He felt the senses returning to his entire body.
From his fingertips to his toes.
He tried moving each part little by little.
At first, he couldn’t move at all, as if he was pinned down in sleep paralysis, but soon, one part moved, then another, and eventually he could move as he wished.
Finally, he slowly opened his eyes.
What he saw in his blurry vision was a familiar room.
A place so familiar that he even felt nostalgic for it.
He took a deep breath and carefully lifted his upper body.
His stiff body creaked all over.
He frowned and looked to the side. There, he saw a maid he didn’t recognise, dozing off while sitting, probably because she had been attending to him.
“At least I’m alive.”
He thought that with a bitter smile.
When his body lost strength and his mind faded, he truly felt like he was about to die.
He had feared he would never open his eyes again, but for now, he seemed to be alive.
All his senses felt so real and vivid.
He let out a quiet laugh and shook his head without realising it.
“I’m really stubborn to survive this long.”
He laughed helplessly and took a deep breath, turning his head.
His throat was dry.
But the water bottle was quite far away.
He didn’t think he could reach it, nor did he think he had the strength to even try right now.
In the end, he had to wake the sleeping maid.
“Give me some water.”
“Eh? Ah! …I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Young Master!”
“It’s fine, just bring me water.”
The maid, startled awake, moved quickly to bring him water.
He saw her hands trembling as she handed it to him.
Considering everything that had happened in just under ten days, it was understandable.
To this maid, he was probably scarier than even her master or the steward.
He smiled bitterly and drank the water.
The dryness in his mouth washed away cleanly.
His tongue felt like it could move properly again.
He put down the cup and looked at the maid.
“How long has it been?”
“Um… You slept for four full days.”
“Four days here?”
“No, since you were brought here. You’ve been lying in this room for about a day and a half.”
He nodded at her reply.
Four days might seem long, but considering the distance from the mountain to the Luoyang Jin family estate, it wasn’t that long.
In fact, just by sleeping for a day and a half here, it meant Guguanbaek brought him back at incredible speed.
He was more capable than he expected.
Even the top guards had taken three days for this distance, but he reduced it by half a day.
However, because he hadn’t maintained his energy properly, his body was in worse condition now. He could feel the poison slowly but surely eating away at him.
He had tried not to strain himself too much, but it still took a toll.
His mind was hazy, and he felt feverish.
The weakness in his body didn’t feel good at all.
He lifted his hand slightly and saw it trembling.
He frowned at the sight.
He looked back at the maid, and as their eyes met, she froze with fear.
“Where is Chuhyeong?”
“He’s lying in the medical room. I heard his condition isn’t good.”
It made sense. When he last saw Jang Chuhyeong, he had been bleeding a lot. Even if the wound was only skin-deep, it had contained inner power, so it wouldn’t be easy to endure.
It was surprising he could even fight others in that condition.
“Anything else happening?”
“Nothing much… The steward is secretly looking for skilled doctors. He was worried since you wouldn’t wake up.”
“I see. You may leave.”
“Y-Yes!”
She bowed deeply in relief and hurried out.
She would probably report to the steward first, then rest.
He heard her footsteps fade into the distance and quickly sat cross-legged to circulate his energy.
His tiny internal energy began flowing again, and he felt a bit better.
But he knew he couldn’t block the poison’s spread forever, like before.
After finishing his meditation, he opened his eyes.
Compared to before, he felt slightly refreshed, but compared to before he collapsed, he was in terrible shape.
He frowned and took a deep breath.
He got up carefully and looked around the room.
His belongings and clothes were neatly arranged.
“At least they’re all still here.”
Among all his things, one caught his attention.
A ring that Gu Yangcheol had carried.
It looked plain and cheap, like something you’d find in a street market. Even if it was stolen, no one would care.
But to him, it was more important than a bag full of silver coins.
He slowly picked up the ring.
“If he still had this, it means he hadn’t read it yet.”
This was used by their organisation to deliver secret orders. It looked so plain that no one would suspect it, and without knowing the exact method, no one could read its contents.
It was a method only used by those who were experts at erasing their traces.
The fact that the ring wasn’t destroyed meant the order was given but not yet read.
He didn’t know if Gu Yangcheol received it before coming to the estate or during his travels, but clearly he hadn’t had time to check it.
He stood up holding the ring, took a piece of paper and lit a candle.
He placed the ring on the paper and held it close to the flame.
Then something strange happened.
The plain white ring turned red, like blood, and started to drip onto the paper, staining it crimson.
In an instant, the pure white paper turned blood-red.
When the ring returned to its original colour, he put down the candle and picked up the paper.
“I almost fainted when I first discovered this.”
He laughed quietly. He had found out this secret by accident while trying countless methods.
At first, he thought it was some lost blood cult magic.
But it wasn’t over yet.
He carefully placed the red-stained paper into the basin of wash water.
After a while, the red colour faded, and the paper turned white again.
The water turned blood-red, looking eerie.
But there was nothing else strange about it.
Anyone trying to uncover the ring’s secret would be confused by this sight.
He smiled faintly and lifted the now white paper towards the sunlight.
Under the light, the paper showed a faint red pattern.
It looked like an emblem representing someone.
He quietly read the hidden message:
“Strange movements detected in the Luoyang Jin family. The tenth group must investigate thoroughly before infiltrating. Also, all Shadow Assassins must gather in Luoyang before the family head’s birthday.”
He didn’t need to guess who sent this order.
It was from the Shadow Assassin leader.
He didn’t know how they got this information, but they clearly sensed something unusual happening.
However, they didn’t know the details because of tight information control, so they planned to use the tenth group to investigate.
And gathering all Shadow Assassins before his father’s birthday meant they were planning something soon.
He gritted his teeth unconsciously.
It was because of those terrible memories.
The memory of laughing and celebrating his father’s birthday… now filled him with rage.
There were still over ten months left until his father’s birthday, but they were already preparing. Even the Jin family wouldn’t be able to block them with normal defences.
They had two goals.
First, to retrieve the Jade Orb hidden within the Jin family.
If they didn’t know the Jade Orb’s power, the family might have given it up to save themselves.
But now, it was different.
He knew its power – and it was gone forever.
“I ate it.”
He smiled bitterly, rubbing his stomach.
He remembered grinding it into powder and swallowing it.
He could never do that again if asked.
He saw it crumble and disappear right in front of him.
Even if they searched, it could never be found now.
But they wouldn’t know that.
If they did, they might cut him open to find it.
Their second goal was the Jin family itself.
The Luoyang Jin family was known as the wealthiest family, holding the money of all of the central plains. Some said they had more wealth than the royal family itself.
Who wouldn’t want to own that power?
Money was necessary for everything.
He was staring at the paper when the red emblem started to fade and rot away, eventually turning to dust.
He couldn’t stop it no matter what he did.
He watched the paper disappear into nothingness.
“They really are thorough.”
He let out a hollow laugh.
How many people could hide their existence this perfectly?
Probably none in the righteous world.
But it made sense.
They were people who could never reveal themselves.
Some were famous, some respected, and some hidden yet still held power in the martial world.
That’s why they had to stay hidden.
That’s why they were so thorough.
Cough, cough!
Suddenly, he coughed violently.
His hand was soaked with blood.
Even more than before.
It was proof that his body was deteriorating.
He smiled bitterly and sighed.
“I can’t even rest for a moment.”
Ten months until the Shadow Assassins’ attack.
He had to do something about his cursed body before then.
