Blue made his way through the courtyard toward the noodle shop. "What are they after exactly? They really want me to join the Alliance? This is all becoming a pain in the ass." Blue looked up as he entered the shop. He saw Seori's back, and a look from Cheng and Yeol that told him everything he needed to know.
Blue's hand met his forehead. "Fuck... i can't catch a break right now." Blue forced a smile and walked over and sat down. "Well, hello again vice stategist! How are the noodles?"
Wu Cheng cleared his throat. "So, what did they want from you?"
Blue exhaled. "They asked what world i came from, about my system." He looked at Seori. "They knew more than they should. I am guessing that's mostly because of you huh?"
Seori gave a small nod. "Yes, but not everything. They don't know what i know, big brother."
"Seori, I tol-" Blue stuck his hand up. "It's alright uncle. I can't hide it from her. She'll just have me followed even more."
Blue grabbed her spoon and ate some of her noodles. He looked up. "Yes, I am Jiung. I died when you were very young. I was... reborn on another world. Earth"
Yeol leaned back, covering his face with one hand.
"Now, if you'll excuse us." Blue started to stand. "There are things I need to discuss with my Elders. Things i do not wish to be heard and repeated to the Alliance Leader."
Seori grabbed him arm and forced him to sit back down. "Oh? You mean how the Alliance Leader and Jaegal Li are working against Murim?" Seori said. "Or how gates conveniently don't get cleared, while the ones who can clear them remain under their thumb? How about how Namgung Hyeon uses everything in his power to try and destroy what was once my family?"
Blue froze. Seori leaned in. "Boy. I'm smarter than you don't forget that."
She shoved her bowl away, her eyes never leaving his. "This isn't the same Alliance I swore to serve when Jaegal Li first accepted me. We all may have been separated, but I won't allow the Leader to torment my family." She sighed. "I've waited for a way, a reason to leave. So if you could stop being an ass for five minutes. Treat me like your sister and not your enemy. Then you would gain an ally."
Blue stared at her. He had no answers. The elders stared at each other just as shocked.
Seori looked down at the table. "I can't join So-Yeon and Tang, it would bring to much attention to the clan. There's nowhere else to go." She looked at Blue. "Brother, take me to Silent Edge." She looked at Wu Cheng. "You know I'd be an asset to your son... and your cause."
"It's certainly a bold request, and one that is hard to turn down." Cheng chuckled.
"I have sat back and done nothing, because I could do nothing. But, if I join you, I can help you stay two steps ahead of him. That's what strategy is. Position and timing."
Your presence alone,” he said, “will unnerve the Alliance. You know their movements. Their players. That’s worth more than a thousand blades.”
Yeol muttered, “Seems like Silent Edge’s become a home for lost Tang children.”
Seori reached for something beneath her cloak and set it gently on the table... a thin, unmarked scroll, its cord sealed with an old wax imprint Blue didn’t recognize at first. But his heart skipped when he saw the symbol, a coiling serpent emerging from poisonous smoke.
This was hidden beneath the Alliance Leader’s office floor,” she said. “Found it by accident. Thought it was just another stolen manual.” She pushed it toward him. “But I recognized the seal.”
Blue hesitated, then took it in his hands and unrolled it slightly. The script was handwritten, sharp, fluid strokes. His eyes widened. “This is… Grandfather’s handwriting.”
Seori nodded. "It is the All-Venoms breathing technique. The one Grandfather created."
Blue skimmed the scroll, his heart racing.
According to the notes,” Seori said, “it’s a technique that refines poison qi a hundredfold. Far more concentrated than the Ten Thousand Poison that sister uses. If you reach its final state… it says you can manipulate the poison outside your body. Shape it. Weaponize it.”
Blue looked up, eyes fierce with disbelief. “Why didn’t you give this to So-Yeon?”
"I did, years ago." She said. She refused to learn it. Said it was too dangerous. The poisons you need to ingest to cultivate it… most of them are extinct or sealed. And the only one who could stabilize the process...the Heavenly Doctor, well he died during the first wave of monsters.”
“So no one’s qualified to help now.” He muttered.
Seori looked at the scroll. "If this really is your second life, then maybe you're the only one who can survive it. I will help you find a way."
Cheng spoke up. "Well, with that as a gift. I can't quite say no now. Welcome to Silent Edge, Strategist."
Seori stood.
"I will gather my assistant and my things. I hope that won't be an issue. She has been vetted by me and i trust her with my life."
The three nodded. "I will be at your gates at noon tomorrow. We can discuss the future then. 'Till tomorrow gentlemen."
The sun was dipping low behind the cliffs as the trio approached the Silent Edge compound.
Waiting near the gates stood two figures, the Sword Saint, arms folded, and beside him, a tall, rigid young man with sharp eyes and an uninterested demeanor.
Blue’s footsteps slowed the moment he saw them. He looked from Kwan to Yeol, muttering under his breath. “Fuck me. This day is giving me no breaks.”
The Sword Saint chuckled the moment they drew close. “Ah, so I assume you’ve been briefed on the Alliance’s little excursion they are sendin us on?”
Blue nodded. “You're here to work out the details i presume?”
“Getting smarter i see, yes...yes we are,” the Sword Saint said. “Because I fear this mission isn’t just a simple gate-clear. There’s something else at play.”
Inside the office, Wu Jin sat behind his desk, fingers laced together.
Kwan,” Wu Jin said. “This is Blue. The one who fought on your brother’s behalf at the Wudang. And the only system user not under Alliance control... yet.”
Blue stepped forward hand extended. "Nice to meet you."
Kwan give him a side eye. "Tch. I don't shake hands with weaklings."
Before Blue could respond, the door burst open.
“Hyung!” Ryul’s voice echoed in the room as he stormed in, followed by Jinhu and Ilho. "Did you see Seori? Tell me, how is our sister!"
Then he saw Kwan. “Shit.” His gaze immediately hit the floor.
Kwan stood slowly, eyes narrowing as he drew his blade and pointed it at Blue’s throat. “Hyung?” he snarled. “Who the fuck is hyung? He doesn’t even call me that.”
Blue sighed as the tip of the blade hovered near his neck. “This fucking day... can’t get any worse.”