Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Departure
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Ha, what the hell should I do?
No clever ideas came to mind, so I let out a sigh and cradled my head in my hands. That's when Hwa-ryeon spoke up.
"Young Master Goon."
"…Huh? Oh, sorry. My head's just a bit muddled right now."
"I understand. It's because of us that your family got dragged into this mess…."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't keep blaming yourself. It makes me feel like the bad guy for no reason."
Even after my words, Hwa-ryeon's expression didn't brighten much.
I comforted her with a few more words, and only then did the shadow lift from her face.
"…Thank you. That's something I should be saying…."
Her large eyes gazed at me softly.
Feeling an inexplicable awkwardness, I scratched my cheek. That's when the caravan leader cautiously spoke up.
"Um, young master. If it's all right, may I say something?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. What's on your mind?"
"You're probably most worried about your family's safety. Isn't that what you've been puzzling over?"
"…Yeah. Pretty much."
Hearing my answer, the caravan leader dropped a bombshell.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"…What? What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. As I mentioned earlier, those bastards were so drunk on their certainty of success that they didn't even file proper interim reports."
From the interrogation, the Shadow Heaven Squad thugs had pieced together rumors from nearby villages and figured out Hwa-ryeon was hiding in Gun River County.
But blinded by their desire for credit, they hadn't even reported to Tyrant Heaven Fortress about Gun River County.
Their most recent report was just that they'd entered Hwangcheon County. That said it all.
Hwangcheon County—a village over a hundred li from here.
Hearing the story up to that point, I realized what he meant by there being no need to worry.
"You're saying you've manipulated the situation?"
"You catch on quick."
The caravan leader nodded with an admiring look.
Wait, why had he been speaking so deferentially and humbly to me from earlier? It was making me uncomfortable.
"We've already had our people move the bodies to the outskirts near Hwangcheon County. And just yesterday, we confirmed that Tyrant Heaven Fortress retrieved them."
"Will that fool them?"
"We've thoroughly altered the state of the corpses. They'll likely conclude they were killed by local bandits."
"…Bandits?"
I tilted my head.
I'd cut them down in one stroke, but that Shin Je-gon guy or whatever—wasn't he supposed to be a renowned expert even in Tyrant Heaven Fortress?
Would it make sense for a guy like that to die to bandits?
At my doubt, the caravan leader gave a sly smile.
"Normally, no. But this case is different."
"How so?"
"Near Hwangcheon County, there's a bandit den called the Mining Mountain Gang. Their leader, Im Chun-il, is infamous for his terrifying divine power and domineering martial arts. He's already cut down several of Tyrant Heaven Fortress's experts."
"Such a monster's running wild, and the Imperial Guards do nothing?"
At my question, Hwa-ryeon answered.
"Tyrant Heaven Fortress blocked the Imperial Guards from intervening. The fortress was created to manage the martial world in their stead, so letting the Guards step in would tarnish their reputation badly."
Master followed up with an explanation.
"Besides, that Im Chun-il doesn't touch civilians. No one knows the story behind it, but he only kills Tyrant Heaven Fortress's warriors. Even if the Imperial Guards knew, they'd have no pretext to act."
"Hoo…."
A bandit boss who only kills martial artists?
Intriguing, but the key point was they'd pinned the blame on him—and thanks to that, our family's safety was secured for now.
"Of course, the one pulling the strings won't give up on killing the young fortress lord because of this. But for the moment, you can rest easy."
Hearing the caravan leader's firm assurance, I immediately thanked Hwa-ryeon.
"Thanks. You've put my mind at ease."
"No, it's only what we should do. Compared to what you've done for us, this is nothing."
Hwa-ryeon shook her head.
But even with their own precarious situation, for them to go this far was definitely something to be grateful for.
Realizing I didn't need to worry about my family right away lightened my heart considerably.
That's when I caught Master's lament in my ear.
"Still, an assassination squad… In ten years under that puppet master's lead, he's corrupted Tyrant Heaven Fortress to its core."
At those words, Junior Sister Chu—well, Seol—chimed in from beside him.
"Trying to wipe out a whole family just because the youngest son attended a martial hall? That's the kind of vile deed the Demonic Cult would pull."
Huh? Demonic Cult?
"You're right—the Demonic Cult!"
Seol's words jogged my memory of something I'd forgotten.
Damn, how'd I forget the thing tucked in my bosom?
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Hang on a sec…."
I reached into my bosom and pulled out a worn booklet.
The title on its cover: Blood Frenzy Technique.
Showing it to Master, his eyes nearly bulged out.
"Wh-what are you doing with this!?"
"I got it from my father last night. That Shadow Heaven Squad vice-commander was going to frame us for colluding with the Demonic Cult using this. Is it really a demonic art?"
At the mention of a demonic art, everyone's eyes turned to the booklet in Master's hand.
Master slowly opened it and checked the contents. His face hardened coldly.
"Yes, a demonic cult's vile martial art. No doubt—it's the Blood Frenzy Technique manual."
"…Why would the Shadow Heaven Squad's vice-commander have this?"
"……."
Master fell silent.
It wasn't that he didn't know the answer to my question—he seemed too shocked to even hear it.
"In the world… the Blood Frenzy Technique? How did a demonic art vanished decades ago end up in Tyrant Heaven Fortress…!"
The caravan leader, peering at the contents after Master, went pale with shock.
Seeing the adults' grave reactions, tension rippled across Hwa-ryeon and Seol's faces.
"M-Master, what exactly is this Blood Frenzy Technique?"
Master, barely recovering from the shock, answered Seol's question.
"…Over thirty years ago, I told you about the Demonic Cult's rampage. Remember?"
"Yes. The war with the Demonic Cult where tens of thousands of Imperial Guards died horribly?"
"Right. What pushed the Imperial Guards to the brink of annihilation was this— the Blood Frenzy Technique."
"…!"
Hwa-ryeon and Seol's eyes widened.
My eyes, on the other hand, narrowed.
A clash between the Demonic Cult and the imperial family? That was a new twist.
I'd never seen anything like it in all the wuxia novels I'd read.
Well, the Imperial Guards smashing the unorthodox sects had already veered far from the classics.
While stray thoughts flitted through my mind, Master's explanation continued.
"This Blood Frenzy Technique is an internal cultivation method that builds qi faster than any other art. Compared to basic techniques, its efficiency is several times greater."
"That's… incredible. No divine art achieves that kind of efficiency."
Hwa-ryeon marveled.
But Master gravely shook his head.
"The tradeoff is its terrifying side effect. It turns the practitioner into a blood-maddened lunatic—an unimaginable curse."
The Blood Frenzy Technique's fiery nature gradually erodes the user with bloodlust, ultimately transforming them into a raving monster that sucks human blood.
"Once lost to the blood madness, they don't even care for their own bodies—just thirst for blood."
Back then, commoners lured by the Demonic Cult had cultivated this art, swelling into a frenzied wave of hundreds of thousands that engulfed the Imperial Guards.
"We barely repelled them, but the Guards' losses were catastrophic. As you know, they were nearly wiped out."
Because of that, the Demonic Cult leader and key executives slipped away—ones who absolutely had to be killed.
"With the leader and executives escaped, it was only a matter of time before the Demonic Cult rose again."
Feeling the crisis, the emperor realized he needed a new organization to manage the martial world and monitor the Demonic Cult's stirrings. He proposed handing it to the imperial collateral lines he'd planned to purge.
"That's how Tyrant Heaven Fortress began."
Pondering Master's words, I glanced at the Blood Frenzy Technique manual on the table.
"In other words, a vice-commander from a faction created to watch the Demonic Cult was carrying a demonic art."
"……."
Master was too stunned to respond.
The caravan leader spoke up in his place.
"Even for Tyrant Heaven Fortress, exterminating an unrelated landowning family is a heavy burden. But if it's a family colluding with the Demonic Cult, that's a different story."
I could only let out a hollow laugh.
No need to hear more.
In simple terms,
"This thin manual is Tyrant Heaven Fortress's get-out-of-jail-free card, no matter what they do."
The perfect pretext for a faction the imperial family created to monitor the Demonic Cult.
With this manual, Tyrant Heaven Fortress could do anything.
Burn a village, then pretend to find this manual there—it becomes a Demonic Cult hideout. Annihilate a sect and plant the manual—it becomes Demonic Cult lackeys.
Everyone's faces drained of color upon realizing that.