Chapter 104

When the dog mask stepped onto the duel arena, the atmosphere changed abruptly.

The masked fighters who had been tangled in combat all froze at once.

The spectators below the arena felt that shift too.

Until a moment ago it had been individual matches; now it was nine against one.

“What? Aren’t you going to fight?”

At the dog mask’s words, the other masked fighters spread out and formed a formation.

Seeing that, the dog mask shouted, “Cowards! Do you intend for many to take on one?”

“It’s strategic reasoning!”

“We can’t win one-on-one!”

The dog mask glared at the pig mask who held a spear. “After I helped you, is this how you repay me?”

“…We know how to separate public duty from private affairs.”

He turned to the mantis mask who held a sword. “Even you should take my side, right?”

“…We still look at a disadvantage.”

Lastly he addressed the black-haired cat mask. “You said you respected me, didn’t you?”

Clap! Clap!

The cat mask spread one hand and struck his fist into it in reply. “We’ll show you we haven’t been slacking off!”

At the cat mask’s words, the others agreed.

“Isn’t the captain already strong enough? Hand over the pill to us without fuss!”

“I heard it all from the manor lord! He was going to gobble it down by himself?”

“Ugh! It’s dirty! Dirty and cheap!”

As the masks clamored, the dog mask summoned internal qi and shouted, “It’s better that a strong man like me eats it than feed it to those weaklings! If you buffoons eat it, you’ll only produce expensive shit!”

His words turned the crowd vicious.

“Don’t you shit? You filthy lord of the hall!”

“What? You’re talking back now? You—the ‘Katuri’ I spotted earlier. That’s Wei Gon-chan, right?”

“Ah, no! You captain!”

“He is indeed Wei Gon-chan!”

“You traitorous bastard! You ratted him out?”

Shapeshifter, watching from the duel arena, found herself snickering without realizing it. Worried someone might see, she quickly checked around and pulled down the corner of her mouth.

“Ahem, ahem.”

It was a spectacle. An utter mess.

It made her think to that degree.

Is this really the Bukgung Family? Have I crawled into a family without any standing?

Meanwhile, the masked fighters atop the duel stage finished preparing to fight.

The dog mask oddly carried a blunt, duel-purpose iron sword without an edge. It looked more like a club than a sword.

“Dog mask! Win! Dog mask!” a young stable boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

The dog mask enjoyed overwhelming support from the watching children. Servants and quarrelsome folk alike—each adult cheered for a different mask.

“Pig mask, win!”

“Mantis mask, knock them all down!”

“Cat mask! I’ve staked my monthly stipend on you!”

Dog mask finished prepping and flicked his iron sword. “I’ll give your spirits a proper lesson.”

Then the masks hurled curses in unison.

“Kill him!”

“Just shove him out! Aim for the edge!”

“Die together with your enemy!”

“Show us that we haven’t been slacking off all this time!”

The atmosphere was so vicious it made one question whether they were truly of the same household.

Shapeshifter thought this time for sure.

‘That dog mask is going to be pushed back.’

The skill of the External Protection Troops she had seen was not to be underestimated. No matter how much of a lord of the hall he claimed to be, it seemed unreasonable for him to fight nine against one, especially in the cramped space of the arena.

“Don’t be careless! The opponent is the lord of the hall!” the pig mask holding a spear shouted. “Polearms first, short weapons fill the gaps! The plan is a rabbit drive! Slowly close the distance to reduce the lord of the hall’s space to stand!”

That time it was the mantis mask’s voice.

‘Were those two the deputy captains?’

The mask coalition did not recklessly rush in despite their numerical advantage. They stayed calm and methodically closed the distance, exploiting the fact that falling off the duel arena meant defeat.

Long spears and big swords pushed into the space first. Fighters with short weapons filled the gaps and prepared for the dog mask’s counters. This was no one- or two-day coordination; from the opponent’s point of view, there seemed to be no way out.

But then….

A slow smile appeared beneath the dog mask.

Space to stand was shrinking and the numbers were overwhelmingly against him, yet he wore an amused smile and said, “You lot have finally begun to use your heads. How long can we keep taking hits from the captain? Then I’ll try using my head once, too.”

And the dog mask charged.

“Block him!”

Those wielding polearms thrust forward first.

“Wah-za!”

The dog mask wildly swung his iron sword, deflecting the attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The longer the weapon, the harder it was to put force into it. What the dog mask held was an ignorantly heavy iron sword; when it met polearms, their blows lost force and bounced away.

But you can’t block ten hands with one.

“Knock him down!”

The iron cudgel thrust out by the Katuri mask aimed for the dog mask’s head. The dog mask didn’t back away and took the cudgel on his head.

Clang!

The owner of the Katuri mask, Wei Gon-chan, felt Yeon Mujin’s gaze on the man beneath the dog mask. A sly grin. He was smiling even as the cudgel struck his head.

“I told you I’d use my head, didn’t I?”

“…Like that?”

“Hahaha!”

The dog mask began to go berserk. He advanced toward the mask alliance, clashing his iron sword against theirs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Don’t retreat! We have the advantage! Hold fast and we’ll win!” the mask coalition roared, slow to notice as they struggled to fend off the dog mask’s assault.

Each time his iron sword struck, a damp, spreading mist billowed out.

‘This…!’

It was precisely the mist Yeon Mujin had displayed when fighting the Lonely Claw Troops: a cold mist rising from the blade—the yin flame.

But the yin flame he now unleashed was suppressed, a fog with its fiery aspect minimized. A haze so thick that even the person beside you was hard to discern.

“Ack!”

Startled and scanning his surroundings, Wei Gon-chan felt a strong shock strike his head. A rough hand grabbed and ripped off his mask.

“Clear the fog!”

The mist cleared more easily than expected. The External Protection Troops found the dog mask trapped among them.

“There he is! Push him out! Wait, hold on…!”

The dog mask was trampled before he could protest. When the pig and cat worked together to kick him away, the dazed dog mask rolled on the ground and was unmasked.

“…?”

Beneath the mask was none other than Wei Gon-chan.

“Huh? Wasn’t the Katuri actually Wei Gon-chan…?”

And then the Katuri began to rampage.

“Muahaha! A gap!”

Not only the mask but even the double cudgels taken by the Katuri sent those around him flying. His techniques differed from the cudgel moves Wei Gon-chan had used before; they were even more advanced.

Once their formation broke, the External Protection Troops were helplessly overwhelmed.

“Block him!” Yang Gwan-wol shouted, only to take a blow to the jaw and crumple.

“Push him out!” Seon Nak-il shouted—and was grabbed by his spear and thrown off the duel arena.

After the sturdily holding cat mask finally fell, only one person remained on the arena.

Yeon Mujin raised the double cudgels high and declared, “Justice prevails!”

His laughter echoed across the stage. The children cheered.

Seeing this, the owner of Flying Swallow Manor, Bukgung Yoon, rose and announced, “The winner of the duel for the Great Heavenly Pill will be Wei Gon-chan.”

“…Yes? What do you mean by that?”

Yeon Mujin removed his mask. “I won, didn’t I?”

“This duel was a masked duel, not one where identities were wagered,” Bukgung Yoon said, touching the mask in Yeon Mujin’s hand. “Which mask are you holding?”

“The Katuri one.”

“Captain Yeon entered wearing the dog mask, didn’t he?”

Yeon Mujin’s expression turned aggrieved. “Where in the world is such an injustice?”

“For the record, the runner-up who gets the Small Sky Pill is Yu Se-gwang. He was eliminated at the end. Next are Pyo Gang-hyuk and Chu Myung-won,” Bukgung Yoon announced, lifting her chin confidently. “The dog mask who was the first eliminated is last place.”

“Wait a moment! I object!”

But no one agreed. The stable boys who had cheered for the dog mask hadn’t wagered, and most who had bet money had placed it on masks other than Yeon Mujin. To retainers outside the External Protection Troops, today’s duel was a brief spectacle.

“This is oppression! Arrogance, overreach, and tyranny. The External Protection Troops will not submit to the manor lord’s decision!”

“Shut up. If you’re aggrieved, become the manor lord.”

People chattered in groups and dispersed merrily. Jang Chun-sik included the runner-up winners Bukgung Yoon had announced and distributed the wagered money. True to his reputation as the lord of Huayang, he didn’t take a single commission.

Those who won money were pleased; those who lost left smiling.

Only one person was dissatisfied: Yeon Mujin, standing dazed while holding the Katuri mask. “How could this be! Flying Swallow Manor betray me like this!”

And one more felt a subtle emotion. Shapeshifter caught the smiles flickering across people’s faces and felt a ticklish sensation she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Not long after, Bukgung Yoon received an unexpected guest.

“Brother, what brings you all the way here?”

The man who entered the lord’s chamber of Flying Swallow Manor looked around, then signaled to the black-gold guards protecting him. A guard fetched a high-quality cushion and laid it on the floor.

“Seems like my first time here; there are a lot of cheap things.”

“…”

Many items in the manor’s main room were heirlooms left by Bukgung Yoon’s deceased mother. It could have offended Bukgung Yun-ram, but she showed no reaction.

“State your business, Yun-ram brother.”

The Bukgung Family’s fourth young master, lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor, Bukgung Yun-ram, sat opposite his sister and spoke calmly. “I’ve heard news about Drunken Flower Manor. I hear Mok-min’s been causing them trouble lately.”

Even if the Bukgung Family’s manor walls seem high, news always travels between them. The rise of the Eight Guardian Flower was astonishing—it meant someone had dared use force against the lord of Drunken Flower Manor.

“You did it, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“There’s no one who would gain from causing trouble at Drunken Flower Manor but you. I think it was your doing.”

“You’re overestimating the Flying Swallow Manor. We don’t have the luxury to meddle in other manors.”

Through his fan, Bukgung Yun-ram’s eyes glittered as he looked at his sister. Overestimate, he said. The sister before him had brought in Heavenly Martial Manor to put down Ten Thousand Gold Manor and Drunken Flower Manor. Was his assessment truly an overestimate?

“…”

That was something to wait and see.

“Well, fine. I didn’t come to talk about Mukmin, so that’s settled. Whether Drunken Flower goes under is none of my concern.”

“Yes.”

“Time is money to me. Sitting around chattering with siblings isn’t my style. I’ll be blunt.”

“Go ahead.”

“Alright, Yoon. Why don’t you…”

Bukgung Yun-ram paused mid-sentence, rested a moment, and then asked, “Will you take the Shaanxi?”