Clean Sweep
Yeo Mong found herself in a dire predicament.
The assassins of Geumcheonsalmun, who had already abandoned any thought of coexistence and charged forward prepared to die, were truly terrifying. They were utterly unrestrained. If someone belonged to Heukwangpa, they slaughtered them without exception or hesitation.
Yeo Mong had barely managed to escape their clutches. She had lost nearly two-thirds of her subordinates, and the foundations she had painstakingly built were crumbling.
“Boss, three more died at Geungnakru last night. Is there really no way out of this?”
Gae-pyeong voiced his frustration as well.
Yeo Mong and Gae-pyeong were holed up in their hideout, unable to move because Geumcheonsalmun assassins were swarming the area.
“At this rate, with blood spilling at Geungnakru every single day, customers are going to stop coming altogether. We’ve already lost a third of our revenue.”
Yeo Mong let out a quiet sigh at Gae-pyeong’s words.
The promised date has already passed.
She had held on, trusting only Woo-jin’s word that he would come in the new year. But spring had arrived and the days had ripened, and Woo-jin had not shown his face even once.
Could it be…?
Was all of this part of Woo-jin’s scheme?
A chilling premonition flashed through Yeo Mong’s mind. What if Woo-jin had orchestrated everything to wipe out the black path factions in Gangseo?
That would be a disaster. There would be no escaping it.
No.
Yeo Mong shook her head, banishing the thought. Woo-jin would never do that. He had given her the whereabouts of her brother, whom she had searched for over ten years. Later, she had secretly sent subordinates to confirm, and just as Woo-jin said, her brother Yeo Gwak was at Chimwanggak—living quite comfortably, at that.
Moreover, the fact that Woo-jin had not appeared for so long suggested he really had entered secluded training…
Ah, something could have gone wrong.
Yeo Mong had overlooked one crucial detail. Secluded training meant cutting off all contact with the outside world to focus solely on martial arts. Its safety could never be guaranteed. A single mistake during qi circulation could easily twist one’s meridians and turn them into a cripple.
“How many people can we gather right now?”
At Yeo Mong’s question, Gae-pyeong pondered briefly before answering.
“Less than thirty. If we only count those who can actually handle a blade, it might be even fewer…”
“What would you do in this situation?”
“What else? Fight to the death. Negotiations are already off the table.”
Yeo Mong smiled faintly and nodded at Gae-pyeong’s words.
“Right. No choice, then.”
She could not simply sit back and take it any longer.
“You know where Geumcheonsalmun’s main base is, don’t you?”
“I’ve narrowed it down as much as possible. There are three suspicious locations.”
“We strike first.”
Gae-pyeong frowned at that, then reluctantly nodded.
The odds of victory were less than ten percent. But if they took the initiative, those odds would rise to over thirty percent. Their opponents were assassins—deadly in ambushes and surprise attacks, but lacking the advantage in a head-on confrontation.
“Find their base by tonight. We settle this today.”
“Understood.”
Gae-pyeong left the hideout with grim determination. Yeo Mong’s expression, as she gripped her sword, was filled with an unyielding resolve.
* * *
On a night when clouds veiled the bright moon, Yeo Mong and slightly more than thirty warriors sliced through the air as one. Their destination was a small hermitage in a village east of Okhwasan—a place called Geumseonsa.
Yeo Mong and her subordinates stormed the temple.
Shhhk!
She cut down the monk guarding the main gate, shook the blood from her blade, and rushed inside.
“Who would have thought this place was Geumcheonsalmun’s headquarters?”
It was completely unexpected. Though small, Geumseonsa was an ancient temple steeped in history and tradition. Disguised as monks, the assassins had been watching every corner. Yeo Mong and her men slipped past their eyes and pressed deeper inside.
Then it happened.
Clang! Clang!
With the loud noise of mechanisms activating, Yeo Mong’s formation was torn apart. Iron bars and claws erupted from the ground. Assassins poured out from every direction.
“Heh heh heh. Just as expected. You moved exactly as predicted.”
A familiar voice struck Yeo Mong’s ears. O Ja-gae, the master of Geumcheonsalmun, had appeared. Smiling sinisterly, he walked slowly toward her, his face filled with the smile of a victor.
“A trap…”
Yeo Mong cursed her own foolishness. She should have been more cautious, knowing this was an assassin headquarters. Losing her subordinates had clearly shaken her composure.
“You’ve been scurrying away like a mudfish, and now you think you can take me on?”
“……”
Yeo Mong scanned her surroundings. There were quite a few assassins.
How…?
This made no sense. Heukwangpa had seized the information network that Geumcheonsalmun once controlled and used it to strengthen their position. In turn, Geumcheonsalmun had lost their main source of income—their intelligence system. By all rights, Geumcheonsalmun should have collapsed. Yet…
Why are they still standing?
Geumcheonsalmun’s strength had not diminished at all.
“Curious?”
O Ja-gae approached Yeo Mong with a chilling smile. Even though she had not answered, he continued speaking as if it were nothing.
“I received a little help. As you can see, I’m the type who must repay what’s done to me twofold.”
The other assassins seemed to feel the same, as killing intent erupted from them all at once.
“Kekeke. So you were all gathered here.”
Another voice rang out. A man dressed in luxurious red robes embroidered with gold patterns—Geosan, the master of Haedobang.
“I see. So you joined hands with Haedobang.”
Yeo Mong grasped the situation instantly. Geumcheonsalmun had reached out to Haedobang.
“What did they promise you in return? You actually trust the word of assassins?”
At Yeo Mong’s words, Geosan smiled and shook his head.
“At least better than you. I don’t want anything else.”
Geosan was simply satisfied with eliminating one of the two factions that had divided the back alleys. Once Heukwangpa was gone, he believed he could easily control the weakened Geumcheonsalmun as well.
“Now, now.”
Geosan spread his hand and gave a signal. Hundreds of Haedobang warriors rose from the surroundings and surrounded the area.
“What is the meaning of this?”
O Ja-gae glared and demanded an answer. Geosan replied casually.
“Just in case. We need to make sure we catch them properly.”
“……”
Even so, O Ja-gae did not seem convinced.
“Hah, idiot.”
Yeo Mong spat the curse at O Ja-gae.
“You joined hands with Haedobang just to catch me? You don’t even realize you’re being used?”
Yeo Mong shuddered at the auras she felt around her. There were easily over several hundred Haedobang warriors. While Geumcheonsalmun and Heukwangpa had been busy fighting each other, Haedobang had used the opportunity to bolster their forces overwhelmingly.
“Hey, wench. Shouldn’t you be worrying about how you’re going to survive first?”
O Ja-gae drew his sword with a sinister laugh.
“If you hadn’t touched Geumcheonsalmun, none of this would have happened.”
With those words, O Ja-gae nodded to his subordinates. In that instant—
Slash! Shhhk!
With sickening sounds of flesh being torn, three or four of Yeo Mong’s subordinates clutched their throats and collapsed. It was a surprise attack aimed at their moment of distraction.
Yeo Mong swung her sword desperately and charged at the assassins.
“Get back!”
She let out a battle cry and sliced through the necks of the leading assassins.
Dehon Chambakdo.
A fearsome technique whose name meant “severing the soul and cutting the white blade.” It was Yeo Mong’s signature art, renowned even in the black path. A swift sword style that harnessed tremendous speed, it lived up to its name with its peerless velocity.
Shhhk!
Yeo Mong’s blade flew mercilessly toward the assassins.
“How dare you!”
O Ja-gae lunged at Yeo Mong in a single bound.
“You were on the verge of death last time… You got lucky and escaped then, but not today.”
“……”
O Ja-gae roared and thrust his sword straight at Yeo Mong. True to his nature as an assassin, the tip of his blade was so precise and swift that its target could not be predicted. But in a direct confrontation, Yeo Mong held the advantage.
“You only know how to ambush like a coward… yet your mouth still runs.”
Yeo Mong parried his sword and pressed him hard. Swift sword against swift sword. O Ja-gae was superior in precision, but Yeo Mong compensated with superior balance and strength. Even so, she was still at a disadvantage. She had only about fifteen subordinates left.
Is this the end?
Despite her outward smile, Yeo Mong’s heart already understood the hopelessness of the situation. No matter how desperately she struggled, there was no escape. Even if she miraculously killed O Ja-gae and subdued all of Geumcheonsalmun’s assassins, Haedobang would never let her go. Geosan was watching her hungrily from behind.
I wanted to break free…
She had finally begun to live like a normal person. By taking the young master’s hand, she had hoped to wash away the filth of the past and live as a human being. Living in the light rather than the shadows, under the sun—that had been her lifelong wish. She had thought she might finally achieve that dream…
“Damn it.”
Her hand gripping the sword trembled. Beside her, the last remaining subordinate was impaled by a Haedobang warrior’s blade and lifted into the air.
“Kuh… Kuh! B-Boss… Run…!”
The warriors twisted their swords with cruel smiles. The subordinate’s body was torn apart like meat on a butcher’s block.
Helplessness rose before anger. It was over. Truly over.
In that moment, O Ja-gae’s sword tip surged toward her heart. Yeo Mong closed her eyes. At the very least, she resolved not to scream.
But then—
“Muyoung.”
A voice she had longed to hear after so long reached her ears. A streak of light followed.
Crack!
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out. Yet there was no pain in her body. When she cautiously opened her eyes, an unbelievable sight unfolded before her.
O Ja-gae’s sword—the sharp assassin’s blade—was caught barehanded by someone. Crack. The steel sword snapped like dry firewood.
“W-Who are you?!”
As O Ja-gae recoiled in shock, a blue flash split the night sky.
Slash!
O Ja-gae’s head flew into the air. Beneath the fountain of blood, a familiar back came into view. At the same time, a very familiar voice spoke.
“I was so bored waiting, I thought I’d die.”
Woo-jin. He had returned.
* * *
Yeo Mong was a woman of considerable tenacity. In truth, I had arrived at Geumseonsa ahead of everyone and waited. Baekryongdae had already grasped every movement of Geumcheonsalmun. It seemed they had decided to settle things once and for all, as they were moving openly without regard for the Ju family.
Thus, when I arrived at Geumseonsa, Yeo Mong launched her ambush. But Haedobang and the assassins had instead laid a trap and isolated her. In that life-or-death moment, it would not have been strange if the word “young master” had escaped her lips. Yet she never uttered the Ju family’s name until the very end. Even though declaring that she was under the young master’s protection might have saved her life, she chose silence to the last. That alone raised Yeo Mong’s value slightly in my eyes. She was not the type to carelessly trade on someone else’s name.
Even facing death, she had ultimately chosen silence. Therefore, as payment, I would save her.
“W-What is this…!”
O Ja-gae collapsed and died on the spot. Geosan stumbled backward in shock, looking around frantically—perhaps checking if anyone else was present.
“You’re late, Young Master.”
“Not late. I was just enjoying the show.”
The moment I finished speaking, Geosan and hundreds of Haedobang warriors surrounded me.
“D-Do you want to die?”
I ignored Geosan’s words and casually picked at my ear while looking at Yeo Mong.
“You did well. You set the stage perfectly. I’ll give you that.”
Then I slowly turned my head and gazed at the frozen enemies.
“Rats.”
The ones who had been hiding throughout Gangseo Province. The ones my father had deliberately left alone.
“Time to clean house.”
In that instant, an overwhelming aura erupted from my entire body and engulfed the surroundings. Tonight, the ruler of Gangseo Province’s back alleys would change.