Uprooting the Roots
Lady Sang had married into the Yi Clan as the eldest daughter of the Sang Cloud Merchant Group. But had she truly come to the Yi household alone, unaccompanied? Of course not. A number of martial artists from the Sang Cloud Merchant Group had followed her, and they had come with her.
Among them was the strongest, and the oldest, of the men—one Mun Gwan-wol, commander of the Blue Cloud Squad, the martial force of the Yi Clan. His cultivation had reached the Jucheon-gyeong realm. He was all but certain to step into the Yang Gwang Yi Hyeon stage before long, and he stood as a model to every man serving in the Blue Cloud Squad.
In total, the Blue Cloud Squad numbered one hundred and forty-five martial artists. A hundred of them had chosen to stand with Yi Jeong, and it was these hundred who now gathered in the Level Cloud Pavilion.
Time kept slipping by.
"...Why is there still no word?"
Mun Gwan-wol had already been briefed on the entire plan. The head of the clan would fall, and Lady Un and the second son would be named as the schemers behind it. The moment the order came down, they were to seize them alive. If there were those who followed the pair, those who surrendered were to be spared—any who resisted were to be put to death without fail. Every route of movement had already been plotted out in meticulous detail. All that remained was to wait for the signal.
And yet the appointed hour had already passed.
Why the silence?
That was when it happened. The doors of the Level Cloud Pavilion swung open.
Ah, finally.It must be Yi Jeong, the next head of the clan.
Mun Gwan-wol turned his head—and froze where he stood, utterly dumbfounded.
"...The Third Young Master? And... the Second Young Master?"
Had only the two of them walked in, he might have let it pass. But arrayed behind them, rank upon rank, stood the rest of the Blue Cloud Squad.
...There was only one conclusion.
Failure.
Among those assembled, Yi Do walked silently to the fore. He was coated head to toe in blood, and the sight of him made him look less like a martial artist of any orthodox sect than like a true demon—one who had stepped beyond even the Demonic Path in the fullest sense of the word.
Yi Do stopped where he stood and swept his gaze across the men aligned with Lady Sang—Mun Gwan-wol above all. His eyes never wavered from that icy coldness.
He spoke.
"I will say this exactly once. Open your ears and listen well."
"..."
"Those who surrender now will face nothing worse than demotion or a docked salary. Naturally, I will not take your lives. I will not shatter your limbs, and I will not burst your dantian."
His voice was so unnervingly calm that one could hardly grasp what was actually unfolding.
Yi Do continued.
"Those who refuse to surrender—those who try to surrender only after the executions begin—will be killed without question, without trial. I have no use for prisoners. I have no use for information. You will die, without exception. Even if you somehow escape the Yi Clan grounds, it changes nothing. I will hunt you to the farthest corner of the Central Plains, and I will find and kill everyone with even the smallest connection to you. I will count exactly five. Decide within five."
And Yi Do began, silently, to count.
The Blue Cloud Squad men standing on Lady Sang's side began to waver. At one, at two, at three—seven of the hundred-odd martial artists threw down their arms. At four, another seven surrendered. At five, ten more.
Of the hundred and one men led by Commander Mun Gwan-wol himself, fully twenty-four had knelt.
"Second Brother."
Yi Won, who had been waiting at the back, hurried over.
"Right—they raised arms against the clan, so of course they deserve summary execution. From this moment, cut these men down right where they sta—"
"Take all of them outside."
Yi Won blinked at Yi Do's words.
"...Huh?"
"Everyone out. Then lock the door behind you."
"...What in the world is that supposed to mean..."
"Exactly what it says. Don't wonder what happens in here, and don't try to find out. Just take them all out."
Yi Won was about to protest again when his eyes met Yi Do's. The moment he saw those two eyes—sunken, glacial—he felt his knees go weak.
"Go."
"...Ah... understood."
Yi Won ushered the soldiers behind him out, every last one. And just before he himself stepped through the door, Yi Do spoke.
"Let me emphasize this once more—if anyone tries to watch what happens in here, whoever they may be, they die. So conduct yourself accordingly."
"...Yes. I will remember."
At last, Yi Won, too, withdrew. The heavy clack of the bolt sliding home echoed through the hall.
Only Yi Do and the traitors of the Blue Cloud Squad remained.
Mun Gwan-wol found the situation faintly absurd.
"Now that I look again—the Second Young Master was a mere puppet all along. It seems the Third Young Master has been the one directing everything."
"And does knowing that change anything?"
"..."
"If not, shut your mouth and wait."
Perhaps it was sheer disbelief that made him ask.
"Just what, exactly, do you intend to do?"
"Asking what any fool can see. I'm preparing, obviously—to kill every last one of you."
"Preparing? Alone? Have you grown so drunk on reaching the Jucheon-gyeong realm that you've lost all sense?"
At Mun Gwan-wol's words, Yi Do simply smiled.
Then he drew a small box from his breast and opened it. Inside lay a single pill, no bigger than a finger joint, which he placed directly into his mouth.
Mun Gwan-wol could not fathom it. A pill—now? Can he even swallow it?Did he fail to grasp the situation? Why is he making such a staggeringly stupid choice? Surely he doesn't think he can face this many men alone?
Wordlessly, Yi Do drew the sword he had picked up earlier from Yi Jeong's quarters.
It's been a while. Wielding a sword.
Yi Do closed his eyes.
Hesitation? There was none of that. The reason I sent everyone out? There is only one.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. They had turned a deep, vivid crimson.
This was simply how it was. Martial arts grew familiar only through constant use. No matter that it was his Master's art—no matter that the moment it was exposed to the world, every witness would have to be silenced with death—it had to be made a part of his body first, or it would fail him when he truly needed it.
That time was now.
He gripped the sword hard. Even the blade itself bled red.
And then—Yi Do moved.
It was like watching a dream.
Yi Won waited outside, just as Yi Do had commanded—keeping everyone else out, and himself from seeing in. He had positioned himself a fair distance away, and yet the sounds reached his ears without pause.
Spare me... run... flee... I'm sorry...
Each voice was desperate beyond words, and yet almost in the same instant they were drowned by the sickening chorus of something bursting, something being severed, ringing out in waves of dread.
He swallowed. Swallowed again. Gooseflesh crawled over every inch of his body.
What in the world is happening in there, that such sounds keep coming? Is Yi Do—having reached Jucheon-gyeong—truly butchering all of them by himself? And why did he send everyone out?
Then, from somewhere within the Level Cloud Pavilion, one warrior's scream carried all the way to him.
"He's a demon—!! The man's a demon!!"
At that scream, a thought flickered through Yi Won's mind. Could Yi Do have learned Demonic Arts? Is that why he sent everyone away—because he didn't want it seen? His methods were already ruthless beyond reason; was that all because he'd learned the Demonic Arts?
He didn't know what to do. And then it struck him: Could Yi Do have missed that I'd be thinking exactly this? Impossible. He almost certainly knew. No—more than knew, perhaps he intended it. Knowing changed nothing, after all. He had already joined hands with Yi Do, and the road ahead almost certainly stretched to its end. Whatever needed covering would be covered; whatever needed raising up would be raised.
It was then that a woman came hurrying toward him. Lady Un.
"Won-ah!"
"...Ah... Mother."
"What is going on? Why are you standing about out here—"
Lady Un's words caught in her throat, for the sounds seeping out of the Level Cloud Pavilion had just reached her ears as well.
"...What in the world is happening in there..."
"...It's Yi Do."
"..."
"Yi Do is fighting the Blue Cloud Squad inside—those who sided with Lady Sang."
"...By himself?"
"Yes."
Yi Won did not see it—his mother's eyes, at that moment. She was feeling something now that she could only call a crisis. Yi Won, it seemed, had not considered it, but if things went on like this, then even if Yi Won became head of the clan, in truth it might be Yi Do whom everyone called the head. Yi Won would be nothing but a scarecrow.
That cannot be.
"What are you all doing?! Get in there and crush the rebels of this clan at once!"
But already the terror of Yi Do had taken root in them; not a man moved.
Lady Un clicked her tongue in irritation and strode forward herself, reaching to undo the bolted door—and in that instant, Yi Won seized her by the shoulder from behind.
"You must not."
"...Even you? If this goes on—do you not understand? It cannot be!"
"...No, Mother. The moment this door opens, everything unravels. It is better left shut. Trust this son of yours."
The gravity in her son's bearing made Lady Un's chest feel as though it would burst.
You fool of a boy. If this goes on, you'll be the scarecrow. I'm telling you—
The words climbed to the tip of her tongue, but she could not speak them.
Kuguung.
Outside, the very bolt Yi Won had locked came apart—shattered clean through. The door swung open with a long, groaning creak.
Lady Un and Yi Won staggered back in unison.
"It's finished."
The Yi Do who said those quiet words was red from crown to heel. All of it was blood. More astonishing still: not a single wound marked his body.
And then—the scene spread out behind him entered the eyes of the mother and son.
Their legs gave out beneath them, and they collapsed where they stood.
It was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Not one body remained intact. Throats severed, limbs hacked away, torsos split into halves—everything was red, gobbets of flesh strewn everywhere, and corpses were embedded in the very walls.
How is that even possible? Wasn't he alone? Alone—he did all of that?
Yi Do spoke.
"Clean this up, and summon every force of the Un Clan and the Yi Clan."
"...Did you not just say... it was finished?"
Yi Do's glacial eyes turned toward Yi Won.
Finished?
"What nonsense are you spouting? What ended was our business with the Yi Clan—not everything."
What those words truly meant, neither mother nor son yet understood. Yi Do was, as it happened, a more considerate man than most.
"Where does Lady Sang's backing lie?"
"...The Sang Cloud Merchant Group?"
Uproot the root, and pull out the weeds. Once a thing was begun, it had to be seen through to the end. In all his life, Yi Do had never once left a task half-finished.
If they had bared fangs at him, he would rip those fangs out. If they had threatened him with a sword, he would seize that sword and carve them apart with it. And if someone had tried to topple his house—then he would topple theirs.
That was the world Yi Do had survived in.
"We go to Suju Prefecture. Prepare yourselves."