The Cheon Clan's Darkness (2)
Hongmaeru.
As one could tell from the "hong", this place was a red-light house.
"So this is it."
Cheon Muyang arrived at the location.
Reaching the agreed-upon place, standing before its doors, Cheon Muyang sensed a faint but unmistakable presence from inside.
"You already know, don't you? That it wasn't those idiots."
It was then—
A slashing attack burst through the doorway and surged toward Cheon Muyang.
"Right. You should've come out like this from the start."
It was an attack that the former Cheon Muyang would never have been able to handle.
But Cheon Muyang was different now.
Compared to that sky nearing infinity, this slash was nothing more than a passing breeze.
Kaaang!
Cheongwang struck the attack head-on.
Losing its direction, the slash smashed uselessly into the ceiling and dissipated.
Thud, thud.
Dust fell down.
Yet Cheon Muyang coldly fixed his gaze on the man seated inside the room.
"Who are you?"
"Heh heh heh. To think I'd run into the Cheon Clan's eldest young master like this."
He was not from the Cheon Clan.
That fact only fueled Cheon Muyang's anger further.
"I asked who you are."
"It won't do you any good to know. If you've come to Hongmaeru, why not just enjoy yourself like you usually do? Ah—are you short on money?"
Brightening, the man tossed a pouch filled with coins at Cheon Muyang's feet.
Thud.
Just one glance told him it was no small sum.
"Well, if that's not enough, I'm willing to give more."
He wore a relaxed smile, yet he knew full well that Cheon Muyang had deflected the slash he'd sent.
So unlike his smile—
His hand rested on his sword.
"How ridiculous."
It was the lowest level of a dagger hidden behind a smile .
The Cheon Muyang of the past would have gladly taken the money.
"If you were trying to buy me off… you should've brought at least a hundred bars of gold."
Did he really think this would work?
Cheon Muyang kicked the pouch at his feet.
Clatter clatter.
Coins spilled and rained through the air.
At that sight, the man's relaxed smile slowly faded.
"If you insist on refusing a toast and choosing punishment instead..."
"Idiot."
"What?"
Cheon Muyang sneered at the fool who still thought he held the initiative.
"It was over the moment you swung your sword."
Fwoosh.
Only then did the man realize something was wrong and assume a defensive stance—but it was already too late.
"Your eyes are too high. When you meet the Cheon Clan's eldest young master, you kneel."
In that instant—
The ceiling collapsed.
"...!"
He reacted too late; there was no way to block all the falling debris.
"Tch!"
Left with no choice, he charged straight toward Cheon Muyang.
"If you won't kneel—"
Whoooong!
Cheongwang resonated.
Together with it, Cheongwang surged forward.
"...!"
At times, the sky was like a wall.
There was nowhere for him to advance.
"Then I'll make you kneel."
Letting his opponent's sword flow past uselessly, Cheon Muyang drove a kick straight into his abdomen.
"Hrk!"
He was flung backward with a dying gasp, unable to believe what had just happened.
'Strong…!'
This was no one beneath him.
He had no confidence in breaking through the wall he had just encountered.
'How can the eldest young master, known as nothing but a hooligan, possess such overwhelming martial prowess?'
He tried to maintain composure, but he couldn't.
And so, without realizing that Cheon Muyang's breathing had momentarily faltered, he stood frozen, unable to act.
'Now's the chance.'
A single breath.
That was the margin Cheon Muyang had left.
Cheongwang shot up toward the sky.
A blade that would cleave even the heavens—the Single Heaven Cut.
Steadying his breath, Cheon Muyang hurled Cheongwang downward.
"W-wait!"
"Nonsense."
Slash!
Cheongwang carved through his body from shoulder to flank.
"I-if you kill me… y-you won't get any information—!"
"Shut up."
Using the centrifugal force from retrieving his sword, he swung it straight through the man's neck.
Cheon Muyang stood there blankly as blood splashed over him.
"There's nothing I need to hear from you."
Drip.
Drip, drip.
Blood flowed from the tip of Cheongwang and fell to the ground.
Shaking off the blood and retrieving Cheongwang, Cheon Muyang spoke calmly.
"Come out."
"...."
Geumsan revealed himself.
Cheon Muyang had already been aware of the eyes following him.
"Killing them means... there's no turning back."
"They were going to die anyway. Leeches who sucked the blood of the weak—there was no reason to spare them."
Geumsan alternated his gaze between the corpse and Cheon Muyang.
"You've seen my resolve, haven't you? Now you'll have to tell me everything you know."
"...Young master."
"Speak."
"The clan may split in two. Even so, will you still listen? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss."
"Isn't that better than letting the clan rot?"
"If that's your answer... then I'll tell you. I'm as good as dead anyway."
Geumsan nodded.
What was there left to hide?
Perhaps the reason he had endured humiliation and remained in Zhejiang instead of leaving was for this very moment.
"I should start with why I left the Cheongeum Pavilion."
"...."
"At the time, I was tasked with tracking whether the funds we executed were being used properly. But at some point, that flow was cut off."
"Cut off?"
"Yes. It was an enormous sum, yet handled so skillfully that at some point, the flow itself completely disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes. It was as though the funds themselves had transformed into money that never existed in the first place."
Upon discovering this, Geumsan had intended to report it to his superiors.
However, he could not bring himself to act.
"But you see, I wasn't the first to discover this."
"...."
"When I uncovered the truth, someone had already reported it to the upper ranks."
His face twisted.
Cheon Muyang could already anticipate what would come next.
"Not long after... the man who reported the clan's corruption became labeled the corrupt one instead, and vanished without a trace."
"Hmm...."
"I was afraid. So I chose to bury it."
That was how Geumsan left the Cheongeum Pavilion.
Was it guilt?
Geumsan drowned himself in alcohol day after day.
He squandered every asset he had saved and even resorted to loan-sharking.
"And yet, the reason I couldn't bring myself to die or leave Zhejiang... was because I wanted to console the spirit of that child who died so unjustly."
He wanted to clear his resentment.
There was a deep affection in his voice.
So Cheon Muyang asked,
"What was his name?"
"Geumgang. My younger brother."
"...."
"Young master, I beg you."
Geumsan bowed deeply.
From his robe, he took out a single worn sheet of paper.
It was darkened from constant handling.
"This is...?"
"Documents I secretly took out in case all the evidence disappeared."
"Ah."
It was the weapon Cheon Muyang needed most.
Cheon Muyang accepted the evidence—something Geumsan must have wanted to discard dozens, no, hundreds of times—and tucked it into his robe.
"Please... clear my brother's unjust death."
"Don't worry. I'll purge everyone involved in this matter."
Cheon Muyang gathered the money scattered on the floor and handed half of it to Geumsan.
"Give the rest to the owner of this tavern."
"Yes, young master."
Cheon Muyang wrapped the severed head of the man who died here in a nearby cloth.
"Ah, come to think of it, I came out to buy clothes. Could you find something that fits me?"
"M-me?"
"Yes. You'll be working again, won't you?"
"...!"
Cheon Muyang left Hongmaeru.
Before long, Hangzhou's streets appeared dim as dusk settled in.
"A storm of blood is coming."
Cheon Muyang returned to the clan.
Then he went straight to the Cheongeum Pavilion.
The guard stationed there recognized Cheon Muyang and bowed.
"I greet the eldest young master."
"Where is the Cheongeum Pavilion Master?"
"He is inside."
"Send word. Tell him the eldest young master of the Cheon Clan wishes to see him."
"Yes. Please go inside."
"No. I won't go in. Tell him to come out here himself."
"...!"
Seeing the man's flustered expression, Cheon Muyang spoke coldly.
"I believe I told you to send word."
"T-that is...."
Just then—
The doors of the Cheongeum Pavilion opened.
From within emerged Cheon Bong, the Pavilion Master, accompanied by several others.
"Why is the eldest young master harassing the gatekeeper instead of coming in directly?"
"Ah, Pavilion Master Cheon. It's been a while. You look to be in excellent spirits."
"You flatter me. How could I compare to the eldest young master's presence?"
"You're a busy man, so I'll get straight to the point."
Cheon Muyang tossed the bundle in his hand toward the Pavilion Master.
Midair, the cloth came undone.
"Gasp!"
Inside was a severed head.
Cheon Bong's expression hardened as he snapped,
"What is the meaning of this? Couldn't you restrain yourself and have started another bout of hooliganism?"
"Of course not. That man dared to use the Cheon Clan's name while engaging in loan-sharking."
"L-loan-sharking?!"
"...."
Cheon Muyang's voice rang out so loudly that people inside the Cheongeum Pavilion came pouring out as well.
And so, he had no choice but to react to the mention of loan-sharking.
"Did you just say loan-sharking?"
"Yes. I don't know whether this man was the ringleader or just someone meddling in the middle."
"But then, why did you come to the Cheongeum Pavilion instead of the Inspectorate?"
"He said something rather meaningful before he died."
"W-what was that?!"
Cheon Muyang sent a sneering smile toward the startled Cheon Bong.
"Why are you so surprised? Anyone watching might think you're the one backing him."
"Eldest young master!"
At that moment—
Cheon Muyang's presence changed abruptly.
It was a heavy, oppressive aura, completely at odds with his playful smile.
"Ghk!"
"I came as a warning. It seems there are rat bastards gnawing away at the clan's granary."
Cheon Bong, the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, stiffened.
"W-what are you talking about right now?!"
"Darkness beneath the lamp . There's no harm in being careful."
It was always darkest beneath the lamp.
At those words, Cheon Bong felt a chill run through him and could only nod.
"Y-you're right. There's no harm in being careful. Regarding this matter, I'll have the entire Cheongeum Pavilion investigate thoroughly."
"That would be for the best. I've said all I needed to say, so I'll be on my way."
"T-take care on your way, eldest young master."
"We'll be seeing each other again soon."
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Cheon Muyang departed from the Cheongeum Pavilion.
"...."
Cheon Bong felt uneasy.
'Since when did the eldest young master become such a… threatening figure?'
A sense of impatience welled up within him.
And so, the Cheongeum Pavilion Master secretly headed somewhere.
"...."
As if unaware that Cheon Muyang was quietly following behind.
'That path leads to the Council of Elders.'
Even Cheon Muyang could not follow him into the area where security tightened.
'So the Council of Elders is behind the Cheongeum Pavilion Master?'
That alone was enough.
He had thrown out the bait—there was no way they wouldn't move.
"I should see my uncle."
Cheon Seon-hak would be at the training grounds.
Naturally, Cheon Muyang headed there as well.
Whooong!
Recently, more trainees had been training late into the night.
And more people were greeting Cheon Muyang first.
"Ah."
At the very least, those who trained late were people who acknowledged Cheon Muyang.
Cheon Seon-hak, who had long since heard that Cheon Muyang had emerged from the Cheonryong Repository, smiled as he finally saw him appear.
"Heh heh heh. You asked for two days, yet it took you ten."
"I pay my respects, Uncle."
"Yes. So, what did you see in the Cheonryong Repository?"
"An infinite sky. There was a sky like that."
Cheon Seon-hak's smile deepened.
He grew curious about what that sky truly was.
"Show me."
"Yes."
All at once, the two men drew their swords.
Whooong!
Two skies that should never have overlapped spread out across a single training ground.