***
Sima Geon was fourteen at the time.
The Silver Star Escort Agency, where he was working then, was crossing Gold Summit Mountain for an escort mission. It was none other than Beon Gak who ambushed them, slaughtering all the escorts and taking him—the youngest—and nine other porters captive. Beon Gak was also the one responsible for selling them at the slave market.
'That brother's name was... right, Won Sang. Ha Won Sang.'
Sima Geon recalled the young porter who had refused to be sold into slavery, tried to escape, and ended up with his throat slit right before his eyes.
The shock of seeing the man who had been kinder to him than anyone when he first became a porter lose his life right there was beyond imagination.
The terror and impact of the blood gushing from the severed neck soaking his entire body haunted him with nightmares every night.
"Beon... Gak, wasn't it? Right?"
At Sima Geon's question, Beon Gak's eyes narrowed thinly.
"How do you know me, you bastard?"
In that instant, a deep, dark smile spread across Sima Geon's face.
"Looks like you don't remember. Well, I suppose that's understandable. Countless people have passed through Gold Tiger Stronghold. Besides, the worm that's crushed writhes in agony, but the one who stepped on it doesn't even know what it trod on. Still, it stings a little. I've been waiting so desperately for this day."
Beon Gak sensed the horrific killing intent emanating from that smile and felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't move a muscle, like prey before a natural predator.
'Damn it! If he passed through here, he must be one of the captives we sold off.'
He frantically searched his memories, but the face was completely unfamiliar.
Unconsciously, Beon Gak scanned his surroundings. Instinctively seeking an escape route.
A smile crept across Sima Geon's lips.
A streak of pure white flashed toward Beon Gak.
A sharp whistling sound followed, and at the same moment, both of Beon Gak's ears were cleanly severed. They were cut so swiftly and sharply that blood didn't flow until some time after they fell away.
"Gaaahhh!"
Beon Gak, who had just turned his head, had no idea what had happened to him. Only when he felt the blood trickling from his cheek down his neck did he let out a scream.
"Turning your head would make me sad. I haven't finished speaking yet."
Sima Geon, still in his original posture with the smile intact as if he hadn't moved a hand, glanced at the bandits watching warily and spoke.
"It'd be best if you all just stayed put. Dying by my hand is painless, but if that guy over there makes a move, you'll suffer worse than death. He's not called Diamond Yaksha for nothing."
The moniker Diamond Yaksha was a name as fearsome and terrifying in the demonic path as Yama the King of Hell, though it was scarcely known in the Central Plains martial world.
But the bandits, at a loss, felt a terror as if the Diamond Yaksha himself had appeared, watching Cheol U poke at No Sa Mun's head and torso with his toe while grinning.
"Still don't remember, huh?"
"Th-that..."
Before Beon Gak could get the words out, his left arm flew off.
"Gaaak!"
With Beon Gak's scream, blood sprayed in all directions.
"If you want even a little less pain, you'd better remember. Well, since time has passed, I'll give you some hints. First, Silver Star Escort Agency."
Sima Geon tilted his head slightly, waiting for an answer, but Beon Gak just hemmed and hawed.
'Damn it, I can't remember...'
He'd clashed with escort agencies countless times. Just that morning, they'd attacked an escort caravan and scored a decent haul.
Seeing Beon Gak couldn't answer, Sima Geon flicked the small pebble between his fingers.
"Kyaak!"
Beon Gak screamed and lost his left eye.
"Next is your leg. Think hard. Here's another hint. Twelve years ago."
As Sima Geon finished speaking, he began folding his spread fingers one by one.
Beon Gak desperately racked his brain.
'Tw-twelve years ago, Silver Star Escort Agency. Wh-what happened back then?'
Twelve years ago was when Gold Tiger Stronghold had rapidly expanded its forces. There had been countless clashes and raids.
Even narrowed down to Silver Star Escort Agency, he couldn't clearly recall the details.
He still vividly remembered the faces of the famed escort leader and a few escorts from that time, but wasn't sure if they were from Silver Star. Above all, no matter how hard he tried, Sima Geon's face wasn't in his memory.
"C-could you be an escort from Silver Star..."
Sima Geon kicked him without even listening.
With the sound of breaking bone, Beon Gak's left leg twisted grotesquely.
The kick didn't end there.
Sima Geon stomped repeatedly until Beon Gak's ankle and knee bones were pulverized to dust.
Beon Gak passed out several times from the pain, but each time Sima Geon struck an acupoint to ensure he felt every bit of agony fully.
"Last one. Do you remember the name Ha Won Sang?"
The name of the porter Beon Gak had beheaded as an example just for attempting escape.
Beon Gak still didn't remember.
Sima Geon let out a hollow laugh, as if he'd expected as much. To Beon Gak, Ha Won Sang was just one among the countless lives—or vermin—he'd taken.
"I figured you wouldn't. You're the perpetrator, after all. But to the victim, it's an incredibly unjust affair."
Sima Geon reached out toward Beon Gak.
Beon Gak, now missing an arm, an eye, and a leg, twisted away in horror, but it was futile.
Gripping the back of Beon Gak's neck, Sima Geon whispered.
"In the past, I was a porter for Silver Star Escort Agency on an escort mission. You ambushed us, took us captive, and sold me at the slave market. Thanks to you, I've finally made it back home. After a full twelve years."
Sima Geon began striking Beon Gak's acupoints.
Beon Gak shuddered in dread, but there was no escape.
"My name is Sima Geon. The porter from Silver Star Escort Agency that you sold into slavery. Don't forget it, even in death."
Moments later, Beon Gak's body began to convulse.
"Gaaahhhhaak!"
An indescribable scream erupted from his mouth.
His face, contorted in agony, flushed red as if on fire, and the bulging veins looked ready to burst at any moment.
That was just the beginning.
A pain like every joint in his body was grinding and snapping apart sent Beon Gak rolling madly across the ground. His remaining limbs twisted unnaturally, losing all semblance of a human form.
Sima Geon, having unleashed the bone-splitting tendon-twisting technique on Beon Gak's body, gazed down at him with impassive eyes.
This was the revenge he'd waited twelve years for.
The moment he'd longed for even more than reuniting with the family he dreamed of every night brought no sense of triumph.
Even as Beon Gak thrashed in torment—the one who had plunged him into hell—Sima Geon felt only bitterness and irritation growing.
"Cheol U."
"Yes, Division Leader."
"Don't leave a single one alive."
"Leave it to me."
Cheol U flexed his fingers and asked.
"What about this one?"
He pointed at No Sa Mun writhing at his feet.
Whether due to the strong drug or some measure Cheol U had taken, he still didn't seem to feel the pain properly.
"I have no intention of letting him go easy."
"Got it."
At Sima Geon's response, Cheol U kicked No Sa Mun's torso.
The body flew through the air, tumbling over thirty feet before slamming into the ground. Whatever it hit triggered a scream from No Sa Mun, who hadn't made a sound until then—a wail so piteous it made Beon Gak's cries seem tame, as he too underwent the bone-splitting tendon-twisting.
Sima Geon glanced at No Sa Mun briefly before heading deeper into the stronghold to capture the stronghold leader.
As if in encouragement, screams began echoing from all directions at once.
***
"Open it."
At the curt command, Yuk Geum tremblingly unlocked the door leading underground. An unbearable stench assaulted their noses.
"Urk! What the hell is that smell..."
Cheol U turned his head and dry-heaved.
"Lead the way."
Yuk Geum shuddered at every word from Sima Geon, nearly pissing himself as he stepped forward.
The moment he'd heard the stronghold leader had fled, Sima Geon had turned No Yang—hanging right beside him—into a hunk of meat like something from a butcher shop. Yuk Geum had then been forced to taste the bone-splitting tendon-twisting himself to verify if it was true.
Though brief, it was a horrific ordeal he'd rather die than endure again, so Yuk Geum was desperate.
Carrying a torch, Yuk Geum descended the stairs, lighting the wall lamps as he went.
The pitch-black underground space gradually brightened, revealing prisons made of iron bars.
There were exactly three cells, two of them packed full. Over ten people crammed into spaces less than three feet wide on each side.
"P-please, spare us."
"Mercy, please spare us."
Those in the nearest cell pressed their faces against the cold bars, clamoring desperately. But the ones in the rear cell showed no reaction.
Their eyes held no spark of life, their expressions terrifyingly vacant. The face of those who had abandoned all will, resigned even to death.
The stench wafting from those two cells filled the underground. Cheol U, seeing the prisons smeared with filth, struck Yuk Geum without thinking.
Yuk Geum's body flew like a broken kite, crashing against the bars of the filthiest cell and tumbling over.
As Yuk Geum cried out, Cheol U spat yellowish phlegm and bellowed.
"Try pretending it hurts. I'll make you clean the floor with your tongue."
Yuk Geum, whimpering, clamped his mouth shut in terror.
"Everyone, come out."
Sima Geon said as he opened the cell door.
No one moved to leave.
They'd begged for their lives, but now that the door was open, they were all cautious.
"I heard there are people from Shang Hua Escort Agency here. I think I met someone briefly at Cloud Dragon Inn last night—does anyone remember?"
Sima Geon asked, recalling what he'd heard on the way. He'd learned before arriving that the Shang Hua Escort Agency members he'd met at the inn the previous night had gone missing after a bandit ambush that morning.
"Y-yes, I remember. I definitely saw you."
The youngest-looking youth's gaze was fixed not on Sima Geon, but on Cheol U. It had been a mere glance in passing, but the man's impression was so profound it was unforgettable.
"From Shang Hua Escort Agency?"
At Sima Geon's question, the youth nodded.
"Yes. I'm Jeong Ok, a porter."
Youthful, not even twenty yet. Sima Geon briefly saw his younger self in the boy's face.
"Nice to meet you. Come on out."
Jeong Ok stepped out without hesitation, and the others followed suit.
But those in the rear cell stayed put.
"What are you all doing still in there?"
Cheol U shouted at the people who hadn't budged despite the open door. They sat motionless, unresponsive.
Cheol U noticed several staring at Yuk Geum, their eyes filled with fear. He strode over without hesitation.
Yuk Geum, watching breathlessly, trembled violently.
"Division Leader."
Cheol U looked back, and Sima Geon nodded without delay.
"If it's because of this vermin, don't worry about a thing."
Cheol U's foot crushed Yuk Geum's shoulder.
"P-please..."
Yuk Geum clasped his hands in desperate plea, but it was no use.
"This is the last living bandit in Gold Tiger Stronghold. And he'll be dead soon too."
As the words ended, bones shattered beneath his foot, and Yuk Geum's body was gruesomely crushed. His breath cut off in an instant, but his scream lingered in the underground prison for a long while.
"Now there's no one left to threaten you. So come out already. How long are you planning to stay down here? It's not even that dirty, is it?"
Even after snuffing out Yuk Geum, Cheol U bellowed at those still dawdling.
"I-is it really okay?"
Someone asked, face pale with fear.
"Ah, come on! Even after seeing..."
As Cheol U raised his voice again, Sima Geon cut him off.
"They can't help but be afraid. Watching comrades or kin die right in front of them leaves no other choice."
Motioning Cheol U back, Sima Geon entered the cell and supported the man who had just spoken.
"Let's go. As that guy said, not a single Gold Tiger Stronghold bandit remains to threaten you."
"R-really?"
The man asked disbelievingly.
"Yes. Trust me."
Sima Geon reassured him with the brightest smile he could muster, then beckoned those who had already exited first.
"Don't just stand there gawking—come help support them. They seem badly weakened from being locked up so long."
At Sima Geon's words, Jeong Ok moved first. But no help was needed. Convinced by Sima Geon's sincere expression and tone, they finally rose and began filing out.
"Th-thank you."
"Thank you so much. Truly."
Emerging from the cells, they bowed repeatedly to Sima Geon and Cheol U, tears of gratitude streaming down their faces.
"Save the thanks for later. First, let's get out of here."
All the prisoners were now out.
Not just those long deprived of sunlight, but even those brought that morning struggled to open their eyes.
It was the sunlight, yes—but also the fear that opening them might reveal it all as a dream.
"Ah!"
A gasp of emotion escaped someone.
With that, emotions burst forth like a flood.
Cheers of joy rang out as they embraced one another, shedding hot tears.
Sima Geon watched them with a sense of relief.
"Ugh, what the hell—why's the sun so damn bright!"
Cheol U scratched the back of his head, pretending nonchalance.
A rather roguish smile bloomed on his fierce face.