Chapter 857

“What? Where’d everyone go? Hey, mister. Have you seen anyone around here?”

His hair was matted with grease, and his face was streaked with grime.

As the young man got to his feet and babbled, the man he’d called “mister” spoke.

“What happened? He doesn’t look dead to me.”

“I-I’m sorry. He was sleeping so soundly he looked dead, and I mistook him for—”

“That’s enough. We’ll discuss it when we return to the palace.”

The Embroidered Uniform Guard martial artist who had reported the scouts’ findings went rigid.

He knew what kind of man his superior was. He’d served under him for nearly three years. He also knew how seriously the man took this mission.

If he was lucky, he’d be demoted. If things went badly, he could be stripped of his position altogether.

Damn it.

He bit down on his lip and struggled to suppress his anger. He couldn’t deny that he felt wronged, but a mistake was still a mistake.

He couldn’t put spilled water back where it came from, but he could at least wipe it up.

No—he had to. If only to lessen the punishment coming his way.

“…I’ll take care of it.”

He spoke in a subdued voice and stepped toward the young man, who still looked half asleep.

The fellow was some beggar who could’ve wandered in from anywhere. If he resisted, one stroke of the sword would be enough.

At least, that was what the martial artist thought.

“What are you doing?”

Thud.

At his superior’s sudden call, he stopped dead. The man looked down at him with calm, cold eyes, and he stammered out a reply.

“I—it can’t be left like this, so I thought I’d handle it myself…”

“Handle it?”

“Y-Yes.”

“How?”

Pardon?

“I asked how you intend to handle it.”

“Well… given the situation, shouldn’t we use force if necessary to eliminate the threat?”

The man was silent for a moment.

“How many years have you served?”

“I’ve served you for almost three years, Commander Jeong. And…”

The martial artist hesitated, watching his superior’s expression, then added, “As my father advised me, I believe I’ve always done my best to follow your orders.”

There was a little unease in his voice, and far more resentment.

His superior had barely given him a second look in nearly three years. Worse, he treated him as though being the son of a prestigious family meant nothing.

How much did my family spend to get me into the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Gold, silver, and influence could reach anywhere—even the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which answered directly to the Emperor.

A rigorous screening meant that even a fortune could buy him no more than a low-ranking position. Still, plenty of people would have given anything to get that far.

He had no intention of backing down. Mentioning his father had been a warning: a reminder to his difficult, strict superior of the family standing behind him.

Which made the man’s next words all the harder to believe.

“Three years. That’s long enough.”

Pardon?

“Hand over your badge right now and go where you belong. This will conclude your punishment for the mistake you made earlier.”

“…!”

“What? Do you still have something to say?”

The martial artist stared at him, eyes wide, then burst out, “What? How can you do something so outrageous? Have you forgotten who I am—”

“I remember perfectly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have kept you under me for three years.”

The man cut him off and continued in the same calm voice.

“But what people remember isn’t you. It’s the prestige of the family behind you. If you don’t want to make the same mistake again, take that to heart.”

“Are you done?”

“No, but there’s no point saying the rest. Especially to someone who can’t even tell whom he’s dealing with.”

“What the hell are you—”

He was about to shout when a voice reached his ear.

“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but could I have some water first? I’ve been thirsty for a while.”

“…!”

The voice hadn’t come from a distance.

It was right behind him—close enough for him to catch the sweetish scent on the speaker’s breath.

How did he—?!

Every hair on his body stood on end. He spun around like lightning and drew the sword at his waist.

Shing—whoosh!

The treasured sword passed down through his family for generations flashed with five-colored light as it split the figure behind him clean in half.

Or so he thought.

Just as the blade was about to bite into the top of the young man’s head, two hands filthy with streaming grime moved in a flash.

Clang!

The young man brought his palms together with a deafening crash. A gasp escaped the martial artist.

“Empty-Hand Seizes the Blade…?”

It was a technique a master might show someone a level or two beneath him.

The martial artist had reached the Supreme First Rate realm thanks to his family’s unstinting support. He understood at once what it meant and stared in shock at the man he’d taken for a mere beggar.

“A Peak master!”

At that horrified cry, the mysterious Peak master answered, “What the fuck are you talking about? I get shit all the time for being the guy who can’t even use Sword Energy.”

“Y-You! Who are you? State your identity!”

“Fuck off. Give me water, not a sword.”

Whoosh—thud!

It happened in an instant.

The young man swept aside the sword caught between his palms and drove his hard knee into the martial artist’s face. As the man crumpled like a rotten log, the young man found a small flask in his robes and drank it down in one go.

Gulp, gulp.

“Ahhh. Now I feel alive.”

He looked as though he hadn’t had a drop of water in days.

Commander Jeong watched him empty the flask and shake it for the last drops before speaking.

“I suspected as much when I first saw you. You’re quite skilled.”

The young man stared into the empty flask as though liquor might appear if he waited long enough. Then he asked, “Do you mean that?”

“Of course. You don’t seem to have reached the level of injuring others with Sword Energy, but the movement you just showed was extremely efficient and impressive.”

“Thanks. Hearing that from someone way more skilled than me almost brings a tear to my eye. Though I could do without you talking down to me.”

“You misunderstand. I wasn’t mocking you.”

“I know. I didn’t misunderstand. I really do feel like I’m about to cry.”

“…?”

“I’ve been through so much fucking shit, taken every insult anyone could throw at me. I train my ass off, and all I ever hear is, ‘Why can’t you use Sword Energy?’ and ‘How can you call yourself a proper person if you can’t even do that?’ And now they’ve gone and left me on the side of the road, too… Ahem. Hic!”

Commander Jeong fell silent.

The young man’s complaints had poured out as though he’d been waiting for the chance, and now tears were streaming down his face. Everyone there had the same question.

What the hell is that guy?

He looked exactly like a beggar. Apparently, he was a lunatic.

The problem was that the lunatic was skilled. He was only Supreme First Rate, yet he moved like a Peak master.

And they were in the middle of an operation.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard martial artists lined up behind Commander Jeong exchanged bewildered looks.

What are we supposed to do in a situation like this?

I don’t know. Captain Hong might know.

I don’t know, either.

How can you not know, Captain Hong? You’re our Captain.

Does a Captain have to be some kind of god? Still, Senior Officer Gal should know. He’s been around much longer than I have.

No. I don’t know, either…

Pardon?

Their gazes wandered, and their mouths went dry.

When had the famed Embroidered Uniform Guard ever dealt with anything like this? The lunatic had sat down in the road and was sobbing at the top of his lungs. None of them knew what to do with him.

None of them except one.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

Commander Jeong slowly rode forward and looked down at the young man with his usual calm gaze.

“Are you done crying?”

The young man answered in a tear-choked voice.

“I’ve still got a little left.”

“That doesn’t matter. You’re delaying us. Move aside.”

“Mm.”

The young man sniffled.

“That might be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Moving aside would be easy enough, but the person I serve would be furious.”

“I thought you said you’d been abandoned.”

“Sometimes I get left behind when I’m with that person. Anyway, I don’t know why I ended up here, but they’ll be back soon.”

Brush, brush.

The young man stood and dusted off his backside.

“Believe it or not, I’m his right-hand man. Though I might just be his little toe.”

“I see.”

Commander Jeong gave a slight nod.

“Do you have an identity tag?”

“An identity tag? Is that something you boil in soup?”

“So you’re a rogue of the martial world. You treat the strict laws established by the Son of Heaven as nonsense.”

“Something like that. Why ask all of a sudden?”

“It’s merely a check. I can’t harm a citizen of the Great Nation who carries an identity tag because I judged him wrongly.”

“Hm. You talk like you belong to the authorities.”

“Something like that, but not quite.”

“That’s vague. Care to give me an example?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Oh.”

At the calm, cold answer, the young man shrugged and dropped something he’d been holding.

Tap.

A faint sound, and a copper badge flashed as it caught the light. Three characters were engraved on its dirt-streaked surface.

Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“Whoops. Dropped it by accident. I was going to keep it as a souvenir.”

His voice was exaggerated, but his gaze, fixed on Commander Jeong, had settled into a deep stillness.

“I was only looking for the flask, but this weird thing came out with it.”

“You’ve got sticky fingers for a rogue of the martial world.”

“Let’s call it self-defense. If it had been the person I serve, this wouldn’t have ended with just that.”

Commander Jeong raised a hand instead of answering.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard drew their weapons and surrounded the young man in a wave of steel.

“Before I kill you, I’ll ask one thing.”

“If you have time, ask as many as you like. I’d like to live a little longer, if possible.”

Something flickered in Commander Jeong’s eyes.

This unexpected encounter was as good as over. At his signal, the young man would die in an instant, and they would continue on their way as though nothing had happened.

And yet…

He has no intention of backing down.

The young man feared death, but he would not retreat. Commander Jeong saw the spirit of a martial artist in him.

“What is your name?”

“Hyuk Mujin.”

Commander Jeong nodded to Hyuk Mujin.

“Who’s behind this?”

None of this was a coincidence.

Someone whose identity they didn’t know had been waiting for them from the start. They had surely placed people at every chokepoint the procession had to pass through.

Commander Jeong needed to learn who it was. The answer came from somewhere he never expected.

“Being called the one behind it sounds a little grand, but now that I hear it, I kind of like it. Makes me feel like a Constellation.¹”

There had been no sound. No trace of a presence.

Yet the shadow of a young man had appeared among them, stretching down from a tree above.

“We finally meet. How’ve you been?”

“Do you… know me?”

At Commander Jeong’s stiff question, the young man laughed.

“How the fuck would I know you, you son of a bitch?”