Chapter 10

Chapter 10
Wang Gon quietly sipped warm tea inside his private room, peering through the open casement at the robust retainers marching back and forth over the wide training grounds.

Throughout the southern domains of Jeol-gang Province, his word was absolute law. Yet such local dominion could never satisfy him. His burning ambition drove him toward higher heights: to claw his way upward and ultimately seize the sovereign seat belonging to the grand master of Shin-hwa Bang.

Just you wait, he thought to himself. I will break anyone who dares to block my path.

Far too many wicked deeds already stained his hands, and more plots were continually unfolding; thus, the concept of doing whatever it took remained far from an idle theoretical claim.

Regardless of the countless grievances caused or the innocent lives snuffed out along his ascent, he continued to prosper, eating hearty meals and living in absolute ease.

Cosmic retribution? Heavenly justice? The languid, uninterrupted calm of this bright afternoon offered absolute proof that such silly notions never truly existed.

Better to crush others completely before they ever find an opportunity to crush you.

Right as his violent desires burned with rising intensity, Heuk Su stepped across the threshold.

“I have returned,” Heuk Su announced.

“What news of our venture?” Wang Gon asked.

“Five of the six local landholders agreed to hand over their deeds.”

“And the lone holdout?”

“Merely an insolent pup digging in his heels, insisting the plot is his late father’s legacy. But we will resolve his defiance before long. The fool has three small children under his roof.”

Wang Gon’s sinister expression deepened, mirroring the cruel smirk on Heuk Su’s rugged face.

“Handle the matter discreetly. Create no needless commotion.”

“Put your mind at ease.”

“And what of our offering?”

“I personally handed it over to Im Choong’s lady while passing by. Any man possessing half a brain will find it impossible to turn it away now.”

“Excellent.”

A wide, venomous grin formed across Wang Gon’s lips.

Feed sweet cakes to those you despise, and sooner or later, you will receive an invitation to their funeral banquet.

Moments later, an attendant entered the room to make a report.

“Branch Leader Im has just arrived.”

Wang Gon threw Heuk Su a triumphant, toothy smirk.

“It appears our bribe works with remarkable speed.”

Inside the formal receiving hall, Im Choong stood waiting, his face flushed deep crimson with burning indignation.

No matter how hard he strove to collect his composure, the tempest of fury inside his chest simply would not abate.

That wretched dog, he fumed internally. How dare he intrude upon the sanctity of my home?

Conniving plots and veiled hostilities carried unwritten boundaries in the martial realm. Crossing the threshold to target a man’s innocent family crossed a line that could never be forgiven.

Right then, Wang Gon sauntered into the hall.

“Branch Leader Im. Welcome to my estate.”

“I trust you have been keeping well?” Im Choong greeted, his tone chilled.

“Hardly well, as you might deduce. You surely comprehend why.”

Wang Gon consciously avoided uttering the name of Tae-jeong-pa aloud. Officially, Shin-hwa Bang maintained no public ties with that faction.

“You have my apologies,” Im Choong said stiffly.

“No need for such courtesies. I understand the reality. It is never simple keeping subordinates in line, is it?”

Im Choong thought bitterly in silence:
Can keeping underlings in check possibly compare to enduring a foul snake like you?

Outwardly, he kept his churning thoughts masked behind a neutral mask.

“Indeed, it is far from easy.”

“And what do you intend for the prisoners?” Wang Gon inquired casually.

“They will be transported directly to the central headquarters for formal judgment.”

“Must things proceed with such rigid severity? Perhaps keep them locked away for a few brief days, then cut them loose. Their chieftain has already perished; the rest will have learned their lesson.”

“I shall weigh the matter carefully.”

Im Choong deliberately brushed aside the subject of Tae-jeong-pa. That was not the true reason he had marched into the lion’s den today.

Lifting his hands, he stepped forward and held out the ornate wooden chest holding the Baek-nyeon Ha-su-o.

“I have come solely to return this item.”

Wang Gon’s pleasant veneer instantly froze into rigid stone. He had fully anticipated a shallow show of initial reluctance, followed quickly by grudging compliance and gratitude.

A stubborn, mule-headed fool to his dying breath!

Forcing down the tempest of fury threatening to burst forth, Wang Gon adopted a false air of geniality.

“Come now, is it proper etiquette to discard another man’s sincere goodwill in such a callous manner?”

“Did I not make it abundantly clear beforehand that I would gladly accept your sentiment alone?”

“Sentiment? What value does mere sentiment hold without tangible weight behind it? I would easily be considered the world’s most benevolent saint if thoughts alone were sufficient, for I could hand those out without end.”

“Then keep those generous thoughts to yourself, and take back this treasure.”

“Branch Leader, is this displaying an excess of noble virtue… or simply incurable obstinacy?”

“I lay no claim to being a paragon of righteous virtue. Nor do I consider myself excessively stubborn.”

Wang Gon’s feigned composure shattered completely.

“Then accept the damn thing, you miserable dog!”

With his pretense stripped bare, Im Choong set his teeth hard. Whether he oversaw a minor rural outpost or not, he remained an officially appointed magistrate of the Murim Alliance.

“Take it into your hands!” Wang Gon snarled.

“I will not.”

“It is for that sickly son of yours, isn’t it? Or could it be the brat does not actually share your blood?”

“You bastard! Branch Leader Wang! Watch your filthy tongue!”

Im Choong’s voice exploded into a resounding bellow. The vile mention of his own flesh and blood severed the last thread holding back his temper.

Im Choong violently hurled the heavy chest downward, slamming it against the hardwood floorboards.

“Do not dare send this filthy trash toward my household ever again. If you dare cross that line once more, you will pay dearly for it.”

“Pay dearly? Are you attempting to threaten me within my own manor?”

“Consider it a solemn warning.”

On any other matter under heaven, Im Choong would have forced himself to endure insults dozens, even hundreds of times over. But family? That was wholly intolerable. It was far wiser to draw the line right here and now.

Wang Gon shared the very same murderous resolve.

Heuk Su began moving forward from the side of the hall, his gaze cold and calculating.

“Warnings are meant to flow exclusively from the powerful down to the weak.”

He made zero effort to conceal the bloodthirsty intent radiating from his imposing frame.

Im Choong tightened his grip over the hilt of his sword and bellowed with commanding authority.

“Halt right there! In my capacity as a Murim Alliance branch leader, I order you to freeze. Remain where you are.”

Heuk Su merely accelerated his strides instead. Closing the distance until their faces were inches apart, he curled his lips in mockery.

“There. I have openly defied your precious branch leader. What do you intend to do now?”

Im Choong’s knuckles whitened as his hand trembled violently upon his sword hilt.

Heuk Su only pushed the provocation deeper.

“I caught a glimpse of your lady wife when delivering the gift earlier. Quite an exquisite beauty she turned out to be.”

“You filthy dog—!”

A sharp metallic ring echoed as the edge of the blade slipped partly from the wooden scabbard.

“Go on, draw it completely! Why do you hesitate? Do you harbor that much hatred for your precious wife and children?”

Im Choong’s arm quaked with unmanageable tension. He saw through the trap; he knew Heuk Su was deliberately fishing for a fatal pretext.

Unsheathing his blade here would guarantee his swift demise. They would dump his lifeless corpse into an unmarked pit, and who among the populace could ever step forward to prove Heuk Su had committed the deed? Not a single soul. He would die the pathetic, forgotten death of a dog.

Yet enduring this vile disgrace, standing by while his wife and offspring were treated as crude tavern jokes, sparked an urge to wage a fight to the very death right where he stood.

Right at that explosive heartbeat,

A loud clamor erupted from the exterior courtyard.

The double doors were shoved open. A startled warrior of Shin-hwa Bang dashed into the room to deliver an urgent message.

“Martial artists from the local branch have forced their way inside!”

Stepping into the hall immediately behind the sentry were two figures: Baek So-cheon and Beon Saeng.

“Branch Leader! Are you hurt?”

Beon Saeng sprinted forward without hesitation, planting himself firmly beside Im Choong.

“What madness brings you two here?” Im Choong demanded.

Catching the murderous atmosphere thick in the room, Beon Saeng quickly invented a reason.

“A dire emergency has broken out back at our station. We were dispatched to escort you back immediately. We must depart at once.”

The boy’s single objective was clear: extract Im Choong safely from this nest of vipers.

Yet Wang Gon possessed no desire to permit them a clean retreat. Hostilities had already ignited; this was the ideal moment to grind Im Choong’s backbone into dust forever.

Insolent upstarts, Wang Gon thought darkly. Trample them completely beneath our heels now, and they will never possess the courage to rise again.

He cast a quick, silent glance toward Heuk Su.

Heuk Su unleashed an overwhelming torrent of raw bloodlust and barked with disdain.

“You half-grown whelps dare barge into this sanctuary as if you own the earth! You two fresh recruits—drop to your knees in the corner this instant!”

Beon Saeng was far too familiar with Heuk Su’s terrifying notoriety to voice a retort.

Instead, Im Choong shifted his stance forward, offering Wang Gon a severe reprimand.

“Do you truly seek to openly revolt against the authority of the Murim Alliance?”

“Alliance, Alliance—always that wretched name on your lips! Aye, that fragile backing is the only shield you hold. It is the sole reason I bothered extending a precious treasure like the Baek-nyeon Ha-su-o to a pitiful beggar like you.”

Wang Gon completely cast aside his smiling mask, revealing the depths of his true, vile nature without restraint.

“Does your thick skull still fail to grasp the truth? Allow me to paint the scenario for you in plain words. Consider a hypothetical: during an unfortunate clash of steel, our overly zealous warriors lose their composure and end your life purely by ‘accident.’ Your station suffered an unfortunate ‘mishap’ recently, did it not? Suppose that happens here. Who under the heavens will bear the blame? Why, none other than the butcher behind the massacre of Yang Chu’s household. You are actively investigating that very slaughter, after all. Would a fiend brutal enough to wipe out an entire clan hesitate to butcher the officials hunting him down?”

The long-winded tale boiled down to a simple, ruthless truth: We will butcher you where you stand and lay the corpses at the feet of the monster who killed Yang Chu.

“And do you know what unfolds next?”

Silence met his inquiry. Wang Gon smiled, teeth bared in vicious triumph.

“Nothing unfolds next. The matter ends entirely. A replacement branch leader and fresh warriors will arrive from headquarters. They will pursue the imaginary ‘fiend’ for a month or two, fail completely, and abandon the chase. Once the dust settles, I will present the new leader with the very same treasure you foolishly threw away. Do you honestly believe he will refuse it? Quite an amusing tale, would you not agree?”

In that frozen second, Im Choong’s inner senses screamed the horrific realization.

It was this very man who orchestrated the slaughter of Yang Chu’s clan.

Yet speaking that deduction aloud would drive them straight past the point of no return.

Heuk Su closed in with lingering malice.

“Now then, shall we pick up where we left off with our pleasant chat?”

Beon Saeng threw himself directly into his path.

“Halt!”

Heuk Su shoved him aside with effortless brutality, sending him crashing across the floor, then raised his boot to stomp heavily into his ribs. The chasm between their martial abilities was astronomical; Beon Saeng had no power to resist.

“Desist!”

Im Choong moved to throw himself into the fray, but Heuk Su drew his steel in a flash, leveling the sharp edge straight against Beon Saeng’s throat.

“Advance a single inch further, and his throat is opened.”

Im Choong froze solid. He knew what breed of dog Heuk Su was: the man’s blades were as cruel as his words, especially when dealing with the weak to demonstrate his dominance.

He cast his eyes toward Wang Gon. There was no intent to intervene—merely the icy, arrogant disdain of a tyrant. The unspoken command was unmistakable: absolute surrender.

Drop to your knees. Beg for forgiveness. Be broken utterly into submission.

Im Choong lowered his gaze toward Beon Saeng, who lay pinned beneath the heavy heel, gasping in agony.

Very well. I must endure this humiliation. I will bend my knees.

If kneeling would save Beon Saeng’s life, his own existence, and the lives of his family, he had no choice.

Right as Im Choong began to sink his knees toward the cold floor—a quiet, even voice drifted across the grand room.

“Would you like me to take them into custody?”

The startling question came from Baek So-cheon, who had remained standing silently near the entrance. Caught up in the sudden spiral of peril, Im Choong had momentarily forgotten the young man was even present.

Every set of eyes turned in astonishment toward the back. Baek So-cheon spoke once more with complete composure.

“Inflicting battery upon an official of the Alliance, extortion, and unlawful bribery. Those crimes constitute more than adequate grounds for an immediate arrest.”

Im Choong, Beon Saeng, Wang Gon, and Heuk Su were left entirely dumbfounded by the absurdity of the scene.

Heuk Su was the first to tear through the heavy quiet.

“Bwahahahaha!”

Heuk Su’s raucous, mocking laughter quickly prompted Wang Gon to chuckle in agreement.

Yet beneath the ring of their derisive mockery, Im Choong noticed something unmistakable: Baek So-cheon was observing the scene with absolute calm, completely in earnest.

Does the boy possess any martial foundation whatsoever to speak so brazenly?

Im Choong suddenly remembered having once asked Baek So-cheon about his combative skill; the youth had admitted that while he had been formidable in the past, his current abilities had sunk to a pathetic state.

“Did you not claim earlier that your combative prowess had dwindled to nothing worth mentioning?”

“That evaluation was based entirely on my personal standards,” Baek So-cheon replied steadily. “I certainly was not comparing myself to wretched maggots like these.”

The mocking smiles vanished from Wang Gon’s and Heuk Su’s faces in an instant.

Never in all their years had someone dared compare them to filthy parasites.

Wang Gon turned toward Heuk Su to ensure his ears had not played tricks on him; the twisted, livid expression on his subordinate’s face confirmed he had heard correctly.

Then, Baek So-cheon struck the final nail into the coffin.

“Look around all you want, you aged maggot. That’s right—I am talking straight to you.”