The Afterglow Of Hatred (1)

Mun Jung was inside the pavilion.

Hands clasped behind him, his back turned, he cut a stylish figure. His antique robes and the neatly wound topknot, with not a strand out of place, shone with golden ornaments.

Watching from a distance, Jin-hyeon glanced to the side.

The man who had guided the way had vanished at some point. He caught the instant of his disappearance, but it was an exceedingly stealthy movement art.

‘Good skill.’

Quietly impressed, Jin-hyeon walked forward.

And his steps didn’t pass ten paces.

“…”

The distance to the pavilion was roughly twenty-one meters.

Staring at Mun Jung’s back, Jin-hyeon slowly set his hand on the hilt of the Indestructible Sword.

Seureung.

Though drawn slowly, there was no residual tremor in the blade; the sound was even.

Mun Jung’s face, still turned away, showed a faint admiration.

‘Truly remarkable.’

They say a master can judge another’s skill from the sound of a drawn sword alone. The slow draw of Jin-hyeon’s blade sounded too smooth to attribute to mere force.

However perfect the stance and muscular control, a blade scraping free of the scabbard cannot be without vibration. And yet his had none.

‘From the instant he grips the sword, internal energy saturates hair, clothes, even scabbard. Qi of constant strength and density draws exactly the motion he wants.’

After admiration came shock.

‘That sword-sound demands Qi in the realm of free, unobstructed flow. It far surpasses the level of comprehension and maturity that true energy usually achieves.’

Such a realm was so abstruse and lofty that even Mun Jung had reached it only a year ago. In overall skill he was ahead, but in sheer understanding of Qi, calling it neck and neck was no overstatement.

‘An absurd talent. Hard to reach by effort and insight alone.’

Not knowing Jin-hyeon’s secret, he could only misread it.

Wooong.

Only once fully drawn did the Indestructible Sword begin to hum, raising an ominous blade intent.

Saaaak.

Wind moved around the pavilion.

They didn’t reveal themselves, but the hidden masters around held their breath in tension. The change in Jin-hyeon the instant the blade left the sheath was chilling enough to tense anyone.

Without turning, Mun Jung spoke.

“I call you to meet, and you draw a sword without so much as meeting eyes?”

Jin-hyeon cocked his head slightly left.

“I didn’t know the meeting place would be a killing ground.”

Mun Jung marveled again at his keen senses.

Indeed, sensitivity like that proved mastery over Qi. There was a reason even the draw sound was extraordinary.

Mun Jung slowly turned.

Meeting eyes at last, Jin-hyeon frowned.

“What? From your face, it doesn’t look like you called me to talk it over.”

“You infer my mind from my face? You’ve barely seen me.”

“Cut the fluff. What’s with this vicious killing aura?”

Mun Jung gave a wry smile.

“Vicious… Yes, it would be.”

He raised a hand, and three masters sprang in from beyond the hill.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes flashed.

He was surprised that only three men had cast such baleful aura over this low mountain.

‘Impressive.’

Even before skill, that killing aura alone merited high estimation.

Of course, strong killing aura is the mark of a killer, not of a master per se. Yet to let such aura leak unconsciously required well-honed Qi. In fact, the three’s skill was master-level enough.

“This the guy?”

The man in the center had a dreadfully thick voice.

His clothes were little more than sacking, grime caked over him. Too sinister to chalk up to mere beggar life.

Mun Jung nodded.

“Yes, that’s him.”

“You really keeping your promise?”

“I stake the Sichuan Branch Chief’s seat on it.”

“Well, we’ll see. Heavenly Will Alliance bastards lie whenever they open their mouths. Don’t see you as different.”

“Whether I keep it or not, we discuss that after you lay that swordsman out.”

“Hm. That’s fair.”

Chiriring.

He lifted his sleeve, and a rusty chain rattled.

“I won’t say sorry. Life in the Kangho is like this.”

“…”

“Whoever you are, enjoy your blissful rebirth.”

His sly grin seethed with the urge to kill.

But Jin-hyeon wasn’t looking at them. His gaze stayed fixed on Mun Jung.

The middle-aged grinner’s face twisted.

“You know who we are and still ignore us?”

“I’m not into dancing as puppets on someone else’s board, but if there’s one thing sure, you’re only fit to be fertilizer for this land, so I’ll start by cutting your heads.”

The middle-aged man and his flanking two went ghastly. That pale white-haired brat was utterly dismissing them.

Staring straight at Mun Jung, Jin-hyeon spoke.

“I’m thorough about debts. Keep that in mind.”

“I will.”

Only then did Jin-hyeon lower his gaze to the three.

The middle-aged man’s lips twitched.

“You done now?”

“Just starting.”

“What’s that, brat!”

The three stamped off the ground.

And Jin-hyeon moved a step faster.

Huwung!

As the footwork compressed the air to a boil.

Flash!

Passing them like wind, Jin-hyeon gave the Indestructible Sword a light flick.

“Huh? What?”

Bewildered, the middle-aged man glanced around, then spun back in shock.

Puhaaak!

At that instant, the heads of the two at his sides thumped to the ground.

His face went ashen. Without knowing how, both his juniors were dead.

As he faltered at the shock.

A fearsome killing intent gushed from Jin-hyeon’s eyes.

Ureureung!

It was like thunder rolling. He drove the spring of his upper body through the sword. A huge crescent flash slanted through the man’s body.

Unable even to react to the overwhelming speed and pressure, the man made a faint “Uh? Uh?” and slowly slid sideways. The severed half tipped and fell the other way.

Hwaaaak!

A boiling shimmer poured around the Indestructible Sword’s blade. The same haze bled from Jin-hyeon’s mouth.

A truly terrifying single cut.

Hook!

Having unleashed an overpowering strike, he gathered his internal energy in an instant and sheathed.

Hwi-iing.

Wind teased the bare trees as it swept in, washing away the heavy stench of blood.

Jin-hyeon turned to Mun Jung. His face was unchanged, but Mun Jung’s eyes blazed.

“What art is that?”

“One-Sword Severing the Soul.”

It was a half-form of the War-Sword Three Arts’, Cross Soul-Slash. Only half the power, but a cut of swifter speed.

Gazing at him, Mun Jung held in a sigh.

“A truly superb art. The last cut was frightening, but that indescribable Qi wave was even more menacing. What internal energy heart method have you cultivated?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. And I’ve no reason to tell.”

“I see.”

“But you do need to speak on this matter, don’t you?”

Mun Jung’s eyes deepened.

“Do you know who they were?”

“Beyond that they were fine to kill, no.”

“There’s no such thing as someone fine to kill.”

Coming down from the pavilion, Mun Jung looked up. His face seemed heavy with thought.

“Yes, in this world none deserve death. If one sins, he must receive fitting punishment by law. If that ends in execution, only then may a person die.”

Words befitting one who had held the judiciary’s highest office.

“Life always ends in death. But that future certainty does not mean dying now is fine.”

“What are you getting at?”

“That’s why we need systems, law. And such law must not go lax for my people’s crimes while strict only for those unrelated to me.”

“…”

“Those who make and enforce the law must be stricter with themselves and their own. That, to me, is law and responsibility.”

Mun Jung sighed.

“…There was a time I thought so, too.”

“Not wrong.”

“Not wrong. But idealistic. I only realized after ten years that this obvious system is too ideal.”

Jin-hyeon shook his head.

“Your preface is too long. Explain calling me here and trying to have me killed.”

“All I’ve said and done so far is the whole explanation.”

Watching him, Jin-hyeon snorted.

“Sounds like nothing but a passionate judge hung up on law and system who’s fallen.”

“And that passionate judge dragged over villains slated for execution in ten days to die by your hand.”

“…”

“Of course, I didn’t expect them to die that easily.”

“That’s not all, is it?”

Jin-hyeon tipped his chin, eyes skeptical on Mun Jung.

“I get that you want to go full corruption before you even spread your wings. You brought these dogs to show your resolve. But is that truly it?”

“…”

“You brought them to sniff out the shady man using you. It pays more to analyze as a third party than to face him yourself.”

“…”

“You could have said ‘this is me, that is you,’ yet you make it complicated.”

Mun Jung let out a long sigh.

“Your insight is truly frightening.”

“Just quick wits.”

Smirking, Mun Jung looked to the dead criminals.

For a moment, stark loathing filled his face. Loathing not as Branch Chief or former judge, but as a human being.

“They were called the Three Ghosts of Jiangxi. Murder, pillage, rape as basics, and once burned an entire village for ‘fun.’ Incorrigible madmen.”

“Compost was the right end.”

“But even scum like this must be punished through proper procedure. That is law.”

Mun Jung closed his eyes.

“These were the first I personally caught and jailed after taking the Branch Chief post. The former chief left them loose for over a year.”

“…”

“I don’t know how many years it took to reach an execution verdict. The Ash Wolf Bureau’s workload was saturated then.”

Mun Jung opened his eyes again.

They were still confused, but held passion enough to burn the confusion away.

“I was tired. I’m still tired. But I’ve thought much to take responsibility.”

“…”

“There are dozens of incidents I knew of and left alone. To take responsibility, I can end myself, or strive harder than anyone to change the world.”

“There’s another way.”

“Of course, that would be for me to admit my wrongs and step down.”

“But even then, a clear-headed Branch Chief won’t likely replace you.”

“…That fear keeps me from giving up and dying, and from admitting fault and leaving.”

Mun Jung’s eyes grew dim.

“I’m not so clean a man, and still I’m like this. It isn’t fear of death or refusal to admit fault.”

“I know. You’re not that petty.”

“But the sins I’ve done drag my ankles. Do you think one like me can atone just by doing my best somehow?”

“Atonement? What’s that? Something edible?”

“?”

“The moment you want atonement, your sins callus over. Thinking that living diligently from now on earns you forgiveness, what a bold dream.”

Fire flashed in Jin-hyeon’s eyes.

“Do everything you can while carrying your sins. Then I’ll make good use of you. Don’t spout ‘atonement’ crap. Don’t flee by death. Be used till you die, then go to the other side.”

“…”

“I didn’t come to hear your nonsense. I don’t care for the guilty past of a quitter. What matters is whether you help me.”

Jin-hyeon held out his hand.

“Will you lay your life on this hand?”

“…You truly mean to change Sichuan?”

“A dog that tucked tail and fled has no right to worry about that. On, or not? Speak straight.”

Looking at Jin-hyeon with shaking eyes, Mun Jung sighed and answered.

“I’ll let myself be used.”