CLS-Chapter 416

Chapter 416:

“Haah…”

Night had fallen into darkness.

Even the moon seemed ashamed and hid behind the clouds, making the world utterly dark.

At the edge of a pavilion’s eaves shrouded in that darkness, Wu-il was letting out a deep sigh.

‘What should I do?’

His worries had no end.

There was only one answer, but that answer was not something that could be easily executed. Since orders had already been given by Zhuge Wen-in, there was only one choice he could make.

But…

Wu-il quietly closed his eyes.

He had thought that such a day would come eventually. This was ultimately how the end came for intelligence agents. They would either meet a miserable death as payment for what they had done, or barely preserve their lives while becoming cripples.

He had never heard anywhere of those famous as intelligence agents having peaceful final years. Even the instructor who had taught them was covered in scars from torture all over his body.

Hadn’t he often said that even he was lucky just to have survived?

‘I shouldn’t hope for more.’

Even knowing that such a day would come eventually, he couldn’t escape because the path he could choose was ultimately obvious.

Even having come this far, he couldn’t make a different choice.

Then he should at least be dignified.

Wu-il quietly turned his head to look at the pavilion where Wei Yan-ho was staying.

‘I won’t be able to return alive.’

According to his investigation, Wei Yan-ho was not someone who valued human life highly. If he wasn’t from Guangdong Province and if those he had been involved with so far weren’t people from orthodox sects, he would have been branded as unorthodox without room for argument.

Such a person would never let Wu-il live after he had disobeyed his words and returned again.

The only way to survive was to infiltrate once more and this time complete the mission without catching Wei Yan-ho’s eye.

But…

Wu-il raised his head to look at the sky. The moonlight dimly shining through the thick clouds seemed to express his feelings. It would probably rain soon.

It wasn’t a bad night.

Swish.

Wu-il’s body slowly descended from under the eaves. Though there were eyes watching the interior from around, no one discovered Wu-il. This was proof that his stealth skills had reached a remarkable level. Of course, Wei Yan-ho had instantly detected his presence.

Having snuck into the pavilion and standing in front of Wei Yan-ho’s room while avoiding the servants’ eyes, Wu-il closed his eyes.

After standing there in front of the door for a moment, Wu-il slowly opened the door and entered the room.

Snore snore.

His eyes saw Wei Yan-ho lying on the bed, sleeping. It seemed he could still sleep even after all that rest.

Wu-il quietly looked at Wei Yan-ho sleeping.

What state was that person in right now?

Did he not know that he had come?

Would he really not know even if he attacked stealthily while he was sleeping so deeply?

If so, perhaps now might be the best opportunity.

Investigate Wei Yan-ho?

That was a secondary matter. That investigation was just a process to eliminate Wei Yan-ho anyway. If he could eliminate Wei Yan-ho now, Zhuge Wen-in would give him a great reward. Perhaps he could escape from this situation and live an ordinary life.

Wu-il slowly approached Wei Yan-ho.

Silent footsteps.

They were stealthy and eerie footsteps.

Having approached close to the bedside, Wu-il quietly looked down at Wei Yan-ho. The blanket wrapped tightly around him had come slightly loose, revealing his sleeping face.

Wu-il, who had been quietly looking at Wei Yan-ho’s face as he slept obliviously, took a step back.

‘He really is a strange person.’

He must not wake him.

Wei Yan-ho had still shown him kindness. Though he had no right to pride himself on living virtuously, he didn’t want to become a beast. Then there was only one thing he could choose.

Wu-il slowly knelt down in that spot. Then he quietly closed his eyes.

Staying in this place until that person woke up was the last thing he had to do.

Wu-il waited quietly for Wei Yan-ho to wake up like that.

How much time had passed?

Around when he thought the sun should start rising soon, Wei Yan-ho stirred.

“Ey!”

A clear voice.

It was a voice that could never come from someone who had just woken up.

Wei Yan-ho sat up abruptly as if annoyed, then turned his head to look at Wu-il.

Wu-il quietly bowed his head.

“I should have told you that I’d kill you if you came back again, right?”

“…Yes.”

“So coming back again means you want to die?”

Wu-il raised his head to look at Wei Yan-ho.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

Wei Yan-ho made a dumbfounded expression.

“Did you just say yes?”

“Yes.”

“That you want to die?”

“…Though I don’t desire it, this is the only way.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed.

“Geez, you really are a strange person from last time. If you’re going to do that, wouldn’t it be better to try to kill me instead?”

Wu-il smiled slightly.

“Even beasts know gratitude. I know that you showed me kindness, Young Master. I may not be able to repay that kindness, but I cannot bring harm to you.”

“Huh.”

Wei Yan-ho chuckled.

“Seeing an assassin talking about gratitude is honestly kind of funny. Other people might be moved by this situation, but I’m someone lacking in sensitivity, so I’m not particularly touched.”

“I didn’t expect that.”

Wu-il said firmly.

“I had no other path to choose either. I’ll be honest with you. If I had the ability to harm you, Young Master, I might have agonized over it. I’m not that virtuous a person either. But no matter how much I think about it, I don’t have the ability to harm you, Young Master. And I don’t have the ability to complete my mission without being caught by you. Then it would be better to die by your hand, Young Master.”

“Mmm.”

Wei Yan-ho rubbed his face roughly.

Since making his debut in the martial world, he had encountered various people, but this was the first one who insisted on dying by his hand. If he drew a sword and made a fuss, he’d send him to the King of Hell for consultation in one blow, but seeing him stick his neck out like that made him feel awkward.

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to just run away? Why are you so full of loyalty?”

“Rather than loyalty…”

Wu-il smiled faintly.

Why was he telling all these things to Wei Yan-ho one by one? He could just die and be done with it.

Perhaps the realization that this was the end of his life was making his tongue loose. Everyone needs someone to listen to their story when facing death.

“I’m not in a position where I can refuse their orders.”

“Even when it’s a matter of throwing away your life?”

“Yes.”

Annoyance appeared on Wei Yan-ho’s face.

“Look, there’s nothing in the world more important than your own life. Even if it doesn’t seem that way right now, you’ll be grateful for being alive later.”

“…”

“I’ll give you one last chance… Go. You can run away right now on this path. From what I saw of your skills, you seem like you’d be amazing at running away.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Argh! Damn!”

Wei Yan-ho shot up from the bed.

This won’t work, that won’t work… Who would have thought there’d be someone who insisted on dying by his hand? This was frustrating beyond measure.

“Why, why can’t you? Even when I’m saying I’ll spare you, why are you making a fuss! If you want to die, you can bite a sword and fall over, so why are you coming to me and doing this!”

“…If they find out I committed suicide, they won’t stay quiet.”

“What can they do when you’re dead?”

“There are people left behind.”

“Huh?”

Wu-il sighed.

“That’s what being an intelligence agent is like. If you betray them, the organization’s secrets and important information could leak out, so they never let them roam free. Conversely, only those who would never reveal secrets even if captured can become intelligence agents.”

“So there are hostages?”

“You could say that…”

Wei Yan-ho frowned.

In such a situation, it wasn’t incomprehensible. Wei Yan-ho himself wouldn’t be able to act as he pleased if Wei Su-ryeon were held hostage. Even if his head told him it was right to abandon the person held hostage, he could never do that.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to rescue those hostages?”

“That’s impossible.”

“Why? You seem incredibly good at infiltration. Honestly, it’s because it was me that I discovered you, but most people probably wouldn’t have noticed.”

“…”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean I’m great. To tell the truth, I live with a ghost, so detecting presence is second nature to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“…I know it might sound strange, but it’s true.”

Wu-il looked at Wei Yan-ho with blank eyes. He thought he was being mocked.

Of course, from Wei Yan-ho’s perspective, it was frustrating.

No matter how much of a stealth expert Wu-il was, he was just a living person. Wei Yan-ho had lived with Baek Mu-han, who was practically a ghost, for five years.

Moreover, Baek Mu-han was someone who never woke Wei Yan-ho with words. If Wei Yan-ho didn’t get up on time, he would start by beating him first—a fellow with no humanity to speak of, like a beast. Just to survive, he had to learn to read the presence of ghosts.

Whether this was Baek Mu-han’s intention or not, he didn’t know, but thanks to that, Wei Yan-ho was someone who could pride himself on being the best in the world at reading presence.

When he could read even a ghost’s presence, what would a person’s presence amount to?

“Anyway, since that’s not important, let’s move on. In any case, you’re incredibly good at stealth, so couldn’t you just infiltrate and rescue the hostages? Or do you not know where the hostages are?”

“It’s not that, but as I said, it’s impossible. There are those with better skills than mine there. It would be difficult for me to deceive all their eyes and infiltrate. And even if I succeeded in infiltrating, it would be even more impossible to escape with the hostages.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek.

“There’s no solution.”

Wu-il smiled bitterly.

There was no way he hadn’t considered the methods Wei Yan-ho suggested. He too was human, and all humans want to live.

But no matter how much he tried to find a way, there was no method available to him.

One of the two couldn’t live. Then he had to die.

“Who is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who is the hostage?”

“…My younger sister.”

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho’s face twisted slightly.

The word sister bothered him.

‘I keep trying not to care about it…’

He had been trying not to think about it. In his current situation, rescuing Wei San-ho was impossible. But he kept getting involved in such matters.

A younger sister was being held hostage.

If Wei San-ho had been in such a situation, what would he have done?

Wouldn’t he have tried to save Wei Yan-ho even at the cost of his own life, just like Wu-il now?

That fact irritated Wei Yan-ho.

“Where is it?”

“What?”

At Wu-il’s question, Wei Yan-ho glared.

“Where is that sister of yours?”