I stared at Yang Eun-jik, his eyes bulging in shock.
His face was filled not just with shock, but with despair.
Exactly as we’d planned.
A little while ago, as we tracked Yang Eun-jik’s movements and closed in on his location, we’d discussed what to do with him.
“I…”
Surprisingly, the first to speak up was Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“I want him to feel the same despair all those innocent people must’ve felt… the ones who lost their lives because of him.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“Of course, I know I’m in no position to say something like this. But leaving that man alive… is dangerous. Still, killing him cleanly doesn’t sit right either, not when I think of the innocent lives that were lost because of him.”
I tried to comfort Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu, it wasn’t by your own will, was it? The problem is that Yang Eun-jik made his choices of his own free will.”
He nodded at my words.
Ah, come to think of it, Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Lee Pil didn’t know what Escort Guard Jin Yu had told me about Yang Eun-jik.
So I briefly explained it to them.
Naturally, they were furious.
“For heaven’s sake! That bastard!”
“He really deserves to die a hundred times over.”
What especially shocked everyone was the inn fire in Jiangxi Province five years ago.
Back then, Forest bandits from a nearby mountain stronghold set fire to an inn, and countless people staying there burned alive. That, it turned out, was the very first job Yang Eun-jik had taken on.
“I heard about it back then too, from someone who used to work with him. They say he incited the nearby Forest bandits to act, just to take care of one person who was staying at that inn.”
All that, just to kill one person?
The sheer absurdity made me speechless.
“That’s why I want him to feel the same despair those innocent people felt as they died.”
“Agreed.”
“I’d like to do that too.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Lee Pil both agreed.
So what would be the best way to make him feel absolute despair…?
I thought back to when I’d met Yang Eun-jik in my previous life.
“How did you reach Peak realm, Great Hero? Is there some kind of secret?”
“Hahaha, a secret, you say…”
“Apologies. I suppose I’m a bit too curious by nature…”
“That’s not a bad thing. Hm, it’s true the Alliance Leader passed down some martial arts to me… but I also had my own problem. I’d never truly felt the desperation of standing on the edge of life and death, and that held me back. Thanks to the Alliance Leader, I finally managed to overcome that wall.”
“I see.”
“It was only natural that I became a Peak expert. Do you know how long… how much endurance and patience it took for me to reach this Peak realm…”
From that conversation, I could tell what he wanted most.
Peak realm.
And what he’d needed to reach Peak realm was a life-and-death duel.
From what I’d heard, the Alliance Leader was a Profound realm expert.
There’s no way someone like that wouldn’t have noticed Yang Eun-jik’s condition.
With the Alliance Leader’s help, he must’ve gone through a nerve-racking life-and-death duel and, thanks to that, broken through the Peak wall.
When I shared all this with the others, everyone agreed.
So we decided to completely overwhelm him, while making it look like a fierce life-and-death struggle.
To give him the experience of a life-and-death duel.
Just as I’d expected, he reached Peak realm.
But the moment he began to exult in it, Escort Guard Seo Wu’s sword pierced him through.
Right where his Dantian was.
“Grrk! Th-this can’t be…”
His teeth ground together from the agony of his shattered Dantian. But the pain of despair must’ve been even worse.
The bright radiance around his sword was already fading away.
“This is… the realm I finally… finally reached!”
I spoke coldly to the man staring blankly at his collapsing dreams.
“I’m sure you’re in utter despair.”
“Urk!”
“But that despair is something those innocent people felt too, the ones who died because of you.”
“So what? They… should feel honored… those useless… people… getting to sacrifice for me…”
What?
They should feel honored?
Those “useless” people, to have died for him?
His way of thinking was rotten to the core.
“That’s what really matters. You’re going to die here. And no one will ever know you were a Peak expert, or even remember it.”
I continued.
“Because you’re going to die less than half a moment after becoming a Peak expert.”
Of course, we fully intended to forget he’d ever become a Peak expert.
At my words, rage twisted his face and he let out a howl.
“Daaaamn iiiiiit!”
Then he swung his sword.
A final, desperate struggle.
But his sword never finished its swing.
Thud—!
Because Escort Guard Jin Yu’s sword had already pierced his heart.
Cough—
“Go to the underworld and apologize to everyone you killed.”
Flop.
Unlike in my previous life, Yang Eun-jik died several years earlier this time.
When I thought about all the innocent people in the future who wouldn’t be killed by him now, it was a good thing.
We burned his corpse.
But we didn’t burn it completely; we only burned the areas that bore clear sword marks.
We had considered capturing him alive and handing him over to the Imperial Palace.
But we quickly gave up on that idea.
Even if it was the Imperial Palace, he belonged to the Murim Alliance.
To remove future trouble, they might fake his suicide or secretly smuggle him out of prison.
If we weren’t careful, things could end up even worse than in my previous life.
So it was best to deal with him here and now.
At the same time, if we burned him completely or buried him where no one could find him, the Embroidered Guard, who had lost track of him, might get blamed.
That’s why we handled it this way.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu.”
“Yes.”
“Please invite Warrior Jin Yeong to come here.”
“Understood.”
Before Warrior Jin Yeong arrived, we deliberately left traces here and there.
“Huff! Huff, huff!”
A short while later, Warrior Jin Yeong came running to us, slightly out of breath.
“I heard you found Yang Eun-jik’s body?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“My escort guards and I have been tracking Yang Eun-jik on our own.”
“You were tracking him?”
“Yes. Like I said earlier, the sooner we find him, the sooner Beijing can be peaceful again, right?”
“You… you really meant it.”
“Of course. I can’t stand the idea of Beijing, where the Eunhae Merchant Group’s new branch will be set up, being thrown into chaos. So while we were searching this place, which was his most likely hideout…”
I let out a sigh.
“We found a burning corpse.”
“Urgh!”
At the horrific sight, Warrior Jin Yeong frowned deeply.
But since the face was still intact, it was possible to identify him.
“Judging by the traces of battle left around here, it seems he was taken out by someone.”
“That’s how it looks to me as well. Probably because word got out that the documents had been discovered.”
He clicked his tongue.
“What a shame. Now we’ve lost our excuse to press the Murim Alliance with this.”
Hearing that, I gave a bitter smile inside.
Even if he’d lived, you still wouldn’t have been able to pursue the Murim Alliance with this.
They’re not the kind of people to leave such a loose end.
“Still, I should at least make an inquiry.”
I nodded.
Seeing what happened to Yang Eun-jik, I couldn’t help being a little curious.
How would the Murim Alliance react?
“I almost forgot… how did things go with the person you went to meet?”
“The Imperial Guard, acting under His Majesty’s direct order, is marching as we speak.”
“Then a lot of people are going to die again.”
“…There’s no helping it.”
Whenever a treason case breaks out, it’s normal for hundreds to die.
“To be honest, I don’t like it. Sure, those who harbor treasonous thoughts against His Majesty deserve death… but what crime did those have, the ones who only did as they were ordered?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“Wouldn’t putting them to hard labor be better?”
Warrior Jin Yeong thought for a moment at my words, then nodded.
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll bring it up.”
“Thank you.”
I cupped my fists and bowed my head. Watching me, Warrior Jin Yeong murmured.
“I think I understand now why people call you Handsome Young Hero.”
“Sorry?”
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard.”
Warrior Jin Yeong ordered the subordinates who had come with him to recover Yang Eun-jik’s body.
Now the Embroidered Guard warriors shouldn’t have to worry about being blamed.
And with the body partially burned, they wouldn’t suspect we’d tampered with it.
In fact, the reason we’d held back our full strength when fighting Yang Eun-jik earlier was because we were thinking of the traces that would be left behind.
.
.
.
Half a month passed.
The Imperial Guard and the Embroidered Guard warriors, acting under the Emperor’s command, captured all the rebels.
Since the rebels had been caught off guard and couldn’t prepare properly, they were rounded up with ease.
The Emperor sent a cup of poison to Prince Chungjin.
I could understand his circumstances, but the Emperor couldn’t afford to leave future trouble behind.
It was a comparatively lenient sentence, and Prince Chungjin bowed three times to the Emperor before drinking the poison.
But the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works, who had been stripped of office, received no such mercy.
“Death by a thousand cuts?”
“Yes. They say it was truly horrifying.”
“…”
Seems His Majesty was really quite angry.
“What about the others?”
Palgap reported what he’d heard.
“Most of the ringleaders were executed, but the ones under them were mostly sentenced to hard labor.”
“Not execution?”
“Yes. He said they’d only done what their superiors ordered, and that wasn’t enough to warrant death. I hear even the labor they’re doing isn’t all that harsh.”
That was a relief.
Looks like His Majesty listened to Warrior Jin Yeong’s advice.
Anyway, that wrapped up the matter of Yang Eun-jik.
Now Beijing should finally quiet down… or so I thought.
I was wrong.
Because the noisiest season in Beijing had arrived.
The imperial exams.
Thanks to that, inns all across the Central Plains were packed full, as scholars flocked here from everywhere.
Those staying in Beijing without a permanent place to live all had to put their luggage down at inns.
I was handling some work at our temporary lodging when Palgap came into the room.
“Young master, First Young Master is here.”
“Brother Jeong-ho?”
I rose from my seat and opened the door. Jeong-ho was standing right outside.
Grandfather and Brother Jeong-ho were still staying at the Yeonjun branch of the merchant group.
This place was just a temporary base, so space was limited.
“How are things going, Brother.”
“Are you busy?”
“…”
The question made me uneasy, so I stayed quiet, but Brother Jeong-ho just smiled and said,
“Busy or not, you don’t have a choice. Come with me to Apricot Blossom Academy.”
“Apricot Blossom Academy?”
“Actually, Father wrote a letter. He specifically told me to give it to them a few days before the exam…”
“Who’s it for?”
“The academy students, of course. We have to read it out loud.”
“Ah…”
I had a pretty good idea what was going on.
Father had originally planned to come to Beijing himself, but for various reasons, he couldn’t make the trip.
He must’ve wanted to personally encourage the students of Apricot Blossom Academy, but since he couldn’t, he’d asked Brother Jeong-ho to read the letter to them in his stead.
“What did Grandfather say?”
“He said, ‘What would I be doing in a place like that?’ and told the two of us to go instead.”
“Ah…”
If it was Grandfather’s order, then there was nothing to be done.
Even if things were a bit busy, we had to go.
“Give me a minute.”
I quickly finished getting ready and came back out.
While I was changing, Brother Jeong-ho had been sipping tea. When he saw me, he snorted.
“Why’d you get all dressed up like that?”
“I figured we should at least show some sincerity. What about you?”
Brother Jeong-ho had also dressed up quite stylishly.
“Same reason. To show some sincerity.”
I laughed and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
We headed for Apricot Blossom Academy.
Behind us, my escort guards and Brother Jeong-ho’s escort guards walked together, chatting as they went.
It sounded mostly like they were sharing information.
Soon, we arrived at Apricot Blossom Academy.
“Welcome.”
Thanks to the message we’d sent ahead, the Academy Master greeted us warmly.
“You must’ve had a hard time.”
“Hahaha, not at all.”
After exchanging a few light greetings, we got down to business.
“Would it be all right if I read the letter first?”
The Academy Master asked politely after hearing Brother Jeong-ho’s explanation, and my brother readily handed him the letter.
“Mm…”
The Academy Master read through it carefully, then spoke with some hesitation.
“In my humble opinion, I think it’d be better to leave out this part. It might put unnecessary pressure on the students.”
“You’re right.”
We felt a little bad toward Father, but with the Academy Master’s help, we edited the letter on the spot.
“Still, I can’t believe this academy produced fourteen successful candidates. Truly an amazing achievement.”
“Hahaha, it’s all thanks to the students’ tireless effort and devotion.”
Of course, one province can’t actually produce that many successful candidates at once.
That’s why the students of Apricot Blossom Academy had all gone back to their hometowns and taken the provincial exam there.
While we were talking, a voice called in from outside.
“Academy Master, it’s urgent… may I come in for a moment?”
The Academy Master tilted his head and glanced at us for permission.
“Come in.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man who entered was one of the academy’s instructors.
He greeted us and then spoke with an awkward expression.
“Um, Man Suk left this behind and disappeared.”
It was a withdrawal letter.
–TL Notes–
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