The night passed and morning came.

Just as Jasu was indifferently watching the sunlight pouring in through the closed window.

Kwang!

The door was flung open.

A voice shouted with eyes full of surprise.

"S-special Class!"

Jasu, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed, opened her eyes and looked at the rude visitor with an indifferent expression.

[Godon!]

The man standing beside Jasu shouted in a telepathic message, as if pointing out Godon's mistake.

[Have you forgotten that you must not make a sound! There is a guest in the next room.]

"...Ah, sorry..."

Godon flinched in surprise, closed his mouth, and continued the rest of his words telepathically.

But there was no mercy in Jasu's hand.

Kwa-ak!

The hand, extended with an indifferent expression, pierced Godon's flesh and grabbed his collarbone.

"Kkeu..."

Godon's face contorted from the force that seemed to break it, but he could not let out a groan of pain.

No, he had to endure it.

Because he had been trained to do so.

His tendons bulged and sweat poured down like rain, but Godon tenaciously endured the pain.

And as if in reward for that patience, the hand was released.

Godon, who had collapsed powerlessly, swallowed a groan and could not even let out a loud breath, panting softly.

[...What is it?]

Jasu finally asked.

[H-Hwagye is dead.]

"...!"

At those words, Jasu's pupils shook, unfitting of her expressionless face.

Hwagye is dead?

What on earth does that mean?

He had thought he was just a little late because the investigation was not yet properly finished.

[He disguised himself as a drunkard and gathered rumors from here and there, and slept on the street. But they said a body was found in an alley on the outskirts...]

He said that when he went to check out of curiosity, Hwagye was there.

On a straw mat laid out by the officials.

It was enough to judge life and death just by looking.

Because he was lying face down, looking at the sky.

Although Godon reported everything he had seen and heard, Jasu said nothing.

She just wore the same indifferent expression as before.

But the killing intent in her eyes flowed out like frost.

[...Sagyo.]

[Yes, Special Class.]

At Jasu's call, the man standing beside her, Sagyo, answered politely.

[I need to know the details.]

[What should I do about the report?]

[The organization will already know. I will report separately to the Killing Master that I will take care of it. You immediately confirm Hwagye's death.]

[I understand.]

One word of command was enough.

Sagyo, who had answered briefly, bowed his head and left the room.

[...Godon.]

[Yes?]

[Are you going to stay there?]

Godon, startled by Jasu's words, shot up like a bounced ball.

[I will be back.]

At the sight of him bowing his head and following Sagyo, who had gone out first, Jasu sighed and looked at the window where the sunlight was seeping in.

An unopened window.

Thoughts deepened in Jasu's mind.

Hwagye was dead.

It was something that could happen.

The mission Hwagye was in charge of was to search for a target for the second-class assassins to disguise themselves as among the people invited to the Gongson family's funeral.

As always, there was no way their work would be without danger.

It was easy to be discovered even by a small footstep or the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind.

But in preparation for such cases, the assassins were brainwashed to follow two rules.

Those like Jasu, whose brainwashing had faded after living as an assassin for a long time, sometimes considered other options, but Hwagye, who had just become a second-class assassin, was different.

The rules, following them was close to instinct.

If he was discovered by the enemy, he should have immediately fled and left the mission area.

That was the first rule.

Even if he could fight, even if he could win, he should never be greedy.

Hwagye had made the right choice.

According to Godon, his body was found in an alley on the outskirts of the city.

It was a commendable thing.

Because it was in the opposite direction of the inn where Jasu was staying. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

But the second rule.

If he had met an opponent he couldn't handle, he should have committed suicide immediately.

The dead tell no tales.

No matter how much they had been trained to endure pain in preparation for torture, there was no more certain way to keep a secret than death.

But Hwagye had been killed by someone's hand.

The body said so.

It might be a small problem.

What problem would the death of a second-class assassin be? They were just consumables that could be replaced at any time.

But, the problem was the blemish that had appeared in her perfect plan.

Before the killing had even begun.

Bba-deu-deuk.

Jasu ground her teeth minutely.

* * *

Cheonyeong's mouth splits wide at the sound of teeth grinding coming from beyond the wall.

This punk, she's really pissed off.

Keu-heu-heu-heu... keu-hat-hat-hat!

Ah, fuck, I want to laugh!

I want to laugh out loud like a madman.

Cheonyeong, who had returned after being hit by the morning dew, could not sleep.

He was so curious about Jasu's reaction when she found out that Hwagye was dead.

He had stayed up without sleeping, to the point where his eyes were bloodshot and had become rabbit eyes.

And after a long wait, an exciting situation unfolded.

Kwang!

The sound of the door being flung open.

The next room.

Cheonyeong, who had perked up his ears, stuck to the wall connected to the next room and focused on the sound.

No sound was heard.

These damn punks!

Don't you have mouths?

Why are you using telepathy, leaving your good mouths... ah, come to think of it, it was originally telepathy.

That was the rule.

And it was natural, since they knew there was a person in the next room.

A faint groan was heard.

It must have been Godon.

And after a long while, the door opened and closed twice in succession, and the sound of footsteps going out faded away.

He could tell without looking.

He must have sent out the two remaining second-class assassin punks.

To grasp the situation.

They would look into Hwagye's movements.

It's not difficult.

How fast were the rumors of the author?

The commotion that had occurred at Hwang Haegu's estate would spread quickly.

Because a few punks had already died from the poison-smeared flying needles.

Through the tight-lipped warriors, through the people coming and going, and the workers.

And now Hwagye's body is in the hands of the officials.

If it were in the hands of a martial family, the security would be tight, and they would mobilize all their connections to find the attacker, but the government office is different.

How busy are the affairs of the state, would they put aside their own work and work with all their might?

They only receive a pittance of a salary.

It would not be so difficult to infiltrate the government office and investigate Hwagye's body.

Then they would find out.

That someone had twisted Hwagye's neck like a chicken's neck.

It would be on their minds.

The killing was right before their eyes, but a subordinate had died at the hands of an unknown master...

Cheonyeong knew Jasu's personality well.

Wasn't she a superior he had once served?

To get hit one less time by pleasing her, one had to be quick-witted.

Jasu (Pleiades).

A name taken from one of the seven mansions of the west, a constellation in the sky.

She was one of the twenty-eight special classes that existed in the Jingagu.

If nothing else, her skill in poison was one of the best among the special classes.

Was it because of that?

If she made a mistake, she could be poisoned herself, and since she handled poisons whose properties changed depending on the combination, she had a perfectionist personality.

Cheonyeong had just thrown ashes on such a punk's plan.

Now, then... shall I provoke her a little more?

This time, the target is the pig.

Jasu, you wait a moment.

I'll cut off your hands and feet first and then meet you.

I will definitely hear the curses burst from your mouth.

Cheonyeong got ready and stood up.

Sleep? What problem would there be if he didn't sleep for a day?

He would be a little tired.

But the joy of messing with Jasu was much greater than that fatigue.

* * *

"Hmm..."

Sagyo, who was investigating Hwagye's movements under Jasu's command, frowned.

He had infiltrated the government office and confirmed Hwagye's body, and by the time he had traced Hwagye's movements by gathering the rumors floating around the streets, the day had grown dark.

Since it was a matter that had to be found out immediately under Jasu's command, he had moved during the day instead of at night, so it had taken several times longer than usual.

And so he had come to Hwang Haegu's estate.

Although the number of escort warriors had increased significantly due to the attack last night, it was easy to sneak in.

Because due to the prolonged investigation, it had already become night.

What was more familiar to an assassin than darkness?

Sagyo and Godon, who had hidden their bodies in the darkness and easily infiltrated Hwang Haegu's room, carefully examined the place.

[Leader.]

"...?"

Godon held out a flying needle in his hand.

[It was between the joints of that pillar over there. It seems the merchant group's guards couldn't find it.]

[Hmm...]

Seeing the tip of the flying needle glittering with a green light, it was clearly Hwagye's.

The green light was a trace of the deadly poison, Septicemia Powder.

[As it was stuck.]

At Sagyo's command, Godon stuck the flying needle into the pillar just as he had first discovered it.

The depth was one chi.

If it was Hwagye's skill, it would have been about this position.

Sagyo, considering the direction and depth of the stuck flying needle, estimates Hwagye's position and predicts the situation last night.

Hwagye's position was in front of the door.

Hwang Haegu's bed.

Between them was a fiend of unknown identity.

There are no traces of a struggle.

There are no broken furniture.

Then it is reasonable to assume that Hwagye, judging that he would not be a match for the fiend, threw a flying needle and escaped by breaking the door at the same time.

Sagyo looks at the board that has been temporarily put up to replace the broken door.

The moment the door broke, a fight broke out with the guards who were guarding outside.

Three guards died.

According to the whispers of those who were at the scene at the time, there was no one in the room except Hwang Haegu.

In other words, the punk disappeared as soon as Hwagye ran away.

Before coming to the estate, he had infiltrated the government office and confirmed that Hwagye's body had clearly been attacked from behind.

Someone had killed him by twisting his neck with great force from behind.

Then the culprit is highly likely to be the same person as the mysterious fiend, or an accomplice.

But the report had to be certain.

Because Jasu was a person who did not tolerate even a small mistake.

[Godon.]

[Yeah?]

[For now, I'll have to go to the place where Hwagye died.]

[I'll guide you.]

The two showed the thoroughness of checking for any traces they might have left behind, and then quickly left Hwang Haegu's estate.

The day was already full of darkness.

A secluded alley on the outskirts of the city, which they arrived at after a long time after leaving the estate.

Sagyo, who had hidden his body far away, stares at the place where Hwagye was said to have been killed.

A shady spot.

Hwagye with his back to the wall.

Seu-euk.

Sagyo raises both hands and imitates the moment Hwagye died.

He must have died without even being able to resist.

Who could it be?

Sagyo's brow furrows deeply.

He knew Hwagye's skills very well.

He had such outstanding skills that Hwagye had not noticed the fiend hiding in Hwang Haegu's room.

Although it was random, he had skillfully dodged the poison flying needle that had flown towards him, and he was skilled at hiding his presence enough to approach Hwagye's back, who was hiding in the darkness, after chasing him.

A master...

No, to be precise, it is highly likely that he is a much more outstanding assassin than them.

Because it would be impossible to deliver such a clean death without being an assassin.

But it is difficult to be sure of his judgment.

[Godon.]

[Say it.]

[Go back and report to the Special Class.]

"...?"

[Someone has interfered in our work. The identity of the culprit is not yet clear. However, it is highly likely that he is an assassin.]

[What? What does that mean? An assassin?]

[I'm not sure either. For now, report it. The judgment is for the Special Class to make.]

[Then what about you?]

[I will wait here until the Special Class comes. In case the culprit appears again.]

[Hmm, I understand.]

At Sagyo's command, Godon hurriedly retreats and disappears into the darkness.

And then.

"Keuk keuk, from the looks of it, you've roughly predicted the situation, haven't you? You're a promising assassin punk."

Far away on the roof.

Cheonyeong, who had been watching the second-class assassin, assimilated with the darkness in a shady spot, smiles.

Since the assassins had spoken telepathically, he hadn't heard their names, so he didn't know which punk was which.

He knew the faces of Hwagye, who had died first, and Godon, but he had never seen the punk who seemed to be the leader of the second-class assassins before.

But there was something he expected. Since fate had changed and he had not been kidnapped by the Jingagu, the name Sagyo would have been given to another punk in his place.

"Yes, even if I'm not sure... I'll put off meeting the current Sagyo for a while."

Cheonyeong smirked and followed Godon.

How long has it been?

Stealth, lightness skill, and infiltration.

This too... is fun to do after a long time.

It's like a trip down memory lane.

(End of Chapter)