Where My Sword Points (3)
“You filthy wench. Get over here and do it.”
Yang Gi-gang’s voice dripped with venom, more menacing than ever before, even when he was in good health.
The servant girl trembled as she approached him.
She remembered the other servant girl who had been killed, her throat torn out. Was it because she refused to do this?
But she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t even bear to look at that grotesque thing…
“Should I just rip you apart? Do you think I’m a joke? Huh? You bitch!”
“No, no, sir.”
She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
“Please, forgive me! I… I have someone I’m supposed to marry.”
The face of the man she promised to marry next year flashed in her mind. He worked tirelessly at the market, saving up for a small room, his face lighting up with joy at the thought.
When she heard the rumors about the previous servant girl’s death, she thought about running away with him in the dead of night. She really considered it.
But leaving everything she had ever known overnight was no easy task. She couldn’t do that to him, who had just started to settle down.
“Should I call him here? Is that what you want, because you miss having a man around?”
“Gasp!”
She looked up.
Yang Gi-gang’s face was twisted with cruelty. His eyes, like those of a snake, seemed capable of any atrocity just to torment others.
“No! Please, don’t do that!”
“Then come here.”
Yang Gi-gang, lying there, couldn’t suppress his rising lust. His mind was filled with the desire to violate and kill.
The woman staggered toward him, her tear-streaked face only fueling his desire.
“Hurry up, do it!”
She lowered her head and opened her mouth, her whole body shaking.
‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’
Tears streamed endlessly from her tightly shut eyes.
And then, it happened.
Someone covered her mouth from behind.
Not to silence her scream, but to gently close her mouth.
She could tell that this touch meant no harm. It wasn’t just because it was so gentle and kind.
Yang Gi-gang’s eyes widened as he spat out curses.
“You bastard!”
The hand that had covered her mouth now covered her eyes.
In the next moment.
Whoosh!
A cool breeze swept through.
Slice.
“Aaaaargh!”
From the gut-wrenching scream, she knew. Yang Gi-gang’s manhood had been severed.
Blood spurted out briefly.
Thud! Crunch.
This time, she heard the sound of a sword piercing flesh and hitting bone.
“Ugh!”
Before another scream could escape.
Thwack!
The sound of flesh tearing was accompanied by a choked scream.
She realized for the first time how many different screams could come from one person.
“Ugh.”
Each time the sword pierced and withdrew, a groan of agony followed.
“Please…”
Yang Gi-gang’s plea was met with a cold voice from behind.
“Then you should have listened when she begged you.”
As the words ended!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The sound of the sword tearing flesh echoed repeatedly. It was a brutal sound.
The only reason she could endure this horrific noise was because the one screaming was Yang Gi-gang.
The screams stopped, and so did the butchery.
The person behind her still covered her eyes, so she couldn’t see what had happened. But she knew Yang Gi-gang was no longer of this world.
Then, a soft voice whispered in her ear.
“Child.”
The tone was so gentle, unlike when addressing Yang Gi-gang, that she almost responded with a “yes.”
“Not all men in this world are like that. Sometimes you might get bitten by a mad dog, but that doesn’t mean you should treat all dogs as mad. Forget what happened today and live happily with your fiancé.”
The words were so kind and gentle, like a grandfather speaking to his granddaughter.
As the voice faded, sleepiness washed over her, a natural result of the gentle touch that had subdued her.
As she was laid gently on the ground, she heard one last thing, as if in a dream.
“You won’t be harmed just for being here. Those who would do such a thing will all die today.”
“Please reconsider, Master. If you truly attack the Byeok Clan, you’ll incur the wrath of the martial world.”
The plea came from Jeong Yeo, the deputy leader of the Yang Clan. He had only recently learned of the events unfolding.
“Wrath? Did you say wrath?”
“Master.”
“My son almost died. And you talk of such nonsense? Who exactly is supposed to be angry?”
“Young Master Yang…”
He couldn’t finish the sentence that Yang Gi-gang had it coming. Nor could he say that you can’t hide the sky with your palm.
Yang Gi-cheol glared at him with murderous intent.
“Please reconsider.”
“You’re so spineless. Tsk tsk.”
“Master!”
Jeong Yeo never thought of himself as a man of honor. He considered himself somewhere between a chivalrous man and a villain, someone moderately tainted by the world.
To be honest, he leaned more towards villainy. He had turned a blind eye to many of the master’s misdeeds.
But there were limits to villainy. No matter how he thought about it, this was wrong. Who in their right mind would hire mercenaries to wipe out a clan just because their son was beaten?
“Please, think it over.”
Another man in the room spoke up. He was the Bloodhound, summoned by Yang Gi-cheol.
Who was the Bloodhound? He could be summed up in one line.
A man who would kill his own family for money.
It was rumored that he might have traded his supposedly deceased wife and children for money.
But Yang Gi-cheol called on him for discreet matters. His execution was as reliable as his greed.
-You’ll have to pay more. I hear the clan leader’s reputation is quite good.
-Since when do you care about the reputation of those you kill?
-As I age, it just happens. Maybe I’m growing wise.
-How much more do you want?
-I’ll need twenty thousand nyang.
-You’re not growing wise, just greedier.
-Just say yes or no. We’re not here to exchange pleasantries, are we?
In the end, they agreed on twice the original amount, twenty thousand nyang.
In return, the Bloodhound promised to provide a scapegoat for the massacre. He would use a suitable rogue to frame him and his companions for wiping out the Byeok Clan.
They planned to use Byeok Lidan. The story would be that he assaulted a woman, and her lover, a rogue, massacred the clan in revenge. The rogue would then be found dead at the scene, having taken his own life.
To support this plan, they were spreading rumors that Byeok Lidan had assaulted a woman.
Overnight, the Byeok Clan would become a worthless group deserving of annihilation, and Yang Gi-gang would be seen as a hero who tried to stop it and got injured.
Such is the power of money.
Everything was going smoothly until Jeong Yeo found out at the last moment. They had kept it from him, knowing he would try to stop it.
The Bloodhound, who had been listening, casually interjected.
“Why pretend to be so righteous? You don’t seem that virtuous.”
Jeong Yeo frowned at him.
“This is none of your business.”
Tension crackled between the two.
The Bloodhound smirked, easing the atmosphere. It wasn’t that he was intimidated; it was more like he didn’t see the need to bother with someone like Jeong Yeo.
“You’re so uptight.”
He then turned to Yang Gi-cheol.
“These things need to be handled quickly. As you know, rogues have no loyalty. Delay too long, and secrets get out. If you don’t give me a firm answer, I’ll disband immediately. Of course, you won’t get the deposit back.”
“That won’t be necessary. We’ll proceed as planned.”
After setting things in stone, Yang Gi-cheol tried to persuade Jeong Yeo.
“Even though the Byeok Clan has declined, they still hold significant influence in certain areas. If we take over, our clan’s power will double.”
If successful, they would gain tens of thousands of nyang in the long run. Twenty thousand nyang would be nothing.
“The Byeok Clan’s influence in the Shandong region is strong because the martial artists there deeply trust the clan leader.”
Yang Gi-cheol’s expression soured.
“Are you implying that my character is inferior to his?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Trust? There’s no such thing in this world. There are only two things: the strong and the weak. The strong rule, and the weak are ruled. The strong survive, and the weak perish.”
Jeong Yeo said nothing. He knew his master was greedy, but he hadn’t realized the extent of his depravity.
“If you attack the Byeok Clan, I will no longer serve you.”
It was his last card. He had been with the Yang Clan for twenty years, through thick and thin. He was certain that without him, the clan wouldn’t have grown as it did.
He thought if he opposed it this strongly, Yang Gi-cheol would relent.
But Yang Gi-cheol’s response was ruthless.
“How dare you set conditions? Get out before I kill you.”
Jeong Yeo was speechless.
Get out before I kill you? The harshness of the words hit him like a storm.
“What on earth have I been doing with my life until now?”
More than anger at him, it was fury at his own foolishness that consumed him.
Feeling tears welling up, he stood abruptly.
“Stay put until you’re called again!”
Without a word, he left the room.
Behind him, he could hear the snickering of the bloodhounds.
“No one should be seen leaving the Byeok family gate that day.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure not a single Byeok remains, not even their dogs.”
Before the door closed, Jeong-yeo clenched his fists at the conversation he overheard. He wanted nothing more than to rush in and beat those two to a pulp.
But that would only get him killed.
This was it. The limit of his morality and capability.
He had no intention of staying in this place that had lost all meaning for him. Once this ordeal was over, Yang Gi-cheol would try to win him over again with sweet words.
He would leave before that happened. Otherwise, he’d be discarded even more miserably later.
“Damn it! I wanted to make Yang’s faction the greatest in the land.”
As he trudged away, burdened by the pain of leaving the place he’d devoted his life to, a strange sense of unease crept over him.
Looking up, he saw a young man perched on the roof. Blood dripped from the sword he held, starkly contrasting with the bright blue sky behind him.
“Who are you?”
Who else could it be?
It was me.
Jeong-yeo instinctively reached for his sword.
“Are you really going to keep acting like a fool until the end?”
At my words, he flinched and stopped.
“Do you really want your life to end protecting scum like that?”
A heavy silence descended between us, pressing down like a weight.