The Curtain of Bloodshed

That night, at Yeomga Manor, Ouyang Qiangang recounted to Sangguan Wan'er and Yeom Pung everything he had been through that day — the hidden truth of the Crown Prince's illness, the poisoning of Princess Myeonghwa, and even the death of the court lady ensnared by the Soul-Capturing Art. There was no reason to hide anything from the people he trusted to watch his back.

Both faces grew paler by the moment.

"The Crown Prince's illness... it was man-made?"

It was a situation beyond anything she could have imagined; even the unflappable Sangguan Wan'er's voice trembled.

"A poisoning campaign spanning decades... Good heavens, this was never a mere power struggle. This is the work of madmen trying to shake the very foundations of the empire."

"One thing is certain — those madmen are not on the Second Prince's side. The conspiracy began far too long ago for him to be the one behind it."

"I suppose so. What manner of people could they possibly be?"

Yeom Pung spoke, his brow deeply furrowed. "To think there exists a method that gnaws away at a man's vital energy for decades, all without leaving a single trace of trauma or poison... It resembles no martial art of any orthodox sect or heterodox path this old man has ever known. The closest thing would be..."

Ouyang Qiangang's eyes gleamed. "Does something come to mind?"

"Hmm... I once heard tell, in passing, that among the great arts of the Demonic Cult there lies something similar."

"The Demonic Cult, you say?"

Ouyang Qiangang's expression hardened.

"Only a tale I caught in passing, mind you. And when it comes to them, most accounts are so vague they're like grasping at clouds — difficult to put any faith in."

Deep in Yeom Pung's eyes, a faint fear surged like a wave. That was how much the very name Demonic Cult remained terror and dread itself to the people of Murim.

Sangguan Wan'er spoke with regret. "But in the end, we've lost our only witness. Do you think the forces behind this eliminated the court lady to destroy the evidence?"

Ouyang Qiangang nodded. "That's the most likely explanation. These are people who lay hands on the Princess's own body. Killing a court lady would be nothing to them."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Yeom Pung broke it. "Young Master, then might the folk of Yeomga Manor fall prey to this Soul-Capturing Art as well?"

"Please don't trouble yourself over that. I've already discreetly examined everyone within the manor. Not one person has fallen under the art."

Sangguan Wan'er let out a breath of relief, then spoke with care. "We still don't know who they are, but their purpose doesn't seem a simple one."

Ouyang Qiangang and Yeom Pung turned their full attention to her.

"If their goal were simply to put the Second Prince on the throne, it would have been far more efficient to kill the Crown Prince long ago."

"I share that thought, my lady."

Ouyang Qiangang picked up the thread. "Even if the Crown Prince died, the imperial house would not be shaken — the Emperor is alive and well, and the Second Prince need only succeed him as heir."

His gaze sharpened. "And yet the Second Prince is gathering forces. Which means he doesn't know the Crown Prince will be dead within a year."

Sangguan Wan'er's eyes widened. "Then... the Second Prince may be unaware of the conspiracy working behind him?"

"I can't be certain. But there's a strong chance he's being used without even understanding what it is he's doing."

"Haah... It's certainly a relief that the Second Prince isn't in league with the conspirators, but the situation is anything but simple..."

Murmuring a quiet sigh, Sangguan Wan'er pressed on. "Even if a rebellion of princes breaks out, it will fail so long as His Majesty remains hale. Surely they know that as well as we do?"

Ouyang Qiangang nodded. "They'll know. That's exactly why they'll make their move."

Sangguan Wan'er's face changed at once. "Don't tell me... you mean His Majesty will fall when the rebellion comes?"

"Yes. I believe that is precisely how it will unfold."

Ouyang Qiangang had said nothing of this during his private audience with Emperor Changsung. He had judged the moment wrong, and the Emperor did not yet trust him without reservation.

"When the rebellion of princes breaks out, when the Crown Prince dies before his time, and when His Majesty collapses on top of it all..."

As Ouyang Qiangang let the sentence trail off, the color drained from Sangguan Wan'er's face.

"If things unfold as you foresee, Young Master, the realm will be plunged into utter chaos."

Ouyang Qiangang nodded. "Emperor Changsung is a ruler who is neither capable nor incompetent. The empire has been slowly decaying. If His Majesty falls at such a time and the line of succession is thrown into disarray, then even if the Second Prince takes the throne, great ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turmoil will follow — just as you say, my lady."

Yeom Pung spoke, aghast. "With the people certain to be plunged into the fires of war... the wretches who hatched this plot are madmen, truly."

Sangguan Wan'er asked, "If even the Second Prince doesn't know what he's doing... then who on earth set such a catastrophe in motion?"

After a moment's silence, Ouyang Qiangang let out a thin sigh. "I don't know yet either. But whoever stands behind this conspiracy — before long, we'll know."

Sangguan Wan'er asked, "You mean he'll show himself?"

"Yes. Because I'm going to make him."

Looking down at the peaceful night lights of the Imperial Capital beyond the window, Ouyang Qiangang went on. "I only hope the truth I've uncovered is not the first tremor of a calamity that will swallow the empire whole."

He then turned to Yeom Pung. "We need to quietly track the tail-biting serpent tattoo. Is there anyone who can help us?"

Yeom Pung answered at once. "Using the manor's intelligence network seems too risky, so I shall go see the head of the Hao Clan's Imperial Capital branch — the man who owes us a debt from the Yawol affair."

"The branch head was ruined by his own elder brother, the broker, so making use of the Hao Clan on this occasion seems only fitting."

Nodding, Ouyang Qiangang continued. "They'll try to make their move in some form before Princess Myeonghwa is fully cured. Which means we must unmask the mastermind within a fortnight at the latest."

A brief silence settled over the room once more.

Sangguan Wan'er asked carefully, "Could Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor and Gold Mountain Tower be involved in this affair as well?"

"Judging by how things have played out, I don't believe so."

Ouyang Qiangang smiled wryly and went on. "If I cure the Crown Prince's illness, the Second Prince's dream dies. For Gold Mountain Tower, which has poured its support into the Second Prince, that's the dog that chased the chicken and came away with nothing."

"Hmm..."

"At the same time, I become the Crown Prince's savior — which puts Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor, his backers, in a very awkward position indeed. If the Crown Prince throws his weight behind you, my lady, their salt business is bound to take a fatal blow."

Ouyang Qiangang's voice grew heavy. "There's a good chance they knew nothing of the conspiracy. The problem is what happens when they learn the truth."

Sangguan Wan'er frowned. "Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor will move to check the man who saved the Crown Prince, and Gold Mountain Tower will rage at watching the Second Prince's hopes evaporate. They may yet prove more dangerous enemies than the conspirators themselves."

"In any case, neither Gold Mountain Tower nor Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor will stir until I finish treating Princess Myeonghwa. They don't yet know the truth of the Crown Prince's illness, and they won't want to provoke the Emperor's wrath by moving rashly."

A faint smile touched Sangguan Wan'er's lips. "That much is a relief."

Ouyang Qiangang clicked his tongue. "Whoever they are, the scale of their scheming is staggering. They've laid the imperial house, the military, the aristocratic clans, Gold Mountain Tower, and Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor all out on the board at once."

Sangguan Wan'er gave a slight shudder. "Haah... hearing you lay it out like that gives me chills."

Yeom Pung cut in, his voice edged with worry. "But tell me, Young Master — when His Majesty learns of all this, how do you suppose he will take it?"

"He'll rage. But he won't act rashly. If the truth came to light, the entire empire would be thrown into chaos."

Silence held the room for a moment.

Sangguan Wan'er asked carefully, "Young Master, what will you do now?"

Ouyang Qiangang's eyes turned cold. "Now that I know, I'll tear it out by the roots."

"Won't that be dangerous?"

"Dangerous, yes. But it has been dangerous from the very start."

Ouyang Qiangang looked from one to the other. "My lady. Hero Yeom. Even with things as they are — will you stay with me to the end?"

Sangguan Wan'er answered without a moment's hesitation. "Of course. We're already in the same boat; there's no climbing out midway."

Yeom Pung nodded as well. "It is the way of the tiger-rider — once astride the beast, there is no dismounting. If the young lady will not leave the boat, how could this old man slink away with his tail between his legs? I shall share life and death with you, Young Master."

A smile spread across Ouyang Qiangang's face. "They're about to learn that the world does not turn according to their will."

His gaze deepened, dark and still as a lake.

You've spent decades setting this board, running without a moment's pause to complete your plot to devour the imperial house. But now you'll have no choice but to stop. Because I'm going to make you.

With the meeting at Yeomga Manor concluded, Ouyang Qiangang headed for the warehouse. The tasks before him were piling up like a mountain, but the inscription work was not something he could afford to neglect.

It was a night when heavy black clouds had swallowed the moon and stars. The darkness, like ink spilled across the world, made it impossible to see a hand's breadth ahead, and the damp night air brushed his nostrils with the scent of blood and iron.

On the deserted road, only the whisper of wind against his clothes and the rhythm of his own breathing broke the silence.

Though he had yet to reach the realm of Void and Fullness, Akasha used a thousand nanobots to paint the outlines of the world vividly into his mind's eye — with accuracy no different from seeing with his own eyes.

Unfolding the Heavenly Meteor Divine Art, Ouyang Qiangang tore through the darkness like a bolt of lightning.

Ouyang Qiangang's footsteps stopped. At the same instant, a vast encirclement centered on his own position bloomed across his mind's eye in red dots.

Fast. I knew an attack would come sooner or later — I just didn't expect it tonight.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that very moment.

Srrrk— From the ground beneath his feet, a sword rose without a sound, thrusting for his groin. At the same instant, from above his head, a massive net studded densely with poison barbs came crashing down.

Shaaaaa—

Ouyang Qiangang did not dodge. He stamped the rising sword to splinters with a nanobot-reinforced foot, and from his right hand erupted the Gale Cyclone Palm with the fury of a typhoon.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—

The sword shattered; the ground ran red with blood. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠iron net, caught in the palm's gale, was shredded to ribbons.

CLANG—CRASH!

As if they had been waiting for exactly this, black-clad, masked figures melted out of the darkness around him like ghosts. Every one of them was marked as a red dot in his mind's eye — and among them blazed a single presence radiating a distinctly deeper, vaster aura.

A man in his mid-forties, wearing no mask at all, a four-foot saber slung across his shoulder. A cruel smile hung on his scar-carved face, and in his eyes burned the madness that only a man who had killed his way through legions could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠possess.

Seeing the saber across the man's shoulder, Ouyang Qiangang murmured in a low voice. "Hyeolhae Cheonsal... the Blood Sea Gate Master?"

Ever since he had learned the Blood Sea was hunting him, he had dug into everything he could find about them. It was thanks to that that he recognized Hyeolhae Cheonsal at a single glance.

Hyeolhae Cheonsal lowered the saber from his shoulder. "So you know me. Should I take that as an honor, Hahu Gang?"

Ouyang Qiangang clicked his tongue. If the fight could not be avoided, the best strategy was to end it quickly.

"Shut it. Talking's tiresome — let's just get this over with."

No more words were needed from either side. The curtain rose on a bloody battle.