Silk Road 5
“It really does seem like there’s nothing else it could be.”
“I’m certain of it. If I’d managed to secure the position of Banghosa in charge of frontier defenses, I would have been able to slip beyond the merchant group’s surveillance and catch my breath. It’s the perfect way to begin a new life.”
“You truly are sharp, aren’t you?”
I gave an awkward smile.
“Then we’ll have to go after this man, Kang Doo-ho, who’s already retired from the front line. Now that we’ve got a clue in the form of the former Banghosa, this should all go smoothly enough...”
The acting leader fell silent.
If there was one thing that still troubled us, it was the matter of being tracked by the Executioner.
She’s following us.
Those had been the Left Guardian’s parting words, tossed out so lightly before he left, and precisely because of that, we couldn’t afford to be careless.
Jin-wol. The Executioner of the Cult Leader’s Palace.
The greatest obstacle to this mission—and the worst variable we could possibly have faced.
What worried me most was that I had no way of knowing whether her movements were born of personal curiosity or whether she was acting on the Cult Leader’s orders.
If she was moving on her own, that was almost better.
But if this came from the Cult Leader, then the moment we showed the slightest suspicious movement, we were all dead men.
The Left Guardian might not be cut down immediately, what with his accumulated reputation and authority, but I was different.
I was his disciple, but not someone known publicly.
If I were assassinated without a trace, the Demonic Cult would still keep on turning.
So if we were operating under the assumption that Jin-wol was after us, it was only right that we move while prepared for the worst.
“Miss. Leave this matter to me.”
While I was still turning it over, the acting leader made an offer before I could say anything.
“Compared to you, I’m the one who’s out in the open. I don’t know what it’s like in the frontier, but within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, there isn’t a soul who hasn’t heard the name Black Cloud Merchant Group.”
“So you’re saying you’ll take all the heat yourself?”
“If there’s a legitimate reason, then a little pursuit isn’t something to fear. I’m the acting leader of our merchant group, and I’m just trying to recover goods we lost. Who could possibly object?”
“Because the item’s tied to the Blood Cult, that’s why.”
“Then we simply won’t mention that part.”
It was a dangerous notion. We had no idea how much the Executioner already knew.
It was the same as staking our lives on the assumption that she didn’t know the Blood Heart Pill existed.
I had to make a choice. Should I entrust the fate of the Hyeolsadae to the acting leader’s diplomacy, after knowing him for less than seven days, or trust my own instincts?
Maybe I should just betray the Hyeolsadae and side with the Cult Leader...
No. I needed to put that thought away. That path had a far better chance of getting me killed.
The Left Guardian and the Hyeolsadae would come after me. And there was no guarantee the Cult Leader or the Executioner would protect me either.
The moment they decided I was useless, it would only be a matter of time before they cast me aside.
Above all else, I wanted to kill the Left Guardian with my own hands.
I agonized over it. The acting leader simply waited in silence, considering my position.
After much thought, I finally spoke.
“And exactly what do you plan to do?”
“I’ll send people out. Not too openly, though. I intend to borrow the power of the Haomun within the sect. I do have ties to officials as well... but that side seems to carry too much risk.”
Haomun. It was a name I’d never heard before. I knew next to nothing about other sects or factions.
“They’re a hidden branch of the evil path. Though they’re a sect of the unorthodox schools, the cult hasn’t exactly driven them out.”
The evil path. It was an unfamiliar phrase, but I understood the rough idea.
I knew that the righteous path, the evil path, and the Demonic Cult divided the martial world among themselves.
“They survive by selling information. Any secret that mustn’t leak is already in the Cult Leader’s Palace’s hands, and the Haomun branches are used as information-gathering organs for the sect as well, so in any case, I seem to have wandered off the point a bit...”
“So you’re saying you’ll use the Haomun to find Kang Doo-ho.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s a good method. But I can’t just sit still either. I have a rough idea of where to look, so I’ll go in disguise. The Executioner’s attention...”
“You want me to draw as much of her attention as possible. Understood.”
I paused for a moment.
“Acting leader. One more thing...”
“What is it? If there’s something you want to ask, don’t hesitate.”
“This Blood Heart Pill... is it a medicinal pellet?”
I’d wanted to ask all along.
What exactly was the Blood Heart Pill that the Left Guardian was willing to violate the Hyeolsadae’s rules to recover?
The acting leader’s expression stiffened.
Lines gathered in his sharp face.
I could tell instantly that it wasn’t some ordinary elixir.
Was it something with effects I couldn’t even begin to fathom?
Or was it some kind of elixir that had made my father...
From beyond the two hands propping up his chin, the acting leader’s eyes shone cold and bright.
“It’s a heart. The dried and pulverized heart of a human being.”
My stomach dropped. These bastards weren’t human.
They were demons using the name Blood Heavenly Demonic Cult.
It was clear enough now: a group like this should never have been allowed to exist in the world.
He watched me carefully. He must have seen the shock on my face.
“To be precise, it’s the previous Blood Demon’s heart, needed for the inheritance rite. The one who would become Blood Demon can only have their legitimacy acknowledged after consuming the Blood Heart Pill before all the cultists.”
“Then the heart of a parent...”
“That’s right. The Blood Heart Pill we seek is the heart of the last Blood Demon.”
I was so stunned I couldn’t speak.
Still, at least the question was answered.
The Blood Heart Pill wasn’t some miraculous elixir with wonderful effects. It was the very legitimacy of the Blood Heavenly Demonic Cult.
No wonder they’d gone mad looking for it all this time.
Was the Left Guardian truly intending to ascend to the position of Blood Demon?
I didn’t know what the elixir did, and it seemed I would never have to find out.
—
The strategy meeting was over.
Each of our tasks was now clear.
The acting leader would draw the Executioner’s attention while asking the Haomun to locate Kang Doo-ho.
There was something else I had to do.
When I retraced Gong Tae-o’s movements, one suspicious detail stood out.
From what I’d heard, he’d had no connection to the officials.
It didn’t make sense that he’d acquired the Banghosa position through normal inquiry or market gossip.
He does have ties to officials as well... but that side seems to carry too much risk.
That one line from the acting leader made me certain of it.
If the Black Cloud Merchant Group’s informants had been watching for Gong Tae-o with bloodshot eyes, then he couldn’t very well have gone wandering around in person to make arrangements.
Just like the acting leader, who had connections to officials, Gong Tae-o had probably met Kang Doo-ho through an intermediary.
His house not far from Heoksan Fortress might have been arranged secretly by that same intermediary too.
He wouldn’t have moved openly, waving a sign that said, I’m running away.
So I intended to go back and look for traces of that intermediary. Back to the place I’d once reduced to ashes half a year ago.
Well. Whether anything was left there was another matter entirely.
—
It was a scene I could never forget.
Just being near Go-chon again made it feel as though the echoes of that day were still hanging in the air.
The nightmare returned. The wildfire rose before my eyes once more.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
Please, let there be nothing. If any clue turns up, I’m done for.
“Search every inch of it. If you don’t find anything, you can kiss your way home goodbye, understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
No, wait. What the hell are you doing?
Why rip up the floorboards? And why on earth are you sticking your head into the hearth?
The situation was completely fucked. They’d stolen the initiative from me.
Gong Tae-o’s house was being torn apart by the Executioner.
Had something happened to the acting leader?
Or was this just a coincidence?
Should I approach? Run? Hide in the grass and watch?
How am I supposed to—
Rustle.
“Ah.”
“Oh my, and who might this be?”
I was dead.
Five of them. They all had blades at their waists. If it were only them, I could probably break through.
But...
I couldn’t even imagine shaking off the Executioner who was walking straight toward me right now.
“Little mouse. What brings you here? I take it you didn’t follow your master?”
The one with the questions was me. Why are you here?
I had no chance in a fight.
Every thread of fate now rested on my tongue.
The Executioner slammed the butt of her spear down. The icy, murderous point gleamed in the sunlight.
If I didn’t say something, I would die. If I said the wrong thing, I would die.
And if I looked too clever, I would die too.
“The Left Guardian went alone. He said I still lack the training to go onto the battlefield. I came here for a separate matter.”
“Hmph, a sly tongue you’ve got. If you start stalling again, I won’t forgive you.”
I felt a familiar force. The crimson qi I’d sensed the first time I met her. It came flooding toward me now.
I’d never seen a wave with my own eyes, but it felt exactly like one.
“I-I came to look for a hairpin!”
“A hairpin?”
Jin-wol tilted her head.
I wasn’t sure whether it was luck or not, but at least I’d succeeded in catching her interest.
“A paulownia hairpin. Half a year ago, before the Left Guardian saved me, I was just a toy for Gong Tae-o. This is his house. I suddenly remembered that I left here the hairpin I’d received from someone precious to me before I was taken away, so I came back to get it. Since my master is out as well, I thought this might be the right time...”
Surprisingly, I hadn’t added a single lie. Everything I said was true.
“Hmm...”
Whoosh!
“Agh!”
A thin line of blood welled up where the tip of her spear had brushed my thigh.
It was only a shallow cut, but I let out an exaggerated cry.
I wanted to brand myself as a weak disciple.
“That excuse is almost adorable. Well, I suppose the illustrious Left Guardian had his reasons.”
Jin-wol didn’t believe me. But she didn’t kill me either.
At that point, I figured I’d gotten off cheap. But then...
What now?
Was I supposed to stand by and watch the Executioner steal the evidence out from under my nose, like a fool robbed blind with his eyes open?
Think. Just uncovering the Executioner’s whereabouts was already a major gain.
If I lied my way through this and went back to trade information with the acting leader, that wouldn’t be so bad.
And yet, for some reason...
Maybe because the tension had broken, a completely baseless confidence began to rise in me.
Of course, I had no real reason for it. Had I escaped one crisis only to lose my sense entirely?
Still, leaving it here unfinished felt wrong. It left me feeling as if I were the one losing out.
In the end, I turned and walked toward Jin-wol.
“By the way, what happened to Gong Tae-o for his house to look like this? There’s blood everywhere, and the smell of a rotting corpse too... ugh.”
I stood beside her with feigned casualness.
She was sifting through the scattered wood shavings.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
My attempt to linger beside her was neatly brushed aside.
And then—
“Little mouse. You think I don’t know?”
“Pardon?”
“This was all your doing.”