“Hmm.”
Jong Myeong set down the documents and removed the spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose.
“This month’s catch is unusually low.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why?”
His deputy, Sang Gak, bowed his head.
“We are still investigating, but it appears some disturbance has occurred in the southern reaches.”
“A disturbance? Don’t tell me men from Japan or the Western Regions have been interfering with the fishing.”
“That does not appear to be the case.”
“Of course. Had people like that appeared, the Regional Military Commission would have dispatched troops before anyone else. Then what is the cause?”
“It seems to be... martial artists.”
Jong Myeong’s gaze deepened.
“Martial artists?”
“Yes. A considerable number of orthodox martial sects responsible for maintaining order in southern Guangdong have been wiped out.”
“Wiped out.”
Jong Myeong leaned back in his chair.
His expression barely changed, but his mood had soured considerably.
The martial world again.
He did not like martial artists.
It was not because one had harmed his family or caused him any personal loss. In other words, he did not hate them.
Jong Myeong objected to their very existence.
The reason was simple. They were largely exempt from imperial law and could not be controlled.
From the perspective of the state, that made them an extremely dangerous element. The only reason no one had raised the issue thus far was that, by sheer good fortune, the orthodox factions had contributed greatly to public safety after the empire and the martial world signed their utterly absurd nonaggression pact.
They are outlaws. This has gone too far.
There was no denying that the orthodox factions filled gaps the empire could not adequately cover. Their sects also sent talented individuals to the imperial court at regular intervals, helping to reinforce the empire’s military strength. In that sense, they could even be considered indispensable.
Even so, it remained a serious problem that subjects of the empire were free from its laws.
Even granting privileges to a high-ranking official who had rendered extraordinary service to the nation invited fierce debate. Yet most martial artists had slipped beyond the reach of the law without ever accomplishing anything comparable.
If they ever rose in rebellion, the present empire would suffer an enormous blow.
Of course, the odds of that happening were low. A war between the empire and the martial world would inflict heavy losses on the state, but the martial world itself would face an existential threat.
That did not change the fact that its very existence was dangerous.
What household raised a wolf to guard its home instead of a dog? A dog would not bite its master merely because it was hungry, but a starving wolf would devour him.
Martial artists were the same—vicious outlaws who could turn on anyone at any time.
Something will have to be done about them eventually.
Jong Myeong sighed inwardly.
But I cannot act on my own.
The Office of Provincial Administration might govern the province, but it possessed no military authority.
Civil administration, military affairs, and the judiciary were divided among separate institutions, none of which interfered in the work of the others. Each treated the others’ responsibilities as though they were the affairs of another household.
Had I been the Regional Military Commissioner instead of the left Provincial Administration Commissioner, I would have persuaded the Five Armies Command to remove every martial sect from Guangdong.
Removing them did not necessarily mean killing them all. Simply driving them into other provinces would make Guangdong much easier to control.
After being lost in thought for some time, Jong Myeong clicked his tongue.
What am I thinking?
Perhaps his mind had been too troubled lately. Radical policies that would never normally have occurred to him kept surfacing in his thoughts.
“They must have started fighting among themselves again. Forget it. It is hardly the first time those people have attacked one another.”
“There is that, but...”
“Whatever the cause, the common people may suffer in the short term, but it may not be entirely bad in the long run. If they destroy one another in the process, so much the better...”
Jong Myeong suddenly tilted his head.
“Wait. Did you say the southern reaches?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The southern reaches... where the Eun Clan is located?”
Sang Gak sighed.
“Fortunately, the Eun Clan was not wiped out.”
“...Hmm. That is a relief.”
Jong Myeong did not approve of the martial world, but the Eun Clan was not so bad.
In fact, it was rather respectable. Though now a martial clan, the Eun Clan had been a family of civil officials who devoted themselves to the empire until a century ago.
After an incident nearly destroyed the clan, they happened upon a martial arts manual and remade themselves as a martial family. Yet their loyalty to the empire remained unwavering.
It was because of the Eun Clan that the martial world in southern Guangdong had remained peaceful and free of serious incidents.
Jong Myeong intended to recommend the Eun Clan Lord for a position in the empire’s military administration someday. A man of such character and martial ability would undoubtedly be welcomed.
“But what could have happened to cause several sects to be destroyed so suddenly? The Eun Clan should have been mediating between them.”
“I do not yet know the details. The investigation is ongoing. If the Eun Clan Lord cooperates, we should discover the cause within three or four days.”
“Is that so?”
Just then—
“S-Sir!”
An urgent voice came from beyond the door.
Jong Myeong frowned.
“What is it? I told you not to interrupt me during working hours.”
“This is an emergency!”
The faces of Jong Myeong and Sang Gak hardened.
It would take something truly extraordinary to put such urgency into that voice. Come to think of it, this was the first time the captain of the guards, who had protected this residence for years, had ever sounded so frantic.
“An emergency? Has something happened?”
“An unidentified rider is charging toward us along the official road at a terrifying speed! Many of the soldiers who approached to determine his identity have been injured!”
“A rider?!”
“Yes! He is mounted on a magnificent red divine steed unlike any other in the world, and he is charging straight toward us with a gigantic axe!”
Jong Myeong’s eyes wavered.
“A rider? Are you saying he is not a martial artist?”
“We cannot be certain, but his ability to break through our lines is extraordinary! Every attempt to stop him has failed, and judging by the force with which he wields that axe, his strength cannot possibly be human!”
Sang Gak hurriedly asked, “Never mind the rest. Are you certain that rider is coming here?”
“At every fork in the main road, he has taken the shortest route toward this residence! There is more than a ninety percent chance this residence is his destination!”
“Th-this is terrible!”
Sang Gak turned to Jong Myeong.
“Sir! You must evacuate at once!”
Jong Myeong’s gaze deepened.
“This is my residence. It is the home and workplace the state granted me so I could perform my duties. Where exactly do you expect me to go?”
“Sir! What if that man is coming for you?”
“Of course he is.”
“What?!”
“If the captain of the guards is making such a commotion, that means our forces cannot stop him. Moreover, if he knows the shortest route to this residence, then fleeing now would merely delay the inevitable.”
Jong Myeong closed his eyes.
“If escape could save my life, I would flee a thousand times over. But I have no desire to show such an undignified sight to some unknown brute who is already on my doorstep.”
“Sir!”
“And...”
Flash!
When Jong Myeong opened his eyes again, they burned like fire.
“I want to see him. I want to know why he is coming for me. I will not claim to have lived a perfectly virtuous life according to the teachings of the sages, but I take pride in never having built my life upon the suffering of others. I am curious what grievance he could possibly bear against me.”
Sang Gak could not remain still.
“You must leave now! The man is most likely a martial artist! Those people cannot be controlled—!”
“Do not worry.”
The corner of Jong Myeong’s mouth rose.
It was a complicated smile, tinged with bitterness, anticipation, and exhaustion.
“If word spreads throughout the realm that an unidentified martial artist murdered the left Provincial Administration Commissioner, the empire will hardly continue to look kindly upon the martial world.”
“...Are you deliberately remaining here for that reason?”
“My life is precious to me as well. I am not staying merely because I refuse to let him see me fleeing in disgrace.”
“Sir! Please reconsider while there is still time!”
“He is clearly coming for me, but for some reason, I do not think he intends to kill me.”
“What?!”
His excessive workload had left him chronically exhausted.
Even in an emergency, however, Jong Myeong did not lose his characteristic sharpness. Whatever one might think of his personal convictions, he was a remarkable man who had risen from the very bottom to become the left Provincial Administration Commissioner.
“A man with that degree of ability would not charge through the streets on horseback in broad daylight if he intended to take my life. It would be another matter if he had slipped inside unnoticed and attempted to assassinate me.”
Sang Gak fell silent.
Jong Myeong’s reasoning was plausible.
Jong Myeong addressed the door.
“Captain. Open the way. Do not cause needless casualties.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Some time passed.
“Stop! This is the residence of the left Provincial Administration Commissioner! Dismount and identify your—!”
“Move!”
BOOOOM!
The earth shook beneath a deafening explosion.
The resulting shock wave was so immense that even Jong Myeong’s body trembled as he sat inside his office.
His eyes wavered.
Remarkable.
How far was it from here to the main gate? Yet the blast had been loud enough to make his ears ring, and the impact had traveled all the way to his office.
Just how powerful did someone have to be to accomplish such a thing? What kind of martial art could produce such overwhelming force?
A moment later—
CRAAASH! BOOM!
Surprise appeared on Jong Myeong’s face.
A section of the distant wall collapsed, and a young man emerged through the wreckage.
...!!
His presence was overwhelming.
Black-gray iron chain was coiled around his upper body, and light armor covered him from head to toe. In one hand he held Mad Dragon, a double-bladed axe as large as a man’s body, its sheer menace almost impossible to describe.
Jong Myeong rose from his chair.
The young man, Yeon Hojeong, looked directly at him.
“You are Jong Myeong, the left Provincial Administration Commissioner?”
“I am. And who are you to commit such an outrage?”
“I will explain who I am later. Come with me. We leave now.”
“Absurd! It is bad enough that you have broken into the residence of a Provincial Administration Commissioner and injured the empire’s finest troops, but now you dare order an imperial official to—!”
At that moment, Yeon Hojeong, who had been about to interrupt him, saw red smoke rising far beyond the window.
The smoke was coming from somewhere a considerable distance away. Despite the wind, it climbed perfectly straight into the sky. For it to be this clearly visible from here, an entire mountain had to be belching it out.
And it lay in the south, the direction Mookbi and Sima Hyeon had taken.
...?!
Yeon Hojeong heightened his sensory perception. The Yeon Clan Divine Core spun at tremendous speed as his awareness swept across the surrounding area.
No one.
There was no one.
Not a single suspicious presence could be found. Unless Yayul Jeok himself was deliberately employing a concealment art, there was hardly an assassin under heaven capable of escaping Yeon Hojeong’s senses.
Then what in the world—?!
At that moment, Yeon Hojeong caught the look in Sang Gak’s eyes.
His expression, which had been filled with anger and bewilderment, suddenly turned cold. A faint murderous intent gleamed within his eyes.
And Sang Gak was standing diagonally in front of Jong Myeong, on his left.
“...”
For a fraction of a second, an unnatural silence descended.
SHIIING!
Sang Gak drew the dagger at his waist, and his hand flashed forward with astonishing speed.
Its target was Jong Myeong’s throat.
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