Faith and Righteousness
Before the main gate of the Geomga Jeonjang headquarters building.
Beneath the oil lamps that cast a bright glow over the entrance, personnel in red formal uniforms were gathering with swift precision.
And there was not a soul present who failed to recognize what those red uniforms signified: the Censorate of the Luoyang Sword Family.
“W-what business does the Censorate have here?!”
The captain of the gate guards did not even dare to think of drawing his sword.
Toward that trembling man, a figure in a floral-patterned robe stepped forward and spoke in a low, even voice.
“We are from the Central Investigation Department. Resistance will not be tolerated.”
“……?!”
Those words alone were enough.
These were not mere Censorate agents. This was the infamous Central Investigation Department itself.
“L-listen up! All guards, disarm at once and cooperate fully with the Central Investigation Department!”
At the captain’s command, the guards discarded their weapons without the slightest hesitation. Some even raised both hands high above their heads.
“And those men…?”
Hwa Bok pointed toward the figures who still blocked the gate.
Clad in the martial uniforms of the Luoyang Sword Family, they had not disarmed; instead, their hands remained locked around the hilts of their swords.
“H-hieek?!”
The flustered captain hurriedly backed away toward Hwa Bok and cried out,
“Th-those men aren’t with the gate guards! They are martial artists dispatched by the main family to protect the Geomga Jeonjang!”
Hwa Bok bared his teeth.
“You dare stand in the path of the Central Investigation Department?!”
“…….”
No answer came from the four martial artists.
They simply adjusted their stances to secure room enough to swing their blades, their refined killing intent sharpening into a razor’s edge.
In response, the agents of the Central Investigation Department immediately settled into drawing stances.
“…….”
Within that confrontation, where murderous auras crossed like blades of ice, the untrained gate guards could only chatter their teeth and tremble.
“All units—subdue th—”
Just as Hwa Bok opened his mouth to give the order to suppress them—
“Well now.”
A boy’s voice rang out right beside him.
“Martial artists who have offered their swords to the Second Young Master, are you?”
Though the voice came from immediately at his side, not the faintest presence could be felt.
“……?!”
Hwa Bok, shocked to his core, instinctively tried to draw his blade—yet the sword would not leave its scabbard.
The owner of the voice was pressing a single fingertip against the pommel.
“So he has already slipped his own men among the martial artists assigned to the Geomga Jeonjang.”
Hwa Bok’s sword, filled to the brim with his internal energy, thrashed wildly inside its scabbard, yet it could not escape even a finger’s breadth.
“That Second Young Master’s hands are truly quick.”
Sensing the gaze of the one gently pinning his pommel, Hwa Bok raised his head and looked upon the speaker.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
A youth of striking features, with eyes so black their depths could not be fathomed, was regarding Hwa Bok and seeking his agreement.
“…Y-yes, that is so.”
The instant Hwa Bok met those eyes, a presence he had utterly failed to sense until now crashed down upon him all at once.
“……!”
It was the kind of presence one might feel standing before a high elder of the Luoyang Sword Family’s Censorate.
Cold sweat slid down his spine in a chilling trickle. He could not comprehend how he had missed the presence of someone who radiated such overwhelming weight.
“…First Young Master.”
In the past, Hwa Bok had once boasted to his direct superior that he would investigate the First Young Master’s back trail. ‘I’d like to face the First Young Master myself at least once.’ And in this very moment, he realized that boast had been nothing more than reckless arrogance.
His superior’s warning echoed in his mind: ‘Do not go crawling into a place where you will die of your own accord.’
Yeon So-hyeon released the sword whose internal energy had already scattered, then strolled forward with a leisurely expression.
“This First Young Master has come to visit the Geomga Jeonjang on a prior engagement, entirely separate from the Central Investigation Department’s inquiry.”
Hands clasped behind his back, he advanced as though taking a casual evening walk.
The martial artists blocking the entrance felt their very breath catch in their throats.
“But you will not simply step aside, will you?”
“…….”
No reply came.
The greater the pressure radiating from the First Young Master grew, the lower the martial artists sank into their stances, and the sharper the killing edge of their auras became.
“I see…”
Yeon So-hyeon lifted his gaze for a moment toward the darkened sky above their rising intent.
His voice was almost a sigh.
“To change one’s bearing according to situation and opponent… that is not the way of a martial artist of the Sword Family…”
Even if the one standing before them was the Central Investigation Department itself, or even the First Young Master—
They would simply carry out the command given by the lord to whom they had silently offered their swords.
They cared nothing for the disciplinary action that might follow, nor the fire that might scorch them, nor any punishment that awaited. Not one of those things entered their thoughts.
Truly loyal men, were they not?
The Jeam Jincheon Scripture says that no karma exists after death…
Yet as Yeon So-hyeon gazed up at the blackened sky, a deep sorrow flickered through his eyes.
These men… are yet another burden of karma I must carry in this present life.
Why had the Jeam Jincheon Scripture returned him not to a younger age, but to this moment—ten years after he had begun his seclusion?
Why had it not sent him back to a point where he could have set every thread right from the very beginning?
“…….”
Yeon So-hyeon lowered his eyes from the heavens.
…I simply make the fullest use of what has been given to me.
He let the paths not taken flow past him. He focused wholly upon the present moment.
That was why he had been able to declare before the Jeam Jincheon Scripture that he himself was the master of his own fate.
“Martial artists of the Sword Family…”
That these loyal, steadfast men had offered their swords to the Second Young Master—that was his own karma.
Therefore, the one who must receive their blades could be no one but himself.
That was why he had stepped forward into a place the Central Investigation Department could easily have broken through on its own, even if he had merely watched.
“Come.”
He raised one hand into a ready stance.
As one, the martial artists’ swords locked onto Yeon So-hyeon.
“All personnel of the Central Investigation Department—secure the suspects at once!”
Through the front gate, figures in fluttering red uniforms poured in with practiced speed.
None of them dared meet the First Young Master’s gaze.
“Suppress any who resist without delay!”
“Lethal force has been authorized!”
The other entrances would already have been breached; there was no time to waste if they were to keep their timing synchronized.
“I shall take my leave as well.”
Last of all, Hwa Bok bowed his head toward the First Young Master and strode inside.
In his eyes lingered a look of awe, as though he had just beheld a monster.
“…….”
The First Young Master raised a hand in acknowledgment of the salute, yet his gaze never left the four corpses sprawled before the gate.
To the very last breath, those men had fought in silence, never once revealing their connection to the Second Young Master’s faction.
“I was prepared for strong resistance… but…”
A middle-aged woman’s barren, desolate voice reached him from behind.
It was Dokgo Ya-yeon, Master of the Central Investigation Department.
“I did not expect casualties at the front gate itself.”
Blood from the dead martial artists dripped from Yeon So-hyeon’s fist, falling in dark spots upon the ground.
“…Assist with the internal suppression.”
Without turning his head, Yeon So-hyeon spoke to her.
“It seems the Second Young Master’s side has planted martial artists here.”
An order that was not quite an order.
Ordinarily she would have snapped back about the chain of command, yet in this moment she merely inclined her head and walked inside.
“…….”
After regarding the corpses a moment longer, Yeon So-hyeon stepped through the pool of blood they had made and entered the building.
Crimson footprints followed in his wake.
“Out of the way!”
“B-block them!”
The uproar from outside was drawing steadily closer.
This is insane…! We couldn’t even buy this much time?!
The man feeding documents into the incinerator felt the urgency in his eyes grow sharper; his hands moved faster.
Everything truly dangerous had already been disposed of.
His superior—the Deputy Chief of the Geomga Jeonjang—had given him advance warning of just such a possibility.
Yet because no one could predict how deeply the Central Investigation Department might dig, he was now burning even the slightest scrap that might prove troublesome.
Useless martial artists…!
Who in their right mind could possibly hold out against a full-force suppression by the Central Investigation Department?
They were elites among elites; the Central Investigation Department possessed combat power sufficient to contend even with the Inner Court of the Luoyang Sword Family.
“Gyaaah!”
With a bone-chilling sound, every man desperately bracing the door was flung backward at once.
The door itself and their chests split open; arms were severed and went flying; blood sprayed across the entire office.
“Will you not stop those hands?!”
“I-iiik?!”
At the murderous shout, he squeezed his eyes shut and shoved the remaining documents into the furnace all at once.
They could not possibly burn completely, but this was no time to be choosy.
“……?!”
Or rather—he tried to shove them in.
Had his wrist still been attached, he might have managed to feed the last of the papers into the fire.
“K-kyaaaa?!”
Ignoring the man who tumbled screaming across the floor, the Central Investigation Department agent with the drawn sword secured the documents first.
“Suspect located!”
Those who rushed in behind him tightly bound the severed wrist to stop the bleeding, then restrained the man.
“Secure! Suspect secured!”
“Gyaaah…! P-please, j-just spare my life!”
Bound hand and foot, he was dragged out screaming.
The resistance continued.
The red uniforms of the Central Investigation Department grew even redder, soaked through with sprayed blood.
Suspects and the evidence of their corruption were being secured one after another without pause.
The Deputy Chief’s office of the Geomga Jeonjang.
The Deputy Chief of the Geomga Jeonjang was roaring at the Central Investigation Department agents who barred the entrance.
“You bastards! Do you have any idea who these people are that you dare block the way?!”
“…….”
The agents in red frowned as though the noise irritated them, then simply closed their eyes.
“Ahem! Look at this fellow.”
The Deputy Chief jabbed a finger toward the agents, yet inside he was burning alive.
The Censorate Master said he would not intervene…?!
Could the Central Investigation Department truly be moving without authorization?
Perhaps this entire affair was unfolding under the Censorate Master’s tacit approval.
But it doesn’t matter.
He ground his teeth.
They will find not a single scrap of evidence that leads all the way to me.
Using information slipped to him from the Law Protection Court “just in case,” he had already destroyed every piece of physical proof that pointed toward himself.
But those lunatics from the Central Investigation Department—how many people do they intend to round up?!
Screams continued to pour in from outside without end.
From that alone, he could guess this was no operation aimed at only one or two individuals.
Dokgo Ya-yeon…! Does she leap into the succession struggle with methods like this without even considering the backlash that will fall upon her own people later?!
“…Deputy Chief.”
At the voice calling him from behind, the Deputy Chief turned with carefully feigned composure.
“…Haha. There is no need for our distinguished guests to worry.”
Sharing the office with him were the heads of powerful houses that had formed an alliance with the Second Young Master’s faction.
“We are not worried in the least.”
No matter how mighty the Central Investigation Department of the Luoyang Sword Family might be, it had no means of touching the heads of “external” great houses without a decision from the entire Sword Family.
To do so would place the Central Investigation Department itself in danger of dissolution.
“We understand that we have become briefly entangled in an internal Sword Family matter.”
Clear displeasure floated in the eyes of the family heads.
“But we cannot help finding this unpleasant.”
“Do you truly grasp how urgent the situation is?”
“Even at this very moment that First Young Master is surely targeting our houses!”
Once the complaints began to pour out, they showed no sign of stopping.
“The Second Young Master’s side told us they would lend funds to fight the First Young Master, so we hurried here—yet if we end up trapped like this, won’t it have the opposite effect?!”
“Take measures so that we can return at once!”
Surrounded by their scolding, the Deputy Chief’s face gradually flushed a deep red.
“J-just wait a moment and—”
His voice was drowned out by the shout of the Central Investigation Department agents guarding the entrance.
“We greet the First Young Master of the main family!”
“Yes. You’ve all worked hard.”
“……?!”
At that voice, the Deputy Chief’s eyes bulged as though they might pop from his skull.
The First Young Master, who had been passing along the corridor, glanced inside as though by pure chance, then put on an expression of mild surprise.
“My, my…!”
“…….”
His face remained calm, yet somehow the entire office seemed to freeze solid.
“To think such distinguished personages would be gathered here.”
Truly dreadful killing intent.
Even the agents of the Central Investigation Department found themselves unconsciously taking a step back from the First Young Master.
“…….”
The family heads could not dare meet his gaze and averted their eyes.
“Deputy Chief.”
“Y-yes! First Young Master…!”
At the man’s frantic reply, Yeon So-hyeon wore a twisted smile.
“…So that the martial artists who lost their lives need not feel wronged, struggle as hard as you can.”
“…Pardon?”
Seeing the man’s blank face, the twisted smile at Yeon So-hyeon’s lips twisted even further.
The First Young Master’s hooked hand seized the Deputy Chief by the nape of the neck.
“K-keok…!”
His windpipe closed.
“Struggle for your life with everything you have.”
Forehead pressed to the older man’s, the First Young Master spoke in a chilling voice.
“Drag in every force you can muster and resist.”
In the depths of Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes, a cold blue ghost-flame rose.
“Otherwise you alone will fall into hell in lonely silence.”
Yeon So-hyeon gave a light shove; the Deputy Chief’s aged body toppled where it stood.
Ignoring the man who gasped like a fish hauled onto land, Yeon So-hyeon clasped his hands behind his back and turned his gaze upon the family heads.
“I wish you all a valiant struggle as well.”
“…….”
Cold sweat streaming down their faces, the family heads could only swallow dryly.
Only now did they truly understand whom they had been dealing with.
Yeon So-hyeon—whom until now they had known only through reports—
In that brief exchange they had come to grasp, with vivid clarity, exactly what sort of man he was.
“Well then. I must be going. I have a prior engagement.”
“…….”
After sweeping his gaze once over the assembled men, Yeon So-hyeon turned and walked away.
His figure vanished, and the family heads were just about to release the sighs of relief they had been holding when—
“Ah. Come to think of it.”
Yeon So-hyeon poked his head back in.
“I am sorry to say that around this time, the Gong and Cheong families will be attacking your houses.”
He put on an expression of mild regret.
“With you gentlemen—who are essentially their commanders—absent from your posts, there may be some damage. I hope you can return to your respective houses as quickly as possible.”
The curve of his lips was unmistakably a sneer.
“Though you will have to wait a full shichen before the blockade is lifted.”
Leaving those words behind, Yeon So-hyeon disappeared once more.
The family heads charged as one at the Central Investigation Department agents.
“Clear the way at once!”
“Get out of our path!”
Yeon So-hyeon reached the end of the long corridor.
“We greet the First Young Master of the main family.”
The man waiting there bowed deeply.
“The Chief is expecting you.”