What Needs Doing Must Be Done
Morning sunlight spilled through the windows of the West Lake Number One Inn. It was a peaceful morning so complete that the Blood Shadow Five Demons' raid mere hours before seemed almost impossible to believe.
"Welcome! Have a wonderful day!"
Jo Seol's bright voice filled the inn — brighter still after the medicinal porridge Kang Yeon had made for her. Guests thronged as always, and the kitchen sent out the savory aroma of cooking food.
Upstairs in a second-floor room, Jin Mu-gyeong was sorting through newly arrived intelligence. Since settling at the West Lake Number One Inn, the old information network of the Heaven's Ear Pavilion had begun to stir back to life.
Rustle. Rustle.
Having collated everything, Jin Mu-gyeong stretched hard. Aside from the fight that morning, nothing of real importance seemed to have happened.
The problem was something else.
"The Blood Shadow Tower won't back down so easily."
Word of the Blood Shadow Five Demons' failure would already be on its way to the Tower. Knowing the Tower Lord's temper as he did, Jin Mu-gyeong was certain retaliation would come.
"Next time they'll send stronger ones."
He shook his head. Meanwhile, out in the rear courtyard, Dan U-ryeong was drawing complex patterns into the earth.
"I let the formation be breached on purpose yesterday… but reinforcement is still necessary."
That a formation under his care could be breached at all — whatever the reason — was something the sole heir of the Divine Device Sect could not allow his pride to accept.
Ssshhk. Ssshhk.
A faint energy flowed from Dan U-ryeong's fingertips and spread along the patterns. Over the existing formation formulas, more refined ones began to take shape.
"This time I'll build a formation that has no effect whatsoever on guests, yet precisely detects only intruders. One that will never be breached."
Nang Hyeon approached just then.
"May I help?"
Dan U-ryeong looked up. After the real combat of that morning, Nang Hyeon's eyes had grown a shade deeper.
"Oh, Nang Hyeon. You did well earlier."
"Not at all. Thanks to you young masters, I came through unharmed."
Nang Hyeon thought back to his clash with the Sword Demon — his first real fight against a powerful opponent since learning the Great Cloud Fist. The excitement of that exchange still lingered in his body.
Whoosh.
He threw a light punch. The thought that he might have grown considerably stronger left him feeling good.
"By the way, Nang Hyeon — your movements earlier looked pretty solid. The Great Cloud Fist has come a long way."
"Thank you. But compared to you young masters, I still fall short. I'll have to grow stronger."
Dan U-ryeong grinned.
"Good. That attitude's enough. If you've got nothing better to do, help me with the formation."
At the same hour, in another room on the second floor, Jang Mu-eon stood at the window deep in thought. He had not slept after the chaos at dawn, and fatigue and worry weighed heavy on his face.
I can't bring any more harm to this place.
The Blood Shadow Five Demons' raid. Kang Yeon and the inn's people had stopped it, but leave things as they were and a greater danger was certain to come. Jang Mu-eon knew full well that everything had started because he was here.
I began this. I have to end it.
He packed quietly. He belted on the Heavenly Thunder Sword and threw a black robe over his shoulders.
Yeong-ho, Cheol-san, Myeong-wol…
His subordinates' faces rose before him. Jang Mu-eon let out a long breath.
I used them. In the name of revenge… Now I have to answer for it.
He opened his door without a sound and stepped out. Guests were beginning to filter into the inn one by one. Jang Mu-eon waited a moment until the rooms filled — until everyone would be absorbed in their own work.
A short while later, as the inn grew busy, he started down the stairs toward the outside.
"Jang Mu-eon. Where do you think you're going?"
Jin Mu-gyeong's voice came from behind him. Jang Mu-eon turned to find him standing in front of his room with his arms folded.
"…I'm going back to the Black Wind Association."
"Alone?"
Jang Mu-eon nodded.
"I made this mess. I should fix it."
Jin Mu-gyeong sighed.
"So you go alone and do what? The Shadow Blade will have a trap waiting."
"Even so, I have to go. My people are in danger."
Resolve hardened in Jang Mu-eon's eyes.
"Walk in unprepared and all you'll meet is a pointless death."
"Then so be it — as long as I save them. They trusted me and followed me."
Jin Mu-gyeong studied him for a long moment. In those eyes he saw a reflection of his own past — of a time when he had fought to save the people he cared about from being sacrificed to a futile war.
"Fine. But wait until tonight."
"Why?"
"Once business closes, I'll talk to Yeon. With his help, this will be easy enough to settle."
Jang Mu-eon hesitated, then nodded.
"…Understood."
But in the end he slipped out of the inn alone. He would not bend on the thought of bringing no further harm to the place — and his subordinates' lives hung in the balance.
The streets of West Lake were quiet. Jang Mu-eon moved like a shadow toward the Black Wind Association's stronghold.
Something's wrong…
The closer he drew, the clearer the ominous air became. A place that should have been under heavy guard was far too still.
A trap…
He knew it was a trap, and still he had no choice but to keep going.
At last, hand on the hilt of the Heavenly Thunder Sword, he stepped inside. The stronghold was eerily silent. No sounds of training, no scrape of weapons being tended — nothing.
When he entered the main hall, the sight that met him was a shock.
"Yeong-ho! Cheol-san! Myeong-wol!"
His three subordinates were bound to pillars. They seemed conscious, but their pressure points had been sealed; they could not move.
"L… Leader…"
Yeong-ho forced the words out.
"You… shouldn't have come… It's a trap…"
In that instant —
"I've been waiting. Master Pung — no. Jang Mu-eon."
The Shadow Blade stepped out of the dark. His face was hidden behind a black mask, but the voice alone was enough. Rage flooded Jang Mu-eon's eyes.
"Shadow Blade… Release my people!"
The Shadow Blade spoke with a sneer.
"You don't actually think I'll do that, do you?"
"You dare betray me?"
Jang Mu-eon's voice began to shake with fury. The betrayal of the man he had trusted most made his teeth grind.
"Just as you used me in the name of revenge, I used you. That is all."
"What are you talking about?"
The Shadow Blade slowly pulled off his mask. A familiar face emerged. He looked at Jang Mu-eon and smiled thinly.
"I planned this for three years. Helping you build the Black Wind Association — telling you the Absolute Martial God's family was at West Lake — all of it was part of the design."
Jang Mu-eon ground his teeth.
"To what end?"
"To draw out the Absolute Martial God."
The Shadow Blade's eyes gleamed cold.
"And to avenge those who died by his hand at the Heavenly Demon War."
Jang Mu-eon frowned.
"That's a fool's errand."
The Shadow Blade drew his blade.
"That is not for you to decide."
While Jang Mu-eon and the Shadow Blade faced each other, Jin Mu-gyeong told Kang Yeon at the West Lake Number One Inn that Jang Mu-eon had vanished.
"Jang Mu-eon is gone?"
Kang Yeon's expression stayed calm.
"I expected as much, but he moved a bit too soon. I distinctly told him to build enough strength first."
"I think he didn't want to bring more trouble to the inn. And he was worried about the men being held at the Black Wind Association."
Dan U-ryeong clicked his tongue.
"That idiot… He knows it's a trap and still goes alone."
Jin Mu-gyeong's face grew grave.
"The bigger problem is that this all seems planned. Using Jang Mu-eon as bait…"
Kang Yeon spoke evenly.
"To draw me out, of course."
Jin Mu-gyeong asked, "What will you do?"
Kang Yeon's eyes changed. The usual languor was gone; a cold resolve filled them.
"People have to be saved first."
He rose. The air around him shifted, subtle and sharp. Jin Mu-gyeong's pupils trembled at the sudden change in presence. That look belonged unmistakably to the Absolute Martial God who had once punished his targets as the supreme of the Murim.
"Yeon."
Jin Mu-gyeong called out, worried. Kang Yeon turned.
"You know this as well as I do, hyung. These things never end. Not unless you settle them once and for certain."
"Even so…"
Jin Mu-gyeong felt a flicker of unease. If Kang Yeon went to the Black Wind Association, he might become again what he used to be — and leave behind the cook who found quiet happiness at the inn.
Kang Yeon spoke to that worry.
"It's all right. It won't take long. And I won't go back to the way I was."
Dan U-ryeong grinned.
"Mu-gyeong hyung, if you're that worried, we can just go with him."
Kang Yeon declined.
"U-ryeong, no need."
"Come on — trying to have all the fun alone?"
Nang Hyeon stepped forward as well.
"I will accompany you. Jang Mu-eon is as good as family of this inn."
Kang Yeon gave a short laugh.
"You people…"
Jo Seol asked, worry clear on her face, "Will you really be all right?"
"Yeah. I'll be right back."
Kang Yeon walked toward the door. Jo Seol watched him leave. From his back, a strange pressure seemed to radiate.
At the threshold he stopped and looked toward the distant Black Wind Association.
"I just wanted to live in peace… Why do they keep poking at me?"
His voice was as languid as ever. But the coldness threaded through it made those who heard it go still.
The night wind rose. Kang Yeon's hair stirred in the breeze.
"Still — what needs doing must be done."
The Absolute Martial God began to move once more.
Meanwhile, a fierce battle was underway at the Black Wind Association's stronghold.
Crash!
Jang Mu-eon's Heavenly Thunder Sword met the Shadow Blade's blade. Blue lightning and black energy collided and exploded.
"Hah… hah…"
Jang Mu-eon gasped for breath. The Shadow Blade's skill far exceeded what he had expected — far beyond the level Jang Mu-eon had known. That the man had hidden even this much strength while staying at his side was chilling in its thoroughness.
The Shadow Blade spun his blade and smiled thinly.
"You seem to have learned a new art, but is this all? Disappointing. The way you swaggered in alone, I thought you might have gained the strength to settle this yourself."
Jang Mu-eon shouted, "Shut up!"
The words felt like a slight against Kang Yeon, and that made him angry. If the Shadow Blade knew what Kang Yeon truly was, he would never speak so. Jang Mu-eon swung again. The Shadow Blade slipped aside with ease and answered.
Shiiing.
The blade grazed Jang Mu-eon's shoulder. Blood sprayed.
"Ugh!"
Jang Mu-eon staggered back in pain. The Shadow Blade shook his head.
"Even playing along grows tiresome. I'll end it now."
As he moved to deliver the finishing blow —
A heavy voice sounded at his ear.
"Enough."