Chapter 90
Part 15: Liberation
Deep night.
Hodu Village, the Fourth Young Master’s temporary base.
People holding lanterns were busily moving through the darkness.
A warrior of the Tang Clan dispatched from the Fourth Young Master’s office to grasp the situation asked while being guided by the person in charge at the scene,
“According to the previous report, it said that power struggles between the Underworld organizations were continuing, did it not?”
The sharp gaze of the warrior turned toward the on-site supervisor.
The on-site supervisor bowed his head, sweating so much that it seemed to make a mockery of the cold night air.
“T-that is, based on the information we could grasp through reconnaissance from the outside, we judged that to be the most likely explanation…”
To begin with, the warrior knew very well that there had not been enough time to create a proper informant network in the Valley of Sinners.
“Were there not continued rumors about someone called the ‘Dark Heaven Venerable One’? But why was even the first report about that person not sent up?”
The steps of the on-site supervisor, who had been trembling as he guided him, came to a halt.
“W-well, this person called the Dark Heaven Venerable One…”
But his body was trembling even more than before.
“We cannot even be certain that he exists yet. There are only countless rumors, and even those rumors are extremely bizarre and strange…”
The warrior sensed that something was off.
“At first, we thought they were merely groundless rumors. After that, we considered that he might be some hidden eccentric or wandering expert. But…”
At first, he had thought the on-site supervisor was trembling because he feared him, the one dispatched from the Fourth Young Master’s office.
But that was not it.
“The stories about that ‘existence,’ the eyewitness accounts, were completely different from the pattern of rumors about hidden eccentrics we had encountered before.”
The on-site supervisor’s hand trembled, and the lantern he held trembled along with it.
Their shadows shook chaotically.
“T-those eyewitness accounts were nothing more than superstitious and absurd stories about a ghost or specter. The more we investigated, the less anything made sense, a-and so we…”
The warrior narrowed his eyes.
Though not even a breeze was blowing, he felt as if a bleak chill had wrapped around his body.
“…Enough nonsense. Just guide me to the survivor you secured.”
At the voice that subtly contained internal energy, the on-site supervisor flinched in surprise and hurriedly began walking again.
“M-my apologies!”
As the on-site supervisor’s footsteps headed deep underground, the warrior frowned.
“I heard the survivor had suffered severe injuries. Even if he is Underworld trash, he is currently an important eyewitness. Why have you locked him underground?”
The on-site supervisor walking ahead of him into the basement began rambling.
“T-that is, I am not sure whether we should call him a survivor, or what exactly we should call him. He is certainly a witness, but…”
The warrior thought that in the few years since he had stepped away from the field, discipline at the scene had become seriously lax.
“O-over there, inside.”
The on-site supervisor raised his hand and pointed inward.
In the lightless underground space, there was not even the slightest trace of a presence.
The warrior shook his head.
“There is no presence at all. It seems he is already dead. To treat a valuable witness like this and let him die—you people will be severely reprimanded…”
At that moment, a voice came from beyond the darkness.
“Death is not the end, but only the beginning.”
“What…!”
It was less a voice than the sound of wind leaking through a gap.
In one step, the warrior headed into the darkness from which the voice had come.
The warrior drew in a breath.
His eyes widened as though they might tear apart.
“Death is not the beginning of eternal rest, but only the fetters of eternal agony.”
The voice came from right in front of him, yet even with his sharp senses, he could not feel the slightest life force.
Of course he could not.
What he was looking at was nothing more than a corpse, clutching its own body, split in half, with both hands.
The corpse was moving its lips and barely creating a voice through the sound of leaking air.
“Fear Him. Tremble in terror. For He has come, the one who punishes the karma of the earth in place of the merciless heavens…”
Even as it forced out its voice, organs continued to spill endlessly from between its split torso, and the floor had already become a sea of blood.
The eyes of the already-dead man rolled and turned toward the warrior.
“If you too continue to pile up evil karma, you will eventually meet Him.”
After finishing those words, the dead man sagged as though all strength had left him.
When the arms that had barely been holding him together came loose, the corpse collapsed in two with an unpleasant sound.
Looking down at the thing that had returned to being a motionless corpse, the warrior could not say a word for a long while.
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, Outer Court.
A certain office.
On the desk of Yeon Ha-ong, the Walking Rumor, also known as the Rumor with Legs, there was a pile of invitations that had flown in from prestigious families all over Luoyang.
And on top of the letter he had been writing a reply to, a brush lay rolled aside in an unsightly manner.
But he did not care.
He had just unfolded a note secretly delivered by Mi-ryeong, one of the triplet maids of Wongakjeong.
“…The First Young Master has finally had his confinement lifted!”
He tossed the note into the brazier.
His face, normally famous for its good-natured look, appeared like that of a completely different person.
The image of flames catching and burning was reflected in his eyes.
‘As expected, the only one who can help me reclaim the position of young clan head of the Kaifeng Yeon Clan, which was unjustly stolen from me, is Him.’
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, Elder Yeom’s office.
“Father. Have you finally made up your mind?”
Elder Yeom burned the note he had received from his informant.
“Yes. So you too must steel your heart.”
Mok Baek-ha, holding the white tiger in her arms, smiled.
“I am already prepared.”
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, Guardian Court.
Office of the Sixth Division Head of the Guardian Six Divisions.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
The door flew open, and the First Division Head strode in.
“…Huh? Senior? What brings you here?”
The Sixth Division Head, who had been dozing off while reviewing case files, opened his eyes and groggily rose.
“I need to borrow some of your tobacco.”
Without waiting for an answer, the First Division Head opened the box on the desk, took out some tobacco, and put it in his mouth.
“…People who have no intention of returning something tend to use the word ‘borrow’ at times like this.”
The Sixth Division Head yawned and took out some tobacco of his own.
The office quickly filled with smoke.
“…Did you really come all the way here just for tobacco?”
The First Division Head puffed hard on his tobacco, then opened his mouth.
“For the time being. No, until I give permission, transfer every case involving the highest ranks to other divisions within the Guardian Court.”
“…Pardon?”
At the First Division Head’s words, which sounded as though he were speaking to a child left at the water’s edge, the Sixth Division Head frowned.
“I know you will be dissatisfied. Of course you will. But for the sake of your family, lower your head.”
This was the second time the First Division Head had told him to think of his family.
And the first time had been…
The First Division Head’s voice flew into his ears.
‘The First Young Master has been released from confinement.’
‘Ah, I see. But what does that have to do with me…?’
The Sixth Division Head could not tell whether what the First Division Head exhaled was tobacco smoke or a sigh filled with worry.
‘Right now, the First Young Master effectively has no faction.’
‘That is true.’
What faction could someone who had just been released from ten years of confinement possibly have?
‘What that means is that, if necessary, the First Young Master will swing whatever he can get his hands on, indiscriminately.’
The First Division Head’s gaze turned toward him.
‘And whatever it is he swings, whoever gets hit by it will suffer a fatal wound. The thing being swung will not escape unscathed either.’
The Sixth Division Head’s expression turned blank with shock.
He had already tasted, at least in part, the terror of the First Young Master through the Inner Court incident.
‘From now on, check the causal relationship of every case that comes in two, three times over. No matter how trivial the case may be.’
***
Outskirts of Luoyang.
A certain manor.
The Medicine King was placing acupuncture needles into the back of a middle-aged man lying face down with his back exposed.
“Sohyeon, So-yu’s son, will begin moving in earnest now.”
At those words, the middle-aged man’s back visibly stiffened, then relaxed again.
“…It is something to celebrate, is it not? To you, Elder, he is like a grandson.”
“And to you…?”
The middle-aged man gave a faint laugh.
“The one I serve for my entire life is ‘Her,’ but Her son is merely Her son.”
“Sohyeon is a special child.”
“Was there anyone among ‘us’ who did not know from the time he was young that Her son was extraordinarily outstanding? It is simply that there cannot be another person like Her in this world.”
The Medicine King’s hands moved busily.
“…So you are saying you have no interest?”
The middle-aged man fell silent.
“Sohyeon asked me to contact his mother’s acquaintances.”
“…He did not try to meet them directly?”
“It is something I can do, so I said I would take care of it.”
After a brief silence, the middle-aged man slowly opened his mouth.
“…Since it is your request, Elder, I will at least watch.”
The Medicine King nodded.
“That is enough.”
The Medicine King nodded again and again.
If he would watch, that was sufficient.
Yeon Sang-hyeon and Yak So-yu could not be placed on the same line and compared.
But if it was the grandson he knew, then he had the power to move people with a charm entirely different from Yak So-yu’s allure.
Luoyang Sword Clan.
Residence of the Retired Clan Head, the deepest section.
A small pavilion containing the only passage leading to the Retired Clan Head.
The inside was submerged in darkness, and beneath the faint moonlight, a single shadow was cast.
The stooped old man was sitting cross-legged there, as he always did.
He was a figure some called an old monster, one who, despite holding the status of an elder, was treated as though he were a senior patriarch.
He was the Chief Steward of the Inner Court.
Before long, his mouth opened, and he muttered to himself.
“…Can you hear me, Clan Head?”
Fragments of faint emotions swirled within that voice.
“Your eldest son has come back into the world. The Heavenly Slaughter Star has risen in the sky, and great chaos will follow within the clan.”
His fathomless eyes turned toward the ceiling.
“This old one will protect you, Clan Head, until the promised day comes, no matter what sacrifice I must make, no matter what I must offer.”
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, the residence of Grand Madam Tang.
The Fourth Young Master’s mother, Grand Madam Tang, sat alone as always in the residence where not a single presence could be felt.
Each time she breathed, white vapor flowed from her mouth.
“…Sister So-yu.”
The note the Fourth Young Master’s messenger hawk had dropped through the open ceiling had already melted away in her hand and vanished without a trace.
“Your child, Sohyeon, has cast off all restrictions and seals and has come out into the world.”
When the tears flowing from her eyes fell to the floor, smoke rose from the ground along with a foul stench.
“You may blame me for failing to keep my promise. No, if it were you, Sister, you would tell me, as you always did, that it was all right, that everything would work out, and embrace me.”
She gently closed her eyes.
“Unlike the promise I made with you, unlike the request you made of me, I am glad that Sohyeon has shaken all of that off.”
Tears fell drop by drop down her cheeks.
“I want that child to destroy everything that blocks his path.”
As her emotions grew intense, her skin split open, and pus seeped out.
“I want that child to burn away all the darkness of this clan.”
The air became murky, and a horrifying energy filled the room.
“I want that child to find every single person who made my husband that way and kill them in the most terrible agony.”
When her eyes opened, a deep green light flashed from them.
“I hope that child forgives no one.”