The Assassin
Sang Myeong-gil, master of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild, sat at ease in his office, sipping a cup of tea.
It was Seol-young tea, brought all the way from the distant North Sea. This tea, prized for calming the body and sharpening the mind, was extraordinarily rare. Only a guild of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild's stature could afford to drink it this freely.
The matter of the tribute bound for the Yan Kingdom going up in flames had yet to be smoothed over, but he had finished dealing with every other problem on his plate.
A letter had arrived earlier. It came from his eldest daughter, married into the Yi Clan. It said the work would begin at the hour of the Rooster — and that hour had long since passed.
Which meant that, for all intents and purposes, the Yi Clan had already fallen into the Sangwoon Merchant Guild's hands.
The plan going forward was simple. First, they would name the Yi Clan's second son as the culprit and absorb the Yun Clan whole as well. The Sangwoon Merchant Guild had long played the old guard in the backwater of Suju Prefecture — it was time to move on to the next stage. With the Yi Clan as their spearhead, they would take all of Jangryeong Commandery and swell their power.
And he had already devised a way to sweep away anything that displeased his eye.
First, the third son — Yi Do. He had placed a contract on the boy's life. A full hundred nyang of gold. Commission grade: special. Today or tomorrow, that third son with his prodigious talent for martial arts would surely die.
The Sangwoon Merchant Guild kept close ties with the official offices of Suju Prefecture, so by extending those threads to the offices of Jangryeong Commandery as well, they could secure themselves against force. Now that was a golden future. Not some distant one, either — a future right at his doorstep.
The laughter would not stop.
Then again...
By now he should have been hearing word that the Yi Clan had been swallowed whole. So why was there still no news? Was it simply taking a little more time?
As if to prove such worries mere groundless fear, the door burst open.
"Guild Master... Guild Master!"
The man looked like nothing so much as a bandit — shaggy-haired, thick-bearded, and huge. This was Wang Jin-hon, vice guild master of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild.
So the news he'd been waiting for had come — or so Sang Myeong-gil thought, before he noticed the man's expression. That was the face of a man bringing word of disaster.
"Outside... outside..."
"Outside what? Speak properly, man!"
"Outside... the Yi Clan's people have come."
"...What?"
"And not only that — they've brought the Yun Clan's warriors with them. More than two hundred of them..."
Cold sweat ran down his forehead.
There was only one conclusion.
Failure.
Sang Myeong-gil collected himself quickly. He issued a summons to every warrior in the guild and stepped outside.
The first thing he saw was the man standing at the very front. Drenched head to toe in blood, eyes closed, a single sword planted in the earth before him — the sight was overwhelmingly intimidating.
The man slowly opened his eyes.
The instant their gazes met, Sang Myeong-gil flinched and stumbled back a step. What in the world was this impossible presence?
"Sang Myeong-gil of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild, I presume?"
"...I am. And who are you?"
"No need for you to know. Blood was spilled at the Yi Clan estate today. According to Lady Sang, you took a commission and tried to assassinate the head of the Yi Clan with the Soul-Severing Demonic Poison."
Sang Hwa-yeong was Lady Sang's given name. Hearing his daughter's name spoken aloud, Sang Myeong-gil swallowed hard. But he was no novice to the merchant trade. Composure returned to him in short order.
"What nonsense is this? Soul-Severing Demonic Poison? I've never heard of such a thing. And even if I had issued such a commission, how would that make my own eldest daughter poison the head of the Yi household?"
"I couldn't say. But the result is already plain. The head of the Yi family lies in a coma, and Lady Sang and her son Yi Jeong have gathered warriors to turn the family upside down."
His fist trembled — and into his ear, Vice Guild Master Wang Jin-hon whispered in a small voice.
"...That man is the Yi Clan's third son."
He was stunned.
"...That brat? Him?"
"Yes."
He hadn't recognized him — the boy had changed too much. His whole frame had filled out compared to before, and his hair was cropped short.
Sang Myeong-gil spoke in a firm, deliberate voice.
"I understand your fury, as the third son of the Yi family. But why act like this, before the facts are even established? My boy, even if our blood is not shared, we are still family, are we not? Come inside, first. Once we've established the truth of the matter, it would only be proper to discuss what follows."
"..."
"I've had Seol-young tea prepared. A very rare tea, fetched from the North Sea. Do come in."
Yi Do stared at him in silence for a long moment — then gave a light wave of his hand behind him. At that, Yeom Gil-seong, a servant of the Yi Clan, came forward carrying two chests and set them down before Yi Do.
"Guild Master. Before we talk, I've prepared two gifts. Shall we take a look at them first?"
"...Gifts?"
Yi Do nudged one of the chests with his foot.
The lid swung open. The instant Sang Myeong-gil saw what lay inside, bloodshot veins flooded his eyes.
"You... you son of a... bitch..."
It was a fair reaction. One chest held Lady Sang's severed head.
"I told you. There were two."
With that, Yi Do kicked the second chest open.
The lid swung wide. Inside lay Yi Jeong's head.
Sang Myeong-gil's whole body shook. The heads of his beloved daughter and grandson sat right there. Dog of a bastard. Damnable wretch.
Yi Do said, unmoved:
"If you tried to take everything, then shouldn't you have prepared to lose everything when you failed?"
"...Ra..."
"I can't hear you. How is it that the voice of the great master of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild has crawled so far down his throat?"
Sang Myeong-gil roared.
"NOW! Seize that bastard and beat him to death!"
A gentle smile bloomed at the corner of Yi Do's mouth.
"Yes. That's the way a guild master should behave."
"Kill him!! Kill him, I said! Kill that son of a bitch! NOW!!"
At the convulsing Sang Myeong-gil's command, the guild's warriors threw themselves forward as one. Yi Do drew his sword.
"No prisoners. Today, our Yi Clan takes the Sangwoon Merchant Guild for its own."
Behind him, the martial men of the Yi Clan drew their weapons in a single motion. Yi Do's voice carried on.
"If we run short of hands to run the guild, will you fill the ranks from without — or from within?"
Greed lit every eye.
"The more you kill, the greater your reward will be. So put your lives on the line, and kill."
"...Yes, my lord!"
And so the warriors of the two forces collided.
Once begun, a thing must be seen through to its end.
A place where the stench of blood hung in the air. A place where no one knew who might strike whose neck from behind, where friend and foe could scarcely be told apart.
That was the true murim.
I swung my sword with force.
Shrak—!
The neck of a charging Sangwoon warrior left his shoulders. I slammed my feet into the ground. The Heavenly Steed Divine Steps churned the earth beneath me. I thrust my sword forward — pthook — it sank into one warrior's throat. I stretched out my leg and kicked the man's body away even as I snapped my head back; a sword grazed the skin beneath my chin by a hair.
Spinning my body, I swung in a wide, sweeping arc. Two swords were knocked away; one neck was severed. Reversing my grip into a backhand hold, I twisted sideways. The blade of a warrior slashing at me from behind brushed past my ribs by a sliver — and the reversed sword came around hard.
Shrak—!
A warrior's head soared into the sky.
Dead ahead in my line of sight stood Sang Myeong-gil.
The distance was roughly ten jang. Even if I lost the others, today — Sang Myeong-gil had to die. Today, without fail.
I drove my feet into the ground. Two warriors blocked my path — one swinging his sword sideways, one thrusting straight. I stamped the earth, and the Heavenly Steed Divine Steps unfolded. I deflected the thrusting blade aside and ducked under the horizontal swing. In an instant, I was behind the two men.
They whirled around.
Power coiled through my sword hand. The inner lightning surging within my dantian swelled to the surface. Driving the compressed muscles of my shoulder, I swung with everything I had — from upper left to lower right.
Knrrrmm.
With a faint crackle of thunder —
Shrak—!
Both men's bodies split clean in half.
Five Thunder Demon-Burning Sword Art. A sword technique that wielded the lightning of nature itself — and, judging by its inner workings, one that at mastery would rain five bolts of lightning with every swing. At my present, still-limited level, all I could call forth was a single thread of lightning — and even that, a near-lightning thing that merely kept lightning's shape. Even so, it was more than enough for foes of this caliber.
I turned my head. The distance was eight jang.
I slammed my feet down again. One warrior swung at me. A thoughtless swing — the sword's trajectory was plain to see. I lashed out with my foot; with a bang, the warrior's sword flew skyward. Instantly, I drove my dagger down.
Crack—!
Beyond the dagger buried deep in the warrior's forehead, another man came charging. A heavy-jawed face. I didn't know who he was — but I could tell he was a master who had reached the Radiant Two Apertures. His hand reached for me, and I hurled my sword at him.
Kuwung!
The sword bounced away. He didn't even register the blow. Looking at that arm, dense with condensed inner energy, I knew it — the Radiant Two Apertures, beyond doubt. He shoved hard off the ground and stretched his other hand toward my neck.
Tuk. My throat was seized. My body dragged backward.
"You wretch! Confident in your strength, are you? But you're nothing but a mere Evolved Realm—"
I shot out my other hand and caught him square in the solar plexus. Clamped down hard.
Cloud Dragon Seizing Grasp.
"Ugh...!"
Pouring inner energy into my hand, I twisted with force. His body turned through the air along with it — earth above, sky below. Glaring into his eyes, I drove my elbow down.
Crack—!!
It struck his lower abdomen, flipped upside down in midair. To anyone else it would have been nothing more than the sound of a blow landing. Not to me, and not to this man.
Because his dantian had just shattered.
"Khegh—!"
He crumpled into an awkward sprawl on the ground, and I brought my heel down on his neck.
Kwajik!
His neck burst. I lifted my head. The distance to Sang Myeong-gil — still eight jang.
But unlike before, there was hardly anyone left to stop me now.
I walked on in silence. Corpses lined the ground on every side. Sang Myeong-gil stumbled backward. A warrior came at me from the flank; I tipped my head back, reached out — Cloud Dragon Seizing Grasp.
This was no ordinary seizing technique. A technique that turned an opponent's own strength against them while clapping on shackles that could never be shaken off — the very highest tier of the grasping arts.
I caught the man's face and twisted. His body stayed put; only his neck rotated three or four full turns.
The warrior dropped.
I snatched up a sword lying on the ground and walked on, slowly. Sang Myeong-gil, still retreating, collapsed where he stood. The bandit-like man beside him spun around and began to flee. I threw the sword.
Pthook—!
It buried itself in the man's neck. As Sang Myeong-gil stared at the toppling corpse, the hiccups seized him. He turned his head.
I was standing right in front of him.
"S-spare me. Please..."
I answered, unmoved.
"Did I not tell you? If you attempt to take everything, then when you fail, you must be prepared to lose everything as well."
"But... isn't this too much?!"
A dry laugh escaped me.
"I'll put the Sangwoon Merchant Guild to good use."
And I brought my foot down.
Crack—!
Sang Myeong-gil's head burst, shards scattering in every direction. I stretched my body and drew a long breath.
It was over.
Just as the tension began to drain from my body, something strange entered my vision.
Sang Myeong-gil had been positioned at the very rear. Who reached him first? No one but me. So then — how many had I killed after closing the distance to Sang Myeong-gil? Sang Myeong-gil, and that bandit-like man over there. Two, in total.
And yet.
Why was there a corpse here?
The cord of tension pulled taut again — and in the same instant, the corpse sprang upright and hurled itself at me.
The movement was — very swift. Very fast. The Radiant Two Apertures? No. It was Winddragon Ascension, without question. Nothing else could explain that movement.
My eyes flashed.
Pthook—!
His dagger sank into my abdomen.
I didn't stagger back. I didn't cry out. I reached out with my right hand and seized the man's face.
"...Salmak, are you?"
"...Ghh... you monster..."
I tightened my grip. He pressed down on his dagger in turn. The blade sank deeper and deeper. It didn't matter. Pain? I knew it well.
I recited the formula. Red Dragon Divine Art.
Fwoosh.
Fire filled my body from head to toe. The flames that rose along my flesh, up my arm, leapt onto the assassin's body. He recoiled in horror, scrambling backward — an impossibility.
Had he not been caught in the Cloud Dragon Seizing Grasp? I would not be pushed back, and I had no intention of yielding an inch.
Before long, the man engulfed in flame began to scream. I clenched my hand and sealed his mouth shut. I straightened my other hand into a blade and drove it straight down.
The assassin reacted late — far too late.
Crack—!
My hand-blade struck the assassin's neck. I had meant to crush it. I failed to crush it.
Then.
I would strike until it broke.
Down again.
Crack—!
Once more.
Crack—!
"Khh... stop... stop it..."
I ignored him.
Once more.
Crack—!
His neck shattered, and the assassin crumpled to the ground. I stared down at him in silence. The pain rising from my abdomen was considerable — but I showed none of it.
Salmak.
I intended to collect the price of this pain before long.
I turned my head. At some point, the fighting had stopped. The warriors of the Sangwoon Merchant Guild sank slowly to their knees — surrender, unmistakably. One after another, the surviving martial men of the Yi Clan knelt as well.
I spoke briefly.
"You've worked hard."
Today, the Sangwoon Merchant Guild was absorbed into the Yi Clan.