Chapter 60

How did things end up so tangled?

Originally, I planned to sneak out and steal just one of the Yeon Family’s medicinal pills, then run.

I woke to find my identity exposed; woke again to Bukgung Yoon crying over me; woke a third time to the Zhuge family saving the young lord.

But the way things were unfolding wasn’t bad.

No—maybe even good. It had been a long time since I’d seen a Yeon Family man so flustered.

The Zhuge family had tried to poison the young lord, interrupted the contest, and rigged the match.

Even these revelations were fatal blows to that Yeon Family man.

If you’ve got a knife in your hand, there’s no reason not to use it.

Now it’s our turn to strike.

Thud!

Un Ji-kang caught the flying Dragon Eye Pearl barehanded as it hurtled toward him.

The Solitary Cloud Manor’s treasure lay blackened.

The Dragon Eye Pearl was saturated with poison—revival was impossible.

Crrack!

Un Ji-kang crushed the blackened Dragon Eye Pearl in his hand.

He then looked straight at Yeon Mujin and asked, “What is this supposed to be?”

Wrath laced his voice.

At Yeon Mujin’s unexpected action, the Lonely Claw Troops bristled with murderous intent.

To dare target the leader of the Lonely Claw Troops from Solitary Cloud Manor—have I ever seen such a madman?

Yeon Mujin spoke calmly despite the razor edge of killing intent.

“You are Un Ji-kang, commander of Solitary Cloud Manor and the head of the Lonely Claw Troops.”

The first move in catching the big fish named Un Ji-kang.

“The poison you prepared almost killed the Zhuge family’s young lord, and you even sent an incompetent physician. Doesn’t Solitary Cloud Manor have to take responsibility?”

“The events during the duel are not Solitary Cloud Manor’s responsibility. Didn’t this happen while you were fighting the External Protection Troops’ lord of Flying Swallow Manor?”

“You know me?”

“How could I not? You’re a famous figure of your manor.”

Only now did people realize Yeon Mujin’s true identity.

Baek-seok, the man who’d been deceived by him, felt especially betrayed.

That bastard—everything he said was a lie!

“Thanks for recognizing me. But don’t try to pin this on me. Wasn’t the poison prepared by Solitary Cloud Manor?”

Un Ji-kang shook his head.

“I don’t know. How can I tell whether the Zhuge family, fearing defeat, prepared it on their own?”

Hearing that, Zhuge Kwan spat blood and shouted, “Do you think I’d risk my life to commit such a thing?!”

Zhuge Kwan’s body was ruined, but he clung to consciousness out of fury at Un Ji-kang.

Un Ji-kang’s smile faded.

“You secretly prepared the deadliest poison, hid it in a weapon, deliberately lost, and then shamelessly had Solitary Cloud Manor’s Dragon Eye Pearl save your life. When did the pride of the Zhuge family sink so low? Do you have any proof that Lord Zhuge conspired with me?”

Of course, there was no such proof.

Un Ji-kang continued, “For ruining Solitary Cloud Manor’s event—cowardly preparing tricks and trying to pin the blame on us. Even though your life was spared by the Manor’s sacred item, you repay us with accusations? I will not forget this. I will exact proper compensation from the Zhuge family.”

Un Ji-kang pressed Zhuge Kwan further.

Zhuge Kwan flushed with anger and shame.

Every circumstance pointed to Solitary Cloud Manor.

But, as Un Ji-kang said, there was no evidence.

Without hard evidence, testimony alone couldn’t pin it on Solitary Cloud Manor.

Bukgung Yoon looked at Yeon Mujin with anxious eyes.

One false move and they’d suffer the backlash.

But Yeon Mujin remained composed, expression indifferent.

Captain Yeon, what on earth are you aiming for?

Yeon Mujin asked Un Ji-kang calmly, “Chief Un Ji-kang, I’ll ask just one thing. Did you truly intend to hold this martial contest with pure intentions?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m asking whether Solitary Cloud Manor intended from the start to deceive and disgrace the two families.”

“Now you’re nitpicking. With no evidence, you’ll grasp at absurd accusations? Solitary Cloud Manor held the contest to foster relations with the two families—there was no other purpose.”

“Is that so? I see…”

Yeon Mujin, who had been nodding, suddenly moved swiftly.

His target was the platform where the contest prizes were placed.

The other prizes lay on the platform, aside from the first-place Dragon Eye Pearl.

“What the—! Stop him!”

The guards panicked and leveled their weapons.

But they couldn’t stop Yeon Mujin.

One man’s jaw was twisted, another crashed down with a boot-print on his face.

“What are you doing! Seize him!”

Un Ji-kang shouted, flustered, and the men rushed at Yeon Mujin—

“Everyone stop!”

Yeon Mujin held the Sunny Breeze and Green Field aloft and shouted.

Zhuge Kwan, Hwangbo Ryeong, Bukgung Yoon, and Un Ji-kang stared at the items he held.

Everything had started because of those sacred items, and now they were in the hands of the most unpredictable man.

“External Protection Troops’ Captain Yeon Mujin! Now that the numbers don’t add up—are you trying to threaten us with the sacred items?!” Un Ji-kang barked.

To knock down Solitary Cloud Manor’s fighters and seize the relics—Yeon Mujin had crossed a line.

But Yeon Mujin answered with an oddly calm demeanor for someone staging a hostage act.

“No. Quite the opposite. This sword is the proof that your words are a blatant lie.”

“What nonsense is that!”

Yeon Mujin seized the Sunny Breeze by tip and hilt and slammed it down onto his knee.

“Ah!”

“What!”

“What madness!”

What sacrilege was this against a legendary relic!

Screams, gasps, and bewildered exclamations burst out, but astonishment wasn’t over.

Crack!

The Sunny Breeze sword split cleanly apart against his knee.

…

A terrifying silence settled.

The legendary relic of White Murim—the Tae-san Divine Sword.

The Tae-san Divine Sword left only two heirlooms: the Sunny Breeze sword and the Green Field fan.

Legend said one of those alone could protect an entire province.

And that sword had just been broken on Yeon Mujin’s knee.

Zhuge Kwan and the rest of the Zhuge family.

Hwangbo Ryeong and his warriors.

Those who had fought over a single sacred item could only stare at Yeon Mujin in stunned dismay.

What? Now? What kind of mad act is this?

Had he actually enacted the proverb, “If you can’t have it, break it?”

In such an extreme way?

“Seize that man! No, kill him! No, capture him! Make sure you take him alive!” Un Ji-kang fumbled his orders.

The only person composed in this chaos was Yeon Mujin.

He lifted the broken sword horizontally so people could see the exposed cross-section.

Amid the chaos, Yeon Mujin’s voice rang clear.

“You have been deceived. This is not the Sunny Breeze and Green Field. They’re well-made fakes. Solitary Cloud Manor never intended to hand over the relic. This fake Sunny Breeze sword is the evidence.”

In truth, it was pure coincidence.

A sheer coincidence in which everything lined up perfectly.

—Do you know what prize Solitary Cloud Manor put up for first place? The Sunny Breeze and Green Field—the Tae-san Divine Sword’s relic!

—Ah, that.

When Chun-sik made a fuss about the Sunny Breeze and Green Field, Yeon Mujin wasn’t particularly interested.

He’d known from the start those sacred items were fake.

How did I know?

How to put it… it goes back to when he belonged to the Lonely Claw Troops in his previous life.

—Gaaah….

—Captain Yeon, have you been drinking again? I told you countless times not to drink before vigil duty. If the troop leader finds out, he’ll punish you.

—Shut up. Do you think I’ll pander to the troop leader?

—…I’ll take the shift, so go sober up, Leader. You reek. Hey, where are you going? That’s the vigil post. Leader—leader! Hey, you leader bastard!

Drunk, Yeon Mujin opened the Green Field fan and wafted the air.

The alcohol made him pleasantly tipsy; he didn’t often get this drunk.

—Look, is this the Tae-san Divine Sword’s sacred item?

—Leader, put it down. People will think we’re fools!

—What’s the point of keeping a sword without swinging it? I’ll give it a swing.

Yeon Mujin danced with the Green Field fan in his left hand and the Sunny Breeze sword in his right.

Feeling good, he casually tried the Three Calamities Sword Technique’s “Heavenly Thunder”—was that a mistake?

Kabang!

—Ugh! This crazy leader bastard really….

His comrade foamed at the mouth, but Yeon Mujin didn’t care.

There was something more important: the Sunny Breeze sword’s condition was odd.

—What is this?

—From my view, he looks crazy.

—I’m not talking about me. What’s with this sword?

Yeon Mujin struck the sword’s blade against the wall.

His subordinate was beyond foaming—ready to kill Yeon Mujin—but Yeon paid no mind.

The others might not understand, but as a swordsman Yeon Mujin could tell.

—Hey, look at this. Interesting.

—What’s so interesting? You’re going to turn my insides out?

—No, that’s kind of funny too.

Yeon Mujin handed the Sunny Breeze to his subordinate and said, “This is fake. A counterfeit.”

Even Un Ji-kang didn’t know the Sunny Breeze and Green Field were fake.

After his regression, Yeon Mujin was the only one in the world who knew the items were counterfeit.

That’s why such a mistake was bound to happen.

This was the second move to catch the big fish.

“If Solitary Cloud Manor truly wanted friendship with the two families, why prepare a fake sacred item? Solitary Cloud Manor never intended to hand over the relic. This counterfeit Sunny Breeze is the proof.”

Anger flipped to astonishment—and quickly snapped back into fury.

On the broken cross-section of the Sunny Breeze lay a wooden core that should never be exposed.

No true sacred item—or any real sword in the world—would be made like this.

“Chief Un Ji-kang…!” Hwangbo Ryeong roared in fury.

As a man who honored duels, his fury at the betrayal burned all the hotter.

“How could this possibly be! How dare you try to deceive the Hwangbo family!”

The injured Zhuge Kwan, propped up by attendants, also inspected the sword’s cross-section.

He was equally—no, even more—dumbfounded than Hwangbo Ryeong.

To risk his life and the Zhuge family’s pride as White martial artists for something as petty as a fake.

Un Ji-kang fell silent, mind racing.

But Yeon Mujin didn’t give him time. The Un Ji-kang he knew would conjure up any excuse if given even a moment’s gap.

He was cleverest when it came to saving his own skin.

Now came the third move to catch the big fish.

“This is not something to address to the chief. There is someone else who must bear responsibility.”

Yeon Mujin fixed his gaze and called out a name.

Un Ji-kang’s weak point: not the wily old wolf who rarely erred, but his foolish lord who always revealed flaws.

“Lord of Solitary Cloud Manor, how do you intend to take responsibility for this situation?”