The Foretold Assault
The air went cold in an instant.
Myeong Hyeon stood with the Bone-Melting Needle Crossbow trained, and Ak Nan-hyang had her hand locked around his arm. His arm was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Hers was not.
There was no need to hear a word of explanation. The situation explained itself.
He had dropped Myeong Hyeon off here at the branch hall and gone straight to meet the Asura Pavilion Master. In that brief window, Ak Nan-hyang had come — and Myeong Hyeon, perceiving her as an enemy, had aimed the crossbow that still remained to him at her. She had subdued it. That was all.
Without a word, he drew the Cloud Dragon Sword.
Pure refined qi surged up from his true dantian.
Ak Nan-hyang's eyes flew wide open, and she kicked off backward.
KWA-AAANG—!
The floor split clean in half. He recalled the sword, recited the formula, and loosed it.
Sword qi in the vivid shape of a dragon lanced across the hall, fangs bared.
Ak Nan-hyang swept her segmented iron fan in a wild arc. A maelstrom of internal energy whipped around her body—
PAA-ANG—!
—and his sword qi shattered against it. He kicked off the ground at once. Ak Nan-hyang's eyes had gone wide with astonishment as she drew the sword from her waist.
A single streak of light. A light so impossibly clear.
He swung the Cloud Dragon Sword.
GWAAAAAA—!!
Sword met sword. Power poured into both his legs, and the floor cratered beneath them. In raw strength, he held the advantage.
Ak Nan-hyang staggered back, step by step, until her spine found the wall. She shook out her arm as though it had gone numb, but he ignored her and turned to leave—
That was when she raised both hands.
"Hold on…! Just stop a moment."
"Leaving your last words?"
"…No, that's not it. I came here for a reason, I'm telling you."
For the first time in a long while, anger rose in him.
"Playing the indulgent elder now, are we? You overstep."
"…Me?"
"Who gave you leave to come and go here as you please?"
"There was a reason for—"
"And why should that concern me?"
"……"
"Were we ever close enough for that to matter?"
"…No, but—"
"'No, but' — and still you trespass into my territory uninvited and lay hands on my man. Did I look so easy to you? Do words not reach you, that you creep about like the gutter rats of the Ming Cult? Insolent creature."
His eyes flashed. Pure qi flooded down into his legs, and three qi rings spun with savage force. He kicked off.
A blur of motion — a dragon's descent faster than the eye could follow.
Ak Nan-hyang's eyes went huge as natural qi settled into her frame. She brought her sword crashing down from above; he beat it aside with the back of his left hand and slammed the Cloud Dragon Sword down in the same breath.
Startled, she retreated — smashing clean through the wall in her haste, so keenly had she sensed the danger.
He thrust out his sword. Shk — a long line opened across Ak Nan-hyang's cheek. She slashed down; he turned the Cloud Dragon Sword sideways to catch it, deflected it, and swung in one continuous motion.
SHK—!
The front of her robe split open. He drove out a kick — THUD — and she skidded backward across the floor. Gazing down at the footprint stamped vividly into her stomach, she lifted her head.
Her eyes, too, had gone cold as frost.
"…You're serious, then."
"Did you think otherwise?"
"…Reaching Ogijowon is astonishing enough, but how are you fighting me like this? It hasn't been long since I rose myself, but I am, without question, in the Harmony Realm. So this… how is this even possible?"
He had no intention of satisfying that curiosity.
He moved to leave — and Ak Nan-hyang gathered her energy with both arms raised.
"I'll apologize."
"……"
"I'm sorry. So calm down, and let's go back inside and talk."
Silently, he adjusted his grip on the sword.
She hurried to fill the silence.
"Like you said — we're the ones who crawl on the ground. So what am I supposed to do? I couldn't come in through the front door, so I had to sneak in like this. I'm sorry I invaded your space, but at least hear me out. The reason I came is information. Information that, I promise, will be very useful to you. It cost our agent planted inside the Pacheon Fist Sect dearly to get it. I swear you won't regret listening. Truly."
She seemed sincere. He glared at her in silence for a long moment, then lowered his sword.
"That was the last time. Sneak near me like this again — so much as loiter in my vicinity again — and from that day forward I will hunt down and kill every soul belonging to the Ming Cult. Do you understand?"
"…Perfectly."
"Come inside."
He turned on his heel.
Sighing, Ak Nan-hyang trudged in after him. The clash just now had wrecked a fair portion of the building, but it still held its shape. She made for a corner, leaned her back against the wall, and reflexively snatched something out of the air as it flew toward her. A robe.
"Put it on."
"…First you cut me up, now you play the physician? What is this?"
Still, she didn't dislike it. Her torn robe had left her shamefully exposed, and walking about in that state was — well, a bit much.
She draped the robe over her shoulders and covered the torn front.
"Now. Talk."
Yi Do sat in the chair with his legs crossed, and the sight suited him perfectly. That manner of simply issuing a command — how to put it — it wasn't exactly unpleasant.
She scratched her head and spoke.
"This wasn't the mood I was hoping for, but it's my fault, so I'll take it on the chin. Listen well. The Pacheon Fist Sect is cooking something up."
"What kind of something?"
"Pung Bi-chang, the former master of this place — you know this already — was the direct disciple of Han Beom-seong, the Iron Pagoda Tyrant Fist, one of the Pacheon Fist Sect's Eight Elders. Harmony Realm. You can tell from the alias alone: he fights with his fists, and he's built like a fortress. And this man has one defining trait. Care to guess what it is?"
"No."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. He holds it as the creed of his entire life."
"He repays exactly what he suffers?"
"Close. Whatever was done to him, he returns it in a strikingly similar form. Take you, for instance — before you swallowed Jangam Commandery, you assassinated the clan heads. And you raided the caravans, too."
Yi Do said nothing.
Neither confirmation nor denial — but those who needed to know already knew. That he had torn every last one of them apart.
Ak Nan-hyang went on.
"It looks like he intends to do exactly the same to you."
"I see."
"You do know the Salmak has completely fallen apart, right?"
"I do."
"The Pacheon Fist Sect is no company of saints. Mun Hudo is dead, and every core figure of the Salmak under him is dead — taking in survivors would be a joke. But here's the interesting part: when Mun Hudo defected to the Pacheon Fist Sect, he carried a staggering fortune with him. Never mind Mu Gu and the rest — gold alone came to nearly ten thousand nyang. They swallowed it all, and apparently eating that much pricked their consciences a little. So they killed about half of the Salmak remnants and took the other half in as entry disciples, near-adopted disciples. Those people will move. Together with Han Beom-seong."
"When?"
"I heard about it yesterday, so they've probably already begun? There's still good distance to cover, though — six days? Four at the fastest? And hey — I sprinted here the moment I heard, and you greet me with a drawn sword. Aren't you a little high-strung?"
Yi Do frowned.
"Me?"
"Who else would I mean — him?"
The 'him' in question was Myeong Hyeon, smiling awkwardly from his corner.
"I made myself plain. If you have no intention of offering absolute loyalty, I have no intention of standing with any of you."
"…What are you talking about? Absolute loyalty?"
It was Yi Do, this time, who knitted his brow. He couldn't claim to know Ak Nan-hyang in any detail — but one thing was certain. She was not lying now. She had genuinely heard this for the first time.
"Did you not come from the White Spirit Medical House?"
"Come from— wait. The White Spirit Medical House? What are you? Just how much do you know?"
"Answer when you are asked."
"…It's not as if I keep multiple bodies. I only got back from Wimurim two days ago — when would I possibly have gone there?"
"I see."
Then this was, quite simply, Ak Nan-hyang's goodwill. He knew little of the Ming Cult's inner workings, but he felt it keenly — that place, too, had its factions.
He gave her a rough account of what had happened at the White Spirit Medical House, and Ak Nan-hyang burst out laughing.
"Incredible. Not only did you settle the Mad Doctor's grievance, you actually warned Seomun Hyeok? How on earth did you know he was the Ming Cult's man?"
"There are no eternal secrets in the murim."
"Can't argue with that, but you might be the exception. You carry far too many secrets."
"Do not try to uncover them."
"…You're a strange one. Truly strange."
"I will not apologize for striking first. You did, in fact, trespass uninvited."
"I wasn't planning to contest that part anyway. But."
Her expression turned a shade more serious.
"You have no intention of stopping at Jangam Commandery, do you?"
"Is that even a question?"
"Most would stop about here. I only asked because you don't strike me as 'most.'"
What was Yi Do's purpose? If he had stirred up all this mayhem merely to occupy a single commandery, that would have been the more absurd thing.
"You're thinking of all-out war, aren't you?"
He did not answer.
Neither yes nor no — but Ak Nan-hyang was certain.
"Interesting. And a little worrying, too."
"That is not yours to worry about."
"Cold as ever. Well — no one believed you could take Jangam Commandery like this anyway, so we'll all just have to watch and see. And congratulations on reaching Ogijowon."
Yi Do inclined his head.
"Seeing it with my own eyes, I still can't quite believe it. As for a gift… let's call it even with the information I just gave you."
Yi Do let out a short laugh.
Not bad at all.
"You know how to strike a bargain."
"Of course. I may look like this, but I'm a former Finance Pavilion Master of the Ming Cult."
"I see."
"Take care of yourself. Let's meet again — drinks next time."
As she turned to go, Yi Do tossed the words after her like an afterthought.
"I apologize for the clothes."
Ak Nan-hyang's eyes went round. Then a smile curled at the corner of her mouth. What an interesting man. Not sorry for attacking her — but sorry for tearing her clothes?
Candid didn't begin to cover it. Wasn't that almost too honest?
With a smile brimming with warmth, she kicked off the ground and vanished in an instant.
"Our sovereign is truly popular, my lord. Swaying men — and now women besides — I daresay you'll make quite a scene one of these days."
Yi Do turned his head. Myeong Hyeon was smiling through his exhaustion.
"If you're spent, you may lie down."
"How could I lie down, my lord? There is work I must finish before I rest."
"Work?"
Myeong Hyeon sank slowly to his knees.
"Thank you for taking me in. From this day forward, my life, my soul — all of it is yours."
There was something Yi Do needed to make clear.
"Your life is yours, and your soul is yours as well. There is only one thing I ask of you."
"And what is that?"
"Absolute loyalty."
Myeong Hyeon smiled.
"You already have it from me."
Then—
it was done.
"Rise."
"Yes, my lord."
Yi Do handed over every one of the thirty-year Asura Pills he had received from Sangguan Yeonhwi, keeping only a single pill for himself.
"You've already heard the rest, so I'll spare you the explanation. Restore your Ogijowon strength as quickly as you can."
"It won't be easy, but I will manage it."
"Good."
Apologies to Ak Nan-hyang — but he could not afford to trust only one side's word. Yi Do headed straight for the Cheonjeong Gate's Jangam Branch.
Yi Do was, in truth, a singular creature. Setting aside what manner of man he was — wherever he went, he built renown, one way or another. Whether it came as infamy or as dread majesty mattered little; what mattered was that it accumulated.
Making an enemy of such a man was exhausting. In that respect, Jang Sangbo, who had already tasted Yi Do once, did not regret his choice for a moment.
Jang Sangbo, branch manager of the Cheonjeong Gate's Sambong Branch as of yesterday exactly, was now branch manager of the Jangam Branch — and he came bounding out to greet his visitor.
"Hahahaha! My lord — belated, but my warmest congratulations!"
Yi Do glanced around.
"It's clean."
"Hahaha."
Jang Sangbo, beaming with delight, belatedly remembered himself and snapped into a cupped-fist salute.
"I must apologize."
"Apologize? For what?"
"I received my appointment yesterday and… failed to pay my respects to you first. I will offer no excuses. I'm sorry."
The expressionless Yi Do nodded.
"No matter. A man has but one body — how could he attend to every affair at once?"
An ordinary man would have laughed those words off and thought nothing more of them. But Jang Sangbo was one of barely two hundred branch managers in all of Cheonjeong Gate. He was quick of eye, and his abilities stood far above the common run.
And in his reading, there was a bone hidden in Yi Do's words. You cannot do everything at once — and yet the first thing you attend to is not paying respects to me, but merely cleaning?
That was how Jang Sangbo interpreted it. The color drained from his face in an instant.
"M-my lord—"
"There now. I said it was fine."
"…I am not fine. Please, sit. Do you — ah — care for tea? I happen to have Snow Spirit Tea, the kind only the Palace Lords of the far-off Ten Thousand Year Snow Palace drink. I'll fetch it and brew it for you at once."
Yi Do snorted a laugh despite himself. Snow Spirit Tea. He had heard that name so long and so often it had worn thin as old cloth.
"The tea can wait. First — congratulations on becoming branch manager of the Jangam Branch."
"Th-thank you."
"I came here because there is information I wish to know. Do you know what it is?"
Jang Sangbo swallowed hard and, as though he had been waiting for precisely that question, made for the bookshelf in the corner. He returned with thick bundles of paper and laid them before Yi Do.
"The truth is, this is why I could not come pay my respects straightaway."
"I see."
"Yes. That I sit in this seat at all is entirely thanks to you, my lord. I am a man — how could I disregard such a debt? These are the things I sorted through the moment I arrived here…"
"Concerning the Pacheon Fist Sect?"
"Precisely. And — this, right here."
Having laid several sheets before Yi Do, Jang Sangbo spoke quickly.
"You know this well already, my lord, but all-out war between sects does not break out save in the most extraordinary circumstances. Even if you occupy Jangam Commandery — even if you seize other territories inside the Pacheon Fist Sect's own sphere — it will not come. You can guess the reason."
"Each side fears the weakening of its own strength."
"Exactly. That is why the Pacheon Fist Sect will not move lightly. But one man alone — he will move."
Yi Do listened in silence.
"Pung Bi-chang was the direct disciple of Han Beom-seong, one of the sect's current Eight Elders. And who is Han Beom-seong? A Harmony Realm master — one of the pillars holding the sect aloft. Even if Gong Wi-ryang, the Sect Master himself, gave a contrary order, Han Beom-seong will move regardless."
"He will move?"
"Yes. The Salmak's Curtain Master and Vice Curtain Master are dead. The Salmak's forces have been blown to pieces — and yesterday I obtained intelligence that the Pacheon Fist Sect has taken in those very assassins as entry disciples."
It matched Ak Nan-hyang's account exactly.
"Han Beom-seong is famous as a martial artist who repays a blow in kind. I believe preparing a defense would be wise. Forgive me if I speak beyond my station."
Yi Do shook his head.
"More than sufficient. What do I owe for the information?"
Jang Sangbo smiled brightly.
"Since I failed to pay my respects first — if you will forgive that failing, we shall call it paid."
Yi Do smiled as well.
"I like you, Jang Sangbo."
"Yes, my lord."
"Keep doing exactly this. Do so, and the reward that returns to you will be sweeter than you imagine."
He rose from his seat.
It was enough. He had no intention of unfolding a formation as he had against the Golden Heaven Divine Sword at the three great households of the Yi Clan. Those days were behind him.
A single Harmony Realm master was more than manageable.
He stepped outside and was making his way back toward the branch hall when Yi Do stopped dead in his tracks.
"Hehehehehehe! Why, you little rascal. Have you been well, then?"
It was Myo Man-li.
Beside the old man stood Un Do-hyeon, his body a map of wounds but his two eyes alone bright and clear — and beside him, an ordinary woman and a young boy.
Yi Do had meant to ask whether his lordship had fared well, whether he had eaten — but the words never left his mouth.
"Why, look at this — you've climbed to Ogijowon! Hehehehehehe! Take this, then!"
Without a shred of warning, Myo Man-li simply let his lightning loose.
KRAKAKAKAKA—
Yi Do drew the Cloud Dragon Sword. His eyes flashed.
Thunder answers thunder — a single bolt of black-white light splits the sky.
KRAKAKAKOOM—!
The five bolts of lightning surging toward him were snuffed out, utterly and instantly, by the single bolt Yi Do exhaled.
Myo Man-li burst into wild laughter.
"Good! Very good! Come, then — let's continue!"
Myo Man-li charged.