So-ye could scarcely believe the situation she was in.
Not only had her identity been exposed, but he had even mentioned U Mun-so's head.
Un-hyeok asked.
"Are you going to keep hiding your identity?"
"You seem utterly convinced that I'm the Chamber Master."
And so certain at that.
Trying to deceive him any further would be meaningless.
RIP—!
Tearing off the human skin mask, So-ye moved with lightning speed.
She pulled the hairpin from her head and pressed its sharpened tip to Un-hyeok's throat.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa."
Un-hyeok raised both hands, showing he had no intention of resisting.
"Quite the greeting."
"Talk. Who told you about me?"
She had him at the edge of death, yet Un-hyeok was utterly composed.
'A hidden weapon.'
After poison, what the Sichuan Tang Clan was most famous for was its hidden weapons. From how to wield them to how to counter them —
In his previous life, Un-hyeok had drilled it all until it was second nature. That was why he could remain so calm.
"Settle down. Keep this up and you might start a war with the Poison Demon Sect."
"A toothless tiger? You think I'm afraid?!"
One breath.
Un-hyeok slipped into the gap between her words.
His hands moved so fast they left only afterimages.
And before she knew it.
"......!"
The hairpin was spinning between Un-hyeok's fingers.
So-ye's eyes went wide.
"How on earth......"
"How? What do you mean, how?"
Un-hyeok tossed the hairpin out the window.
"You 'do it well.' That's how."
"......"
"Sit. You look like you've got plenty of questions."
Un-hyeok sank into a chair, legs crossed, and jerked his chin toward the seat opposite.
So-ye stared at him for a long moment, then took a seat across from him alongside Ryu-yeon.
Just then, a voice came from outside.
"Young master, may I enter?"
Seok In-gu.
Un-hyeok spoke.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal In-gu carrying a tray of tea.
He distributed cups to each of them in turn.
"I've prepared the tea as you requested...... though I'm not sure it will be to everyone's taste."
His fingers trembled ever so slightly.
Given how tense he was, it was clear he had carried out the order properly.
Un-hyeok put on a casual act to conceal the art-scattering poison in the tea.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure our guests were parched anyway."
"......"
Perhaps sensing the uneasy atmosphere, In-gu hurriedly bowed.
"W-well then, please enjoy your conversation. I'll take my leave."
CLICK—!
The sliding door shut.
In the still guest hall, the only sound was So-ye and Hong Ryu-yeon sipping their tea.
A moment later.
CLINK—
Having gathered her thoughts, So-ye set down her cup and spoke.
"I'll be blunt. How much does the young master know about what happened at the Underworld Gate?"
"Everything."
The tragedy of the Underworld Gate.
According to what So-ye had told him in his previous life:
The former master of the Underworld Gate, Gwan U-pyeong, had been murdered by his own disciple, U Mun-so.
The reason was that Gwan U-pyeong had chosen Yi So-ye as the young gate master.
So-ye's senior martial brother, U Mun-so, had been superior to her in every respect.
Save for one thing.
His attitude toward the sect members.
Unlike U Mun-so, who regarded them as mere tools, So-ye had always treated them like family.
"I can't believe it. Not even the beggars of the Beggar's Sect know this."
"Of course not. After U Mun-so became the gate master, he would have done everything to bury his shame."
"Exactly. U Mun-so — that man used every means at his disposal to cover up his own atrocity. I even tried asking other sects for help in reclaiming the Underworld Gate."
"A waste of effort, I'd imagine."
So-ye traced her finger along the rim of her teacup.
"Just as you say. Those on the dark side only schemed to exploit me, and the righteous side was no different."
Yi So-ye bit her lip.
"They preached chivalry and justice, yet they turned a blind eye with pathetic excuses. Some of them even reported my location to U Mun-so."
"That's how the righteous lot always are. Every last one of them, hypocrites to the bone."
"That's why I defected to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
No one in the Central Plains had been her ally.
Meanwhile, the Underworld Gate's eyes and ears reached every corner of the world.
And so So-ye had fled to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult — beyond their reach.
"I scrubbed my identity clean. No one has caught on until now. And yet, how did you......"
"Let me make one thing clear: I have no intention of revealing the source of my information."
So-ye's brow furrowed into deep creases.
"Why? Isn't this about forming an alliance?"
"We haven't formed one yet. And the Golden Dragon Chamber operates the same way, doesn't it? You don't reveal your sources even when clients ask."
"......"
"However, this much I will guarantee. I have never told anyone your secret."
"And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"If you don't believe me, what can you actually do about it?"
HUMMM—!
Formless energy rippled from Yi So-ye's body.
"There are ways to make a young master disappear without a trace."
"Is that so? Go ahead and try."
"You think I won't?"
The hairpin had been snatched away only because she had let her guard down.
So-ye began gathering her energy.
Then.
FWSHHH—!
The inner strength in her qi center suddenly scattered and refused to converge.
'Why can't I use my inner arts?'
Un-hyeok grinned.
"The poison's finally taken effect, I see."
"What do you......"
"I slipped a bit of art-scattering poison into the tea you just drank."
SLAM—!
So-ye struck the table.
"You coward......!"
"Coward? Have you forgotten where you are?"
The Poison Demon Sect.
One of the Six Great Demon Sects, and unrivaled in the realm of poisons.
"Bold or foolish — you walked right into the tiger's maw of your own free will. What made you trust enough to drink the tea without a second thought?" Un-hyeok's gaze turned ice-cold. "If I'd wanted you dead, you'd already be rotting."
A chill crawled down So-ye's spine.
'The Poison Young Master isn't wrong.'
She should have realized it when the hairpin was taken.
That Dok Un-hyeok was not someone to be taken lightly.
But before she knew it, she had been trapped by her own preconceptions.
'What if the tea had contained a deadly poison instead of art-scattering poison? Could I really have survived?'
Now So-ye understood.
Why Black Bear had been defeated.
'The world has it wrong. This man is no disgrace to the Poison Demon Sect.'
Having calmed herself, So-ye spoke.
"......You were hiding your true self as well, young master."
"Think what you like."
"Fine, I'll hear you out. If I become your eyes and ears, how do you plan to kill U Mun-so?"
"Now we're talking."
"But if you so much as breathe an absurd word, I'll walk out of here on the spot."
"Before that, there's something to take care of first, isn't there?"
"......?"
Un-hyeok's gaze turned toward Hong Ryu-yeon.
"You can drop the act now. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"What are you talking about?! Act?!"
"Listen well. That man is......"
So-ye's ears caught Un-hyeok's voice, clear and unmistakable.
"U Mun-so's spy."
"Wh...... what?"
"Hong Ryu-yeon has been feeding information about the Golden Dragon Chamber — and about you — to U Mun-so behind your back."
SLAM—!
So-ye shot to her feet.
"That's insane! Ryu-yeon saved my life! He would never do something like that!"
She wanted so desperately to believe it.
But even that was part of Hong Ryu-yeon's deception.
On the night So-ye had finished preparing to exact her revenge on U Mun-so, Hong Ryu-yeon had shown his true colors.
He had slipped sleeping poison into her drink, put her into a deep sleep, then slashed her face to ribbons.
The betrayal of someone she had trusted completely.
So-ye had been utterly powerless against it.
'The Golden Dragon Chamber burned to the ground that night, and Yi So-ye's face was left completely destroyed.'
After that.
So-ye had fled the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as well.
The Underworld Gate had devoured the vacuum left by the Golden Dragon Chamber and established a foothold within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And so So-ye had hidden her identity and scraped by in wretched obscurity — until she met Un-hyeok.
'I was on my way back from carrying out one of Tang Wi-hyeon's missions at the time. I was stunned when I found Yi So-ye's safe house.'
Intelligence covering every wall from floor to ceiling.
Reading through it slowly, one could see the currents of the entire world.
Though she had been ruined, her abilities had not dulled in the slightest.
'Come to think of it, I made a deal with Yi So-ye to join hands back then too.'
The missions Tang Wi-hyeon had given him were almost all near-impossible tasks.
He had needed So-ye's help to improve his odds even slightly.
Back then, unlike now, it was So-ye who had asked Un-hyeok to take U Mun-so's head.
'I was lucky. It happened right when the Heavenly Righteous Alliance announced a large-scale campaign to purge the dark side.'
The Sichuan Tang Clan had also taken part as a member of the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, and their goals had aligned perfectly.
The Underworld Gate had been counted among the dark-side forces.
'U Mun-so was certainly no easy opponent. If Yi So-ye hadn't given me intel on him beforehand, I'd have been the one to die.'
But Un-hyeok had killed U Mun-so in the end, and that had been the catalyst for becoming comrades with So-ye.
After that, Yi So-ye's intelligence network had been instrumental in bringing down the Poison Demon Sect as well.
'Of course, even Yi So-ye couldn't survive the War Between Realms in the end.'
But that was beside the point.
What mattered now was persuading Yi So-ye.
"Send someone to search Hong Ryu-yeon's quarters right now. Third shelf from the top of the bookcase, the eighth book from the left — pull it out, and a door to a hidden passage will open. You'll find evidence of his communications with U Mun-so there."
"That's ridicu—!"
"I'll give you some time."
Un-hyeok sank deeper into his chair.
So-ye scowled at his unyielding attitude.
"......Fine. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I searched Ryu-yeon's quarters. But what if there's nothing there? What then?"
"I'll stake my life on it."
"......"
"And if I'm right, I trust you'll consider joining hands with me?"
"That won't happen."
"No?"
A wager he could not lose.
Un-hyeok decided to raise the stakes even higher.
"If you're so confident, let's throw the debt I owed the Golden Dragon Chamber into the pot. If I win, it's wiped clean. If you win, I'll pay back double. How about it?"
"......"
"What's the matter, nothing to say? Don't tell me the great Chamber Master of the Golden Dragon Chamber is scared."
Un-hyeok needled her shamelessly.
"Well, if you're scared, you're welcome to drop dead."
Her faith in Hong Ryu-yeon was absolute, so So-ye did not back down.
"Hmph! Who said anything about being scared?!"
"Then I take it you accept."
"Gladly! Ryu-yeon, you're fine with this too, right?"
So-ye turned to look at Hong Ryu-yeon.
But his face had gone ice-cold.
Like someone whose every secret had just been laid bare.
"What...... Ryu-yeon, what's wrong?"
"......"
"No way...... no, right? Right?"
Un-hyeok grinned.
"What, did I pinpoint the location so precisely that it rattled you?"
"Wh-what. Ryu-yeon. Is...... is what he said really true?!"
"......"
"Say something!"
Hong Ryu-yeon's face twisted more and more until it became something monstrous.
"Stop your shrieking before I tear that mouth apart."
"What?"
"Tch. I spent years building this up. Never thought I'd be exposed from such an unexpected quarter."
"Ryu-yeon......?"
Yi So-ye's pupils trembled.
"Wh-what are you saying? That you're a lackey of U Mun-so — that son of a bitch?! Don't lie to me!"
"Insolent bitch."
Hong Ryu-yeon glared at Yi So-ye with eyes she had never seen before.
"Watch your tongue. The Gate Master is not someone the likes of you may speak of freely."
"What did you just say?"
"Tch. I so wanted to see your face twisted in misery. But it's all gone to waste now."
"Why...... why would you......?"
So-ye was lost in turmoil.
She must have been in deep shock.
Meanwhile, Ryu-yeon was rapidly sorting through his thoughts.
'The operation has failed. Retreating is the wisest move.'
That was a spy's role, after all.
But before that.
Hong Ryu-yeon fixed his glare on Un-hyeok.
'That wretch ruined everything, so I should at least take his life before I go.'
Ryu-yeon, too, was unable to channel his inner arts due to the art-scattering poison.
But against Dok Un-hyeok —
Snapping the neck of a man weakened beyond measure by a life of debauchery —
— was easier than eating cold porridge.
"Die! Dok Un-hyeo—GGHK!"
Ryu-yeon kicked off from his seat and lunged.
But Un-hyeok was half a step faster, kicking the table into him.
"Gkh......!"
The table slammed into an unfortunate spot below Ryu-yeon's waist.
Looking down at Ryu-yeon on one knee, Un-hyeok clicked his tongue.
"Tch, tch. Predictable. So predictable. I can hear the gears turning from here. How can you fail to do even one thing I don't expect?"
Ryu-yeon ground his teeth.
"Insolent......! I will kill you by any means necessary!"
The stage was set.
Every player had taken their place.
Un-hyeok was the lead, Ryu-yeon the villain.
And what needed to be won was So-ye's heart.
Now only one thing remained.
Un-hyeok grinned.
"Well then, shall we bring this little show to a close?"