I was genuinely curious about what was going through the Sword-Breaking Society leader’s head, showing up alone without a trace of fear.

“Why’d you come alone? Got betrayed? Or did you suddenly stumble on some cliffside treasure?”

“As if that would ever happen.”

“Baldy, in the underworld, you should always watch out for your second-in-command.”

The Sword-Breaking Society leader tilted his head.

Maybe it was because I sounded nothing like a typical black-clad assassin despite my appearance. With a sour expression, he kept talking.

“In the martial world, betrayal means nothing. The strong always take everything anyway.”

I uncrossed my arms and drew Heukmyoah.

“I see. Thanks for the wise words.”

He also slowly drew his sword and asked,

“How much did your client pay you?”

“Why do you ask?”

He spoke like he was looking down on me completely.

“Tell me.”

“Thirty-nine thousand and eight hundred nyang, you bastard.”

“……”

“What?”

“You guys only move for money anyway. I don’t mix feelings with business. I’ve got more money than whoever hired you. I’ll pay you double. Just kill the guy who commissioned you. I don’t feel anything toward assassins like you.”

“……”

It suddenly struck me that this bastard was dragging out the conversation to buy time for his subordinates to arrive. I had plenty to say, but like a proper black-clad assassin, I swung my sword instead of wasting words.

Better to talk while fighting than argue standing still.

The moment he deflected Heukmyoah with his draw, he lunged in with a stab, and I countered with Flaming Palm.

A thunderous boom rang out, and the Sword-Breaking Society leader quickly stepped back six or seven paces.

The look on his face after the clash told me everything—he was shocked. I couldn’t help but speak up.

“Baldy, surprised?”

Maybe it was the direct hit from the flaming force, but from his face down to his scalp, he turned completely red. In the pitch-black night, he looked like a red squid standing on two legs. Honestly, I was a little startled too.

‘Shit, that startled me.’

His features had clearly changed from a life of wickedness, making it uncomfortable to look at him. His face changed expression with every move, reflecting the greasy shine under the moonlight.

‘An evil man, through and through. His face changes every time.’

People’s facial auras shift over time depending on what they think about daily.

This guy looked like a degenerate freak devolving from a man into a bad-tempered red squid.

At least if you slice up a squid, it tastes good—but this bastard seemed like he’d leave a bad aftertaste even in death.

I closed the distance so he couldn’t escape and swung Heukmyoah infused with neck-qi.

“Don’t think about running. Red squid, red octopus, octopus-head, red egg, bright red puberty. Blushing baldhead.”

For some reason, even I was cringing at my own nonsense today.

Probably because I’ve been using a blade all this time, and recently started pondering sword techniques again. My sword flow wasn’t as smooth as I wanted.

On the other hand, the Sword-Breaking Society leader’s movements showed he was already thinking of fleeing after our first exchange. His face tightened with urgency, and he swung his sword fiercely to fight back.

Despite having enough internal energy to counter Flaming Palm, his swordsmanship wasn’t that refined.

Had he been more experienced in real combat, he would’ve fought far better.

But it was clear he had spent his youth as a boss, commanding subordinates with a chin nod—and that laziness showed in both his body and swordwork.

Meaning, he rarely handled problems himself.

I’d seen these kinds of bosses often.

They always fall hard when they meet a real expert with deeper internal power. His mistake was assuming I was just another assassin who’d hit and run.

Since his men might show up at any moment, I kept the pressure on, attacking fast and relentlessly.

I used footwork to strike, poured out force, and even mixed in the Absorbing Technique to pull at his wrists, arms, and sword on purpose.

It was effective in breaking his balance, and it forced him to defend.

I wasn’t happy with my sword style today, but by combining varied techniques with Flaming Palm, the result was surprisingly powerful.

***

As his expression kept changing, I lowered my voice and whispered provocations to mentally wear him down.

“It’s too late. Begging won’t help. I look forward to the Sword-Breaking Society facing off with Nam Cheon-yeong after they see your corpse. Your assets will scatter, your men will become corpses, and Nam Cheon-yeong will be left in tatters trying to deal with the mess. You’re seafood, and I’m the fisherman.”

Profit of the fisherman.

I remembered the saying about a fisherman profiting while two others fought by the sea, but I couldn’t remember who those two were. So I just lumped it together as “seafood.” Maybe it was a frog and a turtle. Maybe a squid and an eel. Not my concern.

What mattered was that I always reel in black fish.

As soon as I saw his movements start to stumble, I cut his forearm lightly with Heukmyoah.

When the blood started to spurt, my vision sharpened, and I used the Absorbing Technique right on the wound.

The finger-sized cut split wider and blood gushed out in a long spray. It was a trick I discovered mid-fight, but I liked it enough to give the combo a name.

Excessive Bleeding.

I sliced the spurting blood with Heukmyoah again, and the flaming energy reacted with a sizzling crack. Blood droplets evaporated into smoke midair, and I blew them away with a burst of force.

With a sharp pop, the leader flinched and recoiled, blood burning into his clothes and leaving holes.

Total momentum domination.

Even though my blade wasn’t ideal for thrusting…

It didn’t matter much. I kept thrusting at his vital points in rapid succession like I was using a speed-sword.

Cha―cha―chang!

Even so, the bastard managed to deflect seven straight thrusts with perfect precision. He had enough skill to stand at the top of the Sword-Breaking Society. But the way he defended reminded me of a red squid flailing about, and I felt a twinge of unease.

“This squid’s got some defense.”

A thought occurred to me.

If I didn’t kill him here, he might become a huge threat in Jianghu later—a giant squid spreading black ink and growing into a powerful force.

Of course, he wasn’t famous back in my Crazy Demon days.

I figured he must’ve been killed by Nam Cheon-yeong, or some other dark faction, or maybe that old enemy they used to call Division Leader Cheon.

I drew out flaming fragrance onto Heukmyoah from close range, then released it with a sword gust, scattering it into his vision. While he flinched, I extended a Flaming Palm low and yanked his leg.

The leader stumbled, lost his balance, and sprang upward to recover. I moved at the same time, grabbed his right ankle, and slammed him down.

KWAANG!

Then I twisted his ankle until it shattered, suppressing his flailing screams one by one.

I knocked away his sword.

Slammed him into the ground three or four more times.

Then, when I reached to grab his hair and realized it was a mistake, I went for his neck instead.

“Kegh…”

Just then, I felt the sleep deprivation catch up to me, and my grip tightened around his throat. My rage boiled over, and my real thoughts burst out, abandoning tactics and strategy.

“What the hell were you doing sending assassins after me, you bastard? I almost died of exhaustion.”

“……!”

“Let me get some damn sleep.”

When I loosened my grip slightly, his crushed voice wheezed out.

“Who are you…”

I struck his pressure point and whispered in his ear.

“I’m the leader of Haomun.”

I grabbed the frozen man’s hand. For someone claiming to be a swordsman, it lacked any real calluses.

I crushed his hand and drew internal energy from my dantian. He dropped Heukmyoah, and I covered his mouth as he screamed.

Suddenly, I felt disgusted by the filthy quality of his internal energy, so I stopped the Absorbing Technique and struck his throat, snuffing out the red squid’s life.

He wasn’t any different from the scum I’d beaten to death in my past life, so I didn’t feel much of anything.

At last, the leader’s body collapsed onto the cold ground.

I stared into the surrounding darkness for a moment.

“……”

The group that had been waiting some distance away finally started to move.

“Wow, these bastards…”

I wasn’t here to fight like a madman tonight, so I barely managed to keep my temper in check.

While gathering up the leader’s sword, I attempted a conversation with his corpse.

“So, did you realize it was your second-in-command who got you killed?”

“……”

“You didn’t?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Only after killing the Sword-Breaking Society leader did I recall the composed demeanor of Division Leader Cheon.

When I had thrown the spear, Division Leader Cheon had dodged it hastily.

The Sword-Breaking Society leader, unaware of my true skill, had grabbed the spear and mistaken the neck-qi energy I had infused into it for my full strength.

It’s normal for assassins to go all out in such moments.

Infighting among themselves and scheming for power was so common it didn’t even surprise me.

No matter how fast the leader was with light footwork, the fact that his subordinates still hadn’t shown up said everything about the state of the Sword-Breaking Society.

Division Leader Cheon, who seemed like the second-in-command, must’ve taken control of the situation. Maybe he was playing fisherman like I was.

But what was the point of seizing the power right in front of him? Whether the Sword-Breaking Society got destroyed in mutual destruction against Nam Cheon-yeong or burned to ashes by my hand, the end would be the same.

There’s nothing more hollow than power gained through betrayal and schemes.

I unfastened the sword sheath from the leader’s waist, activated my light footwork, and left the area. I wasn’t entirely sure if my plan of sowing discord was working. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the Sword-Breaking Society leader was dead.

In Jianghu, disputes end when someone dies.

***

“I’m here to entrust a delivery.”

I placed the Sword-Breaking Society leader’s longsword on the table. Gong Du-chan, the Chief Escort of the Blue-Eyed Escort Agency, looked over the sword carefully and asked me,

“And where should this be delivered?”

“It’s a gift that must reach Lord Nam Cheon-yeong urgently. As quickly as possible. Name your price.”

Gong Du-chan looked confused and replied,

“Ah, pardon me, but may I ask whose sword this is?”

I brushed back my hair and answered with a blank expression.

“It belongs to the baldy.”

“So… could you tell me who exactly that baldy is?”

I glanced around the room and yawned.

Still sleep-deprived.

I had just come to drop off a parcel, but the main hall kept filling up as the front door opened again and again, bringing in more escorts and sub-chiefs.

Fighting off my drowsiness, I spoke again to the chief escort.

“I told you. It’s the sword the baldy used.”

“We just need to check if it’s stolen. It’s not an ordinary longsword.”

“It’s not stolen. It’s the sword of the Sword-Breaking Society leader.”

“……”

I watched the chill settle over the Blue-Eyed Escort Agency and knew right away—this was the very place Nam Garak had predicted.

These bastards were in bed with the Sword-Breaking Society. They kept up appearances for business, but word that they were working with a dark faction would drive customers away, so they just pretended to have no ties.

I looked around and asked Gong Du-chan,

“Everyone looks like they swallowed something sour. Is the parcel that shocking?”

He replied with a deadpan face.

“So the Sword-Breaking Society leader is dead?”

“He is.”

Gong Du-chan spoke again.

“You seem to know we’re connected to the Sword-Breaking Society. What is it you want?”

“Chief Escort, this is a regular delivery request. Deliver the Sword-Breaking Society leader’s sword to Lord Nam Cheon-yeong. Unless Sa Do-haeng is a complete idiot, he’ll gather troops and strike the Sword-Breaking Society immediately. I came to the nearest escort agency because I couldn’t be bothered to go farther. Did I come to the wrong place?”

I tapped the table with my fingers.

“If you’re an escort agency, then act like one. Also, get me a guest room. I haven’t been able to sleep properly thanks to the assassins that bastard sent after me. If Division Leader Cheon of the Sword-Breaking Society shows up looking for me, tell him you haven’t seen anyone like me. I think he betrayed the leader, but he’ll want to pin all the blame on me to cover his tracks.”

Half-asleep, I mumbled my words.

“……”

Gong Du-chan was struck dumb. I looked at him with puffy, half-lidded eyes.

“Listen. Don’t ambush me while I’m sleeping. I killed the Sword-Breaking Society leader because I got woken up. Chief Escort, got it?”

Still speechless, he glanced at the gathered sub-chiefs in the main hall, then finally responded.

“Someone escort the guest to a room. Please rise, sir.”

I blinked and stood up.

“What about the parcel?”

“We’ll assign a carrier and begin the delivery immediately.”

I nodded as I followed the escort guiding me.

“The fate of the Blue-Eyed Escort Agency depends on this delivery. Let’s see how it plays ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) out.”

I sprawled out on the bed in a fairly spacious guest room and spoke to the young escort who had brought me in.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“If anyone wakes me up, you’re all dead. Just keep that in mind.”

“Yes, understood.”

As the escort was about to leave, he asked cautiously,

“Did the Sword-Breaking Society leader really die?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you kill him yourself?”

“Of course I did.”

“May I ask who you are, or what group you belong to?”

I answered with my eyes closed.

“I’m the man who was always being chased, the man who fell off a cliff, the man who found fortune there, the one behind the curtain, the leader of a not-so-mysterious force, the unmistakable black-clad assassin, not bald but strong…”

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

“…That’s who I am.”