SERIES: Return Of The Divine Thief
CHAPTER: 19
Two shadows left the inn, leaping toward the forest with the moonlight at their backs.
They were no longer running for their lives.
Even so, their speed was considerable, even by the standards of martial artists.
The sound of rustling branches and shaking leaves was nearly inaudible.
Given that they were disciples of the Divine Thief, this was to be expected.
Baekun stared at the back of Muryang, who led the way, his mind a whirlwind of complex thoughts.
A single, incomprehensible question kept circling in his head.
‘How…?’
How did he track me, and how did he get in to that inn before I did?
His own lightness skill and stealth techniques were the martial arts of the Divine Thief, taught to him directly by his master.
Although he hadn't fully mastered them, his master had told him that they were enough to shake off the pursuit of most experts.
And yet, he had been overtaken by Muryang, who wasn't some seasoned master but a boy in his mid-teens.
‘…Should I ask?’
Baekun opened his mouth to speak several times, only to bite his lip in humiliation.
He couldn't afford to look any more pathetic in front of that kid.
Hadn't he been toyed with enough already?
As the successor to the Divine Thief's legacy, his pride wouldn't allow it.
‘But… I just can't accept it!’
As a disciple of the Divine Thief, his instincts rebelled against letting an unsolved mystery go.
Even in defeat, he had to know the cause.
Only by knowing could he win next time.
“About last night!”
In the end, his curiosity, stronger than his pride, forced him to speak.
“How did you track me, and how did you get to that inn before I did? It was as if you knew where I was going!”
It was less a question and more of a petulant outburst, a dam of pent-up curiosity and humiliation finally breaking.
Compared to his desperation, Muryang’s answer was absurdly simple.
“Your tracks were so obvious, it would’ve been harder to lose you.”
Baekun bristled.
“That’s impossible! I barely left any traces as I moved!”
“That’s what you think.”
Muryang slowed his pace, landing lightly on a high branch.
He looked down at Baekun, who had followed, with an expression of pity.
“Listen well, you thief.”
His voice was as serious as a master teaching his disciple.
“In a situation where you truly have to run for your life, you don't worry about things like tracks. You bet everything on one thing, and one thing only—speed.”
“……”
“If you get greedy and try to erase your tracks while also moving at top speed, you’ll get caught. Just like you.”
“Are you saying that’s what I did?”
Muryang added.
“Thanks to your clumsy tracks, I could easily tell which direction you were heading and how exhausted you were from your internal injuries. With that much information, it wasn't very difficult to predict where you’d go to rest.”
“Still, but—”
“Surely you’re not going to lecture me about your lightness skill after you got your ass handed to you and ran away, are you?”
“……”
“Don’t judge by appearances. The person inside could be a master who’s seen it all.”
After Muryang’s words, Baekun paused for a moment before asking.
“Are you talking about yourself?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
The conversation died after Muryang’s vague reply.
Baekun mulled over what he had just heard.
Everything Muryang said was true.
He admitted defeat.
But that didn't mean he was going to let himself be disrespected like this.
He hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a disgruntled voice.
“Be that as it may.”
“What now.”
“I apologized for my misunderstanding, and we promised to keep an eye on each other. But don’t you think it’s a bit much to keep calling me ‘thief’?”
Baekun cleared his throat and continued.
“We’re not close enough to call each other by name, so I think it would be a good idea to decide on a form of address.”
At his words, Muryang seemed to fall into thought for a moment.
‘What a troublesome guy.’
With a long sigh, Muryang made a very generous offer.
“Fine. From now on, I’ll call you Senior Brother.”
“……What?”
“What. You got a problem with it? Of course, don’t get the wrong idea and think I’ll actually treat you like a real senior brother.”
“No, that’s not it….”
“Want to be the Junior Brother then? Well, it’s not unheard of to have an older junior brother, so I’ll do it if you want.”
“N-No! I-I’ll be the Senior Brother!”
Baekun waved his hands in alarm.
Even if it was only in name, being the elder was much better.
Trying to clear his chaotic thoughts, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, you bastard—no, Junior Brother, where is your sect from?”
“I cannot reveal my sect. And where is your sect from, Senior Brother?”
Senior and junior brothers asking about each other’s sects.
It had become a very strange relationship indeed.
“I… cannot say either.”
“Is that so? Well, what does the sect matter, Senior Brother?”
Muryang added, as if he had just remembered.
“Oh, and when we get back, let’s draw a portrait of… no, of our Senior Brother.”
“Why a portrait?”
Muryang’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“What if our Senior Brother breaks his promise and runs away? Then this Junior Brother will have to plaster your portrait all over the Central Plains to find you.”
“……”
Having come this far, there was no way for Baekun to refuse.
* * *
Jo Yangtae was in discussion with the market merchants to expand the list of trade goods with the Daeung Lodge.
Just then, one of the faction members urgently sought him out.
“Lodge Leader!”
“We are still in a meeting. Is it urgent?”
Although he had improved considerably, Jo Yangtae was displeased that the man still hadn't shed his underworld habits.
“Th-the Section Chief has returned!”
“What?! Did he look alright?”
Jo Yangtae had inwardly chided his subordinate, but after hearing the report, he was no different.
But it was only natural to be surprised.
After all, he had disappeared after what was presumed to be an assassin's attack.
“He seemed fine… He came with a young man and asked for Lop-Ear.”
“Lop-Ear?”
“Yes. I don’t know any of the other details.”
“I see.”
Jo Yangtae hastily entrusted the remaining work to the subordinate who was with him.
And then he ran like a madman toward the Red Bridge Faction.
Panting, he burst through the door to Muryang's quarters.
“Cho Muryang!”
But what met his eyes was a scene completely different from what he had expected—one that was far too peaceful and bizarre.
There were three people in the room.
Lop-Ear was sweating profusely as he painted a portrait of a strange man seated before him.
The subject of the painting was frozen with a grim expression, looking as if he might explode at any moment.
And at the center of all this commotion, as if nothing had happened at all, was him—watching the scene from behind them, leisurely savoring his tea.
There wasn't a single scratch on his body, and he even wore a relaxed smile.
“Oh, you’re here? I heard you were meeting with the market merchants.”
His tone was as nonchalant as if he were greeting someone who had just returned from a stroll around the neighborhood.
At the sight, Jo Yangtae was momentarily speechless. It made him feel foolish for having worried all night.
“I heard from One-Eye. That an assassin broke in, and you suddenly disappeared… Are you alright? What on earth happened last night?”
At Jo Yangtae's question, Muryang set down his teacup and chuckled.
“Calm down. It wasn’t an assassin.”
“Then what was it?”
“My senior brother just dropped by.”
“S-Senior brother?!”
Jo Yangtae doubted his own ears.
Not an assassin, but a senior brother?
In response to his astonished gaze, Muryang gestured with his chin toward a corner of the room.
There sat Baekun, frozen with a grim expression, enduring the strokes of Lop-Ear's brush.
“That gentleman sitting so obediently over there.”
Muryang added, all too naturally.
“He’s a bit slow, but he’s a good person.”
“Wh-what did you say?!”
At the insulting introduction, Baekun finally snapped and tried to rise from his seat.
But Lop-Ear's urgent cry was faster.
“D-don’t move! The outline of the eyebrows is the most important part right now…!”
At Lop-Ear's words, Baekun couldn't bring himself to move and simply trembled with rage.
Muryang watched him and clicked his tongue as if finding him pathetic.
“Tsk, tsk. If you can’t even sit still for two hours, how do you ever expect to train?”
“……”
Jo Yangtae simply could not comprehend the scene before him.
He had expected Muryang to have a martial school.
To possess such profound martial arts at his age, he must have had a remarkable master.
If so, it wasn't strange for him to have martial brothers.
However, the problem was Muryang's attitude toward his senior brother.
The hierarchy in the martial world was even stricter than that of the military.
A senior brother was second only to one's master.
Yet here was this junior brother, daring to gesture at his senior with his chin, calling him ‘slow,’ and lecturing him about his training.
This went beyond insubordination; it was an act that would turn the heavens and earth upside down.
Jo Yangtae's mind became a tangled mess.
‘Just what kind of martial school is this?’
But Muryang paid no mind to Jo Yangtae's turmoil and continued speaking.
He gestured with his chin at the still-trembling Baekun.
“Don’t think you need to give him special treatment just because he’s my senior brother. If you’re short on hands in the faction, feel free to put him to work. He’s strong enough to earn his keep.”
“……”
“……”
At those words, both Baekun and Jo Yangtae were rendered speechless.
Jo Yangtae stopped trying to understand the bizarre situation and simply nodded.
After a moment of awkward silence, Lop-Ear set down his brush and spoke cautiously.
“Um… Section Chief. I-I’m finished.”
With a nervous expression, Lop-Ear handed the finished portrait to Muryang.
As Muryang took the drawing, a look of genuine admiration appeared on his face for the first time.
“Wow, this is a masterpiece. You’ve drawn him very well.”
The Baekun in the portrait looked as if he might come to life and move at any moment.
“Th-thank you!”
Muryang gazed at the portrait with satisfaction before speaking to Lop-Ear.
“From today on, you are exempt from all duties in the Red Bridge Faction.”
“Huh? Then I’m….”
“I have a more important mission for you. From now on, I want you to go around the village and draw portraits for the elderly.”
Lop-Ear was bewildered, not understanding the reason.
“P-portraits?”
“That’s right.”
Muryang told Lop-Ear to bill Jo Yangtae for all necessary expenses, then clapped him on the shoulder.
“You can personally pick two sharp lads to assist you. This is the first mission you will lead.”
The trust in those words made Lop-Ear's chest swell with emotion.
Watching this, Jo Yangtae finally understood Muryang's deeper meaning.
It wasn't just about drawing pictures.
It was an order for the Red Bridge Faction to sincerely approach the residents of Uihyeon and win their hearts.
“I will provide Lop-Ear with all the support he needs.”
“Good. Take care of him.”
Jo Yangtae nodded and then said to Lop-Ear.
“Let’s go. We’ll start by picking your subordinates.”
“Huh? Y-yes, I understand.”
Jo Yangtae led the bewildered but emotionally overwhelmed Lop-Ear outside.
Once again, only Muryang and Baekun remained in the room.
Muryang tucked the portrait into his robes and spoke.
“I don’t want to resort to threats either, so let’s just get along. So, how did you end up hearing rumors about me?”
At this point, Baekun had no intention of deceiving him.
Since they were in the same boat now, they had to share information.
“Recently… I was tracking the source of counterfeit medicine circulating in the Jianghu. Tracing the route led me to Qinzhou, a port city in southern Guangxi Province. I heard the rumors about you on my way there.”
The moment he heard the words ‘counterfeit medicine,’ Muryang's expression turned icy.
‘So, it all leads back to this incident.’
It was an incident he had planned to intervene in soon anyway.
He just hadn't expected it to begin with such an unforeseen connection.
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