Chapter 74
“What on earth have you been up to?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Ugh, it’s my fault for asking.”
At Cheon Mujin’s shameless expression, Yoo Hyunhwa sighed and replaced the flowers in the room.
“The doctor said you’d only need three days of rest, but you’ve really recovered. He even added that if it were someone else, they would have been crippled for life.”
“Well, in that case, this is just a minor injury for me.”
“How can you say that…!”
Yoo Hyunhwa barely swallowed her rising anger, shaking her head to calm herself.
Cheon Mujin was not the one she should be angry at.
“…Next time, take me with you.”
“Huh? Take you where?”
“So I can get stronger. Take me with you next time.”
Cheon Mujin smiled as he met Yoo Hyunhwa’s determined gaze.
“When you’ve become strong enough that I don’t have to worry, I’ll take you along.”
“How strong do I have to be for you not to worry?”
“Hm… let’s see…”
Cheon Mujin glanced at the open window and pointed to the blue sky outside.
“About that strong?”
“The sky?”
“If you can become as strong as the people hiding up there, I’ll worry less.”
What does that even mean?
Before Yoo Hyunhwa could fully process his sudden words, someone knocked on the door.
“From Cheonmasung.”
Cheonmasung?
Yoo Hyunhwa’s eyes widened in surprise, while Cheon Mujin, as if he had expected it, smiled and gestured.
When Yoo Hyunhwa cautiously opened the door, a large man had to bow slightly to enter.
“I am Go Kyungwoon, Deputy Leader of the Cheonwidan.”
“Hmm? Someone fairly high-ranking has come?”
Usually, a low-ranking member of the Cheonwidan would be sent.
“I am only following orders.”
Go Kyungwoon strode into the room with a blank expression, causing Cheon Mujin to smirk.
“So you were sent someone strong just in case I tried to escape. Was that General’s decision?”
Cheon Mujin rose from his seat and lightly tapped Go Kyungwoon’s chest.
“No need to exert yourself. I won’t run.”
“I am simply following procedures.”
“Did they tell you to stay close and drag me along?”
Go Kyungwoon glanced down at him for a moment and stepped back a few paces.
He was sent to bring Cheon Mujin, not to fight him.
Cheon Mujin silently turned around as Go Kyungwoon stepped aside.
“Tell the others not to worry; I’ll be back soon.”
“But, Sir…!”
The people of the Mupung Corps still didn’t know exactly what Cheon Mujin had done.
He hadn’t told them yet.
He only said he would explain once everything was settled.
But…
‘Sent someone strong just in case he tried to escape…!’
Doesn’t that mean he could’ve been punished?
Yoo Hyunhwa’s glare seemed ready to attack Go Kyungwoon, but Cheon Mujin chuckled and patted her shoulder.
“It’s nothing. I’ll just get a scolding from my father. That’s all.”
If your father is the leader, it doesn’t feel like ‘nothing’ at all.
Unable to voice her thoughts, Yoo Hyunhwa nodded.
“Be careful.”
“Alright. Keep the house safe.”
After Cheon Mujin left, Yoo Hyunhwa exhaled deeply and headed toward where the others were training—not the Mupung Corps, but the Elite Guard’s training ground.
“You’re here.”
As soon as she arrived, Baekwoo blocked her path as if waiting for her.
“I heard someone came from Cheonmasung. Explain.”
Because Cheon Mujin’s orders allowed only one person at a time to visit, the others peered from behind Baekwoo.
All eyes on her, Yoo Hyunhwa began to explain.
She recounted everything that had happened in a rush, expressing her worries.
“What if Sir receives a severe punishment…?”
“That’s not something worrying about can solve. You know he’s not someone who crosses the line, right?”
“True, but…”
Though ruthless, Cheon Mujin fundamentally sought human decency.
He would not have committed something utterly immoral, so there would likely be no severe punishment.
“What’s more important is the condition of being allowed to go with him.”
“Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t ask properly.”
From the corner, the Mupung Corps leader chuckled.
“I thought Sir Cheon was harsh, but I didn’t think it would be like this.”
“Why?”
“He told you to become as strong as the humans hiding in the sky, right?”
“Yes.”
“And what appears when that sky disappears?”
“The… sun?”
“Night. The dark night sky. Those hiding beneath the blue sky appear as creatures of that night.”
Yoo Hyunhwa’s eyes widened as the Mupung Corps leader explained.
“…Demonic Star.”
“Exactly. You have to become strong enough to be called a star, so Sir Cheon has nothing to worry about.”
The leader gave a wry laugh, stood, and brushed himself off.
“Now stop worrying and start training.”
“You have quite a confident look on your face.”
“Because I haven’t done anything wrong?”
Cheon Mujin’s nonchalant answer shocked Sima Hyuk, the General.
Cheon Mujin and Cheon Muyang had both feared Cheonma, their father, since childhood.
And that was normal—blood relations in the Cheon family were neither kind nor close.
So even knowing how much he had changed, answering Cheonma so casually was astonishing.
“You say you’ve done nothing wrong. Quite shameless.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You wiped out three Assassin clans in one night. If that’s not a crime, then what is?”
Go Kyungwoon, who had brought Cheon Mujin, flinched as he looked down at him.
Three in one night?
Cheon Mujin had done something that would’ve been overwhelming even if asked to.
Cheon Mujin, relaxed, shrugged his shoulders.
“I was only doing what was necessary. You told me to exterminate the bugs, didn’t you?”
“You said to exterminate the bugs, not burn down entire huts.”
“If I don’t burn them now, it won’t just be huts. The villages, cities, and even countries will be eaten away by these bugs.”
“So you wiped them all out?”
“Yes… though I do feel a bit guilty saying that.”
Sima Hyuk’s eyes gleamed.
Cheon Mujin wasn’t exactly a genius, but he was clever.
And now he had even recruited a strategist good at the board game in the Mupung Corps—he clearly had a plan.
“What motivated you to act emotionally?”
“I was angry that Muyang was being beaten. I couldn’t just stand by.”
“…What?”
Cheonma’s reply was delayed; he couldn’t immediately grasp Cheon Mujin’s reasoning.
“You’re saying you acted for your younger brother’s sake?”
“Yes.”
Cheonma leaned back in his chair.
His child… was insane.
The position of Cheonma required life-or-death competition.
Even Cheon Wigon had gone through it, killing siblings to survive.
Though unpleasant, Cheonma acknowledged it.
He had limited children partly because Muyang was exceptionally talented—he had no reason for more.
So… he didn’t know how to react.
He had cleaned out the Assassin groups for his younger brother?
Was that really true?
When Cheonma looked up, his eyes had already hardened.
“Fine. The motive may be justified, but you overdid it. The assassins you killed were part of the sect’s forces. Eliminating all of them is unacceptable.”
“Yes.”
“Also, you killed all the witnesses to this matter. That is a grave sin.”
“Yes.”
“Therefore, your punishment is three days of confinement.”
“Yes. I accept it.”
“Dismissed.”
Cheonma ended the punishment with just three days, and after Cheon Mujin left, he looked at Sima Hyuk.
“What do you think?”
“It seems Sir Cheon hates assassins. Likely, this will prevent them from interfering in succession disputes.”
Cheon Mujin had eliminated those who attempted to assassinate Muyang.
Naturally, assassins would not challenge him.
And what about Muyang?
Given his personality and pride, he would never target him.
Either way, assassins won’t interfere in succession disputes—unless Muyang changes his mind.
“But this plan works only because Cheon Mujin knows Muyang’s personality perfectly.”
Sima Hyuk worried, but Cheonma was aware of it.
“General.”
“Yes, Commander?”
“Begin investigations into the clans Cheon Mujin wiped out.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Cheonma gave Cheon Mujin a light punishment because he had carried out the orders faithfully.
In reality, the three days of confinement were just an instruction for him to rest.
Sima Hyuk began issuing orders to handle the work while Cheonma thought deeply and then called him.
“Yes, Leader.”
“The invitation from the Martial Alliance should arrive soon, right?”
“Yes. It’s about time. But…?”
Cheonma twisted his lips.
“Send Cheon Mujin there.”
“What? He’s not yet considered first-class, even with his achievements?”
Sending a top-class Sir Cheon into the heart of the orthodox faction would be too risky.
Cheonma smiled.
“No, prepare as if we’re sending him.”
“…Understood.”
No way…
‘…Has Cheon Mujin truly peaked?’
Could that even be possible?
“…You wiped out three Assassin clans?”
“Yes.”
“You set a trap, killed those who gathered, extracted information, and then eliminated the Assassin clans?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Back at Cheonma Fortress, Cheon Mujin explained the events to the Elite Guard, smiling at Gong Munwoo, who was sweating heavily.
“You followed my orders, so if you get scolded after I leave, it’s your own fault.”
“…Sigh.”
Gong Munwoo, nervous and sweating more, gave Cheon Mujin a grateful look.
‘He was brought along perfectly.’
Over the next three days, the Mupung Corps leader, Geom Yujin, and Do Woojin scolded Gong Munwoo, but he kept the secret steadfastly.
A strategist must have a tight-lipped nature.
“So, does this make you hostile toward Salseong now?”
Yoo Hyunhwa asked, and others sighed with concern.
“Hmm? No, right?”
Cheon Mujin casually turned his head, freezing everyone.
“Do you really think that?”
Salseong, looking at the board from the corner, clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“How dare you?”
