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The cicadas, awaited for years, were shrieking noisily.
Baek So-cheon shielded his eyes from the sunlight pouring through the window.
The scorching heat against his palm foreshadowed just how sweltering this summer would be.
Across the training ground, under the shade of trees where they sought refuge from the blazing sun, three or four warriors chatted idly.
The astronomical forecast predicted an unusually hot summer, drawing sighs from the Murim Alliance warriors. Tensions with their eternal foes, the Black Heaven Alliance, had worsened, turning recent days into an endless cycle of training.
Yet the warriors would train in the blistering heat if they must—they had no desire to come anywhere near where Baek So-cheon now sat.
That suffocating place, merely glimpsed from afar.
The Am-yeong-gak interrogation room.
Am-yeong-gak was the Murim Alliance's internal inspection agency, wielding immense authority in monitoring violations of command structures and corruption among the warriors.
At that moment, the interrogation room door swung open, and a young man entered, clutching a thick stack of documents under his arm.
"Investigator Lee Yeop."
He sat down and immediately rifled through the papers.
"Sorry for the delay. The senior investigator had an issue, so I was sent as a last-minute replacement."
After three years, one became a senior investigator; after seven, a special investigator.
Lee Yeop was a spring recruit, a total newbie.
Far from brimming with the vigor and passion of a hot-blooded rookie, he was simply overwhelmed and exhausted these days.
In Lee Yeop's eyes, Baek So-cheon cut a striking figure: a well-muscled build, a handsome face that screamed "leading man" or "manly," and eyes deep beyond his apparent youth. Above all, he looked sharp as a tack—the interrogation would wrap up quickly.
"You may not know this, but if additional charges emerge here, you'll be handed over to the Ho-beop-won. Choose your answers carefully."
Baek So-cheon glanced at him sidelong.
"Newbie?"
Lee Yeop's face hardened at the blunt remark.
"I'll be asking the questions."
"Can't you at least tell me that much?"
His attitude was poor, but his voice was low and pleasant to the ear.
"I said, I'll be asking the questions."
"Pathetic, really pathetic. Sending a newbie because you don't want to get thrashed."
Lee Yeop seethed inwardly.
He still doesn't grasp his situation.
He seemed oblivious to the fact that displeasing an Am-yeong-gak investigator could turn a simple release into a stint in the underground prison.
Lee Yeop quickly scanned Baek So-cheon's personnel file.
"Name: Baek So-cheon. Leader of the Third Squad, First Unit, Cheol-geom-dan. So you were a squad leader in the Iron Sword Unit."
The Cheol-geom-dan was the undisputed elite force of the Murim Alliance.
Is that why he's acting so rude?
Others might cower at the name, but to an Am-yeong-gak investigator, it meant nothing. What surprised him was the age.
"Age: thirty-eight... Wait, thirty-eight?"
Baek So-cheon looked no older than his early to mid-twenties, by any measure.
"Is this age accurate?"
With no response from Baek So-cheon, Lee Yeop continued down the file.
"Joined the Murim Alliance twenty years ago. My god, you really are thirty-eight."
The earlier rudeness made a bit more sense now. A twenty-year veteran of the Alliance.
"Entered the Cheol-geom-dan upon joining. The next year, established major merits and rose to squad leader in record time. Then, record promotions to deputy commander and commander."
Lee Yeop stared at Baek So-cheon in astonishment. The impressive record didn't end there.
"Then to Cheol-geom-dan commander..."
For a moment, Lee Yeop thought he'd misread it.
Cheol-geom-dan commander? One of the top five power positions in the entire Murim Alliance.
The next line was even more shocking.
"Transferred to Bi-gak for secret operations. Bi-gak?"
Lee Yeop's voice trembled at the name. Bi-gak was the Alliance's covert strike force, gathering the finest warriors from every unit to execute the Alliance Lord's most clandestine missions.
The litany of achievements continued there as well.
"Half a year in Bi-gak to deputy lord, two years to lord? My god!"
Bi-gak lord—and the youngest ever.
One below only the Alliance Lord, above all others. The true core of Murim Alliance power. Lee Yeop had never even seen the face of that Bi-gak lord, let alone dared converse with him.
Now Lee Yeop read the remaining record with entirely different feelings.
"Beyond standard promotions, six special promotions since joining?"
Lee Yeop's eyes widened.
Special promotions were rare for any Alliance warrior. Yet Baek So-cheon had achieved the difficult feat six times.
Even as a newbie, how did I not know about this man?
The answer lay in the lines below the personnel details.
"What's this? Nine demotions?"
From Bi-gak lord back to Cheol-geom-dan commander, deputy, unit leader, squad leader. He'd slid right back down the very path he'd climbed.
Lee Yeop looked up at Baek So-cheon. In a place teeming with warriors like the Murim Alliance, odd cases abounded—but this was rare.
"Demotion reasons: insubordination, excessive force, prohibited entry, insubordination, insubordination, prison breach, insubordination, insubordination, assault on superior?"
Lee Yeop gaped at him incredulously.
"And you're still alive? Impressive."
Another incomprehensible detail.
Why wasn't a special investigator assigned to someone this important?
By the records alone, even the Am-yeong-gak lord personally handling it wouldn't be odd.
Because his current rank is squad leader?
Special investigators handled unit leader rank and above.
But he quickly realized it wasn't about rank. They wouldn't classify someone this vital by mere position.
Baek So-cheon's earlier words resurfaced.
—Pathetic, really pathetic. Sending a newbie because you don't want to get thrashed.
This isn't his first Am-yeong-gak interrogation!
They'd sent him, a newbie, because no one else could handle him. Better a rookie opponent who might play nice.
Damn it! They should've at least warned me. Ah, so even our Pavilion Lord is watching this interrogation!
His thoughts raced there, and suddenly Lee Yeop's heart pounded as if he were under investigation.
He steadied himself and began the interrogation proper.
"Now, shall we discuss this incident?"
"You're just going through the motions. You've already decided the punishment—why bother with the interrogation?"
Knowing his history now, the rudeness no longer grated. If anything, curiosity stirred.
"Two days ago, your squad received a strike mission. Yet you refused the order. Correct?"
"Correct."
"Why?"
"Enemy ambush."
"Any circumstances or evidence suggesting an ambush?"
"You telling me to go check it out myself?"
"Fine. How did you know there was an ambush?"
"Gut feeling."
"You disobeyed orders on a hunch?"
Baek So-cheon nodded. His speech was rough, but he answered every question.
"After your insubordination, a headquarters team inspected the site. No signs of ambush."
"They wouldn't find any."
"You doubt headquarters' investigation?"
"You trust it? Oh, right, you're too new to know. Don't even start. Your investigations are a mess."
"So you're convinced there was an ambush. Fine. But even with a hunch, shouldn't you follow orders?"
"Even if it means your squad dies? Orders over lives?"
Silence fell briefly.
Lee Yeop stared at Baek So-cheon. Any judgment of the man had evaporated. How could he discern truth from lie in the words of someone with such a record?
Honestly, if this man had a hunch, there probably was an ambush.
But as Baek So-cheon had said, his punishment was already set.
"I can't understand it. You were at the top... and now you can't even hold onto squad leader."
Lee Yeop spoke with authority.
"Baek So-cheon, Third Squad Leader, First Unit, Cheol-geom-dan: demoted to common warrior for insubordination. Return to quarters and await your next orders."
His tenth demotion.
Unable to hold back, Lee Yeop asked.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Beats me. Have your precious investigators figure it out. Can I go now?"
"Yes, you're free to leave. New assignment orders will come tomorrow. Report to your new post within the deadline."
As Baek So-cheon rose to leave, Lee Yeop asked.
"Why haven't you left the Alliance? This is personal, from one junior to a senior—not as an investigator."
He couldn't imagine enduring such humiliation himself. Even as a merchant's bodyguard, he'd live far better.
Baek So-cheon replied calmly, as a senior warrior to a junior.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-three."
"Why'd you join the Murim Alliance?"
Caught off guard, Lee Yeop answered honestly.
"It was my dream to become a Murim Alliance warrior."
"Same here. Has been since I was six."
With that, Baek So-cheon left the interrogation room.
Lee Yeop watched his retreating back in silence.
Baek So-cheon emerged from the building.
At the entrance, straight ahead loomed the Alliance Lord's palace, surrounded by various structures.
One Hall, Two Courts, Three Pavilions, Four Units, Five Brigades—the massive, powerful organizations. Here in the Murim Alliance, countless warriors schemed for power.
As all raced upward, Baek So-cheon, after twenty years, had returned to square one.
Instead of slipping back into the shaded edge, he crossed the sun-baked training ground and exited.
Am-yeong-gak Lord Hwang Jong-shin stood by his office window.
Behind him stood Lee Yeop, freshly from the interrogation room. The moment he'd emerged, the Pavilion Lord had summoned him here. Alone with the organization's top leader, his heart raced just as it had with Baek So-cheon.
"What did he say?"
"As in the report. He was convinced there was an ambush."
"Anything else?"
"Nothing much."
Below, Baek So-cheon crossed the training ground. Watching him, Hwang Jong-shin said something unexpected.
"Baek So-cheon... he's my senior. Two years my senior."
"Pardon?"
Lee Yeop was stunned.
Hwang Jong-shin explained: he'd joined eighteen years ago; Baek eighteen years before that.
Of course, Hwang had joined at twenty-five, Baek at eighteen—so Baek was younger.
"When I joined, Baek So-cheon was already famous."
"But he'd only been in two years then, right?"
"Skilled, sharp judgment. He wasn't some ordinary newbie from the start. You know the type? Born with everything needed to master a field. Everyone said it: Baek So-cheon must've been a warrior from birth."
Lee Yeop's gaze followed Hwang Jong-shin's to Baek So-cheon's back.
"He had talent and luck. No matter how gifted, without opportunity, he wouldn't have risen so fast. A few years after we joined, the Black Heaven Alliance started the war."
"Yes, I know."
The Great War of Righteousness and Evil had dragged on for over a decade.
"Rumors about him always came from the front lines. Killed so-and-so here, triumphed there somehow. No holds barred in victory, broke through a heavenly net alone to rescue someone, promoted again to such-and-such... His feats were so grand, he didn't seem like a fellow Alliance warrior. He was the hero of legends."
A sigh escaped Lee Yeop unbidden.
"How did someone like that fall so far?"
"You wouldn't know—it's not in the report."
"Pardon?"
"In the final battle that forced the Black Heaven Alliance truce, he suffered a grave injury. Dantian shattered, qi and blood pathways twisted. Even the Divine Physician said he'd die, but he survived."
"Ah!"
Chills ran through Lee Yeop. He'd never dreamed of such a story.
"The internal injuries healed, but not the ruined dantian. The Divine Physician said without Hwan-gol Tal-tae, he'd never wield inner power again."
"Ah!"
Lee Yeop gasped again. It sounded like something from a tale.
"When he awoke, great rewards came, and he remained Bi-gak lord. But he couldn't hold the post. Repeated insubordination, breaking Alliance rules. Some called it the typical hero's fall; others whispered hidden reasons. Rumors of discord with the Alliance Lord... even calls to expel him entirely. Amid the gossip, he steadily declined. In three years, he slid down the path he'd climbed in seventeen."
Baek So-cheon had now vanished from their sight.
"Few know this. Orders were to keep silent about Baek So-cheon."
It was the unspoken secret among headquarters warriors.
"He can't use martial arts at all now?"
"A tiger without fangs or claws won't die biting dogs or wolves."
But without inner power, his limits were clear.
"Isn't this punishment too harsh?"
Lee Yeop understood Baek So-cheon now. Lose your power after such heights—how could anyone stay sane?
"Harsh? If it were truly harsh, he'd be in the deep underground prison or dead. The Alliance isn't just about Baek So-cheon."
True. Morale of other warriors mattered. Ignore repeated insubordination, and discipline would crumble.
"Truth be told, he's alive thanks to the Alliance Lord."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't know the Lord's will. Does he want him gone, or does he still cherish him? The Lord never revealed a word about him—not approval, disapproval, praise, or criticism. Even through Baek So-cheon's endless demotions, whom he favored like a son. Without knowing the Lord's heart, how could we casually expel the man who earned the greatest merit in the truce?"
Lee Yeop realized: this interrogation would outshine any he'd conduct in a lifetime at Am-yeong-gak. Already unforgettable.
Hwang Jong-shin's gaze turned to the distant Alliance Lord's palace.
"Now that he's hit rock bottom... soon we'll know the Lord's will."
Hwang Jong-shin turned to Lee Yeop with final words.
"We'll talk then about how ruthless the jangho truly is."
Author's Note
Dear readers, it's been a while. I hope you've been well. (_ _) This moment always fills me with the most trepidation.
Countless thoughts swirl, but they boil down to one: I sincerely hope this story brings a little joy to your daily lives.
There will be shortcomings, so please point them out kindly and enjoy.
I'll give my all until the final chapter.