The Butcher's Blade
The rank of Geumokbang Hall Leader was higher than that of Jangan County Magistrate, who held the junior fifth rank.
Magistrate Jo Mu-jin answered with deference.
“Yes. Ha Ryun was arrested last night for assaulting Constable Jang Ho, who was pursuing the assassin of Supreme Commander Choe Eon.”
Magistrate Jo Mu-jin was no pushover either.
Although Seo-mun-gang had referred to the man as “Hero Ha,” Jo deliberately called him “Ha Ryun” to emphasize that he was a criminal.
Seo-mun-gang, understanding the magistrate’s intent, frowned.
“I heard that the man in the portrait was identified thanks to Hero Ha. That means he provided a great service. How can we treat such a person this way? You, Magistrate Jo, must know that constables often get into fights because of their rough nature.”
Seo-mun-gang subtly shifted the blame onto the constables.
Only then did Magistrate Jo Mu-jin realize that Seol-yeom and Seo-mun-gang had come to secure Ha Ryun’s release.
He had thought they were here for an inspection, but their true purpose was to free the prisoner!
It left him speechless, yet both men were his superiors, so he could hardly argue.
“Understood. I will look into the full circumstances and take appropriate measures.”
In the end, it meant he would release him.
Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Seo-mun-gang’s face.
He approached Ha Ryun and offered words of comfort.
“Hero Ha, once Magistrate Jo understands the situation, he will show leniency, so please endure a little longer. Aigoo, even if he cannot give you a reward, how can he treat a person like this?”
Then Seo-mun-gang’s gaze shifted to Dan Yeop, who stood beside Ha Ryun.
“And who are you?”
His tone sharpened the moment he saw the Yeonangyeong.
“I am Constable Dan Yeop.”
“Ah, so you’re the one from the rumors.”
A look of contempt spread across Seo-mun-gang’s face.
Dan Yeop could not understand the sudden hostility directed at him.
The same was true for Magistrate Jo Mu-jin.
At that moment, Seo-mun-gang abruptly turned to the magistrate.
“Magistrate Jo, no matter how open-minded our constables’ office may be, there are still lines we must uphold, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“I am speaking of Constable Dan Yeop. He belongs to Haomun, doesn’t he? The constables have already lost the people’s trust. What are we to do if we also bring in Haomun? How will the citizens look upon the constables and patrolmen then?”
Magistrate Jo Mu-jin finally realized that Seo-mun-gang and Seol-yeom had not come solely to free Ha Ryun.
But when it came to Dan Yeop, he could not yield.
“I apologize, but Constable Dan is an exceptionally capable man. It would not be an exaggeration to say that nearly every case the Jangan County Office has solved recently is thanks to him.”
Faced with unexpectedly strong resistance, Seo-mun-gang unconsciously glanced at Seol-yeom.
Only then did Seol-yeom add his own words.
“Attributing the achievements of the entire county office to a single individual is excessive. Of course, since he is from Haomun, he must have his little tricks. However, we must also consider how the citizens view the constables’ office. They have already lost trust. Can we really bring in someone from Haomun on top of that?”
“Your words are entirely correct, Lord Seol, but the matter concerning Constable Dan Yeop is not so simple.”
At the unexpected opposition, Seol-yeom’s eyes narrowed.
“What kind of nonsense is that? What could possibly be so difficult about removing one constable?”
“The one who recommended Constable Dan is none other than Lord Son Yu-baek, who once served as Jasa of the four provinces. After Constable Dan distinguished himself during the investigation of Cheonlyeon, there have even been talks within the imperial palace about appointing him as an Imperial Constable. If we remove him at a time like this, the imperial court will…”
Seol-yeom cut off Magistrate Jo Mu-jin’s words.
“Ahem! What are you even saying? When did I ever say to remove him? You have misunderstood me. I was merely pointing out that the citizens might view him with concern.”
“Ah, yes. It seems I misunderstood. I will pay even closer attention so that the citizens do not grow anxious.”
Seol-yeom then turned to Dan Yeop.
“Dan Yeop, if you are too eager to produce results, you may end up earning the resentment of the people. Adjust your pace and avoid stirring up unnecessary trouble. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Seol-yeom stared at him for a moment, clicked his tongue lightly, then turned on his heel.
Magistrate Jo Mu-jin escorted Seol-yeom and Seo-mun-gang out, but County Lieutenant Do-gyeom remained behind in the constables’ office.
Dan Yeop asked County Lieutenant Do-gyeom,
“What exactly does Imperial Constable mean?”
“It all came about because you said you would ‘rather die than take the civil service exam.’ The imperial palace is considering using you in that capacity. Everyone’s gone half-mad because of the Cheonlyeon situation.”
“I see. By the way, Lieutenant, shouldn’t we at least interrogate Hero Ha before releasing him? We still need to catch Myeol-do.”
Dan Yeop, who was actively involved in the pursuit of Cheonlyeon, had no desire to simply let Ha Ryun go.
Ha Ryun’s face turned deathly pale.
He had seen how Lord Seol had immediately backed down at the mention of Imperial Constable.
“Since the topic has come up, would you like to handle the interrogation yourself, Constable Dan?”
“Me? I’m not sure if this isn’t a case of an inexperienced shaman causing more harm than good. Well, it’s not even my body anyway, so I might as well give it a try.”
At those words, Ha Ryun—who had already tasted the agony of pressure point sealing—shouted desperately.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything I know!”
What’s Wrong With Being a Constable?
Jangan County Office. Main Hall.
County Lieutenant Do-gyeom reported the results of Ha Ryun the Blood Rakshasa’s interrogation to Magistrate Jo Mu-jin.
“Myeol-do is hiding at the Doyuan Meat Shop in the Boryongbang district.”
“Doyuan Meat Shop? A place that sells meat?”
“Yes. Surprisingly, the bastard was the owner of the butcher shop. We confirmed he is still openly running the business.”
“But now that he knows there are witnesses, he will likely flee soon.”
“We must capture him before then.”
“Hmm. It will be difficult with just the power of the constables’ office. Should we request cooperation from the Golden Crow Guards?”
Magistrate Jo Mu-jin believed that although Dan Yeop had gone all the way to Nak-hyeon in the Ha-jung region to capture the murderer of the Nak-an County Magistrate, Shi Zhong-ok, he was still insufficient to face Myeol-do.
According to Constable Jang Ho’s eyewitness account, Myeol-do’s martial prowess was superior, if only slightly, to that of the elders of the Five Great Sword Schools.
“If the Golden Crow Guards move, he may notice and escape beforehand. And even if they surround him, Myeol-do would likely break through with ease.”
At County Lieutenant Do-gyeom’s words, Magistrate Jo Mu-jin nodded.
“To capture Myeol-do swiftly and in secret, we will need help from the Zhongnan Sect and the Xuanwu Temple.”
“At this point, that seems to be the best option. It would be good to contact Mount Hua as well, but…”
“There isn’t enough time.”
“Correct. We can gather experts from the Zhongnan Sect and Xuanwu Temple within one shichen.”
“Send messengers discreetly to request their cooperation. Since this incident occurred in Chang’an Castle, they will not pretend to ignore it.”
“Understood.”
When the government made a formal request, even the Murim factions found it difficult to refuse.
Though the Murim and the government were said to be as incompatible as well water and river water, they were still residents of Chang’an Castle.
Moreover, if they showed uncooperative behavior in the capture of a rebel, it would become difficult for them to continue living in the city.
Wu District (Western Market area).
Boryongbang.
Doyuan Meat Shop.
Around noon.
After the customers had left, the middle-aged man dusted off his hands and stretched lightly.
“Huuuam—! Time to go get some lunch.”
A short while later, the middle-aged man who stepped out of the shop suddenly looked left and right.
The people coming and going along the street seemed no different from usual, yet he felt a strange sense of dissonance.
‘Hm?’
The middle-aged man—Myeol-do—paused, then turned and went back inside the shop.
“Faster than I expected.”
He had planned to kill one more person tonight before disappearing, but it seemed that plan had gone awry.
He took a horizontal saber from a cabinet, fastened it at his waist, and stepped outside once more.
After walking about ten steps?
The number of people on the street had noticeably decreased.
It appeared the government had begun restricting movement.
Finally, when not even a single ant could be seen, a group of people appeared on both sides of the street.
Myeol-do quickly scanned left and right.
Government troops were approaching from the left, while martial artists wearing various different uniforms approached from the right.
“The magistrate used his head quite well.”
The martial artists were obviously from the Murim factions.
Myeol-do considered which side to choose, then decided to wait.
Since it was still broad daylight and he had nowhere to hide, he would simply break through them.
Xuanwu Temple’s Chief Steward, the Lightning Sword Jin Ha-cheong, glanced at the Zhongnan Sect elder, the Drifting Cloud Swordsman Yi Ha-jin, and asked,
“Elder, it seems the bastard has no intention of moving. What could he be planning?”
“It means he is confident no matter who his opponent is. There are occasionally such arrogant fellows.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We should move before Magistrate Jo does. That is why we were gathered, after all.”
If they dawdled and the government troops suffered casualties, they would be criticized despite offering help.
Yi Ha-jin took the lead with three of the Zhongnan Seven Swords.
Jin Ha-cheong followed behind with two Xuanwu Temple instructors.
When Yi Ha-jin drew near, Myeol-do grinned mockingly.
Feeling insulted, Yi Ha-jin bellowed,
“Myeol-do! A mere rebel dares to laugh? You gained a pitiful amount of fame through slaughter, and now your gall has grown so large it spills out of your stomach!”
“And who are you to speak such words?”
“This old man is Yi Ha-jin, an elder of the Zhongnan Sect, known as the Drifting Cloud Swordsman. Surrender quietly without resistance!”
“Surrender? You call yourself a martial artist yet willingly become a dog for the officials? If that was your intention, you should have pursued an official post! Your skills weren’t good enough, so you crawled into the Zhongnan Sect, and now you dare tell someone else to surrender?”
His pride severely wounded, Yi Ha-jin charged forward while shouting,
“Attack!”
Behind him, Yi Cheong-un, Jang Cheon, and Sin Wol followed like shadows.
Soon, Myeol-do and the four Zhongnan experts clashed.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—!
The sword strikes were so fast they could not be seen—only the sounds rang out.
In a single exchange, Jang Cheon and Sin Wol staggered backward.
Somehow wounded, the two clutched their waists and chests respectively.
But Myeol-do did not let wounded prey escape.
His figure vanished using the phantom movement technique, then reappeared like a ghost behind the two men.
The Zhongnan disciples supporting them from behind urgently cried out.
“Behind you!”
“Dodge!”
“Behind!”
Startled by their comrades’ shouts, Jang Cheon and Sin Wol turned around—only for beams of light to flash across their necks.
Having severed their heads, Myeol-do charged toward Yi Ha-jin once more.
At the same time, the heads of Jang Cheon and Sin Wol thudded to the ground.
Yi Ha-jin roared like a beast and rushed to meet him.
“You bastard!”
Myeol-do’s horizontal saber collided with Yi Ha-jin’s sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The two moved so quickly that even Yi Cheong-un, one of the Zhongnan Seven Swords, could not dare approach.
However, the intense duel did not last long.
Yi Ha-jin, struck on the shoulder, hurriedly retreated.
Once the distance between them widened, Jin Ha-cheong and the One-Strike Swordsman Gwak No-dan leaped in.
Clang-clang-clang—!
The three immediately became entangled.
Yet Jin Ha-cheong and Gwak No-dan could not endure as long as the Zhongnan elder Yi Ha-jin.
“Ugh!”
“Kugh!”
With heavy groans, the two pulled back.
Multiple long cuts had appeared across their upper bodies.
Just as Myeol-do smiled viciously and prepared to charge again—
Archers who had been hiding on the rooftops of buildings on both sides of the street rose and released their bowstrings.
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!
Myeol-do swiftly swung his saber to deflect the arrows.
But the archers continued firing in rotation.
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!
When the arrows poured down without pause, Myeol-do decided it was no good and charged toward the government troops.
It was easier to deal with the soldiers than the martial artists.
Another volley of arrows rained down on him from above.
The arrows of skilled archers were every bit as threatening as the blade strikes of high-level martial artists.
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!
Myeol-do blocked desperately, but in the end, one arrow struck him in the back.
At that moment, both the martial artists and government troops erupted in a cheer of “Waaa!”
In pain and with his pride wounded, Myeol-do turned toward the government troops—