Chapter 60

Chapter 60
The Secret Revealed (2)

In the dead of night, within the private quarters of the Murim Alliance Lord.

A muffled groan slipped from the leader’s sleeping chambers. Ak So-gun twisted violently under the bedsheets as though trapped in the clutches of a dreadful nightmare, beads of perspiration running down his forehead.

The woman resting beside him reached over and shook his shoulder to wake him.

“My Lord, My Lord.”

Ak So-gun’s eyes flew open, his body jolting upright with sudden force. The heavy breath trapped in his chest tore free in a single, ragged gasp.

“Huuuuaaaah!”

Though consciousness had returned, a heavy stupor still clouded his senses. The woman beside him asked gently,

“Are you all right?”

She sat wrapped only in the silk covers against her bare skin, studying him with genuine concern. It was Bi-gak Lord On Byeok-hwa, sharing his private bed.

Since neither of them had ever married, their intimacy breached no sacred vows. Even so, given the immense influence she commanded within the Murim Alliance, an absolute scandal would erupt if whispers of their relationship ever leaked.

Only one other soul held this secret: Pung-geuk-an, commander of the clandestine bodyguards. Whenever she came to the Lord’s private rooms, every other sentry was ordered away, leaving only Pung-geuk-an to maintain a solitary vigil.

“Was it another nightmare?”

“No. There is nothing wrong.”

“You are soaked through with sweat.”

Yet the instant she extended her hand to gently wipe his damp brow, Ak So-gun struck her arm aside with jarring force.

“I told you I am fine!”

“Forgive me.”

Such harsh, volatile hostility was entirely out of character for him.

Rather than taking offense at the blow, On Byeok-hwa felt an ache of worry tighten her chest. As of late, the Alliance Lord had become increasingly frayed and short-tempered. Without any obvious cause, he seemed incapable of reining in his own rising fury.

“Haaaah.”

His long exhalation carried the stifling heat of dark smoke rising from a volcano on the verge of tearing itself apart.

“Pardon my temper.”

Softening his demeanor, Ak So-gun lightly brushed her shoulder with a soothing touch before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Though past seventy years of age, his physique remained unyielding and robust.

“Does something weigh on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

“You have found so little rest these past few nights. I am worried for you.”

For a fleeting second, Ak So-gun seemed poised to say something more, only to swallow the words back down. On Byeok-hwa knew that expression well. He had been a hair’s breadth away from roaring that he was fine once more, barely managing to curb the outburst. Beyond any doubt, his control over his own temper was slipping away.

“I need some cool air.”

After slipping into his garments, Ak So-gun stepped outside into the quiet night.

Watching his lone figure retreat, On Byeok-hwa’s thoughts churned with unease.

‘Could this be tied to Baek Dae-ju?’

The only notable development in recent memory had been Baek So-cheon’s reappointment as the commander of Hyun-cheon-dae. Every unsettling change in the Lord’s behavior seemed to trace back to that return.

And yet, the Lord had hosted a banquet in honor of Hyun-cheon-dae without the slightest complaint, even returning the cherished Gui-yeong Geom to his hands. During such moments, it seemed as if the rift between them had completely healed… yet lately, trying to fathom Ak So-gun’s true thoughts was an impossible task.

‘What truly took place between you and Baek Dae-ju?’

Her question mirrored the very mystery eating away at Baek So-cheon himself.

—

Having parted ways with Cheon-geuk, Baek So-cheon was returning to his residence when his steps abruptly halted outside his outer gates.

“Who stands there?”

His low query carried across the stillness, directed straight toward the dark shadows pooling at the wall. A figure lingered there—making no effort to hide, merely resting against the darkened stone masonry.

The silhouette shifted, stepping into the pale light. Baek So-cheon’s eyes widened in profound astonishment as the features became clear.

“My Lord?”

Unbelievably, the figure lingering unannounced in the dark of night was Ak So-gun himself.

“So-cheon.”

The tone of Ak So-gun’s voice was wholly foreign—devoid of its familiar warmth and gentleness, sounding cracked and harsh instead.

“What has brought you here at this hour?”

Baek So-cheon felt an immediate wariness settle into his bones. He knew he had to prepare himself for any possible turn of events.

Quietly, he primed the inner energy coursing through him. Having advanced his cultivation, he could now mobilize qi straight from the vast pathways of his meridians all across his flesh, reacting far more rapidly than drawing power up through his dantian.

As Ak So-gun took slow steps toward him, Baek So-cheon expanded his senses to inspect the surrounding perimeter. The Alliance Lord would never travel alone. Just as anticipated, he caught the faint, concealed traces of the elite covert guards lingering nearby.

Before long, Ak So-gun closed the distance between them.

Seeing him at arm’s length brought a fresh wave of shock to Baek So-cheon.

The Lord’s visage was flushed a deep, feverish crimson, sweat pouring off him like a torrential rain. He had displayed a flushed face and perspiration back at the Bi-gak banquet hall, but his present condition was far more extreme. Ak So-gun looked as if his strength might give out at any second.

“Are you taken ill, My Lord?”

“No. I am quite well.”

With their master in such an alarming state, his bodyguards should have rushed forward to intervene. Their total stillness implied only one thing: strict commands from the Lord himself forbidding their interference.

At the very least, an ambush seemed unlikely. No one would drag along elite sentries merely to orchestrate a clumsy, direct assassination. Even so, Baek So-cheon kept his guard raised high.

“I came because there are words I must say to you.”

“What would that be?”

Without warning, Ak So-gun reached out and clasped Baek So-cheon’s hand tightly. Baek So-cheon’s internal energy nearly erupted in defense, but recognizing the touch as nothing more than a desperate grip, he reined his power in.

“So-cheon, the decisive clash tomorrow shall bring this long ordeal to an end. Tell me, how does your heart feel?”

The sudden, nonsensical statement left Baek So-cheon utterly bewildered. He could not fathom what the man was referring to.

“You must feel the weight of it, do you not? I feel it just the same. Yet victory will surely be ours on the morrow. The moment Yeom Hwa-sin falls by our hands, this war will finally be over.”

At first, the words seemed completely disconnected from reality, but as they lingered, the truth struck him. These were the exact words Ak So-gun had spoken to him on the eve of their final confrontation against the Black Heaven Alliance Lord.

‘Why is he dredging up that night after all this time?’

Yet Ak So-gun paid no heed to his confusion, rambling on. He had slipped far from his senses. Standing before him now was the Ak So-gun of three years past, reliving that very eve.

“Would you like to hear what I truly carry in my heart?”

With the very same sheepish smile from that night, Ak So-gun opened up his deepest feelings.

“To be frank, countless people envied you. They sowed seeds of malice and poured vicious slander into my ears. Yet I never paid heed to their schemes. My faith rested entirely in you. You know this truth, do you not? Even my second child holds greater fondness for you than for his own father. But that does not wound me. In my eyes, you are no different from my own blood.”

Word for word, he recited the speech from that distant night.

A sudden swell of memories rushed over Baek So-cheon, stirring a heavy warmth and sadness within his chest.

Indeed, that was the depth of their connection.

It was the very reason he had endured three agonizing years within the Alliance, unable to simply walk away, constantly tormenting himself over the rift between them. He had held pure reverence for this man, and the Lord had returned that devotion with genuine care.

“To be honest, I am merely human—how could some jealousy not take root? Every martial artist I looked upon revered you and followed in your wake. Being told repeatedly that we could never triumph in this war without you—can you fathom how that tore at me? Had my affection for you been even a fraction weaker, that envy would have poisoned me whole. And yet…”

Rather than the words spilling from the Lord’s mouth, Baek So-cheon’s attention was riveted to his deteriorating body. The redness across his skin had darkened dramatically since he arrived, burning with such intensity that his flesh seemed ready to split open from the pressure.

A vacant daze washed over Ak So-gun’s face as he uttered the final sentence of that fateful memory.

“…I hold you truly dear.”

The moment the sentiment left his lips, the Alliance Lord collapsed straight backward.

“My Lord!”

Baek So-cheon sprang forward, catching him before he hit the ground and frantically checking his vitals. The breath rattling in the Lord’s throat was dangerously uneven; his life was clearly hanging by a thread.

The hidden bodyguards abandoned their concealment at once.

Pung-geuk-an dashed into the open, taking the weight of Ak So-gun into his own arms.

“We must bring him back to his private chambers immediately.”

He barked instructions to his subordinates:

“Summon Divine Physician Ban Wol-ryang without a moment’s delay!”

With the unconscious Lord cradled against him, Pung-geuk-an darted across the grounds, heading directly toward the inner quarters.

The entire sequence of events had struck like a bolt of lightning from an unclouded sky, leaving no room to comprehend what had just unfolded.

Baek So-cheon stood baffled, unaware of what had triggered such madness.

Without wasting time, he pushed off the ground and followed close behind toward the Lord’s quarters.

—

Inside the master bedroom, Divine Physician Ban Wol-ryang worked diligently to examine the fallen leader.

Beyond the doors, every pavilion lord had assembled in haste after receiving word. Whenever the supreme leader’s health faced grave peril, standard protocol dictated that the pavilion heads be notified while maintaining total, unbroken secrecy from the rest of the world.

Je-gal Hyeon stepped toward Baek So-cheon with a grim expression.

“Tell us plainly: what took place?”

The gathered lords fixed their gazes upon Baek So-cheon, waiting on his words.

“He appeared before my home late into the night and spoke incomprehensibly.”

“What did he say?”

“He was repeating words from three years ago—from that eve. The very conversation we shared on the eve of our decisive battle. He was not in his right mind.”

“Heavens above!”

Standing close by, Am-yeong-gak Lord Hwang Jong-shin looked utterly incredulous. For a brief instant, a flicker of suspicion crossed his mind that Baek So-cheon had orchestrated some foul scheme, but he quickly discarded the notion. With Pung-geuk-an and his elite sentries present the entire time, fabricating such a lie was impossible.

“Could he have fallen into qi deviation?”

“That may be so.”

A heavy chorus of sighs spread through the hall. With the dark clouds of war gathering on the horizon, having their Alliance Lord succumb to qi deviation was an absolute catastrophe.

Hwang Jong-shin lashed out at Pung-geuk-an, castigating him for his negligence in guarding the master. Pung-geuk-an kept his head bowed, offering no defense.

On Byeok-hwa remained quiet as well, her mind consumed by bitter self-reproach. The ominous indications had been plain to see while they were lying together in the bedroom.

‘I should have walked out with him.’

Yet accompanying the supreme leader into the open night would have invited dangerous scrutiny. At the very least, she should have prevented him from leaving the room.

‘My Lord…’

Her heart belonged to him entirely. Those feelings had blossomed after she rose to the standing of Bi-gak Lord.

It was Ak So-gun who had pursued her first.

His patient, unwavering devotion had gradually opened her heart, and they found common ground in their principles. Put aside his baffling, cruel mistreatment of Baek So-cheon, and the man was entirely worthy of her deepest reverence.

Just then, the chamber doors parted, and Ban Wol-ryang stepped out into the corridor.

“How fares the Lord?”

The pavilion lords surged forward in unison.

Ban Wol-ryang’s voice dropped low, heavy with grim tidings.

“A scorching fever ravages his core, while his inner breath and blood course completely out of control. Neither medicinal drafts nor silver needles have brought stability to his flow. His life rests in utter jeopardy.”

“In jeopardy?” Murmurs of shock swept through the assembled figures.

Je-gal Hyeon voiced the dread shared by all.

“Has he been struck by poison?”

“It bears no marks of poison.”

“Is it an internal rupture of qi, then?”

“It does not appear to be qi deviation either.”

“Then what ails him?”

“I must conduct further treatment before any conclusion can be reached.”

That even the renowned Divine Physician could neither alleviate the violent symptoms nor identify the underlying affliction revealed just how dire the circumstances truly were.

As the physician turned back to reenter the sickroom, Pung-geuk-an addressed the gathered leaders.

“This matter demands the utmost discretion. Lingering in these corridors only increases the danger of rumors spilling out. Please return to your respective pavilions and wait. The moment any change occurs, you shall be informed.”

Yielding to the command, the pavilion heads began their quiet departure.

“Baek Dae-ju.”

On Byeok-hwa trailed after Baek So-cheon as he made his way toward the exit.

“Yes, Pavilion Lord.”

“Tell me what truly occurred.”

“It was precisely as I described.”

“Are you withholding anything from me?”

Her direct, uncompromising gaze made it plain to Baek So-cheon that she held no malicious hand in this catastrophe.

“I only wish that were true. If I were hiding a secret, at least I would hold the answers to this madness.”

Turning the interrogation around, Baek So-cheon leveled his gaze at her.

“Are you keeping something concealed from me, Pavilion Lord?”

“I am not.”

She kept her silence regarding the clandestine romance she shared with the Alliance Lord. Any other matter she might have revealed, but that truth had to remain buried.

‘This is undeniably tied to Baek Dae-ju.’

A woman’s keen intuition whispered the certainty to her heart, accompanied by the sharp instincts of a high-ranking officer.

Yet Baek So-cheon had noticed the faint hesitation in her posture when he posed his inquiry.

‘She is keeping something hidden.’

Both had reached their own unspoken conclusions.

“I shall take my leave.”

Baek So-cheon bowed his farewell and departed from the Lord’s estate.

The dawn broke, followed by another day, yet Ak So-gun’s state only plunged further into darkness.

Despite employing every miraculous remedy at the Divine Physician’s disposal, no recovery came. Instead, the Alliance Lord’s vital signs deteriorated with each passing hour.

On the third night following his sudden collapse, two unanticipated figures arrived at the doorstep of Baek So-cheon’s home.

Cheon-geuk and Na-sa-rin.

Na-sa-rin wasted not a single breath on pleasantries.

“You mentioned seeing a crimson speck deep within his eyes, did you not?”

“I did.”

“Ah! These aging bones have made a fool of my memory.”

An obscure piece of knowledge, long buried under the weight of time, had suddenly resurfaced in her thoughts. There existed only one phenomenon capable of leaving identical red specks within both pupils.

“If we are to avert an irreversible disaster, you must give me completely honest answers from here on. Can you place your faith in me and speak only the truth?”

Even in her haste, Na-sa-rin did not cast away proper decorum, yet the fierce gravity in her voice made the perilous stakes unmistakable.

“I shall.”

“Was the man you spoke of the Murim Alliance Lord himself?”

The question flew straight and sharp as an iron arrow. It was an inquiry forbidden to be uttered, and a reality forbidden to be acknowledged—yet Baek So-cheon answered without evasion.

“Yes.”

“Does he remain well at this moment?”

“He does not. He has collapsed.”

Once more, Baek So-cheon spoke with complete candor.

“How many suns have set since he fell?”

“This is the third night.”

Na-sa-rin delivered her dreadful verdict like a sudden clap of thunder:

“Your Alliance Lord shall not draw breath past tonight. If your desire is to keep him among the living, you must bring me before him this very second.”