There Are No Good Men
It was deep into the night. Inside the manor, bright lanterns—the likes of which hadn't been seen in a long time—illuminated the halls. Within a magnificent great hall carved from gold and jasper sat a single, ornate chair draped in the pelt of a Thunder Tiger.
Dam Gogeum sat upon it, his eyes closed in quiet meditation. To his left and right, the martial arts experts who had accompanied the investigation team stood in rigid, disciplined rows. From the heavens, the faint rumble of thunder echoed. A sudden, fierce wind shook the massive paulownia tree in the garden. In the darkness, the branches swaying in the gale looked like demons performing a frenzied dance.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence.
"My Lord, we found it! We found it!"
Joy was etched across Im Jin-nam's face. He rushed into the hall in a single stride, bowed deeply, and spoke.
"It was in the detached villa. Right beneath the room that Im Bukjin, that wretched scoundrel, used to occupy. All the evidence has been perfectly preserved. It matches the rumors exactly!"
Dam Gogeum surged to his feet.
"Hahaha! Truly, the heavens are on my side!" He couldn't contain himself and burst into a loud laugh. The heavy pressure that had been weighing on his heart was completely lifted. "Lead the way. I must see this for myself!"
Dam Gogeum was the type of man who could only rest easy once he had confirmed things with his own eyes. Im Jin-nam quickly began to guide him.
About fifteen minutes later, Dam Gogeum returned to the hall, an irrepressible smile of delight on his face.
"Hahaha! The tide has completely turned in our favor! Patriarch Im, what of the task I assigned you previously?"
Im Jin-nam bowed his head low and replied, "With the help of the experts under your command, everything proceeded smoothly. I have already handled every detail perfectly. There is not even a one-in-a-million chance of failure."
"Excellent!" A satisfied smirk played on Dam Gogeum's lips. "Well done! Once this is over, you will reap a massive harvest—a reward beyond your wildest imagination! I shall never forget the efforts of the Im family patriarch!"
Hearing this, Im Jin-nam knelt on the spot and spoke in a voice thick with emotion. "It is a great honor simply to be of some small assistance to your Lordship!"
Dam Gogeum smiled and waved him off. "Now, now, Patriarch Im, stand up. There is no need for such excessive formality between us."
Dam Gogeum turned and sat back down on the Thunder Tiger pelt chair. Soon, his expression began to turn fierce. The sound of a drum echoed, and sixty experts from the investigation team quickly assembled in the courtyard in front of the hall.
The aura emanating from these sixty warriors was terrifying. Every single one of them was an expert at the Master Rank or higher.
Dam Gogeum's sharp eyes watched the lightning flashing in the night sky. He turned his gaze to scan the faces of the gathered experts, then waved his hand to produce several golden Genius Tokens.
"Listen well! All preparations are complete, and the time has come! You sixty will divide into groups of ten, each acting under the command of six captains! According to the plan, you will use these tokens to deploy a perimeter! Heh, this time, I shall cast a Heaven-and-Earth Net over Unmong City. Not a single target must escape! If this is handled well, you will be duly rewarded. Remember! Tonight is merely the preparation. Do not stir up trouble unnecessarily. Wait until I give the signal tomorrow, then capture them immediately! If anyone resists, cripple their Mystic Energy and put them in shackles! Do you understand?"
"By your command!" the sixty Master Rank experts shouted in unison.
A moment later, the sixty experts slipped out of the Jeon-cheon-hu Manor under the cover of darkness. Like hunters preparing for the kill, they melted into the shadows, waiting for their opportunity.
It was late at night. Oh So-bang was still awake. He was alone in his garden, nursing a cup of wine with a frustrated expression. Oh So-bang was not in a good mood. He was debating whether he should go to Bukjin first and apologize. He hoped that by doing so, he might avoid Bukjin's wrath and revenge.
Winning the Academic & Martial Arts Competition was a monumental achievement. If Bukjin decided to take revenge on Oh So-bang, a single word from him would be enough.
Just as the alcohol was starting to make his mind hazy, a flash of movement caught his eye. A figure he had never seen before leaped over the wall and landed right in front of him.
"Who are you?! To intrude into someone's home in the middle of the night! You're..."
Oh So-bang surged to his feet, his heart filled with wariness.
"Are you Oh So-bang, a student of the 3rd Academy?"
The figure who had leaped over the wall was wearing the uniform of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He spoke to Oh So-bang with an incredibly dignified expression. As he opened his mouth, an invisible pressure surged toward Oh So-bang, making his heart race and instantly snapping him out of his drunken stupor.
"I am Oh So-bang... I..." Oh So-bang began to tremble with nerves. Is the time for revenge already here? To think he'd use the power of the Bureau of Military Affairs to get back at me... Im Bukjin's heart is truly too cruel!
"Good. There is a matter the city is investigating, and we require your cooperation. From this moment on, you will be isolated and undergo our investigation. You will not be allowed to leave this place until the closing ceremony of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition begins tomorrow."
The figure in the Bureau of Military Affairs uniform raised a hand. A burst of Mystic Energy sliced through the air. In an instant, all of Oh So-bang'sMystic Energy and strength were sealed. Oh So-bang gasped in shock.
The Northwest District of Unmong City. This was an area where the impoverished huddled together. The buildings here were shabby, most of them constructed from grass and mud. The roads were unpaved dirt paths, and the alleys were a chaotic, complex maze. The air was thick with an unidentifiable stench.
Deep within a dark alley stood a humble dwelling. Its low mud walls seemed woefully inadequate to protect the wooden house within. Even the gate leading into the residence was a crude thing made of haphazardly woven bamboo. However, in terms of overall form, it had everything it needed. Of course, the bamboo gate looked as though it couldn't stop an intruder at all. Even a stray dog or cat could probably hop over it with ease.
The ground of the courtyard was covered in a layer of mud, and beneath the right wall sat a small, ancient well. Along the left wall was a tiny vegetable patch where a few meager greens were planted. Next to the patch, an old dog with white fur was dozing off.
The residence consisted of three wooden structures arranged in a shape, each section divided by a small courtyard. Inside the leftmost house, a faint lantern flickered.
Inside the house.
"Mother, how do you feel?"
There sat Mok Sim-wol. She was dressed in clean but very old and worn cotton clothes, sitting primly. She held a bowl of porridge that still looked warm, sitting beside a very dilapidated wooden bed. Her face held a warmth and kindness that had never once been seen within the academy.
A middle-aged woman sat upon the wooden bed. Her hair was thinning in patches, and she was so gaunt that her eyes were deeply sunken. However, judging by the contours of her face, she must have been an exceptional beauty in her youth. Her features bore a striking resemblance to Mok Sim-wol's.
"Wol-ah, this mother's body won't last much longer. You... Urgh..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, the middle-aged woman let out a groan of pain and her entire body began to convulse. A dark reddish hue appeared on her pale face; it was clear at a glance that her agony had reached its peak. Because of her writhing, the wooden bed shook violently, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.
"M-Mother... are you alright? Please don't scare me..." Mok Sim-wol said, her face filled with terror. She rushed to her mother's side and gripped her hands tightly, injecting her own Mystic Energy into her mother's body.
Mok Sim-wol's mother suddenly let out a scream, her entire body going rigid. After a long time had passed, she finally went limp, letting out a low moan as she returned to normal. However, the thin blanket covering her was now soaked with sweat.
"Mother! It's, it's okay... everything is fine."
A bit of warmth returned to the mother's face. With great effort, she raised her hand to wipe away the tears streaming down Mok Sim-wol's face.
"Wol-ah... don't cry. This mother is sorry. I've made things so hard for you for so long. You have to go to the academy, and you have to earn money... you've suffered too much for my sake..."
"Mother, I am your daughter." Mok Sim-wol gripped her mother's hand tightly, shaking her head as she wept. "As long as I have a shred of strength left in me, I will use it to take care of you until the end. No matter the cost, I will find a way to cure your illness!"
This vulnerable side of Mok Sim-wol was something no one but her mother had ever seen.
"For this mother... there is no more hope. Wol-ah, don't suffer for me anymore. There is no longer a way to fix this body. It would be better for me to die quickly than to cause you such pain. If I die, it might actually be more peaceful." Her mother spoke in an incredibly frail voice.
"N-No! Mother, you mustn't say such things!" Mok Sim-wol said, her voice trembling with grief. Her eyes were like those of a frightened fawn. She had steeled her heart and made a ruthless resolution during the competition earlier that day, but in a situation like this, she didn't have the confidence to put that resolution into action.
"Wol-ah, this mother can feel it more clearly than anyone. I don't have much time left. When I die, you must leave this place. Escape from that demon and live your own life. You must meet a good man and get married..."
As she continued, Mok Sim-wol's mother's eyes began to glaze over as if she were losing consciousness. Hearing her mother's words, a cold light momentarily flashed through Mok Sim-wol's eyes. Her heart hardened. She let out a cold sneer.
"There are no good men in this world. I would rather die than ever marry anyone..."
At that moment—
BANG!
The door to the wooden house was violently kicked open. Immediately, the pungent stench of alcohol wafted into the room.