The Order of Justice
"Come outside. If words will not suffice, then I have no choice but to uphold justice by force."
Jang Deokhyeon rose from his seat, stroking the trembling blade as if to soothe it before tightening his grip. He fixed Yoo Eunhyeon with a hard stare. Eunhyeon could tell at once that if he refused, the sword would leave its sheath and come flying.
"Does it really have to come to this?"
"It is not too late even now. Prove that you stand with the white."
"How? All I can do right now is talk. Would you even believe what I say?"
"I would. I trust any man under heaven at least once. If that trust is broken, I simply never trust him again."
Jang Deokhyeon spoke with absolute conviction, and Eunhyeon found himself with nothing to say. In the end, the man was offering everyone a single unconditional chance — and hearing it put like that only made it harder to open his mouth.
"Then I really can't say anything more. I don't know what will actually happen if I go there."
"Your refusal to lie your way out of this is commendable. But it changes nothing. I must cut you down before you become a greater evil."
Eunhyeon had no choice but to stand as well, though his heart was far from settled. Jang Deokhyeon himself was not particularly frightening. For all that he was a great disciple of the Cheongseong Sect, he was no match for Eunhyeon. He seemed a step above Chang-hae, whom Eunhyeon had tangled with the day before last — but that was all.
The one who's actually scary is that old nun…
What truly concerned Eunhyeon was Hwajin Satae. Even in the midst of all this she sat with her eyes closed, quietly reciting the Buddha's name — yet Eunhyeon felt something in her that reminded him of Cho-yeong, the woman he had fought during the martial contest. In other words, Hwajin Satae had also reached the Yeonhwagyeong, the same realm as Cho-yeong. Of course he could not ignore her.
"I suppose there's no helping it."
Jang Deokhyeon was clearly not going to let him walk away, so Eunhyeon clenched his fists. If he'd still had the Black Gold Bastard Sword it might have been a little better, but the difference would not have been great anyway. There was simply nothing to be done. If Hwajin Satae showed any sign of intervening, his plan was to bolt without a second thought — but first he needed to calm Jang Deokhyeon down without injuring him.
"Amitabha. Would both of you wait a moment?"
Just then Hwajin Satae opened her eyes and asked them to stop. Eunhyeon turned toward her — but this time, to his surprise, Jang Deokhyeon refused to heed her.
"Out of respect for the Great Commander's dignity, I yielded the explanation and the proceedings. But in this matter I cannot honor her opinion. This is a matter of my conviction."
"Yes. I am not the Commander of the Samwon Squad, so I cannot issue orders to Young Master Jang. But there is something I must confirm."
Hwajin Satae answered Jang Deokhyeon's firm refusal with a calm but forceful question of her own. Jang Deokhyeon looked at her in puzzlement. The Hwajin Satae he knew never pressed anyone like this.
"Please speak."
"Are you certain you do not need my help?"
The words that left Hwajin Satae's mouth were a proposal Jang Deokhyeon had never expected. Their meaning was unmistakable: that he could not handle Yoo Eunhyeon alone. Realizing it, Jang Deokhyeon's expression hardened.
"I am more than sufficient on my own."
"Is that so. Do you truly think so."
Jang Deokhyeon answered without a moment's hesitation, as if the matter were not even worth considering. Hwajin Satae nodded as though she understood, then slowly rose from her seat.
"Great Commander?"
Between the earlier exchange and her present reaction, something about Hwajin Satae felt off. Jang Deokhyeon questioned her, sensing it. She began to speak in a quiet, measured tone, as if explaining.
"I respect Young Master Jang's convictions. But I am in no position to pass any judgment upon Young Hero Yoo, and so I cannot attack him."
"Simply not interfering would be enough."
"That is precisely the problem. As the Jeong-eum Squad Commander of the Cheonmumaeng, I cannot stand by and watch Young Master Jang come to harm over a matter like this. I will stop you by force if I must."
"What do you—"
At that same moment a soft shhhk cut the air. The sword at Hwajin Satae's waist slid free of its scabbard without a hand touching it, tracing an elegant arc through the air before settling into her palm as if drawn there by an invisible current.
Telekinetic Sword Control
"Eogi-donggeom…!"
Eunhyeon murmured the name under his breath as he watched Hwajin Satae move the blade by will alone. Telekinetic sword arts were famous enough, but few made them their primary discipline, and he had never seen one with his own eyes. Now he had witnessed a fragment of the real thing.
"Nnh…"
Seeing it, Jang Deokhyeon also understood that Hwajin Satae was not joking, and a low groan escaped him. Even if she was one of only five Great Commanders in the entire Cheonmumaeng, different squads meant she held no authority to command him. He could respect her — but he was under no obligation to abandon his convictions and submit. And yet Hwajin Satae, as the Jeong-eum Squad Commander of the Cheonmumaeng, could not simply watch a valuable asset like Jang Deokhyeon put himself in danger.
"I do not believe Young Master Jang is unaware of how vast the enemy before us truly is. If that is so, then I need not explain what takes priority."
Hwajin Satae's calm yet threatening words seemed to jolt Jang Deokhyeon awake. It was true — he had seen no need to spell it out for Eunhyeon's sake, and so he hadn't, but they were far from the only ones in Chengdu.
As the Great Commander says, we were dispatched here to confront the Demonic Cult. If I were injured and our fighting strength reduced, it would be a problem… but is this man truly that dangerous? Dangerous enough that the Great Commander would stop me by force?
Jang Deokhyeon found himself staring at Eunhyeon, who was already looking elsewhere as if none of this concerned him in the slightest, and sank into thought. No matter how he looked at the man, he did not seem strong at all. Of course, the fact that the Cheonmumaeng had gone so far as to send a warning suggested they valued Eunhyeon highly — but the truth was that Jang Deokhyeon knew almost nothing concrete about him.
Is he that closely guarded a secret? No — if he were truly dangerous, word would have gotten out.
Information known to few was either precious enough to be classified, or so trivial it was not worth knowing. As he turned the thought over, Jang Deokhyeon managed to cool his head a little. Once his mind settled, what truly came first was painfully obvious.
"I will follow the Great Commander's will."
"Thank you."
In Jang Deokhyeon's creed, gray was no different from black — both deserved to be cut down. Even so, priorities still existed within that creed. Right now, the sure and certain black had to be dealt with first. Getting himself injured while trying to dispose of Yoo Eunhyeon would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Whew. That's a relief. I had no reason to fight in the first place."
Eunhyeon, who had been watching the whole exchange, shrugged and made a show of lighthearted relief. Jang Deokhyeon flicked a glance at him, the corner of his eye twitching once, then turned his head away and refused to look at him again. In a situation like this, getting further entangled would only raise his blood pressure — his choice was the right one. Eunhyeon had no desire to pick at a scab either, so he withdrew his gaze from Jang Deokhyeon and looked at Hwajin Satae instead.
"I am grateful for your consideration, Satae."
"Not at all. We did not do this for Young Hero Yoo's sake, so there is no need. Only… please take to heart what we said a moment ago. Do not let yourself be tainted by evil. If you do… we will not be able to stand idle either."
Hwajin Satae's words began calmly enough, but by the end they carried a strange resonance that made them closer to a warning. As if to underscore the point, the sword she still held rose once more into the air and traced a single elegant circle overhead.
The motion looked for all the world like a lotus blooming. Then the blade slid smoothly back into its scabbard at her hip — and what it meant needed no explanation.
"I will keep it in mind."
Expressing his thanks to Hwajin Satae — who had spared him a fight he neither wanted nor needed — was only natural.
This old nun clearly has solid evidence of some kind.
Jang Deokhyeon might not know, but Hwajin Satae had almost certainly heard from Yu Yeop and Hong Ju-goe that Eunhyeon had fought Cho-yeong to a draw. Nothing else would explain her being this determined to stop the fight.
"I will choose to believe in Young Hero Yoo's cooperation. We shall take our leave, then."
Hwajin Satae smiled faintly, rose from her seat, and turned away. Jang Deokhyeon cast one sidelong glance at Eunhyeon, then followed her. The two of them left the inn.
"Withdraw."
Outside, Hwajin Satae spoke to the martial officers who had been lingering nearby. They bowed to the two of them in greeting. One of them flicked a curious look toward the inn where Eunhyeon remained, but asked nothing further and departed.
Hwajin Satae and Jang Deokhyeon walked the streets in silence for a time. Then Hwajin Satae spoke to the still-quiet Jang Deokhyeon.
"I am sorry. I forced you to go against your convictions."
"Not at all. Every matter has an order according to its weight. I merely set a small matter aside to resolve a greater one first — I did not abandon my convictions. If anything, I am grateful that you made this imperfect disciple see more clearly."
Jang Deokhyeon bowed his head respectfully toward Hwajin Satae as he spoke. She gestured for him to rise, then spoke again.
"Young Master Jang's conviction in chivalrous righteousness remains as firm as ever."
"From before I can even remember, my talent was recognized and I was taken in as a great disciple of the Cheongseong Sect. I received the Bone-Cleansing Marrow-Washing and consumed spirit elixirs, dedicating myself wholly to training. All of it was to establish justice properly in the Murim. I was born for that purpose. I chose that path myself. And I will continue to walk it."
"Amitabha. Admirable. To have been born into such privilege and to enjoy it — and therefore to bear the duty and responsibility of living accordingly. It sounds simple, yet it is something few can truly uphold."
Hwajin Satae spoke as though praising him, but Jang Deokhyeon considered it nothing more than an obligation — nothing worthy of praise — and so offered no thanks.
Instead, he put a different question to her.
"Great Commander, do you know anything of that man's martial level?"
"I do."
Anyone could see he was hoping for an answer, but Hwajin Satae only nodded and said nothing more. Jang Deokhyeon fell silent for a moment, then pressed on.
"Would you tell me?"
"Very well. Young Master Jang ought to know what there is to know."
To his surprise, Hwajin Satae agreed readily. Once they had left Chengdu behind and the road grew sparsely traveled, she spoke again.
"Young Master Jang — could you defeat me in a fight?"
"I could not."
Admitting one's own weakness was never easy, but even so, Jang Deokhyeon was not so far gone as to lose all sense of his place.
Hwajin Satae was a master said to be among the greatest of the Emei Sect. Her signature art, the Nakpa-yeon-geom — the Falling Wave Abyss Sword — was a technique founded upon telekinetic sword control. However much Jang Deokhyeon might be a great disciple of the Cheongseong Sect, he had not reached the Yeonhwagyeong. Acknowledging that he fell short of Hwajin Satae was nothing to be ashamed of.
"According to Vice Commander Yu Yeop, Young Master Yoo was able to knock the weapon from the hand of a master of the Yeonhwagyeong. Though he did take a serious injury in the process."
At those words, Jang Deokhyeon's eyelid twitched. Forcing a martial artist to drop their weapon was never a simple feat. And if that opponent stood in the Yeonhwagyeong, the difficulty needed no further explanation.
Jang Deokhyeon briefly measured himself against Hwajin Satae's words, wondering whether he could manage the same. If he staked his life on the attempt, it might be possible — but even then, he could not be certain.