Why Would I Joke About That

Jang Mu-eon steadied his tangled thoughts and headed into the inn. Only Kang Yeon and Jin Mu-gyeong remained in the rear courtyard.

"Hmm."

Jin Mu-gyeong sank into thought. The soft light spilling from the stone lanterns in the courtyard washed over his face.

"Are you really going to leave it for Jang Mu-eon to handle himself?"

At Jin Mu-gyeong's question, Kang Yeon's expression stayed calm.

"It's better if a person settles his own problems. If I step in, it loses all meaning."

"You've changed a lot from before. The old you used to dive in and fix other people's messes for them."

"And thanks to that, I got tangled up in far too many stories. I'm tired of living that way now."

Jin Mu-gyeong studied him quietly. The look on Kang Yeon's face as he recalled the days when he had lived as the Absolute Martial God of legend was bitter—so different from the man who cooked in the kitchen that he might have been another person ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entirely.

"We need a clearer picture of the situation first. If the Dark Shadow Blade has taken control of the Black Wind Association, the men who followed Jang Mu-eon are in serious danger. They could easily be used as hostages."

Kang Yeon rose slowly from his seat. Moonlight cast a long shadow behind him. Unlike his usual languid self, a strange pressure rolled off him.

"So it's the Blood Shadow Tower's turn to move in earnest now?"

His voice was still even. But Jin Mu-gyeong could feel it—the cold killing intent buried beneath that calm.

"Three years of preparation are finished. They're entering the final stage. Drawing me out."

The wind rose.

Saaaah—!

The trees in the rear courtyard scraped against one another with a desolate sound. Jin Mu-gyeong looked at Kang Yeon and gave a slight shiver. He was one of the few who knew the true face of the Absolute One—not Kang Yeon the cook.

"Those bastards are in for it."

Kang Yeon turned his head and met Jin Mu-gyeong's eyes. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth—the same smile he had worn as the Absolute Martial God before a battle. The smile that had made countless enemies tremble.

"Once Jang Mu-eon cleans up the Black Wind Association, they'll show their tails."

For an instant, Kang Yeon's aura shifted—like a sleeping dragon opening its eyes.

"That's when they'll learn what it means to have touched me."

A few days later.

Jin Mu-gyeong sat in a second-floor guest room, sorting bamboo slips by the light of a single candle. Dozens of slips and sheets of paper lay spread across the table.

His old intelligence network had begun to stir back to life one thread at a time, and information on the Blood Shadow Tower poured in like a flood.

As he checked the deluge of reports, Jin Mu-gyeong's eyes sharpened.

The new Tower Lord's identity is still veiled… but he must have a deep grudge against Yeon.

According to the intelligence that had reached him, the new Tower Lord of the Blood Shadow Tower had thoroughly restructured the organization the moment he appeared. He had purged half of the existing officers and brought in new blood. The methods of that purge had been so brutal that even within the Blood Shadow Tower—itself a band of killers—there were those who felt genuine fear.

Cruel and calculating. He seized the organization through terror.

And the new recruits all shared one thing in common.

Veterans of the Heavenly Demon War, or their bereaved families… He's gathered people mad with revenge.

Jin Mu-gyeong lifted a single roster sheet.

Every name on the list was said to stand at the peak of his craft. Gathering men like these in one place only made the new Blood Shadow Tower Lord's identity more intriguing.

All of them new officers of the Blood Shadow Tower… a faction bound by nothing but vengeance.

Meanwhile, at the same hour, in another second-floor guest room.

Jang Mu-eon could not sleep. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring into the darkness beyond the window, sunk deep in thought.

My men… Yeong-ho, Cheol-san, Myeong-wol…

Their faces rose one by one.

Yeong-ho had been a young swordsman from Xuzhou. After his clan was destroyed, he had joined the Black Wind Association dreaming of revenge. Jang Mu-eon had taught him swordsmanship, and Yeong-ho had followed him like an older brother.

Guild Master, thank you for taking me in. I will never forget this debt, even in death.

Cheol-san had been a giant of a man. Strong as an ox, but simple-minded, always falling for the same tricks. After Jang Mu-eon saved him, he had followed with absolute loyalty.

If the Guild Master orders it, I'll do anything!

Myeong-wol had been the only woman among the officers. Gifted in light-foot techniques, but an orphan with nowhere else to go. Jang Mu-eon had given her a family in the Black Wind Association.

You're the first person who's ever treated me with such warmth, Guild Master…

Jang Mu-eon's heart twisted.

They might already be tools in the Dark Shadow Blade's hands. I have to move soon.

They were not mere subordinates. Each had come to the Black Wind Association carrying their own story—outcasts the world had discarded, who had survived by leaning on one another.

I was a fool. Blinded by revenge, I dragged them all into danger.

Looking back, he had never once questioned the Dark Shadow Blade's background—the very force that had helped him build the Black Wind Association. Burning with vengeance, eyes fixed only ahead, he had chosen to see the man's intentions in the best possible light.

"Damn it."

Wind moaned outside the window, mournful as someone's weeping. Jang Mu-eon made his decision. He may have led them down the wrong path, but even now, he would save them.

Even if it costs my life… no. My life is a price I'm willing to pay.

He rose from the bed and took up his sword. The blade of the Heavenly Thunder Sword glimmered faintly blue.

"Just a little longer, all of you. Hold on a little longer."

The next morning, before dawn.

The eastern sky had begun to pale. In the hour when darkness had not yet fully withdrawn, the West Lake Number One Inn started its day as always.

From the kitchen came the steady rhythm of a knife.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

"Oppa, you're up early again?"

Jo Seol wandered into the kitchen mid-yawn. Her hair was still a mess, and her eyes were half-closed. With the recent flood of customers, her days had been pure chaos. The only reason she was still on her feet was the breathing method Kang Yeon had taught her.

Kang Yeon was already prepping ingredients. Radish, carrot, and cabbage fell into even pieces under his knife.

"I have a feeling we'll be busy today."

"Really? Is it some kind of festival? What solar term is it today…?"

Jo Seol tilted her head.

"No idea. Just a feeling."

Kang Yeon's feelings were usually right. The last time he had said the inn would be crowded, more than twice the usual number of guests had shown up.

Knowing that, Jo Seol asked no further questions and tied on her apron.

"Then I'll help get ready."

"I've got the prep. Just help me tidy the kitchen."

It was a peaceful morning scene. The sizzle of heating oil, the sound of vegetables being trimmed, and Jo Seol's soft humming wove together into something warm and familiar.

But only for a moment.

Footsteps approached, and Jin Mu-gyeong burst into the kitchen. Gone was his usual easy manner; his face was tight with urgency.

"Yeon."

The voice alone was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough to say something was wrong. Jo Seol's hands stopped.

"What is it this time?"

Jin Mu-gyeong glanced at her, weighing whether he should speak. Kang Yeon answered evenly.

"Seol is family. No need to hide anything."

Jin Mu-gyeong nodded and drew a small scrap of paper from his robe.

"An urgent report just came in. Five elite assassins from the Blood Shadow Tower are arriving at West Lake today."

Jo Seol's face went white.

"The Blood Shadow Tower? Assassins??"

She had no idea what the Blood Shadow Tower was, but the word assassin alone was enough to stun her. Yet Kang Yeon's hands never stopped working the ingredients. He was still slicing radish, as casual as if they were discussing the weather.

"Seol, you don't need to worry."

He looked at Jin Mu-gyeong.

"They're coming for the inn, I take it?"

"Probably a final check before the main force moves. To confirm whether you're actually here."

"Who exactly is coming?"

Jin Mu-gyeong unfolded the paper. It was packed with coded characters.

"The Blood Shadow Five Fiends."

Kang Yeon cocked his head.

"The Blood Shadow Five Fiends?"

"The Blood Shadow Tower's most elite assassination unit. All five are Peak Realm masters or higher. Their leader, the Blood-Faced Fiend, is said to be Super-Peak…"

Jo Seol looked from one man to the other, anxiety written across her face. Her hands trembled faintly.

"Oppa… is our inn in danger?"

Kang Yeon set down his knife and gently stroked her hair.

"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."

"But I don't want you to be in danger."

"Seol. Do you trust me?"

She nodded. The warmth of his hand eased her fear, if only a little. Kang Yeon picked up the knife again and spoke to Jin Mu-gyeong.

"These Blood Shadow Five Fiends—let me know the moment they enter West Lake."

Tak!

His knife came down on the cutting board. In that instant, the air in the kitchen changed. The radish lay perfectly halved, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a deep cut scored the board between the pieces. It was no ordinary stroke. An invisible force had been woven into it.

Kang Yeon's voice was still calm. But Jin Mu-gyeong, who knew him well, felt a slight shiver run through him. Legend held that once the Absolute Martial God's blade was drawn, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was never sheathed until it had tasted blood.

What Kang Yeon had just shown was a fragment of that legend.

"Hah… I honestly can't understand who would be stupid enough to pick a fight with you. Even if only a handful of people know the real details about you."

The Absolute Martial God was a legendary figure in the Central Plains Murim. But precisely because he had appeared only in decisive battles, relatively few had ever felt his power firsthand.

As the long war ended and time slowly passed, some martial artists had begun to dismiss the Absolute Martial God's strength as exaggerated storytelling. Jin Mu-gyeong found it absurd. Anyone who had truly witnessed that power would never dare something like this.

"Wow… Oppa, you were that strong?"

Jin Mu-gyeong nodded.

"That's right. Yeon is the man who saved the world."

Jo Seol's eyes went round.

"Wait—that wasn't a joke?"

Kang Yeon shrugged.

"Why would I joke about something like that."

Jo Seol held her breath and looked at him. This was not the lazy older brother she saw every day. In this moment, Kang Yeon felt like something else entirely.

"Wow… wow…"

Jin Mu-gyeong thought of the Blood Shadow Five Fiends and felt a twinge of pity.

"Looks like West Lake is about to become the Five Fiends' grave."