"Are you deaf? I said dismount!"
A menacing face with a bullying tone.
And as he spoke, his hand drifted naturally to the sword hilt at his hip.
The preliminary motion for an immediate draw.
Yet there was something faintly awkward about the way he gripped the hilt.
"New gate guards, are you? I take it you don't know who I am."
When Hyeol-u spoke quietly, the gate guards exchanged glances and snorted.
"Ha! Some ragamuffin rides up on a horse and starts spouting nonsense."
"Hehehe, the kid's gone soft in the head early."
Just as Hyeol-u's instincts told him — they were nothing but idle wanderers posing as guards.
In that case, there was nothing for them to do at the Namgung Clan's main gate besides sweep.
"Out of the way!"
WHINNY—!
At Hyeol-u's shout, the stationary horse surged forward.
"St-stop......!"
Both gate guards swung their swords at the legs of the horse trying to pass between them.
'Slow!'
Attempting to slash a horse in full gallop, their blades came in sluggish and wide.
Their reactions to a moving target were woefully lacking.
"Die!"
They were sure they had caught the horse's legs clean.
The unguarded legs of the horse would be severed, the beast would topple, and the rider's body would come tumbling from the saddle—
Both men suddenly realized something was wrong.
CLACK, CLANG—!
A sound like hammering nails.
Hyeol-u blocked their swords with Vault Shadow, Flying Clouds.
Then, in immediate succession, Flying Tiger Stealing Heart — and both sword-wielding arms were severed clean.
"Ah......?!"
"Ugghh......!"
Two clipped screams.
In the heartbeat it took for the horse to brush past.
"Y-Young Master......!"
The speed with which he deflected their attacks and then took their wrists and forearms — even So-i, who saw it with his own eyes, could scarcely believe it.
THUD!
The sickening chill of a limb being sheared away.
Then a blaze of agony flooding in like wildfire.
"GYAAAHK—!"
"My arm?!"
As the two gate guards crumpled and began to lose consciousness—
From inside the gate, several more figures came sprinting out, blocking Hyeol-u just as he crossed the threshold.
WHOOSH—!
Four experts, descending from all sides.
Each wielding a different weapon — saber, sword, hook blade, whip.
They struck simultaneously at four points: his chest, arms, and legs.
"Trying to kill me from the very start, you wretched bastards!"
Robbers who had infiltrated someone else's home and were now trying to murder the master besides.
Fury began to boil inside Hyeol-u.
"Four Directions Seal!"
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG—!
Hyeol-u threw up an ironclad defense in all four directions, blocking the quadruple attack.
Almost simultaneously, he launched Vault Shadow, Flying Clouds — sending dozens of blade shadows billowing upward.
The power was nearly ten times what Namgung Hye had produced.
"Wha......?"
Eyes wide, the four watched the blade shadows rain down from above — and their vision darkened.
Every shadow was the same size, the same intensity.
Which was the real strike, which the feint — there was absolutely no way to tell.
"I can't tell......!"
"Block them all!"
As they slashed wildly at the air, grasping at phantoms—
A cold blade qi pierced their bodies all at once.
The first stroke of Azure Sky Falling Stars.
SLICE—!
"Uggkhh......!"
"Gaaghh!"
Screams died stillborn in throats as blood rose to choke them.
The four tumbled across the ground, retching crimson.
EEEEING—!
"What was that?"
A strange sound that materialized from nowhere drew Hyeol-u's focus.
'Is this...... the Lone Soul cane crying?'
It sounded like a newborn too young to speak, throwing a tantrum.
Or a foal whimpering with hunger.
He stole a glance at the cane in his hand. The dark surface only gleamed with deeper luster.
As though the cane had drunk every drop of blood that touched it — the surface was flawlessly smooth, without a trace of residue.
"Does it...... crave blood?"
The source of the sound could be investigated later.
CLATTER—!
Hyeol-u spurred onward, the hoofbeats ringing sharper.
Behind the white mare, the black colt galloped with all its might, mane streaming, chasing its mother's tail.
Destination: the First Young Master's hall.
When he reached the pond within sight of the stone bridge, a shout erupted from inside the hall.
"I can't do it...... just kill me!"
That was unmistakably the First Young Master's voice.
And then — a voice with the chill of cold steel followed.
"If you do not comply, your mother will die as well. Your two siblings need not even be mentioned. Do you truly wish to watch your entire family massacred before your eyes?"
"Gnnnhh......!"
"First Young Master, face the reality of the Namgung Clan. Why must you be so stubborn? All you need to do is stamp the seal, and there will be no more need to dismiss servants or hand your siblings pocket money while making excuses. You will have enough to live on for the rest of your life! How frustrating."
Then the Grand Steward's voice.
"Sigh, can you guarantee our safety after the seal is stamped?"
"Hmm...... our Huizhou merchants are not bold enough to ignore the Sichuan Tang Clan's retaliation."
"Very well. Son, let's take the money and go live in Danggata."
"Indeed, First Young Master. At this rate, we'll end up buried in debt anyway. The Huizhou Guild has offered to assume all liabilities. In my view, this is our last lifeline."
The voices of a middle-aged woman and the Grand Steward came one after the other.
"Sigh...... fine. Then let us......"
Just as the First Young Master was about to stamp the deed of transfer for the Namgung Clan—
CRASH—!
A sound like the hall itself was collapsing, and the door burst open.
Every eye in the room snapped to the doorway, where even the hinges had been torn clean off.
"S-Seong......!"
The First Young Master's choked whisper was followed by a thunderous bellow.
"You, you wretched little mudfish! How dare you barge in like this where your elders are gathered!"
The Grand Steward shrieked and jabbed a finger at Namgung Seong.
Hyeol-u ignored him entirely and studied the man seated grandly before the First Young Master.
A bushy-bearded hulk gripping a great sword with both hands, his blazing, ring-shaped eyes blinking with what looked like amusement.
"Gwahahat! A very brave young man indeed. Who is this fellow?"
"He is my third brother."
"What? The one who supposedly hasn't learned a single technique and just gets drunk and causes trouble......?"
"Watch your tongue! Say what you will about me, but no one — and I mean no one — speaks of my brother that way."
The atmosphere in the room tightened considerably.
The First Young Master, who had been about to stamp the seal, subtly withdrew his hand.
"Sigh."
Hyeol-u let out a deep breath.
'Namgung Seong's reputation really does precede him — and only in the worst possible way......'
Hyeol-u untied the wrapping cloth he was carrying and set it squarely on the table.
"What is this?"
"Evidence that thieves and robbers have been plundering our clan's assets."
"What......?"
Namgung Ryong's eyes changed in an instant.
As he rifled through the documents with urgent hands—
Hyeol-u turned his gaze to the bushy-bearded man.
"I heard someone say something about the Huizhou Guild outside. Are you the guild master?"
"No, I'm a representative, actually...... but what happened to the Blood Wolf Twin Swords and the Lingering Soul Four Ghosts?"
"Wonderful names. So the two mutts guarding the main gate were the Blood Wolf Twin Swords, and the wretches who failed to die properly were the Lingering Soul Four Ghosts?"
"Ggnnhh...... don't tell me you're the one who did that to them?"
"They were running wild without a care in the world, so I cut off their wrists and ankles and laid them out nicely on the ground."
"Mmmmgh......!"
The bushy-bearded man looked ready to erupt — but instead he slowly pushed back his chair and fixed Hyeol-u with a hard stare.
Even hearing that all his people had been floored, his restraint was remarkable.
"And what's your name? With a face that swollen, you look like a drowned water wraith from the Yangtze. Should I call you the Yangtze Water Wraith?"
Hyeol-u raised the dark cane — Lone Soul — and leveled it at the man's face.
The man's facial muscles rippled.
"Listen here, Water Wraith. What's your relationship with Wang Hyeon-jong?"
"Who's that?"
"If you want to die, you don't have to answer. I don't particularly care to remember the names of dead men."
"......!"
Namgung Seong's relentless barrage of venom sent the room's temperature plummeting.
Before anyone knew it, the situation had reversed so completely that the bushy-bearded man looked like a cornered rat.
"I-I......"
"Enough. Our mother and the Grand Steward surely know more about him than you do, so I'll ask them later. Now shut your filthy mouth."
The tension that had been merely taut now turned suffocating.
Then, from the First Young Master Namgung Ryong, a staggering revelation.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this? Mother and the Grand Steward conspired with these people to drive our own clan into ruin......?"
His voice carried less fury than sheer, drained disbelief.
"D-darling...... who conspired with whom......?"
"F-First Young Master."
THUMP, SLUMP.
The sound of two people sinking helplessly to the floor.
"What happens within the family is yours to handle now, Elder Brother. You there, Water Wraith. Where is Wang Hyeon-jong right now?"
"Brother W-Wang is...... I don't know, I don't know!"
The bushy-bearded man reached for his great sword, then froze mid-motion.
The tip of Lone Soul was already kissing his throat.
"Hck......!"
CRACK, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP—!
A merciless beating followed.
One spot on his skull split open. An elbow snapped and bent the wrong way. A knee shattered and twisted backward.
"Aaagghh......"
"Oh, heavens......!"
Outside the hall, dozens of Namgung Clan members had gathered to watch, trembling as they spectated.
The gruesome scene unfolding before their eyes wrung groans from lips they could not keep shut.
And in the doorway stood So-i and Yang Gye-dong, rolling their eyes about busily.
***
As the setting sun stretched the cottage's shadow long—
'Flower Mountain Labyrinth Caves......'
Seated atop the dark stone before his cottage, Hyeol-u was lost in thought.
The Flower Mountain Labyrinth Caves were thirty-six massive, man-made caverns scattered throughout Flower Mountain, along the Xin'an River near Mount Huang in Southern Zhili.
Who had built them, when, and why — no one knew.
A labyrinth steeped in mystery, whose depths no one had ever reached.
Why had Wang Hyeon-jong — guild master of the Huizhou Merchant Guild, rivaled only by Yeo Jin-gwang of the Shanxi Merchant Guild from the northern province of Jinzhong — gone there in person?
Unless it involved enormous sums — gold, silver, elixirs, or divine creatures — a man like him would not bestir himself.
"Those people — are you having them train in martial arts?"
"Oh, you startled me."
So deep in thought he had missed the approach entirely — a rare lapse — but it was someone he had been expecting.
"Elder Brother! Welcome."
By now, the word 'brother' rolled off his tongue when he saw Namgung Ryong.
He had adapted to this body at least halfway, perhaps.
"Martial arts, you say...... ah, right."
He had stationed So-i and Yang Gye-dong behind the boulder.
Looking over, he saw the two had maintained their horse stances for nearly half a double-hour without adjusting their posture.
"Impressive persistence."
The will behind it was fierce — but how long would it last?
Starting tonight, every limb would ache so badly sleep would not come.
From tomorrow onward, they would face days of sleeplessness and agony, rising before dawn to endure it all.
"Shouldn't you have them stop? Look at them. Their limbs are shaking, their faces drenched in sweat. Keep that up and they won't be able to move for days."
"Let them be. They're the ones who insisted on testing how long they could endure."
"Gnnnhh......!"
'When did we ever say that?!'
'He drills us to the bone talking about how patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet, and now he says WE insisted?!'
They wanted to protest but were sure they would collapse the moment they opened their mouths.
All that escaped their nostrils was furnace-hot air, puffing out like bellows.
"Oh, Elder Brother. What's that in your hand? Is that Maotai? And the side dishes — Cao Cao roast chicken and lamb skewers!"
A short while later.
Hyeol-u and Namgung Ryong sat at a small tray table in the cottage's main hall, drinking together with side dishes laid out between them.
So-i and Yang Gye-dong tore into Cao Cao roast chicken and lamb skewers spread on oiled paper, ripping the meat apart with bare hands.
All the while, their eyes kept drifting longingly toward the wine bottle.
"I've sent the Blood Wolf Twin Swords and the Lingering Soul Four Ghosts back to the Huizhou Merchant Guild. The guild master's brother, Wang Gyeong-jong, is in the dungeon. They'll be in an uproar by now."
Namgung Ryong spoke.
But Hyeol-u, making no response, drained his cup and savored the wine.
A fine vintage, no doubt about it — the lingering aftertaste was fragrant.
A day's worth of rich resonance in a single sip, one might say.