I Decided to Give the Contract to the Male Vassal - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 60

 

This was information that even Chung-rin, the spy of Sangteon-dang, namely Yeo Gyeong-o, did not know.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o glared at me as if trying to see through me. His eyes held a sharp killing intent, as if he would cut me down if I spoke lies.

 

“Because Chung-rin died just before I was confined to the Yeomhwa Family.”

 

I could not reveal to him the fact that I was Chung-rin.

 

The fact that I, ‘Chung-rin’, had been revived in ‘Chung-rin’s’ body must not be known to Sangteon-dang through him.

 

So I mixed in only a bit of truth.

 

If examined closely, the timing of my death and when Chung-rin went to Cheonsan might not match up.

 

But since there seemed to be hardly anyone who knew that I, Chung-rin, had died, Yeo Gyeong-o would have no choice but to believe this explanation.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o couldn’t continue speaking for a while and rubbed his face with dry hands.

 

His face looked as if he had received a shock.

 

In the martial world, even the death of masters who once dominated an era is common.

 

Even if I, who had been the Sangteon-dang leader, lost my martial arts and met a futile death, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising.

 

So I thought Yeo Gyeong-o would accept it easily.

 

But he swallowed his breath and lowered his gaze.

 

As if he was briefly reminiscing about the past.

 

The time he and I had been connected was, when considered, only a few months. Yet was my death meaningful enough to shock him?

 

“…I see.”

 

He answered only after a long while had passed.

 

It felt like he was gradually accepting the reality that I had died.

 

“I understand why you’re trying to use the Mageyo. From your position, even approaching the Heavenly Tiger Alliance leader wouldn’t be easy.”

 

Heavenly Tiger Alliance leader.

 

Hearing those words made my chest feel blocked.

 

That person I had solely relied on during my Sangteon-dang days had led Baekah and me to death.

 

Just thinking of him made my heart feel like it would stop.

 

When I thought of the pain Baekah must have felt, I wanted to tear that bastard apart and kill him.

 

In the 10 years that had passed, that bastard was in a place so distant and unreachable.

 

If I could kill him and scatter his blood over the water that had swallowed Baekah, I could do anything.

 

Perhaps because he saw my true feelings in that brief moment.

 

The sharp killing intent I had clearly felt from Yeo Gyeong-o disappeared, leaving behind a strange sense of kinship.

 

He might be seeing himself, who sought revenge for his family’s death, overlapping with me.

 

I had thought that if Yeo Gyeong-o saw my true feelings, at least his hostility would disappear, and that thought was correct.

 

So I decided to immediately move to the next stage.

 

“Here.”

 

I extended my hand toward him. As if not understanding what this meant, Yeo Gyeong-o stared at my hand.

 

“I know you still don’t trust me. So check for yourself.”

 

Allowing a martial artist to check one’s pulse was like revealing oneself.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o would be constantly doubting me even at this moment.

 

How I, who had been bound to the Yeomhwa Family for 10 years, could use martial arts. And how much internal energy I possessed. Whether my desire for revenge was real.

 

If I could capture his heart, I was prepared to show him everything about my current self.

 

“Then I won’t decline.”

 

Yeo Gyeong-o carefully grasped my hand and felt the pulse at my wrist. It was to inject his internal energy.

 

Although I had completely absorbed the energy of the Bloodstone Flower, since I hadn’t perfectly refined it yet, my current internal energy was at a minimal level compared to before.

 

Since even Wicheonso hadn’t noticed the Bloodstone Flower, Yeo Gyeong-o would be the same.

 

So I quietly accepted the internal energy he injected.

 

Instead of the pulse that should have been felt from his fingertips, the sensation of wind brushed by.

 

It felt as if wind was passing beneath his palm rather than blood flowing.

 

Meanwhile, I observed Yeo Gyeong-o’s appearance.

 

Behind Yeo Gyeong-o, who was concentrating on reading my internal energy, vivid energy rose up.

 

Not the dark red flames like Yeonhopyeong’s, nor the red like Wicheonso’s, but a pale blue-white color.

 

His internal energy was flowing as if gliding in tranquility.

 

I thought this might be what it would feel like if wind were given form.

 

‘It seems like Chomundan’s martial arts have been layered over Sangteon-dang’s characterless martial arts.’

 

The Chomundan he belonged to used martial arts composed of mystical techniques.

 

Though I had only briefly confirmed it, I was certain that his martial prowess was absolutely not inferior even within the Mageyo.

 

While I was checking his condition, Yeo Gyeong-o’s gaze remained on my pulse.

 

He said nothing, but when his internal energy circulated once through my blood vessels, I was certain.

 

His internal energy was quiet but strong, with a tenacity that never let go of its target.

 

Perhaps because of this, the internal energy within me wavered briefly. Like waves rising when wind brushes by, my heart beat within what had been calm.

 

After Yeo Gyeong-o withdrew his internal energy, he removed his hand from me.

 

At the same time, Yeo Gyeong-o’s internal energy that had been visible before my eyes disappeared like a mirage.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o looked down at my wrist as if lost in thought, then slowly exhaled.

 

He withdrew his hand and fell silent for a moment.

 

Watching him, I too did not let go of my tension.

 

❖ ❖ ❖

 

When Chung-rin, whom he met at Bukhangnyo, mentioned Chung-rin, Yeo Gyeong-o had speculated that Chung-rin might be dead.

 

However, since even within Sangteon-dang they had no related information, he wanted to believe she was alive.

 

Because Chung-rin was an important person to him.

 

When he was neither Chung-rin nor Yeo Gyeong-o.

 

Chung-rin had saved him from becoming a victim of demonic arts and brought him to Sangteon-dang.

 

He was fifteen years old at the time.

 

Chung-rin was the Sangteon-dang leader then, only four years older than him, but felt like someone in an unreachable place.

 

He decided to become a spy for Sangteon-dang so he could someday repay the favor, and volunteered for the Cheonsan mission.

 

When they met again, Chung-rin remembered him.

 

“I don’t know much about the pain of losing family. Because I have no family. But it must have been painful. Even so, remember that without you, there can be no revenge.”

 

She awakened the desire for revenge he harbored early on and tried to understand his pain.

 

Then she taught him methods of survival along with Sangteon-dang’s secret techniques.

 

“If you don’t give up, there will be an opportunity someday. So endure to the end and think about your life afterward.”

 

Though their meeting was brief, it became a milestone in his life.

 

His ability to rise to the position of Chomundan leader was an achievement made possible thanks to Chung-rin’s advice to endure no matter what.

 

Chung-rin was both a master who taught him how to survive and a benefactor who made him dream of life after revenge by mentioning an antidote.

 

So he even made vague plans to meet her one last time after completing his revenge.

 

But she said ‘Chung-rin is dead.’

 

That assumption, which had been lodged as suspicion, became confirmed words that stabbed his heart like a sharp awl.

 

It was a different feeling from when he lost his family, like a part of his heart being carved out.

 

He wanted to grab Chung-rin who had delivered the news and ask when, why, and how Chung-rin had died.

 

But he didn’t do so.

 

His survival in Cheonsan until now had been possible because he always maintained his composure.

 

So he watched Chung-rin closely.

 

Since it was the word of someone who had been confined for 10 years, he couldn’t believe it at face value.

 

So when Chung-rin offered her wrist, he quickly grasped it.

 

Because he was curious whether the desire for revenge she claimed to harbor in her heart was true, or if she was deceiving him.

 

She quietly accepted his internal energy.

 

The clear energy of Seolsan, different from those who had learned demonic arts, was felt throughout her pulse points.

 

It was cold but clean.

 

However, it wasn’t cold like ice, but energy like water that had melted and flowed down from ice.

 

But various parts of her blood vessels were blocked, so there weren’t many areas his internal energy could reach.

 

Chung-rin was not complete right now.

 

In this state, even if she learned martial arts, she wouldn’t be able to achieve mastery, and she wouldn’t be able to accumulate internal energy either.

 

Chung-rin was very different from Chung-rin, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts before even coming of age.

 

There was another difference.

 

The thick, clinging emotion that had gathered over her clear eyes.

 

The indignation over Chung-rin’s death, and the determination to seek revenge by any means necessary.

 

It was the same dark, sticky emotion that clung to Yeo Gyeong-o’s own gaze.

 

That much was as clear as looking into a mirror.

 

Unlike Chung-rin, who had always seen through the future, Hee-rin was an incomplete being.

 

Still, the emotions she harbored within were genuine.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o withdrew his hand from her immediately after retracting his wager.

 

At that moment, something caught his eye.

 

It was the presence of Sugungsa, which should have disappeared upon her marriage to Wicheonso.

 

Yeo Gyeong-o made his judgment in that brief moment.

 

“So you didn’t have a proper wedding ceremony with the Third Prince.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Hee-rin caught her breath like someone who didn’t know how to respond.

 

“Did you marry the Third Prince after promising him the position of Soggyoju for Chung-rin’s revenge?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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