Chapter 56: Chapter 56
Ji Dae-ho let slip a flicker of displeasure he didn’t truly feel and asked.
“You’re not still doing all this just to get an apology from the Sa brothers, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m simply providing intelligence for the good of the cult.”
“Then I suppose there’s no need to make Sa Ho-jeong apologize either.”
“By all means.”
What was this. Why so indifferent? He’d been so adamant about receiving one. Ji Dae-ho asked out of genuine curiosity.
“Why?”
Jang I-seo replied casually.
“I changed who I need to hear it from.”
Surely…
“Come to think of it, an apology from underlings doesn’t look very dignified. So I’d rather hear it directly from the one who instigated the whole mess.”
Ma I-sin.
Ji Dae-ho felt a chill run through him for reasons he couldn’t explain. And Ma I-sin’s future suddenly looked very dark.
‘I thought a storm had hit Wolha Village. It was barely drizzle. The real one hasn’t even started.’
Ji Dae-ho rose from his massive frame. Jang I-seo widened his eyes and asked.
“Leaving already?”
“Someone just dropped a whole job in my lap. No more time to chat.”
Pfft! Jang I-seo burst into laughter. Ji Dae-ho clicked his tongue, turned, and spoke.
“…If the day ever comes when I’m your target, tell me beforehand. I’ll either kill you first or apologize. Whichever you prefer.”
Jang I-seo smiled lightly and clasped his hands in salute.
“Take care.”
“…Seeing you in one piece wasn’t unpleasant. Until next time.”
“Yes. And please keep this from the Maeng family.”
“Very well.”
Creeeak! Ji Dae-ho stepped out of the annex.
Seeing his rushing subordinates, he roared his orders.
“Immediately issue wanted posters for the Sa brothers and confiscate the evidence inside!”
“Yes, sir!”
Guardian Dragon Hall warriors flooded into the annex. Jang I-seo gestured with his chin toward the pillar. They bowed gratefully and hauled the sacks away like refugees.
Then Mao and Maeng Hwi came bolting in.
“Jang I-seo! What was that? What happened?”
“Adjutant Jang. Did they tell the Maeng family?”
Jang I-seo shook his head vigorously.
Anyway, this fully dismantled Ma I-sin’s blade, the Slaughterhouse.
He now had exactly two options.
One, accept defeat and extend a hand of apology to Mao.
The probability of that was less than one in a million.
So one remained.
Losing all restraint and throwing a tantrum.
And that was exactly what Jang I-seo hoped for most.
There were always two ways to bring down someone above you. Climb up, or drag them down. The more Ma I-sin thrashed, the more openings would show. And when his underside finally faced the sky, then… chomp!
‘Ma I-sin. Thrash more. You’re becoming Mao’s sacrificial offering. The offering needed to ride the Ma family to Young Cult Leader.’
A smile settled on Jang I-seo’s lips.
* * *
– A certain inn in Cheonsan.
Creeeak.
A tall man pushed open the inn’s door and entered. His face was steeped in exhaustion. Tied-up curly hair had come half undone, dozens of strands spilling down.
His name was Mad Dog, Sa Ho-jeong.
Second of the Sa brothers.
Having received news of the Slaughterhouse’s destruction, he’d broken his appointment with the Iron Horse Bandits at Jipha Village and rushed back to Cheonsan. Without rest, he’d sprinted the entire way, and now sought an inn to melt his exhausted body.
But,
“Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry, but we’re fully seated right now.”
No matter how he looked, there wasn’t a seat to be found. Sa Ho-jeong nodded without glancing at the waiter.
“I know.”
“My apologies, sir. Next time you visit, I’ll…”
The waiter was about to thank him for understanding when.
FWISH, THWACK!
A hand axe he’d thrown embedded itself into a table where a feast had just been served.
“Hiiigh!”
Innocent guests scattered in panic. The fully seated inn dropped to less than half capacity in moments. Sa Ho-jeong glanced at the frozen waiter.
“Good enough now.”
“Sir? Yes, yes…”
“Go.”
The waiter scurried away, trembling. Sa Ho-jeong trudged to the axe-marked spot, grabbed a bottle, and flopped into a chair. His subordinates stood at attention behind him as always.
Sa Ho-jeong wordlessly gulped down rice wine.
“Khh.”
Lawless. Those slightly unfocused eyes and that temper. Now it was clear why he was called Mad Dog.
Always a mess, but right now he was beyond reason.
“Jang I-seo, that fucking bastard.”
News of the Slaughterhouse’s fall had spread across all of Cheonsan. At this point, not believing it was the greater stretch.
“Fuck. Where the hell did my brother run off to? At least leave a word. Shit…”
But Sa Ho-jeong didn’t seem to believe Sa Do-cheol was dead. Such was his faith in his brother. Besides, he wasn’t particularly curious.
The truth would reveal itself when he reached Wolha Village.
“Whatever the truth is, it’s going to hurt. I’ll shatter every bone in every joint of every last one of you.”
CRASH! Sa Ho-jeong crushed the empty bottle in his grip alone. Still unsatisfied, he ground the remaining shards in his palm to dust.
Seventh Young Master’s Adjutant Jang I-seo.
The man who’d demolished a sandcastle built over ten years while he was away.
His mood right now was such that he wanted to brand that face onto his body with a burning iron.
Self-reproach and resentment, overflowing.
As he drowned his unquiet heart in drink.
“Proprietor.”
The inn’s door opened. Men in uniforms of interwoven black and yellow, like tiger stripes, stepped inside. The character for Tiger emblazoned on their shoulders.
In Cheonsan, only one group wore such attire.
The Guardian Dragon Hall.
At their sudden arrival, Sa Ho-jeong straightened his slouch and studied the entering warriors carefully.
“Oh my, what brings the Guardian Dragon Hall all the way here?”
The proprietor rushed from the kitchen, wiping his wet hands on his clothes, bowing repeatedly.
The Guardian Dragon Hall policed civilian life and arrested criminals within the cult. The tigers of the main citadel. To ordinary cult members, they were the most familiar and feared of the Five Dragon Halls.
The warriors, accustomed to such reverent treatment, waved dismissively and handed over a rolled poster.
“This person is wanted by the central authority. Post this prominently. If spotted, do not engage. Report immediately.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Dong-gu. Put this up on that wall.”
“Yes!”
The waiter took the poster. Curious, he unfurled it fully to examine the portrait and walked toward the wall.
He tilted his head gradually. Then his eyes met Sa Ho-jeong’s, who sat directly in front of him.
“Huh? Uh-uh…”
The waiter looked back down at the portrait. His face went completely white.
Sa Ho-jeong, chin propped on his hand, watched impassively and spoke.
“What. See someone who looks like shit and feel like shit?”
“N-no, it’s not that…”
“What.”
Sa Ho-jeong lazily lowered his gaze to the wanted poster in the waiter’s hand. Then SNATCH! He tore it away in one motion.
The waiter crumpled to the floor. Sa Ho-jeong swept the dishes off the table with one arm and spread the poster flat.
Tied-up curly hair. Fiercely slanted eyes. A slightly crooked, high nose.
And finally.
【Slaughterhouse Sa brothers, second brother, Mad Dog Sa Ho-jeong.】
His name, plastered right there.
“Hah, fuck…?”
Sa Ho-jeo turned his head in disbelief. The waiter was gone. Guardian Dragon Hall warriors had drawn their blades and surrounded him.
“Mad Dog Sa Ho-jeong. A warrant has been issued from the central authority. Don’t try anything stupid and come quietly.”
“Ah… it was shit before, now it’s even more shit?”
Sa Ho-jeong leaned all the way back and stared blankly at the ceiling.
A warrant. What kind of bullshit was this now.
Things weren’t just going wrong. They were going spectacularly wrong.
“Restrain him!”
The senior warrior barked. Five men crept closer in an alert formation. The assassins exchanged uncertain glances. This wasn’t just anyone. It was the Guardian Dragon Hall. Drawing blades on them meant making an enemy of the entire cult.
Sa Ho-jeong spoke in a weary voice to his nearest subordinate.
“What are you doing.”
“Sir?”
“I said what are you doing.”
“Well…”
“Hah. Useless bastard.”
FWISH, CRACK!
Sa Ho-jeong surged to his feet, snatched the hatchet from his subordinate, and drove it straight into the forehead of the nearest warrior.
“Gurk…”
The warrior fell backward, dead before he could close his eyes.
Sa Ho-jeong regarded the body with lazy eyes and finished.
“Wreck them.”
Everyone’s eyes bulged. The assassins belatedly registered the order. SHRING! They drew their blades and charged.
“AAAGH!”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The inn became a bloodbath in seconds.
Sa Ho-jeong strode outside and flung his hatchet at the back of the fleeing senior warrior’s head.
WHIRL, THWACK!
This wouldn’t take long.
Having massacred the Guardian Dragon Hall warriors in moments, the assassins ran up and asked.
“What are your orders?”
Hah. Exhaustion washed over him. A warrant from the Guardian Dragon Hall meant he was already a caught fish.
Two options: get caught, or run. Nothing else.
Sa Ho-jeong walked up to the senior warrior and ripped his hatchet free. SLASH! Blood splashed and soaked his hand. He glanced down at it, wiped it on the dead warrior’s clothes.
Then swept his hair back and spoke.
“Fuck… I can’t die like this. We’re going to the Ma family villa.”
Sa Ho-jeong stepped out of the blood-soaked inn.
* * *
The foremost of the Demonic Cult’s three great noble houses, the Ma family.
Their main estate was located in Cheonsan Chae, the largest settlement in Cheonsan.
But the legitimate heir Ma I-sin primarily resided not at the main estate but in various villas and private residences. His favorite was a villa in a deep valley in eastern Cheonsan.
Called Sanu Valley.
Named for the waterfalls cascading from both cliffs, giving the impression of year-round rain. Ma I-sin’s villa sat at the deepest point of the valley.
*
“Brother, it seems the Slaughterhouse bastards really did get hit.”
Glossy, pale skin and features that anyone would call weasel-like. A man in a flashy white robe stood with both hands clasped respectfully, brow furrowed as he muttered.
His name was Ma Jin-gu.
The Ma family collateral member and son of the Supply Division Commander, recently dropped from the fifth floor of Chiseonru thanks to Jang I-seo.
And the one receiving his report…
“Hmm…”
A man sitting blankly on the porch, chest robe hanging open, wearing only undergarments.
The Ma family’s legitimate heir. Mao’s older brother.
The Bloodless Duke, Ma I-sin.