Chapter 16
You Should Control Your Temper (1)
“You bastards! I’ll grind every last one of you into powder and drink it!”
After returning home, Wang Gon burned with the desire for revenge.
Every time the physician touched his face during treatment, the pain was almost unbearable. While imprisoned, rage had kept him from noticing how much he hurt, but once proper treatment began, the pain struck him in full.
His face was swollen beyond recognition, and every time he spoke, a pounding headache shook his skull. Several of his teeth had also been shattered, making the reflection in his bronze mirror resemble a grotesque monster.
In truth, however, it was not the physical pain that tormented him most.
What worried him was how the Divine Fire Hall’s main headquarters would react once they learned what had happened.
The Hall Master of the Divine Fire Hall judged people entirely by their ability.
Personality, character, humanity, personal bonds—none of those things mattered to him in the slightest.
He looked only at competence, and the moment he decided someone was incapable, he replaced them without hesitation.
Countless people in the Divine Fire Hall were desperate to become Hall Masters. If this incident was judged to be a failure, Wang Gon would be discarded without mercy.
When the Hall Master asked what had happened—or rather, when the subordinate he sent asked, since the Hall Master would not bother meeting him over a matter like this—Wang Gon needed an answer that would not make the listener frown.
“I’ll go and wipe them all out.”
For starters, Cheuk Su’s answer was not the correct one.
The Divine Fire Hall would never want the matter to escalate into an open confrontation with the Martial Alliance.
Cheuk Su, who had no thought for such circumstances, remained entirely faithful to his emotions.
I’ll kill that bastard. No matter what.
His fury had reached its peak.
His nasal bone was broken and his face wrapped tightly in bandages, but the greatest injury had been dealt to his pride.
He could not believe that he had been defeated by some Squad Leader who had been expelled from the Iron Sword Corps.
And in a single move.
Precisely because it had ended in one move, he could not accept it.
Had they fought properly, he was confident he could kill not merely a Squad Leader of the Iron Sword Corps, but even a Unit Commander.
“I only lost because I let my guard down!”
“Of course you did.”
Wang Gon was angry with Cheuk Su as well.
Useless fool. You couldn’t even deal with one man. The money I spend on you is wasted.
He could not reveal those thoughts, however.
Whatever else might be said, Cheuk Su was still the strongest fighter under his command.
“This time, I will make certain there are no mistakes.”
What Wang Gon truly wanted was to send Cheuk Su out and have him slaughter everyone involved.
But he could not do that.
Had he and Cheuk Su never been arrested, they could have shifted the blame onto the killer who massacred Yang Chu’s family.
Now that a clear grudge existed between them and the Munseong Branch, however, they could not simply kill everyone without consequence.
“Endure it for now.”
If anything went wrong, this time Wang Gon might truly be finished.
He was not the Hall Master of the Divine Fire Hall.
He was merely one Hall Master responsible for the southern region of Zhejiang Province.
If he caused another incident now, even the leader of the Divine Fire Hall might find it difficult to clean up the aftermath.
“Even if you were caught off guard, that man is no ordinary opponent.”
Wang Gon remembered the oppressive presence Baek Socheon had displayed that day.
It had been more than the pressure of a strong man intimidating someone weaker.
There had been something overwhelmingly absolute about it.
“We need to find out what sort of man he is. Until then, you are not to make a move under any circumstances. Do you understand?”
When Wang Gon spoke firmly, Cheuk Su answered with obvious reluctance.
“Understood.”
From that moment, a battle began inside Cheuk Su.
It was a struggle between loyalty and his inability to control his rage.
Im Chung visited Physician Hwang, who had conducted the postmortem examination of Yang Chu.
The examination had already been completed, but the incidents involving the Tae Jeong Faction and Wang Gon had occurred one after another, preventing Im Chung from coming sooner.
“It appears there was only one killer. Look here.”
Physician Hwang pointed to the fatal wound on Yang Chu’s body as he explained.
“He was killed in a single move. The killer did not slash him but pierced his heart with perfect accuracy. I have examined many corpses in my life, but I have never seen such a clean technique.”
“Then the killer was naturally more skilled than Great Hero Yang?”
“That would be the obvious conclusion.”
“Unless it was someone he knew.”
There were many possibilities.
Yang Chu might have lowered his guard and been ambushed.
“In any case, the killer was exceptionally skilled with a sword.”
“Were the other family members killed in the same manner?”
“Yes. Each with a single move. The killer murdered them all without the slightest hesitation.”
Killing a warrior during a fight and killing someone incapable of resisting were similar only in that both acts ended a life.
In every other respect, they were as different as heaven and earth.
“So the killer is someone who does not hesitate to take lives. Were there any other traces? Was the sword used as the murder weapon unusual, or perhaps coated with poison?”
“No. There was nothing distinctive about it. It was perfectly ordinary.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
As Im Chung turned to leave, Physician Hwang called after him.
“Catch him. Do not let a lunatic like that continue roaming the world.”
Had Im Chung heard those words before all of this began, he would have let them pass without much thought.
He would probably have answered something like:
—Of course. We’ll catch the lunatics, the villains, and everyone else too.
Half joking and half resigned, that was how Im Chung, Branch Leader of the Munseong Branch, would have responded only a short while ago.
Now, however, things were different.
He did not know whether he would succeed, but his answer was sincere.
“I will do everything I can.”
After leaving the clinic, Im Chung did not return to the branch despite the late hour.
Instead, he went to Yang Chu’s residence in the hope that some clue might remain.
The moment he entered, he was startled.
Someone was standing in the courtyard.
“Who’s there?”
Im Chung shouted as he drew his sword.
The equally startled figure turned around.
It was Beon Saeng.
“Whoa! It’s me, Branch Leader!”
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought there might still be some clue left behind, so I came to look.”
“You and I had the same idea.”
Seeing Beon Saeng there brought Im Chung an unexpected sense of relief.
“Weren’t you afraid to come alone?”
“I thought I would be, but once I arrived, I wasn’t.”
Instead, he had felt pity for the people who died there and guilt that he had failed to catch their killer.
“Two children died as well, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
“What kind of human being could kill children?”
Beon Saeng reflected on his actions with genuine remorse.
On the first day after the massacre, he had passed through the place without even properly mourning them.
At the time, delivering Wang Gon’s message to Im Chung had seemed more important.
I am truly sorry.
It was an apology directed toward the resentful spirits of the dead.
“Let’s make sure we catch the killer.”
Im Chung nodded silently before asking,
“Did you find anything?”
“I searched, but there was nothing unusual. You should return first, Branch Leader. I’ll look around one more time before I leave.”
“We’ll search together.”
“You should go. Your wife must be worried.”
“Martial Artist Baek is protecting her.”
“You trust Big Brother Baek now?”
Im Chung could not fully understand his own feelings.
Did he truly trust Baek Socheon?
Or had he simply chosen him because there was no other option?
“Even if there had been another expert available, I think you still would have entrusted your family to Big Brother Baek.”
Im Chung thought that might indeed have been true.
Their conversation ended there, and the two searched every corner inside and outside the residence.
Yet no matter how carefully they looked with their changed perspective, they found nothing that could serve as a clue.
Whoever the killer was, his cleanup had been as flawless as his merciless skill at murder.
“Let’s head back.”
The two men left the estate.
Although they had achieved nothing, both felt that returning there had still been worthwhile.
A masked man silently climbed over the wall of the Martial Alliance’s Munseong Branch.
Moving with practiced agility, he arrived at the residence where Im Chung’s wife, Madam Ju, and their son were staying.
Just as he was about to slip inside, someone spoke from behind him.
“There’s no one in there.”
The masked man stopped and turned around.
Baek Socheon stood behind him.
“I couldn’t very well let a maggot crawl into a house with a child in it.”
The masked man laughed coldly and removed his mask.
With his crushed nose and hideously disfigured face, he was unmistakably Cheuk Su.
“You knew I would come.”
“I looked into you. This is exactly the sort of man you are.”
Just as Baek Socheon had predicted, the struggle between Cheuk Su’s loyalty and his uncontrollable rage had ended in an effortless victory for the latter.
No matter how much Cheuk Su tried, he could not endure the humiliation.
Every pulse of pain from his broken nose made it even harder.
He had still attempted to restrain himself, but then, at a tavern, he overheard a group of drinkers at another table talking about him.
“Did you hear that Cheuk Su lost to the new martial artist at the branch?”
“I heard he was completely destroyed.”
“How strong was that newcomer, if he could defeat Cheuk Su?”
“Cheuk Su was always overrated. The bubble finally burst.”
He had nearly cut those men down first.
But he had stopped himself.
After crushing Baek Socheon, he would force them to admit that they had been wrong.
He could kill them afterward.
The moment he left the tavern, he headed straight for the branch and climbed over its wall.
That was also why the smell of alcohol lingered on his breath.
“I’ll kill you. Then, when Im Chung returns, I’ll rape his wife in front of him and skin his brat alive.”
Cheuk Su’s murderous intent was crude and vulgar.
And entirely sincere.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why are you behaving like a complete lunatic?”
“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”
“Because I beat you? Then take revenge on me. Why involve the Branch Leader’s family?”
“That isn’t enough. My pride has already been shattered beyond repair.”
“Your precious pride was hurt, so you need to do something this insane to feel better? I’ve met plenty of people like you, but… I never get used to it.”
“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard? I’ll give you the most painful death imaginable.”
Baek Socheon raised a hand, stopping Cheuk Su as he approached with murderous intent.
“Wait. One final question. Did your people kill Yang Chu’s family?”
Cheuk Su gave no verbal answer, but the faint upward curl of his lips answered in his place.
Yes.
He was not a man accustomed to concealing his emotions.
Then again, that was precisely why he was standing there now.
“Did you handle it personally?”
“Do you think I’m that kind of filthy blade? Tonight is a battle to restore my honor.”
Cheuk Su drew his sword.
His emotions, intensified further by alcohol, surged violently, but the memory of his previous defeat prevented him from charging in recklessly.
He took full advantage of Baek Socheon being unarmed, maintaining his distance as he attacked.
Swish! Swish!
Baek Socheon evaded the blades that came at him in quick succession.
Whatever his personality might have been, Cheuk Su was a highly skilled martial artist.
He was not quite capable of killing an Iron Sword Corps Unit Commander as easily as he claimed, but he was comparable to one of the corps’ more capable Squad Leaders.
That alone made him considerably strong.
Baek Socheon did not counterattack immediately.
Instead, he approached the fight as a training exercise.
Whoosh!
He narrowly avoided a thrust aimed at his heart, only for the sword to suddenly change direction and slash diagonally toward his neck.
Shhk!
The blade swept past Baek Socheon’s face.
Cheuk Su dropped low and swung his sword at Baek Socheon’s thigh.
Got him!
He was certain of it.
Yet the blade missed by the narrowest possible margin.
Thrusting, slashing, chopping downward, twisting upward—Cheuk Su displayed every technique he possessed.
But his opponent seemed to be inside his mind.
Every attack missed by a hair’s breadth.
“Damn it!”
“So close!”
Exclamations escaped Cheuk Su involuntarily.
Yet while he recognized how close each strike had come, he failed to understand the precise nature of that distance.
Incredibly, Baek Socheon was avoiding every attack by an exact, predetermined margin.
There was always enough space between the sword and his body for a single finger.
Not a fraction more or less.
He was deliberately evading each strike by exactly that narrow distance.
Accomplishing such a feat with a body that possessed no internal energy was anything but easy.
The battle deepened.
Then, at some point, Cheuk Su suddenly flinched.
What…?
He realized that he had been fighting in an almost trance-like state.
Never once in his life had he experienced anything like it.
The possibility that he had not entered that state himself, but had instead been drawn into it by his opponent, never even occurred to him.
The instant he emerged from the trance, Cheuk Su’s usefulness to Baek Socheon came to an end.
Baek Socheon, who had done nothing but evade until then, suddenly closed the distance.
It was exactly the kind of moment that made one think:
Surely he wouldn’t attack now.
Thud!
Baek Socheon’s elbow smashed mercilessly into Cheuk Su’s nose.
The nose that had already been broken was completely pulverized.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Having his broken nose destroyed a second time, Cheuk Su screamed madly.
Thud!
Baek Socheon’s follow-up kick crashed into his jaw.
Cheuk Su was still an expert, and even as he fell backward, he swung his sword.
But a blade that had failed to cut Baek Socheon even while he was fully focused could hardly succeed in his present state.
Baek Socheon followed like a shadow, seized Cheuk Su’s wrist, and twisted.
Crack.
As his arm began to turn, Cheuk Su resisted with his internal energy.
The moment his wrist stopped twisting, Baek Socheon’s knife-hand struck his neck.
Crack!
The blow disrupted the flow of Cheuk Su’s internal energy.
At that instant—
Crack-crack-crack!
Baek Socheon’s raw strength completely twisted the wrist holding the sword.
“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!”
With his wrist crushed, Cheuk Su let out a wretched scream.
Baek Socheon understood precisely how internal energy was circulated.
He knew which acupoints it traveled through during every movement and exactly where to strike to interrupt that flow most effectively.
Thud!
This time, Baek Socheon’s fist slammed into Cheuk Su’s side.
Unable to endure any longer, Cheuk Su collapsed onto his back.
“Ughhh…”
Amid the pain, Cheuk Su felt another kind of terror.
Baek Socheon’s indifferent gaze as he looked down at him was truly frightening.
“You said you would rape the mother and kill the child? And make the father watch?”
Baek Socheon leapt into the air and drove his fist down into Cheuk Su’s chest.
Thud!
His ribs shattered and pierced his internal organs.
Aaaaaaaaaaargh!
The pain was so overwhelming that the scream never made it past his throat.
Thud.
Baek Socheon punched the broken ribs again.
“Ghk!”
Cheuk Su’s eyes bulged.
This was not pain a human being could endure.
He desperately wished to die, but whether by deliberate design or sheer misfortune, the shattered ribs had avoided piercing his heart.
Please, stop!
Cheuk Su experienced true hell.
Baek Socheon, on the other hand, appeared to be enjoying himself.
“This has a satisfying feel to it. I’ve spent my whole life using a sword. I never knew there was such a thrill in doing this barehanded.”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every time Baek Socheon’s fists struck his torso, indescribable agony surged through Cheuk Su.
“Ughhh… P-please… spare… me…”
Baek Socheon brought his fist down again.
Crunch!
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Cheuk Su vomited blood like a fountain.
The moment his body passed its limit and his eyes rolled back, Baek Socheon delivered the final blow.
He sprang into the air and stamped the sole of his foot straight down onto Cheuk Su’s chest.
Boom! Craaack!
Cheuk Su’s rib cage was completely crushed, killing him instantly.
Somewhere else, the gentle moonlight might have illuminated lovers whispering sweet words to one another.
Tonight, it fell upon Cheuk Su’s corpse with a chill as cold as Baek Socheon’s gaze.
“You shameless bastard. When you set out to murder innocent people, you should leave your pleas for mercy at home.”