Lightning War
The Yi Family had originally begun to grow in power with the founding of the present Central Plains Kingdom, rising to become one of the renowned and influential houses of Luoyang.
In the days of the previous dynasty they had kept their roots in Jiangxi Province, and for a long time they had maintained cordial relations with Sapaecheon. Building their fortune upon overland merchant caravans that ran south of the Yangtze into the Jiangnan region, they had poured capital into Luoyang’s local bureaucracy and produced a steady stream of officials.
That such a family should form an alliance with the Second Young Master—who had Sapaecheon at his back—was the most natural thing in the world.
True to the prestige of a great Luoyang house, the Yi Family’s council pavilion stood above a lotus pond, luxurious beyond measure. And into that pavilion the members of the Yi Clan were gathering by the hour.
“So how are the boys faring, then?”
It was broad daylight and the day’s work was in full swing; most of those who occupied the council seats were retired elders of the family.
“According to the physicians of the Yakseonmun, both of them will live.”
“And the aftereffects? Will they recover enough to resume official life?”
The old men, long bamboo pipes clamped between their teeth, referred to the pair as “the boys.” The boys in question were the district magistrate of Cheonghak Ward and its chief of security. Only elders could take such liberties with titles.
“That is…”
The younger clansman trailed off. The elders clicked their tongues. They regretted only that the family had lost two men of influence; of personal pity for the magistrate or the security chief there was not a trace.
“In fact, it has worked out rather well,” one of the elders said, tapping ash from his pipe. The others nodded in agreement.
“With this, our Yi Family is the first among all the houses to obtain a legitimate pretext for a proper assault on that First Young Master.”
“By now the other families who have lined up with the Second Young Master must be green with envy.”
“I’d dearly love to see the faces of those On Family dogs right about now.”
“The On lot must be sweating blood.”
They snickered, bringing up their rivals—the On Family, who had likewise attached themselves to the Second Young Master.
“Still, that First Young Master is beyond absurd. Even if he was angry, to assault a high official and attack government troops?”
“It’s all because the boy is young.”
“His precious House of Mercy was attacked; his blood simply rushed to his head, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ahem.”
The more cautious elders immediately pushed back against the rosy talk.
“We must not underestimate him. Do not forget that, for whatever reason, he tore through Mount Beimang only yesterday.”
“The Second Young Master’s side has issued warning after warning, has it not?”
“I hear the rumors about him inside the Sword Family’s own political circles are positively vicious. We must not lower our guard.”
“I also heard that several powerful houses lent aid at the Valley of Sin fire last night.”
Those who had been crowing over their newfound pretext quickly sobered. Their long years of experience would not let them keep underestimating an opponent even after such counsel.
“When all is said and done, the only thing we can do is seize the pretext with both hands and never let go.”
“So long as we do not grow careless and ease the pressure, it will be enough to throw the First Young Master’s movements into disarray.”
They went on to discuss which houses to cooperate with and by what means they would squeeze the First Young Master. Men who had spent their entire lives in political intrigue soon poured out every possible way to exploit the pretext.
“Family Head. Why do you keep such silence?”
While the rest puffed their pipes and plotted against the First Young Master, one elder turned to the Family Head. Like them he had retired from active office, yet he had not spoken a word since the meeting began.
“…Something feels off.”
Every gaze fixed on him.
“What feels off?”
“The First Young Master.”
He was about to continue when—
“In this Family Head’s judgment, the First Young Master of the Sword Family would never hand us a pretext so easily—”
At that moment a thunderous roar and a shockwave, as if a heavenly lightning bolt had struck, rolled through the pavilion.
The main gate of the Yi Family’s ancestral residence was gone.
Shattered into splinters, it sent a cloud of dust billowing upward like smoke; through that dust cloud a steel carriage emerged into view.
Two spirit beasts threw back their heads and gave long, triumphant cries, as though boasting of the destruction they themselves had wrought. The sight seemed living proof of what Head Maid Hyang had declared the previous night in the Valley of Sin—that the Ironclad Fortress could smash straight through any building that stood in its path.
“What in heaven’s name is going on?! What the devil is that thing?!”
Forgetting their years, the elders raced out to the gate and bellowed, pointing at the empty driver’s seat of the Ironclad Fortress.
“What are you all standing around for?! Subdue those monstrous beasts at once!”
“Whoever is riding inside—drag them out!”
The moment the gate collapsed, the Yi Family compound declared a state of emergency. Warriors on permanent standby and armed retainers began to surround the Ironclad Fortress.
“Wait—that is…!”
An elder who arrived late stared at the armored carriage and suddenly dredged up an old memory.
“Is that not the carriage Fairy Yak once rode…?!”
Through the uproar a clear, resonant voice laced with internal energy rang out.
“To draw blades the instant a guest arrives.”
A figure who looked little more than a boy strode through the dust cloud and appeared before them.
“For a house of the Yi Family’s renown, your hospitality is truly abysmal.”
No introduction was required. The youth wore the great banner of the Luoyang Sword Family’s First Young Master draped across his shoulder.
“F-First Young Master?!”
Skin so pale it seemed almost white, an arrogant smile, a black outer robe that could have been called a treasure fluttering about him—anyone, even those who had never met him, knew at a glance who he was.
“Yes. I am none other than the First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.”
The look of open contempt and the deliberate condescension twisted the elders’ faces in an instant.
“You insolent greenhorn of a pup…!”
“What makes you so arrogantly bold?!”
Fingers jabbed and angry shouts flew. One of the elders stepped forward and addressed Yeon So-hyeon.
“To invade another house by force within Luoyang is a grave crime for which even the First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family cannot escape punishment. Are you aware of that?”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded without the least hesitation.
“Of course I am.”
The elder’s eyes glinted coldly.
“And you know that the single act you have just committed is enough for both the Sword Family’s Disciplinary Court and Luoyang’s Central Court to punish you severely?”
Yeon So-hyeon laughed outright.
“Why waste breath on things I already know? Finding a statute this First Young Master is unaware of would be the harder task.”
The elder who had stepped forward bared his teeth.
“If you are so clever, then you also know of the ‘right of self-defense’ that allows a man to protect himself and his property against one who invades another’s private domain.”
Even as he spoke, fully armed retainers of the Yi Family continued to pour in, and warriors the family had either raised or hired kept appearing. Famous martial artists who lodged as guests of the house also stepped forward, weapons in hand, ready to earn their keep. The vast courtyard beyond the ruined gate looked as though it would soon be packed solid with troops.
When enough force had gathered, the elder spoke again.
“The Yi Family will bind you ourselves and personally escort you to the Central Court.”
Yeon So-hyeon laughed once more. The sound that rolled across the wide courtyard was pure, unmistakable mockery. The eyes of the assembled troops grew fiercer; hands tightened on weapons.
“What is so amusing?”
Yeon So-hyeon deliberately exaggerated his smile a moment longer, then let it fall.
“Nothing. Only that what you just said is exactly what I myself wished to say.”
“…What?”
In one light leap he landed atop the carriage.
“From this moment, this First Young Master will personally bind all of you and escort you to the Central Court!”
The elders’ mouths twisted. Some laughed openly and loudly.
“You who possess not the slightest judicial authority—by what right do you spout such nonsense?”
Yeon So-hyeon merely shrugged.
“Which is why I brought those who do possess it.”
Before the elders could grasp his meaning, an old man’s voice rang out.
“Sale of office, smuggling, tax evasion, human trafficking, solicitation of murder, unlawful imprisonment, abuse of authority, intimidation…”
The speaker listed the charges leveled against the Yi Family in a continuous stream as he stepped through the shattered gate.
“There are so many charges against the Yi Family that reciting them all is something of a chore.”
He wore silk robes rather than judicial robes, for he had long since retired. Yet no person of any standing among Luoyang’s great houses could fail to recognize that face.
“Th-that is Judge Cheong, is it not?!”
An elder of the Yi Family, who had instinctively used honorifics at first, now cried out as if screaming.
“The Family Head of the Cheong Family himself?! Why?!”
A man once known as a peerless judge whose fame had reached even the Imperial Capital beyond Luoyang. Lord Cheong, still imposing of build despite his years, smiled beneath the weight of every stare. He was the same Family Head of the Cheong Clan who, only the night before, had guided his retainers to the temporary command tent to aid in extinguishing the fire in the Valley of Sin.
“I myself have retired from the bench and can no longer execute the law or pass judgment, so I have borrowed a little of my family’s strength.”
No sooner had he finished than members of the Cheong Family, clad in full judicial robes, filed in behind him—every one of them a sitting judge. The Cheong Family, which for generations had produced renowned judges without end and still filled countless posts on the active bench, was now displaying that power in full.
Even one judge is a headache…!
Yet here an entire flock of them had appeared. The faces of the Yi elders contorted further and further.
“Lord Cheong! What is the meaning of this?! For what reason does the Cheong Family declare war upon our Yi Family?!”
“What grudge could you possibly hold against us to commit such an act?!”
The situation defied comprehension. They had heard that the Cheong Family had helped fight the fire in the Valley of Sin the previous night, but that had been nothing more than firefighting. What was happening now belonged to an entirely different dimension. This was no different from declaring a total war that would settle scores between the two houses once and for all.
“Spare us the pretense of innocence. It was your Yi Family that first laid hands on my ‘allied forces’—the First Young Master.”
“Allied forces…?!”
The deliberate choice of the word “forces” was so blatant that not a single Yi elder failed to grasp Lord Cheong’s intent. The Cheong Family had decided to stand with the First Young Master and enter this war.
Watching the exchange, the arrogant smile on Yeon So-hyeon’s lips deepened.
The best moment to reveal one’s hand is the moment one can sever the enemy’s throat in a single stroke.
They would never have imagined he could mobilize the entire Cheong Family for the war.
“Begin.”
At Lord Cheong’s gesture the Cheong judges barked orders.
“Investigators, prepare for search and seizure!”
At the command, the investigators under each judge appeared in unison along the walls. Fully armed, they looked for all the world like death itself to those who had committed crimes.
Understanding the situation at last, murderous light entered the eyes of the Yi elders.
“Do you think the Yi Family will submit so easily?!”
The elder who had stood foremost fell back a step and roared.
“The Yi Family hereby invokes its right of self-defense and will block this outrageous enforcement based on baseless charges!”
At his cry the Yi troops clenched their teeth and raised their weapons high.
“As you command!”
Their unified shout thundered across the courtyard. Using the flimsy claim of self-defense to obstruct a judge’s lawful enforcement was a last resort. Yet once a search-and-seizure began they would all be dragged away on the spot; there was no reason left to worry about consequences.
“Dear me…”
Lord Cheong, Family Head of the Cheong Clan, shook his head as though there were nothing more to be done.
“Powerful houses abusing the right of self-defense to obstruct judicial enforcement—some things never change, no matter how much time passes.”
The eyes of the investigators who would carry out the raid remained utterly unshaken. As Lord Cheong had said, whenever they enforced the law against a great house, armed clashes were as common as the weather.
They raised their hands in signal, and the judicial enforcement troops began pouring through the ruined gate.
“Form ranks!”
“Riot formation!”
At the squad leaders’ shouts the enforcement troops moved with perfect coordination. Clad in heavy armor, heavy tower shields, and short spears, they looked like an elite army marching onto a battlefield.
The Yi elder who had retreated far to the rear shouted,
“Proud sons of the Yi Family, for the glory of our house to the very en—”
He never finished the order to begin the battle.
Struck by a Hundred-Pace Divine Fist, he flew a great distance and slammed into a massive pillar of the main hall, his spine snapping.
“Too much talk.”
Yeon So-hyeon withdrew his fist, regulated his internal energy, and roared,
“Strike!”
Though he held no command authority, the judicial troops charged as one. His voice carried an authority that mere soldiers dared not defy.
“S-stop them!”
And of course, at the very tip of that charging formation strode Yeon So-hyeon himself, banner in hand.