A day passed, and night came around again.

Seo Woojin and Muk-yeong left the Baek estate and went straight to the gambling den they had visited before.

Kang Boksu was waiting out front, as though he had been expecting them.

“You’ve come?”

His courtesy was a far cry from last time. Seo Woojin gave a faint smile.

“Is it done?”

“Yes. He’s waiting. This way.”

Kang Boksu led them down the familiar underground passage. A short while later, the moment they reached their destination, the stench of blood hit them. Inside were a bloodied middle-aged man and Mun Seok, still catching his breath. He caught sight of Seo Woojin and grinned.

“Hey, you’re here? Before you showed up I was giving this bastard a bit of an education—”

Mun Seok couldn’t finish. Seo Woojin’s cold expression stopped the words in his throat.

“That was pointless of you.”

“Ah, no… I only…”

Ignoring him, Seo Woojin walked to the bloodied man. Hanging limp against the wall, the man barely managed to open his eyes.

“Who… who are you…?”

Seo Woojin let out a faint sigh. What could you expect from back-alley thugs? Failing to warn them ahead of time had been his own mistake.

He drew a handkerchief from his robes and wiped the blood from the man’s face.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer honestly and you’ll sleep comfortably in your own home tonight.”

“A-ask… ask away! I’ll answer anything!!”

Where he found the strength was anyone’s guess, but the man cried out desperately.

Seo Woojin didn’t care for the method, but it clearly had its effect. Mixed feelings stirred in him, but he pushed them aside and asked his question.

“Did you sell Red Damp Mountain?”

The man flinched, then stammered.

“Wh-why do you…?”

“Just answer the question. Was it you who sold Red Damp Mountain?”

The man seemed to hesitate a moment, then meekly nodded.

“…I did.”

“And you had the right to?”

“Th-that mountain was granted to my ancestor long ago, as a reward for great service to the country. So there’s no problem at all with my selling it!”

Now he understood. And with the understanding came disgust.

Normally, when a man received a mountain like that, he made it his ancestral burial ground. To sell such a mountain off was no different from selling the very place where one’s ancestors rested.

‘Just how large a reward did he get?’

There weren’t many places that could offer a reward that size.

“Was the buyer the Bonghwa Jang Clan?”

“Th-that’s right.”

“And what did you receive for handing the mountain over to them?”

“That’s…”

Mun Seok answered in his place.

“That bastard’s name is Yun Giwon — Vice Prefect of Ningbo Prefecture. It’s the rank just below the prefect, so the title sounds impressive, but the truth is he was shoved aside by the men who actually hold power. He’s kept his seat on his ancestors’ account and nothing else.”

Contempt flickered across Mun Seok’s face.

“You think a man like that lived a decent life? Sank into gambling, squandered the family fortune, and on top of that had to go whoring. What was he to do? He had to sell off even the ancestral grounds to walk these Ningbo streets with his head held high.”

Seo Woojin let out a dry laugh. So the man had sold his ancestral burial grounds for nothing more than money to fund his own dissolute living.

‘Then he wouldn’t have cared who was behind the Jang Clan either. There’s nothing more to get out of this one.’

He judged there was nothing left to learn from Yun Giwon. But in that instant, a single supposition crossed his mind.

“One more question. Did you form ties with the Jang Clan long ago?”

Yun Giwon nodded, his face sunk in despair.

“I did. They were always the ones supporting me — the Jang Clan. That’s why I sold the ancestral grounds! If it was them…! If it was them, even my ancestors would understand… they would…”

Was he only now feeling guilt? Swallowing a scornful smile, Seo Woojin asked again.

“Then there must have been many times you covered for them, too.”

“Th-that’s… why…?”

“Spill everything you know about the Jang Clan.”

“I-I don’t! I know nothing about them!”

Fear settled over Yun Giwon’s face.

‘They got ahead of me? Have they already cut ties with this one?’

Thinking coldly about it — was there any real reason to cut him off? Hollow as the title was, the man had risen to Vice Prefect. The senior fifth rank was fairly high even among provincial officials. Keeping a man like that close would surely prove useful sooner or later.

And they had cut a man like that loose as easily as that? He couldn’t readily accept it.

‘And if there were a reason he had to be cut off?’

Seo Woojin looked into Yun Giwon’s eyes and probed him.

“You seem to be misunderstanding, so let me explain. There are countless ways to uncover what you and the Jang Clan did. I have more capable friends than you’d think.”

Yun Giwon’s eyes darted wildly, wide with fear.

“Believe me or not, it makes no difference. Here’s what matters. If you say it now, with your own mouth, it’s a crime you were forced into under pressure from a murim organization. But if I uncover it myself, you become an accomplice. That’s what matters.”

“Th-that’s…!!”

Seo Woojin brought his mouth to the man’s ear and whispered softly.

“And even if I fail to find the crime, that’s fine too. I can fabricate a suitable one and pin it on you.”

“Ah, ahh…”

Yun Giwon’s jaw trembled. He was a cowardly man to begin with — which was surely why a few words from a man he’d met only today shook him so badly.

Seo Woojin drew back from him and smiled.

“Make your choice. Whether you’ll spare me the trouble and lighten your own crime at the same time — or keep faith with the men who threatened you, right to the end. Ah, I happen to be quite fond of loyal men too, so feel free to choose without any pressure.”

Yun Giwon groaned, caught in his dilemma. But the dilemma didn’t last long. The sword of the distant Jang Clan felt far less sharp than Seo Woojin’s tongue right there in front of him.

“In my… in my office… there’s a ledger.”

“What kind of ledger?”

“…A ledger that could annihilate the Jang Clan. No — a ledger that could even deal a blow to the Dark Alliance.”

Seo Woojin’s smile deepened. So the man hadn’t held that post through sheer stupidity after all. Even as he filled his own pockets, he’d been readying a weapon to cut his opponent’s throat.

Seo Woojin turned his head toward Mun Seok.

“May I ask this of you?”

Mun Seok nodded with a sour face.

“Ngh. I took your money, so I suppose I’ve got to do something for it.”

“Then I’ll return again.”

“Y-you’re just leaving? What about him?”

Mun Seok grabbed at him urgently. Seo Woojin glanced sidelong at Yun Giwon.

“For now, this is the safest place for him. If he went home carelessly, the Jang Clan might send assassins after him.”

“H-hiik—!”

“Look after him for a while. I’ll pay for that too.”

Mun Seok let out a deep sigh, his expression displeased.

“Dammit. What do you take me for? I’ve already been paid more than enough. So keep your money. And… sorry for laying into him on my own like that earlier.”

Seo Woojin nodded and stepped outside.

Mun Seok stared for a long while at the door Seo Woojin had left through, then heaved a heavy sigh.

“We’re in deep, that much is clear… whether this turns out to be our chance, or our ruin…”

He was already astride the tiger’s back. However uneasy he felt, there was no getting off now — so all he could do was hold on to the end.

Mun Seok called for Kang Boksu.

“Throw that one in the storehouse and post a watch on him. I’m going to the prefectural office myself. A rat like him won’t have hidden away only the ledger.”

Better still if he could turn up some stashed valuables while he was at it. They’d make up for the money he’d been cheated out of.

Seo Woojin and Muk-yeong took a room at an inn. Before long, a visitor arrived — all of it prearranged.

Knock. Knock, knock.

When the set signal rapped at the door, Muk-yeong opened it. It was a figure clad in black, face covered by a mask.

The figure in black spotted Seo Woojin seated by the window and knelt crisply before him.

“I greet you, Young Lord.”

A low woman’s voice. She was a member of Cheongeum, Woon Seorin’s private intelligence network — and Woon Seorin called the members of Cheongeum the Cheongeum Envoys.

When Seo Woojin turned his head, the Cheongeum Envoy held out a letter. Unfolding it and looking it over, he found it densely packed with information about the Baek Clan.

Most of it was no different from what Baek Gyeong had told him.

[The fact that none of this reached my ears until now is rather shocking.]

Her remark, written at the end of the report, made sense to him. If someone had intercepted Baek Gyeong’s appeal partway, there was a high chance it was someone belonging to the Military Advisor’s Hall.

Short as she was on people she could trust, having to suspect her own subordinates could hardly be pleasant.

Seo Woojin exhaled slowly and turned to the Cheongeum Envoy.

“Thank you. Was there no separate message from the Military Advisor?”

“There was.”

A wry smile came to him unbidden. Had she decided the message would land more urgently spoken aloud than written down?

“The other candidates have also begun to strike at their respective targets. The Gok and Woon candidates mobilized their clans’ combat units, so they’ll finish the matter faster than expected.”

“And the Cheon Clan?”

“The Cheon candidate moved alone, but she expects it won’t take long either. The Cheon Clan’s killing machine is more than capable of it, she said.”

He recalled the woman he’d encountered not long ago on a wooded hillside. However he looked at it, her appearance hardly suited the epithet “killing machine.”

Seo Woojin shook off the stray thoughts and posed another question.

“And Lady Woon’s instructions?”

“She said to first ask your intent — what you mean to do with the Baek Clan.”

Seo Woojin didn’t hesitate.

“I’m going to save them.”

The Cheongeum Envoy spoke as though she’d anticipated it.

“If you made that choice, she told me to relay this: [The Young Lord is a clever man, so I don’t imagine he decided to save them out of mere pity. But if you’re going to walk that road, you’d best not count on my help.]“

A cold-hearted woman. Knowing he would fall short on his own, she was telling him to at least come away with something practical — and she had found the most spiteful possible way to say it.

“I know you won’t help, but relay my plan to her all the same.”

“Pardon? But…”

The Cheongeum Envoy was flustered, but Seo Woojin breezily ignored it.

“Their escape route is by sea. I’ll need to arrange a ship first. For a place of refuge, for now I’m considering the Zhoushan Archipelago to the east. They’ll hide there a while, and then I’ll send them elsewhere.”

The Cheongeum Envoy let out a troubled groan.

“But the Military Advisor truly won’t give any help at all. She has never once taken back a word after it’s left her mouth.”

“I know. I’m simply sharing my plan. We promised to share all information with each other.”

“…”

Seo Woojin let out a soft chuckle. Unlike the rest of her organization, the Cheongeum Envoy’s reactions were quite human — and for some reason, he found he liked that about her.

“That’s the whole of the message. It was a long way to come — thank you for your trouble.”

Something flickered in the Cheongeum Envoy’s eyes, but she soon gave a small sigh.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

And, unlike when she’d arrived, she flung herself out through the window.

Once she’d withdrawn, Muk-yeong voiced a question.

— Are you sure you’ll be all right without the Military Advisor’s help?

Seo Woojin shrugged.

“Who knows. Her help would certainly make a difference… but well, I’ve got you, Muk-yeong.”

At Seo Woojin’s glib remark, Muk-yeong’s brow furrowed.

— I understand your intent, but I’ve yet to hear the details. Do you mean to give up on the second trial?

Seo Woojin stroked his chin, turning it over.

Judged rationally, he ought to abandon the second trial. But when he thought of the essence of the thing, he couldn’t give it up so easily either.

His reason for taking the Baek Clan in as his own faction was to gain power. Yet if he failed to pass the trials to the end, that power would vanish like an illusion.

In the end, he had to have it both ways.

‘The problem is how to pass the trial while keeping them alive…’

The stratagem that came to mind at once was deception. He only had to show the others proof that the Baek Clan had been wiped out — even if it was a lie.

‘What if I got hold of a corpse? Hm… but to use some innocent’s body…’

However much he was adapting to life on the dark path, he didn’t relish going that far.

Still mulling it over, Seo Woojin looked at Muk-yeong.

“Say, by any chance.”

“…?”

“Is there some way to make a corpse? Ah, not by killing someone. I mean literally — is there a way to make a fake corpse?”

It was a foolish idea — as if such a thing existed. The Central Plains saw all manner of outlandish things, but surely not that.

Seo Woojin immediately shook his head with a smile. And just as he was about to apologize—

— There is.

Muk-yeong moved his hands as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

(End of Chapter 27)