Chapter 180: Those Who Live in Darkness (3)

So-mu had sprinkled his official uniform with a scent that only a skilled assassin could smell. So that King Sal can measure the distance anytime, anywhere.

The space where So-so was allowed to move was now within 300 yards of where his father was. Lion’s Hu training at Yangju Mountain has also been suspended for the time being.

No matter where I was or what I did, there were no exceptions. The distance that So-mu can immediately run to was 300 pieces. Whenever I tried to leave this street, the darkness always dragged the child away.

A sparsely populated vacant lot somewhere in the palace.

So-so, with her neck stretched out like Zara, walked back and forth with her back to her.

“I’m bored… I’m so bored…”

Seolhwawon was three hundred miles away, and his father, who was in the Privy Council, did not play with him during the day because he was busy.

“Ugh. Uncle, do you want to play with me?”

“…….”

There was no answer. It was natural since there was no one nearby. But So-so intuitively knew. That there was someone watching you somewhere around you.

“Uncle, where are you hiding? If I find you, will you play with me?”

I asked again, but there was no answer. But since I had set a goal, there was no reason to hesitate. Anyway, all that was left was time.

So-so searched the surrounding area, looking for him.

I looked at the nearby palaces and checked everything on the roof. Even though several days had passed, not even a single trace could be found.

“…Where did it go?”

So-so, with her arms crossed, opened her eyes and looked around. Then he pulled out a flute from his belt. I was thinking of using a skill I recently learned.

The child’s lips, as thin as blades of grass, began to dig into the flute and make a soft sound.

The heart was united and the voice was united. It was a song that could only be played by those born with the five senses of immortality due to the constitution of the Seonumji body (body).

By attaching one’s senses to the spreading sound waves, they return and convey everything around to the performer. It was a technology that could even detect the movement of ants wherever sound waves were transmitted.

After half an hour has passed. So-so smiled brightly and walked step by step towards somewhere.

It was under the wall of a nearby palace. So-so stopped walking and opened her arms and hugged shade.

“I found it! Hehe.”

Something in the child’s arms stirred like smoke. And it soon transformed into the appearance of a man wearing black clothes.

“…….”

He was quite surprised. Who were you? The King of Sal, the majesty in the darkness, was discovered by a mere child. He looked at the child in disbelief.

“My name is So-so. My father gave me the name to make me laugh twice. What is your name?”

“…I don’t know anything.”

King Sal just silently uttered one word without changing his expression. Then it disappeared into the darkness again.

“Chi. It’s too much.”

So-so turned his back and sat down with a sullen look on his face.

After a while, I closed my legs and buried my face. I picked up a rock nearby. He stood up again and started drawing on the wall of the palace.

Before long, little by little, the shape was revealed. It was a scary-looking face with a deep frown. It was clear from the shape of the clothes who had painted it.

“A bad guy with no friends.”

So-so, who was looking at the picture he had drawn, giggled as if feeling a little relieved. At that time, a soft voice came from behind me.

– Where did I see that it looked so ugly?

A voice I heard in my head. It was a technique called telepathic message.

So-so pouted his lips and answered bluntly.

“Why? It’s the same.”

At that time, a shadow stirred next to the wall and the King of Sal appeared.

“Look again. I can tolerate being told that I have no friends, but I can’t tolerate the fact that I look like that.”

King Sal had a sharp expression and a manly spirit. He was particularly sensitive about his appearance.

“Wait a minute.”

So-so moved the stone again and added a few drawings. Then, the frowning face drawn on the wall suddenly changed into a laughing face.

For a moment, a seemingly invisible smile appeared on King Sal’s face, but then quickly disappeared.

“Mister, the smile is just like the picture.”

King Sal spoke seriously with his characteristic expressionless face.

“I have never laughed before.”

“Don’t lie. I just saw it clearly.”

“Think whatever you want.”

So-so was drawing his own picture on the wall. Right next to King Sal, who was drawn first.

“But why don’t you have any friends?”

King Sal’s eyes were filled with bewilderment at the unexpected question.

“How do you know that?”

“He’s always quiet. He’s in our peace class. He’s quiet by himself like you. So I gave him snacks and played with him.”

The child looked at him as if he felt sorry for him. It was absurd.

“……so?”

“Would you like me to be your friend?”

“No need.”

So-so turned his head again and became absorbed in drawing a picture on the wall. By the time each piece passed, a plausible work was completed.

“I drew it all. How do you feel?”

King Sal crossed her arms and looked at the picture with an indifferent expression.

It was a picture of herself and her child standing holding hands. My skills were pretty good.

“It’s a lot better than I thought.”

Smiling at the unexpected compliment, So-so put a rock under the picture and urged it again and again.

“You have to write your name under the picture! Say it quickly.”

King Sal hesitated for a moment. He seemed to be debating whether to ignore it or not. However, there was no problem even if I told the child his name.

“…Baek Ri-hyeon.”

“Hihi. That’s a cool name. Is your last name Baek?”

“No. You are from Baekrisae. Although it is a place that does not exist now.”

He was the last survivor of the Baengri family, which was known to have gone extinct a long time ago. In any case, such details were not of So-so’s interest. My mouth was hanging from my ear as if I was excited to have a friend to talk to.

“completion!”

Baek Ri-hyeon read the words written under the picture and laughed.

‘So-so’s friend Baek Ri-hyeon… … . I heard you only use your name.’

“Mister, I laughed again!”

A skilled assassin does not show emotions at any moment. Baek Ri-hyeon, who was startled, quickly returned to an expressionless face.

“I wasn’t laughing.”

“So did you cry? I’ll have to tell my father later. Hehehe.”

It was something that would ruin my reputation. If the Sword Saint were to see this side of himself, there would be no greater humiliation.

“Don’t talk about it.”

“Hmm. I saw you doing it.”

So-so was happy to see Baek Ri-hyeon looking embarrassed. It was as if he had found a fun game.

At that time, someone appeared inside the palace and started running down the stone steps.

“Someone is scribbling on the wall of the sacred People’s Hall where political affairs are discussed!”

“Huh!”

So-so, startled, quickly ran away. But what good was running away? The name and outfit have already been written in large letters on the wall.

He was an elderly official. He looked around and looked at the graffiti on the wall. At the same time, shouted of anger erupted.

“So-so and my friend Baek Ri-hyeon! I will tell these guys to my father!”

So-so quickly ran away and hid in the backyard of another nearby pavilion. Then, gathering his shocked heart, he asked.

“Mister, what should we do now? They say it’s early.”

Baek Ri-hyeon had an absurd look in her eyes.

“Us? You did the graffiti alone, so why are you putting me at risk too?”

“Friends are meant to share happy and sad times together.”

“You’re making me an accomplice.”

So-so shrugged, met her eyes, and asked.

“But how do you do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“How to hide in the shadows like this. Tell me too. I’ll use it when I play hide and seek with my father.”

He was casually asking me to teach him martial arts. With eyes as pure as a deer. This was something that could not even be imagined in Jianghu.

“If it is not a secret, it cannot be passed down.”

“Then I’d like to ask you too~”

“Maybe it’s because you’re young, but you have no fear. Do you know what Shadow Gate does?”

“I know everything. It’s about protecting them. They protect my grandfather, and they protect me too.”

There was no end to the absurdity. It was a professional assassination group that took the lived of others. In the history of Jianghu, Shadow Gate’s skills were the best. Although it was destroyed several years ago due to a joint attack between the State of Hui and the Divine Demon.

And Sal King Baek Ri-hyeon was the last survivor of Shadow Gate.

“This is the path to getting blood on your hands. Don’t pay attention.”

“I can do it without getting blood on my face.”

The little thing wasn’t giving up a single word.

Baek Ri-hyeon sighed and stared into the distance for a moment. Because he wasn’t without a heart either.

‘If I die, Shadow Gate’s name will disappear. What Shadow Gate needs now was not an assassin, but a successor who can continue the clan’s legacy. It’s clear that the child has the best qualities, but… … Wasn’t she the daughter of the Sword Saint before that?’

Baek Ri-hyeon looked at So-so and was lost in thought for a moment.

He definitely couldn’t have been a coveted talent. He possessed profound internal strength and had a body optimized for martial arts after undergoing a metamorphosis at a young age. Moreover, he has natural muscles and the qualities of seonumji body.

He was a child who met all the conditions to inherit Shadow Gate’s legacy. How could you not worry? I was not confident that I would find the right person until I died.

The problem was that he wasn’t sure if the Sword Saint, the child’s father, would approve.

At that time, So-so shook Baek Ri-hyeon’s collar and asked again.

“Are you going to let me interrogate you?”

“…there is one condition.”

“What conditions?”

Baek Ri-hyeon said while looking at the child’s face secretly.

“If you keep it a secret from your father, I will allow you to become a member of Shadow Gate.”

I was going to get the job done and see.

I don’t know how the Sword Saint will turn out later, but since he was well aware of the martial arts ruled, he wouldn’t blindly try to invalidate it. Even if something went wrong, all they had to do was keep him as an honorary member. If he were to die later, he would naturally become the successor to the murder story.

So-so seemed to feel better as she hugged Baek Ri-hyeon’s waist.

“Okay, I’ll keep it a secret. Hehe.”

“I guess I’ll have to move the location first.”

It was not appropriate to hold a memorial service here. From residents taking a walk around the palace grounds to officers of the Sunla Army patrolling. There were many eyes watching this place.

Coincidentally, there was an empty pavilion not far away. After the harvest season, the space was to be used as a storage warehouse. It was a large space, but there was nothing inside.

Baek Ri-hyeon, who was facing So-so, turned his back and said.

“This is the initiation ceremony of Shadow Gate. Please bow to me in three obeisances.”

“Three bows?”

“It means bowing three times to the Lord of the Moon.”

It wasn’t difficult at all. It was a much simpler task than expected, So-so-so quickly bowed three times.

“Well done. Now give me your sword.”

So-so took out a small sword from her waist and held it out. Although it was made of metal, it looked like a toy, so much so that it could be considered a stick.

“It’s So-so’s treasure. The first gift my father gave me!”

Baek Ri-hyeon muttered as he examined the thin and light short sword.

“Because it has no blade, it cannot cut, and because the tip is blunt, it cannot pierce the opponent. By the standards of assassins, it is the worst. But it does not matter to you. For those who have reached the level of swordsmanship, it does not matter what sword they use.”

I could tell for sure from the way the child was holding the sword a little while ago. Indeed, as the daughter of a swordsman, So-so’s swordsmanship was already at a considerable level. It meant that the basics were solid enough to master the art of salmun.

“What are you doing with my sword?”

Baek Ri-hyeon took out his sword and was engraving a small pattern on the handle of his short sword. In a location that was hidden by a norigae and cannot be seen.

“It’s about engraving a symbol that proves you are a member of Shadow Gate.”

As soon as I heard the story, my anxious feelings disappeared and curiosity filled me instead.

“Please draw it pretty~”

Originally, it had to be imprinted on the body. But if you do that, isn’t it certain that the child’s father will notice? It was a temporary measure.

After a while, Baek Ri-hyeon returned the sword to So-so and spoke softly.

“The Shadow Gate determines its rank based on martial arts. So-so is above you in the ranking. From now on, you are the head of Shadow Gate’s division.”