The Road to Wudang (5)
“Payment... you mean?”
“That’s right. Payment. Whether there’s a war or not, compensation must be paid.”
“The war has already begun.”
The atmosphere was turning murderous again. From a third party’s perspective, the story was full of holes, yet both sides were acting like blind men, driven by mutual hatred and rage.
“Yes, the war has started. But let’s be clear about the target. To me, it looks like a third party has intervened.”
“A third party... you say?”
“What I’m saying is, it’s not yet time to fight.”
“Sir William is correct. From a distance, the incident is clearly suspicious. No matter how foolish, a man who draws his sword in an inn would never try to kill his opponent when he knows he’ll be suspected.”
Exactly. There were plenty of madmen in the world, but the idea of a noble family’s young master recklessly trying to kill someone—especially in a back alley—didn’t add up. What was the point of such a pointless act when there wasn’t even a secret fighting arena hidden there?
Of course, the physician fleeing and both sides dying by each other’s blades made it easy to point fingers if one judged emotionally. Still, something felt off.
The family heads were blinded by grief over their dead sons. Even the young masters’ retainers had become emotional while protecting their own. The only one who could control this situation was a third party with real power and reputation—me.
I had no desire to watch the innkeeper who had treated us well or ordinary townsfolk suffer because of this. Better to settle it quickly and move on.
“Something stinks here. I’ll dig up whatever’s causing that stench, so let’s have both sides split the reward.”
At my proposal, the commanders on both sides fell into brief thought before nodding in agreement.
“...Understood. However, we must obtain permission from our family heads—”
“Then let’s go get that permission.”
There wasn’t much time. Pent-up emotions were exploding through the worst possible trigger. I drained the tea in front of me and rose from my seat.
“Muk-gyeong, stay with Hye-ryeong.”
“...Yes. Please be careful.”
“...No, you two are the ones who need to be careful.”
“...I see.”
As expected of the protagonist. Even my clumsy words were understood perfectly.
“Explain things properly to Hye-ryeong... Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“My lord! Sir William Marshall, the Lion Sword Hero, has arrived!”
“Let him in!”
A furious roar like a tiger’s bellow struck my eardrums without mercy. Just from his voice, it was obvious the family head was barely holding onto his sanity. Persuading him wouldn’t be easy.
With a sliding sound, the door opened, and I found the family head staring at me.
“...You’ve come. Under normal circumstances, I would have prepared a grand feast for a guest, but given the situation, I couldn’t.”
“It’s fine. How could I expect hospitality when you’ve just lost your son? I’m only here because I see irregularities in this incident and wish to resolve them.”
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you’re not here to help us?”
His eyes narrowed sharply. Mentioning the Gu family would surely ignite his hatred. The flames that had already been burning had been doused with oil; his rage wouldn’t subside until he had his revenge.
Once preparations were complete, a war would erupt that would drag the entire city into it, officials and all. I needed to buy time first—to prevent this from escalating into a real war.
“I came because I have doubts about this incident.”
“...Doubts. Speak. But if you intend to insult me...”
“It may not be advice a grieving father wants to hear, but please calm yourself. I understand your sorrow, yet a gentleman’s revenge is never too late even after ten years. You can act after uncovering the truth behind your son’s murder.”
“...Are you saying a third party was involved in my son’s death?”
The haggard man glared at me with murderous eyes. It must have been difficult to accept. Redirecting the target of one’s hatred was never easy. Facing the Kang family head, Kang Baek-hun, directly, I nodded.
“I’m not certain. But calm your heart and look at the incident with a clear mind. There are more than one or two suspicious points.”
“...”
He lowered his head, his expression heavy with thought.
“...Tell me.”
“When the two young masters clashed, I mediated between them and sent Young Master Kang to a physician. Did you hear about that?”
“...I did not.”
“Before that, did you know Young Master Kang had been injured?”
“...I did not.”
“It seems he went straight to the physician as I suggested. If he had returned to the family after treatment, everything would have been fine. His wounds weren’t that deep. Yet he was found dead in an alley, and the physician fled. Doesn’t that seem strange? There were five of them in total. The young masters should have known that fighting further could spark a real war. Yet they fought until only one survived? Doesn’t that seem strange? Why did the young masters of the Kang and Gu families fight in that alley, and why didn’t they flee but fought to the end?”
“...Hearing it like that, it does seem strange.”
Whew. Fortunately, the family head had regained some composure and was listening. This was good news. If he had fallen into qi deviation and gone berserk, there would have been no solution. In any case, hearing from the surviving guard would be best.
“Since there are clearly irregularities, even if you fight, you must resolve those first. Fighting now will only lead to ruin. The young masters wouldn’t have wanted that either.”
“...So what do you propose?”
“Please summon the people who found the young masters and guards in the alley, Lady Myeong-hui, and the staff at the physician’s clinic. Also, keep a tight watch on internal movements within your family. If possible, I’d like to examine the bodies of the young masters and guards as well.”
“Internal movements?”
“In times like these, we must be thorough. I don’t know who the culprit is, but there’s a possibility they’ve planted spies within the family—people who want the Kang and Gu families to fight.”
“You’re saying there’s another culprit?”
It was still just a guess, but I believed this was the most likely scenario. After all, I’d heard from the innkeeper’s wife that another force had taken root here.
“I’ve heard there’s a faction gradually expanding its influence in the market. We need to watch their movements. If the Kang and Gu families exhaust themselves fighting, only they stand to gain.”
“The Black Shadow Gate bastards... my son?”
“Please calm down for now. It’s not confirmed. But the possibility is quite high. The situation feels too artificial.”
“...Haa. Understood. Is there anything else I can do to help?”
“Just don’t fight until the truth comes out. I’ll head to the Gu family now to speak with them as well. Until the investigation is complete...”
“A man whose nickname could easily include ‘hero’... Very well. For now, I’ll hold back.”
His face looked ready to charge out at the slightest mistake. With permission granted, I clasped my hands in salute and turned away.
“I’ll deliver the message to the Gu family as well. They’ll need to hear it from me directly to be convinced.”
At this point, maybe I should change my surname from Marshall to Holmes. Shaking off the idle thought, I left the Kang family estate.
“Ahem.”
“Hmm...”
In an atmosphere so tense it felt suffocating, I stood between the two family heads and opened my mouth.
“Thank you for listening. Now, from this moment...”
At my words, the coffins opened. Nine bodies lay in the Kang family courtyard. From somewhere came the sound of grief-stricken wailing. All eyes turned toward me—suspicion, anger, worry, and... fear.
It was only a feeling, but if asked what was sharpest in a martial artist, the answer would be intuition. A warrior who couldn’t trust their own instincts couldn’t stand on this earth.
In the heavy atmosphere, I took a breath and spoke.
“...I will begin the verification.”
Who was the culprit, and how had they killed the young masters? The stage to verify everything had opened.