Seo Daeryong, who had gone out with the enforcement martial artists, returned empty-handed.
“Yang Tae refused arrest. He claimed that within Namdojong territory, the Blade Ghosts have the right to protect themselves. We tried to drag him in by force, but his subordinates stepped forward, so we had no choice but to withdraw.”
As a Hundred Blade Ghost, he had a full hundred direct subordinates. If he refused, arresting him would not be easy.
The investigators, their morale soaring, grew agitated.
“He’s looking down on us.”
“We should take every enforcement martial artist we have and arrest him by force.”
Gok Myeong calmed the young investigators’ excitement and argued for caution.
“You must handle this carefully. If a clash breaks out with the Blade Ghosts, many of the enforcement martial artists will be injured.”
“Are we supposed to just let this pass, then?”
While the investigators went back and forth in heated debate, I held out a single document to them.
“Here. Send this to him.”
“Gasp!”
What I showed them was a summons, and the reason everyone was shocked was because of the charge I had written on it.
Treason.
“Does refusing arrest warrant a charge of treason?”
Even Gok Myeong, a veteran, did not know this.
“It does. We hold positions personally appointed by the Cult Leader, and a Hundred Blade Ghost is a position appointed by the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon. Our orders and the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s orders cannot conflict. In the end, he has defied the Cult Leader’s command. There’s no need to go in person. Send the summons by messenger, and he’ll come running on his own two feet.”
He would come. If he made one wrong move and the sparks of treason spread to all the Blade Ghosts, he would be killed by their own hands.
“Yes, understood.”
Seo Daeryong took the summons and immediately ran out.
Sure enough, less than half a shichen after the summons was delivered, Yang Tae appeared at Hwangcheon Pavilion in person.
The word “treason” was a magic word that made even the foulest-tempered opponent obedient.
But though I could make him come this far, I could not make him confess.
Even after a shichen had passed since the investigators began questioning him, he refused to admit that he had threatened to kill Jonghwa’s younger sister.
It was as expected, so I entered the interrogation room myself.
Yang Tae was sitting in a chair with his internal energy suppressed, and when I entered, he flinched in surprise. No matter how imposing a Hundred Blade Ghost might be, he could not compare to my current momentum after cutting down the Demon Army Lord.
“Second Young Master.”
“You should call me Pavilion Master of Hwangcheon Pavilion, not Second Young Master.”
“I was discourteous. Pavilion Master. The summons said treason. What on earth does that mean?”
“I thought this was the only way I’d get to see you, Martial Artist Yang.”
When I spoke gently with a smile, Yang Tae responded just as smoothly.
“I apologize for refusing arrest. As you know, when one belongs to an organization, there are many situations where one must be mindful of appearances. I have my dignity to maintain in front of my subordinates.”
“I understand.”
“This was never something that should have grown so serious in the first place. It was all because of some childish prank.”
“There is some truth to that.”
When I readily agreed, curious to see how he would proceed, Yang Tae seemed to think he had found an opening and began trying to win me over.
“I knew you would be someone I could talk to. We should be able to resolve this amicably.”
“How?”
“Pavilion Master, this is your first time taking on such an important post, is it not? As you manage Hwangcheon Pavilion from now on, you will need a great deal of outside help. It will cost a lot of money as well.”
He was speaking indirectly, but in the end, he meant he would give me a bribe.
“And that is not all. Later, if you are to become the official successor, help from our side will be absolutely necessary. After all, at present, everyone is lining up behind the First Young Master…”
“If you will help me, I would be grateful. Please help me greatly.”
At that, Yang Tae’s expression brightened at once.
“As expected, you are a broad-minded man. I will serve you well from now on. And soon, I will arrange a good gathering.”
Watching my reaction, he quietly began to rise from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
“Was our discussion not over?”
“Didn’t you mean that you would help me after you came out of the prison?”
At the word “prison,” Yang Tae’s expression stiffened.
“What a disheartening joke to make.”
I looked up at him and revealed a cold aura.
“Does this sound like a joke? We are discussing the crime of threatening to kill the family of an investigator of Hwangcheon Pavilion.”
“I clearly told you that I never made such a threat.”
“Your testimony is irrelevant. The testimony of the investigator who was threatened has already been accepted.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Our cult has such a rule. The testimony of Hwangcheon Pavilion martial artists takes precedence over any contradictory testimony. It is a clause created to uphold the authority of Hwangcheon Pavilion investigators, who enforce the cult’s laws. You probably didn’t know. I only learned this time that such a law existed myself. This is all because of people like you. There are more than a few who think that if they simply insist, everything will go their way.”
Flustered, Yang Tae could not say anything. When he first came here, he surely had never imagined that things would turn out like this.
And then came another bolt from the blue.
“If you confess obediently, I will reduce your sentence to ten years. If you deny it, it will be twenty. There will be no further negotiation.”
“Wh-what? Ten years?”
Yang Tae was so shocked that he even stuttered.
“Choose.”
“Are you insane?”
Yang Tae’s true nature, which he had been holding back, came out, and his words turned rough.
“If I must be insane, then gladly. It does seem difficult to deal with people like you while in my right mind. Now, I’ll give you half a quarter-hour to think.”
In the end, Yang Tae’s composure shattered. He spoke with eyes blazing.
“Don’t make me laugh. Forget ten years. I have no intention of spending even a single day in that prison.”
There was no longer any value in talking to him, so I rose from my seat.
“The trial will be held within a few days.”
“On whose authority?”
“Mine. You live as you please too, don’t you?”
His urgent words caught me as I turned away.
“Wait! Second Young Master! Pavilion Master! Why on earth are you doing this?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? Your son assaulted his friend and nearly killed him. It wasn’t simply an injury from a single fight; he tormented him every day for years. And yet, as his parent, you threatened to kill an investigator’s family to bury the incident. And you ask why?”
“Are we the same as some warehouse guard? Should we not at least be treated as superiors? Until now, things like this were always overlooked, weren’t they?”
It was a sorrowful thing to say, and at the same time a terrifying thing to say. It was also the kind of statement that became the driving force pushing me forward.
“Not anymore.”
“If you touch me, the Demon Venerable will not stand by.”
“He will stand by. He stood by even when I cut down the Demon Army Lord, so what are you?”
At last, Yang Tae exploded. He had reached the wrong conclusion that this was happening to him because he had been too polite.
Bang!
Yang Tae slammed the desk and spoke through clenched teeth.
“Listen here, Pavilion Master of Hwangcheon Pavilion! I am a man with many friends who would share life and death with me!”
“I guarantee you, no one will step forward for you. Who would sincerely like someone like you enough to risk their life?”
To him, trembling with rage, I threw out one last remark.
“Why? Why don’t you try saying you’ll kill my family too?”
Yang Tae was worked up, but he did not dare say anything.
Watching him grit his teeth and swallow his anger, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Perhaps our collapse was not because of Hwa Mugi.
Discipline had fallen so low that a mere Hundred Blade Ghost dared threaten an investigator of Hwangcheon Pavilion, and even went so far as to subtly threaten me.
“Confess obediently.”
I spoke calmly and left the room. As the door closed, all I could hear was the sound of an innocent desk being struck.
* * *
That very day, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon came to see me.
In the front yard of my residence, he had planted his great saber into the ground and was sitting before it, drinking.
“Welcome, Second Young Master. No, should I now call you Pavilion Master of Hwangcheon Pavilion?”
“Call me whatever is comfortable for you.”
“I am more comfortable with Second Young Master, so I will call you that.”
“As you wish.”
“Come here and have a drink.”
I obediently sat down across from him. Though he had invited me to drink with him, he did not pour me any liquor.
“I believe I warned you. Nothing good will come of seeing me often.”
“You are always the one who comes to find me, Elder.”
After staring at me for a moment, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon abruptly brought up the past.
“There was a moment recently when I saw you in a new light. When you won the spar and made a wish to the Cult Leader, I shouted inwardly, Yes, that’s it. If he’s a smart one, that’s the kind of wish he should make.”
“Even in my own opinion, it was quite a good wish.”
“Yes, that was when it began.”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon emptied his cup and filled it again. He still did not hand me a cup. He poured for himself once more.
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon sat with his back resting against the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber planted behind him like a wall. Compared to his gaunt frame, the overwhelmingly large saber was awe-inspiring.
“That truly is a magnificent saber.”
“Are you not afraid of that saber?”
“Why should I be afraid?”
“Because you make my saber weep.”
I did not avoid the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s piercing gaze.
“How could it be because of me that the saber weeps?”
“Then why does it weep?”
“Because it laments.”
“What does it lament?”
“Your disciple laced my tea with Energy-Scattering Poison at the martial tournament, and another disciple came to find me and insulted my subordinate. Your younger brother used the Demon Army for personal gain, and your subordinate threatened to kill an investigator of Hwangcheon Pavilion. The saber weeps because it laments that the people around its master fall short of its master’s character.”
The corners of the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s mouth curled upward.
“You have a silver tongue.”
“I merely recited facts, and suddenly I’ve become eloquent.”
“You are wrong.”
“Please enlighten me.”
“First, you said the people around me fall short of my character, but no. They suit my character exactly. I am only that much of a man.”
As expected, he was no easy old man. Those with great pride or hunger for honor were actually easier to deal with.
“And if we are being precise, it is not those people’s fault. It is yours.”
“Because of me?”
“When a dragon ascends to the heavens, it brings wind and rain.”
“Who is the dragon?”
“Who else? You. Are my people not being swept away by that wind and rain?”
“What ascension? I’m merely a loach stirring up muddy waters.”
“A loach becomes a snake, and a snake becomes a dragon.”
Again, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon emptied his cup. He was still drinking alone.
“Damn it! Everything else is fine, but why must it be my people who get swept away?”
With that lament, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon set down his cup and stated his purpose directly.
“Release the Hundred Blade Ghost you have locked up. Because of you, morale in our Namdojong has hit rock bottom lately.”
“If he is investigated and found innocent, he will be released.”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon began to emit demonic energy. Just as I had felt before, its intensity made me understand why Father had said I could not yet handle the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon. Indeed, the martial arts of a Demon Venerable were on a different level.
“Let me give you one piece of advice.”
“Do not.”
“What?”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon’s expression twisted for an instant, but I continued calmly.
“If you came to make a request, then only make the request. Do not make a request and give advice as well. Young people these days find such people unlikeable.”
It was a situation where he could have burst into rage, but old ginger was indeed spicy. Instead, he withdrew the demonic energy he had been pouring out.
“You’re right. These days, there are few who give me such frank words.”
“You should be wary. Stagnant water is bound to rot.”
“Who stagnates because he wishes to? When you have soaked in it long enough, attachment forms, and sometimes you miss the chance to let it flow away.”
“Even so, we do not soak ourselves in rotten water, do we? Take this opportunity to let the rotten water flow away. He is not someone worth protecting.”
The Hyeolcheon Blade Demon emptied the cup in his hand. After draining it cleanly, he held that cup out to me.
“Will you accept a drink from me?”
It was the first drink he had offered since we sat together. I obediently accepted the cup.
As he poured, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon spoke.
“Very well. I will let the rotten water flow away.”
“You are wise indeed.”
Just as I was about to empty the cup, the Hyeolcheon Blade Demon threw out a meaningful remark.
“In return, from now on, Second Young Master, you become my water.”