Trampled to Death
Excluding me, the Dark Lantern Branch had a total of twelve branch members.
The Myeonghwa Branch, meanwhile, had nineteen.
Thirty-one in all.
Considering that Im Cheon-woo, the Branch Master of Myeonghwa, was at the Three Flowers Converging stage, our strength came to two men at Five Qi Gathering at the Origin, two at Three Flowers Converging, and the rest martial artists within the Twin Radiance Illuminating Manifestation or Five Dragons Soaring Perfection realms.
That alone made us a genuinely formidable force.
Enough raw power to wipe out three or four named sects and still have room to spare was now marching on the Myeonghwa-hyeon branch of Salmun.
Like the Killing Curtain before them, the Salmun branch was tucked away in a pleasure quarter, but they were not without a nose for information themselves, and they ushered us straight into a separate hall.
It was there that I came face to face with a man.
Wearing an easy smile, he introduced himself as Paeng Hun, branch master of the Myeonghwa-hyeon Salmun branch.
"……I never dreamed you would come swarming down on us like this…… Might I ask what brings you here?"
"You're asking because you don't know?"
"Yes. Because I don't know."
A smile spread across my lips.
"Who put out the commission to kill Sin Dae-gwang?"
"……Forgive me, but we did not kill him."
"The Killing Ghost, Ma Yong-sang, showed his face near Myeonghwa-hyeon at the very time Sin Dae-gwang died. Every piece of circumstantial evidence has already come to light, and still you deny the facts?"
"……"
"Who put out the commission?"
Paeng Hun let out a long sigh.
"I, ah, fully understand your feelings, but making a scene here will get you nothing. We are Salmun. How could we possibly divulge the identity of a client?"
"Principle, is it?"
"That's right. Principle."
I crossed my legs.
"Shall I tell you a story, then?"
"……About what?"
"Something similar happened in Suju Prefecture."
"……"
"Was it the branch master there, or the overall director? I can't even remember the name anymore. That bitch refused my demand. And what became of her afterward?"
"……You would place Salmun on the same level as the Killing Curtain?"
"As far as I'm concerned, there's no difference. So from this moment on, you had best answer very, very well. Just as I can't recall that woman's name, I have already forgotten yours. But I can just barely manage to remember that Salmun and I now have a debt to settle."
"……"
"Do not become a fragment of that memory. Here is my question. Someone commissioned the death of Sin Dae-gwang. What is their name?"
Paeng Hun clutched his head and heaved another sigh.
"Truly…… they say you run wild, and run wild you do…… I suppose having toppled the Killing Curtain, you've lost all ability to see what's in front of you."
"Didn't I just tell you? There's no difference between you and them."
"……How can you call us the same as the Killing Curtain, when we are the greatest house of killers under heaven? Ask anyone in this world and they will tell you we are different."
"You seem rather proud of Salmun……"
I gave Un Dohyeon a subtle glance. The boy strode forward at once, seized Paeng Hun by the hair, and slammed his face into the table.
CRASH—!
"Ghhk……"
Un Dohyeon did not loosen his grip. Looking down at Paeng Hun, who glared up at me from his awkward, bent-over position, I continued speaking, unhurried.
"Having a sense of belonging, taking pride in your work — all well and good. But you should never have crawled so far above your station."
"……Let…… let go of me!"
I ignored him.
"The Killing Curtain said this to me. The Royal Guards and the Imperial Sword Sect were already hunting them, and if they made an enemy of me as well, wouldn't that be difficult? Could they bear it? And how did that turn out for them?"
"……That was……"
"The Royal Guards called off their pursuit. The Imperial Sword Sect fell silent. And the Killing Curtain was annihilated."
"……"
"Every one of those they called Protectors is dead. Vice Curtain Lord Jang Min, the Withered Bamboo Demon Lord, is dead. Black Hand Commander Man Do-wi, who became the new Vice Curtain Lord, is dead. And Mun Hu-do, who crawled to the Heaven Cleaving Fist Sect begging for their aid, is dead as well."
My grip tightened.
"What, exactly, is the difference between you and the Killing Curtain? Do you believe it, that your art of hidden presence has reached the threshold of the Realm of Entering Divinity and stands before the Realm of Myth? Is that what you trust in?"
"……Now see here…… this is……"
"I would love to wager on which comes first — my death, or Salmun's annihilation — but what determines whether you end up a corpse or walking free with breath in your lungs is the answer you give to my next question. I have no taste for gambling with corpses, so if you wish to bet against me, you had best answer properly."
I licked my lips.
"Myeong Hyeon. Un Dohyeon."
"Yes."
"Same as at Haomun. I will begin questioning this man. If his answer is anything other than 'I will tell you' or a specific name, kill every soul that exists within this Salmun branch, this instant."
"As you command."
The two of them drew their swords without a moment's hesitation.
The Myeonghwa Branch members, evidently not expecting me to go this far, panicked.
But atmosphere is a curious thing.
The moment even the Dark Lantern Branch members drew their weapons, they had no choice but to draw theirs as well.
I looked down at Paeng Hun.
"Now. The fate of Salmun rests on the words that leave your mouth. Someone commissioned the death of Sin Dae-gwang. Do you know anything about that person?"
……Paeng Hun agonized, and at last opened his mouth.
No. To be precise, he sent a transmission of inner voice.
-I will tell you……
-Good. Go ahead, then.
-But first, allow me to say this. I understand full well what kind of man you are, but protecting the identity of those who commission Salmun is our principle. Even if I answer to save my own life, the moment I give you the information, I am a dead man. Open a path for me to live.
-Now, at last, we can speak the same language. You want a path to survival? Fine. I'll open one.
I had already worked out exactly how.
"Clear out every Salmun person from this room."
"……Yes."
Paeng Hun sent everyone out. Nothing remained in the hall but the Asura Sword Sect.
"Every branch member except Myeong Hyeon and Un Dohyeon — outside. That goes for you too, Im Cheon-woo."
They hesitated, shuffling, but soon filed out.
Now only four remained in this room — me, Myeong Hyeon, Un Dohyeon, and Paeng Hun before my eyes.
There was no longer any need to converse through transmitted voice.
"Whether or not you gave me that information — only the people in this room can ever know. The two men here are not the type to blab, and neither am I. Guard your own mouth, and no one in the world will ever know."
"……But if he ends up dead, won't the whole affair come to light?"
"You have the order of events backward."
"Pardon?"
"I never heard anything from you. I suspected him most of all, so I went to him first and tortured him, and from him I obtained the truth. After hearing that truth, I came to Salmun and spoke with you. As far as the world will know, you told me nothing about who commissioned the killing and turned us away — that is how it will be recorded."
"……Won't the timing fail to match?"
"Is that not the sort of thing one simply paper over? I have even opened a path for you to live. Must I do that part for you as well?"
"……"
"What I needed was certainty. I could have gone to him first and put him to the question, but I lacked that certainty, and so I came here. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"……Truly…… a path to survival."
"I'll ask again. Is it correct that that man put out the commission?"
"……It is correct. Wang In, master of the Geumseong Escort Agency. My subordinate accepted his commission, and the Killing Ghost, Ma Yong-sang, carried it out."
"Good."
I released Paeng Hun.
A smile spread across my lips.
"You may take pride in this. You have just saved Salmun."
"……I have?"
"Believe that and nothing else. And as for that subordinate of yours who took the commission — see to it that he is dealt with."
What "dealt with" meant required no explanation.
"I won't go so far as to demand you hang his corpse outside your gates. But he must die. Fail to do it, and you will be looking at me again."
Paeng Hun swallowed hard.
When we stepped outside, the bewildered branch members greeted us. I spoke without ceremony.
"We're going to the Geumseong Escort Agency."
"As you command!"
The atmosphere was entirely different from our first visit.
I kicked down the gates of the Geumseong Escort Agency without a flicker of hesitation.
CRASH—!!
The doors burst apart, and chaos erupted inside.
From across the courtyard, Wang In, master of the Geumseong Escort Agency, shouted.
"What lunatic dares……! Ah…… Lord Yi Do, is it. Perhaps you have another question you'd like to……"
"You lied to me."
"……Pardon?"
"I told you plainly, did I not? That I would give you a chance."
I drew the Cloud Dragon Sword from my waist and walked forward, slow and unhurried.
Whether he sensed that my approach was deadly serious, Wang In began to tremble from head to toe.
At last, he shouted out.
"F-forgive me! Yes! It was I who put out the commission!"
I ignored him.
"Sin Dae-gwang was investigating our dealings in the background, and he secured evidence that we had been hiding plundered goods — I had no choice, it was beyond my……"
He could not finish.
I brought the Cloud Dragon Sword straight down.
Shwick—!
One of his arms fell to the ground. I struck again.
Shwick—!
His other arm dropped to the earth.
Wang In lay prone on the floor, wracked with agony, and I severed both his legs as well.
"Watch closely from there. Myeong Hyeon, Un Dohyeon, and Im Cheon-woo."
The three men turned their eyes to me.
"Annihilate them."
Myeong Hyeon and Un Dohyeon assumed their stances.
"As you command—!"
Hesitation was plain on Im Cheon-woo's face. Truly annihilate the sect, or not — he seemed to stand at that very crossroads.
"Im Cheon-woo."
"……Yes."
"Was Sin Dae-gwang not one of your people?"
"……That is true."
"Then what is there to hesitate over?"
"……But annihilating an entire sect is another matter entirely, is it not……"
"No. It is not."
I reversed my grip on the sword and drove it straight down into Wang In's abdomen.
Thrust.
"If you mean to take a life, you must also be prepared to lose everything."
"……"
"This is the Murim. To feel pity in the Murim is a privilege reserved for victors. To waver in vengeance in the Murim is a privilege of the weak. Which are you — the weak, or a martial artist who means to become a victor?"
"……"
"Enforcing justice, too, is the privilege of the strong alone. No one remembers the justice of the weak, nor is there any need to. What good does it do to listen to the armchair philosophy of those who have no power? It only pains the ears."
Whether those words struck some great chord within him, Im Cheon-woo's eyes flew wide open. I spoke on, unperturbed.
"If you don't want to do it, then don't. Your help is not needed either way."
Im Cheon-woo, deep in thought, shook his head.
"Forgive my hesitation. I should have avenged him, and I was being a fool about it."
And with that, Im Cheon-woo roared.
"Myeonghwa Branch! Annihilate the Geumseong Escort Agency this instant!"
"Yes, sir!"
They, too, charged off.
I lowered my gaze.
Wang In lay there, weeping tears of blood.
"Do you regret it?"
"……Khhk…… Your end…… will be no better…… either."
I laughed.
I drew my sword and pierced Wang In's throat.
Thrust.
I had no desire to exchange further words with him.
I called for Un Dohyeon, who was setting fire to the buildings of the Geumseong Escort Agency.
The boy came hurrying over at once.
"Settle affairs here, then go to the Myeonghwa Branch and rest."
"……Where are you going?"
"There's somewhere I need to stop by."
I turned away.
Whether it had become second nature to him by now, Un Dohyeon asked nothing more, and neither did Myeong Hyeon.
It is a good thing, when trust accumulates.
Beside Myeonghwa-hyeon lay a place called Myeongrak-jin.
The distance between them was not great, but the difference in the size of the districts was unmistakable. In that town of Myeongrak-jin, at a window seat of a two-story inn, a man was eating a bowl of noodles.
Then he set down his spoon.
Because a man had come to sit wordlessly across from him.
With his hair bound tightly back, he wore a strikingly magnificent robe — one whose insignia no one living in the Jeok Nation could fail to recognize, fool or not.
A white carriage upon crimson flames.
The Asura Sword Sect.
The man who had taken the seat was remarkably handsome, and did not appear to be particularly old.
But those two eyes.
The depth held within those eyes…… surpassed all imagination.
There was a weight in them that should never have existed at his age.
He opened his mouth slowly.
"I will not fault a killer for taking coin for his work. But there are commissions one must accept, and commissions one must not."
"……"
"I hear you accepted a commission to kill a martial artist of the Asura Sword Sect. You knew what was coming and accepted it all the same, I take it?"
"……You knew everything before you came. To be sure, the one who carried out the deed was that man — but the one who accepted the commission was not I. If there is a reckoning to be had, why come to me instead of him?"
There was reason in that.
And yet.
"You said it with your own mouth — you were not the one who carried it out. That you chose so, with your own will."
"With regret, you and I have no debt between us."
"And why do you believe there is none? You have already killed a martial artist of the Asura Sword Sect. That alone created a debt of blood between the sect and you. And now, at this late hour, you would flee from responsibility? Past insolence, into the territory of disgust."
"……Insolent? Me?"
"I have no wish to lecture you on chasing coin. But did I not say? There are commissions one must accept, and commissions one must not. Should the world not be taught what happens to those who accept the ones they must refuse?"
The man's brow furrowed.
"I find myself curious. What should be done when a worm that cannot even operate openly beneath the sun crawls above its station?"
"……If it were I, I would trample it to death."
"Yes. You know the answer well."
A smile spread across the lips of Yi Do, the Cruel Demon.
"Killing Ghost, Ma Yong-sang. I have come to trample you to death."
Yi Do drew the Cloud Dragon Sword and brought it straight down.
KRA-KOOOOOM—!
A thunderous roar split the air, and the inn collapsed into rubble.