Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Black Tortoise Squad Leader Cheol Ji-ak.
He was famous in the Martial Alliance. In a bad sense.
His own convictions took precedence over his superiors’ orders, and he was a man who did not know how to bend.
While his peers were promoted to Division Head and Hall Master ranks, he had no choice but to remain a perpetual Squad Leader.
Naturally, with such a disposition, he had never once separately sought out Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon, his former superior.
What reason would an Alliance Leader and a Squad Leader ever have to face each other directly?
Simply performing his duties silently in his own position was enough, such was Cheol Ji-ak’s conviction.
Since such a man entered the Alliance Leader’s Palace, everyone could not help but be surprised. The maid handling miscellaneous chores related to the Alliance Leader’s Palace widened her eyes like a startled rabbit and spoke.
“Huh? What brings you here, Squad Leader?”
“Is the Alliance Leader inside?”
The maid’s eyes narrowed.
It was because Cheol Ji-ak looked to be in a very good mood.
On top of that, he had even brought a young, handsome rising star behind him.
“Yes, he is inside, but…”
“I must see him.”
“What is the reason?”
Cheol Ji-ak pondered for a moment before speaking like this.
“To right the justice of the Righteous Path.”
“…Ah, yes.”
The maid bowed her head and disappeared into the Alliance Leader’s Palace.
A brief moment passed like that.
A hearty burst of resounding laughter erupted from inside the Alliance Leader’s Palace, and soon the maid came back out.
“He said to come in.”
“Does the Alliance Leader have good news?”
At that question, the maid smiled gently.
“Justice of the Righteous Path is good news to the Alliance Leader, after all.”
“That is true.”
Cheol Ji-ak gave the maid a thumbs-up.
Guided thus by Cheol Ji-ak, Cheon Woo-jin entered the Alliance Leader’s Palace.
* * *
Cheon Woo-jin was in a state where the back of his neck stiffened for the first time since emerging into the martial world. It was not because he was meeting an exalted personage.
It was because the presence felt from inside was tremendous even though the door had not yet opened.
‘An atmosphere similar to Master White Elder…’
In terms of sheer energy alone, the person who most resembled White Elder among everyone Cheon Woo-jin had seen was none other than Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.
Cheol Ji-ak asked politely.
“Alliance Leader, may we enter?”
At the same time, the sliding door of the Alliance Leader’s Palace rattled open.
The interior was clearly visible, and the Alliance Leader was sitting behind an office desk far from the door.
In other words, it meant he was an expert capable of using Telekinetic Attraction just to open a door.
Cheon Woo-jin’s gaze turned toward Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.
In appearance, he looked as if he had just turned forty, but his hair and eyebrows had grayed considerably white.
Yet his eyes were full of brilliance, and even though he was merely sitting, his posture appeared commanding.
He was a man whose features, expression, posture, and atmosphere exuded confidence to the fullest.
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon, who watched Cheol Ji-ak and Cheon Woo-jin for a moment, sprang up from his seat and burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha, is this not our Black Tortoise Squad Leader? The sun surely rose from the east today, so what brings you to visit me?”
Cheol Ji-ak scratched his head, laughing sheepishly.
It was because coming to the Alliance Leader’s Palace on his own two feet like this was the first time in decades since joining the Martial Alliance.
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon moved to sit in a chair for guests and gestured toward the seat across from him.
“Do not just stand there blankly, come in and sit down.”
Cheol Ji-ak and Cheon Woo-jin sat across from the Alliance Leader with a tea table between them.
Bukli Cheon, who looked at the two of them for a moment as if observing a spectacle, spoke.
“Black Tortoise Squad Leader, you are too upright and inflexible. That is why you are still a Squad Leader. All of your peers have taken Division Head positions, so what are you doing? If you lacked ability, I would not even feel this frustrated.”
“Haha… Then give me a special promotion.”
“That cannot be done. Personnel authority lies not with me, but with the Chief Strategist. Were you always someone who loved special privileges so much?”
Of course, even if given the seat, Cheol Ji-ak would have refused it. Because the Alliance Leader knew this as well, they were casually trading jokes.
Suddenly turning serious in his expression, Bukli Cheon continued speaking.
“Ji-ak, bamboo that cannot bend is bound to snap. Do you want to snap? Do you like snapping? Just a joke. Anyway, that is enough nagging. So, what brings you here? Let us right the justice of the Righteous Path together.”
Cheol Ji-ak was inwardly astonished.
Truthfully, he had thought the Alliance Leader would not remember him.
Decades ago, living together for roughly a fortnight was all they had shared. The Alliance Leader was the squad leader, and he was the youngest member.
Yet, far beyond mere recollection, he was intimately familiar with Cheol Ji-ak’s current disposition and circumstances.
He felt that this was truly the Alliance Leader who watched over the entirety of the Martial Alliance.
Cheol Ji-ak pointed toward Cheon Woo-jin.
“I brought him because this fellow wished to see the Alliance Leader.”
Bukli Cheon’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
The two locked eyes for a moment, and a curious silence fell.
Bukli Cheon asked with a look of intrigue.
“Who is he?”
“He is an applicant for this selection examination.”
“Is that so?”
It was puzzling. An applicant of the Martial Alliance was a distant junior and a lovely child. He was confident he would welcome anyone who visited, but no one had ever dared to seek out the Alliance Leader.
At that moment, Cheon Woo-jin rose from his seat and clasped his fists toward Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon with utmost politeness.
“I have heard much about you.”
“From whom?”
Since Bukli Cheon had been such a renowned man even before becoming the Alliance Leader, rumors about him were countless. However, this young rising star before him did not seem to be talking about such rumors.
Raising his head, Cheon Woo-jin looked straight at Bukli Cheon and asked.
“Is the Alliance Leader the Sword Slower Than a Turtle?”
Beside them, Cheol Ji-ak wore an appalled expression, and Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon’s expression stiffened rock-hard.
“…Who are you? How do you know that nickname?”
“I am Cheon Woo-jin, disciple of Master White Elder. I greet you.”
Cheon Woo-jin lowered his head lightly once more.
At that, the Alliance Leader sprang up from his seat.
“Wh-what? Where is that elder right now?”
As he reached his hand toward the empty air, the white long robe tossed carelessly on the desk was drawn into his grasp.
The way he hurriedly put on the long robe carried the momentum of going to see White Elder this very second.
“…He passed away.”
The Alliance Leader’s movements froze completely.
Both his expression and breathing were frozen.
“I see…”
Soon, deep sorrow fell over the Alliance Leader’s face.
Sitting back down slowly, the Alliance Leader exhaled a long sigh, drank some tea, and spoke.
“How?”
“He lived comfortably together with me and Master’s long-time friend before passing.”
Smiling, the Alliance Leader nodded his head.
“To deliver news like this after more than a decade. Even in passing, it is truly like Senior.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded.
It was because he knew better than anyone what kind of people his masters were.
“He was a good man. He surely ascended to immortality.”
“He surely did.”
Cheon Woo-jin replied calmly.
Master White Elder was someone who could easily become an immortal. Of course, regrettably, Master Black Elder was…
Cheon Woo-jin coughed dryly for no reason.
Looking at him, the Alliance Leader spoke.
“What became of the Azure Feather Fan that Senior used?”
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head.
It was because the weapon White Elder used was not the Azure Feather Fan, but the Crane Feather Fan, which was a white fan.
Soon meeting the Alliance Leader’s gaze, Cheon Woo-jin realized.
‘He is suspecting me.’
Unlike his outward appearance, the Alliance Leader was an exceedingly cautious man.
Because there were many secret histories of the martial world entangled with White Elder and debts of gratitude and vengeance were truly complex, he did not rashly trust Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin took out the Crane Feather Fan from his robes and placed it on the tea table.
“He never used the Azure Feather Fan in front of me. He merely used this Crane Feather Fan.”
“Hoho, you truly were that child, Cheon Woo-jin.”
The Alliance Leader burst into playful laughter.
But Cheon Woo-jin was puzzled.
“Did you hear about me from Master?”
“Did I merely hear about you? I stayed up several nights just to name you Cheon Woo-jin.”
“…Pardon?”
“When I last saw him, he said he had brought a kid to raise, so I gave you a name. Since he told me he had just been calling you ‘kid’ until a newborn turned three years old.”
Bukli Cheon wore a fed-up expression.
He felt it back then as well, but how could he not have thought to give him a name for three whole years?
Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes widened.
Come to think of it, he had no memory of when he began being called by that name. Since his very early childhood, his masters had simply started calling him ‘Cheon Woo-jin’ at some point, so he had lived thinking that was just how it was.
“Woo-jin, a name given with the meaning of displaying your talents and becoming a widely remarkable person. Even thinking about it now, it is a very fine name.”
Such a Bukli Cheon gazed closely at Cheon Woo-jin.
‘Senior boasted so much, saying the child’s talent was so extraordinary…’
At that time, he had thought Senior made a terrible fuss out of love for his disciple, but having met him like this, Senior had actually been rather understated.
Bukli Cheon spoke.
“Though what meaning would it have at this late hour? Still, would it not be good to make sure?”
“About what?”
“Prove like a martial artist that you are Senior’s disciple.”
He had already proven it with the name and the Crane Feather Fan.
However, proving it ‘like a martial artist’ meant speaking through martial arts.
Understanding at once, Cheon Woo-jin picked up the Crane Feather Fan.
Soon, as he fanned the Crane Feather Fan lightly, a gentle breeze gathered.
Seeing this, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon’s eyes shone like stars.
For it was Senior’s martial art, encountered after a truly long time.
The gentle breeze gathered at the tip of the Crane Feather Fan headed toward the teacup before Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.
Soon, the teacup swept up in the gentle breeze split smoothly in half as if cut by a peerless precious sword.
Before the tea inside could spill, the wind wrapped around it softly.
“Hoh.”
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon let out an exclamation of admiration. At that age, this level of manipulation was decades ahead even when compared to Senior White Elder.
Soon, the subtly blowing wind suddenly swirled with domineering momentum, and…
The tea scattered finely in the wind, raising a mist throughout the entire office.
As Cheon Woo-jin waved the fan once more like that.
The window of the office opened, and the mist that had filled the room dispersed outside in an instant.
Snap.
Lightly folding the Crane Feather Fan, Cheon Woo-jin tucked it back into his robes.
Throughout that entire process, the smile on the Alliance Leader’s face rarely faded.
“Did Senior pass away after watching all of your growth?”
“Yes, that is right.”
“Hahaha! How joyful and proud he must have been. I can almost picture Senior’s gentle smile before my eyes. I miss him, miss him so dearly.”
The Alliance Leader smiled truly like a child.
After laughing for quite a while like that, Bukli Cheon spoke abruptly.
“Still, that was my cherished tea.”
An awkward silence hung in the office.
Cheon Woo-jin spoke with a sheepish face.
“…I am sorry. No suitable method came to mind.”
“Hahaha! Just a joke. But why did Ji-ak come with you? If you were Senior’s disciple, you could have just sought me out directly.”
Cheol Ji-ak briefly read the room.
He was contemplating for a moment whether he could right the justice of the Martial Alliance amidst this harmonious atmosphere.
Seeing that, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon spoke.
“It seems it is not pleasant news.”
“Yes, a bit…”
“It is fine. All the more reason I should know.”
Having made up his mind, Cheol Ji-ak slowly explained the whole story from beginning to end.
Starting from the conflict between Cheon Woo-jin and Gu Jin-seok that began with the grade assignments.
To the incident that occurred during the second exam and the matter of the Western Sky Society.
To the ledger that was found and Gu Jin-seok’s escort Muk-gaek being identified as the culprit.
And to the Benevolence Division Head somewhat hastily concluding the investigation.
In particular, he faithfully tattled on the last part with great emotion.
Bukli Cheon’s expression, which shifted from moment to moment while Cheol Ji-ak’s explanation continued, ultimately hardened stiff.
“Haa, is the announcement ceremony tomorrow?”
“Yes. Applicant Cheon Woo-jin will likely be disqualified from this exam on the charge of causing a disturbance. In any case, trying to rip out a collarbone whole was admittedly excessive handiwork.”
Having said so, the Black Tortoise Squad Leader glanced at Cheon Woo-jin.
But there was no change in Cheon Woo-jin’s expression.
Nodding his head, Bukli Cheon spoke.
“Step outside.”
When Bukli Cheon spoke coldly, the Black Tortoise Squad Leader, who had been reading his cues, bowed his head and withdrew. Just as Cheon Woo-jin was about to follow behind him.
“Wait.”
Cheon Woo-jin, who was just about to step out the door, looked back.
The Alliance Leader’s words continued.
“You came well. Truly, you did well to come. However, showing you this kind of unsightly side makes me deeply ashamed. I will personally look into the matter, so do not pay it too much mind.”
Cheon Woo-jin lowered his head lightly.
“It is quite all right. By delivering news of Master to the Alliance Leader, I have already achieved every purpose of my visit to the Martial Alliance.”
At an attitude that seemed indifferent to whatever happened to the examination, the Alliance Leader’s brow furrowed.
“No, what nonsense is that? You must enter the Martial Alliance without fail. If Senior White Elder’s disciple does not join the Martial Alliance, where else would you go?”
“Mmm…”
But the Alliance Leader was resolute.
It was not simply because Cheon Woo-jin was White Elder’s disciple.
He was a covetable talent, and he wanted to clean up the Alliance’s corruption.
And more than anything…
“You are going to kill Applicant Gu Jin-seok, aren’t you?”
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin stared blankly at Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.
In that manner, a heavy silence filled the office.