Yes, I Certainly Will
Jang Mu-eon returned to the Black Wind Association headquarters after his conversation with Kang Yeon, but his thoughts were nowhere near settled. Alone in the guild master’s hall, he gazed out the window and turned Kang Yeon’s final words over and over in his mind.
Think of your parents, who died in that bloodbath.
“My parents… because of Master?”
Jang Mu-eon shook his head. It was nonsense.
His master, Jang Mun-cheon, had been the benefactor who rescued him from a life of begging on the streets. The man had cared for him like a father, taught him martial arts, and given him the strength to stand proudly even within the Demonic Cult. Yet the Absolute Martial God’s words had held no trace of falsehood. A man who wielded such overwhelming power had no reason to lie.
“The Xi’an Massacre…”
Fragments of childhood memory rose unbidden. His parents’ deaths, burning houses, corpses strewn through the streets. He had been far too young then to understand what had truly happened.
“No. There must be another explanation.”
He rose and summoned a subordinate.
“Bring Pung Ho to me.”
A short while later, Pung Ho, the Black Wind Association’s intelligence officer, entered.
“You called for me, Guild Master?”
“Investigate the incident that took place in Xi’an seventeen years ago in detail. Focus especially on the battle records between the Demonic Cult and the Murim Alliance.”
Pung Ho tilted his head.
“Xi’an, sir? That place is…”
“Just do as I say and find out.”
At Jang Mu-eon’s icy tone, Pung Ho hastily withdrew.
Several days later, Jang Mu-eon sat across from a man in a tavern by West Lake. The man was one of the martial artists who had retired from the Demonic Cult—Hyeol Gwang, former commander of the Cult’s Slaughter Demons Unit. He was an acquaintance of Jang Mu-eon’s and had once been close to Master Jang Mun-cheon.
“Jang Mu-eon… or should I call you Pung Sa-wi? It’s been a long time.”
Hyeol Gwang tilted his cup and gave a bitter smile. A deep scar marked his face, and his right arm was missing from the shoulder—wounds suffered in battle against the Absolute Martial God.
“Lord Hyeol Gwang, there is something I wish to ask about my master.”
“Why come to me about that master of yours?”
“I want to hear the full story of what happened in Xi’an. I was told you were there with him.”
Hyeol Gwang’s expression twisted.
“Why the sudden interest in that madman’s deeds?”
“Madman? What do you mean?”
“You were his disciple, so you might not know. Jang Mun-cheon was infamous even within the Demonic Cult. If the Heavenly Demon’s orders were obstructed in any way, he wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter innocent civilians.”
Jang Mu-eon’s face hardened.
“That… that can’t be…”
“The Xi’an incident was especially horrific. The order was to attack the Murim Alliance branch, yet that bastard burned the civilian quarters as well. Hundreds died.”
Hyeol Gwang took another swallow of wine.
“Even inside the Cult there was talk. ‘Slaughter that went beyond the order,’ they said. But the water was already spilled, so they let it pass.”
Jang Mu-eon was speechless. Another side of his master was slowly coming into view.
“Even so, Master was good to me.”
“Of course he was—you were his disciple. He would have cherished his disciples. Outstanding disciples are essential if you want to secure your standing in the Cult. But that doesn’t erase his crimes.”
Hyeol Gwang looked at him steadily.
“Why ask about this all of a sudden? Word is you’re out for revenge on your master’s behalf. Don’t tell me you actually found the Absolute Martial God?”
Jang Mu-eon flinched.
Hyeol Gwang did not miss the reaction.
“So you really did find him. Where is the Absolute Martial God?”
More than a few martial artists were curious about the Absolute Martial God’s whereabouts after he vanished one day without a trace. Hyeol Gwang’s interest was simple curiosity.
“I cannot say.”
Hyeol Gwang snorted a short laugh.
“So you found him after all. You can’t seriously be planning revenge against him? Against the Absolute Martial God? Haha. Jang Mu-eon, are you trying to walk the same path as Jang Mun-cheon?”
Pity flickered in Hyeol Gwang’s eyes.
“I thought of revenge at first too. I wanted to kill the Absolute Martial God who took my arm. But after I retired and looked back, my thoughts changed. We were the ones who killed innocents first. The Absolute Martial God was only trying to stop us. And do you really think we could ever take revenge on him? Think carefully. That man is the absolute sovereign of the martial world.”
“Then have you given up on revenge, Lord Hyeol Gwang?”
“Not given up—awakened. He is a sun no one can reach. And sometimes the blood on my own hands still torments me.”
Hyeol Gwang set down his empty cup.
“Jang Mu-eon, if you truly care for your master, find another path instead of revenge. Someone has to live on if his legacy is to continue, don’t you think?”
Jang Mu-eon drained his cup in silence.
“……”
Hyeol Gwang’s words only made Jang Mu-eon’s heart more tangled than before.
A few days later, Jang Mu-eon arranged another meeting—this time with an elderly man who had once belonged to the Murim Alliance and was now retired. The old man had been one of the martial artists dispatched to the area where Jang Mu-eon’s home had stood; finding him had not been easy. For this meeting, Jang Mu-eon also concealed his identity.
“You’re asking about the Xi’an incident?”
“Yes. I want to hear in detail what the Demonic Cult did in Xi’an at that time.”
Jang Mu-eon asked especially about what had occurred at the location where he himself had lived. When the old man recalled the place Jang Mu-eon named, he shook his head vigorously.
“What happened then is almost too terrible to speak of. In all my years in the martial world, it was the most appalling sight I ever witnessed.”
“Could you tell me specifically what the Seventh Demon Head, Jang Mun-cheon, did?”
“The Seventh Demon Head, Jang Mun-cheon… Just hearing the name still makes my skin crawl. After attacking the Murim Alliance branch, he raided the civilian quarters as well. The reason was that they might cooperate with the Alliance.”
The old man’s voice trembled.
“Even infants… that madman killed infants. I was sent with the rescue party, but almost no one had survived.”
Jang Mu-eon’s face went deathly pale.
“Among them… was there by chance a young child?”
“A young child? Ah, there was one. A boy about ten years old. He had lost both parents and was crying. We rescued him and left him in a nearby village…”
Jang Mu-eon could not answer. Everything fit. His age, his origin in Xi’an, the loss of his parents—and the memory of being entrusted to a nearby village and living as an orphan.
“In any case, that memory remains the most horrific of my life. I heard later that the Absolute Martial God himself punished that villain. The wandering souls in the nine heavens must have found some comfort.”
After meeting the old man, Jang Mu-eon returned to the Black Wind Association and sat alone once more in the guild master’s hall. The results of several days of investigation settled into place in his mind. As the facts aligned one by one, a shocking truth emerged.
Jang Mun-cheon truly had been the chief culprit of the Xi’an Massacre.
Among those slaughtered were Jang Mu-eon’s own parents. Jang Mun-cheon taking him as a disciple must have been coincidence—likely because he saw the boy’s talent and took him in.
“Master…”
Tears spilled from Jang Mu-eon’s eyes, born of betrayal and utter confusion. Everything he had believed was collapsing. The master he had regarded as a benefactor was in truth the enemy of his parents. And the Absolute Martial God he had sought to avenge himself upon was a hero who had fought for justice.
Or perhaps he had sensed it dimly all along.
Only now, facing the truth head-on, had he finally understood.
“Then what about me… everything I’ve done until now…”
Jang Mu-eon clutched his head. The identity he had built solely around revenge after his master’s death was crumbling completely.
Then Kang Yeon’s words rose again.
Vengeance only destroys the one who carries it.
Only now did he grasp their true meaning. Jang Mu-eon looked out the window toward the direction of the West Lake Number One Inn. There, the Absolute Martial God he had once sworn to kill was living as an ordinary cook.
“What… am I supposed to do now?”
After days of agonizing, Jang Mu-eon resolved to visit the West Lake Number One Inn once more. When he arrived he hesitated at the entrance. His heart was utterly different from a few days earlier, yet facing Kang Yeon still weighed heavily on him.
Creak.
He opened the door and stepped inside. The inn was full of customers. The lively noise somehow eased the tangle in his chest a little. At that moment Nang Hyeon spotted him. There was no wariness on Nang Hyeon’s face—Kang Yeon had already spoken to him.
“Welcome. Young Master Kang has been waiting for you.”
Jang Mu-eon was startled by the words.
“Waiting for me?”
“Yes. He’s been saying for several days that you would come.”
At the sound of Jang Mu-eon’s voice, Kang Yeon emerged from the kitchen and looked at him. Kang Yeon’s expression remained as calm as ever. Meeting those eyes, Jang Mu-eon felt certain of why he had come.
Kang Yeon studied his face and spoke.
“Looks like you’ve learned a great deal.”
Jang Mu-eon bowed his head.
“Yes… I know everything now.”
“Then let’s talk in the back courtyard. Over a cup of tea.”
The two of them headed to the rear courtyard. While Kang Yeon prepared the teacups, Jang Mu-eon began.
“Everything you said was true. My master… was the enemy of my parents, and you were the one who fought for justice.”
Kang Yeon poured tea as he answered.
“Justice… I’m not even sure myself what that is. But I can see you’ve had a hard time of it all these years.”
“Every reason I’ve lived for until now was a lie. The man I wanted to kill for revenge was on the side of justice, and the master I thought was my benefactor was my enemy…”
Jang Mu-eon’s voice trembled.
“Even so, Master raised me. Though he was my parents’ enemy, to me he was no different from a father.”
Kang Yeon nodded.
“I understand that feeling. A person’s emotions aren’t something you can tidy up with logic alone.”
“Then… what do you think of me? The disciple of your enemy…”
Kang Yeon thought for a moment before speaking.
“You’re simply you. A master’s sins are not the disciple’s. And you didn’t even know about those sins.”
Tears welled in Jang Mu-eon’s eyes.
“Thank you… Hearing that, I feel a little lighter.”
“So what do you plan to do now?”
Jang Mu-eon let out a long breath.
“I don’t know. I truly don’t. Revenge has lost all meaning, and the reason for leading the Black Wind Association is gone…”
Kang Yeon took a sip of tea.
“Then find a new path.”
“A new path?”
“You built the Black Wind Association for revenge, but now look for a different purpose. I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life cooking. Once you find something—anything—to do, life becomes a little more livable, don’t you think?”
Jang Mu-eon was silent for a while, then spoke.
“Actually… many in the Black Wind Association gathered out of the same thirst for revenge as I did. Each of them carries their own story and pain.”
“All the better. Walk a new path together with them.”
“But it won’t be easy. Letting go of vengeance…”
Kang Yeon smiled.
“Would it mean anything if it were easy? It’s precisely because it’s hard that it’s worth doing.”
Jang Mu-eon looked at him.
“You’re nothing like the man I heard about. Why go this far to help me?”
Kang Yeon shrugged.
“Who knows. Maybe because the old me was a lot like you.”
“The old you?”
“When I was active in the martial world, I believed my convictions were right. I told myself it was for justice, but in the end I let emotion sweep me along and killed a great many people. That’s the truth.”
Deep sorrow passed through Kang Yeon’s eyes.
“That’s why I want to live a different way now.”
Sensing Kang Yeon’s sincerity, Jang Mu-eon bowed his head.
“I understand. I… will try to find a new path as well.”
“A good decision.”
Jang Mu-eon rose from his seat.
“Thank you truly for today. Because of you, I think I’ve found the direction I should go.”
“Come anytime you need help. Delicious food will be waiting.”
At Kang Yeon’s light joke, Jang Mu-eon smiled for the first time.
“Yes, I certainly will.”