatment and possibly even let you go.”

Seeming to sense the seriousness of the situation, Yeon Jong-hwi now looked at me intently. I stared right into his eyes and asked,

“What do you think righteousness is?”

“……!!”

Yeon Jong-hwi seemed startled for a moment. Then he looked confused.

“Is… that your question? What is righteousness?”

“Exactly. Tell me what you think righteousness means.”

“What a ridiculous question. Is it that important…”

After calming himself, he replied.

“Righteousness is training one’s martial skills to fight against those who abuse their power and to eliminate them.”

“Does eliminating include assassination? Like sniping with a bow?”

“… You seem to have caught on.”

Yeon Jong-hwi said bitterly.

“As you thought, I have killed a few corrupt officials using my archery.”

Mangnyang’s assumptions were correct. He had contacted an intelligence network to investigate Yeon Jong-hwi, discovering that several officials had suspiciously died under mysterious circumstances during his travels. I muttered to myself before asking again,

“Regardless, that’s still murder. You killed someone you didn’t even know simply for your reputation. Is that what you consider righteousness?”

“That’s right!”

He crossed his arms and continued speaking.

“I believe that those who deserve to die should indeed die. They wield their power to inflict suffering upon powerless commoners. They’d beat peasants to death or assault women in broad daylight, but the officials wouldn’t dare touch them due to their power. Just waiting around for a hundred years won’t mean those monsters will die on their own. With money and power, they’ll just continue to thrive.”

“……”

“They’re indirectly killing commoners with their power. That alone qualifies them as demonic heads, so I believe in practicing righteousness by putting an end to their lives to protect the weak.”

“I see…”

Listening to Yeon Jong-hwi’s words, I could clearly understand what kind of person he was.

A martial artist who disregards the principle of non-intervention between the officialdom and the martial world to punish the corrupt! No wonder the Duke of Guanzhong is said to be the strongest in the martial world yet barely reveals himself. It seemed he had relentlessly assassinated the greedy officials tormenting the people even after his reputation became known.

‘He is a righteous man. And he is strong.’

If he had gone that far to assassinate officials, it was unlikely that the Duke of Guanzhong or the Golden Eagle Guards wouldn’t intervene. Yet, Yeon Jong-hwi, the Duke of Guanzhong, would make his name known as the strongest in the martial world fifty years later, having endured all pursuits and standing tall alone in that world. He was undoubtedly a great hero.

I felt a sense of camaraderie and said,

“My companions and I also aim to practice our own righteousness. You must have heard about how we eradicated the Namgung Clan. In the midst of it all, we unexpectedly crossed paths with you.”

Yeon Jong-hwi scoffed.

“Hmph! How can I trust the words of those directly involved? You could have taken down the innocent Namgung Clan out of selfishness.”

“If that’s the case, how about I take you to meet the victims and prove it?”

“What?”

Thud.

In a swift motion, I released his pressure points. In an instant, he regained the ability to harness his internal power, wearing a look of disbelief. I stood up and said,

“Ask them directly.”

“What if I run away?”

Swish.

I tossed his black bow that I had left by the door to him.

“If you refuse the opportunity to see the truth with your own eyes, you’ll disappoint me.”

“… Pretending to be a hero, are you? Fine!”

I led Yeon Jong-hwi to the building where women abused by the Namgung Clan had been temporarily housed to calm their minds. I planned to release them later once they were ready, but upon starting a conversation with them, Yeon Jong-hwi’s shock was evident.

About half a moment later?

Yeon Jong-hwi finished talking and came back out, saying,

“I can’t fully trust this, but the Namgung Clan appears scummy.”

“Indeed. But are you aware that no faction in the martial world could punish the Namgung Clan?”

As Yeon Jong-hwi glanced at me, I continued speaking while seated at the entrance.

“The Five Great Families couldn’t, nor could the Nine Great Sects dare intervene in the affairs of Namgung Clan. The Duke of Guanzhong and the Golden Eagle Guards simply looked the other way on the matter of a minor clan being trampled as it would be regarded as an affair of the martial world. In such a situation, who could rescue those pitiful women?”

“……”

“While you talk about practicing righteousness, you failed to recognize the great evil that was literally right by your side. You didn’t save them, so had we not intervened, they would have been trapped in a secret room, sexually abused, and ultimately met a tragic end.”

Yeon Jong-hwi sighed.

“What a dreadful act…”

I stood up, grasped Yeon Jong-hwi’s hand, and said,

“I wish for you to become our ally. Instead of doing righteousness alone, wouldn’t it be better to fight against the vast evil roaming this world?”

“……”

“However, our enemies will be far mightier than the Five Great Families. They’ll be a caliber beyond the corrupt officials you’ve assassinated.”

Yeon Jong-hwi fell silent for a moment, then sighed as if extinguished.

“Give me a day. I want to think it over.”

“Alright.”

I led Yeon Jong-hwi not back to his cell, but to a regular room. A day later, when I went to see him, Yeon Jong-hwi was still sitting in the room’s chair, though his internal power restrictions had been lifted. He was sitting there, having presumably stayed up the entire night, with bloodshot eyes.

Upon my arrival, he performed a martial salute, saying,

“I’ve made up my mind. I, too, will join you in your righteous endeavors!”

“Good thinking.”

I handed him the obsidian filled with the memories. As the memories flowed into him, he soon began to tremble and gained a look of shock.

“W-What on earth?! A world so vast like this…”

I smiled brightly and said,

“From now on, I’ll fight powerful foes, die, die, and die again. But still, I believe we will win in the end.”

“……”

He stood there slack-jawed for a moment, then suddenly bowed to me, saying,

“I, Yeon Jong-hwi, the 53rd descendant of the Yan royal family, will serve you as my lord!!”

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