What Comes Next Is What Truly Matters
The time had come.
That was Lady Sang's judgment. She had endured decades alongside that damned wretch, and yet, right up until the end, she had wanted to believe in him. She had hoped never to use the Soul-Severing Demon Poison her father had given her. But those days were over. Now she wanted nothing more than to kill the man with it, this very instant.
"Jeong."
"Yes, Mother."
"Tonight."
"..."
"Tonight, the seat of Clan Head will become vacant."
Yi Jeong swallowed hard. Put in terms of the state, this was outright rebellion. Civil war, coup — you could slap any word you liked onto it and it would still be true.
"The reason they keep postponing your confirmation as Acting Clan Head is all too obvious. We cannot wait any longer. We will skip the acting position entirely and seize the Clan Head's seat outright."
"...Yes, Mother."
"First, gather all of our people. Then persuade the elders — no, never mind the elders. I will handle them myself."
"Can it all be done by tonight?"
A smile bloomed across Lady Sang's lips. It is said that when a woman nurses a grudge deep enough, frost falls even in the height of summer. The frost that would begin falling tonight was sweetness itself. Having finally made her decision, she almost felt she had circled around far too long all this time — when such a simple path had been open to her all along.
"First, tell our warriors this: once Yi Se-geuk falls, we will name the Un Clan as the ones behind it all."
"...You intend to exterminate the Un Clan?"
"No. We will absorb what is worth absorbing and discard the rest. All of this must be handled swiftly. If it drags on, the other Great Clans of Jangryeong will circle behind us for our throats. So the moment this begins, you will step up onto the Acting Clan Head's seat at once."
"I thought I was to become Clan Head?"
"Tsk, why such haste? When the Clan Head's seat stands empty, it is only proper that the Acting Clan Head should carry out his duties in his stead. You will hold the acting title while performing the Clan Head's role, and the instant Yi Se-geuk draws his last breath, you become the rightful head of the Yi Clan."
To Yi Jeong's ears, it was a flawless plan. His mother's words about feeding his own father poison had been cruel beyond measure — but the thought that they were cruel never once crossed his mind. Father or not, the man had spent his life withholding everything Yi Jeong had ever wanted.
Resentment outweighs gratitude.
To Yi Jeong, a beast with a black heart, this was simply how the world worked.
"Now — let us begin."
"Yes, Mother."
***
Thus, when his private audience with his mother ended, Yi Jeong went straight to the residence of the youngest — Yi Do.
Yi Do, in the middle of his training, wiped the sweat from his brow and turned his head. Yi Jeong smiled broadly.
"Little brother."
"What brings you here?"
He spoke courteously enough, but Yi Do felt nothing warm toward him. The contempt he had suffered as a concubine-born son belonged to the past, true enough — but the man who had orchestrated every bit of it was Yi Jeong.
Frankly, Yi Won, the second son, had never held much of a stake in the family. From Yi Won's perspective, there was no point striving — he would always be below the eldest, and he posed no threat to anyone. With the entire household sneering at Yi Do, Yi Won had simply joined in the mockery, while the true malice had always come from above him.
Call it shamelessness perfected, perhaps.
"What do you mean, what brings me — does an eldest son need a reason to come see his youngest?"
Yi Jeong's smile never wavered.
"It truly astonishes me. That you have reached the Sky-Treading Realm — I still cannot believe it."
"Get to the point, if you have one."
Cracks split across the smiling face, but nothing serious. Not yet.
"The point, then. Very well. What do you intend to do going forward?"
"What do you mean, do?"
"Suppose — merely suppose — that a civil war broke out within the Yi Clan. I am asking which side you would stand on. Mine, or Yi Won's."
A smile rose to Yi Do's lips as well.
"And what would I gain from it?"
"Gain? Plenty. So tell me what you want first."
"Two Hundred-Year Ginseng roots, and one Five-Hundred-Year Ginseng."
"...You go too far. Everyone knows your talent for the martial arts is exceptional, but a Hundred-Year Ginseng — if such a treasure existed, it belongs in the eldest son's belly, mine. Drop the excessive greed and content yourself with ordinary elixir pills. Do that, and perhaps one day I shall see fit to 'grant' you one."
It was laughable.
"Hm. Then let us do it this way instead."
Before Yi Do could even ask how:
"Swear your loyalty to me."
"...?"
"Kneel, and swear that you will serve me as your lord. Do so, and I will spare your life. You will become my man."
Laughter burst out of Yi Do.
This little vermin — where did he even pick that up from?
"Eldest Brother."
"Yes? Speak."
"Stop groveling and just leave."
"...What did you say?"
Yi Do walked forward slowly. Then, without a word, he extended his hand.
Yi Jeong had reached the Sky-Treading Realm in his own right, yet he failed to react at all. How could he possibly respond to the sublime grappling art of the fallen old Kunlun — Cloud Dragon Seizure?
Crunch. The hand clamped on his shoulder and tightened.
"Brother."
"...Yes."
"Everything has its season. Even this."
"..."
"I will give you one chance — exactly one — to sweep away everything that lies in the past and move forward. Remember this well. One chance. Only one."
"..."
"Go and make 'everything concerning me' as if it never happened. If 'that thing' is carried out, then what follows... I will leave to your imagination."
Yi Jeong swallowed hard. What was this crushing, suffocating pressure?
"Just as I did for Second Brother — you are blood, after all, so I am granting you a single opportunity. Do you understand what I am telling you?"
Did he understand?
Of course he did.
Yi Jeong tore his shoulder free of Yi Do's grip and stumbled backward. Jabbing a finger at him, he shouted.
"You wretch!! Now I see it — it was the Acting Clan Head's seat you were after all along!"
Yi Do only watched him, silent and unmoving.
"You madman — how dare a concubine-born whelp covet such an exalted seat! Have you never heard that a son of a second bed must know his place? To show me such a scheme — hopeless, utterly hopeless, the lot of you."
Still, Yi Do made no move whatsoever.
"You have crossed the line this very moment! Kneel now, take back your words, and beg my forgiveness — then I might let it pass."
"Eldest Brother."
Yi Do swept his hair back from his face and went on.
"I gave you the chance. Clearly."
"...You insolent cur — you will live to regret this day!"
With that, Yi Jeong spun on his heel and was gone.
Yi Do watched his retreating back, and only once the man had vanished entirely did he murmur, quietly.
"Second Brother. You can come out now."
Yi Won, who had been pressed flat against the wall, emerged wearing a strained expression.
Yi Do turned his head. His face was resolute.
"I believe the time has come."
"...Tonight, then?"
"Yes. Tonight. We take them all at once, so summon every warrior and gather them in one place. And when it begins, Brother — you stay at my side."
"...Understood."
***
It was all too natural.
The mood across the entire Yi Clan had sunk, as though by prior agreement — heavy with the sense that something was about to begin at any moment. A powder keg with the fuse lit.
The only one who failed to read that atmosphere was the master of the Yi Clan himself, Yi Se-geuk.
"Gaga, have you a moment?"
Yi Se-geuk looked up from his work. In the doorway of his study stood his first wife, waiting with a cup of tea in hand.
"...If this is yet another word about the Acting Clan Head, I have none to spare."
"It isn't."
Lady Sang drew near, and slowly set the cup she held down before him.
"I know you have your own designs in all this, Gaga. I was simply too impatient."
"Hm..."
"Surely you can forgive me that much. You understand why I am so set on the Acting Clan Head's seat."
"That I do."
"Thank you for understanding. And I promise you this: from now on, I will never mention the matter again."
"I would be grateful if you kept that word. Do you mean it?"
"I do. Don't worry. Ah — and this is Snow Spirit Tea, the brew only the Palace Masters of the distant Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace are said to drink. They say it calms the heart and steadies the mind."
"Hm... you honor me, truly. I shall drink it with pleasure."
Yi Se-geuk's duties did not end with the Yi Clan. The Yi Clan belonged to the Martial Alliance — its name sat at the very tail end of the rolls, but belong it did all the same. Yi Se-geuk was Clan Head of the Yi Clan, and also the branch director of the Martial Alliance's Jangryeong Commandery chapter.
A man with much upon his shoulders.
He drank the tea in silence. The first sip tasted fine, so he drained it down.
Clack.
The cup he set down was empty. He had finished it quite cleanly, and was just about to remark that it was delicious — that this one cup had washed his irritation away entirely.
He simply — couldn't.
Boom.
His heart slammed first, and then something went wrong in every meridian of his body.
"K—khh..."
Black blood streamed from his mouth. Through bloodshot eyes, he glared at Lady Sang.
"You... you wretched woman..."
Lady Sang approached him and stroked his head with a soft, gentle hand.
"I did promise, didn't I? That I would never speak of the Acting Clan Head's seat again."
"...Khh... poison... you poisoned me...!"
"Gaga, would I really hand over a rare tea fetched from that far-off place just for your sake?"
"..."
"If you won't grant the Acting Clan Head's seat, then what else can I do but take the Clan Head's seat itself?"
Those bloodshot eyes glared at her with murderous fury, but Lady Sang merely smiled.
"You've worked hard all these years. I'll keep you alive a few months or so and let you die comfortably — so just let everything go."
Slowly, Yi Se-geuk's eyes closed.
Thump. His body crumpled to the floor, and Lady Sang, it seemed, had no intention of catching him. She quietly stepped back.
She stared down at him for a long moment — then shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"Gaga!! Gaga!! Is no one out there!! Gaga has been poisoned!"
She sank to her knees on the spot and dissolved into loud, wrenching sobs.
It was, without question, a magnificent performance.
***
Yi Jeong was waiting in his quarters, heart hammering in his chest.
At long last, he would become the heir of the Yi Clan.
No — precisely speaking, he would become its head. From this moment on, no one in this family could say a single word against him. The Clan Head is law itself; who would dare append a footnote to his word?
The future stretching before him drew an unwitting grin to his face.
Before long, the door opened. On the other side stood his mother, her face flushed with elation.
"Mother!"
"Yes — is everything prepared?"
"It is. Everyone is standing by at Level Cloud Pavilion as we speak."
Level Cloud Pavilion was where the elite of the Yi Clan's warriors made their home. Both their training ground and their barracks, it was one of the most vital places in the entire clan.
"What of my father?"
"He lies in his chambers now. The physicians have been sent for, but there is nothing any of them can do. Now — just as we discussed, what we must do from this moment is..."
"Take Lady Un and Yi Won into custody."
"You know it well. After that, we round up every warrior and steward who backs the two of them. The elders are already persuaded — no need to worry there."
"Good. Then let us begin at once."
"Yes."
And just as the two of them moved to go —
Creak.
The closed door swung open. Two men stood there.
Yi Do and Yi Won.
Mother and son went rigid with shock in the same breath.
How — how could they be here?
Yi Do did not bother to explain. There was no need for words at all. He strode forward in silence, seized Lady Sang by the hair, reversed the dagger hidden in his sleeve, and drove it down.
Thud—!
Lady Sang did not even manage a scream. Blood surged up in a hot rush, spattering across Yi Do's entire face — but neither his expression nor his movements changed in the slightest. He simply twisted the blade.
Then he turned his head. His eyes met Yi Jeong's. Yi Jeong stumbled back a step.
Something has gone wrong. This isn't how it was meant to be.
As he recoiled, Yi Jeong saw it: Yi Do, plucking the dagger from Lady Sang's throat, advancing on him slowly.
Yi Jeong's feet froze in place.
His mother had just died before his eyes. How could a son possibly run?
"You demented bastard!"
Yi Jeong tore the sword from his belt and hurled himself at Yi Do. The Yi Clan's signature art unfolded in full — the Azure Radiance Sword Art.
But.
Before the blade could even begin its arc — crunch — Yi Do's hand closed around it.
Only then did Yi Do, silent from start to finish, finally open his mouth.
"I did give you a chance, didn't I."
"A... chance...?"
"It doesn't matter. Rest well."
The dagger Yi Do had held had struck Lady Sang's throat at its precise center. So it was now. The same spot — with the same, exact force.
"Khhk..."
Blood fountained from Yi Jeong's convulsing throat. Yi Do silently twisted the blade.
Crack — the neck snapped clean through.
And so Yi Jeong's body collapsed to the floor.
Yi Do, coated in blood, drew a long, satisfied breath. Yi Won, who had watched every moment of it, swallowed without meaning to.
...How was he supposed to describe this? At some point, the youngest — Yi Do — had become someone unrecognizable.
Yi Do turned. He came over slowly and gripped Yi Won by the shoulder.
"Second Brother."
"Ah... ah?"
The words came out wrong. They couldn't help it —
because Yi Do was smiling.
Yes. Yi Won was afraid of him.
His legs shook.
"What comes next is the part that truly matters. Do you understand?"
At the flat, emotionless voice, Yi Won nodded again and again, without pause.