Chapter 73: Danya (4)

“Branch Leader, I’m entrusting this guy to the Muhan Branch for the time being. He might look like this, but he’s actually quite useful.”

“You want to leave the master of the Desert Assassins’ Valley with us?”

“Give him a suitable position, guest or whatever, and put him to work. Can you do that?”

Yo-ran hesitated to answer.

An expert of this caliber was hard to come by, even with a fortune.

The Hao Clan, always lacking in martial strength, had no reason to refuse the addition of a powerful warrior.

‘But can we handle him?’

She estimated that he was easily among the top 100 experts in the Murim.

If he decided to cause trouble, they would be helpless to stop him.

As expected, the man himself immediately objected.

“My lord, why do I have to stay here? I want to follow you.”

“You made this mess, so you have to clean it up.”

“But there are other ways to repay you…”

“Danya, ‘they’re’ here.”

Danya’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

“Hmm… is that so?”

“You must be bored. There will be plenty of prey here. With the Branch Leader’s help, you can easily establish a base and create a hunting ground.”

“Intriguing. I knew it was a good idea to follow you, my lord.”

Cho Un-hwi, watching Danya revert to his cold-blooded assassin persona, turned to Yo-ran.

“Didn’t you need a sharp blade to deal with the traitors? Of course, within certain limits.”

“Only against ‘them,’ not for personal gain. Correct?”

“Haha, that’s why I like you, Branch Leader.”

He pulled out several books from his pocket.

“Five Night Guardians, consider this your reward.”

“This is…”

The Five Night Guardians’ eyes widened as they examined the books.

“The Heavenly King Sword Technique and its secrets? And this is…”

“I picked out the ones without owners, so you can learn them without any problems.”

“This is… too much for a reward.”

“It’s just something I picked up along the way. Consider it a bonus.”

“Heh.”

Yo-ran, quick-witted as always, seemed to understand the implication of the word “bonus” and chuckled softly.

“But…”

“Humility is a virtue, but it’s only a virtue if you have the skills to back it up.”

The Five Night Guardians, realizing that he was criticizing their lack of strength, looked dejected.

“It’s for the Branch Leader’s protection, so don’t refuse.”

“We will serve with our lives.”

“I’ll leave the gold with you too. Give Danya whatever he wants.”

He tossed the lump of gold onto the table.

Cho Un-hwi then made a few suggestions: how to restore their lost reputation, how to train their subordinates, and other miscellaneous matters.

The Five Night Guardians, who had entered the room with sullen expressions, now had stars in their eyes.

‘He’s bewitching them too.’

Yo-ran shook her head, amused.

***

After the excited Five Night Guardians left, Yo-ran prepared a private room for the two of them, as Cho Un-hwi had said he wanted to have a drink before leaving.

“That should take care of everything, right?”

“The main branch suffered significant losses, but the attacker is now a guest, and we received a large sum of money and secret manuals. Frankly, it’s excessive.”

“Really? I thought it was just right.”

Yo-ran watched him click his tongue and thought, ‘What if I had begged for my life?’

What if she had chosen to compromise instead of fighting?

What if she had given up on revenge and turned a blind eye to the deaths of her disciples?

‘Would he have been so generous?’

Probably not.

He was only being so generous because he trusted her.

She was grateful, but also a little hurt that he had tested her.

‘I can’t show my feelings.’

He might be testing her again.

But it was okay to express a little dissatisfaction, as long as she hid her true feelings.

“Are you going to talk about work even when we’re alone?”

“Of course not. I just want to see less wrinkles on your forehead.”

“Hmph, hmph, it’s inevitable that I’ll get old and wrinkled as time goes by.”

Cho Un-hwi smiled gently.

“That’s true.”

His smile made her feel uneasy.

‘Maybe he’ll leave me before I get old.’

(TLN: she needs help)

Her heart sank at the thought.

‘No, I have to hold on to him for as long as possible.’

She had to pass all his tests.

She bit her lip, determined to prove herself worthy. Her hand trembled as she poured him a drink.

“You seem tired, Branch Leader.”

His gaze was sharp, and she quickly composed herself, forcing a smile.

“It’s been a long day.”

“I should get going.”

She felt a surge of urgency, not wanting him to leave so soon. She wanted to enjoy their time together.

“My lord.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you call the master of the Desert Assassins’ Valley ‘Danya’?”

The master of the Desert Assassins’ Valley was the Black Night.

The ruler of the six months of darkness and the six months of light.

That was what she had heard.

“Ah, his name?”

Cho Un-hwi relaxed and said, “Well, desert assassins don’t have real names. They’re orphans who were raised to be killers.”

“What about the name ‘Black Night’?”

“He gave himself that name when he was a young assassin. No one else calls him that.”

A fond smile appeared on his lips as he reminisced.

“So those of us who have known him for a long time call him ‘Danya.’ ‘Black Night,’ what a pretentious name.”

It was a fitting name.

Yo-ran thought about the terrifying aura he had exuded during the fight.

“Then who gave him the name ‘Danya’?”

“I did.”

“You? What does it mean?”

“It’s written with the characters for ‘short’ and ‘night.’”

“Short night? May I ask why you chose that name?”

“It’s simple.”

He took a sip of his drink, lounging under the moonlight.

“A short night is all that rabbit needs.”

Yo-ran blushed.

***

When Cho Un-hwi returned to the academy and reported Danya’s situation, Dokgo Yul seemed relieved.

“As expected of you, my lord.”

He had been quite worried.

It would have been a disaster if Danya had gone on a rampage.

“I was afraid it would become a major incident, especially with the Murim Alliance on high alert after the recent events.”

A major incident would be if the Murim Alliance discovered the existence of the master of the Desert Assassins’ Valley.

If things went well, they might try to recruit him, but if they found out he was alone, they might try to kill him.

It was widely believed that the desert was closely aligned with the Demonic Heavenly Sect.

“Well, I’m sure Danya will be fine.”

“If the Murim Alliance goes on high alert, the Shinmu Academy will also be on lockdown. I might have had to work extra shifts and night duty to prepare for any emergencies.”

Cho Un-hwi’s face paled.

“Damn it, that would have been a disaster.”

“And we don’t even get paid for overtime during emergencies.”

“Danya, you bastard, are you trying to kill me?!”

Dokgo Yul chuckled, watching Cho Un-hwi gnash his teeth.

“It seems you’re better off here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw a glimpse of your old self when I met you earlier.”

“…”

“It’s been almost ten years. I still remember that day clearly. You were just a young boy, but you ripped out Elder Dok’s spine without hesitation.”

“…Forget about it. It’s in the past.”

“Speaking of the past, I have a question. You were a legend to us, a god we worshipped. We believed that if we followed you, we could go anywhere in the world, and we would always be at the top. Why did you leave when you had everything you could ever want?”

“…I realized that it was a delusion to think I could have everything.”

“That’s a lie.”

“…?”

“You scratch your cheek with your index finger when you lie. It’s rare to see you lie, but I know your tells.”

Dokgo Yul pressed on, determined to get an answer.

“I remember the day you gave up. It was the day we raided the Heavenly Destruction Society’s hideout.”

“…”

“I remember it clearly. The traces of hundreds of human sacrifices. Mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. You were unfazed by it all, but you were shocked when you saw ‘that’ on the altar.”

“…I suppose so.”

“It was the charred body of a child. I couldn’t understand why you were so shocked by that, when you had seen so much death without batting an eye.”

“…”

“My lord.”

Dokgo Yul sighed, seeing Cho Un-hwi’s silence.

“Now that Danya has abandoned the Desert Assassins’ Valley and left the desert, my father will soon find out.”

“That’s right.”

Dokgo Yul’s, or rather Sima Yul’s, father, Sima Bai, was also a member of the Dark Soul Black Wind Guard.

He was the first subordinate Cho Un-hwi had recruited.

He was in charge of managing the Dark Soul Black Wind Guard in Cho Un-hwi’s absence.

“My father’s loyalty to you borders on fanaticism. He cares about you more than he cares about his own son.”

“…That’s right.”

“I think the reason you avoid him is because of his blind devotion to you.”

Dokgo Yul was right.

Sima Bai had prioritized Cho Un-hwi above everything else, even to the point of neglecting his own son.

He had even thrown himself in front of assassins’ swords to buy Cho Un-hwi time, even though he was untrained in martial arts.

Sima Bai’s life could be summed up in a single sentence: he had lived and died for Cho Un-hwi.

That was why Cho Un-hwi felt a mixture of guilt and burden towards him.

“He’ll come rushing over as soon as he finds out about your whereabouts.”

“That’s right.”

“And he’ll ask you the same question I’m asking you now.”

Dokgo Yul cleared his throat.

“I know you have the ability to see the future.”

“I’ve learned that even your most incomprehensible actions are always for the best.”

“Just tell me, why did you abandon everything and leave?”

“Was it because of that child’s body?”

Cho Un-hwi murmured, “It wasn’t a child’s body.”

“What?”

“The Heavenly Destruction Society can’t be eradicated. I could kill all their current Grand Elders. If I took the time to hunt them down one by one, I could build a mountain of their corpses and fill a river with their blood.”

But…

His voice was weary.

“…Even if I killed them all, they would just reappear. Like weeds. Again and again.”

“We’ll eventually prevail if we keep killing them.”

“Even if we win in the end, there will be nothing left.”

His expression softened.

His eyes drooped with fatigue, and a lazy smile appeared on his lips.

The sharp, imposing aura of a grandmaster had vanished, replaced by the weary demeanor of a Dongcheon Hall instructor.

It was as if a sharp sword had suddenly become dull.

Sima Yul, his heart aching, asked,

“Just one question. What does the person you’re searching for mean to you?”

Cho Un-hwi, his face bathed in the red glow of the setting sun, replied,

“Salvation.”

The sun was setting.