Chapter 868: Not a Teddy Bear, but a Wolf Doll

TL: FoodieMonster007

Lee Ahn stared at an iron sword in the weapon shop. The sword she was looking at was not one of the expensive, ornately sheathed blades displayed in the center, but one of several swords arranged as a backdrop behind the main products.

The shopkeeper approached cautiously. "Does this sword catch your eye? You've been looking only at this one for a while now."

He had run the weapon shop for a long time and met countless martial artists. He had already intuited that Lee Ahn was a master who did not quite fit in with his shop.

"For some reason, this sword just holds my gaze," Lee Ahn said.

Perhaps she felt that the sword, placed behind the more glamorous ones, was like looking at herself.

Geom Mugeuk was one thing, but being with him meant that most of the people she met were flamboyant. The Young Alliance Chairmans of the Murim Alliance and the Evil Alliance, Demon Supremes, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, the Demonic Army General, the Sanzu Hall Director. Even when meeting subordinates, they were people like Green Mask or Cha Yiran, and even her enemies were all formidable figures.

She, who had been a bodyguard, was like that sword placed behind the fancy ones.

"Why don't you try drawing it?" the shopkeeper asked.

Lee Ahn replied, "I feel like I know what kind of sword it is without having to."

The shopkeeper's gaze shifted to the sword at her hip. "It seems you already carry a fine sword."

Lee Ahn nodded. Her sword was the Sun Moon Sword, a gift from Geom Mugeuk. "It was a gift from a fine person."

"By any chance, is that fine person the one over there picking out pajamas?" a woman asked from the entrance.

Lee Ahn turned, around. The person standing at the entrance was Jin Haryong, who had entered thinking Geom Mugeuk would naturally be there but found Lee Ahn instead. Geom Mugeuk was across the street at a clothier, picking out pajamas.

Lee Ahn smiled brightly at her friend, whom she had not seen in a long time. "Probably."

Jin Haryong came to stand next to Lee Ahn, while the shopkeeper quickly returned to the counter, wondering what was with today that such beautiful women were visiting one after another.

"What on earth is this trip?" Jin Haryong asked. "My Orabeoni took a whole vacation for it."

"According to the Young Cult Leader, it's a journey to find himself," Lee Ahn replied.

"He's so good at coming up with excuses to play around."

Jin Haryong sensed that Lee Ahn's aura was different from before, but she could not quite put her finger on what the difference was.

She's gotten stronger again.

Not only that, but her gaze and atmosphere seemed different as well. It was a woman's intuition sensing some kind of emotional change.

"Have you eaten?" Lee Ahn asked.

"No."

"The skewers in this town are delicious. Let's go, my treat." Lee Ahn started to walk away.

Jin Haryong grabbed her arm. "I'm interested in the Young Cult Leader."

Despite the sudden declaration, Lee Ahn was neither surprised nor flustered. "I know."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"What else?"

The two women's gazes locked in mid-air.

"You should be questioning me," Jin Haryong said. "The Young Cult Leader calls you his heart, but I, your friend, are interested? You should be calling me shameless."

Lee Ahn, who had been staring at her quietly, looked around. "It's dangerous to argue in a place with so many swords. Let's go. People get more on edge when they're hungry."

However, Jin Haryong had already made up her mind to say her piece. There was something she had wanted to ask for a long time. Separate from her own feelings for Geom Mugeuk, it was a point of frustration and curiosity as a fellow woman.

"This isn't something to talk about with a smile," she said firmly. "Why are you just letting things be? That man calls you his heart. Do you think he's joking?"

"No. He may play all sorts of pranks, but he's not someone who toys with people's hearts."

"Then why?"

"……" Lee Ahn remained silent, but her gaze said, Do you really need to hear the answer?

Jin Haryong simply held onto her friend's arm tighter.

Finally, an unexpected answer flowed from Lee Ahn's lips. "I've never just let things be."

"!"

"Not for a single moment since I first met the Young Master at the age of seven."

Staring silently at Lee Ahn, Jin Haryong let go of her arm.

Lee Ahn took the first step. "Let's go, you must be hungry."

The two women left the weapon shop and stood in front, looking at the clothier across the street. They could see Geom Mugeuk inside, talking with the owner.

Seeing the owner burst into laughter, Jin Haryong chuckled. "I just can't with him. He's chatting away in there too."

Lee Ahn looked down the opposite way. "Your brother is no different."

Jin Haryong turned her head and was startled. Jin Hagun was helping some medicine peddlers with a demonstration. He and a peddler were holding a log that had surely been broken beforehand…

A muscular man ran up and headbutted the log they were holding.

CRACK!

As the log split in half, the onlookers cheered.

Orabeoni, mingling with medicine peddlers?

It was truly something she could never have imagined.

"What on earth is this trip? Did everyone decide to go crazy?" she exclaimed.

"This is the first time I've seen the Young Alliance Chairman smile like that," Lee Ahn said.

Jin Haryong nodded. Just as she said, Jin Hagun was smiling brightly. "You're right. It's the first time I've seen Orabeoni smile so brightly."

After watching for a moment, she said to Lee Ahn, "Tell them I left first. I was busy but just stopped by to see you all for a moment."

As she was about to leave, Lee Ahn grabbed her arm. "Let's go on this trip together."

Jin Haryong stared at her, almost glaring. "You seem confident. I am Jin Haryong, am the greatest beauty in all of Hebei, the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Chairman, and the younger sister of the next Chairman. Are you confident you can handle me?"

"I'm not asking you to come because I'm confident."

"Then why?"

"Because I want to travel with a friend, too."

"!"

"The Young Master and your brother are so happy meeting up as friends. I want to go on this trip with a friend, too."

Jin Haryong was dumbfounded. "This really is a trip where everyone's decided to go crazy."

Lee Ahn did not let go of her arm. "The skewer place is this way!"

"Happy birthday!" The First Wolf of the Thirteen Evil Wolves presented a small box to Bi Sayin. "It's a gift we prepared."

"I told you gifts weren't necessary."

"It's nothing much. Please accept it as a small token of our sincerity."

Bi Sayin opened the box, revealing a gold wolf accessory, the symbol of the Evil Alliance. "It's magnificent," he commended, immediately pinning it to his chest.

"You don't have to wear it."

"I'll wear it for today. Thank you for the gift." Bi Sayin looked at the other members of the Thirteen Evil Wolves standing behind him, a hint of sincere thanks crossing his fearsome and grim face. "Thank you, everyone."

The Thirteen Evil Wolves performed a clasped hands greeting in unison. ""Happy birthday.""

The First Wolf reported to Bi Sayin, "Oh, and I've reserved the VIP section at Hwayang Pavilion. I've also told them to prepare the dishes you mentioned."

Normally, a grand banquet was held for the Evil Alliance Young Alliance Chairman's birthday. However, Bi Sayin had stopped the birthday banquets a few years ago. He found it burdensome to deal with people trying to curry favor with him through expensive gifts and awkward to greet people he barely remembered. He had no desire to be the center of everyone's attention at a banquet.

Today, he planned to spend his birthday quietly at Hwayang Pavilion.

SWISH!

As they were walking there, though, a single throwing knife flew toward Bi Sayin.

CLANG!

The First Wolf deflected the incoming throwing knife with his sword. "Ambush!"

Four of the Thirteen Evil Wolves launched themselves in the direction the throwing knife came from, while the remaining nine formed a protective circle around Bi Sayin.

However, the Thirteen Evil Wolves who went to find the attacker returned empty-handed.

"The culprit vanished without a trace."

The First Wolf, who had deflected the throwing knife, knew it was not an attack meant to kill Bi Sayin. The attack was too straightforward for that.

Sure enough, a letter was tied to the throwing knife lying on the ground.

He took out a small vial from his robes and lightly sprinkled its contents on the throwing knife and the letter.

"There's no poison on it," he confirmed, before untying the letter and bringing it to Bi Sayin.

Bi Sayin's eyes widened in surprise as he read the letter. His expression alone suggested its contents were serious.

"What does it say?" the First Wolf asked.

Bi Sayin showed the letter to the First Wolf.

Come alone to the jujube tree manor ten kilometers to the west. If you don't, Han Seol will die.

Bi Sayin arrived at the manor. Seeing the main gate hanging askew from its hinges, he could tell the place had been abandoned for a long time.

He crossed a courtyard littered with gravel and trash and entered the central building. Upon entering the main hall, he found four people there.

A chair was placed in the center, and a woman was seated on it. A black sack covered her head, making her face unrecognizable.

Three people in black stood around her. They wore black martial arts uniforms and bamboo hats with veils, so their faces were also hidden.

The man in the middle spoke coldly. "Young Alliance Chairman Bi Sayin of the Evil Alliance."

Bi Sayin stiffened. The man's voice was incredibly deep, so deep it seemed difficult to produce intentionally.

"You really came alone to save the woman." The man in the bamboo hat let out a vile laugh. "So the rumors that the Evil Alliance Young Alliance Chairman is in love with the North Sea Princess were true."

Bi Sayin's gaze fixed on the woman in the chair. His already fearsome face hardened, becoming even more terrifying. "Why have you covered her face?"

"I have something to ask. It's a question that would be difficult to answer face-to-face." The man in the bamboo hat held a sword to the woman's neck. "Han Seol, do you know that the Young Alliance Chairman likes you?"

After a moment of hesitation, the woman slowly nodded.

"Do you like the Young Alliance Chairman?"

Though she hesitated longer than before, the woman slowly nodded again.

The man in the bamboo hat laughed. "What a beautiful love. A love where you'd sacrifice your lives for each other."

"I have no intention of sacrificing my life," Bi Sayin interjected.

A silence fell, so profound that one might wonder if they had misheard.

They had not. Bi Sayin drew his sword without hesitation.

VWOOM!

His sword was enveloped in enhanced sword qi.

"How dare you try to hold a hostage against me!" he roared.

The man in the bamboo hat pressed his sword more tightly against the woman's neck. "Don't try anything foolish. If you so much as lift a finger, Han Seol dies."

Bi Sayin let out a long whistle. A moment later, the Thirteen Evil Wolves, who had been waiting outside the manor, stormed in.

"If Han Seol dies, the North Sea Ice Palace won't stand by idly!" the man shouted.

Bi Sayin did not even blink at the threat. In fact, he took it a step further. "Her death will be framed as the work of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."

The man in the bamboo hat flinched. The other two men in bamboo hats also startled in surprise.

Bi Sayin bellowed, "Kill them all!"

"Han Seol will die if you do!" the man screamed.

However, the Thirteen Evil Wolves charged forward as commanded.

As they flew in simultaneously, the man in the center, instead of killing the woman, shouted, "Wait! Wait! We surrender! Cease the attack!"

The charging Thirteen Evil Wolves stopped in their tracks, their swords pointed at the 'kidnappers'.

The man in the bamboo hat slowly removed the black sack from the woman's head, revealing Lee Ahn.

Lee Ahn muttered sheepishly, "…Happy birthday, Young Alliance Chairman Bi."

Soon after, the man took off his own bamboo hat. It was none other than Geom Mugeuk, who had been disguising his voice. The other two also removed their hats, revealing Jin Hagun and Jin Haryong.

Jin Haryong spoke with a dumbfounded look on her face. "Did we almost got killed trying to throw a surprise birthday party?"

Jin Hagun also wore a look of disbelief. "You'd attack without even checking the hostage?"

Lee Ahn fanned her face with her hand. "I thought I was going to die of heat wearing that thing."

Geom Mugeuk roared, "Are you crazy? Lee Ahn gave the performance of her life, are you insane? What were you going to do if Young Lady Han died!"

Not only Lee Ahn, but he himself had thoroughly concealed his presence, disguised his voice, and even swapped his usual swordsmanship for a common iron sword.

Bi Sayin smiled leisurely and revealed the truth. "I knew it was you from the start. Who else but you would dare kidnap Young Lady Han and send me such a letter?"

The only person who would do this was Geom Mugeuk. His threat to pin everything on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was just to mess with the guy.

"Did you think you could fool me?" Bi Sayin smiled with satisfaction, as if he had won.

The Thirteen Evil Wolves also looked relaxed, as if they had known all along.

Geom Mugeuk, as well as the other three, naturally believed Bi Sayin. He was not the type of person to bring the Thirteen Evil Wolves if he thought the real Han Seol had been kidnapped, or pin Han Seol's death on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

How on earth did he know?

Before figuring that out, Geom Mugeuk was not about to let this golden opportunity to tease Bi Sayin pass by. He began his counterattack. "Lies! You're just making excuses now that you've been caught!"

As if on cue, everyone chimed in. By now, they were all experts at playing along with Geom Mugeuk's antics.

"I'm disappointed!" Lee Ahn shook her head.

Jin Haryong lamented, "I've witnessed the coldness of the jianghu firsthand today."

Jin Hagun also joined in. "Have we been deceived all this time?"

"So it was all fake affection," Geom Mugeuk sighed. "Young Lady Han, you've been deceived! This heartless unorthodox successor has no room for love."

Bi Sayin, who had been smiling leisurely, immediately became flustered. "I'm telling you, I knew! Don't misunderstand."

Unfortunately, his friends were not hunters who would let go of their prey once they caught it.

The lead hunter was Jin Hagun. He recalled the time he had strolled through the market with Bi Sayin. He had realized the relationship between the two when he saw Bi Sayin, dressed in white with Han Seol, carrying a teddy bear. "That teddy bear!" he cried out.

Good point! Geom Mugeuk's eyes gleamed as he revealed the teddy bear's true identity. "It wasn't a cute teddy bear, but a scary wolf doll hiding his ambition to take over the North Sea Ice Palace. Look there! He's even wearing it on his chest!"

Lee Ahn and Jin Haryong added their support.

"I think I'll be scared every time I see a teddy bear from now on."

"I should probably throw out the teddy bear I have at home first."

The two women looked at each other and smiled with their eyes. When else would they, as martial artists, get a chance to tease the Evil Alliance Young Alliance Chairman like this? Being with Geom Mugeuk truly led to unimaginable experiences.

Geom Mugeuk remembered something else. "Ah, the sweets you bought for Young Lady Han at the market that day must have been poisoned!" He turned to Jin Hagun and said sincerely, "I'm sorry. Oversleeping, spilling food on my clothes, showing off, gambling… all of that was nothing in the face of this great evil. We failed to see the true, massive iceberg beneath the glacier."

Jin Hagun nodded. "I accept your apology."

Bi Sayin shook his head. "How long are you planning to keep up this fiasco?"

"We're not done yet! Not until we've completely stripped away that hypocritical mask of yours!"

A triumphant smile returned to Bi Sayin's lips. As if he had been waiting for this moment, his final counterattack began. "This trick might have worked if you had claimed all of you were kidnapped. I would have really come alone then."

Finally, the reason he knew the kidnapping was a prank from the moment he received the letter walked out from among the Thirteen Evil Wolves. He had arranged to have dinner with this person at the Hwayang Pavilion today.

"……" Han Seol, dressed in pure white, smiled awkwardly.

Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun shouted at the same time.

"Oh, come on!"

"You two were together again, just by yourselves?"