"Bwahahaha! This feels great."

Cha Seokdu let out a hearty laugh as he entered the inner room, supported by Dam-ak.

"Leader, are you all right?"

In truth, it could hardly be called support.

The giant Cha Seokdu and the slightly built Dam-ak, who had never learned martial arts.

It looked as though a young child was struggling to support his father, while the father pretended not to notice and allowed his son to support him.

"Ah, I'm fine. I'm fine!"

As Dam-ak watched Cha Seokdu sit down, his feelings were incredibly complicated.

Cha Seokdu had a relaxed expression, like someone who had barely made it past a major crisis.

It weighed heavily on Dam-ak's mind that it was Jin Sowoon, not himself, who had gifted him that comfort.

"What a relief... What a relief..."

Seeing him drunkenly mumbling with a small smile on his lips made Dam-ak very glad, yet at the same time, somewhat regretful.

"I apologize, Leader. It was originally something I should have done."

"Hmm?"

Cha Seokdu widened his bleary eyes.

"How is that Strategist Dam's job? It was a matter we all had to resolve together."

"If only I had been a bit more clever..."

"Bwahahaha. Strategist Dam is saying useless things too."

Cha Seokdu, seeming to have sobered up a little as he let out a hearty laugh, looked at Dam-ak with clear eyes.

"Strategist Dam. What is it that I want from you? Was it to protect my seat?"

"... No, it is not."

"Right. What I want is for the Underworld Alliance to take root in this land and greatly prosper."

Cha Seokdu's eyes were softer than ever.

"And Strategist Dam has done his job well so far."

"..."

"Everyone has their own role to play. It's just that the Black Flame Dragon kid was a bit more suited to solving this matter."

Not only was he suited for it, but it was a method that no one but him could have thought of or executed.

After hearing the whole story from Jin Sowoon, even the great Cha Seokdu had clicked his tongue.

"There's no need to blame yourself, nor any need to compare yourself to him. You have your own work to do, don't you?"

"... I will keep that in mind."

Cha Seokdu nodded, leaning forward with a serious look in his eyes.

"More importantly... do you still think an alliance would be difficult?"

The topic that had come up earlier at the banquet surfaced once again.

"Are you considering an alliance?"

"That brat Jin Sowoon was screaming his head off through sound transmission. Shouting, 'How could you do this!' Man, I thought my eardrums were going to burst."

"... Did that happen?"

Dam-ak swallowed a groan inwardly.

No matter how much he had helped the Underworld Alliance, to think he had spoken so disrespectfully to the Underworld Alliance's representative.

But Cha Seokdu continued the topic as if it were nothing.

"Hmm... To be honest, I too think it might be right to establish an alliance for a certain period. The Underworld Alliance still only looks good on the outside, doesn't it?"

It was absurd to compare a five-hundred-year-old organization with a newly formed one to begin with, but Dam-ak could fully grasp Cha Seokdu's intentions.

"By rooting out the hidden assassins, we managed to somewhat suppress the Alliance leadership's backlash toward the Murim Alliance, but any more than that will be impossible. After all, there are those who joined the alliance with the justification of a war against the Murim Alliance."

Cha Seokdu, deep in thought, asked subtly.

"What do you think? Do we stand a chance against the current Murim Alliance?"

"... We wouldn't lose easily."

"So you're saying we would ultimately lose."

"The Murim Alliance's potential isn't limited just to its existence itself."

"I know that as well. That is why I have so many concerns. I simply don't want to leave the Underworld Alliance as an organization that briefly appears and then disappears. I want to make it a place where those with free spirits can gather, compete, and sometimes move forward together."

Cha Seokdu's voice grew heavy.

"In the end, what resolved the incident at the Demonic Spirit Plateau was the power of the Orthodox Murim, not the Underworld Murim. And things like this will happen again at any time."

His eyes burned fiercely as he reflected on the past.

"There is only one reason why we must unite. Namely, to protect ourselves."

A gaze without the slightest hesitation.

"It's not to kill others and take things away from them."

Knowing what kind of grand picture Cha Seokdu had been painting over the long years of his life, Dam-ak slowly nodded.

"I will keep that in mind."

"... Tsk, I got a bit worked up. I'm sorry. I get talkative like this when I'm drunk."

On one hand, he could understand Cha Seokdu's feelings.

There weren't many in the Underworld Murim who shared his goals.

Most were ruthless and lawless individuals.

Among them, holding onto a great dream all alone was by no means an easy task.

"I will definitely make that happen."

"Right... I'm counting on you."

Cha Seokdu's voice softened after his bout of shouting.

His eyelids were half-closed, looking as though he was slowly getting sleepy, so Dam-ak prepared to leave.

"Ah right, take this."

Just then, Cha Seokdu pulled out a large wooden box from one side with one hand and placed it on the table.

"What is this?"

"Ah, that Jin Sowoon guy said you might be in danger, so I should either assign you guards or give you something for self-defense."

"Did... Jin Sowoon say that?"

Opening the box, inside was a protective garment made by tightly attaching thin iron plates like scales.

"It's the Iron Scale Garment, one of the divine artifacts of the Four Emperors Peak. Wear it under your clothes at all times."

Dam-ak doubted his own ears.

"If it's the Iron Scale Garment... isn't that your divine artifact, Leader?"

Which meant that Cha Seokdu had just handed over the very divine artifact he wore himself to Dam-ak.

Dam-ak hurriedly closed the box.

"I am fine. Please wear it again, Leader."

"Right now, the most important figure in the Underworld Alliance is not me, but you."

"..."

Cha Seokdu reached out and opened the closed box again.

"If I die, someone else can just come and take the Leader's seat, but if you die, wouldn't the history of the Underworld Alliance end right there? So don't refuse; wear it for me, and for the Underworld Alliance."

What Cha Seokdu said might just be an excuse.

It was consideration for him, the only one inside the Underworld Alliance who hadn't learned martial arts.

Dam-ak couldn't bring himself to refuse his gesture to the end.

He expressed his gratitude in his own words.

"I will definitely... turn the Underworld Alliance into an organization on par with the Murim Alliance, no, an even greater one."

"Yes, that is what I truly want! Hahahaha."

Somehow, Dam-ak felt that this moment was as warm as when he had stayed at Cheongwa Seowon.

* * *

"Ughhh... Ughhh..."

A skin-and-bones figure with soot smeared around his eyes crawled out of the room and struggled toward the table.

"W-Water..."

This bizarre creature reached out desperately onto the table while speaking human words. Ilmyeong, who had been watching the spectacle, let out a long sigh and handed over a bowl of water.

GLUG, GLUG, GLUG, GLUG.

"Kuaa...!"

The bizarre creature who emptied the bowl in an instant, as if pouring water onto parched earth, was none other than Jin Sowoon.

"Phew... I'm dying."

Watching Jin Sowoon roughly wipe the water off his mouth, Ilmyeong spoke as if finding him pathetic.

"Benefactor Jin... If it's that hard on you, couldn't you just dispel the alcohol with your internal energy?"

At that, Jin Sowoon shook his head like an enlightened one who had grasped the principles of all things.

"Senior Ilmyeong... If you're going to dispel the alcohol, why bother drinking in the first place?"

"..."

["It seems that Jin Sowoon is an 'enlightened one'."]

... My ass.

Namu Amitabha...

Thinking there was no longer any point in talking, Ilmyeong calmly resumed packing his bags.

Jin Sowoon tilted his head as he watched him.

"What are you doing?"

"I am packing my bags, of course."

"Why?"

"... We must return to the Murim Alliance."

Jin Sowoon asking such an obvious thing.

Ilmyeong felt baffled instead.

Could it be that he actually intends to accept the offer Cha Seokdu made the day before?

"Then are you staying here to become the Vice Leader?"

Tang Seo-hee asked the question Ilmyeong was harboring, somehow with eyes full of anticipation.

Having already emptied another bowl of water, Jin Sowoon scrunched up his brow.

"What kind of talk is that? How could a disciple of the great Taiyi Sect, a pillar of the Orthodox faction, live among heinous Underworld scumbags?"

"..."

"..."

"Kueh... How refreshing!"

Wasn't Jin Sowoon the most feared existence in the Underworld Alliance right now?

Heinous... For some reason, it seemed he would get along more heinously(?) well than anyone else...

Ilmyeong struggled to find his composure as he asked.

"Then why are you telling me not to pack?"

Jin Sowoon stopped drinking his water and spoke.

"Kueh... I still have something important to do."

"Something... to do?"

They had cleared the false charges that Ak Byeongbi and the delegation had been framed with, rooted out the hidden assassins, and even finalized the treaty.

What else could there possibly be left to do?

Wondering if there was some inside story he alone hadn't heard, he looked at Ak Byeongbi, but Ak Byeongbi also shook his head.

"I haven't heard anything."

Ak Byeongbi then added.

"But if that guy has something to do, it must definitely be important."

"..."

'What is this?'

'I'm sure that when we were coming to Shanxi Province, he was so convinced Jin Sowoon was a spy for the Underworld that he wouldn't even sit at the same table to eat with him, wasn't he?'

Moreover, Jin Sowoon simply accepted Ak Byeongbi's sudden 180-degree change in attitude as natural.

"So that's how it is. We will stay a little longer before we leave."

"Benefactor Jin... How about you at least tell us what it is first?"

"You will find out soon enough."

"..."

Ilmyeong felt deeply uncomfortable about staying even one more day in the Underworld Alliance, but...

"Then are you staying as the Vice Leader from now on?"

"Vice Leader? Well, you could say it's pretty close to that. Bwahahaha."

"Then can I be a Vice Leader too?"

"Senior Tang, you still have a long way to go. You lack training."

"I want to do it too! Vice Leader."

"..."

... It seemed he was the only one harboring such feelings, making his head ache.

Nervous that their playful banter might go over the wall and reach the ears of the people of the Underworld Alliance, Ilmyeong eventually stirred his internal energy to block the sound.

'Namu Amitabha, Namu Amitabha.'

It was the first time in his life he felt deep skepticism about having learned martial arts.

* * *

In the great hall, all the leaders of the Five Sects, Two Gangs, and One Peak—the pillars of the Underworld Alliance—had gathered.

As the representative of the Four Emperors Peak, Cha Seokdu was originally supposed to participate, but since he was currently the Leader, Hwang Bushik attended in his stead.

GULP.

Checking the faces of those present, Ilmyeong swallowed hard.

If it were the Murim Alliance, it was the equivalent of gathering the representatives of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans in one place.

Considering they had gathered at the summons of a greenhorn from the Underworld... no, the Orthodox Murim, this gathering was something that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

'Just what is he thinking?'

The expressions of those gathered were not good, as if they were having similar thoughts.

Particularly, those belonging to the pro-war faction had their faces scrunched up as if there was shit rolling around in their mouths.

However.

The one making Ilmyeong more anxious than anything else was none other than Jin Sowoon.

"Just how long do we have to wait?"

That was right.

Jin Sowoon had gathered all these bigshots in one place, yet he himself had not shown up, making them wait endlessly.

'Namu Amitabha, Namu Amitabha.'

Just as he chanted the Buddha's name about ten times with a burning anxiety inside him, the long-awaited Jin Sowoon appeared.

"Ah, I'm a little late."

With an incredibly nonchalant face.

'Namu... Amitabha...'

Stepping inside with a bundle of papers in one hand, Jin Sowoon casually sat down in the seat of honor, which only infuriated those present even more.

"Black Flame Dragon... We've let things slide, but this is crossing the line. Why did you summon us?"

"Eh? If you didn't want to come, you simply didn't have to."

BANG!

Reacting to his nonsense, the Mado Sect Leader slammed his fist onto the table.

"Did you not use the Leader's order!"

At the mention of the Leader's order, Ilmyeong's face turned even paler.

However, his heart calmed down slightly at Jin Sowoon's subsequent words.

"Can't you tell that I asked the Leader for it because this is obviously an important matter?"

"..."

Jin Sowoon's voice had sunk coldly.

In the end, the Mado Sect Leader only ground his teeth, unable to retort any further.

Ilmyeong also became curious.

Just how important was this matter that he would delay their schedule to return to the Murim Alliance and even use the Leader's order to gather these bigshots?

Jin Sowoon began handing out the bundle of papers in his hand one by one.

Curious about the contents as well, Ilmyeong secretly slipped one of the remaining papers toward himself...

"Fuck, what kind of bullshit is this!"

"What? A reward? What are you trying to pull right now?!"

Curses erupted even before Ilmyeong could examine the paper.

Ilmyeong quickly read through the paper.

And he, too, almost spat out a curse.

"..."

[Hidden Assassin Detection Reward Payment Statement]

-The undersigned hereby awards Jin Sowoon a reward for finding the culprit behind the murder incident that occurred on the day of Shinmyo in the month of Imja...

'Ah... So the important thing to do in the Underworld Alliance was this?'

'Namu Amita...'

Ilmyeong, who had been trying to find peace of mind by chanting the Buddha's name, soon emptied everything from his mind and smiled warmly as he looked at Jin Sowoon.

'Dammit, I don't know anymore.'

It was a warm smile befitting the title Laughing Buddha.