The Vengeful Ghost's Warning
In a remote mountain far from the county office.
In the dark predawn hours, a man stood motionless before the freshly dug earth, biting his lip.
His face hidden beneath a black-dyed bamboo hat, he let out a shallow sigh.
“Damn bastard. So this is where you were lying. Dead and gone.”
This is quite the predicament. No matter how thoroughly I search, nothing turns up.
Song Wolun had turned the Dan family manor inside out, yet he remained empty-handed.
Not a single piece of evidence had surfaced.
His conversation with Dan Hyunwoo had solidified his suspicions.
There was definitely something here.
But without concrete proof, suspicion was worthless.
That was why he had tried to secure witnesses instead.
The problem was that the former magistrate and four constables had already been executed, while the remaining officers locked in prison were forbidden from receiving visitors.
Even as the current magistrate, meeting them was impossible.
He was completely blocked.
It felt as though a massive wall stood in his way.
Why? Why were they so determined to prevent him from seeing them?
What was the higher judicial authority—the Judicial Surveillance Commission—trying to hide?
Surely the story about the Six-Horse Golden Plaque that Geum So-chil mentioned can’t be true?
An absurd, ridiculous delusion was slowly transforming into cold reality.
He kept turning the thought over, trying to unravel the tangled threads one by one, when a voice interrupted.
“Magistrate! It’s terrible news!”
“What happened?”
The newly appointed constable, Gu Hyeon-wi, opened the door with shaking hands.
His face was deathly pale—far too ashen even for a rookie.
“The… the graveyard where the executed criminals were buried has been completely dug up.”
“You mean that temporary burial ground on the wild mountain?”
“We received a report of a terrible stench and went to investigate. Someone had dragged every corpse out and laid them openly on the ground.”
Normally, executed bodies or those killed by blades without relatives were burned.
But the unprecedented arrest of the former magistrate, constables, and officers had left no one to handle the cremations.
So they had temporarily buried them on the wild mountain after hiring laborers.
Why? Those bodies should be badly decomposed by now!
There were madmen in the world who used corpses for medicine, but even they avoided bodies that reeked this badly.
“Is there anyone you suspect?”
“No one, sir.”
Gu Hyeon-wi trembled violently.
His excessive pallor and the way he shook like a leaf in the wind felt strangely off.
“What has you so terrified? In a constable’s life, encountering corpses is hardly rare.”
“It’s just… no matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem like the work of a human being.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Explain it properly so I can understand.”
“There… there aren’t any.”
“There aren’t any what?!”
“Hearts, sir. Every single corpse had its heart ripped out. That… that can only be the work of a nine-tailed fox or an evil spirit, can’t it?!”
“……?!”
Now Gu Hyeon-wi’s violent trembling made sense.
Song Wolun felt a chill race down his spine, and only then noticed his own hands were shaking.
Yet the magistrate trembled for an entirely different reason.
This was not the work of any nine-tailed fox or evil spirit.
Song Wolun spoke.
“Gather every available man in the county office immediately.”
“Magistrate! Dealing with nine-tailed foxes or evil spirits isn’t a job for constables—it requires proper formations. Shouldn’t we call the Zhuge family?!”
“No. That’s not it… Though I suppose you could call this a ghost.”
Song Wolun wiped the cold sweat beading on his drenched forehead.
“This is the work of a vengeful ghost. It’s a warning that the county office will be annihilated…”
A shabby inn on the outskirts of Hangzhou.
A long-haired man carrying a long blade sat alone.
He was drinking cheap white liquor that spilled from the corner of his mouth when he suddenly turned his head and gripped his weapon.
Then he relaxed and sheathed it again.
He had recognized the five figures dressed in black.
“Tsk. You’re late, Lord Gwang Cheonhyeol, leader of the Black Wind Blood Squad.”
“My apologies, Byuk Gyeom.”
“Why call me all the way to this distant Hangzhou?”
Byuk Gyeom spoke in a scolding tone.
Instead of answering, Gwang Cheonhyeol sat down and picked up the cup left for him.
“Yukgeom Gunggoe is dead.”
“R-really? I should have offered my condolences first. I’m sorry. I had no idea…”
“He died like a dog while acting like one. Still, seeing him gone does sting a little.”
“A truly tragic affair. I know how close you and your brother Gunggoe were. But wasn’t Yukgeom Gunggoe one of the Five Great Masters of Hebei? How could someone like him die so pointlessly?”
“Kkklk. Yukgeom lost his head with a single strike. Gunggoe was killed by his own iron awl. I checked the corpse myself.”
“……”
Gwang Cheonhyeol spoke of his brother’s death as if it were trivial, but his eyes had already gone mad.
Killing intent and insanity burned within them.
A deranged smile clung to his face.
He’s completely lost it.
This was the second time Byuk Gyeom had witnessed Gwang Cheonhyeol’s descent into madness.
The first had been when the man—then merely leader of a minor group called the Guiding Light Small Alliance—had gone insane.
That same night, he had slaughtered every member of his own alliance.
Leading the Black Wind Blood Squad he commanded, he killed four hundred people in just two hours.
After downing the cheap white liquor he would normally never touch, Gwang Cheonhyeol spoke.
“All of you, leave us.”
The four men in black who had accompanied him vanished in an instant.
They were the squad leaders under Gwang Cheonhyeol’s command.
Byuk Gyeom let out a small internal sigh of admiration.
Still moving with that disgustingly stealthy, terrifyingly silent grace.
He nodded once, watching their retreating forms, then got to the point.
“You want to hire me. But honestly, with the Black Wind Blood Squad’s skill alone, what use am I?”
“I already told you. Yukgeom died with one sword strike. Gunggoe was killed by his own weapon. Let me ask you this—could you kill Yukgeom with a single strike? For me, it would be five times out of ten.”
“Hmm… For me, it would be nine times out of ten.”
“As expected of Byuk Gyeom, the Ghost Blade Evil Killer—Hebei’s greatest master aside from the Peng family. Now you understand why I called you? I need that martial prowess of yours.”
“Hoo… First, answer me this. Have you identified the expert who killed Yukgeom Gunggoe?”
“Those bastards were given the mission to kill Magistrate Song Wolun on his way to Ungae County. I also learned that the magistrate was traveling with a female martial artist.”
“A woman?”
It was troublesome.
For a woman to reach such heights, she couldn’t be from an ordinary clan.
She might be a named disciple of Huashan or Wudang.
Gwang Cheonhyeol let out another burst of manic laughter.
“Don’t worry. We have a solid shield. I’m not the only one burning for revenge. They should be arriving any moment now.”
As if on cue, the rickety inn door that looked ready to fall apart swung open. A man dressed in luxurious silk entered.
He recognized Gwang Cheonhyeol, walked over, and sat down.
“I am Cho Ho-seon, second son of the Cho Ryang Trading Company from Tianjin in Hebei Province. Magistrate Song Wolun slaughtered my entire family and commissioned Yukgeom Gunggoe to finish the job.”
“I am Byuk Gyeom.”
“I’m not the only one who wants the stubbornly surviving Song Wolun dead. In every post he held as magistrate, there are others who share my circumstances. I hired you together with them. Fifty assassins are coming as well.”
“I haven’t agreed to take the job yet.”
“You will.”
Cho Ho-seon wore a confident expression and flashed an unpleasant, gloomy smile.
As though certain of the outcome.
He placed a box on the tilting old table and opened its lid.
Byuk Gyeom’s eyes narrowed at the contents.
“The Suh River Blade Technique?”
“You recognize it. This is the first of two volumes.”
How could he not?
He knew exactly what kind of martial art the Suh River Blade Technique was.
Desire was inevitable.
This was no ordinary technique.
It is a genuine divine supreme skill!
The ultimate blade art that anyone would kill to possess.
Cho Ho-seon continued.
“I will give you the first volume as payment right now. Once the job is finished, the second volume is yours.”
Byuk Gyeom took out the manual, opened it, and examined the pages.
It’s authentic.
He had no idea how they had acquired it.
But if word of this book’s existence spread, hundreds could die in the battles to claim it.
Refusing would be foolish.
Still, one point needed clarification.
“What about the Non-Aggression between Government and Wulin? Violating it carries enormous risk.”
“Don’t concern yourself. Among those involved in the magistrate’s death, there is someone with close ties to high officials. That person will handle the aftermath appropriately.”
Cho Ho-seon nodded with absolute confidence.
Come to think of it, they must have prepared measures ever since Yukgeom Gunggoe first targeted the magistrate.
Whether by framing others or quietly burying the incident so no one would trace it back to them.
“Very well. I accept the job.”
“Kidnap the magistrate and torture him to learn who killed Yukgeom Gunggoe. And I must be the one to deliver the killing blow.”
Cho Ho-seon bared his teeth.
His ragged, chewed lips revealed in a single glance how long and deeply he had craved revenge.
“We move tomorrow.”
Late the following night.
The county office remained brightly lit.
Standing at the center of the burning torches, Song Wolun faced his second sleepless night alongside the constables and officers.
They took turns trying to rest, but no one could sleep easily against an enemy whose arrival time was unknown.
Damn it, my blood is running dry.
Song Wolun had personally confirmed the corpses with their hearts removed.
They had gathered and burned them all, yet the horrific sight refused to leave his mind.
It was an image that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
“Have you all checked your spears? Are we short on arrows?!”
“You’ve asked dozens of times already. Magistrate, please get some rest tonight. We’ll keep watch.”
“How could I possibly sleep? If they come, it will be at night.”
Constable Gu Hyeon-wi nodded, his own face heavy with exhaustion.
“Ten officers resigned today.”
“……”
“Tomorrow another ten will likely quit.”
“I know. If you want to leave too, you may.”
“I’ll consider it.”
Gu Hyeon-wi picked up his spear and returned to his post.
The carefully recruited men were abandoning their posts one after another.
He could neither stop them nor blame them.
The officers who had seen the clean extraction marks where hearts had been removed were deeply shaken.
After witnessing work impossible without a martial artist’s skill, none could maintain their composure.
“Huu…”
He let out a long sigh, exhaling whatever came to mind, when—
BANG!
The front gate of the county office exploded, scattering wooden shards everywhere.
Contrary to expectations of a stealthy ambush, the intruders strode boldly through the main entrance.
Dressed in black with masks covering their faces, their eyes showed no hesitation whatsoever.
The constables and officers tensed, gripping their weapons until their knuckles turned white.
Shing.
But the instant the black-clad men drew their blades, all fighting spirit shattered in a single moment.
They hadn’t even displayed any martial arts—just stood there holding their swords and looking at them.
They weren’t even glaring, and the moonlight wasn’t reflecting any killing intent from their eyes.
Yet everyone froze.
Their bodies locked up, refusing to move.
The suffocating pressure and aura made it difficult to even breathe.
We were too complacent because we’ve never faced a true expert before. This… was never something we could handle from the start!
Even Gu Hyeon-wi, who should have been leading the officers, stood paralyzed by the overwhelming presence.
He couldn’t even open his mouth.
One man walked slowly toward Song Wolun.
Step. Step.
With every footfall, the killing intent radiating from him grew heavier.
Like the King of Hell on procession.
Like a shadow come to collect the dead.
He spoke to Song Wolun, who stood rigid as a hibernating frog.
“Less impressive than I expected. I heard he was supposed to be an outstanding magistrate.”
Thud!
“Keuk!”
Dark blood sprayed from Song Wolun’s mouth, staining the ground crimson.
Writhing in agony, Song Wolun’s eyes slowly closed.
The black-clad man lifted the unconscious magistrate’s body with one hand.
“So he was nothing more than the king of vermin leading worthless constables and officers.”
His mouth split into a savage grin as he laughed harshly, radiating killing intent.
Not one constable or officer could resist or even meet his gaze.
The man in black carried Song Wolun out of the county office.
Dan Hyunwoo set down the tea he had been drinking.
Turning his head to gaze at something beyond the wall, he murmured quietly.
“The night air is shimmering today.”