Cheon Amyeong wished his hearing would just disappear, too. Horrific sounds kept ringing beside his ears. And he knew that the moment those sounds stopped, it would be his turn to die.
‘I lost.’
Was it because he’d swallowed that antidote poison? For some reason he couldn’t understand at all, only his hearing was still intact. Even so, fighting not to lose consciousness was human instinct.
THUD! Another person died.
Now the conversation between his younger brother Cheon Taemyeong and Jin Sohan drilled into his ear.
“Dream Kid… spare me.”
Cheon Amyeong wanted to answer for him.
‘No. He won’t spare you, little brother.’
To Cheon Taemyeong’s plea, Jin Sohan said,
“Hand over your saber.”
The sound that followed was Jin Sohan taking the saber and cutting deep into Cheon Taemyeong’s body. Jin Sohan was killing the officers first, one by one. Then it was Cheon Amyeong’s turn—and before he knew it, Jin Sohan’s voice was right next to him.
“Sect Master. Can you hear me?”
Cheon Amyeong’s whole body was slack, and there was no strength in his arms or legs. But his answer came out naturally.
“I hear you.”
“How interesting… Have you been eating decent things all this time? Your resistance to poison is exceptional.”
It was mockery wrapped in the shell of praise, and Cheon Amyeong had nothing to say.
“……”
Jin Sohan continued.
“There’s no point asking you about what happened back then. No need to hear how you treated the older sisters, either. I can feel what happened to the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe from your behavior and your tone. Ah, not just the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe. I can see exactly what kind of ending the ones you preyed on met.”
At that, Cheon Amyeong laughed convulsively.
“I played with them, and then sent them off comfortably.”
“Yeah?”
Jin Sohan looked down at Cheon Amyeong, who was hanging his head. In his hand was a saber—the one Cheon Taemyeong had been using.
In that moment, Cheon Amyeong didn’t want to lose to the brat called Dream Kid.
He thought the only fight he had left was to torment Jin Sohan until the instant he died.
“Dream Kid, it turned out just like I said. Nothing changes… they’re all already dead. You’ll keep being alone— ghk…!”
Jin Sohan drove Cheon Taemyeong’s saber into the back of Cheon Amyeong’s neck. When Jin Sohan let go, Cheon Amyeong died instantly and toppled forward with the saber embedded through his upper body.
Jin Sohan looked around and said,
“You can shut that mouth now.”
Most of the Blood-Whisper Sect officers who had been surrounding him in a ring had died right where they stood.
Jin Sohan stood among the dead for a while.
His insides churned.
If the world had already taken his parents, shouldn’t it have left the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe behind? Hot resentment poured out. Just like Cheon Amyeong said—nothing changed.
The rage was still there.
What was he even supposed to call this state of mind?
Right then, Jin Sohan made a vow to himself.
‘I’ll kill every last thing like the Blood-Whisper Sect. I’ll cut them down, smash them, burn them all….’
It felt like only then could he relieve this rage that had poisoned his chest.
Looking down at the sprawled corpses, Jin Sohan laughed like he’d realized what he had to do. To anyone watching, it would’ve looked exactly like a madman.
When the Blood-Whisper Sect men realized only the officers had taken the antidote poison, they no longer had any will to attack Jin Sohan.
And just like that, the Blood-Whisper Sect collapsed in a single instant.
There were still plenty of them left, but when the officers they’d always feared were slaughtered in a heartbeat, there was no reason at all to rush Jin Sohan.
In the darkness of that muffled atmosphere, Jin Sohan picked up the flimsy chair the Blood-Whisper Sect Master had been sitting on and sat down beside him.
He wasn’t waiting for anyone, and he wasn’t tired.
The moonlight was unchanged, and the cool breeze was pleasant. There, for a little while, Jin Sohan savored the time of revenge as if he were drinking tea.
*****
Choo Sahyeok approached Jin Sohan while scanning the area. Each time he drew closer, he saw Blood-Whisper Sect men sprawled out in a horrific, miserable heap.
‘How many did he cut down?’
Bloodstains were splattered everywhere in a dizzying mess.
Watching this massacre, Choo Sahyeok felt something completely different from Jin Sohan.
First he thought, ‘How is he that strong?’ and then, right after, ‘How can he be that vicious?’
Choo Sahyeok believed that if Jin Sohan had simply swung his blades, he still could’ve slaughtered the officers—and even the Blood-Whisper Sect Master. But seeing how Jin Sohan used the situation and their psychological state with surgical precision before killing them… it shook Choo Sahyeok, too.
‘He’s terrifying.’
But it wasn’t the same fear as before. He was interesting, too. Choo Sahyeok stepped closer and asked carefully.
“Troupe Master….”
“Yeah.”
“You worked hard. And I don’t know if it’s my place to say this.”
“What.”
“It was good study.”
Jin Sohan nodded and let out a deep breath.
Just then, new people began approaching Jin Sohan. When Choo Sahyeok watched, people from Rooster Head Tavern were coming toward him. There were quite a few drifters with swords at their waists, so Choo Sahyeok asked,
“What are you?”
One man answered cautiously, looking thoroughly cowed.
“Ah… we only came to pay our respects.”
“Respects?”
Choo Sahyeok replied in the same sharp tone, but Jin Sohan looked at the ones approaching and said,
“Dogon.”
At that, Dogon—mixed in among the drifters—answered.
“Yeah.”
When someone replied so casually, Choo Sahyeok couldn’t help being even more shocked.
“Yeah?”
Jin Sohan sighed and said,
“Choo Sahyeok. He’s a friend from when I was little.”
“Ah, I see.”
Looking closer, Choo Sahyeok realized he recognized that “friend,” too.
‘What? That’s the server from Rooster Head Tavern.’
Dogon walked up and looked over the dead Blood-Whisper Sect experts sprawled around.
“What do we do with these bodies?”
Jin Sohan smiled and answered,
“Why? You’ll help?”
“You can’t have bodies rolling around in front of a business, can you. Right?”
When Dogon looked back at Rooster Head Tavern’s regulars, they rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.
“We’ll take care of it.”
Jin Sohan said to Dogon and Choo Sahyeok,
“They’re not worth burying. Choo Sahyeok, search the Sect Master’s body.”
Choo Sahyeok immediately understood and answered,
“Yes.”
But the people gathering weren’t only Choo Sahyeok and the ones from Rooster Head Tavern. Merchants of West Black Road—who had locked their doors and watched in secret—began revealing themselves one by one and cautiously approaching Jin Sohan.
More than anything, the fact that Rooster Head Tavern’s server was fine stirred people’s curiosity.
Of course, these were weak people who could do nothing more than spit on the ground whenever the Blood-Whisper Sect passed by. But now the Blood-Whisper Sect Master had been killed by an unfamiliar young man—how could they not be curious? Someone who approached while reading the room asked,
“Did you kill the Blood-Whisper Sect Master, Young Hero?”
Choo Sahyeok, collecting keys and certificates from the Sect Master’s body, replied.
“The Sect Master is dead.”
“A-Ah! Truly?”
The stunned man looked around and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone! The Blood-Whisper Sect Master is dead!”
At that, windows and doors all over the place flew open with BANGS. People who’d been unsure poured outside in a rush. Not long after, most of West Black Road’s people were out, murmuring in a swell.
“Is he really dead?”
“Wow… I saw it. From start to finish. How am I even supposed to explain this?”
“What the hell happened?”
Some had brought torches, and in an instant the whole area was bright as day.
Rooster Head Tavern’s regulars and Dogon—who had been watching everything up close—explained what happened to the curious crowd. Then the rumor spread like a warhorse across a thousand li. More than anything, everyone was happy.
Of course, it wasn’t a mood Jin Sohan had expected.
Choo Sahyeok was just as surprised.
“Good grief—were there always this many people on West Black Road? Anyone would think it’s a festival.”
That was right. West Black Road felt like a festival.
Did Cheon Amyeong know?
That his death was a festival on West Black Road.
In that boisterous atmosphere, Jin Sohan recalled Cheon Amyeong’s sneer.
‘You didn’t do all this bullshit just to get revenge.’
Thinking of Cheon Amyeong’s words, Jin Sohan looked at how delighted everyone was and let out a scoffing laugh.
‘This is enough to be worth the bullshit.’
“Please tell us the name of the young hero who killed the Blood-Whisper Sect Master!”
“What do you mean ‘young hero’—watch your mouth! Great Hero! Please tell us your name!”
“Who are you, exactly?!”
Most of them were seeing the grown Jin Sohan for the first time.
Only then did Jin Sohan rise from the chair and look them over. If he spoke too casually, many of them looked older than him. There were quite a few elders who had lived on West Black Road for a long time, and as he scanned, there were faces that felt vaguely familiar.
Did these people remember the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe?
As Jin Sohan looked around, the area went quiet. Breaking that silence, Jin Sohan pointed at Moonlit Night Pavilion.
“There used to be the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe there. Does anyone remember?”
“Huh?”
“The Dance Troupe!”
“How could we not know the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe! The Blood-Whisper Sect did something horrific to them—our memory’s still vivid!”
“The Dance Troupe?”
In an instant, the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe’s name was on everyone’s lips. Elders with sharp memories shoved their way in, peering close at Jin Sohan’s face. One old man said,
“Are you, by any chance, Dream Kid?”
Jin Sohan looked at the old man and answered.
“You remember me? Yes. I’m Dream Kid.”
“How could I not… I remember clearly. Your face has changed beyond recognition.”
Of course he would remember.
The Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe had been a performing troupe that put on shows for people like them. For someone with a good eye, it wouldn’t be hard to remember the bold little kid who held a sword in the Dance Troupe.
The old man, fearless, stepped up and hugged Jin Sohan tight like he was hugging his grandchild.
“Dream Kid—you got your revenge. Well done. Well done!”
Choo Sahyeok startled and tried to pull him off, but Jin Sohan got there first, patting the old man’s shoulder as he said,
“It’s only regrettable that I came back so late.”
“No. You came back well. And you killed them well! The whole Dance Troupe was wiped out!”
At the old man’s words, the crowd shouted in unison.
“You killed him well!”
They were ordinary commoners—powerless people.
But they understood Jin Sohan’s heart better than anyone. For a long while, truly ordinary people gathered around Jin Sohan, chattering in a noisy swirl.
Jin Sohan wanted to be alone, but with these people, he couldn’t.
Cheon Amyeong’s words were wrong again.
Jin Sohan wasn’t alone.
Because people who remembered Jin Sohan—or remembered the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe—were still on West Black Road.
Seeing the atmosphere get too loose, Jin Sohan snapped his fingers to slip away. Even though it was a light snap, the people who had been talking all turned to look at him at once.
Jin Sohan said to them,
“I’m going to hang the Mystic Lunar Troupe plaque where Moonlit Night Pavilion stands. If you know any survivors of the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe, or you happen to meet them, tell them to come here.”
Replies of “We will” rose from all sides.
It was a truly strange day of revenge. From this day on, West Black Road’s public sentiment turned completely to Jin Sohan. Choo Sahyeok thought of Jin Sohan as a villain, but all of West Black Road was praising Jin Sohan as a great hero.