At my sound transmission, Escort Guard Ji Yu opened his eyes, then put on his mask and tied the strap tightly.
— I’m ready.
— Go ahead. We’ll follow behind.
— Alright.
Jin Yu took a deep breath and drew his sword.
The blade, covered with ashes to remove its shine, looked especially cold tonight.
Tap-!
Jin Yu exploded forward from his spot, and Seo Wu and I followed close behind.
Is this the time for revenge? Or a reckoning of cause and effect?
Whatever it is, one thing’s certain: for them, it’ll be a night of hell.
Slice—!
This time, we showed no mercy in our strikes.
Unlike last time, they needed to vanish without a trace to truly trouble the Murim Alliance.
Besides, these were the sons of noble families loyal to the Alliance.
Even if they were complete scum, they wouldn’t be treated like the warriors under Lord Ma.
Their families would surely smooth things over with compensation.
And if that happened, they’d just keep living as thugs, and innocent people would keep suffering.
So it’s better for them to disappear here.
Deputy Sa Gu shot up from his cot, startled by a murderous intent that felt like it could tear through flesh.
‘Who dares!’
He hurriedly grabbed his sword and burst out of the tent.
But things were already in disarray.
Everyone was so drunk they could barely stand, collapsing helplessly.
“You bastards! What the hell are you doing?!”
At Deputy Sa Gu’s shout, the intruders turned to him.
Smiling face masks.
The moment he saw them, a chill ran down his spine.
‘Was that testimony true?’
But he quickly shook his head, suppressed his fear, and tightened his grip on his sword.
If these were the culprits from that incident, then they’d know where the ten thousand gold taels were!
“You’ve got some nerve attacking us. I’ll capture you and recover the missing gold!”
Some of his men were already down from the ambush, but now that he was here, he believed he could take control of the situation quickly.
Having recently reached the Peak stage, his confidence was sky-high.
He swung his sword, pouring that confidence into his attack.
Clang—!
But contrary to his expectations, his sword was blocked easily.
“You’re not bad.”
“…”
The opponent blocked him without the slightest sign of being flustered.
The eyes visible beyond the mask were cold.
“H-Heek!”
A bad feeling crept in, but he tried to shake it off by attacking again.
Clang—! Clang clang—!
Crash—!
Their swords clashed repeatedly, sparks flying with each blow.
Neither side gave ground, and tension wrapped around them like a taut rope pulled from both ends.
On the verge of snapping.
Only then did Deputy Sa Gu come to his senses and realize.
The one crossing swords with him was on par with himself.
‘Damn it! This guy’s a Peak-level warrior! Where the hell did someone like this come from?’
If they were attacking the White Thunder Squad, they weren’t just ordinary bandits. These were people who had a grudge against the Murim Alliance.
He had to survive and report this to the Alliance.
‘If I can do that, they’ll cover it up somehow.’
That’s when it happened.
‘An opening!’
He spotted a gap at the opponent’s left side and instantly lunged in.
Just as his blade was about to reach the enemy’s ribs—
‘Huh?’
He realized something was wrong, but by then, a dagger was already at his face.
Retracting a sword already committed to a full thrust was nearly impossible.
Especially since his torso was also leaning forward with the strike, making it impossible to avoid the incoming blow.
‘Damn it! Was that gap in the side a trap?’
To lay a trap like that meant the opponent was a superior fighter.
But he realized it too late.
Thud—!
“Guaaaagh!”
He screamed as pain exploded in his eye.
Slice—!
At the same time, his sword-wielding right arm was severed and sent flying.
The next moment, the enemy’s sword touched his chest—right over his heart.
“This time it’s not a stone blade. I’m finally able to avenge the friends who died back then.”
“…!”
Only then did the memory return to him.
The child who had tried to stab his chest with a stone knife, the one who escaped, and what they had done back then.
“You… you’re—!”
Stab—!
But he never got to finish.
This time, Jin Yu’s sword pierced Deputy Sa Gu’s heart.
Thud.
And just like that, he died far more peacefully than his crimes deserved.
But would he find peace even in the afterlife?
His death would bring suffering to his entire clan. That wouldn’t be peaceful at all.
— No one left alive.
At Seo Wu’s sound transmission, Jin Yu finally looked directly at Deputy Sa Gu’s body.
He calmly pulled the dagger from the dead man’s eye and closed his own.
The faces of his brutally murdered friends began rising one by one in his mind.
Around sixty had been slaughtered by the White Thunder Squad, and thirty more had died during training.
And…
Five died during missions.
Jin Yu, the only one who survived from that group, had only just begun his revenge.
I looked at Jin Yu.
He looked like a man who’d found a little peace.
But this wasn’t the time to be relaxed, so I called to him after a short while.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu, it’s time to clean up and leave.”
“Yes. Thank you for waiting.”
We quickly got to work.
We hid the bodies and erased the bloodstains. Then we packed up and scattered traces to make it look like people had gone off in different directions.
Of course, the ten thousand gold taels went straight into my secret vault.
With everything perfectly wrapped up, we returned to the inn.
“Young Master, you’re back?”
“Yeah. No trouble, right?”
“No, nothing happened. I made sure to show people you and the two escort guards as instructed.”
“Well done.”
I handed the Mirror of Illusory Echoes to Palgap and told him to make others see me, Seo Wu, and Jin Yu around town.
The Mirror of Illusory Echoes is a tool that lets you place your illusion wherever you wish.
But it had another hidden function.
You could place not just your own illusion, but anyone’s—as long as you knew who they were.
Using that ability, Palgap made sure others had seen us, creating witnesses.
If you’re going to do something, might as well do it perfectly.
We all headed down to the first floor together.
“Working all day’s made me hungry.”
“I’ll order food.”
“Yeah.”
Soon, a simple bowl of noodles was served at our table.
As I ate, I gathered my thoughts again.
Now, all that’s left is to deal with Lord Ma completely. He still has to pay for his sins.
He hasn’t yet faced judgment for the brutal murders of those eight young girls.
Not long ago, Warrior Jin Yeong visited me to ask about the magistrate offering grain to the Imperial Palace.
At the time, I’d asked him for advice.
He said that if there’s solid evidence, a Censorate Inspector could open a case and investigate without even needing an accuser.
Evidence, huh… Maybe the magistrate has something.
He bows and scrapes to Lord Ma now, but there’s no way he doesn’t resent him deep down.
He’s the official responsible for this county. No way his pride isn’t hurt by that.
There’s definitely something.
Evidence he prepared with the determination to bring Ma down one day.
.
.
.
Three days later, I visited the magistrate of Taegyeong County.
“This lowly merchant greets the Magistrate.”
“Yes, what brings you here?”
“I apologize for visiting despite knowing how busy you must be with the recent trouble.”
“No need to apologize. I was just about to take a break from this headache anyway. Would you care for some tea?”
“I’d be grateful.”
We headed to the reception room in the county office.
Surprisingly, the magistrate brewed the tea himself.
“Please, drink.”
“Thank you.”
As I drank the tea, I was a little surprised inside.
The quality of the leaves wasn’t as high as what I had at Lord Ma’s manor, but the taste was much better.
It meant he had deep knowledge of tea.
“You’ve got quite the hand for brewing tea, sir.”
“It’s nothing to brag about, but I appreciate it.”
We chatted lightly for about 15 minutes, and then I carefully brought up the main topic.
“Magistrate, what do you really think of Lord Ma?”
“…He’s a man who’s worked hard for this village’s development.”
But his eyes, and the hand holding the teacup, trembled. He didn’t mean it.
“Magistrate. I’m sure you’re aware that Lord Ma lost ten thousand gold taels recently.”
“Of course. Why bring up the obvious?”
“Do you also know why he needed that much gold?”
“Yes. He said he was going to invest in the escort bureau project the Murim Alliance is pushing.”
“Then let me ask—after losing all that gold, how do you think he managed to send the funds?”
“…What?”
“Let me tell you the answer. He sold everything he owned to me. Lord Ma is broke now. To put it bluntly, he’s has nothing.”
“Nothing? You mean Lord Ma?”
The magistrate’s eyes flashed briefly, but he quickly shook his head.
“But he’ll receive profits soon, won’t he? It’s not that simple.”
“Seems like you’ve not heard the latest.”
“What?”
“The Murim Alliance is in chaos right now.”
“Chaos? What do you mean?”
“Members of the White Thunder Squad who came here have gone missing. They vanished while transporting the gold.”
“…What?”
“The funds never reached the Alliance. The project’s stalled before it even started. How can he expect returns?”
“…”
“And most of the warriors who were guarding Lord Ma are locked up in this very county office under interrogation.”
At that, the magistrate’s eyes widened like he’d just realized something big.
“The only one who can override the authority of a magistrate, who oversees the entire county, is His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You’re right!”
“And yet a mere nobody dares to intimidate a magistrate sent under imperial decree? Does that sound even remotely reasonable to you?”
“Exactly! You’re absolutely right!”
The magistrate’s reaction was exactly as I expected, so I calmly continued.
“Now, about the women who were once married to Lord Ma—I heard there were eight.”
“…”
“And all of them committed suicide.”
“Ahem.”
He gave an awkward cough and lifted his teacup.
“What’s the truth?”
“W-why bring that up now?”
“Of course I should. What else could bring Lord Ma down for good more clearly? Besides, we currently have a Censorate Inspector’s official in town.”
Even after I said all that, he still hesitated. He must’ve suffered under Lord Ma quite a bit.
“You have documentation on those cases, don’t you?”
“…”
He didn’t deny it. That confirmed it.
“Then allow me to give you the courage to make a decision.”
I placed the identity plaque of the Censorate Inspector before him.
“…!”
His eyes widened.
“Truth is, His Majesty is aware of this matter.”
“…”
“That’s why I’m here.”
His hand trembled so much that tea nearly spilled from his cup.
I gently took the cup from him and placed it on the table.
Then I held his hand and spoke.
“I understand. You’re a victim in this too, Magistrate. The whole county’s been dancing in Lord Ma’s palm. Dozens of First-rate warriors obey his every word—what could you have done?”
Only then did he open his mouth.
“T-that’s right. He held a sword to my neck… Told me I’d die like a dog unless I obeyed.”
He opened his official robes and showed me his neck.
“This scar’s from that day.”
It was a long one.
It really hit me then just how fearsome Lord Ma’s power had been.
To think he could threaten the official head of a county like this.
“Of course I resisted at first. But after everything that happened, I had no choice but to submit. As the person responsible for this county, I feel ashamed.”
I gently reassured him and asked again.
“It’s not too late. You still have the investigation records, right?”
With a resolute expression, he nodded.
“I do. I secretly recorded all eight cases.”
.
.
.
I stepped out of the county office.
For the first time, I felt genuine sympathy for the magistrate.
Honestly, who wouldn’t have done the same in his position?
But he’d survived, waited for the right moment, and now, finally, the time had come to bear fruit.
I spoke to Escort Guard Lee Pil.
“Tell the Fourth Squad of the Eunpoong Division to send someone here immediately.”
“Understood.”
“And Palgap.”
“You called, sir?”
“Can you find us a shack?”
“Sorry? A shack, sir?”
“Yeah. The shabbier the better. We can’t just kick someone out without even offering a roof.”
–TL Notes–
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