IRNH C74

Chapter 74

“Heeuugh… I-I was wrong! I’ll never do anything like this again! Please spare me—no, at least spare my sister!”

Now that the situation had shifted, Byeongchan collapsed in front of Sihyeon—who at least seemed like a man with a shred of mercy—and began begging desperately.
Sure, he’d been trying to scam them, and sure, if things went well, he absolutely would’ve tried to rob them blind…
But dying over something like this? It felt unfair.
And thinking about all the hell he and his little sister had gone through made tears well up all over again.

“What are you, exactly? I’m asking one last time—speak properly.”

“Snff—th-thank you! Thank you so much!”

The situation had spiraled into something unexpected, and Sihyeon gently placed the unconscious child onto the old sofa before dropping down beside her with an exhausted sigh.
He felt drained.

“M-my skill… it’s something that steals money and items from someone after a set amount of time…
I—I swear it wasn’t meant as an attack…”

“Keep going.”

Byeongchan glanced nervously toward the silent figure behind Sihyeon—Taewoon—before continuing, still seated pathetically on the floor.

The truth was simple: he had come to America as a laborer.
But shortly after the Great Awakening, he awakened as a hunter—
and at that time, even a B-rank was extremely rare.
He’d been given special permission to stay in the U.S.

But the problem was his ability was useless in combat.

Over time, hunters who weren’t fighters or producers became dead weight.
The government’s support dwindled, disaster recovery efforts bred xenophobia,
and soon Byeongchan was stranded—caught between survival and rejection.

“Then… then my sister started getting sick.
And that’s when the charity foundation gave her some painkillers…”

He didn’t know why she fell ill.
He had tried everything, desperate to find a cure.
And he had trusted what he received through a medical charity—thinking it was just simple medication.

But it had been a strong narcotic painkiller.
And not realizing what it was, he had made his sister take it.

“I-I never wanted this… Please, have mercy…”

The story sounded unbelievable—too tragic, too cliché.
But his frantic glances at his sister,
his trembling hands,
and his voice cracking as he begged—
these things made Sihyeon believe at least part of it.

“So that’s why you kept trying to get more—”

“No! No, sir! I-I just wanted treatment!
The Union told me… if I cooperated, they’d sell it cheap…”

“Wait.”

A word popped out that Sihyeon didn’t expect.

Union?

He repeated it, confused.
Byeongchan paled, thinking it was a bad sign, and threw himself flat on the floor again.

“I-I’m sorry!!”

“No, not that. The ‘Union’?”

“Huh? Ah… th-the Villain Union… I—I’m kind of affiliated with them…”

Sihyeon’s mind twisted.

The Villain Union… wasn’t that basically a cult?

But the man in front of him—
a pathetic, average scammer—
was too normal.
Until now, every low-level Union member he’d encountered was a fanatic.
A zealot.
A lunatic.

This shook all his assumptions.

Then what about Black Butterfly? Is he even reliable?

His thoughts began tangling painfully.

Sihyeon eyed Byeongchan—tear-streaked, shaking—and the unconscious child.
Then he clicked his tongue softly.

Black Butterfly’s intel couldn’t be trusted completely.
He needed another source.

“You’re going to help me.”

“…Huh?”

“If you cooperate properly, I’ll help you too.
So spill everything you know.”

Byeongchan hesitated.
Sure, his situation was bad, but he’d at least been saving small amounts of money.
Being dragged into some unknown stranger’s business was terrifying.

But did he have a choice?

“Your answer.”

“…Y-yes.”

“I’ll remove the poison from your sister.”

“Master!!”

Before Byeongchan could even register the meaning, Taewoon’s voice sharply cut through the air.

“That is too much! For you to use your own inner energy—!
There is medicine, isn’t there?!”

“It’s not a big deal. I just need to reorganize my qi circulation—”

“Even so… it’s not acceptable.”

“Yeon Taewoon. Are you really doing this right now?”

Then Byeongchan understood.
He collapsed fully to the floor and began slamming his forehead against the wooden boards.

Thud. Thud.

“T-the poison—so you’ll remove the drug from her?
I swear! I’ll serve you with everything I have! I’ll do whatever you say! Please—please save her, teacher! I’m begging you…!”

He didn’t see the murderous glare in Taewoon’s eyes at all.
All Byeongchan saw was a rope—
the first real lifeline in years.

He’d been living off scams and gambling because he couldn’t enter gates anymore.
He wanted treatment, but he needed millions—
and everything he owned was already collateral under the Union.

The promise that “your debt will be cleared soon” was a lie, he knew that.
But he’d had no alternatives.

Now, suddenly—there was a real chance.

“Okay, okay—stop that. Geez…”

Sihyeon couldn’t read the man’s deeper thoughts,
and the sudden over-the-top groveling only gave him a headache.

Using a child’s life as leverage felt wrong—
but for Byeongchan, this was the only thing that mattered.
And Sihyeon needed results.
He had no more luxury to spare sympathy.

“Master…”

Taewoon’s voice trembled with anger.
He hated how Sihyeon was showing mercy to someone who had attacked him.
He hated the idea of Sihyeon exhausting himself for a stranger.

Removing poison from a child using external qi would be draining and risky.
Inner energy flow had to be matched carefully, especially in someone young and fragile.

There were easier ways to extract information—
ways the righteous sects used…
and the demonic sects used…
the kind that broke bones, twisted limbs, and made people confess everything.

Far easier than this.

So why are you going this far for a stranger’s child?
Why do you suffer for others so freely—
but not for me?

The rational part of his mind frayed.
He could feel his assumptions cracking—
the belief that he was Sihyeon’s priority.

He had felt ignored since they arrived here.
He had felt distance where once there was warmth.

If I can’t keep you, then maybe I should remove everything that pulls you away…

But Sihyeon’s old teachings held him back—
frustratingly, painfully.

Taewoon, when you gain followers, force isn’t everything.
You have to win their hearts.

Then what about you?
How do I win yours?
Why won’t you tell me that?

Across the room, he stared at Sihyeon’s back—
eyes dark, hollow, aching.

Not long after, the miracle Sihyeon hoped for didn’t happen.
The child’s stamina was too low to expel the poison now.

After sensing the drug’s circulation, Sihyeon pressed a few key points to slow the flow, then withdrew his hand.

“Her body’s too weak.
If you have a stamina potion, get it ready.
She’ll need to drink it right before the procedure.”

“Y-yes!!”

Byeongchan’s posture snapped straight like a new recruit.
Sihyeon clicked his tongue at the sight, then raised his hand again.

“That doesn’t mean I’m letting you go.
I’m placing a restriction on you.
If you try anything stupid, your head will fly off.”

“D-do as you wish! I-It’s fine as long as it doesn’t hurt—
No, actually, it’s all fine! Anything is fine!”

Even in total submission, he kept trying to negotiate.
Sihyeon was baffled, but too tired to respond.
He simply placed a hand on the man’s head and infused his qi, sealing the restriction in place.

“I’ll contact you next week.
Since you said you can do it, make sure you organize all information—
range of movement, suspicious activity, everything the Union has been doing.”

“I-I’ll try my best…”

The sensation of giving orders again made old memories flicker—
but Sihyeon brushed them aside and stood.

They hadn’t gotten to use psychometry,
but he’d found himself a surprisingly useful informant.
Not a bad outcome.

He decided to postpone analyzing the shard until after the auction.

“Let’s go, Taewoon.”

Only then did he look at him.

The face seemed blank at first glance—
but Sihyeon knew that expression.
That was Taewoon’s I’m upset face.

Still, Taewoon walked beside him quietly, so Sihyeon smiled a little and moved.

“Are you upset because I acted on my own?”

“No.
Why would I say anything?”

“…What?”

Taewoon’s words were cold.
Sharper than Sihyeon expected.

It made him stop walking.

“You’re truly benevolent, Master.
How lucky for you that I was born miserable—
otherwise you would never have looked my way.”

The husky voice stabbed straight into him.
Sihyeon’s chest tightened painfully.

“Why would you say something like that…”

For the first time, their once-solid bond felt unsteady.
Sihyeon felt it—
a crack.

Yes, things had been strange recently.
But he thought they would sort themselves out.
Taewoon had always respected him—
and he had done everything he could to raise and protect the boy.

He wasn’t perfect,
but within his abilities,
he had tried to give Taewoon everything.

Sometimes he even wondered—
Is this what a family feels like?

But now—

He didn’t know anymore.

Taewoon felt like a stranger again.