Chapter 396. Salmak 2
Bae Junho came up with a scheme.
Go Youngchang had given him thirty silver bottles.
The fee for Salmak was twenty.
That left ten.
He proposed that the three of them divide the remaining ten.
The two men assigned to watch him were reluctant at first.
But Bae Junho knew what kind of men they were.
It was a mistake to assume that a man with strong loyalty also possessed sound judgment.
Especially when that loyalty was directed toward a person.
Such loyalty usually came from necessity.
A way to make a living.
A path to promotion.
Shelter beneath someone powerful.
A little authority and a little profit.
Once another path appeared that could satisfy those needs, loyalty could change direction surprisingly quickly.
In that sense, they were not so different from anyone else who invested years of life in small but necessary things simply to make it through each day.
It was also a matter of temperament.
Some people had little resistance to bribes, skimming, petty fraud, and quietly dividing the spoils.
They might never risk their lives for a grand cause, yet a few silver bottles placed before their eyes could shake their hearts with ease.
Bae Junho did everything he could to persuade them.
Go Youngchang already believed he had handed over thirty silver bottles.
Salmak would do the job for twenty.
The money left over belonged to no one.
If the three of them divided it, nothing would happen.
The two men exchanged glances.
At first, they shook their heads.
But once Bae Junho took out the silver bottles and placed them in front of them, they grew quieter.
The moment silver rested in their palms, loyalty, orders, and surveillance all slipped a little lower in their priorities.
In the end, the ten remaining silver bottles were divided among the three.
Bae Junho's real purpose was not to save money.
He wanted to turn the two men into his own people.
He wanted to turn watchers into companions, and companions into accomplices.
The moment they divided the silver, all three stood on the same side of the line.
Bae Junho also said he would remain nearby when the killing took place.
If something went wrong, he would lend his own strength.
Salmak's people showed little interest one way or the other.
The client's loyalty or thirst for revenge meant nothing to them.
They had been paid.
They only had to finish the job.
And so the three men moved toward Guangyou Temple.
The temple lay quietly beneath the snow.
The eaves of the Mahavira Hall, the roofs of the monks' quarters, and even the narrow path leading toward the meditation hall in the rear were all buried in white.
Around that silent temple, the men who had gathered to kill someone began taking their positions one by one.
They had said that once the advance was paid, the operation would begin immediately.
They had meant it.
Salmak moved quickly.
People with unfamiliar faces began loitering around the area for no obvious reason.
Bae Junho could not tell who stood where, who watched the roads, or who monitored the movement in and out of the temple.
But he could feel that the air around Guangyou Temple had changed.
With plenty of money in hand, Bae Junho rented an upper room at an inn overlooking the temple.
From the open window, he could clearly see the entrance to Guangyou Temple and the Hall of the Heavenly Kings.
The snow-covered temple was quiet.
There was little traffic in or out.
It would have been pleasant to sit in such a place and let the days drift by idly.
But he was in no position to do that now.
He sat by the window and waited for things to unfold.
As he waited, he watched for an opening.
If Salmak drove Yi Youngwoo into a corner, wounded him, and left him unable to move, Bae Junho intended to step in.
If possible, he wanted to finish the job with his own hands.
He told the other two men that as well.
They said the idea was absurd.
Simply approaching a master of the Realm of Transformation could cost a man his life.
Bae Junho forced a laugh.
"That would be different if Salmak leaves him half-dead. What's so difficult about putting a sword through a man who barely has enough breath left to live?"
The two men half believed him and half dismissed it.
But Bae Junho was serious.
If he wanted to avoid being discarded by Go Youngchang, he needed an achievement.
He could not remain merely the criminal who covered up the deaths of the novice monk and Gi Mincheol.
He had to become the man who eliminated Yi Youngwoo.
Only then would he have a way back.
At the same time, he was also planning his escape.
Until the job was finished, there was still a chance.
Whether Salmak succeeded or failed, confusion would follow.
When that moment came, he could take the remaining silver and leave Liaoyang.
It did not matter how the assassination turned out.
If Yi Youngwoo died, good.
If he survived and caused an uproar, that was good too.
Bae Junho only needed to disappear in the middle of the chaos.
Find a horse.
Change roads.
Flee under cover of night.
Even in a strange land, a man with money could survive.
Bae Junho looked down at Guangyou Temple through the window.
Snow rested along the eaves of the Hall of the Heavenly Kings.
A thin trail of footprints led toward the temple gate.
Somewhere inside, someone was probably cultivating.
The man Bae Junho intended to kill was likely sitting there, withdrawn from the affairs of the world.
Bae Junho bit his lip.
What did it matter what happened to a world without him?
Liaoyang could fall.
Go Youngchang could become king.
Yi Youngwoo could die.
The Balhae people could scatter once again.
All of that could be considered only after he survived.
The dead had no need for causes or loyalty.
Survival came first.