So Eungbang (2)
Cheon Muyang entered the office as if it were his own home, looking around here and there.
"There are many expensive items here. I suppose you collected them all yourself, Lord?"
"Ah, y-yes. Please, have a seat first. I'll have some tea brought out."
"Oh, shall we?"
Cheon Muyang deliberately took the seat of honor that had been prepared.
"...."
Seeing this, the Lord of So Eungbang's expression stiffened for a moment, but Cheon Muyang acted as if he had not noticed at all.
Thus, though his insides churned, the Lord of So Eungbang endured it and continued to host Cheon Muyang.
"I hope my sudden visit isn't an inconvenience."
"If you had contacted us beforehand, we would have formally welcomed you. I was simply surprised by your sudden arrival."
The attendant who had tried to stop Cheon Muyang earlier brought in the tea.
"So, may I ask why you came to So Eungbang?"
"Oh, it's nothing much. I just happened to witness something while passing by."
Cheon Muyang continued, smiling as if he were playing the role of a hooligan.
"It seems you collect additional levies on top of the tribute paid to the Cheon Clan?"
"Pardon? Wh-what are you talking about? H-how could we possibly do such a thing?"
The Lord of So Eungbang vehemently denied it.
However, Cheon Muyang's smile only deepened.
"I came here knowing everything. Lord, truly—why do you think I bothered coming all this way when I'm busy to death?"
Cheon Muyang whispered,
"I heard it from the Head of the Inspection Division."
"Ah!"
The Lord of So Eungbang's face twisted as if he had bitten into filth.
'That bastard of an Inspection Head! He spilled it to the hooligan. And then he tells me to erase the evidence?'
The Lord of So Eungbang cursed the Inspection Head fiercely in his heart, yet he could only respond to Cheon Muyang with a smile.
"If you had said so earlier, I would have prepared Young Master's share in advance."
"Indeed. I was fooling around in Hangzhou and found myself in need of quick cash, so I stopped by to see if there was anything available."
"Ah, I see."
It was as if his thoughts were laid bare.
'That hooligan bastard. He sniffed out the scent of money and came all this way.'
Cheon Muyang smiled and gently pressured the Lord of So Eungbang.
"I may look forward to your sincerity, yes? As you know, this is a matter involving money, so the clan is extremely sensitive about it."
Cheon Muyang drew his hand across his throat in a slicing gesture.
Knowing full well that this was a threat directed at him, the Lord of So Eungbang smiled obsequiously and prepared something.
"Oh, would it not be possible for you to be satisfied with just this much today?"
It was a heavy pouch.
Inside, there were surely quite a few silver ingots.
"Oh my. I had no idea the Lord of So Eungbang was so small-minded. This is quite disappointing."
"Yes?"
Cheon Muyang spoke with a coldness utterly unlike before.
The Lord of So Eungbang could not understand.
'Th-that's a considerable sum…!'
Was it not an amount that should more than suffice?
Yet Cheon Muyang's expression remained frigid.
"Th-then… how much do you want?"
Grin.
At last, the words he wanted to hear came out.
Cheon Muyang slowly curled the corners of his mouth upward.
"Everything So Eungbang has eaten up until now. All of it."
"...!"
The hooligan-like smile remained, but the aura pouring from his body was entirely different.
"W-what do you mean by that?"
"You've eaten quite a lot, haven't you? If you've eaten that much, you should spit it back out."
Cheon Muyang abruptly stood up.
Crack!
The innocent chair shattered, unable to withstand his pressure.
"Only then will the laws of the Cheon Clan stand upright, will they not?"
Whooong!
"Ghk!"
At some point, Cheon Muyang was already holding his sword.
"Lord of So Eungbang."
"...!"
Clang!
The sword shot up toward the sky.
In that instant, the Lord of So Eungbang felt as though the heavens themselves were splitting apart.
Paaat!
A white line was drawn through the air.
That line materialized, slicing across the Lord of So Eungbang's shoulder as it passed.
Kwaaaang!
Even then, the sword wind did not stop and flew onward, smashing into the wall of the office.
Through the gaping hole large enough for a person to pass, wind rushed in.
"From this moment on."
"...!"
Whoosh!
The wind scattered Cheon Muyang's hair.
There was no hooligan eldest young master there.
Only a single, razor-sharp sword remained.
And that sword declared with finality—
"So Eungbang is no longer an ally of the Cheon Clan."
"Y-young master…."
"Therefore, I intend to thoroughly investigate the corruption committed by So Eungbang and make them pay the price."
Bang!
The door burst open.
Immediately after, the warriors of So Eungbang rushed in.
"Lord!"
They were struck with shock.
It was only natural—
the Lord of So Eungbang was bleeding from his shoulder.
In an instant, the murderous aura of those who surrounded Cheon Muyang was overwhelming.
However, Cheon Muyang spoke calmly.
"From this moment on, anyone who moves will be cut down without exception. So do not move."
He did not wish to condemn them.
He wanted to believe that the rot lay solely with the Lord of So Eungbang.
Flinch.
Despite having the numbers and the killing intent, none of them could move.
That was when—
"Eldest Young Master, what are you doing here?"
A new figure appeared.
It was Cheon Ahaeng, Head of the Inspection Division of the Cheon Clan.
"Inspection Head, you've arrived at last."
Cheon Ahaeng was an appointee of the Council of Elders.
Thus, though they shared the same bloodline, Cheon Muyang did not care.
There was no familial affection to speak of.
"I asked what you are doing."
The aura of the Inspection Head was far from ordinary.
In response, Cheon Muyang let out a faint chuckle.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm exposing the corruption of So Eungbang."
"C-corruption?"
"This was originally something you should have done long ago, was it not? Isn't that why you came here?"
"...."
The Inspection Head was rendered speechless.
It was obvious he was turning his head, trying to grasp the situation.
'Your thinking is transparent.'
They were not the core problem, merely branches.
Those who cared only for their own benefit could never possess loyalty.
Sure enough—
Having assessed the situation, the Inspection Head abruptly drew his sword.
"T-the Eldest Young Master is right! Everyone, lower your weapons!"
The force behind the Inspection Head's shout was worthy of the saying that even rotten fish still has weight.
Though his character was unfit for his position, his martial prowess was at least respectable.
'For now....'
For now, Cheon Muyang could not win in a direct confrontation.
But it was nothing more than a small hill.
A hill he would cross eventually, if he kept walking.
'Soon enough, your leash will be fastened as well.'
Watching the Inspection Head viciously berate the Lord of So Eungbang felt like watching a stage play.
"Tsk."
The Lord of So Eungbang offered no resistance at all.
But—
Cheon Muyang did not miss where his gaze subtly drifted.
'The desk?'
Documents were scattered messily across it.
Soon, as if having made up his mind, the Lord of So Eungbang broke his silence and stepped forward.
"Did you think I would simply let this happen? Even a rat will bite a cat when cornered."
The Lord of So Eungbang clenched his teeth.
He could not retreat like this.
"Kill them both."
"L-Lord?"
"You fools, do you think this ends with just returning the bribes you took? Killing these two and fleeing is the only way we survive."
"...!"
The eyes of those who had lowered their weapons at the Inspection Head's shout widened.
Only now did they realize this was no simple matter.
"Kill them. Only by killing these two can we live."
The Lord of So Eungbang's words became their motive.
A reason to kill Cheon Muyang and the Inspection Head without fail.
A vicious killing intent rose.
"W-what, why is this happening?"
Cheon Ahaeng was the one who panicked.
Though he had trained in martial arts since childhood and was certainly strong, he had never truly fought on the brink of life and death.
Having grown up like a greenhouse flower, this murderous intent felt alien to him.
"Inspection Head, I'll give you one last chance. Will you die here? Or will you kill the Eldest Young Master to silence him?"
"...!"
The Inspection Head began calculating again.
Snort.
How laughable it all was.
Watching the spineless Inspection Head made Cheon Muyang laugh.
He decided to end Cheon Ahaeng's desperate deliberation.
"No need to worry about appearances. Just act."
"Hey now! Eldest Young Master, what kind of language is that! To someone of your senior!"
"Oh. I remember now."
He remembered.
The Inspection Head was the worst kind of old fossil.
"I-it seems I must correct your manners!"
"What a load of bullshit, seriously."
"Y-you…!"
Why was it?
Even though Cheon Ahaeng—stronger than himself—had turned hostile, Cheon Muyang did not feel the slightest fear.
'Was my heart always this strong?'
Perhaps having experienced death had hardened his soul a little more.
The ability to maintain composure in any situation was a tremendous advantage.
"Come if you want."
Cheon Ahaeng's sword strike flew toward him.
'Sword energy.'
A bluish light clung to it.
He could not win by meeting it head-on—
But Cheon Muyang possessed a trump card Cheon Ahaeng did not know of.
"I'll teach you what the dragon's wrath truly is."
Reverse Scale Slash.
Cheon Ahaeng's sword lost its flow.
"Huh?"
In the blink of an eye, the sword slipped beyond Cheon Ahaeng's control.
Riding along the circular flow of Cheongwang,
a storm-like momentum surged through Cheon Ahaeng's own blade.
Puhk!
Cheongwang pierced straight through Cheon Ahaeng's shoulder.
"Aaaargh!"
It must have been pain he had never felt before.
Unable to endure it, Cheon Ahaeng dropped his sword.
"Tsk."
The hill named Cheon Ahaeng was far more insignificant than expected.
"There wasn't even anything to cross."
Lowering Cheongwang, Cheon Muyang looked at the remaining warriors of So Eungbang.
"It seems I was mistaken."
It wasn't only the Lord of So Eungbang who was rotten.
"Indeed. If the upper stream is rotten, how could the lower stream remain clear?"
They were all in it together.
Nothing more than parasites preying on the people of Sohung.
"You plan to kill me and run away?"
Cheon Muyang himself did not know why he found it so hard to suppress his laughter in the face of such absolute disadvantage.
A hooligan-like grin naturally spread across his face.
"If you can, then try."
Shiiik!
Cheongwang tore through the air.
The blade that flew forth cut them down as if in place of the heavens themselves.
It cleaved through everything that dared to stand in its way.
Like the sky.
Paaat!
Gushing red blood drenched the ceiling and the floor.
"...!"
Cheon Muyang, drenched in blood, looked like a malevolent god of slaughter.
Blood flowed along the blade of Cheongwang.
Drip.
Drip.
"Next."
Cheon Muyang's chilling voice uprooted even the will to fight.
Flinch!
Thus, even though the warriors of So Eungbang knew they had to kill Cheon Muyang, they could not bring themselves to move rashly.
Seeing their wavering, the Lord of So Eungbang had no choice but to step forward himself.
"I won't be caught off guard like before."
His shoulder had been cut, but he believed that had only happened due to his momentary carelessness.
"As you wish."
Having already witnessed the Inspection Head's defeat, the Lord of So Eungbang could not recklessly charge in.
'Why... is there not a single opening?'
Even as he tried to pierce through that arrogant stance, he could not see any gap at all.
"Aren't you coming?"
Shiiik.
Cheongwang moved first.
The rushing single strike was ordinary, yet it felt like a bolt of lightning crashing down.
'I can't dodge.'
The moment he tried, it felt as though the blade would chase him down.
So he forcibly raised his sword.
Kaang!
With a sharp clang—
Thud.
The Lord of So Eungbang's sword fell to the floor, snapped cleanly in half.
Sliiiide.
That was not the end.
The Lord of So Eungbang's chest split open vertically in a long gash.
"...It seems everyone has been deceived about the Eldest Young Master until now."
The Lord of So Eungbang had no choice but to admit it.
Every rumor surrounding the Eldest Young Master had been false.
"Should I thank you for finally realizing it?"
"However, the Eldest Young Master will die here today."
With those ominous words, the Lord of So Eungbang took out an unfamiliar pill from his robes and placed it into his mouth.
"I will not let you live."