Chapter 5: Chapter 5
A generous assessment fell from Gyeom Sa-ik’s lips.
So he was someone Gyeom had dispatched after all. Sa Hae-ryeong’s elegant brow furrowed. She tapped a finger once against the table. One more tap and Narak’s blade would slice across his throat.
“That would make him someone Commander Gyeom values. So why the unpleasant expression?”
“Well… because the bastard’s a menace.”
Gyeom Sa-ik pressed his temples as if his head throbbed just thinking about it. Then he spoke.
“By chance, did you extort money from him?”
“Excuse me?”
“Or… surely you didn’t hit him?”
“What are you talking…”
“That’s a relief, at least. Then it’s true he was tailing you, Third Young Lady?”
Sa Hae-ryeong’s eyebrow rose briefly, then settled. Was it possible he truly knew nothing? The raised finger was withdrawn. Instead, she picked up the glass of water on the table.
“I’m looking into it.”
“Ah…”
“Are you worried about your subordinate?”
“Both.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know what his nickname is among the Counter-Espionage Division?”
“Do I need to?”
“Mad dog.”
Not something she particularly wanted to know. Sa Hae-ryeong narrowed her brow with mild displeasure. But Gyeom Sa-ik pressed on regardless.
“A dog through and through. Master, superior, doesn’t matter. The moment his mood sours, he bites. That’s the kind of mad dog he is.”
This was Gyeom Sa-ik, once so feared in the Demonic Cult that even birds dared not fly overhead. For him to say this much was extraordinary praise. What on earth had the man been doing?
She didn’t want to admit it, but her interest was piqued.
“Continue.”
“The incident where Vice Hall Master Hwan-ik of the Flying Dragon Hall was exposed as a spy.”
Sa Hae-ryeong nodded with a look that asked what that had to do with anything. It had been a major case. Naturally, she knew of it.
“The one who actually committed espionage wasn’t Hwan-ik. It was his nephew. The nephew got seduced by the Unorthodox Alliance at a gambling den in Henan and passed along information. That was the root of it.”
“Was that so?”
She hadn’t known this. At her level, sometimes only the results reached her ears. This had been one of those cases.
“Correct. And Hwan-ik came to the Counter-Espionage Division repeatedly, trying to bury the matter. Hitting people, smashing things. And unfortunately, the one who dealt with him while I was out on field duty was…”
“Jang I-seo. Of course.”
“That’s right. Hwan-ik’s biggest mistake was crossing paths with him, of all people. Jang I-seo made the nephew an offer. He’d let him go in exchange for everything he knew about Hwan-ik.”
A madman. Sa Hae-ryeong couldn’t quite follow. A mere Seventh Grade Ghost squad leader acquiring intelligence on a Third Grade Ghost? What could he possibly do with it? The difference in rank was enormous.
“And?”
“During the investigation, he discovered that Hwan-ik was connected to the same gambling den his nephew had frequented.”
“Which means…”
“The real spy was Hwan-ik. He’d been using his own nephew as a tail. Something he could cut loose at any time.”
So that was what had happened. Both Sa Hae-ryeong and Narak were inwardly surprised. But,
“That must have been a coincidence.”
“That coincidence doesn’t happen every single time the man is involved. The details don’t matter. Whether Jang I-seo will bite, or whether he won’t. That’s what matters. If it were me… I’d rather not get bitten.”
Gyeom Sa-ik smirked and took a sip of water. Sa Hae-ryeong’s mood soured considerably. Was he saying he hoped she wouldn’t get bitten?
By a mere Seventh Grade Ghost squad leader who’d crumple like a dry leaf the moment she lifted a finger? Even a parent’s praise grew embarrassing when it exceeded all reason.
“Perhaps Commander Gyeom has been stationed in the hinterlands too long.”
The disappointment was profound.
The years he’d spent demoted to Division Commander had been too long. His judgment had dulled. Yes. That was her conclusion.
“Whatever the case, avoid getting entangled with him if at all possible. This is my honest advice to you, my former student.”
Sa Hae-ryeong rose from her seat with regal finality, making clear she had nothing more to say.
“I’ll have Jang I-seo brought in and questioned personally soon. If he’s innocent, he’ll live. If not… forget about him.”
Because she’d never see him again.
When Sa Hae-ryeong signaled Narak with her eyes, he quietly brought his hands forward. Their business here was done. Now she only needed to capture the man and interrogate him.
Why he’d been investigating Mao. Who had ordered it?
But then.
“Commander! I’m here!”
A boisterous voice rang out from the corridor outside. Gyeom Sa-ik’s face hardened instantly as he muttered.
“Jang I-seo…?”
Sa Hae-ryeong stopped mid-stride. Who?
“The bastard’s supposed to be on leave today. Why is he…”
Speak of the devil. What wretched luck. Sa Hae-ryeong snorted and shook her head. Perfect. She could grab him right here.
But. Ah! A rough hand suddenly shoved her back.
“Please leave first. If he catches us together right now, things will get very complicated. He might go straight to the First Young Master. Anyway, just step outside for now…”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Sa Hae-ryeong planted her feet against the push and whipped around, her voice sharp.
Gyeom Sa-ik gestured urgently to Narak.
“Narak. Get her out of here quickly.”
Narak tilted his head in bewilderment. And in that gap, the opportunity evaporated.
“Commander, I’m coming in?”
Ugh! His announcement rang out right at the door.
“You’ve given me nothing but disappointment on my first visit in ages. I’ll be going.”
“Wait! First, hide!”
“Hide? You just told me to leave.”
“Behind that folding screen! Narak, you too!”
No matter how incredulously Sa Hae-ryeong and Narak stared, Gyeom Sa-ik paid them no mind. He shoved both of them behind the folding screen, then spread it wide and sat down with a forced cough.
BANG! The door flew open simultaneously.
“Ah, why no answer? You hiding a woman here or something? Wait. You don’t normally put the screen up.”
“Y-you madman!”
As Jang I-seo strode toward the folding screen, Gyeom Sa-ik’s eyes bulged. His hand shot to the blade at his waist.
But Jang I-seo just grinned, spun on his heel, and sat down.
“Joking. What woman would you have? Probably just skimming more money on the side. Take it easy, will you? You’ll give yourself indigestion.”
Jang I-seo shook his head as if thoroughly exasperated. Watching this, Gyeom Sa-ik trembled. That insufferable bastard. Ten years of working together and now the mutt was trying to boss the master around. Back in the day, he’d at least had some charm.
BANG! Gyeom Sa-ik slammed the table and barked.
“Why are you here?”
“Where can’t I go? Why does a Counter-Espionage squad leader come to the Division Commander’s office? To report, obviously.”
“Then you should have come in proper form! In uniform. Wearing your mask. Sloppy. You little shit.”
“What are you talking about? I’m on leave today.”
“That’s my point, you idiot! If you’re on leave, you should be resting. Who told you to crawl out? You think the Counter-Espionage Division is a joke? Everyone agreed to stand down today, and you just waltz in? Get out, you bastard!”
“Ah, what’s gotten into you today, seriously.”
Jang I-seo bellowed back and jumped to his feet. He glared at Commander Gyeom up and down, let out a heavy sigh, then pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his robes and smoothed it onto the desk.
“Enough nonsense. Look. I need your stamp on this. Approve it and I’ll be on my way.”
“Lunatic. Which poor bastard are you trying to catch this time? You’re really hell-bent on wiping out every last seed in this cult.”
A familiar situation. Jang I-seo was the Counter-Espionage Division’s finest. Investigate first, report later was routine. If he’d come in on his day off, he’d definitely caught wind of someone big.
“I’ll stamp it, so get out right now. Understood?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up. I’m busy too.”
Ordinarily, Gyeom Sa-ik would read it carefully and discuss it before sending him off. But right now, circumstances were dire. A cold sweat prickled his back, and he had a feeling he’d need to burn that folding screen by tomorrow.
Ahem. Gyeom Sa-ik cleared his throat and pulled a stamp from the drawer beside him.
“What is… what the hell is this?”
“Oh, nothing much. A transfer recommendation.”
“Nothing much, my ass. Transfer… what, you bastard?!”
FWISH! The Commander’s chipped dao swept horizontally from his waist.
“Ugh!”
Jang I-seo flinched and threw his upper body backward. SLASH! The chipped blade passed clearly across his chest, close enough to see. Barely dodged. That took ten years off his life.
“Are you insane? What are you doing!”
Jang I-seo recoiled a step, aghast.
“You bastard. Spill it. What did you do.”
“What did I do?”
“Don’t tell me you pulled your shit with the Cult Leader’s children?!”
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
“You did, didn’t you? Just die.”
FWISH! The blade came again. Faster this time. But a sword flying at you unexpectedly is different from a sword you see coming. Jang I-seo kicked the desk between them, creating distance.
But Gyeom Sa-ik had anticipated even that. He vaulted over the desk like a pouncing tiger and brought his sword down vertically.
“Argh!”
Tumble, roll! Jang I-seo threw himself sideways, barely evading. What kind of humiliation was this?
“You little… Kneel. That’s an order from your Division Commander. Kneel!”
“Even a dog wouldn’t obey that! Agh!”
SLASH! SL-SLASH! Gyeom Sa-ik showed no sign of stopping, raining down blows relentlessly. Jang I-seo kept rolling and scrambling until he was finally cornered. Pale-faced, he threw out a hand and shouted.
“Will you just… listen to me for a second! I really didn’t do anything!”
“Then what is this? A transfer? You, the bastard who said even if the cult falls, the Counter-Espionage Division is eternal?”
“I just want to wash my hands of it.”
“Madman. Just say you want to quit. Then I’ll cut off your hands myself and believe you.”
“I’m serious! Commander, I’m only saying this because it’s us. This gig’s been too damn good to me. Gotta give the others a chance too. You can’t hog everything forever. What are you, a pig?”
Ah.
“My apologies. What I meant was… hold on. Wait! Commander! Argh!”
FWISH! The dao came again.
But Jang I-seo wasn’t called a mad dog for nothing. He wasn’t about to just take it.
CLANG! The sharp ring of steel meeting steel echoed through the room.
Gyeom Sa-ik’s face contorted like a demon’s. His dao had snapped clean in two. Meanwhile, the sword Jang I-seo had drawn from his waist wasn’t just intact. It radiated a golden brilliance.
“You…”
Jang I-seo calmly sheathed the blade, then unbuckled it from his waist, scabbard and all, and presented it to the Commander with both hands.
“What, you think I’d just ask with words? Let go of that chipped relic. Take this one. You’ve heard of it, right? The Gold-Cleaving Blade. They say if you cut open a duck, gold pours out. As of today, this is the Commander’s sword.”
Flash! Gyeom Sa-ik’s eyes went wider than they’d ever been. The Gold-Cleaving Blade. Yes. He’d heard of it. The life’s masterpiece of Pyeong-san-ja, the master swordsmith of the previous generation.
Gyeom Sa-ik reached out with trembling hands and grasped it. Then he looked at Jang I-seo and understood.
‘This bastard is serious.’