Chapter 401: Sorry, But This Is Just the Beginning

TL: FoodieMonster007

The three hostages' expressions stiffened in unison at the words from outside.

The correct answer?

If they had any sense, they knew the rescue team would not have politely knocked on the door. They would have broken it down and stormed in by surprise.

Most importantly, joy filled the woman's face.

"Damn it! It's one of her allies!" Yang Chung let out a deep sigh. "But who could it be that she's so happy?"

CREAK.

As the door opened, Lee Ahn lunged toward the person standing in front.

"Young Master!"

She threw herself into Geom Mugeuk's arms without a second thought.

"I missed you!"

She had embraced Geom Mugeuk many times before, but never had she felt such relief and happiness as she did today.

Yes, the correct answer had arrived! No, so what if it was the wrong answer? It was Geom Mugeuk. Geom Mugeuk had appeared precisely in this difficult situation.

Watching the scene, the three hostages felt fear at the newcomers' arrival, yet at the same time, they envied the man.

Who could he be that this beautiful woman is so fond of him?

Looking at his face, he was a young, handsome man.

Lee Ahn belatedly spotted the Drunken Demon standing behind Geom Mugeuk, looking at her.

"Ah! The Drunken Demon!"

Startled, Lee Ahn pulled away from Geom Mugeuk, her face flushing red.

The woman who, just moments ago, was contemplating whether to cut off arms or necks, was now showing such shyness!

However, that was not the problem for the three people currently held captive.

The Drunken Demon?

The three captives exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions asking, 'Did I hear that wrong?' They knew only one person by the name of the Drunken Demon.

Their gazes, desperately hoping they had misheard, turned back to the Drunken Demon.

The handsome middle-aged man, though revealing no special aura, possessed a presence that somehow drew the eye. Their gazes, observing his somewhat decadent aura and empty eyes, drifted to the wine bottle at his waist.

They might not know anything else, but they certainly knew that the Drunken Demon's unique weapon was a wine bottle.

I did not mishear!

A chill ran down their spines.

A Demon Supreme has come? Here? Why on earth?

The fear the Demon Supremes instilled in the murim was truly immense, and when the Drunken Demon glanced at them, the three men collectively lowered their heads, averting their gazes.

The Drunken Demon looked at Geom Mugeuk, his eyes seeming to say, I might get picked on by you, but when I am out here, this is the kind of person I am.

Geom Mugeuk smiled at him. He knew the Drunken Demon was not feeling well, even if he acted nonchalant, so he tried to smile at him often.

Geom Mugeuk asked Lee Ahn, "Who exactly were you trying to rescue?"

"As expected! You knew without me even saying anything."

Lee Ahn explained why she had come all the way here. It began when she coincidentally met a woman while on her way to meet Seo Jin, the Ghostly Sage's younger sister.

"…I ended up here because I got a glass of water and listened to her story. It was truly expensive water, I suppose."

Geom Mugeuk knew this incident perfectly described Lee Ahn as a person.

She did not just throw herself into danger simply because she was a bodyguard or to save him. She willingly risked herself because of the kind of person she was.

"Was handling things like this always so difficult? I always thought it was easy, seeing Young Master handle everything so smoothly."

Lee Ahn sighed, looking at the three people she had kidnapped. It had been fine until she captured them, and she had thought she would just make a grand hostage exchange, take the rescued people, and leave.

"How could I have known that they would abandon their own child? So I was considering just killing these guys and leaving."

Those words, not truly from her heart, were meant for the three captives to hear. She needed to create an atmosphere of fear, no matter how she handled them.

Now, Geom Mugeuk took over the situation.

"Can you leave the rest to me?"

"Please, take care of it!"

What worries could she have with Geom Mugeuk? It was unlikely, but even if he messed everything up, what did it matter? To her, Geom Mugeuk was that kind of person.

Geom Mugeuk approached the three people and whispered quietly, "You guys were really in big trouble if I hadn't come. That pretty woman, you have no idea how scary she is when she starts snipping."

From behind, Lee Ahn said, "I can hear you."

At that moment, the three people were having similar thoughts.

Who is this young man? Is he a subordinate of the Drunken Demon?

Somehow, it did not feel that way. Given that the woman called him 'Young Master,' his status seemed high.

However, no matter how they looked, he did not seem to have practiced martial arts at all. His appearance and aura were exactly like that of a noble family's scion. Could a scion of a noble family associate with a Demon Supreme and commit such acts?

In any case, what needed to be done was clear, and Yang Chung decided he had to somehow use this variable to survive.

I will use this guy to survive.

Yang Chung politely asked, "Who are you, Young Master?"

He struggled to suppress the urge to retort, 'Just who the fuck are you?' and instead acted as courteously as possible.

"I am the savior who will rescue you."

It was an incomprehensible statement, but since he was being told he would be saved, Yang Chung thought this was his chance.

"If you save me, I will grant you anything you desire."

"Anything?"

"Yes. If you want money, I will give you money. If you want martial arts, I will teach you the martial arts of my sect. If you want fame, I will help you achieve it."

He recklessly made promises, whether they could be kept or not. His life was on the line, so what could he not say?

Lee Ahn, standing behind, smiled faintly. To whom was he offering money, and to whom was he offering martial arts? Moreover, their combined fame would not even come close to Geom Mugeuk's.

"Can you not give all three?"

"I will give you all three!"

Geom Mugeuk's eyes then became suspicious. "But your father refused the hostage exchange, didn't he? Would such a person pay money and give away martial arts?"

"That's…"

This point was truly the most shameful and infuriating part of Yang Chung's life.

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk subtly suggested, "How about this instead? Tell us where the people we need to rescue are being held. Then we will rescue them. After that, we can release you, right? Our goal is to save those people anyway."

The moment she heard those words, Lee Ahn understood.

Ah! That was the correct answer.

To coax him into revealing their location and then rescue them directly.

Why did I not think of this simple idea?

It was a plan that should have obviously come to mind first. Surprisingly, it had not.

I only thought about exchanging hostages.

Her mind had been fixated on that, and no other thoughts had occurred to her. The opponent was a heartless individual who would even abandon his own child, yet she had been engrossed only in the idea of a fair exchange. No wonder the situation had not gone as planned.

If Geom Mugeuk had not come, she would have been kicking her blankets in frustration much later, thinking, 'Ah, why did I not think of that?'

Indeed, being with Young Cult Leader makes my heart feel at ease.

At that moment, Lee Ahn's gaze met the Drunken Demon's. The Drunken Demon seemed to convey, 'I understand that feeling too.'

Right now, she could comfortably watch, but what about the Young Cult Leader? What if he had to follow her around, cleaning up the messes her naive self made? It was truly a thought she wanted to avoid.

"You have to live first, don't you?"

Geom Mugeuk's persuasion was also for Lee Ahn's sake. She would surely want to rescue the woman's husband and the other people who had been captured.

The problem was that even if Yang Chung were released, the Northern Blood Sect would never release them. If they were going to release them, they would have agreed to the hostage exchange in the first place.

According to Lee Ahn, they had gathered people with unusual constitutions, so it seemed they were conducting some kind of experiment.

They were clearly plotting something that should not be revealed to the outside world.

Yang Chung, who had been contemplating, cautiously said, "They have probably already moved those people."

He was already halfway convinced.

"You know where they moved them, don't you?"

Of course, Yang Chung had a rough idea of the possible locations.

"Even if I tell you, the security is too strict, you will not be able to rescue them."

Geom Mugeuk pointed at the Drunken Demon. "Didn't you hear who he was earlier?"

Yang Chung's heart began to pound. He was afraid of the Drunken Demon, and he was afraid he would eventually confess.

"Besides, if we go and get caught, wouldn't that be better for you? Why? Are you afraid of being treated as a traitor? You can just say later that you told us the location to capture us."

Geom Mugeuk even provided an escape route.

"Will you really release us if I tell you?"

"I will release you."

"How can I trust that?"

"Because I am promising to release you."

Yang Chung hesitated. Looking at Geom Mugeuk's clear eyes and kind, handsome face, it seemed he would surely keep his promise. How could one trust someone based solely on their appearance? Come to think of it, he still did not know who this person was.

Looking impatient, Geom Mugeuk coldly turned away. "Then just die. What are you doing? Kill all three of them!"

At Geom Mugeuk's command, Lee Ahn drew her sword and approached the three men. A thick, unwavering killing intent surged forth, and Yang Chung cried out urgently, "I will tell you!"

Yang Chung finally confessed the locations. He named not just one place, but several possible locations.

"If the locations you mentioned are correct, you will wake up in your room in the Northern Blood Sect when you open your eyes again."

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Three streams of finger qi bullets flew simultaneously, suppressing their vital points. They fell asleep on the spot.

Of course, even if the locations were correct, he had no intention of simply releasing them. He still needed to negotiate with the Ice Palace and obtain what he could from them.

And that was not the end of it. Retribution for whatever the Northern Blood Sect had been plotting still remained.

Lee Ahn sighed and said, "Why did I not think of this from the beginning?"

"Even if you had, it wouldn't have worked then."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Because he would never have divulged it. He would have denied it to the very end. And you're not the type to torture people."

"Ah! He confessed because he realized his father abandoned him!"

"Exactly."

"I didn't even think of that part! Why do the answers always elude me!"

Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk with renewed admiration.

Geom Mugeuk did not forget to show off.

"Your eyes, full of respect, always make me feel good."

After that playful banter, the three of them stepped outside.

Outside, the snow, which had briefly stopped, was now falling heavily.

"I am really getting my fill of snow viewing."

Lee Ahn looked up at the sky with a bright face. Geom Mugeuk felt anew that Lee Ahn suited winter well.

Lee Ahn ran out into the snowy courtyard.

Watching Lee Ahn run around like an excited puppy, Geom Mugeuk said to the Drunken Demon, "You take care of rescuing those people, Hyung. I am going to meet the Princess."

The Drunken Demon silently nodded and walked into the snow without a word.

Lee Ahn, who had been running around, paused for a moment and watched the Drunken Demon. Was it because she had never properly seen his back before? Or was it because of the heavily falling snow? Lee Ahn felt that the Drunken Demon's back, walking alone in the snow, looked somehow lonely.

"Is this a problem that can be solved with just one phrase, 'You take care of it'?"

"Why do you think we are called the Demon Supremes?"

"Thanks to that, I'm finally free!"

Lee Ahn flopped down onto the snow.

Geom Mugeuk looked up at the snowy sky and said, "Sorry, but this is just the beginning."

Upon receiving Geom Mugeuk's summons, Han Seol arrived at the meeting place. Two people were waiting there.

The moment Han Seol saw the woman standing with Geom Mugeuk, she had a premonition. The woman wearing a bamboo hat and a veil was the subordinate who had kidnapped the Northern Blood Sect Leader's scion this time.

His subordinate was a woman.

The two were conversing comfortably. Even from a distance, their relaxed relationship was palpable. They seemed like friends, or perhaps like an older sister.

As expected, he lacks authority.

It was true in front of the Drunken Demon, and it was true in this situation as well.

This naturally led her to wonder if the rumors and achievements of the Young Cult Leader might be exaggerated. After all, the Demonic Cult could manipulate anything.

As Han Seol approached them, Lee Ahn politely offered a clasped hands greeting, "Greetings, Princess."

Han Seol merely tilted her head slightly, accepting the greeting. Her expression conveyed that a subordinate was merely a subordinate.

From her demeanor, Geom Mugeuk felt no bluntness or sense of authority. What he felt now was emptiness.

"Why did you wish to meet?" Han Seol asked.

Geom Mugeuk immediately got to the point. "I will return the Northern Blood Sect Leader's scion."

Han Seol calmly asked, harboring a glimmer of hope that things might turn out unexpectedly well, "Of course, there will be conditions?"

"Naturally."

"Speak."

"First, you must not hold my subordinate, who kidnapped them, accountable."

Han Seol's gaze flickered toward Lee Ahn before returning to Geom Mugeuk. "I wonder if the Northern Blood Sect will accept that."

She said that, but the Northern Blood Sect had no choice but to accept. They could blame and curse the storm that had blown in, but they could not charge head-on into it just because they were angry.

"Alright. We accept. Where is Young Lord Yang?"

"There is one more condition."

"What is it?"

"Allow us to stay in the Ice Palace for a while. We wish to temporarily reside here and investigate the death of the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar Brewmaster."

Han Seol firmly refused. "Our palace does not house outsiders."

"My conditions are only those two."

"This is not something I can decide. I will discuss it with the Empress and inform you."

Just as Han Seol was about to turn away, Geom Mugeuk said, "It seems like you could decide something of this magnitude yourself. How about you make the decision and persuade the Empress? As a Princess, you must have that much authority, no?"

It was a provocation, but Han Seol did not let her pride show. "I do not have such authority."

"Take this opportunity to gain it."

Han Seol's eyes grew cold. "Is that not too transparent a scheme?"

"I consider it an opportunity for the Princess."

"What kind of opportunity?"

"The opportunity to formally negotiate with the Demonic Cult's Young Cult Leader. The Empress will also pay close attention to the process and outcome. She might even be anticipating it, seeing you proactively handle this matter."

Suddenly, Han Seol imagined herself giving that report.

I made this decision unilaterally. Please trust and support me, Empress.

How would her mother react if she said that?

This was the problem. She could not predict it at all. She still did not truly know what kind of person her mother was.

"I will contact you again."

Just as she was about to turn away.

"May I say something?" Lee Ahn, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. She slowly removed her bamboo hat and veil.

Han Seol could not take her eyes off Lee Ahn's face for a moment. It was not out of admiration for her beauty.

Han Seol was thinking one thought.

She is a person of a different caliber than me… When did I ever think this? Did I think it about Mother a long time ago?

At the same time, a question arose.

Why am I thinking this while looking at a mere subordinate of the Demonic Cult's Young Cult Leader? Why am I feeling such a deep resonance?

She could not understand it herself.

"What do you want to say?"

It was the first moment the gazes of two contrasting women, one cold and one warm, met.