Chapter 19: Chapter 19
– Near Wolha Village.
Pitter-patter.
A middle-aged man in a black robe sprinted through the forest path with what agility he could muster.
His name was Yong-tae.
Former Guardian Dragon Hall warrior, currently boss of the Black Dragon Faction.
The reason he was running, drenched in sweat, came down to one thing.
Jang I-seo. His request.
‘You two. If you’re not busy, I could use some help.’
‘Help from…?’
‘Guardian Dragon Hall.’
The Guardian Dragon Hall.
One of the Five Dragon Halls, the five supreme institutions governing Cheonsan’s administration, responsible for security and protection.
In government terms, it served the role of the Ministry of Justice.
These were the watchdogs who hunted criminals.
Though the fight had been started by the enemy’s attack, a slaughter like this within the cult was unquestionably a crime and subject to investigation.
The moment the Guardian Dragon Hall arrived in Wolha Village, all fighting would cease.
Especially since civilians had been threatened this time. They couldn’t simply brush it off as a Ma family matter.
So he needed to get there as fast as possible…
“Oof, out of breath. Hold on. I just shaved years off my life.”
Yong-tae gripped a tree, dizzy, and caught his breath. How long had it been since he’d sprinted at full tilt for this long? His head was spinning.
“B-boss!”
Moments later, Mae-gi appeared, face soaked and wearing the expression of a dead man.
“Hah, hah.”
“Hey, breathe. Exhale. Exhale, you bastard. Don’t just swallow it.”
“Hwaaah…”
“Good. Yeah. Good job.”
Yong-tae patted Mae-gi’s back. Mae-gi slumped to the ground, soul departed.
“Good grief.”
Yong-tae clicked his tongue and surveyed the area. The mountain terrain was so rugged that barely any sky was visible, and the path to the Guardian Dragon Hall stretched endlessly ahead.
At this rate, even running nonstop, they wouldn’t arrive until late at night.
“Boss… at this rate we’ll die first.”
“Did you see that Wang bastard’s hand dripping blood? These Slaughterhouse bastards… they came fully prepared this time. No telling what they’ll do. We’re supposed to be the ones watching over Wolha Village, damn it. We gotta protect it.”
“But we just kept hiding…”
“Hey, you bastard! I was just gathering my thoughts! You know? The Slaughterhouse bastards, I was gonna just BAM! Right?”
What was he even saying? As Yong-tae rambled incoherently.
“What about the Slaughterhouse?”
“What do you mean, what? Those bastards attacked cult members. Anyway, I’m going to meet the Hall Master directly and…”
“Hold on. Who am I talking to?”
Belatedly processing the situation, Yong-tae blinked rapidly.
Shhh.
An indescribably weighty presence flowed through the surroundings. He swallowed hard and glanced sideways. Mae-gi’s wide-set eyes trembled like leaves.
Damn. Something was there. Yong-tae tensed and slowly turned his head.
“AAAAAAAGH!”
With a scream, his legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground.
A massively built man stood there, stroking a magnificent black beard, flanked by five or six subordinates.
Gold fittings on a tiger-patterned belt. A uniform of interwoven black and yellow, like a tiger’s stripes. And the character for Tiger emblazoned on his shoulder.
In Cheonsan, only one group loved tigers this much.
“The G-Guardian Dragon Hall showed up, boss…”
Could’ve told me sooner, you bastard. Cold beads of sweat formed on Yong-tae’s forehead.
The real problem wasn’t simply that they were the Guardian Dragon Hall.
It was who that black-bearded man was.
Yong-tae swallowed dry, dropped into full prostration, and bellowed.
“This humble Yong-tae greets the Hall Master!”
Not a Division Commander. Not a Vice Hall Master.
The Hall Master.
That’s right.
Master of the Guardian Dragon Hall. Second Grade Ghost. A titan among titans.
The Clever Tiger, Ji Dae-ho.
“H-Hall Master… Hiiigh!”
Belatedly grasping the situation, Mae-gi dropped into prostration beside him.
Meeting the Guardian Dragon Hall Master on an unnamed mountain trail, of all places. Not at a village, not at a landmark.
“At ease.”
“At ease!”
At Ji Dae-ho’s command, Yong-tae sprang to his feet and stood ramrod straight. He nudged the still-prostrate, clueless Mae-gi with his foot until he stood as well.
Ji Dae-ho surveyed them with sharp, piercing eyes and spoke.
“Yong-tae.”
“Sir!”
“Heard you left the Guardian Dragon Hall and became a thug. A man who’d hide his whole life and never be found wants to settle things with me?”
“Urgh, n-no, that’s not it, sir. Yes. So, how this happened is, you see, settling things. Yes. That means both parties discussing and determining right and wrong…”
“Heh heh. Right and wrong, you say?”
Guardian Dragon Hall Master Ji Dae-ho flashed a hearty, gums-baring smile. What was this. Had it landed? Yong-tae and Mae-gi started to laugh along.
RAAAARGH! An auditory hallucination of a tiger’s roar. Ji Dae-ho thrust his face forward and spoke.
“Good. From this moment on, if you’ve lied about even one thing, you will be held severely accountable. You said the Slaughterhouse harmed cult members?”
“Hiiigh! Yes, yes! That’s correct!”
“Where. Where is the Slaughterhouse wreaking havoc?”
The situation had escalated beyond all proportion.
Yong-tae wore the hollow face of a man watching his world collapse.
*
Thus, the Guardian Dragon Hall Master Ji Dae-ho and Yong-tae arrived at Wolha Village.
He’d worried the situation might already be over, but fortunately, the rainbow bridge still held plenty of evidence.
Bloodstains streaked across the bridge. Bodies floating in the lake.
“What in the world… Search every inch of the village!”
Ji Dae-ho issued the order immediately upon seeing it.
“Sir!”
Guardian Dragon Hall warriors streamed into the village like streaks of light.
Footstep, footstep.
Ji Dae-ho advanced slowly, surveying left and right with solemn gravity.
A corpse draped over the Moonlight Lake railing. A corpse bobbing in the water.
Causes of death varied. Some stabbed. Some beaten.
But to Ji Dae-ho, a veteran investigator, one thing was certain.
‘A master. All of them were killed by a single master.’
That part didn’t make sense.
He could guess why the Slaughterhouse, whose name was known from Cheonsan to the Central Plains, had come to this backwater.
The Seventh Young Master.
He’d personally investigated incidents involving him in the past.
But this…
As Ji Dae-ho reached the far end of the rainbow bridge, the subordinates who’d rushed ahead returned, heads bowed, and reported.
“Hall Master. Twenty-nine bodies discovered so far. No civilians. All Slaughterhouse.”
Hah. Not one or two, but twenty-nine? This was no ordinary incident.
Ji Dae-ho creased his brow like a tiger’s and murmured.
“Yong-tae.”
“Sir?”
“You lied to me.”
“Me? No, sir. These guys are definitely the Slaughterhouse.”
“It’s not that the Slaughterhouse harmed people. Someone harmed the Slaughterhouse!”
“Well, that’s…”
Yong-tae’s eyes bulged. The thought had never even occurred to him.
‘Wait. Then that adjutant killed all of them?’
The villagers couldn’t have done it. A chill ran down Yong-tae and Mae-gi’s spines simultaneously. They knew he was Counter-Espionage Division, but a master of this caliber?
“Hall Master. The final trail leads to the Seventh Small Palace.”
“Hmm…”
A deep sigh escaped Ji Dae-ho’s lips.
The Seventh Small Palace. No matter how hollow its title had become, to a principled man like him, it was a sanctuary he couldn’t enter and search without evidence.
But neither could he quietly withdraw when the Seventh Young Master might be in danger.
“Everyone stand by here. I must pay my respects to the Seventh Young Master.”
Clank.
Guardian Dragon Hall Master Ji Dae-ho unbuckled his blade, handed it to a subordinate, and entered the bamboo forest alone.
Whatever had happened here.
He needed to know.
*
– Wolha Village, Seventh Small Palace.
“Get up now. If anyone sees us like this, it’s begging for misunderstandings.”
“Cramp.”
Jang I-seo gestured for the still-kneeling Mao to rise.
Mao refused outright, stuck his tongue out with his index finger, and dabbed saliva on his nose and forehead.
What era was that superstition from? Hah. Jang I-seo let out a hollow laugh.
Looking at each other’s barriers having come down, something had definitely grown closer between them.
Jang I-seo sighed and grabbed Mao’s shoulder to help him up. But.
“Stop right there. Move so much as a finger more, and your head leaves your shoulders.”
Shhh.
From behind, a ferocious killing intent pressed against his skin, like a mountain tiger had appeared.
Jang I-seo slowly turned.
His pupils dilated as he recognized the man instantly.
‘The Clever Tiger, Ji Dae-ho!’
The man didn’t know Jang I-seo, but Jang I-seo knew him all too well.
Master of the Guardian Dragon Hall, one of the power brokers, and a key surveillance target ranked within the Demonic Cult’s top thirty.
“Seventh Young Master, step back.”
“I’d love to, but my legs…”
Ji Dae-ho saw Mao’s buckled knees and spoke in apparent horror.
“Surely. Did you break them?”
“Why is that where your mind goes?”
“I’ll hear the details at the main hall.”
“What… Hmph!”
RARGH! What sounded like a tiger’s roar. Ji Dae-ho charged forward ferociously.
‘Fast.’
Facing the assault head-on, Jang I-seo tensed and twisted his body and head aside.
FWOOSH!
A tremendous shockwave grazed his ear. Even in that fleeting instant, an overwhelming force registered. This wasn’t an opponent to take lightly.
“Not bad!”
Ji Dae-ho apparently felt the same, unleashing a relentless barrage of follow-up strikes. Pah-pah-pah-pah! Jang I-seo barely blocked, driven back endlessly.
‘Kgh. Even blocking, the impact…’
Incredible power. Now he understood why they called him a tiger. Getting mauled by an actual tiger might have been preferable.
Bone-crushing pain radiated through his arms, and alarm bells clanged in Jang I-seo’s mind.
‘At this rate, I’m dead.’
“Let’s see you block this!”
RARGH! Ji Dae-ho’s fist drew far back. He’d noticed Jang I-seo’s limbs going slack and decided to finish it.
But in that moment, light blazed in Jang I-seo’s eyes.
‘An opening!’
His body reacted before thought.
BZZZT! The internal energy flowing lazily through his meridians from his dantian transformed instantly into lightning, sheathing his entire body in a flash.
『Thunder Circulation Method』
Before Ji Dae-ho’s fist could arrive, Jang I-seo’s palm struck his chest first.
THUD!
“Kgh?!”
Ji Dae-ho grunted and skidded back five, six paces.
“Ah.”
Jang I-seo let out a flustered exhale. Ji Dae-ho hung his head and stared blankly at his own chest.
With eyes of utter disbelief.
“You.”
He raised his head again.
But his eyes now blazed with a killing light incomparable to anything before.
He was angry.
Very, very angry.
“This is a serious misunderstand…”
“I’ll fight you properly!”
RARGH!
The enraged tiger went on a rampage.